Managers looking to make the most of their fantasy hockey experience may want to consider one of the following websites as they offer decent options for “fantasy” type games during the 2008-2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Fantasy Hockey Playoff Services

Playoff Fantasy Hockey Challenge
Service: NHL.com
Link: http://freefantasy.nhl.com/signup/login.asp
NHL.com has a service that allows the manager to compete in a fantasy game broken into “Challenge Weeks.” There are 9 weeks total in which a manager must choose 10 players (6 Forwards [C, LW or RW], 3 Defensemen and 1 Goaltender) from a list to try and acquire points via goal scoring and goaltending. A key feature in this service is that once a player has been used in 3 scoring periods, that player will no longer accumulate points for your team. It requires patience and timing, so managers up for a playoff challenge should consider giving NHL.com a shot.

Salary Cap Playoff Fantasy Hockey
Service: The Sporting News
Link: http://fantasygames.sportingnews.com/hockey/playoffs/basic/home.htm
The Sporting News is doing their traditional salary cap playoff fantasy hockey service again this year. For those not familiar with The Sporting News, managers are given a 30 million dollar budget to assemble a 7-man roster. Managers have unlimited “trades” up until the first day of playoff games (Wednesday April 15th, 2009). After that date, each manager will be allotted a certain number of add/drops per week until the playoffs are over. If you exceed the number of moves allotted for a certain week, you have to wait for the week to cycle back around to get a fresh set of trades. For managers not familiar with the salary cap format of fantasy hockey, we suggest you step outside your comfort zone and give it a shot. It requires serious micromanagement and long term planning; certainly a challenge even for fantasy hockey experts.

Fantasy Hockey Pick ‘Em Services

Managers looking to break away from the traditional style of playoff fantasy hockey should consider playoff pick ‘em leagues for the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Essentially, it’s like the NCAA Basketball Tournament idea as you are filling out your brackets based on who you think will win the Stanley Cup. Here are 2 services worth checking out if this is up your alley:

1. Pickup Hockey
2. Rinkotology

For those of you savvy with Twitter, there is a 2009 Twt Pool where participants use their Twitter accounts to compete and interact with other fans. You must have a Twitter account to participate (which is free to sign up) and will receive a Direct Message once the game is available:

Hockey Tweets 2009 Playoff Twt Pool