Sometimes you need to treat your fantasy team like a real NHL team. Sure, you need superstars to win championships, but don’t overlook what some of the underrated players can bring to the table.
For the past few weeks this column has focused on players trying to win for next season and beyond, but what about this season? Which players can give you that little extra boost this season that wouldn’t cost as much as some of the big names?
A perfect example of this type of player from a year ago is Ivan Barbashev. He wasn’t a superstar to get you a championship, but his 60 points and 160 hits went a long way towards that push and wouldn’t have cost you much if you wanted to trade for him.
Depending on the size of your league, some of these players may be available through the waiver, meaning it would not cost you anything to acquire them.
10. Max Domi
Most Blackhawks players have little to no fantasy value, but Domi seems to be the rare exception. Domi is enjoying his best season since 72 points with Montreal in 2018-19. This year he has 42 points in 55 games, a pace of 63 points. The 42 points is already his best season in three years and his 0.27 goals per game is the second-best of his career. He’s returning more than two shots per game and winning seven faceoffs per fight. Domi is also one of the rare players to be triple-eligible at Yahoo, as he can play as a center, left winger or right winger.
9. Matias Maccelli
Right now, Maccelli is best owned in points-only leagues given his near-nonexistent peripherals. In 39 games, he averaged less than a shot per game and less than a hit every two games. He’s also a minus one with only 14 PIM. That makes it difficult to advise him to include him in roto or head-to-head leagues unless it’s extremely deep and you’re tuned into other categories everywhere else. However, if you need points, Maccelli can help. With 28 points, he’s pace for 59 in an 82-game season, and his 10 power pay points puts him at pace for 21 through 82 games. Aside from missing nearly two months through injury, he hasn’t gone three straight games without a point this season.
8. Brayden Nice
The Blues are a bit chaotic as they have already started selling out. While they sidelined Vladimir Tarasenko, Noel Acciari and Ryan O’Reilly, Schenn has never played with them often, so the loss to the lineup shouldn’t affect Schenn too much. With 43 points in 56 games, Schenn is on pace for 63 points and has 10 points in his last 11 games. However, the move of these players to new teams means an increase in ice age for many blues players, especially on power play. An early look at Sunday’s game against Ottawa reveals that Schenn led the Blues 5-11 in power-play ice time, despite the Blues playing third- and fourth-row players in the third period of a blowout loss. The Blues could choose to load up the top line with their remaining top players, as was the case in Sunday’s first and second periods, but we’ll have to wait a few more games to see if that’s the case from here will be on off. If so, expect another boost for Schenn’s powerplay production.
7.BooneJenner
A few names on this list (like the aforementioned Maccelli) do much better in points-only leagues than leagues that use other statistical categories, but Jenner is the opposite. While his point pace is more than reasonable (his 32 points in 47 games is a 57-point pace), he’s putting up big numbers elsewhere. Not only is his 3.2 shots per game the highest of his career, it’s a half shot per night from a year ago and a significant jump from 1.9 shots per game two years ago. His 90 hits is already his best in four years, and he could finish with 150-plus. He’s winning a career-high 11 faceoffs per game. He also contributes with the man advantage and has eight power play points so far, just two shy of matching last year’s total.
6.Blake Wheeler
This was a statistic that made me doubt what I was reading. Wheeler sits on the waiver wire in 48 percent of Yahoo’s leagues. Though many of his stats have dropped (we’ll get to that in a moment), he’s still just as efficient as ever when it comes to pure point leagues. With 42 points in 47 games, Wheeler has a points-per-game mark of .89. His points-per-game mark for each of the last three seasons has been .92, so he’s pretty consistent there. The rest of his stats are concerning as he’s averaging under two shots a night for the first time since 2009-10 when he was with the Bruins. His ice time is down two minutes per game compared to a year ago, and he’s not delivering as well in the hit category as he used to, either.
5. Brandon Hagel
Hagel may be on track for the quietest 70-point season in quite some time. While the Lightning forward has about the same points per game as youngsters like Trevor Zegras, Andrei Svechnikov, and Drake Batherson, you could probably pick up Hagel for a much cheaper price than the others. Hagel is averaging 2.3 shots per game, a career high, and his 46 points already surpass anything he’s produced before. He’s also averaging almost 19 minutes a night. He was taken off the topline for a while but is now back at five-on-five alongside Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point and has been in the top powerplay unit since mid-November.
4. Erik Gustafsson
Gustafsson is a smart addition for anyone who needs a defender who can get top minutes. Gustafsson has been that man since John Carlson was kicked off the lineup after being punched in the face on December 23. In 22 games without Carlson, Gustafsson has 16 points with a plus eight, 50 shots, four power play points, 23 hits and 17 blocks with an average power play of three minutes and a 21:27 overall. It sounds like Carlson is still a long way from returning anytime soon, so Gustafsson could remain the top guy for a month or more.
3. Alexander Barabanov
The 27-year-old Sharks forward checks a lot of the boxes you’d be looking for at the track. On the way to the peak of your career? Check as he’s currently on track with 58 points and his 37 points is just two away from a career high. Getting a lot of ice age in a top 6 reel? Check as he averages almost 18 minutes a night playing with Logan Couture at consistent strength and sometimes transitions into playing with Timo Meier. On the top powerplay unit? Check, and he already has 11 power play points this year. Already in a hot phase? Check, with nine points in his last seven games. Available on the waiver in your league? Check out how it’s available in 96 percent of Yahoo leagues and 69 percent of Fantrax leagues. Can you have it cheap if you already own it? Clarify this with the owner.
2. Ondrej Palat
While many in preseason hoped that Palat would line up alongside Jack Hughes, injuries to both players largely prevented that from happening. However, there are encouraging signs for Palat. He had three points in his first six games before missing nearly three months with a groin injury. He was picked back into the lineup for his first five games, not playing more than 14:30 in any of those games and registering an assist. He’s been doing great ever since. In his last 13 games, he has 10 points plus six, 22 shots, two power play points, 25 hits and 17 blocked shots averaging 16:43 minutes a night.
1. Philip Chytil
At Rangers, a lot of emphasis was placed on Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere. The forgotten man in this kid line, however, is usually another first-round pick, Chytil, who is by far the most prolific player of the three. Just compare this year’s numbers:
Chytil: 48 games, 19 goals, 35 points, 0.73 points per game, three power play goals, five power play points, 108 shots, up-17, 33 hits.
Kakko: 56 games, 11 goals, 29 points, 0.52 points per game, zero power play goals, three power play points, 89 shots, plus eight, 22 hits
Lafreniere: 55 games, 10 goals, 28 points, 0.51 points per game, one power play goal, two power play points, 98 shots, plus eight, 108 hits
Guess which of these three gets the most ice time and the most chances in a top 6 role? Kakko averages 3:49 p.m. per night, while Lafreniere is at 3:14 p.m. and Chytil at 2:33 p.m. Which one will help your fantasy team more this season while not costing so much to purchase? It must be the forgotten man, Chytil.
Source: dobberhockey.com
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