Re: How beatable are single-year leagues?
For me, my keeper league (in sig) is for fun and I'm usually in 3-5 one year $$$ pools annually. Generally, I do quite well in my one year leagues. Costs are anywhere from $20-$75 per league and all pay out to 3rd place. I finish in the black most years and some years are better than others. This is also my first keeper pool and I did a total rebuild of the team this year with only 4 players remaining from the original roster so I can't really comment on the longevity aspect of winning in this type of league, but I hope to find that out over the next few seasons.
I guess what I'm saying is, it doesn't really matter what type of league you are in, do your homework. Find 4 or 5 recent articles on any player you have interest in and you should get a good sense of whether or not he will be a valuable contributor. There are a lot of resources out there (Dobber being one of the best) that will provide you with all of the information you need to make an educated decision at the draft and when you're considering trade options. Trust your decision making process and make sure you're comfortable with every draft pick or trade offer you make and you should come out ahead.
14 team H2H Dynasty: 4C, 4LW, 4RW, 6D, 2G, 6Bench
G, A, +/-, PIM, SOG, PPP, HITS, BLK,
W, L, GA, GAA, SA, SV, Sv%, SO
Center: Kuznetzov, Johansen, Glass(RW), Hayton
LW: T. Johnson(C/RW), Gurianov(RW), Labanc(RW), Zucker(RW),
RW: Kucherov, Vorocek, Atkinson, Konecny,
Defence: Josi, Trouba , Klingberg, Morrissey, Zadorov, Gudas,
G: Fleury, Rittich
Bench: Steel(C), Watson(LW/RW), Comtois(LW), Blais (LW/RW), Zaitsev(D), Saros(G)