http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNtOJqJV9yY&hl=en_US&fs=1&
The turkeys wanted to also send their condolences to Rod Brind’amour who has gone from Carolina icon to healthy scratch. Yes he was in the lineup last night in a loss to New Jersey but sad to say the writing is on the wall for a guy who has courageously battled all these years. I know I have not minced words on Captain Carolina many times whether it be via the blog or podcast but still you have to respect a man who has more balls than Mats Sundin could ever dream of having. That probably came out wrong. Now to the turkeys for this week……
Pavel Datsyuk (Center) — Detroit Red Wings
I know…I know. I did not believe it either but Datsyuk is held to a higher standard and three points in his last six games is not going to cut it. Worse is the most amounts of shots he has had in that span is three. He has also kind of been hovering around even on the +/- (+3 right now) and that is very unlike the talented Russian center. The last four years Pavel has averaged 92 points a season and yet this year he is only on pace for 62? Yes that is right…62! I understand there are injuries and teams change but maybe Datsyuk is hitting a bit of a wall right now. How he responds from this challenge will go a long way in how this first or second round pick (in most drafts) affects your team for the rest of the fantasy season. The turkeys have him on notice.
Brian Rafalski (Defense) — Detroit Red Wings
I almost sense a theme this week but no Rafalski has been a huge disappointment all season with only 12 points in 27 games. I always said if the wheels fell off a bit on Nick Lidstrom that Rafalski would suffer immeasurably and he has. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello was smart not giving him a long term deal for that much money as Rafalski just is not the same player he was last year. Maybe he will bounce back but with no points at all in the last 2 weeks, you have to wonder when that is going to occur, if ever. He is also only a +2 this year after being a +44 combined the last 2 seasons. People took him pretty high in drafts and like Lidstrom owners are paying the price. The turkeys are again angry.
Brian Elliott (Goalie) — Ottawa Senators
The reason why he is here because he called himself and his team out recently. Well it still has not quite worked…has it? Elliott is 1-4-1 in his last 6 starts, giving up 22 goals in the process with a save percentage of .869. That is not going to get it done in the National Hockey League. After a long exhausting road trip, Elliott proceeded to give up 3 goals on 26 shots to a Montreal team that literally could not find the goalie against Philly either. Fans are actually clamoring for the return of Pascal Leclaire which is a scary proposition in itself. There are better fantasy options out there for goalies according to the turkeys and I am willing to bet the farm on that assertion. Get another goalie…you could do worse.
Next week we release three more turkeys. Who will they be? Stay tuned to find out!!!
