20 Fantasy Thoughts: Hutson’s stock rising rapidly

It didn’t take long for Lane Hutson to make his presence felt.

Just 32 games into his NHL career and still 20 years of age, Hutson is starting to show signs he could one day become a fantasy stud on the blue line. The Montreal Canadiens rookie recently had a seven-game point streak and he has already supplanted Mike Matheson on the top power-play unit. It also certainly doesn’t hurt that Patrik Laine is back in the lineup and is a great option to feed passes to on the man advantage.

At even strength, Hutson and Matheson have been paired together, leading to plenty of ice time. Hutson is skating nearly 23 minutes a night, a staggering amount for a rookie defender. He’s currently on pace for 55 points this season, putting him alongside some elite company. Both Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar were right around the 50-55-point mark as rookies, though their points per game were much higher than Hutson is currently.

As good as Hutson has looked of late, he’s far from a finished product as a player. The most glaring flaw in his game right now is on the defensive end, as he’s currently sporting a mark of minus-14 and still learning how to defend at the NHL level. Struggling defensively is not uncommon for a young NHL player and unless you’re in a league that counts plus/minus, which I hope you’re not, Hutson’s challenges in his own end shouldn’t really be a problem in fantasy hockey.

The other noticeable thing with Hutson at the moment is his peripherals. His hit volume is virtually non-existent and Hutson is barely averaging a shot per game. Shots on goal is something that Hughes has really improved on and it’s definitely upped his fantasy value. Prior to the 2023-24 campaign Hughes had a career best of 154 shots and then went to 199 last season and is now on pace for 263 this year. Once Hutson gets more comfortable and confident, I think he’ll defer a bit less and also take more shots.

Hutson has to start finding the back of the net more as well. Points and power play production is great, but goals are the toughest thing to find and Hutson just scored his first Saturday night. If he can up that shot volume and get to around 8-10 goals per season consistently, it will be a huge bonus.

If you’re rostering Hutson right now in a keeper league, be patient. You probably love the points but the other parts of his game still leave you wanting more. That will come with development and experience. Hopefully the Canadiens also improve overall and become more potent offensively as a team, which will only help Hutson.

Hang onto Hutson as tight as you can.

1. Pius Suter really stepped up for the Canucks with J.T. Miller out of the lineup. He was anchoring the second line at centre and is up to 11 goals on the year. He also has C/LW eligibility, too. Suter’s value may drop now that Miller has returned, so give him another game or two before deciding whether or not to move on.

2. It was a curious time for a recent slump from Brock Nelson. The New York Islanders forward had been held off the scoresheet for six straight games, despite linemate Anders Lee enjoying a major hot streak. It may be a good time to buy low on him from a frustrated fantasy general manager if you still can, as Nelson rebounded with assists in back-to-back games but still hasn’t scored since Nov. 27. Nelson is typically very consistent and is usually a lock for 30 goals, so I’m sure he’ll start finding the back of the net sooner rather than later.

3. The second goalie trade in as many weeks saw the Colorado Avalanche shake things up again by bringing in Mackenzie Blackwood and shipping out Alexandar Georgiev. There’s a huge opportunity for Blackwood here, who had very solid numbers on a bad team in San Jose. He’ll now get a chance to start and potentially run with the job on a very good squad. It’s by no means a sure thing that Blackwood delivers, but the upside is huge and he’s off to a great start. Georgiev now very likely may be a streamer. He struggled on the Avs, so what’s his value going to be on a Sharks squad where wins will be hard to come by?

4. Times haven’t been good for the Buffalo Sabres of late, but Jason Zucker has still emerged as a fantasy-relevant option. I really debated grabbing him this week because of his schedule, though ultimately passed at the last minute and promptly watched him notch a pair of goals and an assist Monday night. He’s now up to seven points in six games and Zucker is also posting respectable shots and hits numbers.

5. This is the time of year when illnesses are popping up left and right, sometimes at the last minute. Joey Daccord was scratched from a start just prior to game time last Sunday and Aleksander Barkov missed Saturday’s game as well due to an illness, where the news came down in warmups. A handful of others have been game-time decisions of late, too. It’s important to double-check your rosters a half hour before games so you can pivot quickly if necessary.

6. Matvei Michkov’s incredible rookie campaign rolls on, as he’s now up to 27 points in 29 games and may very well be on his way to the Calder Trophy. Michkov is also really tearing it up with the man advantage. Nearly half of his points have come on the power play and he’s on pace for 34 power play points on the season. It’s impressive production when you consider that the Flyers' power play only ranks 27th in the NHL. Michkov’s numbers could actually even improve in that area if the Flyers' man advantage picks it up a bit.

7. After a slow start, Stuart Skinner is righting the ship. He’s been excellent of late, posting six quality starts in a row and allowing two goals or less in five of those games. You may remember something similar happened last year, with Skinner having an awful October and November, before getting back on track. The Edmonton Oilers are playing much better and this is why it’s always good to hold onto a goalie on a strong team. It usually pays dividends.

8. Robert Thomas has returned from his injury with a vengeance. Thomas has points in every game but two since returning and has tallied 15 points overall in his past 12 contests. The St. Louis Blues forward could’ve potentially made Team Canada if not for his injury and he’s becoming a bona fide top fantasy centre. His peripherals may not be great, but I think Thomas is going to be targeted much higher in drafts next season.

9. Lukas Dostal’s value has plummeted since John Gibson’s return. Dostal has started just six of the past 16 contests and is tough to roster if he’s only playing once a week. I get the Anaheim Ducks are probably trying to showcase Gibson for a trade, but leaving one of the hottest goalies to start the season on the bench doesn’t make much sense.

10. The Ducks dealt Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday with some minor fantasy implications. I don’t really see Fowler overtaking Justin Faulk or Philip Broberg for power play time, but his departure now opens up the left side of the blue line for Anaheim. Both Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger were recent healthy scratches and should see a boost in minutes and deployment.

11. The Los Angeles Kings are back to their stingy ways. They’ve allowed two or fewer in 10 of their past 12 games, propelling Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich to have big value. Kuemper is the goalie with the most upside, but can he stay healthy enough to make an impact? He battled injuries last year and has already missed a bunch of time this season, too. I don’t think Rittich is worth rostering by himself, but if you can get the tandem, it’s a great idea. It would solidify you in goal and if Kuemper gets hurt, Rittich’s stock rises.

12. Tough break for the Toronto Maple Leafs to see Anthony Stolarz go down with an injury. I was one of those that thought Joseph Woll should’ve started Thursday since Stolarz faced two games worth of shots and quality chances the game before, though I don’t think the injury had anything to do with fatigue. It was just unlucky. That said, it is worth noting that Stolarz is playing a lot. His career high in games played is 28 and he’s already at 17 this year with four months to go. It wouldn’t shock me if the Leafs start to really rotate Woll and Stolarz close to a 50/50 split to preserve both players. Stolarz has been stellar and the MVP of many a fantasy team this season, so hopefully he isn’t out long-term.

13. In a somewhat surprising situation Thursday, Ryan O’Reilly returned to the lineup from injury much quicker than expected. He promptly scored three points, so check your waiver wire if your league counts faceoff wins, as O’Reilly is now under 40 per cent rostered. O’Reilly’s name has also been brought up in trade rumours if the Nashville Predators decide to sell a few pieces and even though that is far from a guarantee, his value would obviously rise on a better team.

14. Thursday night no doubt swung a bunch of fantasy matchups. Not only were there 14 games, but there were some massive performances as well. Most specifically, Nikita Kucherov and his six-point evening, as the Tampa Bay Lightning forward continues to dominate defences. The Lightning have now scored eight goals on three separate occasions in the past nine games and I’d fear starting any goalie against them right now. Oh, and by the way, Jake Guentzel has exploded for eight goals in six games.

More out of the blue was Scott Laughton scoring four goals. At only four per cent rostered, Laughton more than doubled his goal total for the season to go along with nine shots. Sure, two of them came into an empty net, but those few that are rostering him won’t mind.

15. Bryan Rust had a big night Thursday as well, with a hat trick and an assist for good measure. Rust now has 12 points in his past nine outings and is widely available in all leagues. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward is getting big minutes alongside Sidney Crosby and is a very effective fantasy asset when healthy.

16. The Vegas Golden Knights received a boost recently with the return of Victor Olofsson. He’s had four points in his past four games and bumped Pavel Dorofeyev from the top power play unit. You could give Olofsson a look if you need scoring help but I wouldn’t bail on Dorofeyev yet. Olofsson has struggled to stay healthy and had consistency issues, so I could see Dorofeyev’s deployment getting bumped back up again soon.

17. Is now the time to take a chance on Shane Wright? The Seattle Kraken forward plays four times next week and has been red hot of late, notching 12 points in his past 11 games. Wright’s line with Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand has been really solid for Seattle. I’d also circle back on Aliaksei Protas of the Washington Capitals, who also have four games. Protas hasn’t seemed to be impacted too much by Alexander Ovechkin’s absence, scoring three goals and five points in his most recent four contests. He’s averaging close to a point per game and the C/LW eligibility doesn’t hurt either.

Ilya Samsonov could be a drop at this point. I thought he would be a good Zero G candidate with Vegas’s strong defensive structure, but his numbers have been really up and down and Adin Hill is starting to take over the net. The Golden Knights only play twice so it’s possible Samsonov doesn’t even get a start next week.

18. It’s going to be a fascinating race between Michkov and Macklin Celebrini for the Calder Trophy. Celebrini is scoring at around an 80-point pace and seems to do something electrifying every night. He’s been nearly impossible to slow down of late, notching 13 points in his past 10 games. I must confess, I didn’t think the Sharks phenom would make this big of an impact this quickly. You could argue he has more fantasy value than Connor Bedard this season.

19. You can’t play much better than Linus Ullmark has in December. A record of 5-0-1 with only five goals allowed in his past five starts is starting to make up for his shaky start to the season. The question now is, can he keep it going or is Ullmark a sell-high in one-year leagues? If you can get a quality skater in return, I’d consider it, but I think keeping him might be the best play. Good goaltending is hard to find, so I’d ride this wave as long as you can.

20. Frank Nazar has been called up to the Chicago Blackhawks. Nazar had 24 points in 21 games with Rockford this season and could have some short-term value if your team needs an offensive spark.