Tiranis
Next up we
have Tiranis, or as they call him on the street, Mr. Dual Eligibility.
Seriously, SEVEN guys can be played on multiple positions, that is insane! It
definitely gives him enough flexibility to play a full roster on any given
night, but whether or not that translates to a playoff spot, well, I guess we
will see. It’s just a shame he can’t play some of his players in net.
Forwards:
This team
lives and dies by Evgeni Malkin. There are several prominent places picking
Malkin as a potential Hart Trophy candidate, mainly because they are unable to
pick Sidney Crosby while he’s still seeing stars. Malkin has Art Ross ability
and he’s what they’d call in baseball a five tool threat. He can put up points,
put up PIMs and usually has good plus/minus. He could win a week for you based
on his week’s performance along. He’s apparently fully healthy this year, so it
could be a big year for Geno, which is good news for Tiranis’ playoff hopes.
Giving him RW eligibility as well is just a disgusting decision by Yahoo. He
could be this year’s fantasy MVP, IF he stays healthy.
Patrick
Sharp had a big year last year, putting up 30 goals and getting himself a new
contract in the process. Will he continue to go on the upswing or will find
complacency after getting paid? Obviously Tiranis hopes for the former, and
this is a guy who has the talent to be a consistent thirty goal man. Again, he
has dual eligibility so he plugs in nicely as a left winger as well, giving
Tiranis some nice options.
Rick Nash is
the third dual eligible player, as apparently he plays on both the left wing
and the right wing. Yahoo continues to gift Tiranis’ keepers with glorious
versatility. Rick Nash apparently finally got his elite centre, while Jarome
Iginla weeps silently in a corner somewhere, but there is the problem of both
Carter and Nash being snipers and as NHL 12 taught us all, two snipers on a
line?! POOR CHEMISTRY! But in all seriousness, Nash trading some goals for
assists wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world, and I’m sure the big power
forward will adapt nicely with Carter. The question still warrants being asked
though.
Loui
Eriksson begins this season as the unquestioned offensive leader on the Dallas
Stars. A common theme for Tiranis’ squad, how will Eriksson adapt to the loss
of superstar playmaker Brad Richards. We could see a loss in production from
the big Swede. Dallas is almost certainly going to be a worse team, so his
usual plus minus being positive could see a big dip in big D. Again, Eriksson
has the luxury of being able to slot in for Tiranis on both the left and right
wing.
Justin
Williams, another inconsistent guy, had a big start to the year but struggled
down the stretch, with his January being the driest spell for the winger. He
has the opportunity to potentially play with some big name players, so he could
end up being a good pickup for Tiranis in the off-season. He of course, also
has to stay healthy.
James Van
Riemsdyk could end up being the game’s next great power forward. The big left
winger hasn’t yet lived up to the lofty standards being the second overall pick
in 2007, but as we all know power forwards take longer to develop than other
players. Will Tiranis continue to wait for van Riemsdyk to get things together,
or will this be the year? With Carter and Richards gone, the door is definitely
open for van Riemsdyk to step up. If he does, he could be a fixture in Tiranis’
lineup for years to come.
Speaking of
fixtures, Tyler Ennis had a successful rookie campaign, coming one point away
from scoring 50 points. Granted, it wasn’t the PPG pace that he almost put up
the year prior, but for a young guy to come in and score 50 points on a
mediocre Buffalo team, that’s not bad at all. In his second full campaign, if
Ennis can avoid the sophomore slump he could be huge on a vastly improved
Buffalo team, particularly on the powerplay. I really like what Buffalo has
done and I think Ennis could be a big benefactor from it. Oh, and did I mention
he has dual eligibility? Yeah, thanks a lot Yahoo!
The final
forward with dual eligibility is Brandon Dubinsky, who at this moment has won
the lottery and is slated to play with Brad Richards and Marion Gaborik. It’ll
be nice for him, as he’ll be able to join in with the hugs as Richards passes
to Gaborik and ignore him completely. But in all seriousness, Dubinsky should
benefit from the increased talent around him as a guy like Brad Richards makes
everyone better. He will need to keep his eyes in the rear view mirror though,
as Wojtek Wolski is also viewed as a guy who may be better suited to play on
the left side of the top line. If that happens, Dubinsky’s production will dip.
Tomas
Plekanec comes back for another year with the Montreal Canadians. He, like so
many other Habs, saw a drop in his numbers after a breakout year the year
before. He should hover around the 60 point range, and unfortunately for
Tiranis, he is not dual eligible as of posting this article, although who knows
if that will change after I hit submit.
Joining him
at centre is everyone’s favourite two way forward, Patrice Bergeron.
Considering how deep the Bruins team is, Patrice should be slated to play with
some talented wingers, although most of his contributions that make him
heralded are to do with the defensive end of the ice. I doubt he matches his
pre-broken neck totals where he cracked 70 points twice, but he will be good
for over 50 points, and if he plays with the right guys, could put up even
more.
Finally,
stolen from the clutches of Balls Mahoney, Patric Hornqvist, the one time (in
Balls’ head) 50 goal scorer, joins a new squad. Now he might score 50 points,
but I don’t see any drug induced fantasies coming true and there is no way that
the guy they call Horny scores even 40 goals. He will slide into the number one
slot on RW in Nashville, which is sort of like riding at the front of a public
transit system. I’ll let you interpret that for what it is.
Defense:
Dustin
Byfuglien showed his commitment to fitness over the off-season after signing a
new deal, tipping the scale at over 280 pounds and getting into trouble with
authorities over the summer. He was promptly jettisoned from ubiquitous’ team,
and landed with Tiranis. Tiranis, who was rumoured to have coveted after
Byfuglien during last season, will benefit from Byfuglien’s massive shot totals
from the point as well as his RW, D rare dual eligibility. Why he still has RW
eligibility after spending the entire year on the point is beyond me, but it
remains to be seen if he can translate last season’s amazing first half into a
full year for his colder confines in Winnipeg.
Kris Letang
comes back after his first 50 point season, a season where there were a few
mumbles about Norris trophy nominations. Obviously he wasn’t going to win it,
but the fact that there was even a mumble is a testament to how much his game
improved last year. He will lead the Penguins’ powerplay once again, and seems
to be doing his best Sergei Gonchar impression WITH added PIM production. I
don’t know if he can replicate 50 points, but if Crosby comes back early
enough, the Pens powerplay should be dynamite once again.
Ryan Whitney
is hurt to start the year, which is too bad, because he followed up an abysmal
trip to Anaheim with a solid campaign in Edmonton. Injuries seem to be a
problem for the former 5th overall pick, and if they continue to
arise as problems, it could derail a solid fantasy defensive corps for Tiranis.
If he can come back healthy, he could build on a greater opportunity that he
has been afforded in Edmonton, and he is surrounded by a lot of albeit green,
talent.
John
Carlson, maybe best known for the World Juniors, returns to Tiranis’ squad
where he looks to build on a 37 point campaign in 2010. He, like Ryan Whitney,
is surrounded by talented guys, although in Carlson’s case he’s the green one,
not his teammates. As such, Carlson could build on his rookie campaign with a
big sophomore, or that slump word could arise once more. The questions linger
for the big American, but he could see his totals crack 40 if he doesn’t
regress.
Matt Carle
came around at the end of last season, putting up 13 points in 20 games to
close out the season. Whether he can build on those totals, or continue to
channel his inner Steve Bernier, we will see. This is a guy who has moved
around a lot and tends to follow up good seasons with poor ones, last season’s
production could be a good indicator of change for the better for Carle. But as I’ve mentioned throughout these
previews, Philly could get a lot worse this year, which could hurt Carle’s
numbers.
Speaking of
Philly, Andrej Meszaros is the final player of this defense. His plus minus
last year was one of the top in the league, at a whopping +30. It is highly
doubtful he replicates that, and depending on how the year starts for the
Flyers, a guy who has a career high of under forty points could see himself on
the waiver wire in favour of another player before long. It’s a relatively safe
pick though for a guy who has shown flashes of brilliance.
Goalies:
One word,
yikes! Tiranis enters the season with three starting goalies and in a league
where the goalie premium continues to run rampant even with the removal of the
one who started it all, these goaltenders are not exactly of the premium
variety. The only bright spot could be Montreal hero Jaroslav Halak. Halak had
a solid season as his first as a bonafide starter, putting up 7 shutouts and a
respectable .910 SVP. The Blues struggled though and Halak only managed 27
wins. As a number one guy for a team, the numbers just aren’t there for
Tiranis, and unless the Blues have some miraculous turnaround this season, it will
probably be average at best with the occasional sweet week for Halak. Something
to keep in mind, Halak started off October with a bang, putting up a 6-1 record
and a sparkling .932 SVP. He also closed the year at 3-1. So he’s a guy who can
win you a goaltending week, but he also is brown to struggling, as he showed in
January, his worse month. If he struggles at all, Tiranis is screwed.
One of the
main reasons why he’s screwed is because his next starter is Mike Smith of the
new look Phoenix Coyotes. By new look I mean, they lost their starting goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov and ended up with Mike Smith. Mike Smith couldn’t get it
together in Tampa Bay and Phoenix is a lot worse. A team that is still going
through ownership issues, Phoenix could end up trading away a lot more of their
talented players, leaving the tandem of Mike Smith and Jason Labarbera (wow)
facing a lot of shots and not having much offensive help. This is a team that
could finish last in the league. Granted, Dave Tippett is a system’s genius and
he can make a lot of not so good goaltenders look great, but it’s Mike Smith.
He just isn’t very good. He will get you starts, but not much else.
Jose
Theodore is Tiranis’ final goaltender, and if you ask CCF, he’s just a place
holder for the Jakob Markstrom era. Again, this is a guy who has talent, but
his confidence will not be helped playing in front of a team that routinely
gives up the most shots against out of any team in the league. The Panthers are
another team in transition, and Jose Theodore is playing in front of a young
guy who the Panthers believe might be their future. The Panthers could end up
being better than they were last year, but they could also end up being a lot
worse with a guy like Theodore in net. Again, with Theodore, you never know
when you’re going to see the 2002 Hart Trophy winner pop up. It could work out
for Tiranis, but I wouldn’t bet 20 bucks on it.
Tiranis has
a great offense, but with his goaltending looking like the back of a dumpster,
it’s going to be tough duty to make up any ground this season. I have faith in
Tiranis as a manger and I have no doubt he’s going to be shopping hard for a
real goaltender to compliment Halak, but the price might be too rich for his
blood. His forwards although very talented, have too many questions between
them to be considered sure things. As such, I have no choice but to rank him as
low as I did.
FINAL
POSITION: 9th OVERALL
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