There was an urban legend about a column that lambasted the worst of the fantasy hockey world each week. The complaints would flow in and undaunted the names of the guilty would be revealed one by one. Then special honors would be bestowed upon the worst of the worst.
Fantasy Hockey Turkeys Of The Past
There was the immortal Scott Gomez. That futility infuriated the fantasy world, the hockey world and then maybe the whole world. When you get the amnesty buyout treatment hits and your next contract is for six figures, rock bottom has been achieved. I couldn’t even begin to fathom the aggravation in the daily fantasy world if it had been more prevalent then. That lack of production gets you the tag of “never owned again” in fantasy leagues. Sometimes, those tags are useful when picking the lot for good daily picks.
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After all, how much longer could you have put up with us talking about Scott Gomez. Yes I thought so.
In Remembrance Of DiPietro…..
This is almost all people will remember of Rick DiPietro anymore and in some ways for fantasy owners, it is a cruel but needed lesson. There was a time when the Islander goalie was one of the better fantasy options out there and a thought existed that he could go on to even bigger things fantasy wise. Then the injuries just kept on coming as the winter became closer..
- 47 — the amount of games Rick DiPietro actually played over his final 4+ seasons.
The final words read like a footnote on what was a pretty solid NHL career. All those lives that he touched directly or indirectly as the case may be would shudder to think they are indirectly on these types of articles. Hey, it can be a bit of an overwhelming experience.
It is time to quickly reveal our three players (1 each from the forward, defense, and goaltending realms). Good luck and let us pray…..
Fantasy Hockey Turkeys!
Tomas Kopecky — RW — Florida Panthers
It has been a start to forget forever for Kopecky. He has a grand total of four points this year. That is right…four! For the longest time, he had no points so long into the season that fantasy owners just cringed every time they heard his name. The winger still has no special teams points which is quite unusual. Now, he is hardly seeing the ice for the team.
In the last calendar year, Kopecky is more known for getting mauled by Rick Nash than anything else. That is a pretty bad sign. The prognosis for the rest of the season is rather grave for anyone that still even owns him.
Zach Bogosian — D — Winnipeg Jets
Oh god why? Why do you do this to us? The fantasy hockey gods saw the +8, the 39 hits and 32 blocks, and went hey this isn’t so bad but the four points in 21 games? That is just inexcusable beyond words for a guy with a quality slap shot and good hands. Add in size and grit and some could argue, his hits should be a good bit higher too. Like I said, one goal and three assists was just not going to cut it.
We will be asked why Michael Del Zotto was not placed here as he also has four points considering he had 30+ point potential. It was a tough process and some pundits actually had Bogosian a hair higher to start the year because Bogosian looked that good in camp, even with Dustin Byfuglien. It is just too tough to not pass up a guy who was thought to be so good but yet is still so much like peanut brittle on ice.
Craig Anderson — G — Ottawa Senators
This turkey hurts because last year’s Ottawa team was such a feel good story that reality hit hard for Craig Anderson. No one expected him to be a flat out fantasy turkey with awful numbers like a 3.31 GAA and .900 save percentage. The sub .500 record also is like a punch to the gut. For further insult, Robin Lehner has outplayed him and Ben Bishop (who was traded to Tampa) has 14 wins with a 2.08 GAA and .931 save percentage. Talk about a level of fantasy pain for Anderson owners not seen since this year’s Devan Dubnyk or Evgeni Nabokov.
A big problem for Anderson owners was just the expectations. The biggest dilemma is that Ottawa’s defense is giving up over 33 shots a night when he is in net. That margin for error is just not very good and it has shown cracks in the goaltender’s game not seen before. For that alone, he takes home our grand turkey prize and will not be getting a Thanksgiving pardon anytime soon. As a matter of fact, there will be no pardons for any of our three turkeys. They are just that disgustingly horrid for your fantasy teams.
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Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember if you have a fantasy hockey question, do not be afraid to ask it. Now go enjoy that turkey and the trimmings!