Its getting close to that time of year for the turkeys….
This is the time of year that is most feared for every turkey. It is just four weeks until Thanksgiving. That is the day where at least one of our fine turkeys here sadly does not get his parole. That is the only Thursday in the year that we do not put up this column but instead put up a memorial.
In the last week, many candidates emerged for our not so prestigious awards. These Three Turkeys literally has taken a life of its own. It is a list no hockey player wants to be on. Even the dishonorable mentions are a sign of shame and a badge of woe. One player actually got mad at us for putting his name on there. I cannot reveal who it was but boy he was on fire the second half of last year after just a mere mention on here.
Some have not figured out the message just yet but hopefully this will catch on a little more now. Now to present this week’s three turkeys. Hope you have your popcorn ready……
These Three Turkeys
The Injury Ninja? — Free Agent
A special add to this week’s list. He did injure Marian Hossa as the legend goes along with a few other players. Apparently he strikes unexpectedly on defensemen as well. Just ask Kurtis Foster and Matt Corrente sometime. On the bright side, he can be generous as Colin White was somehow spared last night. It is a mystery whether the Injury Ninja has a partner in crime but there almost seems to be a method to the madness.
One thing is absolutely true. The injuries are definitely mounting to key players in the NHL as they always do this time of year. Watch your fantasy teams regularly. Now on to the players……it is a goalie theme this week.
Marc Andre-Fleury (G) — Pittsburgh Penguins
Man was he awful at times last night again. It is the time of the goals he gives up that has shocked people more than anything. For the second start in a row he gave up a goal on the first shot. Neither goal was high quality to say the least. Now Brent Johnson’s career numbers are well documented and Fleury will eventually get rolling. However, 1-4 with a 3.41 GAA and .861 save percentage is not what Pittsburgh had in mind. Fleury’s career GAA is only .906 by the way. Even the spectacular saves MAF normally makes have been few and far between this year.
Case in point, the first goal given up last night and the fourth goal given up to Martin St. Louis were killers. It is true that St.Louis’ tally was a very nice one but Fleury just was not ready. As many goalies have told me, Fleury is just not very well prepared in the early part of the year and that it is worse than normal this year. This is his second nod on the list in the 2010-11 campaign. Hopefully he gets it together before fantasy owners jump ship completely.
Mike Smith (G) — Tampa Bay Lightning
We knew goaltending would be a problem for Tampa but not this much…this soon. Smith was yanked out last night after giving up 3 goals on a pedestrian 7 shots. That included two shorthanded goals on the Tampa man advantage. Craig Adams and Matt Cooke should never score shorthanded and that was mostly on Mike Smith who made stoppable shots an adventure in peril. Yet Smith is 4-0 despite giving up 3 or more goals in five games this year. He has also been pulled twice.
Tampa is playing pretty well defensively in front of him, aside from maybe the Florida game. The onus is on Smith who really is the 1A in Tampa to Dan Ellis’ 1B role. The problem is Smith for whatever reason just cannot get into a rhythm. Maybe he needs to face more shots. Two of his better performances all year was when he saw 30 pucks fired at him. Both of those games were against Atlanta and he looked comfortable in those two starts and seems like only those two starts. Smith is a goalie that will get his share of wins but man he is a turkey right now anytime the level of competition comes up. Stay away if you can.
Antti Niemi (G) — San Jose Sharks
Yikes! It has been an ugly start to the Niemi era in San Jose. In his defense, he was brought in late and San Jose in a lot of ways is not quite the same as far as defensive scheme as Chicago. That being said, positioning has been an issue for the Stanley Cup Winner in his last three starts. Against Calgary, he was given the hook after stopping just 2 of 5 shots. Since his first start, he has lost three in a row making people think that Antero Niittymaki is the true #1 in San Jose at least for the foreseeable future. Niemi was a hope and now a curse to many fantasy owners who drafted early and are stuck with the goalie who is having a tough go of it.
If Niemi plays deep in his crease like he has so far, its going to be a long season. The more aggressive Antti Niemi becomes, the more confident he gets. Its that simple. Until he develops that, he will be a turkey to many fantasy GM.
DISHONORABLE MENTIONS
1. Jamie Langenbrunner (NJ) — Still cannot score but does after the whistle. Oops.
2. Simon Gagne (TB) — Injury Breaks are they a new prescription for more cowbell?
3. Nicklas Backstrom (WAS) — has two 3 game pointless droughts already.
4. Roberto Luongo (VAN) — still struggling just a bit.
5. Devils defensemen — Cannot stay healthy or cannot cover anyone (last night Exhibit A).
6. Mike Comrie (PIT) — has just not worked out. 4 assists but NO GOALS in 9 games.
7. Sheldon Souray and Michael Nylander — For having bad luck as opposed to no luck at all.
See everyone next week with more crazy turkeys ………..
