Fantasizing…

So week 1 of the long and arduous fantasy hockey season is in the books. What do we take away from it? If you’re team hasn’t performed up to par, is it time to hit the panic button and start from scratch? Or is it time to sell players high while they are hot? Obviously the solution is not clear-cut, but it’s not time to make season long conclusions based on one week. I’m not advocating making any major overhauls at this point in the season but with a little tweaking and waiver/free agent scouring you just may be able to find the piece of the puzzle that will lead you to fantasy glory.

Bargain Bin:

Brad Richards (42% owned in Yahoo leagues) – although injury plagued the last couple years Brad still possesses the talent to be an elite scorer and with Morrow fully healthy this year expect Richards to continue his current hot streak.
Andy McDonald (39% owned in Yahoo leagues) – another player that has been bitten by the injury bug for the last few seasons. When he’s healthy he has the skill set to flirt with point per game production.
Andrew Brunette (14% owned in Yahoo Leagues) – Playing on the top line in the Wild’s new run and gun offense with Martin Havlat and Mikko Koivu and getting plenty of ice time per game so far, Minnesota will be expecting a lot of points coming from this bunch.
Marc-Andre Bergeron (1% owned in Yahoo Leagues) – the newly signed Bergeron is on a conditioning assignment in Hamilton but could be ready to go soon and should fill in nicely for the injured Andrei Markov.
Michael Del Zotto (45% owned in Yahoo Leagues) – the rookie dman is seeing tons of powerplay time for the Rangers and has 7 points in the first 7 games of the season to lead all rookies.
Alex Goligoski (20% owned in Yahoo leagues) – Has been a mainstay on the Pens top powerplay unit with the likes of Crosby, Malkin, and Gonchar

Sell High

Although it is early in the season it’s never too early to take advantage of a hot start if you can.

Brooks Laich – Although it seems like a good idea at this point to own as many Capitals as possible there’s only so many points to go around and we know that selfish jerk number 8 will be poaching most of them and as long as Laich isn’t playing with Alexander the Gr8 his impressive early totals won’t keep up.
Kris Versteeg – Although his talent cannot be questioned consistency has always been an issue for him. Last year he started off hot as well and his stats dwindled in the second half and with Marian Hossa due to come back as early as mid-November it could directly impact the opportunities Versteeg will see.

Buy Low

Try to snag these guys while their value is at its lowest and watch your portfolio grow.

Jarome Iginla – Good luck on prying him away on name alone but so far his chemistry with Olli Jokinen hasn’t been there. Minus 2 and 3 points isn’t a promising stat through 5 games.
Mike Green – We knew he couldn’t match last year’s totals but he’s still a top flight scoring d-man. Take advantage of a frustrated owner quick!
Vincent Lecavalier – I’ve always been a firm believer in Vinny abilities although he didn’t quite live up to the billing last year and so far this year he’s been a bust. He’ll get back to form and if not you can punch me in the stomach.
Niklas Backstrom – The goalie not the player, the player’s doing fine and will do fine but the goalie has been quite frustrating. In previous years he’s been a gem in net but so far he’s proven to not benefit from Minnesota straying from their defense first attitude.
Roberto Luongo – This guy’s feeling the pressure and it shows but it’s time for you to take advantage of a worried panicked fantasy owner, offer with confidence that Luongo will not keep up these dismal numbers.
Pavel Datsyuk – just 3 points in the Wings first 5 games and is listed day-to-day with a minor upper body injury. His price won’t get any lower.