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 DobberHockey Forums)

I'm in the later stages of a rebuild and now focusing on my goaltending. I like having handcuffs (e.g., I own Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark) but I realize this is not always possible, plus in my league we start two goalies but both cannot be from the same team. My most important goalie statistic is wins, meaning the team matters in some cases as much or more than the specific goalie. Long story short, if I wish to compete as early as next year which goalie should I target from this list: Filip Gustavsson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Cam Talbot, Jesper Wallstedt, Anton Forsberg, Cayden Primeau?

This is an interesting list, as it runs the gamut from a grey beard in Talbot, to a not so young goalie who only last season started to have an impact in Forsberg, to three youngsters in the NHL whose fates in the next few seasons could range from starter, to back-up, to out of the NHL in Gustavsson, Luukkonen, and Primeau, to another who's yet to even play in the NHL in Wallstedt.

Talbot is a UFA to be; however, he would be 36 before the puck drops for 2023-24 and I'm not sure he could get a starting job for a team next season when there will be other similar UFA choices in terms of age and perceived skill level like Semyon Varlamov, James Reimer, Jonathan Quick, Antii Raanta, and Martin Jones, plus "better" ones like Frederick Andersen and Tristan Jarry, and even the likes Anthony Stolarz, Adin Hill, and Alex Nedeljkovic. Still, if indeed the desire is to try and have the best goalie for 2023-24 and wins matter most, Talbot has to be in contention. Also, if Talbot pans out but your team isn't quite ready to contend, Talbot could be flipped for more rebuilding assets without giving it much of a second thought in view of his age.

Before Talbot was brought in, it looked like Forsberg might be given the starting job for the Sens. But the fact that Ottawa didn't trust Forsberg to man the crease even after they signed him to a three year deal paying him $2.75M per season speaks volumes. So my guess is they either bring back Talbot or opt for a UFA netminder from the list above. Either way, Forsberg, who hasn't played nearly as well this season as he was toward the end of 2021-22, looks poised to be a 1B at best. Still, for next season and given the other choices, he's nevertheless in the conversation for having the most value.

Primeau is primed to be the back-up to Jake Allen, who Montreal extended through 2024-25. But Allen's deal only pays him $3.85M per season, making it so Primeau could outplay Allen and win the starting job. But with Primeau looking downright lousy this season and last, the chances of him landing in the AHL are higher than him somehow becoming the starter for the Canadiens.

Luukkonen has seemingly been on the cusp of breaking out for ages. But he's yet to thrive even in the AHL; and the fact that Buffalo has largely avoided putting him in the mix given its goaltending situation says a lot, and not in a good way. Maybe UPL finds a way to right his ship; however, I think he's not the choice here, although Buffalo's goaltending position is wide open enough that anything could happen.

That leaves the two Minnesota youngsters. Barring a major implosion, Marc-Andre Fleury should remain the starter for the Wild through the end of his contract in 2024. Gustavsson would appear to have the inside track to walk into the role when the time comes, although Wallstedt might have something to say about that.

If indeed 2023-24 value is paramount, as are wins, it has to be Talbot or Forsberg. Talbot is the safer choice in that he's most likely to be put into a position to start regularly, although it's an iffy proposition, and I'd say Forsberg is barely below him in value, as a likely 1B with 1A potential. There's a universe in which Primeau or UPL could somehow become a starter, but both are longshots, so I wouldn't hitch my wagon to them. All things considered, I might push ahead the rebuild another season so as to go with Gustavsson, who should be the starter for the Wild in 2024-25, which will be the last campaign the team will be under the onerous weight of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts, making them poised to be even better starting in 2025-26, when Gustavsson is in his prime, presuming of course that in the interim Wallstedt hasn't overtaken him. But I still like Gustavsson overall if you can stomach another season of rebuilding, which, based on this goalie pool, might be the way to go. Good luck!

Question #2 (from Dwight)

I’m in a 10 team, H2H weekly points, no stash (if you draft or pick up an injured player you can't put them in an IR spot and if a IR/IR+ spot is being used and the player becomes healthy you have 24 hours to take them off) league with rosters of 3C, 3LW, 3RW, 4D, 2 Util, 2G, 8 Bench, 1 IR, and 3IR+, skater point values of G (6), A (4), +/- (+1/-1), PIM (1), PPPts (2), SHP (3), SOG (0.8), HIT (1), BLK (1) and goalie point values of W (5), GA (-3), SV (0.5), and SO (5). As I write this I'm currently in 2nd place and my roster is:

C: Brock Nelson, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Sam Bennett, Vincent Trocheck, Brayden Schenn (C/LW)

LW: Brady Tkachuk, Brad Marchand, Brayden Schenn (C/LW)

RW: Troy Terry, Vladimir Tarasenko

LW/RW: Adrian Kempe, Jonathan Marchessault, Jake DeBrusk, Gabriel Vilardi, Luke Kunin, Timo Meier

D: Aaron Ekblad, John Carlson, Brandon Montour, Radko Gudas, Evan Bouchard, Charlie McAvoy

G: Andrei Vasilevskiy, John Gibson

IR: Josh Norris

IR+: Marc-Andre Fleury

My goaltending has been lackluster but I'm confident Vas will right his ship and Fleury has already started to turn things around. But the Ducks are BAD! I feared that would be the case when I drafted Gibson; yet I wanted a clear number 1 plus they play the most off nights this season as well as the most teams on the second game of their the back to backs. Jonathan Quick is available on the waiver wire. Should I pick him up? If so, would it just have to be Gibson that gets traded or dropped to make room? To give you a small idea of who else is left in this league in terms of netminders, the highest rostered – according to Yahoo – goalie who's available on the wire besides Quick is Antii Raanta, so that's how bare the goalie cupboards are and how it makes Gibson harder to drop. 

I also feel as though I have a surplus of elite to above average defensemen given my league's scoring. Should I look to move any to try and improve another part of my team, or stand pat? If I was to trade away any of them, who would you pick and why? Finally, is there anything else you would suggest or have to say given the look/state of my current team?

It used to be with Gibson you could count on a promising start before he came back to earth with a crashing thud. But this season that sure hasn't happened. Does it mean he might instead save his best hockey for later? I wouldn't count on it. Yes, his team is somewhat to blame; however, Gibson has been responsible as well. Need proof of how bad he is? In each of the last three seasons he's played 35+ games with a GAA above 3.00 and a SV% under .905, all by the age of 28. Dating back to 2000-01 only Steve Mason and Marc Denis met those criteria three times as well, and we know things didn't turn around for either of them as they got older. So yeah – you're well within reason to be concerned about Gibson. Kudos for grabbing him with the advantage of the Ducks' schedule; however, he's no longer someone you can put into your line-up and hope for good results.

What to do with Gibson? Trade him for literally anything if you're able to do so; otherwise, drop him without a second thought. Quick now should be "the guy" on a pretty good LA team given Cal Peterson being waived. What about Raanta? I don't hate him. He's basically a better Petr Mrazek in that for those rare instances when he's not hurt he's a decent goalie. And with Frederick Andersen looking a lot less solid this season than last, Raanta could manage to steal a few starts if he stays healthy plus he too is playing for a UFA deal just like Quick is. Still, I'd have preferred Quick over Raanta even before Peterson was waived, which happened after you submitted your question.

If you're going to move a D, look no further than Montour. I get that we saw in MacKenzie Weegar that there's room for two scoring defensemen on the Panthers and Weegar didn't get PP1 time like Montour has, including even after the return to health of Ekblad. But in Montour this is a player who's never put up even point per every other game numbers and is 28 years old. Yes, you're unlikely to get anything close to the value you'd want to receive in return for him; however, I'm guessing some GM will see what he's doing, think of Weegar and add the PP time into the mix, and give you back a good enough price to deal Montour and not look back.

The other rearguard I'd look into moving, but try to time it with a when he's hotter, is Carlson. I had concerns entering this season that the Caps' firepower would be doused given the ages of their core and the injuries they've had to endure; and sure enough their offense has sputtered. But Carlson is still a name, such that once he hits a stretch of point per game numbers you shouldn't have trouble finding an eager suitor for him.

Who else to move? I'm still not sold on Brock Nelson. I thought he was doing as well as he was these past two seasons because Barry Trotz was coach and he emphasized the strong two-way game of Nelson, who, in turn, thrived. Clearly he's showing he's no fluke. But he's shooting a lot more than usual and his IPP on the PP, while still not high by any means, is above his norm. Yes, he too will likely be someone who other teams might scoff at acquiring; however, as with Montour all it takes to get a good deal with one team who believes Nelson can keep this up, and my guess is, as with Montour, you can find that team.

Who to get in return? I'd see if you can pry Victor Hedman away from a panicked GM, as he's too good not to round back into form. I also think you could use some help at RW, so try to get a guy like Clayton Keller, who remains criminally undervalued, or Mark Stone, who looks like he's back to his old self. If you want to replenish at defense, I'd look at Shea Theodore, who, let's not forget, ended 2022-23 with 15 points in 15 games and I think will eventually grab the reins back from Alex Pietrangelo. Another name I like is Noah Dobson, who ignited after the midway point of last season and has no real competition to be "the guy" when it comes to blueline offense for the Islanders. Good luck!

Question #3 (from Jim)

File this under questions you probably never thought you'd receive, but in a league counting scoring but also +/-, SOG, HIT and BLK, who do you see as the best own over the rest of the season: Adam Pelech, Esa Lindell, Ryan Graves, or Jani Hakanpaa?

With the seasons that the Islanders, Stars and Devils are having, we've run into a situation where low scoring defensemen with a high plus-minus stat and contribute hits and blocks are rosterable even in not so deep leagues. How do you choose between them? It's more difficult than it might seem because they are all so similar overall.

First off, SOG is a non-factor, as they're essentially even in that area. Graves being very plus is not a new thing, as he's been +23 or better in each of the past three seasons, and Hakanpaa has only once not been a double digits plus player, and is far and away the best when it comes to HIT and BLK, although he's also a virtual lock to score the least of the four. Also, Hakanpaa and Lindell are regular partners, such that they're likely to have similar +/- when all is said and done. Pelech has seen his points per game rise in each of his two previous seasons, but his HIT an BLK could be the weakest of the four, plus, like Lindell and Hakanpaa, he's part of a pair – with Ryan Pulock – which is the team's shutdown unit. Graves is mostly partners with John Marino though, who has some offensive talent, such that while that means Graves will be tasked with defensive responsibilities, chances are his unit will be out there for more goal scoring situations than the other three, as is also supported by him having the highest OZ% of the four by more than three percentage points, which is actually a lot.

Hakanpaa is so strong in HIT and BLK that he likely should be the pick if those are needed. Otherwise I'd be inclined to go with Graves. Yes, he and Pelech are weakest in HIT and BLK, but he's got such a long history of being so plus, and should be able to score on a par with Pelech and Lindell. Also, of the four, Pelech has had the highest percentage of secondary assists, suggesting that his scoring is less likely to continue at a decent pace. Give me Graves unless HIT and BLK are key, in which case I'd likely go with Hakanpaa narrowly over Pelech. Good luck!

Question #4 (from Gordon)

I'm in a ten team H2H league where we get to keep three players plus a rookie. Our scoring categories are G, A, PPP, SHP, SOG, FW, HIT, BLK, W, SV, GAA, SO. Starting line-ups are 2C, 2LW, 2RW, 4D, 2G, plus 4 bench. Here is my line-up as a write this:

C – Tomas Hertl, Tage Thompson, Jack Eichel, Nico Hischier, Boone Jenner, Jack Hughes

LW – Alex Ovechkin, Kyle Connor, Zach Hyman (also RW eligibility)

RW – Mark Stone, Claude Giroux (also C eligibility)

D – Cale Makar, Aaron Ekblad, Jakub Chychrun, Moritz Seider

G – Ville Husso, Vitek Vanecek, Thatcher Demko 

IR-Thomas Chabot 

Do I drop Chabot now that he's back? Are there any rookies worth targeting as my rookie keeper? I see my non-rookie keepers as Makar, Ovi, and Hughes. Should I be trying to package Ovi, perhaps with one of my centers, to get a younger stud forward? Ovi still has major value, but I'm worried about holing him past his expiration date. Lastly, should I be concerned I don't have more players with multi-positional eligibility? I feel like it costs me flexibility that could benefit my team.

Chabot will be tough to trade, as the emergence of Jake Sanderson had already eaten away at Chabot’s previously amazing deployment prior to Chabot's injury, giving Chabot fewer man advantage minutes and lower TOI overall. I think we’re at a point that if Chabot was going to be an elite d-man he’d have already turned that corner. Instead, he was a 50ish point guy mainly because he was so heavily used. I see Sanderson stealing the PP1 gig, making it so Chabot might have a tough time even reaching what was seen as his disappointing outputs of the past few seasons. Worse yet, I think poolies are aware of this, meaning Chabot’s trade value has taken a big hit. So don't trade him. I don't think you can afford to drop him either though, as you only have four other defensemen, two of whom are Band-Aid Boys. I think you hold Chabot and accept that he won’t pay the kind of dividends for which you’d hoped but still should get you decent points plus have pretty good peripherals.

As far as rookies, the good news is only ten will be kept amongst all teams, unless someone uses one of their other three spots on one, which I’m guessing doesn’t usually occur and most likely won’t given the weaker crop of 2022-23 rookies. That gets to the other problem, which is the rookie class this season is below average to an extent that it shines a brighter light on those who are faring even moderately well. I might try to focus on those who’ve played just a little and not fared too well, but for whom the future should still be bright. Case in point is Alexander Holtz. I still think he will be a top six, goal scoring fixture, as the Devils don’t really have a sniping winger. And he might be cheap enough to obtain now to justify grabbing him, as opposed to before this season when his price likely was sky high. And even though he’s in the AHL, I still like the long term upside of William Eklund, who remains a rookie despite having played a bit in 2021-22. Alex Turcotte is another who’s fallen from fantasy grace but who could still fare quite well. Pick one of those three, preferably whomever you’d not have to trade for to obtain.

As for trading Ovi, astute poolies will realize that, stretching back to the last three quarters of 2021-22, he’s played basically a season’s worth of games at just under a point per game rate. I think he’s showing his age, plus he doesn’t have the same talent surrounding him, with him no longer capable of taking over as many games just by himself. That all having been said, he’s still superb in your league, so my guess is you’d find a taker for him willing to pay what is still a fair price. Would I trade him? I think so, as I can’t see a universe where his value jumps back up, while it could continue to erode. Which center to trade with him? Although I can see a lure in owning both Hughes and Hischier, probably in your shoes it I’d deal Hischier, as Hughes will always be “the guy” while Hischier will be second banana. Ovechkin and Hischier should be able to fetch you a nice return.

As for multi-positional eligible players, of course they’re valuable, and poolies have wised up about them, making it harder to have these players fall into your lap. As is always the case, resist the urge to overpay or draft players too early, as although multi-positional eligibility is nice, it’s not so crucial as to significantly change values, other than wingers who take faceoffs, who always fetch a premium but which often is too high even for the benefit they provide. Yes, do be aware of it and use it to decide between two otherwise similar players; however, don't obsess over it. In fact, if the other GMs fixate on it, use it to your advantage to get single position guys for a lower price. Good luck!

Question #5 (from Morgan)

In my 12 team, points only H2H keeper, starting 10F, 6D, 2G, I'm fortunate enough to own Rasmus Dahlin, Adam Fox and Quinn Hughes. But my team needs help at F, so I'm looking to trade one of them. If you could only own two of the three long-term, who would they be?

I'll answer your question because you asked it; but with 60 rearguards rostered, and you owning three of what figure to be the best five fantasy defensemen of perhaps the next decade, I'd do whatever I could to not trade any. For one, you don't have forward positional requirements, so you don't have to worry about getting the right mix of wingers and centers. Also, the hit you stand to take in what you'd lose by dealing one of these three would almost assuredly be more than the gains you stand to make in terms of the forward(s) you acquire. Why? For one, the ages of these three making them likely to be long term owns, but also how much better they are than the average defenseman. To say it again, I would recommend holding pat and reaping the benefits of these three for many, many years to come, as forward talent grows on trees far more so than it does for rearguards.

As for who to trade if you did insist on doing a deal, most might reflexively say Dahlin due to Owen Power looming large. But the presence of Power has, if anything, ignited Dahlin, who can focus more so on producing offense than having to worry about being a franchise defenseman as he had been in the first few seasons he played. What might shape up to occur is Power being a Nicklas Lidstrom type and Dahlin a Bryan Rafalski or Mathieu Schneider. Dahlin's numbers this season are so impressive that I think he can't be discounted.

As for the other two, what concerns me about both are their meager SOG totals. Both Fox and Hughes are defying past history by doing as well as they are despite shooting as little as they do. Going all the way back to 1959-60, there have been 240 instances of a defenseman playing 40+ games while scoring at a rate of 0.85+ points per game, i.e., a 70-point-pace. Of them, not even 20, or under 10%, did so despite shooting at a rate lower than 2.1 per game in that same season, which neither Fox nor Hughes has eclipsed in any season thus far. Still though, they are finding a way to produce, mostly due to being "the guy" when it comes to blueline offense. For 2022-23, Fox's SH% is unsustainably high, while Hughes' is unsustainably low.

Also, all three play for teams that should do as well or better in the coming years than they are this season. But of the three, the Rangers might be iffiest in terms of their future. Yes, I do realize they have the likes of Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, and Filip Chytil; but none of the three have truly ignited as yet, and Mike Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, and Vincent Trocheck all should be at their peaks now. On Buffalo, they have younger players shining now plus plenty of prospects who could pan out. And Vancouver is kind of in the middle.

If I had to make the difficult decision as to which one to trade in a points league, I'd likely have to go with Fox. Not only do I think he's the right choice when looking at all the aforementioned factors, but I also believe he has the highest name value, such that he'd be able to fetch the most in return. If you can't make do without trading any of the three, I'd reluctantly let Fox go. Good luck!

Question #6 (from Shame on Ice)

What's your take on Andrei Kuzmenko? Would you trade him for Patrick Kane or Sam Reinhart in a points only one year league?

When assessing Kuzmenko, I do think his age matters, as does his contract status. He's signed just for this season, after which he's a UFA, incenting him to play well. At 26 though, he is the oldest "impact" first-year player since Artemi Panarin; and even Panarin was only 24 as a rookie.

Let's see what player comparables tell us about first year players as old or older than Kuzmenko. It turns out that dating back to 1990-91, just 20 forwards played in 60+ games as a first year player when they were age 26 or older. The most recent one, which should send shivers down the spines of Kuzmenko owners in keepers, was Nikita Gusev, from whom lots was expected before he entered the NHL, but who was out of the league just two seasons after he posted 44 points in 66 games at age 27 in his first season. What of the other 19? There was Dmitri Kvartalnov, who had 72 points in 273 games at age 29 as a rookie; but he too was gone from the NHL two seasons later. Nikolai Borschevsky had 74 points in 78 games at age 28, then 34 in 45 games the next season, but was gone from the NHL within another two years. Sergei Nemchinov had 58 points as a first year player and had a long NHL career but mainly in a middle six, more defensively focused role. It's not all bad news though, as David Vybourny had two seasons of 64+ points and played from age 26-33, and Johan Franzen was on his way to what looked like significant success before injuries took their toll. The rest though made little to no impact at any point during usually brief careers.

Interestingly, the best of the 20, namely Vybourny and Franzen, actually didn't make the biggest splashes, while those who did great from the get go were by and large gone as fast as they arrived. What does that tell us about Kuzmenko? It's tough to say, although him being a UFA incents him to play strong this season.

Kuzmenko has not been very consistent, as he already has two separate four-game scoreless stretches, and after the second of the two he was healthy scratched. He also has had seven multipoint games, showing that he's an explosive scorer. Still, that type of inconsistency can put a player at risk of being deemphasized if it recurs. I also have worries with Kuzmenko's IPPs, which are under 60.6% overall and at just 50% on the PP. To me that suggests he's faring well to a large extent due to the players around him. Given his healthy scratch, plus his lousy power play IPP, his hold on a PP1 spot looks like it is far from ironclad. Still though, with Kuzmenko seemingly attached at the hip to Elias Petttersson, who's thriving, chances are he keeps that gig until Pettersson's stats falter.

Kuzmenko's scoreless game stretches paint the picture of a player who phones it in at times, which at some point could lead to him being perhaps a more frequent healthy scratch. On the other hand, there is a track record of older players who stayed strong throughout their entire first season, and whether or not Kuzmenko can continue to pay dividends doesn't matter if this is a one year league. Also, the type of game he plays doesn't lend itself to seeing him toil on the fourth line; so if he's playing it's likely going to be with Pettersson or, if not him, then Bo Horvat or J.T. Miller. That's if he plays though; and although he is older and thus seemingly less at risk of hitting a "rookie wall," only once in his career had he played more than 57 games in a season, so he could indeed run out of gas come spring.

Given all this, would I trade Kuzmenko for Patrick Kane or Sam Reinhart? Yes and yes. Sure, it looks like Kane aged five years in the offseason; but until he goes an entire campaign like this I'm not ready to say he's not the same player he's been all these years. If you get Kane right now, you'll position yourself to reap the benefits if/when he rights his ship, whether he remains with Chicago, or, more enticingly, goes to a team like the Rangers in a deadline deal. As for Reinhart, it's a lot closer, but I still think I make the deal there too. Reinhart is shooting more than ever, remains a mainstay on PP1, and produces on whatever line he plays. I fail to see a scenario where he doesn't finish at a point per game or better rate for 2022-23. Even though Kuzmenko might indeed keep up his pace over the rest of the campaign, there's a risk he doesn't and the chances of both these deals turning out to be sell high and/or buy low are too great to pass up. Good luck!

Question #7 (from Joe)

Of these five defensemen, do you think any will reach their offensive potential or are they busts: Thomas Harley, Eric Brannstrom, Ryan Merkley, Nils Lundkvist, Pierre-Olivier Joseph.

First off, aside from Brannstrom, none of these guys has collectively played even close to a season's worth of NHL games in their entire career to date, and none – Brannstrom included – are older than 23. We have to realize that just because the likes of Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox and now Rasmus Dahlin all shined by the same ages many of these five are now doesn't mean that's par for the course. Remember, it generally takes until game 400 before a final verdict can be rendered on a defenseman. Look no further than Mikhail Sergachev, who's right below 400 games played and lo and behold is just now breaking out, or Josh Morrissey in Winnipeg, who hit the 400 game mark toward the end of last season and is now playing superbly. Sure – it can happen a bit earlier, as is the case with Filip Hronek in Detroit, who's near the 270 game mark; but long story short, it is way, way too early to render a verdict on any of these five. Still, I'll give you my thoughts on each since you did ask.

Brannstrom needs new team. He had a narrow opening last season while Thomas Chabot was hurt, yet failed to capitalize. Now Jake Sanderson has landed and quickly passed Brannstrom on the depth chart. While it's true that Brannstrom has not done much to inspire confidence and might not end up panning out, I'd want to wait until he gets a change of scenery before I consider starting to panic, and that might just come this summer with Brannstrom an RFA. Now would be a good time to buy low and hope he goes somewhere that will give him deployment which will help instill confidence in order to see what he's truly made of.

Harley has just started to dip his toes into the NHL waters. Yes, it's a bit concerning that he went from logging 34 games with Dallas in 2021-22 to being back in the AHL now and is not exactly lighting it up there. But he's still young and a lot can happen over the next couple of seasons. He too though might get dealt, or perhaps not qualified at the end of 2024, which could give him a new lease on life. It's an almost identical situation with Merkley, who went from playing a chunk of NHL games last season to starting 2022-23 in the AHL. He's a year older though; but being on San Jose he should get re-signed, after which I think he will get a better shot to show if he has the goods.

POJ is seemingly with the Pens to stay, having shown he's too good for the NHL. And although he's not forcing the issue he's also holding his own when he does play. He is on the older side of these guys, so that is a factor; but there is still definitely time for him to become an NHL mainstay, even though maybe he won't be the scorer he was in the AHL. Plus, with Kris Letang's future up in the air after suffering a second stroke, POJ should see improved deployment.

Lundkvist is the one for whom there should be the highest hopes. While it may seem like his stock fell due to being traded from New York, that was purely a personnel move, with Lundkvist being a right-handed shot on a team with Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox both being right handers as well, leaving no path to being a productive NHL regular for him in the Big Apple. On Dallas, however, he has a fresh lease on life. He's playing a lot, his SOG per game rate is up, and he's on a team that doesn't need him to be a star right away. I see him settling into a role that should expand with each passing season, and the fact that he's right-handed leaves open the possibility of him and Miro Heiskanen perhaps being on the same PP1 unit, should Dallas opt to go that route.

In sum, I'm not here to say that all these guys will become productive defensemen, as the odds are that will not happen. In fact, most likely at least a couple will indeed be busts. At this age and stages of their careers, one just cannot know for sure what path they'll all take. 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.