Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Undervalued Veterans

Every year the NHL seems to be getting younger and younger. As new rule changes continue to put an emphasis on skill and speed at the expense of size and experience (I realize that’s a generality but you see the trend). However, every year there are a number of proven veteran fantasy players who get passed over in favour of younger players with that always important “potential”. Sadly, potential means very little in your fantasy league – below are some proven veterans that will consistently fill your categories all season long.

Brad Richards – His great season last year came a bit out of left field and I’d be surprised to see him hit 90 points again. That said, he will be the number one center all season long in Dallas and there is no reason to think he won’t sustain a PPG pace all season.

Mike Fisher – The rugged center has never really arrived offensively in the NHL, spending a lot of his career as a checking center. However, with the thin forwards crops in Ottawa he’ll see solid even strength ice time and maybe even a bit on the 2nd power play unit. Wouldn’t you skate hard if you had Carrie waiting at home?

Milan Hejduk – As he moves into his mid 30s injuries are becoming a concern. However, he is almost guaranteed to put up 20 goals and the young kids in Colorado should keep him fresh and hungry for at least a couple seasons.

Brian Gionta – He probably won’t touch 50 goals again – heck I’d be surprised if he scores 35 again - but on Montreal where he may play on the top line 30 goals and 40 assists are achievable. Those are solid numbers across any format.

Bryan McCabe – His double cheeker body check was the stuff of legends here in Toronto – but there is more to Bryan’s game these days. He shoots the puck a ton, and still takes the odd penalty. Florida won’t score a lot this season, but he’ll see power play time and likely hover around 40 points.

No comments: