With the stretch run for fantasy hockey underway it’s important to keep replenishing your roster. Here are some players to look for in your full season leagues for both this week and beyond.
Centre:
Mikhail Grabovski (NY Islanders) – 4.8 per cent owned on ESPN, 6 per cent owned on Yahoo
It’s not much of a secret that most players who play with Grabovski, at least five-on-five, do better with him than without him. The injury to Kyle Okposo has put Grabovski on the top line with John Tavares making the former Maple Leaf an automatic pickup in almost any type of fantasy league.
Tomas Hertl (San Jose) – 12.2 per cent owned on ESPN, 37 per cent owned on Yahoo
Hertl is a part of a new third line for San Jose with Tyler Kennedy and James Sheppard. That’s not a bad thing though, as there’s a good enough sample to say that Hertl can be fairly productive when not playing with typical centre Joe Thornton. However, he’s a deeper league add, and should be avoided in typical 12-team leagues.
The first set of matchups for Sportsnet’s Pick ‘n Play sponsored by Kia were released yesterday, focusing on the Dallas/Winnipeg game Saturday. With Bryan Little facing Jason Spezza, I would take Little to out-perform the second liner.
Left Wing
Patrick Maroon (Anaheim) – 6.6 per cent owned on ESPN, 7 per cent owned on Yahoo
This is someone who was a waiver pickup when he returned from knee injury, but had been yo-yoing among the even strength and power play lines. Recently though, he’s been fairly stable in playing with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in both situations, so he’s a must-add in most leagues. For rotisserie leagues, Maroon has a reasonable chance to be a top-50 forward the rest of the season.
Patrick Berglund (St. Louis) – 1.1 per cent owned on ESPN, 1 per cent owned on Yahoo
Berglund is part of the third line in St. Louis with Paul Stastny, and Dmitrij Jaskin. Typically, third liners aren’t ideal in fantasy hockey, but Berglund and Stastny so far this year have controlled over 58 per cent of shot attempts when on the ice together at five-on-five. That’s an elite number, and eliminates a lot of plus/minus concern. On top of that, Berglund was a career 12.4 per cent shooter coming into this year, and has shot just 6.7 per cent this year. There could be a big second half coming from Berglund (relative to other waiver wire additions).
Right Wing
Mikael Granlund (Minnesota) – 9.5 per cent owned on ESPN, 10 per cent owned on Yahoo
It’s been exactly one month since Mikael Granlund appeared in a game, but he’s expected to return to the Wild lineup Wednesday. Line combinations in practice had Granlund playing on the top line with Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek (from Left Wing Lock). Any fantasy owner needing assists should look at Granlund, and particularly this week with Edmonton and Calgary on the schedule.
Cam Atkinson (Columbus) – 11.7 per cent owned on ESPN, 8 per cent owned on Yahoo
Atkinson leads Columbus forwards in individual shot attempts per minute, and that’s typically a good thing for fantasy value. At this morning’s skate for the Blue Jackets, Atkinson was skating alongside Ryan Johansen, and that’s almost certainly a good thing for fantasy value. Plus/minus is an ongoing concern with Jackets players, but point production shouldn’t be an issue.
Don’t forget to sign up for Sportsnet’s Fantasy Hockey Pool today! With the All-Star break, rosters don’t need to be submitted until tonight, and there are still weekly prizes handed out.
Defence
Jacob Trouba (Winnipeg) – 23.9 per cent owned on ESPN, 41 per cent owned on Yahoo
He’s a relatively higher-owned player, but ownership rates aren’t extreme yet as he’s just coming off an injury. In any league that’s 10 teams or bigger where four or more defencemen are started, Trouba should be on someone’s roster, no exceptions.
Paul Martin (Pittsburgh) – 5.1 per cent owned on ESPN, 4 per cent owned on Yahoo
With all of Pittsburgh’s injuries, Martin is routinely playing 22-23 minutes a night and is now even getting power play time. Pittsburgh has four games this week, so he’s a fine short-term add, but he’s droppable once the Penguins’ better players start getting healthy.
Goalies To Stream
Dustin Tokarski (Montreal) – The Canadiens have back-to-back games at home on the weekend, one of them against Arizona.
Marek Mazanec (Nashville) – With Pekka RInne injured, Mazanec is backing up Carter Hutton. Nashville has a back-to-back this week that includes a game in Colorado.
Justin Peters (Washington) – The Capitals have two sets of back-to-back games this week, so it could be two extra starts for Peters. Keep in mind he’s not a very good NHL goalie, so he’s a last-ditch option.
Some stats courtesy of Hockey Analysis, Hockey Reference, Yahoo, ESPN, and Left Wing Lock.
