Sarich spent 2012-13 with the Calgary Flames, registering only two points in 28 games. Sarich is a guy who is better on the ice than in the fantasy arena, as he is mostly known for his defensive-minded approach to the position. Sarich will help teach and mentor the young Avs defense who found themselves 27th in goals allowed last season.
While Sarich is a top-four defenseman for Calgary, it is not for his scoring ability. Sarich has cracked 20 points only once in his long career, and ended 2011-12 with a lone goal and six assists. Although he doesn’t have much fantasy value, he has solid defensive skills and was one of the few Flames to be on the positive end of the plus/minus scale last season.
It was another solid season for Sarich in 2010-11, as he functioned as a stay-at-home defenseman and tallied a plus-11 rating over 76 games. The big rearguard will never light up the scoreboard on a consistent basis as evidenced by his 17 points last season, but he doles out plenty of hits and is sure to be a top-four defenseman heading into the new campaign with Calgary.
Sarich recorded 20 points (2 G, 18 A) last year, which was a career high for him. He may sniff the 20-point level again this year and he can also provide some valuable penalty minutes, as he had 112 last year. Don't jump to add him but keep a watch because if everything lines up he could provide some sneaky value in deeper leagues.
Sarich spent much of 2007-08 lined up with Dion Phaneuf, not a bad gig. Nonetheless, Phanuef's scoring did not rub off on Sarich, who ended the season with seven points. Sarich is a stay-at-home defender that allows Phaneuf to take more chances, so he is not worth much fantasy-wise.
The epitome of a steady defenseman, Sarich played in all 82 games for the Lightning in each of the past four seasons. He will be relief to a Calgary defensive corps that usually deals with many injury issues. He should be paired with either Robyn Regehr or Dion Phaneuf, which could raise his point total slightly. Sarich is a quality defenseman, but will get you 25-30 points at the very most.
Sarich, who once looked as though he would break the 30-point barrier, has settled into the role of shutdown defender. Safe and reliable on the ice; boring and unproductive in the fantasy arena. No value here.
A thunderous checker and sound defender, Sarich's fantasy value is quietly climbing as his offensive game starts to grow. He's on the verge of a 30-point season and it may just come this year; that is, as long as his defensive game adapts to the new rule changes. He probably will make it through most of the drafts so he's a guy to keep in mind as either a last round flyer or a waiver wire pick-up.
