Offseason Bargain Hunting Part 2

Chris Pudsey

2015-05-21

USATSI 8485701 154511096 lowres

Adam Lowry is among the cheap salary cap forwards fantasy managers should be looking at.

In Capped last week, we took a look at some bargain defensemen to help fill your salary cap roster; defencemen that some lazy General Managers might overlook and assume they don't hold much value. Hopefully you were able to find a few of those gems available on your waiver wire, or even in a trade for next to nothing.

In this edition of Capped, I am going to take a look at some forwards who might "fly under the radar" so to say and could very well be available for you, should you be in need of a cheaper fill-in to help stay under the cap, and still provide value.

In no particular order, here are some forwards to hopefully help you heading into next season:

Adam Lowry – WPG – $828,333, one year remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
LOWRY, ADAM	80	11	12	23	0.29	1	46	104	256	0	3	1	32	00:35	10.4	10.0	13:45	22.5

The 22 year-old son of former NHLer Dave Lowry has really impressed the coaching staff with his hard work ethic and grit. In his rookie season this past year, the versatile forward has seen time at both wing and center and even saw some time on the top line after an injury to Bryan Little. His 6'5", 205 pound is a perfect fit for finding its way in front of opposing goalies and causing havoc at both ends of the rink.

He could end up being a top six winger but will more than likely excel as a third line center. Either way, this is a kid you don't want to wait on. His value will only go up as his experience grows.

Luke Glendening – DET – $628,333, two years remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
GLENDENING, LUKE	82	12	6	18	0.22	5	34	104	147	1	1	0	73	00:09	2.5	58.9	14:43	24.1

To me, this guy is the "Rudy" of the NHL. The 26 year-old wasn't blessed with great skill, or size for that matter, but makes up for those deficiencies with his heart and hard work.

The undrafted center was signed as an unrestricted free agent out of the University of Michigan and has worked his way through the organization to where he is today. He's more known as a defensive specialist on the team and fills the fourth line role to a tee. If your league has FOW, then his value goes up even more. He won't get you a ton of points but his 12 goals this past season was a pleasant surprise to fantasy owners. He was also one of the best forwards in the leagues when it came to blocking shots.

Cody McLeod – COL – $1,333,333M, three more years

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
MCLEOD, CODY	82	7	5	12	0.15	-2	191	94	268	0	0	1	43	00:27	8.7	26.8	11:11	18.3

The recently re-signed McLeod is exactly what we think he is; he's a brute on the ice. He won't get many points but will rack up the PIMs and hits. If your league counts those types of peripherals, then McLeod is a solid fantasy asset to own.

Tobias Rieder – ARI – $853,333, one year remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
RIEDER, TOBIAS	72	13	7	20	0.28	-20	14	189	123	0	1	3	37	01:24	31.0	22.3	16:54	27.8

The fourth round pick of the Edmonton Oilers back in 2011 had a breakout year this past season.His 13 goals were the most for a Coyote rookie since Mikkel Boedker sniped 11 back in 2011.

159

01:26

27.5

18.6

15:20

25.4

The first round pick of the Boston Bruins was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs and really never seemed to gain any traction with the Leafs organization. He is a big-bodied guy who just never seemed to know how to use it.

Along comes the Calgary Flames and they sent a fourth round pick back in 2014 for Colborne and he hasn't looked back since.

Don't get me wrong, he's still a bit of a work in progress, but his game has come a long ways since his Leafs days. While the offense never really seemed to appear as many had hoped, his two-way game has come full circle. That's not to say there still isn't another level to his game offensively, but he will still offer solid peripherals all around and considering many are disappointed in his offense, he could probably be acquired by a frustrated, impatient GM pretty cheap.

Justin Fontaine – MIN – $1M, one year remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
FONTAINE, JUSTIN	71	9	22	31	0.44	13	12	104	9	0	2	0	27	00:21	6.8	12.0	11:57	19.7

Another undrafted, skilled player who was signed as an unrestricted free agent out of the University of Minnesota-Duluth. The 27 year-old isn't big, but isn't small either, clocking in at 5'10" and 177 pounds.

Fontaine is one of those guys who can fit in anywhere on the Minnesota's roster. He's skilled enough to play at the top six level but also hockey smart enough to be relied on in the bottom six. Unfortunately, the Wild are a deep team and this is what holds Fontaine back a bit offensively. Considering he only averaged a little under 12 minutes per game, he still put up respectable numbers.

Not an aggressive player by any means, but certainly a responsible one. If injuries occur, he could easily be one of the guys called upon to create offense.

Jordin Tootoo – NJ – $825,000, one year remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
TOOTOO, JORDIN	68	10	5	15	0.22	1	72	75	127	1	1	0	8	00:50	19.5	0.3	10:27	17.2

Ray Shero's first move as new GM was to re-sign Jordan Tootoo to a very reasonable one-year deal. Tootoo is a good skater and loves to throw his weight around. He played a fourth line role for most of the year last year, but certainly has the ability to move up and down the line-up if needed.

At 31 years old, Tootoo is what he is. He will offer offensive numbers close to what he put up last year and will still contribute solid peripherals to other categories for the money he's being paid.

His age, if he is currently owned, should make him easy to acquire if you need cheap help on your roster. If not, he's a cheap waiver wire grab and worth a look if you need his type of services.

Brandon Pirri – FLA – $925,000, one year remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
PIRRI, BRANDON	49	22	2	24	0.49	6	14	143	39	7	7	0	13	01:44	34.5	1.3	14:46	24.2

The Cy Young Award winner last year with a 22-2 record… No seriously; Pirri scored a lot of goals in a short amount of games. He was quoted as saying it was the first time he can ever remember scoring more goals than assists in a season, at every level he's played.

To say Pirri had a roller-coaster season would be an understatement. He was a healthy scratch at various times last year, but still ended up as Florida's second leading goal scorer, trailing only Nick Bjugstad by two goals in 23 less games.

The skill level is there to put up similar goals and one has to assume the assists will come too. I have a hard time seeing him putting up another anomaly of a season like he just had.

Michael Raffl – PHI – $1.1M, one year remaining

player	GP	G	A	P	PntPG	+/-	PIM	Shots	HITS	PPG	PPP	SHG	BLKS	PPTOI	%PP	%SH	TOI/G	%TOI
RAFFL, MICHAEL	67	21	7	28	0.42	6	34	134	172	2	2	1	46	00:26	7.9	17.0	14:11	23.2

The runner-up in the Cy Young voting goes to Michael Raffl.

Again, in all seriousness, like Pirri, he put up some serious goal scoring in a limited number of games. He also offered up a good helping of SOG, hits and blocks.

At 26 years of age, one has to wonder if this is as good as it gets for Raffl. Personally, I think he still has more to show. For a guy who led the team in even strength goals (18), so why the Flyers didn't give this kid more power-play time is a real head-scratcher. The Flyers continued to offer guys like RJ Umberger and Vincent Lecavalier plenty of power-play time over a guy who's a proven scorer. I am wondering if this is part of the reason why former Head Coach, Craig Berube, was let go at the end of the year.

Hopefully the new Head Coach, Dave Hakstol, sees the ability and skill in Raffl and gives him the appropriate ice-time. The smart fantasy managers out there might want to jump on Raffl before this happens and his price becomes unrealistic. He has shown that he can play with the big boys on the top line. I do believe there's another level to his game and his numbers.

****

So there's a healthy dose of inexpensive forwards for you to go shopping for in your cap league, either via trade or if you are lucky, on the waiver wire. I am sure there are a few names I might have missed. Feel free to leave a comment with some others you think are worthy of mentioning.

Thanks for reading and feel free to follow me on twitter @chrispudsey

Offseason Bargain Hunting Part 1

Money Well Spent

Last Year’s Free Agent Disappointments