It has been a long and strange season so far but we close out 2014 quickly with just a couple questions on the mailbag. You can always follow me on Twitter @ChrisWasselTHW. Questions will always be answered and no I won't hide from them. There are two main questions I got this week. One is daily and one is a team inquiry if you will. Either way, this looks to be full of fireworks and honestly there is no other way to go here. Expect some answers that may irk a few people.
Anyway, let's get cracking on those questions. They do not answer themselves!
Fantasy Hockey Mailbag
Is there really anyone on the New Jersey Devils worth having as a fantasy hockey option?
Again, they are awful and nothing much is going to change from here on out. New Jersey has scored just 68 goals in their last 35 games (yes we threw out the 11 goal outburst in the first two). That is good for dead last in the league. Travis Zajac has eight points in 29 games while getting first line center minutes and Scott Gomez has almost as many points in about half the games while Adam Henrique has more points and plays several minutes a night less.
The strings are being pulled by Lou Lamoriello and the reality is with this "Odd Couple" coaching arrangement, the last 45 games have become open mic night in Newark. I wish I was kidding but do not be surprised to see Keith Kinkaid start more games than he has for the rest of the season. With the year lost, it is time to play out the string. Even Cory Schneider, who has been pretty good but just not consistent enough, will be a player you don't want in the second half unless you are in a deep league.
Jaromir Jagr is on about a 45-50 point pace which is a good ways off from that nearly 70 point year in 2013-14. Damon Severson had such promise in the early going with eight points but got sucked into the abyss and will miss another month with a break in his ankle. There have been injuries, mumps, and players just in another world. The bottom line is can the team even complete three straight passes? The fundamentals are pretty poor for a team so laden with veterans.
You could bag skate this team to death and it likely will not matter. Yes the effort will be there but the execution has to just happen and it is not. Just tread carefully with Devils players and know they can go into long slumps. Consider they have not won three games in a row since the start of the year.
What was with the value night on Saturday in DraftKings?
It was a pretty high scoring night on DraftKings and part of the reason why the amazing value in mid-line centers. Derek Stepan and several other centers were in the $4,500 to $5,500 range and around four points a night which is too good to pass up. That allowed you to take two centers and then spend a bit more on wing and defense. If you added a fairly cheap Ben Bishop at $6,700 on Saturday, it gave a player even more options to go higher up the food chain.
There was a 50-50 I was in last night where it took over 50 points just to cash. That's nuts! It really is. Typically you can get away with 35-40 points depending on the slate. Expect more nights like this during the next week as the schedule gets a little weird with a heavy Monday and Wednesday.
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Do not forget to bring the questions and I will answer them. See you next week!