This
is my 2021 Week Seven Fantasy Hockey Report for those competing in head-to-head
categories or rotisserie leagues. There are both standard and deep league
acquisition targets. 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) Mats Zuccarello, Min, (41% Yahoo ownership): Zuccarello has kicked off his 2021 campaign on fire, scoring 11 PTS in his first 7 GP with a +8. Obviously, that scoring pace will slow down eventually, but that’s not stopping me from buying up all the Zuc shares I can find in the short-term. The Wild will play 4 games this week, and the first 2 against Vegas will be tough, Arizona not so much. Rookie sensation Kirill Kaprizov has mostly been driving Mats success, and I’m buying stock while this pairing lasts.
2) Chris Driedger, Fla, (63% Yahoo ownership): Driedger is the Panthers best goalie and would be a more valuable fantasy commodity if the team wasn’t financially obliged to give Bobrovsky as many starts as they do. Florida will play Nashville twice and Carolina twice (coincidently, Reimer is my 2nd choice for a standard league goalie stream). Over his last 8 GP, Driedger has posted 6 wins with a .927 SV%, and yet somehow is still only owned in 63% of Yahoo leagues. That’s almost criminal.
3) Jean-Gabriel Pageau, NYI, (46% Yahoo ownership): Over the last 15 days, the only NHL player to score more goals than Pageau is Auston Matthews. Eventually he’s going to cool off, but we’ve seen him go on runs before. I tried adding Pageau as a streamer in one of my leagues, but did not bid enough. You can also expect solid peripheral numbers from J.G, producing 9 PTS, 33 shots, 25 hits, with a +7 in his last 13 GP. He’s more than just a scoring play, he’s a high-volume shooter and hitter.
4) Ondrej Palat, TB, (63% Yahoo ownership): I have been banging the drum consistently for Ondrej Palat over the last month, as he’s been playing top line, top power play in Tampa, scoring 11 PTS in his last 14 GP, with 29 shots and 21 hits. His ownership has stalled in the low 60s despite solid production and great deployment on the defending Stanley Cup champion. I’ll continue recommending him until he’s owned in too many leagues to qualify. Note that Blake Coleman has been promoted to line 1 with Palat and Point.
5) Rasmus Andersson, Cgy, (45% Yahoo ownership): I picked up Andersson on both my fantasy teams ahead of their 5-game set against the Ottawa Senators, but considered dropping him after a 0-point, -4 effort in game one. Long-term, I’m much more interested in adding Ty Smith, but will stick with Rasmus for at least a few more games and give the Flames a chance to redeem themselves. Andersson has scored 8 PTS in his last 16 GP, adding 27 shots and 19 hits, better peripherals than we’ve seen from him in the past.
Honorable Mentions: Sam Reinhart, Jack Hughes, Nino Niederreiter, James Reimer, Ty Smith
Last Week: Sam Reinhart, Jack
Hughes, Ondrej Palat, Chris Driedger, Ty Smith
Best Deep League Adds
(under 25% ownership):
1) Nick Leddy, NYI, (23% Yahoo ownership): Nick Leddy has been quietly compiling a strong season for the Islanders, scoring at a 52-point pace through the first 20 games, including 8 PTS in his last 9 GP. The Islanders (like many teams) have a busy schedule ahead, including against the bottom feeders of the division. Nick was 3% owned at the end of January, and never rose above single digit ownership last season, so his stock is currently on an 18-month high. He’s getting it done on the power play.
2) Drake Batherson, Ott, (18% Yahoo ownership): Either the Ottawa Senators aren’t as bad as we all thought they were, or the entire Canadian division sucks more than we realize; and both scenarios bode well for the Drake. This has been a breakout season for Batherson, who is currently on a line with rookie sensation Tim Stutzle. In his last 7 GP, Batherson has scored 9 PTS with 14 shots and 8 hits. The Sens play 4 games this week, 3 against Calgary, who has been struggling to keep pucks out of their net (note I'm currently invested in Rittich).
3) Victor Rask, Min, (3% Yahoo ownership): I’m reluctant to be recommending anyone add Victor Rask to their fantasy teams given what a wildly disappointing season he endured in 2019/20, but he now finds himself centering one of the hottest lines in hockey with Kaprizov and Zuccarello. Rask has scored 8 PTS in his last 8 GP with an impressive +7. I’m not adding him in a standard league, but there are plenty of deeper formats where he needs to at least be considered. 3% owned is way too low.
4) Pavel Zacha, NJ, (23% Yahoo ownership): If you haven’t been paying attention to the New Jersey Devils, you may not have noticed that Pavel Zacha has potted 11 PTS in his last 9 GP. The youngster is finally starting to deliver on his potential and currently finds himself slotted on a solid 2nd line with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. More importantly, he’s been playing on the Devils top power play unit, and has collected 4 power play points over the last 2 weeks. His value in dynasty leagues is also growing.
5) Dave Rittich, Cgy, (18% Yahoo ownership): “Big Save Dave” was more like “Big Goal Dave” when he got lit up for 9 goals over 2 games against Ottawa, and he was on my fantasy roster for both matches. At least he won the 2nd start. Markstrom is banged up, so Rittich has been catapulted into the primary starter’s role. The Flames will play 3 more games against the Senators this week, and I’m going to let it ride. Rittich still has a .907 SV% on the season, and I’m hoping for better results this week (but don't exactly feel great about it).
Honorable Mentions: Andrew Mangiapane, Max Comtois, Martin Necas, Damon Severson, Curtis McElhinney
Last Week: Damon Severson, Alex
Wennberg, Pekka Rinne, Andrew Mangiapane, Pius Suter
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