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REBUILDING MODE
There’s been a lot of talk in our beloved Canadian markets lately about rebuilding.
Perhaps that’s not too surprising, given that only the Canucks (first in the West) and Habs (sixth in the East) occupy a playoff spot today. Failure breeds contempt and when you combine that contempt with the simmering pot of hatred that is the internet; well, there are a lot of head-on-a-stick calls for completely blowing up a franchise.
One of the most entertaining aspects of being part of a deep fantasy hockey keeper league is that you’re in control of your franchise’s fate annually. Decisions you make will either reap your roster rewards or come back to haunt you.
My league, which is in its ninth year and eighth season (lockout year), allows for 17 active roster keepers and up to 40 prospects per team. We have a prospect draft each summer, which fosters the rebuilding process for weaker teams in the same way the NHL’s draft does, while also allowing for the trading of those picks. I can’t even begin to count how many draft picks I’ve traded away over the years, but I’ll happily accept those losses for the rings every time.
Four times in the past five years it has been my name “engraved” on our league’s championship hardware, including two sets of back-to-back championships. No other team has won it twice.
This season, barring a second half of miraculous proportions, we’ll either have a brand new winner or the league’s second two-time champion.
The New Jersey Devils’ implosion – and specifically the impact they’ve had on Martin Brodeur’s stats – have cut the legs out from under my team’s chances of challenging this season. While I still think the second half numbers will be very competitive, the damage has already been done. I’ve pulled a few rabbits out of my hat over the years, but...
Offensively, the team has still been as strong as ever. First in goals, a legit chance to finish first in assists (I’ve owned that category for a long time), a dominating first in power play points and in the running for first in shots.
Sergei Gonchar, Ilya Kovalchuk and my San Jose Sharks stars have killed my +/-, where I’m currently eighth of 10 teams. For whatever reason my team ALWAYS has a horrible first half in +/- and almost always comes around to finish in the top few spots by year’s end. Seems a bit far-fetched for this season, but I’ll probably still climb some there.
In penalty minutes I’m only seventh, but it’s like +/- for my team... there’s always a strong second half. I never really give PIM too much thought in the first half because it’s such an easy category in which to make up ground.
Goaltending has been this team’s undoing. Ninth in wins, seventh in SV% and somehow, surprisingly, I’ve climbed up to fourth in GAA. Again though, the damage has been done.
So what’s a fantasy writer to do when the chances for a title this year are slim to none? A complete rebuild would be overkill, but a little retooling can be a good idea at the best of times.
Earlier in the season, I wrote about the effort to make my core a little younger by dealing away Brian Rafalski and Daniel Alfredsson. That trade was back in late November.
January 10th I dealt Jarome Iginla to the same team (who’s competing to become the second two-time winner) for Tampa Bay prospect Brett Connolly. Why? Iginla will be 34 this summer and as much as I love the guy, he isn’t getting any younger. With no real chance for me to win this year, why not deal him while his value is high and bring in a guy I feel will be a legit stud on an up and coming team in a few years? I can protect Connolly on my farm team too, which frees up a keeper spot for the Evgeny Nabokov that I nabbed when news broke of his divorce with the KHL. I have to assume Nabby will have an NHL home by next season and he’ll make a perfect third goalie to complement Brodeur and Henrik Lundqvist. If Connolly helps me next year, great. Marcus Johansson might also fill Iginla’s spot or I’ll just find a FA or two to do the job. I have the inside track on this great live blog that helps track hot players, who they’re playing with and what sort of PP time they’re logging.
January 11th, I cashed in Chris Pronger. He was instrumental in helping me win last year’s crown and has still has a few elite years left, but I had six defencemen for five D spots and moved him with my Jason Spezza to land Alexander Semin to a team that has been building toward a run and wanted to take that next step in its development. The trade was a little more expensive than I’d normally want to pay, but Semin helps a little more than Spezza does with SOG, PIM and +/-. They’re both excellent point producers and I’d rather have a few more goals than assists, given my team’s make-up. Plus, I’ve been trying to land Semin for years and he’s really never been seriously available. If Semin (UFA) re-signs with the Caps this summer, fantastic. That’s my hope. If not, he’ll be a first liner somewhere else instead of L1/L2 with the Caps. Win-win. If he goes to the KHL, I’ll be looking for the nearest bridge.
January 17th I made yet another deal by sending my Tobias Enstrom to Dustin Byfuglien’s owner in exchange for Victor Hedman. I was willing to take the short-term hit in points to get a defenceman that will hopefully match them at some point in the next few years, but will also offer better peripherals – specifically PIM. The bonus for me is that while Enstrom and Hedman are both still farm-eligible (D can be protected for their first five seasons since they take longer to develop), Hedman has several more years of eligibility left and that’ll free up another keeper spot for me in a year or whenever I’d have had to call up Enstrom permanently. Enstrom’s new home has an unreal core of young talent that’s all starting to mature and can easily work him in as a keeper. Plus, the allure of Enstrom-Byfuglien, who have been a dynamite pairing this season, was attractive to that owner. It made more sense to him to get Enstrom than me to acquire Byfuglien, given how high Byfuglien’s stock had risen in the span of a few short months.
So the cumulative effect of my trades this season have made my core group a little younger and stronger. While I’ve taken a short-term hit to accomplish that, in the long run this shouldn’t affect my team’s chances of winning its next title and should, actually, enhance them.
Any franchise, be it in the actual NHL or of the fantasy ilk, has to continually evaluate its chances of immediate and longer term success. While doing that, you’ll need to keep in the back of your mind that windows of opportunity to win a title can be fleeting and likewise, chances to deal away certain players (because of age or circumstance) can also involve narrowing time frames.
You need to be as honest as possible in your evaluation of both your roster, your chances of success in any given season and also how you want your franchise to look several years down the line.
And don’t let those windows of opportunity – be they for winning or making the right deal – pass you by.
