Ward Vs Niemi Vs Halak

[redrobster22]

Points only keeper league
2 pts for win, 1 pt for OTL/SOL and 2 extra for a SO
Who would you rather own?

[Vancityguy]

Darn this is a hard one.

Cam Ward is #1 no question.

Your toss up is between Niemi and Halak. In this head to head I think Halak is the better goaltender but Niemi is on the better team which is what makes it hard for me. Every fantasy decision needs to be balanced off of what get's you the most points in your format, not what your personal opinion is.

Personally I want to pick Halak every time here as your number 2, but thats personal bias because I think he's a better goalie.

Do we have a choice? Is this a pick 1 or a pick 2?

I will take Ward then Halak then Niemi in the end and have a voice in the back of my head telling me the Chigaco goalie will put up more fantasy points because he is on CHIGACO aka Chris Osgood, sure he was just a good goalie but he was on Detroit, who cares lol.

If you are asking me for 1 of these 3 instead of a ranking of 1-3 then take Cam Ward and be happy in the right decision (which after all my ramblings is what I think you are asking.)

[VincentVega]

I will take Ward then Halak then Niemi.

That would be my order too.

[redrobster22]

At 1st glance I thought Ward should be #1 as well because he plays a ton of games and he's young and on a great young up and coming team but then I looked at these numbers from last year based on my scoring settings.

Ward 74 GP 93 Pts for 1.26 PPG
Halak 57 GP 75 Pts for 1.32 PPG
Niemi 60 GP 89 Pts for 1.48 PPG

I know that's only last year, but Niemi's PPG is looking a lot better than Ward's. I know Carolina will improve this year, but will San Jose take a step back? I'm in win now mode if that changes anyone's opinion.

I am trying to trade for one of these guys in my league. I'd say Niemi would cost me the least to get, with Halak costing me the most. I'm mainly torn between Ward and Niemi based on how much it's going to cost me to acquire them...

[kevinsrangers]

i still take ward.

[bondon]

Interesting. Without the new info I probably would have said Ward-Halak-Niemi as well but after your last post I think if you can acquire Niemi cheap then I wouldn't have a problem rolling with him.

Seems that not too many people (in general) have that much confidence in Niemi, but you have to give the guy some credit all he does is win. Perhaps I'm just rationalizing the choice at this point, but two seasons 61-25-10. That's pretty damn impressive. They just signed him to a starter type contract, pretty sure it's established now that Nittymaki is the backup unless Niemi completely imploded like Fleury did last season and Nitty takes advantage.

Another thing I wonder about is with A competent backup in Boucher, will Ward see less starts now? I've always been of the opinion that one of the things that made Ward so valuable to a fantasy squad is his capacity to play 70 games per season. Just something to think about I suppose.

However, it's curious that Niemi would cost you the least considering he put up the higher PPG pace. You'd think his owner would be looking at that lol.

[Pete]

Ward
Halak
Niemi

[SeaDawg]

Ward is the obvious choice because of what he has done, but I'd take Halak for what he will do. St. Louis is building something special and Halak will be a key part of their success. I predict his numbers are among the best in the league this coming season and that he will have the best numbers among the three goalies you are listing.

Of course taking Halak over Ward at this stage is a huge gamble, but that's how I feel, for what its worth.

[dyzfunctioned]

I'll go against the grain and take Niemi here. This is W/SO only league, Niemi plays on the best team. 'Nuf said.

[cb4]

Ward, then Niemi for me. I just don't trust Halak as much as I do Ward and I think SJ's blue line just got a lot better...

[fantasyhockeygeek]

For me it's Niemi, Ward, Halak.

Niemi because of team situation.
Ward because he's a skilled workhorse, though he may play less this year.
Halak is a good option, I just wouldn't be able to take him over either of the other two.