To change up from my usual daily notes, I’ll be looking at one player on each NHL team today. All of them had a change in value recently, and I’ll look at how they’re doing it and what it says about them going forward. Let’s get to it!
Anaheim is in dire straits right now. It’s no surprise that they plummeted down the standings after a hot start. The good news is that Mason McTavish should be back any game now (Zegras sooner than later). McTavish is the only Duck that I consider a definite hold when healthy. He’s been dropped in a few places because he was never put on IR, but if you’re in one of those leagues, I’d grab him.
I love Logan Cooley for dynasties, but I don’t understand why he’s owned in > 50% of leagues right now. He only has three goals, the shot rate is poor, and he’s doing poorly at even strength. Could he have a big finish to the season? Undeniably. But he’s nowhere near a hold right now in 12’ers.
I was quite surprised to see Boston send Poitras to the World Junior Championship. With Zacha out, the Boston centers look quite awful, but they continue to chug along anyways. The big winner right now is Morgan Geekie. He’s playing with Pasta, has played 17+ minutes in four straight, and has four points in those four games. Geekie is an elite streamer in the short term.
The plan was for Devon Levi to reset in Rochester before coming back to Buffalo. Then, UPL got sick, forcing a recall. In four games since Levi came back, he’s allowed seven total goals, going 3-0-1. Levi is clearly must own right now in all formats.
If it wasn’t clear that Carolina was ready to roll with Pyotr Kochetkov, they waived Raanta. That sparked a rumor that Andersen was close to returning, but Friedman reported that we shouldn’t jump to that conclusion. We know Kochetkov is talented based on last season’s performance. Given how strong Carolina is defensively, Kochetkov has top 10 goalie upside. He’s still available in over 60% of leagues, but he should be owned everywhere.
One of the biggest risers in the past two weeks has been Yegor Sharangovich. He’s been on the first line and first power play unit, resulting in his minutes and production skyrocketing. You could hold him as a hot schmotato, but at the least, Sharangovich is one of the best streamers in the league.
With their current injuries, Chicago has one of the worst bluelines I’ve ever seen. Their forward group isn’t much better. Besides the obvious hold of Bedard, the only guy I’d want to stream is Philipp Kurashev. It’s dependent on his current workload, and even with it, I don’t see him as more than a middling streamer. Sadly, that makes you noteworthy on the Blackhawks.
Columbus is another team that I don’t want anything to do with right now. Kirill Marchenko is a lone bright spot lately. I’m not holding, but the minutes are going up, the goals and shots are decent enough, and he currently is a key figure on their PP. He’s a solid streamer.
Nobody is playing better than Nathan MacKinnon over the past month. Mac Daddy is sitting on a 15 game point streak, he’s now second in the league in points, and the shot rate is sitting around 4.5 per game. While I would still favor McDavid in the points race, MacKinnon has as good of a chance as any to be the #1 fantasy skater.
Matt Duchene was one of the best signings of the summer, but so far, he’s panned out even better than expected. Duchene has been on fire, culminating in two goals and an assist against the Kraken on Monday. His line is starting to get big minutes, and he’s pushing a point per game. I don’t understand how he’s available in so many leagues. Duchene is clearly a hold now.
The Red Wings just went from three goalies to potentially one. Lyon is week to week after leaving Saturday’s game, before Husso was injured in the first period on Monday. That leaves James Reimer as the last man standing. His overall numbers have been reasonable, albeit in a small sample size. If you’re in a deep league and desperate for goaltending, then Reimer is worth the gamble.
The second best forward for the Oilers this season has been Zach Hyman, and it’s not even close. Hyman has been a top 20 skater, crushing all of the categories across the board. Hyman’s expected goals last season were near the top of the league, and now he’s finally starting to bury all of his gift wrapped chances. The main thing is that none of his performance is fluky. It’s reasonable to expect Hyman’s production to continue.
The fifth spot on Florida’s top power play unit drastically swings the value of those potential players. Right now, it’s Verhaeghe, who is a hold regardless, but gets a big bump. That means a bump down for Sam Bennett. He’s still a solid streamer, but I wouldn’t consider him as a hold right now.
Quinton Byfield was projected to be a player that took time to develop. Then, people wrote him off as a bust because he didn’t dominate right away, even though he never was expected to. The point is that in a lot of cases, patience is key. Byfield has 23 points in 27 games. The shot rate keeps him from being a slam dunk hold, but he’s an elite streamer at the least, and I’d lean towards him being on the fringe.
It was only a matter of time until the players on Minnesota who were struggling turned it around. They had the usual bump with a new coach, and it’s started with Filip Gustavsson in net. He’s been the best goalie in the league over the last two weeks. He’s already been grabbed in most leagues that he was dropped in, but if you’re fortunate enough to be in a league that he’s available, grab him immediately.
Honestly, I would just skip over Montreal if I didn’t want to stick to the theme of the post. While he hasn’t produced yet, the one change is that Juraj Slafkovsky is getting massive minutes. It makes sense given that the team should be in developmental mode, and it will help us project him in the upcoming seasons. That said, he’s a middling streamer at best.
The Devils have been a two man team over the last couple weeks. The one interesting case is Luke Hughes. Even with Hamilton out, his performance has been mediocre. He had one hot streak where he piled up a ton of assists and power play points, but has done little else otherwise. I’d lean towards holding him, but it’s much more marginal than consensus thinks.
A new deep league target is Colton Sissons. Sissons usually has one or two big games a season and does very little else. However, he now has 10 goals, and more importantly, he’s played 17+ minutes in the past five. Sissons is getting first unit power play time for the first time in his career. He’s a solid streamer in 12’ers, but he’s worth holding in 16’ers and deeper.
Who would have thought the Isles would be 6-2-2 in their last ten, but their goalies would be struggling? Their true record of 14-16 is a far better indicator of their talent than 14-8-8. Regardless, we know what to expect from their studs, but another deep league option that I love is Mike Reilly. Reilly has been a consistent performer when given the chance. He’s pushing towards three shots per game, and has posted five points in twelve games. Add in PP2 time and Reilly has bounced back on the Island.
Business has been as usual for the Rangers. That includes Jonathan Quick playing great after years of struggling. Does it make sense? No, not really. But I’d stream him in every start now.
The real news in Ottawa is that D.J. Smith, after constant rumors of being fired, was canned on Monday. Hilariously, Jacques Martin was unearthed to be the interim coach. It’s hard to say if anything changes. Ottawa’s goalies have been horrible, their stars have been stars, and they’ve gotten little from the bottom of their roster. I will say that I like the play of Josh Norris lately. I was surprised to see him on 75% of rosters. He’s on the fringe for me, although the upside is quite large.
While the Flyers continue to be one of the biggest surprises in the league, there haven’t been any recent risers. The main thing is that Carter Hart is playing at a top level. He’s been a top 10 goalie to this point in the season, and while he’s been a #1, I would still project him as a #2 for the rest of the season. I’ve always believed in Hart, but it’s still better than I expected.
Rickard Rakell had an awful start to the season before landing on LTIR. He returned on Monday, and the important thing is that Rakell went right back onto the first line. The shots have been above average, but he somehow has 0 goals. I wouldn’t be rushing to grab Rakell. That said, he could easily become an elite streamer and quickly.
It’s great to see Razzball favorite Oliver Bjorkstrand playing as well for Seattle as he did for the Blue Jackets. Bjorkstrand is pushing three shots per game and playing at a 65 point pace. Even with poor PIM and hits, I have Bjorkstrand as a bottom end hold. He’s still available in 75% of leagues.
Mikael Granlund has been getting all of the minutes he can handle. Seemingly out of nowhere, he has 21 points in 24 games. He’s even over two shots per game. Granlund looks like he belongs on the fringe now. I’m skeptical it will continue, but with that role, anything is possible.
Another team with a new coach, the Blues firing Berube is puzzling. They have a mediocre roster and have been a mediocre team, but I guess Armstrong needed a scapegoat. Anyways, Jordan Binnington has actually been decent this season with a .908 sv%, but the Blues give up so many shots that his GAA is over 3. With a new coach, we could see that short term bump. It’s speculative so I’m not rushing to grab him, but this team has very little outside of their obvious top guys.
Tampa is one of the most boring fantasy teams. They’re a true studs and duds roster. Anthony Cirelli is one of the only middling guys, and he’s played well over the last two weeks. Even with Cirelli playing 18+ minutes frequently, I can’t see him as more than a middling streamer.
The Canucks are very similar to the Lightning, except that they have a backup goalie worth streaming. Casey DeSmith has been a monster in his nine games, despite having only five wins. I would stream him in all starts for the time being.
Ivan Barbashev has moved onto the first line with Eichel and Stone. Even with that, I’m shocked to see him 65% owned. He’s not on the top power play unit, the shot rate is poor, and he’s generally around 15 minutes per game, less than his linemates. Barbashev is a solid streamer, but don’t hold him in 12’ers.
All aboard the Gabe Vilardi train! He’s been on an absolute tear since returning, scoring five goals and adding three assists in the last five games. Vilardi also has 3+ shots in every game. Loyal Razzballers know that I was all in before the season started. If you’re lucky enough that he’s still available in your league, grab him now.
It’s shocking to see Alex Ovechkin in a massive goal drought with only five goals on the season. When you consider two of them were empty netters, it’s even worse. However, even with his struggles, he’s pushing towards four shots per game as usual. He simply can’t shoot under 5% forever, and while the chances of a normal Ovechkin season are out of the window already, he’s still capable of a big finish to the season.
Three Point Challenge: We will do Tuesday’s games per usual. You can’t select Kucherov, MacKinnon, Miller, Panarin, McDavid, Pastrnak, Nylander, Rantanen, Reinhart, Q. Hughes, or Pettersson. I’ll go with Nichushkin against the Blackhawks.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back tomorrow with a recap of Tuesday’s games. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
