Draft strategy

[pumpkinxyz]

Format and team in signature (Bold players have already been protected. All others are available at the draft). Trying to plan my 3 first picks (#2, 9 and 16). Already have around $47M protected on a $79,5M cap. The guy with the first pick will be picking Dahlin.

Available players of interest :
Forwards : Panarin $6, Kuznetsov $7,8, Marchesseault $5
Ds : Hedman $7,875, Barrie $5,5, Krug 5,25$
Young/low salarie : Mittelstadt $1,492, Dubois $3,395, A. Svechnikov $3,575, Petterson $3,775
Goalies : Allen $4,35, Jones $5,75, Murray $3,75, Talbot $4,166

Really wondering what to do with my first pick. Was thinking either
1) Hedman in 1st round but risk not having any high scorers available in 2nd round
2) Panarin in 1st round and hope for Barrie or Krug to be available in 2nd
I really like Mittelstadt especially with his low AAV and hope he'll still be available in 3rd or 5th round (I don't have a 4th round)

What would be your strategy for the 1st three rounds? Forward first? Defence?

Thanks!

[LuigiC173]

Panarin is going to be paid stupid money so I would draft Krug, next round a goalie in Jones, and third round if he is still there Marchessault.

[pumpkinxyz]

Panarin is going to be paid stupid money so I would draft Krug, next round a goalie in Jones, and third round if he is still there Marchessault.

I'm leaning more towards a forward in the first round because last year I was the only one who drafted a D-man in the 2 first rounds and the year before only 1 D-man was drafted in the 2 first rounds. So one of Krug or Barrie has a good chance of being available in the 2nd or even 3rd.

Marchesseault's price tag is interesting but I think he's more of a 70pt guy. Kuznetsov I can see getting between 80-90 pts. Panarin is cheaper but only 1 year left on contract.

[mounD]

I would take Kuznetsov with your first pick. As others have mentioned, Panarin is going to get stupid money very soon and with a similar upside to Kuz I would rather have the cost-controlled asset who's dishing to Ovechkin. For your next pick, I would probably go with Matt Murray if he's available at that slot. He comes at a very friendly price tag, and with your settings you basically just want to lock down the best teams for your goalies. Even with middling ratios, he will still pile up the wins for a low cost. The reason I would wait until your third pick to snag a Dman is a combination of the fact that you mentioned that your league mates typically don't draft them very highly, and also there are three very good options. Obviously Hedman is going to be gone by this point, but you can snag whichever of Barrie/Krug are still on the board.

If Murray goes off the board, I would probably take Krug with your second pick. Or Barrie, they're actually quite close imo. And of course this comes with the caveat that, IF HEDMAN IS AVAILABLE at 9, you have to take him there no matter what else you have planned. If you end up going with a Dman for your second pick, I'd rank the goalies as follows for your last selection:

Murray

Allen
Jones
Talbot

[pumpkinxyz]

I like your thought process mounD.

I'm convincing myself more and more on picking Kuz as my 1st. Still not sure between goalie and D-man in 2nd round depending on what's left. If Hedman AND Murray are available at #9 I'll really hesitate. Hedman has a high price tag so Murray (or even Allen/Jones) might be a better option. I already have alot of salary on the cap but...

[mounD]

I like your thought process mounD.

I'm convincing myself more and more on picking Kuz as my 1st. Still not sure between goalie and D-man in 2nd round depending on what's left. If Hedman AND Murray are available at #9 I'll really hesitate. Hedman has a high price tag so Murray (or even Allen/Jones) might be a better option. I already have alot of salary on the cap but...

I feel like you can figure out salary after the fact. If you need to make some trades, at least you'll be moving from a position of strength. I think the gap between Hedman and Barrie/Krug is a bit larger than the gap between Murray and Jones/Allen. It's a tough call, though, mainly because Murray is pretty cheap. Gun to my head, I would take Hedman and figure out the cap later.