Sheary vs. Arvidsson - who ya got?

[RizzeeDizzee]

Folks said they wanted Cage Match threads with less circuitous titles, so this one's for them - http://www.dobberhockey.com/hockey-h...tor-arvidsson/.

The first and last four to six weeks of the season are always my favorite times to do Cage Matches, since I can capitalize on early season hot starts to see if they're for real and, as I'm doing here, can cover players who were on very few radars going into the season but are ending the campaign red hot.

If you're like me, you want to know whether you can trust Sheary and Arvidsson to replicate anything close to what they're doing now, let alone improve upon it. So that's what I went into this match seeking to find out. I won't lie - the data isn't 100% conclusive, but both players seem to have fewer question marks than one might fear, and thus they seem like solid bets for next season and beyond.

Who intrigues you more? Are you persuaded that Sheary will indeed stay stapled to Crosby, and has a chance to earn a coveted spot on PP1? Do you think that Arvidsson's talent at both ends of the ice, plus the huge season from the similar - at least on paper - Brad Marchand, will position him to be a long term major success, or is he at real risk of sliding back down the Nashville depth chart?

Let's hear all your thoughts, particularly if you own either player.

[StuntMan12]

Great read and I agree i'd take Arvidsson over Sheary (by a hair) in any league set up.

I think Sheary can and will keep up most of his production next season. A buddy of mine who has played hockey for 40+ years kept telling me he knows he will break out this year. I kept scoffing at that notion at the time.

I will be reading these Cage Match columns more often now.





but before the season started was Arvidsson on anyone's radar to break out? I think i had him down for 25 pts which was way off

[Canucks_fan18]

I like how at the end you stated something that people should take more into account. Who has the more perceived value. With that in mind if I am trading either one in a keeper I am trading the one who get's me the highest return. If I am redrafting either one I am waiting on the one who falls further down the line. For instance I have traded Stamkos in the past and kept Nicklas Backstrom because Stamkos perceived value was much higher but in actuality Nicklas Backstrom is the better, safer player. However the return for Nicklas Backstrom for some reason seems to be always grossly under what his true value is.

[Bass56]

Nice read! Thanks again Rizzee!

FWIW, I'm on the Sheary bandwagon

[Tfan5211]

I like Arvidsson more. Sheary tends to get hurt a lot

[Eskimo Brother]

Not exactly relevant to this discussion, but Arvidsson has to be one of the most entertaining guys to watch play. He's a one man miniature wrecking ball out there that shoots from everywhere and is always in the right place. Based purely on that I'm on Arvie's side, because the talent level and fantasy ceilings are fairly similar.

Enjoyed the read this morning, thanks Rizzee.

[Bass56]

I like Arvidsson more. Sheary tends to get hurt a lot

Common Tfan !

A puck to the nuts can happen to anyone. He didn't even miss a full game with his latest injury.

He was supposed to miss 4-6 weeks with his UBI suffered back in late January and he was back in 4.

In all, he's missed less than 12 games since his first shift played out on December 16th 2015 including all 23 playoff games. Out of about 110 total possible regular season games played, he's played in 99. Add the playoffs and it's 122gp out of a possible 133; that's 92% of games played which would be equal to 76 games in a full 82-game season.

I would find another argument to discard Sheary here!!

PS: I'm just bustin' your chops cause I love the kid !

[RizzeeDizzee]

Thanks for the comments, and it's interesting to see that opinions vary. That always makes me feel like it was a good cage match. Plus, I also feel better about not picking an outright winner because in this case, as CF18 noted, it largely will come down to actual vs. perceived value on a league-to-league basis.

[lucafen4]

I would have guessed Arvidsson would take this before reading. Hit SOG puts him into some serious company. Only his first full year.. man. He's going to be a gooder.

I really like Sheary too, but for me, it's the SOG that makes my decision.

[RizzeeDizzee]

I would have guessed Arvidsson would take this before reading. Hit SOG puts him into some serious company. Only his first full year.. man. He's going to be a gooder.

I really like Sheary too, but for me, it's the SOG that makes my decision.

I agree that would've been a huge factor, except for Sheary being 2.77 SOG per game since December. And if you look at SOG per minute since December, he's neck-and-neck with Arvidsson. I'd be careful giving Arvidsson an edge based on SOG - looks are somewhat deceiving.