During this time of zero fantasy for the foreseeable future, I thought it would be fun to make our rosters into an actual lineup. Kind of see how our fake team would stack up as an honest to goodness hockey team going into the playoffs.
Benchworth Bull Moose
Marchessault - Malkin - Wheeler
Bjorkstrand - Couturier - Oshie
Foligno - O'Reilly - Saad
Iafallo - Kopitar - Gusev
Scratch: McCann, Armia
Burns - Pietrangelo
Letang - Weber
Theodore - Klingberg
Fox
Binnington
Blackwood
Scratch: Korpisalo, Merlikins
Evaluation:
So my center depth is insane. Kopitar holding down the 4th line, come on. I also love none of these guys are 2-way slouches. Playoff centers all the way down. Insane match-up potential. My top wingers are also very good. Wheeler and Marchy would be feasting with Malkin. But beyond that, my wingers are absolutely the weak link. Oshie and Bjorkstrand are nice goal scorers. The quality really dips at line 3 and 4.
Now my shining pride and glory. The blueline. After 2 years of drafting and swapping, I put together my dream blueline. Except too many of them play right side, but let's just ignore that. These guys can score in bunches and you have all around rock Pietrangelo holding down every hard minute. Nice mix of old dudes and youth, too. Theodore is maybe the most underrated defender in the NHL right now. He's going to make some noise in the playoffs. The fact Fox can't even get on the ice is a pretty good sign.
So you'd think someone that talks about the value of elite goalies all the time, I would have one on my fantasy time. Well dudes, I tried. So I scraped up Binnington and Blackwood off waivers last year and damn that worked out. Binnington had an MVP quality playoffs and this year he was solid. I don't know how great he'll be long-term, but he's good. Blackwood flashes big skill. If he's consistent, he'll be star goalie. He's got every tool. Korpisalo and Merlikins are potentially both starters, but both have had stretches of "WTF?" Still unclear who will win that goalie battle. If I had my way, I'd still like to grab that one elite piece. I made inquiries about Price and Vasilevskiy, naturally.
Overall, I love these centers and defenders for a playoff team. This team is built to win today. There's a few younger guys present, but the strength's are leaning heavily on players 30 and up.