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Who are these Carolina Hurricanes?
The Canes are normally a very structured team that’s known for its excellent defensive play, though suddenly it is filling the net with regularity. Carolina is ranked fourth in power-play percentage and sixth in goals for, and it has also scored at least two goals with the man advantage in eight of its past 16 games. That’s a stark contrast from a year ago. In 2022-23, the Hurricanes had only the 20th-ranked power play and were barely in the top half of the league in goals for.
This offensive outburst has done wonders for the likes of Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov and Brent Burns. Aho and Svechnikov, in particular, have been on a crazy pace of late, with Aho scoring 21 points in his past 11 games and Svechnikov notching 12 points in his past seven.
The knock on the high-end Canes players in fantasy drafts is that there was always a limit on what they could produce, given Carolina’s style of play and its habit of spreading the ice time around. This season, though, if you grabbed Aho or Svechnikov, you’re probably ecstatic because both look like they have the potential for a new ceiling.
Let’s hope it continues.
Time for your questions:
I think I’d go Adam Fantilli, Leo Carlsson, Quinton Byfield, Mason McTavish and Marco Rossi. Despite having a very impressive campaign, McTavish actually doesn’t hit that much. If your league has penalty minutes, though, I’d move McTavish up a little. Fantilli has sneaky value for hits and I could also see him ending up as the best offensive player out of this bunch.
My fear with goalies is always that it’s really hard to upgrade because of the inconsistency at the position. You already have Ilya Sorokin, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Joseph Woll. That’s a solid trio. I don’t know what move you can make that would reasonably assure you that you’re getting better in net. I’m not sure how valuable goalies are in your league, but I never like to carry more than three, so you could always move on from Lukas Dostal or Karel Vejmelka to add skaters and really lean into improving your offensive numbers.
I like Sam Bennett’s deployment and I think he has huge upside in leagues with hits and penalty minutes. If you can give him another week or so, I would. As far as Logan Thompson goes, I think you can drop him when Adin Hill gets healthy. His numbers have been disappointing to me this season, given how structured Vegas is and how goalie-friendly Bruce Cassidy’s teams typically are.
If it’s multi-cat, I’m going with McTavish. I think his PIM coverage gives him an advantage over the others. Second, I’d go with Gustav Nyquist. The Nashville Predators are scoring more frequently this season and Nyquist is really capitalizing on it.
That’s definitely too little. Quinn Hughes is a superstar and although McTavish and Logan Cooley could be huge assets down the line, they’re nowhere near his level at the moment. If you really want him, you’re probably going to have to offer a package of one of those players you listed, a high draft pick and likely another solid player.
Players with this type of category coverage are highly coveted, so it’s likely going to take a decent return in a trade to acquire one. Somebody like Brock Faber might be a good fit for these categories when he really hits his stride in another year or two.
I know he’s not performing quite as well this season, but I think Tage Thompson is the way to go. Thompson has the highest upside and his shot volume is usually much higher. My concern with Brayden Point long term is if the Tampa Bay Lightning tear things down in the next couple of years, what does that mean for Point? Will he get moved or will there be a lack of talent around him that’s going to hurt his value? The Buffalo Sabres have a lot of young talent for Thompson to play with for years to come.
I hear the frustration. Alex Tuch is scoring at a 67-point pace, which is down from last year and he’s definitely been streaky. When he’s clicking, he’s a huge asset, but he’s had a handful of cold stretches as well. In roto leagues, it’s not as much of an issue because it kind of works itself out in the end, but in head-to-head scenarios it’s more challenging with a player like Tuch. For example, before Thursday, Tuch was very quiet for four games, so that is a huge blow in a head-to-head league because it may end up costing you a matchup or two. If you get a player with too many cold streaks early on in the season, you may end up falling too far in a head-to-head for it to matter. Maybe see what’s out there in the trade market for Tuch and see if someone is willing to part with someone more consistent.
Marchment or Foegele for some depth scoring in a deep league?
I’ll say Mason Marchment because his place in the top six in Dallas is more secure than Warren Foegele’s in Edmonton. I could see the Edmonton Oilers re-adjusting things and shuffling the lines frequently and maybe moving someone like Evander Kane back up, for instance. Marchment is also more of a proven fantasy producer than Foegele and he’s been part of a solid trio with Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin for most of this season.
Someone like Faber could be a good option if it’s a multi-cat league. His ice-time is so high that he should be solid for category coverage and the points will come. Someone else I’d look at is Thomas Harley. The Dallas Stars defender is quietly having a solid season, with some decent point streaks mixed in as well.
In a one-year leagues, I think I’d prefer Torey Krug, but in a keeper, I’d go with Jamie Drysdale. Krug should have a stronger season than Drysdale in 2023-24, though long term Drysdale has much more upside.
Tough call. If John Gibson does get traded to, let’s say, the New Jersey Devils, his value would skyrocket. That type of trade would be hard to pull off, though, considering the Anaheim Ducks would probably have to retain salary and it would cost the team acquiring Gibson a large haul. My gut says a trade like that is easier to swing in the summer and it’s probably going to do more damage holding him on your roster for a deal that may not materialize.
What to do with Point? So many better centres on the wire producing. Who could trade targets be?
I think your expectations may be too high for Point. He’s averaging a point per game this season and has been fairly solid overall. He’s also on a very strong line and power play with Nikita Kucherov, the league’s leading scorer. Granted, he’s not on pace for 50 goals like he produced last season, but that campaign seemed like more of anomaly for Point. I think you’ll have a hard time winning a trade for someone headed for 35 goals and around 80 points on the low end. If you’re going to move him, you need to get a big return.
Yes, I wouldn’t waste much time accepting it. Again, Thompson is not having a great year so far and Jake Guentzel is playing really well, but long term Thompson will have more value. It’s probably a good time to buy low on Thompson.
I really do think Zach Hyman can keep this going. Connor McDavid is finding his groove once again and anyone on his wing is going to benefit. The thing I like about Hyman is that he has proven in the past he can excel playing with good players. Hyman played with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in Toronto and now he’s showing he can take his game to another level when playing with someone like McDavid.
It sounds obvious that anyone should be able to play with good players, but that’s not always the case. We’ve seen lots of examples on the Oilers of players who couldn’t stick with McDavid — someone like Connor Brown comes to mind this season. Hyman is great at digging pucks out and getting them to McDavid, and he’s also excellent around the front of the net. Not to mention he can think the game as fast as elite players as well. He’s always in the right spot.
As for Evander Kane, I really don’t like his outlook on the third line. There’s not enough talent down there for him to play with and Kane isn’t on the top power play. He should still be solid for hits, though, but I suspect his offensive totals will take a hit.
What’s wrong with Draisaitl?
There’s really nothing wrong with him. Leon Draisaitl has goals in four straight and seven points in his past four games overall. He may not end up with as many points as he had last year, but Draisaitl is still in for a big campaign. I wouldn’t panic.
I would make that deal. Travis Konecny has been excellent this season and we all know about Alex Ovechkin’s struggles. I know it’s probably difficult giving up on Ovechkin, but Konecny has been the far superior player and even if the Washington Capitals forward improves, he still has a long way to go to make him worth holding over Konecny. Ovechkin is also 38 and has a lot of miles on his body, so the likelihood of a huge resurgence seems slim. Meanwhile, Konecny is on pace for well over 40 goals.
I would decline the trade. If you’ve been stashing Max Pacioretty for this long, I’d at least give him a handful games to see what he does. When he’s healthy, not many people can score at the rate that Pacioretty can.
You could give Alex Lyon a shot. His numbers haven’t been as strong as they were before he got injured, but it looks like Lyon has taken over the Detroit Red Wings net and he’s still picking up wins. Detroit is also a decent squad, so Lyon is probably your best bet among the options you listed.
He definitely has a great opportunity, that’s for sure. Nico Daws has been pretty solid in his two starts and has picked up a pair of wins, something the Devils desperately need. Vitek Vanecek hasn’t been good at all this season, to put it mildly, so there is a chance for Daws to be what Akira Schmid couldn’t do and take over the New Jersey net. The Devils have actually won four of five games and that’s the key here: Can New Jersey get rolling like it did last year? If so, Daws will be incredibly valuable if he’s getting the bulk of the playing time.
I see the logic here but I wouldn’t trade Brock Boeser for Joey Daccord. As good as Daccord has played over the past few weeks, goalies are very volatile, and the likelihood of him continuing at this level for the foreseeable future is not high. Boeser may regress as well, but at least he’s still in a loaded top six and power play, and the Vancouver Canucks have played very well all season. If you really want to sell high on Boeser for a goalie, I’d target someone like Sorokin or Juuse Saros who is a lot more proven with a bigger sample size.
I don’t see any red flags with any of those players and prospects, though percentages probably indicate not every single one of them will pan out and be fantasy relevant. The only one I pause about is Owen Power. I think Power is going to be a great player, but I kind of get the feeling he might end up being one of those better in real life guys than fantasy. We shall see.
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