The hockey season has finally started! With four games in the books, I'll wait until tomorrow night to recap them all instead of doing a very short post today that would mainly consist of gushing over Auston Matthews' debut. Instead, there is a podcast that will be posted in the afternoon (I'm editing it this morning) and then this post, something I've been excited to do for a while. I've mentioned repeatedly how poor the rankings are for the "big" websites so I'm going to review ESPN's final staff rankings. You can find them here to follow along. Yes, their rankings include time on ice but there is still a pile of things that are unexplainable. At the end of this post, I'll list the players who I am much higher or lower than consensus on plus some streamers for Thursday. Let's get to it!
Opening Night! Streaming Strategy, Daily Notes and More!
October 12, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes, Streamers | 27 Commentsby: Viz
We’ve made it! There’s four games on the slate tonight, all of which are rivalry games. And I don’t mean fake rivalries that NBCSN uses every Wednesday! I’m going to look at a few different things in this post. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Podcast: Kenny Bone Is The Hero We Deserve!
October 11, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Podcast | 26 Commentsby: Viz
Yes, this is still a hockey podcast despite the title! Reid joins me once again to discuss the latest news as we are on the eve of the season. Right as we are about to start the podcast, Sidney Crosby is diagnosed with a concussion so you get our analysis on the spot! We also look at Jonathan Huberdeau's injury and some other players who recently went down. We discuss all of the players holding out again (before Johnny Gaudreau and Nikita Kucherov signed), some rookies that made their respective teams and look at the impact of it all. Following last podcast, we look at our favorite over / under point totals for individual players and wrap it up with 10 minutes of random discussion. From the debate on Sunday night, the aftermath (all hail Kenneth Bone!) and the recent success of the Bills, I promise you'll get a laugh. All of that and more in the final episode before the NHL season begins!
Around the League: Preseason Roundup
October 10, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 31 Commentsby: Viz
Hey everyone! We are only two days away from the season starting and the preseason is in the books. Today, I'm going to take a quick look at all 30 teams in regards to lines, injuries and surprise players who may make the team. Players officially have to go down by Tuesday so there will be a little guess work on my part for the last couple guys to make the roster but at least for standard leagues, nearly everything is clear at this point. Let's get right to it!
Oh baby! Reid joins me once again for a monster of a podcast. First off, we open up by tying up some loose ends around the league from a fantasy perspective. We look at holdouts, recent injuries and then some young players who look to be cracking the NHL roster for the first time. After that, we take a look at the big picture for this coming season. We breakdown all 30 teams by predicting whether they go over or under their projected point total from Vegas and to what degree of confidence we have in our pick. Add in some bets for players to win individual trophies or teams to win the Stanley Cup and you have an excellent breakdown for you gamblers out there, or anyone who simply wants a team by team season preview. We even mention Obama talking about Phil Kessel and a moment I can't wait to happen at the White House, I promise you'll laugh! All of that and more in this episode of the Razzball Hockey Podcast:
Podcast: It’s Already So Ugly!
October 5, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Podcast | 26 Commentsby: Viz
Hey guys! This is a two part podcast looking at some general draft strategy plus a draft recap. First, I'm joined by Reid who is completely frustrated by his draft in my RCL. All of the f-bombs! We do a thorough breakdown of each of our picks, looking at each pick, why we took them, whether it was a mistake or not, and then general draft strategy. Spoiler: we forgot to take defensemen. To follow along, here is our draft recap link . ChicagoCanuck is my hero for putting Reid on epic tilt! After that, Matt makes his first appearance on the podcast to talk about his goaltending rankings. We look at his tiers, goalies he's high and low on and then a general strategy overview when it comes to how he drafts goalies. All of that and more in today's podcast:
What Was Viz Thinking During RCL 1’s Draft?
October 4, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Razzball Commenter Leagues | 4 Commentsby: Viz
Hey guys. I'll be recording with Reid later today and I already have talked to Matt as well so look for a podcast to drop Wednesday morning. For now, I'm going to walk through, pick by pick, my thought process during my first RCL. I was "lucky" enough to pick 1st, which will makes things easier for this exercise since I can talk about two picks at once. To make it easier to follow along, the draft recap can be found here. Also, there's still over one week under the season starts so please create or join a league here. Let's get to it!
Updated 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey Top 250
October 3, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey Rankings | 19 Commentsby: Viz
Here are all my rankings in one big list with some updates. I still haven't moved around any of the players who are still without a contract (we're looking at 5-10 guys) but if at the end of the week they're still unsigned, then I'll have to drop them accordingly. We are nine days away from the season starting so now is the time to sign up for an RCL. You can do so here. So you don't have to scroll all the way to the bottom, ECR is the expert consensus rank for the player, vs. ECR is how the difference between my rank and the consensus. I may have to move some guys around later once I take a closer look at who I'm high on and who I'm not. Please leave any questions or comments that you have in the comment section below. Without further adieu, here is my list:
2016-17 Fantasy Hockey Top 250
September 30, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey Rankings | 22 Commentsby: Viz
It's the final countdown! We've finally made it to the end of the top 250. We are to the point where you are taking guys with your last few picks so I'm going to limit the details here. Target categories that you need some reassurance in but be prepared to cut these guys if necessary. If you want to handcuff your goalie, this is also the time to do it. Let's finish this bad boy up!
Podcast: Pacific Division Preview
September 29, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, 2016-17 Season Preview, Fantasy Hockey Podcast | 10 Commentsby: Viz
We are less than two weeks away from the season starting! Today, Viz and Reid take a look at the Pacific Division. How does the coaching change affect the Ducks? How thin is the Kings roster? Can the Sharks superstars play at that level again? Is this the year for some breakouts in Arizona or are we still a year away? Can the Flames bounce back from last year's disappointment? How good is McJesus going to be in Year 2? Is it worth spending more than 1 minute on the Canucks? All of that in more in our last division preview:
2016-17 Season Preview: Anaheim Ducks
September 28, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, 2016-17 Season Preview | 9 Commentsby: Viz
We've finally made it to team 30. The Anaheim Ducks are the last team to preview for the upcoming season following a Pacific Division title. They ended up losing in game 7 to Nashville in the first round leading them to make a pair of horrible coaching decisions. Firing Bruce Boudreau and hiring Randy Carlyle is an absolute disaster for this team going from one of the best to one of the worst. I suspect that the change alone costs this team at least 10 points. Anyways, there's still plenty of talent here at different age points that are worth looking at so let's get to it!
Podcast: 2016-17 Central Division Preview
September 27, 2016 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, 2016-17 Season Preview, Fantasy Hockey Podcast | 2 Commentsby: Viz
We're onto the Western Conference in the latest addition of the Razzball Hockey Podcast. Today, Reid and I take a look at the strongest division in hockey, the Central Division. Who do we like on the Stars outside of the obvious guys? The same question is asked around the Blues. Can Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin repeat their success from last season? Am I crazy for liking guys on the Predators as much as I do? Will Bruce Boudreau have a big effect on the Wild's performance? Can Colorado improve with a new coach? Spoiler: yes. And last, Reid and I gush about the potential of the Jets' players to get the team back into the playoffs. All of that and more on today's edition of the podcast.
