Annual Keeper Kwestion

[The Guvnah]

So my team in sig fell short of the league championship after having the best team all season yet again. It's an old team and I'm obviously trying to flip older guys like Byfuglien and maybe even Bergeron in order to make room for younger players. If I don't manage to trade anyone, who do I keep? Players listed below with last year's FP/G. In general, a skater averaging 2.5 FP/G is a keeper on a good team.

Bobrovsky, G - 4.77
Lehner, G - 4.77

Bergeron, C - 4.57
Marchand, LW - 3.95
Ovechkin, LW - 3.72
Carlson, D - 3.70
Lindholm, C/RW - 3.34
Stone, RW - 3.33
Byfuglien, D - 2.98
Malkin, C - 2.84
Wilson, RW - 2.70
Atkinson, RW - 2.70
Morrissey, D - 2.43

Also, I'm not really sold on Lindholm's season, especially given his weak second half. Thanks in advance, rep will be given to constructive answers.

[mounD]

This is a tough question at the margins. I think first off you need to face it that your team is a little bit older, and that's perfectly fine. You've still got an incredible roster at the top-end with very solid goaltending.

Assuming you keep both goalies (I would), that leaves you with 8 additional slots to fill out C, LW, RW, and D. Bergeron and Malkin are must-keeps at C. Marchand and Ovechkin also must-keep at LW. At RW things get a bit more complicated, so let's just skip over that for now and look at Defense. Byfuglien and Carlson are the easy options here. Buff should bounce back with Trouba out of the picture in Winnipeg.

So all this leaves you with two slots left, ideally to dedicate to RW options. Mark Stone is a must-keep in my estimation, especially with a plum spot on 1A/1B line in Vegas with Stastny and Pacioretty. So your last keeper should be between Elias Lindholm (C,RW), Cam Atkinson, and Tom Wilson. Given that they are all relatively close in FP/game, I think I would side with the guy who's got positional versatility. Lindholm had the better season, is dual-eligible, relatively young, and won't be losing his elite linemates next season. I guess I could see choosing Tom Wilson, but I just hate that guy -- and the numbers back up Lindholm as the choice.

[The Guvnah]

Good lord, that was rational! I'd rep you but apparently I need to spread it around lol... thank you.

[stevegamer]

There are 13 listed, and you keep 10. I have these guys as no-brainers:

Bobrovsky, G - 4.77
Lehner, G - 4.77
Bergeron, C - 4.57
Marchand, LW - 3.95
Ovechkin, LW - 3.72
Carlson, D - 3.70
Stone, RW - 3.33

You will notice right away that Malkin is not on that list. That leaves 3 from this set:

Lindholm, C/RW - 3.34
Malkin, C - 2.84
Wilson, RW - 2.70
Byfuglien, D - 2.98
Morrissey, D - 2.43

I skipped Cam Atkinson, who I think is an easy cut.

I think you want another D, another C, and another RW unless there's somebody coming in trade.

You need to decide how you think the Jets D situation shakes out. I think both Byfuglien & Morrisey are helped, and if you can deal Byfuglie, I'd do that, and move forward with Morrissey.

Wilson versus Lindholm versus Malkin, keeping two is where it gets tough, and they might get involved in a package deal to upgrade a keeper.

Malkin likely has the best trade value, and you likely will have lots of depth deal with missed games. However, if he's normally under 3.0 FP/G, I think he's probably worth moving on from.

I suspect Wilson's grit numbers may drop with Gudas coming on board, but only slightly.

Lindholm has dual eligibility, and I think I'd keep him, unless he can be traded for someone you like more.

[The Guvnah]

Just traded Morrissey for a 3rd round pick, which is good since my first pick was a 6th prior to that.

Malkin isn't going to fetch me market value. The savvy managers in my league know that he's a hurt bag, and the newer guys constantly think I'm looking to swindle them (like, I actually am). Malkin's FP/G over the last 5 years: 2.9, 3.2, 3.8, 4.0, 2.8... so I'd be selling low, really.

[The Guvnah]

And good god, apparently I need to spread rep around before I give it to stevegamer again... goes to show that the guys who give good advice do it consistently.

[mounD]

Just traded Morrissey for a 3rd round pick, which is good since my first pick was a 6th prior to that.

Malkin isn't going to fetch me market value. The savvy managers in my league know that he's a hurt bag, and the newer guys constantly think I'm looking to swindle them (like, I actually am). Malkin's FP/G over the last 5 years: 2.9, 3.2, 3.8, 4.0, 2.8... so I'd be selling low, really.

That's a solid move for you, dude. You have the right idea with Malkin. For better or worse, you're basically "pot-committed" to him at this point and even if you decided to trade him, the value is never going to be there to justify it. You've gotta ride this one out and hope for the best. There should be another 1 or 2 elite seasons left in the tank.

If you are in a league with mostly savvy managers, you will have a really rough time with 2-for-1 type deals to upgrade keepers. While I would definitely explore that route, you may be stuck selling off non-keepers for picks if that's possible.