There’s no denying that the previous two seasons have been rough for Trevor Zegras, in terms of both performance and health. He received a fresh start this offseason being traded to Philadelphia, and it’s paying early dividends. Zegras had two goals and an assist with three shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators on Thursday. Zegras now has 12 points in ten games on the season with a solid shot rate. He’s also earning trust with Tocchet, as his ice time has been pushing 19 minutes in three straight games. It wasn’t that long ago that Zegras was putting up 60+ point season as a 20 and 21 year old. This trade might be exactly what he needed, and given the start he’s had, he’s a must hold in all fantasy formats. Let’s take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
Andrei Vasilevskiy – 20 saves on 21 shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Stars. After a rough start, Vasilevskiy has settled in, allowing four goals over his previous three games.
Matvei Michkov – Two assists with two shots. It’s been a rocky start, but he’s found great chemistry with Zegras. Be patient.
Dan Vladar – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators. Vladar has been incredible so far, allowing two goals or less in all six starts. He’s a must own for the time being.
Lars Eller – Goal and an assist. Even with the injuries to Ottawa, Eller’s only an option for super deep leagues.
Andrei Svechnikov – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. He’s back on the top power play unit, but Svech is still on the third line. There’s no denying the upside, but he’s still only a streamer for me.
Logan Stankoven – Goal and an assist with two shots. Solid streamer, but I can’t see him reaching hold status with the workload he’s going to get on Carolina.
Tristan Jarry – 26 saves on 27 shots in the 4-1 win over the Wild. I don’t want to take the L after three weeks, but man, I can’t believe this Penguins start. I’m still not convinced this is more than a hot streak, but for now, Jarry should be held.
Kris Letang – Two assists with three shots. It’s fairly mediocre across the board right now. It’s enough to put Letang on the fringe, but that’s it.
Bryan Rust – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. Five game point streka for Rust, who remains a clear hold in all formats.
Ryan Shea – Goal and an assist with two shots. Shea already has more points than he did in 39 games last season. That said, he’s under one shot per game, so I’m not really interested.
Connor Bedard – Two assists with three shots. We’re seeing the Bedard from his rookie season instead of his sophomore year. The shot rate being back to three per game is great, on top of being above a point per game.
Connor Murphy – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. First two points of the season. Nothing to see here.
Gabriel Vilardi – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor had a goal and two assists with two shots each. Chicago clearly had no answer for the top line. Vilardi is up to a point per game now and the shot rate is ticking back up. I have him as a bottom end hold.
Dylan DeMelo – Two assists with two shots. DeMelo has stumbled into seven points in eleven games, but I don’t see him as anything more than a blocks guy for deep leagues, along with plus-minus. It’s hard to see more with the abysmal shot rate.
Josh Morrissey – Goal and an assist. After a rough start, Morrissey has eight points in the last four games. Back to business as usual.
Kiefer Sherwood – Hat trick on five shots playing over 24 minutes. Am I buying Sherwood offensively? Well, he’s at 37.5% shooting and has zero assists. The hits are insane, and you could make the case for holding him in hits leagues for the time being, but it’s not going to last.
Drew O’Connor – Two assists. And there’s your annual O’Connor update!
Cam Fowler – Two assists with two shots. It’s been a rough start for Fowler, so I have him down on the fringe. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him back as a clear hold like he was down the stretch last season.
Oskar Sundqvist – Two assists with two shots. He’s randomly on the top power play unit right now while Thomas and Neighbours are out. That can get Sundqvist as a bottom end streamer, but I can’t get past that. He has zero shots on goal in his first four games of the season.
Braden Schneider – Goal and an assist. I thought we could see a step forward from Schneider this season with Miller out of the picture, but it hasn’t happened. Not really interested, even in deep leagues.
Darnell Nurse – Two goals on four shots. Nurse is playing well enough to be a hold in all formats. He’s a beast in banger leagues, but the shot rate is solid and the points are coming in at a good rate right now.
Jake Walman – Two assists with a shot. Walman has seven points in his first six games. If you want to hold him as a hot schmotato, I’m okay with it for now, especially in blocks leagues.
Dawson Mercer – Two power play goals with four shots. After two seasons where his offense dried up, Mercer is looking the best he has since his sophomore season. Despite this being his fifth season, Mercer just turned 24 years old and hasn’t missed a game in his career. He’s on the fringe right now with a point per game. The shot rate being poor is what’s making it a debate.
Dougie Hamilton – Two power play assists with four shots. After a slot start, Dougie has six points in his last four games. The shot rate is great per usual. I was bullish going into the season and it’s been very obvious so far that Hamilton is their best option for the top power play unit. I still think he can get back into low end #1 / elite #2 for 12’ers.
Alex Wennberg – Goal and an assist. He’s doing fine so far, but I don’t have any interest in Wennberg outside of super deep leagues that include faceoffs.
Timothy Liljegren – Two assists with three shots. I do like Liljegren for deep leagues for the blocks and decent points.
Philipp Kurashev – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s getting second line and PP2 time at the moment. That puts Kurashev in bottom end streamer range.
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist. After a strange start where DeBrincat couldn’t score a goal but was piling up assists, he’s scored in three straight games. The shot rate is there so it was only a matter of time.
Marco Kasper – Two goals on three shots. Kasper only had one point in his first ten games. The role is good, but for now, he’s a middling streamer at best.
Kevin Fiala – Two assists with seven shots and two PIM. He had a goal in OT that was overturned for goalie interference. This is the best Fiala has looked in a couple seasons. Here’s to hoping it continues.
Quinton Byfield – Goal and an assist with three shots playing over 22 minutes. Byfield looks to be a bottom end hold right now. The upside is higher than that, but even ignoring that, there’s enough here at his current rate in all formats.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
