January 2010 Power Rankings

Post date: Jan 18, 2010 1:54:56 AM

By: Andrew Schuts

With a few months to digest the results of team performance and the November Waiver, Novarks.com is delighted to present the January Power Rankings. With a little over two weeks until the final waiver and trade period, Novarks GM’s appear to have divided into three ranks: those who may load up for a run at the title, those who have conceded victory and intend to collect assets for the future, and a third small but definitely real category I like to call the delusional. There has been an interesting shuffling of the deck that has occurred, and the final 12 weeks look to be shaping up for an intense finish. The teams are ranked in order 1 through 12 with last months ranks appearing in parentheses.

1. (1) - Team Steve: In a championship season, many things need to go right. Injuries must be minimal, or happen at opportune times, breakout players must come through, goaltenders must be solid, and traditional studs must perform as such. This certainly has been the case for Team Steve through the first half. And when the going did get a bit tough, GM Hallman intervened, filling gaps and holes along the way with precision. The acquisition of G Ilya Bryzgalov has almost single-handedly fought off the competition to this point for Team Steve. However the pack of hungry teams at the doorstep has grown over the last few months, and a few injuries are starting to take their toll. Team Steve is beginning to seriously limp toward the finish line. Does GM Hallman still have a few tricks up his sleeve? Possibly. And he will need every one of them to retain the lead and win his second title; otherwise we could see this team slip a few spots by years end. But for the time being, this team still gets the nod at #1.

2. (2) - Team Dave: Falling into a tailspin of poor production occurred at the worst possible time for this club. 1^st place was there for the taking, but instead this team hit a rough patch in the road, snagged a few injuries along the way, and wound up stuck in a pack of three contenders trying to wrestle the lead away from Team Steve. The quiet November waiver, coupled with the return to earth of F Dustin Penner have worked against GM Evans, sending this team spiraling into 4^th place. However, this writer still sees this team as the team most likely to challenge for 1^st in the long term. Certainly GM Dave Evans will need to be a bit more active on the trade and waiver fronts come January 30^th, if only to keep up with the Joneses as they say. But one can’t expect a team of this quality to stay quiet for long. It has shown signs of awaking of late, and a few solid moves at the Wavier Period will set this team on solid footing for a run at the title.

3. (10) +7 Team Chris: Storming up the standings almost immediately after the November Waiver, Team Chris enjoyed a December to remember blowing away the nearest competition by over 20 total points and racking up a sizzling 0.79 PPG on the month. Months like this usually only happen in most GM’s wet dreams, especially when they spend the first two months middling in the bottom tier of the pool. Whether this team is truly rolling at the clip it should have been all along, or if it has simply been the bearer of a good old fashioned run of luck remains to be seen, but it certainly has not shown too many signs of letting up quite yet. There are a some serious holes on the blueline and few in the forwards group that require some filling for things to go right down the stretch, should Jaques be able to fill them. GM Jaques should be proud of his ascent to the door of first place, but we are not overly confident this train can roll much further. Certainly a top 4 finish appears likely.

4. (7) +3 Team Nate: This writer was impressed with GM Weckworth’s waiver efforts, and certainly felt that this team was on its way up. But the last few weeks we have watched this team morph from a top four hopeful to a bona fide 1^st place contender. This team has been the model of consistency to this point, slowly plodding its way through the middle of the pack and up into the top three. The consistency suggests this team is unlikely to head for a drastic fall or correction down the stretch, so it is how GM Weckworth positions himself in the frenzy that will be the January Waiver Period that will define if this team can compete with the other teams of its class, or if a less glamorous, but perhaps more appropriate 3^rd place finish might be the most likely result. Few rumours have circulated as to what if anything GM Weckworth is up to, but this writer anticipates there will be a serious move made to bolster this unit for the stretch drive.

5. (5) - Team Neutron: This team has hit the unfortunate skids of late with a few key injuries and the pesky emergence of G Jimmy Howard, leaving Team Neutron holding the bag that is G Chris Osgood. However on the whole this team remains a decent middle of the pack team that rookie GM Neutron can hang his hat on. A potential 3^rd or 4^th place finish is not completely out of the realm of possibility as of yet, so expect GM Neutron to be active in trying to fill a hole or two to gear up for the stretch drive, but don’t expect to see any giant leaps in production that will the threaten the true contenders in this race.

6. (11) +5 Team Josh: Certainly the emergence of Team Jaques has overshadowed the quiet, but almost equally impressive run that Team Josh has enjoyed since the November Waiver. Having Cam Ward and Eric Staal all healed up and contributing certainly changes the complexion of this team. Another solid week to start January has more than a few GM‘s noticing that this team could be in the mix of contenders by the time the January Waiver arrives. Expect GM MacNaughton to be active at the Waiver whether his team cools or not. The notorious side bet with GM Loader of Team Jesse will most definitely drive MacNaughton to improve some of the lingering holes on the blueline, or add a key forward. All in all, a pleasant run of success for this team as they move up 5 spots.

7. (7) - Team Jesse: Despite making a huge splash at the November Waiver, this team continues to waffle in the middle of the pack. Team Jesse has yet to really get a head of steam going to build enough momentum to even be mentioned with the contenders of this league. When one player is up another is down, and none of them ever seem to be on the same page. As a result this team sits in 7^th, as it did two months ago. Furthermore some recent injuries to Marc Savard, Chris Kunitz and Marian Hossa have virtually buried the slim chances that this team had of a title. However the rumor mill is suggesting that GM Loader may still try and pull a rabbit out of his hat. One can only think that he is delusional or obsessed with the infamous side bet with GM MacNaughton if he intends to be a buyer at the January waiver. One thing is for certain, the side bet has made for some entertaining viewing for those around the league, and it could get even better down the stretch.

8. (3) -5 Team Daly: Whether this team ever truly had a shot at winning the championship we’ll never know. What we do know is that no team can tread water long enough to stay afloat without at least one goalie. The loss of both G Ray Emery and G Semyon Varlamov buried this team’s chances early unfortunately. And while both goalies may return soon, it appears that the gap is too wide to narrow at this point. GM Daly does have some valuable assets that could help another team in the present, and he most certainly will try his best to move those and bring some assets back. Realistically this team could finish anywhere from 4^th to 11^th, but it will likely sit somewhere in between, as this roster is certainly not bad enough to fall much further, especially considering the return of its net minders.

9. (8) -1 Team Greg: GM Mady has had some ups and downs this season, but the downs have been a bit more plentiful as this team has slowly and methodically sunk to the bottom depths of this pool. The Boston goalie carousel, the David Jones nightmare, and the invisible performance of forwards such as Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano and Robert Lang have made it nearly impossible for this team to build any momentum after the November Waiver. GM Mady has some serious decisions to make. Beyond Evgeni Malkin and Zach Parise, there are not a lot of clear cut keeper decisions here. As a result Mady may try to move some assets to pick up some draft picks or poach a few cheap young players. Mady continues to learn and develop some valuable experience as he navigates the Novarks landscape, this waiver might be very important to the future development of this team and of Mady himself.

10. (12) +2 Team Schuts: Any team moving up two spots in the cellar certainly doesn’t have a whole lot to cheer about. But this team has been quietly solid of late. Any type of run for the money is obviously out of the question, but this team will most certainly avoid the dreaded black dildo fate, and could still rise another couple of notches in the rankings before all is said and done. Furthermore GM Schuts has a solid core of keepers, as well as a few commodities that could entice some GM’s to come calling. Very little goes right for a team when it spends the bulk of the season between 12^th and 10^th place. But GM Schuts continues to position himself well for 2010-11.

11. (4) -7 Team Pat: It is surprising that this team has fallen as far as it has. Dropping seven spots in two months is almost unheard of. Especially when there was so much to like about this team. Team Pat has had to deal with some tough injuries to forwards Daniel Alfredsson, Wayne Simonds and Brian Gionta, Goaltender Craig Anderson, and also had to watch as prized trade addition Cam Barker struggled along with just one point. This was particularly painful as Barker cost the team a 2^nd round draft pick in 2010-11. Furthermore the struggles of prized young goaltender Steve Mason have been well documented, and all of these things have combined to brew a perfect storm that sunk Team Pat. Expect GM Cloutier to try and obtain a few assets and draft picks to rebuild for next year. This team will not finish last, but things do not look bright at this point.

12. (10) -2 Team Will: No surprise here, GM Keeler bit the bullet in November knowing full well that blowing up his team would produce the result it has. Keeler likely won’t be very active at the January waiver, as there are few assets remaining to deal, though a small move or two may occur. Keeler certainly has a stock of draft picks and a few key keepers. However what will be most interesting is how Keeler decides to fill out his keeper roster in the off season. There is some serious young talent in forwards Derrick Brassard, Jakub Voracek, and TJ Oshie. However all three have significantly underachieved this season and one has to wonder if these were sophomore slumps or not. Don’t expect any changes as far as production goes. This team will be buried in the cellar for the duration, and will likely set new records along the way, though none it will be proud of.