He’s not the player he was three seasons ago, but Corey Perry is still very much in the fantasy conversation today, especially considering how the Anaheim Ducks‘ season has played out to date. Returning about two weeks prior to what was his projected return when he underwent knee surgery in the preseason, Perry is now slated to make his 2018-19 debut on Saturday.
Of course, he’ll be on Anaheim’s top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell and will factor onto the team’s top power-play unit. He’s still Corey Perry, after all. Fine, that means he’s the same Corey Perry who has finished with fewer than 20 goals in both of the past two seasons. That said, his line still finished among the NHL’s top 20 in goals scored at 5-on-5 last season (25). Perry takes a significant number of shots on net and can do enough over the season’s final 31 games to be worthy of a fantasy lineup spot immediately. Incidentally, he’s available in over half of ESPN leagues at the moment.
Now, I don’t think he’s going to single-handedly save the spiraling Ducks’ campaign, but perhaps Perry can do even better than expected if he can help the power play find its long-lost form. Don’t forget that this is, more or less, the same combination of players that led the NHL in power-play percentage in the 2015-16 NHL season, back when Perry was still an elite fantasy contributor. The top unit that season was Getzlaf, Perry, Rakell, Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen. Swap out Vatanen for Brandon Montour, and the Ducks could put together essentially the same crew on the man-advantage going forward.
Of course, that same group has also been near the bottom of the league in power-play production for the last two seasons, so turning things around is far from a given. But there is plenty of upside here with Perry and if the cost to acquire him is no more than using your high waiver priority or a handful of FAAB dollars, it’s a no-brainer to add him to your roster.
On the other end of the injury scale, Taylor Hall‘s once-minor injury has now dragged on for more than a month. The New Jersey Devils strung us along so casually here, that it always sounded as if Hall were due back tomorrow. Yet, here we are now in February with Hall last lacing up the skates to play in a game on Dec. 23. After putting together three healthy seasons, it’s easy to forget that Hall was chronically injured for the first several years of his career. He missed 18-plus games in three of his first five seasons. The fact that Hall was still going to see doctors about his lower-body injury just this week is quite disconcerting.
If Hall continues to miss time in a Devils season that won’t go past April, we need to reduce our expectations across the board here. There is a reason he won the Hart Trophy last season, as his presence lifts all boats. Kyle Palmieri only had four goals and one assist in all of January. New Jersey went 4-8-0 without Hall. Only the Ducks and Colorado Avalanche earned fewer points in the standings, while only the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals allowed more goals.
The line of Travis Zajac, Blake Coleman and Miles Wood had a big month for the Devils, but are you going to rely on any of them in your lineup going forward? That would be a bold move. Without Hall, I don’t think anybody from the Devils has to be locked into your fantasy lineup.
Fantasy Forecaster: Feb. 4-10
The schedule ramps back up following the All-Star break and NHL’s bye weeks, with more than half of the league playing a four-game schedule.
Highlights from teams playing four games: Despite the four games, expect a reduced workload for Tuukka Rask as the Bruins get their games in via two back-to-back sets. … At the other end of the spectrum, Henrik Lundqvist could start four times as the Rangers avoid any back-to-back sets for the week. … Darcy Kuemper is a solid addition in your crease for next week, as he’s coming off a January in which he went 6-0-2 with a 2.07 GAA and a .928 save percentage. … The Panthers look primed to have a high-scoring week. Obviously, you can’t trust the netminders here, but feel free to go a little deeper on offense, including Frank Vatrano and Nick Bjugstad. … Nikolaj Ehlers and Dustin Byfuglien are skating, but I don’t know if they are safe to lock into weekly lineups. Daily lineup leagues should have them at the ready, however, as the Jets schedule is rock-solid for the week and they close with three games in four days.
Teams playing two games: The Calgary Flames are the only team with two games this week, but I wouldn’t bench anyone, given how strong the offense has been for fantasy purposes this season. However, David Rittich will need some additional support as he may only get one of the two starts. Juuse Saros or Jordan Binnington may help prop up your stats if you can track which games they are starting.
Highlights from teams playing three games: Carter Hutton and Devan Dubnyk are the only three-game goaltenders with a back-to-back set worthy of a fantasy roster spot. Again, Saros or Binnington could provide some temporary help for the week given that they may start only twice.
For those new to the forecaster chart, here are some explanations: “O” (offense) and “D” (defense) matchup ratings are based on a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team’s season-to-date statistics, its performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, and its opponents’ numbers in those categories. The “Ratings” column lists the cumulative rating from 1 to 10 of that week’s offensive (“O”) and defensive (“D”) matchups.
Every week, the focus in the notes below will be mainly on players who are available for potential use. The generalized cutoff is that a player is rostered in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues, but this space will also include players below 10 percent whenever possible to try to cater to deeper formats.
Team notes
New York Rangers: Getting Kevin Hayes back from injury means a lot for the Rangers attack. Before getting hurt in early January, Hayes tore off 16 points in the final 10 games of December. Mika Zibanejad and Mats Zuccarello have been hot on their own accord of late, and adding Hayes to the power-play arrangement just elevates the attack. The Rangers have a spaced out (no back-to-back sets), four-game week on tap with all games at home, and both Hayes and Zuccarello are available in 30-plus percent of ESPN leagues. You may end up using Zuccarello just for the week, but Hayes could be a long-term addition to your squad. Plus, as silly as it sounds given his season, I don’t mind Kevin Shattenkirk as a one-week plug-and-play for the coming week. Given the home cooking, the power play could have a very good week — and he’s still the quarterback.
Carolina Hurricanes: With another two-goal game, Nino Niederreiter is now averaging a goal per game as a member of the Hurricanes. It’s just four games, but that’s a huge impression to make after coming to the team via trade. Niederreiter found himself on the top line with Sebastian Aho in the final game before the All-Star break, and he responded with two tallies as part of a 5-2 win in which Teuvo Teravainen had a three-point game while playing away from Aho. Here’s betting Carolina continues this deployment. … Don’t look now, but Dougie Hamilton closed out January with two goals in his final two games, finishing the month with five goals and four assists in 12 games. Considering he had just 10 total points before the month started, it’s safe to say he could be turning a corner.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Jake Muzzin‘s roster percentage is soaring since the trade from the Los Angeles Kings, but there are still 20 percent of leagues in which he is available. Move quickly, as Muzzin is a proven fantasy commodity when playing a supporting role for a quality team. Three of his past four campaigns have been 40-point seasons, all while playing in the shadow of Drew Doughty. … Toronto’s line shakeup has left a few question marks about the role players we like using. Andreas Johnsson is out of the mix for now, returning from a concussion to the fourth line; Kasperi Kapanen is an option on the wing with John Tavares and Zach Hyman; Patrick Marleau also makes for an intriguing plug-and-play option, currently on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Also, by the way, William Nylander had his first games with consecutive points this season, scoring four in two games before the break on a line with Nazem Kadri and Connor Brown.
Player notes
Joonas Donskoi, W, San Jose Sharks: A sneaky pickup as his two linemates continue to rack up the points, Donskoi is due for some more points based on the performance of his current line. Evander Kane is arguably the hottest fantasy skater on the ice and Tomas Hertl has two hat tricks in the past month.
Alex Galchenyuk, C/W, Arizona Coyotes: In his final game before the break, Galchenyuk played 20-plus minutes on the top line with Clayton Keller. Even though they have only been on one line that has played more than 50 total minutes this season (with Nick Schmaltz), Keller and Galchenyuk are the top point-scoring duo for the Coyotes this season. At 50 percent availability now, Galchenyuk is a solid speculative add to see if something good is coming.
Drake Caggiula, W, Chicago Blackhawks: For as long as the Blackhawks are going to play Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on a line together, the third man on the unit will be a fine fantasy option. No, Caggiula doesn’t have any points in the 31 minutes they’ve played together so far, but they should come in enough numbers for him to stay on the deep-league radar.
Frank Vatrano, C, Florida Panthers: Did you know that Vatrano was on pace for 28 goals? The Panthers find themselves with a glut of top-six forwards, and as the talent is divided among three lines, Vatrano has come out a winner. He’s skating with Aleksander Barkov and Evgenii Dadonov for now and his January included 6 goals and 10 points in 10 games.
Justin Schultz, D, Pittsburgh Penguins: Spotted at practice with the Penguins this week, Schultz has been out since October with a leg fracture. If you take Schultz’s total time with the Penguins and project the numbers out over 82 games, he’s a defenseman that would get 45 points, a plus-29 and 17 power-play points in a season. When healthy, he needs to be on rosters.