Hiller Long Term Goalie Option?

[theIceWookie]

Is Hiller worth picking up in the third round? My league just started all over again and expanded to 14 teams. I had the 1st overall and pick up Ovechkin.

League is a daily head to head points league with focus on Goals (why I grabbed Ovechkin 1st overall).

Goalies are highly rated. They gets points for Saves (0.2), shutouts/wins (2 points), and OT losses or shootout losses (.5) and loose a point for goals against.

Since goalies will only play about 60 games max, I'm not so sure I sure draft a goalie high. However a run on goalies has happened and I'm concerned it could leave me with a low goalie if I wait till the 4th or 5th round. In the first two rounds (it's a snake draft so I have the last pick in the 2nd round and first in the 3rd, last in 4th, first in 5th and so on) Bryzgalov, Rinne, Lundqvist, Price, Ward, Reimer (little out there pick), Niemi, Luongo, Miller, Quick and Thomas. So 11 goalies in the first 28 picks.

Hiller has apparently gotten over his vertigo. Does it make sense to grab him now or risk getting a lower impact starter with the 56th or 57th pick?

Goalies that could be available in the 4th round late:

Varlamov
Schneider
Bernier
Rask
Lehtonen
Montoya
Dubynk
Mason
Theodore
Roloson
Anderson


Goalies still available now:

The above +
Kipper
MAF
Vokoun
Halak
Pavelec
Howard
Crawford

Thoughts?

[TheRook]

I think you need to get a good quality goalie and round 3 is where you need to focus on that. With essentially 28 spots separating your 3rd round pick and your 4th you cant wait that long to get a goalie.

I really like hiller and think he is on the verge of top 10 in the league. I also think that people might be scared (as you are) to draft him high after his vertigo issues.

I would probably draft MAF in the 3rd round and then you might be able to get Hiller later in the draft.

How many goalies do you start? If its more than one, i would say grab hiller with your 4 or 5 round pick so you can solidify your two starters. It is very hard to fill a starters role in fantasy hockey. Its easier to replace forwards and defenseman than goalies. Lock them up when you can.

[theIceWookie]

I think you need to get a good quality goalie and round 3 is where you need to focus on that. With essentially 28 spots separating your 3rd round pick and your 4th you cant wait that long to get a goalie.

I really like hiller and think he is on the verge of top 10 in the league. I also think that people might be scared (as you are) to draft him high after his vertigo issues.

I would probably draft MAF in the 3rd round and then you might be able to get Hiller later in the draft.

How many goalies do you start? If its more than one, i would say grab hiller with your 4 or 5 round pick so you can solidify your two starters. It is very hard to fill a starters role in fantasy hockey. Its easier to replace forwards and defenseman than goalies. Lock them up when you can.

We start 2 and can have three max. I've just never been the type of fantasy player to base my team around a goalie. The league I'm doesn't have them so they will make or break my team day in or day out, because they start only 2/3rds of the season, it would make more sense to grab a guy who will start every game and put up the same average of points in per game right?

That's why I'm hesitant to draft a goalie high. I'd rathe use my high picks to solidify two more high offense players who will be consistent and healthy. A guy like Eric Staal will put up less points per game than Hiller but because he will do it for 82 games over the 50 or 60 starts Hiller gets, it makes more sense to draft those two and take the risk right?

My idea was because of Hiller's injury it might make sense to risk waiting to pick him up with my 4th round pick.

[TheRook]

We start 2 and can have three max. I've just never been the type of fantasy player to base my team around a goalie. The league I'm doesn't have them so they will make or break my team day in or day out, because they start only 2/3rds of the season, it would make more sense to grab a guy who will start every game and put up the same average of points in per game right?

That's why I'm hesitant to draft a goalie high. I'd rathe use my high picks to solidify two more high offense players who will be consistent and healthy. A guy like Eric Staal will put up less points per game than Hiller but because he will do it for 82 games over the 50 or 60 starts Hiller gets, it makes more sense to draft those two and take the risk right?

My idea was because of Hiller's injury it might make sense to risk waiting to pick him up with my 4th round pick.

In a head to head league where goalie stats are important, a goalie playing 60 games is more valuable than E Staal. This is evident from the goalie run that has just happened in the first couple rounds.

If you dont have one solid starter for goal, you are guaranteed to be at the bottom of the league by years end. I would even say the top teams in the league at years end will have 2 solid starters. Dont base the importance of a quality starter based on not playing a full 82 games like a skater.

In a league where goalies are important it is much harder to acquire a goalie than it would be a top forward.

I think there is plenty of talent at the forward position that you can still build a solid team after solidifying your goalies but there arent enough quality tenders to do the opposite.

You dont want to have to get into a position where you have to hold extra tenders because your looking for starts.

[asv27]

We start 2 and can have three max. I've just never been the type of fantasy player to base my team around a goalie. The league I'm doesn't have them so they will make or break my team day in or day out, because they start only 2/3rds of the season, it would make more sense to grab a guy who will start every game and put up the same average of points in per game right?

That's why I'm hesitant to draft a goalie high. I'd rathe use my high picks to solidify two more high offense players who will be consistent and healthy. A guy like Eric Staal will put up less points per game than Hiller but because he will do it for 82 games over the 50 or 60 starts Hiller gets, it makes more sense to draft those two and take the risk right?

My idea was because of Hiller's injury it might make sense to risk waiting to pick him up with my 4th round pick.

This thinking is a little backwards. Because there are only a few top tier goalies in the league, it's very hard to win in fantasy hockey unless you have at least one top 15 starter. Look at the successful teams in almost every league and you'll see that they have 2+ great goalies an don the flip side the bottom tier teams have bad goalies. It's much easier to get a solid dept forward then it is to get a top 15 goalie.

Also, it's easy to see a players value in your league because you can simply add up their stats. A quick check shows that MAF had 287 points last year so just compare that to what forwards got 287 points last year and it's easy to see a goalies value.

Just did E Staal and he got 198 points, which is almost 90 points less than MAF so it really isn't a question.


TBH you should have had everyone's totals calculated before the draft. That would make your life (and these decisions) much easier.

[theIceWookie]

This thinking is a little backwards. Because there are only a few top tier goalies in the league, it's very hard to win in fantasy hockey unless you have at least one top 15 starter. Look at the successful teams in almost every league and you'll see that they have 2+ great goalies an don the flip side the bottom tier teams have bad goalies. It's much easier to get a solid dept forward then it is to get a top 15 goalie.

Also, it's easy to see a players value in your league because you can simply add up their stats. A quick check shows that MAF had 287 points last year so just compare that to what forwards got 287 points last year and it's easy to see a goalies value.

Just did E Staal and he got 198 points, which is almost 90 points less than MAF so it really isn't a question.


TBH you should have had everyone's totals calculated before the draft. That would make your life (and these decisions) much easier.

Thanks tips.

I should have mentioned that my stats in my sig are not the ones for the league I'm starting. Sorry about that.

Using the site I use, Staal got 280 points, Hiller got 226. That was why I thought what I did.

[asv27]

What did MAF get? He's a better option then Hiller.

[theIceWookie]

What did MAF get? He's a better option then Hiller.

258 points. So yeah better option.

[asv27]

258 points. So yeah better option.

How many 250+ goalies are left and how many 250+ forwards are left? If MAF is the only 250+ goalie left and there are a number of 250+ forwards left I'd go with MAF due the fact that you can get another forward that can produce close to a Staal.

[theIceWookie]

How many 250+ goalies are left and how many 250+ forwards are left? If MAF is the only 250+ goalie left and there are a number of 250+ forwards left I'd go with MAF due the fact that you can get another forward that can produce close to a Staal.

I think he was the only one. Vokoun may have been 250. That's a good point. I shall do so. Thanks