Welcome back to another edition of the Roos Lets Loose monthly mailbag, where I answer your fantasy hockey questions by giving advice that should be useful to all poolies even if they don’t own the specific players being discussed. As a reminder, if you want your fantasy hockey question(s) answered in the next mailbag, check out the end of the column, where I explain the ways to get it/them to me as well as the details you should provide when sending. The earlier you send a question the more likely it is to be included in the mailbag, and the deeper dive I can provide with my reply.
I received enough questions since the last mailbag that rather than cram them into one mailbag, I’m going to split it into at least two, with the second set to appear in a week. If I get even more questions, I’ll do a third. Instructions on how to get your questions to me appear at the end of the column.
Question #1 (from Martin)
I’m in a points only (for goalies – 2 points for a win, 1 for an OTL, and an extra 1 point for a shutout) keeper, which, although it only has 9 teams, each of those teams owns 45 players, meaning over 400 players are rostered. Weekly lineups are 12F 4D 1G, so every team has a deep bench.
For keepers, each team gets the option of either 8 or 9. If you opt to protect 8, you can participate in a pre-draft for only unkept 2023-24 eligible players (so 2024 draft picks). Otherwise, if you keep 9, you don’t take part in that pre-draft, only the regular draft. If I participated in the pre-draft, I’d pick 4th, or even earlier if the three who could pick ahead of me choose to keep 9 players. Based on what I’ve seen in the past, my sense is that participating in the pre-draft could give me a better player than whoever would be my 9th best keeper, so I’m inclined to only keep 8 players. To give you an idea of the caliber of players available to me in the pre-draft, Zach Hyman, Mika Zibanejad, Kevin Fiala, Morgan Rielly, Anze Kopitar, and Kris Letang all figure to be not kept.
My keeper locks are Nathan MacKinnon, Sebastian Aho, Brady Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, Matt Boldy and Miro Heiskanen, I’m having a hard time deciding on my last 2, assuming I keep only 8 and take part in the pre-draft. I had been leaning toward as Alex Debrincat and Cole Caufield, but then things changed for 4 of my other possible choices, namely Pierre-Luc Dubois, Mikhail Sergachev, Jacob Markstrom, and Linus Ullmark.
Who would your keepers be? Would only keep 8 and hope for something better at the pre-draft?
I’m not 100% old on Tkachuk in points only. His SOG rate is likely maxed out; and given his playing style, I don’t see him as being someone who’ll ever log 20:00+ per game. What about comparables? By age 24, Tkachuk had 30+ goals, 10+PPGs, and between 0.85 and 1.05 points three times. The only other player since 1990 to do so more than twice by 24 was Owen Nolan, who had a solid career but never really became an elite player. Those who met the criteria twice include the likes of DeBrincat, David Pastrnak, Rick Nash, Marian Gaborik, Marian Hossa, and Milan Hejduk. Of all those players, Nash might be the most apt comparable, although none really played a game like Tkachuk and most had a lot more ice time, so Tkachuk might defy comparison. Long story short, Tkachuk is more a maybe than a definite.
Turning to your goalies. No team is able to keep more than nine of its 45 players, so of the 405 players owned, 64-72, depending on how many opt to participate in the pre-draft, are kept. That is a small fraction. As such, although both Markstrom and Ullmark are intriguing, I think you’d keep one at most, and as with Tkachuk even one is a maybe for now.
Sergachev’s move to Utah makes him a must keep. Yes, he’s never been “the guy” before, and Utah will not come close – at least for now – to having the offensive firepower that Tampa does; however, we saw Sergachev’s talent on full display for most of 2022-23, and he’s on a huge contract, so he’s going to get every opportunity to produce. Plus, if Vince Dunn could thrive for Seattle, Sergachev should do fine. That puts you to six definites, with Tkachuk and one of Markstrom and Ullmark still TBD.
I’m not a big fan of Caufield or DeBrincat in points only. Caufield is still connecting the dots, whereas DeBrincat seems to be sputtering. I know I talked down Tkachuk somewhat, but I think he is a better bet than either of these two, so he does in fact make the list as your seventh keeper.
For #8, I believe a goalie would be better than Caufield, DeBrincat, or PLD, in whom I have almost zero faith both in general and because he’s going to Washington, a team which is on a downward spiral. The only times PLD has fared well, he’s been boosted by others around him, first Artemi Panarin and then by the Winnipeg offense. If it was me, I’d go with Markstrom for #8, as I feel New Jersey will be the better team plus the fact is Ullmark has never even once played 50 games in a season. Although I’m not saying Ullmark is bad by any means, he likely was made to look better than he is by playing for very good Bs teams. Keep the six that you listed, plus Sergachev and Markstrom, and participate in the pre-draft. Good luck!
Question #2 (from Paul)
I’m in a points onl,y 10 team keeper that has a format of top ten players for each team, two of which have to be defensemen, I have the 7th overall pick and am tempted to take Brock Faber over a 2024 draft pick. I really need help on D, and like what I saw from Faber. But would I be hurting my team by not thinking more so about its future?
I’ve written about Faber several times. Yes, he now is the record holder for highest average TOI by a rookie defenseman since TOI started being tracked over 25 seasons ago. Among the top ten there are the likes of Drew Doughty, Owen Power, Toby Enstrom and Duncan Keith, but also Filip Kuba, Ryan Whitney, Tyler Myers, Jonas Brodin, and Francois Beauchemin. In short, there are as many that went on to become not very fantasy relevant over their careers.
Although Faber played well, it’s not as if Minnesota had much choice other than to play him as much as they did, what with their top four missing chunks of games. In fact, Faber and Jake Middleton were the only d-men on Minnesota to not miss 17+ games. On the plus side though, Faber’s 5×5 team scoring rate at even strength was 9.6%, and he had IPPs, both overall and on the PP, above 40%, which is pretty solid for a rearguard. His SH% and secondary assist rate also were reasonable. It’s possible that if 2023-24 unfolded again exactly how it did, that Faber would do just as well.
For 2024-25 though, Minnesota will have Jared Spurgeon and Zach Bogosian back. Despite that, Faber figures to be a top-four rearguard, although he might not be the PP1 QB. Plus, a problem will arise when 2025-26 rolls around, as the Wild will finally be able to spend money again, having escaped from years of cap hell due to the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts. One of the items at the top of their shopping list likely will be defense. Yes, by then Faber will have had time to cement himself into a major role. But look again at some of those names in the top-ten all time for rookie TOI – many poolies felt they were shoo-ins for sustained success; and although they did continue to play prominent roles, they never were top offensive producers.
You have two choices. Keep Faber, but with the specific plan to trade him away at some point during the season, in hopes he plays well again and some GM won’t see how vulnerable he is to the Wild bringing in talent this offseason. Or you value the future enough to let Faber go now, knowing that at worst you’ll lose a trade chip, but likely not someone who’ll be a major fantasy success. Good question!
Question #3 (from Shawn)
I’m in a 10 team, keep 8, weekly H2H points league. Rosters are: 8F, 4D, 1Util, 2G (4 max on roster), 5 Bench (no IR). Categories are: G (3 pts), A (2 pts), +\- (1 pt) PIMs (0.25 pts), PPP (1 pt), SHG (2 pts), GWG (2 pts) HAT (2 pts), Defensemen points (1 pt), W (5 pts), GA (-1 pt), SVs (0.1 pt), SO (3 pts). As you can see, defenseman points are key, earning normal points in all skater categories plus having their own entirely separate category.
My presumed keepers are as follows: Nikita Kucherov, Jack Hughes, Elias Pettersson, Kirill Kaprizov, Cale Makar, Evan Bouchard, Igor Shesterkin, leaving me room for one more. The choices are Juraj Slafkovsky, Sam Reinhart, Robert Thomas, and Erik Karlsson.
I love Slafkovsky as a big bodied forward that was starting to dominate in the latter part of the season. But Reinhart is ranked as high as 14th on some keeper ratings, and has a point per game floor from where I sit, although I do worry about a let down. One other wrinkle is I could offer Reinhart, Shesterkin and Karlsson for Leon Draisaitl. Certainly trading Shesterkin is something I’m not thrilled to have to do, although Draisaitl has a lot of lure and I realize you have to give to get. What are your thoughts on all this?
I realize that with only 160 total players owned by all teams in the league, everyone will have strong keepers; however, this has to be one of the best, if not the best, keeper cores in the league. Your team does lack physicality, but pretty much nothing else. Suffice it to say, therefore, I agree with your seven definite keepers.
As for how to approach the last keeper spot, Slaf is a no. You have enough firepower to be able to wait for him to thrive; however, that wait might be longer than you may think. He looked very strong toward the end of 2023-24 indeed; but he’s a larger frame player, thus less likely to fully come into his own for another two, three or even more seasons. Is it possible for him to break out sooner? Of course, although I still think Montreal needs to round into form, so I’d bank on it taking a bit longer for Slaf to thrive, and there still is the chance he doesn’t ever fully pan out.
Also, if that is a real trade offer, it’s a slam-dunk. You are selling high on Reinhart, who, although not likely to see his stats plummet, is a concern because of how far above and beyond his prior best he did, plus the fact it occurred in a contract year. I get that defensemen points are huge, but Karlsson did not come close to thriving in Pittsburgh. In particular, his PP scoring took a huge hit, and that was when Jake Guentzel was there for most of the season. Pittsburgh is, if anything, poised to do worse, so if you can use Karlsson as part of a deal, I say full steam ahead. Losing Shesterkin would hurt for sure. But it seems like the Rangers are not going to play him into the ground, making it so he’ll have fewer saves. He will win most games he starts, but his shutouts seem to be decreasing. In short, the benefit you’ll get from Draisaitl, who’s as elite as they come, will be more than enough to make parting with Shesterkin a pill you can – and should – swallow, especially with Draisaitl’s scoring on the PP. Make the trade, let Slaf go, keep Draisaitl as your final keeper, and prepare yourself to win this league. Good luck!
Question #4 (from Alain)
I’m in a 12 team, points-only (goalies – 2 points for a win and 2 for a SO) league where we keep eight players and lineups consist of 4C, 4LW, 4RW, 6D, 1Util, 2G. Each team can make a total of only 21 free agent moves during the season, but the numbers of trades is unlimited. Also, offseason trading not only is allowed but commonly occurs.
This was my roster as of the end of last season: Mika Zibanejad, Roope Hintz, Vincent Trocheck, John Tavares, Jason Robertson, Filip Forsberg, Chris Kreider, Alex Ovechkin, David Pastrnak, Claude Giroux, Adrian Kempe, Viktor Arvidsson, Steven Stamkos; Adam Fox, Devon Toews, Mackenzie Weegar, Miro Heiskanen, Brent Burns, Vince Dunn; Juuse Saros, Igor Shesterkin
I think I’m set on six of my eight keepers, those being David Pastrnak, Jason Robertson, Adam Fox, Miro Heiskanen, Juuse Saros and Igor Shesterkin. Do you agree with those choices? If not, who would you omit? And either way, what would your final eight be? In case it matters, there likely will be one tems keeping two goalies (Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck), and nearly all teams keep at least one. So if I did keep both Saros and Sehsterkin, I wouldn’t be the only one keeping two goalies.
Your goalies are entrenched starters, an ever-rarer commodity in fantasy. You also already have a sense that two of the other “top-dog” netminders will be kept by another team, plus other teams figure to keep at least one. Let’s see how things look at the other positions before making a final decision, but I tend to agree that there is a lot of lure to keeping both.
Looking at d-men, I agree with Fox, as he has no one standing in his way in terms of blueline offense. But Heiskanen’s point total was cannibalized by Thomas Harley, with whom he was paired. Harley will not make PP1 inroads; however, Heiskanen was looking like he was on a fast train to being a perennial 70+ point d-man, and that may no longer be the case. He has huge name value, making him a guy you could look to trade if you want to keep others instead.
As for forwards, I’m iffy on Robertson. Dallas did very well last season using a formula of spreading around ice time, resulting in Robertson ranking 81st in TOI an even worse 94th PPTOI per game among forwards who played 40+ games. I get that he didn’t have that much more ice time when he exploded in 2022-23, but this will make it difficult for him to be a point per game player.
I am sold on Forsberg, as although Nashville now has more weapons who can syphon away points he was getting, there will be more points overall, for a net wash. The fact he played as well as he did after signing his huge contract makes his 2023-24 all the more “real” to me. Or to put it another way, of all the forwards you could keep – in addition to Pasta, who’s a given – Forsberg provides you the best chance at 90+ points, with 80-point downside.
In the mix for the last three keeper spots are Robertson, Saros, and Shesterkin, plus, I think, Trocheck, Zibanejad, or Kempe. I like each if the last three, but they have warts. Kempe might be close to maxed out given LA’s ice time philosophy, and Trocheck has yet to string together two superb seasons in a row and when he’s not been great he’s been worse than the downside of Kempe or Zibanejad. As for Zibs, like Trocheck he’s been too inconsistent, plus his two elite seasons came when his SOG rate was high and still also he had a high SH%. Those tend not to go hand in hand, so betting on a recurrence probably is not a good idea. Could it happen again? Yes, as it could with Trocheck.
In the end, I keep both goalies, locking in 70+ wins, plenty of saves, plus benefitting from Shesterkin’s peripherals. For the other two spots, JRob probably has the highest ceiling and comparable if not better floor versus the others, so he’s on the list. The last spot I’m giving to Kempe, due to him being younger and on a five-straight-season upward trajectory in terms of scoring rate and TOI. Seek offers on Heiskanen and one of Trocheck and Zibs. If no one blows you away, then just, keep Heiskanen, as unlike with its forwards Dallas has no qualms about heaping lots of ice time, at ES and on the PP, on its d-men, making Heiskanen still valuable, albeit likely less so than if Harley hadn’t entered the picture. Good luck!
Question #5 (from Mike)
I’m in a 14 team H2H keep 10 league with rosters of 25, starting 3C, #LW, 3RW, 4D, 1Util, 1G. Scoring Is, for skaters, G (3), A (2) +/- (1), PPPt (1), PIM (0.2), SOG (0.1), BLK (0.5), Face-offs (+/- 0.1, depending on if won or lost), hat trick (3), and, for goalies, W (5), SO (3), SVs (0.1), GA (-0.5), G or A (2). My roster was as follows at the end of the season:
C: Mark Scheifele, Elias Lindholm, Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Pavel Zacha, Sean Monahan
LW: Kyle Connor, Andrei Svechnikov, Jake Guentzel, Artturi Lehkonen, Dylan Guenther, Max Domi
RW: Brock Boeser, Conor Garland, Martin Necas
D: Cale Makar, Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, Aaron Ekblad, Matt Roy, Jake McCabe, Cam Fowler
G: Igor Shesterkin, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Devon Levi
For some added context, I’ve finished in the top 3 in this league for each of the last 5 seasons but haven’t found as much playoff success and haven’t won the championship. I feel like my keepers for Defense and Goaltender are no brainers, but I’m not as sure about my forwards. I’d also be curious about who you might suggest be packaged in a trade in order to land a better keeper.
You didn’t list your D and G keepers, but deemed them obvious. Let’s see if I agree. Starting in net, it’s Shesterkin, and only Shesterkin. Both the Buffalo goalies would be good to own again, I suspect, as the team should be much improved. It could be a time share, or, if not, then it’s not clear who’d be “the guy” for the Sabres, making it so neither of them keepers in addition to Shesterkin.
As for D, Makar is as good as they get, and Heiskanen, despite, as I noted in a previous response having some of his even strength scoring cannibalized by Harley, is for sure a keeper in a 14-team league. Harley has lure too, as he’s talented and could do better if his deployment improved, but I don’t see him as a keeper unless your forwards are weak. As for trades at G or D, UPL and Harley are the only possibilities, and probably would not fetch a lot – if anything – despite over 300 players being owned and 140 kept.
If indeed those are the only G and D keeps, we’ll need to land on seven forwards, or nearly half the 15 you had on your roster at the end of the season. In cases where there will be as many keepers as non-keepers, what I like to do is start with the best player and the weakest player and keep going until it no longer becomes a “no brainer” who to keep or not keep.
The first keeper is Guentzel, as he goes from the top line in Pittsburgh, where he and Sidney Crosby had to carry the entire load, to the top line in Tampa, where he’ll be alongside Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point. Beyond that, Kucherov is a PP whiz, which will help pad Guentzel’s points. He’s your top dog. On the other side of the spectrum, I’m not keeping PLD. He has a fresh start and should receive all the ice time he can handle; but I think he’s is no longer a player to pin one’s hopes on, as the effort level seems to not be there and, as noted in a previous response, he’s only ever thrived when playing alongside the caliber of player(s) he won’t find in Washington. He’s the first no.
My next definite keep is Svechnikov. His downside is 70 points, and he was getting that when both Teuvo Teravainen and, at the end of last season, Guentzel, were in the picture. He should be more of a focal point this season and might finally make the leap. But if not, 70+ points is nothing to sneeze at, especially since he checks other multi-cat boxes. The second non-keep is Garland. I fully realize he ended the 2023-24 season with 18 points in his last 19 games; but that was playing alongside J.T. Miller, and the Canucks have many options for that spot. Like PLD there is potential, but as much risk for very poor production, making him a non-keep too.
Next on the keeper list is Connor. It’s probably best to erase hopes of him producing at a nearly 100 point pace again; however, he also has 70 point downside and is more likely to finish at or above an 80 point pace than not, as he remains a focal point for Winnipeg. The next non-keep is Guenther. He did really well as a rookie, but who’s to say where he goes from there, and when? With him being really the only young player on your team, it seems like he could be a pretty easy redraft too.
Boeser is my next keep. His SH% was unsustainably high; however, I really like that he played great in the playoffs, with 11 of his 12 points goals or primary assists. He has done enough now to ensure a spot in the top six and on PP1, which for Vancouver makes him likely to produce quite well. On the other hand, I’m also not keeping Dylan Strome. He did about the best he could last season, and still finished under a 70-point pace. Plus, with PLD in the mix, who knows how things will pan out. Also, I’m doing what I can to not keep Washington guys, as the team seems to be headed downhill fast.
Looking at the rest, I think there are four who rise above, those being Necas, Scheifele, Monahan and Lindholm. With Necas, either he gets traded, in which case he could really thrive, or he doesn’t, such that Carolina tries to feature him more so as to enable a trade. It’s a win-win either way. Scheifele is still the top dog in Winnipeg, so until he slows he makes sense as a keep. Lindholm and Monahan are reclamation projects of sorts, but both are 100% poised for top line and PP1 roles, which, when you’re at the last two keepers, is pretty darn good. But that’s four guys with room for only three as keepers. Who’s the odd man out? Probably Monahan, as even when he and Johnny Gaudreau were playing together in Monahan’s final seasons in Calgary there was no longer a lot of magic between them, and now it’s several seasons later and both have had struggles. So Monahan is out.
The keepers are Shesterkin, Makar, Heiskanen, Guentzel, Svechnikov, Connor, Boeser, Necas, Lindholm, and Scheifele. As for trades, I don’t see anyone you’d be able to deal, other than perhaps UPL, or, to a rebuilding team, Harley, Levi and/or Guenther. By all means try to deal any or all of those four, but don’t be disappointed if you get no takers. Good luck!
Question #6 (from Joe)
I’m in a 16 team cap, keep 12 league (16 teams) with categories of G, A, PIM PPP, SHP, SOG, FW, HIT, BLK and W, GAA, SV%, SHO. Starting lineups are 4C, 4RW, 4LW, 6D, 2G. In our league, each GM picks a team and must keep six players from that team, plus six others, which can be from any team or even more from the same team. My team is Carolina, and my six keepers from that team are Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Seth Jarvis, Jaccob Slavin, Brady Skjei, and Frederik Andersen. Which other 6 should I keep from this list: Mats Zuccarello, Jonathan Huberdeau, Wyatt Johnston, Matty Beniers, Martin Necas, Shane Pinto, Jake Neighbours, Barrett Hayton, Kaapo Kakko, Mikhail Sergachev, Artem Zub, Philip Broberg, Logan Thompson, Justus Annunen. Note that many teams keep two goalies, even sometimes three, but you cannot have ore than four on your roster.
Right off the bat, I’m wondering why Necas doesn’t make the Carolina list? Is it because you speculate he’s going to be traded? I get that Slavin is a decent producer with likewise decent peripherals, but there is no universe where I’m keeping him over Necas. Slavin is the only keeper – if at all – among the other six, or if somehow Necas is indeed traded before the season.
You’re saying that at least 32 goalies will not be available in the draft? On the one hand, an argument could be made that incents you to keep a goalie you might not otherwise keep because the selection at the draft will be so limited. Then again, if so many teams already start with 2+ goalies as keepers, that will make it so they’re less likely to grab a goalie in the draft, at least early on. Also, you have Thompson and Annunen, both of whom are intriguing, but tough keeper pills to swallow in that one or both might end up being non-impactful. Still, Thompson has a shot at being a 1A or 1B in Washington, although that team is seemingly on a downward spiral. As for Annunen, if this were a season ago, I’d say he had next to no value; but that was before Alexandar Georgiev looked quite shaky. Georgiev is also only signed through this season, so the Avs could give Annunen a shot to see if he can run with the ball. Then again, the Avs are so competitive that they might just trade for a rental if Georgiev falters. Let’s consider them as maybes for now, and look at your other options for keepers.
Sergachev tops the list for sure. Maybe Utah won’t be great from the get go; but as noted above, look at what Vince Dunn was able to do in Seattle these past two seasons despite a lack of forward firepower on that team. Sergachev is going to get the red carpet rolled out for him, and should be able to thrive given that he is finally a top dog in terms of blueline offense.
Johnston also is a must keep. I’ve said many times in these columns that owning Dallas forwards is a risk due to the team’s philosophy of spreading ice time around and leaning on its PP1 among the least of any NHL team. Still, with Joe Pavelski retired, Johnston will have a spot on that PP1, plus he likely centers the top line or, as he did at times during the season, plays wing with Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz. Also, among players who, dating back to 2000-01 and in at least one of their first two seasons, had 30 goals and 30+ assists while potting fewer than five PPGs, as Johnston did in 2023-24, it’s Auston Matthews, Brayden Point, Connor McDavid, and Michael Grabner. Yes, seeing Grabner there is not ideal; however, the other three names more than make up for his presence.
Next is Zuccarello. Yes, he’s aging, but for at least this season he figures to remain a fixture on the top line and PP1 for the Wild. Plus, due to his size it is very plausible for him to continue to play well even at his age and beyond. Will there still be great deployment for him in 2025-26 after Minnesota has had a chance to open its wallet for the first time since buying out Ryan Suter and Zach Parise? Only time will tell; but for now he’s a keeper.
Beniers also merits a spot despite his struggles as a sophomore. Whereas a performance the likes of his in 2023-24 could in some cases lead to a younger player being earmarked for the bottom six or even a trip to the AHL, Seattle isn’t exactly brimming with other options for offense, so Beniers will be able to jump right back into the top six. Expecting 70+ points is plausible, but something at least as good, and likely better, than his rookie rate is reasonable to expect, especially with him right at his 200 game breakout threshold.
Given the other options, Huberdeau is a bitter but necessary keeper pill to swallow. A return to even a semblance of his old self seems less plausible given that he faltered for two seasons. Still, he had 29 points in his final 38 games, so things were looking better, and, as such, 60+ points could be in the cards.
The last keeper is tricky. Slavin doesn’t quite cut it in my book, although the rest of the options also are not great, so it might be Neighbours, His 27 goal, 38 point season is definitely not par for the course, but hearkens back to outputs of other players. Specifically dating back to 1990-91, four other wingers scored 25+ goals but fewer than 40 points in one of their first three NHL seasons, those being Johan Franzen, Miroslav Satan, Cole Caufield, and Brian Savage, with Caufield being the most closely analogous due to his age versus that of Neighbours. I’m not saying Neighbours has Caufield’s upside, but that comparison alone is enough to make him the best of the rest.
But should Huberdeau or Neighbors be disregarded in favor of Annunen? If indeed goalies are that precious of a commodity, I think that Neighbors won’t be so amazingly great to make him a “must keep”, and Annunen could take his place. Good luck!
As noted above, due to the number of questions I’ve received, I’m planning for a part 2 of the mailbag to run next week, with the possibility of even a part 3 if I get enough additional questions. You can get your questions to me in one of two ways: (1) by emailing them to [email protected] with the words “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line, or (2) by sending them to me via a private message on the DobberHockey Forums, where my username is “rizzeedizzee”.
When sending me your questions, remember to provide as much detail about your league/situation as possible. Examples of things I need to know include what type of league you’re in (i.e., limited keeper, dynasty, or one-year; roto vs. H2H; auction – if so, what the budget is – or non-auction), how many teams are in the league, does the salary cap matter, how many players are rostered (and of those, how many start at each position as well as how many bench and/or IR spots there are), what categories are scored and how are they weighted, plus other details if pertinent. If your question involves whether to pick up or drop a player, give me a list of top free agents available and let me know if the number of pick-ups is limited or if there is a priority system for pick-ups. If you’re thinking of making a trade, it would be good to know not only the roster of the other team you might trade with but also where you stand in your categories. If your question involves keepers, in addition to giving me the options for who to keep, let me know if offseason trading is allowed and to what extent it is a viable option given your league. In sum, the key is to tell me enough for me to give you a truly proper answer, and for readers of this column to benefit from the answer/advice I provide. When in doubt, it’s best to err on the side of inclusion since I can always omit or disregard things that don’t matter.
