It's that time again: Roundtable Hockey League '010!

[Nakor]

Well, I figured that since we have two goalie positions and sixteen skater positions, it kind of made sense. Even with only two stats, each individual goalie is still currently worth more than any individual skater on your team. (A goalie is effectively worth one full stat category each. Skaters ate worth about half a stat category each.)

[Frong]

Eh... I guess that makes sense in terms of the number of players/number of stats ratio. It still seems weird to me, but I don't care all THAT much. Now I just want the dumb season to start already so I can has moar hockeys.

[Nakor]

You two eh? I mean it's been an entire freaking summer already guys, time to get back on the ice!

Also, from the way you were replying on page one I thought that you'd realized I'd made that change and agreed with it.

[Frong]

What, you thought I was paying that close of attention? You give me too much credit.

And yeah, after spending the summer watching the Indians suck as usual, I need a change of pace. All the "experts" are saying the Jackets aren't going to amount to much of anything, either, but unlike the Indians, the Jackets actually have talent. Really, they're largely the same team as two years ago that made the playoffs, and I think the reason they were bad last year is that they grossly underperformed, particularly the young players. There's a totally new coaching staff in place this year with a different approach to the game (Arniel likes an aggressive, uptempo style as opposed to Hitchcock's über-snoozefest defensive style), so I'm banking on the team meeting its potential again and being much better than last year. Hope springs eternal, eh?

[Nakor]

That'll be a nice change at least. I hate watching the games where you've got two trap teams playing against each other. Like that one playoff series between the Wild and the Devils. Now that was a snore fest.

[Frong]

LOL Yeah, that pretty much sums it up. The Wild and the Devils were the poster boys for years for playing the trap, and while it works when executed properly, it's boring as fack to watch. The Jackets' defensemen are expected to jump up and join the rush under the new coach's strategy, so it should be interesting to see what happens. The team isn't really built for that, but you never know, some guys may find offensive talent they never knew they had.

[Frong]

Uh... so shouldn't the league have run the draft by now? The season did technically start today and all. *pokez Nakor with Ye Pointy Stick of Poking*

[Nakor]

Bleh. I was hoping we'd get more participants. Oh well.

[Frong]

I figured it was hopeless by this point in time, honestly. I'm pretty sure that each of the last three or four or maybe even five years, we've had at least one dead team whose owner quit paying attention to it early in the season. Having a four team league with all live teams is pretty much the same thing, only with fairer player distribution.

[Nakor]

That's true. I suppose it's better that we just have the four active teams than add any that would just drop out on us later on.

[Frong]

Eh... blah. I drafted second, so I couldn't get Ovechkin. Meh. *gives Roem a Boot to the Head for drafting ahead of me* Oh well, whatever. I did still get Backstrom, who had roughly a bazillion assists last season, and Mike Green, whose defense is iffy but who scores way more points than pretty much any other defenseman in the league. Not bad.

[Nakor]

I got six D's, and two were injured, so I get to start the league with an empty D slot. Yay! That would explain my last place hits/blocks probably. On the upside, I have Brodeur.

[Frong]

Well, that sucks. I only have six D's too and Pronger is DTD, but I'm pretty sure he's just easing his way back into normal playing time after having knee surgery in the offseason. Burrows is on the IR, though, so I'll have to replace him temporarily. That much probably sucks more for your actual team than it does for my fantasy team.