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The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
December 29, 2003
Story by: Eric Theis
Season's Greetings, and a very Merry Christmas
from the GBU. While Santa was without a doubt
good to you and yours, I was rewarded with a systemic
computer crash at work, and a serious bout of
the flu for Christmas, hence my two week absence.
But I have strong stubborn German-Italian blood
so I bounce back quick, and am ready to resume
my job of illuminating the way into your fantasy
new year. Last week was shortened by the Christmas
break, something the players wish to lengthen
(greedy players - always wanting more), but that
did not preclude plenty of highlights and lowlights
in those games. Happy New Year! See you next week
at the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
The Good
Scott Walker 4 GP, 4 G, 3 A, +6, 4 PIM
RW - Nashville Predators
Walker represents an interesting paradox as a
player: he is a hard-nosed power forward who is
at his best when going into key scoring areas
full throttle - yet his body has never shown the
resiliency needed to handle this style of play.
As a result, Walker has never played more than
74 games, and has logged 64 games or less in all
the rest of his 9 NHL seasons. Walker did record
25 goals and 54 points for the Preds in 00-01
(the same year he managed 74 games), so it is
safe to say that if he can stay in the lineup,
a repeat performance is conceivable.
Patrick Marleau 3 GP, 3 G, 2 A, +3, 1 PPP
C - San Jose Sharks
Marleau started slow this season, posting just
5 points in his first 13 games, but has come on
strong as of late. Marleau has been a model of
consistency throughout his young career, with
four 20+ goal seasons, and is on pace to eclipse
his career best in both goals and points, and
should continue to reward his owners with points,
especially with San Jose playing as well as it
has of late.
Joe Nieuwendyk 3 GP, 2 G, 3 A, +2, 2 PPP
C - Toronto Maple Leafs
Another player who is a fantasy hockey treasure
chest as long as he is healthy, Nieuwendyk has
22 points in 25 games. Owners hold their collective
breaths when Joe is on the ice however, as he
plays on one of the highest casualty-producing
teams (behind only Los Angeles and Detroit for
most man-games lost to injury), and has himself
missed 12 games from both back and ankle ailments.
Nieuwendyk has shown remarkable versatility on
the ice, having centered and played on the wing
in a variety of line combinations the Leafs have
fielded, and the Oshawa native not only produces
himself, but seems to make his line mates better
by proxy. Nieuwendyk is also receiving a lot of
power play minutes for Toronto, averaging 3:33
minutes per game (3rd behind only Bryan McCabe
and Mats Sundin).
Michael Leighton 3 GP, 2 W, 1 L, 1.00 GAA, .960
SV%, 2 SO
G - Chicago Blackhawks
Certainly Chicago has not benefited from the
lost starting goaltender Jocelyn Thibault (5-3-2
before he went down with a hip injury), as the
team's 4-15-5-3 record without him would suggest.
However the Blackhawks were still miles away from
any though of playoff contention, even with a
healthy Thibault, so this season has become about
earning back some respect, and allowing the young
guys to play and gain valuable NHL experience.
If any silver lining can be urged out of Chicago's
lost season, it is the emergence of rookie Michael
Leighton. Yes he has had his nights o'shelling
- the benefit of playing for a team who's defence
core are a collective -51. Leighton has also had
his great nights, evidenced last week by his shutting
out of both St Louis and Detroit, Chicago's two
conference rivals. Leighton might still be a few
years away from becoming a fantasy impact player,
but he is now officially on the radar.
Mark Parrish 3 GP, 3 G, 2 A, +3, 2 PIM, 1 PPP,
2 GWG
RW - New York Islanders
At 26 Parrish may finally be developing into
the consistent goal scoring threat that he has
teased fantasy owners with over the last few seasons;
Parrish has been a streaky producer in his career,
generating both scoring streaks and droughts during
the course of the season. His current point streak
has been a direct result of his driving to the
net, and moving to key scoring areas despite the
physical punishment he might absorb as a result,
a style soon to be named the "Gary Roberts
Way". His goals might not be pretty (with
3 goals coming from less than 6 feet away from
the opposing net), but one cannot argue with the
7 points in 6 games Parrish has notched. The Islanders
need this kind of offense with Alexei Yashin out
of the lineup for the foreseeable future, especially
someone to take over Yashin's power play minutes.
Garth Snow 3 GP, 3 W, 1.99 GAA, .929 SV%
G - New York Islanders
If anyone deserves credit for turning their season
around as of late, it is Garth Snow. The big netminder,
who started off with a GAA of 4.91 in 9 starts
through October and November, has played his way
back to a starting gig with the Islanders. Snow
has posted four consecutive wins against Washington,
Philly, New Jersey and Toronto, helping to vault
the Isles back into the playoff hunt, while showing
they can compete with some of the best teams in
the league. The only loser in the equation is
Rick DiPietro, who started strong, but has faded
into obscurity on New York's bench for a second
straight year.
Honourable Mentions
Vincent Damphosse 3 GP, 2 G, 2 A, +1, 4 PIM, 2
PPP
C - San Jose Sharks
Anyone who stuck with Damphosse through his repeated
scoring slumps can finally smile. Reports of Damphosse
being past his prime seem a little premature right
now.
Curtis Joseph 2 GP, 2 GP, 1 W, 0 L, 1 T, 1.45
GAA, .939 SV%
G - Detroit Red Wings
I'm sorry; I am a lifelong Leaf Fan, but I grew
tired of the minions who decried Curtis leaving
for Detroit, and then celebrated Joseph's well
documented pains for playing time, which saw him
make 2 trips to the AHL. Joseph always, repeat
always has conducted himself as an exemplary individual
amongst many other pro athletes with far less
moral conviction - check out Joseph's charitable
contributions in the areas he has played in if
you don't believe me (including the ties he still
maintains in Toronto I might add). Joseph's performance
over the last few weeks has been a long time in
coming - the only justice might be that whatever
team grabs him up, and it will happen soon, manages
to eliminate Detroit in the playoffs.
Zdeno Chara 4 GP, 1 G, 3 A, +4, 8 PIM, 1 PPP
D - Ottawa Senators
Chara is a standout in none of the major fantasy
categories in comparison with his fellow defensemen,
but he just might be the best all around blue
liner to have: while his point totals place him
in a tie for 11th amongst other NHL defenders,
he has consistent numbers in all fantasy categories
including penalty minutes and +/-.
Saku Koivu 3 GP, 1 G, 3 A, Even, 2 PIM, 2 PPP,
1 GWG
C - Montreal Canadiens
Koivu was an early victim of this column's scorn,
after being held pointless in his first 5 games
this season, but the Canadiens Captain has seemingly
righted the ship. Koivu is running at a point-per-game
pace for all of December (13 points in 13 games)
, and is back on track with his usual numbers.
The Bad
Mike Knuble 3 GP, 0 G, 0 A, -4
RW - Boston Bruins
2 points in 12 games, and no points in his last
6 - fairly woeful for a winger on a line centered
by Joe Thornton. So desperate is Boston to break
Knuble and the "Big Line" out of it's
point recession, that Head Coach Mike Sullivan
has slid three different wingers on the left of
Knuble and Thornton over the last 3 games (Bergeron,
Lapointe and Murray), with no improvement noted.
It's all par for the course on a Boston team that
seems to fade every year after the first 15 or
so games.
Brendan Shanahan 3 GP, 0 G, 0 A, Even, 10 PIM
LW - Detroit Red Wings
Shanny owners can but help to notice the semi-slump
the future hall of famer has fallen into - Shanahan
has been held off the score sheet in five straight
games (a plight shared by line mate Steve Yzerman).
This is a temporary phenomenon for sure, but a
frustrating one for fantasy owners.
Jason King 3 GP, 0 G, 0 A, -2
RW - Vancouver Canucks
A lock for Rookie of the Year honours through
October and November, King has been stone cold
in December: In fact King has been held pointless
for the entire month. While this is not entirely
his fault, certainly the struggles of the Sedin
twins (his linemates) have allowed defenders to
focus solely on stopping King, the young winger
must learn to adapt to the kind of checking he
will undoubtedly continue to see: just ask team
mates Todd Bertuzzi and Markus Naslund.
The Ugly
Cristobal Huet 3 GP, 0 W, 1 L, 2 T, 4.24 GAA,
.867 SV%
G - Los Angeles Kings
In an antithesis to a story played out numerous
times this season in Detroit, Calgary, Edmonton,
and San Jose, LA had it's starting goaltender
break down, only to have it's backup drop the
ball. Huet, who is supposedly wears the "goalie
of the future" crown for the Kings, has been
anything but regal in his three most recent starts
since Roman Cechmanek was deposited on IR; 4 goals
per game over three starts by Huet has allowed
the rebuilding San Jose Sharks to move into a
tie for the Pacific Division lead with LA. There
isn't much for LA to fall back on, as call-up
Milan Hnilicka did not exactly shine in his relief
appearance, so Huet will most likely keep getting
the call during a run that includes games against
Dallas and Vancouver. Say goodbye to first place.
Questions or comments about this, or another fantasy
article? fantasy@hockeylink.ca
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