NHL 2017/18 Week 17 Fantasy Hockey Report

Players to watch, all formats:

1) Yanni Gourde, TB, (32% Yahoo ownership): There’s no chance he’s going to win the Calder Trophy, but he’s been good this season with 17 Goals. In his last 12 GP he has scored 9 PTS. At this rate he’s in the standard league conversation.

2) Alex Steen, STL, (42% Yahoo ownership): He may never again reach his career high of 64 PTS, but he’s still a reliable producer. With 12 PTS in his last 12 GP, you can comfortably add him in a standard league and ride the wave. Be ready to drop him if he goes cold.

3) Colin Miller, LV, (46% Yahoo ownership): There are many mouths to feed on the Vegas blueline, but Miller has been making the most of his time at the table with 16 PTS, 79 Shots and +6 in his last 29 GP. That’s far better than the forecasters predicted. He went undrafted in my 18-team league.

4) Matthew Tkachuk, CGY, (67% Yahoo ownership): The kid is scoring again, with 8 Goals in his last 12 GP. What’s the reason for the turn around? It could have something to do with me trading him in our Superleague. I’ve learned that sometimes me trading a player has the power to turn around their season.

5) Petr Mrazek, DET, (19% Yahoo ownership): As a Red Wings fan who has owned Mrazek for 2 of the last 3 seasons in fantasy, I’m hesitant to trust him. But when he’s on, he’s on. He had back to back shutouts before the All-Star break and he’s available in a bunch of leagues. Ride the hot streak, drop him when he starts to suck again. Hopefully the switch didn’t flip off during the break.

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

1) Jake Debrusk, BOS, (5% Yahoo ownership): We’re going to need to change how we see the name Debrusk. The kid has 16 PTS in his last 25 GP. His dad never had 16 PTS in a season…

2) Justin Braun, SJ, (8% Yahoo ownership): Braun has been a quietly productive defenseman for the Sharks this season. He has scored 14 PTS in his last 20 GP. Last season he had 13 PTS in 81 GP, and he’s already up to 19 PTS at the All-Star break.

3) Mattias Janmark, DAL, (3% Yahoo ownership): There was some hype about this kid before his knee injury. He’s healthy again and has scored 17 PTS in his last 30 GP, which is returning him to fantasy relevance.

4) Anthony Duclair, CHI, (8% Yahoo ownership): He’s worth a gamble. In his last game before the All-Star break he played over 15 minutes scoring 3 PTS. There’s always the chance of getting ice with Kane, which can make anyone a star.

5) Victor Rask, CAR, (3% Yahoo ownership): It has not been a good season for the youngster, but he may be turning things around with 5 PTS in his last 8 GP. Worth keeping an eye on in deep leagues.

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

1) Michael Raffl, PHI: Rotoworld wrote weeks ago that Raffl was not relevant in any fantasy league. He’s scored 16 PTS in his last 29 GP, which makes him relevant in any league with 16 or more teams.

2) Christian Fischer, PHO: This is not the first time I’ve recommended Fischer in the top players 1% owned, and he’s still only 1% owned. He needs to be at least 5% owned with 14 PTS in his last 27 GP, but be weary if you’re sensitive to +/- because his ain’t good.

3) Brad Hunt, LV: His minutes are still a bit low but he’s been making the most of the opportunity with 5 PTS in his last 4 GP. Worth keeping an eye on if he can get enough time on the ice. There’s no shortage of depth defensemen on the Vegas roster.

Sell High:

1) Sam Reinhart, BUF, (x% Yahoo ownership): If you’ve been holding on to Reinhart this whole time because you didn’t want to sell him at a discount, now may be your chance. He has scored 5 PTS in his last 4 GP. You can either treat this as a sign he’s turning his fortunes around, or as an opportunity to dump him from your roster.

2) Thomas Vanek, VAN, (16% Yahoo ownership): Sell! Sell! Sell! Yes, he has scored 23 PTS in his last 29 GP, but most of that was playing with Brock Boeser. He won’t be playing with Brock Boeser after the trade deadline. If you own him, make a trade offer to every team in your league that includes Vanek.

3) Alex Edler, VAN, (25% Yahoo ownership): He’s 31 years old and is not the same player he once was. He has scored 16 PTS in his last 29 GP, which should make him easier to sell. I do not believe in Edler long-term. The fact that he’s been doing well and his ownership has shot back up is a great time to sell.

Buy Low:

1) Auston Matthews, TOR, (100% Yahoo ownership): He hasn’t been bad, but he also hasn’t been spectacular since the concussion. It could be an opportunistic time to make a trade offer.

2) Mike Hoffman, OTT, (86% Yahoo ownership): Hoffman has gone pointless in 9 of his last 12 GP. That’s really bad for an 80%+ owned player. I’m not sure that I want to buy stock in the Ottawa Senators for the remainder of this season, but you can probably get this guy at a discount.

3) Matt Murray, PIT, (95% Yahoo ownership): Don’t be shocked if Murray goes on a run after the All-Star break. Over the last 30 days he’s only played in 4 games, sporting a 2.81 GAA and .890 SV%. He’s owned in almost every league, but there has to be more than a few owners who've grown annoyed with his lacklustre numbers.

Be concerned:

1) Carey Price, MTL, (98% Yahoo ownership): If you drafted Carey Price in a deep league, your season is probably already over. Price has been playing most of Montreal’s games since returning from injury, but Rotoworld is speculating he may be playing hurt. His season stats are unimpressive with a 3.02 GAA and .905 SV%. Once Montreal is out of the playoff hunt, there’s an unsettling probability that Price could get shut down. If you own him and you’re still in the playoff race, you should get an insurance policy.

2) Patrick Marleau, TOR, (56% Yahoo ownership): He’s owned in more leagues than he should be based on production, which is not uncommon for Leafs players (although it has dropped by 15% since November). Marleau should not be owned in standard leagues (11 PTS in his last 29 GP), so if you’re a Leafs fan who does and you want to give yourself the best chance of winning, drop him now.

3) Jason Spezza, DAL, (37% Yahoo ownership): Unless you’re playing in a 16-team league or deeper, Spezza should not be owned. He’s officially old, scoring 13 PTS in his last 29 GP.