Taking YOUR Questions! Dec. 8&9 Edition

[Atomic Wedgy]

Asked in the comments, but will ask here too just in case you miss it.

Aleksander Barkov has three points in his last 21 games and is minus-8 in that span. So is Barkov a buy low right now? OR is it more of a lower your expectations moment? Has the last 31 games changed your guess on his upside in the fantasy guide?

What do you think about Niederriter and Granlund for Barkov? Too much?

[pahlsson26]

What's going on with Enstrom? Is he worth picking up?

[Dobber]

Originally posted by Doug Glatt View Post
Hi Dobber. Thanks for doing this. Which "under the radar" goaltenders (outside the top 12) would you recommend pursuing in keeper/dynasty leagues?

I'm pretty happy with my Top 100 keeper league goalies:
http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index...op-100-goalies
and then
http://goaliepost.com/default.php?pa...on=1314&id=185

With goaltending, so much can happen so quickly. If the right guy gets injured, then another guy who had virtually no value at all suddenly has a ton of value (Mazanec). I could say a name like "Lindback", and Stalock ends up being the guy after an injury to Niemi. Or I could say "Stalock" and then Bishop gets hurt and suddenly Lindback finds the next gear. The best you can do when it comes to depth goalies within organizations is to look for low years remaining on the starter's contract, as well as injury prone starters.

One guy I think has found his perfect team system is Steve Mason. His confidence is growing and I wouldn't be surprised to see a long-term deal signed in the summer. The Flyers really needed this

[Dobber]

Originally posted by Legion99 View Post
Hey Dobber, thanks for the Q&A! I am looking to make a pickup, we only get one per year, in a full keeper, points only league. The top available NHLers at this point would be Zuccarello, Reilly Smith, Wingels and Bonino for forwards, and Eric Gelinas, Jason Demers and Jakub Kindl on defense. I am not contending this year, would be making the pick more for next year and beyond. Does anyone of that list jump out at you? I would be leaning towards taking Zuccarello, but would greatly appreciate your input. Thanks!

If you require defensemen then Gelinas jumps out. He's your guy. If you need a forward though, then Zuccarello has the most upside of the four.

[Dobber]

Originally posted by als_revenge View Post
Almost a full keeper. Both teams that are expansion (i.e. won't be competitive for a number of years). Deal: Tarasenko & S. Jones versus J. Gardiner & Huberdeau. Which side do you like...and is this a close offer?

Edit: points only league.

Fair offer. I would rather the Seth Jones side because he is a sure thing. Huberdeau is also a sure thing, whereas the other two have upside but also downside. I take Jones because D are generally tougher to fill.

[Dobber]

Originally posted by Referee3083 View Post
Hi Dobber, thanks for doing another Q&A! With Eriksson out for the forseeable future, I'm thin at LW so which of the following FA's would you recommend I pick up:

Left Wing
Foligno
Tartar (probably only has value until Datsyuk & Zetts are back?)
Simmonds
Hartnell
Abdelkader
Hold onto Versteeg

C or RW (would have limited use since I always roll Seguin, Thornton, Getz, Ovi & Kane)
Zuccarello
Flippula
Hudler
Toffoli (C & RW)
Nichushkin
(Reilly) Smith

Hartnell because in the last 16 games he has 11 points, even plus/minus and 21 PIM, plenty of shots. He's playing with Giroux and I think should be steady going forward

[supaguy46]

I need a goalie to replace Bobrovsky temporarily. Who would you rather have out of Thomas, Gustavsson, or Andersen (ANH) for your 3rd fantasy goalie? Thanks Dobber!

[Dobber]

Originally posted by Skooch22 View Post
Hi Dobber, big shout to you and all the team for continued excellence

Salary cap points only keeper league, 14 teams. I know I'll probably have a D decision to make at the end of the year (barring any trades) to drop either Goligoski or Brodin. I have a competitive team, can you take out your crystal ball and tell me what you think of Brodin's offensive upside next year specifically and beyond? I know the all world talent is there, but points to pay the bills! Thanks,

D : Karlsson, Letang, Goligoski, Brodin

I actually think that Brodin will become a 55-point defenseman. I just don't think it will happen next year or the year after. Or the year after that. He'll chip in his 40 points for a few years before finding the magic in his mid- to late 20s

[Dobber]

Originally posted by Bronz View Post
Bobrovsky

Was the Vezina legit?

Top 5 goalie?
Top 10?
Top 15?

Your thoughts and much appreciated.

He's adjusting to the new higher scoring conference. Vezina was legit, but also very much team based. The team will play better in the second half. I'm not ready to say he is Top 10, but probably Top 15

[ChewBackes]

I'm in a keeper league, 10 teams, Head to Head, 6 keeper, 3 LW/RW/C, 5D, 1 UTIL, 2 G, 3 Bench. G, A, PPP, FOW, HIT, BLK

It's a little over 1/3 through the season, and I'm in first, just got offered Shane Doan for Dustin Brown plus a 9th round pick for an 11th round pick.

My keepers now are Kopitar, Nicklas Backstrom, Getzlaf, Bobby Ryan, Cory Schneider, Lundqvist, so certainly fine with giving up Brown.

I ran my team through Fantasy Hockey Geek and can certainly handle losing Brown's hits, but I know he's been slow out of the gate at times in the
past. I don't want to give up on him, but I drafted him after someone else took David Backes, thinking Brown would put up similar numbers. Doan's
been a pretty consistent 50-60 point guy, and I could certainly use his scoring if he maintains this season's pace. So, will Brown bounce back and
Doan regress so I should I hold on, or should I pull the trigger on Doan?

Many Thanks!

Cheers

[brotherhood]

Hey Dobber, I can make one and only one drop/pick up before the end of Dec./13. Thinking it's time to drop Atkinson, and I can pick up either
Kreider or Skinner. Who do you recommend? Pts only pool, 2 per goal, 1 per assist, no positional requirements. Thanks

[Dobber]

Originally posted by HockeyProphet View Post
Another week gone, and another horrible one for Enstrom.. I know you have him as a bounce back candidate, we still sticking with that? And when he does what sort rate do you expect from him?

I'm starting to agree with what Laidlaw wrote in today's Puck Daddy piece. We keep waiting for him to turn it around, but it's not happening. I had written it off as "rusty", and he did start the first 10 games very well. But this slump is crazy. His PDO shows nothing is out of whack, and although he's being used more defensively than we're used to, he still gets the puck into the offensive zone as well as he ever has. He's just not getting any secondary assists. At this point I would be very careful how much I pay for him. I'd still want him on my team, but not for any kind of significant price. And he'd definitely be on my bench.

[Dobber]

Originally posted by spanyon View Post
10-team - 1yr, h2h Yahoo! - 2 Waiver pickups/week
G,A,+/-,Hits,PPP,SOG,W,GAA,SV%,SO
Daily starts: 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 2 UTIL, 2G, 6BE
C: B.Richards(LW), Kesler(RW), Shaw, MacKinnon(RW)
LW: Vanek(RW), Pacioretty, Nash(RW)
RW: Ovechkin, Iginla, Wheeler, Okposo,
D: Letang, Green, Phaneuf, Gudas
G: Crawford, Price, Mason

^ Crawford + Iginla for Howard + B.Ryan? Too much, too little? disregard tonights Crawford injury

I like the Howard/Ryan side. It's probably a fair offer given CC's year vs. Howard's.

[Dobber]

Originally posted by JMoney View Post
Is it time to drop Scrivens for a temporary or timeshare goalie? My current options are Raanta, Lehner, or Reimer. Goalies are worth a lot in my head to head one year league, so I'm hoping to grab the best one before it's too late. We get to start 2 goalies every day and have 4 transactions per week.

That's a tough call because Scrivens will be back next game and if he plays well again, then Jones won't see the crease again this year. Do you want to give that up to take a chance on Raanta (the G I would pick of the three, and hope for CC to be out longer term)?? I say stick with Scrivens until we learn more

[Dobber]

Originally posted by Atomic Wedgy View Post
Asked in the comments, but will ask here too just in case you miss it.

Aleksander Barkov has three points in his last 21 games and is minus-8 in that span. So is Barkov a buy low right now? OR is it more of a lower your expectations moment? Has the last 31 games changed your guess on his upside in the fantasy guide?

What do you think about Niederriter and Granlund for Barkov? Too much?

I'm very confident in Barkov long term, but this season is obviously a learning one and I would be surprised if he hit 30 points. Your offer is fair but I would not be prepared to give up that much just yet. Close, but I think you could get a bit more with those players