Connor McDavid is good at hockey. Quite frankly, I’m not sure there’s a word powerful enough to fully quantify his fantasy hockey value. Reality or not, the Oilers captain truly is in a league of his own.
As another calendar year draws to a close, it’s time to hand out some year-end fantasy hardware. Yes, McDavid continues to dominate, but there are plenty of others who deserve a share of the spotlight.
TOP FORWARD:
Edmonton Oilers – Connor McDavid
81 GP: 42 G, 79 A, 121 P, 42 PPP, 6 GWG
TOP DEFENCEMAN:
Washington Capitals – John Carlson
83 GP: 20 G, 62 A, 82 P, +18, 31 PPP, 7 GWG
TOP GOALIE:
St. Louis Blues – Jordan Binnington
42-11-5, 2.12 GAA, 0.924 SV%, 6 SO
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1. Let’s start with goaltending. Are people actually legitimately questioning if Philipp Grubauer is still Colorado’s number one? Please. Without hesitation, buy that stock immediately. Finally, the Avalanche are approaching full health.
2. Your best Boxing Week bargain could come in the form of successfully acquiring an Islanders goalie. Both Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Griess have struggled lately. That will change. I expect the league’s best defensive team to return to form sooner rather than later.
3. Ditto for Petr Mrazek and James Reimer in Carolina. This last stretch, in my opinion at least, is merely a hiccup for one of the league’s stingiest defensive squads. For what’s it worth, Mrazek would be the guy, of the two, to go after.
4. Don’t want to overpay for a formidable tender? Make a play for Columbus’ Joonas Korpisalo. Quietly, the 25-year-old Fin has provided plenty of consistency and steadiness so far in his first season as a number one in the NHL. Value deal.
5. Now would be a decent time to contemplate selling high on Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck. Is fatigue starting to set in? Who knows, but the 25-year-old has surrendered four goals or more in four of his last six appearances. Think about it.
6. Despite the fact that he’s won back-to-back starts for the Maple Leafs, I still wouldn’t recommend streaming Michael Hutchinson. He’s allowed four goals or more in seven of eight starts this season. That’s all the info you need.
7. With Jeff Skinner on the shelf for the Sabres, scoop up Marcus Johansson. He’s been elevated to the first power play unit.
8. Ondrej Palat, Zach Hyman and Zach Parise are three excellent external Skinner replacements to think about scooping up.
9. Time to activate Patric Hornqvist. The Penguins bruiser returned from his latest setback on Saturday night. Wait for his value to build and then deal him. Hornqvist gets hurt a lot.
10. Grab Kevin Hayes if you need some help up the middle. The first-year Flyer has three goals and seven points over the past six contests.
11. Don’t sleep on Phillip Danault. Still under 30 percent owned in Yahoo! standard leagues, the Habs pivot continues to provide legitimate fantasy value. Try him out!
12. Sticking in Montreal, I’d a take a flier on rookie Nick Suzuki right now. The dual eligible speedster is currently riding a four-game point streak and counting. On a team starving for offence, the 20-year-old could be primed for a bigger role in the second half of the season.
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13. Calgary’s Andrew Mangiapane is an extremely affordable dual-eligible winger to target in daily fantasy at the moment. The 23-year-old is seeing significant top-six exposure under Geoff Ward. Cheeky play, for sure.
14. Looking for a high-end sniper? Obtain Mike Hoffman. Fresh off a three-point night on Saturday, one goal and two assists, the Florida winger now has 13 goals and 27 points in 37 outings. A monster second half could put the 30-year-old in line for a gigantic raise. Be cognizant.
15. Obtain Chris Kreider as soon as possible. It’s very likely that the Rangers left winger will be dealt by Feb. 24th’s trade deadline. On top of that, he’s red hot with at least a point in eight of his past 10 games.
16. Speaking of players in a contract year, don’t expect Blues captain Alex Pietrangelo to cool off anytime soon. The 29-year-old is on pace for a career high 21 goals and 63 points. By the game, the price tag continues to rise.
17. Devils blue liner Sami Vatanen is another intriguing contract-year defender to monitor closely. The 28-year-old has one goal and three helpers in the past five games. Vatanen could be the next Devil to move.
18. Pick up Matt Grzelcyk immediately. Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy are both out for the Bruins. Next man up.
Outside of Boston, Nate Schmidt, Nick Leddy and Chicago rookie Dennis Gilbert are worth your consideration as well.
19. The first partial week of the new decade in the NHL will feature 47 games, 37 of which will take place on either Tuesday, Thursday or Saturday.
Stay away from Dallas, Los Angeles and Vancouver – each play just twice.
20. In the meantime, there are four four-game teams to hone in on (PIT, FLA, SJS & TBL):
Pittsburgh Penguins: Mon (OTT), Thurs (SJS), Sat (@MTL), Sun (FLA)
Waiver Looks: Jared McCann (21%), Alex Galcheynuk (10%)
SN Fantasy Pool: Evgeni Malkin (3), Kris Letang (3), Tristan Jarry (2)
Florida Panthers: Tues (@CBJ), Thurs (@OTT), Sat (@BUF), Sun (@PIT)
Waiver Looks: Noel Acciari (22%), Brett Connolly (14%)
SN Fantasy Pool: Aleksander Barkov (3), Jonathan Huberdeau (3), Keith Yandle (2)
San Jose Sharks: Tues (@DET), Thurs (@PIT), Sat (@CBJ), Sun (@WSH)
Waiver Looks: Kevin Labanc (24%), Barclay Goodrow (14%)
SN Fantasy Pool: Logan Couture (3), Brent Burns (3), Erik Karlsson (3)
Tampa Bay Lightning: Tues (@BUF), Thurs (@MTL), Sat (@OTT), Sun (@CAR)
Waiver Looks: Ondrej Palat (31%), Anthony Cirelli (10%)
SN Fantasy Pool: Nikita Kucherov (4), Andrei Vasilevskiy (4), Victor Hedman (2)
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