Under the new system, goalies who are part of a shared shutout will no longer get credited with 5 points.

The ramifications of the new system are as follows�

• Goaltenders are no longer punished for losses: I am going to use two quality goalies, one from a winning team along with one from a loser for comparison. Patrick Roy (COL) will represent the winning side while Tampa Bay�s Nikolai Khabibulin represents the sub-.500 crowd. Roy�s CDM salary for this year is 5090 while Khabibulin�s is 3400. Roy was between the pipes for 3773 minutes last year while Khabi saw 3896 minutes worth of action � so the two are nearly even there. Roy was 32-23-8 last year while Khabibulin was 24-32-10. Under the old system Roy would come out with a +26 (32*2 + 23*(-2) + 8*1 which becomes 64 - 46+ 8) while Khabibulin would check in at �6 (24*2 + 32*(-2) + 10 or 48 � 64 +10. Under the new system Roy would accumulate 176 points (32*5 + 8*2) while Khabibulin would get 130 (24*5 + 10*2). Although Roy comes out ahead 46 points in the new system (176 to 130) as opposed to 32 (26 to �6) in the old, the gap is narrowed due to more points being rewarded along with Khabi not being punished for the losses, which is simply due to the fact that Khabi is simply not surrounded by the team Patrick Roy is.
• GAA and Save Pct. Now means something: The top complaint of the CDM point game, in relation to the discontinued CDM Hockey Challenge (roto-style) game, as well as other roto-style games that can be found on Yahoo and other sites � is that goals allowed in relation to saves was irrelevant. Once, a goalies loses a shutout � all that was left to root for was the goaltender to be credited with a win or tie � which is rooting more for the team than the netminder himself. Sure, goalies who tend to make a lot of saves were rewarded, but that was just simply a product of how much rubber a particular goalies sees, not necessarily an indication of his effectiveness. In the old point system, there was simply no reward unless the goalie earned a shutout in a given game. Outside of the goalie winning or tying in the game, it did not matter if the netminder gave up one or four goals. Now there is additional reward in that area. Let�s say a goalie had a solid save pct. of .909. In other words allowing one goal for every ten the goaltender saved. That would have the goalie earning a +1 for those 11 shots on goal 10 * .2 for the saves minus the one goal. If a goalie allowed 3 goals while making 30 saves in a game, he would come out a +3. I will use Khabibulin and Roy as my test subjects again. Roy made 1507 saves in 1629 shots-on-goal for a .925 save pct., while Khabibulin made 1761 saves on 1914 shots, for a .920 pct. Under the new system, that would give Roy 179.4 points (1507*.2 � 122 goals) while Khabi accumulates 199.2 (1761*.2 � 153 goals) points. Notice Khabibulin gets more points in this department, as he�s rewarded for seeing an above average amount of shots while maintaining a quality save percentage.

So here�s how Roy and Khabibulin stack up under the old and new scoring systems�

OLD �

Roy � 32 wins * 2 = 64, 23 losses * (-2) = -46, 8 ties = 8, 9 shutouts * 5 = 45, 1507 saves * .05 = 75.35 64 � 46 + 8 + 45 + 75.35 = 146.35


Khabi � 24 wins * 2 =48, 32 losses * (-2) = -64, 10 ties = 10, 7 shutouts * 5= 35, 1761 saves * .05 = 88.05 48 � 64 + 10 + 88.05 = 82.05

NEW �

Roy � 32 wins * 5 = 160, 8 ties * 2 = 16, 9 shutouts * 5 = 45, 1507 saves * .2 = 301.4, minus 122 goals allowed (-122) 160 + 16 + 45 + 301.4 � 122 = 400.4


Khabi � 24 wins * 5 = 120, 10 ties * 2 = 20, 7 shutouts * 5 = 35, 1761 saves * .2 = 352.2, minus 153 goals allowed (-153) 120 + 20 + 35 + 352.2 � 153 = 374.2

Under the old system, Roy�s point total nearly doubles Khabibulin�s (146.35 to 82.05) � so even at a higher salary, Roy is the better choice. However, the differential is much closer (400.4 to 374.2) under the new system. And then you put the respective salaries into play. At a salary of 5090 Roy costs 12.71 per point (5090/400.4) while Khabi only costs 9.09 (3400/374.2) per point. All of a sudden Khabibulin becomes the better play. So the new point system achieves it�s objective of making quality players from losing teams more attractive. It should make for much more variety in this year�s game than in previous years. In the next column you will see how the revamped system will work for skaters as well�

And now for my breakdown on hockey�s most volatile position for the CDM game, in regards to their respective salaries�

SURE THINGS

Curtis Joseph (DET � 4970) First off, let me go on record as saying that I think the Wings would had been just fine handing the goalie duties to Manny Legace � who then would had been one of the bigger slam dunks in history due to his 1630 salary. But as it is, CuJo (or anyone else Detroit hires for goalie duty) is always a good play. In fact, at a higher salary last year, Dominik Hasek was a must have with his 41-15-8 record. Joseph may not be quite the netminder Hasek was, and the team has to deal with a coaching change as well as the absence of C Steve Yzerman for half the season. Still, Hasek �02 should translate pretty well with Joseph �03.

Patrick Roy (COL � 5090) - Team struggled around Patrick for much of last year, I expect a much better record than 32-23-8, along with top-notch GAA and save percentages.

Nikolai Khabibulin (TB � 3400) - Hopefully, I sold you enough on Nik in the first part of this article.

Roman Cechmanek (PHI � 3970) - Those who had Brian Boucher two years ago were burned when Cechmanek got an early opportunity and stole the job from Boucher. In turn, those who invested in Cechmanek to begin last year were stung when the team turned back to Boucher for much of the early going. Fortunately, there�s a new sheriff in town (coach Ken Hitchcock) and Boucher has been traded � so the Flyers should actually stick with Cechmanek. When he did play last year, Roman went 24-13-6, along with a 2.05 GAA/.921 save percentage. There is absolutely nothing not to like.

BARGAINS

Marty Turco (DAL � 2050) - Detroit elected to bring in CuJo to replace Hasek, in turn Toronto turned to Eddie Belfour to replace Cujo. That leaves Turco in Dallas� chair, and should be a great value. Marty was 15-6-2 in limited duty with a sparkling 2.09/9.21. Meanwhile Belfour was 21-27-11 with a 2.65/.895. Typically backups get the easier assignments but this comparison is not even close. Look for Turco to shine while Belfour breaks everything in sight after being pulled one too many times for the Leafs. This is a must have.

Steve Shields (BOS � 2310) - Tremendous opportunity to possibly start for a high-scoring contending team, and rack up mega-wins in the process � as Byron DaFoe has exited as a free agent. However, Shields was kind of shaky in a starting stint for the Sharks (27-30-8 2.56/.911) a few years back and was not all that impressive (9-20-2 2.67/.907) with Anaheim last year. Current backup John Grahame (1070) will probably figure into this equation as well before all�s said and done. Definitely a battle to watch during the exhibition season.

Dan Cloutier (VAN � 2960) - Was a great bargain last year, as he hung onto his starting gig all season and compiled a 31-22-5 slate with a 2.43/.901 and seven shutouts. Still is not a bad value, and still has youth (26 years old) on his side. However, one gets the feeling that Canuck brass is not totally satisfied with him, and could pull the trigger to bring in a playoff-experienced goalie at some point this season.

OTHER POSSIBILITES

Jose Theodore (MTL � 4340) - Recently inked to a long-term contract, he�ll be a Hab for the forseeable future. If you think he can duplicate last year�s totals (30-24-10, 7 shutouts, 2.11/.931) then he is worth it.

Brent Johnson (STL � 3560) - The overall numbers (34-20-4, 2.18/9.02) were decent. He has a quality team and won�t see a lot of rubber while piling up wins. Beware of backup Fred Brathwaite, coach will not hesitate to play him for an extended period should Brent struggle.

Johan Hedberg (PIT � 3150) - I shudder at the 2.75 GAA along with his 25-34-7 slate. However, team is still committed to having Moose start and should be over .500 with a lower GAA if the team (Lemieux etc.) is relatively healthy. Moose is also seeing a hypnotist at last report � for what it�s worth. �MOOOOSSSSEEEE, I SEE A PUCK STAYING OUT OF THE NET�.�

Evgeni Nabokov (SJ � 3890) - Like Theodore, grab him if you think he can repeat (37-24-5 2.29/.918) last year�s #�s. However, this is Nabokov�s free agent year and team is high on backup Miikka Kiprusoff � who they may give a look. Also have reservations on whether team can keep up last year�s performance.

Martin Biron (BUF � 3480) - The final numbers were actually quite good last year, finishing 31-28-10, with a 2.22/.915. But front office problems mean Marty will be hard-pressed to finish on the plus side of .500 this year. You can count on his seeing plenty of rubber though.

TOO PRICEY

Martin Brodeur (NJ � 5370) - Plays as much as any goalie and is among the league�s best year in-year out. Lead league in wins four straight years but slipped from 42-17-11 to 38-26-9 last year, a possible indication that team is slipping around him. Also, team�s defensive system means Marty doesn�t see a lot of rubber.

Tommy Salo (EDM � 4870) - If you like low-risk/low reward Tommy�s your guy. You get among the league-leaders in games played (around 70), a record slightly above .500, a .910 save percentage, and a GAA below 2.50. It�s just that you can usually find better bargains.

Olaf Kolzig (WSH � 5270) - GAA ballooned to 2.79 last year and the Southeast Division is starting to improve. Not worth the premium price.

Sean Burke (PHX � 4540) - Late bloomer with two straight sub 2.30, .920+ seasons. Also had a 33-21-6 slate last year. Your going to have to pay while hoping for a repeat of those numbers now.

Jocelyn Thibault (CHI � 4340) - Statistically (33-23-9/2.49, .902) nice numbers as Hawks returned to playoff fray for first time in several seasons. However, team not entirely sold on T-Bo and may look elsewhere for a premier netminder.