Fantasy Mailbag - January 24

[GoalieGuild]

Hey Justin - thanks ahead of time! I posted a thread on this, then saw your mailbag!

My team/league in sig. Which of Pavelec, Crawford, Bobrovsky would you keep? We're in year 3 of a 5 year league, so it's only a couple more seasons.

My thoughts go like this:

Pavelec is most talented of the 3, but in the worst situation (Atlanta, potential for lots of D-man turnover).

Crawford is most stable/least likely to suck next year lol. Good situation in CHI, but is he their goalie of the future? (this was part of another question above). He's a RFA after this year. Chicago D situation looks to be mostly consistent too.

Bobrovsky is probably in the best situation, on a top team (Philly), signed for the term I'm looking at, and their D looks like it'll be fairly consistent too.

Thanks again Justin - Can't wait for the article (2 of them are mine lol).

This is a tough question. You're in the third year of a five-year league. You have one guy who has stepped up and established himself as a pretty legitimate elite starter in Pavelec, but he's on a wishy-washy and young team.

You have two other goalies on better teams that are rookies yet their stock rises on a weekly basis.

Part of me wants to say Pavelec should be retained - he's the most experienced and most talented of the three ... and has the least amount of pressure from a backup stealing games.

Part of me wants to say to keep Crawford and Bobrovksy due to their solid defensive corps and quality teams. In that regard, I'd keep Bobrovsky over Crawford. But I think Crawford is more refined and does a better job of eliminating space in the prime scoring areas, so that weighs more in Crawford's favor.

Pavelec might be the best goalie, but that doesn't mean he's going to generate the best trade value if you were to move him. So I think I would let Pavelec go if I had to choose.

Between Bobrovsky and Crawford ... this one is really up in the air and tough to choose who to keep over the other.

Personally, I'd hang on to Bobrovsky. I think he has quicker feet and is more raw-skilled and I definitely think the Flyers are a more solid team than Chicago, on both sides of the ice. He probably has a bit more pressure from other goalies (Boucher, Leighton) but I still like how much better he could get between now and next season.

I'd hang on to Bobrovsky, but it's a really fine line between he and Crawford.

[holdUP]

Just to let you know, I made a poll in the thread I started (same as my question, which of the 3 to keep). Funny enough, 50% Pavelec, 50% Crawford, 0% Bobrovsky!

[GoalieGuild]

Hi Justin,

This is a question for the first team in my sig - we only keep one goalie with more than 150 NHL games played (Fleury) but we can have any number of goaltending prospects as long as they have not played more than 150 NHL games. I currently have Bernier and Neuvirth but I wanted to add another young goalie at my upcoming mid-season draft, who are the top 3 that I should target out of the following who are available?

Thanks in advance for your help, it is muc appreciated. I really love the goalie-centric point of view that you offer.

Bobrovsky - PHIL | C. Crawford - CHIC | James Reimer - TOR | Robin Lehner - OTT | C. Schneider - Van | A Lindback - NASH

Interesting setup. So you could have 15 goalie prospects so long as they haven't played 150 games?? That sounds way fun haha. I'd load em up and let 'em ride!!

Definitely snag Lindback and Schneider and Bobrovsky. All three are on solid defensive teams and all three have crazy upside. Lindback and Schneider are big goalies that also have great quickness. Schneider has the North American experience, while Lindback has the crazy speed, great coaching and lots of opportunity on Nashville. Similar to the question I just answered below, it's kind of a toss-up between Bobrovsky and Crawford. That's where your tough decision will come in. I could go either way here, and it will ultimately come down to which team you like better ... philly or chicago and in that regard I personally go with Philly.

Then you can easily see that Reimer and Lehner are stil a ways out when it comes to them being polished for the NHL. Reimer had early success and won some games in January, but he still has a lot of things to work on and the Leafs are a weak team. Same with Lehner ... he's got awesome upside, but still needs another year in the AHL.

So I would definitely snag Lindback and Schneider and then make a choice between Crawford and Bobrovsky with my personal edge going to Bob.

[TK12555]

hey goldy! three questions for you-

a) Backstrom-injury prone or a legit goalie?
b) same as above but for Varlamov?
c) entering my first "draft" (i do auctions)...24 teams, 23 players. At what point should i snag a goalie? when do they usually get drafted?

[GoalieGuild]

Once again, thanks for doing this.

I am thinking of making a trade, it involves players as well but the goalies would include my Halak for his Thomas. My question is what do you expect from these two for this year. win = 2 shutout = 5. They have 35 (Halak) and 34 (thomas) games left.

I am trying to figure out how much better thomas would be so I can make a decision on the players I include. I am a little worried of Rask getting more time so any input is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

I just got home from scouting the Avs/Blues game and Halak was good early but weaker as the game went on. He was fighting the puck a lot and gave up two really weak goals. He's definitely going to learn the hard way what it's like to be a full-blown starter in the NHL. He looked more than just "calm and composed" ... he looked tired. He didn't have the sharp focus we saw last season. He's just tired...and he showed more signs of losing focus as the game went on. Wasn't a great showing, and it's just one game, but it seems like he's been sslightly below average lately.

Not saying he'll be below average for the rest of the season, but clearly you're better off with Thomas. Rask will play some games, but Thomas has remained healthy and as long as he's rolling along, he'll be a much better fantasy value compared to Halak. I would (depending on the forwards of course) definitely snag Thomas for Halak.

[GoalieGuild]

hey goldy! three questions for you-

a) Backstrom-injury prone or a legit goalie?
b) same as above but for Varlamov?
c) entering my first "draft" (i do auctions)...24 teams, 23 players. At what point should i snag a goalie? when do they usually get drafted?

A. Legit goalie. I don't think he's any more prone to injury than the next guy. But it's worth noting that he's having hip and back issues, and those are always a little more serious than things like a routine groin pull or something like that. But it's good he's back and healthy again. He's played well this year for the most part.

B. Legit goalie. I think because he is a very active goalie with a lot of energy, he'll get caught over-extending himself sometimes. That will lead to the occasional groin pull, but he's too young for it to be something I woud consider chronic. The more he plays, the stronger he'll get for the time being and I expect him to be just fine.

C. Goalies usually get drafted very high. It just depends on what you want to accomplish with your team. I always snag a goalie in the first or second round, unless I pick first or second and then it's Crosby or Ovie. But if I'm picking 4th-12th then I go for a goalie.