The Guru Report: Some Good Old-Time Hockey

by Hockey Guru

Washington Preserves the One Goal Defeat

Down two games to one. Down two goals to one. Late in the third period.

Sean Avery takes yet another penalty away from the play.

The opportunity for the Capitals to tie the game was there. The powerplay had some chances throughout the game. And on the previous powerplay, the Caps did everything right. But they just couldn't get one past King Henrik.

Three minutes left, now.

A goal here is absolutely necessary, or the season is on the brink.

Under the new rules, the faceoff is automatically in the offensive zone. Why not pull the goalie right now? Make it a 6-on-4. Get an extra body in front of the net. That's the best chance you have, Bruce.

Sure, there's the risk that an empty netter puts you down two, but take your shot when it presents itself. If you go to the bar and the most beautiful girl there wants to leave with you, do you turn her down because it's not closing time?

Nope. Boudreau played it safe. He wasn't ready to sack up. A crucial situation and he didn't send the message to his team that the time is now - it's do or die.

Instead, he can hold his head high and think about how close he was - only losing by one goal. Lamenting how unfortunate that Ovechkin hit the crossbar, about all the posts, blah, blah, blah.

Sometimes a coach just needs to show some guts.


Random Thought

Must Win games in the playoffs.

Teams and coaches prefer to minimize the use of this phrase. It just doesn't make sense anymore. While the regular season is referred to as a marathon - and the playoffs a sprint - wouldn't it be appropriate for a coach to treat every game as a MUST WIN?

Wouldn't the urgency and importance of every shift be emphasized to the players?

If a play-off game is not a MUST WIN, does that make it an OKAY-TO-LOSE game?


An Old-Time Hockey Lesson

Watching the Flames' / Hawks' Game 4 brought to mind the story Wayne Gretzky has told many times, about the Oilers loss to the Islanders in the '83 Cup Finals.

In short, after the loss, the Oilers had to walk past the Islanders dressing room to exit the arena. Edmonton players had expected to see the Islanders celebrating and whooping it up. When they passed the doorway, however, they saw quite a different scene.

Most Islanders' players were still in uniform. Those that were undressed were covered in ice packs. There was no celebration. It resembled more of a M*A*S*H* unit.

Gretzky realized right there, the reason why the Islanders had won. The Oilers, by contrast, hadn't left it all on the ice.

How does that relate to last night's Flames / Hawks game?

Look at the TOI report for the game - particularly for the forwards. For Games 3 and 4. Chicago had a chance to win one of those two games, and take a commanding lead in the series. They chose instead, to keep the legs fresh for later in the series.

Well congrats, Coach Q. There'll be at least 6 games in this series now.


Top 4 forwards in terms of ice time:

Calgary: Iginla, Jokinen, Glencross, Bertuzzi

Chicago: Bolland, Havlat, Pahlsson, Byfuglien


Guess who won both games?

My Enormous Crystal Balls: NHL 2009 Quarterfinals

by Hockey Guru, Will-He-M and Spezzal Teams Playa


A couple of weeks ago, a few of us posted our predictions for this year's NHL playoffs.

I transferred those original paragraphs (which were first posted on the Hockey League's message board on April 12th), to the Baseball League's message board on April 13th (Msg # 211, 212, 213 & 214).

A short time later, I repackaged them and put them up here and here.

The problem was, I had omitted everyone's picks beyond Round 1 on both the Baseball League's Message Board, and on this site. My intention was to put them up a week ago, but I never got around to it. Anyhow, as long as we all witnessed the Opening Round picks, I don't see how a week's delay takes anything away from posting this now.

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Hockey Guru

Conference Semi-Finals

So....round two matchups....hmmmm....

So....the Montreal Canadiens versus the Washington Capitals....hmmmm....Montreal?

Philly? Carolina? Uhhhh....PHILLY!! [to be read using the voice of South Park's Timmy!]

Chicago visits San Jose, now here's a series I can write about. San Jose has been in Chicago's position before and come up short, but this time they feel they are ready. San Jose, however, is wrong in thinking that losing many, many playoff series makes a team better - it doesn't, it only makes you older. Chicago pulls off the upset to reach the Western Conference Finals.

Vancouver at Detroit is another good one. The safe bet is to say that Detroit is Detroit, and will always find a way to win. I really can't see Vancouver going much further, but Vancouver does win this series.


Conference Finals

Philly? Montreal? Uhhhh....PHILLY!! [c'mon, you knew that was gonna be the pick]

Chicago goes up to Vancouver. Chicago is crazy and the Bulin Wall is rebuilt. The Swedish attack on the Wall won't bring it down, and Chicago gets to the Finals.


Stanley Cup Finals

Blah, blah, blah....I really can't see a Chicago / Philly Finals, but whatever. I am going to bet Philly to win the Cup (the odds should be pretty good).

			Hockey Guru
Boston						San Jose
	Montreal				San Jose
Montreal						Anaheim
		Montreal		Chicago
			Chicago
Washington						Chicago
	Washington				Chicago
New York						Calgary
			Cup Champs
			Philadelphia
New Jersey						Detroit
	Carolina				Detroit
Carolina						Columbus
			Philadelphia
		Philadelphia		Vancouver
Pittsburgh						Vancouver
	Philadelphia				Vancouver
Phildelphia						St.Louis
			April 12, 2009

Will-he-M

Conference Semi-Finals

Caps vs Habs: The Habs have better depth on defence and in goal. Ovechkin and Semin haven't played in the high pressure zone that is Montreal. They'll be hard pressed to perform in this series. Prediction: Habs in 6

Pens vs Canes: I'm not liking this series. Too many unpredictable elements involved. On one hand, you have two NHL superstars who lead a team that isn't as good as last year's Finalists, yet shouldn't be taken too lightly. On the other hand, you have a team made up of a mix of rising stars, misfits and aging veterans. In my honest opinion, this series will be determined by how the secondary scoring holds up. I'm not sold on Kunitz and Guerin. Prediction: Canes in 7

San Jose vs Columbus: This match up will be another solid series. Two very talented teams. Prediction: Sharks in 6

Chicago vs St.Louis: The Blues will definitely bow out to the superior Hawks' attack. I will be looking forward to this series. Prediction: Hawks in 6


Conference Finals

Canes vs Habs: I don't like my Habs playing the Canes here, for a simple reason: his name is Erik Cole. He is the new John LeClair - a Habs-killer. He owns the Habs, which is why I was praying that the Bruins wouldn't get him at the deadline. However, the Habs have been battling adversity all season. At one point, they didn't have Alex Tanguay, Carey Price, Robert Lang and Saku Koivu for an entire month long stretch and they still made the playoffs. I know it in my heart, that they'll beat the Canes here. And unlike my friend, the Hockey Guru, I follow my heart instead of my head. Prediction: Habs in 6

San Jose vs Chicago: The Hawks will be in tough. This will be the series that proves whether or not the Sharks are true Cup contenders. Personally, I'd like to think the Sharks can compete but for some reason I have this nagging feeling Brian Campbell is going to earn his high end salary in this series. Prediction: Hawks in 7


Stanley Cup Finals

Chicago Blackhawks vs Montreal Canadiens: My dream Cup Final. An Original Six matchup for the first time since the Habs / Rangers Final in '79. Two of the brightest young forwards in the NHL against the brightest young goalie in the world. I will be looking forward to this come May / June. Prediction: I gotta go with the name of every fantasy team I created this year. Your 2009 Cup Champions and 25-time Cup winners. LES CANADIENS DE MONTREAL.

			Will-he-M
Boston						San Jose
	Montreal				San Jose
Montreal						Anaheim
		Montreal		San Jose
			Montreal
Washington						Detroit
	Washington				Columbus
New York						Columbus
			Cup Champs
			Montreal
New Jersey						Calgary
	Carolina				Chicago
Carolina						Chicago
			Chicago
		Carolina		Chicago
Pittsburgh						Vancouver
	Pittsburgh				St.Louis
Phildelphia						St.Louis
			April 12, 2009

Spezzal Teams Playa

Conference Semi-Finals

Mr. Gainey goes to Washington. The feel-good story of an idealist whose perception of reality is challenged when he is confronted with the well-oiled D.C. machine that is Capitals hockey (OK, so not so much a feel-good story, as a Shakespearean tragedy). Prediction: Washington in 5 games.

If I were to somehow continue in this vein, and relate the other three series' to classic films, I'd compare the Pens going to Jersey to a variation on Goodfellas, but with the opening title sequence from the Sopranos:

[cut to Sidney Crosby climbing into his Cadillac Escalade SUV for the long drive into New Jersey]

You woke up this morning
Got yourself some gum
Mama always said you'd be
The Chosen One

She said you're one in a million
You've got to skate to shine
But you were born under a bad sign
With a blue moon in your eyes

You woke up this morning
This work is so much fun
Your Papa never told you
About how to get it done

But you're looking good baby
I believe you're feeling fine (shame about it)
Born under a bad sign
With a blue moon in your eyes

You woke up this morning
The world turned upside down
Thing's ain't been the same
Since the Blues walked into town

But you're one in a million
You've got that shotgun shine
Born under a bad sign
With a blue moon in your eyes

Woke up this morning
Got yourself some gum
Got yourself some gum [end opening credits]



[cut to montage, with voice-over narration by Penguins co-owner, Ron Burkle]

"Man, back then, we lived like kings. These are the guys Craig Patrick put together for what turned out to be the biggest heist in American history - the Sidney Crosby draft lottery.

Tommy and Carbone would grab the guard and make him get us in the front door.

Young Frenchy and Jon "Buddha" Sim had to round up the workers.

Johnny Roastbeef had to keep them tied up and away from the alarms.

Even Brooks Orpik got in on it. He used to play guitar at the lounge. Everybody loved Brooks. Anyway, he was supposed to steal the van and afterwards compact it by a friend of ours in Jersey.

Everything was going along fine, only Mario was driving us nuts. Just because he set this up, he bugged Craig for an advance on the money we would later earn. He didn't mean anything by it. That's just the way he was.

I had everyone working for me. Even one of my old B-boys, from when I managed the Fat Boys, got in on the action."

[cut to Int. Burkle household, as P Diddy is retrieving compromising photos of Bettman, hidden in his portable baby carseat]

Burkle: "Have a good flight?"

P Diddy: "I hate Pittsburgh. Where'd you find such creeps?"

Burkle: "They're not that bad. And it's worth it. Is this the same baby
you used last week?"

P Diddy: "No, that was my sister's. This is Deirdra's."

Burkle: "She looks like you."

P Diddy: "That's what the stewardess said."

[camera pans over 8 X 10 glossy of a leather-clad Bettman and Bill Daly, in an unflattering S&M pose]
[fade to white, with The Rolling Stones' Starfucker playing over top of closing credits]

Ummmm....what was I talking about, again? Oh yeah, hockey. Prediction: Penguins in 6 games.

Columbus voyages west, into Shark-infested territory. I guess this was a movie, also. Meh. Suffice it to say, Nash bridges the gap between those old crummy BJ's that I was used to, and this new sensation. Too bad no man can achieve BJ success on his own. Prediction: Sharks in 5 games.

The Hawks take flight for more Northerly climes, heading towards Vancouver. This peculiar 7-year migration cycle has many Illinois birders recalling the last truly great event from 14 years ago. Unfortunately, this year's edition is lacking in the 150-point man department, which is what it would take to solve Luongo often enough. Prediction: Canucks in 5 games.


Conference Finals

The storylines have all been written already for the tag-team showdown between Sid and Geno, and Ovie and Semin. The inevitable comparisons will be drawn to the recently eliminated Patrick Kane. The pre-ASG feud will reignite between the future Team Russia linemates. The duelling banjo accusations of diving and showboating will fly.

Or maybe the guys will simply choose to march to the beat of a different drummer.

Either way, this will possibly become the most anticipated series since a young Gretzky took on the powerhouse Islanders. Prediction: Pittsburgh in 6 games.

Is the Canucks' season headed into the Tank? I'd bet on it. Almost as confidently as I would bet on Vancouver prevailing. Prediction: Nucks in 6 games.

Conference Finals

Flightless birds sighted on the B.C. coast. Further proof of the effects of global climate change? No. Just another ending to a long, disappointing season for the Pens. Prediction: Vancouver in 6 games.

			Spezzal Teams Playa
Boston						Vancouver
	Montreal				Vancouver
Montreal						St.Louis
		Montreal		Vancouver
			Vancouver
Washington						Chicago
	Washington				Chicago
New York						Calgary
			Cup Champs
			Vancouver
New Jersey						San Jose
	New Jersey				San Jose
Carolina						Anaheim
			Pittsburgh
		Pittsburgh		San Jose
Pittsburgh						Detroit
	Pittsburgh				Columbus
Phildelphia						Columbus
			April 12, 2009

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The NHL Needs a Fix: C'mon, Keep it on the Ice

by Hockey Guru

This season, teams have been forced to settle for less than honorable ways of battling with each other. Especially toward the end of the game. Each team - and this is now a league-wide approach - simply tries to push the envelope with cheap shots and face washes, hoping merely for retaliation, so that the league office can step in a suspend someone.

It may be a waste of time and energy to say this, but the league office has to stop with this. They have to let the game be played on the ice - not in disciplinary hearings. Barring something completely obvious, suspensions shouldn’t be handed down during the playoffs.

The Hockey Guru proposes that if the NHL is so concerned about the "nonsense at the end of games", then they should hand out 10-minute misconduct penalties, to be served at the start of the next game.

When suspensions are on the table, there exists a major reward for a team to try to goad a star player into earning an automatic suspension for defending themselves. Late in the third, Ben Eager started fighting Dion Phaneuf in tonight's game. This is an incredibly smart strategy for a coach to employ, late in the third. Just have your player start a fight with the other team's star. Either they can get some free shots in, or else the star player fights back and risks getting suspended.



The officiating in the NHL is the best in the world. The league office has to trust its on-ice officials, who already have the power to give out game misconduct penalties and the like, at any time during a game. They are on the ice and have a feel for the flow of the game. Let them hand out the penalties and stop the league office interference.

Again, it may be a waste of time, but should we just sit back?

Adding to the above 10-minute misconduct proposal, if the league wants to hand out suspensions, then wait to hand them out during the following regular season. They could have full blown hearings in the off season which could help fill programming on the NHL Network.

Think about the OJ trial - this could be pure genius.

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The NHL Needs a Fix: De-Regulate This, MoFo

by Hockey Guru


Random Thoughts for a Monday...

• What's worse than a Monday morning? Being a San Jose Shark on this Monday morning!


• With 2-3 days prior to the start of the playoffs and at least 1 day off in between games - shouldn't there have been ample opportunity to develop, practice and implement strategies for success on the power play? St. Louis and San Jose seem like rudderless ships with the man advantage.


• Is it time to de-canonize St. Louis and San Jose - to simply rename those teams the Luis Blues and Jose Sharks? Vatican rules require the performance of two miracles, and unless they were each to overcome a 3-0 deficit and win their series, I see no evidence of saintliness.


• Who will be the hockey fans of the future? Does the NHL realize that it is turning off future fans by putting the league's fingerprints all over every playoff series? Won't somebody please think of the children? Seriously, the NHL is one-upping the storylines of each series.


• How long before teams add attorneys to the payroll to be on the bench? I can see Johnny Cochran yelling at the refs right now... (or, at least... y'know... before he was dead and all).


• If safety is the #1 objective - why not just play the sport as a video game? Then, the only worry would be about carpal tunnel syndrome (Gaborik would still keep the Mayo Clinic in business, with the purchase of wrist splints, alone).


• It seems to me that players from the past all survived okay - and built up quite a passion for the sport.

In closing, I was so amped up for the first round of the playoffs this year, but the NHL is doing its best to sterilize this thing and keep each series from having any character.

If it weren't for the paycheque, these comments wouldn't even be posted - but a man has to support his family...

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The Guru Report: It's Exactly 4:20 on 4/20, Dudes

by Hockey Guru


A great night of hockey on Monday. The Guru set the DVR and managed to view all three games in their entirety – almost in real time!

Through the magic of technology, sitting through commercials was unnecessary. The first five minutes of the Montreal-Boston game were watched – then paused – so the Guru could watch the first five minutes of the Rangers-Caps game.

It was hockey bliss.


Boston 4, Montreal 2

The Bruins defense looked shaky throughout much of the game. Whether this was due to bouncing pucks, frayed nerves, or the pressure of playing in Montreal, they simply didn’t handle the puck well, especially around their own net. Had the Canadiens been more opportunistic, they might have scored three or four extra goals.

Sure, Carey Price gave up some juicy rebounds, and the injuries impacted the Habs line-up. I know. But at one point early on, Kovalev had a wide open net to shoot at and he chose to simply dump the puck into the corner (all right, you could argue he was actually shooting at the net, but missing the net by 15 feet, from 15 feet isn’t exactly an “All-Star” calibre effort).


Washington 4, New York 0

Game three unfolded perfectly for Washington. Scoring the first goal of the game is proving to be more important in this series, than in the others. The danger for Washington is that they become complacent or to think that they’ve accomplished something simply by winning this game. Sure, it was a must win game, but they’re still trailing in the series.

The goalie change for Washington was the perfect move, but as the Guru stated in his predictions, it probably should have been made prior to Game 1. Washington is likely still a year away from a serious playoff run. The missing piece is still the goaltender. This season, it's time to find out just what they have, and to allow Varlamov to gain the experience and get a taste, so that he can be better prepared for the future.

Now, this year is not written off by any means – Washington can still make noise in these playoffs, and game 4 is much anticipated, to see if they are ready to compete now (the Guru's hunch is that they may be feeling too good about themselves right now, and that the Rangers and Lundqvist will now have a great chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead).


Calgary 4, Chicago 2

This was hit-a-minute hockey. Not merely riding guys off, but finishing checks with authority all over the ice. Great hockey, great intensity, great drama.

Calgary got a major break on the go-ahead goal to extend their lead, and cruised to the Game 3 victory. This game was so much closer than the score indicated. This has been a physical series, with the teams trying to wear each other out, regardless of the score.

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The Sports Talk Playoff Pool: NBA 2009 Rosters

I probably should have spent an hour or two and just slapped this up on the site before now. Anyway, the playoffs have begun, so I'll put 'em up, finally. Here are your teams for the 2009 NBA Playoffs:

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EASTERN CONFERENCE

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Toronto Maple East (1)

PG – Rondo, Bos
PG – Williams, Cle
G – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Gordon, Chi
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Lewis, Orl
PF – Smith, Atl
Big – Dalembert, Pha
C – Howard, Orl
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Alston, Orl
SG - West, Cle
SF - Turkoglu, Orl
PF - Prince, Det
C - Ilgauskas, Cle

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Nepeastern Hotspurs (6)


PG – Miller, Pha
PG – Rondo, Bos
G – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Gordon, Chi
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Horford, Atl
PF – Lewis, Orl
Big – Thomas, Chi
C – McDyess, Det
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Williams, Cle
SG - West, Cle
SF - Iguodala, Phi
PF - Williams, Atl
C - Howard, Orl

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Les Royales de Montréal-Est (2)

PG – Bibby, Orl
PG – Johnson, Atl
G – Miller, Pha
SG – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Lewis, Orl
PF – Thomas, Chi
Big – Williams, Atl
C – Howard, Orl
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Williams, Cle
SG - Gordon, Chi
SF - Salmons, Chi
PF - Horford, Atl
C - McDyess, Det

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trader dick's EAST (5)


PG – Johnson, Atl
PG – Rose, Chi
G – Williams, Cle
SG – Iguodala, Pha
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Horford, Atl
PF – Lewis, Orl
Big – Howard, Orl
C – Ilgauskas, Cle
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Rondo, Bos
SG - T. Allen, Bos
SF - Turkoglu, Orl
PF - Garnett, Bos
C - O'Neal, Mia

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Eastern Appalachia Christians (3)


PG – Johnson, Atl
PG – Miller, Pha
G – Williams, Cle
SG – Gordon, Chi
SG – Wade, Mia
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Beasley, Mia
PF – Horford, Atl
Big – Smith, Atl
C – Howard, Orl
C – McDyess, Det

PG - Rondo, Bos
SG - R. Allen, Bos
SF - Salmons, Chi
PF - Garnett, Bos
C - Perkins, Bos

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Connecticut Eastfenders (4)

PG – Johnson, Atl
PG – Rondo, Bos
G – Rose, Chi
SG – R. Allen, Bos
SG – Iguodala, Pha
SF – James, Cle
SF – Pierce, Bos
PF – Beasley, Mia
PF – Lewis, Orl
Big – Howard, Orl
C – Perkins, Bos
C – Wallace, Det

PG - Williams, Cle
SG - Wade, Mia
SF - Turkolgu, Orl
PF - Garnett, Bos
C - Ilgauskas, Cle

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WESTERN CONFERENCE

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west trader dick's (1)

PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Artest, Hou
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Gasol, LA
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Smith, Den
SF - Odom, LA
PF - Aldridge, Por
C - Nene, Den

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Montreal Royal West Academy (6)


PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Milsap, Uta
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Nene, Den
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Kidd, Dal
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Howard, Dal
PF - Gasol, LA
C - Okur, Uta

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West Virginia Appalachians (2)

PG – Parker, SA
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Howard, Dal
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Gasol, LA
Big – Nowitzki, Dal
C – Bynum, LA
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Billups, Den
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Stojakovic, NO
PF - Aldridge, Por
C - Nene, Den

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West Tottenham Hotspur (5)


PG – Billups, Den
PG – Kidd, Dal
G – Paul, NO
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Artest, Hou
SF – Milsap, Uta
PF – Andersen, Den
PF – Duncan, SA
Big – Nowitzki, Dal
C – Nene, Den
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Howard, Dal
PF - Gasol, LA
C - Bynum, LA

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Toronto Westleaf Edition (3)


PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SG – Smith, Den
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Odom, LA
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Okur, Uta
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Artest, Hou
SF - Outlaw, Por
PF - Gasol, LA
C - Bynum, LA

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Connecticut Defenders of the West(4)

PG – Billups, Den
PG – Paul, NO
G – Williams, Uta
SG – Bryant, LA
SG – Roy, Por
SF – Anthony, Den
SF – Artest, Hou
PF – Duncan, SA
PF – Nowitzki, Dal
Big – West, NO
C – Gasol, LA
C – Yao, Hou

PG - Parker, SA
SG - Terry, Dal
SF - Stojakovic, NO
PF - Odom, LA
C - Bynum, LA

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The STP Constitution: The NBA 2009 Playoff Pool

After seeing the issues that arose the other day, when only eight people registered for the hockey pool, I decided to alter the Rules for this basketball pool. I think the result is an improvement, even if we only managed to get 6 people to sign up.

Here are the basic rules, as have been previously laid out in two posts on the baseball league message board (msgs # 262, 273).


1. There will be two Conferences of 6 teams each, whereby each team is restricted from using players from the opposite Conference.

2. Scoring will be counted under a H2H Roto format (meaning the same scoring type as the baseball league, hockey leagues, and regular season basketball league).

3. Managers will be required to dress at least one player from each of the Conferences' 8 NBA clubs, with room for an additional 4 players from that Conference.

4. Managers are required to enter TWO rosters (an East and a West).

5. Each roster shall consist of 12 active players and 5 players on the Inactive List (to be activated after Round One).

6. The Yahoo position-eligibility will apply to lineups consisting of: PG, PG, G, SG, SG, SF, SF, PF, PF, Big, C, C, with an IL consisting of: PG, SG, SF, PF, C.

7. As for the scoring categories, basketball is a high-scoring game, so I don't want any 4-4 or 3-3 scores. Managers will be challenged to either choose well-rounded players or else to choose a balance of specialists, to compete in the 25 disciplines: GP, GS, Mins, MPG, FGM, FGA, FG%, 3PM, 3PA, 3P%, FTM, FTA, FT%, +/-, OREB, DREB, REB, RPG, AST, APG, STL, STL/TO, BLK, PTS, PPG.

8. Scoring will accumulate throughout the playoffs (meaning a player can score all his points in Round 1, but they will still be used to count a manager’s Round 4 score).

9. Each manager will have picked two independent teams, so our tourney will consist of 4 Rounds of eliminations.

10. Six Eastern teams, seeded 1-6, will face off in the usual 1 vs 6, 2 vs 5, 3 vs 4 Round One. At the same time, the Western Conference will feature three series.

11. The winners of these six series will advance to Round 2, along with the highest scoring of the three losing teams (so if you're gonna lose, make it a 13-12 loss and you'll still advance).

12. As a tie breaker for the Wild Card, when two teams lose by the same score, those two teams will be compared h2h to determine the winner. In a rare case where this is also tied, the winner will be the team with the best PPG (then Pts, if necessary).

13. A tie breaker in the case of a regular h2h tie game (i.e. 12-12), shall be used the same way as in the hockey pool. Compare the teams h2h for only the final day of Round 1, as the final period of the OT game. If necessary, he double overtime would be the second last day of Round 1, and so on.


That should just about cover everything. I’ll be posting the Official Rosters soon, so look for that in the next day or so.

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The STP Constitution: The NHL 2009 Playoff Pool

When configuring this little hockey pool for 16 entrants, I failed to consider the ramifications of getting only 8 people to submit their picks. As a result, several facets of this format are now flawed, but still workable.

Here are the Official Rules, as they have been previously laid out in a series of three posts on the baseball league message board (msgs # 209, 227, 233).


1. A maximum of 16 entries will be accepted (though we can make do with only 8, I suppose).

2. Scoring will be counted under a H2H Roto format (meaning the same scoring type as the baseball league, hockey league, basketball league).

3. Each team will consist of 12 F, 6 D, 2 G.

4. Each team must contain one player from each of the 16 NHL teams among their starting 20, with 4 "at-large" players.

5. Each team will select a “Press Box” of substitutes, consisting of 2 F, 1 D, 1 G (to be used after Round 2 is complete).

6. There will be 8 scoring categories: G, A, Pts, +/-, PPG, GWG, SOG, Wins.

7. Scoring will accumulate throughout the playoffs (meaning a player can score all his points in Round 1, but they will still be used to count a manager’s Round 4 score).

8. Teams will be seeded 1-8, as a way to determine H2H matchups.

9. If we end up going with only 8 teams, then our “Quarter-Finals matchups” will run for a month, with the first eliminations taking place after Round 2 is completed.

10. With 8 scoring categories, a tie-breaker or Overtime will be needed to determine the winner. Any category can remain tied, meaning OT would be required for a 4-4 game as well as a 3-3 game or (God forbid) a 2-2 score.

11. For such occurances, the "Overtime" period will become the final day of the just-completed matchup. So, if after the NHL completes its Conference Semi-Finals, one of our "Series" or Matchups is tied 4-4 or 3-3, then those two teams would be judged upon their performance on the last day of action before the Conference Finals begin. If that day's scores also result in a 4-4 or 3-3 tie, then we'd look back one more day for the "Double-Overtime Period".

12. Substitutions from your Press Box can only be made between the NHL’s second and third Rounds, and third and fourth Rounds, so if both of your active goalies were to advance to the Conference Finals, you'd be given the opportunity to make a switch if your 3rd goalie were to advance as well (keep in mind that we will all lose a minimum of 8 players from our active roster after Round 1, so chances are that all 3 of our Press Box skaters will be brought in automatically).

13. Our Press Box players will not be allowed to contribute to our opening round Matchup. Since our opening Matchup will be a four-week Series, that means that no substitutions will be allowed after the NHL completes its Conference Quarter-Finals. Once we get to the Conference Finals, you will be allowed to use these players to win your Semi-Finals Matchup. As stated, the scoring that players accumulate, whether in your active lineup or in your Press Box, will be used to determine the Semi-Finals winners, and ultimately the Championship. Deciding which players to replace in your active lineup in four weeks time, will depend on how many stats they have compiled to date, even if their season is over. For the most part, the decision will be easy, but there may arise a situation where you prefer an eliminated player's stats to a still-active player's. Either way, you will only be allowed to "bench" or essentially throw away 4 players, while keeping your best 20 for the next Matchup. With a minimum of 12 players to be eliminated from each of our teams by the time we need to decide, we will all be choosing at least 8 guys for the Semis whose season is over. Just think of it as a place to dump your worst 4 guys, if you're lucky enough to advance.


So I hope that covers every contingency. The wording can be a little awkward at times, but I wanted to retain the exact phrasing from the original posts, whenever possible. I’m sure we all understand the gist of it, so let’s just sit back and enjoy the first two Rounds of the playoffs. Once we get close to the Conference Finals, I’ll remind everyone to consider their Press Box moves. As for scoring updates, Hockey Guru and I are currently trying to configure the most efficient layout. Expect to see an update similar to this one, probably after tomorrow night’s games.

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The STP Constitution: The 2009 Baseball League

Article 1 – Objectives


1.1 To better reflect MLB rules and to encourage activity from teams near the bottom of the standings, the waiver priority will be reset weekly, on Mondays, between noon Eastern and midnight Pacific, beginning after Week 1 and ending after Week 24. Priority will be assigned to teams based on reverse order in the standings

1.2 All teams shall be named, identical in style, with a geographical place name followed by a nickname. All components of a team’s name shall begin with a capital letter, followed by lower case letters. The Commish must approve all names, as he sees fit, so as to maintain a uniform standard across the league. Failure to comply may result in suspension of the manager’s right to manage his team, or even expulsion

1.3 Before the draft, a poll will be conducted to determine whether the draft order shall be somehow preset, or if Yahoo should randomize it at the draft

1.4 Nobody shall be allowed to enter 2 teams in the league. Any findings of collusion will result in the immediate expulsion of both managers

1.5 All managers shall allow their e-mail addresses to be seen by other managers to discourage the same person from entering 2 teams in the league

1.6 All managers are required to do everything within reason to win each Matchup. It is not permitted to lose a Matchup by their benching players

1.7 Attendance is mandatory. If a team becomes dormant, the Commish reserves the right to expel the manager

1.8 The Commish shall not assume control over a team except when reversing illegal transactions. All reversals shall revert the roster and lineup to the exact state in which it existed, before the transaction was made

1.9 In the event that this is not possible, due to an uninjured player on the DL, the Commish will set the team’s lineup, one time only, by dressing the highest ranked uninjured players, as per the Yahoo season-to-date rankings after the season has begun, or as per the 2008 rankings if it occurs before the season. The 5 lowest-ranked injured players shall be placed on the DL, if that the team owns more than 5 injured players

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Article 2 – Transactions


2.1 A manager shall be permitted to make trades during the draft provided the Commish agrees to the trade. Trades will be processed immediately after the draft

2.2 Any player, within reason, may be dropped, as the limited Can’t Cut List has been deactivated to accommodate season-ending injuries

2.3 If a manager deems an opponent’s dropped player to be too valuable, he may file a grievance on the Message Board, entitled OBJECTION, with the reasons for his grievance outlined within the body of the message. If 7 OBJECTIONs to a dropped player are filed within 7 days of the drop, the transaction shall be immediately reversed by the Commish, as well as all related transactions

2.4 If the 7-day period elapses with between 1 and 6 OBJECTIONs having been filed, the Commish shall render a judgement on the validity of the grievance(s), and may decide to reverse the drop and all related transactions

2.5 All trades will be processed immediately upon the acceptance of the receiving party, as the trade protest mechanism has been deactivated

2.6 As a component of a trade involving at least one player moving in either direction, an exchange of waiver priorities may be included. Both parties must stipulate the terms of a waiver priority exchange within 7 days of the trade. These terms may include a one-time exchange, a limited time weekly exchange, a limited-time perpetual exchange, a permanent weekly exchange or a permanent perpetual arrangement. The arrangement can be either absolute, or conditional upon the future waiver priorities of the parties involved. The exchange may be enacted immediately or at a later date, as specified by both parties

2.7 If a manager deems a trade to be unfair, he may file a grievance on the Message Board, entitled PROTEST, with the reasons for his grievance outlined within the body of the message. If 7 PROTESTs against a trade are filed within 7 days of the trade, the transaction shall be immediately reversed by the Commish, as well as all related transactions

2.8 If the 7-day period elapses with between 1 and 6 PROTESTs having been filed, the Commish shall render a judgement on the validity of the grievance(s), and may decide to reverse the trade and all related transactions

2.9 In the event a disgruntled manager either benches his players or drops them all, the Commish reserves the right to bypass the 7-day period and reverse the illegal transactions. A manager deemed by the Commish to be disgruntled shall be given 7 days to defend his actions, though he will be forbidden to manage his team. After the 7-day period has elapsed, the Commish reserves the right to declare the team dormant. Should an illegal transaction be performed unbeknownst to the Commish, and affect the outcome of a Matchup, the Commish reserves the right to manipulate lineups to achieve the rightful scoring outcome

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Article 3 – Judgements


3.1 The Commish shall be responsible for the conduct of the game and for maintaining order throughout the season

3.2 He is authorized and required to enforce all of these rules and to enforce the prescribed penalties

3.3 He is authorized to rule on any point not specifically covered by these rules

3.4 He is authorized to make changes to this list at any given time

3.5 He is authorized to expel, or otherwise punish, any manager for unsportsmanlike conduct

3.6 He is authorized to order a manager to do, or to refrain from doing, anything that affects the administering of the rules

3.7 His decisions that involve the use of his judgement are final

3.8 If there is reasonable doubt that his decision abides by the rules, any manager may appeal any decision

3.9 If a decision is appealed, the Commish may call for a vote, while retaining the authority to override the result

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The STP Constitution: The 2009 Baseball Settings

When I started this baseball league, I put a lot of thought into every aspect of the game play. We have already discussed the minimum IP issue at length, and we even changed a scoring category (Win% into Holds). At one point (unfortunately, too late), trader dick brought up the issue of positions (changing BN slots into RP slots). Nothing much has been said about the myriad other settings and rules that affect how we play.

Rosters

Each roster is comprised of 10 hitters, 10 pitchers, and 10 BN slots (plus 5 DL slots). This setting can no longer be altered.


Minimum IP

You must record at least 45 IP each week; otherwise risk losing any of the pitching categories that you might be leading in.


Playoffs

The top eight teams will qualify for the “post-season”, which begins on Monday, September 7th. There are no byes awarded to the top-ranked teams – only the privilege of playing a team that couldn’t even make the Top 6.

Scoring Categories

I always hated the Yahoo “O-Rank” system. Outside of the Top 3, they usually get it wrong. The column next to that, however, labelled just “Rank” purports to eliminate all subjectivity, and simply follow a formula. Using the default 5 X 5 settings (and default-sized leagues and rosters), the counting categories are easily measured. Their database ranks every player rotisserie-style, with the guy who has the most Runs scoring a “first-place” among the 400-450 other hitters. The same is done for RBI, HR’s, and SB’s.

Then comes the tricky part. Using the Batting Average category, the database orders all 400+ hitters, but assigned a “weighted” rank, depending on a player’s degree of deviation from the league average. In other words, a player who hits over .400 is not only ordered near first among the 400 hitters. He is also judged on how many AB’s he has, to determine if he is “helping” his team frequently or only a little. I don’t have a clue what such a formula might look like, but I trust that it generates an accurate portrait of who “gets more” in the category. And by that I mean that I trust that the accuracy of the column called “Rank”, whether sorted by this season or last season, whether by totals or per game averages, is a number that can be relied upon, provided you can estimate just what that formula might be.

In choosing the scoring categories, I wanted to retain a semblance of the players’ default values, as measured by the Rank column. I could have just used the default 5 X 5 categories, but I like to add as much nuance as possible to valuating a player. So I took the default cats as a baseline and attempted to “triple them up”, by adding two related categories to each of the ten originals. This way, a specialist like a closer or a base-stealer wouldn’t lose any value.

Since the Rank of a closer is based upon his contributions to the five pitching cats, he needs to retain a 20% stake in our 15 pitching cats to retain his default value. A player who leads the league in Saves is very likely to also lead the league in Save Opportunities and Net Saves. Using the three cats instead of just Saves, allows for a more detailed look at closers than a 5 X 5 system is capable of. Similarly, leading the league in SB’s will give you a good shot at also winning the Net Steals, and if you’re really good, the SB% as well.

Tripling up WHIP was easy, as that is the one category that is truly redundant with its sister-cats (H/9, BB/9). Another easy one was strikeouts, which I tripled up with K/9 and K/BB to really judge a guy’s abilities. It was tougher to triple up ERA, but I went with OBPA and Holds, figuring set-up men usually have the lowest ERA’s and lead both categories. To accompany Wins, I use QS and IP’s as comparable leader lists.

The league leaders in Batting Avg will often be found on the On-Base and Hits lists, as well. The same goes for Runs leaders on the AB’s and Triples lists. Players who lead the league in RBI will also be found among the league leaders in Doubles and Xtra base hits, while the Home Run kings will usually rank highly in Walks and OPS.

All that to say that now we can trust the Rank column for a fairly accurate, but rough sketch of where our players rank in this league. Anytime you have a league that doesn’t conform to every default setting, you get further away from accurate – I was trying to bring it back, closer to the norm (while using a freakishly large number of categories).


Written Rules

In addition to the aforementioned settings, I added a long list of Rules, most of which can still be found in the Commissioner’s Note. What I did was, I took the Official Baseball Rules and tried to alter them a little to apply to our league. The problem was, the Commissioner’s note only allows so many words. So I kept chopping and cutting, until I arrived at the finished product, that was nothing like what I had envisioned. To fit into the small space, I had cut out some key jokes that had set up other jokes. What I was left with was a cramped layout, full of sternly worded phrases, and a few disjointed jokes. It actually was my intention to have everyone name themselves after a city, but the whole point of that Rule was to reflect the Official Baseball Rule concerning the lettering of a player’s name on his jersey. Anyway, I won’t change them at all, but I thought I’d re-post them here, if only to make them easier to read. That, and re-include Article 3, dealing with my almighty powers. Look for that to follow, above.

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The NHL Needs a Fix: The Double-Standard Twins

by Will-He-M


I fully agree with Guru here. The NHL front office is seemingly trying to curb the raw emotion that makes Playoff hockey such an amazing and awe inspiring event.

If you look back to the 80's, when fighting was truly part of the game, back when a smart man ran the league (John Ziegler). Their was so much rivalry and so much emotion that it was damn near impossible not to see 2-3 fights per game.

For instance, we have seen just a single raw emotion series since 1992 that everybody remembers, and that was the Wings-Avs series when Claude Lemieux cheap shotted Kris Draper. Outside of that, we see nothing that even compares and as long as the NHL tries to ween out fighting and as long as that penguin Gary Bettman is still in office, we'll never see hockey go back to it's roots.

As for now, we are blatantly seeing a double standard when it comes to how to discipline players. Dan Carcillo punches Maxime Talbot right off a face off, gets no penalty and gets a 1 game suspension. The very next night, we see an exact duplication of the Carcillo-Talbot incident. In the Calgary-Chicago series, Mike Cammalleri and Martin Havlat were jabbing and talking trash to one another all game. Then, off a face off in I believe the 3rd period, Cammalleri punches Havlat in the jaw, not the helmet like Carcillo had done to Talbot.



Now, the major difference in these situations is that the puck never went towards Havlat, in fact, off the face off, the puck went to the opposite direction. Cammalleri got 2 minutes for roughing and by what we seen the previous night, he should have gotten a 1 game suspension.

But, Colin Campbell stated that the "incidents were not close to being the same as they happened at different points in the respective games". Ok, that really doesn't make sense to me. By that type of standard, if Sean Avery crushed Alex Semin from behind with 5 minutes left in the 3rd period of Game 2 today, he'd get 5, 10, a game and a suspension but if Dion Phaneuf did the exact same thing tonight but in say the 2nd period, he'd get 2 for boarding and nothing else?

The NHL really needs to re-think who they have running this league as I firmly believe Colin Campbell and Gary Bettman are trying to ruin this league by taking the physicality out of the equation so we're left with pretty much basketball on ice.

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The NHL Needs a Fix: C'mon Ref, Let 'em Fight

by Hockey Guru


Two nights of hockey.

8 Series have begun.

Hockey Guru feels let down so far.

Maybe the anticipation of these matchups was too high. Maybe trying to catch every minute of every game was an impossible task.

There were some great games and great moments - but if felt like something was missing in the opening games this year.

The Hockey Guru (I'm kind of liking this third person thing) - thinks part of the problem is that the NHL has taken on too much of a role in the games.

The NHL being Commissioner Bettman and the league office.

For years, the NHL has pursued a major US network television deal. They haven't landed one. The relentless pursuit has seen the NHL consistently tinkering with the game - not so much to make the game better - but to make it more appealing to the US television market.

Imagine dating a beautiful girl for years - but on every date - she keeps eyeing the guy across the room who has the biggest wallet.

That guy has no interest in her. Yet, she keeps buying new clothes, trying new makeup, hairstyles, etc. - all fruitless - as he's just not interested in her; in the essence of her.

Network US television isn't interested in hockey. It never will be. No matter what changes the game makes - it is not going to be accepted (except, of course, if the Commish looked like this).

If you're reading this - you love the game. WE love the game. We wish the game could realize that it's lucky to have us and to be satisfied with us - to stop looking for something better.

Over the years, the NHL has adopted the belief that fighting is the #1 reason the networks won't touch it. So, rules have been implemented to curb fighting.

Now in the playoffs - those rules are curbed further.

These rules - and the subsequent teams adaption to meeting the rules are some of the reason that the Hockey Guru feels unsatisfied with the first tastes of the 2009 playoffs.

While the bench brawls of the past long gone (and sorely missed like a beloved lost relative) - there is developing such a fear of the extra penalties and league suspensions - that the passion and emotion is being replaced with frustration.

Two nights ago, at the end of the Flyers-Penguins game – Daniel Carcillo gave a jab to Maxime Talbot, who dropped like he was shot. No penalty called on the ice – apparently the officials standing 5 feet away felt it wasn’t that big of a deal.

Au contraire mon frère – the league suspended Carcillo for 1 game.

In the same game, 10 seconds earlier, Bill Guerin and Braydon Coburn had one of the lamest fights in playoff history. Guerin challenged Coburn and dropped the gloves, Coburn didn’t fully commit to fighting and merely tied Guerin up and both fell to the ground.

The fight never got going because the NHL has passed down EDICTS that fighting won’t be tolerated in the lasts 5 minutes of a game. Messages can’t be sent! So, Coburn, fearing a suspension, never committed to the fight.

Well, now the off-ice ruling is Carcillo is out, Guerin and Coburn are fine.

It’s ridiculous. The players and teams need to police themselves.

Carcillo gave the jab to Talbot because, ironically, he was afraid that if he merely fought – then he’d get suspended.

The NHL has lost that the playoffs are about passion and emotion. Fans want to see their teams (and teams need to) stand up and send the message “We’re here – we’re going to fight you for every inch of space on this ice and we won’t back down.”

The last 5 minutes of a game don’t matter – it’s 1 game. These are series. The series builds throughout as if it were merely 1 long game. So at the end of the first game – it may be important to the series to have that passion and the message sent. The playoffs series are not about 7 individual games – it’s about 1 series.

Let the passion build, let bad blood and subplots develop.

It only raises the intensity for the entire series – which is a good thing for hockey.

Instead, because of the “crackdown” on fighting – there are more cheapshots, more stickwork and more reasons for fans to be embarrassed.

The Bruins and Canadiens wanted last night to kick the tar out of each other – but settled for lackluster dances.

The crack research department of the Ottawa Hockey League (aka Will) may be able to provide more facts on this – but almost all bench brawls in the past occurred early in a series – when the series hadn’t been decided. There may not be one bench brawl after a series was decided (for example with a team down 3-0 and trailing in the 4th game).

Hockey has honour, the proverbial code – as evidenced by the handshakes at the end of each series.

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The Guru Report: Montreal Guts Out a Gut Goal

by Hockey Guru


Boston-Montreal

Great start by the Bruins and when Krejci put the B’s ahead 2-0 – Hockey Guru thought – here we go with another boat race.

But Montreal scored the first “gut goal” of the playoffs. “Gut goals” are the goals that teams score mostly because of desperation, determination and grit. There weren’t too many scoring chances to that point but Montreal desperately needed to answer back and Christopher Higgins scored the third goal of the game. Remarkably it was done 2 minutes after that 2 goal lead was held.

This series will be close and the score will likely be tied or a 1-goal game at all times. It’s how the hockey gods want it to be. It’s Montreal-Boston. It’s awesome!

Whether this series goes 4, 5, 6 or 7 games – these are must-see games.


Detroit-Columbus

With the Bruins-Canadiens game competing for the Hockey Guru’s attention – the occasional flip to check-in on this game showed what the Guru knew. Detroit is an amazing team.

When they have to – they can take their game up a level. They have the skill, they have the experience and they have the heart. They have been champions for a reason.

RJ Umberger is trying to prove he isn’t another John Druce or 1-year playoff wonder – he scores big goals in big games.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect from the box score is that Detroit held Columbus to 2 shots in the third period. At a time when a team is desperately trying to get back into a game – that’s IMPRESSIVE.


Chicago-Calgary

The Hockey Guru did not Tivo the game – so when watching the third period and 12 seconds of overtime – the feelings of regret about missing most of the first two periods eroding the enjoyment of this game.

The Chicago crowd was tremendous and this was an awesome game but there’s not much insight for the Guru to impart.

San Jose-Anaheim

Anaheim has captured the home ice in the series!!!

Many of the readers of that know how the Guru feels about that phrase. But Anaheim winning the first game of this series demonstrates how difficult the Stanley Cup is to win.

Having the best record in the NFL – your team doesn’t even have to play in the first round of the playoffs. Then, you get to face the lowest seeded remaining team at home when you’re rested and they’ve gone through a playoff game the week before.

Losing that first game is a major upset in the NFL.

But in the NHL – the disparity between the 1 and the 8 seed is not the disparity between the 1 and 8 seed in the NCAA tournament.

As a long time fan of Jumbo Joe and defender of his – this year there are no excuses. With San Jose’s regular season – he should be rested, healthy and primed for a run.

Game 1 saw 1 shot on net from Big Joe – and he was a non-factor on most of his 28 shifts. Through the Guru’s eyes (yes they were a bit heavy during this game – and distracted with a teething baby) – San Jose didn’t generate too many quality scoring chances. For the offensive juggernaut they had been – they certainly weren’t in game 1. Credit Anaheim’s defense, credit Randy Carlyle – or blame Joe Thornton.

1 game is not a series – but the questions and the pressure are going to make it harder and harder for San Jose in this series.

It’s often said that until a team loses on its home ice – a “series” hasn’t begun – well then this series has begun – and if San Jose doesn’t respond in game 2 – it could be on its way to being over.



The Guru’s forecast for tonight’s game is put on sunblock for the Philly-Penguins game as the red light should be lit often.

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The Sports Talk Playoff Pool: NHL 2009 Rosters

I had planned to make a big production out of unveiling the rosters for our pool, but with time constraints, I hope you’ll forgive me for skipping the long preamble. Here are your (and my, and his, and his, and…) teams for the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

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Sunnyvale Shithawks (1)

F – Boyes
F – Carter
F – Crosby
F – Datsyuk
F – Koivu
F – Malkin
F – Nash
F – Ovechkin
F – Parise
F – D. Sedin
F – H. Sedin
F – Zetterberg

D – Boyle
D – Campbell
D – Chara
D – Corvo
D – Phaneuf
D – Pronger

G – Lundqvist
G – Price

F - Marleau
F - Kovalev
D - Markov
G - Khabibulin

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Hell Lions (8)

F - Backes
F - Carter
F - Datysuk
F - Gomez
F - Hossa
F - Malkin
F - Nash
F - Ovechkin
F - Parise
F - Savard
F - Tanguay
F - Whitney

D - Campbell
D - Green
D - Lidstrom
D - Martin
D - Niedermayer
D - Phaneuf

G - Luongo
G - Nabokov

F - Crosby
F - Elias
D - Chara
G - Mason

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Fowl Play (2)

F – Boyes
F – Cammalleri
F – Carter
F – Crosby
F – Havlat
F – Kovalev
F – Nash
F – Ovechkin
F – Parise
F – Recchi
F – D. Sedin
F – Zetterberg

D – Babchuk
D – Boyle
D – Gonchar
D – Green
D – Pronger
D – Redden

G – Brodeur
G – Nabokov

F - Malkin
F - Pavelski
D - Lidstrom
G - Thomas

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Appalachia Christian (7)

F - Avery
F – Boyes
F - Carter
F - Crosby
F - Malkin
F - Nash
F - Ovechkin
F - Parise
F - Perry
F – D. Sedin
F - Toews
F - Zetterberg

D - Babchuk
D - Boyle
D - Chara
D - Green
D - Markov
D - Phaneuf

G - Nabokov
G - Thomas

F - Datsyuk
F - Hossa
D - Lidstrom
G - Khabibulin

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trader dick’s team (3)

F – Antropov
F – Boyes
F – Carter
F – Iginla
F – Malkin
F – Nash
F – Ovechkin
F – Parise
F – Savard
F – H. Sedin
F – J. Thornton
F – Whitney

D – Campbell
D – Green
D – Lidstrom
D – Markov
D – Niedermayer
D – Rafalski

G – Nabokov
G – Thomas

F - Backstrom
F - Datsyuk
D - Boyle
G - Luongo

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Clubhouse Chemistry (6)

F – Crosby
F – Datsyuk
F – Getzlaf
F – Iginla
F – Kovalev
F – Malkin
F – Nash
F – Ovechkin
F – Parise
F – Richards
F – Toews
F – Zetterberg

D – Babchuk
D – Boyle
D – Chara
D – Colaiacovo
D – Green
D – Morris

G – Luongo
G – Thomas

F - Hossa
F - Semin
D - Lidstrom
G - Nabokov

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Nepean Hotspurs (4)

F - Crosby
F - Datsyuk
F - Kane
F - Kovalev
F - Malkin
F - Marleau
F - McDonald
F - Ovechkin
F - Parise
F - D. Sedin
F - J. Thornton
F - Zetterberg

D - Babchuk
D - Chara
D - Green
D - Niedermeyer
D - Phaneuf
D - Timonen

G - Lundqvist
G - Mason

F - Franzen
F - Setoguchi
D - Boyle
G – Nabokov

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Montreal Royals (5)

F - Boyes
F - Datsyuk
F - Iginla
F - Kovalev
F - Malkin
F - Nash
F - Ovechkin
F – Parise
F - Richards
F – D. Sedin
F - J. Thornton
F - Zherdev

D - Boyle
D - Campbell
D - Chara
D - Corvo
D - Green
D - Niedermayer

G - Brodeur
G - Nabokov

F - Hossa
F - Zetterberg
D - Lidstrom
G - Theodore

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