Following a flurry of moves to start the season, my fantasy hockey team now sits in 3rd place, after hanging around in the middle of the pack for the first week or two of the season. Granted, some owners might call me impatient, considering how many free agent moves I made to begin the year, but I feel like, out of all the fantasy sports I play, I'm probably strongest at hockey. And I don't make moves without carefully considering them first.
Firstly, we'll take a look at my current roster, and then I'll break down some of the moves I made:
F - John Tavares, NYI
F - Jonathan Toews, CHI
F - Henrik Zetterberg, DET
F - Henrik Sedin, VAN
F - Jordan Eberle, EDM
F - Tanner Pearson, LA
D - Dion Phaneuf, TOR
D - Roman Josi, NSH
D - Alexander Edler, VAN
D - Dennis Wideman, CGY
G - Carey Price, MON
G - Jimmy Howard, DET
Bench - Alex Galchenyuk, MON
Bench - Tyler Bozak, TOR
Bench - Nick Foligno, CLS
Bench - Devante Smith-Pelly, ANA
Recent moves:
-Added Alex Galchenyuk (C - MON); dropped Brent Burns (W - SJ).
Yes, Brent Burns is one of the hottest players in the league right now. So, what was I thinking dropping him? Unfortunately, on CBS, he's only eligible at Forward (I even emailed CBS fantasy hockey to confirm this. He won't gain eligibility on defense until next season). And while he's currently hot enough to start at forward, there's no way he'll keep it up. His highest point total for a season was 48, which came in the '13-'14 season while playing at Forward. So, the chances of him surpassing that number on Defense aren't too good. And, regardless of how well he's playing at the moment, he would've been riding my bench, because I simply can't start a defenseman at Forward. But, of course, Burns was claimed off waivers by another owner (who probably thinks he'll gain eligibility on D at some point during the season). I predict he'll ultimately get dropped again when that owner figures out he won't. Galchenyuk, on the other hand, is a legitimate stud, and could very well break out in a big way this season.
-Added Tyler Bozak (C - TOR); dropped Alexander Semin (RW - CAR).
Honestly, I don't know why I drafted Semin in the first place. At the time, it seemed like a good idea, but I was almost instantly down on him, and after he got off to a slow start, I cut bait and ran. He too was claimed off waivers, but was recently dropped again. Is he capable of a point-per-game production? It's possible. But when you factor in age, health, and the mediocre team he plays for, I don't think his chances are too good. Bozak, on the other hand, is skating on the top line in Toronto, in between Phil Kessel & James van Riemsdyk, and has been on a tear since last season, when he was on a near point-per-game pace while he was healthy. Is he as talented as Semin? No. But he does have a far better opportunity to produce.
-Added Nick Foligno (LW - CLS); dropped Scott Hartnell (LW - CLS).
Ok, so this one hurts a little bit (no pun intended). Foligno has been on fire to start the season, playing on the top line in Columbus with Ryan Johansen, but the moment I dropped Hartnell for him, he get knocked out against the boards, and Hartnell explodes for 4 assists in one game. Doh! Can't win em all, I suppose. But it appears as if Foligno should be ok, and should resume skating on the first line when he returns to the team (if he misses any time at all). Hartnell is a solid player in his own right, and this was a far tougher decision than dropping either Burns or Semin. But, assuming he's alright, it appears Foligno might finally be living up to his billing as an elite power forward. And if he can remain on the top line after Brandon Dubinsky returns from the IR, he could be in store for a major breakout.
-Added Tanner Pearson (LW - LA); dropped John Gibson (G - ANA).
Though Gibson has finally returned to the Duck's lineup after his 6 goal debacle on opening night, he won't be returning to mine. I dropped him immediately following his disastrous opening night and scooped up Pearson, who has been on fire skating with the red hot Jeff Carter & Tyler Toffoli in Los Angeles. And while Gibson should ultimately turn it around, Frederik Andersen has all but solidified himself as the #1 net minder in Anaheim, and unless he suddenly implodes, it looks like Gibson may have to wait another year before he gets a shot to be the man between the pipes.
-Added Dennis Wideman (D - CGY); dropped Eric Gelinas (D - NJ).
Technically, I dropped Trevor Daley for Wideman, as I dropped Gelinas for Daley originally. Most owners would probably opt for Daley over Wideman at the moment, but Wideman has the proven track record, whereas Daley does not. Yes, Daley is quarterbacking the power play in Dallas, and will surely surpass his season point totals this year. But, similarly, Wideman is QBing the PP for a suddenly potent Flame's offense and has shown in the past that he is capable of producing big numbers on defense. Plus, he's already scored 5 goals, and should easily crack the double-digit mark in that regard as well.
-Added Devante Smith-Pelly (RW - ANA); dropped Hampus Lindholm (D - ANA).
Although Lindholm has been playing well enough, and will certainly help you with +/-, I couldn't resist adding the new line mate of Corey Perry & Ryan Getzlaf. Yes, you read that right. Smith-Pelly is skating alongside possibly the best 1-2 punch in the league. Granted, he could still use a little more time on the PP, but if Perry & Getzlaf isn't a recipe for success, I don't know what is.
League Transactions (excluding my own):
--Added
Adam Henrique, C - NJ
Tommy Wingels, C - SJ
Ondrej Pavelec, G - WPG
Brock Nelson, C - NYI
Scott Hartnell, LW - CLS
Ryan Ellis, D - NSH
Mason Raymond, LW - CGY
Mikkel Boedker, LW - ARI
Hampus Lindholm, D - ANA
Anton Stralman, D - TB
Brent Burns, RW - SJ
Zach Bogosian, D - WPG
Robin Lehner, G - OTT
Niklas Svedberg, G - BOS
PA Parenteau, RW - MON
Andre Burakovsky, LW - WSH
Nick Leddy, D - NYI
Cam Atkinson, RW - CLS
Craig Smith, C - NSH
Damon Severson, D - NJ
Filip Forsberg, C - NSH
Mike Cammalleri, C - NJ
Bryan Little, C - WPG
--Dropped
Reilly Smith, RW - BOS
James Reimer, G - TOR
Alexander Semin, RW - CAR
Antti Raanta, G - CHI
Tobias Enstrom, D - WPG
Dustin Tokarski, G - MON
Mikael Granlund, C - MIN
Jonathan Huberdeau, LW - FLA
Jay Bouwmeester, D - STL
Mikko Koivu, C - MIN
Andy Greene, D - NJ
Valtteri Filppula, C - TB
Ryan Callahan, RW - TB
Steve Downie, RW - PIT
Evgeni Nabokov, G - TB
Dan Hamhuis, D - VAN
Matt Moulson, LW - BUF
Al Montoya, G - FLA
Karri Ramo, G - CGY
Reto Berra, G - COL
Mats Zuccarello, RW - NYR
Justin Faulk, D - CAR
Matt Niskanen, D - WSH
Jaromir Jagr, RW - NJ
Nazem Kadri, C - TOR
Seth Jones, D - NSH
Morgan Rielly, D - TOR
Valeri Nichushkin, RW - DAL
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C - WSH
Brandon Dubinsky, C - CLS
Martin Jones, G - LA
Clarke MacArthur, LW - OTT
Jhonas Enroth, G - BUF
Dustin Brown, RW - LA
Eddie Lack, G - VAN
Pascal Dupuis, RW - PIT
Patrick Maroon, LW - ANA
My Watch List:
--C
David Desharnais, MON
Mikael Granlund, MIN
Ryan Strome, NYI
Chris Kelly, BOS
Nick Bonino, VAN
Joe Colborne, CGY
Mikhail Grabovski, NYI
William Karlsson, ANA
Andrew Shaw, CHI
Mike Ribeiro, NSH
Sean Monahan, CGY
Carl Soderberg, BOS
Nick Bjugstad, FLA
Mike Richards, LA
Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH
Mikko Koivu, MIN
Jori Lehtera, STL
Mikael Backlund, CGY
Brayden Schenn, PHI
Justin Hodgman, ARI
Sean Couturier, PHI
Aleksander Barkov, FLA
Martin Hanzal, ARI
Valtteri Filppula, TB
Sam Reinhart, BUF
Nazem Kadri, TOR
Derick Brassard, NYR
Mika Zibanejad, OTT
Leon Draisaitl, EDM
Cody Hodgson, BUF
Derek Stepan, NYR
--W
Jason Zucker, MIN
Charlie Coyle, MIN
Matt Beleskey, ANA
Pascal Dupuis, PIT
Ryan Callahan, TB
Johnny Gaudreau, CGY
Jiri Hudler, CGY
Anthony Duclair, NYR
Justin Abdelkader, DET
Ryane Clowe, NJ
Clarke MacArthur, OTT
Nikita Kucherov, TB
Jaromir Jagr, NJ
Jakob Silfverberg, ANA
Jiri Tlusty, CAR
Troy Brouwer, WSH
Mark Scheifele, WPG
Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA
Alex Tanguay, COL
Patrik Elias, NJ
Dustin Brown, LA
Justin Williams, LA
Linden Vey, VAN
Reilly Smith, BOS
Joffrey Lupul, TOR
Tomas Tatar, DET
Patrick Maroon, ANA
Nail Yakupov, EDM
Alexander Semin, CAR
--D
Trevor Daley, DAL
Jared Spurgeon, MIN
Andy Greene, NJ
Kris Russell, CGY
Justin Braun, SJ
Paul Martin, PIT
Tobias Enstrom, WPG
Alexei Emelin, MON
Simon Despres, PIT
Cody Franson, TOR
Matt Niskanen, WSH
Eric Gelinas, NJ
Lubomir Visnovsky, NYI
Seth Jones, NSH
Dan Girardi, NYR
Danny DeKeyser, DET
Aaron Ekblad, FLA
Jason Demers, SJ
Ryan Murray, CLS
Morgan Rielly, TOR
Griffin Reinhart, NYI
Dan Hamhuis, VAN
Michael Del Zotto, PHI
Darnell Nurse, EDM
Matt Irwin, SJ
Nick Holden, COL
--G
Ray Emery, PHI
Karri Ramo, CGY
James Reimer, TOR
Ben Scrivens, EDM
Martin Jones, LA
Jonas Gustavsson, DET
Justin Peters, WSH
Antti Raanta, CHI
Reto Berra, COL
Devan Dubnyk, ARI
Michal Neuvirth, BUF
Jhonas Enroth, BUF
Michael Hutchison, WPG
Anton Khudobin, CAR
Viktor Fasth, EDM
Cam Ward, CAR
Josh Harding, MIN
+NHL
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