Comments for Fantasy League Expansion at http://hockey.dobbersports.com , comment 1 to 3 out of 3 comments http://hockey.dobbersports.com Sat, 25 May 2013 22:00:02 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.3 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/hoos/4976-fantasy-league-expansion#comment-22912 Thanks for the feedback guys. Pengwin7, when we did our expansion I was one of the strongest teams and I had good players I didn't want to lose at every position. I partially dealt with this by thinking ahead and trading guys I couldn't protect. Dustin Brown was the 9th forward on my list, and rather than lose him for nothing, I traded him for a draft pick or prospect (I can't remember which) before the expansion draft. As it is, I still lost Ryane Clowe and Max Pacioretty (before it was clear he would be a stud). It hurt, but I figured all the top teams would be in the same boat, and if anything it helped promote a bit of parity in the league. But definitely you need to have unselfish owners, because no one likes to lose players. - angelofharlem Mon, 15 Oct 2012 09:45:45 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/hoos/4976-fantasy-league-expansion#comment-22910 the biggest hurdle to an expansion is making the new managers understand they are not going to be great off the bat. No matter how good you are, it will be 2-3 years before you are a playoff team, and maybe 4-5 if you make a few missteps in the process (there have been a few #1 overall picks that did not pan out, and if you took filatov a few years ago #2 in an expansion your structure likely has a huge hole). I have banded about the idea in one of my leagues to make 2 dummy teams the season before the expansion. Fill them with unowned prospects and young players with a lot of upside. Then the next year hand a that team over to the real manager. The idea is that the new manager has a good group of prospects so it should knock a full year of building off of their chest. Also it is good to remember to not trash talk expansion managers for at least 2-3 years, it is not their fault their team is not competitive yet. - notoriousjim Mon, 15 Oct 2012 08:38:06 +0100 http://hockey.dobbersports.com/index.php/columnistsarticles-mainmenu-77/hoos/4976-fantasy-league-expansion#comment-22905 Great set of rules. I think it's incredible that you've only had two owners leave in five years. That's an incredible testament to a well-organized league, well-picked managers, a good commissioner, and a solid set of rules. I was in a poorly-run 14-team dynasty league over the past year and left myself. First league I ever had to leave. I think that league has already cycled through 5-6 new managers in the league's brief one-year existence. As I was reading, the only thought I had would be that it might be unfair if some teams have 9 solid F, 5 solid D, or 3 solid G in any off-season. But the rules are very clear that expansion could happen at any time by vote and that the protect count is 8F/4D/2G. So all teams should always have that in mind. It's a very clear & solid set of rules. Nice league you have here! Well done on the expansion planning. - Pengwin7 Mon, 15 Oct 2012 04:35:36 +0100