Comments for Geek of the Week: Miikka Kiprusoff at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Sat, 18 May 2013 19:16:02 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/916-geek-of-the-week/4974--geek-of-the-week-miikka-kiprusoff#comment-22887 Hey guys, I agree with pretty much all of what you guys say - butI do still see good value in Kipper. I certainly agree that you want consistency on your fantasy hockey team, and I also agree that I would take Quick/Rinne/Lundy ahead of Kipper in a heartbeat. It's not even close. The problem I find with goaltenders outside of the top 5 (or so) studs in the league is that there really isn't much consistency out there. Outside of the Lundys/Quicks/Rinnes, it is an extremely fickle position. Even great tenders like Miller/Luongo/Thomas/Rask/Price have had years that have been severe let downs to fantasy GMs who drafted them high in recent years. Kipper may not be a "difference maker", but he is a safe pick that you can get LATE in your draft. He is going as the 19th 'tender taken in Yahoo drafts!! I say: take a skater who is a difference maker while the other GMs are picking the 7th-15th overall goalies. Then take Kipper as a guy who will probably be even better than some of those goalies that are already off the board. Consistency for sure is what you want, but I believe Kipper does a better job than most of staying consistent. YEs, his peripherals vary from year to year - but so do most other goalies (aside from those top studs mentioned). Look how Kipper compares to the reigning Vezina winners, the very next year after the won the trophy: 08-09 Brodeur: 19W, 2.43, .916%, 797sv, 5SO Kipper: 45W, 2.84, .903%, 2155sv, 4SO 09-10 Thomas: 17W, 2.56, .915%, 1221sv, 5SO Kipper: 35W, 2.31, .920%, 2035sv, 4SO 10-11 Miller: 34W, 2.59, .916%, 1799sv, 5SO Kipper: 37W, 2.63, .906%, 1935sv, 6SO 11-12 THomas: 35W, 2.36, .920, 1659sv, 5SO Kipper: 35W, 2.35, .921%, 2040sv, 4SO In each year, Kipper compares very well (or even favourable) to the reigning Vezina winner. I know that there are outside circumstances in some cases (injuries etc), but that's all part of why Kipper is so valuable. Kipper doesn't have those issues. No injuries. No up and coming backup. Kipper is Mr. Automatic. Even if Kipper won't win you a pool by himself....imagine a scenario from a pool last year. Somebody may have drafted Thomas in the first round (I was in a pool where he went #1 overall). Kipper may have went in the 7th or later. Kipper and Thomas ended up being about the same in most pool formats. Where the value lies, is the guy who drafted Kipper in the 7th also got a Stamkos in the first. While the guy who drafted Thomas in the first certainly got a much lesser player than Stamkos in the 7th. So even though I do agree with all of the points in the comments...I do still believe that Kipper holds great value in all pool formats. The point isn't that Kipepr will win you your pool. The point is that Kipper is a guy who you can get at great value and he will also provide some stability at the goalie position which can be very volatile. Drafting a rock like kipper in the mid to late rounds will allow you to pick guys that WILL win you your pool earlier on. ALl that said, I do agree that I would rather have Kipper as my #2. A solid Rinne/Kipper combo would position your goaltending very well in a league of almost any format. And you could acheive that tandem using only one high pick and one lower pick. If Kipper is your 1, then your 2 is probably somebody like Reimer and then you are in a lot of trouble. Thanks for reading guys! Terry - T-Camp Sun, 14 Oct 2012 07:55:40 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/916-geek-of-the-week/4974--geek-of-the-week-miikka-kiprusoff#comment-22877 I think you absolutely hit it right on the head, in [b]cumulative stat[/b] heavy leagues like wins and svs, Kipper is mighty valuable because he [b]starts so darn much[/b]. From my research with goalie numbers, win 
g;e is fairly consistent (roughly 50%) amongst all goalies. The advantage that Kipper owns is that he starts 70 games, as opposed to other goalies that start 60-65, that's where the edge comes in. Same could be said with svs. Most goalies generally post 27-30 saves per game. The advantage that Kipper has is that he starts 70 games, where as others start 60, so that's 270-300 less saves just because of the start difference between goalies. [b]The problem is most leagues don't usually use cumulative stats[/b]. If you look at standard leagues with W, GAA, SP and SO as the main stats, Kipper isn't entirely strong in those areas. The W and So have been [b]fairly consistent[/b] around the 35 and 4 mark the last 4 years, but the GAA and SP is all over the place, which is where problem lies. 2.84, 2.31, 2.63 and 2.35 for GAA, so it's been all over the shop. .903, .920, .906 then .921 for SP, once again all over the shop. In fantasy hockey, you want [b]consistency[/b], you want to know what you're going to get with your goalie (especially when they're such a vital part of your team). I don't get the feeling of consistency from Kipper. With Lundy, Quick, Rinne you instantly get that feeling of consistency, and that alleviates a lot of the butterflies... Another key factor for me, is that in order to [b]win[/b] fantasy pools, it's about gaining edges on your competition. Your player at a certain position needs to produce more/better numbers than the other players in the same position on your opponent's team. Kipper isn't a [b]difference maker[/b], he's a great "pace keeper" to keep you on pace with the competition, but he isn't a Halak (1.97 and .926), Quick (1.95 and .929) or Lundy (1.95 and .930) who will set you apart from your competition to help you take the crown. Kipper is great for cumulative stat leagues like the Dobber ones, but in standard leagues, he's a great number two option, but won't be good enough set you apart to win a championship. - Ryan Ma Sat, 13 Oct 2012 17:02:01 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/916-geek-of-the-week/4974--geek-of-the-week-miikka-kiprusoff#comment-22876 while it is true that kipper may be undervalued, last year was a good season for him. if you look at his last five seasons, two have been good and three not so much... the two good seasons, he had a sv% of over .920, the three average seasons saw him at .906 or below for all three the two good seasons, he had a gaa of 2.35 or less, the three average seasons saw his gaa between 2.63 and 2.84 the wins are consistent, but he has never been much of shutout threat - not in a long time anyways, and it is probably a factor of playing for the flames... either way, two of the past five seasons kipper has probably been undervalued while the other three he has probably been valued just about right. calgary's defence didn't get any better this off-season and with wideman joining the ranks, you could argue that it got worse... kipper sure could be undervalued, but his past five seasons show that a top 10 finish in the rankings is far from a sure thing and that some regression in sv% and gaa (possibly even to rather average or even ugly numbers) wouldn't be surprising at all. my 2 cents is all... - InnocentBystander Sat, 13 Oct 2012 16:58:58 +0100