This is my 2021 Week Sixteen Fantasy Hockey Report for those competing in head-to-head categories or rotisserie leagues. This is the championship for most Yahoo leagues, and will be my final report of the season. My only head-to-head league team is heading to the championship (on a collision course with Connor McDavid), while my rotisserie team is in 2nd place, but about to hit my games played limit. It's been a good season. Granted, I've only been playing Yahoo public leagues, which is not the highest degree of difficulty. I've been a big fish in a small pond.
There are both standard and deep league acquisition targets below. This is more of a “waiver wire” report, looking for your best options among those who are more likely to be available in your league as opposed to the universally owned players. There are 10 recommendations in total, 2 goalies, 2 defensemen, and 6 forwards.
Best Standard League
Adds (25% to 65% Yahoo ownership):
1) Alex Nedeljkovic, Car, (60% Yahoo ownership): Alex was my top goaltending addition last week, and that position hasn’t changed in 7 days. I added him to my own team and will be letting it ride into my championship given that the Hurricanes will play 4 games, 3 of them against the suddenly struggling Blackhawks. Over his last 8 games, Alex has posted 6 wins with a .944 SV%. You may also want to consider Ilya Sorokin (.927 SV% over last 7 GP), as the Islanders have 4 very winnable games coming up. Elvis Merzlikins is also on a heater and worth a shot if the previously mentioned duo is unavailable.
2) Jordan Staal, Car, (64% Yahoo ownership): Jordan Stall was streamed onto my fantasy team for my semi-final victory this week and was one of my three stars, providing 4 PTS with 9 shots and 7 hits. This Hurricanes team is loaded with offensively gifted players, and the rising tide raises all boats. As mentioned above, the Canes schedule should be even better for the next round, assuming Kevin Lankinen’s struggles continue. Staal continues to see time on the top Carolina power play and will be in my starting line-up for my championship.
3) David Krejci, Bos, (44% Yahoo ownership): The arrival of Taylor Hall in Boston has been a Godsend to Krejci, who has scored 13 PTS in his last 10 GP. The Bruins will play 4 games this week, with their first 2 against the New Jersey Devils. If Krejci is already owned or you have too many centers, Craig Smith is also available in 62% of leagues and has been productive playing on that same line (18 PTS in his last 17 GP). In summation, it’s smart to own equity in the Krejci-Hall-Smith line for the next few days at least.
4) Alex Goligoski, Ari, (35% Yahoo ownership): I’m generally not a strong advocate for Goligoski ownership in Fantasy, but there are a few reasons to be encouraged. The defenseman had a productive April, scoring 12 PTS in 15 GP (5 PTS on the power play) and the Coyotes have an outstanding schedule ahead, playing the Kings twice and Sharks twice. I’ve got a tough decision whether to keep Rasmus Dahlin or stream in Goligoski, and I’m leaning towards Dahlin simply because I need the shots and hits. It’s almost a lock that Goligoski will get more PTS, but I need the peripherals that Rasmus provides. If neither of those guys are available, Jared Spurgeon is also worth a shot.
5) Sam Reinhart,
Buf, (60% Yahoo ownership): Normally in the past, I’ve only been a Sam Reinhart
booster when he’s paired on a line with Jack Eichel. Yet he has managed to stay
productive in the absence of Eichel, scoring 8 goals in his last 8 GP on 29
shots. The Sabres might have a tough schedule ahead (Islanders twice,
Pittsburgh twice), but they also had a tough schedule over the previous 2 weeks
when he was scoring those 8 goals in 8 GP. Buffalo might have nothing left to
play for, but Sammy is still playing for a new contract. He has a monetary incentive
to exert 110% effort this week.
Honorable Mentions: Oliver Bjorkstrand, Jared McCann, Craig Smith, Ilya Sorokin, Rasmus Dahlin
Last Week: MacKenzie Weegar,
Sam Bennett, Yanni Gourde, Alex Nedeljkovic, Jakub Vrana
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Marcus Foligno, Min, (14% Yahoo ownership): If your league counts hits, there aren’t many options better than Marcus Foligno this week. While they’ll be facing tough competition in terms of scoring PTS, that won’t stop him from throwing his body around. I’m even considering him as a streamer in my 12-team standard league, where normally you wouldn’t even sniff a 14% owned winger. In his last 10 GP, Marcus has scored 6 PTS with 40 hits and a +8. As an added bonus, he’s got dual-wing eligibility. Very tempting.
2) Anthony Beauvillier, NYI, (8% Yahoo ownership): The New York Islanders will play a 4-game week for the fantasy championship against Buffalo and New Jersey. Multiple Islanders players were considered for this report for that very reason, but only Beauvillier made the final cut, having scored 11 PTS in his last 14 GP with 36 shots and 13 hits. You may also want to consider Brock Nelson, Jordan Eberle, or even Leo Komarov is playing on the top line with Barzal. Beauvillier was on my sleeper list prior to the season.
3) Jeff Carter, Pit, (25% Yahoo ownership): If you’d like to take advantage of a great Penguins schedule (Philly twice, Buffalo twice), it was basically a coin flip between Jeff Carter and Kasperi Kapanen for this slot. Carter has been productive since arriving in Pittsburgh, scoring 6 PTS in his last 8 GP. The best part of owning Carter is that he’s a shot generating machine, giving him an added bonus if you need help in that category. Kapanen-Carter-McCann currently constitute the Pens 2nd line while Malkin is out.
4) Brett Pesce, Car, (21% Yahoo ownership): My top deep league streaming defenseman was a coin flip between Pesce and Dmitry Orlov. While Orlov was the higher scoring defenseman in April (11 PTS vs 8 PTS), I’m very keen on cashing in some Hurricanes residuals for those 3 games against Chicago while Washington has a much tougher schedule. Pesce would be pacing for a 40-point season in an 82-game schedule, where he has previously never breached the 30-point threshold. This is his career year.
5) Adin Hill, Ari, (10% Yahoo ownership): Antti Raanta is injured again and the Coyotes have 4 games this week against Los Angeles and San Jose. Hill is proving to be the goalie of the future in Arizona, posting a .924 SV% over his last 8 GP. On Friday night he shutout the mighty Vegas Golden Knights, as the Coyotes are desperately trying to keep up with St. Louis for the last playoff spot in that division. Kuemper is healthy and getting a heavy workload, but Hill has been the hotter goalie in a smaller sample. Kuemper lost to Vegas the next game after Hill's shutout.
Honorable Mentions: Yegor Sharangovich, Kasperi Kapanen, Casey Mittelstadt, Dmitry Orlov, Alexandar Georgiev
Last Week: Anthony Duclair, Erik
Cernak, Max Comtois, Calvin Petersen, Alex Iafallo
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