This is probably going to dominate the tri-state area for the next several days to a week. Now how does this impact the Fantasy Hockey landscape? That is simple actually. There is a possibility that we may be literally knocked off the grid for a few days. Sure, nothing may come of it but we will still find a way like we always do.
Hurricane Watches are up all the way to Sandy Hook, NJ which is not the first time we have had a real close call. For fantasy hockey perspective, it would be like Marian Gaborik playing in all 82 games and popping in 120 points as a New York Ranger. Yes we went there with how ridiculous upsides can get. There are definite cases where “fantasy experts” go a bit overboard. This happens all the time and will happen throughout the summer as drafts are just a few weeks away.
Early on the biggest overages involve Tomas Vokoun and Ilya Bryzgalov. This is understandable as these two goalies are on teams with high potential (Washington and Philadelphia). Is there going to be a goalie that gets to 40 wins at all this year? I am willing to go on record and say a couple will come very close but I can see 38 or 39 wins leading the league easily. Last year’s league leader was a tie between Roberto Luongo and Carey Price who both had 38 wins.
The days of 40 win goalies are probably over for the time being. Maybe after the next CBA, the 40 win goalie will return but not this year. Anyone who says otherwise may want to look at those numbers a bit more closely. The 2009-10 season featured four goalies with 40+ wins but each one of those needed 69 or more starts. Martin Brodeur, for example, had 77 appearance two years ago but did lead the league with 45 wins. The down trend is pretty glaring for netminders and is something that should be noted.
Upticks in injuries are going to affect production whether we want it to or not. So before you see some seemingly outrageous projections, do keep in mind a few are going to pan out but most are not going to do so. Next week we will take a look at some forward projections that will blow your mind and maybe one or two that could actually happen. Scary thought isn’t it?
Until then, do comment away and we will continue to get your fantasy hockey teams ready for the upcoming season. Stay tuned.
