Good day fanatics! Sorry for the delay in updates but we had a death in the family last year. I made a few updates in the Guide but mostly just contract signings and a few injuries that have been in the news of late and Guentzel testing positive for Covid. I was involved in 4 drafts, some slow, one live and it all went well I think but we won't know until the season starts. In the 10-team live draft (Starters: 6F, 4D, 2G) I managed to pick up some firepower early with Matthews, Zibanejad, and Ovechkin with top 3 picks then started to fill in my defense Josi in the 4th, Pietrangelo, Werenski and Rasmus Andersson in the 6th, 7th, and 8th with Pacioretty slotted in the 5th. Wondering where my goalies are? In this league we are able to keep up to 3 players not drafted in the first 5 rounds or who were kept for last season's draft. So I kept Mike Smith and Darcy Kuemper in the 12th and 14th rounds. My other keeper was DeBrincat in the 9th. Filling out my bench there is Gibson-G (13th) , Leddy and Ekholm on defense and then some decent fill-ins like Giroux (10th, Bjorkstrand (!1th), Larkin (15th), DuBois (17th) and Kapanen in the 20th-last round. I selected Verhaeghe in the 19th when I probably should have picked up another goalie but managed to claim Jake Allen after news of Price's entry into the Players Assistance Program hit. Prayers are with Carey and his family! The 3 slow drafts I think I killed it but too involved to get into that. Also helped a subscriber in his draft, especially with the later rounds. I hope you all have faired well in your fantasy drafts and good luck to those who have drafts coming up and most of all good luck in the upcoming season! Ciao Ray

SMC 12/23/2018 With the holiday break coming up after today, time to catch up with family and friends with some coffee and dessert.  I want to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Boxing Day and a very healthy, happy and prosperous 2019! Some of the teams that were holding up nicely at the beginning of the year are starting to fade like the NY Rangers, Ottawa Senators, and the Detroit Red Wings. One team that hasn’t is Montreal. And the reason is Carey Price. Time to sell high on some of the aging veterans on those teams and re-stock your fantasy squad for the second half and beyond. I have never seen so many starting goalies have so much difficulty in one season.  Must be the shrinking pads.  Fantasy teams are just having fits trying to get starting goalies in their lineups. Pittsburgh is starting to rise up in the rankings.  I’m expecting Florida to start creeping its way back to relevancy. Mark Scheifele and the Winnipeg Jets are starting to go full throttle. Nikolaj Ehlers is finally getting his opportunity.  You knew it was only a matter of time. I don’t know how Chicago is going to do without Corey Crawford, out with another concussion. Vegas baby!  Coming around after a slow start. Is anybody else waiting for the fire sale in Los Angeles?  Maybe that was a poor choice of words. ALERT!  The Los Angeles Kings have won 2 games in a row.  May be too far behind now to catch the teams above them.  They are on fire!  Again, a poor choice of words. What’s all this fuss about Carter Hart? All the 20-year old has done is get 2 wins in three starts with a 2.36 GAA and a .904 SP.  He’s going be a good one! If a 4-point game on his return from the IR tell you that Patrice Bergeron is someone special, then I don’t know what to tell you.  And he just makes everyone around him that much better. Can the St. Louis Blues salvage this season that was supposed to see them compete for the Stanley Cup with the off-season acquisitions that they made? Not unless Jake Allen becomes superman in net. The Maple Leafs had 5 goals against the NY Rangers and Auston Matthews didn’t record a single point.  And not surprisingly, neither did William Nylander.  Rusty, are we, from the holdout? The Coyotes outslugged the Avalanche last night 6-4?  WOW! That trio of MacKinnon-Rantanen-Landeskog is the most dangerous line in hockey IMHO. Lightning-Jets for the Cup unless something drastic happens.  I know, duh! Scheiiiiiiiiiiii-fele! May all your fantasies come true! And ...

I am still alive and well and living in NYC.  Sorry for the lack of SMC the last few weeks but I’m back and rarin’ to go with my hot cup of coffee! Love and hate this time of year.  Lots of trade rumors which is cool.  But then not enough trades, which I love. A lot of 5’s and 4’s in yesterday’s scores.  There’s the poet in me! With all these rumors of the Rangers trading what were once core members had me, for a fleeting moment, ponder if the NYR would trade Henrik Lundqvist.  Then the next day I see a rumor on HockeyBuzz that there just might be. I can see it.  The Ranger loyal won’t like it but it could be for the best interests of the organization. This kid Georgiev actually looked good in his 2-game stint as Ranger goalie.  Unfortunately he had no support with lots of key players out with injury or kept out for safety/health reasons for trading. The Islanders, if they make the playoffs, are a one and down playoff team by the way they are playing lately. The Panthers can get on a roll and then storm through the playoffs making a lot of noise.  That’s how I see it. I’m happy for Jets’ fans.  Not the New York Jets, the Winnipeg Jets. My fantasy playoffs start tomorrow.  Hopefully I get some favorable scheduling. The Arizona Coyotes are starting to play hockey.  What took you guys so long? I’ve kinda liked all the trades so far.  Pretty much benefitting every team and no particular team getting raked over. I’m excited for the Ranger rebuild.  And Ottawa’s. I’m thinking wither Boston or Tampa Bay comes out of the East, but you can’t count the Penguins out. Washington beat Buffalo 5-1.  Don’t get too excited. Love the Ranger deal.  Happy for Rick Nash.  Now we have both Nash’s on one team.  Can we get al lthe Staal’s on one team next? Perhaps with his trade to Montreal, Kerby Rychel may get his chance.  He needs to take full advantage of any opportunity unless he becomes like Yakupov, or Daigle for you old-timers. Letestu traded to Columbus.  I thought he was on that team already, lol.  Oh yeah he was once before not too long ago. Plekanec to Toronto.  Doesn’t have to move far. What has happened to Jake Allen?  (Cursing under my breath). Big Buf is getting hot!  Don’t get in the way of that freight train! The Rangers might win a game this afternoon.  Playing Detroit after the Red Wings played last night. Enjoy the rest of the Trade Deadline and hope all your fantasies come true this week!      

SMC 1/7/2018 COFFEE BRUIN! Back from the holiday break with coffee a-brewin’! You know what else is brewing?  More like percolating; the Boston Bruins!  Don’t say we didn’t warn you a few weeks back. Hard to believe that Patrice Bergeron only scored his second career hat-trick on Saturday.  He means so much to that team. The big, bad Bruins really pasted Carolina goaltending on Saturday. Jake Allen doesn’t fare well against Philadelphia. An o-3-0 record with a 3.45 GAA and a save percentage of .890.  Geez coach, let someone else start against the Flyers for Pete’s sake. Edmonton had a dog day afternoon against Dallas on Saturday giving up 3 first period goals and losing 5-1.  Tampa Bay did the same thing.  Came back to tie the game with three unanswered goals then gave up three to the Ottawa Senators to waste their comeback effort. Colorado is starting to score goals in bunches lately as they beat Minny 7-2 on Saturday and 6-1 last Sunday versus NY Islanders in their 5 game win streak.  Not as bad as last year, but how could they be. Tampa Bay goalie Andrej Vasilevskiy had some stretch the past few games until he met up against Ottawa.  2 shutouts and a 2-1 shootout loss against Montreal before that lopsided loss to the Senators. Vancouver almost beat Toronto with most of their stars missing from the lineup.  The Canucks have been playing spirited hockey this season but are a few years away still. I am going to say that Las Vegas is for real now.  There!  Now they can go on an extended losing streak since I jinxed them. The Golden Knights are tough to play against with all that speed and tenacity.  I have a few players on my fantasy teams. I said this last time I think but the NY Rangers have a good shot at the Cup this year because it looks like it’s anyone’s game. The Rangers need to start scoring a little more than 1 or 2 goals a game though.  They last scored more than 2 goals in a game 7 games ago.  But thanks to G Henrik Lundqvist they got 7 points in last 6 games. Now it’s Anaheim’s turn to start putting together a long winning streak or winning stretch with all their players back in the lineup.  I’m thinking the same thing for Minnesota.  So, if it’s too late to grab some Bruins, go Duck hunting or go Wild! I’m just thinking that Los Angeles could be so much better once Jeff Carter returns from his freak skate injury. Is Dallas Stars offense starting to heat up? They scored 4 or more goals in a game in 6 out of last 8 games. This week is going ...

Jake Allen was out of his mind last night, recording 51 saves as St. Louis won Game 1 in Minnesota. How does that result impact the Blues' chances of winning this series?

St. Louis: The emergence of d-man Colton Parayko gives the blue-line much needed top-heavy depth but the question remains whether Jake Allen can carry the sole burden of manning the crease with brian Elliott now in Calgary. The balanced offensive attack should continue to provide enough firepower, but it should be time for Vladimir Tarasenko to enter elite territory as a sniping forward. What will the Nail Yakupov addition do for the team? If he can finally fulfill his potential, look out. Playoffs: Another deep run Tampa Bay: Absolutely our odds-on favorite to represent the eastern Conference in the Cup Finals. The Bolts are stacked on offense with Steven Stamkos back healthy and nikita Kucherov on the verge of being signed. Look for new coaching assistant Todd richards to bolster the power-play by heavily riding the top guns. A surplus of riches in goal can yield huge dividends if Ben bishop is traded during the season. Playoffs: Cup bound Toronto: Austin Mathews will be a legit superstar before you know it, but the rebuilding Leafs are from playoff contention. Federik Anderson will bring some skill and stability to the goal while Morgan Reilly will be the defensive cornerstone for years to come. Pre Mike babcock holdovers JVR and Nazem Kadri need to take the step in their offensive development while the youngsters continue to gel. Easier said than done. Playoffs: No chance Washington: A disappointing playoff exit at the hands of the Penguins should not take away from what a tremendous team coach Trotz leads into the season. Elite in all areas from forwards(Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov), defense (John Carlson) to goaltending(Brendan Holtby). The addition of Lars eller helps the bottom-six depth while Justin williams intangibles bodes well for playoff success. Playoffs: Deep run but will lightning strike? Winnipeg: The young Jets will be exciting to watch with the rookie Laine and the 2nd-year Ehlers wowing their fans with their sublime offensive ability. Add Mark Scheifele breaking out and you have the looks of a massively improved scoring attack. Dustin Byfuglien will lead the D while a goaltending competition lessened a bit with the waiving of Ondrej Pavelec. Adios to the most overrated goaltender around. Many bright spots but a postseason berth not a lock. Playoffs: maybe 

BTP: NO WORRIES, I’VE GOT YOUR BACK! Last Year’s New York Rangers showed how valuable a backup can be in your quest to make the playoffs as Cam Talbot stepped in for the injured Henrik Lundqvist and was nothing short of spectacular as the Rangers surged on their way to winning the President’s trophy.    MONTREAL CANADIENS:  When you are possessing one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL today you never think that your #1 net minder will go down to injury for a significant stretch of time, but it happens all the time.  The most recent case had Carey Price missing a few weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury.  In comes relatively unknown rookie Mike Condon who started 9 games in a row, going 5-2-2 in those games until Price’s return on Friday, November 20th.  The Canadiens are hoping to challenge for the President’s Cup and need those kind of efforts in order to fulfill that goal. The Rangers proved how valuable having that solid backup is last year, and the Habs are proving it again this year. Teams that have excellent backup goaltending are the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings and the St. Louis Blues.  The Rangers signed Antti Raanta after trading away last year’s savior Cam Talbot to the Edmonton Oilers for a few draft picks.  All the ex-Chicago Blackhawk has done so far in 4 games is win all 4 with a 1.25 GAA and .955 SP.  Raanta seems to have the skills to someday take over for the King of Broadway, but that won’t be for a few years and who knows what happens in that span of time. Andrei Vasilevskiy will one day in the very near future be the undisputed #1 goaltender in Tampa Bay but as of right now, he is still considered the backup, but probably is more like a 1B compared to Ben Bishop’s #1B status.  Last year Vasilevskiy burst onto the NHL scene and went 7-5-1 in 16 appearances sporting a 2.36 GAA and a .918 SP allowing the Lightning to let go of aging Evgeni Nabokov.  Vasilevskiy was recovering from off-season surgery and has recently returned to action, appearing in 4 games and going 2-2-0 with a 2.03 GAA and a .929 SP.  It is safe to say that the surgery was a success. It’s not so much the case of Petr Mrazek being the backup, or Jimmy Howard for that matter as they both have split time somewhat equally at the beginning of the s2014-2015 season, but Mrazek has started the last 3 of 4, giving him 12 starts versus Howard’s 9.  With a back-to-back weekend, Howard should get the start on Saturday.  Mrazek showed last ...

SMC 11-8-2015 If anyone hasn’t noticed yet, the Buffalo Sabres are going to be a tough opponent this year. Especially once Robin Lehner returns and gets into mid-season form. Rasmus Ristolainen is going to be a force for the Sabres power play someday soon. Along with Jake Eichel and Sam Reinhart amongst others, this team will be quite competitive for some time. The LA Kings seem to be on a mission this year which doesn’t bode well for the Western Conference. The window of opportunity of getting any Anaheim Duck player on the cheap is quickly closing with the 4-game winning streak.  They dug themselves a bit of a hole but they are the team who can overcome that in a hurry. Anze Kopitar is going for the CY Young award this season with 5 goals and an assist at this point in the season. Panther fans are still waiting for that late season magic displayed last year with the arrival of Jaromir Jagr.  Growing pains with young talent will always be the case no matter what. Tyler Toffoli with 7 points in past 6 games has arrived.  Mike Condon is almost a splitting image of Carey Price, but not really. Who would’ve thought that the Philadelphia Flyers were going to shut out the mighty Winnipeg Jets?  And can Michal Neuvirth get a win without shutting out the other team?  All three of his wins have come by shutout. Toronto keeps losing but they are playing better.  Just looks bad seeing all those red ‘L’s in a row. Nazem Kadri with 7 SOG still couldn’t beat out Mr. SOG Alex Ovechkin who had 8. Kris Versteeg is leading the Carolina Hurricanes in points with 10.  Shame on you Eric Staal. St. Louis has started Jake Allen 6 games in a row and he has won 5 of those.  Looks like he is ready for full-time #1 duties. Remember Magnus Paajarvi?  He played last night for the Blues.  That’s the second game he has played this season. This Colton Parayko is something else.  Scored on the PP even though Kevin Shattenkirk returned to the lineup last night. Since Filip Forsberg isn’t grabbing the headlines like he did last year, some owners may think he doesn’t have it this season, but he still has 8 points in 13 games.  One good streak and he is on his way.  Buy low? No Parise?  No Problem says Devan Dubnyk.  Just let me go back in time to a year ago and play like I know I can; a 1-0 shutout of the Tampa Bay Lightning. No small feat. I think Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov is ready to break out. The NY Rangers know what they had in their grasps last year and are determined to get back ...

#2 ST. LOUIS Under the guidance of Head Coach Ken Hitchcock, the St. Louis Blues have either finished 1st or 2nd in the Central Division and it looks like they will make it a 5th time.  Vladimir Tarasenko broke out in a big way last season and was the talk of the NHL.  Now that everyone knows what he is capable of, will he be able to put together back-to-back stellar seasons?  Out goes T.J. Oshie and in comes Troy Brouwer.  This was more a cap issue than anything else. Well maybe Oshie’s poor playoff performances too.  The defense is the same and so is the goaltending.  Will they manage to get past the first round as they have failed to do in the previous two seasons? GOALIES The Blues have two talented goalkeepers and they pretty much split time evenly now as backup Jake Allen is growing into a fine young NHL net minder while Brian Elliott battles each and every year to prove his worth.  Will it be more of the same this year?  At some point they are going to have to stick to one and let it ride.  My bet is on Elliott as he holds the edge in stats and has a bit more NHL experience. 2014-2015                      GP      GAA       W        L        OTL       SP Brian Elliott                   64          2.18       41       17         6         .923 Jake Allen                     37         2.28        22        7        4         .913 DEFENSE FORWARDS Up until last year, the scoring was pretty much done by committee.  That was until Mr. Tarasenko decided to breakout in a huge way.  Tarasenko jumped from 43 to 73 points in his third pro season.  He won’t be catching anyone off guard this season but still has the skills to repeat. Another young talent in Jaden Schwartz is sure to improve on last season’s 63 point effort.  And don’t forget old reliable Alex Steen. That even though he got off to a slow start, still managed to notch 64 points in 72 games.  At 30, as well as David Backes, both provide the veteran leadership on this Blues team and still be a valuable contribution fantasy-wise.  Newcomer Brouwer as well as Paul Stastny round out the top 6.  Brouwer should provide a steadier influence come playoff time while Stastny, being in his second year with the club, should give better production as he should be more comfortable with Hitchcock’s scheme.  Jori Lehtera showed great chemistry on a line with Tarasenko and should be good for another decent run at 45 points.  PROSPECTS The farm system is stockpiled but there is no room at the inn for these ...

PRIMEPUCKS™ 2015 FIRST ROUND PLAYOFF REVIEW The 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs are beginning shortly and PrimePucks™ is taking a look at what they predict will happen in the first round and beyond. MINNESOTA vs. ST. LOUIS St. Louis is my pick to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Finals, but they will have their hands full with the resurgent Minnesota Wild. "Left for dead" midway through the season, the acquisition of veteran goalie Devan Dubnyk proved to be the main catalyst behind their surge into the playoffs. Since becoming the starter, the Wild went 28-9-3 while allowing two or less goals in 29 of 39 games. A staunch defense led by Ryan Suter will make it tough for the formidable Blues' offense to score consistently. Premier snipers Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek will lead the Wild scoring party, but do they have enough to match the highly balanced firepower of St Louis which went down the stretch without Vladimir Tarasenko and Alexander Steen but still managed to finish the regular season on fire. Speaking of Tarasenko, he is the ultimate x-factor in this opening series, given that his game changing talent unleashed is the a weapon that the team has lacked in recent years. Combined with the development of future star Jaden Schwartz and the trade for Paul Stastny, these guys will be tough to beat. Jake Allen will probably get the nod for Brian Elliott in goal but he should be able to ride his hot offense and elite D to a hard fought series win. It's looking like 7 games, this will serve the Blues well as they possibly face Chicago in the next round. Load up on your Blues as they are my pick to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Your premium picks are Vladimir Tarasenko, David Backes, Kevin shattenkirk, and Alex Pietrangelo. I would gamble on Jake Allen as a late widcard goalie pick. Just keep in mind that one bad outing and Brian Elliott can be right back in goal. Taking a late flier on Zach Parise or Thomas Vanek might prove to be a shrewd move, given that if the Wild squeaks by, they could make some serious noise.   ANAHEIM vs. WINNIPEG After getting bounced out by the LA Kings last season in the playoffs, the Ducks look more equipped for a long postseason run with the acquisition of center Ryan Kesler. The former Vancouver center makes the Anaheim forward lines more potent and balanced, giving them more pop up the middle and a better second line to complement the Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry top unit. The bigger question for the Ducks is ...