2014/2015 Dobber ENTRY (Tier III) Norris Division

[Blueman]

Team: Password is Taco
GM: Blueman

C: Bergeron, T. Johnson, Desharnais, Cogliano, Komarov
LW: Ladd, B. Richards, Huberdeau, Killorn
RW: Wheeler, R. Smith, Stempniak, Havlat, Downie
D: Doughty, Letang, Giordano, Goligoski, Markov, Streit, Visnovsky
G: Bishop, Schneider, Jones

Picking 15th overall you miss most of the elite talent but you do get back to back picks. Another downside is it is almost 30 picks before you get to pick again so you have to be careful to not get caught with your pants down. I had visions of Rask or Price falling to me but Rask, Lundqvist, Price and Quick dropped out of my queue almost instantly. In roto leagues I try to win every category and I knew I had to get at least 1 goalie here to compete. I presumed other managers might also be aware of goalie scarcity and realized I might not get another quality starter if I waited another 30 picks. So I decided I didn't like Karlsson's +/- and went goalie - goalie hoping it would continue the goalie run.

1. (15) Ben Bishop
2. (16) Cory Schneider
Putting these together as with back-to-back picks order doesn't really matter. I took Bishop as I have TB winning a ton of games and his GAA% was excellent. Took Schneider as he could have the best GAA% and an increased role with Brodeur out of the picture. I'm looking to lock up 3 categories with my first 2 picks (looking to finish top 3 in each Goalie category) - wish me luck!

3. (45) Blake Wheeler
4. (46) Drew Doughty
Skill was flying off the board and with these picks I was looking for non-center category stuffers (solid points with elite peripherals). My plan was to get 6 solid D so I drafted them early and often. Pengwin7 likes his D to produce Hits - I prefer mine to fill PPP. Hoping for close to 20 PPP's from each - hitting can be had cheap in other areas IMO.

5. (75) Patrice Bergeron
6. (76) Kris Letang
Bergeron is another category filler with elite +/- and SOG with hitting being the only category black hole.
Letang might have lasted another 30 picks, but I didn't want to chance it. He could be a top 3 D-man in the league when healthy, although the risk here is he's rarely healthy. Not as secure a pick as I wanted, but the upside of 15-20 Goals with 30-40 assists was too tempting. Another category stuffing Dman who gets to play with some kid named Crosby.

7. (105) Mark Giordano
8. (106) Andrew Ladd
Keeping with my draft D early and often, I snag Giordano who is another category stuffer. 50 pt Dmen in the 8th round who can hit with 200 SOG, 15 goals and was a +12 last year in Calgary? Yes please.
Ladd has a shot at 30-30 production along with above average hits and SOG. LW is weak but still trying to avoid C's. Looked hard at Dubinsky here with his C/LW eligibility, but thought he'd drop. WRONG! He was taken a few picks later.

9. (135) Alex Goligoski
10. (136) Brad Richards
Expecting a bump to Goligoski's numbers - as my fourth D, if he can hit 50 points I'll be very happy. Next Dmen picked: Trouba, Boyle, Edler, Hamilton.
Richards moving to Chicago should help his numbers quite a bit. His +/- should improve although I see his SOG decreasing. On the second line he should face weaker competition and he'll play the point on the (2nd unit) powerplay.

11. (165) Andrei Markov
12. (166) Mark Streit
Markov will get decent points with above average PPP
With a healthy Giroux to start the year, Streit is primed to hit 50 points - the drop off in Dmen was pretty severe after Streit, very happy to get him here. He's also been killing it in the pre-season (that and $1.50 can you get a cup of coffee).

At this point, I successfully filled the scarcest positions of 2 G and 6 D with top talent. In a league this deep it was now time to find some 'meh' players with upside to round up my weak skater core.

13. (195) Tyler Johnson
14. (196) Jonathan Huberdeau
Johnson is a mid range category filler, 25-25 +23 PPP 10 SOG 180 with hits being the lone weak spot. If he plays/stays on PP1 with Stamkos, I expect his PPP's to double.
Huberdeau is a gamble, but I was looking for multi-position players with upside. I happen to think Florida will surprise a bit this year and am hoping he can take the next step (even back to his rookie season pace would be great). This is the first player who has an expected negative +/- on my team.

15. (225) Steve Downie
16. (226) Reilly Smith
Downie could be a sweepstakes winner in case one of the top 6 wingers gets injured. I'm still infatuated by his numbers in junior and think he might be able to plug in some hits. Having LW/RW eligibility was a bonus. He's a bench player until I drop him or he gets promoted. Also gives me a little RW depth (yes I'm reaching).
I don't buy Reilly Smith's breakout season - he was ice cold for a large portion last year. However, his +/- is elite and he plays on the PP. That combined with that he could hit 50 points I decided to take a flyer.

17. (255) Martin Jones
18. (256) Alex Killorn
Jones is injury insurance and a trade chip if/when Quick gets injured. I expect Jones to put up gawdy numbers when he does play.
Killorn has C/LW eligibility and played alongside Stamkos last year prior to Stammer's injury. Depth player with a lottery ticket.

19. (285) David Desharnais
20. (286) Lubomir Visnovsky
After a slow start Desharnais had 51 points in 60 games. Hoping for 20-40 with 20 PPP playing on montreal's top line and PP1. Weak in SOG and hits.
Visnovsky is boom or bust - but as I already have 6 terrific D, looking for some depth/insurance. If he cannot stay healthy, will move him for another area of need.

21. (315) Andrew Cogliano
22. (316) Martin Havlat
Wanted to take Versteeg here with his LW/RW eligibility (and looking good in preseason), but he went 2 picks earlier to Leaf Nation (nice pick!). Went with Cogliano as a below average dual eligible player (C/LW). With Kesler so injury prone, he might get time on the second line and on the PP - which was a complete black hole last year (0 PPP's!).
Looking for bounce back or upside players this late. Rolled the dice with Havlat and if he gets injured, well that's what the IR is for. Maybe he can rekindle some magic with his fellow czech mates.

23. (345) Leo Komarov
24. (346) Lee Stempniak
Komarov is barely on most people's radar, but with hits as a category, he was someone I was targeting in this deep of a league. 2 years ago he had 176 hits in 42 games. If he hits 300 in 82 games (heck, 250 even), then I can plug him into spots with injuries to boost hits when needed.
Stempniak is LW/RW eligible and is moving to NYR that should help his +/- a bit. Can slot him into matchups for his SOG when needed. (yes that's a reach, but hey it's the 24th round).

25. (375) Nikita Nikitin
Last pick of the draft and was thinking they paid him a bunch of money to play in Edmonton so he'll get tons of playing time. However, that may not be a good thing if Edmonton doesn't take a step forward this year. He's already injured and have since dropped him and replaced him with Patrik Berglund, who is starting the year on the top line with Backes and Oshie.

[Pengwin7]

First Two Sunday Adds in the Norris:

Christopher Tanev Van - D $1 Waiver
Matthew Carle TB - D
Phil The Thrill Oct 12, 4:43 am

Niklas Hjalmarsson Chi - D $2 Waiver
Braydon Coburn Phi - D DTD
Habs7079 Oct 12, 4:43 am

Justin Braun SJ - D $2 Waiver
Habs7079 Oct 12, 4:43 am

Matthew Nieto SJ - LW $5 Waiver
Habs7079 Oct 12, 4:43 am

Dustin Tokarski Mon - G $5 Waiver
kluu Oct 12, 4:43 am

Karri Ramo Cgy - G $7 Waiver
Andrew MacDonald Phi - D
Habs7079 Oct 12, 4:43 am

Cory Conacher NYI - LW $11 Waiver
Tomas Fleischmann Fla - LW
Weekend at Bernier's Oct 12, 4:43 am

Brock Nelson NYI - C $51 Waiver *Mercy! Half Budget! Could be a good risk though!!!
Robyn Regehr LA - D To Waivers
The Nickel City Oct 12, 4:43 am

Patrik Berglund StL - C Waiver
Nikita Nikitin Edm - D
Password is Taco Oct 5, 3:20 am

Martin Erat Ari - LW,RW $1 Waiver
Anthony Mantha Det - RW NA
Dead Things Oct 5, 3:20 am

Mikael Backlund Cgy - C $5 Waiver
Stephen Weiss Det - C
The Nickel City Oct 5, 3:20 am

Brenden Dillon Dal - D $6 Waiver
Eric Fehr Was - RW
Weekend at Bernier's Oct 5, 3:20 am

[clo-clo]

[QUOTE=Pengwin7;1356249]First Two Sunday Adds in the Norris:

Brock Nelson NYI - C $51 Waiver *Mercy! Half Budget! Could be a good risk though!!!
Robyn Regehr LA - D To Waivers
The Nickel City Oct 12, 4:43 am


Knock on wood that I won't need the $ later on in the season!

Great action so far. There's even been 1 trade accepted between Habs7079 and Weekend at Bernier's:

J. Iginla Col - RW
D. Wideman Cgy - D
B. Scrivens Edm - G

for

D. Kulikov Fla - D
M. Zibanejad Ott - C,RW
C. Anderson Ott - G

[Pengwin7]

Great action so far. There's even been 1 trade accepted between Habs7079 and Weekend at Bernier's:

J. Iginla Col - RW
D. Wideman Cgy - D
B. Scrivens Edm - G

for

D. Kulikov Fla - D
M. Zibanejad Ott - C,RW
C. Anderson Ott - G

Trade looks good to me.
Thanks for mentioning, I approved it.

BTW... "Weekend at Bernier's"... great team name!!!

[Pengwin7]

Sunday Adds in the Norris:

Jori Lehtera StL - C Waiver
Curtis Glencross Cgy - LW To Waivers
Habs7079 Oct 19, 3:41 am

Linden Vey Van - RW Waiver
Brian Gionta Buf - RW To Waivers
Habs7079 Oct 19, 3:41 am

Reto Berra Col - G DTD Waiver
Leaf Nation Oct 19, 3:41 am

Anthony Duclair NYR - LW Waiver
Password is Taco Oct 19, 3:41 am

Ryan Murphy Car - D $2 Waiver
Niklas Hjalmarsson Chi - D To Waivers
Habs7079 Oct 19, 3:41 am

Anton Stralman TB - D $4 Waiver
Justin Braun SJ - D To Waivers
Habs7079 Oct 19, 3:41 am

Calvin Pickard Col - G $7 Waiver
kluu Oct 19, 3:41 am

Andre Burakovsky Was - LW $13 Waiver
Brad Boyes Fla - C,RW To Waivers
Dead Things Oct 19, 3:41 am

Matt Beleskey Anh - LW $14 Waiver
Brooks Laich Was - C To Waivers
Canuckleheads Oct 19, 3:41 am

Damon Severson NJ - D $17 Waiver
Tom Gilbert Mon - D To Waivers
Habs7079 Oct 19, 3:41 am

Tanner Pearson LA - LW $23 Waiver
Johnny Gaudreau Cgy - LW To Waivers
BC Oiler Oct 19, 3:41 am

*Some big dollars spent on free agents in the Norris. Lots of team turnover for Habs7079.*

Standings:
1 The Nickel City 117
2 Laendarian 109
3 Password is Taco 105.5
4 StaveOffEliminaton 92.5
5 Dead Things 85
6 Phil The Thrill 84.5
7 Weekend at Bernier's 82
8 Canuckleheads 80.5
9 Vancouver Beavers 74.5
10 SuluShattenkirksface 70
11 BC Oiler 69.5
12 Habs7079 64.5
13 Hartnell Gone 62
14 kluu 60
15 Leaf Nation 51.5
16 -Dummy Comish Team-

[Kofax]

Trade looks good to me.
Thanks for mentioning, I approved it.

BTW... "Weekend at Bernier's"... great team name!!!

Thanks. Grabbed the name from somewhere though, can't take credit, but I'm a fan.

[Pengwin7]

Sunday Adds in the Norris:
Anton Stralman TB - D $4 Waiver
Justin Braun SJ - D To Waivers
Habs7079 Oct 19, 3:41 am
[/COLOR]

Of note.
In the "pretty slick moves" department... Habs7079 noting a candidate to step up into a possible Hedman void... pretty slick... pretty slick.

I've actually enjoyed the new Saturday night waiver processing.
Gives us a chance to really dedicate ourselves to hockey that night and make some decisions on our team on the most popular night of games.

[Pengwin7]

Updated Standings in the Norris:

1 The Nickel City 117.5

2 StaveOffEliminaton 102.5
3 Password is Taco 99
4 Dead Things 98.5
5 Phil The Thrill 94
6 Laendarian 88

7 Vancouver Beavers 78.5
8 Canuckleheads 77
8 Weekend at Bernier's 77
10 Habs7079 74.5
11 Hartnell Gone 74

12 kluu 61
13 BC Oiler 59
14 Leaf Nation 57
15 SuluShattenkirksface 51.5
16 -Dummy Comish Team- 15

THE Nickel City is running away with this league... though they DID use $68 of their $100 budget (incl. $51 on Brock Nelson).
Goalies for him are superb, counting W(14pts), GAA(15pts), SV(16pts).
Can you guess who they are?
Answers in white. (just highlight below)
Quick & Rinne.

[Pengwin7]

Big Waiver Bids in the Norris last two weeks:
including Phil the Thrill spending some moola

Alexandre Burrows Van - LW,RW $10 Waiver
Chris Stewart Buf - RW To Waivers
Phil The Thrill Nov 2, 2:53 am avatar

Michael Raffl Phi - LW $12 Waiver
Sam Reinhart Buf - C NA To Waivers
Phil The Thrill Nov 2

Seth Griffith Bos - C,RW $12 Waiver
Cody Hodgson Buf - C,RW To Waivers
Phil The Thrill Nov 2

Johnny Gaudreau Cgy - LW $6 Waiver
Cory Conacher NYI - LW To Waivers (oh no!)
Weekend at Bernier's Oct 26

Curtis Glencross Cgy - LW $6 Waiver
Antoine Roussel Dal - LW
Canuckleheads Oct 26

Brad Boyes Fla - C,RW $12 Waiver
Zack Kassian Van - RW To Waivers
Canuckleheads Oct 26

[MCMackerel]

FAABs over the past couple weeks

Jonathan Huberdeau Fla - C,LW
$2 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Hartnell Gone
Nov 16

Tim Erixon Cls - D
$3 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Phil The Thrill
Nov 16

Justin Braun SJ - D
$5 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
BC Oiler
Nov 16

Beau Bennett Pit - LW,RW
$2 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Habs7079
Nov 16

Peter Holland Tor - C
$3 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Weekend at Bernier's
Nov 16

Brandon Sutter Pit - C
$2 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Habs7079
Nov 16

Nikolay Kulemin NYI - LW,RW
$12 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Dead Things
Nov 9

Simon Despres Pit - D
$12 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Dead Things
Nov 9

Tom Wilson Was - RW
$8 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Laendarian
Nov 9

Elias Lindholm Car - C,RW
$4 Winning Bid
Awarded To:
Canuckleheads
Nov 9

[MCMackerel]

Standings updated as of November 17th. Nickel City's lead is not quite so big but still has a comfortable lead. Goalie duo of Quick/Rinne is providing excellent value.

1 The Nickel City 109.5

2 Dead Things 103
3 Password is Taco 100.5

4 Phil The Thrill 93
5 StaveOffEliminaton 92
6 Laendarian 90.5
7 Canuckleheads 88

8 Vancouver Beavers 81
9 Weekend at Bernier's 78
10 Habs7079 76

11 Hartnell Gone 68
12 kluu 64
13 BC Oiler 60.5

14 SuluShattenkirksface 53.5
15 Leaf Nation 52.5

16. Dummy Comish Team- 14

[MCMackerel]

This week's FAAB adds from the Norris:

Cody Eakin Dal - C
$21 Winning Bid
The Nickel City $20 (Outbid)
Awarded To:
Password is Taco
Nov 23,3:59 am

Devan Dubnyk Ari - G
$0 Winning Bid
Habs7079 $0 (Lower waiver priority)
Awarded To:
Leaf Nation
Nov 23,3:59 am

John Klingberg Dal - D
$21 Winning Bid
Habs7079 $21 (Lower waiver priority)
The Nickel City $12 (Outbid)
Phil The Thrill $6 (Outbid)
Awarded To:
Canuckleheads
Nov 23,3:59 am

[MCMackerel]

1 The Nickel City 113

2 Password is Taco 102
3 Dead Things 99.5
4 Laendarian 96.5
5 StaveOffEliminaton 94

6 Vancouver Beavers 88
7 Canuckleheads 86
8 Weekend at Bernier's 85.5

9 Phil The Thrill 79
10 Habs7079 77.5

11 Hartnell Gone 71

12 BC Oiler 59.5
13 kluu 55.5
14 Leaf Nation 54
15 SuluShattenkirksface 48

[clo-clo]

This week's FAAB adds from the Norris:

Cody Eakin Dal - C
$21 Winning Bid
The Nickel City $20 (Outbid)
Awarded To:
Password is Taco
Nov 23,3:59 am

Devan Dubnyk Ari - G
$0 Winning Bid
Habs7079 $0 (Lower waiver priority)
Awarded To:
Leaf Nation
Nov 23,3:59 am

John Klingberg Dal - D
$21 Winning Bid
Habs7079 $21 (Lower waiver priority)
The Nickel City $12 (Outbid)
Phil The Thrill $6 (Outbid)
Awarded To:
Canuckleheads
Nov 23,3:59 am

Was really hoping to land Eakin on the wire, just missed out!

[Pengwin7]

Great job doing a league update twall!!