On its face, Evan Rodrigues having an assist with four shots and two PIM in the 4-3 win over the Devils doesn't stand out as anything special. However, it was another data point that the Panthers are going to heavily depend on Rodrigues. He's remained on the first line and first power play unit which alone puts you on the fringe. While I think he's a poor offensive finisher, Rodrigues loves to take horrible shots which is a big value in fantasy. Rodrigues is available in over 80% of leagues, but I've seen enough for him to be a hold in all formats. It could dry up when Bennett returns, but based on where Rodrigues is playing on the PP, I don't see Bennett taking that spot. There's a chance Rodrigues is the best fantasy player who went undrafted in most leagues, so get him now. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
You guys know I like to start my posts about players who could be available in a large percentage of leagues that you can target on the waiver wire. After all, being aggressive at the bottom of your roster is a huge factor in fantasy hockey. However, sometimes a player has a weekend so good that you have to give him his due. This time, that player is Auston Matthews. Matthews scored three goals on Saturday, recording his second hat trick in as many games. Look, everybody knows the upside. We're talking about a guy who scored 60 goals two seasons ago on his way to the Hart trophy. He's obviously in that tier right behind McDavid, and the only reason I had him towards the bottom of the tier is that he tends to miss 10-15 games a season. If Matthews can play 75+ games, a repeat of 60 goals is well within reason. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
The hockey season is underway with nine total games in the books so far. In this post, I will cover those games quickly at the end highlighting some notables, and will have the same for Friday despite a shortened Thursday schedule. Monday morning will have my first big set of daily notes from the weekend. This post will open with 10 Bold Predictions for the season. These are all meant to be bold; I'd be glad to hit on three of them. Last season, we had some awful whiffs (thanks Cole Sillinger) but also hit on Dahlin being a top 5 defenseman and predicting massive failure for Chicago and Philly from a fantasy (and real) perspective. Let's get to it!
If you didn't see Part One, check it out here. Let's get right into Part Two.
Tier Eight: Elite Upside But Medium Floor
Obviously you guys know that I've gone out of order with my rankings, but I had to get my Top 200 out there for everybody's drafts. If you've missed it, you can see those rankings here. Today, I'm going to show you the method behind the madness of my forward rankings. Part one will be out today, part two will be out tomorrow. I'm going to try and get a bold predictions post out on Monday as well, and then the season will be underway. As a heads up, I am going to be in London from Thursday until Tuesday. I will probably only get to the site once per day, but I will be sure to answer everybody's questions on all posts when I get the chance. Thanks for your understanding. And with that, the first half of my forward rankings.
I know I'm going out of order, but I want to get my Top 200 out so people have it for drafts over the next week. I will circle back to in-depth forward rankings on Wednesday, going through that before having another post or two before the season starts. This post will simply be a rankings list with no details. You will see how they're separated into tiers in the upcoming forward posts (you already have the tiers for the other two positions). Feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. And without further adieu...
We’re keeping it moving with part two of my defensemen rankings today. If you didn’t read Part One, check it out here. Also, if you didn’t see Jules’ rankings, the newest Razzball writer, you can check those out here. Please, blog, may I have some more?
We’re keeping it moving with my fantasy hockey rankings today with my defensemen rankings. My plan is to do two posts of tiers, with another post at the end of guys I like as lottery tickets for your last couple picks. Please, blog, may I have some more?
If you didn’t see Part One, you can check it out here. My big takeaway from doing these rankings is that goaltending gets ugly fairly quickly. It’s going to be difficult to get a #2 that you feel safe with unless you reach for goalies early. Please, blog, may I have some more?
We're keeping things moving in the preseason with goaltending rankings coming today. All that I factor into rankings goaltenders are wins, GAA, and SV%. A big factor into determining wins is potential workload, so I give more value to workhorses than players in time shares. As I always preach in these parts, in head to head leagues, volume is king. In you're in a roto league where starts are capped, then you can give more value to the Gustavsson's of the hockey world. Let's get to it!
It's time! Today's post will cover my current Top 20 players overall for the upcoming season. For those that are new to Razzball, my rankings consider goals, assists, special teams points, and shots on goal first and foremost. I put secondary value into plus-minus and PIM/hits as their values shift depending on league format. It's easier to stream players in these categories, especially PIM/hits, so I put priority into scorers, and especially shot volume as it is the best predictor for goals. Let's get to it!
We're back! The hockey season is just under a month away, which means it's time for me to start my rankings! I just had a few things I wanted to get into a post before I start up my 9th season at Razzball (boy, time really does fly).
The plan is to have my Top 20 out in the next couple days, and hopefully my entire goaltending rankings by the end of the week. Again, it doesn't do a lot for us if I go into depth on how good Connor McDavid is, so I'm going to be more selective on who I'm writing extensively about. This way, I'll be able to get my posts out earlier to you as well. I will separate everyone into tiers along the way, where you can argue about the order within the tier, but they're clearly better or worse than the tiers below and above. After that, I'll have two defensemen posts, before swinging back to forwards and a Top 200 overall. Once more drafts start happening and there's more value in current ADP, I'll do a post on players I like more than consensus, and players I dislike more than consensus. Once the season starts, there will be daily notes at least three times per week as everyone has grown accustomed to.
