2013-2014 Realignment and Impact on Goalie Value

[Pengwin7]

This is probably a good topic for a Dobber Writer to cover over the summer.
But here's a thread just for discussion.

As we know, divisions/conferences will be realigned for 2013-2014.
http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/90...ve-realignment

Major changes:
Detroit jumps East, to play with the Northeast teams + FLA/TB.
Columbus jumps East, to play with the Atlantic teams + CAR/WAS.
Winnipeg jumps West, to play with the Central teams + COL/DAL/MIN.


My personal ratings of VALUE UP vs. VALUE DOWN.

GOALIE VALUE UP: Central Goalies
The new Central consists of:
CHI
STL, MIN
WPG, DAL, COL, NAS
*Chicago is the only offensive powerhouse I see here. STL & MIN are good teams, but low-scoring. Detroit is gone from this group. The Central was the lowest scoring division this past year... by a LOT.

GOALIE VALUE UP: Northeast Goalies
The new Northeast consists of:
BOS
MON, OTT, TOR, DET
BUF, FLA, TB.
*There does not appear to be a ton of offensive firepower in this division. Detroit could lose Datsyuk in the near future. I see a lot of low-scoring games and would peg this as the 2nd lowest scoring division.

GOALIE VALUE /SAME: Pacific Goalies
The new Pacific consists of:
VAN, SJ, LA, EDM, ANA
PHX, CGY
*I don't see this as a big change for goalies. Relatively the same level of competition as these teams had previously.

GOALIE VALUE DOWN: Atlantic Goalies
The new Atlantic consists of:
PIT, NYR
PHI, WAS
NYI, CAR, NJ, CBJ
*This is the division I see having the greatest offensive firepower. This doesn't bode well for goalies here. I'd probably devalue them from their current value. The southeast was the highest scoring division last year and two teams (incl. WAS) join here.


My past number-crunching shows that the Western Conference has lately been the more defensive-minded conference, with better goalie numbers. The Eastern Conference has been the more offensive-minded conference, with lesser goalie numbers.

Advantage: Western Conference Goalies.

Thoughts?

[shevyx]

Maybe some of these impact top goalies by a win or two. Elite goalies will always be elite, despite who you play against. This past season has been an anomaly in terms of fantasy hockey because of the shorter season and no east vs west matchups. Some goalies played overly well, and some didnt. Look for Pekka Rinne to bounce back. And i would say look for bobrovsky to fall back down to earth, especially because of the division the blue jackets are in.

[27Blue]

here we go overanalyzing goalies and irrelevant deatils again...