This article is part of our Frozen Fantasy series.
You know when a relationship is going south. The signs are clear, but you choose to ignore them. Too much invested. Let's give them another chance. Things will change.
Yeah. And pigs will fly, too.
I love Brad Richards; I always have. But his best-before-date seems to have passed. This is a hard breakup for me -- I have a Team Canada jersey with his name and number on the back. But I can't win with the aging former star, so it's time to cut bait and move on.
Why do we hang on too long?
You and I both have a guy on our roster that fits the same profile -- an aging star whose decline is less than graceful. That's the problem with being a fan and a fantasy owner -- the two are simply incongruent. I can still be a Richards fan, but I just can't keep him on my roster.
He survived being dumped by Olivia Munn. He can survive this, too.
Funny thing, though -- there are plenty of fantasy owners who are still holding on to the dream. No sooner had I'd dumped Richards when someone in my league snapped him up. And at a relatively high dollar bid at that.
Break up or buy low? Sometimes there really are true buy-low options. But trust me -- they're not named Alexander Ovechkin, Tuukka Rask, Martin St. Louis or even Ryan McDonagh. No owner in their right mind would trade one of
You know when a relationship is going south. The signs are clear, but you choose to ignore them. Too much invested. Let's give them another chance. Things will change.
Yeah. And pigs will fly, too.
I love Brad Richards; I always have. But his best-before-date seems to have passed. This is a hard breakup for me -- I have a Team Canada jersey with his name and number on the back. But I can't win with the aging former star, so it's time to cut bait and move on.
Why do we hang on too long?
You and I both have a guy on our roster that fits the same profile -- an aging star whose decline is less than graceful. That's the problem with being a fan and a fantasy owner -- the two are simply incongruent. I can still be a Richards fan, but I just can't keep him on my roster.
He survived being dumped by Olivia Munn. He can survive this, too.
Funny thing, though -- there are plenty of fantasy owners who are still holding on to the dream. No sooner had I'd dumped Richards when someone in my league snapped him up. And at a relatively high dollar bid at that.
Break up or buy low? Sometimes there really are true buy-low options. But trust me -- they're not named Alexander Ovechkin, Tuukka Rask, Martin St. Louis or even Ryan McDonagh. No owner in their right mind would trade one of these slow-starting studs for anything less than true value. Determining a true buy-low candidate is story for another day.
But it's fair to say that Dany Heatley isn't going to deliver a miracle in Anaheim. Ditto Chris Stewart in Buffalo (heck, he's never fulfilled his promise, let alone become a star). And Vincent Lecavalier isn't going to deliver much of anything in Philly when he returns from the IR.
Olivia Munn never looked back. She moved on to some guy named Aaron Rodgers. 'Nuf said?
Now let's take at who caught my eye this week.
Carlo Colaiacovo, D, Philadelphia (0 percent Yahoo! owned): No, Colaiacovo isn't a fantasy savior. And yes, he's an injury just waiting to happen. But the Flyers are desperate for help on the back end and the one thing he can do is move the puck. He certainly won't be expected to be a defensive stalwart, so second-unit power-play time may be there for the taking. Seriously -- can the Flyers truly trust that gig to Michael Del Zotto?
Matt Cooke, LW/RW, Minnesota (1 percent Yahoo! owned) The list of transgressions attached to Cooke is long and ugly -- Tyson Barrie's knee last spring was the most recent; the blindside hit that ended Marc Savard's career prematurely was the worst. But Cooke is a great little player when his head is screwed on right. And he was playing superbly prior to sitting out Thursday's game with a nagging lower-body injury. He's on a three-game, four-point streak that also includes a plus-4 rating, and that should make him relevant in a whole lot more than one percent of Yahoo! leagues.
Charlie Coyle, RW/C, Minnesota (7 percent Yahoo! owned): I've liked Coyle since his NCAA days. He has good size and decent speed, and he always seems to come away from a board battle with the biscuit on his tape…without getting a stupid penalty. He plays tough and smart, and he can score. Cripes, he's the poster boy for the contemporary power forward. I snapped him up Friday to get a boost for my plus/minus, but he's more than a one-category wonder. He had two assists, 11 SOG and a plus-3 rating in the last week while seeing solid time on Minny's second line. And the sky's the limit if that gig sticks. Get him now. You won't be able to soon.
Steve Downie, L/RW, Pittsburgh (9 percent Yahoo! owned): Downie is just like a piece of 60-grit sandpaper -- he plays a coarse game that pushes opponents off theirs. Don't get me wrong -- he has offensive upside. But he will never be mistaken for a power forward. Instead, he's a primo, third-line agitator who's on track for a 30-point, 225-PIM season. And those points are even more valuable because some will come on the power play. He'll inject a bit of multi-categorical goodness into your lineup.
Johnny Gaudreau, LW, Calgary (17 percent Yahoo! owned): Who doesn't love a plucky underdog? Gaudreau is 5-foot-8 and 150 lbs., and he makes veteran NHL defenders look like house leaguers with his explosive speed and elite edge work. Just ask Anton Volchenkov of the Preds, who was turned inside out and upside down by this little speedster in the first period of Friday's game. Cripes, Volchenkov is still looking for his jock after that razzle-dazzle. Gaudreau didn't score on that play, but he did later in the game. And that gave him six points in his last six games. Calgary hasn't seen a little man this talented since Theo Fleury took the city by storm in the 90s. Gaudreau won't rack up PIMs the same way as Fleury, but he will bring fans out of their seats in a similar way. I'm getting on board. You?
Seth Griffith, RW/C, Boston (6 percent Yahoo! owned): Yep, the Bruins have found yet ANOTHER smallish, but highly competitive, two-way skilled forward to bolster the depth of their front end. Last year, it was Reilly Smith; this time around it's Mr. Griffith. Is it luck, good scouting or a little bit of both? Griffith is a fifth-round draft pick who says he models his game after none other than Patrice Bergeron. Nice. He delivered 50 points last season in 69 AHL games and doesn't look out of place alongside David Krejci and Milan Lucic on the B's top line. He snagged two goals and an assist Tuesday night against Minny (including this beauty) and has three goals and two helpers in his last five games. He won't maintain this pace, but he will deliver solid, complementary scoring on the cheap.
Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay (24 percent Yahoo! owned): Kucherov's ownership jumped 20 percent in a single day this week, and with good cause. That hat trick Tuesday night catapulted him into the center of fantasy consciousness. The hattie gave him seven points in three games and nine in his first 11 this season. That pace will slow, as it will with others on this list. But the talent is undeniable. This may be the last chance you can get your mitts on him.
Curtis McElhinney, G, Columbus (7 percent Yahoo! owned): Sergei Bobrovsky will be out a couple weeks with a busted digit, so the twine tent in Ohio is McElhinney's. I sure wouldn't trust his butt for much longer than a couple weeks, but I don't mind using him short term. Just be ready to dump him when Bob gets back. Make Olivia Munn proud.
Michael Raffl, LW, Philadelphia (2 percent Yahoo! owned): I get it -- Raffl is NOT the first name that comes to mind when you think "hot Austrian." He might not even come to mind at all…but he should. He picked up his sixth goal of this short season in a loss to Tampa Bay on Thursday night, and he plays a reliable, north-south game. And he's a good fit on the Flyers' top line with Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek. Add him. Now.
Brad Richardson, LW/C, Vancouver (2 percent Yahoo! owned): Sometimes there really is nothing in a name. Just after I dropped Brad Richards, I made a move on the guy with the same, but slightly longer name. Two letters longer, in fact. I'm surprised this guy was even out there. He's a plucky, hard-working forward who happens to have more points playing in a role similar to that guy in Chicago. He's potted three goals in his last two games heading into Saturday night and is as good a substitute as any.
Marco Scandella, D, Minnesota (8 percent Yahoo! owned): Calm, cool, collected -- that's Scandella, whose smart game had started to gain fantasy traction even before teammate Jared Spurgeon's shoulder injury Thursday. He has two goals, two assists and a plus-5 rating in his last five games heading into Saturday. And Spurgeon's injury means an opportunity on the second power-play unit is knocking. His upside is ultimately limited, but his combo of points and responsible, two-way play can deliver stability to your fantasy roster. He has to mine.
Back to Brad Richards.
I dropped him to promote Tanner Pearson to my main roster. Sure, it was a risk promoting Pearson based on last year's postseason outburst and fewer than 30 regular-season games. But so far, so good, aside from that little three-game drought he's currently in.
It won't be that long before Pearson is worth a whole lot more than Olivia Munn's ex. Heck, he might be already. Especially when Pearson only draws a $3 tap on the salary cap and my opponent has Richards at $11.
Breaking up isn't so hard after all.
Until next week.
