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.

The offseason is when I tend the get the most mailbag questions. In order to answer them all, and to do so more quickly, I'll be running a mailbag as soon as I get enough questions. If you have questions about keepers, draft strategy or anything of interest, definitely send them my way, via the instructions at the end of the column.

Question #1 (from Travis)

I'm looking for some advice on who I should select as my 6 total keepers. I went all-in this past season, trading away my early draft picks, and successfully won the championship! Because of those trades though, I do not have any draft picks until the 5th round, making these 6 keepers absolutely critical to keeping my title window open.

Rosters are 2C, LW, 2RW, 4D, 2G, 3 Bench, 2 IR+. It's a weekly H2H league with categories of G, A, +/-, PIM, PPPts, SOG, HIT, BLK, W, GAA, SV, SV%, SHO. My keeper options are Macklin Celbrini, Martin Necas, Andrei Svechnikov, Mika Zibanejad, Brandon Hagel, Sam Bennett, Robert Thomas, Owen Tippett, Cale Makar, Noah Dobson, Zach Werenski, Adam Fox, Shayne Gostisbehere, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Scott Wedgewood, Linus Ullmark, Stuart Skinner.

I feel like Makar, Celebrini, Necas, and Vasilevskiy are my locks. For the final two spots I'm torn between keeping an elite offensive defensemen like Fox or Werenski, or high upside wingers like Svechnikov or Hagel. Given that I won't pick until round 5, who would you choose as the six?

I realize it's not ideal for you to have no picks until round 5. But rather than making your decision more difficult, I think that in fact it simplifies things, as you keep Werenski and Fox.

The reason boils down to replacement cost. You didn't list how many teams there are in the league, but by keeping those two, plus Makar, you not only have three of your four starting defensemen, but elite players for a position of comparative scarcity. Werenski and Fox could be point per game defensemen, plus give you lots of PPPts. But beyond that, the defensemen who figure to remain by round five will be comparatively worse than the forwards who'll remain. Need proof?

Four defensemen were point per gamers last season, two being Makar and Werenski. Only five scored at a 0.9 to 1.0 points per game rate, with Fox having the highest rate among them. Just another 12 had a scoring rate of 0.66 to 0.9. Basically, there were 21 defensemen who scored at a 50+ point rate last season. 

Not only can you keep three of them, but three of the very best. Moreover, if you did not keep either of them, or only one, the defensemen from whom you could choose when it finally comes time for you to draft in round five would be far worse than the available forwards, where the best of the best are not so much more amazing than those who project to be still available. Also, if you don't keep the d-men, you'll have one defenseman keeper and feel compelled to draft the defensemen you'll need in rounds earlier than they should be drafted. In short, you'd have far worse defensemen from whom to choose, and feel more pressure to reach to draft those who do remain.

The other key is you have, on paper, the best fantasy goalie; so you can do what you said you did last season, namely not even draft a second goalie and stream a second netminder each week. Thus, when you do get around to being able to draft, you can focus on forwards first and foremost. Yes, you keeping the best goalie and three of the best defensemen will likely mean other teams will have top forwards as their keepers. But if that's the case, they'll not need to draft as many forwards early, and will instead reach for defensemen and goalies. When it comes to round five, among available forwards you'll likely see a wide array who are if not comparable to Svech and Hagel, then far less of a step down versus the defensemen from whom you could choose if you kept one or both forwards instead. And if, even after reading all this you're still skeptical, go back and review past draft results and my guess is you'll see for yourself what I'm suggesting.

With keeping Werenski and Fox, that makes the only question whether to keep Svech or Hagel over Necas, and that seems like a hard no. From what we saw last season with Necas, and previously with Mikko Rantanen, being tethered to Nathan MacKinnon leads to triple digit point totals, and neither Hagel nor Svech will approach that. Yes, Fox doesn't shoot a lot and is not great in multicat, but elite scoring is the toughest thing to replace, whereas "Banger" stats like PIM, BLK, and HIT can be cobbled together in the aggregate, plus Werenski shoots enough to more than compensate for Fox's low SOG. So keep those two d-men, and plan to draft the best forwards available come round 5. Good luck!

Question #2 (from Kent)

In a 14 team, points only, keep 7 dynasty league, I'm stuck deciding whether to keep Matvei Michkov or Adam Fantilli. Who's your choice?

Michkov is a popular player about whom to ask this offseason based on questions I've received. I understand why, as he went from doing something as an age 20 or younger rookie winger (25+ goals, 35+ assists, 2.4+ SOG per game) that no one other than Alex Ovechkin has done in the last 40 years, to 12 fewer points as a sophomore in 2025-26, finding himself in Rick Tocchet's doghouse on a regular basis, plus having his conditioning called into question. Also, Ovi's stats as a rookie were far better than those of Michkov, and Jeff Skinner did nearly as well, with all of us knowing what happened to him.

Still, Michkov did not fare that much worse, with still elite IPPs and a points per 60 minutes which was not too far below his rookie season, due to shedding nearly 2:00 in TOI per game. Also, the Flyers shot 10.7% with Michkov on the ice, which, when coupled with his great IPPs and low secondary assist rate, plus his 20 points in his last 21 games, suggest he still is very much the real deal and lofty expectations should remain. Of course it would've been far better for him had Philly landed Leo Carlsson, not only due to the likelihood of them playing together, but also because it would've almost assuredly caused a shift in coaching philosophy from Rick Tocchet's stingy TOIs for all his forwards. Also, by scoring 20+ goals, while tallying 30+ assists and averaging 2.0 or more SOG per game in each of his first two seasons by age 21, Michkov joined a winger club whose members are only Ovi plus Patrick Kane. So there's that.

Ironically, Philly is being mentioned as a possible landing spot for Fantilli, who is unsigned and subject to offer sheets. Fantilli had solid season to season improvement, although he didn't really ignite much at his 200 game breakout threshold. His scoring rate did grow, as did his SOG per game, but on the flip side, Fantilli still is not performing well on the PP where his IPP has yet to even be above 50%, which is a terrible number for any forward, let alone one with his pedigree. Also, his OZ% was similar to Michkov's, yet his 5×5 team SH% was 8.7%, or well below Michkov's, plus Fantilli's overall IPP was lower as well, and his secondary assist rate well higher.

I think reports of Michkov's fantasy demise are greatly exaggerated. He finished strong despite not much ice time overall or on the PP. He made offense happen when he was on the ice, plus factored into the scoring often. Unlike Fantilli, he's yet to hit his 200-game breakout threshold. Let's also not forget that Columbus is on its way to perhaps becoming a much worse team if they lose either or both of Zach Werenski and Kirill Marchenko, who have each made it clear they do not want to stay with the team. If choosing between Michkov and Fantilli, I'm taking Michkov. Good luck!

Question #3 (from DobberHockey Forums)

I'm in a 12 team, keep 20 (roster 30), weekly H2H league with categories of G, A, PPP, SHP, GWG, SOG, HIT, BLK, W, GAA, SV% and SHO. Farm is maximum 7 players. I finished 11th and get the 2nd overall pick at the next draft (so McKenna or Stenberg). I have another 1st round pick (#10) and eight other picks in the next four rounds, as my draft, meaning my draft would finish in round five of ten. At the end of the season, my roster was:
F: Berkly Catton, Mavrik Bourque, Alexis Lafreniere, Jason Zucker, Yakov Trenin, William Eklund, Zachary Bolduc, Ivan Demidov, Justin Sourdif, Jack Quinn, Anton Lundell, Barrett Hayton, Arseni Gritsyuk, Jiri Kulich, Brayden Cootes, Jackson Blake
D: Denton Mateychuk, Adam Larsson, Owen Power, Noah Hanifin, Josh Manson, Simon Nemec, Victor Hedman
G: Spencer Knight, Adin Hill, Daniil Tarasov, Jake Allen, Frederik Andersen, Akira Schmid, Devin Cooley
Farm: Drew Commesso, Niklas Kokko, Carl Lindbom, Alexander Zharovsky, Lynden Lakovic

So I need to drop ten of these 30. My thinking for the drops are Zucker, Larsson, Manson, Cooley, Hayton, Gritsyuk, Cootes, Sourdif, Tarasov, and Trenin. I think it makes sense to gamble on some goalies like Andersen, Allen and Schmid because it’s a thin position and hopefully one of them does well enough for me to trade for a nice return during the season, to help further my rebuild. I've tried to trade Hedman and Hanifin, but found no takers. My overall plan is to build on future prospect drafts first, and try to find 1 or 2 promising players each season to add to my team by trade or free agents. Then in a few seasons I hope to be competitive. Do you agree with my drops? Either way, what would be your strategy for the next few seasons?

Looking at your drops, I agree with Cooley, but I'm less certain about Schmid. It would be easier if we knew how much he's going to be paid and for how many years he'll be signed. He's a capable netminder, but the same can be said for Tarasov. Hill might even not start, but needs to be kept given the amount he's paid and duration of his contract. Allen too is a keep, unless New Jersey lands a true starter.

I realize this team is looking toward the future, but I'm not sure Zucker is a drop. The idea would be to keep him in order to trade him during the season, as he looks to still have a secure spot on PP1, and produces well. I have to think that in a league this deep, someone will want him during the season. If you disagree though, then by all means drop him.

Hayton is a tough one, as his primary position is center, and Utah added Vincent Trocheck on top of Logan Cooley and Nick Schmaltz, making it tough to see Hayton finding his way into the top six. Also, Hayton was given a long look in the first half playing alongside Schmaltz, Clayton Keller, and Dylan Guenther, but produced poorly, and seemingly hindered them as well. Although his offer sheet was matched, I think that is not necessarily indicative of there being big plans for him. Maybe he finds a new lease on life in 2027-28 after being a UFA, but I think he is not a keep just so you can hope for the best for him a year from now. I agree with him being a drop.

All your other drops make sense given your choices and your team's trajectory. But who to drop if you do decide to keep Zucker? I think it'd have to be Bolduc or Kulich. Both have lure due to being former first round picks; however, Bolduc seems to be pigeonholed in the bottom six, meaning that although he piles on hits his scoring is weak, plus he barely shoots and saw his PP production cut in half from what it was in 2024-25 despite more PPTOI overall. Also, Montreal is a team on the rise, which would be great if Bolduc was likely to factor more into their plans. Still, he could be a major asset if he finds a way to connect the dots offensively, but that is looking more and more iffy. Kulich is a year younger but has been victimized by the numbers game among Sabres wingers. With Alex Tuch gone though, and at least one other winger likely on his way out if, as is rumored, Buffalo trades for Connor Hellebuyck, then that would give Kulich a chance to make his mark. Kulich is also younger, so if Zucker is kept, my vote would be to drop Bolduc, unless of course New Jersey gets a top tier goalie, in which case I'd keep both Bolduc and Kulich over him. Also, keeping both of Kulich and Zucker covers Buffalo's bases.

As far as a strategy, your team is a long way from being competitive, but I think you realize that. I do like the idea of you keeping goalies who might see a spike in value and you can ransom off. And I realize that Hanifin and Hedman have proven difficult to trade; however, I have to think there will be a team or two who needs rearguard help during the season, so you sell one or both, even if for below value. Some players who seem like they'll be building blocks, like Laffy and Lundell shouldn’t be seen as untouchable if you can use them to get a better asset. The rest of your team I would leave be, and of course keep reassessing every offseason. Good luck!

Question #4 (from Corey)

I'm in a 16-team, points-only league where each team keeps players. Scoring is weighted toward offense: goals are worth 2 points, assists are worth 1 point, hat tricks are an additional 3 points, and blocks are worth 0.25 points. One important wrinkle in our league is that elite defensemen are extremely valuable. With 6 defense spots and the added value from blocks, true scoring D-men can provide a major advantage over replacement-level options.

Last season, I decided to go all-in for a championship and traded away several draft picks to improve my roster. Thankfully, it paid off and I won! The downside is that my draft capital is pretty limited this year. My best picks are a 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, two 8ths, three 9ths, and so on. Three keeper spots feel pretty locked in: Rasmus Dahlin, Lane Hutson and Mikko Rantanen. But I'm wrestling with my fourth keeper, with these players as options: Jesper Bratt, Filip Forsberg, Seth Jarvis, Adrian Kempe, Matthew Knies, Josh Morrissey, Adam Fox. Given the depth of the league and my limited draft capital this season, would you prioritize keeping the best overall player/value, or should I put more weight on positional scarcity and the advantage of having elite defensemen? Who would you choose?

Perhaps not surprisingly given my answer to question #1, I'm choosing Fox here. He is lousy in BLK, but less so than in hits, plus in scoring categories he's great. Also, I think the team around him getting worse has actually elevated him. Case in point – he finished with 24 points in his last 21 games, and that was despite having missed a lot of time due to injury. Plus, he had two or more points in 17 of his 55 games, or over 30% of all games, a percentage bested among d-men by only Cale Makar. Despite New York faring so poorly, Fox's 5×5 team SH% was still a very solid 9.8%, the second-best rate of his career. And he thrived on the PP, with a better than 70% PP IPP, and scored that great despite "only" a 56.0% OZ%, which was a five season low for him. In short, he excelled despite his team's struggles, and it quite possibly was those struggles which allowed him to thrive, as he needed to counted upon more so than ever to contribute offensively. I see him doing no worse, and perhaps even better, in 2026-27.

What about Morrissey? His scoring has been on a downward slide, both overall and on the PP. The rate it's dropping does appear to be slowing, making it seem like he is a legit 60 point defenseman; but that is a big step down from Fox, especially since his blocks are barely better. As far as the forwards, all are quite decent; but as noted in my reply to the first question, and astutely by you in asking yours, their replacement cost is far less than Fox's would be. I think this is a slam dunk for Fox. Good luck!

Question #5 (from Bob)

I’m in a dynasty league and my team is on the rise. I'd be able to trade Artyom Levshunov and Zach Benson for Bowen Byram. Would you do the deal?

I'll have to assume points only, but even then I don't know roster sizes and the like. This is again a reminder to err on the side of inclusion when sending me your questions.

The Blackhawks would appear to have big plans for Byram, since not only did they trade for him despite having a surplus of young defensemen, but they then proceeded to ink him to a deal that will pay him $12.5M per season for six years, starting in 2027-28. That's not only a major commitment, but also a huge vote of confidence in Byram, who, let's remember, has not even averaged a point per every other game over his career thus far. Still, due to injuries that affected several of his seasons, he's not reached the 400-game breakout, so he could have another gear.

Let's look at player comparables for Byram. Five times by age 24 he averaged between 0.4 and 0.6 points per game. If we go back to 1990-91, there are two other defensemen who also were within that scoring rate range a total of five times by age 24: Mikhail Sergachev, who has become a solid offensive defenseman, and Scott Niedermeyer, who never became a huge scorer, but had several seasons in the 50s and 60s (mind you that was also a different era). No fewer than 16 defensemen did so four times, and some turned out very good to great, namely Zach Werenski, Drew Doughty, Miro Heiskanen, Charlie McAvoy, and Tomas Kaberle, with a number of others having plenty of good seasons, but never becoming elite, like Eric Desjardins, Derek Morris, Wade Redden, Cam Fowler, Filip Hronek, and Justin Faulk. Among the rest, there were really only two who never were able to fulfill lofty expectations, namely Michael Del Zotto and Adam Boqvist, as even Aaron Ekblad and Rasmus Ristolainen have done decently. I'd say this suggests Byram could become a player who scores in the 40s, 50s, or even 60s. But more than that is likely a stretch given how few of these other players rose to those heights.

If indeed that is Byram' trajectory, is it worth trading for him? Benson got a very nice vote of confidence from Buffalo in his RFA contract; however, there are still a lot of very capable wingers on that team, and him making the kind of money he is now won't necessary mean he will be given much longer of a leash than he might've otherwise had. As for Levshunov, he showed flashes of strong play this past season, and that was despite him only having turned 20. More so than the other young Chicago d-men like Sam Rinzel and Kevin Korchinski, he has "golden boy" due to being a recent second overall pick. He could turn out to be the Owen Power to Byram's Dahlin, which would not be ideal. Although Benson turned heads in the playoffs, his overall scoring rate there was not that much better than in the regular season, and he still was not on PP1.

I think in the end if this is a deep league where many players are owned, I'd likely stick with what you have, as two good players likely would be worth more than one better – but not by that much – player. Otherwise, Byram likely would be worth the gamble, as although there are unknowns with all three, Byram's contract and comparables suggest he's more likely to pay bigger dividends. Good luck!

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To get mailbag questions to me either (1) email them to [email protected] with the words "Roos Mailbag" as the subject line, or (2) send 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.