My yearly "What would you do' thread
Hi all,
If you don't like to read long introductions, feel free to skip ahead.
Keeper league. 14 teams. Points only. We use salaries, not cap hit, so it fluctuates every year. We start weekly 3C, LW, RW and 6D and 2G.
So yeah, goalies are often tough to get by.
I was a top team for many years (approx 8 seasons in the money) until my core of Toews, Ovechkin, Burns, Pietrangelo, Crawford and Rinne grew old and/or cost me too much. I probably got unlucky, probably didn't draft well enough. I've been a middle of the pack team for 2 years, and now a bottom team for 2 more.
The top team is MILES ahead of everybody, so there's no catchup for me. There's no way I can draft enough points to beat him. 2nd-3rd-4th are within reach, but since most salaries go down this year (players expected a work stoppage?), absolutely no teams except one or two have salary cap issues.
I think I'm firmly set in the 'let's ship some of our older guys out' strategy and try to solidify my core.
As you can see in my signature (or so will I double-check once I post this), here's the team :
C - Couturier, Dubois, Trocheck
LW - Ovechkin, Konecny, Marchesseault
RW - Wheeler, Voracek, Kakko
Bench : Donato, Kase, Kahun, Sikura, Borgstrom, Terry
D - Burns, Gostisbehere, Muzzin, Brannstrom, Grzelcyk, Sanheim
Bench : Liljegren, Rosen
G - Markstrom, Ullmark
Bench : Petersen, Montembeault, Primeau, Gustafsson
We have to respect Cap +10%, and own between 24 and 30 contracts. So, I have as many draft rounds as I have empty spaces under 30.
Last year, I had only 2G (Marks and Ullmark) and drafted a TON of darts hoping to hit. Now that I hit on Petersen and Primeau's potential, I'll drop Montembault and Gustafsson who are roster spot wastes.
Last year, I had 5th overall and thought I'd get Quinn Hughes. Picks went Makar, Hughes, Hughes, Binnington. So I picked Kakko. Thing is, it's been two years that I've skipped getting a solid D, and my last crop hasn't harvested quality (Brannstrom + Liljegren).
WHO TO TRADE AWAY
I think there might be interest for vets who have strangely structured contracts like Blake Wheeler (6.5M this year).
I'd be surprised if Ovechkin drew some kind of interest at 10M.
Burns had very little value last year, and I think it'd be sell low. Also, I'm too thin on D.
I also wonder what kind of contract Couturier will get -- he's also a great contract who could gain me some solid return I believe.
WHO TO DROP
Those who'll join Gustafsson and Montembeault will be Rosen, Sikura, Borgstrom and Muzzin (way too overpaid). That's 6 drops for anywhere between 1 and 7 draft picks.
I'll consider dropping Kase if I can't move a vet for a draft pick.
WHO TO DRAFT
With the 6th overall pick this year, here are my options :
G : Sorokin or Lehner. I think though that I feel comfortable with Markstrom and Petersen as my tandem for the next few seasons.
There's always Kahkonen that can be had in the 2nd round. But goalies are a hot commodity in our league, he might be gone too by then.
D : Karlsson... Doughty? Not a fan of the highly priced vets that have been dropped last year.
Other vets available for later rounds : Walker, Schmidt, Brodin, Orlov, Gavrikov, Lindholm...
In terms of long-term solutions, I guess Drysdale is my best bet, but he's probably a few years away.
The in-between solutions include Marino, Soderstrom, Perunovich, Romanov and Thomson. It feels like none of them scream SIXTH OVERALL to me, and at least one of them will make it to the second round.
F : Tatar or Pacioretty would be a pick if I wanted to fight for this year. Ryan Strome, Kubalik and Rust are also fall back options.
There's also Toffoli that was mentioned as a 'buy' for salary cap leagues. And Zucker.
In other words, there's enough for everybody.
For prospects, I'd be happy to pair Terry with Trevor Zagras.
I'd be surprised if Lafrenière or Kaprizov made it to 6th, but hey, I got Kakko last year at 5th.
I guess Byfield and Rossi would round out my top-5 of Grade-A forward prospects.
There's a bunch of Grade-B guys available : Turcotte, Krebs, Tomasino, Nick Robertson, McMichael, Denisenko, Perfetti...
SO, WHAT EXACTLY IS THE QUESTION, LUSSHOUSE?
1. Would you consider trading Sean Couturier to gain an early pick, considering the talent pool you see there?
2. Would you consider trading Blake Wheeler considering his age, salary rising next year, and depth you see there?
3. Considering my thin depth at D, are there any D-names out there that are worth gambling against a Zagras or Rossi?
4. How would you rate the B-guys I mentioned, hoping one would make it to the 3rd round?
5. How high are you on Toffoli, Pacioretty, Tatar, Zucker...
Really, I don't have a question. I love discussion and exchanging with people who interact with me here.
Big thanks to all who will do so.
PS : Last year I followed the advice to go for it and force Ovechkin (which I had traded away 3 or 4 years ago) and Voracek, missing on Batherson and Bertuzzi. Not doing it again.
14 Teams, PTS Only, Salary, Full Keep, Start 2G 6D 3C 3LW 3RW
G- Gustafsson, Korpisalo, Woll
D- Burns, Forsling, Brannstrom, Peru, Liljgren, Addison, ?, POJoseph, Jiricek
C- Barkov, Eichel, Larkin, Nelson, Rossi
LW- Marchessault, Zucc, Hagel, ?, Holtz
RW- Terry, Tarasenko, Pavelski, Kakko, Brink
18 teams, PTS Only, Top G, Top4 D, Top10 F, Full Keep with a twist
G- Shest, Luukkanen
D- Seider Dunn Hedman Pionk Brannstrom Peru
F- Scheifele Reinhart JT Miller Hyman Malkin Lindholm Zucc Giroux Marchmant Hartman Bjorkstrand Krebs T Raddysh Jeannot Brink Poulin Perreault Cristall