NHL Fantasy Hockey: 6 Players to Avoid and Why
By Ryan Ritchie
NHL Fantasy Hockey Preview: 6 Players to Avoid in Your Draft and Why
For those who play fantasy sports, the NHL hockey season is just around the corner with drafts kicking off in coming weeks.
Fantasy sports can be a fun and interactive way to get fans into games that would be otherwise meaningless. They can range from simple office pools where you select a player from each box and keep the same team for an entire season, all the way up to a daily commitment setting lineups, adding/dropping players, making trades, etc.
Regardless of what you play, the common goal in all pools is having the most productive team. You often hear the terms risk/reward or buyer beware for certain players. These are generally individuals that are proven productive, but for a particular reason (usually injury history) carry red flags.
While a risk of injury is always possible no matter who the player is, certain guys have a higher propensity of landing on the IR. The best thing you can do to prepare for your NHL fantasy hockey draft is to create a “do not draft list”. These are people you will avoid at all costs because the risk outweighs the reward.
Below we have outlined six specific players fans should think about adding to their do not draft list for 2016-17:
NHL Fantasy Hockey: 6 Players to Avoid
Evander Kane, Buffalo Sabres
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Sabres GM Tim Murray hoped a change of scenery would help shake those character concerns of Kane coming over from Winnipeg.
He found himself in hot water following the NBA All-Star Game in Toronto, and dug an even deeper hole this summer with an incident at a bar in Buffalo which resulted in legal trouble.
Hopefully this is just a maturity issue for the 25-year-old with the most recent event serving as a wake-up call. For now, it might be better to avoid Evander Kane until that time comes.
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Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings
Capable of nearing or exceeding the point-per-game pace, Gaborik has only managed to do so in four of 16 NHL seasons due to an extensive injury history. Marian averages a little over 58 games player per season over his career. He missed 41 games in 2013-14, 13 in 2014-15, and 28 in 2015-16.
The math suggests one would have a 25 percent chance of having success drafting Marian Gaborik – and that’s not even factoring declined play due to age.
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Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
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This is a tough one. Carey Price is the only one on this list that you might consider if they fall in your draft.
Realistically speaking, Price should be a first or second round selection in most drafts, and likely the first netminder off the board. Unfortunately, you can’t afford to take chances with your top two picks.
Coming off a year in which Carey only played 12 games for the Canadiens, it’s reasonable for one to be concerned that he might re-aggravate a previous injury, or worse, add a new ailment to the list.
Price would need to fall beyond the first few rounds and below his draft average before you should consider taking him. There are several other quality NHL netminders, so it might not hurt to leave Carey Price on the do not draft list for at least one more season to see how he rebounds.
Mike Cammalleri, New Jersey Devils
Similar to Gaborik, Mike Cammalleri seems to regularly miss large chunks of time due to injury. He had an impressive 38 points before going down with a season-ending injury in game 42 of the season in 2015-16. Over his career, Mike is averaging just shy of 60 games/season (59.9).
Another highly productive player if you can get 75+ plus games out of him, but the odds are stacked against those who select him.
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Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh Penguins
The soon to be 37-year-old veteran has watched his game decline over the past two seasons.
He’s noticeably lost a step, and should continue to watch his numbers fall in 2016-17. Kunitz posted an identical stat-line of 17 goals, 23 assists (40 points) in 2014-15 and 2015-16.
You also have to consider emerging prospects from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (both last year’s crop and this year’s), which should progressively push Kunitz further down the depth chart.
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Ryan Miller, Vancouver Canucks
Expect Jacob Markstrom to step up and play the majority of games for Vancouver in 2015-16. Miller will go unprotected (and likely unselected) in expansion next summer as the 36-year-old netminder nears the end of storied career.
Miller went 17-24-6 with a 2.70GAA and .916 save percentage this past season. Markstrom was 13-14-3 with a 2.73GAA and .915 save percentage. The numbers don’t tell the whole story, but the 6’6 Swedish giant consistently gave the Canucks a chance to win games in 2015-16. Jacob will only get better with experience.