Q & A Segment 11/01/07

Its November already and the Forsberg rumors are already driving me nuts. I love the guy but I don't need to read the same article every day! Mini-Rant complete, onto the Q&A:

Sue
what guys should I unload in my keeper league? I mean, what guys have great value this year, but will have nothing next year?

Sue, thats a good question. If you actually told me who was on your team I could give you a direct answer. I will list some guys that should have lower stock next year.

Brindamour, Recchi, Roberts, Hasek, Sakic, Shanahan. Sakic and Brindy only because we never know if they will retire. Shanny because he is not getting any younger and the slow down seems to be happening. Hasek, Recchi and Roberts might not even have value this season, so next is deff out. Mike Modano is also a guy that might be worth fazing out in your fantasy league next year.

Ryan in Vancouver
As it stands right now,

everyone is wanting my first round pic included with Havlat,

The likes Of Nylander and Getzlaf are options for me, but i feel the price is just a bit too steep

Although, Getzlaf would cost me havlat & a 4/5th rd

would do you think about that?

Ryan (From past convos with Ryan I know he is in a points only pool that only keeps 6 players) That price is too steep for Havlat. He is not hurting you on IR so I'd wait him out for his value to rise. I initially loved the idea of Getzlaf + 4th/5th rounder for Havlat until I remembered it was a points only pool.

As a general rule on Havlat, there is no reason to trade him now when his value is so low. Wait him out. If you can get a young stud, PPG player or a young guy close to a PPG with upside, pull the trigger. Otherwise wait it out for his value to rise. Once his stock does rise (if ever) trade away asap!

Heath
I am falling out of love with Vanek. I hate watching Buffalo games as a Toronto fan and his slow start is annoying. I have been offered Antropov and Tlusty by a guy that knows I am a Toronto fan. I am in a keeper so I am thinking this could be worth it. What do you think?

Heath, you won't find many guys as big on Antropov as I am. I have him in all my leagues and I was able to steal him late in drafts. In my keeper I traded him to a TOR fan when he heated up last year and I was able to redraft him late when he was not kept. I have felt he had this potential all along. That said, you can't make this deal. I predicted Vanek would have a down year. He will be back to form if not later this year, by next for sure. Tlusty looks great, but he is still unproven and the wire is probably full of prospects like him. Antropov has injury issues in the past. My man crush has me believing those days are gone, but its still too early to move a player like Vanek for him, even if it includes a solid looking prospect. Vanek is one of the top 5 Left Wings in the game. That position is too hard to fill, even if you have to wait a year for him to get back to the top 5 status.

Kevin
For Halloween I am going as a Zamboni driver. If you could go as any hockey player in history, who would you go as?

Kevin, a few years back the NYR had a player that was (no disrespect intended) one of the ugliest people I have seen in my life. I think his name was Genome. I might be spelling it wrong, I should research it but I fear seeing a picture of him. Thats who I would go as, so I could scare little kids.

Gerry in Coreytown
I have Marc Andre Fluery. Single season pool. Should I pick up Sabouren? If I do, who should I drop? Hecht, Pyatt, Stumple? Deep league so not much on the wire.

Gerry, I would drop Stumpel and add Sabourin. He has looked great and is getting his first B2B start. MAF is in no long term jeopardy (IMO) but Sabi could steal starts the next several weeks. If the wire is thin you have to add him to protect yourself.

Millsie
I am Boston fan and I am PISSED about Bergeron. To top it off some guy beat me to adding Krejci from the wire and then offered Krejci to me in a trade. This is a keeper league with standard scoring with PIMs and short handed points. Should I reward the little **** and trade him Comrie for Krejci. I'd like to keep Krejci long term and I am not confident in the furniture salesman.

Millsie, sometimes in fantasy hockey its more fun to have who you want than it is to win. If this is the case with you then make the deal. If you want to win let him hold Krejci. I am a fan of Krejci but Metro is getting Bergeron's spot right now. There is no reason at this point to think Krejci is going to burst into fantasy flames and torch the league. Comrie is the real deal on the island. He will outproduce Krejci for a few more years yet. Wait it out and see if you can get him cheaper later. If he was on the FA list, he can't be in that big of a demand.

Nick
Is it time to drop Selanne in my keeper? If I drop a guy I kept going into the year I can pull a player up from my farm team without penalty. If I drop Selanne which farm team guy should I call up? Setoguchi or Kane?

Nick, thats some nice options on the farm team. Because of the way Wilson juggles his lines and his history of sending guys back to the AHL even when playing well, I'd go with Kane for this year. And yes, I'd drop Selanne ASAP to get one of those kids up. Even if Selanne comes back, he is out of shape, a year older and will his heart really be in it? Its time to let him go. Let the Kane era begin for your team. Not sure what your penalty is for calling up a farm team guy, but it might be worth it to bring up Seto.

Drop Knuble
Should I drop Mike Knuble and add Scott Upshall? He is due back and Knuble has been terrible.

At this point I'd rather have Knuble becuase he can finish and does not have the injury stigma that Upshall does. I like Upshall, maybe you can find a lesser player to drop in order to add him?

Vick
I picked up fantasy hockey to replace my old hobby. Its not as exciting and I am hit by injuries. When one of my players got hurt in my old sport I would just drown them or hang them in a tree. Should I send Lehtonen out to pasture or wait for him to come back? His poor start in net is brutal, I'd like to beat that dog.

Vick, while I encourage humor in questions and originality, I can't say I found your joke funny. Is that because I don't want to pis off PETA or because it was a bad joke? Hard to say. Lehtonen is not hurting anyone on IR. Let him sit there and hope for a big come back.

Randy
I hear Avery is coming off IR. Who should I drop to make room? Lucic or Neil?

Randy, I would rather have Lucic. He fights plenty and he has upside. I think we have seen the best Neil can give. If you have to drop one of those two, its gotta be Neil.

Thats it for now. Keep'em coming.

UPDATE

Pat
Need a quick answer here... full keeper, fairly deep league. I have a couple guys coming back from IR, so I need to drop two of Johan Franzen, Darren Haydar and Colby Armstrong. I'm leaning towards Haydar at the moment since I doubt Franzen will get used much in a scoring role and Colby has just gotten worse and worse in the last seasons. So who do I keep and which two do I drop and why?

Pat, Haydar is an easy drop. he has never been able to transfer his awesome AHL numbers to the NHL. Playing with Kovalchuk is doing nothing for him either. Franzen will outscore Coby this year and play short handed. He should see time with Zetts. That said, I have Armstrong on my main keeper and I feel he is worth holding another year. If PIT has a coaching change that could be all he needs to get going. He showed us he can do it in the past, he might just need a change.

I'd drop Haydar and Franzen or try to take the time to trade Franzen. If its fairly deep someone should pay for him. If you are trying to win this season Franzen might be worth keeping over Armstrong, but I like Armstrong the most long term here. As crazy as that sounds!