Fantasy Rangers

We must never forget that a NHL season is 82 games, and many things can happen over the course of such a long stretch. Today's darling is tomorrow's forgotten has-been.

Sure, teams and players go on hot and cold streaks, but the true nature of the beast, in terms of statistical measures, tends to show itself as more and more games are played. Just think of NBA Jam or Super Mario Kart and the 'Rubber Band AI' that tends to smooth out things like peanut butter. Goalies that I had panned or praised earlier in the season look like far different animals now that the cage has been opened.

Miikka Kiprusoff is a perfect example of the peanut butter theory, as he's now worked his save percentage to a just-below average 90.5%, up from the depth of the 88's that he was sporting earlier this season.

October: 12GP 6-3-3 2.97GAA 89.1SV%
November: 13GP 4-8-0 2.95GAA 87.9SV%
December: 14GP 9-1-4 2.57GAA 90.9SV%
January: 11GP 7-3-1 2.67GAA 91.4SV%
February: 12GP 6-5-1 2.51GAA 91.5SV%
March: 1GP 1-0-0 0.00GAA 100SV%

Not long after signing a lengthy contract extension, Kiprusoff started the season in a serious funk. It was if Kipper completely lost his game, and aged 10 years in one day.

As we've seen recently, however, Kipper has been above average since in the New Year, and one more solid month should bring his overall numbers to at least average.

Great? No, but at least he's back to a respectable level, and is playing well at the best time to be doing so. One could deduce that the Flames can expect a 91.5SV% goaltender come playoff time.

Every July, various team owners and GM's, despite their better judgment, lustily rush out to sign whatever slab of UFA meat they can catch to the biggest, longest contract that they possibly can afford.

Salary inflation? Dimishing returns? Chemistry concerns? Cap issues? Those factors mean little when a fairly good player is on the free agent market, and a bevy of other teams are vying for the same player.

So, which of these unrestricted free agent players have actually been a good investment thus far?

Chris Drury - 2007 salary of $7.1 mil (28GP 6-13-19 -2)
Despite the fact that Drury has never proven himself to be more than a pretty good second liner, the Rangers decided to fork over superstar money without a second thought. I wouldn't say Drury's production has been disappointing, given that it's in line with previous totals of his, it's just that Drury is definitely overpaid for the type of player he is.

Scott Gomez - 2007 salary of $10mil (28GP 5-16-21)
Gomez is definitely one of the better playmakers in the league, but has always had consistency and coachability issues. Again, the Rangers forked over large amounts of money for somebody who is not a superstar (he had only 60 points last season), and they aren't getting rewarded for their investment. Gomez just doesn't have the same chemistry with Jagr that Michael Nylander had, and will probably never live up to his huge contract.

Of course, it's always easy to pick on the Ranger$, so let's look at some other squads.

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.