Jonathan Toews has announced on his Instagram account that he won’t play in 2023-24. Toews did not officially retire, which opens the door for a possible return in 2024-25. However, I’d be willing to bet that this is the last we’ve seen of Toews as a player, since he is now 35 years of age and he was held to just 53 games in 2022-23. Once Toews announces his retirement, expect him to be named to the Hockey Hall of Fame shortly after he becomes eligible, as he was the captain of three Stanley Cup winners, won two Olympic gold medals, and was named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017.
Hopefully Toews is doing well and is healthy enough to lead a normal life, even if he does not return to professional hockey. As well, perhaps his situation will lead to more awareness about the struggles people have with long COVID as well as research for possible treatments.
–
Dobber’s 18th annual Fantasy Guide PDF and Draft List spreadsheet is available! Sleepers, rookies, stock drops, goalies, schedule breakdown, team-by-team projections and analysis, and more! Buy it as a standalone product, or get it as a discount as part of a package.
–
The Top 100 Roto Rankings were updated recently for the month of August. Feel free to use these rankings in your upcoming drafts, whether mock or real.
Just as I want to be responsive to player ranking suggestions, I should also be the same way with categories used for the rankings. That is why some changes are coming to the rankings the next time they are updated, which will be on September 15. Currently the categories are G, A, +/-, PPP, SOG, HIT, W, GAA, and SV%, which are subject to endless debate. I have a pretty good idea what the changes will be, but nothing is final until you see it here. Plus, it’s fun to add a little mystery. I will confirm, though, that the rankings will look a little different next month.
When do you pick a goalie? If you follow along with Yahoo pre-draft rankings, the answer is sometime during the second round of 12-team drafts. In my Ramblings from a few weeks ago, I listed arguments for and against what I think are the top 5 goalies being the top-ranked goalie. At this point if I had to pick one goalie, I’d go with Shesterkin.
While I’m at it, this is also a good time to mention that I moved three of the other four goalies (Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jake Oettinger) up as well. Every year, many of us in the industry say that we won’t pick goalies high in a draft again. But then when push comes to shove, there’s at least one goaltending run. This season, it could happen earlier than you’re comfortable with, and it could involve this cohort.
I know this section is supposed to be about Shesterkin, but you may have also noticed that Linus Ullmark is no longer the #1-ranked goalie. I still have him in my top 5 of goalies, but just barely. The potential timeshare with Jeremy Swayman plus a potential dip in the standings for Boston could cut into his value. Let’s not take away the fact that his Vezina Trophy was well-deserved, and he was more reliable than anyone between the pipes in 2022-23. If too many of your league mates are skeptical about him, don’t hesitate to grab him at the right spot.
I could even see Georgiev being ranked among the top 5 goalies, if you consider his potential for a high win total and decent ratios. In fact, Georgiev tied for the league lead in wins with Ullmark and finished fourth in quality starts in 2022-23. His lack of history as a starting goalie beyond last season might be viewed as a weakness, but at least he was able to prove that he could handle a heavy workload, starting 62 games in 2022-23. As a result, I moved Georgiev up to a spot just outside of the aforementioned top 5 goalies.
One other stat to consider for Georgiev: Really Bad Start Percentage (RBS%). Among goalies that played at least 30 games, only four goalies had a lower RBS% than Georgiev (9.7%). That means over the entire season, he had only six games with a save percentage below .850. That might be aided by the team in front of him, if you consider that his previous numbers were never as good as they were in 2022-23. As long as he’s in the same situation, that doesn’t really matter, though.
I moved Stutzle a way up the rankings earlier this season. Turns out, it wasn’t enough. His 90 points was within the top 20 in that category in just his third NHL season, while his 100+ hits in back-to-back seasons gives him added value in multicategory leagues. Purely my opinion, but I feel like we didn’t hear enough about Stutzle and the kind of season he had. Maybe it’s because he plays in smallish-market Ottawa. I’m sure he would have received a lot more attention if he played in the other Ontario market.
Anyway, Stutzle is only 21 and about to play in his fourth NHL season. I don’t think he has a ton of room to grow with the point total, but it seems like it would very well remain consistent at this point in his career. Perhaps he needs to shoot a little more to be truly elite, as he took just under three shots per game and relied on 17% shooting in 2022-23. Another 90-point season is a distinct possibility, which gives him significant value in bangers leagues if you factor in the hits.
Fox, the Norris Trophy winner in 2020-21, has been a top-10 scorer among defensemen for three consecutive seasons. He would have been a top-5 scorer among defensemen for three consecutive seasons if a bunch of other defensemen didn’t have career years. As well, he was only four points behind the second-highest scoring defensemen in 2022-23. It’s hard to move him down the rankings by a lot, but there are at least a couple of roto categories that are lacking for him.
First, his shot total is by no means terrible, but his career-high 159 SOG in 2022-23 was barely within the top 30 among defensemen. His hit total is more alarming, though. Fox averages just 30 hits per year, which works out to less than one hit every two games. Among the 32 defensemen that played in 82 games (or in rare cases, more), only Cam Fowler had a lower hits total than Fox (25 hits) in 2022-23. Should you draft him, pay attention to the hits totals of other players you are drafting, and look for other defensemen that you can forecast at least 100 hits from.
As I pointed out in my mock draft, I drafted Kopitar at 127th overall. So maybe this is me thinking that I have him ranked too high. Yahoo has him ranked just inside the top 100, and he likely fell further in this mock draft as teams were looking to fill positions beyond center. I think he still has great value, as he has averaged between 0.8 and 0.9 PTS/GP (closer to the 0.9 PTS/GP) over each of the past four seasons. One more fact about Kopitar: He has missed only two games total over his past six seasons. Reliable and durable. You’ll have no problem drafting him without a high pick.
I’ve learned through the years that the frequent visitors of this site LOVE Ehlers, so I might get hit by tomatoes by pushing him down that far. Earlier in the week, Ehlers’ preseason value on Yahoo was in the 400s, which is way lower than it should be and a reflection on the low point total (38 PTS) based on his low games played total (45 GP) due to injury. Power-play time or not, you won’t need a high pick on Ehlers this season, and the updated ranking should take that into account. Ehlers also has a very low hit total – similar to that of Fox listed above.
I think Guentzel was already ranked a bit too high even before the news of his offseason ankle surgery, so this isn’t all about the injury. The team initially said Guentzel will be re-evaluated in 12 weeks, but Kyle Dubas has also stated that Guentzel may miss only five games. For that reason, it can be a bit tricky determining where Guentzel should be drafted. I normally pull injured players from the rankings during the season, especially since their projected returns aren’t always known. As I write this, Guentzel is being drafted at around pick 42 on Yahoo, but I’d let him fall further than that. At least a few rounds from where he’d normally be drafted anyway.
TORONTO – Reigning PWHL MVP and scoring champ Natalie Spooner will miss the start of the regular season for the Toronto Sceptres, general manager Gina Kingsbury announced Tuesday on the first day of training camp.
The 33-year-old Spooner had knee surgery on her left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) after she was checked into the boards by Minnesota’s Grace Zumwinkle in Game 3 of their best-of-five semifinal series on May 13.
She had a goal and an assist in three playoff games but did not finish the series. Toronto was up 2-1 in the semifinal at that time and eventually fell 3-2 in the series.
Spooner led the PWHL with 27 points in 24 games. Her 20 goals, including five game-winners, were nine more than the closest skater.
Kingsbury said there is no timeline, as the team wants the Toronto native at 100 per cent, but added that “she is doing really well” in her recovery.
The Sceptres open the PWHL season on Nov. 30 when they host the Boston Fleet.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 12, 2024.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
