Faceoff Factor

Write Back At Ya! (1/8/08)

Michael Farkas | Fantasy Corner

Jan 7, 11:48 PM | Hype this story!

This week’s questions pretaining to fantasy managers. Trading in your best player for depth, a goaltender switch-a-roo and rating some fantasy forwards going forward.

Question: In my league, I have been offered Jaromir Jagr, Jason Blake and Nikolai Khabibulin for Evgeni Malkin.

I looked over the stats and Malkin is killing them in stats but, I have horrible goaltending right now, which is really holding my team back. Not saying Khabibulin is a great goalie but my current goalies are. Ward (Keeper) Lehtonen, Theodore and Ellis, with the latter two not starting many games and are really killing me. I started with Ward Roloson and Lehtonen, I can still get Roloson off waivers but I think he may be sharing a lot of time with Garon. And Lehtonen keeps getting hurt.What are your thoughts on this trade? It’s always hard to trade your best player.

Nick from Parker, Colorado

Michael Farkas:
I’m not a fan of Jason Blake at all, like I said all offseason, he’s going to be a big disappointment. Jagr’s value right now is pretty low, relatively speaking, he only gets better from here on out, like the rest of the Rangers, he’s off to a slow start…the only thing that would be bad (obviously) is a serious injury, but Jagr is known to play through them…however, he’s a UFA after this season in all likelihood, and who knows if he’s even in the NHL next season.

Khabibulin, from what I understand, is on the market right now, he could be traded…I’m not sure what that means, because I don’t know where he goes really…I’m going to go ahead and assume he stays in Chicago, and that team is offensively gifted, so Khabby will get the wins, but statistically it’s going to be a lean year…but it sounds like you need starts above all else.

So, my advice, for now, is to evaluate your team, if you need winger depth and it’s a one-year league, consider it…if you are making this trade just to get a goalie, re-consider, because Kari is on the rebound and Khabibulin isn’t really that valuable. If it’s a keeper league, reject it immediately, without thinking twice.

Adam Jennings:
Nick you are in an interesting situation. At this point I would take the deal, but might try to get an upgrade over Khabibulin. If he/she doesn’t bite on a counter offer, I would take the deal as is. Giving up your best player is always difficult to do, but looking at what you are getting in return, you’re getting a top tier player in Jagr (even though he’s having an off year, I still have a feeling he’ll pick it up in the second half, plus he is a great keeper option as well.) With your goalie situation Khabibulin is an upgrade. Not a major one, but should improve your numbers overall. Blake is still a productive player and should help you out for a couple stretches. So, all in all, this deal should improve your team.

Q: I have Pascal LeClaire, Dominik Hasek and Chris Osgood as my backstops and am thinking of moving LeClaire for Giguere if I can get a little bit better up front. I think that I can move LeClaire and some spare parts for Jean Sebastien Giguere and Olli Jokinen.

Also – what do you think of Andy McDonald and Patrick Marleau moving forward – I picked up both of these guys for nothing here recently (in a twelve team league no less) and think I should be in good shape for the second half here.

Joe from Billings, Montana

MF:
If you can move LeClaire (who I like, but is playing above his ceiling in all likelihood) to get Giguere (who I hate, but it’s a numbers game in fantasy hockey) and Olli Jokinen (who is a fantastic player and very underrated) I’d do it. Giguere, by the way, was 26th in GAA and 28th in save pct. before Neidermayer came back. Fast forward ten games, Giguere is 14th and 16th in those categories, respectively.

You got to like what McDonald can do with speedy guys like Kariya and Boyes around him, I would try to grab McDonald right away while his value is low and if he gets hot right away, make a choice, trade it while it’s high if you think he’ll level off…or hope that Paul Kariya becomes his Teemu Selanne…which is pretty likely in my estimation.

Patrick Marleau is a great player, he’ll pick it up, even if it’s not in San Jose…he’ll be fine.

AJ:
If you can pull this deal off, do it. Leclaire might continue his amazing run, but the odds are certainly against him. This is a perfect time to sell high on him. If you can throw a couple of spare parts in a deal and get back Giguere, who is putting up a solid season of his own, and Jokinen (averaging almost a point a game) then I certainly think you have to do it.

As for McDonald and Marleau, they have both seen better days. I really think one of them (if not both) should be able to get back on track, so if you have open roster spots I’d recommend keeping them until they do or better options surface.

Q: In a keeper league, who is my best bet going forward…Jeff Carter, Jordan Staal, Phil Kessel, Nathan Horton or Alexander Semin?

Randy from Grafton, North Dakota

MF:
Well, I thought Jeff Carter would be doing roughly what Richards is doing this year. Carter has second line potential for sure, he could be good for some points down the road. I’m not sure about Staal offensively next season, I’d wait on him and Kessel I predicted to be a bust and he’s already falling out of favor with Boston, I would stay away from him. Nathan Horton is a fantastic player, he should be a perennial 30-goal, 75-point guy the rest of the way on an always up-and-coming Panthers team. Semin has been a disappointment this year, but he’s been battling injuries. The talent is there, I would take a chance on Semin, he almost scored 40 goals last season on Washington of all teams.

I’d go Horton, Carter, Semin, Staal, Kessel going forward.

AJ:
I would rank them in about the same order:
Nathan Horton- I pick Horton first because he has been the most consistent. He’s on pace to have his second straight season of 60 pts and should only improve next year.
Jeff Carter- Carter is the next best option. I don’t think he’s found his true place in the Philly line-up yet, but if he does or he gets traded, the potential to be a top two line forward.
Alexander Semin- I know he only has 12 points for the season, but it takes talent to average a point a game and that is exactly what Semin almost did last year.

Kessel and Staal- Both of these guys have hit sophomore walls. I don’t doubt that both of them can become all-world talents and at age 20 and 19 respectively, they still have time. Just at this point in time, they are not solid fantasy options for this year or next.

Thanks for writing in your questions everyone, keep them coming. They don’t just have to pertain to fantasy hockey either. Questions about the CBA, the draft, the trade deadline, player salaries, “where are they now’s?” anything at all. Contact any one on our staff, or write directly to me: mikey287 AT comcast DOT net