NHL 2017 Week 9 Fantasy Hockey Report

Players to watch, all formats:

1) Tristan Jarry, Pittsburgh, (50% Yahoo ownership): For as long as Matt Murray is on IR (which happens often enough), Jarry is an excellent fantasy option. This outlook gets gloomy when Murray returns, but certainly if you’re the Murray owner, Jarry needs to be on your roster.

2) Brian Little, Winnipeg, (29% Yahoo ownership): For whatever reason his ownership fell this low, it needs to be higher. He’s been producing with 9 PTS in his last 10 GP, and that would help anyone. He should be added in standard leagues.

3) Derek Stepan, Phoenix, (30% Yahoo ownership): Stepan is standard league relevant and needs to be owned in far more than 30% of leagues. Comparable to Little, he’s scored 9 PTS in his last 10 GP and is a proven NHL commodity.

4) Brendan Gallagher, Montreal, (57% Yahoo ownership): If you need Goals and Shots, Gallagher can help your team, even in a standard league.

5) Josh Anderson, Columbus, (18% Yahoo ownership): Mr. Anderson is entering the standard league radar. If any of the players listed above are available in your leagues, I recommend them first. He's scored 7 PTS in his last 6 GP ans is even more valuable if your league counts Hits and Shots.

Going Deep: players to add in deeper leagues:

1) Henrik Sedin, Vancouver, (9% Yahoo ownership): For a player who has scored 13 PTS in his last 15 GP and former league MVP, that ownership % should be higher.

2) Pierre Dubois, Columbus, (5% Yahoo ownership): As the season has progressed, his ice time and production have been gradually rising, now with 6 PTS in his last 4 GP. He’s young with upside, though should not be on your standard league radar quite yet.

3) Radek Faksa, Dallas, (8% Yahoo ownership): Faksa has risen to the role of 2^nd line center on a team with plenty of offensive weapons. He’s got 6 PTS in his last 3 GP including 4 goals. He will also help you out in Shots and face off wins.

4) Erik Haula, Vegas, (9% Yahoo ownership): He’s been getting a ton of ice time in Vegas and has chipped in 11 PTS in his last 13 GP.

5) Scott Wedgewood, Phoenix, (5% Yahoo ownership): I’m not thrilled about recommending a Coyotes goaltender, but on the list of guys owned in 10% of leagues or less, he’s #1. 6 starts over the last 14 days including a shutout, 2.44 GAA, and .917 SV%.

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

1) Christian Fischer, Phoenix: Good young player with the potential to reach double digit ownership before the end of the season. 5 PTS in his last 7 GP. He was briefly available in my 18 team league but got scooped up before I could add him.

2) Mark Letestu, Edmonton: He’s been hot over the past 2 weeks collecting 6 PTS in his last 7 GP. The bad news is that because he plays center, he should not see very much ice time with McDavid.

3) Zack Kassian, Edmonton: It’s a bit of a surprise to see Kassian has scored 6 PTS in his last 7 GP. He also gets Hits and PIMs, so if you’re in a league where 1% players are ownable, he’s worth a speculative play. Be warned the Oilers only play once in the next 5 days, if you’re looking for immediate production.

Sell High:

1) Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal, (37% Yahoo ownership): With 8 PTS in his last 5 GP, now may be the best time to sell (in fantasy and reality). This should end up being his best 5 game stretch the rest of the season.

2) Jon Marchessault, Vegas, (68% Yahoo ownership): His ownership % has skyrocketed over the span of his last 13 GP where he’s scored 17 PTS. If he were on my team, I’d be packaging him into several trade offers right now. The production that led to this point is unlikely to be sustained.

3) Brock Boeser, Vancouver, (71% Yahoo ownership): If there is a Canucks fan in your league, you should be making ridiculous trade offers that include Boeser. He’s already an elite shooter, but the hype over this kid in the Vancouver market is getting crazy.

Buy Low:

1) Jamie Benn, Dallas, (100% Yahoo ownership): Benn hasn’t been scoring like a 100% owned player the last few weeks. He’s hit a cold patch, which is an opportunistic time to make a trade offer.

2) William Nylander, Toronto, (95% Yahoo ownership): Scoring 7 PTS in his last 10 GP might not be a “buy low”, except that he was demoted to the bottom half of the line-up, shrinking his ice time. He was back up over 19m in the Leafs last game, so perhaps your “buy low window” has now closed.

3) Cam Atkinson, Columbus, (72% Yahoo ownership): Since signing a lucrative contract extension, Atkinson has played 8 games with 3 PTS. I’m not ringing the alarm bells quite yet, but you may be able to get him at a discount.

Be concerned:

1) Jimmy Howard, Detroit, (62% Yahoo ownership): I warned in my Fantasy Hockey Report a few weeks ago to sell Jimmy Howard while his numbers were still good because it would not last. That’s exactly what happened. In his last game he had more goals against than saves.

2) Wayne Simmonds, Philly, (94% Yahoo ownership): If you own Simmonds in a standard league, he’s been hurting you the last 30 days. If you’re in a league with a deep waiver wire, there’s better options than Simmonds right now.

3) Aaron Ekblad, Florida, (79% Yahoo ownership):  He’s scored just 2 PTS in his last 14 GP, which is far below what you drafted him to be. He hasn’t been the same player since that concussion and can be safely dropped in shallower leagues.