DobberHockey reader Justin sent me his team to be audited. Upon first glance, I wondered why he was asking about the likes of Nigel Williams and Keith Aucoin, until I saw the size of rosters in this league (60). I find a bench of five or six is more than sufficient, so needless to say this was an interesting audit to conduct.

The League

Puck Stoppers

The Team

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Rules

12 Team H2H Keeper League

Floating salary cap ($15 million above the actual NHL salary cap)

Pro, farm, and prospect rosters

Prospects have to be move d to the farm after two years

Pro team consists of 25 players (2C, 2 LW, 2 RW, 6 F, 6 D, 2 G 5 Bench)

Farm team consists of 35 players

Prospect team has no limit, but after two years they must either be moved up or they are lost

The Roster

Recent Trades

Outgoing: JS Giguere and Sidney Crosby

Incoming: Mike Green, Eric Staal, Alex Goligoski, draft pick (Nazem Kadri)

If you are going to trade one of the big three, make sure you get a return like this. Green has as much value as Crosby in most league formats. He's a polarizing figure – sure he doesn't play fantastic defence, but that has almost no bearing on his fantasy value (as long as his plus-minus stays high). He may not be the best two-way guy in real life, but he is far and away the best fantasy defenseman. For whatever reason some poolies let factors outside fantasy hockey affect player values. That ends that little rant by me. Staal is far from a Crosby replacement but he is a solid center, and Kadri/Goligoski both have a lot of value.

Outgoing: Shane Doan and Brian Gionta

Incoming: Daniel Briere, Nate Gerbe, Ilya Zubov, draft pick

Not a great move here. Briere had a fantastic postseason but he has gotten lost during the past few seasons in Philadelphia's incredible depth up front. Doan and Gionta are both very productive fantasy forwards and should continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Outgoing: Wojtek Wolski

Incoming: Peter Mueller and a draft pick

Copying the NHL, are we? I am not sure who won the trade in the NHL, just like I am not sure who wins this one. I really liked Mueller coming out of the WHL, but his two serious concussions should be a major red flag. Wolski fits in really well in Phoenix, and the Coyotes are going to lean very heavily on him for offense in 2010-11 and beyond. Give this one another year before declaring a winner.

The Breakdown

This league is incredibly deep. I know there are a few of you who play with rosters this big, but I sure as hell don't. I wouldn't want to keep track of a 35-player farm team… (I find more than five or six to be overkill).

Another starting goalie would be nice. Mason is a solid goalie and Anderson had a fantastic year, but I wouldn't want to rely on those two as my goalies if I could potentially upgrade. Bernier is a great insurance policy but he is far from a sure thing (at least for 2010-11), as the Kings will want to give Quick every chance to keep the starting position.

The Recommendations

Justin asked me a few specific questions:

1) Would I drop Cal O'Reilly and Shannon to the farm and call up Tanguay and Greene?

Yes!  O'Reilly is in tough to earn a spot on Nashville's roster, and Shannon is a dime-a-dozen forward (I guess a lot of these types are owned in leagues as deep as this one).

2) The three players I would waive – Schwarz (don't see him coming back), N. Williams, and K. Aucoin.

3) I'd probably drop O'Sullivan down and bring Smyth up as well. Don't write off O'Sullivan just yet, but he doesn't warrant a pro roster spot at the moment.

4) Demote Quincey, bring up Corvo. Quincey won't see the PP time in Colorado that Corvo will in Carolina.

5) As I haven't played in a league this deep, I can't give a ton of specific advice. On first glance I'd dump half your farm team, but I figure many other teams in the league are like this. Sure makes those depth draft picks important…