The Squeeze Play: How to Exceed Games Played Maximums in Fantasy Hockey
The article below is a repost of an article originally written over three years ago. The strategy still works today.
With the fantasy hockey season winding down, it's time for managers to pull any-and-every trick out of their hat to win their league. Today's post covers a trick that can be used right at the end of the season by the diligent manager. At leftwinglock.com, we call this the squeeze play. This particular trick works in leagues which put a cap on the number of games played a manager can employ at each roster position. If this applies to you, read on to learn how this trick can help you win your league.
The squeeze play, in a few words, allows a manager to play more games at every roster position than the Yahoo caps suggest. In one of the leagues I'm involved with this season, the league settings allow for the following number of games played:
- C: 164
- LW: 164
- RW: 164
- D: 328
- G: 164
Also in this particular league, we have starting roster slots for 2 centers, 2 left wings, 2 right wings, 4 defensemen, and 2 goalies.
One example of how to make the squeeze play happened to me recently at the position of right wing. I had already used 163 games at the right wing position and therefore had one game remaining. I then waited for a night when I had two of my right wings playing on the same night. I played both of the right wings that night and I earned points from both, despite only have one game left according to Yahoo. This happened for me on April 2, using Dany Heatley and Corey Perry. I was able to earn 12 total fantasy points instead of the 4 ( or 8 ) I would have earned by only starting one of those players.
This works for all of the positions. In my particular league, I should be able to pick up 3 extra forward games (one at C, LW, RW), as many as 3 extra defensemen games (to max this out, I'd wait until I had only 1 game remaining and then pick a night when all 4 of my defensemen were starting), and 1 extra goalie game. Thus, it is possible for my team to earn points for 7 extra games played - a total that can make the difference between a 1st and 2nd place finish. Think about that - 7 extra games played is the equivalent of extending your fantasy hockey season by a full day.
Don't expect the ideal scenario I described above to just fall into your lap. You're going to have to plan and prepare to have any shot of making this method succeed. But, if you're willing to put in a 20 minute effort into analyzing your roster with some 3rd grade level mathematics, you can find the squeeze points that most fantasy hockey managers don't know about. Good luck!
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Does this really work? Wouldn't they just give you the stats for the first player that played that day?
Seems like a serious (and easily fixable) bug for Yahoo. I'm shocked that they would allow this loophole. It may have worked last year, but you don't know if it works this year. Might want to put a disclaimer :) Their Fantasy Hockey has changed/improved A LOT this year so maybe they've fixed this bug.
Totally works, always has. Side note, you can really clean up with "innings pitched" if you also use this in Yahoo baseball.
Touche! So its not a bug after all. That's crazy. Great tip. Wish I knew about it years ago. I've lost by less than 10 points a few times over the years.
On ESPN, in the FSWA Hockey League, we don't have C/LW/RW distinctions and just 11 Forward roster slots. So this has been on my radar all along. It does work on ESPN too.
i hope u guys r right. i am going to do this. thx
Do the players your playing using that last roster spot have to start their games at the same time or at least overlap? What if one of their games is over before the other one starts?
i dont think it matters when games start
It does work. You will be awarded points for all players in the starting positions for that day, not just the ones who play first.
If it's a bug, it sounds like they have no intention of fixing it. It's been exploitable for years now and Yahoo's comments on the issue make it seem like just another part of the game.
Thanks for the update on ESPN, Neil. I was sure it had worked in the past, but I'm not in an ESPN league this season, so I couldn't confirm it firsthand. Good luck down the stretch.
Nevin is right; just make sure you have all players in their starting positions before the 1st game of the day begins and you'll get points for all of them.