I started something on Twitter a week or so ago as a way of keeping things concise as far as fantasy hockey thoughts. Someone asked me once how do I play fantasy hockey? The honest answer is I use a series of styles but mostly there is just a way of playing until you have exhausted every option then letting it ride.
“Four For The Road” was born out of that philosophy. Not everyone may agree with some of the hot takes I have but hey this is just a way to let it ride. Rankings can be boring and the same fantasy profiles and pieces can get that way too. This is just a fresh new direction to go down.
The goal is to give you four hot takes and expand a little bit on them. Yes these posts will be short and sweet but hopefully will have fantasy staying power. Sit back and brace for the best and worst of hockey reality. Here goes something!
Four For The Road
1. This full season fantasy hockey fans will be unlike any other in some time.
Think about this. The last full season not involving an Olympic Break was the 2011-12 season. That seems like more than three years ago. The schedule will be spread out and with the higher cap and more players changing places, it will not be dull to say the least. It appears the Western Conference is stacked again and who knows what will happen in the Metropolitan Division. That in itself will create enough fantasy intrigue to drive everyone crazy.
2. This is a make or break season as far as the rest of Cam Ward‘s career.
God this sounds nuts but it rings true. The numbers have been average and Anton Khudobin looks poised to take the job. All signs point to the fact that Cam Ward MUST fight for his job in Carolina or be shown the door. It will also be an indication possibly of how Ward fares for the rest of his NHL days. At some point, Ward just has to play, doesn’t he?
3. Eddie Lack and Ryan Miller is not Schneider-Luongo or Schneider-Brodeur.
People have to realize this. The situations are not quite the same until the media makes something of it. There will probably be a simple 2/3 to 1/3 ratio. Eddie Lack showed flashes of being a starter but it was clear that he was not quite ready for the rigors of starting 55-60 games or more. Ryan Miller can still do that job, for now. Vancouver is trying to retool on the fly and it will be interesting to see how Lack challenges Miller who did not have the best of endings in St. Louis. Stay tuned!
4. There will be no player over 105 points in the league and maybe no 100 point players either.
This one is just one rumbling from the gut. There will be players that come quite close but no cigar. It is a concept that just has to play out. I’ll take the hate mail now.
