Capped: The Pros and Cons of Depth Players

Eric Daoust

2014-10-16

ColtonOrr

Four depth players who are a risky proposition in your salary cap league.

Some of the best cap bargains can be found on depth lines throughout the NHL. This applies mostly in multi-category leagues where grinders, agitators and two-way specialists among other types of players can provide an abundance of peripheral categories. Given that they are bottom-six talents, their ice time is usually down and their reduced role leads to smaller cap hits. In some rare instances there are even bottom-six players that are major players in some fantasy leagues.

As an added benefit, many of these cheap depth producers will be able to obtain results immediately upon entering the NHL. While offensive production often takes years to develop, physical play and fighting can be translated to the NHL game more easily. This helps you get a faster return on investment if you are holding such a player on your dynasty team's farm roster. It should also give you more confidence in predicting the output of newcomers sitting on the waiver wire once they get called up to their NHL team.

However, these players are not always slam dunks to be helpful to your fantasy squad. As bottom-six guys on their NHL clubs, they are usually not valued as highly by their coaches and the organization. As such, they can be made healthy scratches with higher frequency and are more likely to be waived and demoted to their minors. Additionally, their lower status usually prevents them from obtaining long-term contracts. Thus, bottom-six talents can have their careers derailed in a hurry.

Today we will look at four players of the physical variety – two newcomers and two more established players – and examine some of the pros and cons of owning this type of player. All four own cap hits that are very affordable.

Bobby Robins (BOS) – $600,000 / 1 year

The 32-year-old Robins has been a nice feel-good story as he made the Bruins' opening night roster and suited up for an NHL game for the first time in his career. Looking back at his AHL stats it is clear that the veteran offers limited offensive abilities but can rack up a ton of PIM. After the departure of Shawn Thornton last summer, a potential spot opened for a player that plays a similar game. Robins had a strong training camp and became that guy… for a few games. Here is a chart of Robins' production in his three-game NHL career:

Date	PIM	Hit	TOI
8-Oct	7	5	6:58
9-Oct	0	0	7:47
11-Oct	7	1	7:58
13-Oct	Healthy Scratch

His totals of 14 PIM and six hits are excellent but the struggling Bruins decided to shake things up and give other more skilled players a chance while also signing veteran winger Simon Gagne. Robins was scratched on Monday and then demoted to the AHL. Even though the numbers were promising and the player appeared to fill a need, it is likely that Robins will never be a factor at the NHL level.

Liam O'Brien (WSH) – $641,667 / 3 years

O'Brien was mentioned in the ramblings on October 6 by Dobber as a player to keep an eye on that could have an impact similar to Antoine Roussel. Soon thereafter he earned a three-year entry level contract with the Capitals and a spot on their roster to start the new season. And unlike Robins, O'Brien has been able to stay in the lineup while showing encouraging signs in some of the other areas beyond agitating and playing with an edge. Here are his results over the first three games of his NHL career:

Date	G	A	Pt	+/-	PIM	SOG	Hit	Faceoffs	TOI
9-Oct	0 📢 advertisement:	0	0	0	7	1	3	0-0-0%	2:40
11-Oct	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	1-0-100%	6:58
14-Oct	0	1	1	1	0	2	0	0-0-0%	6:12

Of course, ice time is always a concern. Seven minutes per night is not a lot and is not far from being a healthy scratch on some nights. But his assist on Tuesday should help him stay in the lineup and be used more frequently, at least for now. Beyond that, the fact that he was able to register a shot on goal in each outing is also encouraging.

Even though he is far from established as a full-time NHLer, at just 20 years of age O'Brien still has a lot of time to fine-tune his game. If he ends up being a hit, he could be a contributor on your fantasy team for several years.