Tough Keeper Decisions

[Southpaw20]

Hey all, in a 14 team, keep 9 league with cats of G,A,Pts,PPP, Hit, Blk, FOW, PIM, SHP, GWG, SW, GAA, Sv%, , Sv, SO. I need to pick 9 keepers from the following. Please also note that we need a minimum of 4 goalie starts per week which can get tricky at times.
Horvat
Kaprizov
Wheeler
Buchnevich
Larkin
Ovechkin
E. Lindholm
Eichel
Bennett
Fiala
Mantha
Letang
Theodore
Lehner
Saros

I am in win-now mode and we start 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 6D, 1Util, 2G.

Thanks!

[Swarley]

With the 4 goalie starts I’d be keeping both your goalies and starting 6 forwards and 6 D I’d be keeping both your D for sure.

Horvat
Kaprizov
Ovi
Lindholm
Eichel
Letang
Theodore
Lehner
Saros

[Southpaw20]

That is my preliminary list as well...Wheeler's dual eligibility is nice for the FOW category but would have to knock off Saros probably. I have gone the last few years piecing together goalie starts week to week (at one point it was 5 goalie starts). Although it proved to be an effective strategy it was a serious pain in the butt!

[Fighting_Emu]

I like the list but would keep fiala over Letang without much stress about it? Would you trade Letang for fiala? I'm guessing 8 days out of the week you would lol! Keep Feels and target d often and early in the draft. The rest looks good to me....

[Swarley]

Maybe in certain leagues fiala holds more value than letang but not in this one. 14 teams and only starting 6 forwards there are good forwards on the wire. 14 teams starting 6 D the wire is bare, he is older yes and has injury history but I’d easily keep him over fiala in this league and enjoy the production when he is healthy.

[random-d]

Hey all, in a 14 team, keep 9 league with cats of G,A,Pts,PPP, Hit, Blk, FOW, PIM, SHP, GWG, SW, GAA, Sv%, , Sv, SO. I need to pick 9 keepers from the following. Please also note that we need a minimum of 4 goalie starts per week which can get tricky at times.
Horvat
Kaprizov
Wheeler
Buchnevich
Larkin
Ovechkin
E. Lindholm
Eichel
Bennett
Fiala
Mantha
Letang
Theodore
Lehner
Saros

I am in win-now mode and we start 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 6D, 1Util, 2G.

Thanks!

I'm not willing to take chances on Eichel or Kaprizov at this point otherwise they would be keepers over Horvat and Larkin. I wouldn't blame you if you went that route though. I feel like starting 6 D mandates that you keep as many as possible and same goes for the goalies with the league parameters being what they are. I would bet you can draft forward options more easily than defense or goaltending so it makes sense to try and mitigate your need there ahead of time.

[Bubba55]

An interesting league set up with the 4 goalie starts per week and starting the same number of D as F. I'd like to see your full line up if possible, are there other keeper options other than the ones you listed? In a multi cat and with your format maybe there is a D you could keep and perhaps another goalie that might be worth consideration? Just sayin'

[Bubba55]

That is my preliminary list as well...Wheeler's dual eligibility is nice for the FOW category but would have to knock off Saros probably. I have gone the last few years piecing together goalie starts week to week (at one point it was 5 goalie starts). Although it proved to be an effective strategy it was a serious pain in the butt!

Unless you own Vasi or perhaps Hellbuyck the annual Goalie Bed Shitting Competition pretty much forces all of us to get creative. With your start 4 a week rule, well, ouch. Ya, it's a pain in the butt, however far more often than not have no damn choice. If you work it and get lucky, yes, it's an effective strategy. Would you really want to miss out on all that fun (:

[Southpaw20]

An interesting league set up with the 4 goalie starts per week and starting the same number of D as F. I'd like to see your full line up if possible, are there other keeper options other than the ones you listed? In a multi cat and with your format maybe there is a D you could keep and perhaps another goalie that might be worth consideration? Just sayin'

Ya hate the goalie start rule haha. Also can only have 3 goalies on your roster total. Other Dmen include Hronek, Chiarot, Cernak, Ekholm...had Weber but obviously no longer a candidate. Basically I fill out D with big peripherals as a general strategy. Other goalie was Ned by the end of the year. I think I would rather stream that third goalie anyways.

[rangerdanger]

Horvat
Kaprizov
Wheeler
Buchnevich
Larkin
Ovechkin
E. Lindholm
Eichel
Bennett
Fiala
Mantha
Letang
Theodore
Lehner
Saros

What kind of Goalies would you be able to get in draft, WW or trade? Because it seem like you might have to keep both Lehner and Saros with those weekly minimums. But if you think there are some good goalies who you can still obtain, perhaps just keeping Lehner would be the way to go.

So going to assume you keep both Goalies for now. In which case the other 7 i would keep are:

Horvat, Ovechkin, Kaprizov, Lindholm, Letang, Buchnevich and unfortunately, probably Eichel.

--I hate Eichel. I don't want him anywhere near the Rangers for numerous reasons, the top being he's a huge risk right now and not worth a great deal. But should he have successful surgery and return to form, with the Sabres or elsewhere, he's just so much more valuable than most of these other players. So he isn't a great pick for win now, but I don't really see how you can drop him in a league like this, long term. That's a real tough spot. And personally, I am glad I don't own Eichel in leagues like this, because it's an impossible choice for me.
--Kaprizov similar situation to Eichel, but slightly better for production right away. No idea what's going to happen with him. But he's just way too good relative to these other players not to keep. I still think he ends up resigning and if he did and you didn't keep him, you'd be kicking yourself. So I think you have to accept the risk based on his potential and talent above the other choices. If he doesn't re-sign that really sucks, but it'd be worse if he did and you let him go. And unlike Eichel, his career isn't in danger due to injury. Also, the way my leagues work is if he doesn't sign for this year, you would still retain his rights. If your league is like that, than he's worth picking with the downside, you retain his rights if he doesn't resign and have him whenever he returns.
--Wheeler looked on the decline last season, and I don't expect much better this season.
-- Larkin, I am tempted to keep over either Horvat or Eichel, but I just can't bring myself to do so with him on the Red Wings. I expect them to be a bad team for at least a few more seasons. And while he could return to form sooner, I really hate his winger options. Not a fan of Zadina personally and unless Raymond makes the team and gets on Larkins line, he could still be in for down year.
--Mantha.... meh. Think he was always overrated. Even on the Caps where he's better, but still not great IMO.
-- Theodore will provide points/PPP for a Dman, but he doesn't provide much in peripherals. In a league with limited keepers like this, I would want to make sure the Dmen I keep provide both points and peripherals. Now if you think you could trade Theodore for someone like that, or if you think he's worth more in trade than the players I suggested keeping, I might consider keeping him and trying to trade him. But I would definitely look for complete Dmen in a limited Keeper. Someone like Nurse or McAvoy. Dhalin I am still high on and think he can be gotten fairly cheap right now.
---Bennet I just don't expect to be as good as any of the others.
--- Fiala, I like but not sure he can get much better.
--Lindholm is SO underrated, especially in bangers leagues with cats like yours. He's one of the first players on that list I would keep.
---I like Buch if Tarasenko leaves, but not if he stays. So I could definitely see replacing Buch in my list with either Larkin or Theodore. That's a tough call. If you have to decide right now, before Tarasenko is gone, then I would probably pick either Larkin or Theodore instead. Just not sure which one honestly.