Fantasy Stat Thursday - Takeaways
December 20th, 2007 by Ianmore fantasy leagues should include Tka as a category. it’s a solid stat that points to pure hockey ability, mostly skating ability. i haven’t even started looking at the stats but my assumptions going in are that the guys on this list are going to be amongst the scoring leaders and i’m betting everyone will be above freezing in +/-. my impression of high Takeaway guys is that they are goin to be small, shifty speedsters with great +/- and probably get plenty of use on the penalty kill. i’m expecting great lateral movement out of these guys and i also expect that the list will be mostly forwards.
Tka is a stat that points to puck possession, and the ability to get it without getting their chicklets handed to them. these guys pursue the puck and force matters through the sheer energy that is called “forecheck” and they keep the puck by hiding in the corners. they’re the sort of guy that you want on your team, particularly if they can tie a string to the puck and keep it yo-yo’d all day long.
i’ll list the leaders and any surprises that i like to mention.
Pavel Datsyuk(58) - Dats is pure magician with puck control and his stats this season are helped by his apparent desire to shoot the puck more but you can’t shoot it until you have possession of it. nobody in the league even compares to Datsyuk in this category, he leads the world with an 18 Tka cushion. i’ve started to hear MVP talk for Datsyuk, now wouldn’t that be cool. he keeps the puck on a string and i bet he could even make guys fall for the “you’ve got something on your shirt” bit.
Daniel Alfredsson(40) - Alffy is a consummate leader, he’s money defensively (yes i remember him getting beat by Pominville in the playoffs two years ago), and he contributes offensively more than almost any Captain this side of Sidney Crosby. it’s scary that you have to think about where Alffy is when you don’t have the puck but you also have to think about it when you DO have the puck. gosh i love the counter attack.
Todd White(37) - i didn’t expect to see his name here but he’s averaging over 1 steal a game, that has significant value. if you’re looking for defensive forward candidates then why not look at this guy? well, ok there are better candidates because they contribute more offensively but still if you have Tka as a category, and some leagues do, then definitely get this guy.
John Madden(35) - i’m going to resist the Madden’s curse jokes here but THIS Madden has been among the best defensive forwards options for a lot of years now. his counter-punch offensive attack is very dangerous.
Mike Modano (35) - the highest scoring American of all time is having a bit of a resurgence this season. he won’t return to the dynamo contributions of previous seasons but still he’s far from done and he’s showing that if you underestimate him that he can hurt you.
Scott Gomez (34) - why are people worried about the Rangers’ offense still? this young American is doing his thing. perhaps they aren’t scoring enough goals but eventually they’ll go in and quite often the first assist is going to go to Gomez. he’s a dangerous guy.
Brent Burns (33) - there are only 6 D in the top 30 in Tka and i wouldn’t have pegged this guy for the top ranking for D. he’s young so he’ll make mistakes but he’s tough and aggressive and he has a great system teacher in Jacques Lemaire. he might get to the level of play of a Ray Bourque one day. yes, i said it.
Martin St. Louis (33) - elite player at both ends of the ice. interesting that this stat is dominated by short guys.
Paul Stastny (33) - this kid is already a league leader and he’s just a sophomore. where’s the love for him that people keep throwing Evgeni Malkin’s way? if you give this kid a crack to move through, he’ll embarrass you. if you have him in a keeper then dance a little jig. go ahead, i’m waiting.
Bobby Holik (32) - well, i’ve never been much of a fan but when you break down the numbers it really is rather amazing all that he does for the Thrashers. he takes and wins faceoffs, he gets Tka, and he rarely has a Gva. he’s just a solid hockey player, a role player but he has hockey value.
that’s the top 10. at 11 is Alexander Ovechkin who actually has 40 Gva to his 31 Tka; Dion Phaneuf is at 14 with 30 Tka and is one of the guys i would’ve pegged to be good at this sort of thing; Christopher Higgins and Marian Hossa tied with 27 Tka, and Alex Burrows, Vinny Lecavalier and the aforementioned Evgeni Malkin are tied with 26 Tka. it makes me wonder just how large the upside is for Alex Burrows if he can make the top 20 list for anything significant in the NHL. bears watching, at least.
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