Goalie Announcements (Oct 5)

After night number one, we are well on our way.  Mike, Cam, Stacey C. and Wes were all winners on opening night and they are officially through to Week Two in the survivor pool.  Thursday night, there will be ample opportunity for wins, as we have eight games on the schedule.  Stacey C.'s second goalie can now play spoiler in the pool and there is one goalie that wasn't taken in the draft, putting another speed bump in the process.

Stay tuned to the blog, as this post will be somewhat daily, as I try to recap the night before, but not everyday... it might not be quiet enough at the office to get it done.

Pekka Rinne (Dale B.) versus Tuukka Rask (Clayton)
Clayton has one of two teams that only have two projected goalie starts through to the end of the week, so this first game for Tuukka Rask and the Bruins will be pretty big for his fate in this mini-game, moving forward.  Dale B., however, has three more after this start for Rinne, so it isn't quite as important to get the win, but it would be a huge spoiler play if he got it.

Carey Price (Dale C.) versus Robin Lehner (Kristy & Don)
The Sabres will open up their home schedule with the Canadiens coming into town, not the easiest opponent to do so with.  It has been confirmed that it will be Price against Lehner, each team's number one goalie getting the nod.  For Dale C., this will be the first of two starts, while Kristy & Don will only get this shot at a win tonight.

Semyon Varlamov (Stacey C.) versus Henrik Lundqvist (Brian)
On Broadway tonight, Stacey's goalie can play spoiler, trying to keep Brian, last year's 2nd place winner, from a necessary win in the survivor pool.  On the surface, it sounds like an intriguing game, but it is the Avalanche trying to keep the Rangers out of the win column to make that happen and that could be a very tall order, if the Avalanche are anything like last year's team.  Semyon Varlamov has looked good in the preseason, but we all know how much we can trust the preseason.

Braden Holtby (Grant) versus Craig Anderson (Tony)
The Washington Capitals and Ottawa Senators are going to make for a pretty good match-up on Thursday night and it is a marquee match-up in goal as well, with Holtby going up against Anderson.  For Grant, his only hopes lie with the Capitals, as he has the starter and the backup, so as they go, he goes in the survivor pool.  For Tony, he'll have a second shot tonight in one of the late games, if all else fails.

Devan Dubnyk (Brenda & Seward) versus Jimmy Howard (Dale C.)
The Detroit Red Wings had an up-and-down preseason and now we get to see which team is going to rear their head, starting now.  Is it the older, slower team that we're all expecting or is it a rejuvenated team that has their legs under them and ready to play?  Dale C.'s second shot at survival is pegged on Jimmy Howard tonight and he gets the tough task of Devan Dubnyk, who will go for the pool's second duo.

Antti Niemi (Derek) versus Corey Crawford (Jeremy)
The Blackhawks welcome the champs to the Madhouse on Madison tonight and they'll roll out the welcome mat, sending Corey Crawford to the crease to oppose them.  The sentiment may not be mutual though, as the Penguins played last night and it should be Antti Niemi getting the nod instead of Matt Murray, who started last night.  Both Jeremy and Derek see their first starts of the season from their keepers, trying to get safe in the survivor pool, ahead of the weekend.

Louis Domingue (Stuart) versus John Gibson (Tony)
On the pond in Anaheim tonight, it will be a good match-up of two good young goalies, as Domingue gets the nod for the Coyotes and Gibson goes for the Ducks on their opening nights in the league.  This is a slight surprise start for Domingue, as it sounds like the Coyotes want to run Antti Raanta as their number one, but he wasn't ready to go from a lower-body injury.  This is good news for Stuart, who only has one bonafide starting goalie on his side.

Michal Neuvirth (N/A) versus Jonathan Quick (Chris)
The Flyers are playing on back-to-back nights as well tonight, which means that Michal Neuvirth should be in the crease for the Flyers and surprisingly, he wasn't taken in the draft, given the Flyers and their regular goalie struggles, splitting games on the schedule.  On the other side, it's the home opener for the Kings and that should mean we'll see Jonathan Quick and Chris gets his only start of the night.  The Flyers put five goals on the Sharks last night, so it might not be a cake walk for Quick and the Kings.

Afternoon Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 5)

A lower-body injury has now sidelined Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf, as he was not on the ice for the morning skate ahead of their opener against the Coyotes tonight, and it was confirmed later by the coaching staff that Getzlaf won't be in the lineup either.  He's currently listed as day-to-day, but there was no indication about how serious the injury is or how long he'll be out for.

It is an incredibly bad start for Eric's team, as a couple of players getting sent down to the minors ahead of the season starting and then his 3rd round draft pick goes down with injury.  His team was among the 23 teams that picked up a point on opening night, but it could get tougher with bodies falling off the list.

How about some positive news? The Nashville Predators have activated forward Nick Bonino ahead of the game against the Bruins, one of the early games tonight. Bonino hasn't seen a lot of on-ice action since he went down with his broken leg in the playoffs, but he has been deemed good-to-go, so off he goes.

Mike's team got on the board with a win last night, but that was his only 2 points, but a solid boost to his lineup is a healthy Bonino.  There certainly are no worries here, as he has had ample time to recover, it'll now be about shaking the rust off in game situations.

The Boston Bruins are prepping for the Predators with players coming out of their lineup, instead of going back in. Patrice Bergeron and David Backes are not expected to dress tonight, as Bergeron's previously reported lower-body injury will keep him out and Backes has been suffering from a bout of the flu in recent days.  Both are considered to be day-to-day and they may be ready to go for the team's next game, which goes on Monday afternoon with the Avalanche in town.

We had a feeling that Bergeron may not go for Brenda & Seward tonight, but Backes not going for Neil was a bit of a new one.  Again, it doesn't sound like something to get too excited about, but making hay early makes the season a little easier to stomach.

The early part of this season, a season in which they have yet to play a game in yet, has been nothing but curveballs coming from the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights claimed Malcolm Subban from the Bruins on the waiver wire this week and they seem to think that Subban is a cut above Calvin Pickard and they have opted to keep their new acquisition and put their previously apparent backup waivers on Thursday.  Pickard was an expansion draft pick from the Avalanche in the summer, but the Golden Knights see more of a future with Subban and they don't want to keep three goalies around, so the move was made.

There are no guarantees about how the Pickard situation will go down, as he could get claimed by another team, pass through unclaimed and hang around or go unclaimed and be sent down to the minors for a while.  For Steve, I would be hoping that Pickard gets claimed on waivers by a team in need, instead of waiting for Vegas to play him now.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 5)

The Philadelphia Flyers obviously didn't mind the start in California much, as they ran over the Sharks last night, 5-3. Ahead of that game, defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere announced that he was good to go and good to go he was! Gostisbehere kicked off the season with a trio of assists, coming back from an upper-body injury in the preseason.

For Kristy & Don, Gostisbehere was their 4th round pick in the draft and after a good start like that, the young defenseman is on pace to be a 1st round pick, but there's still 81 games left to play and that's a hard pace to keep up.

Recent Contract Extensions (Oct 5)

The Anaheim Ducks had a potential restricted free agent signed back up on Wednesday night, on the eve of their opening night, as they signed defenseman Josh Manson to a new 4-year contract extension.  The extension has been valued at $4 million per season and he can now confirm that he is a valuable member of the Ducks organization.

Manson had 17 points in all 82 games for the Ducks last season, among the pool worthy defenders, and he was also a 14th round pick for Dale B., his last pick of this year's draft.  With still a year left on his deal, it is really intriguing to think of what Manson might do this year, if he doesn't have to earn a new deal in the summer.

Goalie Announcements (Oct 4)

The reigning champion of the goalie survivor pool is Stacey M. and her team is set to defend their title as the best surviving team from the crease in the 2018 season.

This is the portion of the season, where hope is running quite high, because everyone is still in this competition and there are five days to get the job done.

The best part of the opening nights is that it's usually the number ones that get the start.  Let's see how the first four games look!

Frederik Andersen (Mike) versus Steve Mason (Troy)
The opening game of the season, the 5pm MT start, sees table mates at the draft, Mike and Troy, go head-to-head for their first wins of the season, as the Leafs should be sending Andersen to the crease, while Mason is the confirmed starter for the Jets, as he was the big off-season acquisition for Winnipeg and brought in to help push them into the playoffs.

Jake Allen (Cam) versus Matt Murray (Stacey M.)
The Penguins will raise their banner tonight at home and they'll do so with a formidable Western Conference opponent in the house in the Blues.  Allen is expected to go for the visitors tonight, while Murray, the reigning champ, will get the nod for the Penguins.  Murray is a good goalie to have when you're also the defending champ of the survivor pool, eh Stacey?

Mike Smith (Ryan) versus Cam Talbot (Wes)
The Battle of Alberta gets an early start and the measuring sticks will be out, when we look at the goaltending between the Flames and the Oilers.  Smith will go for the Flames, as they try to make it over the brink, while Talbot gets the nod for Edmonton, as they also try to push a little bit further this season.  Two good goalies that could keep both Ryan and Wes in the mix in this mini-game all year long.  An early win will go a long ways for both teams in that regard.

Brian Elliott (Stacey C.) versus Martin Jones (Chris)
The Flyers will start the season on a California road trip, which won't be the easiest way to start the season, but it might be good to have out of the way down the stretch.  Stacey C.'s proxy team will bear the brunt of it tonight, as Elliott gets to go for him, while newcomer, Chris, gets his number one guy to go tonight in Jones in San Jose. 

Getting that opening night win makes the week much easier and certainly much more anxious for those who don't.  Six teams were eliminated in Week One last season and we've already had a peek at some teams and their goalie situation and six teams is achievable again, so keep your fingers crossed!

Noon Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 4)

Looking over the opening day rosters, which the NHL published this morning after yesterday's deadline, it was very noticeable to see both forward Patrick Eaves and goalie Ryan Miller on Anaheim's Injury-Non Roster List, which is likely just a bit of paper pushing, more than anything. Both Eaves (lower-body) and Miller (upper-body) are probable for their opening game, which goes Thursday night, at home to the Coyotes.

The Ducks may have been looking for a bit more play under the salary cap with these moves or at the very least, give a couple prospects another practice.  This doesn't look great for Dale C. or Cam, who get games taken off their projected games this week, but the return should be quick... in theory.

As expected, Alex DeBrincat was recalled this morning by the Chicago Blackhawks, as the CBA/salary cap rules were massaged by the Blackhawks, trying to ensure that they have the maximum allowable to spend this season, even after signing defenseman Cody Franson to a new deal today.

Chris can expect DeBrincat in the lineup, when the Blackhawks open up the season on Thursday night with the Penguins in town, who are going to already be playing on back-to-back nights.

Recent Contract Extensions (Oct 4)

There's no better way to open a brand new season, than with a 7-year, $42 million contract extension, eh Nikolaj Ehlers? Ehlers and the Jets agreed to the new pact and it was announced first thing on Wednesday morning, only hours ahead of the season opener, at home to Toronto.

Last season, the Dane finished with 25 goals and 64 points in all 82 games for Winnipeg and he was headed to restricted free agency at the end of the 2018 season. 

The 21-year old finished as a late 2nd round pick in last season's scoring ranks and still managed to drop down to a 4th round pick for Brian in this year's draft.  This season does have bargain written all over it, which is good news for Brian... and the Jets!

Late Night Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 3)

The Vegas Golden Knights surprised many, including myself, when they announced late on Tuesday night that Vadim Shipachyov and Shea Theodore were among three cuts on the night, also including training camp standout Alex Tuch, and sent them all down to the minors, mostly on the factor that none of them had to clear waivers to do so. The Golden Knights have a number of assets that they are likely still looking to trade, but the deals don't seem to be there at the moment and that has cost these three players some key NHL time in the early part of the 2018 season.

Shipachyov was my highest projected forward for this team and it comes as a pretty big surprise that the Golden Knights were not going to sacrifice someone through waivers to keep him up and Theodore was going to be a top end defender for this team, but it was a numbers game for him too.

The Russian veteran was a 9th round pick for Stacey M. and the Canadian defender was also taken in the 9th round by Kristy & Don.  Both teams have the projected games for Week One taken down, but I can't imagine they'll be in the minors for too much longer.

Recent Contract Extensions (Oct 3)

The Buffalo Sabres and Jack Eichel kept the story the same through the off-season and that was, they wouldn't let any contract extension discussions distract him or the team through the season. Well, on the eve of the regular season kicking off, both sides ensured that to be the case, agreeing on an 8-year, $80 million deal. The $10 million cap hit per season will be among the elite, starting in the 2019 season.

Eichel was taken in the 3rd round of the draft this year and I thought he was one of those guys that could easily go in the 1st round this year, so I think Wes may have gotten himself a bargain.

Afternoon Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 3)

The Boston Bruins may have to start the season with two-way centre Patrice Bergeron, because the all-star suffered a lower-body injury in practice on Tuesday, only a couple days ahead of the season opener, at home to Nashville on Thursday.  Bergeron has been quoted as saying that this isn't related to his off-season hernia surgery, rather it was something different that might need a few days to rest and recover from.  It doesn't sound too significant, but it will cost him some time.

This isn't a great start for Brenda & Seward, as the addition of Bergeron to the list of injuries, means that they will start the season with three bodies on the shelf, albeit for a short period of time.  Erik Karlsson is very close to suiting up for the Senators, while Alex Steen isn't likely ready to play for the Blues until next week.  An early season jump from their healthy players will be needed, so they don't fall behind in the early days of the season.

The expectation of James Neal's availability for opening night was still hanging in the air, thinking it could go one way or the other. But with the Golden Knights roster situation still somewhat fluid, this might work out in their favour. Neal, who is still getting over the last little recovery of his broken hand, which he suffered in the playoffs last year.  Neal reportedly had a little bit of setback during the summer, but his recovery should have him ready to go shortly, as he has been skating with the team in practices.

The Golden Knights will certainly use this opportunity to see a prospect or two, just a little bit longer, but that won't help Dale B. in the short-term, who was certainly hoping for a quick jump out of the gates for the veteran claimed at the expansion draft.

The Nashville Predators are doing up some clever paperwork, possibly to give a prospect an extra day with the team, ahead of the season starting, adding Nick Bonino to the Injured-Non Roster list before the submission deadline for the start of the season.  The last update I had read was that he was ready to play, but felt that a little more rest, ahead of the team's opener on Thursday, would be better for him.  It sounds like he is good to go, but for the sake of being on the list, his status will be changed accordingly.

This doesn't sound like anything for Mike to be concerned about to start the year, which is more than I can say about the other two guys on this list today.  This is good news, that he is indeed ready to go.

The Chicago Blackhawks, one of the teams strapped for cap space, did some maneuvering of their own, sending down four players and two of those players for the sake of a little extra cap relief right away. One of those two extras is forward Alex DeBrincat, who has indeed found a place on the roster for opening night, but there is a minimum amount of players that a team can hold onto the roster and getting an extra day of not spending that cap money here and there can go a long ways.

This is strictly a cap move and DeBrincat will be back with the team (on paper) in time for the team's opening game, no

The same cannot be said about Winnipeg's Kyle Connor, who was sent down to the AHL to cut the roster down to the 23-player limit on Tuesday.  Connor was one of three players that didn't have to clear waivers and was on the bubble to make the team, but his bubble burst early on, but you should expect him to be one of the early favourites for a call-up, be it for injury or to replace one of the other two, who might get off to a slow start.

Unfortunately for Eric, this is his second player to be sent down to the minors and as it was laid out for the 2014 draft, the preseason waiver draft is for injured players only and drafting these young players (or even the older ones), there is a risk that they could be cut and sent down to the minors.  Injuries were the part of the game I wanted to guard against in preseason swaps, so you could start with a healthy lineup.  These players are healthy, but the risk of them not making the roster was realized early on.

I'm not sure how I didn't notice this, but Patric Hornqvist hasn't been available to the Penguins throughout training camp and the preseason for the Penguins, but the team suggests that he isn't very far away, dealing with a hand injury.  Hornqvist may start the year on the Injured Reserve, just to make room for a body, but since he hasn't seen any action yet, the placement would be retroactive and he would be eligible to return at any time.  For now, he's day-to-day, even if he does get an IR placement.

It doesn't sound like it should be too concerning for Mike, who is already dealing with the Bonino injury as well, but this one is a little more serious and could cost him a game, two or maybe even three.  It's hard to say right now, as the Penguins haven't exactly been definitive about the whole thing.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 3)

The Minnesota Wild have confirmed on Monday that they will be starting the season without forward Zach Parise for the first two games of the season, Thursday night in Detroit and then Saturday in Carolina, hoping for good news when they return home next Monday, before heading back out to Chicago on the Thursday.  Parise has reportedly been dealing with a back issue, which had forced him to miss all of training camp and the preseason, but hasn't been able to find his way to 100% health.

This was an issue that was believed to be minor, but Neil is going to be without his 6th round draft pick for a little while yet.  It seems likely that Parise will start the year on the Injured Reserve, retroactive to the injury happening, so he will be eligible to return at any time.

The Calgary Flames haven't officially announced the Jaromir Jagr signing just yet, as the player has yet to sort out some working visa issues with the Canadian authorities and the Flames have some shuffling around to do themselves, so it's not the biggest rush to get out there and get done. Yes, this does likely mean that Jagr will be unable to go for opening night tomorrow in Edmonton, but he won't likely be too far away.

Just the fact that Jagr is on his way to join his new team is a definite plus for Ryan, who made the 45-year old veteran his last pick in the draft, but it isn't a 100% active pick, since he will likely miss a game, maybe two, before suiting up for his first Canadian NHL club.

Finally, it sounds like the Ottawa Senators will have both Bobby Ryan and Derick Brassard in the lineup for opening night, barring any kind of major setbacks, as the final roster should be released today, with the deadline for the roster passing here.  Ryan had a preseason groin issue, which kept him out of the preseason finale, while Brassard didn't see any preseason time, but the team expects him to be ready, coming off of off-season shoulder surgery.

For Stacey C. and Wes, both should be breathing a bit easier, as the season kicks off for Ottawa on Thursday night, with the Capitals in town, as they won't be missing any key time due to injury.  We will have more updates, if any are posted, but the expectation is for good news.

Breaking Down the Draft

Back-to-back seasons of 25 participating teams... that's just about right and I think just about everyone would agree.  350 players were taken again this year, 200 forwards, 100 defensemen and 50 goalies, which kept a lot of depth in the pool.  Thankfully, we avoided a lot of the technical issues that we had last year and the Thanksgiving weekend disaster, so we were able to finish up all the picks in three and a half hours.

I like having a look at who came from where and what position players went in which rounds, so let's have a quick look at that, just for shits and giggles.

Well, there's no surprises here.  The Calgary Flames were again the most popular team in the hockey pool draft.  Last season, they were tied with the Penguins and the Jets for the most popular, but this year, they are all by themselves, as the pool took 14 players from their hometown team.  Mike Smith was the lone 1st round pick, taken in the early goalie rush, 18th overall, while Johnny Gaudreau was taken in the 2nd round, 50th overall, and Mark Giordano was taken right next to him, 51st overall in the 3rd round by pool newcomer, Steve.

There were a couple of Flames players taken, which didn't hit my pool worthiness marks for the draft, so there are some teams in the pool that think they could really lift up and shoot out the lights.

The least popular team at the draft this year was the Los Angeles Kings with only eight players taken, while three other teams, the Panthers, Sharks and Golden Knights, all failed to hit double-digits in players selected, all three with nine picks.

Jonathan Quick was the top Kings player taken, 30th overall in the 2nd round and they were few and far between afterwards.  In fact, there were no Kings taken after the 10th round of the draft, with the pool taking the scraps from other teams, no belief in the Los Angeles depth.

The Golden Knights, in their inaugural season, don't have a lot of representation, but they do have a 1st round pick, as newcomer Scott opted to take Marc-Andre Fleury with the 22nd overall pick.  The next Vegas player didn't drop until the 9th round, when Steve shocked everyone by taking Luca Sbisa ahead of some other key players.

Let's not forget... Ryan took one unsigned free agent in the legend, Jaromir Jagr.  Jagr is still negotiating with teams to make a return and a signing has to be around the corner, with the puck dropping in a couple days.

19 rookies were taken in this year's hockey pool draft, with Nico Hischier leading the pack, taken in the 5th round of the draft.  The top pick in this summer's entry draft has been impressive for the Devils in the preseason and Clayton is hopeful that the Devils are going to play well around him as well.  Sadly, the rookie mini-game didn't hit on the wheel this year, so it is a bit of a moot point.

By my count, I am showing that seven hockey pool teams have a pair of out and out starting goalies, while there are still a few teams in the league that have their goaltending situation up in the air and that could lead to a few more, but we'll await some of their decisions before we get ahead of ourselves.  Those seven teams have to be considered favourites for the goalie survivor pool, but Stacey M. won it with only one clear starter and a back-up that got lucky with extra starts, due to an injury situation.

On the opposite end, three teams in the draft picked up a pair outright backup goalies and they'll be hoping for the tides to turn in their respective NHL clubs.  They'll certainly get some starts with lots of back-to-back nights on the NHL schedule, but they'll need a lot more starts, if they are going to keep the pace.

The other two mini games this season, the plus/minus mini-game and the All-Star Game competition are a little more difficult to project going forward, but they'll certainly be fun to watch.

It was a good day out and there are a lot of good teams in this year's pool.  We'll be getting to the side bets here in the next day or two, as there were a ton of them going around and someone actually wrote them all down this year.  Stay tuned to the blog and the website for those updates, when the season goes live.

Morning Player Notes in the Draft (Oct 2)

The Philadelphia Flyers are likely going to be taking an extra defenseman to California to start the regular season, as Shayne Gostisbehere suffered an upper-body injury in the team's preseason finale on Sunday afternoon. The third-year defenseman suffered what could be a head injury in the game and he was going to be reevaluated at some point on Monday.  He'll currently be listed as day-to-day, until otherwise specified, but it's not a good start for the Flyers.

Nor is it a very good start for Kristy & Don, who had injury concerns at the start of last season as well.  It doesn't sound dire enough to take down any projected games from their roster, as of yet, but if the dreaded 'c' word drops, things may change.

Jagr Lands in Calgary

The on-again, off-again saga, that was the courtship between the Flames and Jaromir Jagr finally came to a thrilling conclusion on Monday morning, as the two sides agreed to a deal, which will bring the 45-year old to Calgary on a 1-year deal.  The deal will pay him $1 million in a base salary, which will count against the cap right away and another $1 million in possible bonuses, which could count against the cap next season, assuming he hits those targets and the Flames overspend this year.

Last season with the Panthers, Jagr played in all 82 games, scoring 16 goals and 46 points, which still had him ranked 109th among all forwards in scoring.  It was certainly a pretty good season and it shows that he can still bring some talent to the table for the Flames, not to mention a veteran presence for their young superstars.  A lot of the Florida youth were very complimentary to what Jagr brought to their dressing room and certainly the Flames brass are hoping for much of the same.

Ryan was taking a flyer on the veteran Jagr, assuming that the reports over the weekend were going to carry water and he took him with his last pick in the 14th round, 333rd overall.  It does sound like Jagr has been working out back in Europe, as he was waiting for a new deal to materialize, so trying to shake off any rust shouldn't take as long as it would for someone who wasn't working out, it will be more about figuring out the systems and who he will be lining up with, more than anything.

Afternoon Camp Demotions (Oct 1)

The Edmonton Oilers also demoted a top prospect on Sunday afternoon, sending forward Jesse Puljujarvi to the Bakersfield Condors of the AHL, a spot where he played for the better part of last season as well. The 19-year old has struggled to make an impact with the big club in the early part of his career, but with a ton of offensive weapons already on the team, his development would be much better suited for top six minutes in the AHL, rather than bottom six minutes at the NHL level.

Bad luck for Eric, as his last pick isn't going to be earning him very many points early on this season.  I would have to think that Puljujarvi will be a candidate for a recall at some point in the season, when the inevitable injuries arise.  Eric's team will also start the season with only 25 projected games in Week One, which gets started on Wednesday.

Welcome to the 2017/2018 Draft Pool

It's October!  That means that it's hockey season... finally!

A big thank you to everyone who showed up on Saturday afternoon, we're running another solid 25-team pool again this year, which will mean that the prizes will be very similar to last season, where the winner took home $750 for their troubles.  As for the actual prizes, I will have a post published on the blog here in the next few days, explaining the payout structure again here.

This season, we welcomed a few new faces to the pool, so we'll see how they fare in their first year... a big hello and good luck to you three, Steve, Chris and Scott.

We'll have three mini-games this season, like we have had the last couple of seasons and the wheel fell on the goalie survivor pool, a plus/minus pool and the All-Star Game as well.

The goalie survivor pool is a pretty easy premise... the weeks are Monday to Sunday in the regular season and your goalies will need at least one win to stay in the competition for another week.  If your goalies fail to win one game in between Monday to Sunday, you're eliminated from the mini-game.  Last season, Stacey M. won her money back after John S. fell out of the running in Week Twenty-Two of the season.  Stacey's team didn't register a win in every week of the year, failing to do so in the final week of the season.

The plus/minus stat is a new mini-game for us this season.  Your forwards and defensemen will have their plus/minus numbers counting this season and you will be able to see an updated number every Monday, after the weekly statistical audits are done.  This will be a hard game to adjust for in the Waiver Drafts, but it should be a wide open competition, regardless.

Last season, I did keep a tally of the plus/minus in the hockey pool and if it was a mini-game last year, Marcin would taken his money back,  as his team ran away with the statistic, having a +102 rating.  The entire pool was on the positive side of the ledger, finishing with a combined +135 rating for the year.

The last mini-game will revolve around this year's All-Star Game, which will go in Tampa Bay in February.  It has been already announced that they will go with the 3-on-3 tournament again, which means there will be three games played and the points will count exactly the same as they would in the regular season for those three games.  Most points on the day will win their money back.

Of course, I kept track of this one too last year and Marcie would have won her money back in this one, if it was a go, as her team combined for 11 points from four players in the mid-season classic.

There are 27 weeks in the season, so the two Waiver Drafts will go on Weeks Nine and Eighteen, with the players going live on Ten and Nineteen.  Once we have some scoring in the league, there will be an updated list of available players for you and you'll be notified by e-mail or text that the Waiver Draft is getting started.

I think that's about it for now... stay tuned to the blog!  All the posts on there from here on in is all going to be related to the pool players, so keep a close eye here.  Everything that happens passes through these digital pages.

Morning Camp Demotions (Oct 1)

Somewhat of a surprising move on Sunday morning, saw the Ottawa Senators send young rookie defenseman Thomas Chabot to Belleville of the AHL, likely for some extra seasoning before making the leap to the big club.  With Erik Karlsson not likely to be 100% ready for opening night, it was thought that it would be a pretty good opportunity for Chabot to see some time and make the decision after that.  Maybe Karlsson is closer to returning than we expect.

Chabot was taken in the 12th round by pool newcomer, Chris, which is a stroke of bad luck before the season even starts.  The projected games for Chabot have now been removed from his team and he currently sits 23rd in the category for the opening week of the season, now with 25 possible games to be played.