My Fantasy World: November 2011

With another month of hockey in the books, comes another month of my fantasy breakdown. I must say that last month’s Top 12 fantasy players were quite the shock (well, most of them). But it seems as if the month of November has seen the most surprising players in the most shocking top spots. Last month I used Yahoo Fantasy Sports to determine the top players from each fantasy position, then divided it into two teams. This month, I decided to use CBSsports.com’s fantasy ratings. (The points are determined from the last 28 days, counting last night’s points.)

The following are the top two teams in fantasy for the month of November.

First Team

Stephen Weiss– C –Florida Panthers

After spending 11 years as the Florida Panthers top player, Stephen Weiss has finally made a name for himself amongst the entire NHL. Weiss continues to rack up the points, and has given his fantasy fans a run for their money. In the past 13 games the Panthers have played, the alternate captain has tallied 13 points, has a +10 plus/minus rating, and a surprising 24 minutes in penalties. Stephen Weiss leads all fantasy centers with 95.0 points.

Tomas Fleischmann– LW- Florida Panthers

It’s no surprise to me that left-winger Tomas Fleischmann is off to such an outstanding start. But some people seem to forget the numbers he once put up with his past teams such as the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche. Before being side-lined with a Pulmonary Embolism (blog clot) Fleischmann was off the the best start of his career with 21 points in 22 games. Now with the Florida Panthers, “Flash” is back on track and averaging a point per-game giving fantasy users 84.0 points over the month of November.

Joffrey Lupul– RW- Toronto Maple Leafs

After his first two successful years in the league with the “Mighty Ducks” almost 10 years ago, Joffrey Lupul slowly fell off the radar and was becoming just an average hockey player, until now. In just 13 games played over the month of November, Lupul has put up 6 goals, 12 assists and 12 penalty minutes to give him the top rating for right-winger fantasy positions with 88.6 points.

Shea Weber– D –Nashville Predators

When you think of the face of the franchise and the captain, you think of Shea Weber. And when you think of Shea Weber, you think of an elite defenseman, or the guy who blasted a hole threw the net with his stellar slap shot during the 2010 Winter Olympics. Well this season, Shea Weber is known as the guy with the killer contract and the leading plus minus rating amongst all defenseman. And in the month of November he has earned the the top defenseman spot for fantasy points with 96.2.

Ryan Suter– D -Nashville Predators

As most of you know, Ryan Suter is in his contract year with the Nashville Predators. With teammates Shea Weber and Pekka Rinne earning hefty new salaries this season, I believe motivation has taken a hold of Suter, and is giving him the drive to reach that salary bonus he deserves. And indeed it shows in his remarkable statistics so far this season, especially in the month of November. With a plus +7 rating and 10 points in 13 games, Suter has given fantasy players 96.0 points over the last 28 games.

Mike Smith– G –Phoenix Coyotes

After last night’s performance against the 2^nd place Blackhawks, it just goes to show you that Mike Smith is finally the real deal. After being a backup goalie most of his career, Smith has proven to the hockey world that he is worthy of the starting spot. And he has certainly proven it to his fantasy users by notching the number one spot for the month of November. Over the last 28 days, Mike Smith has tallied 8 wins, 2 loses, and 2 overtime loses, with an incredible 1.80 GAA. He leads all positions in fantasy with 220.9 points.

Second Team

Jonathan Toews– C – Chicago Blackhawks

With another year comes an even greater improvement. At least for the Blackhawks elite center Jonathan Toews. The captain has used his competitive determination and skills to boost his all-around game, yet again. In the 14 games played for the month of November, the 23 year old has posted a notable 9 goals, 9 assists and has used his profound two-way skills to give him a +6 plus/minus rating. Toews has given fantasy players over the last 28 days, a whopping 90.2 points.

Jamie Benn– LW- Dallas Stars

Young left winger Jamie Benn has been on a roll throughout the month of November. With former all-star Brad Richards now “starring” in someone else’s city, Benn has stepped in to fill the void. Over the last 13 games, he has posted 13 points, 19 penalty minutes and a +9 plus rating. Along with these impressive stats, he has also given his fantasy users a power play and short-handed goal, which helped push him to the top of left-wing fantasy standings with 83 points.

Kris Versteeg– RW- Florida Panthers

It looks as if skilled first liner Kris Versteeg has finally found his home, and fantasy players are loving it. Along with Stephen Weiss and Tomas Fleischmann, it is no surprise that the right-winger of the dynamic Florida Panthers “super-line” has made the top 12 fantasy list of November. This unstoppable tandem is amongst the top scoring line for the NHL. Kris Vertseeg has tallied a remarkable 15 points in just 13 games played in the month of November and has posted 85.9 fantasy points.

Brian Campbell– D- Florida Panthers

Well there is absolutely no surprise here. It was only a matter of time before the newest weapon to the Florida Panthers defense was back to his old self again. The Panthers have earned 17 points in their 13 games played in November, and you can thank Campbell for his notable offensive play as a defenseman. Over their incredible month, he has tallied 2 goals (1 of which was power play goal) and 7 assists, giving the lead over all Florida Panther defenseman. Although he hasn’t gotten his fantasy users any penalty minute points (he has zero PIM’s for the month of November) Campbell is ranked number three in defensive fantasy standings with 90.3 points.

Niklas Kronwall– D –Detroit Red Wings

It seems as if the new “A” placed on Niklas Kronwall’s jersey this season has given him a certain kind of power, because this defenseman has been unbelievable this season. He is becoming more assertive and playing more two-way hockey than ever before. In the last 12 games the Red Wings have played during the month of November, Kronwall has posted 8 points, a +4 rating, 2 power play goals and 85.2 points putting him in 4^th amongst defenseman in fantasy ratings.

Jimmy Howard– G –Detroit Red Wings

With the Red Wings off to a slow start, Detroit has finally gotten their groove back with a much thanks to the hot play of Jimmy Howard who has posted 9 wins (2 shutouts) and just 3 loses in the last 12 games. Along with his impressive amount of wins, his 1.88 GAA this month has catapulted the perennially successful Red Wings to 5^th place in the Western Conference standings. Howard will hope to keep this rolling tonight as he makes his 16^th straight start for the Wings.

If I would have told you that four Florida Panthers would be amongst the top 12 fantasy players for the month of November, would you have believed me?

Keep a look out for Decembers Fantasy All-star team. These are a few I have in mind:

Sidney Crosby– C- PIT

Evgeni Malkin– C- PIT

Daniel Sedin– LW- VAN

Ryan Smyth– LW- EDM

Marian Hossa– RW- CHI

Phil Kessel– RW- TOR

Erik Karlsson– D -OTT

Dustin Byfuglien– D- WPG

Alexander Edler– D- VAN

Nicklas Lidstrom– D- DET

Brian Elliot– G- STL