I play fantasy hockey for many reasons. I play because it’s often against my friends and it’s a large social block in my life. I play because I think fantasy hockey makes watching NHL games better then it already is because my fantasy players make me more involved with more games on any given night then just what the Oilers did. I also play for the simple fact I want to win. To make that happen it often means I will have to make a trade, if not a couple, to take home the spoils. Of course there are a million scenarios one could walk through, but in basic terms I think there are really two major reasons that force a fantasy owner to make trade. Last but not least, keep in mind this pertains to your classic draft and walk away pools that most of us do every year. If your in a keeper pool, you will agree that these scenarios do not always apply.
The first being the case when you drafted a team that’s is leading your pool or very close to it. In this situation trading becomes reactionary. In other words one of the other top 3 teams made a move and now you have to consider making a deal to keep pace. These trades are by far the toughest to decide to make as there is really no way to decide if you really need the trade to still win the pool. Are you trading for the sake of trading? My best advice is this, your bench players are not collecting points for you, they are only of value if an injury happens. You also in most cases can pick up a player from the wavier wire to put on your bench anyway. So why not turn a good roster player and your best bench player into an upgrade of for your live roster? In short, unless your in a keeper pool where your young players count for the future, don’t fall in love with your bench players, unless they are on your active roster they do you no good. Bundling one of them up may be all it takes for another owner to make a deal that gives you a better player for that final little push you need to win it all.
The second scenario is much easier to address as far as I’m concerned. You drafted a dud team or one that is in the middle of the pack. In almost every case with a team like this, if you do nothing, nothing will change. Period. Now, that’s not to say if you do make a massive deal your squad still won’t crash and burn horribly, but that’s where you are anyway, so who cares? Take a long look at where your team isn’t performing and make a trade for players that will address the stats your team is missing. Oddly enough, your the team that is giving up the one great player for two good players in the first scenario above. That’s not as bad as it seems however, as long as you do one thing. Make sure the stats your getting back in return add up to more then,the great player’s stats your trading away. If you trade one player that at seasons end will have 40 goals and 40 assists for two players that at seasons end will have combined stats of 50 goals and 60 assists, you accomplished what you set out to do in the trade. The only other thing you have to think through in this is making sure you have a place on your active roster for the players your taking on.
Either way, making deals during your fantasy season is a big part of the fun. Sometimes it works, other times it doesn’t, and as hockey fans we always armchair GM our favorite teams like we are some sort of hockey geniuses, so step up and put your money where your mouth is with your fantasy team. The worst thing that could happen is you find out it’s harder then it looks.
Then again, this is just a damned opinion.
