2021 DHL Week In Review - Week 8
Dec 13, 2021 13:31:58 GMT -5
Simi Valley Kings, Melbourne Bushrangers, and 3 more like this
Post by Morweena Reimnoceri on Dec 13, 2021 13:31:58 GMT -5
DHL Week In Review - Week 8
Matchups:
Morweena (6-0-1) v. Melbourne (2-5-0) - Morweena wins 7 - 5
Haukiputaan (2-5-0) v. Simi Valley (4-2-1) - Simi Valley wins 6.5 - 5.5
St. Roch (4-3-0) v. Nebraska (3-3-1) - Nebraska wins 6.5 - 5.5
Tampa Bay (2-4-1) v. Oslo (5-2-0) - Tied 6 - 6
Castleford (0-6-1) v. Moscow (6-1-0) - Moscow wins 10 - 2
Portland (3-1-3) v. Vegas (1-6-0) - Vegas wins 8 - 4
Matchup of the Week: Haukiputaan v. Simi Valley
A crazy close matchup saw the struggling Ahmat push Simi Valley to the brink. A single STP more for Haukiputaan would have seen them escape with a win (assuming it would have added either a goal or assist to the tally) but alas, it was not meant to be and the two-time defending champion prevailed. The loss has since sent the Ahmat management team scrambling for answers. An updated trade block will surely see the demise of this incarnation of Haukiputaan and the beginning of a new era, while the Kings aim their sights on the (technically) undefeated Reimnoceri.
Performance of the Week (skaters): Simi Valley Kings (19 goals, 35 assists, -10 (oof), 19 STP, 90 hits, 59 blocks, 20:49 TOI).
Handing this one out to the Kings (again…) surely must make the effort Haukiputaan put forth this week that much more admirable, but enough about that. Led by Mikko Rantanen and Drake Batherson (wut?) Simi Valley has once again produced what I believe is the best performance from his skaters. This is a well balanced and deep team, which would only benefit from having a better set of goaltenders to compliment his stud-laiden position players.
Performance of the Week (goalies): St. Roch Hawks (3 wins, 1.46 GAA, 124 saves, .954 SV%)
Finally after all those weeks of bitching the goalies showed up for the Hawks. A respectable 3 wins for the crew (2 from Thatcher Demko who has been lights out since Vancouver management imploded) and an incredible GAA & SV% made this an easy one to hand out. Will this be a flash in the pan for St. Roch? Or have the goalers finally received the message from management that they would like them to play good - not bad.
Player of the Week: Jonathan Quick (3 GP, 3 wins, 0.67 GAA, 78 saves, .975 SV%)
Quickin’ it old school this week! Johnny Quick going full 2013 on the NHL with these numbers. What a show from the old dog who didn’t seem to have anything left in the tank this year. Perhaps it’s because he’s angling for a spot on the Olympic team (fat chance) or maybe he’s found a new masseuse but Quick has been a pleasant surprise this season I think. Would ya just look at this fuckin’ guy right here?
3 Stars:
1) Thatcher Demko (3 GP, 3 wins, 1.27 GAA, 100 saves, .962 SV%)
2) Roman Josi (2 goals, 4 assists, +4, 18 shots, 2 STP, 4 hits, 4 blocks, 24:54 TOI)
3) Sebastian Aho (5 goals, 2 assists, +4, 16 shots, 2 STP, 2 hits, 3 blocks, 18:49 TOI)
*should note that there were a LOT of players who dropped 7 points this week (which is nuts) but these two did it in 3 games. Also Thatcher is a stud.
Other Notes:
TRADE - Moscow and Nebraska completed a rather large exchange this past week. The Buffalo sent over Subban, Brown, $11 in ‘22 and Nebraska 1 2023 for Burns, Hall, $4 in ‘21, and Moscow 5th 2023. A bold strategy for each manager based on their standings…let’s see if it pays off.
More Signings - An active week on the Free Agent board as Garnet Hathaway, Sonny Milano, Valeri Nichushikin, and Evan Rodrigues get (or in the process of getting) scooped up. Gotta say, I think it’s been a weird year which has seen more term players than ever occupy roster spots. Perhaps a byproduct of a seeming uptick in injuries and covid related absences…or perhaps there are just more players worth having than EL players worth waiting for. Either way, I love to see the continued action.
Canuck’d Up - Gee, who saw the Canucks being so bad to start the year? Honestly, I didn’t. I figured they’d be a lot better than they are, but this is probably why I only manage a made up team with fake money on the internet with 11 other dudes instead of a multi-million dollar organization with real actual humans. To be fair, I’ve never been a fan of what Jim Benning had been doing there, but I thought the moves he made this past summer would have had a bigger impact. Either way, with Rutherford and Boudreau in, will they be able to undo what has been done? No idea, but I bet anyone who relies on Canucks players in this league hopes so.
Hangin' 'Em Bish-up - Ben Bishop called it a career after trying to make his comeback. His last game saw him allow 8 goals on 34 shots in the AHL. While it absolutely sucks for him on a personal level, I am extremely happy for Tampa, who can finally cut him loose without having to contemplate "what if?"
Morweena’s Mailbag:
Q: Serious Question for the mailbag, has a team ever gone a full season without a win? Or what is the lowest total points for a season on the DHL?
A: No, they haven’t and I lost the record page that someone had posted of our history. But there have definitely been some REALLY lean years for teams. You aren’t alone in that.
Q: What do you make of all the EL Buyouts and Player Terminations? Bad team management? Poor scouting services? It's a league wide epidemic for most teams and reflects poorly on ownership don't you think?
A: My thinking is two parts. Part 1 - after the gong-show that was last NHL season, managers are more concerned about having enough players to ice a roster than ever before. Last year Covid exposed the lack of NHL ready depth on a lot of roster and I think that we, as a group, are adapting to that. Either on our own or in an attempt to not be left behind. Part 2 - with so many impact players on EL contracts there seems to be a lot more money floating around still than in years past, and teams are trying to take advantage and make upgrades to their teams by only spending an expiring asset (2021 salary). However, in order to make those additions, players often need to be dropped which accounts for all the cuts.
If anything, I would chalk all this movement up to good team management, even great. It’s all well and good to have a great team on the first try, but it’s also really hard. If you can correct the errors you have made on the fly without sacrificing your future, I think that’s the mark of a great manager in this league.
Q: What do you think of this forward group for team Canada?
Huberdeau - McDavid - MacKinnon
Marchand - Crosby - Bergeron
Stamkos - Point - Marner
Couturier - O'Reilly - Stone
Is the NHL even going to the olympics though? Starting to sound less and less likely.
And how are you?
A: I think that’s a very good group of forwards - I’m especially excited for the chance to have MacKinnon and McDavid on the same line. I can’t even begin to dream of how chaotic that would be. Gotta be honest though, I don’t like Marner to make the team - Id’ replace him with Tavares. You can never have too many centres and JT got such a raw deal last time he went.
Is the NHL even going? Yes. Should they? Probably not. Every time I think that a large event isn’t going to take place because Covid is too crazy it happens anyways, so I have just decided to lean into it.
I’m good - how are you?
Q: Did you see the Hawks bench a bunch of players specifically to try and win TOI on Saturday? What do you think about teams benching players to try and preserve stats? Is that against the spirit of the league? Shouldn't we all play our rosters as much as possible each week and let the best team win?
A: I did not see that, but I think that it’s a great move and absolutely not against the spirit of the league. Would you ever fault someone for benching the Coyotes goalie with they are about to play the Leafs on the 2nd night of a back to back when they’re ahead just ever so slightly in SV% and GAA? I would hope not. Part of the magic of fantasy is knowing that sometimes the right move is to sit players. If people were annoyed by this move, give your head a shake. It’s a great risky move. And if you still disagree then perhaps TOI isn’t a stat for us anymore.
Q: The Buckaroos were undefeated for six weeks and now get blown out by Vegas? What happened?!?
A: Morweena crushed their spirit. Or Vegas had a good week. Maybe both?
Q: What's with the midseason bidding wars we've seen for a variety of players this season? This didn't happen in years past, right? Usually if you want a guy in December you throw a dollar his way and he's yours. What gives?
A: I more or less answered this one above. More impact EL contracts means more $$ to float around. Moscow, for example had (has?) $38 to play with and a full roster and is so close to being in 1st place the Morweena can taste the hazelnut coffee in his breath from this morning. We can’t take money with us, so might as well use it - and if there is a player who will give you an upgrade, why not?
Q: Why does Nebraska hate draft picks so much?
A: They bullied him in kindergarten.
Q: Seriously, who let the dogs out?
A: It was Tampa.
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