Hello everyone! With many NHL teams on their bye week this week, we changed things up a bit. A few listeners suggested we do a podcast on what the Olympic hockey rosters would look like if NHL players were included. Reid and I project the teams for USA, Canada, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and the Czech Republic. We discuss what players are locks, who else makes our teams and who else was in consideration. To close, we make our picks for The Three Point Challenge for Saturday's games. Be sure to make your picks in the comments section below. All of that and more in the latest edition of the Razzball Hockey Podcast!
After a massive breakout in which he scored 72 points in 77 games and Tampa Bay made the Cup Finals in 2014-15, everyone expected Tyler Johnson to push his way into superstardom. Then he struggled massively in 2015-16 scoring 38 points in 69 not-so-nice games. "It's okay, he'll bounce back!" Kind of, but 45 points in 66 games wasn't necessarily what people hoped. "Write him off, that was a fluke!" Nope, Johnson is back on track. Johnson scored a hat trick on Tuesday putting six shots on goal in the 5-4 win over Carolina. He now has 16 goals and 18 assists in 42 games with a +11 rating. The shot rate on the whole doesn't look great, but Johnson has 33 shots on goal in his past 9 games, in which he has 8 goals. The player that was tied for the team lead in points during the regular season and led a Cup finalist in points in the playoffs looks to be back. If he is, Tampa is going to be even more unstoppable. Johnson is available in around 25% of leagues and if you're lucky enough to be in, grab him immediately. If you own him, props for grabbing him and don't look to sell high because we know the upside. Let's take a look at what else happened the last two nights:
There have been a few big games by individuals this season but Patrice Bergeron's on Saturday is the new leader for the best of the year. Bergeron scored four goals and added an assist with seven shots in the 7-1 win over the Hurricanes. Bergeron was the second player this year to score four goals after Alex Ovechkin. Per usual, Bergeron is crushing all of the categories. He's playing around a 40+35 pace while already having a +19 rating, solid PIM and pushing four shots per game. Bergeron is a slam dunk top 50 player for the rest of the season who should push towards the top 25. Again, the top line in Boston is as good as it gets and Bergeron is at the forefront of their success. That line just gave up their first goal against at even strength all season! Remarkable stuff. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Hey guys! I'm very sick at the moment so I'm going to keep this short and sweet. I'm going to focus on players who aren't trivial holds in this set of daily notes. In other words, sorry Jakub Voracek, but this is the extent of me writing about you. Let's focus on Nino Niederreiter for a minute. El Nino killed it last season; he was a borderline top 50 player, definitely top 75. He hasn't started off that well and then was injured. Niederreiter returned on Thursday and had a hat trick before the midway point of the second period. He scored three goals on four shots as the Wild cruised to victory over the Sabres. We know his upside and after this game, he's up to 13 goals in 30 games. The penalty minutes are strong, he's +11, and he's only 48.5% owned because of his injury. Go pick him up now if he's available. Let's take a look at what else happened over the past two nights:
Happy New Years everyone! Reid and I are back and after taking a few minutes to talk about our Bills finally making the playoffs, we discuss a lot of things going on in the hockey world. We start with a massive injury rundown and the fantasy repercussions before discussing the World Juniors, how USA vs Canada would go in the Olympics if NHL'ers were playing, and many other things before making our picks for The Three Point Challenge on Thursday's games. Be sure to make your picks in the comments section below!
What the Vegas Golden Knights are doing in their inaugural season is nothing short of spectacular. The only thing I've ever seen like it is Leicester City fighting off relegation before winning the Premier League title the next season at 5000-1 shots. Sure, Vegas was nowhere near that big of a long shot, but to have the best record in the West is remarkable. On Tuesday, they beat their top competition, the Nashville Predators, 3-0. Marc-Andre Fleury led the way with a 28 save shutout. It's a shame Fleury was injured this season because he's been great in 9 of 10 starts. Fleury has won 8 of his 10 starts with a GAA below 2 and save percentage above .940. It's safe to say it will regress some but I'm well past the point of thinking Vegas is going to regress. This team is real and Fleury looks like he'll be a slam dunk #1 fantasy goalie for the rest of the season and going forward. Just a remarkable story that I can't get enough of. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
First off, I hope everyone had a Happy New Year's! As much as I personally don't care for New Year's Eve, this year was different because of the Buffalo Bills making the playoffs. I wish I had video of me celebrating with my dad or an audio recording of my friend, who is in Paris, who heard us yelling on speaker phone and him celebrating in the Paris streets. Couple that with an amazing USA win in the WJC outdoor game against Canada that I was at and things in the sports world couldn't be better. Even the Sabres looked competent today despite the loss! Anyways, let's get to what you're here for...
I've talked about Josh Bailey being the waiver wire pickup of the year on multiple occasions over the last couple weeks because, well, the Isles top line is on fire. That said, William Karlsson is easily #2 in this department. Wild Bill, a Razzball favorite from the past (aka favorite of mine), scored the first hat trick in Vegas history on Sunday, scoring three goals and an assist in the 6-3 win over the Maple Leafs. That brings Karlsson's totals to 20+13 in 33 games with a +15 rating. Sure, it will regress some because he's not going to shoot 26.3% all season, but let's give Karlsson his due. In the first 183 games of his career, Karlsson scored 18 goals. He has that beat for the Golden Knights in 37 games. His emergence is a huge part of Vegas shocking the world as they sit atop the Western Conference. Karlsson will drop off some in the second half, at least in the goals department, but make no mistake about it, it's not a complete fluke. Karlsson should be a hold for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last three days of the old year:
I have to admit, I've always had a soft spot for Thomas Vanek. I saw him win the NCAA Championship as Minnesota's best player as a freshman and fell in love with his offensive abilities before the Sabres drafted him 5th overall. Vanek was excellent for many years in Buffalo and while his game isn't where it once was, he can still put up points at a fairly high level. Vancouver switched their lines recently with Vanek playing with Brock Boeser and Sam Gagner. They exploded against Chicago on Thursday with Vanek leading the way. In the 5-2 win over the Blackhawks, Vanek scored two goals and three assists with five shots and two PIM finishing +5. Vanek now has 10 points in his past 4 games giving him 12+16 in 38 games this year. The shot rate has been up over the past ten games (3 per) so I'd grab Vanek while he's on fire, at least as a streamer. I'm sure his name will be discussed as a trade target again at this year's deadline and unlike last year in Florida, I think Vanek will make a difference. Injuries really hurt Florida and Vanek was mostly relegated to 12 minutes on third line duty. We've seen in Detroit last season and Vancouver this year that Vanek is still capable of putting up points. Let's take a look at what else happened Thursday night around the league:
Winnipeg cooled off the red hot Oilers on Wednesday night winning 4-3. They'd probably trade that win if it meant Mark Scheifele wasn't injured. The Jets superstar center fell awkwardly into the boards in the second period and did not return. This is mostly guesswork on my part but from watching a ton of hockey over the years, it looked like Scheifele severely damaged his shoulder or collarbone. Either way, we could be looking at a significant absence. What does it mean going forward for the Jets in fantasy hockey? I think we see the top two lines get their minutes evened out. Consequently, it would give a small boost to Laine and Ehlers while a slight down tick to Wheeler and Connor. The potential winner is Bryan Little. Little scored a goal in this game on three shots and played over 21 minutes. The Jets lack a true replacement as a top six center so it'll be interesting to see what the Jets lines look like tomorrow in practice and during the next game. My speculation: Little becomes must-own, one other player becomes a streamer (Armia?) and not much else changes. Here's to hoping Scheifele isn't out too long for everyone. Let's take a look at what else happened on Wednesday night after a three day hiatus for the NHL:
Ryan Getzlaf has been killing it for the Ducks since they were known as The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. He's been bald for that long too! Getzlaf missed extensive time this year due to injury but he's been great when in the lineup. He had his best game of the season on Thursday dishing four assists and adding two shots in the 5-4 OT win over the Islanders. To be honest, he wasn't even the best player on his team for fantasy (more on that guy later), but Getzlaf's fantasy impact is much greater. Getzlaf now has 2+13 in only 12 games so far. He played almost 25 minutes in this game which just goes to show you, everything is in place for Getzlaf to get back to being a top 50 player for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's Razzball Hockey Holiday Edition! Reid and I ask each other three questions each about the NHL and fantasy hockey. Among the questions asked include who the third best team in the NHL is at the moment and what goaltender is most likely to bounce back from a slow first half. After that, we make our picks for The Three Point Challenge. Feel free to make your pick in the comments section below. All of that and more on the latest edition of the Razzball Hockey Podcast!
Jake DeBrusk was the second of three consecutive first round picks by the Bruins in the 2015 draft. The other two players are still in the AHL developing but DeBrusk is starting to make his mark with the big squad. In the 7-2 beatdown of the Blue Jackets, DeBrusk scored a goal and two assists with four shots and two penalty minutes. He followed that up by scoring the only non-empty net goal against the Sabres on Tuesday. As you can see below, snipe city:
That brings DeBrusk up to 8 goals and 10 assists in 28 games with solid penalty minutes and a decent shot rate. The crazy thing is that he's producing despite getting poor minutes (he's averaging 14 per game on the season). DeBrusk has shown me plenty this season to improve his stock in dynasties. He looks like a lock to be a top six player going forward while having plenty of upside from there. In redrafts, I wouldn't hold him right now, solely because of the lack of minutes. That said, DeBrusk is still a great streamer while he's producing. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights in the NHL:
