Fantasy Storylines
03 Nov 2008 by in Fantasy NHL
Fantasy hockey has become a lucrative business, and many hockey fans participate in leagues every year. Managing your own fantasy team can increase your knowledge of the game and the players in the NHL. Fantasy sports force people to look outside there favorite teams and examine the strengths of the entire league. If you have never played or are a fantasy sports pro, I suggest giving hockey a try it can be a lot of fun.
Rick Dipietro - The Islanders put a lot of faith in Dipietro signing him to a massive contract, the problem is he keeps getting hurt. Dipietro had knee surgery and he is expected to miss 4 – 6 weeks. Rick only made three starts this year and failed to pick up a win, which no doubt has irritated fantasy owners out there. My suggestion is to get rid of Dipietro depending on how many IR spots you have on your roster. The Islanders are not very good, and even if Dipietro has a successful comeback he might not be worth a roster spot for the next 6 weeks. Hopefully Rick comes back, is healthy and can lead the Islanders to some wins. My advice is to drop him and try and pick him up in 5 weeks or so, or just draft him again next year.
Corey Perry - Perry like many of his Duck teammates got off to a slow start, but has been on fire recently. After recording 3 points in his first 8 games, Perry and the Ducks caught fire and in the next 5 Corey increased his totals in 15 points. Hopefully you had patience with Perry and kept him on your roster. Historically Perry is a great fantasy player with goals, power play points and penalty minutes. My suggestion is to keep Perry unless you get blown away by a deal, you could trade him his value might never be higher then it is right now. If you are going to trade Perry make sure you trade high and get a top 15 player in return. Perry and the Ducks are off and running and his numbers should remain good for the rest of the year.
Brendan Shanahan and Mats Sundin – Rumors are swirling that these veterans are about to return to the NHL. Shanahan is not the player he once was, but depending on where he goes can be productive. If you need shots and power play points, this might be the time to pick up Shanny and take a flyer that he might return. As for Sundin its hard to predict what is going to happen here, but Mats is still a point a game player. Sundin still deserves a roster spot in any fantasy league and depending on where he goes might be a real free agent steal. If you are struggling and need some offensive help take a chance with one of these veterans, what do you have to lose.
Martin Brodeur - Brodeur left the game early Saturday with an apparent elbow injury. He has already been ruled out of Monday night’s game and the full details have not been given. Don’t panic, you need to wait and see what the extent of the injury is. Martin is one of the most durable players in the NHL and hopefully the injury isn’t to serious. Keep your eye on the news, if Brodeur is out for an extended period of time, you will need to pick up a short period replacement.
Alexander Ovechkin is expected to return from Russia for this weeks games. You can hear the sigh of relief from all the fantasy owners out there, and hopefully OV will come back at the top of his game.
Sell High - Every year there are players who get off to great starts and fantasy owners have an opportunity to sell them while there stock is high. By sell I mean trade and get a higher valued player or more talented. The key to this is figuring out which players will keep the numbers going and which ones will fall of the leader boards. Mikko Koivu, has a career high 54 points and is on pace for more then 100 this year. Koivu has been playing great, but it might be a good time to sell while the value is high. Devin Setoguchi , is a second year player with the Sharks averaging a point a game, Filip Kuba has a career high 37 points and is on pace to smash that by getting more then a point a game. As for goalies Tim Thomas and Nikolai Khabibulin are off to great starts and might be able to get some good value. The key to making these kind of deals is trying to figure out whether these numbers will continue. If you can trade these guys for more proven performers do it, while you can.
Buy Low - On the flip side there is always players who get off to slow starts and fantasy owners will give up on them. The biggest case of this so far is Marty Turco, goalie in Dallas. With a save percentage of .837, Marty is definitely off to a horrible start. His numbers will improve as he has a career save percentage of .911 and is one of the most consistent goalies in the league. Forwards you should look at are Derek Roy from Buffalo, Martin St Louis from Tampa, Jonathon Toews from Chicago and RJ Umberger in Columbus. These guys are all of to slow starts and there numbers have no where to go but up.
Fantasy hockey is good for the game, it allows fans to educate themselves and become fans of the entire league not just one team. No matter what your strategy is or what kind of league your in, if you can ride players hot streaks and get great players at low value you will do well in your pool. Have fun, do your homework and enjoy the NHL.