Have to rep you for that, as I ended up drafting him


Kessel stepped up, no doubt. Lupul was also a big part of his success.

You bet that I a bought into Kessel, for all the right reasons. I did not trade for him because I thought he would blow past 80 points every year on his own. I try to read into the whole team trend that goes with the package, and it comes down to Burke. Kessel was his starting move and it is a long game. Every team wants a guy that puts away 70-80 points every year. Burke is greedy and he wants a few more of them studs, like every team. For the sake of Leaf fans and to the benefit of Kessel, I hope Burke is right, and he seems to know a little bit about hockey. I know, we are talking about the Leafs. That is the team that Kessel plays for, and considering the odds he is doing mighty fine. Not much of a fantasy gamble, just don't overpay.

At 25, Kessel should be part and parcel of any upcoming playoff run by the Leafs and am thinking Burke will want that sooner than later. The questions become, how many studs does Kessel need to have around him before he breaks PPG, and how long will it take Burke to get there?

I play this video regularly just to remind myself why there are Leaf fans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQ2fImgCmLo

__________________
12 Team Dynasty, Weekly H2H, Points $ League
G(F6,D8),A(F4,D6),+/-(2),PIM(0.25),SOG(0.25),GWG(3),ShG(3),PPP(2),HT(20 ),GHHT(10),FOW(0.1),HITS(0.25),BLKS(0.25)
W(6),OL(4),GA(-1),SV(0.25),SHO(20),ShL(4)
3-5C,3-5W,5D,2G
25 roster, 15 prospects

C- Riberio,Mueller,Galchenyuk,Johansson,Legwand,Boyes
W- Eberle,Kessel,Kovalchuk,Cole,Bailey,Horton,Whitney ,Williams
D- Suter,Wizniewski,Tyutin,Meszaros,Diaz,Ranger,Beauc hemin,Leopold
G- Miller,Backstrom,Reimer

Brunner,Holland,Beck,Erixon,Khokhlachev,Audy-Marchessault,Leblanc,Namestnikov,Rackell,Gelinas, Petrovic,Sbisa
Vasilevskiy,Desjardins

*bump*

Now that we know we have a season and we know how long it will be, what do you guys think Kessel can do?

I'm totally on the fence with him because in my league I almost have to keep a second goaltender (Halak) due to their scarcity, but I'm having a really hard time tossing Kessel back into the draft. It's possible I'll be able to pick him out again, but I have my doubts.

Thoughts? Think he can match or improve on last season's pace?

__________________
12-team H2H Semi Keeper (keep 6)
skater cats (7): G, A, P, +/-, PIM, PPP, GWG
goalie cats (4): W, GAA, SV%, SHO
6 keepers bolded
-------------------------

C(2) - S. Crosby, E. Malkin (W), S. Ott (W)
W(4) - A. Ovechkin, D. Brown, M. Ryder, B. Saad
D(4) - K. Yandle, D. Phaneuf, M. Green, R. Josi
G(2) - MA. Fleury, J. Halak, T. Vokoun, V. Fasth, J. Allen, R. Lehner
IR - E. Karlsson (D)
Next year's draft picks (1-6 are keepers): 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14, 17

I'd keep Kessel over Halak. Kessel is a streaky player in a short season it can prove to be good or bad, but I'll roll the die on good with Kessel. If Kessel is hot from the get go a PPG pace is what I would expect with the potential to go above a PPG in a short season. Should be amongst the most productive forwards this coming season.

In a 12 team league there should still be some goalie options to explore. Halak I like less them usual in a short season, as his value takes a hit with a very servicable Brian Elliott. In a short season a work horse goalie has even more value than a full season, and Halak as good as he is, won't be that big work horse this coming season.

The problem is every GM in our league keeps 2 goalies, then most of the decent scraps get scooped up in the first round, which I draft very late in.

Not sure I agree with your assessment of how "work horse goalies will be used this season". With so many games crammed into such a short period of time, I think teams will be forced to split time more, and that's exactly what St. Louis does already. I think he will get 60% of St. Louis' games, or more. Not worse than last season.

Teams that typically roll with their #1 much more will have to play their backups more because there will be so many more back-to back games, and games otherwise very close together that leave little time for starters to rest/mend little nagging things. Especially teams that can trust their #2 to play well. I think Biron will get a higher percentage of starts for the Rangers. Bernier for the Kings. Hedberg for the Devils. Enroth for the Sabres. Vokoun with the Penguins. Florida will probably rotate like St. Louis. Tampa, Ottawa, Washington, Chicago, Dallas, Edmonton, Minnesota, San Jose - all have solid backups.

You're probably right about a few teams though (Nashville, Montreal, Carolina, Vancouver - if Luongo is traded, Toronto - if they get Luongo, others). Because fewer teams will be able to (or forced to) run the season with their #1, less guys will be racking up the highest % of starts.

__________________
12-team H2H Semi Keeper (keep 6)
skater cats (7): G, A, P, +/-, PIM, PPP, GWG
goalie cats (4): W, GAA, SV%, SHO
6 keepers bolded
-------------------------

C(2) - S. Crosby, E. Malkin (W), S. Ott (W)
W(4) - A. Ovechkin, D. Brown, M. Ryder, B. Saad
D(4) - K. Yandle, D. Phaneuf, M. Green, R. Josi
G(2) - MA. Fleury, J. Halak, T. Vokoun, V. Fasth, J. Allen, R. Lehner
IR - E. Karlsson (D)
Next year's draft picks (1-6 are keepers): 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 11, 12, 13, 14, 14, 17