Around The NHL: 32 Thoughts, Fantasy Edition

I hope that everyone enjoyed their long weekend as much as I got to enjoy the Bills demolishing the 49ers on Sunday night!  The Sabres and having to dig out my car, not as much fun.  Anyways, I’m going to take a look at one player on each team around the league whose value has changed for the better or worse in the short term.  I’ll give you their current value and what I’m expecting from them in the near and short term.  Let’s get to it!

The skater with the most fantasy value for the Ducks over the last 15 days is Olen Zellweger.  Zellweger is on the second pair and more importantly, on the Ducks top power play unit.  He played over 19 minutes in four of their past five games, and he’s providing a decent shot rate for a defensemen.  He’s on the fringe in 12’ers with a lean towards holding if you need power play help.

It’s been a disappointing start for Pavel Zacha, but his role is as big as ever.  He’s averaging the most PP time of his career, and he’s locked back into playing with Pasta.  The shots are actually decent enough, and he does have four points in his past three games, so Zacha has a chance to salvage his slow start.  For now, he’s a middling streamer with upside.

The Sabres are struggling to score right now, but they’re staying in games because of goaltending.  UPL was one of the best goalies in the entire league in November, but James Reimer deserves credit.  He’s played very well in both games since returning to the Sabres and is back on the streaming radar for when the Sabres have back to backs.

The days of Brent Burns carrying fantasy value appear to be over.  Somehow, his ownership is still hovering around Gostisbehere’s which makes no sense.  Burns should not be held in any formats while Gostisbehere should be held everywhere.

I’m buying Yegor Sharangovich going forward.  The shot rate has been elite and he’s consistently getting 18+ minutes with the necessary power play time.  I wouldn’t be surprised to see him go on a goal scoring binge sooner than later.  For now, I have him in the elite streamer range.

I always liked Ryan Donato, but I didn’t have him being the second best forward for Chicago this year.  He’s managed to get a bigger opportunity this season than last, where I was bullish on him having fantasy value.  Now, he’s on PP1 and center Bertuzzi and Teravainen.  Donato is an elite streamer in this capacity.

The hottest player in fantasy right now?  It’s actually Zach Werenski.  In his last five games, Werenski has 12 points, is +13, and has 9 PIM with 21 SOG.  This heater has moved him up to the #1 defenseman for the season.  He’s the biggest reason that the Blue Jackets are an early surprise and has played his way into the Norris conversation.  Just stay healthy!

The minutes are still there for Casey Mittelstadt, but to say he’s as cold as ice is an understatement.  He even lost his PP1 spot against the Oilers as the Avs went back to the five man unit that dominated last season.  I’d only be holding Mittelstadt in 16’ers or deeper anymore, although I admit that it can turn around for the better sooner than later.

After a rough start, Wyatt Johnston has a point in five straight games as the top line looks much better.  If you can still buy low on Johnston, I would definitely do it.  I’d also be inclined to go for Hintz and even Robertson.

Vladimir Tarasenko has moved onto the first line and has four points in his last five games.  The shot rate has been solid lately so it’s worth a bump to value, but he’s still only in the solid to elite streamer range.  He’ll need to move onto PP1 and produce to get onto the fringe or better.

To start the season, Vasily Podkolzin couldn’t buy a goal, going 21 games scoreless.  Despite that, he was bumped onto the second line and has scored a goal in three straight games.  I want to see if it lasts when Hyman comes back in the next game or two, but Podkolzin could have some nice short term value in deep leagues.

Aaron Ekblad has been given another chance on the first power play unit and taken the opportunity and ran with it.  He has five points in his last five games and is a clear hold in all formats.  Also, Samoskevich is on PP1 right now despite a fourth line role, which puts him on the streaming radar.

I was really hoping for a breakthrough from Quinton Byfield this season, but it just hasn’t happened.  I’m starting to think we just never get that offensive force that was expected when he was drafted second overall.  He’s a middling streamer in 12’ers, but the big hit is in his dynasty value.

With Zuccarello out, Marco Rossi has taken his spot on the top power play unit.  The problem is that the Wild have loaded up the top line with JEEK, Kaprizov and Boldy together, and Rossi’s shot rate is a clear negative.  Rossi is still on the fringe because the points have been that good.

Not a lot has changed lately for the Canadiens, but this season has been a complete disaster for Kirby Dach.  He has only one goal in 24 games and is -20.  There’s talk of him potentially being traded again as he’s fallen out of the top six.  Here’s to hoping he can find his game again at some point and his career isn’t ruined by the major knee injury.

Stefan Noesen has played so well for the Devils that he’s forced his way into the top six.  Noesen having 13 goals already when his career high is 14 is just insane.  Given his PP1 role too, Noesen is in the elite streamer category with a case for being on the fringe depending on team needs.

Everything remains status quo for the Predators, which isn’t a good thing given their struggles so far.  The one guy whose value has crumbled is Gustav Nyquist.  Despite staying on the top line and PP1, his level of play has really dropped off after a resurgent year last season.  Add in the dreadful shot rate and he’s down to a bottom end streamer.

Simon Holmstrom bumped up to the first line with Horvat and Lee, and rewarded Roy with four goals in their last two games.  The shot rate has been good too, even though it’s been dreadful on the whole this season.  While he’s a hot schmotato, Holmstrom is a solid streamer, although I don’t expect it to last.

The top Rangers forwards besides Panarin have struggled so much that their second best forward overall this season has been Will Cuylle.  Their recent struggles have pissed off Laviolette so much that Cuylle is currently with Panarin and Chytil.  Given how well Cuylle has played this season at even strength, this minutes boost puts him on the fringe of 12’ers, even with minimal power play time.

Not much has changed for Ottawa, but both of their defensemen have really struggled compared to expectations.  It’s far more disappointing for Jake Sanderson, who has been on PP1 the whole time.  He’s performing there very well, but he has only two even strength points on the season!  That is horrendous and the key to him turning his season around.  Obviously we’re still holding hoping for the best.

Somehow, the Flyers are on fire.  For those of you in deep leagues, Emil Andrae is running the top power play unit right now.  With the roll that Konecny and Michkov are on, there’s some value there.  The former second round pick hasn’t done much yet in his rookie season, but that shows the confidence Torts has.  Welcome to the Razzball Database!

The Penguins acquired Philip Tomasino from the Predators and slotted him on their second line with Malkin right away.  In three games, Tomasino has scored two goals, putting twelve shots on net.  One of his goals came on the second power play unit, so it’s a clear boost in value from Nashville.  He’s a middling streamer with potential upside.

I was worried that the return of Dunn would really hurt Ryker Evans‘ fantasy value.  He looked destined to drop to the third pair and lose his PP time.  Instead, he moved onto the second pair with Montour, and played on the second PP unit with Dunn.  The shot rate is dreadful, but it looks like Evans should be able to stay on the fringe.

Remember when the Red Wings gave away Jake Walman and gave up a draft pick to do so?  Walman is now a top 15 fantasy defenseman on the season after seven points in his last five games.  He’s even +9 on a dreadful Sharks team.  Walman is still available in around half of leagues and is a clear hold everywhere.

Nobody is particularly hot for the Blues, although Jake Neighbours has been their best forward for the last two weeks.  He’s on the first line and top power play unit with Montgomery in charge, which is great for his value.  For now, he’s a solid streamer with upside.

Tampa is status quo, so I just want to point out that Brandon Hagel played 28:45 on Saturday against the Leafs.  No, the game didn’t even go to overtime.  Absurd ice time for a forward and with how he’s been playing, I don’t blame Cooper one bit.

The Leafs went with five forwards on the PP the other day, with Matthew Knies being the beneficiary.  That pushes Knies towards the fringe for the time being, with a lean towards an elite streamer.

A lot of the Utah forwards are hot right now, with the hottest being Logan Cooley.  He’s up to 20 points in 24 games after eight in the last five.  I’ve leaned towards holding him all along because of the upside, so this run only solidifies that opinion.

Safe to say that Jake DeBrusk has found his game.  He’s onto the top line and top PP unit with Miller gone, and has delivered with 7 goals and 2 assists in his last five games, including a hat trick on Sunday.  The shots are also up, putting DeBrusk on the fringe.  I’m fine with holding while he has this massive role and he’s on fire.

The Vegas forwards are quite rough after the top few, but it’s good to see Adin Hill back on his game.  He allowed three goals in his last game, but that was the first time in six games that he allowed more than two.  Given how bad Samsonov was in his last two games, it wouldn’t be surprised to see Hill get an extended run.

Thankfully Ehlers avoided a major injury, but he did miss Sunday’s game against the Stars.  Alex Iafallo moved onto the second line and top power play unit.  I wouldn’t use him in 12’ers, but he’s back on the radar for deeper leagues.

Pretty much every player on the Capitals is hot.  It’s been a remarkable start to the season with none of it looking fluky.  Props to Carberry and the players for delivering.  I liked Sandin to bounce back on the blue line, but even more so, I wanted Jakob Chychrun with his new start.  He’s been fantastic so far, settling in as a top 20 fantasy defenseman.  The shooting percentage will go down, but I think the shot rate is destined to go back up to where it was in Arizona.  He’s thriving on the power play without Ovechkin.

Three Point Challenge:  We will start to use the current Top 10 in points now that we’re in December.  That means no Kaprizov, Necas, MacKinnon, Eichel, Kucherov, Strome, Reinhart, Rantanen, Makar, or Draisaitl.  We will do Tuesday’s games per usual.  I’ll go with Tkachuk against the Penguins.

That’s all for now guys.  I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights.  As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below.  Thanks for reading, take care!