Halfway home, CPHL midseason report Gretzky

[Sylvanfan]

Gretzky Conference

1.)Thrashers

The Thrashers sit atop the Gretzky Conference and the entire CPHL. They currently hold a 3 point lead over Chicago in the overall standings and 6 points up on Boston in the Conference. Although some will point to the Thrashers honey of a schedule that say them get to pound on the Jets 7 times in the first 20 games of the season it should be noted that they're undefeated in 7 games and have collected 19 of a possible 22 points in their last 11 games.

Brind'Amour is among the front runners in the first half for the MVP award as the ageless centre has 25 goals, 58 points and a +16 rating in 43 games. St.Louis, Datsyuk, Morrow, Holmstrom, and Smolinski all have collected 40 points to round out impressive efforts from the top 6 forwards. Blake and Sydor continue their prowess as SIM legends. Albert has given them solid goaltending.

Look for the Thrashers to continue rolling in the second half of the season as they look to finish atop the Gretzky and gun for their second CPHL Stanley Cup. The team has had a few GM changes over the years, but they've been one of the CPHL's top teams for 6 consecutive years now. This has been the CPHL's flagship franchise since the leagues inception.

2.)Bruins

After a tough season last year where they finished 26th overall the Bruins are back this year. Through 42 games the team has amassed 56 points only 14 short of what they did last year. After a 4 game losing streak the Bruins have been a consistant bunch as they haven't lost more than 1 game in a row and have only had 2 stretches in the last 35 games where they went two games between wins. That type of play will make them tough to catch for anyone behind them.

Early on it was Metropolit and Brown leading the charges. Brown missed significant time with injury allowing Pyatt and Arnott to move past him in team scoring. Peltonen and Knuble have also provided good consistant scoring for the B's. Gonchar continues to make things happen from the back end and Souray when healthy has been effective too. McLaren is the defensive anchor of the group and Scuderi and Kukkonen have also chipped in with surprisingly good years. In net Khabibulin has been dependable and Theodore has been solid in his time as a Bruin with a 6-2 record and 2.46 GAA.

The Bruins are for real as the team is nicely balanced and they have a good backbone in goal and on defence and the forwards score enough to get them the wins. They'll be in the playoff picture all year long and will likely end up atop their Division.

3.)Panthers

Well after a turbulant end to last season and a mediocre beginning to this season the Panthers have looked more like the team the CPHL has been used to for the past couple seasons. 10 wins in their past 12 has vaulted the Panthers back to the top of the conference where many expect them to be.

Richards continues to play like a CPHL star as he leads the cats with 53 points and Gaborik has performed well along side him. After that the teams scoring does drop off and the scoring depth isn't quite what it once was in Florida. The trio of Van Ryn, Zidlicky, and Boynton lead the charge from the backend with 26, 25, & 23 points and all with good +/- ratings. Fernandez continues to give the Panthers solid goaltending with his 18 wins and 2.98 GAA.

The Panthers are another team who'll finish in the playoff picture. If they can get some other guys going they might be able to make a run at the Thrashers. But they'll face still competition to get on of the top 4 seeds as well. They'll face some stiff challenges in the off season so the Panthers time to make hay is now.

4.)Capitals


The Caps have been around the top of the CPHL standings since the season started after a stong campaign last year. In fact they were behind the Thrashers in the OV standings until a recent 4 game winless skid allowed Florida to catch up, and Chicago and Boston to move past them. Although the Caps have been fending off the injury bug for some time here and it may have finally figured out how to slow them down for a bit.

The Caps don't have any one lighting it up offensively yet as Drury, Roy, and Elias lead the team with 37, 36, & 35 points. The team does feature 9 players with at least 25 points, so what may be lacking at the top end is made up for throughout the rest of the roster. The teams strength is it's defensive play with a solid top 6 and the goaltending of DiPietro and Auld. Chara has yet to play like his usual self so if they can get him going the Caps will have another threat to add to the mix. DiPietro has posted good GAA and Sv.% numbers but his partner Auld seemingly has the better W-L record going 9-4-1 to DiPi's 14-10-3.

Again, this team will be in the top 8. They've battled injury and prevailed thus far so that indicates the depth is there. They'll be in a battle for a top 4 seed but will have a tough time chasing down Atlanta for the Division title.

5.)Leafs

The Leafs are playing a bit closer to their talent level this year as they've managed to collect 50 points in their first 42 games. A recent 3 games win streak has moved the Leafs past division rivals Quebec and Ottawa into the top 5. The team still seems to be having a tough time moving from good team to elite team, but this season they have been improved compared to their disappointing campaign last year.

Langkow leads the team with 22 goals and 47 points thus far. Hejduk and Redden are also PPG players or better. Boyle, Marleau, Bouchard, Horton, and Fisher have also collected at least 30 points each. Lundquist continues to struggle in getting his SIM likeness to play like his NHL persona, but has improved significantly this year.

The Leafs feature 6 other players with 17-19 points which projects to 35 to 40 points over a full season. Teams with 12 players who can contribute offensively are tough to match up against as the season wears on This depth should continue to help the Leafs keep position in the standings and possibly move up. They're 6 points back of Boston for the 2nd seed. If they can get on a roll it's something they could do.

6.)Nordique

Early in the season the Nordique surprised many running at the top of the CPHL standings, and doing so for more than a week or two. But the injury bug came along and took down a couple of key players. The Nords haven't fallen off the face of the earth as they still hold down the 6 seed. They've held on a bit here in the last 10 with a 4-5-1 record but go back 18 games and their record is 5-11-2.

Slava Kozlov was off to a hot start with 42 points in 31 games but then he suffered a major injury which still looks to have him out for well..probably another 25 games you'd think. Doan, Vyborny, Loser Torres, Conroy, Upshall, and Sammi Kapanen will have to keep picking up the slack in Kozlov's absence. The defence which looks razor thin continues to get it done, and Kolzig despite less than great numbers has really been a horse for the Nords.

The Nords had a great start but the injury bug really hit them and they weren't exaclty a deep squad to begin with. Theres some pretty good teams behind them right now so they'll be full marks if they can stay in the top 8 through game 86.

7.)Senators

The Sens like the Nords also had a good start to the season, but may be enduring a bit of a reality check here of late. With 4 wins in their past 12 games the Senators have slipped out of the top 4 in the conference. The Senators came into this season with a young team and are likely happy with how things have gone so far.

Chris Clark leads the team with 18 goals and 33 points thus far. Bell, Hamhuis, and Eric Staal have all hit the 30 point mark too. Kopitar, Justin Williams, Kalinin, and Jordan Staal have also hit or passed 20 points. M-A Fleury is probably the teams MVP thus far with a 2.58 GAA and .910 Sv%. Probably the best goalie in the CPHL thus far and a worthy MVP candidate.

The Sens will be in tough to hold off the teams charging behind them. They're a young group and their depth doesn't really scare anyone. Overall though theres huge upside for this team and if they make the right moves they'll be a team who find themselves consistantly at the top of the conference, although they may not quite be there yet.

8.)Flyers

Former GM Noops really worked at getting together a solid team for this coming season. But two goofy moves put him in a rock and a hard place and than he had to leave. After some controversy things were set straight. The team is having a tough time finding it's stride. A 2 game skid dropped them back on the cusp of the playoffs.

Chris Pronger leads them with 36 points in 41 games. Veterans Nylander, Shanahan and Selanne sit on 35, 35, & 32 while Gionta, and Ballard also have hit 30. Modano has struggled with 29 points and a -13 rating, and J.P. Vigier is outscoring the likes of McDonald, Weber, Schaefer, and Richards! The duo of Hasek and Norrena has given adequate goaltending, but will need to be better here in the second half. Hasek in particular will need to give the team a few more starts and wins down the stretch as 7.8 million is too much for a guy to win 22 games in a CPHL season.

The Flyers are a talented team and have many players under achieving. GM Moon may need to make a move or two to get this squad going and playing to their potential as they too face an interesting offseason. The team should be better than they have been, and should be able to end up in the top 8 when the season ends.

[Sylvanfan]

9.)Sabres

Well once again the Sabres find themselves battling for the 8th playoff spot in the Gretzky (They're the Oilers of the CPHL!). With a 6-2-1 record in their last 9 they've made a charge at the Flyers, Nords, and Sens and are tied in points with Philly, and 1 back of the Sens and Nords.

Wolski and Chunks Penner lead the attack with 37 points each. Smyth has also surpassed 30 points. The attack is forward driven as the top 9 scorers are all forwards with Beauchemin being the only rear guard among the teams top 12 scorers. Giguere has given the team good goal tending with a 2.76 GAA and .900 Sv %. His backups combined are 3-6-1 with a 4.10 and .858 Sv.%. That indicates Gigueres importance to this team.

The Sabres should be a cusp team to the end as they should be able to chase down the Sens and Nords. But can the hold off the Pens and Rangers? It will be another nerve racking finish for the Sabres as the Gretzky could have as many as 14 teams bidding for a playoff spot.

10.)Rangers
Well for the first time since he's been GM Flambers Rangers are in danger of missing the post season. Although the Rangers still have half a season to figure out how to make up the 2 points they need to vault them into the picture. But a medicore 3-4-3 last 10 has allowed them to keep pace with the pack in front...but now make up ground.

Brunette is the Rangers leading with 24 goals and 49 points thus far. The always enigmatic Naslund is at 40 and Malone, Pisani, Jason Williams, have all passed 30 points. Mara, Skoula, and Backman all have 20+ points on the backend. The duo of Gerber and Osgood haven't quite matched their NHL likeness' as Osgood is only 5-6 with a GAA just under 4.

The Rangers are another team who'll be in for an exciting finish. they'll certainly be in the top 10 and can they find a way to get into the coveted top 8? Flambers teams generally play better in the second half, so I wouldn't bet against him getting in. In fact...if the past is used as an indicator he might get them into the top half by game 86.

11.)Penguins
Last years Gretzky Champs are probably the most confusing CPHL team to date. Despite a plethora of talent, the team has spun it's wheels all year long. Winning streaks followed by losing skids and no signs of consistency have the highly touted Pens 3 points on the outside.

Joe Thornton has been great with 62 points and a CPHL record 6 goal game to his credit. Olli Jokinen, Spezza, and Hemsky have all contributed 40 plus points on offence. But Scott Gomez is underachieving and the teams goaltending has been suspect. Luongo and Garon both were terrible before being sent out of town and Lehtonen and Niittymaki haven't been good enough to pull the team back in to it.

The Pens still seem too talented to miss out on the playoffs while teams like Quebec and Ottawa get in. But the problem here is that Buffalo and the Rangers are still ahead of them too. Talent wise the Pens should be in it, but they can't get it together. They've even been active trying to get things going, but so far coming up empty. No doubt GM Goffie will prod this group till the bitter end trying to get the into the top 8.

12.)Islanders
GM Noobs quest to finally get the Isles into the playoffs isn't looking so good at midseason. A recent 3-7 skid has seen the Isles fall out of the top 8. Grouped with some tough competition the Islanders are in a dog fight that should go for another 40+ games.

Demitra leads the group with 48 points, while Jagr with 43 and Semin at 40 also contribute offensively. Nik Lidstrom has put up 18 points in 21 games on the Island but is well behind his usual point pace to date. Former Sim God Samsonov has caught a case of my NHL self suck's-itis and has come back to earth a bit (although way ahead of his NHL self..) with only 29 points and a -15. Cam Ward has had to carry the load and after a strong start has leveled off. Backup Johan Hedberg has sucked when played.

The Islanders are looking like it could be 4 straight years out of the playoffs. The team is improved but the rest of the conference is still pretty strong. The Isles will need their key guys to keep performing and their goaltending to improve if they want to get to the dance.

13.)Canadiens
At 43 points in 43 games the Habs are a .500 squad. In the Gretzky, that puts you 13th in the conference! They continue to stay close, but just can't seem to get going to move up, and make up any ground.

Uberstar Ovechkin leads this group with 45 points and Matt Lombardi's 19 goals set the pace in that department. Lehtonen, Plekanic, and Fedorov also have 30 or more points. Ehrhoff has 11 goals from the backend, and Martin, and Jason Smith both have 20+ points too. In nets Raycroft and Bryzgalov have given the team below average goaltending and Bryzgalov in particular hasn't been good enough as the second half of the tandem.

The Habs are behind the 8 ball and are playing catch up. With their goaltending they'll be in tough to put together the winning streaks required to make up ground on this many teams.

14.)Hurricanes
After a tough offseason that saw a lot of change the Canes have been forced into rebuild mode. After some deals the team found itself still contending for the 8th spot, but a recent swoon has left them 6 points back and in a tough spot.

To no ones surprise Heatley leads this grop with 18 goals and 39 points. He's the only season long Cane to put up more than 10 goals and 30 points. Weiss who recently came over has 15 goals and 34 points. Madden, Hill, and Boyes all have 26-28 points. Pascal Lecaire has performed admirably with a 2.9 GAA and .893 Sv% in 19 games since being acquired. Craig Anderson too has been good in limited action with a 5-1-1 record 2.51 GAA and .907 Sv%.

The Canes are rebuilding and will be in tough to improve their current standing. The team gives a good effort, but needs some time for a few of the younger guys to grow and bring the Canes back into the playoff picture. They likely won't be their this year, but they'll be back sooner than later with a lot of good pieces in place.

15.)Devils
After a promising start things have become pretty tough for the Devils. Mired in a bit of a slump the team is 10 points out of the playoffs and 4 back of the closest team in front of them. Recent moves suggest that the team is looking to get the pieces in place to get into the playoff mix next year.

Veterans Weight and Stumpel lead the offence with 37 points while young contributors Kesler, Wellwood, and Stastny all sit on 29 points. Top scoring defenceman Ohlund was just traded to San Jose leavig Sean O'Donnel as the top scoring rear guard. In net the recently moved Ed Belfour gave a valliant effort but was unable to keep the team in the picture. Peter Budaj and Josh Harding now look to be the tandem for the forseeable future, although one may be used as trade bait come offseason.

The Devils are still suffering from a few years of bad management and multiple GM turn over. There is some good pieces in place but GM Antithesis will need to make a few moves to mould them into a playoff calibre squad.

16.)Lightning
Well after going from last in the conference to making the playoffs and giving the Panthers a 7 game scare the Lightning are back in the basement. Trying to beef up for a playoff run left GM Droopy in a position where he opted to start the rebuild before the season began. The Lightning are 3 points up on the Jets in the basement battle and are on pace to tie the CPHL futility record of the 03-04 Panthers.

Things are bad when Pavel Vorobiev and his 22 points lead you in scoring half way through the year. Boyd Gordon and Gleason have hit 20 points and the next guy is O'Sullivan at 15. It's hard to judge Marc Denis and Mike Smith's numbers due to the team in front but Denis is likely not going to be in the Lightning cage next year.

Being 18 points back of the Devils and 10 points back of the closest team in front of them pretty much seasl the Lightning to be 31 or 32 in the OV standings. The Lightnings future will depend on the offseason. The team has several young inexpensive players on the upswing and should have 35 million or so for upgrades. Things are bleak today, but they're positioned to make a fast comeback.

[OILFAN #81]

Amazing job Chad! That was a great writeup. One little note for the Thrashers. We went 6-1-0 vs the Jets early in the season, not 7-0-0 (so even with those 12 pts in 7 games, if you took those away we'd have 50 pts in 36 games and would need to go 3-3-0 in our 6 games in hand to still be 1st in the conference or 1-4-1 to be 2nd in the conference). So many good teams in the Gretzky this year (definately better then last year). Bruins, Panthers, Caps, Leafs, Flyers, Sens, Nords, Pens, Sabres, etc......it goes on and on.

Great to see parity in our conference more so then last year. We will be seeing our conference a lot more in the 2nd half of the season (which will balance out the schedule vs our competitors as our 1st half schedule was lighter while the second half is tougher).

[RT14]

Wow, great reads so far! Thanks for putting all the time into this Syl, can't wait to read the finished product!

[flambers]

Wow, well done!!!

[Prototype]

I don't think I could write up my team better than what you have Chad. I'm sure I'll take a stab at it some time this week, but kudoes, none the less.

[jam26]

Great analysis Chad, as always!

[Radically Red]

Great work Chad.. Your right the Senators are very pleased with how things have gone so far. we figured we would be challenging for the bottom 5 not a playoff spot.

But we are young and plan to stay the course. of course if we can find some upgrades here and there we will take them.

[KevanGuy]

Good write up Syl. Thanks for doing that.

[Knut]

Great work...

Caps need to get back on track, that is for sure.

[Goffie]

Nice Job!


Pens must find away to claw our way into the playoff picture!

[Antithesis]

Well done, Chad, I couldn't have said it better myself thought I will probably try to in the next week. Unfortunately, I think the Devils have to dig themselves out of some pretty significant errors made by the man-in-charge, but I think we're on the right track.

[HelloHockeyFans]

Nice job Syl! Bang on with the Isles and I think I have to begrudgingly agree with you that it'll end up being another year out of the playoffs for us. Damn it all!

[MJK]

Well after a turbulant end to last season and a mediocre beginning to this season the Panthers have looked more like the team the CPHL has been used to for the past couple seasons.