I have two comparable offers in a dynasty salary cap league, and I can't decide which way to go.

21-man varsity rosters, 25-man JV rosters. Cap is for varsity only: $80 mil, using real NHL salaries (not cap hits). I have $23 mil left to fill 5 slots (3 D, 2 F).

I've got the 3rd overall pick in the veteran draft, and can't use it due to cap restraints. So that's what I've offered. After lots of negotiating, here's what's left:

Offer 1) Ryan, Ehrhoff and Soderberg FOR 3rd overall and Hensick
Offer 2) Perron, Keith and Myers FOR 3rd overall

Scoring cats are G, A, P, +/-, PIM, PPG, PPA, SHP, GWG, SOG, FW for forwards

My roster:
C: Langkow, Kesler, Krejci, Hensick
LW: Kovalchuk, Brunnstrom, Stillman, Wolski
RW: Simmonds, Bouchard, empty, empty
D: Gonchar, Markov, Goligoski, Grebeshkov, empty, empty
G: Bryzgalov, C. Mason, Osgood

Notable prospects: Hickey, Grachev, Repik

It's worth noting that I'm rebuilding.



My basic thinking is that Ryan is the best player in the deal, but the Perron deal is probably getting me more value for that pick (plus I don't lose Hensick). But is it better to take the best player, or the better depth?

Any thoughts are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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http://www.hockeyutopia.com/hufa

I like the Ryan deal for you. Getting Erhoff back as well to help round out your D is not too bad either. Perhaps Hensick slightly breaks out this year, but I wouldn't lose sleep over losing him in this trade - there should be other depth C's available in your draft.

If you're in a re-build moving your 3rd overall to land Ryan is at least a lateral move for you, if not a decent upgrade since he's a (now proven) RW - hardest spot to fill.

Good luck.

Cheers.

__________________
Greatest Five to Ever Play:

1)Gretzky
2)Lemieux
3)Orr
4)Howe
5)Messier

Personally, I like offer #1...Ryan is going to be a stud and Ehrhoff took a good step forward last year as did most of the SJ D, that trend should continue this year.

Two options to make this deal a little more favourable...

A) drop Soderberg and get some immediate help - posting his roster would help me comment further

B) drop Soderberg and Hensick from the deal

Who are top 3 players available in the veteran draft? If you are rebuilding you should consider trading Osgood as DET starts it's goalie transition this year. You may be able to plug up a few more holes. Just a thought.

__________________
GM of 4 Keeper Teams
Back-2-Back Regular and Playoff Champ of AFHL and XHL

Scoring Cats:
F: 1G + 1A
D: 2G + 1.5A
R: 1.5G + 1.5A
PF: 1G + 1A + PIM/5
SN: 2G
SM: 1.5A
E: PIM/3
G: 2W + L/2 + 1OTL + 3SO + SV/100 - GA/100

top 3 are hossa, sedins, havlat, gaborik, bouwmeester, khabibulin... depends on what you need, I guess.

I'm planning to trade both Osgood and Mason and grab the Colorado tandem of Anderson/Budaj in the draft... they're both available. Or, if I can't move Mason, I'll just pick up Conklin. Osgood's as good as gone... already have the deal in place.

So you guys would do Ryan/Ehrhoff for #3 rather than Perron/Keith/Myers for #3?

Definitely!

__________________
GM of 4 Keeper Teams
Back-2-Back Regular and Playoff Champ of AFHL and XHL

Scoring Cats:
F: 1G + 1A
D: 2G + 1.5A
R: 1.5G + 1.5A
PF: 1G + 1A + PIM/5
SN: 2G
SM: 1.5A
E: PIM/3
G: 2W + L/2 + 1OTL + 3SO + SV/100 - GA/100

I'll agree with the crowd here, you have a glaring need at that RW spot and Ryan is the next big thing in that position. Ehrhoff is no slouch on defense either so this looks good all around.

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Man, I'm not so sure now that you listed some of the guys available in your draft. I assumed ppg players like the Sedins, Hossa, Gabby would be keepers already gone in your league. If Hossa is someone you could draft with your 3rd overall, then I think the trade offers above need to be re-evaluated. Ryan is going to be great, but I would rather have Hossa by miles right now if you can get him. Heck, if you're rebuilding, consider Hossa's higher value and then trade him for a even greater return to re-build your team.

If I'm reading your post wrong, my apologies, and I'll stand by my initial post.

Cheers.

__________________
Greatest Five to Ever Play:

1)Gretzky
2)Lemieux
3)Orr
4)Howe
5)Messier

heres the thing... it's a salary cap league, and i have the #2 overall pick as well. Any players worth #2 and #3 (let's say, the Sedin twins), would cost me more than i could afford. THAT's why i MUST trade the #3, or risk taking a player way earlier than he should go (like khabby).

These guys are available because any player who hits UFA in the NHL, hits UFA in our league. Except we use June 20 as the deadline instead of July 1 to promote turnover.

The salary cap in your league is still effective in the off season?

In all of my leagues, the salary cap doesn't come into effect until the beginning of the season or close to it.

I would draft the player with the highest trade value regardless. That most likely sounds like it would be Hossa. Also, it sounds like you're up against the cap, but to tell you the truth, I'd ship off some of the older higher paid guys on my team (Gonchar, Stillman) before I trade away the 3rd overall pick.

we have 10% lee way in the offseason. Doesn't seem to make sense to entirely eliminate the cap in the offseason, does it?

either way, the draft is a week before the season starts. Trying to move a player like Sedin in a week is impossible...everyone would know my cap situation, and would wait until the last minute when i have to either drop him, or trade him for peanuts. now's the time to trade.