Instead of my usual Monday daily notes, I am going to update my list of holds and streams for every NHL team. This should help everyone out quite a bit in companion with my Playoff Schedule Manifesto. I will also add in some notes where I feel like they're necessary, either to explain myself, or some quick thoughts on a player. Let's get right to it!
Dion Phaneuf
Mrazek Finds Brotherly Love
February 21, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 6 Commentsby: Viz
It took a few injuries, but we finally had some goaltender movement. Petr Mrazek, who appeared to be Detroit's franchise goalie less than two years ago, is now a member of the Flyers. In return, Detroit received two conditional draft picks. Best case scenario, they'll get a 2nd and 3rd round picks. Worst case, they only get a 4th. So what is the fantasy impact? I've been writing for a few weeks that Mrazek should be owned everywhere because he was finally playing well. That's clear as day now going to a much better situation in Philly, so grab him if he's still available. As for in Detroit, it should be Jimmy Howard's show. He has a .910 save percentage this season, which is closer to his career norm than last season's .927 in 26 games. I don't see him as being much more than a desperation play going forward outside of the best matchups. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Kase Open
February 16, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 22 Commentsby: Viz
Yes, I know Ondrej Kase's name is pronounced like case, but let me be punny, will you!? I dug back into the Razzball Hockey archives to find what I first wrote about Kase. And by dug into the archives, I mean I used the simple search bar at the top. The first time I wrote about him was early last season in 2016. "I’ve been impressed with his play and while it’s not enough for now, Kase’s an intriguing dynasty option in deep leagues." And that's me quoting me copying what Grey does! Go check out the baseball side of Razzball and sign up for an RCL. Anyways, a month later, I said Kase has shown enough long-term upside that he should be on the radar moving forward. Well, the seventh round pick is breaking out before our eyes. Kase scored a goal and two assists with three shots in the 3-2 win over the Blackhawks on Thursday, giving him 16 goals and 14 assists on the season, along with a +17 rating in 43 games. It's not all great; the PIM are non-existent and the minutes are quite low at the moment (despite the big game, Kase played only 12:13). Regardless, the 22 year old is already a solid third liner for the Ducks and there could be a bit more here long term. His minutes keep him from being a hold in 12'ers, but I'm definitely streaming him. The hits are awful this season which hurts in deep leagues, but they were fine last season so I think it's a bit of an anomaly. Kase has already exceeded expectations as a 7th round pick, but I think he can turn into a solid 50-60 point player for those of you in dynasties. Let's take a look at what others did around the NHL the last two nights:
Podcast: Our Long Awaited Return
February 15, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Podcast |by: Viz
After a brief haitus, Reid and I are back to bring you up to date on the hockey world. We have a wide ranging conversation about what has happened recently and its impact on fantasy hockey. Among the notable topics are the Dion Phaneuf trade, Jack Eichel's injury and the subsequent breakouts, Boston pushing Tampa Bay in the standings, and the Rangers are on the verge of blowing things up. We finish with Three Point Challenge picks, which you can make at hockey.razzball.com. All of that and more on the latest edition of The Razzball Hockey Podcast!
Let The DeBrincat Out Of The Bag!
January 26, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 36 Commentsby: Viz
The Chicago Blackhawks are in last place in their division for the first time in what seems like an eternity. They are lacking in the scoring department in a big way. There's one easily move that Joel Quenneville can make to help their cause: play Alex DeBrincat more. The 20 year old scored his second hat trick of the season on Thursday while adding an assist. He's now tied for third on the team in points and second in goals. However, on a per-minute basis, he scores more goals than anyone on the team by a country mile and he's incredibly close to Kane in points per minute. DeBrincat is averaging under 15 minutes per game on the season and to be blunt, that makes no sense to me. The Blackhawks aren't completely dead in the water, especially if Corey Crawford eventually returns (it's been reported that he could return to the ice "soon"). Either way though, getting DeBrincat more ice time helps the team now and helps his development. He's playing at a 28 goal pace with bottom six ice time! DeBrincat is an elite streamer in 12'ers right now but if his minutes increase as they should, I would bet he becomes a hold down the stretch. Let's take a look at what happened in the NHL over the last two nights:
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:
Jarry Jumps Onto The Scene
December 4, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 12 Commentsby: Viz
Reid and I talked about Tristan Jarry extensively on last week's podcast. We said that he should be picked up immediately with Matt Murray out for at least a few weeks, mostly because the Penguins had a back-to-back against the hapless Sabres. Well, Jarry delivered and then some in both games. He started off with a 34 save shutout in Buffalo before allowing 1 goal on 33 shots in Pittsburgh on Saturday. The schedule isn't great this week with the Rangers, Islanders, and Maple Leafs on deck, but they're all at home. At the least, Jarry is a nice spec add to see how things go against better competition. He's still available in over 70% of leagues so go grab him now. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Berger-on Point
October 20, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 37 Commentsby: Viz
Like Patrice Bergeron, I'm back! After a long flight back home, it'll be difficult for me to return in the style he did. Bergeron had a goal and three assists with six shots in his season debut, a 6-3 win over the Canucks. There's not much to be said about Bergeron; get him back in your lineup immediately. Look for his linemates to take off as well. Let's take a look at what happened over the last two nights:
Neal Makes Vegas A Winner… Twice!
October 10, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes, Streamers | 27 Commentsby: Viz
All everyone talked about in the preseason was wondering how bad Vegas was going to be in their expansion year. Sure, it's only two games, but boy did they have some excitement. On Friday, Dallas was dominating Vegas in their franchise opener but was only up 1-0 in the third. Down goes Ben Bishop which opened up the door for James Neal to give the people of Las Vegas some relief in an awful time. Neal scored two goals in the third period to propel the Golden Knights to victory. To top off the weekend, Neal scored another goal, this time the game winner in overtime, to give Vegas two wins to start the season. Neal is still available in over 40% of leagues and if you are in one of them, grab him. The shot rate is going to be elite along with solid penalty minutes and goals. At least for now, I'm not overly concerned about the top guys on Vegas having bad plus-minuses either. Let's take a look at what else happened in the first (long) weekend of the NHL season:
Notables Outside The Top 200
September 20, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey Rankings | 12 Commentsby: Viz
Once you get outside of the top 200 overall, you're looking at the last 2-3 picks in a standard 12 man league. There are a few different ways you can go about making your last few picks. You can shoot for upside, get a couple safe players if you already have plenty of upside, fill out your last couple defensemen, grab a goalie out of desperation. I'm going to list a bunch of players in different categories that fall outside of my top 200 that you can target depending on what you're looking for. I'm not going to go into detail on these guys but I will put them in my order of preference. Here is my list:
2017-18 Team Preview: Ottawa Senators
August 3, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Team Previews | 2 Commentsby: Viz
Amazingly, the Ottawa Senators were one goal away from making The Stanley Cup Finals last season. It was a simple formula: have the best defenseman in the world on your team, a hot goaltender and nice forward depth (only one forward had more than 11 points in their 19 playoff games). This year, they bring back the entire core from last season while adding a couple veterans and at least one, potentially two elite young talents. There is clear room for improvement given that the Senators actually had a negative goal differential last season. It's fair to say that Ottawa overachieved last season but it's also fair to say that their run wasn't a complete fluke. For fantasy, their team is very much like real life. They have one elite player, solid forwards and a goaltender that can carry you for stretches or bury you. Let's take a look at what Ottawa is working with:
The Eichel Tower Grows By Two
March 8, 2017 | 2016-17 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes, Streamers | 13 Commentsby: Viz
Bartender! Shot of Jack. Man, I loved that call growing up, RIP Stuart Scott. This shot is of Jack Eichel who is lapping the entire league when it comes to points over the last month. Eichel now has the second longest point streak of the season after another big game on Tuesday night. He was seemingly the only Sabre who could get anything going scoring two goals and an assist with three shots in the 6-3 loss to the Flyers. Eichel now has 45 points (18+27) in 46 games with over four shots per game. If he has stayed healthy all season, he'd be recognized in the same light as the two rookies going off this season. Eichel has been carrying fantasy teams for weeks now and he has the potential to do that the rest of the season. For where Reid and I think we'll rank him for next season, listen to Tuesday's podcast . Here's what else happened the last two nights around the league:
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