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 from 12 man leagues with standard categories. Let’s get right to it!
ANAHEIM DUCKS
Holds: Getzlaf, Rakell, Montour, Gibson,
Streamers: Silfverberg, Kase, Ritchie, Kesler, Henrique, Aberg
I’m not a big fan of Brandon Montour, but the Ducks are decimated on the blue line at the moment. He gets a huge short term boost. So does Jakob Silfverberg who is currently on the first line. He’s a border line hold if he sticks in that role, but I’m not sure he does. Ondrej Kase is taking a massive amount of shots, which you guys know I love. Lots of upside there.
ARIZONA COYOTES
Holds: Keller, OEL, Galchenyuk, Raanta
Streamers: Schmaltz, Panik, Hinostroza
The Coyotes acquired Nick Schmaltz on Sunday for Dylan Strome and Brendan Perlini. I’ll talk about the other two under Chicago. For Schmaltz, this trade is a downgrade. He goes into a worse situation as he’ll certainly be C3 now. The three guys I listed are all bottom end streamers.
BOSTON BRUINS
Holds: Pastrnak, Marchand, Bergeron, Krug, McAvoy, Krejci, Rask, Halak
Streamers: DeBrusk
I’m including injured guys as holds for everyone. That’s why Bergeron and McAvoy are included here. Honestly, this one seems pretty simple. Maybe Jake DeBrusk can get up to a hold, but he’s shooting 20% and has 2 assists. For now, both goalies still need to be held.
BUFFALO SABRES
Holds: Eichel, Skinner, Dahlin, Ristolainen, Hutton
Streamers: Reinhart, Pominville, Mittelstadt, Sheary, Okposo
I came very close to including Sam Reinhart as a hold. The assists are great and the goals should come. If I knew he would stick on L1, I’d have him as a hold, but he keeps bouncing back and forth with Pominville. Rasmus Dahlin is really coming on; he’s going to be incredible.
CALGARY FLAMES
Holds: Gaudreau, Monahan, Lindholm, Tkachuk, Giordano, Rittich
Streamers: Backlund, Bennett, Hanifin
Super straight forward team outside of the mess in net. For now, I favor David Rittich. James Neal isn’t even worth streaming consideration anymore. Remember this next offseason when players talk up somebody who isn’t that good (Gaudreau kept saying in the offseason that he was excited to play with Neal).
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Holds: Aho, Teravainen, Ferland, Hamilton, Faulk
Streamers: Svechnikov, Williams, Staal, Martinook, Slavin, McElhinney
Michael Ferland has been better than anyone could have expected and is a clear hold as LW1. If you want to hold Andrei Svechnikov, I won’t argue. At this point, I have no faith in Scott Darling and I’d rather the Canes use Curtis McElhinney. I’d stream McElhinney in most matchups.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Holds: Kane, Toews, DeBrincat, Saad, Crawford
Streamers: Perlini, Strome, Anisimov, Jokiharju, Keith, Gustafsson, Seabrook
It will be interesting to see how Chicago sets up their top six now with the influx in talent. I like the trade a lot from their perspective but it’s hard to say how it works in the short term. If say, Toews and Kane are split up, Strome could end up getting a big boost. Something to watch. As long as Brandon Saad is with Toews and Kane, I’m holding, but barely. I don’t like this blue line at all, but the order I have them in is the order I prefer them if you need to grab one of them.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Holds: MacKinnon, Rantanen, Landeskog, Barrie, Varlamov
Streamers: Kerfoot, Jost, Wilson, Johnson, Girard
Nothing else to even consider for these guys.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Holds: Panarin, Atkinson, Dubois, Anderson, Jones, Werenski, Bobrovsky
Streamers: Foligno, Jenner, Wennberg, Duclair
Josh Anderson is putting on a lot of shots and scoring at a solid rate. Add in the PIM and I’m holding him right now. Everyone else is straight forward.
DALLAS STARS
Hold: Seguin, Benn, Radulov, Klingberg, Lindell, Bishop
Streamers: Spezza, Janmark, Nichushkin, Bayreuther, Heiskanen
It’s only until Klingberg returns, but Esa Lindell is an easy hold right now. I have no idea how long it lasts, but right now Gavin Bayreuther is on the first power play unit. He’s worth considering as a streamer or for DFS. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
DETROIT RED WINGS
Holds: Larkin, Athanasiou, Green, Howard
Streamers: Mantha, Nyqvist, Bertuzzi, Vanek, Cholowski
I’m still driving the Andreas Athanasiou bandwagon. Anthony Mantha is really coming on strong, but I still wouldn’t quite hold him in 12’ers; same with Gus. Jimmy Howard has been so good that he has to be held.
EDMONTON OILERS
Holds: McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH
Streamers: Spooner, Caggiula, Klefbom, Nurse, Koskinen
Basically, you can stream whoever is with McDavid. Right now, Ryan Spooner is the lucky guy. I don’t really have faith in either goalie, but Mikko Koskinen has been much better than Cam Talbot. If you want to hold Koskinen, I’m fine with it.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
Holds: Barkov, Huberdeau, Hoffman, Dadonov, Trocheck (if you have IR spots), Yandle, Luongo
Streamers: Bjugstad, Vatrano, Matheson, Ekblad
Not much to see here. All of the holds are trivial, and I remain lower on Aaron Ekblad than most.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Holds: Kopitar, Doughty, Quick, Petersen
Streamers: Carter, Kovalchuk, Brown, Toffoli, Iafallo, Muzzin
I really don’t want anything to do with these guys offensively at the moment. If you have more faith than me, you can hold the first three guys I have listed as streamers. I do have a league I’m holding Carter in, so I can’t blame you, but I’m about to drop him.
MINNESOTA WILD
Holds: Staal, Zucker, Granlund, Parise, Koivu, Dumba, Suter, Spurgeon, Dubnyk
Streamers: Niederreiter, Coyle
The only guys up for debate are Mikko Koivu and Jared Spurgeon. Koivu is piling up so many assists that even though he’s an AAGNOF right now, he should be held. As for Spurgeon, the blue line is poor, and he does just enough to sneak in as a hold in my opinion. That could change quickly.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Holds: Gallagher, Domi, Drouin, Petry, Weber
Streamers: Tatar, Kotkaniemi, Shaw, Danault, Lehkonen
First off, I didn’t have any stock anyways, but Carey Price is a hard pass right now. I’m just down on this team in general and expect them to take a downswing soon. I would try to sell Max Domi if I could. He was absolutely atrocious in Friday’s game against Buffalo, and I just can’t see him coming anywhere close to this current pace come the end of the season. You could convince me Tomas Tatar is a hold, but again, I want to fade this team.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Holds: Forsberg, Johansen, Arvidsson, Josi, Ellis, Subban, Ekholm, Rinne
Streamers: Smith, Turris, Fiala, Hartman, Sissons, Saros
Very straight forward team. Mattias Ekholm‘s value comes down to Subban’s health, plain and simple.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Holds: Hall, Hischier, Palmieri, Severson, Kinkaid
Streamers: Zacha, Zajac, Johansson, Bratt, Vatanen
I’m not doing a victory lap because it’s not like he’s been lighting the world on fire, but Keith Kinkaid has been much better than Cory Schneider as I expected. He’s the clear top choice right now. Damon Severson is doing enough across the board to be held.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Holds: Barzal, Lee, Bailey, Nelson, Greiss
Streamers: Eberle, Beauvillier, Filppula, Mayfield, Leddy, Lehner
Brock Nelson has been great all season but it’s gone under the radar. Not sure it lasts, but he needs to be held right now. Boy, does this blue line stink. Thomas Greiss has been fantastic, but Robin Lehner was playing well too until recently. Lehner is downgraded to a streamer in the right matchups, but I’d use Greiss against anybody right now.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Holds: Kreider, Zibanejad, Pionk, Lundqvist
Streamers: Chytil, Hayes, Zuccarello, Buchnevich, Howden, Vesey, Namestnikov, Shattenkirk, Skjei, DeAngelo
Lot of solid streamers for the Rangers, but not many holds. I’m not really buying Neal Pionk, but he still needs to be held right now.
OTTAWA SENATORS
Holds: Duchene, Stone, Tkachuk, Chabot
Streamers: White, Batherson, Tierney, Dzingel, Boedker, Lajoie
Never expected this team to have so many fantasy relevant guys, but here we are. I think it’s pretty straight forward. I suppose you could make a case for Ryan Dzingel as a hold, but he’s on the third line right now, so I don’t think any of these are up for debate.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Holds: Giroux, Couturier, Konecny, JVR, Voracek, Simmonds, Gostisbehere, Provorov, Elliott
Streamers: Patrick, Weal, Hagg
Another easy one. Wayne Simmonds is a sell high for me, but he’s a hold. Travis Konecny has solidified himself as RW1, and the shots plus PIM make him an easy hold too. I’m not a Brian Elliott fan, but he’s still a bottom end #2.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Holds: Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Guentzel, Hornqvist, Letang, DeSmith
Streamers: Simon, Pearson, Brassard, Rust
Casey DeSmith has played so well that he should be the #1 even when Matt Murray returns. Not much else to say on the Pens; they remain the same type of team.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Holds: Kane, Pavelski, Meier, Couture, Hertl, Burns, Karlsson, Jones
Streamers: Thornton, Donskoi, Sorensen, Dell
All of the skaters are easy decisions. The goaltending is the real question mark. Martin Jones has been a complete dumpster fire with a GAA over 3 and sv% under .900. Aaron Dell has been reliable in the past, and while he hasn’t lit the world on fire in his 8 games, a .914 sv% is all the Sharks really need. If you need to gamble on a goaltender, I’d grab Dell and hope he runs with the job.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
Holds: RoR, Schenn, Tarasenko, Pietrangelo
Streamers: Perron, Fabbri, Schwartz, Steen, Bozak, Dunn
This team is a damn mess because their goaltending is an abortion. I don’t like their chances to improve much either; I really wish the Sabres had their first round pick unprotected for this season instead of it being top 10 protected and unprotected in 2020, because I don’t see how it turns unless they call up Ville Husso and he takes the league by storm. Considering he’s struggling in the AHL, it seems unlikely.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Holds: Kucherov, Stamkos, Point, Gourde, Miller, McDonagh, Vasilevskiy, Domingue (while Vas is out)
Streamers: Johnson, Killorn, Cirelli, Sergachev
I expected Ryan McDonagh to fall off hard when Hedman returned, but it hasn’t happened. While it won’t last offensively, the massive plus-minus boost is enough alone with decent points to hold. I was torn on J.T. Miller but for now, he’s a hold. Everyone else is clear cut.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Holds: Tavares, Matthews, Marner, Kapanen, Kadri, Rielly, Andersen
Streamers: Hyman, Marleau, Gardiner, Hainsey
Nazem Kadri is the only guy who is close to the fence for holding, but I feel pretty safe about him being a hold with his PIM and shot rate. I can’t believe I am including Ron Hainsey even as a streamer, and it’s still bottom end, but he’s playing enough minutes that he’s stumbling into points and a very good plus-minus.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Holds: Pettersson, Horvat, Boeser
Streamers: Goldobin, Virtanen, Hutton, Edler
The Canucks have fallen apart so goaltending isn’t a consideration. Simple team for fantasy purposes.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Holds: Marchessault, Karlsson, Tuch, Pacioretty, Miller, Theodore, Fleury
Streamers: R. Smith, Eakin
Max Pacioretty has caught fire to solidify himself as a clear hold. He finally looks comfortable in Vegas. Colin Miller and Shea Theodore aren’t exciting, but they’re both doing just enough with their respective strengths to be a hold.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Holds: Ovechkin, Backstrom, Kuznetsov, Oshie, Wilson, Carlson, Holtby
Streamers: Eller, Vrana, Niskanen, Orlov
For now, I’m holding Tom Wilson for his offensive contributions. He has 9 points in 7 games and it’s only a matter of time until he piles up some PIM.
WINNIPEG JETS
Holds: Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine, Connor, Byfuglien, Trouba, Hellebuyck
Streamers: Ehlers, Little, Perreault, Morrissey
I’m giving Jacob Trouba the benefit of the doubt here. Even if he keeps up his current 40 point pace, the PIM are enough to make him a fringe hold, so I’ll take a chance on him. I want to say Nikolaj Ehlers is a hold since he’s on the first line, but he hasn’t clicked in yet. I think it happens though, so if you have the spot, grab him. Also, shout out to Patrik Laine for his five goal game the other day. Eleven goals in his past four games seems good.
Monday Streamers:
Kasperi Kapanen (24.2%) – I know I usually do under 20%, but the fact that Kapanen is available in over 75% of leagues is nuts. Boston is banged up and Kapanen should be a hold, plain and simple.
Filip Chytil (5.2%) – Chytil has been scoring plenty of goals lately. He’s been rewarded with time on the first line and a matchup with the Sens at home is as good as it gets. Get all the Rangers in that you can.
Boone Jenner (3.2%) – The shot rate is there for Jenner, he’s centering the second line, he’s up on the first power play unit, and he gets to play Detroit. These are all good things.
That’s all for now guys. I am unsure if I’ll be back on Tuesday or Wednesday at this point, it depends on how much action there is in tonight’s games and if there are any pressing matters that I need to write about. Lackeydrinksonme will have a streamer post coming out later this morning, so be sure to check it out! As always, feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments below. Thanks for reading, take care!
