You know, I think he was onto something here.
…before we really get started though, as we like to say here in Jersey, “don’t get me started…” I’m gonna pretty much go full on Soprano State with this one.
Readers of my articles (talkin’ to you), know that this isn’t necessarily the place to find waiver wire pickups etc. I leave that to others. Instead, this is more of a window into the vicissitudes of my fantasy hockey season. You know, our own little collective happy space.
Wine No Cheese:
Brandon Montour: O.k, look here B. Little tired of you looking so good under the hood. I’ve got a quota to hit here man. I need you to be out on the showroom floor. Got it? Go sell some cars.
New Jersey Devils: This team, my team, is on the brink of a lost season. Goaltending issues (what else is new?), too much fancy-dancy D, and lackluster effort, especially on the back end of their best-in-league back to back schedule has everyone’s “this is the year”‘ label looking like a looming mirage. But more importantly, this is a team that has been crushed with injuries. Losing Timo, Jack, Dougie, Nico, and now Jonas to significant time has been the real issue. Tick tock…
Injuries: What is going on here? Just last week, and of course in my most competitive league, I lost Timo Meier, Jack Hughes, Sam Bennett, Nick Foligno, and Martin Necas. And my team has been lousy when they’ve all been healthy. Wait a minute, come to think of it, maybe that’s a good thing? Ugh. It’s got me scouring the carcass-picked-clean waiver wire for fourth line grinders.
Goaltending: In all the years I’ve been playing fantasy hockey I’ve never seen it this bad. Again, what is going on here? I mean, it’s not even close. Saros? Vasy? What the heck? Up and down all year. Coaches, can you pull a Costanza on these two for me? I mean, I can’t even bear to look at these in-game numbers. Fingers crossed. Breath held from puck drop to the horn. No lead is safe. Ever. The clock can’t tick down fast enough when any of these players have a lead. Cannot make this stuff up. I get going Zero-G especially if you’re in a league that doesn’t value goalies too much (one of my leagues). But if you’re in a league where goalie stats do sorta matter (two of my three), it’s just an absolute killer.
Cheese No Wine:
Zach Hyman: Connor McWho? Every once in a while you get lucky. I traded Svech and Logan Thompson for Hyman in like Week 2. Shortly thereafter, my trading partner dropped Svech due to his slow start and injury. I was able to snatch Svech up again while he was on IR, so I effectively traded Logan Thompson for Hyman and the rest is history. Makes my Deviled Eggs a little more palatable.
Filip Forsberg: Please stay healthy. I’m beggin ya. This man has been an absolute Viking this year. And to think where most of us drafted him. Hair, stache, and panache? Boone and Big Kuzy got some serious comp eh Blake?
J.T. Miller: Feels like not enough folks are talking about how sick of a start Miller’s gotten off to this year. And I thought I was reaching when I took him with my second pick after AM 34. In fact, Miller is currently ranked higher than Matthews in my one league (#4 to AM’s # 7). Still a ways to go, but he’s been quietly awesome.
Valeri Nichuskin: Literally undrafted in my 12 Team Yahoo Public League this year. With Lehk out, it’s been Good Night Irene (look it up young uns) for those opposing Nich.
More Is Less: It’s been that way so far for my team in my most competitive league. At best, this team is just a notch below average. And that’s being charitable. With my current rash of injuries (Sam Bennett, Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, Nick Foligno, and Martin Necas…and that was just last week), I’ve got little hope. Because of this reality, I’ve tried everything to outnumber my opponents in games played. For the past two matchups, I’ve actually had ten and eight games more played respectively than those last two opponents. Yet, I’ve lost both matchups handily. While it’s a smart strategy to have more games played, I’m learning the hard way that quality matters more. This team doesn’t quite have the quality nor have they played to their potential. You need both for sure.
All is Not Lost: Should you find yourself lamenting your up-to-date performance, I’d recommend joining another league as a salve for your wounds. I’m currently in three leagues this year. That’s about my limit. I feel that three is a good number for me (ever notice that the threes always seem to get all the good juju?). Anyway, with three teams, I can usually count on some sort of success. And while I’ve spent a good deal of time whining about my lack of success in the Apples and Ginos Listener League 2, I am doing quite well in my other two leagues where I’m currently in first place in each. But like the weather reporters, we tend to focus on when they’re wrong while discounting when you are correct sir (a little nod to Ed McMahon. Might as well look that one up too. Herrrrrrreeeee’s Johnny!).
FInally: One of the unnerving things about writing these articles is that I never know exactly what to expect, i.e, what am I going to write about? Where and when will the fantasy hockey muse strike me? Typically it’s a “germination process” that I’m constantly ruminating about during the two week period between pieces. For this one, it’s been a reality check from my last piece which had me dancing in the streets. Such is this world we obsess in during the season. So I’ll leave you with these parting reminders:
1. Set your lineups for the week to see where you have holes and overlap.
2. Use sites like Daily Faceoff and Left Wing Lock to check on upcoming schedules with an eye on maximizing your games played.
3. Don’t be afraid to take some chances with your adds. Assuming you have a good core team, it’s those periphery players that often make the difference.
4. Start your best players regardless of matchup.
5. Lastly, listen to the Apples and Ginos Podcast and read the articles on the A&G Website. Nate, Blake, Josh, Craig, Mark, and hopefully yours truly do our best to provide you with helpful information.
Hope this helps and good luck in your matchups.
Mike@TheFantasyHockeyProfessor
Apples and Ginos 