The Sports Talk Playoff Pool: NHL 2014 Rosters

By Hockey Guru
For those that have not participated before, and for those that have but have lost brain cells since the
last STP playoff pool -

Each team will pick a roster of 12 Forwards (4 RW, 4 C, 4LW), 6 Defensemen, 2 Goaltenders and 4 Bench spots.

Everybody must select one player from each playoff team (positions based on Yahoo eligibility).

Players on your bench can be activated after each round.

It will be a total points pool for the duration of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. To make it more complicated - but to increase your viewing experience - we're trying no point modifiers and categories...

Goals = 4 points
Assists = 2 points
OT Goals = 2 Bonus Points
Game Wining Goals = 1 Bonus Point
Power Play Points = 1 bonus point
Short Handed Points = 3 bonus points
Shots on Goal = 0.25 per shot on goal
Penalty Minutes = -0.5 per PIM (penalties will be a negative in this pool)
Plus/Minus = 1 bonus point per plus/negative 1 for a minus

Goalie Wins = 6 pts
Goalie Saves = 0.25 pts
Goalie GA = -2.25 pts

There is no restriction as to who can be on the bench in Round 1 (i.e. if you think Team X will be swept - your selection from that team can be on the bench; if you are bullish on a Team Y - you could have up to 9 players in your lineup from that team in Round 1...)

*********************************************************************************
Team Rosters:


Westfield Cherries


D - Ryan McDonagh, New York
D - Drew Doughty, Los Angeles
D - Jason Muzzin, Los Angeles (Waiver Claim for SCF)

G - Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles

Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
LW - Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
LW - Joe Pavelski, San Jose
RW - Claude Giroux, Philadelphia
D - James Wisniewski, Columbus
D - Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis
D - Brent Burns, San Jose
Bench - Jamie Benn, LW/C Dallas
Bench - Nathan MacKinnon, RW/C,  Colorado
Bench - Antii Niemi, San Jose, G


Eliminated After Round 2:

C - Patrice Bergeron, Boston (Activated in Round 2)
C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
C - Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim
RW - Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh
RW - Corey Perry, Anaheim
LW - James Neal, Pittsburgh
D - Ryan Suter, Minnesota
G - Tuuka Rask, Boston

Eliminated in Conference Finals:

C/LW - Patrick Sharp, Chicago
C - Brandon Saad, Chicago (Waiver Claim for Conference Finals)

LW - Thomas Vanek, Montreal


RW - Patrick Kane, Chicago
RW - Marian Hossa, Chicago (Waiver Claim for Round 2)

Stittsville Two-Putt


LW - Chris Kreider, New York (Waiver for SCF)
 
D - Ryan McDonagh, New York 


G - Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles



Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
C - Claude Giroux, Philadelphia

LW -Alexander Steen, St. Louis
LW - Jamie Benn, Dallas
RW -Tyler Seguin, Dallas
RW - Joe Pavelski, San Jose
D - Nicholas Kronwall, Detroit
D - Brent Burns, San Jose
D - Jack Johnson, Columbus
D - James Wisniewski, Columbus
Bench - Logan Couture, C/LW, San Jose

Eliminated After Round 2:

C - Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh (Activated in Round 2)
C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh LW - Patrick Sharp, Chicago
C - Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim
LW - James Neal, Pittsburgh
LW - Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh (Activated in Round 2)
LW - Zach Parise, Minnesota (Activate in Round 2) 
RW - Corey Perry, Anaheim
G - Tuuka Rask, Boston

Eliminated in Conference Finals:
 
C - Lars Eller, Montreal (Waiver Claim for Conference Finals)

RW - Patrick Kane, Chicago
D - PK Subban, Montreal
D - Brent Seabrook, Chicago (Waiver Claim - Activated in Round 2)


Barrymore Baby-makers

C- Derek Brassard, New York (Waiver Claim for Conference Finals) 
C - Dominic Moore, New York (Waiver for SCF)


LW - Mats Zuccarello, New York  (Activated in Round 2)

RW - Justin Williams, Los Angeles
RW - Martin St. Louis, New  York
RW -  Rick Nash, New York (Activated in Round 2)
 
G - Henrik Lundqvist, New York

Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
C - Nathan MacKinnon, C,  Colorado
LW - Joe Pavelski, San Jose
LW - Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado
RW - Tyler Seguin, Dallas
RW - Claude Giroux, Philadelphia
D - Nicholas Kronwall, Detroit
D - Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis
D - Jack Johnson, Columbus

Eliminated After Round 2:


C - David Krejci, Boston
C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (Activated in Round 2)
C - Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim
LW - James Neal, Pittsburgh
D - Ryan Suter, Minnesota
D - Paul Martin, Pittsburgh (Waiver Claim for Round 2) 

Eliminated in Conference Finals:

C - Jonathan Toews, Chicago (Activated in Round 2)
LW - Patrick Sharp, Chicago
D - Duncan Keith, Chicago
D - PK Subban, Montreal

G - Corey Crawford, Chicago


Franconia Wombats

RW - Martin St. Louis, New York

RW - Marion Gaborik, Los Angeles

G - Henrik Lundqvist, New York

Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Joe Pavelski, San Jose
C - Joe Thornton, San Jose
C - Logan Couture, San Jose
LW - Jamie Benn, Dallas
LW - Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado 
RW - Daniel Alfredsson, Detroit
D - Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay
D - Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis

Bench - James Wisniewski, D, Columbus
Bench - Claude Giroux, C/LW, Philadelphia

Eliminated After Round 2:

C - Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim (Activated in Round 2) 

C - Kyle Brodziak, Minnesota (Claimed in Round 2)
C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
LW - Zach Parise, Minnesota
RW - Corey Perry, Anaheim
D - Ryan Suter, Minnesota
D - Zdeno Chara, Boston
Bench - Tuuka Rask, G, Boston

Eliminated in Conference Finals:

LW - Max Pacioretty, Montreal
LW - Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal (Waiver Claim for Conference Finals)
D - Duncan Keith, Chicago
D - PK Subban, Montreal
G - Carey Price, Montreal


 
Bedlam Drillers

RW - Martin St. Louis, New York
RW - Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles (Claimed for SCF)

G - Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles

Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
RW - Claude Giroux, Philadelphia
C - Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit
LW - Jamie Benn, Dallas
LW - Logan Couture, San Jose
D - Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis
D - James Wisniewski, Columbus
Bench - Antii Niemi, G, San Jose
Bench - Gabriel Landeskog, LW, Colorado

Eliminated After Round 2:

C - David Krejci, Boston (Activated in Round 2)  
C - Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim
C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
LW - Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh
RW - Jarome Iginla, Boston
D - Ryan Suter, Minnesota
D - Kris Letang, Pittsburgh
D - Zdeno Chara, Boston (Activated in Round 2)
D - Matt Niskanen, Pittsburgh (Waiver Claim for Round 2) 
G - Tuuka Rask, Boston

Eliminated in Conference Finals:

LW - Patrick Sharp, Chicago
RW - Patrick Kane, Chicago
RW - Bryan Bickell, Chicago (Waiver Claim for Conference Finals)
D - Duncan Keith, Chicago
D - PK Subban, Montreal
 

Westfield Junior Guru

C - Mike Richards, Los Angeles (Waiver Claim for Conference Finals)

LW - Jeff Carter, Los Angeles
LW - Brad Richards, New York (Activated in Round 2)



RW - Dustin Brown, Los Angeles (Waiver Claim for Round 2)

D - Alex Martinez, Los Angeles (Waiver Claim for SCF)
 
G - Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles (Activated in Round 2)

Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
LW - Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit
LW - Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado
RW - Claude Giroux, Philadelphia
RW - Ryan Johansen, Columbus
D - Kevin Shattenkirk, St. Louis
D - Kimmo Timmonen, Philadelphia
D - Dan Boyle, San Jose
G - Semyon Varlamov, Colorado
Bench -Tyler Seguin, C/RW, Dallas
Bench - Paul Stastny, C, Colorado

Eliminated After Round 2:

C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
C - David Krejci, Boston
LW - Zach Parise, Minnesota
RW - Loui Eriksson, Boston
RW - Corey Perry, Anaheim
D - Torey Krug, Boston
G - Tuukka Rask, Boston

Eliminated in Conference Finals:

C - Jonathan Toews, Chicago
D - Duncan Keith, Chicago
D - P. K. Subban, Montreal


Hogtown Hurtlocker



C- Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles (Waiver Claim for Round 2)


RW - Martin St. Louis, New York* (Activated in Round 2)


D - Drew Doughty, Los Angeles

Eliminated After Round 1:

C - Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay
LW - Joe Pavelski, San Jose
LW - Patrick Marleau, San Jose
LW - Jamie Benn, Dallas
RW - Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado
RW - Claude Giroux, Philadelphia

RW - Ryan Johansen, Columbus
D - Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis
D - Nicholas Kronwall, Detroit
D - Brent Burns, San Jose
G - Antii Niemi, San Jose


Eliminated After Round 2:


C - Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh
C - Patrice Bergeron, Boston
C - David Krejci, Boston
LW - Milan Lucic, Boston (Activated in Round 2)
RW - Jarome Iginla, Boston (Activated in Round 2)
RW - Corey Perry, Anaheim
D - Ryan Suter, Minnesota
D - Tory Krug, Boston (Activated in Round 2)

G - Tuukka Rask, Boston
 
Eliminated in Conference Finals:

LW - Patrick Sharp, Chicago
D - P. K. Subban, Montreal



*  St. Louis subbed for Patrick Kane to make roster eligible
 

Bracketeering: The 2014 NHL Playoff Pool

By Spezzal Teams Playa

With the enormous popularity of the baseball bracket exercise (sometimes, up to five of you would vote), I figured we'd squeeze as much out of the bracket thing as we could, and continue with an NHL playoff pool. Not since the demise of the Adams, Patrick, Norris and Smythe divisions, in 1993, has the NHL employed a playoff bracket system, where teams are not re-seeded after each round and mixed together by conference.

Apart from the compromise awarded to the NHLPA, where the 4th-seed in each division can be given to a crossover team from the other division within the conference, we are back to the days when you needed to win two divisional series, before playing a team from the other division for the Prince of Wales Trophy or the Campbell Cup. This first year sees Dallas crossing over to compete in the weak-but-top-heavy Pacific Division Playoffs.

We ended up with six entries to this pool, so we'll be able to award three prizes to the winners. First-place will receive $29, with $15 awarded to the runner-up, and the bronze medalist will get his $10 entry fee back. I will be paid $6 off the top, but one of those dollars comes from my own entry fee, so I'm really only raking a fin. Below, you will find each of our completed brackets.

[UPDATE: May 1, 6:00 AM]

After the first round, the only perfect bracket remaining belongs to Westfield Old Devils. His lead is currently only one point ahead of second-place, but he stands to gain more future bonus points than the rest of us, so he is clearly in the driver's seat. That's why it's important that the rest of us not make any more mistakes today, as we make new picks to repair our busted brackets.

Westfield can make changes, too, if he wants, but he might choose to stick to his guns and try for the perfect bracket. Warren Buffet would probably offer him a little pocket money if he went a perfect (15-0) on his April picks.

But for the rest of us, repairs are necessary, so I'll need you all to submit your revised picks for Series #'s 9-15, containing any changes you wished to make for whatever reason, but most importantly, the changes you are forced to make, to correct your already outdated predictions.

Westfield Old Devils can choose to stay the course. [UPDATE, MAY 1, 7:00 PM] He in stead chose to deviate a little:

Barrymore missed picking the Wild, but he can also choose to stay the course. [UPDATE, MAY 1, 7:00 PM] He chooses to keep on truckin':

Stittsville needs to repair his busted bracket and choose a new winner for Series # 12, since Philly can no longer win Series # 12. [UPDATE, MAY 1, 7:00 PM] He chose the Rangers::

Westfield Young Jets needs to repair his busted bracket and choose a new winner for Series # 9 (Chicago vs Minnesota), and for Series # 13 (Western Conference Finals). [UPDATE, MAY 1, 7:00 PM] He made sweeping changes:

Hogtown needs to repair his busted bracket and choose a new winner for Series # 10 (Anaheim vs Los Angeles), and for Series # 13 (Western Conference Finals). [UPDATE, MAY 1, 7:00 PM] He repaired both broken bracket segments:

Franconia needs to repair his busted bracket and choose a new winner for Series # 9 (Chicago vs Minnesota), for Series # 10 (Anaheim vs Los Angeles), for Series # 13 (Western Conference Finals), and for Series # 15 (Stanley Cup Finals), thanks to San Jose's epic choke. [UPDATE, MAY 1, 7:00 PM] He repaired all broken segments of his bracket:

So the score so far is:

1 - Westfield Old Devils - 8 Pts

2 - Barrymore Babymakers - 7 Pts

3 - Franconia Wombats - 6 Pts

4 - Stittsville Two-Putts - 5 Pts

4 - Westfield Junior Jets - 5 Pts

6 - Hogtown Hammers - 4 Pts

Keep in mind that from now on, we will be scoring bonus points for having predicted winners more than two weeks in advance, in addition to the points earned for our current brackets. Those of us who haven't changed our original Cup-Winner pick, stand to catch up quickly at the end, if we chose wisely in April. So even though Westfield Old Devils is still perfect, he is far from having won this pool.

[UPDATE: May 17, 6:00 AM]

After the second round, there are no more perfect brackets intact, but Barrymore still hasn't required any repairs to his bracket.

Westfield Old Devils needed to make his first repairs, and took the opportunity to also make another "elective renovation" to his Central Division bracket segment:

Barrymore had another misstep (or two), but once again, they weren't critical, so he needn't make any repairs yet:

Franconia needed a new Western champion, so he reluctantly chose Chicago:

My own Stittsville squad did not need any changes:

Westfield Junior Jets needed to repair his eastern wing, so he took the opportunity to also renovate the west side:

And Hogtown made repairs to his own eastern wing:

After two rounds, here are the revised standings:

Stittsville Two-Putts: 5-for-8 in round 1 = 5 pts, then 4-for-4 in round 2 = 4 pts, + 3 bonus pts for original Chicago/Los Angeles/Montreal FinalFour picks, for a total of 12 Pts

Barrymore Babymakers: 7-for-8 in round 1 = 7 pts, then 2-for-4 in round 2 = 2 pts, + 2 bonus pts for original Chicago/New York FinalFour picks, for a total of 11 Pts

Westfield Old Devils: 8-for-8 in round 1 = 8 pts, then 2-for-4 in round 2 = 2 pts, + 1 bonus pt for original Los Angeles FinalFour pick, for a total of 11 Pts

Franconia Wombats: 6-for-8 in round 1 = 6 pts, then 2-for-4 in round 2 = 2 pts, + 2 bonus pts for original Montreal/New York FinalFour picks, for a total of 10 Pts

Westfield Junior Jets: 5-for-8 in round 1 = 5 pts, then 2-for-4 in round 2 = 2 pts, + 0 bonus pts for original Colorado/Anaheim/Boston/Pittsburgh FinalFour picks, for a total of 7 Pts

Hogtown Hammers: 4-for-8 in round 1 = 4 pts, then 2-for-4 in round 2 = 2 pts, + 1 bonus pt for original Chicago FinalFour pick, for a total of 7 Pts

2015

Terrebonne

Franconia

Bedlam

Leicester