Hey, everyone.
Your extended-play streamer column is here. I hope your fantasy weeks went well, and that you maximized games played and put more skaters on the ice than your opponent. I’m a big believer in accountability, and will be following up on the data I am collecting, and how the previous weeks have panned out. Because I write these over the weekend, matchups are still occurring, so I will use data from the previous completed week, pulled from my most competitive league as well as the two RCL’s.
So, in order to give Razzball readers a potential plus-8 or plus-12 skaters in a week, here is my weekly column indicating what teams you should grab free agents from, and some players who might be available in your leagues.
Hey, everyone.
I’m Lackeydrinksonme, a Buffalo sports fan and thus a budding alcoholic. I play fantasy everything, and I’ve been in Viz’s fantasy hockey threads for a while now... I’ve also been handing out intermittent advice based on what I’ve seen and gleaned from the world of hockey. I’ve taken a unique approach to my fantasy hockey this year, and have worked to maximize player starts.
Has Sam Reinhart lived up to being the second overall pick in his draft? Definitely not. Is the book closed on him becoming a great player? I don't think so. Reinhart has shown flashes this season but his quality of linemate has been quite poor. Last game, Reinhart moved to the first line with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane. This move paid dividends on Tuesday night where Reinhart scored a goal and two assists with four shots playing 18:36 in the 5-4 OT loss to the Penguins. What does this mean going forward? Well, Reinhart becomes an elite streamer and potential hold as long as he's playing with Eichel and Kane. Subjectively, I think Reinhart has been much stronger on the puck this year and if not for Eichel missing a glorious chance and another point blank save, Reinhart could have easily reached 4-5 points in this game. Obviously we can't expect that on a nightly basis but there's no reason Reinhart can't play around a 25+35 pace going forward. Here's to hoping Phil Housley does what's right and keeps him there. Let's take a look at what else happened around the league the past two nights:
In Wednesday's daily notes, I said that if I could, I would be looking to buy low on all of the elite goalies. Obviously some at different levels than others, but everyone knows my love for Devan Dubnyk and the Wild as a regular season team. I own plenty of Dubnyk stock again this year and it's been nowhere near as fun as last season when he took the league by storm. Dubnyk was a monster on Thursday night stopping all 41 shots he faced in the 3-0 win over the Canadiens. Four of Dubnyk's last eight starts (yes, one has bad against Toronto Wednesday but that's Toronto) have been strong so perhaps there's something building here. Expect things for Dubnyk, and the Wild in general, to keep improving sooner than later. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I was all in on the Tampa Bay Lightning again this year picking them to make the Stanley Cup Finals. Obviously they don't crown champions 3 weeks into the season but Tampa has started off incredibly well. They've had some depth players step up but at the end of the day, their studs have been incredible. The top two players in points in the NHL by a wide margin are both Lightning players with Steven Stamkos. Tampa Bay blitzed Pittsburgh 7-1 on Saturday and Stamkos led the way with a goal, three assists and four shots on goal. That gives Stamkos a whopping 17 points (3+14) in 9 games. Stamkos was a player who consistently dropped in my drafts into the third round and while it's too early to celebrate given Stamkos' injury, it's been the dream start. Fingers crossed that he stays healthy because Stammer could be a top 10, maybe even top 5 player. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
As far as stunning results go, the Senators going into Calgary and winning 6-0 against Calgary is up there. They then matched it on Saturday night beating the Oilers 6-1. Not bad for back to back games against two elite teams on the road without their best player. Leading the way for the Senators was Kyle Turris. Over the two games, Turris scored two goals on five shots with four assists and two PIM. Reid's man crush has the ability to be a top 100 player in fantasy. Will this be the year he gets there? Maybe, but even if it's not, Turris should be owned in all leagues. Let's take a look at what happened over the weekend:
The Florida Panthers were the biggest surprise of 2015-16 as they went from near the bottom of the league to winning the Atlantic Division. They entered last season with lofty expectations but an injury-riddled season saw them miss the playoffs. Despite last season's disappointment, the Panthers enter this season as a favorite to get back into the playoffs. Their young core remains intact but there are plenty of new supplementary pieces around them instead of Jonathan Marchessault and Jaromir Jagr. They have no superstar fantasy players but there are plenty of top end talents and intriguing pieces. Let's take a look at the Florida Panthers roster for the 2017-18 NHL Season:
In these parts, we're a big supporter of the Jets for fantasy hockey. Going back to when I started writing here, the Jets love started with Blake Wheeler. An unheralded superstar, Wheeler has never received the credit he deserves for his consistent level of play. Another year goes by and it's another year where Wheeler is pushing the top ten overall forwards. Wheeler continued his recent hot streak with a goal and two assists with two shots in the 3-2 win over the Flyers. That brings his totals to 22+41 in 73 games with 43 PIM and 230 SOG. The safety he provides is the main reason why I ranked him 21st overall in the preseason and it looks like Wheeler is going to reach that value. So where will he be next season? He's going to turn 31 before next season starts which means he's likely to start marginally declining as he exits his prime. However, his quality of teammate is going to continue to improve as the rest of the Jets core moves towards their prime. Is he going to be worth a second pick again? It's going to be pretty close but at the least, Wheeler will be a high third round pick. I don't see him falling outside of my top 30. Let's take a look at the action around the league the last two nights:
On the last podcast, Reid and I looked at a bunch of players who were under 50% that I thought were must-own. I made a massive oversight leaving somebody off that list: Conor Sheary. I just looked and saw that he's 45% owned which absolutely blows my mind (I thought he was in the 70's or 80's). Sheary had an excellent weekend scoring twice on three shots on Friday and then getting two goals and an assist with four shots on Sunday. That brings Sheary's totals to 17+17 while being +17 in 39 games. Seventeens are wild! Anyways, Sheary is on pace for 35+35 over 82 games with an excellent plus-minus and decent enough shots. That's closer to a top 50 player than someone who is on the waiver wire. We've seen guys in the past be excellent fantasy values being a passenger on Crosby's line so if you're in one of the leagues where Sheary is available, pick him up immediately (I'd put him ahead of everyone discussed on the podcast). Then come back and read what else happened around the league this weekend!
Elias Lindholm has had a disappointing start to his NHL career. After being a top 5 pick in 2013, Lindholm has failed to reach 40 points in the first three seasons of his career. It's certainly not the end of the world given that he just turned 22 years old; not everybody is a McJesus or MacKinnon and dominates right out of the gate. Lindholm is currently in the midst of the best streak of his young career. On Friday night against the Sabres, Lindholm dished an assist and added four shots extending his point streak to five games. He followed up it with a massive game scoring a goal and two assists with five shots in the 7-4 win over the Islanders. That brings his point streak to six games and gives him 18 points in 33 games to this point. Obviously this isn't going to last but Lindholm is an elite streamer at the moment and like a few other young forwards on his team, there's some real sleeper potential here for 2017-18. Let's take a look at what else happened around the league over the weekend:
Brad Marchand was one of the biggest breakout players in 2015-16 scoring 37 goals drastically increasing his shot rate to 3.5 per game while adding 90 PIM. While all of those numbers are taking a slight step back this season, he's improving the weaknesses in his game to become a well rounded player. Marchand returned to his old ways this weekend with three goals on six shots over two games to give him 12+22 on the season. He's only six assists from a career high and we've just reached the halfway point. Marchand also has nine power play points which is already a career high. Instead of being a three or four category stud (depending on plus-minus), he's become a big plus in five categories with the potential for all six if the plus-minus improves. These totals have him 15th in the player rater among forwards and that shouldn't come as a shock coming off a top ten season. It might not be exactly what you wanted but it's been excellent across the board. Here's what else I saw around the league this weekend:
In my preseason rankings, I wrote the following about Chris Kreider: "He’s good for 20+20 with strong penalty minutes but I’m not expecting much more even though he has a ton of potential." What I meant to include was 20+20 at the halfway point! For years, Kreider has been talked about as an elite talent but somebody who hasn't been able to put it together. Like a few other players on the Rangers, Kreider has seemingly put it all together at this point and the results are outstanding. In the 6-2 win over the Avalanche on Saturday, Kreider scored a hat trick on six shots extending his point streak to 4 games (8 total points). In 33 games, Kreider now has 15+14 with 19 PIM and 91 shots. Add in Kreider being +6 and you're looking at a contributor in all categories. At this point, we're looking at a guy who should push towards the top 50 at the end of the season and going forward; he's still only 25 years old. Let's take a look at what happened to close 2016 and the opening day of 2017:
