In head to head matchups in fantasy the last three weeks of the regular season will be ‘playoffs’. If you are already in a playoff spot and feel you have a solid team going forward, prepare yourself as best as possible in terms of having a solid lineup. You have weeks of trying to fleece someone in a trade deal or scoop up players who shouldn’t have been dropped on the waiver wire. Keep a close eye on the transactions that are taking place at this time of the year. Sometimes people will make risky moves, and sometimes people will have had enough of a certain player and give up on them. Of course any player of fantasy quality that is traded should be looked at closely as you can already see Perron is paying off huge in Pittsburgh. Hopefully some of you were able to scoop him up.
The Islanders sit at the top of the Eastern Conference. Let that sink in for a second as im sure all the Isles fans are smiling right now, hell, even us Leaf fans are happy to see a new team on the top, one that was struggling for years and has finally made the big jump. About a month ago I mentioned that the Isles were a bubble team and I was hoping they would keep it up. Well, I was wrong; they proved me wrong and I’m sure many others as they continue to impress and put up points. On the other end of the spectrum the Sabres have managed to lose 11 games in a row, yes…eleven. I even typed it out in numbers and letters to let that sink in, ugly times in Buffalo. But, at least they will be getting a top tier player going forward.
Anaheim still sits atop the Western Conference but has Nashville just two points back with two games in hand. The West as usual sits close together as the Flames are just barely sitting in a playoff spot with the Kings being one point behind them; I wouldn’t count LA, Dallas or Colorado out of the picture just yet. The McDavid prize a waits as Edmonton and Buffalo battle it out for last place each with 31 total points. Carolina and Arizona could easily flop as there are many games in the season left and only 6 points separates them from the gutter.
Keeper Leagues:
If you are at the bottom of your keeper league you should be selling off any assets going forward and stocking up on young quality prospects or picks for next season. At this point of the season you only want to keep what players you will be choosing as ‘keepers’ for next season, try to get anything you can from guys trying to win the season. Next year is a very solid draft year, one of the best in years…so don’t blow your chances at drafting an impact player or two in the first round. Just because your team is not going to win it this year, it doesn’t mean you can’t set yourself up better for next season. Personally I would look at making a deal with someone who you feel will want to make a push to win the season, or the guy in first…maybe one of these guys will overpay you for a player so they can win this year. Certainly worth a shot!
My top 10 prospects for next seasons draft are as follows:
1. Connor McDavid 2. Jack Eichel 3. Dylan Strome 4. Noah Hanifin 5. Lawson Crouse 6. Mitchell Marner 7. Pavel Zacha 8. Zach Werenski 9. Mathew Barzal 10. Timo Meier
Feel free to check out any of these players if you are in a keeper league as I feel any if not all of them could be impact players.
Free Agents: (last 30 days production)
Mike Fisher – 7g, 12a +5 Erik Cole – 7g, 5a +8 Mikael Backlund – returned to lineup for 6 games and has 4 goals, 3 assists Justin Williams – 5g, 3a +1 Sean Monahan – has scored in 3 straight – hes heating up Craig Smith – 5g, 3a, -1 Mikko Koivu – 1g, 8a -8 Tyson Barrie – 1g, 7a +5 Dan Boyle – 2g, 5a +4 Jonathan Huberdeau – 5g, 7a +1 (G) Joni Ortio – has looked good for Calgary in net (G) Anton Khudobin – on a win streak for Carolina
Starting Goalies:
(OTT) Anderson VS (NYR) Lundqvist (EDM) Fasth VS (WSH) Holtby (PIT) Greiss VS (PHI) Emery (NSH) Hutton VS (MTL) Price (MIN) Dubnyk VS (DET) Mrazek (VAN) Miller VS (TBL) Bishop (ARI) Smith VS (CHI) Raanta (BOS) Rask VS (DAL) Lehtonen
If you need a spot start, I like Greiss for Pittsburgh and I like Raanta for Chicago.
Best of luck tonight,
Thanks again for reading.