It’s easy to get yourself all flustered by a lack of production from your roster(s) in the early going of the season. Don’t panic.
Some of the veteran players take longer to get going, it happens every year. Guys like Getzlaf and Perry will turn it around, just be patient and let them get into their groove. It could be a coaching change or a trade that ignites some players, other times just some games under the belt or some line shuffling. Do not trade away your top picked players for players who are hot now and will likely fizzle as the season goes. You drafted these players in the beginning rounds for a reason, not to dump them after a weak start in productivity ten games in.
If you have some mediocre or lower grade players who are playing like crap, dump them and take some hot hands. Just be sure that you are not the guy who picks up every free agent after a big night, only to drop them after they get no points for a game or two. There are some true gems scooped up off the free agency list each year, in every pool I’ve ever been in; so keep an eye on any potential pick-ups.
After twenty games or so into the season you should get a pretty good idea of what your strong/weak points are of your roster. It’s good to have an idea, this way you can trade from your strengths to fill your weaknesses. For example, if you have a number of great goalies, but are lacking in the point production department; make a trade with someone who is in the opposite position as yourself. Sometimes using the trading block can be useful as you can list off who you are considering moving and others can bid on that player if they do have interest. You’ll often get the best return when you are dealing with someone who is filling a need.
Putting out ‘feelers’ never hurts either. What I mean by that is; you let someone in your pool know that you are interested in a certain player and for them to keep that in mind if they would ever want to trade them. Sometimes they will remember and it just may be a way of putting it into the back of their head “if this player doesn’t produce…… then you are first in line.
A perfect example:
At the beginning of the season I really wanted to draft Monahan. Unfortunetly I wasn’t able to draft him in either of my pools. Before the season started I let the persons know that I was interested in Monahan and if they want to work out a trade for him now, or later in the season I’d be interested.
After a couple weeks of Calgary getting off to a slow start, especially scoring wise; both General Managers of their teams contacted me about trading Monahan. One of them happened last week, and the other just yesterday. Yesterday’s deal was not only a homerun, but quite possibly a grand slam. We shall see by seasons end.
The person I was dealing with dropped Streit just two weeks ago and I instantly picked him up as I know he is capable of 45-55 points with a large sum of power play points, which are quite valuable in this fantasy format. Well, he must have realized it was a huge mistake as Streit has been hot lately, piling up the points. So he offered me Monahan for Streit straight up; how could I say no? Well, I didn’t, here is where the potential grand slam comes into play. After licking my chops over the original offer, I decided to ‘sweeten it up’ and I added in Huberdeau in exchange for Hossa.
He accepted, and at the end of the trade I walked away with Hossa and Monahan for Streit (who I scooped up off the free agency that he dropped) and Huberdeau who I had scooped up off the free agency who was dropped by another General Manger in the pool. Talk about a fleece job, I felt like it would be suiting to go out and buy a nice new polar fleece jacket. This is the same General Manger who won the pool last year, so it felt good to scoop up a couple of his underperforming players for a couple free agents. Now they just have to produce for me and I can twiddle my fingers together and give off a diabolic laugh.
Let’s just say there were some jaws dropped after that trade, and some intense trading took place after with three blockbuster deals all of which included six player swaps after. Talk about getting the ball rolling!
Keep at it, and continue to improve that roster as the season goes on. Be active, smart and patient and you will climb to the top of the rankings in your fantasy pools.
Any thoughts or questions feel free to ask in the comments section.
Starting Goalies:
(CAR) Lack VS (NYI) Greiss (NJ) Schneider VS (PHI) Mason (BUF) Johnson VS (PIT) Zatkoff (COL) Varlamov VS (TBL) Bishop (ANA) Andersen VS (STL) Allen (CHI) Crawford VS (WPG) Hutchinson (VAN) Miller VS (DAL) Niemi (MTL) Price VS (EDM) Talbot
Thanks for reading, enjoy tonight’s games!