The Dobotomy

Why these young centermen will clear 60 points this campaign

In with the old and out with the new. You see it every season. A young forward joins the ranks of 60-point players, replacing an older forward who habitually got there throughout his career, but now falls short. Don’t underestimate these players at the draft table, as they are part of the next wave.

The rumor mill is spinning out of control these days, thanks to hockey news that is so infrequent that a Petteri Nokelainen signing in Finland becomes noteworthy. However, there are some rumors with substance to them and when some of these moves come to fruition you could find yourself on the plus or minus side of the fantasy ledger. Let’s take a closer look and see if you can’t be proactive and ensure that you have more of the former than the latter.

I’m in three keeper leagues and one of things I love most about the concept of a keeper league is that they keep you thinking fantasy hockey in August. For lack of a better topic, let’s do a quick overview of my three leagues and what I have done – and what I would like to do. Attention competitors: please don’t read.

If you’re in a keeper league, you probably own a player who is still an unrestricted free agent – and you definitely have a fellow GM who owns one. So what do you do? Buy? Sell? Kick some tires? How much is too much to ask for or pay? I have my dartboard hung up on the wall with mug shots of different UFA’s on it, along with different courses of action to take in your fantasy league.  Here are the results.

Tampa Bay actually had a pretty decent campaign. Certainly better than anyone had expected. But that wasn’t good enough to save the jobs of GM Brian Lawton and Coach Rick Tocchet. A new owner is in town and Jeff Vinik saw the problem right away. Uncertainty, instability – an overall culture of dysfunction. So while Tocchet did an acceptable job as a new coach in not only getting a team closer to the postseason, but also turning Steve Downie into quite a player – he was part of the slate that needed to be cleaned. No real complaints about Lawton either, but to change a culture the change must be sweeping and it must start at the top. So what does all this mean in fantasy circles?

The more I research hockey this offseason, the more I like the Blues. Not because they’re a potential fantasy powerhouse, but because they are much better than they have shown. Translation: there are deals to be had.

It’s interesting to see which line combinations have meshed well and performed under the pressure of the postseason. Some lines are newly slapped together, while others have been together throughout the season, or at least part of it. Some trios will be together again in the fall, while some will be broken up as a result of picky coaches or unrestricted free agency. Let’s take a look.