Dobber’s Offseason Fantasy Grades: Tampa Bay
Michael Clifford
2015-09-17
Dobber's offseason fantasy hockey grades – Tampa Bay Lightning
For the last 12 years over at The Hockey News, I have reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them. Now that I am no longer with THN, my 13th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey.
Enjoy!
Gone – Mark Barberio, Brendan Morrow
Incoming – Tye McGinn, Erik Condra, Ray Emery (on a tryout)
Impact of changes – So the awesome young team that went to the Stanley Cup Final made one change – out goes the aging, broken down Morrow…and in comes the hustling Condra. An upgrade of a depth winger. Something that absolutely will not rock the boat.
The Lightning boast the most potent offense in the NHL and if anything, this small depth move would add another 10 or 12 goals.
Ready for full-time – Nikita Nesterov showed excellent poise upon being called up to the big club late last season. And although his playoff presence waned as the team got deeper, the 22-year-old probably has his spot as a regular sewn up. His possession numbers were fantastic, much better than the more experienced Andrej Sustr's. And by the end of 2015-16 he could be in the top four. Pencil him in for 20 points, with potential for 25 or 30.
Jonathan Drouin's name appears in this section because he is not a lock to make this team. And that's not an insult to the 20-year-old. But he was kept with the big club because sending him to junior would have taught him absolutely nothing other than how to dance around pylons and score at will. He wasn't eligible to go to the AHL last year, but this season that is no longer the case. The team could elect to send him down and learn to play the game and dominate at that level. You saw this happen with Kyle Turris and Nino Niederreiter (for example). So do not make the mistake of assuming he is on the team. He probably will be, but it's just not assured. And if he makes it, it will be on merit.
Jonathan Marchessault would be the reason Drouin does not make it. When the team had an injured forward in the postseason, instead of turning to Drouin they turned to Marchessault. Now 24, the undrafted Marchessault broke out for Syracuse, posting 67 points in 68 games. He also impressed team brass with his responsible play during four regular season and playoff games. At 5-8, he doesn't boast ideal size. But as with just a handful of smaller skilled players who separate themselves from the pack, he's forcing the team to take a closer look.
Fantasy Outlook – Once again the Lightning will be an elite scoring machine. Music to the ears of fantasy owners. And they have several lines of potent scorers to go along with a handful of truly talented prospects with a lot of upside. The goaltending is among the upper tier with both starter Ben Bishop and backup Andrei Vasilevskiy. Scoring from the blue line is also among the best, with even more talent on the way in Anthony DeAngelo and Slater Koekkoek. From a fantasy standpoint – flawless.
Fantasy Grade: A+ (last year was A)
Pick up the 10th annual DobberHockey Fantasy Hockey Guide here
OR
Get the Fantasy Guide, the Prospects Report, the Midseason Guide, the Playoff Draft List all for just $10 here!
Fantasy Grades: Arizona Coyotes
Fantasy Grades: Buffalo Sabres
Fantasy Grades: Calgary Flames
Fantasy Grades: Carolina Hurricanes
Fantasy Grades: Chicago Blackhawks
Fantasy Grades: Colorado Avalanche
Fantasy Grades: Columbus Blue Jackets
Fantasy Grades: Detroit Red Wings
Fantasy Grades: Edmonton Oilers
Fantasy Grades: Florida Panthers
Fantasy Grades: Los Angeles Kings
Fantasy Grades: Minnesota Wild
Fantasy Grades: Montreal Canadiens
Fantasy Grades: Nashville Predators
Fantasy Grades: New York Islanders
Fantasy Grades: New Jersey Devils
Fantasy Grades: New York Rangers
Fantasy Grades: Ottawa Senators
Fantasy Grades: Philadelphia Flyers
Fantasy Grades: Pittsburgh Penguins
Fantasy Grades: San Jose Sharks
Fantasy Grades: St. Louis Blues
Related Posts
UPCOMING GAMES
PIT
WPG
ANA
BUFStarting Goalies
Top Skater Views
DAL
S.J
CBJ
COLTop Goalie Profile Views
CGY
CAR
DET
UTA
LINE COMBOS
| Frequency |
 BOS Players
| |
|---|---|---|
| 18.0 | BRAD MARCHAND ELIAS LINDHOLM JUSTIN BRAZEAU | |
| 17.5 | PAVEL ZACHA DAVID PASTRNAK MORGAN GEEKIE | |
| 15.0 | GEORGII MERKULOV TRENT FREDERIC CHARLIE COYLE | |
DobberHockey Podcasts
Keeping Karlsson Short Shifts – Regicide
Jeremy and Shams are here to break down all the new injuries and update timelines as well. After all the injury news they close out the show covering all the cold Kings players giving actionable fantasy advice on each one. Lastly, they close out the show the latest hot Russian forward for Columbus that is only 1% rostered on Yahoo right now.
Keeping Karlsson: Marchment Madness
Elan and Brian look at who comes out on top the Avalanche return to health, opine on the likelihood of complementary top six players in Toronto, Los Angeles and Edmonton remaining relevant, and consider giving up on underachievers in Chicago, Dallas and Philadelphia.
Fantasy Hockey Life: Corey Sznajder
Corey Sznajder of allthreezones.com joins the show to talk about how he tracks microstats and identifies a couple of players they might help them assess. Have a listen! Our show is part of the Dobber Podcast Network and sponsored by Fantrax.com. Email [email protected] and ask to join our free discord. Join our Patreon at Patreon.com/fantasyhockeylife […]
Keeping Karlsson: Matchup Maximizer Week 7
Jeremy subs in to look at the schedule for the upcoming week of NHL action and recommends some players with good schedules that you should consider streaming in to win your head to head matchups.
Keeping Karlsson Short Shifts – Permission To Cut
Jeremy and Shams cover the usual headlines and injuries but get your permission slips out as the second half of the show they cover a litany of suggested players from the Patreon community to give their input on whether it’s ok to cut that big name player off your fantasy team.