From the Archive: Fireplace Fantasy

Back in 1977 when three brothers, Marc-Andre, Robert and Richard Giguere, and their friend, Denis Pouliot, started their own fantasy league, little did they know they were well ahead of the curve. 

Tired of annual fantasy pools, the four crated their own "lifetime league." The setup was quite unique, as Marc-Andre Giguere explains to writer Rachel Villari: 

" 'We wanted more than a pool that we always had to start over each year'... 'What we’ve done is we take 100 players each, but only 23 count for points – one point per goal, one point per assist for our 15 best forwards and eight defensemen. The other (77) players are our substitutes.' The 100-player roster is protected under the GM who drafted them."

Giguere's league is different because the scouting and drafting starts early. 

" '... I read The Hockey News each month and the local journal. We also watch the bantam drafts. I watched those and took some notes about the first five, seven picks in the WHL, the Ontario and the Quebec League as well, and researched them online. If they can help me without a doubt when they reach the NHL, then I’ll draft them at 13, 14, 15 (years old).' "

These days, the annual leagues are called redraft leagues while "lifetime leagues" such as Giguere's are known as keeper leagues. 

While most keeper league's don't go the extent of drafting players yet to reach the NHL, the basic premise is the same – you get to keep a certain number of players from season to season. 

Fantasy thrives on innovative ideas such as Giguere's leagues to keep things interesting. It makes you wonder what sort of niche rules currently in fantasy leagues will be commonplace 40 years from now. 

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