Week Eighteen Waiver Draft (Feb 5)

It took a little while to get going on Wednesday, but once we got the ball rolling, the picks and the passes came fairly fast and furious.  Thanks to the lack of chances for money down the stretch, there did seem to be a lack of interest in making the smallest of changes, as some teams didn't seem to mind being in the Olli Jokinen bobblehead race and the subsequent shame they may feel when they have their picture taken with it.

Thanks to the large amounts of passing yesterday, we managed to make it through 11 teams, but only four players were dropped and another four were picked up, which makes this post much easier than it may sound.

Wes decided to pass in the end, as his one injury to Tommy Wingels in San Jose doesn't really distress him, as he should be back in the Sharks' lineup in the next week or two, as he heals from his broken hand.  Wes obviously didn't think there was much out there that could improve on his numbers.

Clayton, however, did elect to make a change in his under-performing forward ranks, as he dropped a Week Nine pick-up as well, Linden Vey of the Canucks, and opting for the now-healthy Jordan Staal in Carolina.  Staal came back from a broken leg in the middle of the second segment and was definitely going to be a target in this Waiver Draft and it's surprising he lasted as long as he did.

It sounded like Grant S. had the same idea, as Clayton poached his pick, opting instead to go with the best player available on the list, Mika Zibanejad of the Ottawa Senators, dropping Johan Franzen of the Red Wings to get him.  Franzen has been dealing with an upper-body injury, which sounds like a concussion and Zibanejad has been doing well in Ottawa, since being dropped nine weeks ago.

Pool leaders, Kristy & Don, are going to run the whole season untouched, by the sound of things.  Even with a long-term injury to Mikkel Boedker, their current lead of 71 points will likely run unopposed in the third segment, so they will stay the course.

And then it was on to round two of the draft, but Wyllie's team, which has since moved out of the basement, had determined that his current team, with a few day-to-day injuries, won't likely improve with this batch of available players, so they'll try to stay out of the bobblehead race with what they have.

In a stunning move, Allan opted to make a "protest move," by dropping Vincent Lecavalier of the Flyers and taking AHL'er Mike Richards, who was dropped the round before.  This may ensure that Allan finishes with a couple of last place bobbleheads on his mantle this Summer, since he already leads in the least amount of skater games played and currently his behind 22nd place by a point.

Much like Wyllie above him, Ryan didn't have much to drop away from his team, as they were all healthy and starting to play relatively well again, so he moved on.

Mike and Leo passed in the first round, so the second round pass was a no-brainer.

Grant K. had one injury that he wanted to move away from, one of his Week Nine pick-ups didn't play much for him, Devils defenseman Damon Severson, so he opted to pick up the hot and unknown Kevin Connauton in Columbus.  Connauton was picked up from Dallas this season and has been a scoring marvel ever since.

The final decision was Benson deciding to pass, as he had moved out of the basement already and cleaned up a relatively cold forward.  To his team's credit, they currently sit in 3rd place in the second segment of the season, but had only moved up to 17th place, to date.

So, now we're on the final stretch of moves, if they need to be done, for the competitive teams.  We are just waiting on Stuart to make his pick, I have Stacey C.'s next pick, but we may be a little while before we get the pick from down under, as at the time of this post, Brian is resting up for his Friday, which likely means a couple Fosters with some koala bears.