I've long been a fan of Bobby McMann, but the early returns for Seattle blew my expectations out of the water. McMann scored two goals and an assist with four shots in his Kraken debut on Saturday against Vancouver, and followed it up with a goal and an assist with four shots against Florida on Sunday. He played over 18 minutes in both games slotting right onto the first line and second power play unit. With Seattle in the thick of a playoff race, I see no reason to expect McMann's workload to decrease. That means a 20-25% boost in playing time compared to what he was getting in Toronto. Over the last three seasons, McMann is in the top 50 in the league in even strength goals per 60 minutes. Given that, I think he should be held in all formats for the time being. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
I can say that I’m glad I didn’t take a sick day last Friday to watch the “excitement-challenged” trade deadline unfold the way that it did. I suppose for something to unfold, it would have needed to be packaged up neatly to begin with.
All that means is the asking prices were far too high on the “sellers” pieces, and the buyers were not willing to pay them.
Nicolas Roy for a conditional first-round pick? No thanks.
Corey Perry for a second-rounder? Wow.
Is there ANY Perry worth that kind of premium?
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
Well, fantasy baseball drafts are in full swing (pun relatively unintended), and I’m knee deep in preparations and writing for those.
And I’ve been sick for three days.
But…HOCKEY IS BACK! And I’m pretty excited to have an 11-game schedule of matchups to run down for y’all on the last Tuesday night of games before the Friday afternoon trade deadline.
As for more names on the trade block? Well, I can guarantee this guy isn't going anywhere.
"Boldy is the type of player that I love to have on my team. Boldy’s extremely safe across the board with plenty of upside." And that's me quoting me from my preseason rankings copying what Grey does! Nothing like a career high in goals for Boldy before the Olympic break. Boldy was outstanding on Wednesday, scoring a hat trick in the first period against the Predators, later adding an assist in the victory. While the shots are slightly down, Boldy is still over three per game, and already has 32+30 in 54 games. That's a borderline top 10 forward. I had Boldy in my top 25 overall going into the season, slightly ahead of his ADP. Granted, when it's this early in drafts, slightly ahead put him on a bunch of my teams. He should only continue to get better going forward and has the chance to be reach superstardom during the Olympics. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It hasn't been a good year for Columbus, but they seem to have solved their goaltending issue going forward. Jet Greaves stole the show on Thursday night, shutting out the juggernaut Stars in the 1-0 win, making 28 saves. After that performance, Greaves is the #11 goalie for the season. One of my ten bold predictions from the preseason was that Greaves would finish as a top 12 goalie. There's no guarantee it holds, and some of my predictions were truly awful (I'll take a look at them during the break), but this one has a good chance of hitting. Hopefully you all drafted Greaves as your third goalie and you're reaping the benefits. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It was an 8-game schedule, so a bit lighter than usual, to peek in on Tuesday night.
But that didn’t stop Wyatt Johnston (1 G [26], 3 SOG, his league-leading 16th PPG) and the rest of the Stars from feasting on a steady diet of bear paws on home ice.
Jeremy Swayman (19-12-1-1) faced 32 shots on goal…before the third period started. Oh boy. The B’s defense corps looked like they were late to the opening faceoff in this one, then spent the rest of the game spinning in circles trying to figure out which way was up.
The 6-2 Dallas win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Stars and pushed Dallas’ record to 3-5-2 in its last 10 games.
It was another 10-game schedule on tap for Tuesday night’s NHL action!
And no one had a better night than the Boston Bruins’ netminder, Jeremy Swayman - 24 saves on 24 shots and the 3-0 shutout vs Detroit.
Swayman’s GAA (2.38) and save percentage (.919) over his last 5 games are as solid as it comes, and were good enough to give him a 4-1 record since New Year’s Eve.
With an 18-11-1-1 season line, Swayman is sitting third overall in wins (behind Karel Vejmelka, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Andrei Vasilevskiy). The shutout was his first of the year, but second in two games for the B’s.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
What did the Buffalo say to his boy before dropping him off at college?
I don’t know for sure. I mean, I’m not a creeper or an obsessive stalker of bison, but I do know one thing.
Despite the frosty January nights in Western New York, there’s one group of hockey players that is about as hot as the surface of the sun and is certainly not saying, “Brrr.”
The Columbus Blue Jackets spoiled Buffalo’s win streak on Saturday (5-1 CLM), but the Sabres were BACK Tuesday night at home vs Vancouver.
Early on, I had things written up looking like we'd get a blowout from Buffalo, but the Canucks made it interesting with a late push and three straight unanswered goals after the 10-minute mark of the third period.
In the end, it was the Sabres’ 11th win in their last 12 games, and a leapfrog over the Panthers into the top four spots of the Atlantic division.
Was that the only exciting bit from last night’s schedule?
Like most of the Rangers, Mika Zibanejad has been extremely frustrating this season. Before Friday's outdoor game in Miami, he had one shot on goal in the previous five games combined! So naturally, he had one of the games of the season so far, scoring a hat trick on six shots and adding two assists in the 5-1 win over the Panthers. The top line for the Rangers was dangerous throughout, and just like that, Zibanejad is ahead of last season's points pace. He's just shy of a 30+40 pace now and the shot rate is back up towards three per game. It's not exciting, and it's definitely close to the fringe, but I lean towards bottom end hold still. The minutes are through the roof at the moment and with their lack of depth, I can't imagine that changing any time soon. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
I liked the acquisition of Mason Marchment by the Kraken in the summer, but for whatever reason, it just wasn't working out. They shipped him to Columbus, and Marchment looks like the player we are used to from his time with Dallas. Marchment scored two power play goals on Monday, putting four shots on goal. He has three goals in two games with Columbus now, and he's gone right onto the top line with Fantilli and Marchenko. I don't expect him to get to hold status, but Marchment is an elite streamer while he's on fire. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights. Also, apologies for not having my usual Monday post, but I am back home now and will be on my usual schedule going forward.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s been a bit of a wild ride for Morgan Geekie (2 G, +1, 3 SOG, 1 PPG, GWG).
The Geekie Squad was the 67th overall pick in the 2017 draft and wasn’t considered much of a prospect after a 25-point season (in 66 games) for the 2015-2016 Tri-City Americans of the WHL.
It was the following year’s breakout that put Geekie on the map (72 GP, 35 G, 90 PTS), and convinced the Carolina Hurricanes that he was worth a gamble in the third round of the NHL Entry Draft.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
We had some red-hot NHL action last night with 10 games on the schedule!
But no one was hotter than that little devil, Arseny Gritsyuk: 1 G (7), 2 A (9), +3, 3 SOG.
The New Jersey rookie is still getting bottom-six minutes (14:33 TOI) and PP2 time (2:19), but he’s making the most of his limited action. The three-point night pushes his first-year total to 16 PTS in 30 GP and puts him on pace to record a respectable 50 points by the time April rolls around.
Arseny was certainly on fire last night, but with a deep forward group ahead of him on the depth chart, Gritsyuk is going to have to add another couple of points on that 9.7 shooting percentage to get an increase in playing time.
If he can consistently put up more nights like this one, and one of New Jersey’s Top 6 forwards has a setback, get ready to pounce on the 24-year-old Russian in those deeper leagues if you need some scoring help.
Was that the only Devil to bring the heat last night? Did we have any other players setting the fantasy hockey world on fire?
