The good old "Help Me Finalize My Keepers" thread

[Leeroy Jenkins]

***Signature has been edited, as of August 19, to reflect my current keeper considerations:
- Skinner is out and Barzal is a bubble keeper, as C is a common position in my league;
- Ekholm is out and Faulk is in, based on likely PP deployment;
- LW is the lightest position in this draft year, so I'm likely keeping Hall, Meier and Zucker and filling the 4th slot with my 2nd rd pick


My turn lol...I've added a "Should I try and trade future draft picks for this year's draft picks" question, phrased simply, I hope.

***Special Note - Barzal and Larkin are still under contract for the 2019-2020 season. It's just that Fantrax doesn't show the "stretch" date, so the year shown indicates the beginning of the last year of the contract.


Description of league type and existing roster in signature. We can keep 11. I have bolded my "for sure" keepers for easy reference and there are 8 of them.

What's the upcoming draft like? Lots of great players are re-entering draft eligibility (due to expired contracts): Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, John Tavares, Stamkos, Matthews, Ovechkin, Rantanen, Aho are just the top ten or so.

I have a 1st rd pick (9th overall), a 2nd (22nd overall) and two 3rds, so I'll get a sniff of the best available, with some decent picks after that.

My feeling is to go RW (Aho or Rntanen will be in range) and RW or D for the 1st and 2nd rd picks. The rest will need to be assessed as the draft goes on.

Problem: There is at least one guy who has 4 1st rd picks and another who has 3. Neither has 1st overall (projected to be Kane)


So...

1. Who do I fill up my remaining 3 spots with? Do I ditch Ekholm in favour of taking a chance on Dzingel?

2. Should I trade some of next year's draft picks to try and get at least one more 1st or do I save my resources for later in the year and see how my draft and the first couple of months go.

***Money spots are often determines by late January. Only top three pay.

Thank you for your time and expertise. I will answer any questions you might post, so this thread could get "talky" lol.

[Eskimo Brother]

Based on the bolded and the years I'm assuming you had to let Larkin and Barzal go?
D is definitely your focus, but not at 9 overall.
I would keep Ekholm over Dzingel.
Final three would be Skinner, Faulk, and Silfverberg. So you don't need a RW, just go BPA (especially assuming Skinner has LW eligibility).

[lucafen4]

is this points only?

Assuming Larkin & Barzal can't be kept... My final 3 would be

Skinner, Faulk, Zucker... Zucker usually pulls out dual wing eligibility by Nov 1.

[mounD]

I'm on board with Skinner and Faulk, but I think I like Tatar as your third. I think he's probably got the safest 50-point floor of any of the remaining winger options, and he was a strong member of a very good line with Danault and Gallagher in Montreal. I would assume they're kept together since they really dominated the shots and chances together at even strength. I think another 60ish point season is in the cards.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Barzal and Larkin are good for 2019-2020 (edit added in original post to explain). That's makes Colin Miller still under contract, also.

[Eskimo Brother]

Barzal and Larkin are good for 2019-2020 (edit added in original post to explain). That's makes Colin Miller still under contract, also.

So do you only have one keeper slot left after the bolded?

[mounD]

Barzal and Larkin are good for 2019-2020 (edit added in original post to explain). That's makes Colin Miller still under contract, also.

If you need one more option plus the bolded players, I would choose Skinner. I might also keep Faulk instead of Ekholm, too.

[Eskimo Brother]

If you need one more option plus the bolded players, I would choose Skinner. I might also keep Faulk instead of Ekholm, too.

I could get on board with that.

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Themes appearing:

- Keep Skinner
- Keep Faulk over Ekholm
- Mentions for Zucker and Silfverberg

[mounD]

Themes appearing:

- Keep Skinner
- Keep Faulk over Ekholm
- Mentions for Zucker and Silfverberg

Faulk inexplicably keeps being featured on PP1 above Hamilton, so that kinda explains that. Skinner seems like a pretty clear keep in all the different scenarios.

[YzermansLegacy]

Slightly off-question strategy suggestion to begin:

I would guess that the winner(s) of your league typically have pretty stacked D corps, when starting 6 vs total 9 Fs weekly.

In your format/setup then - moving forward - you'd be wise to value D men higher than F in general. I say this because I'm not convinced you can finish in the money this year, even with a pick upgrade, with the current D corps you're rostering.

For your keeps this year, unless you've got deals to be made, I agree with the consensus about Skinner being the best option. But you can see, based on your draft strategy, how this really limits you (positionally) at the draft table. You're already looking D/RW - when perhaps the "best" pick at #9 is actually a C or LW.

If you're "out" by Jan, then perhaps start looking at finding more D keepers for future drafts. That's not to say give up a much better F for a D, but if they're comparable, I really believe D hold A LOT more value in your pool setup.

Consider 6 D x 14 teams = 84 Dmen for 31 PP1 and 31 PP2 - looking at 62 D I'd want to roster. Maybe 65-70 with 2 d set ups.

Now consider 3 C x 14 teams = 42 C (or R or L) or 31 PP1 and 31 PP2. You can see the math here. It's WAY easier to find a F who will find PP time than a D in this set up.

Personally, my ideal keeper/rollover breakdown would be 2L, 2C, 2R, 5D. And those 5 D ideally would all be PP1 locks (or a to-be stud like Makar). (Only reason I don't want 6D is that I don't like to "limit" who I can draft in round 1)

Ideally, moving towards next year, you can build your core around EP40, Svech, Hall & Makar - and then dangle the Larkins/Barzals/Meiers/Manthas to teams in order to grab those elite D men.

You know your league best - so perhaps you actually have a great shot at the $ - but my honest take, based on your lineup and the fact that 2 guys have lots of early picks in a loaded 1st round is that at best, you might be fighting for 3rd.

Never fun to go into a year knowing you're "out" before you start... unless it's part of a strategy/plan to win the 5 years in a row

Hope that was helpful!

[Leeroy Jenkins]

Made some notes, based on keeper considerations, in the initial post. Thanks for input!