Hey guys! Sven back with the Buy, Sell, Hold segment for the second year. It’s pretty straight forward, players who are buys: you should pick up. Players who are sells, you should think about dropping. Players who are holds, you may be thinking about dropping but don’t just yet! Just for clarification, the % I am going to put next to the players’ stat line is their %own on ESPN. For Buys, I usually focus on guys with a %own less than 50%. Let’s get started! This is a quick one today as I have been very busy, but I will try to start pumping these out every week again.
BUY – Nate Schmidt (11GP 2-6-8, 25%own)
I am shocked that Schmidt’s %own is this low. After missing a good chunk off the start of his season with a knee injury, he is back and buzzing. Over 20 minutes a night and a great shot rate, it’s just a matter of time before Schmidt pops off. Not just saying this because he’s my display picture either!
Phillip Danault (22GP 6-11-17, 24.8%own)
I do hate how spread out Montreal’s scoring is, but I think Danault’s production is here to stay. With an average TOI of just over 18 minutes and over 20 minutes played in four of his last five, it’s safe to say he will keep getting good looks. If you’re jones-ing for some assists, Phil’s your guy. Chalk Pavel Buchnevich up for apple support as well.
SELL – PK Subban (20GP 2-3-5, 88.1%own)
I had similar frustrations owning Subban last season, and here’s what I would suggest. His name still holds plenty of weight among most fantasy hockey players, so despite him not being a sell-high, he kind of is. His TOI screams hold to me, but Vatanen/Butcher assuming PP1 responsibilities is enough for me to sell, especially for the return you’d get.
HOLD – Tyson Barrie (23GP 0-7-7, 79.8%own)
Barrie never really got a fair shake with coach Babs. He’s still a river boat gambler at heart, and isn’t a guy that can be molded into anything else at this point in his career. Small sample size (of one game), but coach Keefe appears to be using Barrie far more than Babs ever would have. He also tucked his first of the year! I would consider buying low on him right now.
