No matter the depth of your fantasy hockey league, there are always players floating around that could be of service to any team. Browse your roster, have a look at your waiver wire and see if any of these players fit into your future plans:
Have A Look
It’s like night and day when you look at the New York Islanders this season compared to the team last season. They are competitive and finding the back of the net early on this season. One player that may interest managers is Matt Moulson. He was never really given the opportunity to strut his stuff with the Kings, but now that he’s with New York, he is seeing significant ice time and power play duties. He is offering steady production and should be available for managers in deeper leagues, or managers dealing with early season injuries.
The Phoenix Coyotes are another team that is far exceeding expectations for this season, and a big part of their success comes from the resurgence of Radim Vrbata. Vrbata’s career best season came back in 2007-2008 while on a one year stint with the ‘Yotes and he looks to repeat that performance again this season. He’s off to a great start and is factoring into all aspects of the game. He’s at an ultra-thin right wing position, which should make him appealing to managers in even the most shallow of leagues. He could very well finish the season with 50-60 points, which makes him a decent 3rd/4th/Utility option for those in standard 12-manager leagues.
Another right winger that is getting some attention from fantasy managers is Patric Hornqvist. He’s slowly becoming a top 6 winger for Nashville as Michael Santorelli hasn’t really panned out early on. Again, in deeper leagues, right wingers are extremely difficult to come by, so throw him on your watch list and see where the next several games take him. Chances are, though, you’ll like what you see.
If it’s a defender you’re in the market for, Erik Johnson is still widely un-owned in many fantasy services. He’s a top defender on an offensive minded team. You do the math. In shallower leagues, he could be a nice addition in case you’ve been burned by the Markov injury. If Johnson is already gone in your league, consider his running mate (for the time being) Alex Pietrangelo as an option. An injury to defender Barret Jackman has allowed Pietrangelo the opportunity to prove his worth to the club. He’ll have a week or two to make his case for the big leagues, so don’t make any long term plans just yet. If you’re in dire straits, pick him up as a flyer and hope that he makes a case for himself. All others should flag him and monitor his progress. Marc-Andre Bergeron will probably be with the Habs by weeks end and will provide a nice offensive boost from the blue line. Strongly consider making a play for him as he’ll jump right into power play duties. Lastly, if you’re in the market for a nice up and coming defender, consider Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators. Karlsson is seeing top pairing time with the man advantage and once the Sens catch their stride, he could put up solid numbers, so take note.
Lastly, if it’s goaltending you’re in the market for, it may be worth noting that Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson stated that Joey MacDonald could see playing time with Jonas Gustavsson on the shelf. Also, it’s worth nothing that Antero Niittymaki is seeing some time in Tampa and looked extremely sharp in his season debut against Carolina. While Smith is still slated as the starting goaltender for the Lightning, don’t rule out Niittymaki to see more frequent appearances, especially if Smith begins to struggle. He kept the pressure on Marty Biron in Philly for the past couple of years; there’s nothing saying he can’t do it in Tampa as well.
Avoid The Hype
Not too many this week. Jonathan Ericsson is creating a small buzz as he has landed himself a goal and a helper so far this season. While he has an offensive presence about him, he’s not going to see the power play time needed to make him a truly valuable fantasy player. He is worth flagging, however, in case one of the top 4 in Detroit goes down with an injury. Until then, best leave him alone.
Evgeny Artyukhin has scored two goals in the past 3 games for the Ducks but should not be of consideration as he will be a preverbal 3rd liner this season barring some major injuries up front.
Subscribe to our RSS feed!
Loading ...
2 comments
Mike says:
2009/10/13 at 11:32 pm (UTC -4)
Great call with Bergeron. I could see him putting up huge points over the next few months with Markov on the shelf. His career numbers were always skewed by the fact he never stays healthy for a full season.
Only weakness is at 5’10 he makes that Montreal PP the smallest I can ever remember, ha! Nice article.
Schrembs says:
2009/10/15 at 6:12 pm (UTC -4)
Perhaps he’ll kick start Jaro Spacek. I’m sure the Habs are expecting a little more from him now that Markov is out of the picture.
What blows my mind is that their top 5 players now were not in a Montreal uniform last season.
What blows my mind even more is that nobody nabbed Bergeron in the off-season. A defender that won’t cost much more than a million a season that could potentially put up 35-40 points in the right system is a steal in my book.