Fantasy Hockey

The pre-season for me has just begun. Just when I am hoping and wishing for something positive in the hockey realm, Yahoo Sports has opened their Hockey Fantasy Pools. Last year, the first one I played fantasy hockey, I played in 6 pools as a neophyte I did not know any better. This year I am narrowing it down to probably four.

I have joined forces with Roz (@Tygerlylly) from Tyger by the Tail, and Rene (@hfxhabby) from Pushing the Envelope and am running a league called - The League of Ordinary Smartasses (would have been extraordinary but alas yahoo only allows 30 characters for a league name).  The league has a capacity of 20 teams and if there is a lot of interest we are ready, willing and able to add another league.

***Update the second league is now open called the League of Unusual Tweeples. This league has a capacity of 16 teams.***

If you are interested please by all means send me a shout by e-mail or on twitter at @habbykins and I will send you the necessary info to torment me - nicely.

My promise you (my 5 readers) that I will not use the power of the commish to sabotage or aid any of the participants in this league as much as I may want to. Now do you not wish this was the case at the NHL level.

We have decided to offer some prizes - minimal tokens to go along with bragging rights. These have yet to be determined as we are working on it. As not all entrants are Habs fans the prizes will not ALL be Habs related. We have of course excluded ourselves from winning said prizes so the other 17 players have a slightly better shot.

If you have never been in a fantasy league but want to try it. Hey why not give it a try. The downside to fantasy hockey is you may actually be hoping for a player on a rival NHL team to score - last year I did have to cheer for Bergeron on occasion - and yes it made me feel guilty - but I survived.  Even if you do not know anything about the sport there is always fun to be had. I did join a basketball league last year and came in 7th out of 12 - not knowing a thing about the players - dumb luck - maybe.

I have received some comments about my team name (Les Girls) and that was totally expected - after all whom else would name a hockey team after a couple of body parts. Besides it sounded better than the dumbasses - which begs the question is it better to be a smartass or a dumbass - discuss.

Hockey Trading Cards

On my second cup of tea this morning, and looking for something to write about. I realized that I have not shared a passion I have for the almighty hockey cards.

I will admit it was a passion of mine when I was much younger. I had this great collection but two things went awry. The first thing was my absolute hatred for the Boston Bruins. As a Montrealer at that time I detested anything Bruins. Even to the point where I clothes pinned all my (gulp) bruins hockey cards in the spokes of my bike because hey they deserved it AND it made a cool sound. In retrospect-perhaps that was not such a good idea. Those Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito etc. cards would be a nice complement to my collection.

Another thing we used to do besides trading them - got-em got-em - ooohhh need-em (which we all knew what we needed on sight-no cataloging required - thank you) -  was flip them on the side of a cement wall. the winner of the game would have to cover as much of a card already on the ground as possible. It was a fun game but ruined a lot of cards.

The last thing from back then that happened to me card collection was my Mom. I had a wooden cigar box I kept my surviving cards in. My Mom in her infinite wisdom gave them away - to some deserving kid I am sure. (She worked in a school and must have figured someone needed them more than I did.) As a result, I no longer have that collection that included a Ken Dryden signed post card from his rookie season.

I went away from collecting them for a while and re-started collecting at the beginning of the 90's. I have several nice rookie cards that are not worth anything because the hockey card manufacturers decided they would over print those as well as the major players of the day. A card is in demand - no problem lets reprint it. They even printed coach cards and referee cards and once paired up a local celebrity with a team - I will always remember the Penguins were paired up with Mr. Rogers - somewhere out there is a Mr. Rogers hockey card. Pretty funny if you ask me.

I have re-started collecting since the lockout and while most of my cards are not worth very much out there - they are fun to look at and remember the players. In some cases fondly and in others not so much, making one shake one's head and mutter why.

I have started sending off cards to various players through the mail as in the old days. I know some will respond and some will not. I just hope if they are not going to sign personally, they just send them back not get someone else to sign them. I have read that Mike Modano does this - not only is it a failure - it ruins perfectly good cards.  I am only sending cards I would not mind losing as there is no guarantee it will be returned signed. I will be keeping out abreast of developments in this area. There will be more details on the group Hockey Cards on Planet Puckhead, if you are inclined to join in the conversation or you can leave your thoughts and comments. Keep in mind, however it generally takes a while to get a response from the players sometimes months. Then you get a surprise in the mail - kind of like a mini surprise Christmas. It is all good.

Calling all Puckheads

I recently was invited to join a promising hockey social network called Planet Puckhead. It has potential in that it caters to hockey enthusiasts of all types. Players, coaches, bloggers, fans can have discussions on the game and offer opinions and discuss the happenings around the game we all love.

Upon entering for the first time, I must admit I was taken aback on the colour scheme (being the Habs fan that I am) that it was primarily Bruins colours. There is the ability on there to change your home page - mine has almost no yellow. and the header was moved up so there is a nicer visual appeal.

There are groups that have been started for players, coaches, sledge players, ball hockey etc. If there is nothing started that interests you - by all means start one up and people will join if they have something to say. The intent is to have one place where we can talk amongst ourselves and answer and ask any questions that may come up. I, for one, will be asking a question or two in research for upcoming blogs - and I get the feeling others will as well.

It goes live on July 18th and holds promise.  I am hoping that it becomes a gathering place to discussions on various teams bloggers.  There are several groups on there including two I have started - one being for Habs fans and the other for Habs bloggers. I am not sure if both groups are needed but we will have another look at it in September or October and re-evaluate at that time. There is also a group that is for hockey bloggers that is open for discussion and collaboration in the community.

I am finding it very interesting that the site has almost no members as yet who are fans of the NHL teams. So far, a few people have signed up to see what it is like and have not changed their locker (page) to suit their personalities and their teams. There are quite a few pictures of people sharing their memoriabilia which is fabulous.

There are a lot of fans and players from the Tampa Bay region - which is great to see. I know the US south has taken a beating with the Canadian hockey fans and media but the fans I have come into contact with are very passionate and quite knowledgeable. The truth of the matter is that Canadian fans and the US fans from cities in the north who covet the teams find it frustrating to see half empty arenas when tickets are extremely hard to come by up here and when you can get them they cost your first born. So, you can look at it another way we are jealous of the cheap hockey and availability of tickets.

But I digress, the Planet is open for business and we who are there are awaiting the pleasure of your company. There is plenty of room on there for all hockey fans, new and experienced. Oh and please tell them Laura Kenney sent you.

Two Days of NHL Free Agency

Every year I get in a comfy chair and wait for free agency hoping for the Habs to sign the big one - always hoping hardly ever get anything fabulous - last year the big signing was Alex Auld - really.  The year before the team was redesigned on the front end during free agency, as the former crop seemed uninspired. Out with the old and in with the new.

There was a lot of promise for this year to redesign the back end much like the front one was two summers ago. During the year however there were many devastating injuries on the defence, necessitating a procurement of more defencemen to finish the year. The Habs had so many on contract at the end of the season the question became not who would they get from other clubs but who would be kept. The decision was made too sign oft-injured Andrei Markov - an elite d-man when healthy, Yemelin - a large prospect from Russia who by all accounts plays with a mean streak, Hal Gill - a big bodied, capable but slow defenceman, Yannick Weber- a smaller sized quick guy with a wicked shot. These guys are to complement the young stud PK Subban, and the way past his prime, Spacek. The other defenceman who is still RFA and is expected to sign is Josh Gorges - a hard worker and shut down defensive specialist. These are the guys who were picked over such notables as James Wisniewsky, Brent Sopel and the fabulous Roman Hamrlik. Those three who were not signed are fabulous defencemen who will do extremely well with their new teams, I am certain. There is always some risk in choosing not to re-sign players but the quality in this case when you think about it is astounding. Hopefully history will show the choices were good ones.

The first day of free agency in habsland brought a big winger with a penchant for coming up huge in big games and leaving it all on the ice, Erik Cole. His contract is a little hefty but not outrageous and if he continues not to take a shift off and leaves it all on the ice he will be a hero. You see, in Montreal, to be a hero one has to leave it all on the ice hence the love affair Montrealers have with players such as Darche, White, Nilan and the like. But to be one with a scoring touch wow you get vaulted into the stratosphere - Saku Koivu.

One of the questions going into free agency was who in the heck would back up Carey Price. Last season was Alex Auld - capable but did not play enough to keep sharp despite being 6-2 at times he did not look solid. The Habs signed a capable backup in Peter Budaj from Colorado. I think it is a good signing because he will be better with the full-time goalie coach Pierre Groulx. Hopefully they get together sooner rather than later. He is signed for two years.

Day two brought nothing new to the habs and I believe they are not totally done tinkering with the lineup. I am hoping they will bring some more real grit and sandpaper to the lineup in a Konopka from the Islanders.

In my opinion the team that did the best improvements so far include Buffalo, Florida and Washington. Oh to be a hockey fan in Washington this season - hang on it will be fun.

Habs 2011 Recap Insanity Part Un

I was asked to submit an article to the Down Goes Avery season ending blog where 30 bloggers were challenged to take a irreverent look at their teams past season, off season and outlook for next season.  As my blog post was getting too big (I kept adding to it all week), here is part un of events as I see them. Without a doubt this off-season will be interesting to watch in habland. Please feel free to leave a comment-they are always appreciated by all  bloggers all the time.  Part deux will be posted tomorrow.

2010/11 Recap: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The Good – Finding a couple of players in the minors who were able to step up when the team needed it and having the guts to trade for a million defensemen who were all used this past season. One goes down? No worry, just pick up another. Some were upgrades; some were serviceable.  Carey Price did have a very good year, and then there is Subban who took his game to a new level when pressed. There were also some finds on the offensive side of things with Eller as well as Pacioretty and Desharnais filling in admirably when the injuries started to pile up a bit.

The Bad – Too small and too inconsistent; too many passengers for too much of the season; taking shifts/games/weeks/months/season off.  Now I can see having a bad shift or game or even a slump happens to everybody in all skates of life, but how long do these have to last? What was that Gomer? Oh yes - you have to play better lest you let down your team mates etc. How many times did you say this during the year? As one company in a former line of work would say: Just Do It. 

The Ugly – While it is difficult to find ugly on my team of beauties I find myself looking squarely at JMart and his usage of the would-be marvellous top liner Travis Moen. There is nothing wrong with Moen. He plays hard etc., but beautiful hands he does not have.  He gets space and takes off down the ice on a break or semi-break regularly and if he had Cammy’s hands he would score 50 goals a season. Alas that is not the case.  Shakes head and rolls eyes. Can it get any uglier than some of the mean-spirited thing that have been said and done to my team - The hit from Chara was ugly but to add to it the verbal insults from the Boston media and some of the players was bad enough - BUT then the fans continued it.  Patches got some disgusting things sent to him on twitter.  This in my opinion is totally uncalled for hey, it is after all is said and done a game. 

The Morning After

After the NHL has been actively pulling out all stops to save the Coyotes in that hockey hotbed of Phoenix, word has finally come down that the much anticipated deal to purchase the Atlanta Thrashers by True North Sports and Entertainment and move them to the sunny and warm climate of Winnipeg.

While watching the press conference yesterday I could not help but notice how uncomfortable the commish was.  He looked like he wanted to be anywhere else but there.  Does this spell the end of the dark ages of Gary Campbell and Colin Bettman?  Probably not as he managed to get a quiet extension earlier this season and only time will tell.  Maybe the people who matter (we know it is not fans) will see it - although it is their pockets that are being lined here. ***UPDATE appears Colin Campbell is stepping down - good news (Shanny taking over)*******

I really feel sorry for the hockey fans in Atlanta.  Yes, we up here in Canada do take pot shots at attendance and the attempt at growing the game out of traditional markets.  To be fair some places where hockey seems to have grabbed the attention of local populations have been surprising - on the other side of the coin - they also have had some success on the ice.  

Backing a perennial losing team is not the easiest thing to do - it fact, it is downright awful - just ask the Leafs fans.  But God love em they continue to support the local team regardless.  There are not too many places where a team can put their fans through what the Leafs have.  As their team continues to improve, payback for it all will be awful but necessary - it is all part of the process.

Maybe the NHL and the hockey community in general has something to learn about fandom- How about less bland athletes - There are some exciting players in the game - the thing that is missing is personality. As Dennis Kane pointed out on his excellent site - there used to be sex appeal to hockey players - everyone was different as night and day. Maybe we need to get some of the sex appeal back - suggestion for what is is worth - allow the players to have their helmets designed a la goalie masks - the base colour would have to be the teams colour - it may bring some individuality and personality back - (I miss hockey hair)

The NHL has a lot of things that need fixing - I know, understatement of the decade.  I have also been thinking that perhaps it has become like the WWE.  In that case, the referees are just following the script that was handed down to them - no conspiracies - just script nothing more nothing less.  

If a franchise is not working then by all means try to save it but not in all costs as in Phoenix.  That has been a nightmare for Gary Daley and his cohorts - they have been singing and dancing their way through that one.  I also do not advocate franchises moving willy-nilly either but no community should have to go through unending uncertainties as what has happened in Phoenix.

Perhaps I, as a fan of the NHL for over forty years, am becoming jaded with all the inconsistencies in the officiating and the disciplinary action/inaction.