Capped: Late-Signing Restricted Free Agents

Eric Daoust

2014-10-02

JadenSchwartz

After a busy week of free agent signings, Daoust checks in to dish on the cap league implications.

With the start of the new regular season drawing close, there are still plenty of contractual developments with significant fantasy implications. For the fantasy-relevant players that signed new deals all of them came in lower than expected from a real-life point of view. However, how it translates to fantasy hockey where only the numbers matter is a different story that must be analyzed case by case.

Most surprising is the no-nonsense approach that many GMs are taking when dealing with their restricted free agents. The end result is young players signing for surprisingly-low rates which in cap league greatly helps the player's value. In some instances the recent signings may have created some of the league's best cap bargains for the 2014-15 campaign.

Cody Eakin (DAL) – $1,900,000 / 2 years

Eakin is a solid young two-way forward that is really coming into his own. His improvement did not go unnoticed as the Stars gave him a nice raise. Still, many poolies were expecting a figure north of $2 million. But even at his current cost his fantasy value is not outstanding.

For starters, Eakin is simply not a great offensive player with a career-high of just 35 points. This could improve over time but with the arrival of Jason Spezza it will be nearly impossible to get many looks in the top-six. Beyond that Eakin is a decent multi-category player with modest contributions across many categories and is surprisingly good getting faceoff wins.

So the verdict is clear: in points-only look elsewhere for a cheaper (or better) alternative. In multi-cat he is a decent asset depending on the categories involved but certainly not a cap bargain.

Cody McLeod (COL) – $1,333,333 / 3 years (starting in 2015-16)

McLeod has quietly been an effective player in deep multi-category leagues over the last several years. Even better is the fact that he has maintained a low cap hit over the years and has only received minimal raises. The end result is excellent numbers in both hits and PIM along with better offensive numbers than most goons and a surprising amount of blocked shots.

Over the course of his new three-year deal, there are some risks to keep in consideration. Even though McLeod has been pretty durable over the course of his career, he is now 30 years old. Players that play his style can wear down over the years. He may start getting injured more frequently and could also see a decline in his play. The player cannot be a cap bargain if he is not contributing, whether it be due to injury or healthy scratch.

With that said, McLeod should still be a decent player to own for the foreseeable future. Just keep the risks in mind and act fast if he starts showing negative signs.

Reilly Smith / Torey Krug (BOS) – $1,400,000 / 1 year

Because of the Bruins' well-known cap issues, the pair of restricted free agents were forced to take much less than they are worth or risk missing some games this year. For this year, both are going to be some of the top cap bargains in the NHL provided that they are able to continue producing like they did last season.

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Smith put up a surprising 51 points last year and appears set to have every opportunity to repeat. With Jarome Iginla now out of the picture, he will be leaned on even more to provide offense. Even with a small regression he will still be well worth the money to your squad. The cost rivals many of the entry-level cap bargains that are a staple in cap leagues.

UPCOMING GAMES

Dec 27 - 19:12	DET	vs	TOR
Dec 27 - 19:12	BUF	vs	CHI
Dec 27 - 19:12	CBJ	vs	BOS
Dec 27 - 19:12	N.J	vs	CAR
Dec 27 - 20:12	DAL	vs	MIN
Dec 27 - 20:12	STL	vs	NSH
Dec 27 - 21:12	UTA	vs	COL
Dec 27 - 22:12	S.J	vs	VGK