Mondays. Thursdays. Live fantasy hockey help.
That’s it for another session of live Q&A. Thanks for your participation and my apologies, as usual, if I couldn’t fit you in this time around.
Posted at 16:55 ET
ILYA KILLIN’ YA?
Tyler in Kitchener, ON
“I have Ilya Bryzagalov on all 3 of my fantasy teams. (Goalie stats: W, SV%, GAA, SO) He hasn’t been playing much and when he is playing he’s been awful.
Should I hold onto him and see what happens by playing or benching him until he gets better, or should I drop him or try to trade him off all my teams?
Each team has 3 goalies on it, and has to have a minimum of 2. (Price, Auld, Bryzgalov), (Lundqvist, Thomas, Bryzgalov), (Giguere, Bryzgalov, Khabibulin[DTD], DiPietro[IR])
Thanks a lot.”
Chris
Tyler, on your first two teams I’d bench him and not play him. On the third team you’re kind of in a bind but will hopefully get Khabi back before too long.
Do I have faith in Bryzgalov’s abilities? Absolutely. Do I think he’ll rebound this season to be useful again for poolies? Absolutely. Would I understand anyone who wanted to bench him for now? Absolutely. His stats have been horrible at times.
His trade value is virtually nothing, so there’s no point going that route. Whether or not there’s a better FA option out there is something I don’t know based on what you’ve told me. There’s no doubt you’d be hurt on those first two teams by playing him right now though.
Goaltending is a tough business and it can also change quickly. The puck is looking like a beach ball for Tim Thomas right now and it’s looking like a marble for Bryzgalov, Leclaire, etc… but that doesn’t mean those guys won’t come around.
Posted at 16:47 ET
MAKE THE TRADE?
Jay in Hartford
“Hi Chris,
Thanks for your advice last week. I ended up picking up S. Mason and he’s allayed my goaltending fears for the time being.
I was just offered a trade in which I would send Toews and Demitra for Spezza and Niedermayer. I’m not sure what to do; what do you think? Here’s my team (Y! H2H Standard league):
C: Toews, Getzlaf, Arnott,
RW: Iginla, Kane, Antropov-C
LW: Tanguay, Vanek, Demitra-C
D: Blake, Coburn, Kaberle, McCabe
G: Price, S. Mason, Leclaire
Thanks.”
Chris
I don’t have a huge problem with the trade in terms of overall value Jay. Nieds would be an upgrade on Coburn for now and Toews/ Spezza is a close enough swap. I’d rather have Spezza, personally.
The only issue I have is that losing Demitra’s dual eligibility in an H2H format might be a bigger loss than the gain you’d get from having Nieds. Generally when I don’t see a real need for the deal I’m more apt to avoid it.
Posted at 16:40 ET
TEAM EVAL
Nick
“Hi Chris,
Standard 8 team keeper Yahoo H2H league with G/A/+-/PIM/SOG/W/SV/SHO as categories. We keep 25 players on our roster and play 9 forwards, 4 defencemen, and 2 goalies per night. I’m currently in second 7 points behind. This is our 8th year, but first with Yahoo. I’ve managed to bring home the championship in 5 of those 8 years with some great advice from you, and reading your blogs on a daily basis. One threepeat, and am working on the second threepeat having won the last 2 years.
My team is as follows:
F – Hejduk, Gagne, Backstrom, Malkin, Sedin, Sedin, Elias, Kariya, Tkachuk, Hossa, Clowe, Alfredsson, Semin, Gaborik, Pavelski
D – Rafalski, Lidstrom, McCabe, Liles, Kubina, Kronwall, Whitney,
G- Backstrom, Turco, Osgood
Some notable free agents in terms of their Yahoo ranking with our point scheme include:
D – Kuba, Wideman, Quincey, Mara, Robidas, Zidlicky, Ballard, Hainsey, Gonchar
F – Versteeg, Hagman, Guerin, Weight, Demitra
G – Lehtonen, Steve Mason, DiPietro
What do you think? Any of those free agents look good? Or do you think perhaps there is a player that’s not on anyone’s radar yet that could possibly be on the free agent list, given that we carry 25 players per team, with the usual suspects probably accounted for? Thanks Chris.”
Chris
That’s a pretty great track record of success Nick, nicely done.
I’ll assume you don’t have an IR slot, or I’d snag Gonchar and hope he comes back in time. With Whitney/ Semin/ Gaborik out now maybe you’re all tied up there though.
You could likely get more out of Quincey than Kronwall now. I’d also dump Liles for Kuba immediately. Depending on how much use you get out of the depth on D, you could also consider using Kuba as the new D and adding Mason as a fourth goalie for the time being. Should he continue this run all year, he’d also have excellent keeper upside… depending on how many guys you hang onto each year (all 25?).
Food for thought, anyway. Keep a close eye on Clowe’s production too and consider a possible Versteeg swap if the San Jose winger gets too cold.
Posted at 16:31 ET
GOALIE WORRIES
John from Las Vegas
“Chris,
Thanks for the advice on keeping Zubov in the last mailbag – I decided to pick up Montador anyway due to my large lead in assists and desire to have the #1 spot in the league for PIM, but I’ve got a bigger conundrum than skaters now. I’ve been consistently at the top of all of the skater categories (and the league) all season, but looking at the overall stats, I’ve got a problem. Of the stats in my twelve-team league, here are my positions:
Skater Categories
G: 3rd (78, First Place has 94)
A: 1st (153, Second Place has 131)
+/-: 2nd (+44, First Place has +68)
PIM: 2nd (228, First Place has 232)
PPP: 1st (98, Second Place has 81)
SOG: 5th (682, First Place has 820)
Goalie Categories
W: 5th (21, First Place has 25)
GAA: 10th! (3.13, First Place is 2.27)
SV%: Tied for 8th (.895, First Place is .921)
SHO: Tied for 3rd (2, Leader has 5)
Now, with those goalie stats, it appears I’ve picked up stinkers, but my goalie combo is JSG, Osgood, and Roloson. Should I make a goalie change, or wait for Osgood and JSG to heat up? If I don’t wait it out, I need to make a goalie change, and fast. Which of my skaters do you propose that I deal to find a quality goaltender? Also, because I have parity in positions (3 at each forward position, 4 D-men, and 3 goalies), it’s likely going to be a trade of 1 goalie and 1 skater for 1 goalie and 1 skater.
C: Koivu 1, Koivu 2, Marc Savard
LW: Patrick Sharp, Alex Tanguay, Milan Lucic
RW: Teemu Selanne, JP Dumont, Shane Doan
D: Nick Lidstrom, Rob Blake, Mattias Ohlund, Steve MontadorG
G: JSG, Chris Osgood, Dwayne Roloson
I lead the league by four points in rotisserie scoring, but I need to widen the gap! Thanks.”
Chris
I can’t promise anything with Roloson John, who has been playing really well lately, but I’m relatively confident that JSG and Osgood should be fine. In fact, I just traded for Osgood (I’ve got Conklin and am Brodeurless) over the weekend by dealing depth on D in Ohlund. Detroit had better tighten up defensively, which I think they will.
You’ve got the lead despite those stats now, so it should only improve once they come around.
Posted at 16:25 ET
FA MOVES
GP in Toronto
“Hi Chris, I was looking for some more help on one of my teams. The league is a single season, 11 team, Yahoo points league with stat modifiers: G (3), A (2), +/- (1), PPP (1), W (3), GA (-0.75), SV (0.15), SHO (1.5). We have a maximum of 15 moves in this league and I have already used 4 moves. My roster:
F: Hossa, Doan, Holmstrom, Lang, Tkachuk, Rolston, (Empty), (Empty), (Empty), Horton(BN), Briere(BN), Sakic(BN)
D: Boyle, Visnovsky, Weber, Jovanovski, Letang(BN)
G: Conklin, Ersberg, Weekes(BN), Mason(BN), Leclaire(BN), Brodeur(IR)
Notable free agents include:
F: Cheechoo, Smyth, Ryder, J.Staal, Bouchard, Stillman, Stamkos, Guerin, Zajac, Hagman, Brunette
I was thinking of dropping Weekes for another forward. We can play 82 games at each spot and I’m currently 35 games behind at the forward position due to injuries. Do you see anything here that would be an upgrade over what I have long term? Drop Sakic too? Thanks as always.”
Chris
I’d be less inclined to drop Sakic given the limited moves angle here. Since you’ve only used up four moves overall though, I could certainly see sacrificing Weekes to help making up games up front.
A relatively safe guy there is Smyth and you can hope the Smyth-Stastny-Hejduk line spends most of the rest of the season together. Stamkos is tempting too, but likely more of a risk despite his recent production.
Posted at 16:20 ET
POST-BRODEUR MELTDOWN
Colin from Stettler
“Hi Chris,
Since losing Brodeur, my goaltending has been pretty bad. I’m in a 10 team H2H league (2LW, 2RW, 2C, 3D, 2G, 4 BN, 1IR) and the goalie cats are W, GAA, SV%, SO, and we need a minimum of 3 starts per week. I recently dropped Ellis and currently am holding Biron, Rinne and Leclaire. I am more than ready to boot Leclaire to the curb and was wondering who you think I should pick up.
FAs include: Bryzgalov (just dropped today), S.Mason, Hiller, Schneider, Sanford, Halak, Toskala, Leighton, Ersberg, Tellqvist
I don’t know if I should carry 3 goalies in my situation. If so, should I look for a solid backup like Hiller who won’t get very many starts but will put up good numbers?
Your advice is greatly appreciated!”
Chris
Leclaire owners are just really in a bind these days – especially in H2H leagues where you need results every single week. His game will come around, but with every so-so performance on his part and every strong showing from Mason it makes it harder and harder to be patient in many cases where decent FA options are out there.
Rinne has been playing really, really well and it’s tough to argue with a 6-0-0 record with two shutouts in his past three starts.
Your safest play is to drop Biron for Bryzgalov (each likely starters all year with Brygalov having higher GAA/ SV% upside). I would also consider dropping a fringe forward to add Mason while keeping Leclaire. If he’s not going by Christmas, maybe you’ll have to punt him.
I would just hate to see you drop him now, only to see him come around and return to form.
If you were a total risk-taker you could try rolling with Rinne/ Mason and that’s it… but that’s a high-risk/ high-reward situation with big downside if/when the young goalies come back down to earth.
Posted at 16:07 ET
THE HOFF
J
“Hey Chris,
Obviously nobody expected Erhoff to maintain the ridiculous pace he set over the first few weeks of the season, but with so many other blueliners producing in SJ, do you think his recent slump will be a long-term trend? Should I be shopping him while his value is still remotely high? My other D-men are Pronger, Ohlund and Whitney (set to come off the IR). Does Erhoff merit a spot above any of these guys? Thanks as always!”
Chris
I think Pronger and Whitney (once up to speed) should be easy locks above Ehrhoff and it’s a toss-up with Ohlund/ Ehrhoff. Ohlund is a pretty decent point/ PIM guy who has fluctuating value depending on who’s healthy in Vancouver and who’s on PP1. He’s got higher value in a deeper keeper league with his impending free agency and possible trade sometime this season.
Vancouver also doesn’t have the scoring power of San Jose, so Ehrhoff doesn’t necessarily have to be in a strong PP position to have value.
If you can get something good for Ehrhoff I’m certainly not against trading him. As is the case so often in these situations though, I really need an actual offer or range value to be able to advise you on actually pulling the trigger on him.
Posted at 15:58 ET
ADD BACKES?
WARPIG
“Chris,
G (1), A (1), PIM (.25), PPP (.5), SHP (1), GWG (.5)
I see you mentioned David Backes in your Monday Spotlight and I happened to be thinking of picking him up this weekend. Do you think he can keep things up all season? Right now he is on pace to surpass Derek Roy in my league and I was thinking of dropping Roy to take a chance on him. What do you think?
Thanks!”
Chris
I think his point pace is quite reasonable (35 or so) and while I think he’ll continue to be a regular PIM contributor (physical play is a key part of his game), I’m really not sure if he’ll get this many all year. Derek Roy has done really well for points over the past few weeks and Buffalo as a team is (hopefully) only going to get better, so he should be fine. With PIM modified so much in your format I’d be less inclined to make that move.
Posted at 15:53 ET
B2B GERMANY!
Hank in Cologne
“Hi Chris,
this weekend I was offered Vokoun for my Sabourin. I immediately pulled the trigger but now I`m not too sure about when Vokoun will ever start again in Florida. What`s your opinion. Also someone dropped Clemmenson.
My goalies are now:
Lundquist, Vokoun, Roloson, Lehtonen(IR)
Shall I do something or just stand pat? Thanks for the great work!”
Chris
Thanks Hank. Yeah, as great as Sabourin has played and as poorly as Vokoun has fared (with Anderson doing well) I’d have made that deal as well. Unless Fleury’s injury takes a serious turn for the worse, Sabourin’s shelf life will be less than milk now. Fleury could play before the week’s out, actually.
Roloson has been strong in net lately and while he may not be a season-long option for you, at least he can play second fiddle behind our boy King Henrik for the time being until Vokoun gets his game together. Lehtonen is apparently at least back at practice too, for what that’s worth. Let’s hope a trade isn’t far away once he starts getting in some games.
Posted at 15:45 ET
TRADE THOUGHTS
Thomas from Dortmund (Germany)
“Hi Chris,
1st place (very close) in 12 team standard roto league with 3 FW lines,
I tried to move a player to get Bieska off IR and found a deal : my Turco, Havlat for Alfredsson. I think I’m still strong in G (Backstrom, Auld and Ersberg) and my RW now are Alfie, Setoguchi and Versteeg. Love that deal!!!
Now I got another offer: my Getzlaf, Zubov for Heatley and Girardi, I know, that wingers are harder to find, but I think I’m set with Ovechkin, Sharp and Booth and I don’t think I can replace Getzlaf (other C are M, Koivu, Langkow and Krejci). I’d love to get rid of Zubov, but Girardi has cooled off and my D now is Zubov, Boyle, Bouwmeester, Bieska, Seidenberg (fresh on IR) and Quincey (fresh FA pickup). I think I’d reject the trade, what do you think?
Thanks for your help”
Chris
I think it is a bit much to give up Thomas, for sure. Generally speaking you’d want the winger instead of the centre, but I just think Zubov tilts the scale too much toward the other team. And like you said, your top two wingers right now are strong and Booth has streak potential.
Unless your free agent centre depth was stronger to possibly replace Langkow or have someone to take Krejci’s place when he cools off, you might be better off standing pat for now.
And as much as Turco will come around, I’m fine with the Alfie trade too.
Posted at 15:40 ET
POTENTIAL TRADE
Ernest Biggith
“Hi Chris, hope your getting ready for the holidays.
I’ve got a potential trade on the go… My Savard and Semin for his Hossa and Havlat.
Pool structure is 2pt/G, 1pt/A, .5pt/+-, .35pt/PIM, Keeper League. Im currently in first place.
I thought this was good timing to shop Savard because his value is pretty darn high in Yahoo rankings. Plus, I’m filled up pretty good on Centers and need a strong RW. I am, however, a touch hesitant giving up Semin. I think he showed what kind of player he can be when he was healthy and when he lines with Ove and Backstrom…it’s fun to watch. Havlat is decent thus far, but I drafted him last year and his injury record scares me. Your input is welcome as always. Happy Holidays.”
Chris
Happy holidays to you too, thanks.
I don’t like the deal at all, actually. I get the need to acquire Hossa, but that’s too much to give up and Havlat is the risky guy… as you noted. Savard may not keep up this pace, but he’s a proven guy that can produce at a high level. Savard for Hossa is fine, but I just think you’re giving up too much otherwise.
Posted at 15:35 ET
ONLY THREE DROPS?
Omar
“Hi Chris,
My team has been hit hard by injuries and with a unique rule in my league, I am having a hard time dropping any of them. I am currently 68 pts behind first place in my league. Our unique rule is that we are only allowed a total of 3 drops the ENTIRE season. I’ve already used a couple. I dropped McCabe early for Shea Weber and recently dropped Sakic for Weight. I was hoping i could show you my team as well as our league leader’s team and hopefully you could help me figure out whether right now is a good time to use my last drop or not, thanks!
MY TEAM(guys with * are injured)
F – Malkin, Alfredsson, M.Richards, E.Staal, Backstrom, Nash, Roy,
Doan, Plekanec, Semin*, Okposo*, Gagne, Horton*, Weight, Satan,
Cheechoo*, Horcoff, Langkow, Malone*, Jason Williams, Lupul, Nilsson*
D – Phaneuf, Souray, Weber, T.Kaberle, Coburn
G – Nabokov, Luongo*, Huet
LEAGUE LEADER(guys with * are injured)
F – Ovechkin, Lecavalier, Iginla, Kovalev, Kane, Kovalchuk, Selanne,
Parise, Pominville, Sedin, Sedin, Frolov, Drury, Koivu, Koivu,
Marleau, Holmstrom, Brassard, Arnott, Brunette, Brind’Amour, Setoguchi
D – Pronger, Timonen, Chara, Burns, Bouwmeester
G – Price, Turco, Biron
As you can see he has no major injuries. He also has one move remaining. Would it be wise to make a move now? Or should i wait? I was thinking of dropping Okposo for either Berglund or Versteeg as i
would need to drop him for another rookie, or I could drop a guy like Cheechoo for a guy like Modano or Demitra. Would love to here your thoughts! Thanks.”
Chris
Boy, as well as the Weber move has turned out that was a big risk dropping Sakic for Weight with so few moves allotted Omar.
As much as I would normally recommend dropping Okposo for Berglund or Versteeg, I just can’t advise you to use the last move of your season in early December. I’d go with Berglund over Versteeg, I think, planning from now until the end of the season… if you absolutely feel the need to do something now.
I’d personally be more inclined to save the move until January or so. At least you’ll get Semin back soon too. That’ll help.
Posted at 15:27 ET
QUALITY VS. QUANTITY
James in Dallas
“With Roberto Luongo on the IR, my team’s goaltending is struggling. At this point, I’m leaning toward moving guys who arguably have more talent for goalies who benefit from greater stability. Part of that reason is because the H2H league I’m in rewards workhorse goalies. The five categories are W, GAA, save pct., saves and SOs.
Current goalies: Bryzgalov, Ersberg, Conklin w/ Luongo on IR
Free agent goalies: Biron, Budaj, J. Hiller, C. Ward (IR), Manny Fernandez, Clemmensen, M. Leighton, S. Mason, P. Rinne and Roloson.
So, obviously, there’s quite a few intriguing possibilities. Ward would normally be my choice but my team’s two IR spots are already filled by Luongo and Olli Jokinen (actually had to drop Ryan Whitney because of that). Budaj seems intriguing because he’s been moderately steady lately, Hiller puts up great numbers but is the backup, Fernandez is the same and obviously there’s a few platoon guys. Which three goalies would you roll with?”
Chris
I would give Mason a shot over Ersberg for the time being James, at least as long as Mason is hot and LaBarbera plays well. I’d imagine the former will last longer than the latter, but we’ll see.
Budaj has done reasonably well and I have to give him props for it, but I just can’t recommend him or put him in my line-up because I know the five-spot games aren’t far away. Maybe he’ll prove me wrong, but that’s the history.
Bryzgalov has struggled, but should come around. Impatient? Clemmensen, at least for the moment, has the starting job and with a healthier Jersey team he’s getting results. Bryzgalov will be the #1 guy all year though, whereas Clemmensen could lose his gig with one bad game.
Jokinen is due back Wednesday too, so you want to snag Whitney back for the IR slot.
Posted at 15:20 ET
PRONGER PONDERING
Chuck in Simcoe
“Hi Chris,
From a keeper standpoint in a league that counts G, A, +/-, PIM, TOI, do you see any of the following guys as an upgrade on Pronger: Markov, E. Johnson, Boyle, Campbell? If so, how would you rank them? Thanks!”
Chris
As much as a guy like Pronger is great now and Erik Johnson should be on his way to a solid career, I’d have to say that Boyle interests me the most of anyone there given the San Jose connection now. Campbell would actually be second for me at this point.
As always though, it would depend on what sort of price you’d have to pay to get them. Neither would likely come cheap.
Posted at 15:15 ET
KEEPER CHOICES
DC
“Hey Chris,
8 team Keeper league, 20 players, we keep eight at the end of the year.
G (1), A (1), +/- (1), PPG (1), PPA (1), SHG (1), GWG (2).
Which two would you rather have going forward? (pool points in brackets).
Brassard (40), Mueller (23), Samuelsson (35), Lang (33), Ryder (34), Holmstrom (28).
Thanks a lot Chris”
Chris
Given the keeper aspect, I’d have to favour Brassard and Mueller here. They’re each got big enough upside that they might squeeze into the final keeper slots for you in the summer, depending on the stretch of your roster.
Posted at 15:11 ET
MILKING MIKKO
A fellow Chris in Halifax
“Hey Chris,
I’m in a points-only keeper league, and have been fielding offers for Mikko Koivu. He seems to me to be a ‘sell high’ candidate, but I was wrong before earlier in the season (Setoguchi). Is this the start of something beautiful for Koivu (a string of 70-80 point seasons) or should I cash out now if I can get value based on his performance thus far? Thanks.”
Chris
I guess it depends both on how many keepers you’re hanging onto each year and also what sort of offers you’re getting for him Chris. I’ve thought for a few years now that he was developing into one of the best two-way forwards in the league and now, this season, he’s finally getting the recognition because of the increase in offensive production.
I’m still a bit leery to put him in near point-per-game status as an annual projection, but I’m extremely intrigued to find out where this road leads. I wouldn’t be giving him away, for sure. I also wouldn’t turn down a great offer though, either. I just need more specifics to see if you should keep him or not.
He’s just a perfect Jacques Lemaire player.
Posted at 15:05 ET
KEEPER TRADE
Matty
“Awesome blog! I have a keeper league question for you that I hope you can help me out with. Here are my settings: Points Keeper League with 6 of my other long time college friends (7 teams in total). 12 Forwards, 6 Defense, 2 Goalies, No Bench Spots. We keep 8 players every year regardless of position. Goals, Assists, Powerplay Points, +/-, Short Handed Goals are all worth 1, Game Winning Goals are worth 2. My question to you is who do you rank higher in terms of keeper value: Corey Perry, Simon Gagne or Alexi Kovalev? Is it close? If you say Perry, would you warrant moving Kovalev AND Gagne for Perry and a 1st or 2nd round pick in my next draft? Thanks Mr. Nichols.”
Chris
Thanks Matty. I think Kovalev, regardless of his results to date this season, has to be considered third of that group because of the age disparity.
When you take PIM out of the equation, Perry and Gagne might be fairly close overall. Perry would get the edge, I suppose, with the age difference and potential future health concerns with Gagne.
I just think that’s a bit much to give up for Perry, personally. You’d get a decent player with the first round pick, so I guess it would depend on how high that pick would land you and whether next summer’s draft prospects are included in your draft next season or if you have a separate draft for that.
It’s not a horrible trade by any stretch though, so if you were hot to get Perry I guess it’s ok. I just think Gagne’s value is still rising and if he can shake those health concerns, which he has done so far, then he still has a lot of productive years left.
Posted at 15:00 ET
FREE AGENT SWAP?
JB in NY
“Hi Chris,
Thanks for all of your past advice. It’s much appreciated as always!!!
Yahoo points league 12 teams. We have to play 10 forwards at all times (no bench).
Scoring: G (2), A (1), PPP (1), SHG (2), SHA (1), GWG (2), SOG (0.25)
My current forwards are:
HEATLEY, GETZLAF, TOEWS, SELANNE, MARLEAU, BACKSTROM, DEMITRA, LANGKOW,
HOLMSTROM, JU.WILLIAMS (car), [SAKIC (IR)]
***I’m currently in 2nd place in our league. I recently put Sakic on IR and picked up Ju. Williams (car) in the hopes of seeing him rebound soon once he gets back in game shape. Also I dropped Brind’Amour (car) and picked up Holmstrom. My question is based on our scoring system would you stick with this group of forwards or would you rather swap out for any of my team for the following FREE AGENTS:
BRASSARD, RIBIERO, J.BLAKE, HAGMAN, BRIND’AMOUR, PLEKANEC, KUNITZ, UMBERGER, ERAT, WHITE
THANKS!”
Chris
I would actually give someone like Brassard a shot over Williams for the time being. Keep an eye on Langkow too, since someone like Ribeiro might get hot before too long.