The debate has long raged on about the true value of Brian Rafalski, the 3-time Stanley Cup-winning defenseman who announced his retirement last week.
On the one hand, his supporters point to Rafalski's consistent on-ice production and make the case that he has long been an under-appreciated member of several top-tier teams.
On the other hand, his detractors claim that Rafalski is a fortunate by-product of playing with extremely talented teams in New Jersey and Detroit and would not have had nearly the on-ice production had he played for less-skilled squads throughout his career.
What can not be debated is that fantasy hockey owners will be missing Rafalski next fall when they go about preparing for their drafts. That's because for the past 11 seasons Rafalski could be counted on to fulfill the role of second-tier defenseman on fantasy hockey teams---never really the first defenseman you would select for your team, certainly not in the superstar category, but definitely your second or third defenseman---and he would reward your faith in him with tremendous consistency year-in and year-out.
In nine of his 11 seasons in the NHL Rafalski scored at least 40 points, and four times notched 52 or better, including a career-best 59 in 2008-09. In 833 career games Rafalski recorded an impressive 515 points.
He was never Scott Niedermeyer in New Jersey nor Nicklas Lidstrom in Detroit, but his fantasy hockey value was always high. Rafalski also picked up power play points for his fantasy owners, and not once over his 11-year career did he own a negative plus/minus rating---and usually was well on the plus side, another boon for his fantasy hockey owners.
And he rewarded many a smart fantasy owner in playoff pools, as well. In 165 career post-season matches Rafalski recorded an even 100 points. Not too shabby.
So whether or not Rafalski's production was a product of the systems he played in or the great teams he played for doesn't matter from a fantasy hockey perspective. His numbers were solid and consistent for 11 straight years, and fantasy hockey owners are going to miss him when they sit down for their drafts next fall.
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