The 2013/14 Motherpuckers - critique away :)

[blayze]

Finished drafting my annual cash pool tonight and would love to hear your thoughts, comments, criticism - it's all fair game.

Format: H2H, 12 teams, points only (1G, 1A, 2DG, 2W, 1SO)
Rosters: 14 players, 10 active: 5 forwards /3 defense / 1 goalie / 1 utility

I drafted 2nd overall. Draft (by round) went as follows:

1) Stamkos
2) Kessel
3) Holtby (G)
4) Duchene
5) Spezza
6) Edler (D)
7) Moulson
8) Lupul
9) Martin (D)
10) Nabokov (G)
11) Franson (D)
12) Purcell
13) Goligoski (D)
14) Stastny

Some background:
I was expecting the usual goalie run, but this year it was nuts: 11 straight goalies between rounds 1-2 before it came back to me. The only goalies left for my 2nd pick was Holtby or Price... I wanted Price BUT Kessel was still on the board and I wanted him BAD (since I have his winter classic jersey), so I did what I never usually do: I drafted with my heart instead of my head and took Kessel. The guy with #1 took Price and I was left with Holtby. In hindsight I'll probably regret it, but the season will be a lot more cheering for Kessel. I then figured what the hell, and loaded up on Leafs since I'm high on them this year anyway.

The good:
-Lots of offensive firepower
-Concentration on Leafs: Kessel/Lupul/Franson (Both contract years)

The bad:
-Sketchy goaltending between unproven Holtby and old man Nabby
-Shallow defense
-Glass cannons (Spezza and Lupul... couldn't resist in rounds 5 & 8)

Overall, I think my chances of winning this year are pretty slim. I almost always front-load on forwards/goalies and pick up D later on, but I think I waited too long this year. It was one of those drafts where things just didn't go my way... I made some questionable decisions, there was an insane run on goalies at the start, and an incredibly unfortunate string of turns where my targets were taken right before I was up. Having said that, I think I've got enough juice to pull it off and defend my championship with a little bit of luck.

One thing's for sure - my concentration of Leafs in the pool will make this one hell of an enjoyable season of watching and attending Leafs games!

________________________________
2013/14 CBS Bay Street Cash Pool
12 Teams, $500 buy-in, Weekly H2H, 14 player rosters: 10 active (5F/3D/1G/1Utility), 4 bench
Points-only scoring 1G / 1A / 2DG / 2W / 1SO

The Motherpuckers
Forwards: Stamkos / Kessel / Lupul / Spezza / Duchene / Moulson / Purcell / Stastny
Defense: Edler / Goligoski / Franson / Martin
Goalies: Holtby / Nabakov

[Yardsale]

Finished drafting my annual cash pool tonight and would love to hear your thoughts, comments, criticism - it's all fair game.

Format: H2H, 12 teams, points only (1G, 1A, 2DG, 2W, 1SO)
Rosters: 14 players, 10 active: 5 forwards /3 defense / 1 goalie / 1 utility

I drafted 2nd overall. Draft (by round) went as follows:

1) Stamkos
2) Kessel
3) Holtby (G)
4) Duchene
5) Spezza
6) Edler (D)
7) Moulson
8) Lupul
9) Martin (D)
10) Nabokov (G)
11) Franson (D)
12) Purcell
13) Goligoski (D)
14) Stastny

Some background:
I was expecting the usual goalie run, but this year it was nuts: 11 straight goalies between rounds 1-2 before it came back to me. The only goalies left for my 2nd pick was Holtby or Price... I wanted Price BUT Kessel was still on the board and I wanted him BAD (since I have his winter classic jersey), so I did what I never usually do: I drafted with my heart instead of my head and took Kessel. The guy with #1 took Price and I was left with Holtby. In hindsight I'll probably regret it, but the season will be a lot more cheering for Kessel. I then figured what the hell, and loaded up on Leafs since I'm high on them this year anyway.

The good:
-Lots of offensive firepower
-Concentration on Leafs: Kessel/Lupul/Franson (two contract years)

The bad:
-Sketchy goaltending between unproven Holtby and old man Nabby
-Shallow defense
-Glass cannons (Spezza and Lupul... couldn't resist in rounds 5 & 8)

Overall, I think my chances of winning this year are pretty slim. It was just one of those pools where things didn't go my way... I made some questionable decisions, insane run on goalies at the start, and an incredibly unfortunate string of turns where my targets were taken right before I was up. Having said that, I think I've got enough juice to pull it off and defend my championship with a little bit of luck.

One thing's for sure - my concentration of Leafs in the pool will make this one hell of an enjoyable season of watching and attending Leafs games!

I think your forward corp is pretty sick.

Your D kinda threw me a bit. Edler in the 6th round before Moulson? Was there a run on D? Also confused by Martin several rounds before Goligoski...but I guess that's you expecting Letang to be his usual bandaid boy-self. I agree D a little weak.

Goaltending, I don't think you really have to worry. You have no Gaa/Svpt. Just straight up wins. Nabokov was top 10 last year in that regard, and I'm high on Washington.

Maybe risk minimize? Trade Spezza or Lupul for a stud scoring D?

[blayze]

I think your forward corp is pretty sick.

Your D kinda threw me a bit. Edler in the 6th round before Moulson? Was there a run on D? Also confused by Martin several rounds before Goligoski...but I guess that's you expecting Letang to be his usual bandaid boy-self. I agree D a little weak.

Goaltending, I don't think you really have to worry. You have no Gaa/Svpt. Just straight up wins. Nabokov was top 10 last year in that regard, and I'm high on Washington.

Maybe risk minimize? Trade Spezza or Lupul for a stud scoring D?

Thanks bud - great comments.

-Had to take Edler... there was a massive run on D in rounds 5-6 so if I didn't take one I'd literally be left with shit for D.
-I took Martin on a hunch based on his performance last year, but personally I don't really like that pick either (I knew Goli would still be available later on)
-Nabby was actually the 2nd ranked goalie overall in our format last season just behind Niemi... picking the best goalies in wins-only formats is a crapshoot, but I think the two I have will be feast or famine
-I'll keep Lupul since I have Kessel and I won't get big value for him anyway since he's not a "name"
-You hit the nail on the head with regards to trading Spezza to shore up my D and I'm already working on that

[metaldude26]

First of all, terrible name...

[blayze]

Hah... the name is 8 years old. Just kinda stuck.

Would hate to change it after winning the championship 3/8 years in this league

[Axeman33]

I have to agree with Yardsale on a couple things.

First off, nicely done on your forwards. You shouldn't have any issues scoring. Purcell in the 11th round is awesome value!

I don't hate your D. I think Edler will get your a fair share of points and Franson is going to be playing for his monster deal so he should excel as well. About the only one I am not overly high on is Martin but he may surprise us all. You only have to start 3 so you will have to play a wait and see game to see who is stepping up, and who is slipping back. Goli should benefit from an improved forward core.

Your goalies should be fine. Washington will win your fair share of games and NYI is an ever improving team. They may surprise a few people this year too.

All in all, picking 2nd overall is tough. You know you are going to score one of the top players in the game (I have no issues with Stamkos at #2) but then you have to wait and watch for a while before your next pick. I think you made some very smart choices. Without seeing how the whole draft played out its tough to really guage what pick was really good and what other options I may have gone with, but I think you should be right there at the end, barring any serious injuries to any of your key producers.

[blayze]

Thanks bud.

Purcell in the 11th is sweet, but I think Moulson in the 7th and Goli in the 12th may be the tide-turners for me this season.

I'm starting to feel increasingly more confident about the goalies as well, but I still think the D needs serious improvement.

I'm sending out some feelers to the other GMs in an attempt to trade Spezza to shore up my D... I'll probably have to wait for him to put up a few big games before I get any bites that are worthwhile.

[Pengwin7]

Good team.
I'd say 3rd-5th in 12-team pool.

If your top half of players is healthy by the playoffs, you've got a chance to win it all.
As for regular season record, somebody is bound to get injured.
With goalies, now the the East has to play the West again... I think win totals for WAS & NYI go back down... so that could be tough sledding.

Overall, some great mid-late round picks as points-only go.
LOVE the last round Stastny pick, as he could be traded to a contender (I think) at the trade deadline.

Good luck.

[blayze]

Thanks bud. I'm sure one of my forwards is bound to get injured as well, but I think I've got enough depth to survive. Hope you're wrong about the goalies... very difficult to win this league without reliable, solid goaltending.

[dmvincent]

Pretty solid all around team.

I'm not ready to say your team is going to be at the top of the league yet, but you're on your way.

A few thoughts.

Duchene in round 4? Seems kind of surprising given the fact that you mostly went with proven talent all the way through the draft. I'd consider trading him because I'm sure there's someone out there that would trade a proven stud for Duchene.

Spezza in round 5? I absolutely LOVE that pick. Same goes for Franson in round 11, Moulson in round 7 and Purcell in round 11.

I've heard some people say trade Spezza to shore up your D. I would much rather trade Duchene or Lupul to do that.

I don't mind your goaltending either since you only count wins.

[tml4everpz]

The team doesnt look as bad as you're making it out to be, its actually pretty solid.
Curious on what forwards were available when you took holtby, because Kessel/Holtby tandem is probably better then Price/otherguy, and you get the added advantage of having alot more fun watching the buds and hating the habs!

Only issue is the health of spezza and lupul but if they are able to avoid injury you should be ok.

Only soft spot is D and i'd look to get a high G D since you count those as 2 points, especially if you're trading spezza for one.

Good Luck!

[blayze]

Thanks for the input fellas.

-Duchene in round 4 was definitely a reach. Probably my most regretable pick... it was one of those sequences where I thought I had 3 guys I liked safely in mind and all of them were literally snatched up in the 4 turns before me (including Neal by the guy right before me). I panicked, hemmed and hawwed, and took Duchene for lack of a better alternative.
-Duchene vs. Spezza as trade bait is an interesting proposition... I just don't trust Spezza and he's the bigger name who will get me an elite D-man, but we'll see. Nobody's gonna bite until Spezza plays a few games and puts up some numbers anyway.
-If I took Price in round 2, and assuming the guy after me took Kessel, then I would've had Getzlaf. Basically Kessel/Holtby vs. Price/Getz... the benefit of owning and cheering for Kessel all year was too much to pass on.

[heynow]

not a bad team just hope your forwards ca make up for your goaltending, holby will probably at least get you some wins though.

[blayze]

Like clockwork - Spezza and Lupul both injured 2 weeks into the season lol

[LakeSoup]

4) Duchene
5) Spezza
Beauty. Love those picks, I drafted those 2 in the opposite order of yours.
I really like the late round Franson, I see we think the same way

I was on high on Garrison after seeing him in the pre-season so I would've maybe went for a different D or forward in the round you drafted Edler, and then see if you could steal Garrison later. I'm not sure if he'll be better than Edler, but I can't see him being much worse.
Goalies aren't as bad as it seems. Nabokov gets no respect but he was drafted after the "elite goalies" right away and before guys like Smith and Holtby in my league. NYI is becoming big.
Gotta admit though, D's a little weak. Not too sure about that Gogo pick, but I guess he'll get time to shine with Souray out.

What do you think of my draft? Not as big as a buy-in as yours ($500 is ridiculous...)

1. (6) John Tavares (NYI - C)
2. (11) Claude Giroux (Phi - C,RW)
3. (22) Henrik Zetterberg (Det - C,LW)
4. (27) Jason Spezza (Ott - C)
5. (38) Matt Duchene (Col - C,LW)
6. (43) Alexander Semin (Car - LW,RW)
7. (54) Jaroslav Halak (StL - G)
8. (59) Jamie Benn (Dal - LW)
9. (70) Drew Doughty (LA - D)
10. (75) Duncan Keith (Chi - D)
11. (86) Ryan Miller (Buf - G)
12. (91) Cory Schneider (NJ - G)
13. (102) Jonas Hiller (Anh - G)
14. (107) Cody Franson (Tor - D)
15. (118) Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Pho - D)
16. (123) Cody Hodgson (Buf - C,RW)
17. (134) Jason Garrison (Van - D)
18. (139) Brandon Dubinsky (Cls - C,LW)
19. (150) David Perron (Edm - LW)
20. (155) Jakob Silfverberg (Anh - LW,RW)
21. (166) Ryan McDonagh (NYR - D)
22. (171) Mikhail Grabovski (Was - C)
23. (182) Matt Frattin (LA - RW)