January 17, 1999

As you know already, I rallied to win the third period with a huge 56 point week. It was a pretty impressive win given that I had some injury problems during the period. Sakic missed about 10 games. Maybe you could argue that I was stupid for not replacing him, but he was the dreaded day-to-day for three weeks, so who the hell knew what was going on. Renberg missed 3 games before I put him on IR. (Although without his injury, I wouldn't have activated Rucchin, who had 14 points in 2 weeks). The next period goes through February 16. Here are the leading scorers from the last period.

The following players currently on IR have begun playing again and if they play three games will have to be taken off IR. Turgeon, Renberg, Tkachuk, and Weight have all come back this weekend. Moves for the next week can be made up until the beginning of games Tuesday after the all-star break.

Brett has had some tough luck lately. Before losing with the second highest score this week, his last three losses were by a combined 5 points. Even at 4-8-1, he is only one-half game from the third and final playoff spot in the Medicine Hat division. His top three are strong, with Lindros, Forsberg, and Holik, but he is having trouble getting decent production from the remaining forwards. His defensemen rank fifth in the league and may be showing some signs of life. Olausson was a great pick up two weeks ago, as he has been the highest scoring defenseman in each of the last two weeks. However, Brett's goalies are tied for last in the league.

Biggest bargain: Holik, 56 points, $5.

Biggest waste of money: Koivu, 11 points, $16.

Moves grade: B+. I guess if you make enough moves, you are bound to get lucky on somebody. Naslund and Olausson appear to be excellent pick ups.

Chris is led by the awesome duo of Kariya and Leclair. They have been as advertised and are first and third in EFHL scoring. However Chris could not provide any sleepers to go along with them. His defensemen rank second to last in the league. However with Ozolinsh back, they are near the top of the league, at least on paper.

Biggest bargain: Leclair, 75 points, $28. It says a lot about Chris' team that I couldn't find any bigger bargain.

Biggest waste of money: Duchesne, 15 points, $7.

Moves grade: B. Has made a lot of moves, but only Thomas looks like a keeper.

Things seem to be turning around for Jay. His three game winning streak after a 1-9 start has left him just one game from a playoff spot. His forwards have been OK, with Jagr, Modano, and Roenick all over 50 points. Turgeon's injury might have been a good thing, forcing Jay to make a move, ending up with McEachern. Jay has been hurt by his defensemen, who are last in the league.

Biggest bargain: Roenick, 55 points, $6.

Biggest waste of money: Suter, 0 points, $3. This is lame, but there are no other obvious busts.

Moves grade: B. McEachern looks good, but Jay could have used some defensemen (although there was not a lot out there).

You probably don't want to hear much more about my team.

Biggest bargain: Robitaille, 62 points, $2.

Biggest waste of money: Daze, 14 points and dropped, $4.

Moves grade: B. Haven't had to make many moves, but got a few decent weeks from Rucchin and Jones.

It appears that Rick's reign may be over as points champion. I guess he can always blame it on the auction. In a desparation move, Rick has sent Bondra to Rich for Bure. So Bure has been traded to Florida, but it is doubtful that Bure in Florida will be much of an upgrade from Bondra. Rick is only one of two teams without a player over 50 points. However, he could be a darkhorse in the playoffs, but Palffy and Bure will have to be darn good. His defensemen have been pretty strong, currently ranking third in the league.

Biggest bargain: Messier, 48 points, $6.

Biggest waste of money: Bondra, 36 points and traded, $28.

Moves grade: B+. Straka has been good and Zhamnov has had his moments.

Tony continues to put up an incredible won-lost record. Following seasons of 13-8 and 14-6, he is currently 10-2-1. Unfortunately for Tony, that doesn't necessarily translate into a points championship or EFHL cup, neither of which he has won yet. Tony's forwards are the highest scoring (even better than mine), with four of them over 50 points, led by the unlikely duo of Khristich and Demitra, with Sundin and Guerin not far behind. Tony's problem has been on defense and in goal. His defensemen are merely average. Thanks to Roy, his goalies rank at the bottom of the league.

Biggest bargain: Khristich, 59 points, $5.

Biggest waste of money: Roy, 8 points, $14. Even at a more realistic price, it would have been a waste. (Tony bid his remaining $14 on Roy to fill his last auction spot.)

Moves grade: A-. He has made some pretty good pick ups, including Aucoin, Sheppard, and, so far, Satan.

Mike's team has been extremely inconsistent. He got off to a great start, finishing second in the first period, but finished second to last in the second period. With 61 points, Fleury has been great, but Allison, Recchi, and Shanahan have been slumping pretty badly recently. Despite worse than average defensemen, this team is due for a hot streak and still has the potential to make some noise by either winning a period or doing some damage in the playoffs.

Biggest bargain: Fleury, 61 points, $13.

Biggest waste of money: Stumpel, 3 points, $10. Also cost Mike a few moves with his injuries early in the season.

Moves grade: C. Missed out on all the guys that could have made a real impact, but at least made an effort to try to get some help.

Rich has been hurt by holdouts and injuries. Weight is back and he now has Bondra, but it may be too late. If it weren't for Hasek, Rich's point total would most likely be down in Bill's territory.

Biggest bargain: Hasek, 60 points, $14. Yzerman (62 points, $15) also ranks right up there.

Biggest waste of money: Bure, 0 points, $17.

Moves grade: D. Could have used a lot of help.

Bill was in trouble from the beginning. Although there were a lot of guys out there that could have made this team competitive. Bill only has one forward over 30 points (Kamensky). His defensemen are pretty strong though, ranking second (and probably first in age).

Biggest bargain: K. Hatcher, 30 points, $5.

Biggest waste of money: You can pretty much pick any of his forwards.

Moves grade: D.

Charlie currently is two games behind Tony for the Moose Jaw lead and they face each other in the game of the week. Charlie is 7-1-1 in his last nine and the loss came when he had the second highest score two weeks ago. Yashin has finally reached his potential, ranking fourth in scoring.

Biggest bargain: Primeau, 52 points, $4.

Biggest waste of money: Federov, 37 points, $17.

Moves grade: B+. Hasn't needed to dip in the free agent pool much, but Nedved has been good (so far).

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