By JIMMY D / Fantasy Sports
Jimmy has seen enough in five days of NHL action to make some bold predictions (and not just that Tomas Vokoun owners are in heaps of trouble if he keeps playing like he did last week).
Yup, Jimmy is ready to say definitively that, since goaltending and defence win championships, the Flyers will not have a parade in June. Instead, they are one of Jimmy’s out-of-the-playoffs teams in 2006-07. Add the Islanders and Leafs to the golfing-early list.
And since speed kills in this new NHL, Buffalo and Minnesota will be competing for Lord Stanley’s silly little mug in the spring.
Think Jimmy is joking?
The Sabres - their ugly, new horny slug logo notwithstanding – have speed and skill to burn and Ryan Miller backing up their mistakes.
And in the Midwest, fans will be going wild when the Wild win the West. Sure they are 2-0, but it’s the balance through the lineup – the finesse, the grit, the skill – and the coaching of Jacques Lemaire that will lead Minny.
Now, with that out of the way, where are all the emails thanking Jimmy for his advice on Michal Handzus and Martin Havlat? We said they would rip off lots of points for a Chicago team headed for the playoffs. Havlat should be good for 90+ points and his best season ever.
How about the draft-Branko-Radivojevic suggestion, since he would be lining up with Demitra and Gaborik? If you can acquire Gaborik – or even Brian Rolston – count them for 90+ points as well.
And any new believers in Jimmy’s Martin-Gerber-Must-Go theory? If he is this bad in regular season, think how bad he’ll be when he wets the bed in April?
What happened in the first few days of the season to force some new names onto your fantasy radar?
Alexander Semin, Washington: Four goals in two games is a good start for Caps 2002 first-rounder. He is probably on a waiver wire, as he hasn’t played in the NHL since the 2003-04 season.
Anze Kopitar, Kings: Five points in two games and pumped seven shots on goal in a loss vs. the Ducks. A rookie with tons of upside, he was the 11th overall pick in 2005 draft.
Steve Bernier, Sharks: Jimmy warned you about this monster kid last year. He has four assists in two games and looks ready for a breakout 60+ points.
Chris Clark, Capitals: RW had 39 points last year and earns first-line duty so far and four assists in two games. He will continue to trend upwards and seems to recognize when to seize the opportunity.
Ryan Craig, Lightning: Produced at better than .5 PPG last year and with three goals in two games, seems ready to build on that. He is a nice waiver-wire or keeper-pool pickup at this early stage.
Matt Carle, Sharks: Another kid on Jimmy radar from last season, the skinny blueliner has earned power-play time and capitalized with a pair of goals.
Christopher Higgins, Habs: Another beneficiary of early top-line duty, Higgins has played with Michael Ryder and Saku Koivu and also earned powrr-play time. He is not a fluke, as he quietly potted 23 goals last season and there are plenty of skilled playmakers to get him the puck.
Jimmy Whine
Over to football and there is a fine vintage brewing in the Jimmy D Whine cellar.
We are speaking the head-to-head football league that Jimmy dominated for three weeks, then saw injuries destroy his last two.
How bad was it in Week 5?
Let’s just say Mike Furrey, Roscoe Parrish and Koren Robinson were his starting WRs. (Actually, we swapped Donald Driver back in at the last minute when he was activated, but his sore ribs prevented him from making an impact with the Packers.)
We had to bench injured Eagles Brian Westbrook and Donte Stallworth, used waiver scrap-head pickup Jon Kitna at QB and snatched the Giants defense off the waiver wire (since Seattle was enjoying a bye week).
It’s looking like Westbrook might be done for the year, as the team has conceded he will need surgery at some point and two of Jimmy’s top draft picks – Dolphin Ronnie Brown and Charger TE Antonio Gates – have been abysmal.
Worse yet in this crappy week. Jimmy’s two NFL bets both pushed, meaning no money for Jimmy either. We picked Carolina -8 vs. Cleveland and they won 20-12 and we bet Miami +10 at New England and they lost 20-10. Perfect.
Jimmy was busy, but did not get lucky last week.
Jimmy D
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