Fantasy Pool Look: Potential playoff flops

Fantasy Pool Look: Potential playoff flops
A Quote by Darryl Dobbs
12/04/2009 10:00:01 AM
"There are several players who will look tempting at draft time who you should avoid.
These players give you several reasons to draft them in your playoff pool, but there are also some good reasons why you should avoid picking them...
John Madden, New Jersey Reason for drafting: He's had a couple of fantastic post-seasons, including 16 points in 24 games back in 2002-03. He also plays playoff-style hockey every game.Don't overrate: Besides the fact he is pointless in his past 14 games and likely to finish with his lowest point total since 2002, coach Brent Sutter doesn't depend on Madden as much as Sutter's predecessors. Madden may not get the ice time you would expect.

Devin Setoguchi, San Jose-Reason for drafting: He has 63 points in his first full NHL season and has spent a lot of time playing with one of the best players in the NHL (Joe Thornton) on one of the best teams. Don't overrate: Jonathan Cheechoo is seeing more time with Thornton, while Setoguchi has struggled with just 21 points in his past 38 contests.

Todd Bertuzzi, CalgaryReason for drafting: The name alone lures the eyes of many office poolies when they pore over the stats. He is one of the better-known names in the league and he has a 97-point season on his resume.Don't overrate: He has two points in his past 11 games and hasn't seemed to recover from the knee/foot injury suffered in early March.
Mike Knuble, Philadelphia-Reason for drafting: He had at least 54 points in each of his past three seasons and has 11 points in his past 18 playoff games. He also sees quite a bit of time on a line with Mike Richards.Don't overrate: With the emergence of Claude Giroux and the return of Daniel Briere, Knuble hasn't been relied upon as much. He was on pace to again top 55 points, but has fallen into a slump in which he has just five points in 17 contests.
Mikael Samuelsson, Detroit-Reason for drafting: Besides the fact that he plays for Detroit, a favorite to go deep in most office pools, Samuelsson also has an impressive 24 points over the past two post-seasons.Don't overrate: He has just nine points in his past 36 games.
David Krejci, Boston-Reason for drafting: He has been a monster all season, baffling fantasy owners with production that didn't seem to want to slow. Don't overrate: It finally slowed. He has just 19 points in his past 32 games and seemed to be influenced by the changing lineup. Several players have been in and out with various injuries and Mark Recchi joined the team at the trade deadline.
Tomas Plekanec, Montreal,Reason for drafting: He was one of the top scorers in Montreal a year ago with 69 points.Don't overrate: Not only does he have just one point in his past 12 games, but when Robert Lang returns to the lineup Plekanec will see even less power play time.
Marc-Edouard Vlasic, San Jose-Reason for drafting: The promising young rearguard really broke out this campaign, with 35 points so far.Don't overrate: The team already has Rob Blake, Dan Boyle and Christian Ehrhoff to run the power play and Vlasic has slowed in the second half. He has six points in his past 25 contests."


Darryl Dobbs' Fantasy Pool Look is an in-depth presentation of player trends, injuries and much more as it pertains to rotisserie pool leagues. Get the edge in your league - check out the latest scoop every Tuesday and Saturday throughout the season. Also, get the top 300 roto-player rankings on the 1st of every month in THN's Fantasy section.
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