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 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 Brock)

I'm in a 10 team cap (NHL cap + $40M) weekly H2H league with each team having 25 players on its main roster and 40 on its farm team. Farm team players can be promoted to the main roster as desired, provided that anyone making $3.6M or more must go through waivers, except we get one waiver-free move plus a waiver-free period during the all-star break. We also each have an uncapped junior team consisting solely of players from the previous 3 entry drafts and who must be "signed" before being used on the 25 man roster. As of now, each team owns 75-90 players, with any unowned player who has been through an NHL entry draft eligible to be signed as a UFA prior to the NHL trade deadline. We also have an 8 round draft every season the day after the actual NHL draft, allowing draft-eligible players from the past three drafts to be chosen. We start 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 6F, 6D, 2G, plus have 5 bench spots. Categories are G, A, +/-, PPP, SHP, PIMs, HIT, BLK, FOW, SOG, W, GA, GAA, SV%, SVs and SO.

I drafted my team with the intent of being competitive starting in 2023-24, and as I write this I’m a playoff bubble team, sitting 5th, with 6 of the 10 teams making the playoffs. I feel I have an excess of defensemen (16 total), some of whom I'd like to use to upgrade at forward and/or goalie. Ideally I'd like to have a total of 10-12 defensemen, which would still give me enough for injury call ups and maxing out games played. Here us my team, with all G and D listed, but only the notable forwards:

G – Juuse Saros, Jordan Binnington, Kaapo Kahkonen (main roster), Joonas Korpisalo, Jake Allen, Sam Montembeault (Farm), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Lukas Dostal, Devon Levi, Logan Thompson (Juniors)

D – Zach Werenski, Shea Theodore, Ryan Lindgren, Sean Durzi, Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard (main roster), Vince Dunn, Gustav Forsling, John Marino, Mario Ferraro, Marcus, Niemelainen, Lucas Carlsson, Zach Whitecloud (Farm), Brandt Clarke, Luke Hughes, Simon Edvinsson (Juniors)

Notable Forwards – Leon Draisaitl, Victor Arvidsson, Sam Bennett, Conor Garland, Nico Hischier, Joel Eriksson Ek, Roope Hintz, Robert Thomas, Anton Lundell, Nick Suzuki, Josh Norris, Jakub Vrana, Nicklas Backstrom, Mason Marchment (main roster), Dominik Kubalik, Rickard Rakell, Alexander Barbanov, J.T. Compher (Farm), Dylan Cozens, Peyton Krebs, Philip Tomasino, Nick Robertson, Cole Perfetti, Hendrix Lapierre (Juniors)

I agree that you likely have more defensemen than you need; however, your issue is you don't have any that stick out as being obvious to trade. Why is that? Because there are no clear cut sell high guys, and your farm and juniors guys are likely to be important for you down the road. These things having been said, if you are eager to trade at least four d-men, the ones I'd land on are Theodore, Bouchard, and Ferraro, plus one of your youngsters, probably Hughes. If you want to go further – and, for the record, I don't think you should, as I believe you'd risk leaving yourself too thin at the position – then I'd choose Whitecloud first, then Niemelainen.

Theodore is someone whose reputation I now feel exceeds his real value, as he's simply not getting the PP time necessary to truly excel, yet he's perceived to be among the higher echelon rearguards due to what he did last season and the team he's on, even though it seems he has taken a step back. As such, I think the return you could get for Theodore would be equal to if not better than his actual worth. Not a true sell high, but a sell. Bouchard has slowed since the Oilers changed coaches; however, what he did for portions of this season, coupled with his pre-NHL hype, should allow him to be traded for a nice asset in return. Could he eventually become a high scoring defenseman? Yes, but it's not a guarantee, and I think his prior status as a top prospect will land you a more reliable asset. Ferraro is what he is, which is a defensive-defensemen who boosts multi-cat numbers. However, he's not going to get better, and there are rearguards coming into the league all the time who provide you with 75-80% of what he gives you in multi-cat. For now though, Ferraro's numbers are eye-popping enough to find a suitor, so I wouldn't hesitate to move him. Lastly there's Hughes. With the success of his big brothers, poolies are all the more eager to tout Luke. Yet Dougie Hamilton is a major roadblock, which is not a problem that your other prospect d-men are facing. Hughes is "safest" to trade out of your young d-man assets.

What should you target in return? Probably at least one goalie, more likely two, as you have some fringe guys right now and could stand to improve. As far as forwards, I like what you have already, and as such you could rethink the plan to trade that many d-men, and instead only move two or three, rather than four or more. If so, that will still allow you to dangle all four who I mentioned, and pull the trigger on only the deals that make the most sense for you. Good luck!

Question #2 (from Matt)

I'm in a 12 team league where we keep 7, and it's not looking good for me this season. As such, I'm thinking ahead. Our categories for skaters are: G(4), A(2.5), +/_ (0.5), PPPt(1) SHPt(2): GWG(1) SOG(0.4), FOW (0.1), FOL(-0.08) HIT(0.25), BLK(0.4). My envisioned keepers are Alex Debrincat, Kyle Connor, Drake Batherson, Josh Norris, Sean Couturier, Carter Hart and David Pastrnak. I've been offered Jack Eichel for Pasta though, and I'm debating on whether to make the deal. I feel like I'm strong at wing and weaker at center, but I'm not sure Eichel is a safe enough bet to cost me Pasta. Would you pull the trigger on the trade in my shoes?

In tackling this question, I can see why you're torn on what to do. Pasta has not had near the success in 2021-22 as in past seasons. Meanwhile, Eichel has only recently returned from injury and isn't exactly lighting the world on fire. Both come with uncertainty, but let's try to land on the right decision.

Pasta, despite not producing, is shooting more than ever and at a rate close to his career SH%, plus his ice time is in line with career norms. One thing I noticed is in his two best seasons he tallied at least one PPPt every other game, which is huge, as the only other wingers to do so in 65+ games dating back to 2010-11 were Daniel Sedin, Phil Kessel, Alex Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov, and Matrin St. Louis. The first two are perfect examples of wingers made better by one or more forwards with whom they regularly skated, as Sedin only scored at over point per game twice, while Kessel excelled with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, but when he was "the guy" for Toronto also had just two point per game seasons. The other three are/were players capable of creating their own offense, which Pasta has yet to demonstrate. I do worry Pasta is heading down a road where, with less than superb PP scoring and fewer minutes with Bergeron and Marchand, he will be "only" a point per game player.

Eichel, despite playing in what was the wasteland of Buffalo, saw his scoring rate increase every season after he was a rookie, until he ran into injury issues. Yes, he's not yet strutting superstar stuff for the Knights; however, he's shooting the puck a lot despite playing fewer minutes than usual and he's not yet been flanked by Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, which will provide the true measuring stick for what Eichel can do on Vegas. Beyond that – Eichel has more than amply showed he can be "the guy" based on his past output on some truly dreadful Sabres teams.

Given these findings, and your sense that you're strong enough at winger already, my inclination would be to indeed make the trade. On the one hand you have to be wary that a GM is willing to trade a player as talented, on paper, as Eichel; however, on the other hand that GM is willing to obtain Pasta despite his downgraded performance over the past two seasons. In sum, I think Eichel has shown me enough over his career, plus has added motivation to succeed, to make me okay with getting him in exchange for Pasta, who had two stellar seasons buoyed by PP scoring he's not likely to duplicate even in a perfect world and for whom we're seeing a preview of how he may fare in an era without the likes of Bergeron and Marchand. It's definitely close, but give me Eichel here. Good luck!

Question #3 (from Greg)

I'm in a 14 team league with 18 players – 5 keepers – per team and with G-A-P-PPP-SOG-HIT-BLK-PIM counting as skater categories. I'm out of the running this year and will be unloading assets for picks before our trade deadline. My for sure keepers are Nathan MacKinnon, Igor Shesterkin and Andrei Svechnikov. For the last two spots I'm considering Elias Pettersson, Bryan Rust, and William Nylander. I also have another GM offering me Drake Batherson for Nylander. I'm leaning towards Pettersson for his high ceiling/potential. Which two would you keep out of Pettersson, Rust, Nylander/Batherson?

First off, you don't list the goalie categories, plus in a keep-four league generally it would not be the best idea to keep a netminder. Those things having been said, Shesterkin is showing how special of a player he is, so unless there are only two goalie categories he is indeed a keep. MacKinnon and Svechnikov both also more than amply qualify as keepers. In fact, I'd argue those three are likely all among the top 25 players in terms of fantasy value in this entire league; and with 14 total teams it would be rare for other squads to have three guys as keepers in the top 25, so this is a very good foundation.

This is also relevant in deciding what to do about your fourth keeper. Because you're so well set with those three, I do think you have more tolerance for risk than most teams. There's also the reality that just 22% of your roster will consist of keepers, meaning the other 78% will be drafted, which, despite them not being top 50 players due to 70 in total being kept, will allow you to fill in holes nicely. If you had more keeper spots I'd be inclined to preach going a safer route, to "lock in" guaranteed excellence. But when 78% of your roster will be unknowns, and three of your four keepers put you on such solid footing, I think that allows you to not have to play it safest with at least one of your two other keepers.

Of the three who you're considering – four counting Batherson – Pettersson has the perhaps lowest floor but also highest ceiling. What we're seeing from Pettersson now reminds us how risky it is to count out players who have raw talent, much like people had started to do with Patrik Laine until he bounced back this season not only to produce well but to do so for the first time without a top tier center like he had all those years while with the Jets. Given what I said above regarding your ability to tolerate risk, I'm keeping Pettersson as one of the two. The question thus becomes, who else should join him?

With Rust turning 30 in May and never having posted numbers even close to this in his career, I think he doesn't pass the sniff test given your other choices. Nylander would be a "safe" pick; yet as noted I'm not sure that's what you need, especially since he's strongest in leagues without "banger" categories. If there were more keepers I'd probably want Nylander to be among them; but not with there only being five and given who your other three are. That leaves Batherson, who, between what he showed this season, his multi-cat prowess, and playing for a team on the rise, deserves to be the second choice. So trade Nylander for Batherson, who'd be kept with Pettersson and your other three. Good luck!

Question #4 (from Steve)

I'm in a 12 team, H2H, keep 8 league starting 4C, 4LW, 4RW, 6D, 2G, plus 4 bench. We get 3 FA adds per week. Also, in addition to its 8 regular keepers, each team gets to keep 10 minors keepers for free, with the requirement that minors skaters have less than 83 NHL games played and minors goalies less than 51. Categories are G, A, Pts, PPPts, SOG, FOW, +/-, HIT, BLK, W, SV, SV%, GAA.

My current roster consists of: 

C – Aleksander Barkov, Mika Zibanejad, Brock Nelson

C/RW – Sam Bennett, Tyler Seguin, Ryan Hartman

LW – Brady Tkachuk, Kirill Kaprizov, Evander Kane

RW – Patrick Kane, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Rust

LW/RW – Andrei Svechnikov, Kevin Fiala, Tyler Toffoli

D – Dougie Hamilton, Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Ryan Pulock, Tony DeAngelo, Rasmus Dahlin, Rasmus Ristolainen

G – Connor Hellebuyck, Ilya Sorokin, Ilya Samsonov

My minors roster consists of:

Forwards – Marco Rossi, Tanner Jeannot, Jakob Pelletier, Jan Jenik

Defensemen – Evan Bouchard, Nils Lundkvist, Calen Addison, Ryan Merkley

Goalies – Jeremy Swayman, Lukas Dostal

Who do you see as my 8 keepers going into next season? I know it's early, but I can't make sense of it at all. Also note that Bouchard will graduate this season barring injury, and Swayman will be a close call. I will be able to trade any and all good players I can't keep, so do consider that in your analysis. My initial thoughts are to keep Kaprizov, Svechnikov, Tkachuk, Makar, Fox, Dahlin, Bouchard and Sorokin. But it boggles my mind to not keep Barkov, Zibanejad, DeAngelo, Hamilton, Hellebuyck, and both Kanes. Help!

First off, facing the prospect of not being able to keep all your top players can be as frustrating as it is daunting. You should reassure yourself that if you were able to get this many great players on your team in the first place, you can do so again. It also means there are fewer top keepers on opponents' squads, as there are only so many elite players to go around. If you do the math, the fact that you have nearly double the potential keepers as you can actually keep means those are eight players who cannot be kept by others and, as such, will be available to be drafted by any team, including yours. It also is very good for you that trading during the season or the offseason indeed occurs, rather than in many leagues where it simply doesn't happen. As such, you can try to avoid losing several great players for essentially nothing. With all this in mind, let's figure out the best way for you to proceed.

First off, there's the must keeps, meaning guys who are unquestionably superb and who also would be too elite to risk trading them and putting them on another team's squad. Players on your team who fall into that category are Makar and Kaprizov.

I know what you're thinking – what about Fox? I think he might be a good trade option. Why, when he's on his way to a stellar season? My concern is his low SOG volume, which is atypical for a rearguard who posts even 70+ points. Fox also has IPPs which would be good even for a forward. For a d-man, they're unquestionably too high, as even Makar's overall and PP IPPs are, respectively, seven and 12 percentage points less than Fox's. But other poolies just see Fox's youth, team, and amazing numbers. Take advantage of that and trade him. I'd actually package him with Brady Tkachuk (tough to lose, but not as amazing without PIM and it's not clear how much of a scorer he'll be, plus you have Svechnikov) and one of your goalies to either get Igor Shesterkin or Andrei Vasilevskiy, landing you a tier zero (i.e., even better than tier one) netminder and helping move toward solving your too many keepers dilemma. If that package doesn't get you Vas or Igor, then find a combination that makes it happens, other than one that includes Makar or Kaprizov. I can't see how you'd be unable to pry one of those two goalies away given what you have to offer.

That brings you to three keepers. If you move Tkachuk, Svechnikov becomes a for sure keeper to help stuff the stat sheet like Tkachuk, but with more scoring upside. If you don't want to move Tkachuk, then probably Svechnikov would be the trade price you'd have to pay. Remember – just as to make an omelet you have to crack a few eggs, to get a tier zero netminder you will have to pay a steep price.

Sticking with defensemen, I believe you need to find a way for Hamilton to be a keeper. Yes, he hasn't been as productive as expected; however, if you go back you can see it took him until his second season in Carolina to hit his groove. Plus, New Jersey is poised to be a very good team soon in view of its young core, with Hamilton there to reap the benefits. I like him more than Bouchard, who I discussed above as being a player who seemingly has a bright future ahead of him but isn't a lock to be superb. Yet poolies see what he might become and put him on a level above where he should be. He's great trade material. I like moving him, DeAngelo and Zibanejad to get a top tier forward along the lines of Kyle Connor or Jonathan Huberdeau. I'm open to moving DeAngelo due to him being unlikely to fare better than he is now, plus the concern that he's playing for a new deal, which, once he's signed, might cause him to coast or to embolden him to cause off ice issues again. I think it's best to sell him and get proper value and avoid future risks while not really having to worry about him taking it to yet another offensive level. As for Zibanejad, more and more it's looking like his 2019-20 season is not going to be duplicated, yet it's fresh enough on people's minds as to have him be valued close to that level of player.

Now that's six keepers (Makar, Kaprizov, Vas/Igor, Hamilton, Svechnikov, Connor/Huberdeau). I like the idea of you keeping a second goalie, and not Swayman if he's not minors eligible. Swayman looks like he's set to be superb; however, by the time he's poised to be "the guy" the Bruins are likely going to be doing a soft or hard rebuild, so I wouldn't worry about losing him. Trade him if you can, or plan to redraft him if you really want him. But if you can keep either Hellebuyck, who's still a tier one goalie and who's never had two terrible seasons in a row, or Sorokin, who will be "the guy" either next season or in 2023-24 when Semyon Varlamov's deal ends, I'd do so. Yes, that might seem like overkill for a league where only four of 13 categories are goalie-related; but it will let you breathe a lot easier. I'll also come back to the reality that you were able to get so many great skaters to reassure me that more of them will be there – versus top goalies – when it's time for the draft.

Now you just need one more keeper, and I think it's Barkov. Florida is an offensive powerhouse (on pace to be the first team in over 25 years to average 4+ goals per game) and he's a focal point. He's also still only 26 years old, meaning he's got plenty of great seasons left in him. I think that makes him better than Dahlin, as although Dahlin could be the next Makar or Fox, the operative word is could, and Buffalo still needs a little more time to potentially become even a mid-tier team. On the other hand Florida is stacked and Barkov is quite central to that success as its top line center and PP1 staple.

The eight keepers are Makar, Kaprizov, Vasilevskiy/Shesterkin, Hamilton, Rantanen/Connor, Svechnikov/Tkachuk, Hellebuyck/Sorokin, and Barkov). I do realize two of the keepers are contingent on trades being made; however, you have the assets to land those players, so all you need to do now is go get them……and then be the perennial favorite to win your league. Good luck!

Question #5 (from DobberHockey Forums)

My league details are as follows: 12 team, H2H (Most Cats. Win), Keep 6, rosters of 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 1U, 3G, 6 Bench, categories of G, A, PPPts, SOG, HIT, BLK, FOW, W, GAA, SV%, SHO, with daily lineups, 4+ weekly goalie starts, and up to 4 weekly waiver moves. As I write this, my roster consists of:

F: Connor McDavid, Artemi Panarin, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Kevin Fiala, Anze Kopitar, Pavel Buchnevich, Andrei Burakovsky, Barclay Goodrow, Josh Norris, Teuvo Teravainen, Robert Thomas
D: Morgan Rielly, Ivan Provorov, Luke Schenn, Eric Cernak, Markus Niemelainen
G: Andrei Vasilevskiy, Pavel Francouz, Linus Ullmark
I/R: Mario Ferraro

I'm not in the mix to win the league this season, and thus my attention has shifted to the possibility of moving Panarin. When he's scoring heaps of points he's a joy to have. When he's not, he doesn't seem to offer much value in other categories. If the opportunity presents itself, I'd like to see if I could move him for Jonathan Huberdeau, Mikko Rantanen, Kirill Kaprizov, Andrei Svechnikov or Nikita Kucherov. I have always liked Kucherov since he first came up with Tampa Bay; however his recent injury history has me somewhat concerned. What would you do? In case it matters, only draft picks in rounds 10-20 can be traded, as round 1-6 are designated as keepers and 7-9 can't be traded.

Let me save you the trouble of approaching the Kucherov or Kaprizov owners, because unless they are on crack the answer should be a resounding no, as Kucherov has shown – even after injury and returning from COVID – that he's a truly elite player, while Kaprizov is thought by many to be the heir apparent to Kucherov and basically is on a par with Panarin but considerably younger and has a chance to be among the NHL scoring leaders once Minnesota's youth rounds into form and the team escapes from its cap penalties in 2025-26. Feel free to still try, but I can't see a scenario where they entertain an offer from you for those players unless it includes Vas, who you certainly don't want to trade.

The other three are all likely to be coveted by their GMs too; however, not to an extent that you'd get the door slammed in your face if you came knocking bearing the gift that is Panarin. But still, with them you have players who are younger – considerably younger when it comes to Svechnikov – and, in the cases of Rantanen and Huberdeau, producing better this season. Ask yourself this – would you trade any of these three for Panarin? If so, why? Yes, Panarin has proven to be a top tier producer, but is that enough? By your own admission he's not ideal in multi-cats, plus he's already 30, and therefore he likely has peaked, whereas these others – particularly Svechnikov – could still have another gear.

Probably your best bet might be to target Huberdeau, who, after producing at a 91-93 point pace in each of the past three seasons, has seen his scoring rate spike this season to land him among the scoring leaders. Yet this is happening despite a modest ice time increase, a SOG rate that he's had before, and a rate of PPPts comparable to last season. The difference is career highs in IPPs, both overall and on the PP; however, those differences aren't so stark as to expect Huberdeau's scoring to crater. However, his ice time is lower than what one would expect from a wing who is scoring at a 1.3 points per game or higher rate, as among the 14 other wingers who have met that point threshold in a season since 2000-21, just three skated for fewer average minutes per game than Huberdeau is this season, compared to eight who skated at least two minutes more per game. The Huberdeau owner might be thinking they could be selling high on him; yet still that might not be enough to get them to accept Panarin straight up given that Hubedeau is younger, playing so well, and, as noted in the previous answer, part of a powerhouse team on pace to be the first in over 25 years to average 4+ goals per game.

What about Rantanen? I'd consider this a lateral move, as Rantanen is essentially "maxed out" in terms of SOG and PP time; and despite how great the Avs have been, both he and Nathan MacKinnon aren't seeing a spike in production. Yes, by trading Panarin for Rantanen you'd get someone who's younger, better in multi-cat, and tethered to one of the best centers in the game; but it's not clear if he'd be a definite upgrade. That there is the issue of convincing Rantanen's GM to part with him, which, as noted, might be difficult.

Long story short, you should feel free to dangle Panarin out there, but shouldn't expect him to drum up a lot of interest if the targets are those five. You could try to move him and Marner as a pair for one of those players plus another though, as Marner might be an enticing enough carrot to get a team to bite when otherwise they wouldn't if the offer was Panarin alone. Good luck!

Question #6 (from DobberHockey Forums)

I'm in an 8 team Dynasty with the following categories: G(4), A(4), +/-(0.5), PIM(0.5), W(5), GA(-0.5), SV(0.1), SO(5). We start 17F, 8Ds and 3G. We keep 34 and I will have some tough decisions to make. Here are the 30 I envision keeping, plus the other candidates for the last four spots. I won last year and as I write this I'm in first place again, so my flexibility to make any trades is a bit limited. Would you remove anyone from the 30? If so, who? If not, which four of the others would you keep? I'm leaning toward Addison, as young defensemen with upside are a rare breed in this league.

30 Envisioned Keepers

F – Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog, Andrei Svechnikov, Sebastian Aho, Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, Artemi Panarin, Jesper Bratt, Roope Hintz, Pavel Buchnevich, Timo Meier, Chris Kreider, Mitch Marner, Jake Guentzel, Sean Couturier, Bryan Rust, Ryan Strome, Tom Wilson
D – MacKenzie Weegar, John Carlson, John Klingberg, Tyson Barrie, Aaron Ekblad, Devon Toews, Shea Theodore, Ryan Ellis
G – Andrei Vasilevskiy, Juuse Saros, Sergei Bobrovsky

Bubble Keepers
F – Brandon Hagel, Nick Schmaltz, Ryan Hartman, Matt Dumba, Andrei Burakovsky, Matt Duchene, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Valeri Nichushkin, Filip Chytil

D – Calen Addison, Damon Severson

G – Cal Petersen

First off, I can get behind keeping Addison. He's not only highly touted and likely to land in Minnesota for good next season, but there are essentially no roadblocks that'd stop him from stepping right in and being the PP1 QB. I'd liken Minnesota to Detroit in that they have guys like Matt Dumba and Jared Spurgeon who can and have been a PP1 d-man, just like Detroit had Nick Leddy and has Filip Hronek. That didn't stop Moritz Seider from waltzing in and, once he showed he had the goods, landing the PP1 gig. I think the same can happen in Minnesota with Addison, particularly in view of the team's cap constraints, which amount to $12.7M, $14.7M and $14.7M in dead cap space over the next three seasons and would likely incent them to use as much home grown talent as possible.

That leads me to Hartman, who has lure for much the same reasons. Does he "deserve" to center a player of the talent of Kirill Kaprizov? I could see arguments on both sides, but the reality is he brings a physical presence with some scoring ability and he's also not expensive, which is a key for Minnesota for the reasons noted above. Hartman also scores a decent amount of goals for a center, and that physical presence manifests in a fair share of PIM. He's a good fit given what he brings to the table and his likely spot in the Minnesota top-six.

The other contenders from the bubble group of players are Burakovsky, Duchene, Bjorkstrand, Severson, Schmaltz and Petersen. Can any of the 30 you earmarked as keepers be removed in favor of one from this list? The only ones I could see subtracting are Ellis and Couturier. Ellis had two seasons of 60+ point scoring pace in the last five; but he's now missed 20+ games in three of those five seasons and, at 31, might be even more at risk for injuries. As for Couturier, he'd settled into a reliable 70-80 point guy; however, Philly could be on the brink of a rebuild, which should hurt him and Ellis. Let's put both down as maybes for now.

Burakovsky is on the verge of posting a 60+ point scoring pace for the third straight season, and as a UFA he'll either re-sign with the Avs, where he should do more of the same, or go to another team, which will use him in a more prominent role. Either seems like a win-win. Duchene has been reborn and for the first time is putting up great numbers without playing for a new deal. The issue is he'll likely be losing Filip Forsberg, who's been a key to his success and a UFA, although in games Forsberg missed Duchene sits just below the point per game mark. Yes, his SH% is unsustainably high, yet most other metrics are solid, so I think he can be a 70+ point player for at least several more seasons to come. Bjorkstrand started the season on fire, but has slowed. The team likely will try to sign or trade for a top center, as Jack Roslovic hasn't worked out and Cole Sillinger likely needs a few more years under his belt before he breaks out. Still, Bjorkstrand might be arguably the most talented of all the bubble guys, so it would be difficult not to keep him. As for Severson, he's played so well as to have relegated the higher priced, higher profile Dougie Hamilton to PP2 at times. Hamilton had a slow first year in Carolina before going nuts, and Severson has never performed even close to this well, so I think he's not a smart keeper. Schmaltz is showing he's more than a 50-55 point pace guy; but his health is still very much a concern plus he's doing this without shooting much, with higher than usual metrics, and well after his breakout threshold. Peterson has wrested the starting job from Jonathan Quick and is showing he should be the goalie of the future for LA, a team on the rise. You have three excellent goalies already among your keeps, but a fourth for insurance might be wise, and Peterson would be an excellent candidate.

My take is you don't keep Ellis or Couturier, letting you keep six of Petersen, Burakovsky, Hartman, Duchene, Schmaltz, Bjorkstrand and Addision. The odd man out probably could be Petersen if you think you're already well set enough at goalie, although if it was me I'd probably retain Petersen, as you can never have too many netminders, and instead opt not keep Band-Aid boy Schmaltz. Good luck!

Question #7 (from John)

I’m in a 12 team, keep 5 league where teams start 5 forwards, 3 defensemen, 1 goalie and 1 "sniper" each week. Scoring is Forwards – 1 point per goal and 1 point per assist; Defensemen – 1.5 points per goal, 1 per assist, +0.5 points for a plus and -0.5 points per minus; Goalie – 2 points per win, 3 more per shutout and -0.5 if the goalie gives up more than 3 goals in a game; Sniper – 2 points per goal, 1.5 per assist.

I’m in 6th place right now with no chance of challenging for the title, so I've already sold off several key players to obtain draft picks in return. I’m presently trading away some players for extra draft picks next year, while also trying to decide who my 5 keepers should be. The candidates are Sebastian Aho, Mitch Marner, Elias Pettersson, Anze Kopitar, Moritz Seider, John Carlson and Igor Shesterkin? I want to compete next year but would also like to have a solid core of keepers around whom I can build in future years.

I see a couple of, for lack of a better word, issues. For starters, you don't have a true sniper, as although Aho and Marner are no slouches in the goals department, they're not big time lamplighters. Second, in a 12-team league where only 5 are kept, I feel it's a mistake not to just keep your best five, whether or not they let you "build for the future." Only 60 total players are kept, which is not a lot. Sure – maybe a deciding factor between two otherwise comparable players could be age; but in leagues this shallow you should keep the best players and use the draft to get younger. Perhaps in the end the correct decisions could happen to be ones where the keepers are indeed younger players, given the league parameters I'd avoid approaching your keepers with that as a default.

In terms of who your keeps are, Aho and Marner, despite not fitting the "sniper" mold offer locked in production and, in keeping with your mission, are young enough to be good bets to produce for many years to come. The question is what to do about Shesterkin. He's a total package, but you don't really "need" a lot of what he brings to the table, namely GAA and SV%, neither of which are counted in your league other than the penalty for 4+ GAA in a game. In fact, given your categories there are a lot of goalies who provide comparable scoring to Shesterkin despite how great he is. Still, he's probably a keep in view of him just starting to scratch the surface and the likelihood of him getting even better. He also fulfills your desire to go younger where possible.

Of the remaining four, the question is whether to keep both d-men, or just one. Neither Kopitar nor Pettersson would fall into the sniper category, so they'd be scored based on straight points. Meanwhile, your d-men would get added points for goals and also have their plus-minus count. Although he is 32, Carlson seems to have settled in as a 70-point d-man, and is strong when it comes to goals, as he's had double digit totals every season since 2017-18, with no other d-man having done so in all five seasons. He's a keep until he slows. As for Seider, his SOG rate and ice time rose with each quarter, plus Q3 was his best from a statistical standpoint, which is especially encouraging as often that can be when rookies start to hit a wall, particularly ones who are playing as many minutes as he has. He looks like the real deal.

As tantalizing as Seider is, so too could be Pettersson, who, as discussed above, looks like he's found his game again after a rocky patch, and just when he's hitting his breakout threshold, making it all the more likely that what we're seeing is real. If a third forward is to be kept it should be him, as Kopitar, although as consistent as they come, is pretty much a 70-point guy without a surplus of goals and is aging, which won't cut it here.

It's difficult to decide between Pettersson and Seider given that they play different positions. Moreover, if you kept Seider, that would be 66% of your total defensemen, and if you kept EP that would be 60% of your five non-sniper forwards, so that doesn't tilt the scales either. Although I realize we've seen a lot of defensemen storm out of the gates as rookies and then only get better from there; but it's actually quite common for a defenseman to take a step back as a sophomore. On the other hand, EP looks to have already gone through his growing pains. It's very, very close, but I like EP here a bit more than Seider, who could be outstanding but doesn't quite seem to be in the Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes category, plus he plays for a team that is still likely to need a few more seasons before it hits its stride, which will impact his plus-minus.

Another option would be to put both Seider and Pettersson on the trading block and keep the one you don't move. I kind of like that idea, as I believe both could land you even more draft picks to help you possibly win next season or to build for the future. Good luck!

Question #8 (from Russell)

I’m in an 11 team points only league. Rosters are 12F/6D/2G. Each team can keep 3F, 2D and 1G. We can also keep 1 "young" forward and 1 "young" defensemen, with "young" translating to four or fewer seasons of at least one game played. I've sold many assets over the last three seasons, leaving me in rebuilding mode. If need be, I could continue down that path, although I'm curious what you think I should do. And either way, who would you keep as my forwards? I feel like my defensemen keeper are solid, although if I could upgrade Chabot I would. For goalies I'm set with Saros. Here is my current team, with "young" eligible keepers noted with an asterisk.

Forwards – Brad Marchand, Sebastian Aho, Mark Scheifele, Jordan Kyrou, Jesper Bratt, Jakub Vrana, Evander Kane, Lucas Raymond*, Alexis Lafreniere*, Matt Boldy*, Michael Bunting*, Cole Perfetti*

Defensemen – Aaron Ekblad, Thomas Chabot, Moritz Seider*

Goalies – Saros, Francouz

This looks pretty good for a rebuild, but I think you're not at the stage where you can declare it to be over, as for an 11 team league you don't have enough top tier keepers that stack up well against what other teams figure to hold. Or to put it another way, you'll know you're in good shape once you have six keepers who are all solidly in the top 50 in terms of overall fantasy value, and that's not quite the case with your team. How do you get there? More trades.

Your problem is you have guys who are maxed out, namely Marchand, who someday soon will start to falter, Bratt, who, as I noted in a Goldipucks column, is great but unlikely to improve further, Kane, who's ill-suited to points only, and Scheifele, who had a hot run to start 2020-21 but is now in his familiar 75-85 point range and at his age is unlikely to improve. There is little to no risk of having them do better than they are now, yet some might think they're capable of more, or, in the case of Marchand, continuing to defy father time. Sure, not all GMs will be "fooled" into overvaluing them; but I think you owe it to yourself to try and move one, some, or all of them to try and improve your forward keeper situation. If you can turn those four into several up and comers (e.g., Robert Thomas, Josh Norris, Dylan Larkin, Clayton Keller, Andrei Svechnikov, Roope Hintz) you'd be helping your team get to the point where maybe by 2023-24 it'll be in good shape.

Guys you don't want to trade are Aho and Kyrou, who both took important steps this season and should continue to improve, plus probably Vrana, unless you get three better keepers. Vrana might be a good insurance policy keeper though if Raymond, whom I believe should be your young forward keeper, ends up not panning out as well as expected.

As for your defensemen and your goalie, those are indeed all set as is. I think Chabot is fine to keep, especially since, as predicted in another of my Goldipucks columns, he started to play better before his season-ending injury and his deployment was, and, once he returns, will again be amazing, plus he'd be hard to move now that he's out for the year. Your other young forwards are tough non-keeps, and you might be able to move one or more of them via a trade either on their own or perhaps as a sweetener in one of the deals for your non-young forwards, although chances are most if not all of the other ten teams likely also will have more young forwards than they're allowed to keep. Still, it can't hurt to dangle them out there, as you can always turn down any offer if it isn't a net-positive. Good luck!

Question #9 (from Jamie)

In my league we have an expansion draft coming up in May where an incoming team is going to select two players from each existing team. Before the draft, each existing team gets to protect 2 goalies plus 15 players (F, D, or one or more additional G), and then gets to add an extra protected player after the new team selects its first player of the two. Categories are G, A, PPPts, W, SV, GA(-) and daily line-ups are 4C, 8W, 6D, 2G, plus 3 optional bench guys. This is a cap league with 20 to 23 guys dressed against the salary cap with a minor league system that mimics that of the NHL (i.e., 50 contracts, 90 including entry draft rights).

Here is my preliminary list of players I plan to protect, with their positional eligibility in parentheses: Mikko Rantanen (W), Steven Stamkos (C,W), Matthew Tkachuk (W), Alex DeBrincat (W), Patrick Kane (W), Jason Robertson (W), Sidney Crosby (C), Kevin Fiala, Alex Ovechkin (W), John Klingberg (D), Victor Hedman (D), John Carlson (D), Devon Toews (D), Roman Josi (D), Kaapo Kahkonen (G), Frederik Andersen (G), Vitek Vanacek (G). Note that for both Kane and Andersen, 50% of their salary is being retained by another team.

Here is my preliminary list of players I play to not protect: William Karlsson (C), Kevin Hayes (C), Isac Lundestrom (C), Evgeni Malkin (C), Nicklas Backstrom (C), Ryan Pulock (D), Mike Matheson (D), Timothy Liljegren (D), Cam Talbot (G), Oliver Kylington (G), J.T. Compher (C,W), Oskar Lindblom (W), Jonathan Dahlen (C,W), Ryan Hartman (C,W).

My thinking is I expose guys like Malkin and Backstrom as they are too expensive and I have players who need new contracts like Tkachuk, Fiala, and Robertson, plus other more valuable expensive players. I also think I've decided to expose Talbot over Vanecek or Kahkonen as Talbot is a UFA after next year at age 36, so I don't think it's worth using a protection slot on him now. My gut tells me the player from the exposed list who I'd consider protecting if not selected with the new team's first pick would be either Hartman or Kylington.

My questions are would you move anyone from one list to the other? Should I shop Backstrom, Malkin, or anyone else? Assuming you don't make any changes to my lists, would you agree that Hartman or Kylington would be the best to protect after the first pick is made, and, if so, which of the two would you protect?

I'm a bit surprised you won't have cap issues even if Malkin and Backstrom aren't retained, as you have the likes of Stamkos, Kane, Ovi, Crosby, Hedman, and Josi. I do agree that of your "expensive" guys, Backstrom and Malkin seem like the omissions, although that will leave you a bit thin at center. Still, you should be able to get two centers who give you two-thirds of what Malkin and Backstrom do, but at 50% or less as compared to their price, alleviating the associated concern. You can try to trade them, but I'd be shocked if you had any takers.

If it was me, I'd consider trading Josi, as what he's doing is just ridiculous at this point. Granted, no one is going to value him as if he's likely to duplicate the season he's enjoying now; however, they might see him as a Hedman type, whereas at his age and given his team and past outputs I'd instead label him as a 60-70 point guy. See if you can turn him into an inexpensive but strong younger goalie, like Ilya Sorokin, Juuse Saros or Thatcher Demko.

As for the players on each list beyond just Backstrom and Malkin, I think it's risky to expose Hartman, who has found a home centering Kirill Kaprizov and should hold down that gig for the foreseeable future given the $12.7-$14.7M of dead salary cap space with which the Wild will be saddled for the next three seasons, plus he's developed chemistry with Kaprizov and brings some grit to the line to deter other teams from taking runs at Kaprizov.

Put it this way, from the perspective of the expansion team, I'd see your expensive protected guys and know that you "want" me to pick Malkin or Backstrom and, accordingly, you wouldn't pull back one of them after the first pick. If I was that team, I'd grab Hartman first, for the reasons I just noted.

Does that mean you need to rethink things? I'd say yes. Kahkonen has a chance to seize the reins in San Jose; but is that really a great thing? The Sharks have cap issues, including on their aged blueline, such that the team doesn't figure to be very good for the near future. The lure of KK being a #1 likely will prompt the expansion team to take him, which I think would not be a net – no pun intended – loss for you, especially if you move Josi for a young goalie. KK being on San Jose also might entice the expansion team to take Talbot, who should be a clear #1 next season but as you noted will then be a UFA at age 36.

As for Kylington, he's not bad and he's on a team that looks like it's poised to be very good; however, after early season success he's been largely quiet. I favor Hartman over Kylington by a wide margin.

What do you do after the other team's first selection? If it's Talbot, then I would pull back Kahkonen. If it's Kahkonen who's selected, then I see you as having three choices for who to pull back – Kylington, Pulock, or Talbot. Yes, Talbot is old and a UFA to be in 2023; however, he will be motivated to play well next season to earn himself that one last contract. Pulock is stuck in a defensive role; however, once Barry Trotz is gone – also in 2023 – Pulock might be able to get somewhat better deployment, although not what had been envisioned due to what Noah Dobson has done to lock down the offensive minutes. Kylington could also be a consideration, although I like Pulock and his minutes more, especially since Kylington's plus-minus doesn't even matter in this league. In the end, I'd probably pull back Talbot because of what he could do for you next season, after which you can trade him or leave him exposed.

In sum, trade Josi for an inexpensive, young stud netminder, allowing you to keep Hartman in place of KK. If Malkin, Backstrom or Talbot is the expansion team's first pick, then you can pull back Kahkonen. If Kahkonen is the first pick instead, I'd pull back Talbot, although I could see a case being made for pulling back Pulock too, but not Kylington. 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.