Plenty of options remain in NHL free agent pool
Hockey Betting Lines
07/27/2010 - Toronto, Canada (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Nearly a month after the doors to NHL free agency opened, the auction for the best up-for-grabs players has come to a screeching halt.
On the first day of the highly anticipated off-season extravaganza, owners opened up their checkbooks and dished out close to $230 million over 78 years for 33 new players ... just slightly above Ilya Kovalchuk's most recent offer.
While that might be an exaggeration in regard to Kovalchuk, the drop-off in player movement since then is not.
Since July 1, the biggest names who have found a new home are Matthew Lombardi and Pavel Kubina. Most of the other moves have been small in scale, and centered around depth players and minor-leaguers.
Although this isn't an unusual phenomenon, as the cream of the yearly crop is generally scooped up as quickly as possible, there are still several quality players looking for work.
Teams looking for a veteran presence have plenty to choose from with players such as Paul Kariya, Teemu Selanne, Mike Modano, Doug Weight and Bill Guerin all awaiting a phone call.
Although these players represent hockey of a previous era, they would still be able to contribute effectively to a team in need of leadership or playoff experience.
Next up are the "goal scorers".
Leading this list are Russian snipers Maxim Afinogenov followed by former Maple Leafs Alexei Ponikarovsky and Lee Stempniak.
Based on his stats from last season, it would appear Afinogenov is in for a big raise. The speedy winger notched 24 goals and 61 points for the Atlanta Thrashers after signing a one-year $800,000 deal a year ago.
Afinogenov is certainly worthy of a raise, but after slumbering through two injury-shortened seasons in Buffalo prior to signing with the Thrashers, leery GM's might be hesitant to fork over the dough for a player with a battered past.
Stempniak had the most goals of the bunch, with 28 a season ago, although half of those came in an 18-game span after the Phoenix Coyotes acquired him at the trade deadline.
Despite his outlandish production post-trade deadline, it's unlikely Stempniak will cash in big with just over a month to go before training camps open up.
The biggest detriment to Ponikarovsky's value is his playoff performance in Pittsburgh after the Penguins traded for him at the deadline.
He put up five points in 11 games, but was also a healthy scratch twice. That said, he's been a consistent 20-goal scorer since the lockout and could compliment any team looking for scoring depth.
Several other players such as Marty Turco, Raffi Torres, Andy Sutton and Willie Mitchell should garner attention as well, but likely at reduced rates.
With younger players cracking the big leagues on entry-level contracts and budding stars signing lifelong deals, the once abundant and exciting free agent period has become a victim of salary cap-era management.
While free agency will always remain an option for teams looking to add a few pieces to the puzzle, the impact it once had on the league and the players involved has vanished temporarily.
For how long is anybody's guess.
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How did changes to college football betting rules affect bettors?
The 2007 college football rules changes that were implemented to shorten games are now history. The NCAA rules committee did what they set out to do; games were cut by an average of 14 minutes per game last season. There were also, on average, 14 fewer plays per game. We’ll get into how that did (or didn’t) affect games in regards to the pointspread a bit later.
While the NCAA rules committee may have had the betterment of the game in mind, they'll now “turn back the clock” for next season. Two key rules have now been overturned by the NCAA committee for the 2007 season, something definitely for the better.
For those of you who may not remember what those rules actually were, let us refresh your memory.
1) The first one was actually starting the clock on a kickoff as soon as the kicker touched the ball rather than waiting until the returner touched it. The problem here was near the end of the half (or game), if the team leading was kicking off, they could milk the clock by intentionally running offsides and then re-kicking. They could run 10-15 seconds off the clock each play while taking just five-yard penalties each time. They could run the clock down and simply cause the half (or game) to end on a kickoff, keeping the opposing offense off the field. In 2007, the clock will now start when the returner touches the ball as it had before last season.
2) The second rule dealt with starting the clock after a change of online football betting possession rather than waiting until the ball was snapped. This took a lot of time off the clock throughout the game as teams changed possession, however it caused the most problems late in games (or halves). Rather than huddling up and calling a play, the offensive team would have to rush onto the field as the clock started. This was a definite disadvantage to a team that was trying to come from behind late in the game. This year the clock will start on a change of possession, after the ball is snapped.
How did those rules affect the college game last year and will it make a difference this year when it comes to the pointspread? We commonly heard two theories when it came to these changes. First, it would affect scoring negatively. Second, it would hurt favorites as they would have less time and fewer plays to cover the number.
Did the rules hurt scoring? Yes. It seemed obvious that shortening the game by what amounted to 14 plays would push scoring downward. That was the case last year. Of the 119 Division 1A teams, 69 squads scored fewer points in 2007 than they did in 2005. Just 48 teams had a higher PPG scoring average and two stayed the same. Almost 59 percent of the teams in college football last year had a lower PPG average than they did in 2005. Expect more scoring in 2007 as we revert back to the old rules.
Did the rules hinder favorites from covering the number in 2007? Not really. Last year the favorites posted an overall spread record of 336-350-16 (48.9 percent). The year before, favorites were 316-326-13 (49.2 percent). In 2004, the favorites were 316-339-2 (48.2 percent). In fact, college football favorites have been above 50 percent for the season just once in the last seven years (in 2003). Last year’s numbers fell right in line with where they have been historically.
How about big favorites? The rules must have hurt them? Maybe a little bit. Double-digit favorites last year came in at a 47.8 percent clip compare with an average of just over 50 percent over the last seven years. Since 1980, favorites of -10 or more have covered at exactly a 50 percent clip (measured over 6,716 games).
Even bigger favorites must have struggled? Not really. In fact, it was just the opposite. Favorites of three TD’s or more were 59-54-2 last year (52.2 percent). Since 2000, those same favorites (-21 or higher) hit at 51.3 percent and since 1990 came in a clip of 50.3 percent. Stepping it up a notch to four TD favorites or higher, we actually see they've covered at a much better rate last season than before. Last year, favorites of -28 or more were 31-21-1, or almost 60 percent. Historically, four-TD-or-higher favorites have come in at a 50.7 percent spot since 2000 and only 48.9 percent since 1990. The “perceived” problem with the favorites covering at a reduced rate really never came to fruition.
Bottom line is, there might be some more scoring in 2007, but no real revelations when it comes to finding any pointspread golden nuggets.
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