Not every fantasy hockey league includes blocks but those that do can drive owners absolutely batty. Any category that is at the mercy of a statistician will be open to interpretation. There are a few other groupings (hits, blocks, even SOG) that are simply at the mercy as they say. Blocks are always dominated by defensemen so don’t be shocked.
So who was among the best at blocked shots this year in the NHL? We give you the top three with a little explanation and maybe a little more on if they can repeat the feat next season. Are you ready? Get ready and see if you had any of these players on your fantasy squad.
Fantasy Hockey Rewind: Block Party
Third Place — Kris Russell — Calgary Flames
Not many expected Kris Russell to wind up with over 200 blocks and yet at the end of the season, there he was. Keep in mind that Russell had a couple nagging injuries that held him to only 68 games but yet he still had 201 blocks. The injury to Mark Giordano and then eventually Dennis Wideman opened the door and kept it open. Russell also averaged 2.95 blocks per game and it is really possible that three blocks per night is likely next season. Russell will have plenty of chances to be along the side of Giordano who is one of the best defensemen in the league hands down. Russell is one of the very few 250-block candidates out there.
Second Place — Chris Butler — Calgary Flames
Injuries to Mark Giordano and Kris Russell led to unexpected opportunities for Chris Butler and he took advantage of the chances. Butler played the full 82 games and wound up with an ATOI of 20:16. His 211 blocks in 82 games was good for an average of 2.57 denials of shots per contest. Will Butler be able to continue this next season? The feeling is the average might come up a bit but will the ice time and games be there? That is still yet to be determined via the draft and free agency.
First Place — Andrew MacDonald — Philadelphia Flyers
It was a strange year for the defenseman who played 25:00+ on a constant basis for the New York Islanders but found himself playing a bit less when he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. The days of a very good shot blocker averaging three blocks a game are pretty well gone. However, the leaders still come pretty close. MacDonald had 242 blocks in 82 games which is 2.95 blocks per contest. Using advanced stats, Andrew MacDonald may have been one of the worst defenseman last year. Heck, the last three seasons has been pretty awful from that perspective. Blocks are a different game and he still excels at that.
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Next up on our series is hits and if you thought blocks was subjective, you haven’t seen anything yet. Thanks for reading fantasy hockey fans!
