Anyways, back to the series at hand. I've decided that since my opponent is a classy gent and I like his team, I'll try to avoid running a smear campaign as much as possible 
. Positive thoughts. So on top of the offensive pop upfront, here's some more reasons why I feel my team is pretty sweet:
Special Teams
Penalty Kill
-I'm extremely proud of my #1 PK unit, I think it's perhaps the best in the draft (in terms of skaters, at any rate). Klukay and Metz are among the greatest PK duo's of all time. Not only were they the defensive backbone of a dynasty, but they changed the way shorthanded situations were played with their aggressive style.
-On the back end, Chris Chelios was the best PKers I've seen. Obviously he couldn't kill a penalty all by himself like Bobby Orr, but he's arguably the best ever at the "usual" type of penalty killing. Take a look at post #16 in this thread for an indication of that: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=628138&highlight=Penalty+Killers. Chelios was still averaging 5:30 a game on the PK at the age of 44!
-I can't rave about Jimmy Watson as much as the other guys, but it's my understanding that he was a hell of a penalty killer in his own right. Just a fantastic positional defender with great hockey sense. And surely his shorthanded play was key for a team that took as many penalties as the Flyers did in the 70's.
-I'm not going to write a giant essay about my second unit, but I feel they're also excellent. Hooley Smith and Ken Mosdell were both fantastic defensive players. Slava Fetisov needs no introduction. The more I learn about Glen Harmon, the more I feel he's one of the more underrated defensive defensemen in the draft. Twice a second-team allstar (in 1945 when defensemen were putting up huge numbers across the league, Harmon made the all-star team with just 13 points; the lowest total of his career). He is also said to have gone something like 35 games in a row without being on the ice for a goal against at some point in the late 40's. I had the quote in a book, but that book is back at the library now, so y'all just have to take my word for it.
Power Play
-I think I have an excellent mix of playmakers and shooters on my PP. The creativity and pure skill of my Malone-Savard-Makarov trio is impressive. Denis Savard was as creative and dangerous as they come, and was a fabulous playmaker. Sergei Makarov could both dish and bury at an elite level, and Joe Malone was perhaps the greatest goalscorer of his time (let's not get into that again).
-The second unit should also be a handful. Cy Denneny and Hooley smith were equally adept at scoring and playmaking, and Dany Heatley is perhaps the best spot-shooter in the game today.
-On the back end I have the all-important left-right balance amongst my defesemen. Good right-handed defensemen are hard to come by for some reason, so it's nice to have Chelios and Desjardins to better facilitate the one-timer on their respective units. Fetisov-Desjardins is a very good PP pairing, providing skill, savvy, and booming shots from the point. I feel the second pairing is solid as well. While nobody thinks of Chelios as a PP specialist, he was a very good point producer in his time and played quite a bit on the power play. Leo Reise was a strong puck-mover and one of the higher scoring defensemen in his prime.
Goaltending
Ok, ok. So Lumley-Rayner isn't exactly Sawchuk-Bower. However, in this matchup I think it's an advantage that I have two goalies capable of being ATD starters. I consider Lumely, Rayner, and Worters to be all essentially on the same general tier (which is low-end starter). I just feel that, simply, having two such players is an advantage. If Lumley isn't playing up to snuff, I have a three-time NHL allstar and Hart winner ready to come in and take the reins. I like Lumley as my starter though. I think he's the best goalie in this series. Has Cup-winning experience, twice beat out a prime Terry Sawchuk for the first-allstar award, and was a fiery competitor who fiercely defended his crease, which is always fun to have back there.
Checking Line
I love my Metz-Mosdell-Klukay line, I think they're one of the best in the draft. I think it was Total Hockey that did the retro-Selke winners. I'm not sure what kind of witchcraft they used to come up with their results, but Metz and Klukay ended up with 9 Selke's between them. I'll take that. Ken Mosdell was the primary defensive centre for Montreal in the late 40's and 50's, and has both a First and Second allstar selection to his name. Obviously you can never completely shut down a line that features players like Newsy Lalonde, Cam Neely, and Syd Howe, but you can limit them. From the Stanley Cup Finals this year we can see how big a difference home-ice can mean in such a situation (Zetterberg vs. Crosby), so it's nice to have that on my side in this situation. And I think Klukay is a good fit against Neely, as he was a big, fast sunofa***** with a similar penchant for running dudes over.
Defense Corps
-I was really happy with how my defense turned out. In my first ATD I had a chance to get a Bourque-Fetisov combo with my first two picks, but I blew it. I learned my lesson though, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity again to have two high-end #1 defensemen. What I love about Fetisov and Chelios is that they excelled at every aspect of the game. Offense, defense, physical play, leadership. These guy brought it all. Having such a complete player on each pairing allowed me to wait till rounds 9 and 11 and still come out with what I think is an excellent top four.
-Fetisov-Dejardins is a pairing that I feel confident putting out in any situation. Fetisov is the undisputed best Russian defender of all time (and arguable best player). Extremely solid at 6'1, 220, and on top of his skill and smarts, he played a physical brand of hockey as well. Not afraid to play dirty either. Desjardins was a guy who excelled in all areas, while never being completely dominant in any one skill. He played an integral part in Montreal's championship in 1993, and was a back-to-back allstar with Philadelphia a few years later. What I think best speaks to his value is that he was selected to represent Canada in best-on-best competition in three consecutive tournaments. This is my "two-way" pairing, I guess you could say. Just excellent play at both ends of the ice.
-My second pairing will be used in a shut-down role. Whenever possible, the other team's top line will be seeing them. Although Chelios was a very good offensive player, his greatest value lies at the defensive end of the rink. I think he's among the best ever. Smart, nasty, and just tireless. He was the energizer bunny out there. I think he and Watson will make a dynamite shut-down pairing. Both are phenomenal defensive players who can beat you with skill and savvy or strength and grit. Watson's clean, no-nonsense brand of hockey makes him an ideal foil for Chelios. Very mobile players as well, which lets me play them against both speedsters and bangers.
-I really like my 3rd line, and I don't think either guy would look out of place as a #4 defenseman. Between them, Reise and Harmon combined for 4 All-Star selections, and were integral players on 4 Stanley Cup Championships. Although noted for his crisp passing and skating abilities, Glen Harmon was a top-notch defensive defender. Despite being only 5'9, he's said to have thrilled the Montreal crowds with his crushing body checks. Leo Reise Jr. was a big (>200 lbs), mobile defenseman with a knack for scoring big playoff goals. He is credited with doing much of the dirty work on a team full of star players. I think Reise and Harmon bring a little bit of everything to the table. Physical play, shut-down ability, puck-moving ability. They shouldn't see the ice too often, but I have full confidence in them when they do.
. Positive thoughts. So on top of the offensive pop upfront, here's some more reasons why I feel my team is pretty sweet:Special Teams
Penalty Kill
-I'm extremely proud of my #1 PK unit, I think it's perhaps the best in the draft (in terms of skaters, at any rate). Klukay and Metz are among the greatest PK duo's of all time. Not only were they the defensive backbone of a dynasty, but they changed the way shorthanded situations were played with their aggressive style.
-On the back end, Chris Chelios was the best PKers I've seen. Obviously he couldn't kill a penalty all by himself like Bobby Orr, but he's arguably the best ever at the "usual" type of penalty killing. Take a look at post #16 in this thread for an indication of that: http://hfboards.com/showthread.php?t=628138&highlight=Penalty+Killers. Chelios was still averaging 5:30 a game on the PK at the age of 44!
-I can't rave about Jimmy Watson as much as the other guys, but it's my understanding that he was a hell of a penalty killer in his own right. Just a fantastic positional defender with great hockey sense. And surely his shorthanded play was key for a team that took as many penalties as the Flyers did in the 70's.
-I'm not going to write a giant essay about my second unit, but I feel they're also excellent. Hooley Smith and Ken Mosdell were both fantastic defensive players. Slava Fetisov needs no introduction. The more I learn about Glen Harmon, the more I feel he's one of the more underrated defensive defensemen in the draft. Twice a second-team allstar (in 1945 when defensemen were putting up huge numbers across the league, Harmon made the all-star team with just 13 points; the lowest total of his career). He is also said to have gone something like 35 games in a row without being on the ice for a goal against at some point in the late 40's. I had the quote in a book, but that book is back at the library now, so y'all just have to take my word for it
.Power Play
-I think I have an excellent mix of playmakers and shooters on my PP. The creativity and pure skill of my Malone-Savard-Makarov trio is impressive. Denis Savard was as creative and dangerous as they come, and was a fabulous playmaker. Sergei Makarov could both dish and bury at an elite level, and Joe Malone was perhaps the greatest goalscorer of his time (let's not get into that again
).-The second unit should also be a handful. Cy Denneny and Hooley smith were equally adept at scoring and playmaking, and Dany Heatley is perhaps the best spot-shooter in the game today.
-On the back end I have the all-important left-right balance amongst my defesemen. Good right-handed defensemen are hard to come by for some reason, so it's nice to have Chelios and Desjardins to better facilitate the one-timer on their respective units. Fetisov-Desjardins is a very good PP pairing, providing skill, savvy, and booming shots from the point. I feel the second pairing is solid as well. While nobody thinks of Chelios as a PP specialist, he was a very good point producer in his time and played quite a bit on the power play. Leo Reise was a strong puck-mover and one of the higher scoring defensemen in his prime.
Goaltending
Ok, ok. So Lumley-Rayner isn't exactly Sawchuk-Bower. However, in this matchup I think it's an advantage that I have two goalies capable of being ATD starters. I consider Lumely, Rayner, and Worters to be all essentially on the same general tier (which is low-end starter). I just feel that, simply, having two such players is an advantage. If Lumley isn't playing up to snuff, I have a three-time NHL allstar and Hart winner ready to come in and take the reins. I like Lumley as my starter though. I think he's the best goalie in this series. Has Cup-winning experience, twice beat out a prime Terry Sawchuk for the first-allstar award, and was a fiery competitor who fiercely defended his crease, which is always fun to have back there.
Checking Line
I love my Metz-Mosdell-Klukay line, I think they're one of the best in the draft. I think it was Total Hockey that did the retro-Selke winners. I'm not sure what kind of witchcraft they used to come up with their results, but Metz and Klukay ended up with 9 Selke's between them. I'll take that. Ken Mosdell was the primary defensive centre for Montreal in the late 40's and 50's, and has both a First and Second allstar selection to his name. Obviously you can never completely shut down a line that features players like Newsy Lalonde, Cam Neely, and Syd Howe, but you can limit them. From the Stanley Cup Finals this year we can see how big a difference home-ice can mean in such a situation (Zetterberg vs. Crosby), so it's nice to have that on my side in this situation. And I think Klukay is a good fit against Neely, as he was a big, fast sunofa***** with a similar penchant for running dudes over.
Defense Corps
-I was really happy with how my defense turned out. In my first ATD I had a chance to get a Bourque-Fetisov combo with my first two picks, but I blew it. I learned my lesson though, and I couldn't pass up the opportunity again to have two high-end #1 defensemen. What I love about Fetisov and Chelios is that they excelled at every aspect of the game. Offense, defense, physical play, leadership. These guy brought it all. Having such a complete player on each pairing allowed me to wait till rounds 9 and 11 and still come out with what I think is an excellent top four.
-Fetisov-Dejardins is a pairing that I feel confident putting out in any situation. Fetisov is the undisputed best Russian defender of all time (and arguable best player). Extremely solid at 6'1, 220, and on top of his skill and smarts, he played a physical brand of hockey as well. Not afraid to play dirty either. Desjardins was a guy who excelled in all areas, while never being completely dominant in any one skill. He played an integral part in Montreal's championship in 1993, and was a back-to-back allstar with Philadelphia a few years later. What I think best speaks to his value is that he was selected to represent Canada in best-on-best competition in three consecutive tournaments. This is my "two-way" pairing, I guess you could say. Just excellent play at both ends of the ice.
-My second pairing will be used in a shut-down role. Whenever possible, the other team's top line will be seeing them. Although Chelios was a very good offensive player, his greatest value lies at the defensive end of the rink. I think he's among the best ever. Smart, nasty, and just tireless. He was the energizer bunny out there. I think he and Watson will make a dynamite shut-down pairing. Both are phenomenal defensive players who can beat you with skill and savvy or strength and grit. Watson's clean, no-nonsense brand of hockey makes him an ideal foil for Chelios. Very mobile players as well, which lets me play them against both speedsters and bangers.
-I really like my 3rd line, and I don't think either guy would look out of place as a #4 defenseman. Between them, Reise and Harmon combined for 4 All-Star selections, and were integral players on 4 Stanley Cup Championships. Although noted for his crisp passing and skating abilities, Glen Harmon was a top-notch defensive defender. Despite being only 5'9, he's said to have thrilled the Montreal crowds with his crushing body checks. Leo Reise Jr. was a big (>200 lbs), mobile defenseman with a knack for scoring big playoff goals. He is credited with doing much of the dirty work on a team full of star players. I think Reise and Harmon bring a little bit of everything to the table. Physical play, shut-down ability, puck-moving ability. They shouldn't see the ice too often, but I have full confidence in them when they do.
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