Welcome to the fantasy hockey stock market. Each week we will look at three players trending up and three players trending down.
Three Up
Shea Theodore – D – Golden Knights – 0 Goals, 0 Assists, 0 Shots, 0 Games
The Golden Knights have waived Jason Garrison and Griffin Reinhart, clearing the way for a potential recall of Theodore, potentially the best defenceman in the organization. The Golden Knights are currently giving regular power-play time to Nate Schmidt, Colin Miller and Brad Hunt. Theodore is a clear upgrade in this department and should receive PP time once he gets into the lineup. While he has yet to suit up for the Golden Knights in the regular season, Theodore has obliterated the competition in the AHL with five goals and 11 points in eight games. Vegas has four games this week making it an optimal time to take a swing on Theodore. He has enough potential to stick on your roster the rest of the season.
Josh Bailey – LW/RW – Islanders – 3 Goals, 8 Assists, 15 Shots, 7 Games
It took some time, but the John Tavares-Jordan Eberle experiment has been shelved. Eberle now finds himself skating on the second line and second power-play unit. Eberle produced well in his first game there, which should embolden the Islanders coaching staff to keep him down the lineup. Eberle’s demotion means reuniting one of the league’s best lines from last season with Bailey rejoining John Tavares and Anders Lee. Regaining exposure to Tavares makes Bailey a worthy fantasy asset. Once this trio was put together in December of last season, Bailey scored 43 points in 60 games, which prorates to a 59-point season. That sort of performance has relevance in EVERY type of league.
Ivan Provorov – D – Flyers – 6 Goals, 4 Assists, 20 Shots, 8 Games
A bit of speculation here, but expect Shayne Gostisbehere to miss some time after having his face smushed into the glass on a hit from behind by Leo Komarov. Provorov is the next man up. He’d be the No. 1 fantasy option on the Flyers if not for the presence of Gostisbehere and is perfectly capable of filling in as the point man on their top PP unit, which happens to be one of the league’s most consistently lethal. Add in a four-game week for the Flyers and Provorov has the makings of a great waiver wire pickup.
Three Down
Nick Schmaltz – C/LW – Blackhawks – 3 Goals, 1 Assist, 12 Shots, 8 Games
After three points in his first game, Schmaltz has just one in his last seven. While he continues to skate alongside Patrick Kane at even strength, Schmaltz does not skate on the top power-play unit, which leaves him much more vulnerable to slumps. Schmaltz will get hot at some point, but that’s not currently the case. He’s not a strong enough fantasy option that you should ride out these cold streaks.
Paul Stastny – C – Blues – 4 Goals, 7 Assists, 29 Shots, 12 Games
This isn’t about what Stastny has done but what we should expect him to do going forward. With Alex Steen back in the lineup, Stastny has been bounced from the top power-play unit, removing his exposure to Vladimir Tarasenko. Now is a great time to try and sell high on Stastny while his per-game production remains high.
Jason Spezza – C/RW – Stars – 0 Goals, 5 Assists, 25 Shots, 11 Games
Despite grabbing assists in back-to-back games, Spezza is trending down. He has been buried on the third line, skating an average of just 13:08 per game and has been bumped from the top power-play unit in favour of Devin Shore. Perhaps this deployment won’t last, but without top PP minutes there isn’t much room for Spezza to produce. Kick him to the waiver wire until his minutes see an uptick.
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Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of DobberHockey. Follow him on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.
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