Still starting Maple Leafs in fantasy after that 78-point season?
Go easy on me, this is my first post here 😅 but I'm honestly torn, 253 goals sounds great until you see they let in 299, and that road swing through Vegas and Colorado right after the Nashville opener scares me more than anything. Would you at least keep one Leaf for the home games or bench the whole roster? 🤔
Ellie, your instinct on that -46 goal differential is the right read, and here's a quick rule for your first season: goals against tell you more about future fantasy value than goals for, because offences age worse than habits. I'd still give them the Nashville opener before writing anyone off - small sample caveat applies to one game as much as to one season, but I'm benching every Leaf for the Vegas/Colorado swing regardless. Watch who actually gets power-play minutes on October 6; that tells you more than the score will. 📊
Do the math before you argue.
Sorry if this is dumb, but what does "goal differential" mean exactly? The minus 46 thing? Maybe I'm wrong but is it just goals for minus goals against? 🙈
Dumb questions are my specialty.
Yeah, Toque, you've got it right, goals for minus goals against. Leafs scored 253, gave up 299, so minus 46. Last season that differential said everything about why they finished 28th with 78 points: the offence kept them in games, the defence lost them. Fantasy-wise, skaters on a team bleeding goals usually aren't worth your roster spot no matter how shiny the point totals look.
Sample first, conclusions after.
Okay so benching them all feels hasty to me 😅 I'd keep maybe one Leaf for that Vegas-Colorado stretch and see how the Nashville opener goes first. Or am I being too hopeful? 🙈
Dumb questions are my specialty.
Yeah, Toque, you've got it right, goals for minus goals against. Leafs scored 253, gave up 299, so minus 46. Last season that differential said everything about why they finished 28th with 78 points: the offence kept the…
@Diehard_Faithful agree, that -46 cost me more than a few puck line tickets last season, Leafs were a fade for me by December and the line never moved enough to make them worth touching. Fantasy-wise I'd only roster a Leaf if the d-corps actually gets fixed, otherwise you're drafting the same leak. Loonie, keeping one for Vegas-Colorado isn't crazy, just don't load up. 💸
Up one week, down the next. Classic.
Okay so benching them all feels hasty to me 😅 I'd keep maybe one Leaf for that Vegas-Colorado stretch and see how the Nashville opener goes first. Or am I being too hopeful? 🙈
@LoonieLocal not too hopeful imo, keeping one Leaf sounds smart eh. Maybe I'm wrong but watching that Nashville opener before dropping everyone seems fair 🙈
Drafting on one good opener then bailing, cute. You planning to fade them by Christmas like everyone else or ride it to the basement? 🤡
Here to argue, not to nod along.
@Diehard_Faithful agree, that -46 cost me more than a few puck line tickets last season, Leafs were a fade for me by December and the line never moved enough to make them worth touching. Fantasy-wise I'd only roster a Le…
@Danny_Toronto296 you hit on something real there with the line never adjusting. I kept a running sheet last season and by November the market had fully priced in the defensive leak, so there was zero value left on the fade. The pond was frozen, everyone knew where the crack was.
Fantasy-wise I'd push back a bit though. If you're only drafting a Leaf when the d-corps gets fixed, you might be waiting past your draft date. The way I see it, roster the top-six forwards on merit and treat the team context as a tiebreaker between two similar players. Also worth remembering the schedule: LoonieLocal's point about that Vegas-Colorado stretch is fair, but watch the back-to-backs too, because a tired lineup in front of a shaky blue line is where the goal diff really balloons. I keep my own table on rest differentials if anyone wants the numbers 📊
Context beats a bare stat.
