LaBarbera

[mr_mich]

I acquired him reasonably cheap (6th + 9th round picks) because I figured he\'d be a good 3rd starter, as Dobber predicted. Now Ersberg is stealing the show and I\'m left with a 4th goalie rotting on my roster.

Is there any chance of him taking the job back? His value is absolutely nil right now and my depth on wing is lacking (we do weekly rosters, so if one of my wingers doesn\'t play many games I\'m boned). Am I better off dropping LaBarbera now or trying to hang on to him in hopes that his value will go up a bit in the next few weeks?

[newper114]

i have him also and was happy to draft him as well. and i have also been thinking about dropping him. but i say hold onto him for one more week. they are playing washington tonight and the way they are playing they might score 15 goals.. with that labarbera might get the start the next game and maybe play well and then get more starts. they are playing goalies that are hot right now ersberg is semi hot but things might change.

[JHM]

I have Labarbera in two leagues. I\'ve been watching him closely for a very long time and was quite happy to grab him with a final pick (twice).

Ersberg. He\'s not going to play every game. LA has been wonderful with him in net. With all their young guys, they\'re certainly going to have some off nights. This will result in the goalies flipping back & forth. I don\'t believe that Ersberg has cemented the job. He\'s making a strong statement for himself, but a year ago he was struggling in the ECHL. Two years ago he was sparkling in the Swedish League (pretty accomplishment).

Labarbera has a long established relationship with the Kings. They know what they\'ve got. They\'re relatively happy with what they\'ve got. Despite most Fantasy poolers thinking the Kings had no goaltender and were out shopping (during the summer - remember all the Khabibulin spec when they were under cap?) they made no move. They were satisfied to move forward with Labarbera and Ersberg.

Ersberg can take the starters job and has made a good first step in achieving this. His incredible numbers are more a reflection of fine team play, than his heroics. His save percentage is quite average.

At this time I wonder that there is an outstanding chance that a rotation occurs involving the duo. Not time to give up on Labarbera yet. He\'s a proven battler!

[mr_mich]

Thanks for the insight. The problem I see with holding on to him is that my league uses weekly rosters, making rotation/platoon goalies a real shot in the foot. You only start 2 goalies per week, so it\'s silly to ice a goalie that may only play 1-2 of his team\'s games that week.

Given that I won\'t be using him for my own needs, do you think his value will go up enough in the near future (a few weeks) that I might be able to flip him to a team in need?

[JHM]

Truth of the matter, is that I basically drafted Labarbera with the thought of trading him. He opened with more starts than I ever dreamt possible. AWESOME. Let\'s get to the 20 game mark and he\'s gone! Upgrade my 3rd rounder to a 1st! As it is now, he\'s of almost no interest anywhere. Even if he plays the next 10 games, I don\'t think he\'ll garner a ton of interest. He\'s got to play the 10 games and some other poolie needs to have an injury at that moment. Last time this trick worked for me, I had Markinen for three years. He finally heated up in Edmonton and shovelled him out the door for Brunette, a pick and somebody else. The other guy needed a tender and he was the most interesting achievable commodity available. Then at that moment, I hardly wanted to trade him. I NEEDED HIM. I traded anyway and worked the pieces around until I was comfortable. Labarbera sure isn\'t worth much. You pretty much have to sit on him for now. In a long term picture (this season) I have a hard time imagining him getting a ton of consecutive starts. There\'s a very good chance of the back-and-forth syndrome that is absolutely useless in most Fantasy leagues. You\'ll have him sitting when you should play him and have him playing when you should be sitting him.