December 2012 Rankings (PDF) - DobberHockey - The Dobber ...

Cap Hit Distribution (Defensemen)
Cap hit (millions)
$10.00
$9.00
$8.00
$7.00
$6.00
$5.00
$4.00
$3.00
$2.00
$1.00
$0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80
Projected Points
Obviously you want to own the guys at the top of the food chain. But in the 50-70 point range on the
forwards chart you begin to see a lot of variation in the cap hits of players. Similar bargain players start
to show on the defenseman chart in the 35-45 point range. Depending on your cap commitments to
higher-caliber players, you can consider rolling the dice in this point range. If you are in a deep league,
then cap bargains will be readily available to fill your roster and the risk of mixing them in will be even
less significant. Just make sure you keep an eye on your waiver wire in case a move has to be made to
get help during the year.
Even though it is highly beneficial to use every cap dollar to make your team better, there are benefits
to leaving yourself with a bit of space under the ceiling. Clearly you will need enough flexibility to
accommodate re-signings throughout your roster. In the NHL, player salaries increase according to how
many cap dollars are available. But your fantasy team consists of guys from multiple NHL teams so it is
possible that your team payroll increases at a higher rate than you can handle. This is more of a longterm
problem to address though.
More importantly, you want to be in the mix when one of your rival GMs puts a star player on the trade
block. The teams with a payroll close to the limit are often unable to offer anything when someone like
Alexander Ovechkin and his $9,538,462 cap hit are up for trade. On the flip side, if you have enough
financial freedom and the trade pieces to make a deal happen, you may be one of the few teams in the
bidding. If the GM in question has his mind made up about moving the player, you may be able to
acquire an upgrade for less than market value.
Additionally, having cap space allows you to more easily integrate the contracts of elite prospects that
arrive onto your roster. Last week we looked at some typical examples of high draft choices and top
College free agents – those costs are not always easy to promote to your main roster.
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