tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-157127242024-03-13T21:19:11.400-06:00The Opiated Sherpa's Hockey Pool DomainThe companion blog of the Opiated Sherpa's hockey pool website, where pool-related news will drop, relatively close to when it actually happens.opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.comBlogger9776125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-12904912515726449812019-05-03T09:24:00.002-06:002019-05-03T09:24:36.317-06:00Top Prospect Signings (May 3)
The New York Rangers announced some exciting news, as they have signed a couple of top prospects in their system, coming over from Russia. Most notably, their 2018 1st round draft pick, forward Vitali Kravtsov inked his 3-year entry-level deal and then 2014 4th round pick, goalie Igor Shesterkin got his 2-year entry-level deal.
As a 19-year old, Kravtsov played in his 2nd full season inopiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-87354425847767001202019-05-02T08:30:00.000-06:002019-05-02T08:30:54.548-06:00Top Prospect Signings (May 2)
The Detroit Red Wings signed 2018 1st round pick Joe Veleno on Wednesday after completing a very successful season with the Drummondville Voltigeurs in the QMJHL in 2019, where he scored 104 points in 59 games and he also represented Canada at the World Juniors this year as well, picking up a couple of assists in five games played. The Red Wings are trying to quickly overhaul their opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-59759277511585868082019-05-01T08:27:00.002-06:002019-05-01T08:27:31.215-06:00My Mock Entry Draft, So Far...Well, I have been patiently waiting for more teams to be eliminated from the NHL playoffs, since the draft order for June's Entry Draft can still be jockeyed around a little bit yet. The first team that would follow the Montreal Canadiens in the Pool Outlook posts, if the standings were to follow in order would be the Colorado Avalanche, but given that the four teams in the Conference opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-89902522897918391202019-04-24T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-24T12:00:04.749-06:00Pool Outlook for MontrealThe Montreal Canadiens almost made that miraculous comeback to the post-season in 2019, being right there in the last few days of the season, but some poor stretches midway through the season kept them out of a lot of the tie-breaking situations, but ultimately, that didn't matter too much, as they were 2 points short of Columbus for that last wild card spot in the east.
Given that this opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-63380564596115410402019-04-23T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-23T12:00:05.052-06:00Pool Outlook for ArizonaThe Arizona Coyotes were a very pleasant surprise in the 2019 season, as they were remarkably competitive and in the hunt for a playoff spot for the better portion of the regular season. The team is finally starting to come around from just being the league's dumping ground for older contracts, they are now a hard-working bunch with a little bit of finish and some goaltending.
The Coyotes opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-68324600321120801092019-04-22T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-22T12:00:03.069-06:00Pool Outlook for FloridaThe Florida Panthers had some relatively high expectations coming into the 2019 season and rightfully so. They increased their talent level by the acquisition of Mike Hoffman in the off-season, their core group is really on the upswing in their careers, the blueline is really starting to come around and their goaltending has a great veteran presence to help guide their youth along.
opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-73394133652507235192019-04-21T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-21T12:00:09.313-06:00Pool Outlook for MinnesotaThe Central Division has had a reputation of being rather difficult in recent years and it seems like exceptional things have to happen for your team to succeed in this division or else you're just left behind. The Minnesota Wild didn't have a star rookie and whatever player was getting on a hot streak, would end up getting hurt and the Wild, as competitive as they were, finished in last opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-45984076058549912952019-04-20T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T12:00:08.907-06:00Pool Outlook for PhiladelphiaThe Philadelphia Flyers were much better on paper, looking down the list of their scorers and point totals, than their 22nd place finish in the overall league standings would suggest. They had a whole lot of firepower, but the downside to their season was the back end, as they set a new NHL record for the most number of goalies to get a start in one season and as much as they received some opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-58438335775460502072019-04-19T16:00:00.000-06:002019-04-19T16:00:03.772-06:00Top Prospect Signings (Apr 19)
This past week, the Dallas Stars locked up one of their top prospects for the start of next season, 2016 1st round draft pick Riley Tufte. Tufte and the Stars agreed upon a 3-year entry-level deal, which will start next season and work the rookie maximum cap hit of $925,000, but doesn't have a great deal, in terms of performance bonuses, according to CapFriendly.
Tufte just finished his opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-22303780170026896612019-04-19T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T09:35:38.630-06:00Pool Outlook for VancouverThe expectations for the Vancouver Canucks were pretty low coming into the season, no one was talking about playoffs, but there was a certain buzz around the team, because of their youth movement and the hype that was building in the season previous.
The team had shown off a goal scoring winger to go along with a franchise centreman in the 2018 season and everyone was waiting for the dynamo fromopiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-52889961163523805142019-04-18T12:00:00.002-06:002019-04-20T09:36:47.276-06:00Pool Outlook for AnaheimFather Time has not been very kind to the Anaheim Ducks, a team that has done their best to reward their top talent with long-term deals, worth lots of money, only to be betrayed by the rigors of the calendar and now a good portion of those long-term investments are getting the best of this team.
Injuries played a very big role for the Anaheim Ducks in the 2019 season and it hit some of the opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-59378522468842301472019-04-17T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-20T09:36:54.862-06:00Pool Outlook for EdmontonThe narrative in Edmonton remained the same in 2019... some top end talent in the entire league, some reasonably high expectations and the eventual belly flop into mediocrity.
The Oilers had a coaching change after a slow start to their year, which resulted in an increase of hope in and around the end of November and December, but the team reverted back to what it was earlier and it cost the opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-35830952009715780852019-04-16T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-20T09:37:01.508-06:00Pool Outlook for BuffaloThe Buffalo Sabres haven't been to the playoffs since the 2011 season and this year was looking like it was finally going to be their triumphant return to the post-season, as the stars were aligning, goals were being scored and the wins were piling up... all before the flip of the calendar to the New Year. A 10-game winning streak in November saw these Sabres at the top of the heap for a opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-59901393651043578472019-04-15T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T09:37:10.689-06:00Pool Outlook for DetroitThe Detroit Red Wings are another one of those teams in the midst of a rebuild or a retool of sorts and they've had to muddle their way through some salary cap issues of their own, but there may finally be some light at the end of the tunnel, as the Long Term Injured Reserve and free agency is starting to lend their hands and help.
Of course, that has had very little help on the on-ice product, opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-63622665795504140372019-04-14T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T09:37:16.402-06:00Pool Outlook for Los AngelesThe variables have to be just right for the Los Angeles Kings in the state of salary cap troubles that they're in, just to be competitive in the league, it would seem. The 2018 season saw those variables come together and they got a massive season from Anze Kopitar and the rebirth of Dustin Brown, among other things, but the variables didn't line up for the 2019 season as well and the team opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-81230814062893176782019-04-14T09:52:00.003-06:002019-04-14T09:52:39.253-06:00Top Prospect Signings (Apr 14)
One day after falling just short of a national championship at the NCAA Frozen Four, University of Massachusetts standout defenseman Cale Makar has indeed signed with the Colorado Avalanche. The 4th overall pick in the 2017 entry draft has really made some waves at the college level and the international level, playing for Canada, and he will be looked upon as a cornerstone player for opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-76130684827285846942019-04-13T12:00:00.000-06:002019-04-20T09:37:27.445-06:00Pool Outlook for OttawaCalling the Ottawa Senators a 'dumpster fire' is a disservice to all dumpster fires everywhere. The on-ice performances to the off-ice drama, there is not a whole lot redeeming about these Senators and a rebuild is well underway, but now it's all a matter of meticulous planning and patience, to see if ownership's plan of being competitive again within a few years can come to fruition.
opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-86901561190014745792019-04-12T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T09:37:36.223-06:00Pool Outlook for ChicagoThe top-heavy Chicago Blackhawks were not short on offense in the 2019 season, they were still a hockey pool favourite, when it came to collecting points and helping to win money. I mean, that's what we're here for, so the Blackhawks were good, right? Overall, not really.
No, the Blackhawks had a hard time keeping the puck out of their own net, a really hard time, in fact. Sureopiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-91710575739070778562019-04-11T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T09:37:43.684-06:00Pool Outlook for New YorkThe New York Rangers made no secret of their desire to tear down the team and rebuild at last year's trade deadline and they have been able to keep on the plan through the 2019 season and they still found a reasonable level of mediocrity in the process, still finishing 26th in the regular season, somewhere in-between missing the playoffs and last place.
The Rangers battled their way through the opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-90416939107255569702019-04-10T12:00:00.001-06:002019-04-20T09:37:49.951-06:00Pool Outlook for New JerseyI don't think that the value of Taylor Hall to this New Jersey Devils team could be overstated, especially after taking home the Hart Trophy in last year's awards show. Hall was huge in getting the Devils into the playoffs last year and when he went down with his knee injury this year, the good start that the Devils got off to was nothing more than a vague memory in the overall scheme of opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-44518962755047681292019-04-07T10:31:00.000-06:002019-04-07T10:31:39.272-06:00Week Twenty-Seven Newsletter, Year-End Edition
Where did that season go? That was 27 weeks done in a huge hurry, wasn't it?
The 2019 regular season is now in the books and we turn the page towards the playoffs and just to reiterate, there won't be any playoff pool this year. Lack of time and a lack of interest added up to the decision not to put the sheet together. That's not to say the blog won't be active in this opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-11582680844976657392019-04-06T10:02:00.001-06:002019-04-06T10:02:32.622-06:00Weekend Preview (Apr 6)
Welcome to the final day of the regular season!
What is really left to play for? Well, there's jockeying to be done in the NHL playoff races, as the Jackets did clinch the final spot in the Eastern Conference last night, so now we just try to figure out who is playing where in a few cases.
The biggest story in the hockey pool, which is a horrible long shot, but it's all we got... can opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-11530565596109594732019-04-06T02:39:00.002-06:002019-04-06T02:39:38.312-06:00Morning Player Notes (Apr 6)
The 2019 season struggles of Alexander Wennberg of the Columbus Blue Jackets were punctuated with a healthy scratch for rookie forward Alexander Texier on Friday night, which will probably lead to another one on Saturday night, in the final game of the regular season against the Senators. Wennberg has now likely finished the year with 2 goals and 25 points in 75 games this season, which opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-30555826971665720852019-04-05T15:26:00.000-06:002019-04-05T15:26:28.697-06:00Evening Preview (Apr 5)
Well, if you're keeping track, three playoff spots were clinched last night, leaving only one left to go at the start of play on Friday night, the second-to-last night on the regular season schedule. That last playoff spot could also be decided tonight, which would only leave a little bit of jockeying left to be done on the final day/night of action. We'll tackle that spot in the opiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15712724.post-44589762204028964672019-04-05T09:25:00.002-06:002019-04-05T09:25:41.281-06:00Morning Player Notes (Apr 5)
I suppose I could have done a little bit more research on the potential scratches for the Boston Bruins last night, as it wasn't just David Krejci taking a seat and a rest against the Minnesota Wild. He was joined by Brad Marchand, Charlie McAvoy and Zdeno Chara, since this game really didn't mean much of anything. The Bruins were still able to walk away with a 3-0 win, despite notopiatedsherpahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17931894485596376545noreply@blogger.com0