They say that bad things often happen in threes.
This week, three top-50 fantasy options were lost for multiple weeks due to injuries. The losses of Johnny Gaudreau and Taylor Hall will no doubt be felt by fantasy teams. But the toughest blow of all will be felt by owners of Steven Stamkos, who are expected to be without the Bolt sniper for approximately four months. Life isn’t fair.
Let’s be honest: You’ll never be able to replace the production of these three top scorers from your league’s waiver wire. Fortunately, there are more than three useful options on any wire that should help fill some of the void. In addition, opportunity knocks for players who will benefit from increased roles because of these injuries.
Remember that it’s a long season and good teams don’t just consist of one player. But while you wait for that return, here are a few players who have experienced an uptick in value and could be available in your league.
Patrick Eaves, RW, DAL
Eaves is holding a hot stick right now, scoring six goals over his past six games. And it should be no wonder, since he is playing alongside Tyler Seguin. The bearded one may not be having this kind of season if not for all the Stars’ injuries, but you can’t fault him for making the most of this opportunity. It’s actually a wonder that Eaves himself is not one of the wounded Stars, since he has not played 70 games in any season since all the way back in 2008-09. So as long as he receives the minutes and power play time (and stays healthy), he’s a legitimate scoring threat.
Paul Byron, LW/RW, MTL
As my colleague Steve Laidlaw pointed out in his NHL Fantasy Hot/Not column, Byron is probably on the Alexander Radulov–Alex Galchenyuk line for a good time but not a long time. And a good time is what he’s been having, scoring goals in four of his past five games together with six points in his past six games. Byron has the speed to keep up with the top line, but his size (5-foot-9, 160 pounds) and inability to stay healthy have been a detriment to any sustained success. But in the meantime, he’s worth deploying while he’s on the top line.
Vladislav Namestnikov, C/LW, TB
The loss of Stamkos means Namestnikov likely vaults up the depth chart for more important minutes. That was confirmed on Thursday when he centered Nikita Kucherov and Ondrej Palat (see more line combinations here). Although Namestnikov was held without a point in the Bolts’ 4-1 win, he is certainly a candidate for increased ice time. We featured Namestnikov here last month, so the new normal in T-Bay should give you even more reason to pick him up.
Jesper Fast, RW, NYR
Last week we featured three players from the New York Rangers, the NHL’s highest-scoring team. These players are still worth considering if they are available in your league, particularly since the Rangers play on “off” nights Friday and Sunday this week, while avoiding the busy Saturday – a strategy to consider if you want to maximize your number of games played for the week. One more option from the Rangers is Fast, who is yet another Ranger to join the scoring party. Fast has had a strong November with six points and a plus-4 over his past seven games. Get to the waiver wire. Fast.
Anthony DeAngelo, D, ARI
DeAngelo has a game made for fantasy. However, until recently, he’s had trouble cracking real-life NHL lineups. The former OHL scoring star couldn’t get into a single game for the Lightning, who drafted him in the first round in 2014. But he is already making a mark in Arizona, where he has scored two goals and added an assist in just five games. He’s also been receiving first-unit power-play time, as well as at least 20 minutes per game in three of those five games. If he can stick around, his offensive potential makes him a must-add.
Chad Johnson, G, CGY
Brian Elliott’s time as a Calgary Flame hasn’t started well at all (3-8-0, 3.36 GAA, .882 SV%), so much so that he was granted a mental health break this week while Johnson earned consecutive starts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Wins have been hard to come by for the Flames, but Johnson earned both of them in those back-to-backs while allowing just one goal. Since Johnson’s season numbers are much more respectable (4-2-1, 2.25 GAA, .915 SV%) than Elliott’s, this goaltending situation is a live one. Elliott owners should strongly consider benching him for the moment and adding Johnson to see how this plays out.
