If you have money on Auston Matthews to repeat as Rocket Richard Trophy winner, you might want to fade that bet as soon as possible.
We’re not even a month into the season, and already, there’s plenty of intrigue to go around when it comes to the NHL goal-scoring race.
Firstly, there’s that Alex Ovechkin guy, who at 36, is showing zero signs of slowing down. Then there’s Connor McDavid, who’s yet to win the dubious honour in his career. And on top of all that, there’s a cast of several others – some surprising, others not so much – off to blazing starts.
Translation, good luck to Auston Matthews.
Keep this information in mind as you assemble your next roster for the Sportsnet Fantasy Hockey Pool.
Now to your questions:
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Hold on all three fronts. It’s a long season, no need to make rash decisions this quickly.
Secondly, you won’t be able to fetch fair market value in a trade right now, anyway. Slow and steady wins the race; be patient.
@ChrisBr68036098 asks: Hey, Suzuki, how long do I hang before pulling the plug?
I’d give him until at least mid-November. I know it’s tough to watch him struggle, but I think you’d be hard-pressed to find someone on waivers with greater long-term value right now. There’s no way Montreal can keep firing at this abysmal clip, they’ll start connecting more frequently soon.
@G36367458 asks: Still hold Caufield or move on?
I’d also give plenty of rope to Caufield, he’ll find his way. Let’s say you drop him, and he catches fire, you end up making a mistake that could cost you your fantasy season. Don’t make that mistake. Be better.
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@Derek42087526 asks: Do I keep Jake Allen?
I would, yes. There’s no way Montreal can stay this bad, there’s too much talent on that roster.
Even before the season, I had them pegged as a middle-of-the-pack team. At this point, they can’t get any worse defensively, right? As the season progresses, I fully expect them to clean things up. Even though it’s quite obvious that the Canadiens miss the likes of Shea Weber, Joel Edmundson and Phillip Danault, they’re clearly much better defensively than they’ve been shown early on.
Thursday night was a start.
Unless you can find value that’s impossible to pass on, I’d keep him.
Earlier this week, the Lightning reported that the reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner will be out of action for roughly 8-to-10 weeks. That would put him in line for a pre-Olympics return. Clearly, Kucherov – when healthy – is still a premier talent in the league. He cracked the top-5 of my preseason fantasy rankings for a reason. Also, it’s hard to believe Kucherov’s still only 28.
@ethyrica asks: Hang on to Tkachev (LAK)? He was a shot in the dark.
Drop him. You can always circle back down the road. He’s not doing much.
@yeabones asks: Should I drop Pietrangelo and Sergachev? 12-team Banger League.
No and no. You’ll regret that decision on both. It’s early. Remember that.
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The only thing you can do, considering their average draft positions, is stand pat for now.
Of the two, I like Fiala way more. Having said that, he’s only really at peek fantasy value when skating at even strength with Kirill Kaprizov. He’s not right now, and that really hurts his stock. With Mats Zuccarello landing in Covid protocol on Thursday, Fiala’s deployment could change considerably. Monitor closely.
With Hintz, I had tempered my expectations going into the season to begin with. Sadly, there’s only one puck to go around, and believe it or not, that does play a big-time factor in the game of hockey. Additionally, the Seguin return bumps Hintz’s value down a bit, another point-per-game season was unrealistic from the onset. We’ll see how Hintz fairs now that Robertson’s back, however. Dallas’ endless search for scoring depth continues.
As for the goaltending conundrum, you can’t not play Markstrom or Shesterkin right now, both are off to incredible starts. The easy bench, for now at least, would be Price.
On the D question, I like Girard and Goligoski way more than Jensen, Fowler and Grzelcyk. Remember, you should have long-term gains in mind. It’s a long season.
Good second question. If it were me, I’d ride Dahlen. I like the budding chemistry alongside Logan Couture and Timo Meier. For some reason, I’m not sold on St. Louis. I’m not sure they can keep scoring like this.
Unless you can find unbelievable trade value, hold on DeBrincat. He’s a premier fantasy file, just be patient.
@FrancisM2H asks: Should I have anyone from Montreal on my roster?
Glass half empty, half full approach. Now’s a great time to execute a buy-low on the likes of Jeff Petry, Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki and Mike Hoffman. As I stated above, I’d steer clear of Jake Allen.
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