ASK SLAM!
By CHRIS NICHOLS -- SLAM! Sports
Hi Chris: Great column! I'm in a very deep league. Trading is pretty much non-existent. Goalies count W, T and SO. There are very few goalies available via free-agency. Would you drop Hackett for any of these guys? - Sauve, Caron, Kidd, Schwab, Shields, Passmore, Ouellet.
Chris in Ottawa
Probably not. Hackett's status is still up in the air, but he's got way more upside than any of those guys for this season.
Hey Chris, keep up the good work. I'm in a keeper league and I was wondering if I should trade Selanne for Kovalev straight up. The guy who has Kovy made him available. Thanks.
Carlo
Struggling guy for struggling guy. I'd rather have Kovy though, especially since the Jagr factor has come into play.
Chris: I love reading your fantasy hockey advice and was wondering if you could help me out. I'm in a standard Yahoo roto hockey league and need to make up goalie games fast. I'm on pace to finish the season with 124 out of 164 games played, and want to pick up a goalie. My goalies right now are Khabibulin, Nabokov, Roloson, and Esche (now injured). Available on waivers are Prusek, Kiprusoff, Gerber and Hackett. I've got 4 centers and looking to drop one for a 5th goalie but I can't decide who to drop. I've got Jokinen, Lecavalier, Handzus and Doug Weight. I'm leading the league in +/- and PIM and need power play points most of all. Jokinen for Prusek? Is that my best option?
Thanks, Jared
I would drop Jokinen or Handzus for Kipper without a doubt.
I have picked up Boguniecki when he came off of the IR. Which looked to be a good move at the time but now I don't know. My RW are pretty deep with my other RW being Hossa, Jagr, Heatley & Selanne. How ever my LW isn't I only have Roberts & Elias. Prospal, Modin, D Sedin, Calder, & Frolov available. What do you think?
Chris/Detroit
I'd mix it up and drop Boguniecki and add either Prospal or Modin for now. Be prepared to drop them a few weeks down the road and add someone else.
Hey Chris: What are your thoughts on Thomas and Langenbrunner and Blake for the rest of the year? Do you think Nolan and Gonchar will produce coming off their injuries?
Thanks, Joe
I don't see big slumps for Nolan or Gonchar. That's partially because of their teams and partially because they're great players.
The other three guys will definitely contribute, but I wouldn't say they're guys I'd have to have on my fantasy team. Whether or not you should keep them completely depends on your free agent options.
Question on trade tactics:
Yahoo roto-league, G, A, +-, PIM, PPP, GWG & SOG; 3 forwards @ each position, 5 defensemen. I'm first or second in all offensive categories except SOG and GWG, where I'm middle-of-the-pack. Someone offered up any of their RW (St. Louis, Alfredsson, Hejduk or Heatley) for a solid D-man with good power play time. I'm alright at RW (Hossa, Williams, Samsonov & Mellanby) but could use an upgrade on Williams and have decent depth at D (Blake, Morris, Foote, Zidlicky, Zubov, Slegr and D. Markov).
The questions are: would you offer a trade? If so, should I just offer up Blake right off the bat for Hejduk or Alfredsson and not play around? If so, which of those 2 do you think will have a better second half? Seems like a close choice to me and either would be fine.
The only offensive categories I'm not first or second in is SOG and GWG.
Thanks! Nathan, San Francisco
I would definitely target Hejduk, but I would lead with an offer of Morris and Slegr. Slegr has jumped off to a great start in Boston, but this is not Bobby Orr here. I'd take advantage of his good start and deal him while his value is high right now.
Hey Chris: As you've heard Esche got injured. I have Grahame as my alternate. It looks like he and Khabi are alternating right now. Kipper is coming back. Should I drop someone or trade for a goalie or sit tight? Here is my lineup. I just don't know who I should drop:
Richards, Brad (C-TB)
Bertuzzi, Todd (RW-Van)
Aucoin, Adrian (D-NYI)
Tarnstrom, Dick (D-Pit)
Zetterberg, Henrik (LW-Det)
Lang, Robert (C-Was
Lecavalier, Vincent (C-TB)
Gonchar, Sergei NA (D-Was)
Bure, Valeri (RW-Fla)
LeClair, John (LW-Phi)
Grahame, John (G-TB)
Esche, Robert (G-Phi)
Thanks any insight would be greatly appreciated. Alex
I would drop LeClair and add Kipper immediately. LeClair has been really hot with Recchi and Handzus, but Kipper has more long term value for this year.
Have a fantasy hockey question? Drop me a line at
chris_nichols@canoemail.com. I do my best to answer all questions within 24 hours, depending on the volume of emails. Please keep the questions short. Your fantasy questions may be answered in our Ask Slam! section.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
