who are my keepers

[adamwish]

We're having an expansion draft allowing protection of 5 skaters and a goalie. And although the deals aren't complete I have something worked out in exchange for picks and some players that they won't select one player. So I'm keeping tavares, kane, Yandle, barrie, Bobrovsky. One spot left and I'm torn. I'm leaning kopitar but then I'll be able to protect one more player with these deals. That being mackinnon, landeskog, or simmonds. Not sure who I should hang onto at this point

[SeaDawg]

Kopitar and Mackinnon

You didn't ask, but I'd also probably keep Yandle over Barrie, if I were you. I guess that is a matter of opinion, but despite a rough start, Yandle has started to play well in New York with 10 pts in his last 10 games. Historically, he has always been among the league leaders for his position and I don't see that changing in New York. In fact, based on the last 10 games, he might actually achieve a career high next year.

[RizzeeDizzee]

I was also going to say that it's surprising not to see Yandle at least be considered given your scoring cats.

But among the four you tossed out there, you probably have to bite the bullet and keep MacKinnon. But I'm not sure I see Kopitar making the cut given how goal-centric your forward categories are and how few PIM he gives you. And keep in mind that Simmonds had 14 PP goals, which is how many that Landeskog and Kopitar had combined!

[SeaDawg]

sorry, you are keeping Yandle AND Barrie...not sure how I misread your post the first time. Sorry for causing any confusion.

[adamwish]

My only issue with keeping simmonds over kopitar is who I'd be more likely to sneak through the draft. I don't see being able to get kopi back in the first round whereas I can probably slide simmonds back through. Assuming he doesn't get taken in the expansion draft

[SeaDawg]

My only issue with keeping simmonds over kopitar is who I'd be more likely to sneak through the draft. I don't see being able to get kopi back in the first round whereas I can probably slide simmonds back through. Assuming he doesn't get taken in the expansion draft

This is a strategy I use when determining who to keep. You know your league better than us, so if you think that Kopitar's "name value" would lead to him being snatched up sooner than Simmonds' "real value", then you are wise to keep Kopitar.

Simmonds has now scored ~30 goals in b2b seasons, so in goal heavy leagues like yours, he definitely has value, but I also think that the Flyer's PP overachieved this season, so a repeat of 14 PP goals is very unlikely.

[RizzeeDizzee]

My only issue with keeping simmonds over kopitar is who I'd be more likely to sneak through the draft. I don't see being able to get kopi back in the first round whereas I can probably slide simmonds back through. Assuming he doesn't get taken in the expansion draft

That's a very good approach/mindset in general, yet you can't let it steer you into keeping a player in Kopitar who seems to be of non-keeper value in your league. Honestly - I'm guessing that Kopitar is not a top 50 forward in your format, in which case you simply cannot keep him. If you feel he does indeed have name value then try to trade him. When that fails, you'll have confirmation that he shouldn't be kept. And then let someone else squander an early pick on him, only to be disappointed.

You might try using FHG with your tailored league categories to get a truer idea of player value in your league, particularly in terms of the guys you're thinking of keeping.

[adamwish]

I probably should seeing as I signed up for that and completely forgot about it after the draft. Thanks for the advice. Any thoughts on mackinnon. I think I pretty much need to use a spot on him regardless. Just a sophomore slump or signs of lack of production to come?

[RizzeeDizzee]

I probably should seeing as I signed up for that and completely forgot about it after the draft. Thanks for the advice. Any thoughts on mackinnon. I think I pretty much need to use a spot on him regardless. Just a sophomore slump or signs of lack of production to come?

You have to grin and bear keeping MacKinnon. Personally, I think he's a stretch for 55 points in 2015-16, but you can't afford to be wrong and lose a future stud forward. The good news is by this time next season you'll know one way or another where things stand with him.

[Referee3083]

And although the deals aren't complete I have something worked out in exchange for picks and some players that they won't select one player

I'm curious, how is this going to play out? After the draft, you'll send him players / picks with nothing coming back your way?

[adamwish]

essentially how i was going to do that i trade a player im not going to keep to the expansion teams for the right to choose one player that they cant take from my team essentially creating a spare spot. this allows them a guaranteed player without costing them much. they only get to pick 7 players in the expansion portion anyway and with 10 teams some have better rosters than others. it doesnt really cost me much as ill lose them in our actual draft anyway.

[Referee3083]

Do you think there's a chance this could be viewed as some sort of collusion? Maybe I'm over-reaching, or not fully understanding, but it seems like this is one of those back room, wink wink nod nod sort of deals. I guess if you're making the trade before the expansion draft, it's out in the open. If I was another GM in the league and found out these deals were "in place", but not actually processed until after the expansion draft, I'd probably be pretty mad.

[Front89]

I had the same reaction, Referee...seems a bit dodgy

[SeaDawg]

Do you think there's a chance this could be viewed as some sort of collusion? Maybe I'm over-reaching, or not fully understanding, but it seems like this is one of those back room, wink wink nod nod sort of deals. I guess if you're making the trade before the expansion draft, it's out in the open. If I was another GM in the league and found out these deals were "in place", but not actually processed until after the expansion draft, I'd probably be pretty mad.

We had the same thing happen in our league the last time we had an expansion draft. It isn't really a problem. Although the deals are worked out ahead of time, it basically comes down to an existing team saying to an expansion team, when the pick arrives, take Player A instead of Player B and I will give you an additional asset. Smart expansion teams could actually use this as leverage if they are wavering between selecting between a couple of players. If, for example, they had to choose between Kopitar and Mackinnon, they could say to the existing team, I will choose whichever player you prefer less if you give me an extra draft pick or prospect.

[Referee3083]

We had the same thing happen in our league the last time we had an expansion draft. It isn't really a problem. Although the deals are worked out ahead of time, it basically comes down to an existing team saying to an expansion team, when the pick arrives, take Player A instead of Player B and I will give you an additional asset. Smart expansion teams could actually use this as leverage if they are wavering between selecting between a couple of players. If, for example, they had to choose between Kopitar and Mackinnon, they could say to the existing team, I will choose whichever player you prefer less if you give me an extra draft pick or prospect.

It makes sense, and I definitely see why it would be a good strategy for the expansion team. But I think the timing of when all of this takes place is crucial. If there's already an agreement in place, that agreement should be made public now. I can't see how holding off until after the draft occurs and then processing a one way trade where picks / prospects move to the expansion team would look good.

I guess how I'm looking at it is that if, prior to the draft, GM A (existing manager) goes to GM B (expansion manager) and said, "hey if you don't pick Kopitar, I'll send you some pick(s) / player(s) after the draft", I'm not sure that doesn't stir up an issue.