Former Hobey Baker winner Johnny Gaudreau (Yahoo – 31%, ESPN – 53.4%, CBS – 73%) didn’t start the season off well with no points in his first five games but he has come alive recently with nine points in his last six games, sporting a plus-9 rating on the season to boot! He’s little and he’s young, but you have to remember that this is a guy who put up 80 points in 40 games in his final season at Boston College, so the mighty-mini playmaker has skills to spare and it’s quickly translating into success at the NHL level. I don’t think he keeps this torrid pace up, but the Flames look pretty damn solid, a lot more so than anyone really expected going into the season. He plays on a line with Sean Monahan, another guy you should own and I touch on in this post, and gets time on the top power play unit for the Flames so the chances will keep coming so long as Johnny can keep cashing them in. The word is out on CBS and he’s gaining traction fast in ESPN leagues, but of course Yahoo lags behind at just 31% owned. Why must you plague me so, Yahoo league owners? Do you have an aversion to winning or are nearly 70% of teams abandoned already? Get with the program y’all, add this guy yesterday! What’s that I hear? You didn’t get a chance to cash in on Johnny? Well scope out the rest of these guys, maybe you’ll beat the rush:
Michael Del Zotto was finally traded away from Broadway to Nashville in a straight up deal for defenseman Kevin Klein. No, not the actor, though given that Klein has only put up three points all season he might as well be the freakin’ actor for all the good he’s doing fantasy owners (there are none). The Rangers need offense and Del Zotto sure wasn’t providing that, but Klein is a big step down offensively regardless of how poorly Del Zotto's performing, so this move boils down to money and roster considerations for both teams. How does it affect their fantasy values? Well, If you haven’t gathered already Klein has no value at all so lets move on to who really matters, eh? Del Zotto should find himself on the top pairing with Shea Weber sooner than later and that could do wonders for his production and your chances of winning. Right now the Preds have second year upstart Roman Josi playing opposite of Weber and that seems to be working quite well, but put Del Zotto on Weber’s left side and you could see sparks fly. This is a low-risk move for the Preds because Del Zotto is an RFA at season’s end and if he signs an offer sheet with another team the Preds get some draft picks and if not they re-sign him at a discount. Win-win! For Del Zotto it's a chance to get his act together and earn himself a decent contract next season. He’s shown the ability to put up monster numbers in the past with 41 points (10 G, 31 A) back in 2011-12, but hasn’t reached that point total again with his production from the last two seasons combined. Granted one of those is the lockout-shortened season but still, that’s horrible! At any rate, keep an eye on Del Zotto moving forward and if he even hints at a good streak and you need scoring help on your blue line? Add him without a moment’s hesitation. Anyway, here’s what else I saw in the world o’ fantasy hockey last night:
Will the real Henrik Lundqvist please stand up?
In the fantasy community we’re used to Lundqvist being a reliable and dominant goaltender. He’s one you could build a team around and feel confident with. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Patrick Kane’s goal with 2:02 left in regulation tied the game and his shootout goal won it for Chicago as they downed Detroit 2-1 and move to an eye-popping 19-0-3 this season. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Gabriel Landeskog had a goal and two assists to help the Colorado Avalanche erase a 3-0 first-period deficit and take a wild 5-4 win over the visiting Calgary Flames. Paul Stasny and Matt Duchene also scored for Colorado while Jarome Iginla scored twice in the losing effort. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Let’s see if we can get up to speed on what’s happened while the NHL was away these past couple months between a slew of injuries and superstars being superstars no matter where they play. Please, blog, may I have some more?
We continue our look at the Top 40 rookies in the NHL this up coming season. Here’s Part 1 if you need to catch up.
Top 40 NHL Rooks -PART2 – #21-30
(Accompanied by their 2012-13 stats prediction & Razzball Recommendation for drafting)
#21 Justin Schultz – (EDM D) (76gp/6g/18a/24pts) Edmonton won the battle for Justin Schultz as he ended up heading to Oil Country to play this season, and his presence will be known when he hits the ice in Alberta. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Heading into Friday there were a lot of Matt Duchene owners growing anxious about his so-so production so far this year. Then he went all hat-trick on the Stars and now has 5 Points in the Avalanche’ last 2 games. Please, blog, may I have some more?
So we had actual live game action tonight, and I have to admit I’ve never really paid attention to NHL preseason games. In fact I don’t pay attention to the preseason in any sport. Please, blog, may I have some more?
