Attention fantasy owners: Now’s a good time to trade for players on Canadian teams.
Over the past couple of weeks, the NHL has announced numerous postponements for games staged in Canada with hopes of replaying them down the road when attendance restrictions are hopefully lifted.
For those of you in a favourable position in the standings, a sneaky-smart strategy could be to acquire idle assets now in exchange for favourable schedules later. You never know, adding a couple extra man-games to your roster could help to put you over the top this season.
Don’t forget, folks, leverage is your friend.
1. Make a move for Zach Hyman. The Oilers winger has struggled lately notching just one measly point – an assist – over the past seven outings. Inevitably, Edmonton’s offence will erupt again sooner rather than later.
2. Some Ryan Nugent-Hopkins injury replacements: Robert Thomas, Jeff Carter and Nico Hischier.
3. Defensive regression has hit the Calgary Flames; Darryl Sutter’s crew has surrendered 25 goals in the past six games. To be fair, playing five times in a month will do it. At any rate, I’m viewing this as a prime opportunity to buy low on Calgary’s crease, namely Jacob Markstrom. Have a look.
4. Trade for Andrew Mangiapane. The Flames sniper is ice cold; he’s scored just once in the past eight games and three times since Nov. 22. That should open the door for some bargain pricing. Get to work.
5. Pick up Tuukka Rask. The 34-year-old, who inked a PTO with the AHL’s Providence Bruins on Thursday, could be back in the NHL with Boston as soon as this week. Right off the hopper, Rask should be viewed as a top-15 fantasy goalie —no questions asked.
6. Be mindful: You’ll probably have to drop Jeremy Swayman soon. Because he’s exempt from waivers, it’s likely that Boston will send the 23-year-old down to the AHL. Full credit to Swayman though, he’s been solid this season (8-6-2, 2.26, 0.918, 1 SO).
7. If anything, Rask’s arrival could help to light a fire under Linus Ullmark, who’s had an up and down start in year one with his new team.
Early on, I fully expect the Bruins to employ some sort of tandem system, similar to what we saw the past couple of seasons with Rask and veteran Jaroslav Halak.
8. Even though he was yanked in the first period on Saturday against Toronto, I’m still very much open to the idea of buying on Darcy Kuemper. The Colorado number-one has won seven of his last eight decisions. Watch out.
9. Take a wait-and-see approach with Minnesota blue-chippers Marco Rossi and Matt Boldy. The Wild aren’t very busy over the next little while, so there’s no need to jump the gun.
10. Early indications on Kirill Kaprizov are that he could be available to return as soon as Minnesota’s next game on Thursday. In the interim, here are some dual-eligible wingers to help you out: Viktor Arvidsson, Clayton Keller, Alex Tuch and Joel Farabee.
11. Alex Kerfoot is another very strong option. The Leafs winger has eight points in the past three outings and is currently on pace for a career-high 60 points.
12. Just for good measure, Denis Gurianov has certainly piqued my interest of late, too. He’s tallied six points (4 G, 2 A) in the past three games for the Stars.
13. Speaking of which, the time is nigh to acquire contract year John Klingberg. His point streak is now up to a solid six games (1 G, 7 A). Trade request or not, the 29-year-old could be in-line for a monster second half.
14. Damon Severson is the logical in-house replacement for Dougie Hamilton, who’s out indefinitely with a broken jaw. Externally, Mattias Ekholm, Brady Skjei, Jamie Drysdale and Bowen Byram are also worth a look.
15. Gauge the trade market on Bryan Rust. Simply put, his value will never be higher. Before entering Covid protocol on Saturday, Rust returned for three games. All he did was pot seven goals and 11 points. Ridiculous.
If you can net a top-50 fantasy file in return, pull the trigger.
16. Just so you know, the Taylor Hall buy-low window is closing quickly. The Bruins winger has two goals and four helpers over a modest five-game point streak. Act quickly.
Love what I’ve seen early on from the Hall/Pastrnak combo.
17. Nothing to see just yet on Evander Kane. His immediate future depends on whether the NHLPA will file a grievance on his contract termination or not. Keep tabs.
18. Tentatively, there are 45 games upcoming in the NHL this week (Jan. 10 – 16):
Monday: 5 Games
Tuesday: 8 Games
Wednesday: 3 Games
Thursday: 11 Games
Friday: 3 Games
Saturday: 14 Games
Sunday: 1 Game
19. Calgary, Edmonton, Minnesota and Vegas play just once, so it would be wise to stay away from depth adds on those teams.
Ditto for the Islanders, Blues and Jets, who suit up just twice.
20. Here are your four-game teams to target: BOS, COL, SEA, TBL and VAN.
Of those five, I like these two schedules the most:
Colorado Avalanche: Mon (SEA), Tues (@NSH), Fri (ARI), Sat (@ARI)
Waiver Looks: Bowen Byram, Logan O’Connor
SN Fantasy Pool: Nathan MacKinnon 4, Nazem Kadri 2
Boston Bruins: Mon @WSH), Wed (MTL), Thurs (PHI), Sat (NSH)
Waiver Looks: Matt Grzelcyk, Craig Smith
SN Fantasy Pool: David Pastrnak 3, Taylor Hall 1
