Frozen Fantasy: First Time for Everything

I've been playing fantasy hockey for longer than I can remember. I've been heavily into keeper leagues for at least 15 years. And I've never had a trade challenged.

Until this week.

I guess I've been lucky. I was taken aback when it happened. After a really brief WTF moment, I started to reflect. Had I blown it? Did I get taken in the deal?

Introspection is everything.

The trade was suspended for 24 hours while league members debated it. Our rules required six of the remaining 10 players to object to overturn it. So I held my breath and waited. Those opposed said I got hosed. They hinted at collusion.

The deal eventually went through, but it was a weird 24 hours.

The format is new to me. It has unlimited keepers with weekly matchups and daily transactions. It has five offensive categories and four goalie categories. So, I drafted goalie heavy because I thought they would rule the league.

I was wrong.

Scoring is up. This year's average goals-per-game is the highest since about 2005-06. We're all holding goalies we thought would be studs. And they're not. The game has changed dramatically.

So I sent Devan Dubnyk, Tanner Pearson and Kyle Capobianco (minors) off for Curtis McElhinney, Kasperi Kapanen and Owen Tippett (minors).

I'm playing for 2020-21 – that's how long I think it'll take to dig out from where I am. My trade partner was in fifth and trying to make a title run. For me, Dubnyk is an aging goalie with declining skills. Pearson was a waiver pick I lazily hadn't dropped. And Capobianco is nice, but his value might never be higher.

How was I to know he'd blow his knee out two days later?

McElhinney isn't special, but his numbers in a platoon are already better than Dubnyk's. That goes a long way when two of the four scoring categories are save percentage and GAA. Kapanen has a real shot at a 25-25 season and is young. And with his current confidence, his game will play no matter what uniform he wears.

For me, Tippett was the gem. He already owned a Phil Kessel-like shot. And he has worked exclusively on his two-way game this season. That was his one knock. If one midseason prospect assessment comes true, Tippett will be just one of three current prospects who become truly elite NHL performers. The other two? Quinn Hughes and Martin Necas.

Opponents didn't agree with my assessment of Tippett. They said my trade partner got an elite goalie for what amounted to a bag of pucks.

In my eyes, I now own both Tippett and Necas, along with Mitch Marner, Rickard Rakell, Max Domi, Drew Doughty, Torey Krug and Matt Dumba. Plus a few others who could become gold, including Sergei Bobrovsky. That is, unless someone wows me with a deal for Bob before deadline.

I like my future a whole lot better with those core building blocks than with Double-D.

Now let's look at who caught my eye this week.

Jonathan Bernier, G, Detroit (3 percent Yahoo owned), Jack Campbell, G, Los Angeles (8 percent), Louis Domingue, G, Tampa Bay (15 percent), Anthony Stolarz, G, Philadelphia (4 percent) and Cam Ward, G, Chicago (11 percent) - Over the last week, the lowest save percentage of any of these five was .929. Three of the five sported GAAs of 1.00 or better in the same span. And all five delivered as starters – no easy stats in short relief roles for any of them. Sometimes a hot hand with a bad name is way better than a big name in a funk. It's called streaming in fantasy baseball, so why not try it in hockey? Especially if you have some roster moves available in a daily format.

Phillip Danault, C, Montreal (20 percent) - Danault had a game for the ages Thursday night against the Jets. His four points (one goal, three assists) helped carry the team to the win and extended his point streak to four games and seven points (three goals, four helpers). He's also plus-7 in that span. He's a poor owner's alternative to the white-hot Jonathan Drouin, whose ownership is on a rocket. Line mates tend to shine together, so take advantage. Especially if you can't snag Drouin.

Ilya Kovalchuk, LW/RW, Los Angeles (38 percent) - I stashed Kovy in a keeper league a month ago, giving up a third- or fourth-round minor pick in trade, and immediately said a prayer. That prayer may have just been answered. Kovalchuk has seven points, including four goals, in his last nine games heading into the weekend. He's owned in a lot of formats because a lot of owners just couldn't let go after their draft, even during that deep drought. But Kovy is out there in three of every five leagues. He will help if he can continue this pace.

Brent Seabrook, D, Chicago (38 percent) - Seabrook is just 33, but his game looks like it got real old almost overnight. He's struggling with the speed of a younger man's game in today's NHL. And that contract – he's inked at a $6.875 AAV until 2023-24 – already hangs like an anchor around the Hawks' neck. Yikes. But six points (one goal, five assists) in Seabrook's last eight games have suddenly gotten the attention of fantasy owners. The Blackhawks are surprisingly in the hunt in the West (who would have thought that). And Seabrook's veteran savvy and confidence in that kind of run could mean decent production.

Cory Schneider, G, New Jersey (29 percent) - Schneids is a risk. A big one. He won just one game in the 2018 calendar year (22 games). And hip and abdominal problems can be chronic – just blame the butterfly and hybrid styles. But Schneider is inked to three more seasons at $6 mil per. He's going to play. And he's going to be given a chance to resurrect his game. Check your wire. Stash him while he works out the kinks. At minimum, you block someone else from owning him.

Dylan Strome, C, Chicago (14 percent) - I have always been hard on Strome. I've never disputed his head and hands – they're elite. But I remain skeptical of his slow feet. Gone are the days when you'd hear, "he has the ability to slow the game down." But within a structured system, this kind of player can theoretically shine. And Strome has. He has 13 points, including 10 helpers, and five power-play points in his last eight games. At this rate, he should be owned in more than 80 percent of Yahoo leagues. I missed him. You shouldn't.

Oskar Sundqvist, RW/C, St. Louis (1 percent) - Sundqvist had a four-game, four-point streak snapped Thursday. But that little run included three goals. I thought the blue notes where out of the playoff run entirely, but the West is wide open. Sundqvist is playing a critical third-line role on their push and could provide you with decent secondary production in deep formats. Especially if Evan Berofsky's Brayden Schenn (54 percent Yahoo owned and climbing) has been snapped up.

Tyler Toffoli, RW, Los Angeles (22 percent) - Toffoli is a thrift shop sniper who is at his lowest value ever. And that's a good thing for you and me. His shooting percentage is well below his career average. So something had to give. And it looks like it has. Toffoli has nine points, including four goals, in his last eight games. The window to get Toffoli will close fast – cheap, high-volume shooters who tickle twine are every fantasy owner's dream. He's mine now. Make him yours.

Back to my trade.

Have you ever had a deal contested? How did it go? What do you think of the deal I've described?

Don't worry – I have my big-girl pants on. I can take it.

For me, the situation underscored the challenges of technology. Without it, I wouldn't be in the league. But it means I really only know a few people. And it's easy to jump to negative conclusions when you feel anonymous online.

I think the whole thing could have been avoided if I had taken more time to get to know folks in the league. I hadn't. That's on me.

I want every trade to be a win-win for both participants. I also want to make sure my relationships with league mates are sincere. And real.

I know I have some work to do.

Until next week.