By: Dirty-Dietrich & randymarsh2012

So, I’m a few weeks late on this news, but skate. (the fourth installment of the franchise) is going free-to-play? Now, Electronic Arts has successfully launched and supported a few FTP franchises over the past few years, but taking one of their most demanded titles and (reportedly) removing the story mode, one of the features that made people fall in love with the game, and focusing exclusively on online play and collaboration may alienate long time fans of the franchise who begged and pleaded with the game titan to reboot the series. Either that, or it will make them truckloads of money.

So, the trade deadline has passed and we are officially on the way to the SPNHL playoffs! 10 teams have finalized their rosters and are now all in (well, most of them) on making a deep push towards the Stanley Cup. While there were some debatably lopsided deals that occurred over the past week, change was afoot in the league: contenders got stronger, basement dwellers had fire sales, and needs were assessed and addressed. Players packed their bags and filled them with gear, clothes, and aspirations for championship glory.

Considering how well it went last week, my dear friend Randall and I are going to recap the week that was in the SPNHL. We’ll be looking at how teams performed this past week, their overall record on the season, their strengths and weaknesses, their most valuable players (c’mon, Hardie, do the unsung heroes article!), and their key acquisitions at the deadline. Will these reviews drum up some controversy? Perhaps. Are we using these reviews to scout our opponents? Absolutely. Are you ready for some football? Sorry, wrong character.

We’ll be starting with the Eastern conference. Take it away, Randy!

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. Detroit Red Wings.

Last Week’s Rank: 1.

Overall Record: 21-6-3.

Weekly Record: 7-1-1 (W3).

Strength: Even Strength hockey.

Weakness: Special Teams.

MVP: Hxrdie, leads league in scoring by 16pts and a huge +76.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: SelkeTommyGoat, Benji_Frank, SgtVandoos, Ice_uck.

This Detroit team keeps putting up W’s, putting up big scores, and is excelling at even strength hockey this season; the majority of the best +/- players in the league are Red Wing players. Their weakness seems to be on the PP (ranked 5^th) and PK (ranked 7^th); they need to start capitalizing on more of their PP opportunities, kill off some more of those penalties, and get those special teams back into the top 3 in the league. 

Detroit ended up moving their trade bait (Zinczy and Zercy) to Colorado for top C Tommyboii and a strong LD in Benji Frank. This move made sense for both teams considering their predicaments and having Tommy at C should help with the teams PK and PP issues. Expect this team to finish the season on top in the East with a likely matchup against Montreal in the first round.

2. Toronto Maple Leafs.

Last Week Rank: 2.

Overall Record: 19-8-3.

Weekly Record: 5-4-0 (L1).

Strength: Defense and PK.

Weakness: Offense.

MVP: YoJonsn, leads team in points, games played, best 2-way player.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: Staleee.

This Leafs team had an up and down week, going 5-4 and losing some games they should have won with 2 losses to Vegas and 1 loss to Seattle. They are still hanging on to the 2^nd spot in the East with solid goaltending and solid defense, but they need their forwards to start clicking a bit better; they’re only averaging 2.97 goals per game while the other top teams are averaging 5.26. 

The Leafs can’t count on winning with that low of scoring night in and night out; these forwards need to go off this week upfront now that the deadline has passed, they have 15 games to get some chem. I wouldn’t change a thing about their defensive play though, these Leafs get the job done in their own end.

3. Washington Capitals.

Last Week Rank: 3.

Overall Record: 17-13-0.

Weekly Record: 7-2-0 (L2).

Strength: Offense.

Weakness: Defense.

MVP: Fluri37, leads team with 73pts.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: Wardo, Druwyy, Kwhiss.

This Washington group went 7-0 to start the week, and then ended up losing the last 2 games of the week to San Jose and Detroit. This team has gotten much stronger by trading for Wardo which gives them a new top line option of Prod – Wardo – Fluri and having 4 solid defencemen in Eggman, Smokey, Druwyy and Dustin with some solid goaltending in goalieman.

These guys are shaping up to be able to complete a deep playoff run. If the availability is there, these guys could climb up and take the 2nd spot in the East from Toronto. This team is no slouch and should make for some very interesting games from now till playoffs.

4. Montreal Canadiens.

Last Week Rank: 4.

Overall Record: 12-18-0.

Weekly Record: 2-7-0 (L2).

Strength: Offense.

Weakness: Defense, PK.

MVP: Reapz/Cupi, lead team in points.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: Kidmoney, ImperialBlaze.

The Canadiens went 0-5 to start the week, went on to win the next 2 games, but then had 2 FF L’s at the end of the week to Vegas and Philly which were winnable games for them to try and salvage the week. I think with Philly locking in last place in the league, these guys are just looking to coast into playoffs anyways accepting their 4^th place seed. Reapz is looking at the long game here and getting his team ready for playoffs. If we learned anything from the past few seasons with this Montreal team its that they like playing the upset card and they play it well, they took the Stanley cup runners up to 7 games last season and eliminated a cup favorite in 5 games the season before that. 

They just need to get this avail straightened out and it would be nice of Jhursi to finally show up for these guys for a game or two. Kidmoney was a solid trade for these guys though to help fill that current void jhursi has left. So we will see how this Habs team looks at playoff time. They still have the secret weapon of Braz in net; if they can figure out how to tighten up in their own end and protect him better these guys could easily start winning more games.

5. Philadelphia Flyers.

Last Week Rank: 5.

Overall Record: 8-22-0.

Weekly Record: 1-8-0 (W1).

Strength: Grabbing a big FF win.

Weakness: Heart.

MVP: El Rookie, for not having a quitting attitude as well as being their best player.

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: Complexiti, Guesshoo1, EdgeXQ1, JChristie, RedRanger10, Blackfire1, PghFanatic (and probably more, too much to look through)

This team dating back to week 2 had some serious heart issues where majority of players

were not willing to grind out W’s for Cuban which forced the GM to make some serious trades. The trades ended up not working out as well turning this club into a firesale. El Rookie has been crucial in keeping this team from FFing the season and hats off to him for being a champ and a good sport about it all and playing his games.In other news the Flyers grabbed a FF win against Montreal in last game of the week to snap a 19-game losing streak.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. San Jose Sharks.

Last Week Rank: 1.

Overall Record: 27-3-0.

Weekly Record: 9-0-0 (W14).

Strength: Offense (158 goals for, the most in the league).

Weakness: *file not found*.

MVP: Randymarsh2012 (4.4 PPG on offense in 20 GP, 2.1 PPG on defense in 7 GP).

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: John_Dean_16, Mrlolchico13.

These San Jose Sharks may go down as one of the greatest SPNHL teams of all time; they have assembled one of the dangerous forward lines in the league with the addition of John_Dean to Hughsy28- and Bartlett-67, who leads the league in assists with 74. Hughsy could switch with Randymarsh2012, who becomes one of this team’s greatest assets with production on offense and defense, and both players could pair well on the right side with Norris candidate NoScxpe96. Letting go of skillz to pick up Mrlolchico will either be a championship winning or championship losing move, in my opinion. Chico is a great goalie, but skillz was killing it for San Jose. Nontheless, don’t expect anything less than continued dominance from the Sharks.

2. Edmonton Oilers.

Last Week Rank: 3.

Overall Record: 16-11-3.

Weekly Record: 6-2-1 (W2).

Strength: Offense (104 goals for, 4th most in the league)

Weakness: Penalty Kill (73%, 5th worst in the league).

MVP: XxGrahame_47xX (Just under a 3 GAA, he has a goal!?)

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: Semple19.

So, acquiring my good friend Semple19 gives this team a BANANAS roster, one that I have a difficult time constructing a top 6 out of because there are just too many options. Edmonton got 13 out of 18 points this past week, only losing one game in overtime while having to forfeit the other two. This team has a royal flush when it comes to forwards they could build a line out of: Ande91-, BejimoSzn, Semple19, Sniiiider, and the team’s leading scorer in xBeanzy- (16 goals and 30 assists in 14 games) could all be paired together and punish teams offensively. Meanwhile, uStooPiiD and SomeoneStopMePls are a dynamic offensive defender pairing who compliment this team’s electric offense (Coffey-lidstrom has been quite reliable for this team, but isn’t their nuclear option). Meanwhile, XxGrahame_47xX has been quietly making a case for himself in the Vezina race, winning 14 of his 22 games, a .754 SV%, and a goal! The Oilers came back with a vengeance this week, and look to continue their winning ways.

3. Vegas Golden Knights.

Last Week Rank: 4.

Overall Record: 10-17-3.

Weekly Record: 4-4-1 (W3).

Strength: Defense & Goaltending Depth (shock, Devon, skillz, Vision, shepxrd, and thafosix are all reliable options).

Weakness: Offense & Powerplay (78 goals for, 3rd last in the league, and a league worst 15.1 powerplay conversion rate).

MVP: ThaFoSix (there from the start, 20 GP, 139 hits!).

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: wheelchairdevon8, Ferdaboiss69, Lxppy–, Itsjustskillzz_, and xshepxrd.

Once again, Vegas did a massive roster overhaul this week, acquiring all of the above mentioned names. Now, before Friday, the team had only gone 1-4-1 throughout the week, but they went undefeated to close out the week (and took care of us a few times). Shock_r continues to play fantasy hockey (well, I guess we all are) and shuffles his lineup on a weekly basis, but has built a solid goaltender rotation in himself, Wheelchairdevon8, and Itsjustskillzz_, the latter still a Vezina frontrunner. Meanwhile, getting xshepxrd probably brought a tear to ThaFoSix’s eyes, who finally got some more consistent defensive help aside from vVxsion. Ferdaboiss69 and Lxppy– were excellent over in San Jose, and will hopefully be able to give Sauc—y and the Golden Knights the offensive boost they are in desperate need of.

4. Seattle Kraken.

Last Week Rank: 2.

Overall Record: 12-16-2.

Weekly Record: 3-5-1 (L3).

Strength: Heart (Stealing one from Randall here; these guys don’t give up).

Weakness: Offense (79 goals for, 4th last in the league).

MVP: FreezeMothaSucka (24 goals in 22 games for the offensively starved Kraken).

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: Damorien.

I have no idea who Damorien is, but in 5 games for Seattle he was a -5, so he may not be making the greatest impact. With how Seattle has been playing, a big change may not be necessary, but they need to start putting pucks in the net. FreezeMothaSucka and Spelliscy_21 can’t be the only guys burying pucks for them. NowYoDead continues to have a great season on defense, proving the naysayers wrong with 5 goals and 18 assists in 17 games, while Teamrun420 continues to be a stable, reliable option alongside him. iearntofly is keeping the ship afloat, and Blade0Muffin continues to backstop the Kraken; he may need some more goal support and puck control from the Kraken to reduce their goal differential and get back into the positive column this week.

5. Colorado Avalanche.

Last Week Rank: 5.

Overall Record: 8-19-3.

Weekly Record: 2-6-1 (L4).

Strength: *file not found*.

Weakness: Special Teams (19.6% powerplay conversion rate (2nd last in the league) and 57.1% penalty kill). 

MVP: cpenn4204 (his 17 goals lead the team after Thomas’ departure).

Trade Deadline Acquisitions: iZinczyi and zerczylol.

While I believe the trade was fair talent wise, I’m not sure why SA_Pliskin would move SelkeTommygoat and benji_frank_100, but the reward in iZinczyi and zerczylol is quite the bountiful one; they could pair well on a top line with PistolPete7788 (the best forward option I can see that doesn’t have C refused). Meanwhile, the team’s leading scorer in cpenn will need to slot back with Pliskin and give some support to FxtDino- and xRichter35.

Wait, they’re still struggling to get availability, finished last week 0-4, and didn’t get another goalie or defender and solve Pliskin’s identity crisis between being a defender and a goalie? Well, better luck next season! Unless the Zinc and Zerc duo can carry this team into the playoffs, Pliskin better start thinking about October.

So, the dust has settled on the trade deadline, and like we discussed earlier, some teams have gotten significantly better while some have nearly fallen off the planet entirely (sorry Cuban!). We’ve got 15 games left in the schedule, and with rosters finalized, now is the time to figure it out; figure out your top forward line, your starting defense pairing, and your goaltending situation. Then, figure out the type of game that you play: are you a trapping team? A run-and-gun offense team? A cycle team? Get your starting line set, get your game plan set, and get ready for playoffs. Well, all but two teams. Better luck next time!

The Gutless One has done a great job on the Eastern conference these past two weeks, hasn’t he? A big thank you goes out to him once again, and for reminding me that we were doing this thing again (I had a bunch of concerts this past week, it was a lot of fun). Shoutout to him, Cuban1616, and SA_Pliskin over on the SPNHL podcast for all their hard work, kind words, and excellent choice in introduction music. Lastly, shoutout to you for reading this! Yeah you! If you got to the end of this mess, thank you!

Good luck to everybody this upcoming week!

SPNHL Media Correspondents Extraordinaire,

Dirty-Dietrich & randymarsh2012