20 Fantasy Thoughts: Drouin's comeback season alive with recent surge

Friday night’s game between the New Jersey Devils and Chicago Blackhawks may have changed the course of the season for a number of fantasy hockey squads.

Both Jack Hughes and Connor Bedard went down with injuries in the contest and they are two of the game’s premier players. This is the second time those rostering Hughes are going to have to overcome losing him, as he missed a decent stretch earlier in the season as well. For Bedard, it's his first significant injury and a broken jaw likely means he won’t be back anytime soon.

Waiver wires aren't exactly brimming with viable replacements at the moment, so you’ll have to great creative to replace Hughes and Bedard. There will be some names discussed in this column that may work as short-term replacements, but they likely won't be able to fully replace their production. That's usually the case when high-end players go down, you can only hope to survive.

There are a ton of differing opinions in fantasy hockey but one thing we can all agree on, injuries to star players are the worst.

1. Luke Hughes is finally taking advantage of an increased opportunity with Dougie Hamilton injured. The New Jersey Devils rookie has seven points in his past six games. It's a big push from Hughes, who had previously been held off the scoresheet for seven games in a row. It sounds like Hamilton may be out for the remainder of the fantasy calendar, so Hughes should have significant value the rest of the way.

2. Timo Meier's nightmare season continues. After recently scoring four goals in three games, it looked like Meier was turning a corner in what has essentially been a season-long funk, but this week news dropped that he’s going to be sidelined with an injury. Time is really running out for Meier to regain his value for this season.

3. Rickard Rakell has come alive. He’s been on a tear since I pointed out he only had two goals heading into the new year. Rakell now has nine points in his past eight games and is starting to click with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel on the Pittsburgh Penguins' top line.

4. Brayden Schenn is ice cold. He doesn’t have a point in 12 games and is nowhere close to his typical point pace. You can usually count on Schenn for 60 points and well over 100 hits, but the offence simply hasn’t been there this year.

5. Adam Fantilli finished December with 13 points in 14 games and had zero power-play production. When he gets more time with the man advantage, I think his numbers are really going to take off. The Columbus Blue Jackets have a plethora of young talent at roughly similar points of development, so they could be an explosive squad sooner rather than later.

6. Amazingly, Mark Stone has not missed a game this season. The often-injured Vegas Golden Knights forward is always downgraded in drafts because of the likelihood he'll miss significant time with injuries. If this keeps up, though, Stone could end up being a steal as he’s averaging just about a point per game.

7. Don't look now, but Vladislav Namestnikov has seven points in five games, including two on the power play. I don’t know how long he can keep this going, but he does have C/LW eligibility and is solid for faceoff wins, so in leagues that count those he might be worth a look as a streamer. The Winnipeg Jets are rolling and Namestnikov is taking advantage.

8. Three of Trevor Zegras' five points this season have come in the past six games since his return from injury. It’s been a nightmare year thus far for Zegras and I know people have considered dropping him at times. The issue now is that Troy Terry is out with an injury, which isn’t going to help Zegras keep this going. Zegras is definitely better than what he’s shown this season, but if he can’t produce at a consistent rate, he may be droppable in one-year leagues.

9. Jacob Markstrom has been fairly dependable all year on a Calgary Flames team that’s had a lot of ups and downs in 2023-24. Markstrom has been especially stellar since returning from his broken finger, sporting a .935 save percentage with four wins in his past seven. It’s tough rostering goalies on teams that aren’t very consistent, but there have been no concerns where Markstrom is concerned.

10. I had to do a doubletake this week when I saw Alex Kerfoot has nine points in his past eight contests and 18 in his last 17 overall. He’s found a home on the top line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz while Barrett Hayton has been injured. Ride the wave while it lasts.

11. I wouldn't panic about Max Pacioretty starting on the third line and getting minimal minutes in his first two games of the season. I'd imagine the Washington Capitals are going to ramp him up slowly and eventually he'll get a shot in the top six and some decent power-play time. If you’ve been stashing him all year you can’t give up on him after just a couple of games. Stay the course.

12. The Nashville Predators' top line has been on fire lately. Filip Forsberg, Ryan O'Reilly and Gustav Nyquist have combined for 30 points in the past eight games. Nyquist in particular is probably the only one of the trio available on waivers in your league and he’s notched 12 of those 30 points.

13. We've seen Jonathan Drouin have some small point streaks this season, but this latest stretch looks like it could have staying power. Drouin has four goals in his past three games and 13 points in his past 12. He’s also played at least 21 minutes in four straight contests. That’s what playing with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen and getting top power-play time will do for you.

This is the position many envisioned Drouin grabbing this summer when he was viewed as a deep sleeper, but can he hold it? The Avs have been shuffling that top six all season and it won’t be long before Artturi Lehkonen returns, which could throw a wrench into things. The Avs could also split up MacKinnon and Rantanen like they’ve done in the past, which would hurt Drouin.

Even with the uncertainty going forward, Drouin is proving he has the ability to produce solid numbers with the right deployment. Grab him while you can.

14. Not enough is being made of Travis Konecny's season. He’s already hit 21 goals and is on pace for 44, easily a new career high. The signs were there last year for Konecny when he scored 31 in only 60 games and he's proving if he's healthy, he can be one of the league's more effective scorers.

15. I love the Philadelphia Flyers schedule next week. Four games total, including playing on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, which makes Joel Farabee an attractive option for a waiver add in points leagues. He's having a great season and is now up to nine points in his past seven games.

With the Boston Bruins also playing four times, I'd take a look at Morgan Geekie as well. Geekie has held his spot on the top line even after Pavel Zacha’s return from injury and he's also on the top power play. He’s also great for faceoff wins and hits if your league counts those stats. As long as he’s playing with David Pastrnak, Geekie's offensive upside is going to be high.

16. It sounds like Logan Couture could be ready to make his season debut for the San Jose Sharks on this upcoming road trip. Couture is usually good for around 60 points, so he may be someone to look at if your squad could use a scoring boost. He’s available in more than 60 per cent of leagues.

17. Random stat of the week: Alex DeBrincat posted five blocks on Thursday night. DeBrincat had just 14 blocks on the season coming into that contest and only had one game all year where he had more than a single block. I always think blocks are often the most random stat.

18. It feels like it's Alex Lyon's net now in Detroit. He’s made four straight starts and the Red Wings have won three of those, including a big one against the Los Angeles Kings this week. It remains to be seen what happens when Ville Husso gets healthy, but it's going to be tough to overtake Lyon with Detroit fighting for a playoff spot.

19. It's possible Jesper Wallstedt will make his NHL debut very soon. The Minnesota Wild netminder is just working his way back from an injury in the AHL but with Filip Gustavsson also sidelined, Wallstedt could be recalled to partner with Marc-Andre Fleury when he's ready. I'm not sure how much value he's going to have this year, but much like Dustin Wolf in Calgary, it seems like a decent bet Wallstedt is going to be the goalie of the future for the Wild.

20. Now would be a good time to grab Thomas Harley. With Miro Heiskanen out week-to-week, expect Harley to get a bump in minutes and a shot on the top power play for the Dallas Stars. It appeared the Stars initially might go with five forwards on the man advantage, but after a brief look at that Saturday, they moved Harley back up and he promptly picked up a power-play assist. He had two helpers overall in the game. Harley could be a nice boost for your squad if you need help on the blue line.