NLL Insider

So I’ve been gearing up for several weeks to break the news to the rest of you fantasy geeks that fellow NLL fantasy Insider’s League player Paul Tutka has traded me San Jose star Jeff Zywicki for almost nothing.

Unfortunately (for me), I haven’t been able to talk him into accepting my unplayable benchwarmers for a Top-5 fantasy starter for the sake of having something to write about. Go figure!

The good thing however is that with the flurry of last second player swaps, the league amiably took care of me once again, giving me plenty of fodder for yet another week.

While most of these trades included numerous picks in the 2008 and 2009 drafts, for our purposes, actual players currently in the league are all we are worried about.

Let’s examine how these deals will impact your fantasy lineups.

Lewis Ratcliff (CGY) for Josh Sanderson (TOR):
Probably the biggest deal before the deadline, both players rank in the Top-10 for goals scored and total points. NLL Insider columnist and boxla guru Ty Pilson wrote a great column about this specific trade yesterday that you should all check out if you’re wondering how it will impact real lacrosse. As for fantasy, I can’t imagine that this will greatly effect either’s overall production. Sure, there may be some initial growing pains as both learn new offensive schemes and try to fit in. But both have been around long enough to fit in quickly with their new teams, and get right back on track for getting there names in the newspaper. Definitely keep both in your lineups if you’re lucky enough to have either of them.

Mike Accursi (EDM) for Dan Teat (BUF):
By all accounts, Accursi was having an off-year compared to his previous three years in Rochester. I would say to expect his numbers to take a slight jump now that he has better offensive players around him again. He is already accustomed to playing with John Tavares now in his second go-around with Buffalo, plus he has to be pumped to go from a bottom of the barrel team to a serious contender in a mere snap of the fingers. As for Teat, now in his 12th season, his numbers have leveled off somewhat, but he remains a quality play at your fourth or fifth spot. He’s truly a bit of wild card. Playing with so much talent in Buffalo may have made his numbers better than they really should have been. But then again, there’s always the excitement of playing in a brand new place, and the Rush are building a strong corps of players under new GM/Head Coach Bob Hamley that may actually end up relying on the former-Bandit a lot for offense. Time will tell.

Matt Disher (EDM) and Ian Crashley (EDM) for Matt King (POR):
Bottom line, if you have Portland’s goaltending unit, you just got a little better. On the other hand, if you have Edmonton’s, statistically speaking, you just got a little worse. Then again, the Rushhave allowed only 111 goals to opponents this season, while the ‘Jax have surrendered 134. So hard to say how this will actually play out. Honestly, it could be a bit of a wash as both netminders may not even start in their respective new homes. You have to remember, Portland still has Dallas Eliuk as well as 2007 draft pick Joel Weber, and Curtis Pawlidor has been the main man in Edmonton lately. Crashley is a second-year defensemen that was a move made based on his potential years down the line. He could amount to a very solid player in the league, but not one you would really consider having on your fantasy team no matter where he is.

Chris Gill (EDM) to Colorado:
First and foremost, if he’s available in your free agent pool, definitely pick him up, but make sure you snatch up the right Chris Gill from the Mammoth - the forward. It was already confusing enough to have two Chris Gill’s in the league, one currently on the Mammoth, and one formerly, but now they are on the same team. That aside, the new-old Gill is a journeyman that should definitely have an impact for Colorado’s recently stalled offense. He should shore up their left side, as well as improve his just over 2 points per game average with Edmonton to this point. This could however decrease Jamie Shewchuk’s opportunities, and if you have Matt Brown on your roster, it’s now time to drop him as the team has placed him on the inactive list in order to fit Gill onto the 23-man roster.

The Insiders League:

Like the rest of the leagues, we sit at a mid-week standstill awaiting scores from this upcoming week’s games to settle the score(s). So more on Week 8 of our league next week.

Until then, here’s a look at our league standings once again as we all jockey for playoff positioning:

Eastern Division:

The Van Buren Boys (Paul Tutka) (6-1)
bob mcmahons afro (Ted Jenner) (4-3)
Waterloo Wannabees (Chris Hall) (4-3)
Steal Your Faceoff (Bob Chavez) (4-3)

Western Division:

Gary Colemans (John Jiloty) (4-3)
Albuquerque Isotopes (Me) (3-4)
The Check Republic (Lauren Ward) (3-4)
Who owns the Chiefs? (Brian Shanahan) (0-7)

Smack Talk of the Week:

As a journalist, it’s generally your goal to never physically involve yourself into a story. But as a columnist, it’s often your job to offer opinions. Sometimes you’re right in your assertions, and other times, not so much. So on occasion, the two don’t correlate very well, and you (unfortunately) end becoming a part of the story.

This past week, I included fellow-NLLInsider.com writer and member of the Colorado Mammoth, Brian Langtry, in my Duds section. Langtry, a former league Rookie of the Year, had, by my determination, been having a sub-par season so far compared to the rest of his career, and I took the risk.

One record game of 13 points (9, 4) and a serious personal call out via his blog on the site later, and Langtry again showed his definite fantasy, and actual, worth, as well as spotlighted a whole lot of egg on my face. No one said this was an easy gig, and like I said, sometimes you call ‘em right, and sometimes you stink up the joint. But for this week, Brian Langtry gets a guest spot at possessing the best smack talk of the week for holding his own and making my choice look like a pretty bad one.

If you read his column, don’t worry folks, we’ve since kissed and made-up, but that’s the last time I call out a colleague. Especially one with the means of a blog on the same website. Cheers Brian!

Closing Notes:

Because of all the trade analysis, the Studs, Duds, and other sections seemed like it would be overdoing it little for this week. But expect to see these weekly segments to return in full force next week!

In the meantime, best of luck as always, and if you have any fantasy related questions, please forward them to the below address.

Catch ya’ on the flip-side…i.e. next Thursday!

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