(Sometimes the fantasy hockey and hockey gods must be crazy! — File Photo)
Oh god! We hit bizarro world! Yes, at least for now, Tim Thomas and Roberto Luongo are playing for the Florida Panthers. Just think about this for a second. Luongo had some pretty good numbers for Vancouver but heads back to where he once was. Now it is at the sunset of his hockey career. Thomas is in the same boat but our focus here is on "Luuuuuu" as Canuck fans used to say.
Some Fantasy Hockey Impact:
What will happen in Florida for Luongo? There is the Thomas situation which has to be figured out quickly. First off I wanted to thank Darryl Dobbs for this fantasy impact. Let's look at Luongo's numbers this season first.
- 2013-14: 42 gp — 19-16-6, 2.38 GAA, .917 sv%, 3 SO
His numbers are not too bad and slightly above the league average on a team that plays a bit more defensive that do not quite have the tools of a more defensive team. Now, it makes sense to take a look at the numbers of Tim Thomas, who is probably around the same ability at this juncture.
- 2013-14: 40 gp — 16-20-3, 2.80 GAA, .909 sv%, 0 SO
How about adding in Goals Saved Above Average? That would be a pretty decent indicator of ability.This look at numbers was unexpected in result.
- Thomas: -6.05
- Luongo : 4.00
Hmmmm. This was about what I expected though Thomas's numbers are skewed a bit by some starts early in the season where honestly he was injured. His play has picked up over the last 25-30 games. Keep in mind anything between a +5 or -5 is closer to the average while 5-10 is good, 10-20 is excellent, 20+ is elite. After the 2011 run which ended one game short, Luongo's numbers have slid back for the most part with a slight uptick this year. Going to Florida is not going to help. After all, Tim Thomas is no slouch in net and the Panthers have one of the worst penalty kills in memory.
Thomas is likely to be dealt anyway. In that case, Luongo would be backed up by Scott Clemmensen which means the once again Florida goalie will see at least 2/3 of the remaining starts, if not more. It is time to try and come up with some projections. Add in the departure of Mike Weaver and maybe one or two others….this was not easy.
The Roberto Luongo Projection:
- 14 gp — 5-8-1, 2.63 GAA, .916 sv %, 1 SO
There is a little wiggle room but we are sticking to our guns on this one. Every so often, we will toss in some projections post trade to see how players are doing, etc. Stay tuned as this is only the beginning.
