Evaluations for Next Year

[C-Lo]

Hey guys,

I'm looking ahead to next year and I'd love some outside opinions on my keepers for next year. I've got until September so I realise things could change, but none the less I believe in being prepared.

Its a fantasy points league, scoring details in my sig. I won two years ago and am currently part way through a major rebuild. I'm thinking another year or two before I am expecting to compete for a win. We keep 10 skaters and 5 farm (I'll leave them for another post). Guys I see being a lock:

Two Goalies
1) C Price
2) J Quick

One D:
3) M Green

Three Forwards:
4) A Ovechkin
5) J Thornton
6) J Spezza

That leaves me with 4 spots for "bubble" guys. Guys currently on my roster who could potential fit into the last 4 spots:

D Stafford, 1.68 PPG, 103.9 pts last year - is he for real, or was that a contract year?
J Voracek, 0.97 PPG, 77.3 pts last year - love him, will he get back on track, or get traded?
P Berglund 1.13 PPG, 91.5 pts last year - strong finish, great WC, is he ready to pop?
A Hemsky 1.45 PPG, 68 pts last year - hurts so much, can I justify a spot for his 60 games?
(yes, we can swap out injured players)
A Radulov - assuming, for the sake of argument, he comes back...where does he fit in?
TJ Oshie 1.29 PPG, 63.05 pts last year - solid growth, does he jump up when STL does, or
will the dreaded points by commitee limit his value?
Mueller - Risky considering the injury but assuming he is ready to go for next year his
previous COL work was fantastic
E Johnson .83 PPG, 63.6 pts last year - how will he develop in COL?

I'll keep my current rankings off the table for now so you can give me your untainted views. I've had several of these players for awhile so I'm interested to compare my evaluations with yours. I know you all know your stuff so your opinions will be a huge help. Man I love this site!

Thanks in advance,

C-Lo

[STONE.]

Without organizing my thoughts:

I'd take Voracek and Stafford to start -- RWs are gonna be harder to come by than Cs (like Berglund/Oshie) and safer than Hemsky.

I would avoid Mueller -- too risky with that head of his. Easier to draft a bit later.

I'd take EJ -- although I'm not sure how many D you start, so it's a bit tough to gauge their value.

Last spot. Hmmm.... If Rads comes back, I think his upside is still limited in Nashville's system. I'd probably go Berglund and hope for him to build on where he left off.

Wouldn't fault you for going Hemsky b/c of the position though -- can you try to trade a couple of these RWs for help on the LW after Ovy?

[Pengwin7]

D Stafford, 1.68 PPG, 103.9 pts last year - is he for real, or was that a contract year?
P Berglund 1.13 PPG, 91.5 pts last year - strong finish, great WC, is he ready
A Hemsky 1.45 PPG, 68 pts last year - hurts so much, can I justify a spot for his 60 games?
TJ Oshie 1.29 PPG, 63.05 pts last year - solid growth, does he jump up when STL does, or will the dreaded points by commitee limit his value?
E Johnson .83 PPG, 63.6 pts last year - how will he develop in COL?

I like the 5 guys above.
If you can replace injured players in a league, they shouldn't be devalued too much. In daily start leagues like H2H, guys like Gaborik & Semin & Hemsky don't bug me too much. When they play, they're great. When they don't, you can find a replacement.

Stafford, Hemsky, and EJ are guys I like.
I have such a hard time desiphering between players on St.Louis.

I'm really torn on Oshie vs. Berglund, and defer to others for opinions.

(Voracek, gosh... I was sooo on this train last year... now, I feel like I have no good read on this guy)

[robmyatt]

My 4 would be, in no specific order: Hemsky, Berglund, Stafford, E Johnson.
Hemsky - no doubt bandaid boy but when he's healthy he lights it up. Isn't he RW as well? which is where you're hurting.
Berglund - plenty of upside, came on strong at the end last year.
Stafford - 31 goals in 62 games last year. New ownership gives this whole team a great boost.
Erik Johnson.- pretty safe bet on D. lots of upside, will get top minutes with JML in Col.

[robmyatt]

everyone is avoiding mueller hah

[Dutch]

I would pick

Berglund, Voracek, Stafford and Johnson

Radulov is still a big question mark, and Hemsky is always hurt. I don't think he'll be an oiler for much longer, as they got enough young talent to replace him soon enough.

So therefore, my 4 above

[C-Lo]

Thanks for the quick and well though out replies.

My league starts 2C, 2 LW, 2RW, 3 F, and 4D. So, having wingers is important, but there is definitely room for a couple extra C's if the value is there. League rules stipulate no trades until after you name your keepers so I won't be able to move any pieces. The rest will go back into the draft.

Everyone mentioned Stafford on their lists. Does this mean you expect him to repeat (or at least be close to) this seasons performance?

I'm also surprised that Radulov didn't receive more attention. Are Stafford and or Hemsky better options even if Rad's comes back next year?

I also have Ennis and Gerbe as possible players. That being said they are farm eligible for this off season. I'll post a link to my farm team delema soon.

Once again, thanks for the replies. Rep coming your way!

[C-Lo]

If your willing to dive even deeper into the depths of my team, you can find my farm team players discussed in the following thread.

http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.ph...983#post727983

[STONE.]

I'm just not sure anyone on Nashville's gonna put up big numbers. If Rads were elsewhere....

[wminogue1980]

Here's the order I see those players in,

1st: Hemsky - As already stated he is a band-aid boy but he's a solid when he does play and he helps you with your RW situation. I'd look at waiting until he's on a hot streak and try and flip him (same goes for Spezza).

2nd: E. Johnson - Since D is the deepest part of your league you can afford to keep him. He could turn out to be a high reward player and if Avs trade Liles he'll no doubt see more PP time.

3rd: Radulov - Could be a point per game so you have to take the chance on him if he returns to the NHL. Again he would help you on RW.

4th: Voracek - Think he'll be solid next season if he's still with CBJ for a 50+ point season. However if he get's traded to somewhere like Phily I'd expect his number to take a bit of a boost.

5th: Berglund - I just have a good feeling about him next season. I'm guessing he breaks the 60 point mark. Remember, these Sweds sometimes take longer to break through. Just ask the twins.

6th: Stafford - like his point per game level however injuries could be a factor. I also have him below Berglund because I think Stafford would be easier to try and re-draft if you wanted him.

7th: Muller - Missing a year will scare people off so he'd be easy to pick up in the draft again.

8th: Oshie - Not sold on this guy. I see him being stuck behind Berglund unless he moves to another team via RFA or trade. Plus when a team suspends a player for skipping practice it makes me question his work ethic.

[C-Lo]

Here's the order I see those players in,

1st: Hemsky - As already stated he is a band-aid boy but he's a solid when he does play and he helps you with your RW situation. I'd look at waiting until he's on a hot streak and try and flip him (same goes for Spezza).

2nd: E. Johnson - Since D is the deepest part of your league you can afford to keep him. He could turn out to be a high reward player and if Avs trade Liles he'll no doubt see more PP time.

3rd: Radulov - Could be a point per game so you have to take the chance on him if he returns to the NHL. Again he would help you on RW.

4th: Voracek - Think he'll be solid next season if he's still with CBJ for a 50+ point season. However if he get's traded to somewhere like Phily I'd expect his number to take a bit of a boost.

5th: Berglund - I just have a good feeling about him next season. I'm guessing he breaks the 60 point mark. Remember, these Sweds sometimes take longer to break through. Just ask the twins.

6th: Stafford - like his point per game level however injuries could be a factor. I also have him below Berglund because I think Stafford would be easier to try and re-draft if you wanted him.

7th: Muller - Missing a year will scare people off so he'd be easy to pick up in the draft again.

8th: Oshie - Not sold on this guy. I see him being stuck behind Berglund unless he moves to another team via RFA or trade. Plus when a team suspends a player for skipping practice it makes me question his work ethic.

That is a good point about the D. A D that puts up points in our league is a pretty valuable body to have. This will probably only get more extream as we are looking to add 2-4 additional teams after this season.

Thanks for the input