Fantasy Hockey Roto Mailbag - September 2012
 

As mentioned in the September PDF, the Roto Mailbag and Q&A is now open for business.

Since Angus and Dobber do a great job in tackling all fantasy hockey relevant questions through their mailbags, I'd like this one to be specifically geared towards rotisserie leagues (with multiple categories) or in reference to the Top 100 PDF.

I've always liked Jeff's set of rules, so I'll implement them here as well :

"1) no super long lists, please
2) read rule one"

That said, fire away! I'll be answering questions Monday evening (EST).

2nd team in signature. 10 team roto league including hits, blocked shots, pims.

Current D: Letang, Byfuglien, Green, Yandle, Suter, Wisniewski, Pitkanen, Ellis

Would you trade Byfuglien for Chara? Zdeno is older, but better +/-, hits, BS which are my weak areas.

Thanks.

I was wondering why there are no goalies in your top 100.

What are some players whose trade value should rise over the course of a partial season lockout?

Team and league in sig. Pick the group of 10 keepers you'd rather have...

A) Crosby, Malkin, Tavares, Giroux, Marleau, Duchene, P. Kane, Letang, Yandle, Lundqvist

B) Crosby, Malkin, Ovechkin, Hall, E. Kane, Kessel, Yakupov, Karlsson, Letang, Lundqvist

As you pointed out, in terms of individual stats :

Chara takes : plus/minus, hits, blocked shots
Byfuglien takes : G, SOG, PPP
Wash : A, PIM

In your situation, would I trade Chara for Byfuglien? Yes I would. As you mentioned, the three categories you need a boost in, big Z will help fill. Byfuglien may be younger, but Chara should still have at least three more seasons of monster production. That is your window to win. There are only a handful of players you can truly depend on for plus/minus and Chara is one of the best (one look at his track record will show you that much). As long as he delivers plus-20 campaigns (riding B2B plus-33 finishes), Chara is your go-to guy.

Don't get me wrong, Byfuglien is still a valuable asset in terms of goals, shots on goal, PPP, PIM etc... but you have no problem in those stats and the drop to Chara is not that much anyway (give or take 5 goals, 50 shots, 5 PPP).

I would feel confident trading for Chara. Good luck!

Something I debated doing for a long time but have always delayed it. The reasons why I didn't include them from the start was due to the fact that DobberHockey had the Top Goalies list and Justin Goldman. If anyone was to give the best advice on goalies, it would be Goldman via TGG (and recently Goalie Post).

Now the reasons why I still haven't listed them, including Volume 3.0, is because if I ranked 10-15 goalies into the Top 100, that is the same amount of skaters going out. Something I didn't want to do. However, if I ever did expand the list, I would highly consider adding in goalies. Though for the time being, I am comfortable sticking to roto skaters.

My immediate response is Kesler. It may have been a career year, but in 2010-11, Kesler finished first overall in most extended category formats. Everyone remembers Corey Perry turning monster status after that 50 goal season, but in overall roto (standard six with hits and blocked shots) Kesler was the better player.

Like Perry, Kesler had a down year last season. Yet even then, Kesler finished higher in overall roto. Yes, Perry is a RW which automatically means he is favoured in positional requirement leagues. Just too many people have forgotten about Kesler.

The longer the lockout, the better it gets for Kesler who currently sits on the sidelines.

Other players worth mentioning are the players who are in "growth" mode (tagged with a blue R in the guide) as most will play in the AHL. Also keep an eye out for those that excel in other leagues. Regardless of competition level, points are points and poolies will surely overrate a few of the top names.

Thanks GM Gates With the same team I can trade for Chara but keep Buff.

I trade Sharp, Suter, Yandle, Krejci
For
His Chara, Bergeron, Hamhuis

I know I give up a lot of talent, but I get a FOW leader in Bergeron, and Chara is a stud as you said. They all have good +/- ratings. I could pick up a d prospect like Dumna, Morrow, etc.

This one is tough, but I'd say stick to what you have.

I would rather have Giroux, Tavares and Yandle over Ovechkin, Kessel and Karlsson.

Your league doesn't count SOG and Hits, so Ovechkin takes a dip and Giroux could challenge for the best player in this deal. While Tavares is a C, and Kessel a RW, Tavares is a much better option in terms of stats and trade value alone. Those two facts make up for the difference between Karlsson and Yandle.

Now it gets tough :

P. Kane, Marleau, and Duchene vs. Hall, E. Kane and Yakupov.

You want to win this season? Option A will do that for you no problem. On paper, side B seems much sexier, but the first group will get the job done. If you plan on being an aggressive trader, you could get a better return on investment with Hall, E. Kane and Yakupov, however P. Kane, Marleau and Duchene are suited for a stronger overall finish.

~

In the bigger picture, you would be essentially swapping strength on the wings, upgrading D, but losing a big piece at C.

LW : Marleau, Duchene
RW : Giroux, P. Kane
C : Tavares
D : Yandle

LW : Ovechkin, Hall, E. Kane
RW : Kessel, Yakupov
D : Karlsson

There can easily be a strong argument for both sides, but in the end, like mentioned above, I'd stick to what you currently have.