How To Make The Right Move
The trade deadline came and went in one of my bigger dynasty leagues over the weekend. The NAFHA (North American Fantasy Hockey Alliance) had their trade deadline show on Saturday Night. Take a listen to this because there were seventeen trades in all that went down during the first 90 minutes of the show. We also wanted to thank the many comments from last week’s post as well because there were a lot of trade scenarios and thought processes that you just do not see or hear on most shows and/or podcasts.
What was learned in the process was truly a deep introspection into the minds of fantasy hockey GM’s out there. Once again in the comments section, we want your trade proposals and all the thought rationale that went into them. It is what made the spirited debate and offers so good. There was a feedback and back and forth that made the experience enriching and quite the learning experience even for this expert.
The most pleasant thing to come out of all this trade talk is this. There are only 18 days until the trade deadline. Already five trades have been made at press time and places have issues their impacts and yes here at the Daily Faceoff and The Program as well, I have made my impact projections well known.
Below is a very simple list of a few sites that have talked about the impacts of these first few opening trades of the 2011 Trade Deadline. February 28th will come very fast and we want to keep the masses informed as fast as we can. Now the list…..
There are other sites out there but these are just some quick hitters that really hit it good as far as a fantasy impact. One caveat with the Fisher deal is that if Nashville does not make it to the second round of this year’s playoffs, that conditional pick is off the board. So feasibly Ottawa could only get Nashville’s first round pick which is still a nice chip so stay tuned.
Trades in real life can somewhat mirror fantasy hockey trades but the reality is, in most cases, they only serve as a guideline. Take in the information slowly as we offer a few more tips in “How To Make The Right Move”.
Step 1: If you have time then READ!
Often the biggest mistake in making a move is not knowing how the pieces come together in a typical trade. Something sort of new is to download the mobile TSN Tradecentre app on the iPod or iPhone. Also, I believe Android and other providers have their own mobile apps for trades and the trade deadline as well. Technology is truly at the edge of our fingertips like hostgator 1 cent offer provides the best service out there. Think of all the blogs and sites that have apps for iPhones and Android and Blackberry too. It gets to be a bit overwhelming with the information overload.
Be responsible is the most important thing I can tell people. Be informed as well but at the same time do not try to shovel in too much at once. There are so many great sources to get your information and yes we will answer all of your questions on The Program on Sundays and Wednesday Nights at 8pm ET. Sorry for the shameless plug.
Pretty much from now until the trade deadline on the 28th, we will go into full trade mode whenever it warrants. There will also be an extended segment for fantasy trades that could go down potentially. We want the listeners to be a part of the experience. As a matter of fact, we may have the architect of the Daily Faceoff in the near future.
Simply supply us with the questions and we will try and answer them.
Step 2: The trades you do not make could hurt you……
Do not be the one that winds up holding the bad at the end of the trade deadline. Yes that would be the person that almost got the trade on time but the other party either did not approve it fast enough or it got lost in cyberspace. If you gauge things right and look at it from a simple point of view, then one should be okay. However I watched a trade Saturday that nearly went down. It was a rare 3 team trade but do you know why it did not make the deadline? Because the third team’s GM was using his iPod and went into a dead zone for 5 minutes. Sure enough, the deadline passed and that was that.
Honestly, it never takes much for a deal to fall away by the wayside. Sometimes there is just an unlucky break or a missed email. Sometimes it is just the parties cannot come down to an agreement. A lot of concepts and preconceptions go into a deal. If a trade takes too long to go down, it means that it may not be meant to occur.
Step 3: Let it flow. What does he mean by let it flow?
I can hear it now. This guy is nuts! Simply we mean just be yourself. No one wants to tip their hand while a trade is going down. There are some people that just get so overly giddy that they actually destroy a deal before it ever gets off the ground. The scenario happens so often that it make’s one head spin. Absolutely make sure you do not look like you are too eager or nervous to make a deal. It is said that the person that is the most calm and cool still wins trades, especially in fantasy hockey.
Most trades are done vis email and internet but you can still tell a person’s mannerisms by how they type and such. Think of what you really want and have that plan in your head on how you want to build your team. That will help when it comes to that critical moment where you have to make that decision of “do I” or “don’t I. One more step…..
Step 4: Relax and make the move.
If it is the right one, it is said that a good GM will know that instantly. The simplest way is to make the deal and move on. There will be enough second guessing later. When the GM feels good about it, it usually works. Look at it this way, there is still the waiver wire if things should go wrong. Making the right move is so much more than simply saying yes to a deal but at the same time it is less than reading the novel “War And Peace”.
So it is time once again to put out even more trade scenarios. We want to see them and thank you to the readers for making this column work so well. Good luck in your fantasy leagues and keep bringing the debate here on The Daily Faceoff. Make your voices known.