C: Datsyuk (DET), Malkin (PIT)
LW:
RW: Heatley (SJ), Pavelski (SJ),
D: Karlsson (OTT),
G: Fleury (PIT), Crawford (CHI), Vokoun (now WAS)

In a 15 team league, Goalie values are through the roof. I would take a chance and try to leverage Crawford or Vokoun for a young stud.

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13 team Keeper, top 8F, 4D and 2G count. 1pt G/A, 2pt W/SO.
Protect b/w 375 - 400 points in a full season

F: Spezza, P Kane, E Staal, B Richards, RNH, E Kane, Weiss, Jagr, Briere, Semin, Hemsky

D: Suter, Giordano, Ryan Whitney, Goligoski, Souray, Spurgeon

G: Rask, Pavelec, Theodore, Elliott

Our team at end of last year:
C: Datsyuk (DET), Malkin (PIT)
LW: Benn (DAL), E.Kane (WPG)
RW: Heatley (SJ), Pavelski (SJ), J.Neal (PIT), Wheeler (WPG)
D: Karlsson (OTT), Del Zotto (NYR), Leddy (CHI), E.Johnson (COL)
G: Fleury (PIT), Crawford (CHI), Vokoun (WAS), Neuvirth (WAS)

I'm assuming you want to maximize $$, right? Since the prize pool is split evenly between playoffs and regular season, the low-hanging fruit is the playoffs.

There are a few no-brain guys here: Datsyuk, Malkin, Karlsson, Fleury, Benn, Kane, Neal

That leaves 1 more.

Hard not to include Pavelski, for opportunity alone. He won't be a casualty of any changes in SJ. Given the premium on goalies since it'll be a 15-team league, it's a great negotiating position to be in to be holding as many as possible, and gouge the crap out of prospective trading parters.

So for me, you need to keep Crawford. I don't believe in the guy at all, but people love the idea of getting Chicago's starter. Trade bait!

I also wouldn't sweat that there's only one D keeper. D is chronically undervalued in most leagues, which means that you can improve your team by trading for it. This implies that keeping D is a poor value play, since you generally can add value to your team by exploiting the gap in perceived value of forwards to their waiver replacements and D to theirs.

Hope this helps.

HPG

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I don't think you can consider keeping Crawford. The guy is garbage and Chicago will try and upgrade him in the off-season. I don't see the value in him over any random guy you can draft in the first round...

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Bigbabybuda is the Hawking of fantasy hockey. Greatest hockey mind of our generation!

I'd go with Datsyuk, Malkin, Pavelski, Karlsson, Carlson, Fleury, Neuvirth and Crawford. I don't want any part of Heatley and I'd rather keep a younger goalie than Vokoun.

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macv@dobberbaseball.com
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This is a 15-team league with 8 keepers per team! There will not be any starting goalies available in the draft, and if there are it'll only be one or two, and they'll be taken with the top picks. Positional scarcity puts huge pressure on the goaltending position in a league like this.

I guess it all depends on when keepers need to be decided -- it's not so much "Crawford" as "whichever other goalie on your team looks to be in the best position to get play time".

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I didn't catch that it was a 15 team league - in which case then I'd agree that Crawford's a keeper.

I figured it was a much shallower league considering the quality of your forwards... you've got quite the set of keepers for a 15 team league there!

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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

if its not too late to make trades maybe you should consider moving one of those solid forwards for an upgrade on crawford.

Datsyuk (DET), Malkin (PIT),
Heatley (SJ), Pavelski (SJ),
Karlsson (OTT), Carlson (WAS),
G: Fleury (PIT), Crawford (CHI),

Thanks for the replies guys, much appreciated.

Five are locks:
C: Malkin (PIT), Datsyuk (DET)
LW:
RW: Neal (PIT)
D: Karlsson (OTT)
G: Fleury (PIT)
I'm pretty sure everybody had those guys on their list.

6. Jamie Benn** (DAL) - assuming he retains LW eligibility. If he is C... he'll probably be cut.**
7. Evander Kane (WPG) - LW could be a thin position. If Datsyuk retains C/LW and Benn retains C/LW, then I probably cut E.Kane... otherwise, E.Kane is my only sure LW.
8. GOALIE. (Crawford or Vokoun). Yes, very tough to win this league without a 2nd goalie and it essentially costs TWO 65-70pt players to get a good one. If you trade away TWO 65-70pt players, well... you have no shot to win the current year. [Maybe one goalie a year surfaces as a "Counting #1". This year it was Mike Smith.]
9. Michael Del Zotto (NYR) - Depends on what NYR does with their D in the off-season. If they sign nobody at D... then MDZ might be keeper-worthy.
10. Joe Pavelski (SJ) - I was super-high on Pavelski last summer... but... just not sure what the future holds for him in SJ. I think he may be available in a re-draft... as RW is a little more plentiful in talent.

(The one part of pools that can never be conveyed is evaluating other GMs and who might be available in a redraft. For instance, last year... the team redraft was: 1. M.Koivu, 2. J.Benn, 3.J.Neal. If it was a league with Dobber people, I'd never have rolled the dice on letting Benn & Neal slide).

Also, because the team finished 1st this year, the redraft position for 2012-2013 is last... 15th.
This means that EVERY team that needs a 2nd goalie is drafting them in the first round.
Not keeping two goalies (for the last draft spot) is some severe roulette.
This past year, I think the first round saw Mike Smith/Khabibulin/Lehtonen all drafted.


**Setting keepers is a bit Yahoo!-dependent. The keeper deadline is September 1st.
In 2010, Yahoo wasn't open yet.
In 2011, Yahoo was open by that date so positions were known.
(A little background to why I'm so intrigued by Yahoo-position-eligibility).


Anyways, thanks to all for input!

I thought someone had alluded to it being 10 teams so I did not relize that. With that being said I still would not be keeping Crawford, as he is not going to be a starter in the NHL next year imo. So I would try and move him with one of your borderline keeper players for a forsure number 1. If not I don't think Crawford is going to be starting so I would release him anyway he was 33 in GAA and 36th in SV% with 0 shutouts. Tell your friend to find a real starter via trade.

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Bigbabybuda is the Hawking of fantasy hockey. Greatest hockey mind of our generation!