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ASK SLAM!
By CHRIS NICHOLS -- SLAM! Sports
Chris, thanks to your daily help, I'm now in 1st by about 10 pts in my espn
roto league. When I activate Cujo from IR, I need to drop one of my 7D.
Have Pronger, Pitkanen, Boyle, Slegr, Rafalski, Corvo and Jonsson (the
Islander). For the season, it seems like it should be Corvo or Jonsson, but
Rafalski has been weak for 20 games, has a bruised leg and with less than 20
to go? I need D points and +/-, but not PIM's or shots. Help, please.
Thanks. Dave
If you're carrying two or three goalies, I might think about dropping a forward instead. It's always good to have defensive depth and in ESPN leagues you should be using six: five for D and one in the UTIL slot. That's the easiest way to win the DEF category.
That said, Corvo is probably the guy I'd drop for now. Rafalski should only be day-to-day and it really doesn't seem as bad as initially thought. Rafalski is likely to be active by the beginning of next week, which is right around when Cujo will need to be activated.
Hi Chris: Not a week after you told me that D. Sedin was the best of the LW FA's in my pool he single-handedly wins a game over Detroit. You must be one of these hockey gods I keep hearing of.
Anyway, Kozlov has just come off the IR and I have a decision to make - I have to choose between dropping the aforementioned, Koivu, Whitney, or Smyth.
Also, since you are omniscient, can you set up a playoff tree showing who will win the cup - as long as Vancouver makes it to the CF I'm happy.
P.
Also, I thought I'd let you know that I am now 2 points away from third and it would be absolutely huge for me to steal that spot this week before the playoffs. Thanks for all the help.
Thanks. I would actually hold off on activating Kozlov. Koivu is not a guy you'd want to drop outright; Whitney is playing with Lang and could see a big jump in his fantasy value if he sticks on that line and Smyth has been hot, hot, hot. You may want to attempt a trade.
Once the playoff matches have been set I'll do a round-by-round analysis. Honestly though, with the way the league is now it's getting tougher and tougher each year to pick the winners.
Chris,
Your advice has been great all season. This is the 3rd one I'm sending you. I've got Graham, Cloutier, Weekes, and Roloson for goalies.
I've been coasting most of the season in first, up by more then 300 pts in a just about everything counts league. 2nd place has cut it to less then 150 in just about 2-3 days as his goalies were going and mine haven't been for almost a week. Graham isn't getting any starts anymore, and Roloson has been away for personal reasons. Giggy is heating up, and is at least getting starts where Graham isn't. Should I make the switch?
Thanks for all your help this season. Spezza has been great all season. And your advice in your column is always dead on.
Todd
Tampa is pretty tough to predict when it comes to goaltending. Khabi is hot right now, but by next week we could see Grahame riding a hot streak. I would drop Grahame for JSG now, but only because JSG has been playing well and ANH has a favorable schedule coming up against teams that don't score many goals.
And yeah, Spezza has been very productive. He makes up for the stinker picks of Hemsky and Sejna.
Dear Chris: Your advice is my tie breaker. I have held Kariya for weeks now and he is cold. Tampa's Modin is available in two H2H leagues in which I have moved toward the top. The playoffs start next week. Do I hang to the end with Kariya? Or throw him to the scrap pile and pick up Modin? I considered a trade, but these are non-trading leagues, where the people don't trade or answer. Thank you for your help again Chris:
Vern
Tough call. Modin has been scorching hot lately with the explosive Tampa offense. Kariya has been ice cold and the Avs are temporarily struggling, although we know the team's struggles won't last. I guess since the playoffs are here you might want to go with the hot guy, but Modin is known as a streaky player. Kariya was hot when he came back from his last injury and he's a better bet to score than Modin. If it's my team, I go down with the ship and keep Kariya. I can totally understand dropping him for Modin though.
Hi Chris: I have an interesting trade on the table in my yahoo roto league which counts G, A, +/-, PIM, PPP, GWG...The trade is my Lecavalier for his Havlat. My team is as follows C - Marleau, Elias, Lecavalier, Forsberg LW- Forsberg, Zetterberg, Kariya, Elias RW- Iginla, Hull, Heatley D- Aucoin, Berard, Niedermayer, Redden...It's tough for me since Vinnie has been unreal in the second half and is playing with St. Louis. Havlat is also playing well and qualifies for both RW and LW which I like and makes me lean towards Havlat. What do you think?
Thanks, Rob
It's an even deal and both guys should continue to produce. Since Havlat gives you more options in terms of positioning, the deal works for you. I prefer Vinnie, but you're fine to accept the deal.
I have been cruising along in first for most of the season thanks to your
help, but right now I have fallen out of first mostly due to my goaltending.
Currently I am running with Brodeur, Legace, and Osgood, however as soon as
Joseph gets back I am going to need to pick up another goaltender. The free
agents with any value in my league are DiPietro, Grahame, Denis, Kolzig,
Salo, Noronen, Fernandez, and Dunham. Who do you think is going to be the
best down the stretch? Also, should I drop Legace or keep him and get rid of
Mogilny (I am stacked at forward)? Thanks for the help.
DiPietro and Kolzig are the two guys that interest me. Keep in mind that Legace may be worth hanging onto, depending on how healthy Joseph is. With the bad luck the Wings have had in net this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see Joseph get hurt within a week of coming back.
Kolzig obviously only has value with a trade where he'll be a number one guy, rather than a platoon situation.
Osgood is the X factor for your team, but I'd have to think that STL will get better.
I am in a 12 team keeper league, I have been offered the following trade,
D-Gonchar(WAS) W-Hull(DET) for W-Havlat(OTT) D-MacInnis(STL)(on IR career
maybe done)In my league players have 3 year contracts, Havlat has only one
year remaining, while the others have two years remaining. We are only
allowed to keep 5 players, if I make this move, it probably will leave me
with the following keepers, Thornton, Spezza, Hossa, Lidstrom, Gonchar.
Other keeper options include, Marleau, Joseph, Esche, Hasek, so I have some
depth in the keeper department, and with Gonchar being moved at the trade
deadline (NHL), it increases his value? Should I make the move???
The value of MacInnis in any keeper league is pretty much nil right now. Havlat is very nice, but Gonchar is in a whole other class. Take the deal.
In a Yahoo H2H league counting PIM's, would you drop Modano for Zhamnov? Also, Derek Morris...? Should I drop him. There's not much available, but his stock
isn't likely to improve if he's traded to the Caps.
Thanks, Rob
I guess I'd drop Modano, but I still am patiently waiting for him to turn it on. It's crunch time in most leagues though, so you have to go with guys that are producing.
With Morris, it just depends on your options. His +/- would take a serious dive in Washington, but he'd score more.
Chris: Great column, I have moved up from 8th to 2nd with all your advice. I am in a typical Yahoo H2H league and need some guidance again. Have you heard on Cechmanek coming back soon? I heard 1 week. He is available on the FA. I considering dropping Burke to pick him up, with Esche returning and splitting the starts. My other goalies are Aebischer & Kipper.
Thanks again
-Jim
I think we're looking at a week at the minimum with Cechmanek. I would honestly consider just keeping Aebischer and Kipper (Who will each post excellent stats) and just stick Burke in on nights where they don't play, assuming Philly continues to play well. Esche should get most of the starts, but Burke will get some.
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.
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