Third Year Keeper League Team

[yceberg]

I am in a 12 team H2H Yahoo Keeper League entering it's third year. We kept 8 the first offseason, 10 this offseason and it will be 12 the following season and will stay there. I finished the regular season of the first year in second, but finished the postseason out of the money in sixth. This past year, I finished dead last. In mid December, I recognized my team was virtually sunk and attempted a rebuild on the sly with 5 trades between then and the mid March trade deadline. It didn't help me make the 8 teams in the playoffs, but I picked up some usable assests.

Both years I used Rotoworld's draft guide. I purchased the Season Pass as well the first season as I joined the league 8 hours before the draft and had never been in a Hockey pool before. I had used their Baseball, Basketball and Football draft guides with success in the past.

This offseason I bought the Dobber's complete keeper draft package before the draft. I kept Benn, Landeskog, Skinner, Lucic, J. Staal, Wheeler, Doughty, Subban, Crawford and Varlamov. I had the 1st, 12th, 25th and 26th picks in the draft. Prior to the draft, I accepted a trade to be completed during the draft. My Semin and #26 pick for his #18 and #76 picks. I just wanted to get rid of Semin, because if I didn't trade him I had to keep him. I got Ekman-Larsson at #18 and J. Carlson at #76. He got Saad at #26 along with Semin. After the draft, I bought the Fantasy Hockey Geek Tool and picked up two off of waivers, Hanzal dropping Kulemin and Foligno dropping S. Voynov.

Our league scoring & settings are: G A PPP SHP PIM GWG +/- W GAA SV SO SV% Min 4 goalie starts weekly. Daily transactions with no maximums. I apologize for the preamble and present my team;

C
Derek Stepan
(NYR - C)
C
Jordan Staal
(Car - C,LW)
C
Martin Hanzal
(Pho - C)
LW
Jamie Benn
(Dal - C,LW)
LW
Gabriel Landeskog
(Col - LW)
LW
Milan Lucic
(Bos - LW)
RW
Jeff Skinner
(Car - C,RW)
RW
Blake Wheeler
(Wpg - RW)
RW
Troy Brouwer
(Was - RW)
W
Nail Yakupov
(Edm - RW)
W
Marcus Foligno
(Buf - LW)
F
Sergei Kostitsyn
(Nsh - LW)
F
Artem Anisimov
(Cls - C,LW)
D
Drew Doughty
(LA - D)
D
P.K. Subban
(Mon - D)
D
Oliver Ekman-Larsson
(Pho - D)
D
John Carlson
(Was - D)
Util
Craig Smith
(Nsh - C,RW)
Util
Colin Wilson
(Nsh - C,LW)
G
Semyon Varlamov
(Col - G)
G
Devan Dubnyk
(Edm - G)
BN
Cam Atkinson
(Cls - RW)
BN
Marcus Johansson
(Was - C)
BN
Vladimir Tarasenko
(StL - RW)
BN
Corey Crawford
(Chi - G)
BN
Jonathan Bernier
(LA - G)

I know my goaltending is average at best, horrible at worst but I am doing the best with what I have available. I appreciate all critiques and any suggestions to get into the money this season. I currently have my eye on dropping Anisimov for Mark Scheifele. FHG value for Anisimov in this league is 29.6 and for Sceifele it is about 39. I have been offered Lindback and Grabovski for Yakupov and Bernier. M. Smith and Saad for Bernier and Foligno. Both since the draft and both countered, but ultimately rejected.

[Maaaasquito]

Yeeesh that's a tough team to manage...

It just looks gutted IMO. You really lack a superstar, if you look at one-year league rankings, you don't own anyone in the top 35...

At first glance you have a whole heap of middle of the road 40-55 point players, which probably won't get you back into the money spot.

What I would suggest doing is probably start from scratch again, just continue to play/rebuild for the next 3-4 seasons and stockpile picks and aim to win 5-6 years down the track. That's probably how long it'll take to get this team back into shape.

This is one of the main reasons why "newbies" shouldn't join keeper leagues, if they don't know what they're doing... A couple of wrong moves and it's not as simple as hitting the reset button like in one-year leagues. You kinda have to live with your mistakes year after year...

The big key is to not move your young players (Yakupov, Tarasenko), you need to start stockpiling the higher-end guys and slowly get rid of your run of the mill guys. Do not go and pull off moves like Lindback and Grabovski for Yakupov and Bernier that would be entirely stupid in your situation and people are just taking advantage of you. What you need to start doing is moving those mid-ranged guys for higher end draft picks. So take a look at hot-streaks, and when a player gets on one, see if you can move them for draft picks or prospects. Also really start making strategic moves in your pool especially at the trade deadline, any bubble teams, start throwing offers out there that will help you dramatically in the future.

Third stick on the Dobber boards and post any trades that you have in mind. There are plenty of people who are willing to give your their opinion, so you don't make a rash decision.

It's going to be a long road back, but if you take small steps at a time, and make the "right" decisions, things can slowly be fixed.

[Pengwin7]

^ Agree with above.

[Lixxiq]

Don't agree on the the trade offers. Terrible offers!

Some available Free Agents would help. Especially what goalies are still there.
Adding some prospects like Scheifele for Antropov is definitely the way you should go.

[yceberg]

Thanks for the input. Yes, I countered his Lindback offer with John Carlson and Jonathan Bernier for Brendan Smith and Anders Lindback. The Smith offer, I countered with Sergei Kostitsyn and Artem Anisimov for Jonathan Huberdeau or Matt Duchene.

When cramming for this league before the initial draft, I got hung up on tiers and totally underestimated the value of goaltenders. This was my draft;

1. (10) Mike Green (Was - D)
2. (15) Drew Doughty (LA - D)
3. (34) Alexander Semin (Car - RW)
4. (39) Steve Mason (Cls - G)
5. (58) Dan Boyle (SJ - D)
6. (63) Zdeno Chara (Bos - D)
7. (82) Jonathan Bernier (LA - G)
8. (87) Mikko Koivu (Min - C)
9. (106) Wojtek Wolski (Was - LW)
10. (111) Jordan Staal (Car - C)
11. (130) Brenden Morrow (Dal - LW)
12. (135) Kristian Huselius (Cls - LW)
13. (154) James Neal (Pit - LW)
14. (159) Martin Havlat (SJ - RW)
15. (178) Troy Brouwer (Was - RW)
16. (183) Colin Wilson (Nsh - C)
17. (202) Nazem Kadri (Tor - C)
18. (207) Milan Michalek (Ott - LW)
19. (226) David Clarkson (NJ - RW)
20. (231) David Jones (Col - RW)
21. (250) John Carlson (Was - D)
22. (255) Colby Armstrong (Mon - RW)
23. (274) Justin Abdelkader (Det - LW)
24. (279) Pascal Dupuis (Pit - LW)
25. (298) Dan Hamhuis (Van - D)
26. (303) Marc Staal (NYR - D)

I made 2 trades during the season. Khabibulin for Elliot. Morrow and Boyle for Lucic and E. Johnson. I rode that team to second place got bounced in the playoffs and I kept Doughty, Green, Semin, M. Koivu, Crawford, Lucic, Skinner and S. Mason. I then drafted this team;

1. (7) Jamie Benn (Dal - C,LW)
2. (18) Mikko Koivu (Min - C)
3. (31) Jordan Staal (Car - C,LW)
4. (42) John Carlson (Was - D)
5. (55) Jonathan Bernier (LA - G)
6. (66) Gabriel Landeskog (Col - LW)
7. (79) Adam Larsson (NJ - D)
8. (90) Zac Dalpe (Car - C,RW)
9. (103) Derek Stepan (NYR - C)
10. (114) Blake Wheeler (Wpg - RW)
11. (127) Devan Dubnyk (Edm - G)
12. (138) Joffrey Lupul (Tor - LW,RW)
13. (151) Nino Niederreiter (NYI - RW)
14. (162) Tyler Kennedy (Pit - LW,RW)
15. (175) Colin Wilson (Nsh - C,LW)
16. (186) Martin Hanzal (Pho - C)
17. (199) Anton Babchuk (Cgy - D)
18. (210) Alex Burmistrov (Wpg - C,RW)
19. (223) Drew Doughty (LA - D)
20. (234) Mike Green (Was - D)
21. (247) Corey Crawford (Chi - G)
22. (258) Alexander Semin (Car - LW,RW)
23. (271) Jeff Skinner (Car - C,RW)
24. (282) Milan Lucic (Bos - LW)
25. (295) Martin Havlat (SJ - RW)
26. (306) Steve Mason (Cls - G)

When my team bottomed out in mid December, I started my series of trades. Lupol and C. Smith for C. Stewart and Kulemin. Kennedy, A. Larrsson, Koivu and Khabibulin for C. Smith, S. Kostitsytin, Subban, Johansson and Varlamov. Green and a fourth for Dubinsky and a first. And the aforementioned Semin trade. And my team is as it stands. I'm going to sleep on it and then most likely pull the trigger on the Scheifele waiver transaction.

The available FA goaltenders are;
Scott Clemmensen
(Fla - G)
Justin Peters
(Car - G)
Leland Irving
(Cgy - G)
Steve Mason
(Cls - G)
Ben Scrivens
(Tor - G)
Mark Dekanich
(Wpg - G)
Robin Lehner
(Ott - G)
Nikolai Khabibulin
(Edm - G)
Richard Bachman
(Dal - G)
Jason LaBarbera
(Pho - G)
Peter Budaj
(Mon - G)
Rick DiPietro
(NYI - G)
Al Montoya
(Wpg - G)
(Cgy - G)
Brian Boucher
(Car - G)
Ray Emery
(Chi - G)
Allen York
(Cls - G)
Mathieu Garon
(TB - G)
Johan Hedberg
(NJ - G)
Thomas Greiss
(SJ - G)
Martin Biron
(NYR - G)

[yceberg]

Some FA skaters available I have waitlisted;
Slava Voynov
(LA - D)
Stefan Elliott
(Col - D)
Tyler Kennedy
(Pit - LW,RW)
Rich Peverley
(Bos - C)
Benoit Pouliot
(TB - LW)
Jiri Tlusty
(Car - C,LW)
Josh Bailey
(NYI - LW)
Mathieu Perreault
(Was - C)
Magnus Paajarvi
(Edm - LW)
Wojtek Wolski
(Was - LW)
Brett Connolly
(TB - RW)
Erik Gudbranson
(Fla - D)
Andrei Loktionov
(LA - C)
Cody Eakin
(Dal - C)
Zac Dalpe
(Car - C,RW)
Mark Scheifele
(Wpg - C)
Mika Zibanejad
(Ott - C)
Roman Cervenka
(Cgy - C)
Nino Niederreiter
(NYI - RW)
Andrew Shaw
(Chi - C)
Rene Bourque
(Mon - LW)
Brandon Sutter
(Pit - C)
Matt D'Agostini
(StL - RW)
Ville Leino
(Buf - C,LW)
Brad Boyes
(NYI - C,RW)
Antoine Vermette
(Pho - C,LW)
Marcel Goc
(Fla - C,LW)
Dave Bolland
(Chi - C)

[Carcillo]

I have been offered Lindback and Grabovski for Yakupov and Bernier. M. Smith and Saad for Bernier and Foligno. Both since the draft and both countered, but ultimately rejected.

The first offer is brutal but I like the second one for you. You're rebuilding so keeping Bernier isn't any problem for you but Smith is still proven #1 goalie (though he needs to prove last season wasn't fluke) and Saad is very good prospect. It's pretty equal but I would have taken the deal if I were you.

[stick boy]

The first offer is brutal but I like the second one for you. You're rebuilding so keeping Bernier isn't any problem for you but Smith is still proven #1 goalie (though he needs to prove last season wasn't fluke) and Saad is very good prospect. It's pretty equal but I would have taken the deal if I were you.

I agree. what happened to the the Smith deal? That would have helped you a ton. Voynov, Scheifele, Elliott, Zibanejad & Connolly stick out as great long term investments

[BlackGold]

Firstly, for future postings don't list your team like that.

C: Staal, Hanzal, Stepan
LW: Benn, Landeskog, etc....

will suffice, it is much easier to read and the people on this board are knowledgeable enough to not need the team names.

Next, I don't think your team is as bad as some have made it sound to be. Yes you have to hang onto your upside players.. those are Benn, Landeskog, Skinner, Wheeler, Yakupov, Tarasenko. You have a great young D-core, Doughty, Subban, OEL, Carlson.. then in net I wouldn't panic yet, see how Varlamov and Dubnyk pan out. Varly has the talent, he just needs to strengthen himself from injury. Dubnyk has to prove he can carry the load, but if he succeeds he is the starter for what could be an explosive young team.

These guys you should not treat lightly as they could surprise and force their way into a keeper slot: Staal, Stepan, Atkinson, Crawford, Bernier (if he gets traded)

So these would be my 12 keepers
6F: Benn, Landeskog, Skinner, Wheeler, Yakupov, Tarasenko
4D: Doughty, Subban, OEL, Carlson
2G: Varlamov, Dubnyk

I would then spend this year concentrating on improving those 12 keepers, everything else on your team is expendable if you can find a significant addition to your keeper slots. Also if someone will give you say.. Tavares for Tarasenko/Landeskog, I'd do a deal like that. You lose a keeper but then you can move a Staal or Atkinson onto the list. In a 12 team keep 12, you should be able to keep 2-3 forwards able to hit 80 points now. The other 3 should have the talent to get there, or at least be 60+ point players. Your D should be 1st PPQBs, and of the ones you have only Carlson's PP time is in question.

I know you said you wanted to be in the money, but rebuilding and winning are usually in conflict, which means if you try to do both you will just fail miserably all around.

Hope that helps.

[yceberg]

Picked up Scheifele and dropped Anisimov. Now I'n looking to move Kostitsyn. I want to make a trade offer to this team;

Mike Ribeiro, Patrik Elias, Steve Ott, Ryan Smyth, R.J. Umberger, Vinny Prospal, Sam Gagner, Jordin Tootoo, Jarome Iginla, Kris Versteeg, P.A. Parenteau, Colin Greening, Olli Jokinen, Tobias Enstrom, Tyler Myers, Sheldon Souray, Kris Letang, Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Kari Lehtonen, Jaroslav Halak, Jakob Silfverberg, Christian Ehrhoff, Justin Faulk, Scott Hartnell, Jean-Sebastien Giguere

Kostitsyn (33.8) for Ott (161.6) seems my most obvious offer. I am interested in Silfverberg but his FHG value for this league is - 24.5, so who to give up? Johannson's FHG value is 0.6, so maybe him. Atkinson's FHG value is 9.5, making him the only other option.

[yceberg]

I dropped Kostitsyn for Gustav Nyquist today. I attempted several different trade offers to move Kostitsyn but his value seems quite low within our pool. I have my eye on Mika Zibanejad as he is the last available FA top prospect who may get significant prime ice time this season, though Ryan Strome is a very tempting FA as well...

[horrorfan]

I don't have much to comment on your situation but there are a couple things I want to suggest.

Firstly, don't just use the FHG number solely to evaluate players. Some guys, like Ott, are high due the extreme number of PIM (or another category), but this may or may not be as important to your team or situation as a whole. For example, PIM is one skater category of seven in your league, and being H2H where weekly consistency is most important, he might not have as much value as more offensive players who have a lower FHG value. Furthermore, you have to consider the categories that are easier/difficult to find on FA. For example, PIM are generally more easily found on FA than G/PP so even though their FHG value could be higher than more offensive players, their relative value to the situation is lower.

That being said, that's not to say he and others with higher FHG values are not valuable. I just want to emphasise that FHG is good to give you a general idea on how certain players have value given a specific category set, but it doesn't always take into consideration its importance to your team. Look beyond the number.

The other thing to consider is how the other managers value their own players when considering trades and what are their strengths/weaknesses. Sure, you have your own needs and want to target certain players, but before thinking 'I'm going to offer player x for player y', make sure to determine how valuable player y is on their squad, and whether they could use player x.

Good luck.

[cdubb]

Agree with horror fan. The FHG tool is kinda useless for rookies and prospects in keeper leagues because it assumes they get very few stats in first season.

Wow did you keep S.Mason over Chara back them?

And then the trade of Green for Dubinsky was bad. even if green was terrible/hurt and you get a 1st rounder, he should have gotten you a better player. I find if you keep 8 players, and you have 12 teams then a first rounder is getting you the 97th-104th best player. Even if you can choose top prospects in that draft, unless it's a top 3 pick, the player won't contribute for a couple seasons.

At least you have some starting goalies now.

[yceberg]

Wow did you keep S.Mason over Chara back them?

It wasn't a direct choice of Mason and Chara for me at the time. I figured I would keep 2 defensemen (Green and Doughty) and 2 goaltenders. I thought there was a good possibility to get Chara back in the draft. It didn't happen.

[yougo]

C- Stepan J. Staal(K) Hanzal
LW- Lucic(K) Landeskog(K) Benn(K)
RW- Skinner(K) Wheeler(K) Brouwer
D- Doughty(K) Subban(K) Ekman-Larsson Carlson
W- Yakupov M. Foligno
F- Scheifele C. Smith
UT- Atkinson C. Wilson
G- Varlamov(K) Dubnyk
BN- Crawford(K) J. Bernier M. Johansson Tarasenko Nyquist



You're team isn't as bad as some might have say. I am guessing that you don't have a farm where you could stach your players like Bernier/Nyquist/Tarasenko. If you do, then pick up Strome asap and good job on picking up Nyquist.

Now looking at your active roster and your skating categories I will say this : As soon as Lucic and Landeskog gets hot move them. Your league has only one ''aggressive'' cats which is PIM, if your league included hits then Lucic-Landy would be absolute studs but if I were you, I'd go all-in with offensive player. You have some very talented player in Benn,Skinner,Yakupov,Tarasenko. These 4 and depending on how Staal performs in Carolina, will give you a very solid core IMO.

I'd try to upgrade at center, and you should capitalize on name value. I mean by that Lucic and Landy are overrated IMO in your league as I don't see them having a huge offensive upside. If you could land Huberdeau + a pick for Landeskog, I'd do it right away. Also, upgrade your centers. As of now, you have no #1 center on your roster in a 12 team league... that is somehow mind boggling to me since the center position is the easiest to fill. Get cracking on upgrading your centers.

Awesome defense.

Goaltending is a question mark, and again I'd suggest you sell high on one of Dubnyk or Crawford as soon as they get hot.