Keith or Letang?

[icecube]

Keith or Letang in my keeper league?

[Southpaw20]

Rather have Keith on my real team BUTfor fantasy purposes, I go with Letang on a very potent Pitt offense. Of course having Crosby and Malkin healthy for full seasons is key. Let's hope for this in the future.

[Buck Fush]

Points, SHP, and +/- will be a wash. Letang is entrenched on his teams top pp unit, while keith seems to have been usurped by seabrook (he still plays 2nd unit with the likes of hossa, but he is not going to come close to the numbers he posted last year without getting back on the top Pp unit). Letang is a monster in leagues that count SOG and PIM. Considering your league counts those as well as Hits, I'd take Tanger here.

[SeaDawg]

Letang for me too. Both are great though.

[bondon]

Yeah I go with Letang too...Definitely the O-D of the future for them. Healthy PP with Neal Crosby Malkin = wow

[SeaDawg]

I definitely prefer Letang (as I already said)...but I wanted to mention that isn't it interesting how much changes in one year? Last year Keith won the Norris, was the 2nd top scoring dman in the league, led his team to the Stanley Cup. Letang had just come off another unspectacular season and was looking like second-fiddle to Goligoski and the newly acquired Martin was also a potential hurdle for Letang. I'm sure in the off-season no one would have traded Keith straight up for Letang.

Yet, less than a year later the vote in the poll is 11-0 for Letang. Amazing how much things change so quickly.

[unlevel]

Lol no kidding a lot happens in a year..Look at Chicago now lol and not to mention Letang was not the main man that year. Since then they've replaced Gonchar with him and it looks like the right move. He is an EPIC O-D to have in a keeper league. Qbing arguable the best/most talented ppg in the NHL. I would have taken Keith on that stacked team in that year as well but I doubt Pitt are going to lose anyone to the extent Chi-town did after that cup.

[islefan31]

Points, SHP, and +/- will be a wash. Letang is entrenched on his teams top pp unit, while keith seems to have been usurped by seabrook (he still plays 2nd unit with the likes of hossa, but he is not going to come close to the numbers he posted last year without getting back on the top Pp unit). Letang is a monster in leagues that count SOG and PIM. Considering your league counts those as well as Hits, I'd take Tanger here.

All really good points...Letang for me too.

[bballplyr321]

I am going to have to disagree with the group here. I still consider Keith to be the elite option that he was last season. His problem this season has been that he has played too many minutes. Coming off of a 100+ game season with the playoffs and all in addition , the man is tired to the HUGE jump in ice time, it is no wonder that his numbers have taken a dip. Meanwhile Letang has come out of nowhere. And the thing that worries me about Letang is since Crosby and Malkin have both gone down, he has completely disappeared. Now don’t get me wrong. You lose the two superstars on your team, I am pretty sure that anyone’s production is going to drop. But Letang has not just dropped. It is gone. A good player is going to score when he is given the chance to. A great player and one that can sustain production, makes the players around him better. Crosbys last game was Jan 5 vs TB. Since then, he has had a grand total of 2G and 8A over 27 games with a -13. Now I will admit, Keith has not done all that much more with 11 points over the same time frame but he is also being relied upon to be a defensive presence and at +11 over that span, I would say that he has definitely done his part to get the job done. I honestly feel that based on past performance and not a small sample size such as a 2 month period, that Keith is going to bounce back long term and be the superior player for the Hawks and for your fantasy team.

[SeaDawg]

I get what you are saying, bballplyr. Keith is certainly a legit option still. I am definitely not saying that. Both dmen are studs.

In Letang's defense, I will say this...since Crosby and Malkin have gone down, Letang has not put up huge numbers, but I think that is partly because his role has changed. As a team, Pittsburgh isn't scoring a lot right now, but they are still (surprising to me) winning more than their share of games. For the most part, they are winning these games in low-scoring affairs. And Letang is a huge part of that. He has changed his game and is focusing much more on defense, while still playing a crap load of minutes per game.

Nothing at all against Keith. I think your assessment of him is completely fair. But I just think Letang is focusing more on keeping the puck out of his net than rushing up the ice and creating scoring opportunities like he was doing when Crosby and Malkin were around. Also, the PP right now stinks and once those two are back (next year and beyond), Letang's mooch factor once again is very high. Keith is the better dman, no question in my mind, but you can't ignore Letang's situation. Playing with Crosby, Malkin, and Neal on the PP is going to be great for Letang's career (and fantasy value).

All that said, nice to see someone on Keith's side. He is a great player and one of the most valuable players at his position (both in real hockey and fantasy hockey).

Cheers.

[AtlantaSportsFan]

Duncan Keith, until Letang proves me wrong.

Letang is a streaky fantasy play, yearly, for me to trust him. He has to have a good season next year, and not a major drop off in points and goals, like in 09-10.

Keith will be back up around the 50 point mark next season, but I doubt he ever reaches close to 70 again.

If we were talking real hockey team, it be Keith hands down. This is actually close when it comes to fantasy but I'll give the nod to Keith. In two years my mind might change.

[bballplyr321]

I get what you are saying, bballplyr. Keith is certainly a legit option still. I am definitely not saying that. Both dmen are studs.

In Letang's defense, I will say this...since Crosby and Malkin have gone down, Letang has not put up huge numbers, but I think that is partly because his role has changed. As a team, Pittsburgh isn't scoring a lot right now, but they are still (surprising to me) winning more than their share of games. For the most part, they are winning these games in low-scoring affairs. And Letang is a huge part of that. He has changed his game and is focusing much more on defense, while still playing a crap load of minutes per game.

Nothing at all against Keith. I think your assessment of him is completely fair. But I just think Letang is focusing more on keeping the puck out of his net than rushing up the ice and creating scoring opportunities like he was doing when Crosby and Malkin were around. Also, the PP right now stinks and once those two are back (next year and beyond), Letang's mooch factor once again is very high. Keith is the better dman, no question in my mind, but you can't ignore Letang's situation. Playing with Crosby, Malkin, and Neal on the PP is going to be great for Letang's career (and fantasy value).

All that said, nice to see someone on Keith's side. He is a great player and one of the most valuable players at his position (both in real hockey and fantasy hockey).

Cheers.

Letang may have changed his game but he is -13 since Crosby went down. For a guy that was +23 when he changed his strategy to become a more defensive player, maybe he should change back. lol. Letang has certainly shocked me. I never would have expected this. I am just a little leary. And of course I am a little bias since I do have Keith on my team.