There haven’t been many bright spots for the Vancouver Canucks this season, but Elias Pettersson would certainly qualify as one of them.
Pettersson is on pace for 100 points, picking up right where he left off last year when Bruce Boudreau took over. That number would obliterate his previous career high of 68 points. It seems like a formality that Boudreau won’t be coaching the team next season and there’s a realistic possibility he gets let go this season. That might be a good move for the Canucks long term, but it’s probably going to hurt some key Vancouver Canucks in fantasy. Pettersson, Bo Horvat and JT Miller have been thriving since Boudreau took over, even if it hasn’t been reflected in the win column. When it comes to fantasy hockey, all you’re concerned about is offensive production, which the aforementioned three have done in spades under Boudreau.
Pettersson is going to be a valuable option no matter who is behind the bench in Vancouver, but there’s no denying Boudreau has helped him reach new heights.
1. It’s taken some time, but Jonathan Huberdeau looks like he’s finally figuring things out with the Calgary Flames. Huberdeau has worked his way back up to the top line and has eight points in his past eight games. He still doesn’t look as dominant as he did last year with the Florida Panthers, though this recent consistency is encouraging. Huberdeau likely won’t hit 100 points based on his start, but if he can be a point-per-game player for the rest of the season, that’s still a huge win if you held him.
2. Speaking of the Flames, I think their schedule next week is what I would call nearly perfect for fantasy hockey. Calgary plays four times, all on quiet nights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sunday) and all against not overly challenging opponents. It doesn’t get much better than that. If you’re considering an add for the week, see who is available on the Flames.
3. With so many high-profile goalies struggling this season, we should probably take a moment to praise Karel Vejmelka. He showed flashes of his talent last year, but was tough to roster because the Arizona Coyotes simply aren’t very good. This year, though, Vejmelka is sporting a .913 save percentage and has two shutouts. He’s worth rostering even if wins will be few and far between. At the very least, Vejmelka likely won’t sink your stats for the week.
4. Jamie Benn had a few quiet games recently and some people were starting to panic. I’m not as concerned because he’s still on pace for around 82 points and even if he drops to around 60-70, that’s still a very strong season and much better than anything he’s produced in the past four seasons. Unless Benn really goes cold for a couple of weeks, I’d keep him around.
5. Keep an eye on Sam Steel. He’s in a great spot right now between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, centring the Minnesota Wild’s top line. Not a ton of offence from him in that role yet, but he might be worth a gamble in deep leagues that count faceoffs in the hopes that he breaks out. Minnesota plays four times next week, too.
6. Calen Addison was a healthy scratch Friday. It seems like it was to send him a message about his defensive play and not something that will happen regularly. Still, I never like it when a player I’m rostering gets scratched. It’s too risky to have someone sit out suddenly on an important night during a weekly matchup.
7. What a week for Charlie Lindgren. He goes 3-0-0 with a .951 save percentage filling in for Darcy Kuemper. I still think it’s Kuemper’s job when he’s healthy, though you’d think Lindgren’s strong play might earn him a few more starts for the Washington Capitals the rest of the way.
8. Very quietly, Kevin Hayes has notched 28 points in 28 games. He’s another example of a very capable fantasy option on a bad team and is only 34 per cent rostered. Hayes is on pace for a career season and would be near the top of my list as a waiver add at the moment.
9. I had a couple of people ask me Friday if they should bench Tristan Jarry against the Buffalo Sabres. It’s a legitimate question, with the Sabres leading the league in scoring and averaging nearly four goals per game. A year ago, Buffalo was a team you had to start any goalie against and goalies playing against them were often targeted for spot starts and as streaming options. It’s amazing how quickly things have changed.
10. What hasn’t changed is recommending a Sabres forward to pickup. It seems like that’s a weekly occurrence in this column. Jack Quinn and his 14 points in 15 games gets the spotlight this week. Essentially, anyone in Buffalo’s top six is worth rostering right now and someone is going to get even more of a boost next week with Jeff Skinner missing a couple of games due to suspension.
11. After going pointless in his first five, Los Angels Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson now has 22 points in his past 23 games. Despite this offensive outburst, I prefer Arvidsson as a streaming option for a game or two, rather than rostering him full time. During this run, Arvidsson has five multi-point games, two three-point games, three games where he had seven shots on goals, and he’s also had five games where he didn’t record a point. He’ll give you a lot of highs and lows, but he’s worth the gamble on a Sunday if you need a big game from a waiver wire pickup. Not everyone has the capability for that much output in a single game.
12. Things hit a new low this week for those holding onto hope for Jack Campbell. The Edmonton Oilers didn’t even give Campbell the start in a very friendly matchup against the Coyotes. That would’ve been a decent game for Campbell to try and get some confidence back. Obviously, the Oilers didn’t see it that way and Stuart Skinner has now started four straight and six of the past seven. The window is closing quickly on Campbell’s value for this season.
13. Terrible timing for a Pavel Buchnevich injury. He was finally rewarding GMs for holding him after a slow start, with goals in three straight and 18 points in his last 14 games. I think the Buchnevich trade for Sammy Blais is going to go down as one of the more lopsided deals in recent memory.
14. I’ve been impressed with Tim Stutzle’s production on the power play this season. Stutzle recently enjoyed a stretch where he notched 12 points on the man advantage in 14 games, putting him on pace for 41 power play points this season. That’s a big jump from the 26 he had a year ago.
15. If only Patrik Laine could stay healthy. He’s missed substantial time this season and last, but has been a force when on the ice. Laine has five goals in five games since returning and last year he averaged a point per game over 56 contests. There’s still time for Laine and Johnny Gaudreau to grow an offensive connection, as long as Laine can remain in the lineup.
16. Matias Maccelli is having an impressive season in Arizona, even if it’s difficult to roster him. He’s recorded 19 points in 23 games, though it’s challenging to find a place for him in most leagues because he does almost nothing else but score. Maccelli is averaging less than a shot per game and provides little in the way of hits and blocks. His power play production is alright, so maybe there’s a place for him in certain leagues with an emphasis on points. I just don’t see the overall value with him in most situations.
17. Anthony Cirelli hasn’t missed a beat after being sidelined for the majority of this season recovering from an injury. Cirelli has dropped four points in his first four games to go along with 15 shots and 22 faceoff wins. He’s a versatile option that should rotate in and out of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top six. Cirelli is a good choice if you’re in a league that requires players who provide a lot of category coverage.
18. It might be time to circle back on Seth Jarvis. It took a while, but Jarvis is starting to show signs of being the player many picked to have a breakout season. He just concluded a six-game point streak and is really starting to look more comfortable offensively.
19. I was beginning to wonder if all the injuries the Colorado Avalanche were dealing with was starting to take a toll on Alex Georgiev? The goaltender had four straight starts where he allowed at least four goals, before having a quality outing Friday. Georgiev’s value could dip a bit until the Avs get healthy.
20. Jeremy Swayman had a tough outing Friday versus the Arizona Coyotes, giving up four goals on 16 shots. It’s a good example of the one drawback of rostering a goalie on a strong defensive team, as you have to be pretty close to perfect when facing so few shots. Now I’m not saying Swayman played well, but even if he only gives up two goals on 16 shots, it’s still a very ugly .875 save percentage.
Pyotr Kochetkov is often in a similar situation with the Carolina Hurricanes and he also only faced 16 shots Saturday. Fortunately, Kochetkov was able to get the shutout, but if he gives up a goal or two, his outing could have easily gone from good to bad in a hurry. The flip side of this is goalies on weaker defensive teams that give up a lot of shots have more time to recover if they allow a couple of early goals. Swayman’s counterpart Friday was Vejmelka, who conceded three goals, but on 46 shots. That still saw him finish with a very good .935 save percentage. The problem here is the lack of wins someone like Vejmelka will get. He’ll have more room for error but will suffer in the win column.
Overall, you’re still probably safer rostering a goalie on a strong defensive team, but just be mindful of playing them late in the week in situations where you can’t afford a bad outing to crater your weekly totals.