20 Fantasy Thoughts: Roman Josi's cold streak reaches unprecedented level

This is not what we’ve come to expect from Roman Josi.

The Nashville Predators defenceman is as cold as it gets, totaling just three points since the start of December and failing to score in his past 12 games. That’s tough to swallow if you used a high draft pick on Josi for this fantasy hockey season, as he’s been well over a point per game in two of the past three campaigns and even flirted with 100 a few years back. If you exclude the pandemic-shortened season, Josi is on pace for his worst point total since 2018-19.

Josi is suffering most on the power play, where he’s currently on pace for 10 fewer points with the man advantage than he tallied a year ago. Even with Nashville’s power play now close to the middle of the pack and the Preds scoring four power-play goals in their past five games, Josi still can’t get going.

One thing that concerned me about Josi heading into this season was the addition of Steven Stamkos. The former Tampa Bay Lightning forward loves the one-timer on the power play and there are only so many shots to go around. If the play is funnelling through Stamkos, that’s going to limit Josi’s opportunities for points. 

What typically makes Josi so valuable is his blend of offence and his coverage of other peripheral categories. He’s excellent for shots and blocks, and you can usually rely on Josi to provide around 250 and 150 respectively. In 2024-25, he’s still trending right at that pace in both of those areas, which is great news. But without the offence to go along with it, Josi becomes a lot more ordinary. 

Once again, with a player like Josi, the important thing here is patience. You’ll likely lose any Josi trade right now and his value is at an all-time low. We’ve seen players like Brad Marchand and Jason Roberston go through similar struggles this year, only to rebound and be key fantasy assets once again. Just hold on and wait for him to rebound or buy low if you can. Josi will come out of this eventually. 

1. It’s been an impressive start to Cam Fowler’s tenure as a St. Louis Blue. Fowler has nine points in his past eight games and has taken over a spot on power play one. I didn’t think Fowler would be able to get much power play time with Justin Faulk and Philip Broberg in the fold, but he’s really stepped up and getting big minutes overall.

2. The struggles of the New York Rangers are starting to impact Igor Shesterkin, who suddenly finds himself on IR as well. His goals against is now over three and he’s given up four goals or more in 10 games this season. Shesterkin is still providing quality starts here and there, but wins are scarce. This isn’t on Shesterkin, as the team in front of him is the real issue and most other goalies would be unrosterable with the conditions he’s dealing with. I’d still start him comfortably unless the Rangers are playing a very tough opponent and you’re in a tight battle for the goalie stats late in the week of your matchup. 

3. Martin Necas has really started to cool off. He has just two points in nine games and given his history of inconsistent play, this shouldn’t be all that surprising. Necas was never going to continue on the pace he exploded out of the gates with and some regression was to be expected. The Carolina Hurricanes forward has been so productive this year, though, that I’d be patient and ride out this cold stretch. If you haven’t sold high already, keeping him is the best option. 

4. Normally when a player like Auston Matthews is sidelined with an injury, the skaters around him lose value. However, Mitch Marner has been the exact opposite, playing some of the best hockey of his career and elevating his game in certain areas. Marner actually has 10 of his 14 goals without Matthews in the lineup, perhaps leaning on his shot more without one of the best goal scorers on the planet available on his line. Despite Matthews missing a bunch of time, Marner is on pace for a career-best 115 points. 

5. One player who really missed Matthews is Matthew Knies. He managed only two goals in December before exploding Saturday night for a massive game when Matthews returned. Part of what could have been tied to Knies’ struggles, besides not playing with Marner and Matthews anymore because of the injury to Matthews, is his ice time has skyrocketed this year. Normally that’s a good thing, but Knies is skating almost five minutes more per game than he did a year ago, which is a lot for a young player to handle. That’s going to be a difficult adjustment for Knies to make because of the physical style he plays and the toll it takes on his body. Knies is a lot more valuable in fantasy when he’s racking up the hits and scoring at a solid pace, but you’ll have to expect some cold streaks here and there.  

6. Warren Foegele has something cooking in Los Angeles. The Kings forward has 10 points in his past nine games and at least three shots in four of those games. Foegele is clicking on line two with Quinton Byfield, who has picked it up a bit lately after a slow start. He may not be a season-long hold, but Foegele is worth a look as a short-term add while he’s producing solid offensive numbers. 

7. It simply hasn’t worked for Jeff Skinner in Edmonton. Skinner was demoted to the bottom six and getting minimal ice time before finally being scratched last weekend. Connor Brown similarly didn’t fit with Connor McDavid last season on the Oilers top line and Skinner, who also looked like a perfect fit and a great fantasy sleeper this summer, appears to be following down Brown’s path. Skinner has picked up a couple of points recently, but his ice time is still incredibly low. I have a hard time seeing Skinner working his way back to fantasy relevance this year. 

8. It’s hard to start off your career any better than Jakub Dobes has. A shutout of the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers in his first game following by an impressive start over the Colorado Avalanche on the road is tough to beat. It’s obviously a small sample size and who knows where this is going, but don’t be afraid to use Dobes as a streamer for the time being. 

9. Hopefully Matt Boldy’s three-point night Saturday was the first step to him breaking out of a significant slump. Before that game, he had just one goal and three assists in 13 contests. The injury to Kirill Kaprizov has hurt Boldy some, though his struggles started before that. He’s had four shots in four straight games, and Joel Eriksson Ek is back to help balance out the offence, so I’m sure Boldy will fully break out of this soon. If anyone is trying to deal Boldy in your league, don’t hesitate to pounce. 

10. As mentioned, Eriksson Ek is back, playing nearly 20 minutes a night and he had a big game with a pair of power-play assists earlier this week. After multiple stints on injured reserve this season, Eriksson Ek has yet to find his groove, so hopefully he can stay healthy the rest of the way and start making an impact. The Minnesota Wild forward is one of the best there is for all around category coverage. 

11. No one has ever questioned Gabriel Vilardi’s ability, but it’s always been injuries that have held him back from being a great fantasy option. Vilardi now has eight points in his past six games and is on pace for a great 72-point campaign. Most importantly, he’s played in every game for the Winnipeg Jets this season. You’d like to see his shot volume be a little higher, but it’s hard to complain when Vilardi is giving you that type of consistent offensive production. 

12. At what point do the Washington Capitals start to hand the net over to Logan Thompson? The Caps continue to rotate between Thompson and Charlie Lindgren, but Thompson has been the far superior goalie this season, especially when it comes to the win column. 

13. Kirill Marchenko might be the biggest story in fantasy hockey this season that nobody is talking about. Marchenko has already surpassed his point total from all of last season and is pace for 35 goals, 88 points and well over 200 shots. It’s a breakout season that’s a little surprising when you consider Marchenko has been very goal heavy over the previous two years, scoring 44 times compared to just 23 assists. This year, though, Marchenko is much more balanced, currently posting nine more assists than goals, making him more versatile. He’s also been an impressive plus-22 on a mediocre Columbus Blue Jackets squad. 

14. If you have a roster space open to stash a player, Boone Jenner has resumed skating. It remains to be seen when he’ll return, but Jenner is a low-risk, high-reward option at this point in multi-cat leagues if he’s sitting there on waivers. He’s had trouble staying healthy, though you could simply drop him if things don’t work out. 

15. The Colorado Avalanche juggle their top six perhaps more than any other team, but they’ve shifted to something that worked really for them a year ago. Jonathan Drouin moved back to the first line with Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon on Thursday, a place where he was very productive last season. Drouin recently had back-to-back multi-point games and if this trio sticks, he’ll be very valuable again. 

16. Jonathan Huberdeau’s resurgence is better late than never. Huberdeau has notched 17 points in his past 15 games and is pacing for 61 on the season. It’s a far cry from the high-end offensive numbers he produced with the Florida Panthers, but anyone who’s kept the faith and still rostering Huberdeau will certainly take it. 

To put Huberdeau’s resurgence into further perspective, he’s already at 16 goals and on track to set a new career high there this season. The Calgary Flames forward hadn’t scored more than 15 goals in each of his two prior campaigns since joining the team. Huberdeau actually has more goals than assists this season, something that’s a significant departure from his usual output. He has twice as many assists in his career than he does goals. Part of the reason Huberdeau is finding the net with much more regularity is an inflated 24.6 shooting percentage. That’s about double his career average, causing concerns that he’ll be able to keep this going. That shooting percentage will likely regress at some point and his scoring pace may drop slightly, but he’s developed a solid chemistry with Nazem Kadri on Calgary’s top line and you’d hope that duo will still be productive enough to make Huberdeau worth holding. 

Calgary is starting to trust Huberdeau more, too. His ice time is up more than a minute from what he played last year and above his career average as well, and he’s been one of the biggest catalysts for the surprising Flames continuing to stay in the playoff hunt as we close in on the halfway point of the season. This is an encouraging sign if you’re hoping to keep Huberdeau for the rest of the year or are considering adding him on waivers. Despite this recent scoring surge, Huberdeau is still available in more than 50 per cent of leagues and has dual position eligibility, making him a versatile player to fit into your roster. 

The ship may have sailed on Huberdeau being an elite offensive player once again, but this current version can still be a huge asset. 

17. The Ottawa Senators juggled their lines recently, putting together Brady Tkachuk, Ridly Greig and Shane Pinto. Greig would be the guy to put on your watch list here if this line has staying power, as he had scored in three straight games with three shots in each one of those contests. 

18. Jack Quinn is heating up, taking advantage of the Buffalo Sabres recent uptick in scoring. Quinn has seven points in his past six games and is worth a short-term look. He’s on power play one, too. 

19. There are a bunch of teams that play four times next week, so a lot of opportunities to boost your roster. If you need help in goal, I’d circle back on Ilya Samsonov, who has been excellent lately. Samsonov is 5-0-0 in his past five starts and had a .948 save percentage in December. The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender is earning more playing time and should see a couple of starts in a busy week for Vegas. 

Patrick Kane is now under 50 per cent rostered and has put together seven points in his past four games. That also includes four power-play points and the Detroit Red Wings have a few friendly matchups next week, so it might be worth seeing if Kane is sitting on your waiver wire. 

If you haven’t done so already, it’s probably time to drop Maxim Tsyplakov. The New York Islanders play just twice next week and Tsyplakov has just one point in seven games. His hits have dried up as well, as Tsyplakov recently went four straight games without a hit. Not to mention the Isles as a whole are really struggling, so it’s hard to count on the team to help prop Tsyplakov up. 

20. Jonathan Toews is working towards a comeback. Details are scarce about when and what team Toews would join and it’s hard to say how he’ll perform if he comes back, but keep Toews in the back of your mind if he lands in a good spot.