i am guessing this isnt even a remote possibility anymore

i am not sure it was much of one to begin with

I think some of you need to take a tranquillizer. I'm high on Tarasenko as well (picked him up last night) but 2 games guys... it's been 2 games. We wouldn't be having this conversation last week.

A couple things:
-MDZ DOES have a monopoly on the Rangers PP... who's going to take it away from him? Girardi? McDonaugh? Cause clearly they're knocking on the door with their offensive prowess right?
-How has MDZ been a "disappointment"? 41 points last season, 10 points in 20 playoff games, and most importantly - his defensive game has substantially improved (+20 last season) which means the Torts will play him with more confidence... yeah tragically disappointing.

I personally have a lot of faith in MDZ... his past numbers aren't incredible by any means but I've been following him for a while and I think this is the year he breaks out. I drafted him in my own cash pool so I'm not here to blow smoke up your asses.

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2013 Bay Street CBS Playoff Cash Pool - $100 buyin
12 Teams, Points Only (G/A = 1, DG = 2, W = 2, SO = 1)

The Motherpuckers (5 NYR, 2 PIT, 3 VAN)
Forwards: Neal / Iginla / Nash / Richards / Stepan / Roy / Higgins
Defense: Del Zotto / Garrison
Goalies: Lundqvist

girardi and mcdonagh arent as horrible offensively as all that

girardi had 12 points in those same 20 playoff games that mdz had 10 in

mcdonagh had 34 even strength points last season which was good 7th among defensemen and only 4 points behind the number 2 guy

as far as +/- thats a dubious stat at best when determining defensive prowess after all girardi was only +13 last season he clearly isnt defensively worse than mdz is

mdz has a good +/- because with girardi and mcdonagh on the roster he gets sheltered minutes

look there is no question mdz has come a long way after falling down flat on his face and there is no doubt that the way that torts has to rely on girardi and mcdonagh for their defensive play they will not be getting any of mdzs pp time

he will most likely be a consistent 40-45 guy who flirts occasionally with 50

to me the decision for this would be based on team needs as i dont see mdz a slam dunk over tarasenko in an absolute sense

MDZ didn't always play the first pp last year. At times, when he was struggling, he was replaced by Girardi.

And I know it has been two game. But have you seen him play? And we are talking about what player fits for the thread creator;s stats for his league. Do you not think that Tarasenko will get more hits and more goals than MDZ? That's why Tarasenko is a no brainer imo.

Goals = 5, Assists = 2.5, PPP = 1, Shots = .25, Hits = .25, Blocks = .25

Right there I believe it makes Tarasenko more valuable. How many goals is MDZ going to get this year? 5, maybe 8? Tarasenko should get at least 15. So wouldn't that seal the deal right there?

And this is from Dobber's ramblings today:

Vladimir Tarasenko.

Two goals in his first NHL game, and three points in his second NHL game. There is a reason that he lingered in the Top 5 of my Fantasy Prospects list for so long - and were it not for the KHL shadow lurking about, ready to snatch him from his NHL chance, he would have spent time at No.1, no question. Now you're seeing why. He deserves the same hype in fantasy hockey that Ilya Kovalchuk had as a rookie.

And while Tarasenko goes nutty, Steen and McDonald post big numbers along with him.

So I'll pass on the ***** you are recommending Blayze.

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Head to Head League: 1 point for G, 1 point for A. 2 for Goalie win, 3 for SO.
Start 6 guys every week. 3 O, 2 D and 1G. No substituions once they are in (before the first game starts on Monday).
F: Benn, St. Louis, Tarasenko (R), McDonald ,Henrique, Spezza, J. Staal, Marleau,
D: Pietrangelo, Kronwall, Bieksa, Phaneuf
G: Lindback, Bryzgalov, Halak, Elliott

First of all, it makes no sense to be comparing the stats of a forward to a defenseman.

Secondly, 2 games is WAY too small of a sample size really formulate any credible projections on Tarasenko's stat line this year.

And yes I've seen him play, and yes he looks amazing (which is why I picked him up!), but at the end of the day, 2 games is only 2 games.

__________________
2013 Bay Street CBS Playoff Cash Pool - $100 buyin
12 Teams, Points Only (G/A = 1, DG = 2, W = 2, SO = 1)

The Motherpuckers (5 NYR, 2 PIT, 3 VAN)
Forwards: Neal / Iginla / Nash / Richards / Stepan / Roy / Higgins
Defense: Del Zotto / Garrison
Goalies: Lundqvist

But if it makes no sense to compare a D to a F, that isn't my fault....that's what he asked....should he trade MDZ for Tarasenko. So to me it's an easy yes.

__________________
Head to Head League: 1 point for G, 1 point for A. 2 for Goalie win, 3 for SO.
Start 6 guys every week. 3 O, 2 D and 1G. No substituions once they are in (before the first game starts on Monday).
F: Benn, St. Louis, Tarasenko (R), McDonald ,Henrique, Spezza, J. Staal, Marleau,
D: Pietrangelo, Kronwall, Bieksa, Phaneuf
G: Lindback, Bryzgalov, Halak, Elliott

I may be in the minority, but I say take the upside forward over the D. I know MDZ is not a bad option, but this Tarasenko is a great, young talent. You may look back on it and say damn, shouldn't have made that move or you may say wow what a steal. I personally think you need to take a risk every now and again to win in fantasy sports, so I would be on the Tarasenko side. Good luck.

Well this really escalated lol I appreciate all the input from everyone. I can definitely see the argument on both sides.

If it helps, becuase this is such a tiny league there are still a bunch of D men on the waiver wire. I mean MDZ had 10G and 14PPP last year and is technically rated as my 3rd best defenseman. BUT... he still only had 252pts. With this scoring setup, a guy like Bieksa had 251pts. Wideman had 250. Jack Johnson's still out there and he had 217.

__________________
14 team, keep 20. H2H points
C Perez 1B Butler 2B Cano SS Tulo 3B Longoria OF Choo, J. Upton, ArciaBN/UTIL Sandoval, Konerko
SP- Hamels, Gallardo, Wainwright, Harvey
RP- Henderson, Murjica
BN- JZimm, Medlen, A. Sanchez, Lincecum, Fujikawa, Stanton(DL)
Minors- Dahl, Arcia, Springer, Lindor

12 team H2H, keeper
C Avila, Mcann
1B Fielder
2B Utley
SS Andrus
3B Wright
OF Bautista, Harper, Jennings, Crawford
SP Shields, Wainy, Wilson, Anderson
RP Soriano, Mujica
Bench - Brown, , Gyorko, Granderson(DL), Revere, Marcum, Garza(DL), Greinke(DL)
Minors d'Arnaud, Myers, Walker

this makes it easy to do imo

I killed a man with a trident.

I think it is a pretty easy choice...go with the Tank.

__________________
Head to Head League: 1 point for G, 1 point for A. 2 for Goalie win, 3 for SO.
Start 6 guys every week. 3 O, 2 D and 1G. No substituions once they are in (before the first game starts on Monday).
F: Benn, St. Louis, Tarasenko (R), McDonald ,Henrique, Spezza, J. Staal, Marleau,
D: Pietrangelo, Kronwall, Bieksa, Phaneuf
G: Lindback, Bryzgalov, Halak, Elliott