Fantasy Hockey Mailbag - December 09, 2014

[Dobber]

Muzzin was on a mini-tear for awhile there, was that just a product of Martinez being out or a sign of things to come? Is he a 40 pt d-man this season?

I don't think he is, but he's had a couple of those mini-tears now and I think we'll see another one before this season is out. Will it be enough to get him to 40? Doubtful. Martinez's return hurts

[Dobber]

RE: Paul Stastny

How do you see his production for the remainder of the season?
What line do you think he ends up staying on for the rest of the year?

He's on pace for 41 points. I think he gets to 50. So 39 points in 54 games. If Lehtera gets hurt and he can change lines, then this could increase

[rougie]

Rinne, Lundqvist,Fleury 3pts wins and 2 for a shutout. Cap league who you liking moving forward in a keeper league

[LeTrefle]

...
I had a feeling his injury was more serious than the Bs were letting on and my guess was January. I haven't seen an update on his situation lately though.

Some whispers from sources have said that David Krejci has not made all that much progress in his recovery from a groin injury.

The Bruins' injured players skated together during the team's road trip, but apparently Krejci was limited in what he could do and how much of it he was able to do. We'll keep you posted on his status when we learn more. Krejci has missed 14 of the last 16 games because of a groin injury. Dec 9 - 8:39 AM


Source: Boston Herald

[Happy Hour]

Hi Dobber,

How long before Vasilevsky takes over in the TB crease ? He's been made available to me in my keeper but I'm not sure how far away he is from contributing. I'm thinking 2 years ? Do you feel he'll live up to the hype he's gotten ? Would you rather own Lehner or Gibson instead of him in the next 3-5 years ?

Also, any reason for concern as far as Barkov is concerned ? I know he's only 19 but curious about your thoughts on his future and if your feelings had changed over the past few months.

Thanks.

[Referee3083]

Thanks for taking questions Dobber! What can we expect out of Oshie for the remainder of this year?

[Dobber]

16 team H2H cats, daily starts, Keep 7

2C 2LW 2RW 4D 2U 2G every day

G, A, Pts, +-, PIM, PPG, PPA, SHP, SOG, SH%, HIT, BLK,

W, L, GAA, SV%, SHO

C - Kopitar, Stepan, Hanzal, Fisher
LW - Kreider, Boedker, Nick Foligno, Soderberg(C/LW)
RW - Kessel, Voracek, Tom Wilson
D - Trouba, Josi, Klingberg, Bieksa, McNabb

G - Bishop, Fleury, Raanta

IR - Boychuk, Letang, Enstrom, Nichushkin

Keepers highlighted. It's my 1st year with the team since taking it over. I think it finished in 11th place last year out of 16. I studied up on drafting and did pretty well. Got who I wanted in most cases.

I'm in 1st place right now but I feel like I've benefited from some good luck (see: Foligno, Nick). My defense has been decimated by injuries to Letang and Boychuk but hopefully they're back soon. I wish Kreider was doing better, but such is life.

Who are my targets (e.g. Dubisnky) and who am I selling high on? I feel I could use another RW. Someone who scores goals and hits, but it's tough to make deals in this league. Picks are golden.

Lengthy post over Thanks Dobber.

I would move Foligno. I would also try to get rid of a couple of your IR guys. They are assets, most of which you are not keeping. So see what the interest is. They are wasting away right now. Kopitar and Kreider will get going soon and Letang will be back. I think Fisher will help with a hot streak or two before it's all said and done, too

[Dobber]

What's your take on Wideman for the rest of the year? His goal-scoring will slow down but what about PP points and overall points?

Thanks in advance.

I'm not high on Wideman. He tends to join new teams and have a nice impact early, but fades away as they don't need him. He's on pace for 51 points and he has five points in his last five games, so obviously that's not happening now. And I have no tangible reason to base my negativity on. But I just don't have a good feeling about him and I think he's capped at 45 unless he's traded.

Six of his 17 points are on the power play, that's nothing crazy and no reason to see that slowing any.

[Dobber]

Points-only, what guy is most likely to turn it around now that we're 20-25 games into the season? On the flip side, what guy will probably regress the most?

Thanks for doing this. Even when I don't have questions, they're always fun to read.

Anze Kopitar, Eric Staal - and any players they touch (so Gaborik, Tlusty, etc)


Lots of regression ahead - knock their pace back by 15-20 points: Giordano, Voracek, Seguin, Tarasenko, Hudler, Johnson

[Dobber]

Hi, thanks for taking questions!

For the league and team in my signature, would you trade Zetterberg for Nyquist and Lehner? I have a dire goaltending situation, but do you see Lehner doing more harm than good in terms of peripherals? What's his outlook for the remainder of the season?

No, your goalie situation can be improved in other ways - don't waste your time trading for more 'maybes'. Trade for a sure thing and pay the bigger price. Lehner is just another Ramo, you're no further ahead.

[Dobber]

I wrote this on Dec 4:


Your response on Dec 4:

Did not see your response until yesterday but with the recent developments - Brodeur playing 2.5 out of their last 3 games and Darling starting 2 in a row tonight - do you still feel the same way?? I agree with dropping Johnson but there are literally no backups left in our pool with 15 teams in our league and everyone carrying 4-5. At the same time I'm thin as hell on offense with Hornqvist and Letang sidelined.

I'm really not a Brodeur fan this late in his career, but I'm starting to become sold on how he is with STL. But I'm not ready to change my over/under of 8.5 games started for them. Ryan Miller was great for St. Louis too...his first few games there. Then we know what happened.

Darling had a great start and earned his next one. Raanta had two great starts before that, and will be back the minute, the second, Darling comes back to earth. There will be interest in both Darling and Brodeur in your league and you should shop them and take anything decent you get offered.

[Dobber]

What's your take on Eric Staal when it comes to fantasy hockey.

Is he still a stud center or is he slowing down and if owned, should owners be looking to sell while they still can?

Always buy Staal in December. That's the golden rule of fantasy hockey. It's won a couple of pools for me in different years. I acquire him in December and he flips the switch. Mark it! I think Laidlaw said something similar in the ramblings today.

[Dobber]

Hey Dobber,

Different type of question.

Whats your favourite scoring system in Fantasy hockey if you had similar categories in my sig. Curious what the pros prefer to play. Thanks.

Head to Head Each Category
Head to Head Most Categories
Head to Head Points

Head to head each category. I'm not sure what "most categories" is, sounds like it's the same thing

[Dobber]

Some whispers from sources have said that David Krejci has not made all that much progress in his recovery from a groin injury.

The Bruins' injured players skated together during the team's road trip, but apparently Krejci was limited in what he could do and how much of it he was able to do. We'll keep you posted on his status when we learn more. Krejci has missed 14 of the last 16 games because of a groin injury. Dec 9 - 8:39 AM


Source: Boston Herald

Groin injuries also lead to so many other complications, as the player starts to favor the area and skate/react differently. Leads to abdominal issues, hip issues. Just not good at all. I'm thinking closer to late January now.

[Dobber]

Rinne, Lundqvist,Fleury 3pts wins and 2 for a shutout. Cap league who you liking moving forward in a keeper league

Since players aren't counted, I prefer Fleury. He signed his lottery ticket/contract for an extension, so that's the end of that. 40+ wins per year.