Hot start; Bench goalies?

[SensFanSince96]

Hi y'all.

Im new to my keeper league, and well, I don't have the best goalies....in fact, they suck and I'm guaranteed to finish at the bottom in all 4 goalie categories.
I've tried making a trade, but it seems no one is willing to trade or asking way to much. Plus, a lot of them are back in the draft pool next year (since most of them were keepers).

Now here's my situation:
Out of 3 games I manage to get a 0.65 GAA and 0.981 SV%. I'm thinking I could bench my goalies for the remainder of the season, and finish top of the list in those 2 categories, and bottom 2 in Wins and shutouts. Which would still be better then if I play them try to compete.

So if this were to happen in your pool, would you consider a brilliant move? a dick move? Frowned upon?

Thanks.

[Soco]

I'd consider that a dick move.

If no one's trading now, you may want to hold your goalies back a bit a wait for the other GMs to burn some goalie games, which may want to make them more inclined to trade with you. But, I wouldn't purposely bench your goalies.

[Xaviers Crown]

sounds smart to me unless your league as goalie minimums

[Dakkster]

That's abusing the system to me.

[horrorfan]

Although it's allowed, it's not recommended.

Firstly, it's a sure fire way to p*ss off your league, as you are essentially giving up with your goaltending - not very sportsmanlike. I respect managers those who play properly and try to manage the best they can than those who use this loophole at the beginning of the season.

Secondly, your goalies are not that bad. Lehtonen is a solid goalie and could surprise this year, giving you a solid number of wins and decent peripherals. Theodore isn't great but if you play matchups you could get some decent numbers throughout the season and could surprise like he did in the first game.

That's what I suggest - play the matchups. You don't have to start them all every time, but if you find the best games, you might give yourself a chance to be in the middle of the pack or better. And not p*ssing off the league in the process.

[thatbirdguy]

If there isn't a rule against it or a minimum start requirement - then its fair game.

I guess its a roto league? I'm really surprised there isn't a min games for goalies to prevent just this. Or some other categories that balance out (like Saves or Games Started).

All that said, it's a keeper - and no one may ever trade with you again once they realize what you're doing. It's not the 'honourable' move, but frig - its Fantasy Hockey, and if you can win by working within the rules, why not.

[Dakkster]

Just because every little conceivable tactic is covered by the rules, that doesn't mean that everything is fair game IMO. You do that in my league, then I suggest to the comish that you get replaced as a GM the next offseason.

[thatbirdguy]

It could just be the leagues I'm in - but people bend the rules all the time. And as a commissioner, you have to enforce the rules to the letter - not necessarily the intent.

I like to have a very precise rules set that covers most issues, and if something comes up one season, it gets closed the next.

I'm sure a lot of us here bench our goalies at the end of the week sometimes when you have a great stat base in a H2H league. It's the same thing, but on a larger scale. If it's a problem, there's an easy solution: institute a minimum games requirement for goalies, or juggle the categories to give teams a reason to start them.

[Dakkster]

To equate benching a goalie for a couple of weekend games with benching him for 80 games is... wow, I don't know how to approach that.

I expect my comish to enforce the intent of the league, making sure that guys play like gentlemen. If a hole is discovered you take care of that. In my league we don't have a lot of rules. We just play fair all of us because that's what makes the league enjoyable. But hey, that's our league. We try to make it like the real NHL as much as possible. In the NHL some players sit games strategically sometimes so we're fine with sitting some guys sometimes. An entire season though? No way that flies in a league with a gentlemen's agreement.

[thatbirdguy]

Not saying it isn't a giant douche move, because it is. And clearly the scale between a game and 80 is a major difference, but the intent is the same - maximize the odds of winning. In a H2H you have to win on a weekly basis, in a roto you have the full season.

I probably wouldn't do it myself, but I can understand the temptation. I could definitely see some people in my leagues doing something similar. I wouldn't particularly like it but I can respect the gamesmanship.

Similarly, I respect your approach to playing like a gentleman - but that requires everyone conforming to a standard, which has not been my experience to date. And I'm fine with that. Soldiers used to fight line by line, under a strict code. Until they started getting wiped out by guerrilla tactics. In some leagues you have to play a little dirty to win.

That doesn't mean anyone would ever want to deal with you again though.

[bigbabybuda]

To equate benching a goalie for a couple of weekend games with benching him for 80 games is... wow, I don't know how to approach that.

I expect my comish to enforce the intent of the league, making sure that guys play like gentlemen. If a hole is discovered you take care of that. In my league we don't have a lot of rules. We just play fair all of us because that's what makes the league enjoyable. But hey, that's our league. We try to make it like the real NHL as much as possible. In the NHL some players sit games strategically sometimes so we're fine with sitting some guys sometimes. An entire season though? No way that flies in a league with a gentlemen's agreement.

Agree 100%, this is not a cool tactic at all. It is inconceivably that a rule book in a fantasy hockey league will be prepared for every situation. That is why it is imperative that the members of the league act in a gentlemanly manner. I'm commish in a few of my pools and if I sen this happening I would make a immediate rule change. I think you should simply do your best to work the match-ups as best as possible and you'll do fine your goalies are not that brutal, besides are there no viable waiver wire pickups you could make..

[Shoeless]

Certainly not a brilliant move. Think about it, not from an ethical standpoint but from a competitive stand point.

[Blueman]

I doubt you can win if you do it, so what's the point? I try and win every category in roto, and giving up 2 categories would crush your chances of winning.

[thatbirdguy]

I doubt you can win if you do it, so what's the point? I try and win every category in roto, and giving up 2 categories would crush your chances of winning.

I agree - win if you can. That said, if his premise is that he'll lose all 4 categories, then he could stand to have an advantage in doing it.

Looking at my 12 team league last year, best GAA was ~2.2 and SV% was ~0.92. So benching goalies now, he could conceivably finish tops in those two categories, and bottom two in W and SO. So that gives him 10 + 10 + 1 + 1 = 12

He would have to finish 8th or higher in each category to win more. (8th across the board = 3 + 3 + 3 + 3 = 12). Playing the matchups, he could probably do decently on GAA and SV%, with a healthy year from Lehtonen, though Wins are going to be hard to come by. I'd wager that most teams have a stronger 3rd goalie than Giguere.

All that being said, once you commit to this method, you have NO chance of getting more than 12 points. With Lehtonen, Theodore, and perhaps a trade for a better goalie midway through the year, you could probably earn some more points, and not have everyone pissed at you.

One week in is still too early to panic, once teams learn where their strengths and weaknesses are, you might have a better chance to snag a goalie.

[SensFanSince96]

Thanks for the mostly 1 sided reply everyone.

I am still waiting on what the commish of my league thinks. But either way I wont bench my goalies. Heres what made my decision a bit easier:
1. I am not a douche/dick/selfish.
2. It's my first year, I would most likely piss everyone right off the start, and making it my last year in a hurry.
3. I want to be competitive. Even though I will be limited with my G, I need to learn the ropes to this game.
4. Every day I pray that José Théodore is once again a Vezina candidate and JS Gigugere is in Conn Smythe shape.....keep on dreaming like they say.