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
Kailer Yamamoto, Oilers – RW: Edmonton summoned Yamamoto on Dec. 31st and they’ve never had any reason to look back. He has seven goals and 14 points in 16 games while playing primarily with Leon Draisaitl. He had some false starts earlier in his career, but he’s a talented young forward who should be a significant part of the Oilers’ offense from here onward.
Jason Zucker, Penguins – LW/RW: Zucker is owned in 58% of Yahoo leagues at this point and normally I wouldn’t highlight a player whose already been scooped up in that many leagues, but I wanted to make an exception in this case because he’s a great addition if he’s still around for you. Being acquired by the Penguins significantly boosted his fantasy value. He’s averaging 17:14 minutes since joining and, more importantly, is playing alongside Sidney Crosby. He’s an already established, skilled winger who is now playing with one of the best players in the league. This should go well and there’s already evidence that it will with him recording three points in three games with Pittsburgh.
Alex Galchenyuk, Wild – C/LW: While I see Zucker as a must-add, Galchenyuk, who was part of the same trade, is a big gamble. Like Zucker, the trade has boosted Galchenyuk’s value, but in Galchenyuk’s case, he was hovering around zero prior to this trade. While Galchenyuk was a capable top-six forward with Montreal and to a lesser extent with Arizona, he didn’t work out at all with Pittsburgh. Galchenyuk’s role steadily dropped throughout his tenure with the Penguins to the point where he was averaging just 7:21 minutes per game. In Galchenyuk’s first two games with Minnesota he logged 12:26 minutes and then 13:44 minutes – so better, but not great. Still, what makes me tempted to keep an eye on Galchenyuk is the Wild’s decision to pair him with Mats Zuccarello when he has been on the ice. This is an opportunity for Galchenyuk to re-establish himself as a top-six forward and he has all the motivation in the world given that his contract is up at the end of the season. Maybe it’s a stretch to pick him up this minute, but I would keep him in mind this next week and if it appears that he is working out in Minnesota, scoop him up.
Miles Wood, Devils – LW: Like Galchenyuk, Wood is someone to keep a close eye on for now rather than pick up right away. Wood has 10 goals and 20 points in 57 games, so he hasn’t been worth owning in standard leagues, but he’s also only been averaging 12:42 minutes. He has three goals and four points in his last six contests though while logging an average of 14:34 minutes over that span. That increase is encouraging and with Blake Coleman now in Tampa Bay, Wood’s role could increase further. On Sunday, with Coleman no longer in the lineup, Wood took his former spot on a line with Nikita Gusev and Travis Zajac. Wood also has 89 hits, so he can contribute in that regard and if your league values PIM instead, he’s noteworthy there too with 51 minutes.
James van Riemsdyk, Flyers – LW: van Riemsdyk is a hot-and-cold player who is producing right now. He has five goals and 14 points in his last 13 contests and is currently on a four-game point streak. Overall this season he’s a somewhat borderline fantasy asset in standard leagues, but at the least he’s worth considering in the short-term.
Patric Hornqvist, Penguins – RW: Hornqvist isn’t someone that makes sense to have on every fantasy team, but for those in need of a reliable right winger due to injury, he’s a good stopgap measure. He has 14 goals and 26 points in 40 games while posting a solid plus-eight rating and contributing 87 hits, so he’ll help you across the board. He’s also been performing particularly well lately with three goals and seven points in his last seven games.
Jonas Brodin, Wild – D: With two goals and 24 points in 58 games this season, Brodin is just a point shy of his career-high. That’s not enough to warrant his inclusion on the vast majority of standard league fantasy teams, but he’s not too far behind the curve. He’s at least worthy of consideration during hot streaks like the one he’s currently on. He has a goal and four points in his last five games.
Brandon Sutter, Canucks – C/RW: Sutter has never been a major offensive threat and injuries during his tenure with Vancouver have further obscured him. This season he’s appeared in just 34 games, though he has a respectable eight goals and 16 points over that span. He’s hot right now with two goals and five points in his last three games, but what makes this a little more interesting is the fact that Vancouver has given him a bigger role over that stretch. He’s averaged 14:55 minutes this season, but he’s logged between 16:05 and 19:02 minutes in each of those three games. Even if Vancouver continues to lean on him like that, he might not be a great addition in the long run, but if nothing else, he’s an okay gamble for the moment.
Craig Smith, Predators – RW: Smith has been clicking lately, scoring an incredible six goals over his last five games. With 17 goals and 28 points in 58 contests, he’s not a great player to hold onto at all times, but as long as he’s hot, he has some value. Just don’t hesitate to swap him out for someone else after he stops scoring.
Nick Bonino, Predators – C: If a center is a better fit for you right now than a right winger, than you might want to consider Smith’s linemate, Bonino. He’s been hot right alongside Smith, scoring three goals and eight points in his last 11 games. Bonino is up to 17 goal and 34 points in 58 contests this season, so he’s been a better offensive contributor than Smith, but because of how deep the center position is, Smith is owned in 12% of leagues to Bonino’s 10%.
Players You May Want To Drop
Erik Karlsson, Sharks – D: Karlsson is still owned in 75% of Yahoo leagues at the time of writing and no active owner in a single season league should have him on their team. It’s painful, but he’s already been ruled out for the rest of the season due to a broken thumb sustained on Friday, so there’s no benefit to him occupying a spot on your team. If you are in a keeper league though, there’s certainly reason to still hold onto him. Although injuries have limited Karlsson in each of the last two seasons, when he’s healthy, he’s still one of the league’s top offensive defensemen.
Ilya Kovalchuk, Canadiens – LW/RW: When Kovalchuk first joined Montreal, he seemed revitalized with four goals and eight points in eight games. He’s slowed down dramatically since then though with two goals and four points in his last 11 contests. He’s still getting big minutes in Montreal, which makes him an interesting forward to keep an eye on and there’s also the potential that the Canadiens might opt to trade him given that they’re eight points behind Toronto in the playoff race despite having played in one extra game. A trade involving Kovalchuk is more likely to hurt than help his fantasy value because it will likely result in him getting fewer minutes, but you never know. Even if you do drop him now, he’s still worth keeping a close eye on.
Anthony Beauvillier, Islanders – C/LW: Beauvillier has a solid 17 goals and 36 points in 57 games this season, but a big chunk of that production came from a recent hot streak. He had seven goals and 13 points in 10 games from Jan. 14-Feb. 10. If you had him during that time, you reaped the benefits, but he’s also had some long cold stretches and we might be witnessing the start of another after he was held off the scoresheet in his last three games.
Jake DeBrusk, Bruins – LW/RW: DeBrusk scored seven goals and 14 points in 13 games from Jan. 7-Feb. 8, but that hot streak is behind him. He’s been held off the scoresheet in each of the Bruins’ last four contests. Overall this season, he has 18 goals and 34 points in 55 games, which is decent, but not quite enough for most fantasy owners to justify holding onto him all-year-round.
Jonathan Drouin, Canadiens – C/LW: Drouin has an ankle injury, but it’s not clear yet if that’s a big issue. So far it doesn’t sound like it is. He sustained the injury on Wednesday, tried to play through it Friday, and then sat out Saturday’s game after participating in the pregame warmups. For Drouin though, this recommendation has very little to do with the injury and far more to do with his recent play. He has been limited to three assists in his last 10 games and hasn’t recorded a point in four contests since he returned from a wrist injury that cost him most of the campaign. It might be a matter of rust and if given enough time he might be able to move past it, but there’s not a ton of time even left in the campaign for him to regain his rhythm.
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.
