Monday, March 13, 2017
The Playoffs!
Super Sperm - For the first time in maybe ever, GM Ryan Schauble was finally a seller, and boy, did he suck at it. One trade for very little. Hashtag rebuild. By 2024.
Update: Schauble pointed out he made two trades, which shows how bad he is at this with his unmemorable moves
Hatrick Swayze - Has taken a playoff caliber team to the cellar in just two seasons. Granted, this team has been decimated by injuries, but so have Anzoolander and Everett Silvertips (or at least, their GMs whine the most about it). My hats off on trying to change things up; offered Crosby, Anisimov, Toffoli, Kucherov and Carlson for Conner McDavid but was denied. If Henry McDavid Throreau doesn't win, that will be the reason.
Texans - Still don't know shit about hockey. Wild boar hunting season starts early this year. Let's do Ashcroft this year Tex.
Kanucks - Recently read that posting your workouts makes you a narcissistic asshole, which still doesn't explain why GM Dave Kitchen has been so bad for so long, it just explains why he is an asshole.
ChingChongBingBongs - Another year, another season of gifting players to Henry McDavid Thoreau. You the man. The Chinaman.
Connor McSaviours - I appreciate the effort GM Ryan Zupan has put in. If it didn't take him a week to respond to trade offers, this team might go somewhere. So it won't.
Thank you to all of the above for trying, now fuck off. With that, let's look at the first round matchups (regular season head to head in brackets):
1. Pistol's Hellcats vs. 8. Anzoolander (16-9-7...Hellcats!)
Both teams are limping into the playoffs, despite a throughly dominating President's Trophy win by Pistol's Hellcats. Despite some issues the Hellcats are having, I don't anticipate this match up to be very close; it took another miracle by the Wall just to allow Anzoolander to sneak in.
Prediction: the Hellcats avoid the President's Trophy curse, moving on and winning 9-2-5
2. Lokomotiv 2138 vs. 7. Me So Vyborny (7-5-4 to Loko Ono)
I think this match will be really close. I don't think either team has a chance at the Anze Cup, they each have more holes to plug than an orgy at the convent, but these teams match up well. I think goalies decide this one, and I think Me So Vyborny has the better options.
Prediction: Oh Me So Vyborny me love you long time (until next Monday). Advances winning 8-7-1
3. Kane and she was Abel vs. 6. Jesse Loves Paymon (10-4-2 for Kane)
Arguably the two worse teams in the playoffs. Jesse Loves Paymon plummeted from 1st to 6th in the second half of the season, and if it was any longer, probably would have missed the playoffs. The inability to do any significant trades by GM Steve McIntyre despite him proclaiming this year was the year he was going to make a run is all you need to know about Steve's GM skill. For Kane, the season started with GM Mike Gaunt complaining about the goalie scoring format being rigged, despite it not changing in 6 years, to basically conceding all goalie categories every week because the goalies are so bad. Fortunately, Kane has met its match in JLP, whose goalies are equally terrible. This will actually be close given the comparable awfulness.
Prediction: Kane doesn't get enough goalie appearances to be eligible for goalie scoring, and would have won 9-6-1 but instead loses 8-7-1 4.
Henry McDavid Thoreau vs. 5. Everett Silvertips (7-5-4 for Thoreau)
Probably two of the most intriguing teams this playoff run. In the near corner, Everett Silvertips ran the gauntlet the final four weeks to make the playoffs against four other playoff teams and beating the 1, 2 and 3 seeds in the process. The return of Eichel, Huberdeau, and Murray have made this team a force to reckon with, with this team's achilles being the very young and talented goaltending, which may go lights out or may not stop a beach ball. In the far corner, GM Luke MacKinnon has built a team that was on a torrid pace but slowed dramatically, though it may be coming back to life, thanks to the gifts this team received from the Kanucks and ChingChongBingBongs. Think this one will be a battle, but think the experience Henry McDavid Thoreau's roster has in the being a heavy favorite and losing every year in the Anze Cup playoffs will push it through. Don't think turning down the best player in the league and the hottest player in the league hurts this team..yet.
Prediction: Henry McDavid Thoreau waxes poetic all over the Silvertips' face, in what GM Luke MacKinnon hopes is only the beginning of the second verse of his Odyssey. Henry McDavid Thoreau wins 8-4-4.
Todd and Schauble, pay up you bums.
Wednesday, November 4, 2015
Power Rankings: Week 4
We are three weeks in, lots of story lines taking shape. Most notably, some of the best players in the league being injured or dying (Tavares, Price, McDavid, Crosby (I think). Here are this week’s power rankings, courtesy of Philospher King GM, Luke Mackinnon. As always, previous rank is in parenthesis.
1. Lokomotiv 2138 (1)
With 9 players and both goalies ranked in the top 100, you had better brace yourself for this undefeated team. After knocking off the number one seed in week one, (even though both teams outscored everyone), all could see right away that the huge blockbuster trade in the offseason was about to pay off in 2015-16. Burns a top 5 d-man, Zetterberg has 14 points, Crawford had back to back shutouts last week, Hudler and Plecanic 'throw in players', all for one prospect and a very late draft pick. Even though this team could face some D trouble soon, Lokomotiv has been sharp on the waiver grabbing the likes of Larkin, an absolute steal (considering others drafted a rookie in the 4th). Look for this team to continue its trend around the top of the league. #AllinOrBust
2. Anzoolander (5)
Another undefeated team, last years cup champion is right back at it. I honestly have no idea how, considering the number of picks he had in the top 5 rounds. He might just have the best keepers in the game though, so that helps. And Carey Price. Price. The goalie, that he traded for JVR, FML. Kuz and Gallagher are proving the genius of this ugly, ugly, GM. His seven player defensive core will prove to be his downfall, as I predict there is no way he can maintain a top five spot for long. Top heavy, like the real Jesse Dean Cook and that massive mug, this team will stumble. #WhereIsTheDepth
3. Pistol's Hellcats (2)
No one loves this team more than its own GM. With 11 players and both goalies in the top 100 rankings, some might ask how and why this team is not ranked number one. With two great goalies (yes, they are both great), they should be up in the top ranks to stay. We need to see more from this team though then a disgraceful loss last week with half the points of other teams, and two wins in the first two weeks to 'bye teams'. If his old d-men don't break, and Jagr can keep playing hockey, you would think this team will keep the high scores rolling. #DomiTrain #UnderAppreciated
4. Super Sperm (4)
Great keepers that should be scoring a ton of goals will always keep this team in the tops of this league. He only has one goalie and 3 d-men... both could be an issue, but so far its worked. Picking Yak, Strome, Duclair, Reinhart, and so on, is reaching ... but maybe. All good players that could break out in a big way... maybe. I tend to like this team. #MovingOnUp
5. Texans (7)
With so many picks in the top 5 rounds, even a Texan could not fuck this up. This team is strong top to bottom, and not only held the preseason number one ranking, it also held the Yahoo draft site projections at number one. Kudos to a previously terrible GM for making the necessary sacrifice last year to be good this year. A couple changes and this could be the team to beat this year heading into playoffs. #HeadedToTheTop
6. Jesse Loves Paymon (11)
Some have tried to pull the title of worst team name away from this squad... and it just can never stick while this team exists. With major injuries across the board and Bobrovsky playing the way he is, this team will be lucky to stick in the mix over the next few weeks. It faces tough competition with adversity. If they can play to a respectable level, I expect that it will make them stronger, and we will see this team in the playoffs come season end. #HangingOn #InjuryBug
7. Kane & She Was Able (6)
The pain this team must go through every week to choose its second goalie must give this offside GM fits. "Which of my split time goalies is going to have a better chance to win their one game they will play this week??!!?" Clearly what doesn't bother him, from looking at the team name, is the fact that Kane, Big Buff, and Ribeiro all spend time in and around jail or the law. Bad boys to the core, I'm sure it's only a matter of time before Simmonds is in on the fun too. In other news, a player no one has ever heard of in Borowiecki is getting his fourth weekly start in a row... surely its the sound of his name that is the lure, and not the one assist. #CriminalsNeverWin #Borg
8. Hatrick Swayze (12)
Another one of these all round fantasy hockey teams that you would think would be higher up the ranks. It doesn't help that Sidney Crosby, normally an absolute terror to play against, has 5 points on the year. The other thing that is easy to see on this squad, is what teams the players play for. A lot of Buffalo, Toronto, Arizona and so on. Is anyone sure that besides Kucherov and Tampa, that anyone of these players actually plays for a team that is going to make the playoffs? This rookie GM might have shown his rookie stripes already... or maybe those are the gems on bad teams drafted for good value. I can't tell yet. I'm sure Toots The Tyrant can get them there though. Expect this team to battle for a playoff spot. #Roughstart
9. Philosopher Kings (3)
An offseason move that set this team back for the now, things were looking up as his youth and changes were paying off. Then Conner Mcdavid went AWOL into the boards. This team is about to go AWOL as well. Can Jones really be a number one goalie? Is David Krejci back? Is Getz just done? Who is Nikolaj Ehlers anyways? #TooManyQuestions #TooEarlyToTell
10. Everett Silvertips (9)
I can hear the cries of injustice and NOOOOOooo's now as you read this! Currently ranked as the worst team in this league, even the shitty mismanagement of this GM can't keep this team down for long. Those that face this team could be in for a rude awakening, as this team will awake from its slumber soon. Despite the goalie turnstile that GM Court Watson has implemented with the likes of Markstrom, Gustavsson, Ortio, Ullmark, Stalock, Ward, Nilsson, Mrazek, and Rask, he still does arguably have the best keepers in this league. And as one GM interviewed said, "its a team of the who's who in fantasy hockey, WTF?". I guess spreadsheets and shooting percentage are not always right. Might want to try watch a game some day. #Enigma #YouSuckCourt
11. Conner McSaviors (10)
I know for a fact every Sunday when this GM sets his line up, he curses Todd Toothill’ss name for getting the better situation. An honorable job making some offseason moves to improve, this is the first team on this list that will not be in the hunt for the playoffs. I would think GM 'I'll show you a dick pick every chance I get, Zupan" knew that when he drafted Drouin in the first round. Its all about the future, and this GM will be a big upgrade to the do nothing GM of the past. Good luck McSaviors. #BuildingForTheFuture
12. Kanucks (13)
A tradeaholic by nature, this GM spends his time debating moves, while making moves in cross fit. I like the effort, and as previously discussed, believe he wins more than we give him credit for... that said... you'll never win playing four weeks in a row of two goalies on the same team, Elliot/Allen. For the love of God, put your tradeaholic blood to good use and do something about it. Its painful to watch. Even doing this, this team laid an absolute blasting to Everett Silvertips last week. The pieces are there to make an impact, but not going anywhere unless the goalie situation gets resolved. #TylerJohnsonForGoalieTradeRumors
13. Me So Vyborny (8)
The team of second line players, with a couple gems that are not performing... and with no end in site. Yikes. I don't know that the one waiver wire move shows...? I don't know what those two goalies are trying to show us either??!! Why are they so bad. Starters, with every opportunity... just so bad... #Help.WhatDoIDo?
14. Ching Chong Bing Bongs (14)
Next year I will be signing the petition to have this team name switch to Bertmetrics, with the slogan "you win some, you lose some, and sometimes you ching chong bing bong some." Terrible, terrible, TERRIBLE, offseason trades doomed this team from the beginning, and there is absolutely NO recovering from it this year. Lose. Get the number one draft pick, and trade it to me for more than Hornqvist (current rank 386th), and a back up goalie on a shitty shitty team that has one win and three games under his belt. I could blast you with details of more past trades like moving a second round for literally nothing (editor’s note: and Getzlaf and Pacioretty for nothing)... but I like you. You're funny... And you should never tap the fishbowl. #InvestInNextYearNow.
Laser Luke, on point.
Thanks Luke, generally on point with some glaring errors but whatevs.
Also, amounts owed for this year can be found here:
http://hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/hockey/21705/finances
This includes the $60 league entry fee and transaction fees from last year (less remaining payout for those who won something). All payments must be made through paypal to puckyourself at live dot com. All payments in USD. All fees paid by the GM, the league does not absorb any fees. Then the money sits in paypal until the season ends. Payment is due by Nov. 1. After November 1, your roster will be locked and you will not be able to do anything until you pay. Got it? Don’t care. Figure it out.
JM
Monday, October 19, 2015
Power Rankings: Week 2
Welcome to the first official power rankings of the 2015-16 season. These are usually the most accurate power rankings you will ever read, I am rarely wrong, and mostly right. With that disclaimer, lets get right into it.
1. Lokomotiv 2138 – This train has started out of the gates at top speed, and I think I speak for everyone here when I say I cannot wait for it to crash and burn in a fiery death. A convincing win last week without its top netminder over a team that put up a pretty solid effort. You might think Zetterberg and Plekanec are flukes (they are) but I am assuming Cole has learned not to listen to himself, will deal one of them, and the other can be replaced by Backstrom, who is back. Should be a fun year to watch Cole second guess himself all season long. Pressure is on big guy.
2. Pistol’s Hellcats – Might be top ranked if they hadn’t had a bye week last week. Impressive performance, but it was like making a 1 foot putt on a hole the size of a basketball hoop. Another bye week this week will help this team cruise to week 3. The glaring weakness in this team is clearly Henrik Lundqvist, who is old balls, and GM Pete Shpak knows it, picking up a career backup on a terrible team has his handcuff (looks at transaction wire again, confirms that is what happens, shakes head in amazement). Good luck with that, and Jagr playing a full season, and Parise shooting at a career high shooting percentage, and Max Domi doing whatever he is doing for much longer (it is Arizona for the love of god).
3. Philosopher King – Martin Jones. Is he this year’s Dominik Hasek (1993) or is he this year’s Darcy Kuemper (2014)? My guess is the later, since it happens oh, every year, versus Hasek happening once in a lifetime (and Jones’ is Canadian, which means he isn’t as good as people think). This has to be keeping Luke up at night as he looks for reliable third goalies in the likes of Thomas Greiss and Anton Khudobin. Luke likes to talk about his inside track at San Jose, not realizing he is just pointing out he has confirmation bias. Good luck with that.
4. Super Sperm – Solid team, but probably won’t win the Anze Cup. This team’s window, like the Canucks, is gone. Very questionable management moves; how you put a offensive talent who is paired with Tavares on the powerplay on the bench for a guy playing with Martin Hanzal is beyond me. But hey, hashtag no cups.
5. Anzoolander - Everyone thought this team was screwed with no draft picks, but who needs picks when you have Carey Price and Jamie Benn? They can beat half the teams in the league on their own. Stamkos helps too. Abdelkader won’t shoot .500 for much longer, but if the ancillary pieces can contribute periodically, this core is going to go deep, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this team back in the Anze Cup finals.
6. Kane and she was Abel – As long as Patrick Kane isn’t in jail, I think this team competes week in and week out. Goaltending will always be a risk with the goalies this team has, but there will be weeks where goaltending will carry them to victory in a blaze of glory.
7. Texans – Great offense, bad goaltending. Why Bernier ever started a game for this team is beyond me. Hopefully Dubynk comes around and plays out of his mind again, versus staying at, you know, his career average. Oh wait, maybe the term regress to the mean actually means something. There is a ton of young talent on this team, with players from Calgary going to kill this team in plus minus because their puck possession is as bad as last year and is finally catching up with them. It will be fun to watch this team each week, and scary for competitors if the goalies come around.
8. Me So Vyborny – I like a lot of things going on with this team. There is a lot of young talent on offense. The goalies on the other hand, all three are in jeopardy of getting consistent playing time going forward. GM Matt Meier has going to have to be a little more aggressive this year versus, well, ever. Hopefully, he doesn’t listen to Cole.
9. Everett Silvertips – Wow. Which team has awful goaltending? This team. I don’t think this team has much of a shot unless something magical happens (someone gives him a great starting goalie, the Boston Bruins figure out how to play defense, Court becomes single and not boring, etc). Great young talent on offense will probably get this team into the playoffs, but as of right now, it has no shot on winning it all.
10. Connor McSaviors – I think this team has more wins this season already than all of last year. A testament to Ryan’s work effort so far, the only direction this team can go is up. That, and they played a horribly managed team.
11. Jesse Loves Paymon – Who is on the case when the detective IS the missing person? Hopefully, Steve will stop making that awful joke; it wasn’t funny when they did it on Sportscenter (yeah, I spelled it correctly) and it really isn’t funny when Steve does it. Besides that clown in net, is there anyone on this team you get super excited for other than Karlsson? Me neither.
12. Hatrick Swayze – We are really rooting for Todd, it would be great to see someone like him win in this league, but he is already mismanaging his roster, getting zero points out of Crosby. The best part is Todd talking about how a guy who plays for Toronto is good. Haha (I am laughing with you, I swear). At least his d-men are productive, for now. I actually think Quick will bounce back and so will this team a little bit, despite what Todd does.
13. Kanucks – Bye week #2. I give Dave credit for being active, but that doesn’t mean this team is very good. Don’t see this team moving from the slot anytime soon.
14. Ching Chong Bing Bongs – The original bye week. Going to take something special to get out of this position.
Just an FYI, you all owe money, but I need to figure out how much. Also, as a reminder, especially for newbies, all transactions are $.50 each. Eventually I will get around to billing you.
JM
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Power Rankings from the Champ
Defending Anze Cup champion has graciously submitted the first (of many, I hope) guest post for this season. In celebration of the season kicking off today, I present the inaugural 2015-2016 Puck You! power rankings.
I think I have had eleventy crown and gingers at this point; hashtag first class rules.
And here we go:
The Anze Cup is where it belongs. No, not in Slovenia, but in West Vancouver; where the beer flows like wine, where beautiful women flock instinctively like the salmon of Capistrano. The Anze Cup had a great summer, kept its GM well hydrated, and is poised to stay at its current residence for years to come. The highlight was clearly drinking out of the Anze Cup while the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup (again).
Here is the Week 1 Power Rankings based on the Draft and 100% accurate prediction skills only I possess (Editor’s note: not true, I am much more accurate, but he is still pretty good):
1) Texans – Solid draft (for once) and with so many high picks (and marginal keepers) this team is stacked. Should DD not replicate last season this team could be in big trouble (Bernier is not the answer), however, if he can this team is deep with the best D corps in the league. How Letang was available to pick was unbelievable...what a horrible horrible horrible mistake by Hatrick Swayze.
2) Everett Silvertips - A surprisingly good draft coupled with the 2nd best set of keepers equals another competitive roster for Stupid Court. Spending thousands of hours researching trends while drinking has worked in previous years for Watson, but he will have to up this to tens of thousands of hours to ensure the right moves are made down the stretch to ensure this squad makes the playoffs. Good thing Court has nothing but time on his hands.
3) Anzoolander - The last 4 Stanley Cup Champion Captains are: Toews, Kopitar, Toews, Kopitar. It is no fluke that this team is poised to defend its crown as Anze Cup Champion with the reigning Vezina and Art Ross trophy winners also on the roster. This team had no option during the draft other than to take some risks, and is hopeful that the likes of Panarin, Kuznetsov and Nichushkin can compliment the star studded keepers. The D is young and one of the weakest in the league and this could make or break it for Anzoolander in his hopes to repeat as Champion (Editor’s note: No team will benefit more from the 3 on 3 format than Dallas. No one. This might be a record year for GWGs by a single team).
4) Lokomotiv 2138 - This was a very safe draft for Cole, and in some ways seemed as if he spent zero time researching and simply picked players he has had on his team before (stick tap though for the best late pick of the draft in Teravainen 141st overall). While this team isn't stacked, it has two solid goalies, players up and down the line-up that are reliable, and for once Cole might actually get lucky and not have his entire team injured down the stretch. Part of me hopes this is his year, but most of me thinks the train will come off the tracks around late February.
5) Jesse Loves Paymon - With the second best late draft pick (Sam Bennett at 124), JLP has a nice mixture of young and old players with a solid tandem of Bobby's in net. Time will tell if the health of his older players will hold up, but if so, this team, while not flashy, could be a dark horse this season.
6) Pistol's Hellcats - it is unreal that someone would keep Keith Yandle, then be able to grab Drew Doughty in the 2nd round (something is seriously wrong with this league). Pistol clearly pressed the wrong button when he drafted Max "I play for the motherfuckin Yotes" Domi 51st overall as there is no chance this guy would have been picked by anyone (except Bert) before the 10th round. This team is average but the goalies are superior and hence, The Hellcats will be in every single match this season.
7) Hatrick Swayze - Toots must have thanked Jeebus for being the 2nd in line to take over a franchise. This allowed him to acquire Crosby and some decent keepers instead of Zupan's complete mess of an acquisition. Toots decided to try and make things even by keeping Backes as opposed to Letang and taking JVR with the 7th overall selection. "Earth to Meekus...and Earth to Todd." Do you know Phil Kessel got traded in the off-season and that Toronto is as bad a team as the Canucks? LOL. While you started at rock bottom you did make some better picks along the way (couldn't get any worse) which will allow this team to fight for a playoff spot this post season.
8) Philosopher King - with the worst team name in the league, GM Luke Mackinnon scooped up the second best rookie in the draft with his selection of Connor McDavid. This team has a ton of offensive weapons and Klingberg could put up some in huge numbers this season as the QB of Dallas' PP. Goal is a glaring weakness however as any team with a shared crease is a dangerous position to be in and Martin Jones is anything but proven (Editor’s note: tied for most accurate assessment)
9) Super Sperm - no one gets under GM Ryan Schauble's skin quite like our very own Commissioner, but only Super Sperm is to blame for the horrific players drafted last Wednesday evening. Most of his squad was drafted in much too high a round, and due to this instead of being a contender with a solid group of keepers, SS will be fighting to make it into the playoffs. Oh, and it is utterly amazing that SS drafted Dano 123rd overall when he could have picked Panarin (who went 126th....to Anzoolander) who is actually on the team and Dano is riding the bus. LOL (Editor’s note: also tied).
10) Me So Vyborny - Ladies and Gentlemen, Phil Kessel is a Keeper, obviously (and Todd, he was traded to Pittsburgh in the off-season. Pittsburgh is a different city than Toronto and thus, JVR will no longer be playing with Kessel). With Kessel, Sharp and Johansen's stock all rising in the off-season due to new line-mates, a good draft would have propelled this team into contention. Unfortunately, the draft was just average and banking on Talbot, Anderson and Mason in net could hold this team back. Trades and/or waiver wire steals will be necessary to get this team to the promised land.
11) Kane and she was Abel (too soon?) - These will get shorter now as the remaining teams, well...aren't good? (with rising inflection of the voice). Any team with Big Buff should win but for some reason this team won't. On paper there are some big names, some grinders for PIMs but time will tell if they can gel as a team and win enough offensive categories to make up for the shaky goalies in the crease.
12) Connor McSaviors - GM Ryan Zupan didn't have much choice in the crap that was dumped on his lap, but this didn't stop him from drafting 2 more Oilers when he already has one in Taylor Hall. Good news for him is Draisaitl will actually be playing in the AHL to start the season so great strategy man! It will be interesting to see how Zupan wheels and deals during the season to try and replicate what Luke did last year (aka Silver Medallist aka Luke Dawg aka Loves Sunsets aka Hates Vegas (say whaaahhht) aka aka aka recycled burn thanks Court). As for Zupan's beloved Oilers, the great thing for McDavid is he has seen and done everything there is to do in Edmonton so he can focus entirely on hockey (Note: there is absolutely nothing to see or do in Edmonton) (Editor’s note: hahahahahahaha)
13) Kanucks - This team is about as deep as a well in Sudan (Editor’s note: I think you have to dig pretty deep to get water in Sudan, so I think he is referring to the amount of actual water in the well, but you get his drift). The players are household names (for the family of the players only) and having goalies in STL and OTT are just a bad, bad, bad idea. Almost as bad as an idea as this poor woman:
14) Chingchong Bingbongs - As the saying goes, you win some, you lose some, and you Chingchong Bingbong some. After trading away Jack Eichel (effectively) for a back up goalie in Carolina and Hornquist and 2 kgs of rice, clearly GM Bert Fong pulled an all-nighter before the draft as some of his picks were. just. shocking. Given the history of Bertmetrics there should be no reason to be shocked by GM Bert Fong, however, once again, we wuh wong. We all love our Token Asian and hope he can at least beat Dave this season. What a battle that will be for next years #1 pick!
Guest blogs are encouraged and appreciated all season to take the pressure off of Stupid Court, and can be very quick and dirty (that's what she said).
Good luck this season Gentlemen.
Anzoolander
What a great start. I feel excited.
JM