Being barely a week into the 2026-27 season, it's too early for a normal Roos Lets Loose column. So instead, with a stick tap to Caleb Desjardins and his must read weekly Top Ten List column, I decided to put together a list of the top ten of mistakes I most often see made, or traps into which fantasy GMs fall. Yes, I had a similar column last year; however, not only are there several updates, but these are worth reviewing to ensure you have them firmly in mind as we embark upon this fantasy season.

1) Relying upon AI to actually make decisions, rather than informing them

To be clear, I'm not saying there's no place for AI in today's fantasy hockey landscape. It can be a great tool in helping evaluate players to pick up or trade or to aid in deciding weekly H2H line-ups, as just two examples. The key words in that sentence are helping and aid, as AI should be treated as a data point, not a determinant. Do dig in and see how AI arrived at its answer to your question, and take what was suggested and run it by those in the DobberHockey Forums, where some of the best hockey minds gather to give objective and well-informed advice. Speaking of objectiveness……..

2) Letting subjectivity or personal views or (dis)likes cloud objective data

Let's face it – if you're doing fantasy hockey, chances are you're a hockey fan as well. With that comes players and teams you personally like or dislike. Of course continue to root for or against those players or teams; but also ensure personal sentiments don't factor into decisions which relate to your fantasy hockey teams, where objectiveness is paramount.

Does this mean you can only look at data and measurable metrics? Definitely not. Watching games and players is still valuable, but only if done with an objective mindset.

How, though, can you be sure if you want to pick up or trade for a player you like, or who is on a team you root for, that you're being objective? There's the aforementioned DobberHockey Forums, to get a variety of informed but neutral viewpoints. But you can also do this yourself. Just take a step back and make sure you're looking at things through a lens not tinted by your personal views and biases. A good safeguard is to ask how you'd advise someone else if they came to you with what you're considering.

3) Understanding the differences between "real life" value, "fantasy" value, and "name" value 

When I talk about "real life" value, it's one's value to his team in pursuit of winning actual NHL hockey games, whereas "fantasy" value relates solely to fantasy. They don't overlap more than you'd think. Plus, you may think you're able to discern between them, but it's more difficult than it might seem.

Why? Players with "real life" value often have the highest salaries, get the most ice time, and wear the A or C on their jerseys. And indeed this real-life value can correlate closely with fantasy value; but that is not always the case, and falling into the trap of always having a player's real life value influence what you see as his fantasy value can lead to poor decision making.

An example is Aleksander Barkov. No question he's been a key member of the Panthers for his entire career, winning two Stanley Cups, three Selkes and a Lady Byng along the way. But even before he missed all of last season, his scoring rate was cratering, going from 110, to 96, to 92, to 89, plus was a Certified Band-Aid Boy. Yet he was drafted being earlier than the likes of Sebastian Aho, Robert Thomas, Mika Zibanejad to name a few*. Why? Poolies were too influenced by his real life value.

Turning to "name value", it is normally based on hype or accolades. Where it becomes a problem is if the hype is too high, or the accolades rooted too much in the past. There also can be team-based name value, occurring when a player is seen as having more value due to playing for a high profile squad.

Why does "name value" matter? As with real life value, you don't want to fall into the trap of overrating these types of players in fantasy. But also, if you have a player whose name value far exceeds his actual value, you owe it to yourself to at least explore trading him to try and capitalize on that fact, for sure in one year leagues but often in keepers as well, especially if his name value is based on the past. 

Case in point are Cole Caufield, who, in Yahoo drafts was selected in the top 20*. I attribute this largely to playing for the high profile Habs and having been hugely hyped from day one, as 2025-26 was his first and thus far only point per game season; so he still arguably has a higher name value than fantasy value. Also, did Cutter Gauthier, with one season of a 76 point scoring rate, deserve to be taken ahead of Clayton Keller, Artemi Panarin, Brandon Hagel, Dylan Guenther, and Alex DeBrincat in one-year drafts*? That's an example of name value for sure. And name value, plus being a Leaf, likely explains why Sergei Bobrovsky was taken earlier than Jet Greaves and Jole Hofer in drafts this season*. No disrespect to the career accolades of Drew Doughty and Kris Letang, but them being selected, on average, earlier than Luke Kughes, K'Andre Miller, Philip Broberg and Darnell Nurse in one-year leagues, is probably due to their past glory, not how they will fare this season*.

4) Holding onto "rough and tumble" forwards too long

Forwards who can both score and hit are rightfully coveted in banger leagues. But a desire to reap the benefits of owning them can cause GMs to hang onto them too long. How long is too long? There is no hard and fast rule; but the table below shows it's often by – or before – age 30. And as shown**, when it happens the negative effects on scoring can be very significant.

	Highest point total prior to age 30	Age when their scoring sharply declined (from what to what)
David Backes	62 (26 years old)	31 (from 58 to 47)
Troy Brouwer	43 (29 years old)	30 (from 39 to 27)
Dustin Brown	60 (24 years old)	27 (54 to 27, but did have one season of 61 at age 33)
Ryan Callahan	54 (29 years old)	30 (from 54 to 28)
Erik Cole	61 (28 years old)	30 (from 51 to 27, but did have one season of 61 at age 33)
Brandon Dubinsky	54 (24 years old)	30 (from 41 to 16)
Mike Fisher	53 (29 years old)	30 (from 53 to 21, but did have three more seasons of 42-51)
Marcus Foligno	73 (27 years old)	30 (from 51 to 33)
Martin Hanzal	41 (28 years old)	29 (41 to 26)
Chris Kunitz	60 (27 years old)	29 (50 to 43, but did have one season of 61 at 32 and one of 68 at 34)
Milan Lucic	59 (25 years old)	29 (50 to 34)
Brendan Morrow	74 (28 years old)	32 (from 56 to 26)
Tuomo Ruutu	57 (27 year old)	28 (57 to 34)

A recent example is JT Miller, who took longer to see his scoring fall; but now that it has happened, the effects were indeed pronounced. Who could be next? I'd argue that Tom Wilson is living on borrowed time in terms of his scoring, and the same can be said of Filip Forsberg, Vincent Trocheck, Sam Bennett, and Ivan Barbashev. And Drake Batherson, fresh off a major extension, is now 28 and might be at risk of joining the club in the not too distant future.

5) If you have a limited number of free agent pick-ups, waiting to use them or playing it too safe

These pieces of advice might sound backwards to some, I realize. But that's why it's so important to not fall into these traps.

If you worry about the fact you only have a limited number of pick-ups, and it causes you to sit on them or not pull the trigger, chances are you'll regret it. Why? Although there can be players like Cole Hutson or Egor Chinakhov who don't emerge until late in the season, most who end up having a breakout will at least start to do so, or show signs of doing so, in the first quarter. Examples from last season included Scott Wedgewood, Darren Raddysh, Brandon Bussi, Jakub Dobes, and Mattias Samuelsson.

Of course I'm not saying to exhaust all your limited pick-ups right away. But if a player is looking like he could be impactful, don't let fear of "burning" a move cause you to not pull the trigger.

As far as playing it too safe, that means grabbing too "safe" of a player too often. Here as well I'm not saying "go big or go home" with all your picks; however, you shouldn't be afraid to swing for the fences with some. Why? Because they can become home runs, but also because if not they're usually easier to drop, versus a safer, low risk pick-up, where you might worry if you drop them you'll regret it. Or to put it another way, I'll always use a chunk of my pick ups on "feast or famine" players, since I want a chance to feast, plus if it turns out to be famine I can move on all the more easily.

6) Failing to identify "Passengers" and not realizing what being a passenger does and does not mean

Again, avid readers of my column will be familiar with the term "passenger," which I use when referring to skaters who are doing better – often much better – than they otherwise due to being a linemate or defensive partner with an elite player or players. If you think I'm going to say people improperly rate passengers too highly, that can be true; but quite often so too can rating them not highly enough.

Let's look first at Brayden Point. For years he was inseparable from Nikita Kucherov. But even as this was happening, Point's production was starting to fall. Then last season his percentage of ice time spent with Kucherov was cut in half, and, with that, his production plummeted. It turns out he was a passenger. On the other hand, Brandon Hagel has produced both playing with and without Kucherov and on or not on PP1; so despite appearances, he does not fit the bill of being a passenger.

Will Smith seems to be stapled to Macklin Celebrini though, making him a passenger in a positive sense. Martin Necas has assumed the passenger role formerly occupied by Mikko Rantanen, reaping benefits of playing with Nathan MacKinnon. Morgan Geekie and Gabe Villardi have been passengers, but thus far this season they're not, so it remains to be seen if they can still produce as expected. Indeed passengers may falter despite staying in their role. Even after Jack Hughes returned last season, Jesper Bratt was below a point per game. Zach Hyman has had a spot with Connor McDavid at ES for several seasons, but with inconsistent production to show for it. And Carter Verhaeghe's production has faltered in the past two seasons even though his passenger status hasn't changed, but his PP role had.

What to make of Jimmy Snuggerud and Dylan Holloway, who, together with Robert Thomas, formed arguably one of the best lines in hockey in Q4 of last season? Holloway had past success, plus saw his TOI rise, neither of which applied to Snuggerud. While both were arguably passengers, Holloway is the less concerning of the two.

It's also difficult to decide what will befall some who were passengers but no longer are. As noted the jury is out on Geekie and Vilardi, but also there's Mats Zuccarello, who had superb chemistry with Kirill Kaprizov for several seasons. Now with LA though, who knows how the diminutive veteran will fare.

For defensemen, true passengers are rarer, plus their sustained success is less certain. Look no further than Devon Toews, who thrived for several seasons while playing at ES with Cale Makar. His scoring had plummeted despite no change in his role. On the other hand, Brock Faber rebounded from a very poor sophomore season to put up 51 points last season, likely owed in large part to being paired with an elite talent like Quinn Hughes at ES.

Do try to identify passengers. From there, determine how likely they are to stay in their plum roles plus, assuming they do, whether they're safe bets to continue to produce well.

7) Using a Roto mindset too much in H2H

I'm a good one to give advice on this after dipping my toes into H2H for the first time after decades of doing roto only fantasy leagues. I'm not saying it made me an expert, but even I, an H2H neophyte, was amazed at what was overlooked, or failed to be factored into pick-ups, trades, and roster moves. Yes, in the end stats matter in many of the same ways as roto; however, H2H is its own unique animal, such that – and this is the key – some players less likely to produce as well as others can be nevertheless better to own.

How so? For starters, games played on "light days", meaning days other than Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday, when the vast majority of NHL teams play, are huge in H2H leagues with daily starts. This season the range between the team with the most light days and the fewest light days is 18, which is a sizeable difference. Just as important is teams who play the most during H2H playoffs. Several teams play 15 games between March 15th through April 10th (a common period for H2H playoffs) but others only 12. For those with only a two week H2H playoffs starting March 15th, there are teams with 12 games during those two weeks but also others with just nine.

How can you find out these teams, and information like this? Via the DobberHockey Fantasy Guide. You might not have purchased the Guide and think the justification to do so is gone now that you've drafted. But this is just one example of how it is still a valuable resource after draft day. Plus, as I noted, this is often as much about pick-ups as drafting. In short, you want to position yourself to win, and that means playing chess when others are playing checkers.

8) Only considering the impact of trades on your team

Of course how a trade will affect your team is paramount both in deciding whether to make the trade and, if so, which player(s) to trade away and target in return. But you have to always pause to consider the ripple effects of a trade on other teams and the overall standings.

Many a GM falls into the trap of accepting a trade before looking at the totality of circumstances. By that I mean whether, although a trade should help your team, it actually makes another team (or teams) "more better." How might this happen? Usually with respect to positions or categories

For positions, it’s where you trade a player with eligibility at two or even all three forward positions and receive in return a player who's eligible at only one. Maybe you get better stats from him, but in some cases roster flexibility can be of more overall benefit. As for categories, let's say you're looking for goals, and get a guy who should help you. The issue is the team you traded with now will get fewer goals which can benefit others by allowing them to pass the team in the standings. Or put another way, other teams can make gains based on a trade even if not directly involved.

For Roto leagues, you might think it's a no brainer to trade a big hits and blocks guy if you're far ahead, or hopelessly behind, in that category. But even though your lead is safe or you can't make up ground, you might be allowing others to improve. Yes, in theory you'll be getting something in return to help you; however, the net result has to favor you after all things have been considered.

Also for Roto, you must consider that the later in the season the more difficult it is to move up in the standings. Be careful to really consider, if you're way behind in a category, whether you can realistically improve. It's akin to NHL teams trying to make the playoffs, as if there are three teams ahead of another not only does that other team have to win but those three teams need to lose. So be careful not to try to make up ground in a category where you are perhaps more frozen in your spot than you realize.

In short, the impact of trades goes beyond just you, which unfortunately is the narrow lens through which many view deals. It even goes past just you and the other team. There are so many moving parts; and only by truly assessing all of them can you see if a trade will be a net positive. Again, this is most important in roto, but also in H2H leagues in some cases as well.

And lastly, I will repeat advice I often give, which is if there are at least three players coming and going from each team involved in a trade, it is likelier for it to not be a net positive. For one, it can mask who is coming out ahead, as there are more moving parts to assess. Plus, there's a much greater chance for something to unpredictably go wrong when many players are involved. I won't go so far as to say no one should make trades with three or more players coming and going from each side; however, in general I caution against it.

9) Approaching a rebuild incorrectly

I realize the 2026-27 season just started; yet many teams went into this campaign having already decided to embark upon rebuild. Others may be in the midst of one, but aren't sure what the timetable should be. Although of course there is no blueprint for every rebuild; there are some commonalities for the vast majority of them.

Perhaps the biggest mistake I see being made with respect to rebuilds is going too young. For sure you will want to get younger, trading away older players who project to be past their prime when you're likely to be emerging from the rebuild; however, if you go too young problems can arise. For one, other teams will sense this and try to take advantage. But also, you want some current talent since those are players you can ransom off to competing teams during the season to truly improve. In short, you want to be in the driver's seat as much as possible in your rebuild. And that will certainly not be the result if you decide to go all young all at once.

Also, some will try to do huge overhauls in the offseason. And making offseason deals is indeed part of every rebuild. But I want to stress that in season deals can pay larger dividends, since it is then when teams are trying to win, and may be more likely to agree to deals skewed in your favor. Plus, that's when you can often more easily pit teams against each other. Go ahead with offseason deals, especially for draft picks; however, try to make your biggest strides during the season.

Thus, when it comes to drafting while rebuilding, do still select a percentage of older players who you see as likely to be very coveted during the season. In H2H leagues, these could be players, as noted above, with favorable off night schedules or who play a lot within the H2H playoffs. Know your league and your other GMs, and try to capitalize in order to make your rebuild quicker and more successful.

10) Forgetting to have fun

I realize this is not actual advice; but more and more I feel like people doing fantasy are focusing too much at winning at all costs and forgetting to just enjoy the experience. I realize most everyone reading this will have already done their drafts; but looking ahead to next year, if you can have your draft be a live event, all the better, or, failing that, maybe via Zoom. Drafting online via an app or tool is now the norm; but trust me when I say it robs you and your leaguemates of one of the most fun parts of doing fantasy hockey.

And even if you've drafted already, set up a group text or Discord or other means where all GMs can communicate easily with each other. Then you can have good-natured ribbing and trash talk that makes fantasy hockey fun. You can also share with each other real life news, good and bad, and be more of a community. 

It's no surprise that my main league, which has been running for over 30 years, has a live draft via Zoom and a function where we can all chat easily. We all are trying to win, but it's not as "transactional" due to the draft being live and all of us maintaining regular contact. Basically, all of us have fun no matter how we fare.

* source = yahoo.com; ** source = nhl.com; all other data/stats/metrics via Frozen Tools

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My hope is by reading this you gained helpful insight. Some of what I discussed likely was known to you, or perhaps not applicable. Either way, reading things like this not only gives you specific advice, but also gets you in the best frame of mind to win – and, as noted in the #10 mistake, have fun in – your fantasy hockey leagues. Next week Roos Lets Loose returns to its normal format.

Questions for Mailbag 

My next monthly mailbag has room for plenty more questions. To get your questions to me, you can either send (1) a private message to “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums, or (2) an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.