Q&A will run every other Sunday. Today we look at the possibility of trading Alex Ovechkin, along with a few FA additions off to fast starts. Send in your question the night before or morning of the Q&A to keep the info fresh. [email protected]

TRADE OVECHKIN?

Shane in Medicine Hat

"I joined a new keeper/salary cap league this year and the roster has ovie on it but his salary is $15.5 per year. The cap is $100 for the full team. The league is H/H with daily moves, stats are G,A,+/-,PIM,PPG,PPA,SHG,SHA,GWG,SOG,FOW, AND GS,W,GAA,SV,SV%,SHO.

This league is very deep with 14 teams. I cannot see this line-up competing for a top-three spot.

My players are B.Richards,H.Sedin,M.Hanzal,  A.Vermette, M.Cullen at center.

Right wing -J.Iginla,N.Horton,M.Samuelsson,D.Clarkson.

Left wing A.Ovechkin, D.Booth, B.Laich, S.Kostitsyn, P.Mueller.

Defense-B.Burns,P.Martin, K.Timonen,  B.Coburn,S.Montador, D.Morris.

Goalies  J.Howard,A.Montoya,C.Schneider,M.Garon.

We start 4c,4rw,4lw,6d and 2 goalies each night.

Thanks once again for the help."

Chris: That is a pretty big chunk of change for Ovechkin relative to your cap, although I suppose in real life his cap hit is right near that 15% mark for the Caps too. I'd be much more inclined to keep him. Whether you think you can win right now or not, Ovechkin is certainly young enough to be a part of any short or long-term strategy. And whether it's a large number of keepers or a small one, Ovechkin is one of the few legitimate superstars in this league. I wouldn't part with him, personally. Chances to get a guy like him are too few and far between.

The key piece of info to help you with your strategy that I'm missing here is how many keepers you have each summer.

If you get to max out that $100 at all times and you basically keep a full team year-to-year, then it's much harder to climb the standings each season. The strong teams start strong again. The teams with no depth have a harder time building that depth.

If you only keep a certain small number of players regardless of salary and then just have to fit them into your following year's cap like normal, then there's much more wiggle room to have a strong draft/ auction in the fall and become a contender much more quickly. That's one of the positives of leagues which only allow maybe five keepers per team… it acts as a form of competitive balance.

Your core guys… Brad Richards, Henrik Sedin, Jarome Iginla, Ovechkin, Horton, Burns, Howard and Schneider… are a good basis around which to build. Montoya may work his way in there. Mueller, if healthy, could become one. Kostitsyn has been really good for the Preds. Booth has more to give.

But my point here is that if you keep everybody and don't think you'll win now, then maybe you deal Iginla and possibly even Richards to contenders for the next generation of stars. Save money, build through youth and make a run within the next few years.

The defence is pretty weak, but you just took the team over and you have time to make that up. Maybe Garon would be attractive to Roloson's owner for some sort of upgrade on the back end. Then again, four goalies in a 14-team H2H league isn't necessarily a bad thing.

REAL DEALS?

Oracle of Oro Valley

"Chris,

Wondering about your thoughts on early season wonders. Real or Brian Savage?….expire on Halloween.

Forward…Adams

Defense…MAB

Goalies…Montoya,Nabby

Thanks."

Chris: Luke Adam in Buffalo. Great numbers in the Q. Smash success in his rookie AHL season. Thriving so far in a prominent role with the Sabres. Buffalo is a deeper offensive team now, which also helps balance out the attack. I'd say this… I wouldn't be trading away an Eric Staal on my team for help in net with the expectation that Adam will be anchoring one of my top C spots and producing like this all season. But I'd also rank Adam above a number of FA options that might spring up and have you wondering because he did transition so well from junior to pro. And he has killer linemates for now. We'll see what happens when Hecht gets back in the line-up, but how does Lindy Ruff break up that trio now? Let's enjoy Adam's production for now and re-evaluate once both Hecht is ready and Buffalo encounters its first rough patch of the season.

MAB in TB. He's a guy who has a past history of successfully running a PP and with that cast of heavy hitters up front on PP1, he could be a really nice success story. I wouldn't bet the farm on him, but he's in a great position and for now he'll be a better option than many FA blueliners. Let's say cautious optimism there.

In terms of the goalies on Long Island, it's tough to say. Rick DiPietro's health, as always, will be a determining factor. Not too much of a shock to see him sidelined already, unfortunately. Montoya looked good last season and he's doing well again. His stats may not be quite this good, but he can likely still be a viable option as a second or – ideally – third goalie for poolies given that we just don't know how many games he's start. I’d rather consider him a third netminder for now behind the regular two starters on a fantasy team because then there’s less room for disappointment if he loses starts to someone else down the line.

There are thoughts Nabokov's start last night was potentially a showcase game for a trade, although if the Isles are really hoping to take that next step in the standings this season (and why shouldn't they be?) it'd seem smarter to keep Nabokov around as the DiPietro insurance policy and just roll with whichever of Montoya or Nabby is hot at the time.