NHL 2017 Week 11 Fantasy Hockey Report

Players to watch, all formats:

1) Kevin Fiala, Nashville, (31% Yahoo ownership): He’s healthy and he’s good. 8 PTS in his last 6 GP on a talented Nashville team. I went to Predators vs Canucks game last week, and the Preds are good. They made the Canucks look like an AHL team.

2) Matt Niskanen, Washington, (49% Yahoo ownership): He’s back from injury and over his last 7 games has 5 PTS and is +10. You can add him in standard leagues.

3) Gabriel Landeskog, (60% Yahoo ownership): Gabe just had a 5-point night. Far be it from me to recommend a player who is already on my fantasy team, but he’s got 13 Goals on the season, which is close to a 40-goal pace.

4) Brian Elliot, Philly, (70% Yahoo ownership): Elliot is currently on one of his hot streaks. We know they don’t last forever, but he can help any fantasy team in any format when he’s hot. Over his last 6 games he’s 6-0 with a 1.48 GAA and .949 SV%.

5) Tom Wilson, Washington, (48% Yahoo ownership): At this point Wilson should probably be owned in all standard leagues. If he ever gets buried in the line-up you can drop him, but as a top line player he might become a fantasy MVP in leagues that count penalty minutes.

Going Deep: players owned in 10% of leagues or less:

1) Oliver Bjorkstrand, Columbus, (6% Yahoo ownership): He started the season on my fantasy team in an 18-team league. I traded him early on for Travis Konecny, which turned out to be a bad trade. Bjorkstrand has 8 PTS in his last 6 GP.

2) Nick Bjugstad, Florida, (6% Yahoo ownership): So long as he’s going to be playing on the top line, he needs to be owned in more leagues. 5 PTS in his last 8 GP is good.

3) Calle Jarnkrok, Nashville, (3% Yahoo ownership): 5 PTS in his last 6 GP averaging over 17m of ice time per game. He’s a good player and needs to be owned in more leagues.

4) Danton Heinen, Boston, (3% Yahoo ownership): He’s scored 6 PTS in his last 6 GP while averaging over 16m of ice time per game. This is not his first appearance on my “watch list”. He’s up to 18 PTS in 26 GP this season, which is a 50+ point pace over a full season. He can be added in more leagues.

5) Antoine Vermette, Anaheim, (6% Yahoo ownership): If Vermette’s ownership in Yahoo is 6%, that must mean only 6% of leagues count face-off wins. He should be owned in 100% of leagues that count that category. His 3 PTS in his last 6 GP is decent too.

The 1%: Top 3 Players to Add that are 1% Owned or Less

1) Markus Granlund, Vancouver: He’s been the biggest beneficiary of the injuries to Horvat and Baertschi with 4 PTS in his last 5 GP playing first line minutes.

2) Stefan Noesen, New Jersey: He’s scored 6 PTS in his last 6 GP. There is an uncomfortably high variance in his ice time, but he’s producing enough to justify ownership in super deep leagues.

3) Jake McCabe, Buffalo: McCabe was on my roster when he had his 3-point night last week. I had to double check to make sure it wasn’t a typo. He was added to my roster for hits and blocks, so the 3-point night was a pleasant surprise.

Sell High:

1) Henrik Sedin, Vancouver, (15% Yahoo ownership): His ice time has shot back up since Horvat went down and Henrik has been producing, 15 PTS in his last 14 GP. That’ll drop in a few weeks when Horvat returns. In the meantime, you might be able to get a decent return for this former MVP.

2) Tyler Johnson, Tampa, (42% Yahoo ownership): Since his promotion to the top line, he’s been red hot, scoring at least 2 PTS in 5 of his last 7 games (14 PTS in his last his last 10 GP). I’m not expecting this pace to continue, so it might be advantageous to package him into some trade offers.

3) Josh Bailey, Islanders, (76% Yahoo ownership): He’s on pace to score over 90 PTS this season and needs to be owned in more leagues. If you’re in a standard league and he’s on the waiver wire, add him immediately. If you already own him, you might be able to flip him for an impressive bounty.

Buy Low:

1) Sergei Bobrovsky, Columbus, (100% Yahoo ownership): It’s been a bit of a rocky ride for Bobrovsky owners over the past 2 weeks with a 3.20 GAA and .894 SV%. I’m among the Bobrovsky owners who just got swept in the goalie categories last week.

2) William Nylander, Toronto, (93% Yahoo ownership): Nylander has only scored 1 point in his last 7 GP. He clearly misses Auston Matthews, who should return soon from a concussion. There’s a high likelihood that Nylander starts producing again when his star center returns. This is not Nylander’s first appearance on the “buy low” list.

3) Tyler Seguin, Dallas, (100% Yahoo ownership): Seguin has scored 29 PTS on the season, but only 2 in last 7 GP. If the Seguin owner in your league lacks patience, it might be worth making a trade offer. I’ve been shopping him around in my 18-team league with no takers.

Be concerned:

1) Erik Karlsson, Ottawa, (99% Yahoo ownership): At this point it’s safe to speculate his ankle is not 100%. In his last 14 GP he’s only scored 3 PTS and is -14 (he was +3 yesterday). I’m not sure I’d drop him in a standard league because there is always the chance that he returns to elite status. He’s the #1 most traded player on Yahoo today.

2) Anthony Mantha, Detroit, (56% Yahoo ownership): His fantasy stock is falling with only 3 PTS in his last 12 GP. He can be safely dropped in standard leagues. I dropped him in mine and I’m a Red Wings fan. In deeper leagues, you’ll just have to ride it out.

3) Mike Green, Detroit, (64% Yahoo ownership): When he started the season hot, he got scooped up by most fantasy leagues on name recognition. Now he’s dried up with just 1 point in his last 12 GP. You can safely drop him in standard leagues. That ownership should fall back down to the 30% range.