It’s time for the first hold/stream post of the year. For those unfamiliar, I will go through every team and list every player who is a hold or streamer, and comment on individuals where necessary. This will certainly be a long post, so let’s get right to it!
ANAHEIM DUCKS:
Hold: Getzlaf, Rakell, Gibson
Stream: Henrique, Silfverberg, Terry, Fowler
This seems pretty straight-forward. I’m not fully buying into Henrique which is the main question mark. Ondrej Kase is a player I love, but he’s not a must-hold given his current injury. If you have an IR spot, stash him but if not, you have to let him go.
ARIZONA COYOTES:
Hold: Kessel, Keller, OEL, Kuemper
Stream: Dvorak, Stepan, Schmaltz, Chychrun, Raanta, Goligoski
This is another one where I don’t see much debate. I suppose Schmaltz is the most controversial, but he’s not even playing 15 minutes per game and is barely shooting the puck. The Desert Dogs are changing their first line center fairly often, so no need to hold any of their guys.
BOSTON BRUINS:
Hold: Marchand, Pastrnak, Bergeron, Krug, Rask, Halak
Stream: DeBrusk, Coyle, McAvoy
Jaroslav Halak is probably the first hold that is up for debate. He’s just so good on a per-game basis that even though he doesn’t get the volume, I’m holding. Jake DeBrusk has started slow so I’m only holding for now, but I still love the talent.
BUFFALO SABRES:
Hold: Eichel, Reinhart, Olofsson, Skinner, Dahlin, Hutton, Ullmark
Stream: Johansson, Mittelstadt, Ristolainen
This one seems easy for me even if the goalies are in question. Both of them are rolling right now and it’s close enough to an even split, so for now, I am holding Linus Ullmark. The rest of it isn’t up for debate.
CALGARY FLAMES
Hold: Gaudreau, Monahan, Tkachuk, Lindholm, Giordano, Rittich
Stream: Backlund, Bennett, Hanifin, Brodie
The goaltending situation here is the surprise. David Rittich is clearly the workhorse here, so he’s a must-own everywhere where Cam Talbot is a bottom end streamer at best.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Hold: Aho, Teravainen, Svechnikov, Haula, Hamilton, Slavin, Mrazek
Stream: Niederretier, Staal, Dzingel, Necas, Reimer
I have little concern about Sebastian Aho, but Nino Niederreiter isn’t a hold any more. Erik Haula has been hot enough that I’m holding him at this point. Jaccob Slavin doesn’t give the extra stats, but he’s accumulating points so far making him a hold.
CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Hold: Kane, DeBrincat, Toews, Gustafsson, Lehner
Stream: Kubalik, Saad, Dach, Shaw, Strome, Keith, Crawford
I wrote a bunch about Kubalik last week so I don’t want to expand here. I think the interesting one is Dylan Strome. I’ve been on the bandwagon, but he was just dropped to the fourth line while they load up the first line. He also lost his spot on the first power play, so I’d feel comfortable cutting him in a 12’er.
UPDATE: Strome was back in his normal role on Sunday and scored three points, so you can hold onto him.
COLORADO AVALANCHE
Hold: MacKinnon, Rantanen, Landeskog, Kadri, Makar, Grubauer
Stream: Burakovsky, Donskoi, Jost, Johnson, Girard
No debate on any of this and not even anything interesting to discuss
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Hold: Atkinson, Dubois, Jones, Werenski
Stream: Nyquist, Anderson, Foligno, Texier, Bjorkstrand, Jenner
Gustav Nyquist is right on the fence and I don’t feel good about calling him a streamer. The shot rate has been good this season so he’s closer to a hold than I thought given that he’s off the first line. The rest of it is straight forward. Both goalies have been rough so far so I don’t want to use either barring the best of matchups.
DALLAS STARS
Hold: Seguin, Radulov, Benn, Klingberg, Bishop
Stream: Heiskanen, Pavelski, Hintz, Gurianov, Khudobin
So the Stars studs haven’t been stars so far. That said, I’m not too worried about those guys besides Pavelski, who is far from a hold. Miro Heiskanen is controversial, but I was much lower on him going into the season. Love the prospect, but without top PP time, it’s worrisome. Anton Khudobin has been very good so I’d use him in most matchups while he’s playing well.
DETROIT RED WINGS
Hold: Larkin, Mantha, Bertuzzi, Hronek
Stream: Athanasiou, Green, Howard
Easy for me. I don’t love Tyler Bertuzzi, but the other two are playing great and Bertuzzi is getting big minutes right now. Everything else is easy.
Hold: McDavid, Draisaitl, Neal, Klefbom, Nurse, Smith, Koskinen
Stream: RNH, Kassian
Darnell Nurse is so good at the extra categories that while he’s scoring at this rate, he’s an easy hold. I don’t love either goalie, but for now, both are playing very well so I’m holding. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hasn’t been great, so I’m dropping him to streamer.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
Hold: Barkov, Huberdeau, Dadonov, Hoffman, Trocheck, Ekblad, Yandle, Bobrovsky
Stream: Connolly, Vatrano
If there is one player I would massively drop from my preseason rankings, it would be Keith Yandle. The lack of ice time really hurts. I can’t drop him because of the PP time, but I’m much lower on him than anticipated. The rest seems easy, even with Vincent Trocheck‘s injury.
LOS ANGELES KINGS
Hold: Kopitar, Brown, Doughty
Stream: Iafallo, Toffoli, Carter, Kovalchuk, Walker
Both goalies have stunk, especially Quick, so that’s an easy pass. This one seems easy for me. The contribution in the secondary stats makes me lean towards hold for Dustin Brown, who I’m not a big fan of. He’s the only debate.
MINNESOTA WILD
Hold: Staal, Zucker, Dumba, Suter, Dubnyk
Stream: Stalock, Koivu, Parise, Zuccarello, Spurgeon
I honestly debated listing Dumba as the only hold. I’m giving the other guys a little bit more time. Alex Stalock is a hot schmotato so I’d use him in every game right now until he cools off.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Hold: Gallagher, Drouin, Domi, Tatar, Weber, Petry, Price
Stream: Armia, Danault, Kotkaniemi, Lehkonen
The Canadiens are an interesting group. Joel Armia‘s numbers look great, but I’m not quite at holding level. I’m not buying in yet. Jeff Petry has been outstanding and I’m holding despite Weber remaining healthy. Danault’s shot rate keeps him as a streamer.
NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Hold: Forsberg, Duchene, Arvidsson, Johansen, Josi, Ellis, Ekholm, Rinne
Stream: Saros, Turris, Jarnkrok, Smith, Granlund, Fabbro
Things have not developed how I expected in Smashville. Dante Fabbro hasn’t provided offense like I hoped. Mikael Granlund hasn’t either, especially since Forsberg was hurt. He’s not worth holding in the meantime. Kyle Turris has revived himself back to streamer status. Juuse Saros has started poorly but I’m not losing faith.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Hold: Hall, Hughes, Hischier, Palmieri, Subban
Stream: Blackwood, Gusev, Coleman, Vatanen, Simmonds, Zacha, Severson
This is easy for me. MacKenzie Blackwood is an okay gamble if you need goaltending help, but the rest are clear holds or streamers.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Hold: Barzal, Nelson, Lee, Toews, Greiss, Varlamov
Stream: Beauvillier, Bailey, Eberle, Leddy, Pulock
I like both goalies a lot in Trotz’ system so I’m holding both. I think Brock Nelson is doing enough to be held as well. The rest is easy.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Hold: Zibanejad, Panarin, Kakko, Kreider, Trouba, DeAngelo, Lundqvist
Stream: Buchnevich, Georgiev
Hank is doing just enough to be a hold in my opinion, but I wouldn’t fault anyone who cut him. Tony Dogs, a.k.a. Tony DeAngelo has done enough lately to be a hold. I’m giving Kappo Kakko a little bit more time. The rest is easy, even if Zibanejad misses some time.
OTTAWA SENATORS
Hold: Tkachuk, Namestnikov, Chabot
Stream: Pageau, Zaitsev, Nilsson
Vladislav Namestnikov has been good enough in his time in Ottawa to be a hold. The minutes are great and the points are coming. I never thought I’d recommend Nikita Zaitsev or Anders Nilsson, but if you need hits/blocks or save percentage, these guys should help.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
Hold: Giroux, Couturier, Konecny, Voracek, JVR, Provorov, Gostisbehere, Hart
Stream: Lindblom, Hayes, Niskanen
There are a few guys up for debate here. On the bright side, James van Riemsdyk is well over four shots per game so I’m holding. Shayne Gostisbhere I am giving a little more time, but I am fine with cutting him. Kevin Hayes has good numbers so far, but he’s on the third line at the moment so I’m not holding. Oskar Lindblom has moved into elite streamer status at this point.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Hold: Crosby, Guentzel, Hornqvist, Malkin, Letang, Schultz, Murray
Stream: Bjugstad, Rust, Simon, McCann
Easy one for me, not much to talk about.
SAN JOSE SHARKS
Hold: Kane, Hertl, Couture, Meier, Labanc, Burns, Karlsson
Stream: Jones, Marleau, Dell
I’m giving Timo Meier a little bit more time. Kevin Labanc has made a big jump in shot rate making him an easy hold in my mind. I’ve always been a Martin Jones hater and I’ve seen nothing to this point that makes me think I was wrong.
ST. LOUIS BLUES
Hold: Schenn, Tarasenko, Schwartz, RoR, Perron, Pietrangelo, Binnington
Stream: Thomas, Parayko, Dunn, Faulk
I don’t love any of these secondary defensemen on the team. I wouldn’t hold them, but I wouldn’t be angry if someone told me they wanted to hold one of these three. Jaden Schwartz is in the AAGNOF range but he’s done enough to be held for now
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Hold: Kucherov, Stamkos, Point, Johnson, Hedman, Sergachev, Shattenkirk, Vasilevskiy
Stream: Palat, Killorn, Cirelli, Gourde, McDonagh, McElhinney
The only hold for debate at the moment is Johnson. He’s on the first power play right now and with Stamkos so I’m holding. The rest is easdy.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
Hold: Matthews, Marner, Tavares, Nylander, Johnsson, Rielly, Barrie, Muzzin, Andersen
Stream: Mikheyev, Kapanen, Kerfoot
My biggest debate was Ilya Mikheyev. Will he actually keep a top six spot when the Leafs get healthy? That I’m unsure about. He’s also getting zero power play time right now which is a bummer, man. There are enough questions that drop him to a streamer, albeit an elite one. The rest is easy.
VANCOUVER CANUCKS
Hold: Pettersson, Boeser, Miller, Horvat, Edler, Hughes, Markstrom
Stream: Ferland, Myers, Demko
Straight forward one from this guy’s perspective
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
Hold: Stone, Pacioretty, Marchessault, Karlsson, Smith, Theodore, Fleury
Stream: Stastny, Glass, Tuch
Another team with trivial decisions. Paul Stastny is the biggest question mark, but he’s not doing enough to be an easy hold, especially with Glass breathing down his neck.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
Hold: Ovechkin, Kuznetsov, Backstrom, Oshie, Wilson, Carlson, Holtby
Stream: Vrana, Samsonov
Jakub Vrana is getting closer to a hold by the day. The rest is easy, even though the goaltending situation is getting closer to a mess.
WINNIPEG JETS
Hold: Scheifele, Wheeler, Laine, Connor, Ehlers, Morrissey, Pionk, Hellebuyck
Stream: Little
Another easy one for me. The biggest debate is Neal Pionk, but he’s been very good thus far. Connor Hellebuyck has exceeded my expectations in every way imaginable. That said, I’d probably look to sell high.
Three Point Challenge: For those who aren’t familiar, for each Tuesday and Thursday of the season, you can make a pick in the comments section. That player needs to get 3+ points for you to win. You cannot take a player in the top 10 in points in the league. For the first month to six weeks of the season, we will use last season’s top 10 in points. That means no McDavid, Kucherov, Kane, Draisaitl, Crosby, Marchand, Gaudreau, MacKinnon, Stamkos, or Barkov. Feel free to make your pick any time before 7 PM EST on Tuesday night. Aurelius is on top with 2 correct picks, with Fungazi and Matt on the board with one each. For Tuesday, I am going to take Brayden Point against the Rangers.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from the next two nights. Feel free to ask any questions, give any comments, or leave any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
