Fantasy FanHouse

Sami Kapanen Says Goodbye to the NHL

Jes Golbez — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:12:00 EST

Filed under: General NHL, Flyers, Fantasy Hockey

Sami Kapanen, the spunky jack-of-all trades saw the writing on the wall when the Flyers made him a healthy scratch/bit player during their playoff run. After a regular season which saw the little bugger get a whopping eight points in 74 games, it's not as if the Flyers were going to utilize Kapanen in a big role.

Kapanen said "To hell with that!", and decided to call it quits on his lengthy NHL career, returning to play with the club he is a partial-owner of.

Flyers right wing Sami Kapanen has decided to end his NHL career with the Flyers and play in his native Finland next season.

Kapanen, who will turn 35 on June 14, has agreed to return to KalPa Kuopio of the Finnish League, where he played 10 games during the 2004-05 NHL lockout.

Kapanen had one year remaining on a contract that would have paid him $1.25 million next season. That salary will come off the Flyers' books for the 2008-09 season.

Part of me has always thought as Kapanen as a disappointment. Given his speed and smarts, I figured he be able to put up much better offensive numbers than he did. Sure, 458 points in 831 games is nothing to scoff at, but Sami only ever crossed the 60-point barrier twice in his career, and took a huge nosedive in 2002, when he was 29 and still in good shape.

On the other hand, Kapanen has been one of the most flexible and useful players during his later career. How many other players would you be comfortable playing at both forward and defense, and in any situation? Sami could do it all and never put up a fuss about it, unlike Sergei Fedorov.

Flyers fans are probably feeling a bit sad and glad today, given how much Kapanen busted his balls for the Flyers, but also knowing that this gives Philly a much needed bit of cap room to use on a younger player who isn't skating with a giant fork in his back.

Sami Kapanen Says Goodbye to the NHL originally appeared on Fantasy FanHouse on Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:12:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Wonderful Wacky Stat Pack

Jes Golbez — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:00:00 EST

Filed under: General NHL, Islanders, Rangers, Flyers, Bruins, Wings, Ducks, Fantasy Hockey

We're near the quarter point of this fine NHL season, so let's have a peek at some statistical odds and ends, trends, and other useless information you can impress your co-workers with.

While no coach would have much of a reason to put Jamal Mayers on the power-play, it's quite amazing that Mayers has played 532 NHL games and never had a single goal with the man advantage (63 career goals in that time). Not one! Even Donald Brashear, a man with far less offensive skill, has four power-play goals in his 'distinguished' career.

Are the refs asleep on Long Island? The New York Islanders have both the least amount of power-play opportunities for (67) and against (69). Meanwhile, the Ducks have the second most power-plays with 107 and most against with 111. So much for that laid-back West Coast mentality.

When the Detroit Red Wings won a Stanley Cup with Chris Osgood as their #1 goaltender many moons ago, many opined (including myself) that Osgood was, perhaps, the worst #1 goalie of a Cup winner, ever. This season, the Wings are rolling, despite having not getting good goaltending. With Osgood filling in for Dominik Hasek, who is injured again, the Wings have the 5th worst save percentage with 89.3%, but still have a 14-5-1 record. Go figure.

Bizarro World: Speaking of goaltending, the top three save percentages belong to Dan Ellis, Tim Thomas, and Martin Gerber ... and the bottom three belong to Miikka Kiprusoff, Alex Auld, and Dominik Hasek. Apart from Auld, I don't think many telephone psychics would have predicted these names to be where they are.

One reason the Rangers have struggled so far this season is the fact that their star players just can't score. Apart from chemistry issues, the Rangers have a league-worst 6.7% shooting percentage. You'd have to figure that number will increase naturally, and the Rangers will eventually capitalize on all of the chances they generate. The Rangers are 3rd overall in shots on goal, so it's not as if they aren't peppering opposing goalies with shots.

On the other side of the coin, one must figure the Flyers are due for a bit of a fall. As of today, they rank #1 in shooting percentage with 12.2%, but 4th worst with 469 shots on goal. In fact, the Flyers have one of the worst shot differentials in the entire league, which leaves one to believe that they are being outplayed quite often.

The Boston Bruins have been known to be a stingy franchise, so it's kind of fitting that they are the lone NHL club not to let in an empty net goal this season. The Kings and Blue Jackets are the most generous with 4 yawning cage goals apiece.

The Wonderful Wacky Stat Pack originally appeared on Fantasy FanHouse on Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:00:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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'Year of the Rat,' One of the Worst in Stanley Cup Finals History?

Greg Wyshynski — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:42:00 EST

Filed under: General NHL, Islanders, Flyers, Bruins, Senators, Hurricanes, Panthers, Capitals, Blackhawks, Wings, Flames, Avalanche, Oilers, Canucks, Kings, Eastern, Western, Fantasy Hockey, Stanley Cup

Although it's one year too late -- and what former NHL player is going to give up a fishing trip for this? -- the Florida Panthers will celebrate their Cinderella run to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals this weekend. Panthers alumni like John Vanbiesbrouck, Ray Sheppard and Bill Lindsay will join the majority of the players (sans schedule-conflicted Rob Niedermayer and Robert Svehla) who led Florida to the Finals in only the third year of the franchise, before being swept away by the Colorado Avalanche. There's a golf tournament, player appearances and an exhibition game at BankAtlantic Center on Saturday that will give hockey fans something they've long dreamed about: another chance to witness the majestic skating of Terry Carkner on NHL ice.

The Panthers, who will unveil their new uniforms at Saturday's game, have dubbed the celebration "Weekend of the Rat" after the single most significant memory from the team's Stanley Cup run. The Sun Sentinel remembers the fun:

In 1995-96, they finished third in their division (41-31-10, 92 points) and fourth in the Eastern Conference in the regular season, then beat in the Bruins 4 games to 1 in a seven-game series, the Flyers 4-2 and the Penguins 4-3 before losing to the Avalanche in four games in the finals.

Right winger Scott Mellanby killed a rat in the dressing room with his stick minutes before the home opener that season, then scored two goals that night, prompting Vanbiesbrouck to declare Mellanby's feat a "Rat Trick." Throwing plastic rats on the ice after goals soon became a phenomenon.

"We accomplished some pretty lofty things with a group of guys who were considered mediocre players at the time," Lindsay said.

"Mediocre players at the time?" Has history been that kind to Johan Garpenlov and Jody Hull? Florida Panthers fans have every right to celebrate this unexpected season of meteoric success, lest they fall deeper into the depressing reality that their franchise is now known more for losing Roberto Luongo and failing to make the playoffs in the Southeast Division than plastic rodents. But for the rest of us, this weekend begs the question:

Are the Florida Panthers the most mediocre Stanley Cup finalist of the last 25 years?

First off, this list will be limited to teams that did not win more than one game in the Stanley Cup Finals. This could eliminate some contenders; the 2006 Edmonton Oilers and the 1991 Minnesota North Stars, for argument's sake. And forget about teams like the 1983 Oilers, the 1984 Islanders, the 1988 and 1990 Boston Bruins and the 1995 Detroit Red Wings -- great teams, all of them. The 1997 Flyers and the 2007 Senators were more talented than the Panthers' Cup finalist, and were just overwhelmed in the last round. Ditto the 1993 Los Angeles Kings and the 1992 Blackhawks.

With that narrow focus, we find ourselves with:

The 1982 Vancouver Canucks, coached by Roger Neilson and 4-0 losers to the New York Islanders.
The 1985 Philadelphia Flyers, coached by Mike Keenan and 4-1 losers to the Oilers.
The 1986 Calgary Flames, coached by Bob Johnson and 4-1 losers to the Montreal Canadiens.
The 1996 Florida Panthers, coached by Doug MacLean and 4-0 losers to the Colorado Avalanche.
The 1998 Washington Capitals, coached by Ron Wilson and 4-0 losers to Detroit.
The 2002 Carolina Hurricanes, coached by Paul Maurice and 4-1 losers to Detroit.

Let's drop the Flyers from that list -- 110 regular-season points and some great goaltending. The Capitals can also come down, unless you can find two offensive players on the '96 Panthers that could carry either Peter Bondra's or Adam Oates's stick bags. The 1986 Flames beat the Gretzky Oilers to get to the Finals, and had Gary Suter and Al MacInnis on the blueline -- that's good enough for me. Which leaves us with the 1982 Canucks, the 1996 Panthers and the 2002 Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes had Irbe in goal, but Ron Francis and Rod Brind'Amour up front. The amazing Roger Neilson/Harry Neale switcheroo and the recent passing of Gary Lupul give me some nostalgia for that Canucks team, but the bottom line is that it was as devoid of star talent (leading scorer: Thomas Gradin) as the Panthers were. Which brings us to Florida.

Unlike the other two contenders, the Panthers were a blatant neutral-zone trap team, which is the reason for the franchise's quick maturation as an expansion newbie. They had one 30-goal scorer in Scott Mellanby. Their roster was filled with players who will need to buy a ticket to get into the Hall of Fame. And, in spelling out the three greatest sins of the 1996 Florida Panthers, LCS Hockey writer Michael Menser Dell explains the Rat Pack's greatest offense to hockey:

The Panthers smothered the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals, clutching and grabbing the vastly superior Birds into submission in a seven-game shocker. Mario Lemieux, Jaromir Jagr, Ron Francis, and Petr Nedved combined for an absurd 203 goals and 528 points in the regular season, but the Pens could only muster 15 goals total in the seven- game defeat. The Florida upset once again deprived the world of a potential Mario Lemieux- Patrick Roy Stanley Cup showdown.

In a dead-heat between the Canucks and the Panthers, this fact might provide an edge to the boys from the Sunshine State...

'Year of the Rat,' One of the Worst in Stanley Cup Finals History? originally appeared on Fantasy FanHouse on Thu, 26 Jul 2007 11:42:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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For Dubious Hockey Achievement...

Eric McErlain — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:55:00 EST

Filed under: General NHL, Islanders, Flyers, Canadiens, Blackhawks, Eastern, Western, Fantasy Hockey, NHL Awards

If I had to hand out a rookie of the year award for Hockey blogging for the 2006-07 NHL season, one of the top contenders for the award would have to be The Forechecker. Bursting onto the scene as a regular presence in the preseason, The Forechecker combined hockey smarts, number crunching and a penchant for detail to produce consistently compelling prose.

In his latest post, parceling out a number of postseason awards that nobody really wants to win, he fearlessly names names and unearths stats that most NHL player agents would rather see remain buried:

CROSS-CHECKER OF THE YEAR: The nominees are...

Joni Pitkanen, Philadelphia Flyers (5)
Brent Seabrook, Chicago Blackhawks (5)
Sheldon Souray, Montreal Canadiens (7)
Brendan Witt, New York Islanders (6)

And the winner is... Sheldon Souray! It's been a season of extremes for Souray - the most goals scored among NHL defensemen (26), the worst +/- rating (-28), and the third-most penalty minutes (135) to go along with this Cross-Checking award.

Ouch! Bet you're thinking twice about seeing your favorite team drop a couple of million a year to bring Souray to town now, eh? Don't worry, there's plenty more where that came from. As for The Forechecker, here's hoping he'll be cycling back into the zone next season to cause some more havoc.

For Dubious Hockey Achievement... originally appeared on Fantasy FanHouse on Tue, 17 Apr 2007 20:55:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Martin Brodeur Sets NHL Wins Record* for Goalies

Jes Golbez — Fri, 06 Apr 2007 01:03:00 EST

Filed under: General NHL, Devils, Flyers, Eastern, Fantasy Hockey

With the Devils 3-2 win over the Flyers tonight, goaltender Martin Brodeur set a new record for wins by a goaltender in a single season with 48.

As you can imagine, the mainstream media, New Jersey Devils, their fans, and the NHL itself, is going to play this up as the "world's bestest achievement".

Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils had a record-setting night against the worst team in the NHL.

Brodeur surpassed Bernie Parent, Philadelphia's stalwart Stanley Cup-winning goalie, for wins in a season with 48 and the Devils clinched the Atlantic Division title with a 3-2 win over the Flyers on Thursday night.

"I think with him being an icon as far as goalies for the Flyers, to go into Philly and do it here, I couldn't write it a lot better than that," Brodeur said.

"This is his year," said Parent, his retired No. 1 hanging from the rafters. "He's played fantastic hockey. It couldn't have happened to a more fantastic individual."

Parent sent a personal note that Brodeur said he would read at home.

What is on the note? "YOUR RECORD IS TAINTED" ??

Look, anyone with some semblance of individual thought knows that Brodeur's record is a sham. Parent, classy as he is, has a right, if he wishes, to be pissed off that he's lost his record thanks to the advent of the shootout.

In an earlier post here at The Fanhouse Jon "JP" Press offered his take:,

Brodeur has won a League-high 10 of those games in shootouts. Bernie Parent won, well, none of his games in shootouts, but did tie a dozen games that year -- games that would have gone to the shootout had they existed. It's a safe bet that Parent, that year's Vezina Trophy winner as the League's best goalie, would have won enough of those shootouts that we wouldn't even be talking about Brodeur closing in on his record right now, much less tying or breaking it.

... is the record legitimate or does it deserve the dreaded asterisk?

An asterisk? No, I don't believe that's quite right. The record is tainted, yes, but not because of Brodeur's doing.

You know how baseball has 'modern' records and 'old time' records? Perhaps the NHL should adopt a classification for New NHL records, such as Brodeur's wins record. The New NHL has added a whole new whack of oddities to the mix, and manipulated the standings. Having a team achieve 100 points in a season isn't quite the achievement it used to be. Instead of a bunch of *****, just have a New NHL set of records for some categories, and another for traditional records.

Anyone got a better idea?

Martin Brodeur Sets NHL Wins Record* for Goalies originally appeared on Fantasy FanHouse on Fri, 06 Apr 2007 01:03:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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