Welcome back to another edition of the Roos Lets Loose monthly mailbag, where I answer your fantasy hockey questions by giving advice that should be useful to all poolies even if they don't own the specific players being discussed. As a reminder, if you want your fantasy hockey question(s) answered in the next mailbag, check out the end of the column, where I explain the ways to get it/them to me and as well as the details you should provide when sending. The earlier you send a question the more likely it is to be included in the mailbag, and the deeper dive I can provide with my reply.

Question #1 (from Terrance)

I'm in a 14 team, keep 6, H2H auction league with categories and scoring of G (3), A (2), PIM (0.2), PPPts (1), SHP (2), SOG (0.2), Hits (0.2), BLK (0.3), DEF point (0.3), Hat Tricks [value not provided], GWG (value not provided); GS (1.75), W (3), L (-2), GA (-1.75), SV (0.25), Shutouts (5). As I write this, my team is on the verge of winning the league; but my success will understandably make it difficult to get from the 22 players on my roster to my 6 keepers. Note that players can be traded in the offseason; but not only are top players rarely traded in the offseason, if you trade a player you can only receive draft dollars – which can be used in the upcoming draft or held for use in future drafts – in return.

My potential keepers are Alex Debrincat, Max Pacioretty, Mark Scheifele, Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Dougie Hamilton, Connor Hellebuyck, Igor Shesterkin and Jason Robertson. I'm leaning toward Makar, Debrincat, Fox, Hellebuyck, Pacioretty and Pettersson, selling high on Scheifele and also dealing away Hamilton due to enough defensemen depth. What do you think about this plan? Is Robertson at the level where he might be a keep over Pettersson?

You'll get no argument from me about trading Scheifele. I extensively covered why I felt he was a "sell high" in a mailbag column about two months ago. When that column went live he had 44 points in 37 games (98 point full season pace); he went on to finish with 63 points in 56 games, meaning he scored at his usual point per game pace thereafter. As such, the window to truly "sell high" might have closed, or at least be less wide open. If indeed top tier players are not often traded, he still might be able to fetch a very nice dollar return.

Looking at your projected keepers, I think it makes sense not to keep a second goalie, as your scoring system is one where what matters the most, by far, is saves, which makes Hellebuyck superb since he sees plenty of rubber but also can give a team wins and lots of starts. As promising as Shesterkin figures to be, he probably won't be a workhorse enough to be a keeper on a team that already has Hellebuyck to retain.

The next question mark is indeed Pettersson, whom avid readers of my columns know has comparable early career stats to Paul Stastny, which is worrisome, as is the fact he was looking unspectacular even before getting hurt. Yes, he's not reached his 200-game breakout threshold; and few would argue he appears to possess significant talent/gifts. It is worrisome though that he didn't excel despite an extremely sheltered deployment that has seen his OZ% climb from 69% as a rookie to 75%(!) this season, and even more so when placed alongside the comparison to Stastny, who never became a star as many had expected based on his pedigree and early success. The way I've summed it up previously is I see Pettersson having about a 25% chance of becoming a consistent point per game player or better, a 50% chance of being a 65-75 point player at his peak, and a 25% chance of being a sub 65 point player. Is that keeper material? Maybe not.

Personally I wouldn't keep him or Robertson, since as promising as Robertson seems he's not great in multi-cat and I worry he won't be able to secure a spot on PP1 over Tyler Seguin, Joe Pavelski, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, and Roope Hintz. Instead, I'd opt for Hamilton. After starting the season with 11 points in 19 games, Hamilton produced 31 points in 36 contests while firing tons of pucks on net, amassing heaps of PPPts, and faring pretty decent in hits and blocks. Hamilton is a special player already, something that maybe – emphasis on maybe – Pettersson or Robertson could end up being.

My six would be Makar, Debrincat, Fox, Hellebuyck, Pacioretty and Hamilton. Yes, I realize that is three defensemen keepers; however, they're arguably three of the top ten if not top five defensemen keepers in the entire NHL. If you end up having too much depth at the position, you can solve it by moving one of them during the season. Or to put it another way, excess greatness at a position is a problem you should not mind having. Good luck!

Question #2 (from Craig)

I'm in a 9 team league where each team gets 8 regular and 3 minors eligible (25 or younger, <164 games if a skater, <48 if a goalie) keepers and each player can only be kept for a three year term, except for one designated "Franchise" player who can be kept indefinitely. Rostering is a bit complicated. Each team has F1, F2, and F3 groups consisting of three forwards per group (positions don't matter), D1 and D2 groups consisting of three defensemen per group, a PP group consisting of three skaters (F and/or D), plus two active goalies, with a restriction that no team can own more than three goalies, including those in the minors. Each team also gets six bench spots and three IR spots to go along with the three minors spots. The scoring sometimes differs for each group: Assists (D1 = 1.22; F1 = 1.11; F2 = 1.0; F3 and D2 = 0.78), Goals (same scoring as assists), PIM (D2 = 0.56), +/- (D1, F1 and F2 = 0.45, F3 = 1.11), Defensive Awareness (D2 = 1.11), PPPts (PP = 1.67), PIM + HIT (F3 = 1.33), Even Strength Points (PP = 1.22), SV (1), W (1), SV% (1), SO (0.45).

My expected keepers are as follows, with their keeper year for 2021-22 listed in parentheses: Nikita Kucherov (Franchise), Auston Matthews (3rd year), Gabriel Landeskog (3rd year), J.T. Miller (3rd year), Vincent Trocheck (2nd year), Elias Lindholm (2nd year), Morgan Rielly (2nd year), Neil Pionk (3rd year), Kirill Kaprizov (2nd year, minors), Rasmus Dahlin (3rd year minors, still eligible due to having been kept in the minors), and Ilya Sorokin (2nd year minors).

My first question is whether to keep Sean Couturier over Lindholm. I feel that Lindholm has more to offer given his age and deployment, plus is better in terms of hits and PPPs, making him more versatile in this league format with different forward lines and the separate PP line having different weights for certain stats. As you can see from the scoring, PPPs on the PP line and PIM+HITS on the F3 line are the two highest value categories.

My second question is what to do with my stockpiled first round picks for the coming draft, selecting first, fourth, fifth, and sixth overall. Players who have expiring contracts and I think are unlikely to be designated franchise players are Mikko Rantanen, Artemi Panarin, Patrick Kane, Jonathan Huberdeau, Brayden Point, Sebastian Aho, Mika Zibanejad, Kyle Connor, Steven Stamkos, Matthew Tkachuk, Tom Wilson, Dylan Larkin, Patrik Laine, Aaron Ekblad, and Zach Werenski.

No high-end goalies are available; but I’ve found this league (currently in year 10) is winnable even without a top-flight goalie, as I've done five of the past seven years.

Let me say at the outset that your roster and scoring systems are quite something, and I'm still not sure I fully grasp all the relevant details (is "defensive awareness" Hits +BLK+plus/minus?). That having been said, I believe I understand enough to be able to answer your questions.

If you're a reader of all my columns, you know I did a deep dive on Lindholm a couple of weeks ago in my most recent Goldipucks piece. There I concluded that Lindholm is likely to be able to produce at or near what he's producing this season – that is, roughly in the 70-point range, or not quite as well as 2018-19 but better than he did in 2019-20. Is that enough to make him a better keeper option than Couturier, who's on pace for his fourth consecutive season with a scoring pace in the 70s? I think the answer is yes, as Philly is stacked with forwards and the result has been Couturier seeing his lowest ice times since he broke out, both overall and on the PP. Couturier's scoring pace also slowed, in that after starting with 18 points in his first 16 games, he tallied 23 in his final 29 contests. In contrast, Lindholm's ice times were consistent since coming to Calgary and his scoring pace held fairly steady throughout 2020-21. Moreover, as you noted in posing your question, Lindholm brings more to the table in terms of multicat, helping in your format. It's closer than I thought it would be at first glance; however, I do like Lindholm over Couturier all things considered.

Among those players who'll be available for you to pick, I'm frankly surprised a few aren't going to be franchised, most notably Panarin, who's a slam-dunk pick at #1 overall. Yes, he's best in points only; however his scoring is so superb that you take him first overall and don't hesitate in doing so. For the next three, I like, in this order, Zibs, who's clearly is back to his usual self, which is great in your format, then Kane, who I think has several more years before he starts to slow, and Rantanen, who's taken his game to another level this season and is no longer a multi-cat drag.

One option though would be to try to get Point and Stamkos in order to potentially have all three – with Kucherov – who could form the best line in hockey like they did in 2018-19. Though when all were healthy in 2019-20 they didn't play together much, with the result being a more balanced team that won a Stanley Cup. I think they'll avoid going with that "super line" again, making it so neither Stamkos nor Point would be in my top four. What if one or two of Zibs, Kane, and Rantanen somehow get taken in spots two and three, meaning you need to pick one or two others? If so, I'd first opt for Huberdeau, given his 90-point downside, then Point, in view of his age, deployment, and bounce back potential. Good luck!

Question #3 (from Adam)

I’m in a 12 team, keep 5, H2H league, starting 3C, 3LW, 3RW, 4D, 2G, with 5 Bench spots (1 goalie allowed on the bench, for 3 total goalies), 1 IR spot (maybe more, as we made it 3 IR this season due to the unusual circumstances so we might stick with 3, or go to 2, or revert back to 1). Scoring is G (4.0), A (2.0), +/- (0.5), SHG (2.0), SHA (1.0), W (3.0) L (-2.0), SO (3.0), SV (0.1). My roster at the end of the season was: Mika Zibanejad, Nazem Kadri, Jack Hughes, Patrik Laine, Andrei Svechnikov, Viktor Arvidsson, Travis Konecny, Mats Zuccarello, Craig Smith, Kasperi Kapanen, Timo Meier, Evgeni Malkin, Pavel Buchnevich, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Quinn Hughes, John Carlson, Seth Jones, Rasmus Dahlin, Semyon Varlamov, Juuse Saros, Jake Oettinger.

As of now I'm strongly leaning toward keeping Zibanejad, Svechnikov and Quinn Hughes, with the remaining spots consisting of two of Carslon, Buchnevich, Jack Hughes, Evgeni Malkin, Patrik Laine, RNH, Varlamov, and Saros.

My thoughts on the maybe guys is that Varlamov could be a keeper if, say, Toronto trades for him in the offseason; but in a Barry Trotz timeshare, I doubt he’d be worth it. Saros, on the other hand, might get a heavy workload next year. Buchnevich seems like he's finally arrived; and having the duo of him and Zibs seems very tempting. Jack Hughes has a very high ceiling, but I’m not sure he reaches it next year. Carlson is great, but is turning 32 next year. Malkin is..….well..….Malkin, for better and worse. RNH's floor is pretty high, and his ceiling could be too if placed in the right circumstances. Still, I likely don’t go with him. Last and (this year, anyways) also least, would be Laine. I paid a huge price to get him a couple of seasons ago, but even with Torts gone, I still don’t see a roster that will get him back to 30-40 goal territory. I think he’d have to move teams for me to be confident in a bounce-back season. Still though, the talent level and ceiling is so high, I’m not sure I want to give up on this guy.

Anyways, which five would you keep? Any insights would be much appreciated.

I think Zibs and Quinn Hughes are indeed keepers; but I wonder about Svechnikov. You don't count SOG or hits, which is where he provides great value. Yes, his future seems bright; but you might have better options. Let's not rule him out, but instead put him down as a maybe.

Of all those you named as potential keepers, I'd definitely nix Laine and RNH, as their output this season makes it so they'll be available for a decent redraft price. Malkin is a tough omit; however, his stretch of poor play at the beginning of the season, in addition to his annual trip to the IR in the last quarter, make it so the risk with him is now greater than the reward. I'm surprised you didn't include Dahlin as a maybe, as although he had a down year his outlook is a promising as that of Svechnikov. You do have Quinn Hughes though, so I suppose not keeping Dahlin is a luxury you can afford.

Varlamov is not a keeper for you if stuck in a timeshare. However, given that the Isles have Ilya Sorokin who seems ready to take on a greater role, and the demonstrated ability of the system on Long Island to get good numbers from goalies who aren't great on paper, they might sell high on Varlamov (such as to Toronto as I suggested in my most recent mailbag), and bring in one of many veteran UFA netminders (see Question #6 for a list). If you didn't have Saros I'd say you should keep Varlamov and hope. With Saros, who seems like he's arrived and is assured to be a true #1 next season, as an option, and with categories that value workhorse goalies over perhaps better netminders who play less, Varlamov probably doesn't make the cut as a keeper if the situation in Long Island doesn't change.

So that gives us three keepers in Zibs, Quinn Hughes, and Saros, leaving two spots for Svechnikov, Jack Hughes, John Carlson, and Pavel Buchnevich. Looking at it again, Svechnikov should make the cut, as his lack of top tier scoring is due to being saddled for a chunk of the season with linemates like Jordan Staal and Jesper Fast and Warren Foegele. When he played with Sebastian Aho, Svechnikov produced at a point per game level or better. We also need to consider that since 1990-91 a total of one other winger had, as a teen, at least as many points, goals, and SOG per game as Svechnikov did in 2019-20 while also shooting 13% or greater: Jaromir Jagr. So yeah, it's probably not a good idea to let Svechnikov go even if his added value in SOG and hits are of no consequence.

For the last keeper, Buchnevich is tempting, as all he's done is see both his points and ice time per game increase with each and every season. The only piece of the puzzle that's missing is a consistent spot on PP1, although given how deep the Rangers are being "stuck" on PP2 isn't as bad is it'd be on another team. He's also a produced on the PK, which matters in your league. Carlson is humming along; but his SOG and ice time were down and his days of 70+ scoring pace might be over.

There are three routes you can take (1) keep Carlson, (2) keep Buchnevich, or (3) trade Varlamov and one of Carlson and Buchnevich for an upgraded keeper. If SHG and SHA were their own categories, I'd keep Buchnevich; however, with them only counting as points, their value should not be a major factor in deciding keepers. Accordingly, I'd take the third option, as I believe Varlamov and Carlson's values are high enough to net you a good return. Try for a goal scorer, since with goals counting twice as much as assists you want a sniper. Good luck!

Question #4 (from Frederic)

I’m in a 10 team league with 7 keepers and a 17 round draft. Keepers can only be players drafted in the 4th round or later. Line-ups are 2C/2LW/2RW/3D/2Utl/2G, scoring is one point for each category (G, A, Pts, +-, PIM, PPPts, W, GA, SV%). My definite keepers, with their round listed, are John Tavares (5th), Nikita Kucherov (6th), Andrei Svechnikov (10th), Jonathan Huberdeau (12th) and Elias Lindholm (17th). That leaves me two spots, but five choices: Patrik Laine (4th), Tyson Barrie (7th), Jack Hughes (8th), Anze Kopitar (9th), Evgeny Kuznetsov (11th). Assuming you agree with the five I thought were sure things (do you?), which two of the bubble guys would you keep?

I'm on board with the five you named, with the possible exception of Tavares. His scoring rate is down for the second straight season, and he's clearly a #2 center now. Yes, he has been able to keep a grip on a coveted PP1 spot; but his PP scoring rate is off his pace from last season by quite a bit. He'll also be 31 next season and should be starting to slow in the normal course. And at Round 5, he's not a bargain. So he's a maybe; but the other four are definite keeps in view of their talent, situation, and/or round.

Of the choices for the other two spots (or three if Tavares isn't kept), I like Kopitar the most. Yes, the Kings have a crop of young centers ready for prime time; but Kopitar is too important of an all-around player to be deemphasized, such that he's still a lock for 70+ points, with heaps on the PP, for another few seasons at minimum. Barrie would be a no brainer if he stays in Edmonton; but with Oscar Klefbom due back and Evan Bouchard and Ethan Bear primed for larger roles, it's likely he signs elsewhere. Even still, with a scoring pace of 62+ points in three of the past four seasons, he might be worth retaining.

Hughes would be a play for the future if kept, as while there have been glimpses of greatness at times it's not clear when he'll start to pay significant dividends. If he was a later round I think he'd for sure be worthwhile; but at round eight it's a toughie, especially with Kuznetsov retainable at round 11. Yes, Kuz is not panning out as expected; but he could outscore Hughes for the next season or two. Laine at four isn't a keep, as not only should he be available at or even later than round 4 next season, but even with John Tortorella not coming back Columbus could embark upon a rebuild.

It boils down to Tavares (Rd 5), Barrie (Rd 7), Hughes (Rd 8), Kopitar (Rd 9), and Kuznetsov (Rd 11) for three spots. I still think Kopitar is a correct choice; and beyond what was already said about Barrie, he's also a defenseman, which is key since the other seven guys being kept will all be forwards. As for the last spot, what might be the ultimate decider is if any of Tavares, Hughes or Kuznetsov has eligibility as a wing. If, however, all three are only center eligible, then the safest pick is Tavares, the economical pick is Kuznetsov, and the risk/reward pick is Hughes. If the choice was mine, I'd probably go with Kuznetsov, as the depth in the Washington top six is almost on a par with what it is in Toronto, but Kuz would be keepable six rounds later at a cost of only a few points versus Tavares. Hughes could explode; however, I don't think he has the pieces around him to do so just yet. Instead, he'll make steady strides – but small enough not to make him a keeper here. Good luck!

Question #5 (from Christopher)

I’m in a 24 team, dynasty salary cap league that dresses 12F, 6D, 2G, with each team having 3 bench and 25 minors slots. Skater points are G (3), A (2), PPPts (1), +/- (1), PIM (0.25).

As you can imagine, decent defensemen are at a premium in this league, what with 124 being rostered and, unlike other leagues, no benefit in defensemen whose value stems from Hits and Blocks, since we don't count either of those categories. With that in mind, what are your thoughts on: Dante Fabbro (does he offer any upside at this point, and what do you see as his ceiling), Juuso Valimaki (could he get meaningful PP time), Jacob Bryson, Henri Jokiharju, Wyatt Kalnyuk (are any likely to become 30+ point guys and see some PP time), and Mackenzie Weegar (how real is what we're seeing). Also, are there any unsigned defensemen of which you're aware in college or overseas, or any recent late round draft NHL picks, who could pan out in the next couple of seasons?

I'll start with your last question and say that if there's one area where I'm least knowledgeable it's deep prospects. My advice is to take your questions to the forums, as lots of folks there are aware of players who are lurking beneath the surface.

Let's start with Weegar first. It's fair to say no one saw coming what he's done; but just like you, many are now paying attention and wondering what it means for him going forward. For a while after Aaron Ekblad got hurt Weegar, despite scoring, was getting essentially zero PP time. That started to change in late April, when he not only got sniffs of PP time but produced PPPts. Still, it's difficult to envision him being able to retain a spot on PP1 or PP2 next season in view of Ekblad and the one-dimensional Keith Yandle, which is important since if we look at full seasons from 2000-01 to 2018-19 and focus on d-men who played 40+ games and averaged a point per every other game, only five of 527 instances were by those who had five PPPts or fewer and only 33 (i.e., 6.2%) didn't have double digit PPPts. Any realistic chance of Weegar repeating what he has done this season seems almost impossible. I'd compare his 2020-21 to Marc-Edouard Vlasic's 2015-16, where a defensemen, at age 28 (Weegar is 27), who'd only once in his career to date scored above a 27 point full season pace, produced at a pace of 48 points when, not coincidently, he saw his highest ever PP usage. After that though, Vlasic came back to earth, producing at a rate of 28-31 points in his next three seasons. Anyone owning Weegar would be well served to sell high, and I'd avoid trading for him.

Fabbro is still young enough to make noise, although he's basically been stuck in neutral this season. And that is concerning because one would've expected him to see more – and better – ice time due to the injuries to Ryan Ellis and Roman Josi. Also, his SOG rate has dropped from Q1 to Q2 and then from Q2 to Q3 to not even one per game. At this point I'd say he's a long shot to be an impactful player, with at best a 50/50 chance of hitting the 30-point mark at some point down the road.

Valimaki, however, offers more hope from where I sit. We saw him post 19 points in 19 games while playing overseas prior to the NHL season. That's on top of point per game outputs in his last two WHL campaigns and 14 points in 20 AHL contests last season. Calgary clearly wanted Rasmus Anderson to step up and be "the guy" on the blueline; however, he failed to make an impact on the scoresheet and was an ineffective PP QB. Although the team hasn't used Valimaki in that role, my guess is by the time next season rolls around he'll get his shot and I think he has a decent chance of clicking. Of all those who you named, I think he offers the most promise.

Jokiharju is still only 21 despite this being his third NHL season, but he is not showing signs of becoming an impactful player, as he barely shoots and seems far removed from the offense. Looking at defensemen who, since 2000-01 and by age 20, had played in 100+ games while averaging less than 1.5 SOG per game and scoring under 30 points, we get four other players, with those who are now age 25 or older being Nick Schultz (career best in points is 20), Jonas Brodin (career best in points was 28 prior to this season, which saw him score at a 36 point pace), and Adam Larsson (career best in points is 24). So other than Brodin, who's found a bit of a scoring touch of late, stats like what Jokiharju produced in his first two seasons at a young age are not indicative of someone who'll morph into a good producer.

Bryson did pretty well last season in the AHL and has garnered more playing time this season than Jokiharju. But not even firing two SOG every three games, he strikes me as someone who's likely not in the AHL solely due to his team and, going forward, a fringe NHLer at best.

Kalynuk has played the fewest games of any of these guys, yet unlike most he's had a decent impact on the scoresheet. While at 24 he's a bit old to be a rookie, that's due to playing out his entire NCAA career, where he was a solid producer, and last season in the AHL, doing okay. I wouldn't pin a lot of hope on him, but I like him more than Bryson and at least as much as Jokiharju and Fabbro despite not having the pedigree to match either of them. Good luck!

Question #6 (from Michael)

Is it realistic that Chris Driedger can sign with a team this offseason that will anoint him a true #1? Or will he have to settle for more of a 1A/1B scenario, or even remain a back-up?

I think it'd be stretch for Driedger to be a #1 goalie entering next season, what with him being 26 years old and with a career consisting of only 38 games played. Yes, he's looked great during these past two seasons; but he's not the first goalie to post numbers along these lines. Just going back to 2000-01, the likes of Martin Gerber, Manny Fernandez, David Aebischer, Manny Legace, Vesa Toskala, Chad Johnson, Jonas Hiller, and Scott Darling all had comparable numbers in one or more seasons in their mid to late 20s and never amounted to anything, versus only four goalies (Martin Jones, Cam Talbot, Marty Turco, and Cory Schneider) who had similar numbers in that age range and went on to success. Gerber and Jones had two seasons of limited but very successful action and then changed teams and were given a chance to start, with Gerber failing and Jones succeeding, although his GAA has since risen every season.

The market for UFA goalies this offseason isn't brimming with talent, as after Philipp Grubauer and Frederik Andersen, there's the injury-prone (Antti Raanta), the question mark (Linus Ullmark), the inconsistent (Petr Mrazek, David Rittich), the guys likely to retire or to re-sign with their current team (Tuukka Rask, Pekka Rinne), and the other grey-beards (Mike Smith, Devan Dubnyk, James Reimer, Jonathan Bernier, Carter Hutton, Jaroslav Halak, Brian Elliott).

Even still, that just means Driedger will have a landing spot, not that he'll be handed the keys to the kingdom. Why not? Consider Hutton, he being the last "out of nowhere" goalie to be signed as a UFA to be a presumed starter. Although unlike Driedger, Hutton was in his 30s and had 100+ games of experience when he inked his UFA contract, his cautionary tale, as well as recency bias, might keep Driedger from getting a large deal and/or being entrusted as a true #1. Moreover, Hutton was signed by a weaker team, which could afford to take a risk on him.

Probably that's what happens here, as even if Grubauer leaves Colorado and Andersen leaves Toronto, I can't picture those teams giving Dreidger their crease. Instead, I'd expect him to go to a team that has a 1A/1B option already in place or, like the Sabres when they signed Hutton, has nothing to lose, except for the money used to sign him.

For Driedger owners, a case could be made to try and move him before he signs, when the hype train is still in the station, but also to risk holding him and hoping he lands in a favorable situation and that he plays well. If it were me, I'd sell. There are many names of goalies who ran hot in their mid to late 20s as a back-up and then didn't pan out. Or to put it in percentages, I'd give the odds Driedger of becoming a true #1 starter and succeeding even on the level that Jones did at 25%, versus 45% that he never ends up starting even 55 games for a team but has a few decent seasons, versus 30% that he is a total bust. Good luck!

Question #7 (from Mike)

My league counts G (3), A (2), PPPt (1), BLK (0.5), PIM (0.4/min), and +/- (1). I’m curious how you’d rank the following defensemen in view of those categories: Cale Makar, Dougie Hamilton, Morgan Rielly, Jakob Chychrun. I also want to trade a defenceman to upgrade at forward – who would you feel most comfortable moving?

I'm trading Morgan Rielly. He's on the highest profile team in all of the NHL, and unlikely to improve given that he plays an all-around game and is 27 years old; but he had a huge offensive season which occurred still recent enough to be on the minds of poolies, and which, just as importantly, he's not likely to duplicate. In fact, despite being the eighth d-man picked on average in Yahoo this season, he stands only 17th in cumulative d-man points per game over the past two campaigns. Yet even though he's not performing up to lofty expectations, he's doing well enough for poolies to cling to hope he has another 70+ point season in him, when in truth his 2018-19 output was the by-product of an unsustainably high shooting percentage, him being at the peak of his career, and Toronto's 286 goals that season being the fourth highest of all NHL teams, only four away from second place.

As for rating the other three, Chychrun is last, but only because of how great the other two are. It's been made clear Chychrun is the real deal and he's relegated Oliver Ekman-Larsson to offensive afterthought. Chychrun has 65+ point upside; however, for that to come to fruition Arizona has to improve as a team, and it's not clear if/when that will happen.

As for who to rank first, if Hamilton was doing what he's doing at Makar's age, he'd be ranked first, as they're roughly equal in scoring but Hamilton has far more PIM and quite a bit more BLK. Makar is so much younger and already so good, and he's doing this despite the presence of Samuel Girard, Devon Toews, and Bowen Byram. Moreover, Colorado is poised to be an offensive powerhouse for years to come, with Makar there to quarterback the PP and supply blueline offense. Even though the categories aren't perfect for him, I believe Makar is the top defenseman to own in this league, just as he is in most any other.

Hamilton is superb too. As noted above, he had 11 points in 19 games to start 2020-21, meaning he had 31 points in his final 36 contests. He's a shooting, scoring machine who, although the same age as Rielly, shows no signs of slowing. Without SOG counting in this league though, and with him being five years older than Makar and not on the powerhouse Avalanche, Hamilton only ranks second here. I t's about as close a second as there could be and he might have even been first if SOG counted. As it stands though, it's Makar then Hamilton then Chychrun, trading Rielly. Good luck!

Question #8 (from Michael)

I’m in a 14 team keeper that gives 1 point for goals and assists, 2 points for a hat trick, a goalie win, and a shutout. Rosters are 20 players, with 15 active (10F, 4D, 1G). We are allowed to keep 10 players from year to year and I’m curious who you'd recommend from this group: Kevin Fiala, Andrei Svechnikov, Nick Suzuki, Alexis Lafreniere, Nico Hischier, Quinton Byfield, Clayton Keller, Matthew Tkachuk, Drake Batherson, Christian Dvorak, Joel Eriksson Ek, Yegor Sharangovich, Sean Monahan, Thomas Chabot, Filip Hronek, Rasmus Dahlin, Adam Boqvist, Mackenzie Blackwood, Carey Price, Jake Oettinger. I’m really trying to take a long view, as I still don’t think I’ll be competitive next season but can be, hopefully, in a season or two.

First off, I'm glad you said you're looking toward the future, as this team is not built to succeed in the very near term. As such, you want to keep three types of players – (1) young up and comers, (2) guys who will be valuable to trade, and (3) guys who are good now and still will be when you're competing. Ideally you'd want no more than one or two guys from the second group, with the rest from (1) and (3).

You get to keep exactly half your players. In cases like that, what I try to do is start with one for sure keep and one for sure drop, and go until that no longer becomes a reflexive exercise. A for sure keep is Svechnikov and a for sure drop is Ek. Another for sure keep is Lafreniere and another for sure drop is Sharangovich. That about does it for guys that are no brainer drops, so for the last eight keepers we need to think more carefully.

A big question is whether to keep a goalie, and, if so, which one. In a 14 team league it's difficult not to keep one; however, I think your choices are not superb. Let's say maybe for now and revisit the issue when we get to the final keeper decisions.

I'd probably not hold onto Hischier. I know he still holds promise; but I worry he's being sidetracked by injuries and Jack Hughes looks like he's well on his way to figuring things out. And with the Devils not an especially deep team, I think Hischier won't pan out as well as your other options. As for defense, as I've said before Hronek strikes me as safe but unspectacular – like a Cam Fowler. I see him scoring at right around a 40 point pace, which, given your alternatives, makes him a non-keep. The upside of Boqvist is high enough to keep, and Dahlin could still be great even if he didn't make further strides this season as many had hoped. Chabot still gets great deployment and Ottawa is a team on the rise. He seems like a keep in terms of present and future ability, or as a guy you could trade during next season.

I like Suzuki, as although he too didn't see his scoring explode like many – myself included – thought it might once Claude Julien was removed, he's still a top guy in Montreal and that is important; and he's not reached his 200 game breakout threshold as yet. Byfield is a great future looking keep. I covered Batherson in my most recent Goldipucks, where I highlighted his explosive scoring and high IPPs, making him a definite keep. So the last two spots boil down to Fiala, Keller, Tkachuk, Dvorak, and Monahan, or a goalie. It's looking more and more that Monahan's success was tied to that of Johnny Gaudreau, from whom he's now separated for the most part. I think he's a redraft given your other choices. I'm also just not sold on his teammate Tkachuk, whose outlying season came with what has since been revealed as an unsustainably high SH%. Dvorak, who's yet to average even two SOG per game in a season even as his ice time has climbed, also doesn't measure up. Yes, he still could be a late bloomer; however, I like Keller more so of the two Arizona wingers but Fiala even more than both. In fact, I think a goalie makes sense instead of any Arizona forward, with Blackwood the best bet of the three.

The ten keeps are Svechnikov, Lafreniere, Dahlin, Chabot, Boqvist, Suzuki, Byfield, Batherson, Fiala, and Blackwood. If Chabot heats up, you can consider moving him during the season. Otherwise, the rest strike me as the right balance of a combination of the here and now and the future. Good luck!

Question #9 (from Boyd)

I'm in a keep 3, 12 team league counting G (4), A(3), PIM (0.2), PPPt (1), SOG (0.3), HIT (0.3), BLK (0.3); W (5), SV (0.23), SO (3) and with rosters of 3C, 3LW, 3RW, 3D, 1UTIL, 2G, plus three bench spots. And in case it's relevant for keeper consideration, I have great draft picks for the upcoming season (two 1st, two 2nd, two 3rd, two 4th).

My envisioned keepers as of now are David Pastrnak, Mika Zibanejad, and Jack Eichel. I traded for Pasta and Zibs during the season, and possibly could've had Mitch Marner instead of Pasta. Now that the season is over, I'm concerned I should've opted for Marner, as Pasta's production might be too tied to him skating with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron, with Bergeron showing signs of slowing and Marchand likely to do so before long. If I could get Marner back, would you keep him over Pasta? Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin also are available; would you target either of them? I might even be able to pry Andrei Vasilevskiy away but it would cost me a lot. What about other players to target given the categories and my tradeable picks?

I can see why some have started to have at least back of the mind concerns about Pastrnak, as his scoring pace was much lower this season and, indeed, Bergeron and Marchand are already past ages when their production should have been expected to significantly slow. The first concern likely is overblown, as let's not forget Pasta missed early time this season, so we can't know how his 2020-21 would've unfolded if he was in the lineup from game one. In fact, his last quarter was his most productive, with 16 points in his last 14 games, suggesting he'd have done much better had circumstances not been abnormal.

As for his reliance upon Bergeron and Marchand, I'm not here to pretend Pasta's numbers wouldn't be worse if he didn't play alongside them. After all, one or both were on the ice for 87% of his points this season, and 91% last season. Yet dating back to 1990-91, Pastrnak is one of just four wingers to have five seasons of 3+ SOG, 0.4+ goals, and 0.95+ points per game by the age of 24, the other three being Pavel Bure, Alex Ovechkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk. From age 25 onward, Bure remained red hot until he was slowed by injuries, whereas Ovi and Kovalchuk didn't quite keep up their early pace but remained solid point per game or better players. And although Ovi had Nicklas Backstrom, the others didn't have great talent surrounding them, suggesting players of Pasta's level should be able to remain productive even without great linemates. Still though, his days of 100+ point pace might be a thing of the past once Marchand and Bergeron slow. As far as in comparison to Marner, Pasta is the better contributor with your categories, enough so that if he scores 5-10 points fewer than Marner in a given season he still should have comparable if not higher value. Long story short, I'd hold onto Pasta.

I'd not target either Ovi or Crosby, as I feel they've reached a point where their name value eclipses their actual value. If Vasilevskiy costs an arm and a leg, chances are he's not worth pursuing as a keeper, as although he'd be a great fit for your categories you probably could get 80% of what he gives you from at least a handful of other goalies for far less of a price. Other options would be obviously stat stuffing young guys like Brady Tkachuk and Andrei Svechnikov; however, if I'm their owner in a league like this I'm not trading them, as their combination of youth and across the board contributions make them likely cornerstone keepers for years to come.

Others you can target are Leon Draisaitl, Artemi Panarin, Mikko Rantanen, and even Nikita Kucherov. Rantanen has impressed me a ton this season, as he's shooting the puck a lot more and it seems like he's helping Nathan MacKinnon as much as the other way around. Kucherov probably will be a tough get since whatever team has him will want to keep him after waiting a year for him and he's looked great in the playoffs. Draisaitl might just be too highly regarded to be touchable. Panarin on the other hand is not a multicat guy, and as such might be gettable. After his amazing points per game performance his owner might be able to look past the lack of output in some categories and want to keep Panarin. If you strike out with each of these guys, I'd suggest Aleksander Barkov, since I noted in a Goldipucks column I think he's a legitimate 90-100+ point guy; but he's a pure center, the deepest position in fantasy. Or you could indeed try to reacquire Marner, who has a 90-point floor and 100+ upside but who'd likely be quite costly due to his track record and very high profile.

If you want to consider rearguards, Dougie Hamilton – about whom I wrote above – should be a monster in a league with these categories. But because he's not as young as Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, or Adam Fox, he's likely not seen on a parallel to them, even though he might have more actual value. I'd give him serious consideration. You might also ponder trading away Eichel, whose value is low, for someone like Shea Theodore, who also isn't in the same "perceived value" echelon as these three young upstarts but who should pile up points in this league. However you decide to proceed, good luck!

Question #10 (from The DobberHockey Forums)

I took over a team in a 10 Team Salary Cap Keep 12 league. This was year two for me as a GM and I wanted to try to build a team to be competitive for a long time, and to that end made aggressive moves to amass a young core. Scoring is G (1), A (1), +/- (+1 or -1), W (2), SO (2), OTL (1). No offseason trades are allowed; and if we drop a player, we retain 25% of his salary, with our per team cap being $81.5M. Rosters are 12F, 6D, 1G starting, plus 4 Bench spots. We also have limited starts at each position, which, for this 56 game season, were 56 goalie starts, 317 D starts, and 685 F starts.

My roster, with their 2021-22 salaries – if known – consists of: Mitch Marner ($10.358M), Jack Eichel ($10M), Jonathan Huberdeau ($5.3M), Bo Horvat ($5.775M), Conor Garland (TBD), Kirill Kaprizov (TBD), Joel Farabee ($0.925M), Oliver Wahlstrom ($0.925M), Cole Caufield ($0.925M), Vitali Kravtsov ($0.925M), Quinton Byfield ($0.925M), Dylan Cozens ($0.925M), Morgan Rielly ($5M), Jakub Chychrun ($5.3M), Rasmus Dahlin (TBD), Adam Boqvist ($0.832M), Gustav Forsling (TBD), Erik Brannstrom ($0.832M), Vitek Vanacek ($0.75M).

My questions are (1) who would your 12 keepers (7F, 3D, 1G, 1 any) be; (2) for draft strategy, would you gravitate toward players on stronger teams to get all-important +/- help, or go for proven point producers who might not be strong in +/-; (3) with limited starts at each position, and in view of our scoring categories, would you pay big $$ for a goalie workhorse or save money by going with time share netminders that can be streamed?

I really like this team……..for three seasons from now. I can definitely tell you prioritized youth given your players; and the extent to which you did so now means you have to sleep in the bed you made. Don't take that as a negative; it just means you will need to embrace your team's youth and build around it, likely at a cost of competing for the next couple of seasons at least. With that in mind, we turn to the five forwards (or four if you use your "any" keep on one) and three defensemen (or two if you use your "any" keep on one) you need to drop.

Forsling does not make the cut, and neither do Kravtsov or Cozens. They're fine, but cuts have to come from somewhere; and with Forsling due for a raise, Kravtsov perhaps lost amid the many talented New York forwards, and Cozens stuck both playing for a weak team and behind Eichel, those three are easiest to trim. Speaking of Eichel, he's a consideration not to keep as well. Yes, with all the inexpensive youth on your team you "can" afford his cap hit; but I think it's possible his dollars could be better allocated elsewhere. Let's put him down as a maybe.

I really like all your defensemen to be honest. Rielly would be a keep to sell next season to a contender before his new deal is signed in 2022. Perhaps you keep all three, plus a fourth with your "any" keep. Let's revisit this after we look at your forwards. As for your forwards, probably Horvat is a non-keep, as his multi-cat value is worthless and looking at the last three seasons he seems to be a 60-point player, which is not enough at that cap hit. Farabee I really like, as I discussed at length in a Goldipucks column highlighting his explosiveness as well as his high IPP and number of goals and primary assists versus secondary assists. Yes, next season is his last on his ELC; however, he should be worth whatever his next deal calls for him to receive. Garland I like a lot too, as he finished in the top five in the entire NHL in percentage of points via goals and primary assists. He also was able to score at a 65 point pace for a still not offensively potent Coyotes team. His future is bright yet his new deal shouldn't break the bank.

Speaking of bright futures, there's Caufield, who didn't look out of place with the big boys during his debut in late April, averaging three SOG per game and scoring four times in 10 contests, all despite not even 14:00 per game in TOI and PP2 minutes. Even if he continues to be scratched during the playoffs, he could be special. As much as I'm not wild – pun intended – about forwards on Minnesota due to their how stingy they are with ice time, Kaprizov has to make the keep list too, as he shined bright and should do no worse in future seasons. Add in Huberdeau, who's a superb bargain you can hold until 2022-23 before he's set for a big payday, and Marner, who's worth every penny he gets paid.

That makes six, leaving one spot for Wahlstrom, Byfield, and Eichel, or two if you keep just three d-men. Of those three I think the keep is Byfield, who should be a number one center in the near future, with Anze Kopitar taking on more of a two-way role. Don't get me wrong – Wahlstrom could be very good; but he's on the Islanders, who, if they retain Barry Trotz for the next few seasons, will stifle the offensive output of Wahlstrom as they have with Mathew Barzal. Keeping Eichel doesn't make more sense to me than Byfield or one of your defensemen.

In the end, you keep Vanacek, all four of your d-men, plus Marner, Huberdeau, Garland, Farabee, Byfield, Caufield, and Kaprizov. You then plan to trade Rielly during next season and Huberdeau during the 2022-23 campaign, assuming your team is not yet in contention. By 2023-24 at the latest you should be poised to dominate this league.

As for your other two questions, I don't like drafting with an eye toward plus-minus. You know how many skaters had a +10 or higher rating in each of the past four seasons while playing 40+ games each campaign? Just nine in the entire NHL. That having been said, +/- can be a good tie-breaker between otherwise similar players. And with four bench spots, I think you want to get two solid 1A/1B goalies that might only start 40-50 games as opposed to putting all your eggs in the basket of one stud netminder who will assuredly cost a bundle but could get hurt and/or disappoint. Good luck!

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For those reading this now, it's never too early to start providing me with mailbag questions, which you can do in one of two ways: (1) by emailing them to [email protected] with the words "Roos Mailbag" as the subject line, or (2) by sending them to me via a private message on the DobberHockey Forums, where my username is "rizzeedizzee". When sending me your questions, remember to provide as much detail about your league/situation as possible. Examples of things I need to know include what type of league you're in (i.e., limited keeper, dynasty, or one-year; roto vs H2H; auction – if so, what the budget is – or non-auction), how many teams are in the league, does the salary cap matter, how many players are rostered (and of those, how many start at each position as well as how many bench and/or IR spots there are), what categories are scored and how are they weighted, plus other details if pertinent. If your question involves whether to pick up or drop a player, give me a list of top free agents available and let me know if the number of pick-ups is limited or if there is a priority system for pick-ups. If you're thinking of making a trade, it would be good to know not only the roster of the other team you might trade with but also where you stand in your categories. If your question involves keepers, in addition to giving me the options for who to keep, let me know if offseason trading is allowed and to what extent it is a viable option given your league. In sum, the key is to tell me enough for me to give you a truly proper answer, and for readers of this column to benefit from the answer/advice I provide. When in doubt, it's best to err on the side of inclusion since I can always omit or disregard things that don't matter.