The 2018 Olympics
Much has been made since the 2014 Olympic Games ended as to whether or not the NHL will be going to South Korea for the 2018 Games. The NHL players would love to go but the NHL itself likely does not see much value in travelling to South Korea and have the games being played overnight in North America.
Here is my solution.
Pay the South Korean Olympic committee a fair price and have the Olympic hockey tournament in North America, preferably in New York. The hockey tournament is usually the showcase of the Winter Games but South Korea is far from a hockey power and most attending will not be that interested in the tourney.
But if the tournament is in North America, there would be tremendous interest and the NHL would have no problem sending its players and closing down for a couple of weeks. To have it in New York would be the icing on the cake as the games could be played in Brooklyn, Long Island and of course Madison Square Garden. The Olympics have never been held in New York City and the buzz would be amazing.
And for those of you who think that it would not be the right thing to do, the Olympics have had a precedent of moving part of the Games. In 1956, the Melbourne Games did not have the equestrian events in Australia but rather were held in Stockholm, Sweden. Horses required to be quarantined for six months in Australia and that did not go over well with the equestrian world, so it was decided to move the event to the site of the 1952 Games.
See what you can do Gary Bettman, Donald Fehr, Rene Fasel and the IOC. Prime time games in North America would excite NBC and CBC and only add to the Olympics.
This week the Islanders play five times, the only time this season a team plays five games in one week.
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Now to The Week Ahead.
WEEK OF FEBRUARY 16-22
5 Games - New York Islanders
4 Games - Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, Dallas, Edmonton, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Tampa Bay, Vancouver, Washington,
3 Games – Anaheim, Calgary, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, New Jersey, Ottawa, St. Louis, San Jose, Toronto, Winnipeg
2 Games – Arizona
Boston, Columbus, Florida and Tampa Bay play all four games on the road.
Philadelphia plays all four games at home.
Calgary, Chicago, Colorado, Edmonton, New Jersey, the New York Islanders, Ottawa, Pittsburgh and St. Louis play three games at home.
Minnesota, Nashville and Vancouver play three games on the road.
INJURIES
(Click here to see the rest of the injury list.)
Note: A tired team is one that has played the day or night before and is going against a team that did not play the previous day or night. The reverse is true for a rested team.
ANAHEIM
Games this week
vs. Tampa Bay, @ Calgary, @ Edmonton
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Ducks play three games in four nights so look for John Gibson to play twice if Frederik Andersen has not returned from his head injury. Ilya Bryzgalov has been terrible between the pipes for the Ducks, even if he has been good in the dressing room, and I would not be surprised if Gibson stayed when Andersen returns. Of course, if the Ducks want to give Gibson playing time rather than have him sit on the bench, then Bryzgalov will stay. Corey Perry was the second star of the week as he had four goals and six points in four contests. Keep an eye on Hampus Lindholm for next season. The defenseman just turned 21, and was the sixth overall pick in 2012. He has five goals and 23 points in 53 games this season and should only get better.
ARIZONA
Games this week
@ Colorado, vs. Tampa Bay
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Coyotes claimed Mark Arcobello off waivers on Wednesday. This will be the fourth team that Arcobello has played for this season. The Coyotes only play twice this week so bench all your Arizona players in weekly transaction leagues. Mike Smith continues to play well of late as he has allowed eight goals in his last five games on 171 shots for a .953 save percentage and a 1.56 GAA. Those are great numbers and it’s a shame that the Coyotes are only 2-2-1 in the five contests. Keith Yandle and Antoine Vermette could be dealt at the deadline. Yandle will have a year and a bit left on his deal while Vermette is due to become a UFA at the end of this season. Martin Hanzal is expected to have back surgery and that should finish his 2014-15 campaign.
BOSTON
Games this week
@ Calgary, @ Edmonton, @ St. Louis, @ Chicago
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Bruins finish off a five game road trip by playing all four on the road this week. Expect to see Niklas Svedberg play once for Tuukka Rask even though the Bruins do not play in back-to-back games. Dougie Hamilton leads the Bruins in power play time on ice and he is blossoming into quite an offensive defenseman as the 21-year-old has nine goals and 29 points thus far. Look for Hamilton to become a top-ten offensive blueliner in the next year or two. David Pastrnak has a goal and an assist in his last two games heading into action Thursday and is playing with Milan Lucic and David Krejci in a top-six role.
BUFFALO
Games this week
@ New Jersey, @ Philadelphia, vs. New York Rangers, vs. Nashville
Rested Team: vs. Nashville (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Sabres play four times this week including three games in four nights so expect to see Michal Neuvirth and Anders Lindback share the net. The Sabers were very busy this week as they dealt Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, Brendan Lemieux and Joel Armia, along with a first round pick in 2015 (not their own) to Winnipeg for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and prospect netminder Jason Kasdorf. This trade is fine for the future as the Sabres are looking to stay at the bottom of the standings, ensuring that they will get either Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel in the June draft, giving them the top center they need for the future. Whoever they get will help get the puck to Kane. They also dealt Jhonas Enroth for Anders Lindback, picking up a conditional third round pick in 2016 in the process. There is talk that Ted Nolan will be let go as coach at the end of the season if not sooner. All in all, it was a big week for the Sabres.
CALGARY
Games this week
vs. Boston, vs. Minnesota, vs. Anaheim
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Calgary is currently sitting in eighth place in the Western Conference, four points ahead of Minnesota and five ahead of Los Angeles and Dallas so their playoff chances are far from in the bag. Of course, at the start of the season, the Flames were expected to be a lot closer to the Connor McDavid sweepstakes rather than a playoff spot so kudos to coach Bob Hartley. They got Curtis Glencross back in the lineup this week as he was out over three weeks with a hip injury. He played on a line with Matt Stajan and Mason Raymond. Defensemen Deryk Engelland and Ladislav Smid are minus-13 and minus-12 respectively while fellow defenseman T.J. Brodie is an amazing plus-24.
CAROLINA
Games this week
@ Ottawa, vs. New York Islanders, vs. Toronto, @ New Jersey
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Surprising word out of Carolina in that coach Bill Peters is pleased with the play of Alexander Semin of late as he has a goal and two assists in his last five games after being a healthy scratch in his previous four contests. Unfortunately, his fantasy owners (if there are any left) are not so pleased. Defenseman Ryan Murphy is out the next four weeks with a leg injury. Justin Faulk has tied his career best with 32 points and still has the last third of the season to go. Elias Lindstrom has two goals and five points in his last eight games and is someone to look at in deeper leagues.
CHICAGO
Games this week
vs. Detroit, vs. Colorado, vs. Boston
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Blackhawks are nearing the end of their eight game home stand as they play three at home this week. Patrick Kane has taken over the NHL scoring lead as he has 62 points in 55 games thus far. Marian Hossa is red-hot with three straight two goal games. He now has 16 this season. Kris Versteeg returned from a hand injury on Wednesday that kept him out six weeks. He was on the third unit with Andrew Shaw and Bryan Bickell. Keep an eye on David Rundblad who has three goals and 11 points in 35 games. The defenseman is a plus-16 this season and was drafted 17th overall in 2009 by St. Louis. He has been slumping of late with one assist in seven games but the 24-year-old can produce offensively.
COLORADO
Games this week
vs. Arizona, vs. Los Angeles, @ Chicago, vs. Tampa Bay
Rested Team: vs. Tampa Bay (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Avs play four times this week but do not play back-to-back games. Nevertheless, look for Reto Berra to get a rare start with Semyon Varlamov playing the other three games. Varlamov had been playing well of late, giving up only four goals in four games before allowing five on Sunday against the Jets. Nathan MacKinnon has only nine goals in 55 games this season. Alex Tanguay has played surprisingly well this season as the 35-year-old has 14 goals and 36 points in 53 games. The Avs power play has been horrible of late as they have not scored in their last 31 chances.
COLUMBUS
Games this week
@ Philadelphia, @ Pittsburgh, @ Montreal, @ New York Rangers
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ New York Rangers (Sunday)
Notes
The Blue Jackets are on the road for all four games this week and with Sergei Bobrovsky out of action, Curtis McElhinney should play three games with Anton Forsberg seeing action in one match. Bobrovsky has been skating on his own the last couple of days and is slate to return in a couple of weeks if the original diagnosis is correct. Scott Hartnell played in his 1,000th NHL game on Monday. James Wisniewski missed two games with a lower body injury and is expected to be back in the lineup on February 13. What a season Nick Foligno is having!!! He has 21 goals and 50 points with a plus-10 rating and 22 power play points. There are not too many players having better overall fantasy seasons.
DALLAS
Games this week
@ St. Louis, vs. San Jose, vs. Detroit, @ Minnesota
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: @ Minnesota (Sunday)
Notes
The Stars play four times including three games in four days so look for the newly acquired Jhonas Enroth to play once for Kari Lehtonen. Tyler Seguin is battling an illness but should not miss any time. Trevor Daley has been a pleasant surprise as the rearguard has 14 goals thus far this season and is getting a run for his money for the team lead on the blueline as John Klingberg is up to 10 in only 40 games. Antoine Roussel was suspended for a couple of games for crosschecking Adam McQuaid on Tuesday. Roussel picked up a major and game misconduct and now has 112 penalty minutes.
DETROIT
Games this week
vs. Montreal, @ Chicago, @ Dallas
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Johan Franzen’s status for the rest of the season could be up in the air as he has not skated in over a month, after suffering a concussion. The winger was making progress but had a setback and that’s never good news when you’ve had a concussion. He was hurt on January 6. Stephen Weiss is a nice addition in deeper leagues as he scored again on Wednesday after a four game pointless drought. Look for Petr Mrazek to be sent to the minors despite his 13-5-1 record as Jimmy Howard is once again healthy and has Jonas Gustavsson to back him up.
EDMONTON
Games this week
@ Winnipeg, vs. Boston, vs. Minnesota, vs. Anaheim
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Oilers play four games including three in four nights, so expect to see Viktor Fasth split the net with Ben Scrivens. Fasth has won all his games on the road while Scrivens has won all his games at home. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored twice on Thursday to lead the Oilers to their third win of the season over Montreal. Taylor Hall will miss the next six weeks with a leg injury and that should effectively end his fantasy value for this season. It was just an off-year for the talented winger and expect him to return to form next season. Benoit Pouliot is also out with a foot injury but is expected to return before the Winnipeg game. Ryan Hamilton scored his first NHL goal on Tuesday at the age of 29. Congratulations.
FLORIDA
Games this week
@ Toronto, @ Montreal, @ Ottawa, @ Pittsburgh
Rested Team: @ Montreal (Thursday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Panthers play three games in four nights as part of its four game week. Roberto Luongo should see most of the action but Al Montoya could start one game. You have to like the play of Nick Bjugstad of late at the 22-year-old has been at the heart of the Panthers offense. Bjugstad has 19 goals and 34 points in 53 games including five points in his last five contests. He should be in someone’s lineup unless you play in the shallowest of leagues. Brandon Pirri has also been hot of late but he suffered an upper body injury that will keep him out of action a couple of weeks. He has nine goals in 28 games. Jonathan Huberdeau has recovered from his slump of last season as he now has 31 points in 50 games after picking up only 28 points last season. Keep an eye on him and select him next year.
LOS ANGELES
Games this week
vs. Tampa Bay, @ Colorado, @ San Jose
Rested Team: vs. Tampa Bay (Monday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Tyler Toffoli scored his first hat trick in the NHL on Thursday and now has 18 goals and 35 points in only 48 games. The talented winger is third in Kings’ scoring and has a bright future. He is playing alongside Jeff Carter and that does not hurt. Jonathan Quick has won his last three starts despite giving up eight goals on only 72 shots. The save percentage and GAA aren’t great but at least he picked up the wins. The Kings are still on the outside looking in, in the playoff race and they need Quick to be at his best if they hope to make the post-season. Carter has retaken the points lead from Anze Kopitar on the Kings as Carter had 41 to Kopitar’s 40.
MINNESOTA
Games this week
@ Vancouver, @ Calgary, @ Edmonton, vs. Dallas
Rested Team: vs. Dallas (Sunday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Wild finish up their Western Canada swing this week and then are home to Dallas. They have been riding the outstanding netminding of Devan Dubnyk who is 9-1-1 since his trade for a third round pick from Arizona. Dubnyk has forced Darcy Kuemper to the sidelines as he was a healthy scratch on Thursday. Dubnyk is 18-6-3 with a 2.23 GAA and a.925 save percentage overall this season and has a microscopic 1.48 GAA and sensational .943 save percentage with the Wild since the deal. This is after a horrible 2013-14 season where he was 11-18-3 with a 3.43 GAA and a .891 save percentage. There is hope for all goalies who are having a bad season this year (Mike Smith's overall season comes to mind). Ryan Carter is out for a month with a shoulder injury while Jason Zucker will miss at least three months with a broken clavicle.
MONTREAL
Games this week
@ Detroit, @ Ottawa, vs. Florida, vs. Columbus
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: vs. Florida (Thursday)
Notes
The Canadiens play four games this week including three games in four nights so do not be surprised if Dustin Tokarski gets a start with Carey Price starting three games. Tokarski has been okay and just okay in relief of Price as he is 5-4-2 with a .914 save percentage and a 2.67 GAA while Price is under consideration for the Hart Trophy. Tomas Plekanec has three goals and an assist in his last four games. David Desharnais has been even better as he was named the third star of the week as he had a goal and five helpers. Dale Weise has been hot over the last week of play with three goals and four points in four games.
NASHVILLE
Games this week
vs. San Jose, @ New York Islanders, @ Philadelphia, @ Buffalo
Rested Team: None
Tired Team:@ Buffalo (Sunday)
Notes
The Predators play four times this week including three games in four nights so expect to see Carter Hutton play once for the great Pekka Rinne. Rinne has won his last three starts after he had trouble against the Ducks in his return from a knee injury that forced him to miss over three weeks of action. Shea Weber had three points on Thursday to raise his total to 39. He is definitely under consideration for the Norris Trophy. Mike Fisher started the season on the injured reserve list with a ruptured Achilles tendon but has been great since his return with 13 goals and 26 points in 34 games. He is slated to be a UFA at the end of the season but wants to remain a Predator.
NEW JERSEY
Games this week
vs. Buffalo, vs. Vancouver, vs. Carolina
Rested Team: vs. Vancouver (Friday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
Damon Severson has been out of action since December 15 with a fractured ankle but he has resumed skating. He could return shortly but the rookie defenseman may need a stint in the minors before returning to the Devils blueline. Jaromir Jagr wants to play next season but the soon to be 43-year-old could be dealt by the Devils to a contender before the trade deadline, He has 11 goals and 29 points this season in 50 games and could be a valuable veteran forward for a playoff team. Eric Gelinas has been a healthy scratch for the last six games while Michael Ryder has been in the press box for the last seven.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Games this week
vs. New York Rangers, @ Carolina, vs. Nashville, @ Washington, vs. Vancouver
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: vs. Vancouver (Sunday)
Notes
It’s a big week for the Islanders who play the only five game week of the NHL season. Chad Johnson will get at least one start for the Islanders with Jaroslav Halak likely getting at least three. Get in all your Islanders if you are in a weekly transaction pool. Cal Clutterbuck returned to action on Thursday and started on the third line with Brock Nelson and Nikolay Kulemin. Jaroslav Halak picked up his 30th win of the season, the first time he has hit the mark in his NHL career, on Thursday. Michael Grabner has missed the last three games with an upper body injury.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Games this week
@ New York Islanders, vs. Vancouver, @ Buffalo, vs. Columbus
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: vs. Columbus (Sunday)
Notes
Cam Talbot has taken over the starting job in net with Henrik Lundqvist injured and will likely play at least three games this week with the Rangers playing four times including three in four days. Expect to see Mackenzie Skapski play once. Talbot has started the last five games in a row and is 3-1-1 but has allowed 15 goals on only 131 shots. Alain Vigneault is only one win away from 500 in his NHL career. The Rangers moved Mats Zuccarello to the first power play while shifting Martin St. Louis to the second unit as Vigneault has been quite pleased with the play of the Norwegian alongside Rick Nash and Derick Brassard. Zuccarello has a seven game point streak going with four goals and five assists.
OTTAWA
Games this week
vs. Carolina, vs. Montreal, vs. Florida
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Bobby Ryan missed Tuesday’s game and returned Thursday. He played on the top line with Clarke MacArthur and Mika Zibanejad. Craig Anderson has been practicing with goalie coach Rick Walmsley as he attempts to return from a hand injury. He has not been able to use a stick however so his return is not imminent. Cody Ceci was a healthy scratch on Tuesday for the first time this season. I like him in fantasy pools but he may need a couple a years to be a factor. Robin Lehner has started the last seven games and is 2-4-1 giving up 18 goals on 221 shots. Andrew Hammond is backing up Lehner on a emergency basis but has yet to see a minute of action.
PHILADELPHIA
Games this week
vs. Columbus, vs. Buffalo, vs. Nashville, vs. Washington
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Flyers play all four games at home this week including three games in four nights so look for Ray Emery to play in at least three games. Anthony Stolarz is currently the backup as Steve Mason is out for two-three weeks after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery and Rob Zepp has been out with an injury although he will likely be recalled this week after seeing some AHL time to get back in condition. Kimmo Timonen (blood clots) continues to skate by himself but could practice with the Flyers next week. Jakub Voracek has only one point in his last four games and has relinquished his lead in the NHL scoring race as he now sits tied for second with Tyler Seguin, three points behind Patrick Kane who has 62.
PITTSBURGH
Games this week
vs. Washington, vs. Columbus, @ St. Louis, vs. Florida
Rested Team: @ St. Louis (Saturday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Penguins play three games in four nights as part of a four game week so expect to see Thomas Greiss play once for Marc-Andre Fleury. Sidney Crosby is starting to close in on the scoring leaders once again and is only four points out of first after scoring twice on Thursday. Blake Comeau returned from his wrist injury on Wednesday after missing over seven weeks of action and has three points in his last two games. He is worth looking at if you need some offense. Christian Ehrhoff has been out since January 28 with a concussion but is skating on his own and could be back at practice as early as February 14. He has only three goals and 13 points this season in 43 games so he has been a big disappointment to poolies.
ST. LOUIS
Games this week
vs. Dallas, vs. Boston, vs. Pittsburgh
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday)
Notes
The Blues play all three games at home this week. Brian Elliott has been a bit weak of late, giving up 10 goals in his last three games but his overall record of 17-7-2 with a 2.15 GAA and a .922 save percentage has made him a top-15 goalie. Too bad he was injured this season, otherwise his wins total would be much higher and he would likely be a top-seven goalie. Jori Lehtera returned to action on Tuesday but has been pointless with a minus-two rating in his last two games. He missed six games with a concussion but has not had a point in his last six contests. It looks like he hit the wall that most Europeans do when playing in North America for the first time.
SAN JOSE
Games this week
@ Nashville, @ Dallas vs. Los Angeles
Rested Team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
Patrick Marleau has been hot of late with three goals and 10 points in his last nine games. He started the season slowly so his 11 goals and 41 points in 56 games is still below par for him. Marleau had 30-plus goals in five of the last six seasons, the only blemish being the lockout shortened season of 2012-13 when he had 17 in 48 games. Brent Burns continues to have a great season on the blueline as he has 14 goals and 42 points. The Sharks did a nice thing this week by trading for Evgeni Nabokov and allowing him to retire as a Shark. I’ve been a bit surprised by the lack of action for Alex Stalock who has played only once in the Sharks last nine games. It was thought that he would at least share the job with Antti Niemi but that has not been so of late.
TAMPA BAY
Games this week
@ Los Angeles, @ Anaheim, @ Arizona, @ Colorado
Rested team: None
Tired Team: @ Los Angeles (Monday), @ Colorado (Sunday)
Notes
The Lightning complete a five game road trip out West and play three games in four nights so look for Andrei Vasilevskiy and Ben Bishop to split the net this week. Bishop has given up 11 goals in his last 120 minutes of action over three games, facing only 71 shots. Vasilevskiy is a viable option at this time. Brett Connolly has 10 goals this season so he has contributed but the Lightning were hoping for so much more when they made him the sixth pick in the 2010 draft. He is only 22 so there is still plenty of time for Connolly to become a top-six forward. Cedric Paquette has missed the last two games with an upper body injury but had six goals in his previous seven games before the injury.
TORONTO
Games this week
vs. Florida, @ Carolina, vs. Winnipeg
Rested team: None
Tired Team: vs. Winnipeg (Saturday)
Notes
Where to start with the Leafs? They are 2-13-1 under Peter Horachek and it appears that Toronto will be sellers, not only at the trade deadline but into the off-season as it seems like they are going to blow up what they have. The only two players I would have a tough time trading are Morgan Rielly and Jonathan Bernier, but it may be hard to get fair value on some of their big guns like Phil Kessel and Dion Phaneuf, the two names being bandied about the most. James van Riemsdyk has not had a point in his last six games and has just two goals in 14 matches of late. Kessel saw some time on the fourth line this week and that has to hurt his pride. He is still 24th in scoring and has been in the top-ten in each of the last three seasons.
VANCOUVER
Games this week
vs. Minnesota, @ New York Rangers, @ New Jersey, @ New York Islanders
Rested Team: @ New York Islanders (Sunday)
Tired Team: @ New Jersey (Friday)
Notes
The Canucks play four games this week including three games in four nights. Eddie Lack will likely get one start with Ryan Miller playing in the remainder of the games. The Canucks claimed Brandon McMillan off waivers from Arizona and the Richmond, B.C. native will get an opportunity to play at home as a fourth liner. After scoring 29 or more goals for five consecutive seasons, Daniel Sedin has only 41 in his last three seasons comprising of 173 games. He may never again be the goal scorer he was earlier in his career. He did show a glimpse of his scoring ability on Wednesday when he potted a couple.
WASHINGTON
Games this week
@ Pittsburgh, vs. Winnipeg, vs. New York Islanders, @ Philadelphia
Rested team: None
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Capitals play four games this week including three in four nights. Braden Holtby is likely to play at least three games but Justin Peters could get into one game although the last time the Capitals needed a second goalie, they recalled Philipp Grubauer. Holtby had his first mediocre game in three weeks on Wednesday but the Capitals still got the win despite Holtby giving up four goals on 30 shots. He was sensational in his previous five starts, giving up four goals on 134 shots. Nicklas Backstrom is fifth in the NHL scoring race with 57 points. Tom Wilson was a healthy scratch on Wednesday after picking up only one assist in eight games.
WINNIPEG
Games this week
vs. Edmonton, @ Washington, @ Toronto
Rested team: @ Toronto (Saturday)
Tired Team: None
Notes
The Jets made a huge splash this week in the hockey world by acquiring Drew Stafford, Tyler Myers, a couple of prospects including Joel Armia and a first round pick for Evander Kane (who won’t play again this season), Zach Bogosian and a prospect (the whole trade is in the Buffalo section). Armia is the real deal according to Gus Katsaros of McKeen’s. Jets fans should be excited about their future, especially with prospects like Nikolaj Elhers, Josh Morrissey and Nic Petan in the system. Myers was hurt in his first game, blocking a Shea Weber shot. Stafford started the Thursday game alongside Mathieu Perreault and Mark Scheifele. The Stafford move allowed Dustin Byfuglien to move back to the blueline.
