There is no ancient secret to fantasy sports success other than just being aware and current in your sport. In the end, let’s face it, there is an enormous amount of luck that goes in to victory.
Wait, luck? Yes, luck. For the fantasy experts who have unparalleled success throughout their life, achieving victory in every season, there is an angry mother upstairs wishing their oldest child would get a full time job.
Not that there is anything wrong with being a sales associate at LIDS, and 8-time fantasy-insert-sport-here champion, but if you are overly committed to your fantasy lineup, chances are there are some deficiencies somewhere else in your life.
So to help you find some balance in your life eDraft is here to give you some inside tips on fantasy hockey (and all the other major sports right here) so that you have more time to commit to a career, spouse, pet rabbit and/or God forbid some sort of hobby that requires more exertion than multiple key strokes.
The fantasy hockey season is wrapping up across all leagues in the next two to three weeks. If you are within a few points of a playoff berth in head-to-head leagues, you are acutely aware of every single point you can get. Here are five tips to get you in to your magical, but fictional, sports postseason and help bring home a trophy that you can’t put on your mantle.
1.Get to know the schedule-In leagues that reward an accumulation of points and statistics, quantity is important. It will only take a minute with the key players on your roster to determine how many games they have left and how many they will play per week. Remember this number because we’ll check back on it later on the list. Look for matchups that favor certain players and delve into how players perform at home or on the road. This is the serious stat-nerd stuff that requires research, but if you know what you are looking for, hours of reading get reduced to minutes.
2. Fleece your roster/No more favorites-If you are on the outside, looking in on a playoff berth, it’s time to trim the fat. You may love Scott Hartnell because he signed your jersey after practice, gave your kid a high five or loaned you $20 when you needed gas. However, he isn’t helping your fantasy team.
Look a little deeper with player splits to determine production over the past 30 days. This will give you trends before and after the Olympic break and will let you know that it may be time to cut off some fat. Bobby Ryan was fantastic for the first part of the season, but has sucked since mid-January. He’s super talented, but the numbers don’t lie. You aren’t going to hurt Bobby Ryan’s feelings so drop him like the giant turd that he has been for you.
3. Check the free agent pool daily-Use the splits to see if any sleepers are left out there. Ride the hot hand/stick until it can take you no further. Be aware of players that have hit the waiver wire in case an opponent is using a similar strategy. Don’t get suckered in to any big names that are struggling or “could” come back from a serious injury early. Kris Letang, Henrik Zetterberg and John Tavares are no inclined in any way to accelerate their rehab to suit your fantasy needs so keep looking.
4. Hammer the trades-If you have a league that hasn’t shut down trades, hammer the teams below you to grab any players they would be willing to part with. Unless you are in a keeper league, they have turned their attention to Clayton Kershaw and Mike Trout and the upcoming baseball season. He or she will gladly hand over Jonathan Toews for Troy Brouwer if it means that you’ve got a chance to keep that dastardly Justin K. fellow from running a three-peat in your league.
5. Full blown fantasy hockey “regatta”-The term regatta has nothing to do with fantasy sports or hockey at all. In fact, it is defined as a series of boat races, so the origin or relevance to our topic must be explained. The term was coined as an application to fantasy sports when an owner rotates his roster to the tune of five to six moves per day, changing the face of the team daily. In limited transaction leagues this would obviously not apply. It is a maneuver based on desperation, but also coincides with step one. Maximize player production as much as possible so that you can pile up the stats. Be careful with the goalies because a poorly managed “regatta” can tank your goalie stats. You will also find that this strategy is particularly effective in completely pissing off your opponent, resulting in general butt-hurtedness and claims of cheating.