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 Mathieu)

I’m in an 11 team league where each team can keep 8 players, of which no more than 3 can be defensemen, 5 can be forwards, and 2 can be goalies. Each team also drafts 17 other players, for a total of 25 per roster, with stats for the best 15 F, 5D, and 2G counting. Scoring is points only for skaters, and for goalies it's 2 points for a win (plus 3 extra points for a shutout), -1 point for a regulation loss or -0.5 for an OTL, as well as 0.05 points per save and -0.5 points per goal allowed.

The method used for ranking teams is based on a ranking for forwards and then one for defensemen and goalies combined, so a total of two categories. We add the ranking of the two categories for each participant and the winner is the person with the lowest total rank. For example, if I finish 3rd in forwards ranking and 4th in defensemen/goalie ranking, I'd have a cumulative ranking of 7, and I'd win if no other team had a ranking lower than 5. A ranking of 5 is often what it takes to actually win.

For my keepers, I'm fairly settled on Rasmus Dahlin, Adam Fox, Luke Hughes, Connor Bedard, Matvei Michkov, Matthew Tkachuk, and Brandon Hagel. In terms of the eighth, I've narrowed it to Adam Fantilli, Dylan Guenther and Stuart Skinner. Who'd you choose as my eighth, or would you choose more than one, in which case which of my seven would you remove? In case it matters, someone offered me a trade of Jake Oetinger for Michkov. I value Michkov very highly; but last four winners have all had strong goalies so I wonder if I need to make the deal given Otter's elite status.

With keepers representing about a third of your roster, and more than a third of your line-up, they will matter quite a bit. Still though, with only 88 players being kept in total, I have to think yours will be in the bottom half of the league for 2025-26. It's not that you're keeping bad players – you just don't have enough of the best of the best…..for now. That's key, as between Bedard, Michkov, Dahlin, Fox, Hughes, Guenther and Fantilli you could position yourself for a lot of success in a just couple of years.

Also, if indeed goalies are so coveted, and Skinner is your only option, that is not great. But Otter would give you a netminder who is elite and should remain so for quite some time. As such, I'd try to offer Tkachuk for Otter, as Tkachuk turns 28 in December and looks to have settled below 100 points, yet still has the lure to other GMs of potentially being able to return to his past heights. I also am leery of him given the punishment he takes in view of the style he plays. As for Hagel, he's now a proven top player; but we've almost assuredly seen his best given his continued inability to produce well on the PP.

Yes, you keep Dahlin, Fox, Hughes, Bedard, and Michkov, plus Otter if you get him for Thachuk. If you cannot get Otter for Tkachuk straight up, that would throw a bit of a monkey wrench into things. But in that case, I'd consider a deal of Hughes and Tkachuk for Otter plus a player yet to fully break out but who has high upside, like William Eklund or Matthew Knies. I realize that Hughes was red hot to end the season, suggesting he's arrived. But if you want Otter, it might cost you Hughes to get him and Dougie Hamilton still looms. Also, this would solve the dilemma of which to keep of Fantilli and Guenther. If somehow you cannot get a good enough player back in a deal of Hughes and Tkachuk for Otter, then settle for a draft pick and keep Hagel with the plan of trading him during the season. Good luck!

Question #2 (from Andrew)

I’m in a 12 team full keeper. Rosters consist of 12F, 6D, 2G. There are 3 additional spots to be used however the GM sees fit. There is a farm with up to 12 spots as well. The farm can only have players who have already been drafted but not yet completed their entry level contracts. Farm salaries do not count against the cap unless they get moved to the main roster. The league uses NHL AAV for salary and has the same cap. Categories and scoring are, for forwards, G(1), A(1), PPPt(0.5), SHP(1), GWG(1), OTPt(1), SOG(0.5), Shots(0.1), HIT(0.1), PIM(-0.1), for defensemen it's the same except G(1.5), SHP(2), OTPt(2), and for goalies it's W(2), L(-1), Shootout Loss (1), SO(2), SV(0.03), GA(-0.1), Goal Scored (5), Assist(2), Overtime Result (1), 

I've finished top 2 the last 4 years and hope to continue this run. But I'm at a crossroad in that I also have a lot of current FAs and am already tight against the cap. Here are my regular players, with their AAV or an indication that they're an RFA: Clayton Keller ($7.15M), Kyle Connor ($7.143M), Zach Hyman ($5.5M), Adrian Kempe ($5.5M), Joel Eriksson-Ek ($5.25M), Bryan Rust ($5.125M), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins ($5.125M), Dylan Strome ($5M), Jared McCann ($5M), Gabe Vilardi (RFA), Mason McTavish (RFA), Nikolai Kovalenko (RFA), Jakub Chychrun ($9M), Josh Morrissey ($6.25), Shea Theodore ($7.425M), MacKenzie Weegar ($6.25M), Lane Huston ($1.333M), Evan Bouchard (RFA), Conor Timmins (RFA), Logan Thompson ($5.85M), and Dustin Wolf (0.85M). The total is $90.927M without the RFAs, although if I had to guess the combined value of the RFA deals will be around $25M (Bouchard 11, Vilardi 7.5, McTavish 6, Timmins 1, Kovalenko 1).

Here are my farm guys with their AAV: Danila Yurov ($2.95M), Cutter Gauthier ($1.9M), Samuel Helenius ($1.543M), Michael Brandsegg-Nygard ($1.443M), Jonathan Lekermaki ($1.393M), Sam

Rinzel ($1.367M), Zachary Bolduc ($1.276M), William Wallinder ($0.925M), Sean Behrens ($0.925M), 

Paul Andrea ($0.925M), Anton Silayev (unsigned).

I’m not sure what to do. I could drop expensive players and likely still be quite competitive this year, but may struggle in the following years. Or I could keep the expensive players in anticipation of a rising cap, but make some tough cuts for the here and now. I’m leaning towards moving Chychrun (great results last year but too expensive now) and Thompson (goalies don’t get enough points to spend big cap space), but I would still likely need to move another player or two likely either a couple forwards or the expensive Bouchard. What do you think of this plan? What would your ideal roster consist of? Is there any way to thread the needle stay competitive now and down the road?

Your team is very strong, as you have players who are not too expensive, yet are not only proven but in some cases may still get even better. It's no wonder your team has performed as well as it has. But as you have astutely pointed out, I would say you're at – or nearing – a crossroads. Let's try to figure out the best path forward for your team.

Looking first at your RFAs, Vilardi has arrived, which means you should be able to depend on him, but also that he will earn substantially more than had he been an RFA last summer. Still, I'd say $7.5M would not be too bitter of a pill to swallow. As for McTavish, he was playing at a top level in the second half, with nearly point-per-game scoring and three SOG per game. But his poor 2023-24 and first half of 2024-25 will likely keep his salary at a level well below what he's "worth." Bouchard will get paid a lot, and it might be enough to cause you to walk away, as his metrics were similar to 2023-24 except a higher secondary assist rate but lower 5×5 team SH%. He might just be a 65-point d-man who can do better if a rising tide lifts his boat, but not on his own accord. He'd be a tough drop, but perhaps a prudent one.

Chychrun is already expensive, but is locked up long term and the Caps look poised to be a strong team even after Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson have retired. The issue is Chychrun has never ran a PP1 on any team, and thus even if he is slotted to take on that role once Carlson is out of the picture, it is not clear he'd thrive. He also is not very strong in banger categories. On a positive note, he has missed only eight games over the past two seasons; so rather than getting more injury prone as he ages, which is most common, he actually could be aging out of his band-aid boy status. Still, if Bouchard is not a keep at a likely $11M per season, I cannot see a universe where Chychrun is at $9M.

But if indeed Chychrun is not kept, can room be made for Bouchard without it being a net negative? I think you can safely drop RNH, who, although not paid a lot, simply is not a proven producer. He did get lots of ice time with Connor McDavid in the first half of 2024-25, yet still failed to thrive. He will likely keep his PP1 spot, but has settled back into his normal 20-25 PPPts, which is not great. I also feel you are astute in looking at Thompson as a possible drop. His quality of play declined substantially as the season wore on, this despite playing fewer games than 2023-24 and saving his best for last that season. Could it have been complacency after signing his new deal at the end of January? Tough to say, but the fact that him inking it coincided with a major drop in performance is concerning. It may sound counterintuitive, but I'd actually feel better about the idea of keeping him if he earned more, as we've seen from the likes of John Gibson, Philip Grubauer and Tristan Jarry that earning $5-6M does not give one a vice grip on the starting role. Beyond that, even after Thompson signed, he never made more than two starts in a row, this after a stretch of seven straight starts earlier in January.

In summary, I think if you keep Bouchard, you definitely let Chychrun go, plus one or both of RNH and Thompson. Even if Bouchard is not kept, I'd look at dropping Chychrun and RNH, but perhaps in that case roll the dice with Thompson given that goalies do not grow on trees. Good luck!

Question #3 (from Doug)

I’m in a points-only (plus 10% PIM) keeper and have two questions for you. By way of background, my massive rebuild is going well as I not only was able to draft Connor Bedard but Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov too.

The first question is what to make of Anton Lundell. I see great potential; and when he's been given the chance to be in the top 6 he produces, but not enough to displace Sam Bennett. If Florida re-signs Bennett, should I cut and run and trade him? Second, in addition to Lundell, I have five forwards on my bench and need help ranking them in order to drop 3 as I have Zeev Buium, Frank Nazar and Ryan Leonard waiting in the wings. They are Bobby Brink, Morgan Frost, Ryan McLeod, Casey Mittelstadt, and Owen Tippett. Which three would you keep if you were me?

I've said it many times in my columns, and it still applies, which is that Lundell is following the blueprint of Jordan Staal, namely a very talented first rounder who was pigeonholed into a third line role due to his all-around talent plus being on a very deep team which happens to have two other centers locked into top six roles. Just as Staal showed flashes of solid production when one or both of Sidney Crosby and/or Evgeni Malkin got hurt, so too has Lundell when Aleksander Barkov and/or Sam Bennett have missed time due to injury. But also, just as Staal was demoted to the third line when both of the Pen centers were back to health, so too has been the fate of Lundell. 

With the success Florida has had, they are not likely to fix what isn't broken, just as the Pens did not either when they were a powerhouse, leaving Staal stuck on the third line. But the wild card here is Bennett being a UFA this summer and having had such a strong playoffs, such that a team might coax him away from Florida.

If Bennett leaves, I have to think Florida gives Lundell a long look at second line center duty. Still though, it might not get him on PP1, as Bennett did not have a spot there. And who's to say that Lundell would do as well as a mainstay in that role?

What's key here is Lundell is not being compared against top-tier talent in deciding your three drops. For example, Morgan Frost was thought by many to have been the victim of the Torts effect, yet when he got to Calgary he fared even worse. Granted, he arrived midseason, and is still only 26 years old, so he could still blossom. But Lundell is two years younger and even if stuck on the third line likely would be more productive than Frost given the wealth of talent in Florida.

Then there's Mittlestadt, who, like Frost, was traded midseason but fared worse on a team where he ought to have done better. For Mittlestadt to have ended with fewer than a point-per-every-other-game after starting with 14 in 13 contests is quite concerning. Also, it's not like Boston had a situation like in Florida, as their top two centers were Pavel Zacha and Elias Lindholm, both of whom had subpar campaigns. Yet Mittlestadt made no inroads, which, along with the bleak outlook for the Bs, does not bode well for Mittlestadt.

Brink has had flashes of strong play, but also has all but vanished for long stretches. He does not shoot a lot, and has been weak on the PP. He also is a RW on a team that has both Travis Konecny and Owen Tippett locked up for big money and long term, so he might be stuck on the third line as well. I do like that he had a strong IPP last season; but I'm afraid he has too much of an uphill climb to become a real fantasy factor. Speaking of Tippett, who is also among those you're considering, I think he is not a drop given his contract will keep him in the top-six plus him having finished fourth in the entire NHL among forwards in SOG per game in 2023-24. He might be reborn in the post Torts era.

McLeod came to the Sabres without huge expectations; however, given the exodus of Dylan Cozens and the poor track record of health for Josh Norris, he might stand a chance at becoming the second line center for the Sabres, or, at least, like Lundell, a player who will get chances in that role if/when Tage Thompson and Norris, who are both Band-Aid Boys, get hurt.

Given all this, I believe your concerns regarding Lundell are moot, as even if the worst-case scenario does end up happening, he still is not one of the three weakest players on that list. Neither is Tippett, who has a very real shot of a rebirth. That leaves one spot for Brink, Mittlestadt, McLeod, and Frost, and I like McLeod. He's only 25 and fared well last season plus, like Lundell, should end up being installed as a top six center if/when one of the Band-Aid Boys ahead of him in the depth chart gets hurt. So the drops are Frost, Mittlestadt and Brink. Good luck!

Question #4 (from Kyle)

In a salary cap keeper with categories of G, A, PPP, SOG, HIT, BLK, W, GAA, SV%. Starting lineups are 3C, 3RW, 3LW, 6D, 1G. In this format, which eight should I keep among Auston Matthews, J.T. Miller, Zach Werenski, Filip Forsberg, Sam Bennett, Moritz Seider, Clayton Keller, Andrei Svechnikov, Matthew Knies, Zach Hyman, Kiefer Sherwood, Dylan Holloway, Logan Stankoven, Joseph Woll?

I count 14 players, so six need to be eliminated from keeper contention. Let's start simple – not Woll. Yes, with two of the three categories not being volume-based, there can be value to someone who, like Woll, might be in a time share; however, I don't have a lot of faith that he will be the 1A, nor, even if he is, that he'll be strong in GAA and SV%. So he's a non-keep.

After that, Matthews and Werenski are elite enough to be locks. And JT Miller, although starting to get to that age where hitters can see their production drop, should be kept too, as he was reborn after he got settled in New York. We've seen several times in the past how amazing he can he in multicat banger leagues. I also like Forsberg, as although he is not getting any younger he was nearly a point-per-game player last season despite the trainwreck that was the Preds, and in fact was a point-per-game player in the second half. Until he truly falters, he has to be a keep. So too does Seider, who did not make the offensive strides that many – myself included – thought he would last season. But he did fare better, and he's still multicat gold. He's a keep as well.

That leaves Bennett, Keller, Svechnikov, Knies, Hyman, Sherwood, Holloway and Stankoven for the other four spots. Knies looks to be stepping up earlier than was thought, and fills a need for Toronto that will exist whether or not Mitch Marner stays, namely that of a physical player who has the skill to skate with the most elite players on the team, plus be a net-front presence on PP1. He is a keep in my book. Keller had a super season and Utah looks to be a team on the climb, with Keller likely to stay on the top line and PP. He is weak in banger cats, but a player with point per game downside and 90+ point upside is not one you don't keep. Bennett has 55-point downside, is great in banger categories, and could do even better if he decides to sign elsewhere and gets the PP1 role that has eluded him in his time with Florida. He's a keep in my book as well. Hyman would've been a layup if this was a season ago; but he had a 2024-25 to forget, and might have just been on very long hot streak, as opposed to defining a new normal, especially when we look back and see he wasn't even a 60-point player his first season in Edmonton nor ever with the Leafs. Svech has been earmarked for success ever since being picked second overall. But despite being a PP1 fixture, he is shooting less and might no longer even be the 70-point floor player that he was until last season. Sherwood was a monster in 2024-25, but let me toss two names out there: Dakota Joshua and Tanner Jeannot. Both were previously thought to be poised to provide an invaluable combination of banger stats and decent points, yet that hasn't happened. Also, consider that Sherwood is already 30, and a new coach is coming to Vancouver who might pigeonhole him. He is not a keep in my book. Neither is Stankoven, as although being on Carolina will all but guarantee he sees a good chunk of ice time, the team has too many players ahead of him on the depth chart, and as an undersized player he could take a while before he truly hits his stride. Thus, it comes down to Svech or Hyman for the last spot, and I'm keeping Hyman, as his floor is either comparable to or barely lower than that of Svech, but his ceiling is higher. Still, I would be okay with the decision if you opted for Svech instead, since it is close enough for personal preference to tilt the scales. Good luck!

Question #5 (from Ben)

As of now, nine teams will enter 2025-26 with new coaches. Which ones do you see as having the most positive or negative fantasy impact?

While I knew several new coaches would be at the helm for 2025-26, I didn't remember it was as many as nine. But that is how many teams – thus far – have made coaching changes in advance of 2025-26.

For me, the biggest positive might be felt in Dallas. This is a team with a player, in Jason Robertson, who scored 109 points a couple of seasons ago, plus Wyatt Johnston, who, at 21 is a two-time 30 goal scorer. Despite their obvious talent, Johnston averaged only the 58th highest TOI per game among forwards who played in at least 41 games, and Robertson was even lower at 103rd. It was not much better on the PP, with Robertson ranking 44th in PPTOI per game and Johnston 49th. In essence, Dallas was rolling three lines and two PPs, and it had led to success. But with most teams bestowing far more ice time of top talent, it stands to reason the best of the best on Dallas will get much better deployment

Let's not forget that Joel Quenneville was at the helm when Chicago, who was brimming with top talent in their 20s, won three Stanley Cups in six seasons. And although no one of Anaheim will be mistaken for Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, or Duncan Keith, or at least not yet, their cupboard is stocked with many youngsters who could thrive with a coach who has a track record of turning young teams into not just winners, but fantasy successes along the way.

Mike Sullivan in New York is also intriguing, as he was able to continue to get a lot from the aging core of the Pens even beyond when many thought that could occur. If the Rangers opt to try and hold onto some of their veterans instead of doing a full rebuild, he might be just the right guy to help keep them fantasy relevant.

Rick Tocchet in Philly will benefit from a group who will be thrilled to have anyone but John Tortorella. Additionally, beyond that, Tocchet was at the helm when the Canucks had three straight seasons with a forward producing at a 100+ point pace, which bodes well for talent like Travis Konecny and Matvei Michkov.

I'm less optimistic about changes made in Seattle, Vancouver and Chicago. With the Kraken, Lambert is a disciple of Barry Trotz, under whom skaters found it difficult to thrive. But it might help the Kraken netminders, with more of an emphasis on defense. As for the Canucks, my concern is Foote had been the assistant, so there might not be the "new blood" factor to inspire the team to step up. The Hawks hired Jeff Blashill, who, although never blessed with top tier talent while in Detroit, still did not lead the team to success, nor did he help boost fantasy numbers for even top talent like Dylan Larkin.

With Boston and Pittsburgh, I think the changes will be neutral, as those teams' fates seem more tied to the players they have. But brand new coaches have both thrived and struggled, so it is worth watching to see if either or both can get more from their teams than is expected. Good question!

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I'm always looking for mailbag questions, so don't hesitate to send them to me. You can get do so in one of two ways: (1) by emailing them to admin@dobbersports.com 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.