We're over six weeks into the NHL season, and there have been plenty of changes over that time span. I figured this was a good time to run down all 31 teams and make a list of who is a hold or streamer, and add any notes on certain players where necessary. This is for 12 man leagues with standard categories. Let's get right to it!
Ryan Spooner
One Thought From Anaheim to Winnipeg
March 13, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes |by: Viz
Hey everyone! Hopefully your fantasy seasons are still going as we enter the last month of the season. Instead of normal daily notes, I'm going to discuss one situation for every team throughout the league. We'll get back to normal notes on Wednesday morning, but I feel like this was a good chance of pace to highlight some new developments around the NHL. Let's get to it!
Reid and I covered the Florida Panthers extensively on Thursday’s podcast, and their heater continued on Thursday night. Roberto Luongo posted a 40 save shutout in the 5-0 win over the Canadiens. Please, blog, may I have some more?
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!
Krejci Cashes In
March 2, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 10 Commentsby: Viz
I'll be honest, David Krejci has always been a Guy to me. Not a guy, not a GUY, just a guy. I even cut him on Thursday morning to stream a goalie, proof that I am human. Krejci scored a hat trick on Thursday, scoring on all three of his shots in the 8-4 win over Pittsburgh. That brings him to 14+19 on the season in 44 games. He doesn't quite need that pace to be fantasy worthy, but it's close because his PIM and SOG are well below average. In a 12'er, I probably lean towards holding but it's super close. Shallower, he's a streamer, deeper it's an easy hold. His playoff schedule is also great so use that to your advantage. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
LIVE NHL Trade Deadline Post
February 26, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Hockey News, Live Blog! | 7 Commentsby: Viz
It's Christmas in February! I'm going to hit on all of the trades that I haven't discussed to this point and then update this post with every trade that takes place today. These are all my instant thoughts from both a real life and fantasy perspective. Let's get right to it!
Another R. Nash in Boston
February 26, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 11 Commentsby: Viz
Rick Nash, the vice president of The Round Face Hockey Club, was traded to the Bruins as they look to make a deep run this postseason. I'm going to have a live trade deadline post again this year updating all of the trades throughout tomorrow. I'm also going to be recording a podcast with Reid right around 3 pm tomorrow to give our thoughts on everything that happens. I have the feeling it's going to be crazy. For Nash, I think he's a solid speculative add if you need the shots. He played on Sunday against Buffalo on the second line, recording five shots on goal in 17:27. He's over three shots per game on the season, the plus-minus should improve on Boston, and everyone can use goals on their team. I don't think he'll be a world beater, but with only 20 games left, it's certainly possible that Nash gets hot with his shot volume. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Can Johansen Jump Start His Game?
February 2, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 11 Commentsby: Viz
He hasn't been talked about much but as far as disappointments go, Ryan Johansen is near the top of the list. It wasn't that long ago that he was a 22 year old scoring 33 goals and 30 assists, followed up by 26+45. Johansen had 4 straight 60+ point seasons before this year and to be blunt, he's been awful compared to his high standards. Johansen had his best game in quite some time Thursday, dishing three assists and putting three shots on goal in the 5-0 win over the Kings. The main reason I'm encouraged by this? Filip Forsberg. The Swedish star returned from injury on Thursday and immediately went onto Johansen's wing. Still, five goals and under 1.5 shots per game on the season isn't going to get it done for Johansen owners. In the last three games, Johansen has at least three shots on goal, so I think he's going to keep building. I don't think we see Columbus Johansen again, but I don't see why last season's Johansen can be back for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Marchand Makes Moves With Mr. Bergeron
January 19, 2018 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 15 Commentsby: Viz
The best line in hockey from last season is at it again. Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron each had five points in the two Boston wins over the last two nights. Marchand started off with a goal and an assist with three shots in the 4-1 win over Montreal, then bettered that with a goal and two assists with three shots against the Islanders. Bergeron dished two assists on Wednesday before getting his second hat trick in the last two weeks on Thursday. Bergeron is now one point short of being at a point per game while Marchand is well over that, sitting at 1.28 ppg, third in the league. Marchand has provided slam dunk first down value, just exactly what you hoped for when you selected him this year. Bergeron has managed to surpass expectations on a per-game basis. If he didn't miss time, he'd be a top ten forward on the season. These guys are the main reason why the Bruins are one of the best teams in the league and a major Stanley Cup threat if they can manage to upset the Lightning. For our purposes, keep rolling them in seasonal formats, and if you're someone who fires multiple DFS lineups every night, I would make sure to have a Bruins stack on at least one team every night. The upside is simply too high to ignore. Let's take a look at what else happened 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:
DeBrusk Dangles And Pops Bottles
December 20, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Fantasy Hockey Daily Notes | 14 Commentsby: Viz
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:
2017-18 Team Preview: Boston Bruins
August 7, 2017 | 2017-18 Fantasy Hockey, Team Previews | 4 Commentsby: Viz
The Boston Bruins returned to the playoffs on the back of their first line. I would argue that Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak were the best trio in the league. Injuries hurt them immensely in their first round loss to the Senators but thankfully for them, they get a chance to run it back. Boston's roster is almost identical to last season's except for some young players that are ready to make a full time leap. They don't have many interesting pieces from a fantasy perspective but they have a few elite options and some top end prospects. Let's take a look at what they're working with:
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