Would you believe how tight the race at the top is? What is now 7 points between first and third was actually down to 2 points before the weekend. I realize that if you're not actually in the Top 3 it may not be as exciting... but it is somewhat remarkable. Surprisingly, there is still quite a few races going on and most people have something to look forward to in regards to races and battles.
Between teams, you would think that 10 points is a reasonable distance to pass teams in the pool, so let's go down the list and see what teams are split by at least 10 points.
1st to 3rd... 7 points. 3rd to 4th... 45 points. 4th to 5th... 23 points.
5th to 7th... 6 points. 7th to 8th... 8 points. 8th to 9th... 13 points. 9th to 10th... 6 points. 10th to 11th... 8 points. 11th to 12th... 7 points. 12th to 13th... 13 points.
13th to 17th... 9 points. 17th to 18th... 11 points. 18th to 20th... 9 points. 20th to 21st... 14 points.
21st to 28th... 14 points.
Then it sort of splits out quite a bit more rapidly below 28th. A race to the Top 20 is still on with another 8 teams looking in from the outside. One of the other highlighted races, 5th to 7th is a money race... someone will be left without any money.
With only 9 weeks left in the season... I'm beginning to think that the races will become closer before there is more separation. And for those who are still wondering... the Playoff Pool selection sheet will be made available in six weeks!
Hot Teams Over the Last Four Weeks:
Dale C.... 239Don....... 236Jeff...... 220Caterina.. 220Dieter.... 219
Cold Teams Over the Last Four Weeks
Fred...... 126Brian M... 141Mike R.... 142Gerald.... 149
John B.... 153
Let's see what happened in Week Eighteen...
Player of the Week
Well, I don't know about you, but these Penguins are getting somewhat tiring to write about. But they are just playing so damn well and they're far and away achieving these goals that I can't stop writing about them. For Week Eighteen,
Marc-Andre Fleury stole the show with a huge week.
Fleury went 3-0-1 in his four games this week, including shutouts against Florida and Washington. Only one team capitalized on his big 10-point week and it won't be very surprising if he gets picked a few times in the playoff pool and/or next season's pool, since the Penguins are sure learning how to win.
The Mover & Shaker this week, for back-to-back weeks, is
Caterina. This time she actually made a move in the Standings... and from what I hear, it's a pretty significant move. Word through the grapevine this week was that Caterina was tickled pink to pass fellow feminina,
Suzanne, in the pool to be the top gal in 2007. The last time Caterina had led Suzanne, it was all the way back in Week Four, before a sudden collapse in Caterina's squad. This week, however, Caterina found some life out of
Nicklas Lidstrom, Sidney Crosby and
Alex Tanguay... all of which put up some pretty big numbers throughout the week.
This sort of hot streak is quite remarkable... Caterina was all the way down at 22nd in Week Ten and has now climbed up to 9th, only 8 weeks later. Talk about finding one's stride. The climb to 8th will be a bit of a steep one, she's still 13 points out, but if her team keeps firing the way it is, it won't be too long. There could even be a shot at the money here... unless Suzanne has something to say about that. Meow!
Surprisingly, this week's Basement Dweller has kept a pretty low profile... and by low... I mean the BOTTOM. Yes,
Fred has now earned his first Basement Dweller award, after eighteen long weeks of half-assed-ness and poor player selections... his 18th week was one for the books. A clear 7 points better then the next worst team, Fred has long toiled down in 41st position in the pool and it's about damn time that something had to be said. There really is no beginning and there really is no end to what you can talk about on his team... it's just straight-up horrible. Honestly, I feel ashamed that he hasn't been given this award yet this season.
Sidney Crosby – 84 pointsThe kid just keeps on scoring... it was another 6 points this past week for the Penguin phenom. Martin Brodeur only managed 4 points to lose the tie for the lead. Crosby continues to pull away from the second place scorer, Martin St. Louis, who is now 12 points away. Alexander Ovechkin is now 14 behind and Vincent Lecavalier is 15. It'll take an injury to allow some of these guys to play catch-up, but Crosby's resillience is quite remarkable.
Long-term Injuries and Pool TradesWell, I'm guessing it had to be done. Your
pool moderator has made his final trade of the year. I kinda figured I needed one of the Top 2 scorers in the league and I needed some more points from Box 14, so I moved
Eric Staal for
Sidney Crosby. Maybe that'll lift me into the Top 20. But that's it for me... with only 9 weeks left, I best make the most of Crosby's ability.
Also finishing up his set of trades for the season,
Brydon dropped his last two flat tires and will now try and make a run for the top. Only 53 points out of 6th place, dropping
Chris Osgood for
J-S Giguere and
Sergei Samsonov for
Slava Kozlov. He waas actually quite disappointed that Hasek didn't drop off the map and have Osgood take over... and well, Samsonov was just a bust, period.
Trades Remaining in the Top 10:
Dieter... 0 Larry.... 0
Don...... 0 Marcus... 1
Jeff..... 0 Trevor... 4
Dale C... 1 Caterina. 0
Paul..... 4 Suzanne.. 2
It was announced on Sunday morning that
Manny Fernandez will probably miss up to three weeks with his sprained knee. Fernandez, who is held once in the pool, will be greatly missed in the tight race up to the end of the year.
Tuesday should be the return date for
Frank Kaberle, according to team reports. Kaberle, who had shoulder surgery before the season started, will play his first game of the season against Montreal. Kaberle still appears on two teams in the pool, after being dropped several teams when quite a few people thought he'd be a steal in Box 22.
Hockey Night In Canada this week...
Now, we're back to the dreary ol' doubleheaders now on CBC... and I think we'll be getting a taste of something different on the early game. The schedule reads that the Flames and Sabres (in Buffalo) will be broadcast at 5pm on Hockey Night In Canada... that probably means that Calgary (if not the entire West) will get to watch this keen match-up. In the second game, we'll get to see the scoring machine Thrashers come to Vancouver to take on the penalty-kill specialist Canucks in another East versus West battle. This could be one of the more relevant weekends on HNIC, in regards to the pool, that we've had in a while... plus, it'll make for good hockey in the Northwest Division standings.
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Well, the Stars were the only one's involved in a pool-related move, albeit a small one. Nolan Baumgartner (Box 22) was claimed off of re-entry waivers by Dallas to upgrade their depth going into the stretch run. Baumgartner hasn't been taken by anyone, but going to Dallas, may make him a little more attractive to Box 22 dud holders.
Neither Eric Brewer (Box 4) or Manny Legace (Box 6) were taken in the pool, so it really didn't make a difference to anyone that they won't be leaving St. Louis before Tuesday. Both players were signed to contract extensions on Saturday morning and will remain with the team for a while.
Marco Sturm (Box 13), taken once in the pool, probably won't be leaving Boston this weekend or by Tuesday, since he re-upped his contract with the Bruins on Saturday. The signing probably won't affect the pool much, except the Bruins may continue their hot streak of late and a guy like Marc Savard (Box 20) will continue to put in points.
Joffrey Lupul (Box 7) won't be immediately available to the Oilers and his pool teams after getting run over last night in Detroit. His CT scans came back negative, but he might still need a couple days to get the cobwebs out of this noggin'.
One of the rumoured players to move has done just that on Friday morning. 
I'm not too sure if you've heard the news, but all you Habs' fans have lost your number one goalie for the remainder of the regular season. Last place, 
Well, our new leader needed a M&S kind of week to become the new leader... and well, obviously, he did it. 
Do I really have to pick on some people... yeah... that's another reason why I run these things. Ha ha. But seriously, the only team to drop more than one position (with a whopping two spots lost), 
I think it's rather fitting to start the newsletter's trade and injury section with the biggest trade in the league. Now, if you haven't heard of this... I'll call you a liar. Quite possibly, the biggest name on the rental market, 
A couple teams are missing their best Eastern Conference defenseman... and they have been for a while. Now 
