The NHL playoffs are a week away and since the Leafs are once again on the outside looking in my only source of entertainment is fantasy hockey. From a fantasy perspective, it’s almost better if your favourite team is out of the playoffs. That allows you to make cold, clinical decisions about who is the best player to pick, rather than spending the first overall pick on Phil Kessel. Obviously, I’d prefer the Leafs in the playoffs, but playing fantasy hockey with them out has allowed me to hone my strategies as best as possible.

I don’t claim to be an expert on fantasy sports and, in reality, any so-called expert is really just making educated guesses. Absolutely no one predicted the Fernando Pisani fantasy bonanza in 2006 or that the Oilers would even make it past the first round. That’s the nature of the playoffs; role players transform into heroes and certain superstars become invisible.

That being said, I tied for first in my 2006 playoff pool and won outright in 2007 (thanks in large part to Dany Heatley – what an anti-heart pick). I couldn’t make the draft in 2008 (I think?) and finished in fifth (out of 10) last year. So I’ve had some success.

These are some of the strategies that I’ve used over the past few years that have worked for me. Try these unless your pool is using quirky rules. The most common format is 10 players, no set positions, no goalies, and all that is recorded is goals and assists (most points wins). Don’t blame me if you place last. But if you do win feel free to send some of the winnings my way.