2006-07 Fantasy hockey challenge - CLOSED

[AdamBruinsFan]

For you hockey fantasy fans out there (like myself) I've set up a free fantasy hockey league on SportingNews.com. Just follow the steps below to set up your team. If you join the fantasy hockey league and lead the league in points when it finishes up then I'll send you a hockey fight DVD of your choice for free.

• Go to http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/
• If you're not already a member of SportingNews.com, sign up it's free. Click the link that says "free membership" under the login fields
• After you signed up to become a member of SportingNews.com for free, sign in if you're not already signed in
• Scroll down the page to find "FANTASY HOCKEY" and click on the link "Fantasy Hockey Challenge"
• Type your team's name in the "Team Name" field and click "Get Your Free Team"
• On the next page, go down and click on the link "Join an Existing League"
• On the next page, in the search box type: "Adams Hockey League" and click the "Search" button
• Our league should appear and now click on the link "Join"
• Next, click the link "Join This League Now"
• On the next page, you can send a challenge to your friends to join this fantasy league or not
• Next, click the link "Start playing now!"

After following those steps, you are now part of the fantasy hockey league. You can have as many teams as you want. Also SportingNews.com does give away prizes for the top 100 point teams, so create your team carefully 

There is a help section if you have questions. Or post a question here and I might be able to help you out.

I think this will be a fun experience.

[Rob666]

I joined. I figured why not this is my first Fantasy team of any kind but we'll see how things work out. Thanks for creating the league Adam.

[flyersrule]

i signed up too. might put in a 2nd team later.

[jerseyNYRfan]

I signed up today. 1st time fantasy team. Thanks adam.

[AdamBruinsFan]

I'm glad we got some first-time fantasy hockey players. Feel free to invite others too. 

[AdamBruinsFan]

If you're not sure which players to get on your team, the site below could be a valuable resource.

http://www.myfantasyinsider.com/

[AdamBruinsFan]

TSN.ca had a good article on what players to select for your fantasy hockey teams. From TSN.ca, http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=179355&hubname=nhl

(CP) - A look at some players to watch for when choosing your NHL fantasy team:

The Top 25

1. Sidney Crosby, Penguins. The Kid proved himself in last year's pressure cooker and could average two points per game this year.

2. Joe Thornton, Sharks. He's still pure gold, especially in leagues that reward plus/minus and penalty minutes.

3. Jason Spezza, Senators. The slick playmaker will shoot more this year and could challenge for the scoring title.

4. Jaromir Jagr, Rangers. The mercurial talent could slip a little this season but should still post impressive numbers.

5. Alexander Ovechkin, Capitals. No sophomore jinx here - the Calder winner will register another 50 goals and 100 points.

6. Dany Heatley, Senators. Surrounded by incredible talent, he'll take another run at the Rocket Richard Trophy for most goals.

7. Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings. This will be the season that firmly establishes the Swedish star as a member of the NHL elite.

8. Ilya Kovalchuk, Thrashers. Without Savard setting him up, another 50-goal season might be a long shot.

9. Olli Jokinen, Panthers. Hard to believe a player who got 89 points can be so underrated. He won't be after this year.

10. Eric Staal, Hurricanes. He couldn't make the Olympic team but he did get 100 points. Expect a slight drop this year.

11. Daniel Alfredsson, Senators. Always a top producer, another 40 goals and 60 assists is easily within his reach.

12. Patrick Marleau, Sharks. Quietly had a career year that could catch some poolies with their guard down on draft day.

13. Patrik Elias, Devils. Forty-five points in 38 games. Imagine what he'll do in an injury-free season.

14. Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings. With Yzerman and Shanahan gone, he and Zetterberg are the Detroit stars today and tomorrow.

15. Marian Hossa, Thrashers. He's averaged a point per game over three seasons. Give him that and handful more this year.

16. Pavol Demitra, Wild. He's always been very good but with Gaborik on the wing he'll be dynamite.

17. Daniel Briere, Sabres. Another unheralded young star, he had 58 points in just 48 games last year.

18. Paul Kariya, Predators. The 85-point comeback season was no fluke. His wheels and hands will assure a repeat performance.

19. Peter Forsberg, Flyers. It'll be the usual for Peter the Great: 10-15 games missed and 80-90 points.

20. Scott Niedermayer, Ducks. As the better of the dynamic duo of Ducks D, he'll lead the power play and get 80 points.

21. Marian Gaborik, Wild. Playing with his fellow Slovak star, he could score 50 goals and finally achieve elite status.

22. Rick Nash, Blue Jackets. The classic sniper has a wicked shot and a nose for the net. If healthy, he'll challenge for the Rocket.

23. Patrice Bergeron, Bruins. He doubled his point total in his second year and still has untapped potential in reserve.

24. Brad Richards, Lightning. Unselfish playmaker extraordinaire makes everyone he plays with a better player.

25. Niklas Lidstrom, Red Wings. The old vet still has another sensational year in him. Mark him down for a point per game.


In Goal

1. Miikka Kiprusoff, Flames. Earns top honours with 42 wins, 10 shutouts and a league-leading 2.07 GAA. He's the best.

2. Martin Brodeur, Devils. His GAA was a career high 2.57 but with another 35-plus wins, Marty is money again.

3. Tomas Vokoun, Predators. He improves every season and this year takes his rightful place among the elite.

4. Roberto Luongo, Canucks. He won't see as many pucks in Vancouver so his GAA will go down and his wins will go up.

5. Ryan Miller, Sabres. In the top five in most goaltending categories, he will carry the Sabres again this year.

6. Marty Turco, Stars. Another goalie getting better with age (41 wins last year). But his save percentage was a weak .898.

7. Martin Gerber, Senators. The Stanley Cup benchwarmer gets new life and a legitimate chance at 40 wins in Ottawa.

8. Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers. Nominated for the Vezina, this kid was a bona fide Broadway smash. He'll light it up again.

9. Marc Denis, Lightning. The under-rated talent is now playing behind a team that can win games.

10. Jose Theodore, Avalanche. The former wunderkind bounced back at year's end and looks to have the momentum now.

11. Cam Ward, Hurricanes. After an off-season of Stanley Cup and wedding celebrations, a sophomore slump wouldn't surprise.

12. Robert Esche, Flyers. He's the starter for at least the first two months and it'll be his job to lose when Niittymaki returns.

13. Dan Cloutier, Kings. He's healthy, clearly No. 1 and looks to return to his glory days in Vancouver.

14. Dominik Hasek, Red Wings. Injuries could be the Dominator's undoing again. If you can, draft Osgood too.

15. Cristobal Huet, Canadiens. He had a league-leading .929 save percentage and seven shutouts, but has Aebischer sharing the job.


The Dozing Dozen - 12 Sleepers

1. Keith Tkachuk, Blues. Forget the injuries and attitude last year. This rejuvenated winger will get you goals, points and penalty minutes.

2. Marco Sturm, Bruins. Forgotten in the deal that sent Thornton to San Jose, he'll quietly lead the Bruins in scoring this year.

3. Steve Bernier, Sharks. Had 27 points after the Olympics and is here to stay, probably on Marleau's second line.

4. Brendan Morrison, Canucks. He's returning to speed after an off-year and hip surgery. Should fill an offensive void.

5. Wojtek Wolski, Avalanche. The Calder candidate might take Tanguay's position on the first line and register 25 goals and 60 points.

6. Alexander Semin, Capitals. Legal battles behind him, he'll team with that other high-scoring Alex to pile up points.

7. Matthew Carle, Sharks. Hobey Baker winner is tough and talented enough to reward poolies in all categories.

8. Chuck Kobasew, Flames. Thirty-one points last year wasn't too shabby. Twice that this year would be decent too.

9. Karel Rachunek, Rangers. Another super Czech on the Rangers, he returns to the NHL after honing his skills in Russia for two years.

10. Ray Whitney, Hurricanes. He'll replace Stillman on the top line and if he stays there will get 70-80 points.

11. Johan Franzen, Red Wings. Detroit has skating him with Datsyuk, filling Shanahan's role as a feisty scorer.

12. Alexander Radulov, Predators. Maybe not this year, but tuck this junior hockey star (61 goals, 152 points) aside in keeper leagues.


Busting Out - 10 Breakthrough Players

1. Mark Bell, Sharks. Goes from obscurity in Chicago to Thornton's line on the Sharks. He'll get 70-80 points.

2. Marc Denis, Lightning. Gets a huge break in the trade to a contender and will respond with 30-plus wins.

3. Marc-Andre Bergeron, Oilers. Pronger and Spacek are gone so he's the main man on Oilers' high-octane power play.

4. Kyle Wellwood, Maple Leafs. Talented winger will cash in on move from limited role to top-line duty.

5. Tuomo Ruutu, Blackhawks. With his talent and Havlat as a linemate, look out. That's if he stays healthy.

6. Niklas Kronwall, Red Wings. Skilled and mobile heir apparent begins taking the blue-line reins from Lidstrom.

7. Erik Cole, Hurricanes. He's back from a serious injury, healthy and hungry. An 80-point season awaits him.

8. Colby Armstrong, Penguins. Could easily double his 40 points last year in full season alongside Crosby.

9. Corey Perry, Ducks. One of the NHL's best puck handlers, he'll weave magic with his stick into 50-60 points.

10. Raffi Torres, Oilers. Hard-nosed winger has the skills and toughness to pile up points and penalty minutes.


Too Much - 10 Players Overvalued

1. Zdeno Chara, Bruins. Sure, he'll have another solid fantasy season. Just not as solid as when he played on a good team.

2. Doug Weight, Blues. Getting older and recovering from a shoulder injury, it's unlikely he'll even get 50 points this year.

3. Francois Beauchemin, Ducks. A popular sleeper pick after 34 points in 61 games, but Pronger's arrival hurts his production.

4. Todd Bertuzzi, Panthers. The change will definitely do him good. Just don't be fooled into thinking it'll do you any good.

5. Saku Koivu, Canadiens. We wish him the best but advice letting another poolie take a chance on his serious eye injury.

6. Pierre Turgeon, Avalanche. Not a bad comeback last season, but then he got hurt. And then in the playoffs he got benched.

7. Marc Savard, Bruins. Perennially undervalued, the table turns this year without snipers Hossa and Kovalchuk.

8. Ed Jovanovski, Coyotes. Missed 79 games over three seasons and will be hard pressed to return to form.

9. Eric Lindros, Stars. Risk versus reward, that's the story of the Big E's fantasy hockey life. It means stay away.

10. Mark Recchi and LW John LeClair, Penguins. They might play with Crosby and Malkin but these greybeards haven't found the fountain of youth.

[AdamBruinsFan]

Well the NHL 2006-07 season has started and that means that the fantasy league started as well. For those who have joined, I wish you the best of luck. For those who haven't joined, what are you waiting for, come on and join the fantasy league. Read instructions on how to join the fantasy league in the first post above.

[steg1989]

Zdeno Chara, Bruins. Sure, he'll have another solid fantasy season.Just not as solid as when he played on a good team.

What's this BS?

[AdamBruinsFan]

What's this BS?

That's TSN's /Canadien Press opinion.

Also Boston doesn't have the same type of players as Ottawa had last year, I think that's what they were referring to too. Ottawa was a scoring machine last year.

[steg1989]

That's TSN's /Canadien Press opinion.

Also Boston doesn't have the same type of players as Ottawa had last year, I think that's what they were referring to too. Ottawa was a scoring machine last year.

Oh, I thought they were attacking the Bruins for being a bad team.

[AdamBruinsFan]

Oh, I thought they were attacking the Bruins for being a bad team.

I think they are somewhatly, by comparing them to the Senators. Senators had a lot of scoring last year and I don't think the Bruins will score as much as the Sens did last year so Chara's points total may be lower than last year.

[AdamBruinsFan]

A fantasy player update from TSN. From TSN.ca, http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=182416&hubname=nhl

Canadian Press
10/30/2006 4:38:36 PM

It is a simple economic principle, but hockey poolies in a panic over a slow start might well cite Stein's Law for themselves.

Things that can't go on forever, don't.

Things, for example, like defending MVP Joe Thornton not scoring in 11 straight games to open the season. Or Vezina Trophy recipient Miikka Kiprusoff winning only once in five games.

You know these things will not go on forever. It's Stein's Law. We're only a dozen games into the NHL season and the struggling stars will soon snap out of it.

However, it is frustrating to watch a top pick like Thornton go game after game without scoring, and see your pool team sink in the standings as a result.

It gets to you.

You notice by the 10th game that in reading the Sharks' summaries your eye is twitching - kind of like Herbert Lom's whenever Inspector Clouseau's name is mentioned in the Pink Panther movies.

Take some comfort in knowing you're not alone, that other poolies are also having spasms over under-performing picks.

Henrik Zetterberg of the Red Wings hasn't a single point in his last eight games. Pavol Demitra, expected to light it up big time in Minnesota, scored just his second goal of the season last weekend. Alex Tanguay, pegged as Calgary's offensive saviour, also has just two goals.

Even worse, Teemu Selanne has but one. The same for Brad Richards, Miroslav Satan, Marc Savard and Shawn Horcoff.

But exercise patience over panic and in the long run you will be rewarded.

Hopefully, you didn't lose your mind and trade Thornton, because on the weekend he scored his first goal of the year in the 12th game of the season. There will be many more to follow.

Things that can't go on forever, don't.

Injury Update

If penalty minutes are rewarded in your pool, you're happy when one of your players drops his gloves and picks you up a quick five. You lose that smile when the guy gets hurt while doing the dance of the dinosaurs.

Ryan Malone of the Penguins was just settling in with new linemate and red-hot rookie Evgeni Malkin when he got in scrap last week. The result: a broken wrist and two months on the sidelines.

The news was worse for Ethan Moreau of the Oilers. He's gone until the playoffs after dislocating his shoulder in a fight with Detroit's Danny Markov.

Even the big boys can suffer at the cement hands of another palooka. Steve Ott of the Stars broke his ankle in a fight last week and Anaheim's Todd Fedoruk needs his face repaired after taking a beating from monstrous Wild man Derek Boogaard.

Waiver Watch

Senators defenceman Joe Corvo had a good week in a game against Toronto, scoring one goal and adding four assists.

He's making everyone in Ottawa forget about Zdeno Chara in a hurry. Another defenceman worth grabbing off the waiver wire is Nashville's Shea Weber who has seven assists and is a plus-three to start the year.

Keep an eye on Taylor Pyatt, the latest to skate with the Sedin twins on the Canucks second line. Pyatt has made himself quite comfortable already, scoring points in five straight games.

Tuomo Ruutu returns from his latest injury this week and because of his considerable skill is worth claiming. He'll get first line duties and first-unit power-play action with the Blackhawks. That is, until he gets hurt again.

Phoenix has signed Yanic Perreault to a one-year deal. He won't be in game shape right away, but will be pressed into duty quickly with the struggling Coyotes. Perreault had 22 goals and 35 assists last year.

Who's Hot

1. RW Jason Pominville, Sabres. A must-start now after goals in five straight games.

2. D Sergei Gonchar, Penguins. The points are expected, but a plus-5 in three  games? Nice.

3. RW Owen Nolan, Coyotes. Old dog proving he still has a nose for the net.

4. D Aaron Ward, Rangers. Five points and plus-three last week isn't too shabby.

5. G Pascal Leclaire, Blue Jackets. Won one of three but with 87 saves and  1.25 GAA.

Who's Not

1. RW Henrik Zetterberg, Wings. Pointless streak reaches an unbelievable eight games.

2. D Janne Niinimaa, Canadiens. Veteran's better days are clearly way behind  him.

3. G Dan Cloutier, Kings. Winless skid inviting Garon to take over the top job.

4. G Andrew Raycroft. Leafs. Three-game losing streak has hands wringing in Toronto.

5. RW Jeff Friesen, Flames. No points in eight games; no point in owning him.

[AdamBruinsFan]

The SportingNews.com Fantasy Hockey Challenge Season 1 is going to end on January 20th. Whoever has the team with the most points at the end of Season 1 will receive a free hockey fight dvd of your choice from my dvd list. As of right now the leaders look like this:



The SportingNews.com Fantasy Hockey Challenge Season 2 starts on January 26th but you can create your team right now. I have already created my team and the free league.

If you want to play, just follow the steps below to set up your team. If you join the fantasy hockey league and lead the league in points when it finishes up then I'll send you a hockey fight DVD of your choice for free.

• Go to SportingNews.com Fantasy Games page
• If you're not already a member of SportingNews.com, sign up it's free. Click the link that says "free membership" under the login fields
• After you signed up to become a member of SportingNews.com for free, sign in if you're not already signed in
• Find where it says "FANTASY HOCKEY" and click on the link "Fantasy Hockey Challenge: Season 2"
• Type your team's name in the "Team Name" field and click "Get Your Free Team"
• On the next page, go down and click on the link "Join an Existing League"
• On the next page, in the search box type: "Adam's Hockey Site League" and click the "Search" button
• Our league should appear and now click on the link "Join"
• Next, click the link "Join This League Now"
• On the next page, you can send a challenge to your friends to join this fantasy league or not
• Next, click the link "Start playing now!"

After following those steps, you are now part of the fantasy hockey league. You can have as many teams as you want. Also SportingNews.com does give away prizes for the top 100 point teams. Good luck to whoever signs up.

[AdamBruinsFan]

The SportingNews.com Fantasy Hockey Challenge Season 2 has ended and below are the final stats/place finishes. For those who have played Season 1 and/or Season 2, I just want to say thank you and hope you play again next year.




If you play fantasy baseball, feel free to join the league I set up. Read the instructions here.

[AdamBruinsFan]

The 2006-2007 fantasy hockey season ended a while ago. This topic will now be closed/locked. There will be another free fantasy hockey league created when the 2007-2008 NHL season is near. Stay tuned for a new topic for directions on how to join that league.

I want thank all of those that participated in the fantasy league.