Welcome to our weekly Adds/Drops column, where I focus on highlighting players you should consider grabbing or be concerned about in fantasy leagues. As always, the goal here isn’t to recommend 10 players you must add and five players that need to be dropped. Context is everything and the context of each league is different. What this is instead is a guideline so that if you’re looking to make a change, you have potential players to target and if you see players I’ve suggested to drop, you can evaluate your potential alternates.
Players Worth Adding
Kevin Fiala, Wild – LW/RW: Fiala had nine goals and 28 points in his first 46 contests, which was pretty impressive given that he was averaging just 14:33 minutes per game. His role has increased lately though with him averaging 17:09 minutes over his last 13 games. He’s excelled during that span with 10 goals and 19 points. I don’t expect him to maintain that above point-per-game pace, but there’s still a great chance of him finishing the campaign on a high note.
Duncan Keith, Blackhawks – D: Keith isn’t the offensive force he once was. In fact, this is on track to be one of the worst seasons of his career in terms of points-per-game. To be fair, part of the reason that’s the case is because he’s set the bar so high throughout his career that his current two goals and 22 points in 56 contests pales in comparison. Those aren’t standout numbers for a defenseman in most fantasy leagues, but it’s still noteworthy contributions. The main reason why he’s being highlighted here though is because of how hot he’s been lately. With a goal and seven points in his last six contests, this would be the time to take a chance on him.
Kailer Yamamoto, Oilers – RW: When it was announced on Feb. 25th that Yamamoto sustained an ankle injury, he was listed as week-to-week. A fair number of fantasy owners likely dropped him when the extent of his injury was revealed, but in the end it looks like he’ll miss significantly less time than anticipated. In fact, he might even make his return tonight. If he’s healthy then he’s a great addition to any team. He has nine goals and 21 points in 21 games.
Jordan Eberle, Islanders – RW: Eberle had a petty mediocre start to the campaign, scoring three goals and 17 points in 31 contests. He found his rhythm though and hasn’t looked back. Over his last 23 games, he’s scored 12 goals and 20 points. He’s had a couple small rough patches, but on the whole, he’s been an excellent contributor for nearly two months now. He’s a solid pickup for the rest of the season.
Dominik Kubalik, Blackhawks – LW/RW: Kubalik had an incredible run of 13 goals and 19 points in 15 contests from Dec. 19-Jan. 19. He slowed down after that with just a goal over his next seven contests, but he’s bounced back in a big way with seven goals and 11 points in his last eight games. At this point, he’s got 29 goals and 44 points in 63 games, which makes him by far the league leader in goals among rookies.
Mikael Backlund, Flames – C/RW: Backlund has been one of the leagues’ top players recently, scoring nine goals and 19 points in his last 13 games. He’s been a reliable secondary scorer for years, surpassing the 40-point milestone for five consecutive seasons, including this one. That’s not good enough to hold onto him at all times, but when he’s this hot, there’s potential upside if you roll the dice on him.
Nikita Gusev, Devils – LW/RW: Gusev’s first campaign in the NHL has been something of a mixed bag, but it’s been more positive than negative, with him scoring 12 goals and 42 points in 62 games. That’s still not quite good enough to hold onto him at all times in standard leagues, but there have been various points in the season where he would have been worth owning. Right now, for example, he’s doing rather well with two goals and nine points in his last six games.
Phillip Danault, Canadiens – C: Danault endured a prolonged rough patch from Dec. 29-Feb. 18 where he scored just two goals and 10 points in the span of 24 contests, but he finally seems to have thawed. He’s on a three-game point streak, scoring a goal and four points in his last three contests. He had a great first half of the season with 10 goals and 30 points in 38 games and now that his cold stretch is behind him, he could have a strong finish to the campaign as well.
Chris Tierney, Senators – C: The Senators were heavy sellers on the trade market and Tierney is among those who got a bigger role as a result. He went from averaging 16:54 minutes through 62 games to 20:36 minutes in his last four contests. He’s registered five assists over that recent four-game span and if the Senators keep leaning on him that heavily then he should be solid for what’s left of the season.
Alex Stalock, Wild – G: This has been a pretty rough season for Devan Dubnyk, who has a 11-15-2 record, 3.34 GAA, and .892 save percentage in 29 contests. It seems the result of that is that Stalock en route to finish the campaign as the de facto starter. Stalock got his fourth straight start on Sunday and while his latest effort wasn’t great, he’s still been the Wild’s better option this season with a 18-10-4 record, 2.64 GAA, and .909 save percentage in 35 games. If you’re hurting for starts, Stalock might your best bet among the likely free agents.
Players You May Want To Drop
Steven Stamkos, Lightning – C/LW/RW: Stamkos is still owned in 83% of Yahoo leagues and unfortunately he shouldn’t be occupied in any single season leagues at this point. He’s expected to miss the next six-to-eight weeks due to a core muscle injury, which basically means he won’t be back before the end of the regular season. In fact, he might end up missing the first round as well, which dampens his value in playoff leagues as well. If you’re in a keeper league though, Stamkos should bounce right back in 2020-21, so he’s an easy one to keep.
Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers – G: Lundqvist is owned in 45% of leagues, which is surprisingly high under the circumstances. Although he will always be a big part of the Rangers history, the team seems to have largely moved on from him. He went nearly a month between starts before he finally got the nod on Sunday. He didn’t do anything to force the Rangers to play him more either, stopping just 21 of 26 shots in a 5-3 loss to the Flyers. It wouldn’t be shocking if he only had just one more start with the Rangers this season and then was bought out or otherwise moved over the summer.
Evgenii Dadonov, Panthers – LW/RW: Dadonov is owned in 73% of Yahoo leagues, but there are probably a fair number of them where there’s better options out there. He has 25 goals and 46 points in 66 contests this season, which isn’t bad, but he hasn’t done much lately. He has just two goals and five points in his last 15 contests.
Ilya Kovalchuk, Capitals – LW/RW: Those who were hoping that Kovalchuk would be sparked by the trade to the Capitals have been left largely disappointed. He has just an assist in his first three games with Washington, which isn’t terribly surprising given that he’s averaged 15:14 minutes over that span. He has been a streaky player since coming back from the KHL and with his more limited role with Washington, he’s not worth owning in most leagues.
Nick Suzuki, Canadiens – C/RW: Suzuki had a fantastic run from Jan. 27-Feb. 18, scoring four goals and 13 points in 12 contests. Since then though, he’s gone five straight games without a point. He’s having a solid season, but isn’t quite good enough to hold onto in standard leagues at all times, so for most owners it makes sense to drop him now that he’s cooled off.
If you’re looking for fantasy hockey information, Rotoworld is a great resource. You can check the player news for the latest information on any player and insight into their fantasy outlook.
Every week Michael Finewax looks ahead at the schedule and offers team-by-team notes in The Week Ahead. I have a weekly Fantasy Nuggets column where I basically talk about whatever’s captured my attention that week. Gus Katsaros does an Analytics columns if you want to get into detailed statistical analysis. If you’re interested in rookies and prospects, there’s a weekly column on that written by McKeen’s Hockey.
