We’re only about a month into the season, but Pat Verbeek has to be ecstatic by the way the season has started. One of his big swings was acquiring Cutter Gauthier after he demanded a trade for Philly, and the start to the season couldn’t be going any better. Gauthier had two assists with six shots on Friday against Detroit before scoring a goal and an assist against the Devils on Sunday. That brings Gauthier to a preposterous 52 shots on goals in eleven games this season, with seven goals and five assists. That screams fantasy superstar right now. I forgot to mention that he’s 21 years old as well. I was a big fan of Carlsson going into this season, as well as McTavish, but I’m upset at myself that I wasn’t all in on Gauthier. I liked him, but he’s the exact player type I always want in fantasy. I’m not sure if he ends as a top 50 fantasy player this season, but it’s possible. If not, it’s only a matter of time. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games:
Martin Necas – Goal and two assists with two shots. The Brinks Truck was backed up, as Necas received an 8 x 11.5 extension from the Avs. If you have him in a dynasty, breath a sigh of relief, because a top 25 player could be here for the foreseeable future.
Cale Makar – Goal and an assist with two shots. Absolutely insane start from Makar. 4+14 in 13 games wit a +12 and 2.5 shots per game. As good as it gets in the position in decades.
Tomas Hertl – Goal and an assist, as did Mitch Marner. Hertl played over 20 minutes with Marner getting over 23. Their line is the best in the league so far in terms of expected goal percentage. If you had any hesitiation about holding Hertl, that should be gone.
Ilya Sorokin – 22 saves on 23 shots in the 3-1 win over the Capitals. It’s been a rough start for Sorokin, who allowed 3-4 goals in all of the first seven games he played. He was great in this one (the stat line doesn’t do him justice) but the team is struggling, so keep expectations in check.
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Lucas Raymond also had a goal and an assist. Both are off to very good starts and are easy holds as we expected.
Leo Carlsson – Goal and three assists with two shots. Carlsson has a remarkable 16 points in 11 games this season. Safe to say he’s on the verge of superstardom.
Troy Terry – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Terry is doing enough to be a hold in all formats.
Saturday’s Games
Charlie McAvoy – Two assists with a shot. While the shot rate is back in the dumps, McAvoy has ten assists already. He’s an easy hold, but the shots have to go back to around two per game for him to get into the top 20 D range.
Jeremy Swayman – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 2-1 win over the Hurricanes. While it’s a fine start for Swayman, he’s still above a 3 GAA and below a .900 sv%. Use him at your own risk.
Kyle Connor – Two goals on eight shots, both assisted by Mark Scheifele. Gabe Vilardi had a goal and an assist with three shots. Safe to say any regression we thought was coming for this line looks unlikely.
Michael Bunting – Goal and two assists with two shots. Crazy game, as Bunting had all three points in the first period. That said, he’s only a bottom end streamer while he’s barely above a shot per game.
Matthew Wood – Goal and an assist with three shots. The former first round pick looks very promising in the early going. He’s a middling streamer, but in dynasties, I think he turns into a clear hold eventually. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Philipp Kurashev – Two goals on five shots. He’s off to a shocking good start. Kurashev was downright dreadful last season, but he did have 54 points in 75 games two seasons ago, despite a -44 rating (!). For now, he’s a solid streamer.
Sam Steel – Three assists playing over 18 minutes. As long as he’s in the top six, including with Mikko Rantanen (1+1), Steel is a bottom end streamer, even without much offensive talent.
Drew O’Connor – Two goals, both assisted by Aatu Raty. Don’t see much from either guy for fantasy purposes.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Goal and two assists with two shots. Middling streamer as long as Tarasenko is on PP1.
Jonas Brodin – Goal and an assist. Still a nice player in real life, but Brodin is only a deep league option for blocks, especially because of his injury risk.
Vinnie Hinostroza – Goal and an assist with three shots. And there’s your monthly Hinostroza update!
Joel Eriksson Ek – Two assists with two shots. It hasn’t been the best start, especially at even strength, but I’m still holding JEEK without much hesitation.
Zach Werenski – Goal and an assist with four shots. If you had any doubt, it’s become abundantly clear that last season wasn’t a fluke for Werenski, the shot rate included.
John Tavares – Two assists with four shots. Despite Toronto’s struggles, Tavares is crushing with 16 points in 12 games.
Nicholas Robertson – Goal and an assist. Some days, Robertson looks like a top six player, and other days, he barely looks like an NHL’er. It’s so inconsistent that it’s hard to see him as more than a bottom end streamer.
Drake Batherson – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Batherson is doing his best to keep the Sens afloat. He has a whopping eleven points in his last five games.
Cole Caufield – Goal and an assist with three shots. Nick Suzuki had two assists with a shot. The top line is dominating for Montreal as they’re sitting atop the Atlantic.
Dawson Mercer – Two goals on three shots. Mercer looks completely back on track and is a must hold everywhere.
Jacob Markstrom – 43 saves on 44 shots in the 4-1 win over the Kings. Nice game after a contract extension for Markstrom. There’s no denying the upside, and for that reason, he should still be held.
Adam Fox – Two assists with two shots. Fox being back above two shots per game is enough to get him back into the bottom end #1 range in 12’ers. We know how good the points will be.
Will Cuylle – Goal and an assist with six shots. It was a dreadful start for Cuylle, but after a four game point streak, he’s back into elite streamer range, especially in hits leagues.
Chandler Stephenson – Goal and an assist playing over 24 minutes. Stephenson is in middling streamer range with this workload.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal and an assist with five shots. After two brutal years in Seattle, Burakovsky looks back on track in Chicago. He’s a middling streamer for now because of a poor shot rate.
Connor McDavid – Three assists with five shots. As improved as the Blackhawks look so far, they have no answer for offensive superstars, as Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard each added a goal and an assist.
Sunday’s Games
Jake Guentzel – Goal and an assist. Guentzel is right in line with his norm, being around a point per game and around three shots per game. In fact, the shot rate is up, which is nice to see.
Ian Cole – Two assists. And there’s your annual Cole update!
Matthew Schaefer – Two goals on three shots. I am already taking the L on Schaefer. I did not expect this season from Schaefer as a just turned 18 year old. He’s been an absolute force so far.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two goals. After a dreadful start, Huberdeau has a point in five straight games. He’s still only middling streamer worthy with his shot rate and how poor the Flames are.
Dustin Wolf – 17 saves on 18 shots in the 2-1 win over the Flyers. While this season could be rough because of Calgary’s struggles, I would take the chance in dynasties to buy low, especially if your team is rebuilding.
Beckett Sennecke – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Sennecke cooled off a lot before this game, dropping him from the fringe to elite streamer. There’s insane upside long term though.
Lukas Dostal – 32 saves on 33 shots in the 4-1 win over the Devils. Dostal has been a monster once again. It’s only a matter of time until the Ducks improve defensive and Dostal is a top five fantasy goalie.
Three Point Challenge: We’re bringing back the Three Point Challenge for Tuesday’s games! As a reminder of the rules, you can’t pick anyone in the top 10 in points. For now, we will use last season’s totals, so you can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Kucherov, Pastrnak, Marner, Connor, Eichel, Makar or Crosby. I’ll go with Kaprizov against the Predators.
That’s all for now guys. MarmosDad should be back on Wednesday, but if not, I will be. If he is, I will be back on Friday with another post. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
