It’s really coming down to crunch time in fantasy hockey leagues. With just a few weeks left in the season, owners have to make sure they will fill their games played limits at each position. Every last goal and assist could be crucial at the end of the season, so be sure to plan out your final few weeks.
Here are some players to add either with a focus of this week in mind, or the balance of the season. There will also be goalie streaming options for the week at the end.
Boone Jenner (Columbus – Centre/LW) – Ownership: 5.4 per cent ESPN; 4 per cent Yahoo
Jenner returned to the Columbus lineup over the weekend after missing three months with a back injury. He wasn’t really eased back into his role, as he played over 16
minutes in his first game back.
Jenner returned on a line with Artem Anisimov. I would think that may not last too long, as Rene Bourque shouldn’t be long for the top line with Ryan Johansen. Jenner could be an across-the-board rotisserie contributor, and he has great positional flexibility, especially on ESPN where he qualifies for all three forward positions.
Alex Burrows (Vancouver – Right Wing) – Ownership: 3.7 per cent ESPN; 7 per cent Yahoo
A familiar face is back on the top line with the Sedin twins in Vancouver.
Alex Burrows is back playing with Daniel and Henrik, and it’s not just at even strength, it’s on the power play as well. There won’t be much gleaned from explaining how much Burrows’ situation has improved with the move, so any fantasy owner needing a right winger should just add Sedin now.
Valeri Nichushkin (Dallas – Right Wing) – Ownership: 2.3 per cent ESPN; 14 per cent Yahoo
This would be a pre-emptive move in anticipation of Nichushkin returning to action for the first time since early November. This move would be better in a keeper league, but he may still have value this year if he can get back in the top-six forward mix.
Nichushkin can be a dominant hockey player at times on the ice. His combination of size and vision makes it very hard to get the puck off his stick. Keep an eye on which line he lands on when he comes back, but this is one of the most talented players under 21 years old in the NHL.
Patrick Maroon (Anaheim – Left Wing) – Ownership: 3.6 per cent ESPN; 6 per cent Yahoo
The Ryan Getzlaf-Corey Perry combination has welcomed back Patrick Maroon to their line. Maroon has three points in his last three games.
Maroon could be a very, very solid rotisserie league contributor. He can chip in points, penalty minutes, and is even playing the power play as well. The trio is very dominant possession-wise when playing together; about 56.7 per cent of the shot attempts (via Puckalytics). As long as Maroon is on that line, he should be owned.
Anaheim has four games, including Columbus and New Jersey. Maroon is a minimum-priced player. That’s a pretty good value for this week.
Cody Eakin (Dallas – Centre) – Ownership: 4.3 per cent ESPN; 4 per cent Yahoo
It has been an ever-revolving door on the top line in Dallas beside Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. Of late, that position has gone to Cody Eakin.
It’s probably not that shocking, but Eakin is at his most productive when playing with Benn and Seguin. It may be a bit shocking, though, to see that with Eakin on a line with Seguin, Dallas scores more often at five-on-five than when anyone other Dallas forward is playing with Seguin. There is no power play time, though, so Eakin may not be ideal for roto leagues, rather just points leagues.
Jared Spurgeon (Minnesota – Defence) – Ownership: 9.7 per cent ESPN; 6 per cent Yahoo
Spurgeon doesn’t really contribute in all the roto categories, so he’s a better option for a points league. All the same, Spurgeon has been playing the second power play unit of late, which immediately gives him fantasy relevance. Minnesota has games against Toronto, the Islanders, and Calgary this week, three teams ranked 20th or worse in penalty kill efficiency.
Goalie Streams
Martin Jones (Los Angeles) – The Kings haven’t made much use of Martin Jones so far this year, but they do have a stretch of four games in six days this week, including a back-to-back with New Jersey and the Rangers.
Carter Hutton (Nashville) – Nashville also has four games in six days this week, including a back-to-back with Washington and Calgary.
Reto Berra (Colorado) – Colorado is another team with a four-in-six stretch, including back-to-back games with Edmonton and Vancouver.
*Some stats courtesy of Hockey Analysis, Hockey Reference, and Puckalytics.
