Gotta keep 4 of 6 young pimps

[Reuben]

Got a tough keeper decision coming up in a bit regarding my young defensive core.

I've managed to grab Karlsson, EJ, Carlson, Fowler, Shattenkirk, Subban, and Hedman...and with Vokoun signing in Washington, will keep four of them.

Ran the thread in March, with fairly conclusive results, but at the time I was thinking of keeping five.

http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.ph...ad.php&t=99625

But with free-agency changes and signings, late season surges from Shattenkirk, etc, etc, I was looking for extra advice now that I'm keeping four.

Points-only pool, we start five D overall, and I'll be relatively competitive this coming season (young team) but should make a real push two, three years from now.

[wendelclark17]

Keep whichever 4 of the 7 you cant trade!! .... seriously you should have no problem getting some sort of return for 3 of those young stud D-men.

Anyways the 4 I would keep would be

Karlsson
Fowler
Shattenkirk
Subban

that leaves out Hedman, EJ and Carlson ..... no i know there will lots of differing opinions on this one but I left off Carlson due to his "apparent" shift to more of a shutdown Dmen with offensive upside rather than an offensive Dmen who can play in his own end, I also think that Orlov could take some offensive minutes in the near future with him being a L handed shot (where Green, Carlson and Wideman are all Righties). EJ Ive never been a huge fan of, his is a solid all around Dman I just dont see the offensive upside in him that I see in the others. Finally Hedman .... he is the one I struggled with as I think he could be awesome he is just taking a while to develop but again I think he may not have the offensive upside of the others, having said that he is the one that I think could make you regret leaving him off he plays on a gifted offensive team and has a coach that could do wonders for his progression. Very tough call and you are in an enviable position having to choose from those guys but you cant really go all that wrong .... I think in any given season they could all be within 10-12 points of each other. I do think that Fowler and Karlsson are givens its the other two that are up for debate.

[Magicstew]

Tough decision
Karlsson
Subban
Hedman
Fowler
- you have a better chance of getting a couple of the others back on the re-draft.
- you can make a case for all of them

[TwoPuckCanuck]

Points only, I'd be going with:

Karlsson
Shattenkirk
Fowler
Subban

It's hard for me to say let EJ go, but here my reasoning is as follows.

Erik Karlsson has proved he's the real deal with a subpar OTT team that is rebuilding young. He is given all the opportunities in the world, is apprenticing under Gonchar and should see his numbers jump with the arrival of Rundbald on the PP.

Kevin Shattenkirk played his first full season last year and hardly disappointed. 43 pts in 72 GP as a rookie dman at the age of 21?? That's some great numbers. He's on a young and offensively powerful St Louis team. Look for him to be given an even bigger role next year.

Cam Fowler is in a great position. He is on the PP with Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Bobby Ryan (interchanging with Teemu Selanne) and Lubomir Visnovsky. He's only 19 and managed 40 pts in 76 GP as a rookie campaign. The kid can play and produce. Visnovksy is ageing and injury prone, look to Fowler to try and fill those shoes.

PK Subban is a dynamite player who just found himself in a great situation. The Habs are getting stronger every year and although they lost Wiz they resigned Markov. Boasting 38 pts in 77 GP as a rookie, its a shame your league doesn't count PIMs (124 for him last season). Look for PK to increase his point totals by about 7 pts next season.

Erik Johnson is hard to let go off, but the former 1st Overall pick hasn't exactly met that pedigree yet. He's never managed more than 39 pts in his three full NHL seasons and will be competing for PP QB spot with the likes of Stefan Elliott and Tyler Barrie (Barrie in a season or two). I like what he does and him as fantasy option, but with the other four mentioned above, he's a drop in points only.

John Carlson is a tremendous talent on a tremendous team, but for the time being, he has still not proven he's the go to guy. Mike Green is arguably still their top Dman and why not? Green has combined for 173 pts in 192 GP over the last three seasons, even with an injury history, he's still the go to guy in WSH IMO. We can't discount what Wideman has proven as well, putting up 40 pts last season and 50 pts in the 2008-2009 campaign. Lastly, Dmitri Orlov is an up and coming prospect who can pose a threat 2-3 years down the road.

Victor Hedman is a player I'd want on my team, but simply put he has little value in a points only pool compared to the others. After two full seasons, the Swede has managed 46 pts. With Erik Brewer and Marc-Andre Bergeron on the PP, he will improve, but it will happen slowly.

[kevinsrangers]

Karlsson
Fowler
Subban
Shattenkirk/ej

[ross10019]

Karlsson
Carlson
Subban
Shattenkirk

It's a points-only league, and these guys will be gold. As much as Carlson is going to be a multi-cat stud, he should also rack up 60+ points seasons once he really gets going, so I can't see dropping him for Fowler as some are suggesting, but that's not to say Fowler isn't a great player.

EJ and Hedman will be great, but it's hard to see them matching up with these 4 straight up points even at their peak.

[ross10019]

Part of the reason I chose Carlson over Fowler is because I just don't see the Caps keeping both Green and Carlson long term (and I don't see them ever letting Carlson go), so in my mind Carlson will be the go-to guy on the blueline in Washington long term. That is pure gold, and tough to pass up as good as Fowler's prospects are.

[Pantagruelist]

I'd go Karlsson, Carlson, Shattenkirk, Fowler.

I too love Subban and what he brings to the table, but does he have the potential to be a 60 pt player, as all of the four I've mentioned do?

I see Subban top out at 50 pts, but a 50 pts that includes all multi-cats, and with a large dose of class and flair on the side. Pts only though, I think he is a step behind these scoring behemoth's.

[CHR17]

Keep Karlsson, Fowler, and Subban 100%....seriously, not even disscusable.

Last spot goes to EJ, Shattenkirk, or Carlson. For me i would pick EJ 10% here as he should be a safe bet for 45-50 in colorado this year. And he will continue to get better. He will always be running that #1 PP for a while, i think its obvious.

[JHM]

This is one of the most bizarre threads I've seen... what a horrible decision to have to make. I certainly agree with the trade concept.

Karlsson - 45 points and look for a rise. Excellent opportunity. BRUTAL plus minus is the only concern. Keep.

Subban - absolutely everything I'm looking for. I love his compete level. Keep.

Carlson - did his AHL time, excellent finish last year. I'm keeping him. Love his PP linemates.

EJ - 1st PP. Served his apprenticeship. Now's the time for the former 1st overall to really impress. Keep.

Damn it. Don't get me wrong, I like all the kids below and would be thrilled to add them to my teams.

Shattenkirk - wild hot and cold spells last year. Great situation. Still has some stabilizing to achieve in his game. (I got him, but would trade him for all the guys above). I am unimpressed with his college numbers. They should have been significantly better playing with the incredible talent that he did. Roughly 15 teammates drafted to the NHL, most in the opening three rounds.

Fowler - I'm mortified with his plus/minus last year. Still wondering why he dropped so much in the draft. Could be a situation of too much too fast (MDZ). Awesome numbers. Excellent opportunity. Quality candidate for sophmore jinx.

Hedman - Developing nicely. On the path to being a hugely valuable NHL D-man. Not so sure what his points will ultimately look like, but I'm very optimistic.

[dyzfunctioned]

Karlsson, Subban, and Shatty are locks for me. Last spot comes down to Carlson and Fowler. Given the choice I'd take Carlson.

[Pengwin7]

I've managed to grab Karlsson, EJ, Carlson, Fowler, Shattenkirk, Subban, and Hedman.

Points Only:
1. Karlsson
...
...
...
2. EJ
...
3. Subban
4. Carlson


Fowler is a nice player but he's still #5 on the PP. Vis, Getzy, Perry, and Ryan are locks. If the PP needs a shake-up, Fowler will be the first guy swapped out.

Similar case with Shattenkirk. A nice season, but I think I like A.P. as the safer pick on the STL PP. Plus, the STL PP isn't exactly one of the most dynamic PP's in the league.

Hedman - just might not get the PP time.


With Mike Green being RFA next summer, there is still a small possibility that WAS moves Mike Green for some other type of pieces of make a Cup run. Carlson could be the PP-QB for WAS in the future... it is just too good of a risk to pass up.

[dmvincent]

Got a tough keeper decision coming up in a bit regarding my young defensive core.

I've managed to grab Karlsson, EJ, Carlson, Fowler, Shattenkirk, Subban, and Hedman...and with Vokoun signing in Washington, will keep four of them.

Ran the thread in March, with fairly conclusive results, but at the time I was thinking of keeping five.

http://www.dobberhockey.com/index.ph...ad.php&t=99625

But with free-agency changes and signings, late season surges from Shattenkirk, etc, etc, I was looking for extra advice now that I'm keeping four.

Points-only pool, we start five D overall, and I'll be relatively competitive this coming season (young team) but should make a real push two, three years from now.

I'd keep Fowler, Karlsson, EJ and Subban.

[pudge]

I wouldn't choose...
I would shop them in a 3 for 1 to whoever has an asset you love, and let them choose... really this list comes down to personal preference... all of these guys will be very good, and have the upside of being great. By letting the GM choose you're getting maximum value for the players he likes.

[Vancityguy]

With that talent, the other team's must be short on young stud's.

I would put all their pictures on a dart board, throw dart's, trade the ones you dont hit.

That or keep Karlsson, Subban, Fowler, Shattenkirk (my picks) and trade the others.

Hedman isn't in the conversation here with these guys and I like Fowler/Shattenkirk's opportunities better than Ej's/Carlson. Not by much, but i think they will put up more points.

I just couldn't bring my self to drop those 4. You must be able to get some value for EJ or Carlson.