But after about ten games, a decent picture of available talent begins to take shape.
A little-known feature in pickuphockey is the ability to search player statistics and see only undrafted players. (To do this, go to the left column --> NHL Player Stats --> then select undrafted players.)
So who's hot and available (besides the Deputy Commissioner, amiright ladies?) I won't go into a detailed analysis, because that's your job. But there are some point-per-game forwards out there that I'm surprised nobody has bit on. Some rhyme with fadd, others with schmallahan.
The D crop doesn't look that good, but there a few goalies that I wouldn't hesitate to swap for, especially if my only goalie were, say, backing up a goalie who was 6-0 with three shutouts and a .5 GAA.
To date, Dickie and Micah have used both their pickups, while Fy and Powder have used one each.
I won't speak for anyone else, but when you are in a league with such little movement - only two FA pickups - you have to be pretty conservative in the event of injury. Sure, Hudler and Zherdev are off to slow starts for me, but if I drop them and pick up Ladd and Callahan, am I really better off? Ladd might make my team marginally better, earning me, say, an additional 20 points. Is Ladd suddenly going to put up 30 or 40 more points than Hudler or Zherdev? Possible, but unlikely, and its still too early to tell in any event.
ReplyDeleteMicah, what happens if Getzlaf gets concussed and is out for the season? Dickie, what happens if you lose Kane or Toews for three months?
That’s certainly a risk Greg, and I don’t claim to have figured out the free agent formula. I think my regret in pulling the trigger too soon is on the record. The thing that occurs to me though, is that if Getzlaf or Stamkos or any top scorer gets a season-ending injury, what is a GM going to do? If you drop him for a free agent, you make him available to anyone else in next year’s draft. It just doesn’t make sense unless it’s a guy you likely wouldn’t keep on your Protected Roster. So to me it seems the best use of a free agent pickup is to replace a bottom ten mediocre veteran with a hotter bottom ten mediocre veteran, or a younger player that flew under the radar. Twenty points just might be enough to win this pool.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing about a 20 player roster with 14 counting is it takes away some of the randomness of injuries... odds are most GMs will suffer one catastrophic injury or a bunch of smaller ones, but you can count on a solid line-up to absorb the losses, barring Heatley and Thornton getting in a plane crash.
FYI everyone, there have been three pickups so far today. Ladd, Callahan and Niittymaki are gone. Details to follow.
ReplyDeleteNot surprised Ladd got picked up, surprised someone didn't jump on it earlier this week honestly. 20 points or not, he's still better than half the disappointing crap on my team.
ReplyDeleteAnd as if having New Jersey players hasn't been an absolutely soul crushing disappointment so far... Parise is getting knee surgery... awesome.
I had thought about Ladd earlier in the week but for the reasons above - and others - I decided to stay the course for a bit longer. But yeah, I'm with you, Schizz - surprised as well.
ReplyDeleteStill, I resent that I lose fucking SLEEP over things like "Maybe I SHOULD have dropped Zherdev for Ladd"