Early keeper considerations (will rep)

[random-d]

18 team keep 5: G, A, Pts, PPP, SHP, PIM, GWG, SOG, FOW, HIT, BLK --- GAA, SVs, SV% W, L
Daily Lineups, Start 12/6/2

I took over this pilotless team about 6 games into the season, I believe the previous owner selected keepers but skipped the draft. Somewhere in the neighborhood of 14 goalies were kept last year.

Last years keepers were:

Nylander
Huberdeau
Heiskanen
Ekblad
Bob

The obvious keeps are:

Heiskanen
Nylander

The probable keeps are

Verhaege
Kopitar
Bob (he's getting to that point where the decline is imminent)

Other players to consider are (roughly in order):

Hagel- He kinda got shafted by N. Paul for pp time. Expect the same next year?
Leo Carlsson- Late season grab, has looked the part when in the lineup
Faber- Is he the new pp qb for Minny?
Sillinger- Another late season grab, peripherals are there but is being on CBJ a dealbreaker?
McCann- faceoffs from the wing, decent shot volume
Quinn- RW with tempting upside but probably has to battle for top minutes, band-aid boy?

Thoughts? Ideas?

[JaysFan]

I think you have the right idea with your obvious and probables...everyone else should be available after the first round or two in a keep 5 with those categories. The most tempting to me of the others are Carlsson and Faber due to their potential upside but, again, do they get drafted ahead of any of the first 5 mentioned? I'm not so sure.

[Eskimo Brother]

You're not winning this league with the team you have next year (unless you have a ton of picks and really leverage those) so I think Carlsson has to be in the equation as a must keep, as he's the only other guy here likely to be a top-40 fantasy asset at some point in his career - which is hopefully sooner rather than later.
After that, shop everyone even for the most minute upgrades that you can get, and keep whoever is left. If for whatever reason you can't move any of them, I would keep Faber and Verhaeghe as the last two.

[random-d]

You're not winning this league with the team you have next year (unless you have a ton of picks and really leverage those) so I think Carlsson has to be in the equation as a must keep, as he's the only other guy here likely to be a top-40 fantasy asset at some point in his career - which is hopefully sooner rather than later.
After that, shop everyone even for the most minute upgrades that you can get, and keep whoever is left. If for whatever reason you can't move any of them, I would keep Faber and Verhaeghe as the last two.

That's a valid strategy I've considered but I should point out that I did drag the team from 18th to 7th place by cranking out 12 wins in a row and I only lost to the 2nd place team round 1 by 1 goal and 2 blocks.

[RizzeeDizzee]

When there are 5 keepers for a league where 20 start, the keepers usually won't guarantee a team's success, but they can place one in a position where they're going to be in a hole to start. That's what you have to face. As such, go with youth, although I would trade Faber, as I feel his value might never be higher, since he just doesn't scream greatness and I think he's done as well as he has as much if not more so due to the situation in which he was placed as his inherent talent. If you don't get any suitors for him, then I suppose you keep him and hope, plus Carlsson, the two you mentioned, and I'd probably say Verhaeghe for the last.

[Bubba55]

What does your draft actually look like? Did you sell the farm to make the run you mentioned, or, do you have all your picks or, even better, did you make some trades and strengthen your draft? I think this is an important piece in determining how you approach next year, specifically, building or in win now. I have to agree with the others that your 5 keeps fall a bit short of all being bona fide elite stars. I also agree that in a keep 5, in the majority of cases, it is the strength of a team's draft that will play the prominent role in determining whether a championship is in the cards or not. The 2 keeps you have identified are fine. If you are building, guys like Faber and certainly Carlsson must be considered. If you think you can win then guys like Kopitar and Verhaege are better win now options. All this to say that I think you need to decide which direction you are going in and pick your keeps accordingly.

[random-d]

I just always assume in a keep 5 start 20 with broad categories you play to win every year. As far as picks, I have all of them except the 4th rounder. I played it safe for the most part until I was sure I could make the playoffs and then traded for Kopitar. Someone like Carlsson is still intriguing though, because if he's going to be a better keeper than anyone I have (save Nylander) in 2 years than I'd rather hold onto him now.

[senryu]

Heiskanen
Nylander
Verhaeghe
Bob
Leo Carlsson

You're in a mode where you'll need Carlsson to bloom more than Kopitar to hold on for a couple years more. I'd be looking to move Bobrovsky if it all possible. While Faber has done well, I'm still not convinced that he's not the product of Minnesota having no one else to do the job. If they had anyone with above average offensive ability, that player would probably be the PP1 guy as opposed to Faber.