Bubble Keepers and Hughes/Kakko

[Jaysus]

Hi all,

Just got through my first season of fantasy keeper league and I'm a full on addict lol. I inherited the team from a guy who quit and it wasn't in great shape, but I think I made some strides.

I'm down to my final keeper decision. It's really deep multi-cat league. Anders Lee is my #11 guy and I think I have to decide between Sergachev and Donato for the final spot. D are obviously harder to come by and Sergachev would make my active roster, but part of me thinks he won't be that much better than last year. Donato would most likely start as a reserve player, but he's a C/LW/RW and makes minimum wage in our 2 year contract league (although I'm in great cap shape atm). He seemed to really spike when he got traded last year so I'm tempted to gamble on him. Any thoughts?

BONUS QUESTION:
I won our draft lottery and get the first overall pick. Hughes or Kakko?
I feel like i HAVE to take Hughes on hype alone, but I have this voice in my head telling me Kakko might be better in my fantasy scoring system.

[Zorro]

I'm leaning towards Hughes over Kakko.. And adding one of these guys salary down the road, it makes me want Donato over A.Lee.. Donato looked awesome in Minny after the trade.. Sergachev is no slouch either!!

[mounD]

I'd probably keep Sergachev over Donato because it's easier to find a 50-point forward than it is to find 40-point Dmen. There's upside for more with Sergachev, but I'm not exactly sure when we'll see that with Hedman blocking him from the really productive minutes. Still, I think he holds more value in a vacuum.

Between Hughes and Kakko, I think in a league with your settings I would prefer Kakko because there's an emphasis on Goals and elite wingers are harder to come by than centers, generally. You could always see if the guy in the #2 spot would be willing to add something significant with the pick to move up.

[Jaysus]

Yeah I'm leaning Sergachev for that same reason, but the temptation with Donato is he's a guy I can slot in any forward position and his ice time and PP time shot right up after the trade. Just figure he's gonna be pumped to prove himself this season.

I'll update my signature when I get a chance but assists are worth 3 points just like goals in our league so I'm not sure it "favours" goals, but I was just thinking Kakko may have an edge in more categories than scoring. Oh I tried to trade for the second too but he's happy with number 2 and I don't blame him lol.

[random-d]

I like taking a risk on Donato, positional versatility and the possibility that he can put it all together are worth a gamble for me.

In the draft I go with Kakko, I like the goal scoring winger over the center.

[red36]

I'm surprised to see the hype has died on Sergachev more than I thought. That being said, I think you go with Sergachev here. A 40pt D with upside beats a 40pt F with upside... Dont forget Donato is 23. I think Minny will see the young guns rotate lines regularly with Kunin, Greenway, EK Eriksson, and Donato fighting for a middle 6 role. Fiala, Parise, Zucker (as of now), Staal, Koivu, Zucc, and Rask all project as locks for top 7 in F TOI (Toi matters more than line IMO). Hartman and Foligno will also be pushing for third line roles. Sergachev has less risk and wont see trade value fluctuate as much if he starts off cold

I think I go Hughes but Kakko is very close. Hard to tell on todays date who comes out ahead.

[Jaysus]

LOL you guys are just as divided as me . I was hoping for a more lopsided result. I love the insight though. Anyone else want to chime in? Reps for all!

Thanks again!

[als_revenge]

With 6D, I'd go Sergachev as my last keeper. Re: Kakko - Hughes, it would help to see who your keepers are. Generally speaking it's easier to find a high end C than a high end winger. These guys are close enough that your keepers could swing the advice one way or the other...

[mounD]

Yeah I'm leaning Sergachev for that same reason, but the temptation with Donato is he's a guy I can slot in any forward position and his ice time and PP time shot right up after the trade. Just figure he's gonna be pumped to prove himself this season.

I'll update my signature when I get a chance but assists are worth 3 points just like goals in our league so I'm not sure it "favours" goals, but I was just thinking Kakko may have an edge in more categories than scoring. Oh I tried to trade for the second too but he's happy with number 2 and I don't blame him lol.

Your format favors goals in the sense that you have Goals, GWG, SGWG, and HT as scoring categories as opposed to just Assists. Guys with goal-scoring prowess can fill all those former categories, and have a lot of value -- especially wingers. Plus, I imagine Kakko is going to fill the peripheral categories including SOG better than Hughes, despite having a slightly lower raw offensive upside. It just seems like most aspects of your league structure and scoring system favor selecting an elite winger like Kakko over an elite center like Hughes. Tough call, as both should end up being really productive fantasy assets, just different type players.

[EnglishJet]

It's Sergachev for me; I'd take a 40 point D-man over a 50 point winger any day, and Sergechev has potential to be more if him or Hedman ever leave TB. As for the draft, I think Hughes will be the better real life player but Kakko will be the better fantasy option so I'd take him. It's a nice problem to have though coz you can't really screw it up.

[jtloveshack]

I would also go Kakko over Hughes with those cats. I would probably pick Kakko over Hughes in everything other than a points only scoring system.

[Jaysus]

Re: Kakko - Hughes, it would help to see who your keepers are. Generally speaking it's easier to find a high end C than a high end winger. These guys are close enough that your keepers could swing the advice one way or the other...

Keepers: C: Backstrom, Matthews, Eichel. LW: E. Kane, Lee, B. Tkachuk. RW: Kucherov, D: Carlson, Dumba, Morrissey. G: Bishop.
Bubble: Sergachev (D) /Donato (C/LW/RW)

Minors: Binnington (will be called up after the draft), Kravtsov, Fox, Kaprisov, and then Hughes/Kakko to start the season

If I drafted Hughes I'd start him in the Minors. I have enough cap space that if he outperforms Backstrom I can move Backstrom to the reserve as a backup C, then trade him when someone is in need.

[Jaysus]

OK I'm going with Sergachev for sure. Still on the fence about Hughes/Kakko but I'll get there lol.

[Eskimo Brother]

OK I'm going with Sergachev for sure. Still on the fence about Hughes/Kakko but I'll get there lol.

Glad you got to the Sergachev choice as that would have 100% been my go to there.
As for Hughes/Kakko, I can't fault you for either. I would probably draft Hughes, but I have also done zero scouting on them, so it's an opinion likely influenced by the same publications as everyone else here.

[stevegamer]

Sergachev would've been my choice there as well. I agree with mounD's analysis that your league favors goals slightly due to all the goal related categories. You do also have FOW to offset that, but we're unsure if Hughes or Hischier is the Devils key faceoff guy down the road - that's really hard to project.

I'd see what you can get to trade back to #2, and take whichever's left. Shop the pick, but hope #2 makes an offer.