Now that preseason is about half way finished, there is a lot of banter from fans and management about preseason being too long and too many players getting injured. Well, this statement certainly holds some merit. I’d like to go over a few injured players you want to make sure you either don’t draft, or be careful where you draft them.
Something to keep in mind is how good or bad guys are playing during preseason, and some strategy behind drafting someone who you think is going to get off to a great start. Of course, every player wants to get off to a good start…but there is a big difference from preseason to regular. Many of the veteran players and all-star players are out for a good skate to get the juices flowing and to make sure their body is ready for the 82 game grind. Other players such as AHL guys looking to make the jump, and other young rookies and sophomores from last year want to get a bigger role, and therefore may want to show how hard they have worked in the offseason to prove their worth to the coaches and upper management.
One strategy I like to use is to draft at least one player that you think either improved vastly since last season, or as the season went on. Perhaps they had a 15 point first half of the season and a 30 point second half; which of course is showing an improvement in point totals, but also ice time and a bigger role on the team. Other things to look for are players who ALWAYS get off to a hot start and then start to cool down as the season goes on. These players are not always easy to find; but when you find one, this is what you do:
Keep the player on your Fantasy roster and look around at the rest of the teams in your NHL pool. If you see a player who is ice cold, but is usually a productive player; key in on them. Maybe you notice a player or two out there that is underperforming and you can try to trade your over achieving player for this player. Why would you do that? Well, the way I see it and it often works out well is: You trade a guy who’s hot, playing above where you think he should be playing in exchange for a player who is struggling (sell high, buy low). At the time, the person you are offering the trade to will think, wow why is he/she offering this player who has more points than my player?! Well that’s because you have the higher hockey IQ and you can see the future, right? It’s risky, but it can pay off huge.
Here is an example last year from one of the pools I was in:
I had Dustin Penner on my Fantasy roster; he was my second last pick. Not bad for a guy who played with Getzlaf and Perry… Anyhow, I figured at some point he would either fall back to reality, get hurt, or just get outplayed by someone else and move down a line. It was none of the above, but it worked out great when he was traded to LA; as his point production slowed right down.
After going back and forth a few times, here was the trade:
Penner, OReilly, Lupul in exchange for Toews and Stepan.
Sure I gave up 3 players, OReilly was decent after, but Lupul got hurt and Penner fizzled away in LA. That trade was great because I felt I got the best player in Toews…most of the trades I make I don’t mind “overpaying… if I get the best player in the trade.
Sure, that worked out, some trades do, some don’t….but the way I see it, no risk, no reward. Feel free to contact me through PM or on the boards if you ever want another opinion on a trade or whatever the case may be.
Here are some worthy Fantasy players with injuries and an estimate as to how long they will be out for:
Carolina: Jordan Staal – broken leg *out 3-4 months*
Columbus: Nathan Horton – out with back issues *unknown when he returns*
Detroit: Pavel Datsyuk – separated shoulder *2-4 weeks*
Los Angeles: Marian Gaborik – undisclosed injury (missed Sundays game) *unknown*
New York Islanders: Lubomir Visnovsky – back spasms *day to day*
New York Rangers: Derek Stepan- fractured fibula *(4-6 weeks)*
Ottawa: Milan Michalek – “nagging injury… *day to day*
Philadelphia: Claude Giroux – starting to practice again *day to day*
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin – seems to be banged up and won’t be participating in final two exhibition games *day to day*
Beau Bennett: leg - *out 6 weeks*
Toronto: David Booth – fractured foot - *3-5 weeks*
Cody Franson – knee/leg very swollen *unknown*
David Clarkson – face/cheekbone fracture *day to day*
There are some other minor injuries out there, and some injuries on players who don’t have a lot of Fantasy value so I didn’t bother mentioning them. If you know of a player I missed that has value please feel free to let me know in the comments section; I will do my best to keep an injury list updated throughout the season. Sometimes you can scoop a guy up off the free agency list that is set to return the following week, and you can get them before someone else does.
If you haven’t signed up for the HockeyBuzz SuperLeague (HBSL) you better get your team set before the first regular season game in order to participate all season! Here is the link:
http://fantasy.hockeybuzz.com
Thanks for reading!