It’s been a bit since I posted a list of players that I would hold and stream from each NHL team, so this seems like the perfect time to do it. There were only ten games all week to this point, and now the action starts to get picked up. I’ll go team by team giving some analysis on my list where necessary. Let’s get to it!
Anaheim Ducks
Hold: Getzlaf, Rakell, Montour, Gibson
Streamers: Lindholm, Silfverberg, Henrique, Sprong
I wanted to say only hold Getlzaf and Gibson, but I’m giving the benefit of the doubt to Rickard Rakell. We’ve seen the upside and the minutes are there. That said, the leash is short. I’ve never been a big Brandon Montour fan but he’s doing just enough to be held. None of their streamers are exciting. Perhaps one of the young guys like Troy Terry becomes one but not at this point.
Arizona Coyotes
Hold: Keller, OEL
Streamers: Galchenyuk, Stepan, Garland, Kuemper
The Coyotes are a wasteland right now. This all seems very straight forward.
Boston Bruins
Hold: Pastrnak, Bergeron, Marchand, Krug, McAvoy, Krejci, Rask, Halak
Streamers: DeBrusk
David Krejci has piled up too many assists to leave on the wire for teams who need assists. The goaltending situation is tough, but Jaroslav Halak is probably worth holding onto. It’s not great, but I can’t imagine they push Rask following his concussion.
Buffalo Sabres
Hold: Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart, Ristolainen, Dahlin, Hutton
Streamers: Mittelstadt, Sheary, Ullmark
Another easy team. I was tempted to say Linus Ullmark should be a hold but he’s not getting enough action. I would stream him in most matchups though.
Carolina Hurricanes
Hold: Aho, Teravainen, Hamilton, Niederreiter
Streamers: Svechnikov, Ferland, Williams, Staal, McElhinney, Slavin
The only debate for me is Nino Niederreiter. I’ve long been a Nino fan and Carolina has been playing him on the first line. With four goals in four games, I’m taking the gamble on him and holding.
Calgary Flames
Hold: Gaudreau, Monahan, Lindholm, Tkachuk, Giordano, Brodie, Rittich
Streamers: Backlund, Frolik, Hanifin
I’ve never owned T.J. Brodie because I don’t like the poor shot rate, but he definitely fits certain teams, especially in roto leagues, for the assists and plus-minus boost.
Chicago Blackhawks
Hold: Kane, Toews, DeBrincat, Gustafsson
Streamers: Strome, Saad, Keith
No brainers all-around. Dylan Strome has played very well since going to Chicago but I still don’t think he’s worth holding.
Colorado Avalanche
Hold: MacKinnon, Rantanen, Landeskog, Barrie, Varlamov
Streamers: Soderberg, Compher, Kerfoot
Easy enough decisions.
Columbus Blue Jackets
Hold: Panarin, Atkinson, Dubois, Werenski, Jones, Bobrovsky
Streamers: Anderson, Foligno, Jenner
Trivial decisions.
Dallas Stars
Hold: Seguin, Benn, Radulov, Klingberg, Bishop
Streamers: Heiskanen, Spezza, Janmark, Lindell
I was surprised to see how highly owned Miro Heiskanen is. I’m a big fan going forward, but there’s not a lot to like right now with Klingberg back. Mattias Janmark is with Seguin and Radulov right now which gives him a massive boost. If the lines change, then I wouldn’t use him at all.
Detroit Red Wings
Hold: Larkin, Nyquist, Green, Howard
Streamers: Mantha, Athanasiou, Bertuzzi, Vanek
Nothing exciting here. Perhaps some trades are made to open up some more opportunity, but odds are what we have now is what it will be for the rest of the season.
Edmonton Oilers
Hold: McDavid, Draisaitl, RNH, Nurse, Koskinen
Streamer: Chiasson
I like that Darnell Nurse hits most of the categories at a decent enough clip that I’m willing to hold him as my last defenseman. He’s the only interesting decision on their team.
Florida Panthers
Hold: Barkov, Trocheck, Huberdeau, Hoffman, Dadonov, Yandle
Streamers: Vatrano, Ekblad, Borgstrom
I have no idea why Aaron Ekblad is 83% owned. He’s not even close to holding at the moment. Frank Vatrano is playing very well and could turn into a hold if he sticks on the first line. I don’t really want anything to do with either goalie right now.
Los Angeles Kings
Hold: Kopitar, Doughty, Brown, Quick
Streamers: Kovalchuk, Carter
I’m still not a believer in Dustin Brown but he’s back on the first line again and he’s producing on the whole. Ilya Kovalchuk is on the first line as well now making him a better streamer.
Minnesota Wild
Hold: Granlund, Parise, Staal, Suter, Spurgeon, Dubnyk
Streamers: Zucker, Koivu, Coyle, Aberg
None of these decisions are close.
Montreal Canadiens
Hold: Domi, Gallagher, Tatar, Weber, Petry, Price
Streamers: Drouin, Kotkaniemi, Danault
Tomas Tatar and Jonathan Drouin are both very close decisions. Tatar has been playing well lately so that’s the only reason he’s there for hold, but you can go either way on him and Drouin.
Nashville Predators
Hold: Forsberg, Johansen, Arvidsson, Subban, Josi, Ellis, Ekholm, Rinne
Streamers: Fiala, Smith, Bonino, Saros
Easy decisions for me.
New Jersey Devils
Hold: Hall, Palmieri, Hischier
Streamers: Blackwood, Coleman, Zajac
If MacKenzie Blackwood was playing more, I could see holding him. He’s not at the moment but hopefully that changes down the stretch. Nico Hischier is right on the fringe but I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.
New York Islanders
Hold: Barzal, Lee, Bailey, Lehner, Greiss
Streamers: Nelson, Eberle
The Islanders are playing both goalies enough that I would hold both of them. That’s the only decision point on this team. They seem primed to make a trade which could potentially live Brock Nelson to a hold, but that’s speculation.
New York Rangers
Hold: Zibanejad, Kreider, Hayes, Lundqvist
Streamers: Zuccarello
A lot could change with this team after the deadline. I really don’t want anything to do with their defensemen and the other forwards are struggling mightily.
Ottawa Senators
Hold: Stone, Duchene, Dzingel, Chabot
Streamers: Tkachuk, Tierney, Ryan, White
I was on the fence with Ryan Dzingel and Brady Tkachuk. Dzingel seems likely to be traded which probably will hurt his value. It’s hard to imagine him in a bigger role than he has now, so while his plus-minus could improve, I think we’d see a down tick in numbers. Tkachuk is close and you can definitely hold him for the upside plus penalty minutes if you’re so inclined.
Philadelphia Flyers
Hold: Giroux, Voracek, Couturier, Hart
Streamers: JVR, Konecny, Simmonds, Patrick, Gostisbehere, Provorov
It’s time to cut the cord on both defensemen as holds. Otherwise, these aren’t close calls.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Hold: Crosby, Malkin, Kessel, Guentzel, Hornqvist, Letang, Murray
Streamers: Rust, Simon, DeSmith
Nothing to think about.
San Jose Sharks
Hold: Pavelski, Kane, Meier, Couture, Hertl, Karlsson, Burns, Jones
Streamers: Donskoi, Thornton, Labanc
I really wanted to say that Martin Jones was a streamer because he’s been a train wreck this season. However, the wins are already good enough and the upside is there that I think you still have to hold on.
St. Louis Blues
Hold: Tarasenko, RoR, Schenn
Streamers: Schwartz, Pietrangelo, Binnington
I can’t believe how highly owned Colton Parayko is. Completely unusable. I’ve been done with Jake Allen for a couple years now but he’s definitely desperation at this point. I could see Jaden Schwartz becoming a hold again but that’s it.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Hold: Kucherov, Point, Stamkos, Johnson, Hedman, McDonagh, Vasilevskiy,
Streamers: Gourde, Miller, Palat, Domingue
I thought Tampa actually had more holds than this, not that seven is a low number. They have a few forwards that are close but are only streamers, especially Yanni Gourde. I don’t think he does quite enough but you could go either way there.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Hold: Matthews, Tavares, Marner, Kadri, Rielly, Muzzin, Gardiner, Andersen
Streamers: Kapanen, Marleau, Nylander, Hyman
We haven’t seen a game yet for Toronto since the Jake Muzzin trade so it’s hard to say what his role will be. I’m fine with taking the gamble because if he’s on the second power play unit, there’s a chance he’s a solid #3D. Everyone else is fairly straight forward. Perhaps Jake Gardiner takes a hit with Muzzin’s arrival, but it’s only worth monitoring for now.
Vancouver Canucks
Hold: Pettersson, Boeser, Horvat, Edler
Streamers: Virtanen, Baertschi, Markstrom
Very easy team, no decisions.
Vegas Golden Knights
Hold: Marchessault, Karlsson, Tuch, Pacioretty, Miller, Schmidt, Fleury
Streamers: Stastny, Theodore, Pirri
Max Pacioretty has picked it up enough after a slow start that I’m holding. Nate Schmidt is right on the fringe but I barely lean hold. I could see that changing in a week.
Washington Capitals
Hold: Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Oshie, Wilson, Carlson, Holtby
Streamers: Vrana
Straight forward.
Winnipeg Jets
Hold: Wheeler, Scheifele, Laine, Connor, Ehlers, Byfuglien, Morrissey, Trouba, Hellebuyck
Streamers: Little, Roslovic, Perreault, Brossoit
Nikolaj Ehlers should be back within the week so I’m probably holding onto him at this point even without an IR spot. I would start Laurent Brossoit in all matchups which is something I never thought I would say before the season starts.
Friday Streamers:
Bryan Rust (16.6%) – A matchup against Ottawa at home is all that has to be said.
Dylan Strome (14.6%) – He’s played very well lately and the Sabres have been hit or miss defensively. If he gets reunited with Kane, who always kills his hometown team, Strome is a good bet for a strong game.
Mattias Janmark (1.9%) – More of a deep league option, but as mentioned above, Janmark is with Seguin and Radulov right now. That’s enough to take a chance on.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back Monday recapping the action from the weekend. As a heads up, it’ll probably come out Monday afternoon, not overnight with the Super Bowl on Sunday night. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
