Fantasy Mailbag - June 6

[GoalieGuild]

Here is the Fantasy Mailbag for today.

School of Block is on some hidden names that you might have never heard of before, but could over the next two years. And also why that's so important for you to keep in mind as time goes on!

[newper114]

hey thanxs for doing this. always love hearing about goalie insights.

Was wondering about 2 goalies right now:

1) Jonas Gustavsson - he was the leafs golden boy and they were super excited to be the ones to sign him. fast forward 2 seasons and he has just been OK. some great stuff but now he is the backup's backup and sitting on the bench or minors. what happens to him going forward? was he all hype or is the real deal?

2) Jack Campbell - i know he is young and just drafted but the talk last year was awesome stuff. the next best after the current prospect class (markstrom, bernier, rask), atleast that was my impression. What happens now that Dallas has lehtonen. do we see campbell at all in the next 2 - 3 seasons or are we talking buried and will need a trade to get him to be a starter soon? basically is he that good and whats the time table of his career?

thanxs again.

[Iceguy24]

Thomas or Vokoun?

I currently have both on my squad but I may need to unload one of them for salary reasons.

Thomas is set in Boston but I see Rask starting a lot more games next year, especially with Boston's long 2010-11 season.

If Vokoun moves on from Florida, he should sign on with a contending team but I could also see him re-upping in Florida.

Which one should I keep?

Thanks Justin.

[Buck Fush]

League in sig, I won the championship this year. We are dissolving a team in my league and with my pick I would likely be able to snag Jon Quick, but I am debating whether or not I really need him... I could instead improve my d-corps with Weber/Buff or my forward group with a Hossa/E Kane type. With Thomas/Bryz/Rask already, would Quick provide much value to my team?

[cb4]

Thanks for the mailbag!

We have a prospect draft coming up and I was wonderting which prospects (10 NHL games or less) you think will have the most fantasy impact next year?

[Chico Resch]

Hey GG,

what's your thoughts on Markstrom for next year? Is he worth a VERY high draft pick for next year (4th overall) for a team whose roster is in rebuilding mode?

Is he worth the high investment?

[austeane]

My league is in my sig and I was wondering if you could help me figure out what to do. Basically I have to retain the most value for my goaltenders. I have a bit of a weird situation. My league counts saves as possibly it's most impactful goalie stat. Also goalie prospects are significantly underrated... I could pick Lack up reaaally cheap in or after the upcoming draft. I also have to make room for 4 possibly 5 players (Hodgson, bernier and two first round draft picks plus I like to have one flex spot for wavier pickups) in the next few months by dropping or two for one trades.

Basically the short of it is that I think it would make sense for me if two of my goalies that I currently own were gone next year.

Would it make sense to trade Lundqvist+ other things to go after Crosby?

Price is pretty much untouchable but I am wondering if his value might be a bit inflated.

How long until Rask starts 40 games and is the return I would get worth a trade right now?

Varlamov seems like my easiest drop but I think he could surprise next year and is in the "buy low" category so I have mixed feelings about selling.

Bernier has to be put on my roster by the start of the season or I lose him as soon as he starts a game. Again, how long until he starts 40? And would the return I would get on him (limited) make a trade worth it?

[GoalieGuild]

hey thanxs for doing this. always love hearing about goalie insights.

Was wondering about 2 goalies right now:

1) Jonas Gustavsson - he was the leafs golden boy and they were super excited to be the ones to sign him. fast forward 2 seasons and he has just been OK. some great stuff but now he is the backup's backup and sitting on the bench or minors. what happens to him going forward? was he all hype or is the real deal?

2) Jack Campbell - i know he is young and just drafted but the talk last year was awesome stuff. the next best after the current prospect class (markstrom, bernier, rask), atleast that was my impression. What happens now that Dallas has lehtonen. do we see campbell at all in the next 2 - 3 seasons or are we talking buried and will need a trade to get him to be a starter soon? basically is he that good and whats the time table of his career?

thanxs again.

1. Hype is not something anyone can control. Signing with the Leafs brings expectations. I personally had high expectations for him, but didn't expect the transition process to happen overnight. I think he really improved from the Olympics to where he is right now. But it's not an easy process and it takes some goalies longer than others. Going forward, since he's signed with the Leafs, expect him to be partnered with James Reimer in nice little tandem. This, of course, depends on whether or not the Leafs choose to sign a veteran free agent. From what I know right now, I don't expect them to sign another goalie, partially due to the fact they want two AHL spots to go to Rynnas/Scrivens/Owuya with the weakest of those three playing in the ECHL.

Gustavsson is a very good goalie with all the tools. He has serious fantasy risk due to heart issues and the fact that he struggles with confidence and rebound control. Technically speaking, he has come a long way with his game despite what the stats show. He has also shown flashes of brilliance. I am still a believer and I can't wait to see how he looks after another summer of training.

2. The Stars are very very good at developing goalies. That's the key term - develop. Jack Campbell is VERY solid, VERY skilled and VERY competitive. He plays bigger and more consistently in bigger games. He has a lot of maturing to do and he's very early in the journey from USJDP to NHL goalie. Kari Lehtonen has very little bearing on Campbell's NHL upside because Campbell is going to spend AT LEAST 1 more year in Windsor, maybe 2. From there, he'll spend AT LEAST 1 year in the AHL, maybe two. By that time, Lehtonen couldd be long gone.

Campbell is going to be an NHL stud, but it's not going to happen right away. Give him time to evolve mentally and mature into a more consistent goalie. But in my opinion he will be regarded, by the time he turns pro, along the same lines of a Stalock, Allen, Tokarski, etc. Like a Top-10 or Top-15 goalie.

[GoalieGuild]

Thomas or Vokoun?

I currently have both on my squad but I may need to unload one of them for salary reasons.

Thomas is set in Boston but I see Rask starting a lot more games next year, especially with Boston's long 2010-11 season.

If Vokoun moves on from Florida, he should sign on with a contending team but I could also see him re-upping in Florida.

Which one should I keep?

Thanks Justin.

I think that with DeBoer gone, Vokoun has a clean slate in Florida with Dineen and the Panthers get a deal done with Vokoun for 1 or 2 more years. Probably 2, so that Markstrom can spend a year backing up and learning from Vokoun.

Still, I rarely ever bet against Thomas anymore. His workload might only be ~50 games, but then again it was close to that this year and he posted stellar save percentage because of it. It might hurt his volume of saves and games played since I do agree with you that Rask plays a few more games, but as long as Thomas is healthy and hungry, he'll get the bulk of starts.

Don't forget, just because he's 37 doesn't mean he's done evolving and developing. If Thomas continues to make mistakes in the Stanley Cup Finals regarding his aggressive nature, the fire inside will continue to burn and he'll make a few minor adjustments over the summer and probably be even more dominant next year.

If he's healthy, go with Thomas.

[GoalieGuild]

League in sig, I won the championship this year. We are dissolving a team in my league and with my pick I would likely be able to snag Jon Quick, but I am debating whether or not I really need him... I could instead improve my d-corps with Weber/Buff or my forward group with a Hossa/E Kane type. With Thomas/Bryz/Rask already, would Quick provide much value to my team?

Stay put, champ. You won the title for a reason. Cap the Bruins goalies and ride them all season long. Bryzgalov might not re-sign with the Coyotes, but if he doesn't, he's going to a team that really needs him. There, you'll get a volume of starts that covers whatever else you need to have a very nice trifecta with Rask and Thomas.

By making a move to acquire Quick, you're esentially opening up the door for a lot of headache all summer long. Save yourself the stress, improve another area of your team, and know you have a great trifecta. And hope Bryz meshes well wherever he ends up playing.

If Bryzgalov gets locked out and is unable to reach a deal with an NHL team andd with the VERY SLIM chance he ends up in Russia or something, ................. then you can blame it on me. =P

[GoalieGuild]

Thanks for the mailbag!

We have a prospect draft coming up and I was wonderting which prospects (10 NHL games or less) you think will have the most fantasy impact next year?

Alex Salak, Jhonas Enroth (just over 10 starts I think), Dennis Endras, Johan Backlund, Viktor Fasth (unless the 15th hits and he hasn't signed yet), Ben Bishop (if he is re-signed), Eddie Lack (if Schneider gets traded).

You're probably wondering why Backlund is on that list.

He has a one-way contract this year. His salary is very low. If the Flyers sign a legit workhorse, they hopefully realize it's better to pay Bobrovsky his AHL salary and give him 50 starts instead of paying him millions to sit on the bench.

If they are smart enough to realize that, Backlund is only making $800K in both the AHL and NHL. He makes a much better fit for the backup role in Philly if the starter is a legit workhorse.

[GoalieGuild]

Hey GG,

what's your thoughts on Markstrom for next year? Is he worth a VERY high draft pick for next year (4th overall) for a team whose roster is in rebuilding mode?

Is he worth the high investment?

Worth the investment. One more year of AHL is perfect for him. No need to rush him. He's big he's good and like Lehner he has an attitude. Injury was unfortunate but at least he didn't need surgery. Kinda like Poulin, it sucks because it ended his season early when things were getting good, but it's not gonna affect him long-term. He needs to play, so he has to be either starter in NHL or starter in AHL.

Answer on rebuilding mode? YES, he's worth a very high draft pick.

[Raja]

Thanks for doing this as always. What the hell should I do with Eriksson? Team in sig, I'll likely promote Neuvirth this year, so I'll at least have Gustavsson and Holtby on my farm. Do I keep him even though he's unsigned? I have plenty of time to wait.

[GoalieGuild]

Thanks for doing this as always. What the hell should I do with Eriksson? Team in sig, I'll likely promote Neuvirth this year, so I'll at least have Gustavsson and Holtby on my farm. Do I keep him even though he's unsigned? I have plenty of time to wait.

A couple of ways you can go with this...

1. Wait to see if Eriksson gets drafted this summer. Hold off on acquiring any other goalies since you have a good top-3 and good base of prospects.

2. If you like to be patient, do what I would do and watch him develop for another year. If he can start more games and post better stats, other teams might show interest knowing he's developing faster.

Flyers did it with Hovinen. Habs did it with Delmas. Rangers did it with Missiaen.

Not saying Eriksson destined for greatness now that the Flyers have set him free, but the potential is there and he's not any worse technically speaking because of this. If anything he'll be even more motivated.

[Brady19]

Hey Justin,

I just saw that Columbus hired Ian Clark as their new goaltending coach. Do you know anything about him? Is that good news for Steve Mason owners?