If the Hart Trophy was awarded today, Artemi Panarin might have a good case to be in the conversation.
Panarin has points in every game this season, 22 total in 13 contests and eight multi-point outings. He’s sitting near the top in league scoring and has powered the New York Rangers to a healthy lead at the top of the Metropolitan Division, even while recently losing Adam Fox, Igor Shesterkin and Filip Chytil to injuries.
He’s elevating his teammates, too. Vincent Trocheck is trending towards another 60-point campaign and Alexis Lafreniere is on pace for more than 30 goals. Both have benefited from skating regularly with Panarin.
This strong start is a great example of why you shouldn’t put too much stock in the previous year’s playoffs when drafting players for a new season. Panarin didn’t score in seven games against the New Jersey Devils last spring and managed just a pair of assists, as the Rangers exited early. I know that performance made some folks shy away from Panarin this season, thinking maybe he was trending in the wrong direction, but he’s easily a 90-point player if healthy.
Playoff success is obviously critical if you want to win the Stanley Cup, but if you want to win a fantasy title, don’t read too much into it.
1. It’s time to get concerned about Filip Gustavsson. He recorded a shutout in his first start of the season, but has only had one game with a save percentage over .900 since. A losing record with a mark of .872 on the season is tough to digest, even if Gustavsson is coming off an incredible campaign.
The worry with Gustavsson is that even though his 2022-23 was stellar, his sample size is very small. He still hasn’t even played 75 NHL games. The other issue if you’re rostering him is he has a very capable option in Marc-Andre Fleury lurking for starts. This isn’t a situation where the Minnesota Wild need to lean on Gustavsson and if he continues to struggle, they can easily turn to the very capable Fleury.
It’s also worth pointing out the Wild don’t look as strong as they have in recent years and they are enduring an almost $15M dead cap hit this season. So, there isn’t much wiggle room to improve the roster. If Minnesota isn’t able to support Gustavsson as well as they did last year, you may have to look at other options.
2. One goalie you never have to be concerned about is Jeremy Swayman. He’s a quality start machine, allowing just 12 goals so far in seven starts. Swayman and Ullmark are amazingly showing no signs of regression and the Boston Bruins look like a powerhouse once again. Even if they alternate every other game, there’s still huge value in Swayman playing once or twice a week.
3. Rumors of Victor Hedman’s demise appear to be greatly exaggerated. I don’t think anyone was questioning that Hedman was still a great player, but there were concerns his days as an elite fantasy option may be numbered after a 49-point season. In 2023-24 though, Hedman already has 17 points in 15 games and has reclaimed the top power play spot from Mikhail Sergachev. Hedman looks like he could be an 80-point player again if all goes well.
4. Raise your hand if you had Filip Hronek averaging more than a point per game at this point of the season. That’s what playing with Quinn Hughes will do for you. Not to take anything away from Hronek, but Hughes is scoring at a historic pace right now and is propping up anyone he plays with. Hronek could be a good sell-high candidate, though he may very well worth keeping if Hughes can continue playing at this level. It’s a tough call.
5. Let’s not forget about Ilya Mikheyev, too. After two goals on Thursday night, Mikheyev now has points in seven of the 10 games he’s played, taking advantage of being on Elias Pettersson’s wing. Scoop him up if you can.
6. We’ve been waiting for someone to claim the spot next to Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, and it looks like Matthew Knies has grabbed onto it and isn’t letting go. Knies notched three points in his first game after the promotion and he looks like the perfect complement to Marner and Matthews. He also added six penalty minutes and eight hits this week, making him a great fit for multi-cat leagues.
Knies’ game is very well suited to play with Matthews and Marner. He’s great at getting in on the forecheck and hunting down pucks in the corners. That’s similar to the way Zach Hyman was able to be so productive in the past with the duo. I’m not saying Knies is going to have Hyman-like numbers necessarily, but he seems to be succeeding where others haven’t this season.
Tyler Bertuzzi wasn’t able to gain any traction and Calle Jarnkrok doesn’t have the offensive skillset to really take advantage of playing with the top group. Knies may just get to run with this opportunity. The Toronto Maple Leafs have a light schedule next week, but you should try to add Knies if you can.
7. The Arizona Coyotes suddenly have a plethora of fantasy relevant options this season. The latest to catch my eye is Nick Bjugstad, who is riding a run of nine points in his past 11 games. Bjugstad isn’t known for his offensive prowess, so this stretch isn’t going to last forever, but he could fill a good role depending on your league categories. He’s great for faceoff wins and decent for hits, making Bjugstad a solid fit if you’re league has both of those.
8. Connor Ingram is suddenly becoming an interesting option in goal. Normally, Karel Vejmelka is the goalie folks typically stream from the Arizona Coyotes, but Ingram now has now been above .920 in five of his seven appearances this year to go along with five wins. It may be tough to roster Ingram long term if the Coyotes go into a funk, but right now he could be worth a pickup if you need help in the crease.
9. Semyon Varlamov is surprisingly getting some decent playing time behind Ilya Sorokin. He’s now started four of the past seven games and none of those were in a back-to-back scenario. Varlamov also has two shutouts over this stretch. If this trend continues, he could be worth an add.
10. So far so good for Dawson Mercer after receiving a promotion into the New Jersey Devils top six because of the Jack Hughes injury. After failing to record a point all season, Mercer has a pair of goals in three games since Hughes went down. He’s also increased his shot volume significantly, recording 11 in the aforementioned three games.
11. Ryan O’Reilly is on pace for 70 points this season, which would be his best output since 2018-19. O’Reilly’s offence regressed in recent years and you would’ve thought leaving the Leafs for the Nashville Predators would have only hurt his numbers. Instead, it’s been quite the opposite. The 33-year-old looks poised to fend off the up-and-coming Thomas Novak for the top centre role.
12. You’d think with Gabriel Vilardi injured, the Winnipeg Jets would have no choice but to lean on Nik Ehlers. Not the case. Ehlers has now played less than 14 minutes in five of six games. That’s well below last year’s average, which was a career low for Ehlers. I’m not sure Ehlers is ever going to reach his fantasy potential.
13. Jonas Johansson has allowed at least four goals in five straight games. If you take away his two shutouts, Johansson’s numbers have been pretty bad and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s return is right around corner. I’m not sure how much more you’re going to be able to squeeze out of Johansson.
14. Being removed from the Carolina Hurricanes top power play unit in favour of Tony DeAngelo has really hurt Brent Burns. He’d been held off the scoresheet in seven straight games and his shot volume had been hit or miss. Burns finally broke through for a pair of points Saturday that he desperately needed. I think he was creeping into drop territory for some.
15. Best wishes to Frederik Andersen on a speedy recovery as he’s going to be out of action indefinitely to get treatment for a blood clotting issue. That means Pyotr Kochetkov has been recalled and he delivered a shutout in his only appearance this week. Antti Raanta had two starts and Jaroslav Halak has also now been brought in, and it remains to be seen how much of a factor he’ll be in the Carolina crease. Kochetkov should definitely have some value going forward, but the Canes still seem hesitant to lean on him too much.
16. Let’s give some credit to Mackenzie Blackwood. The San Jose Sharks have been on the receiving end of a lot of jokes this season, but Blackwood is holding his own. He has five starts this year with a save percentage above .940 and both Sharks wins. I don’t think you can roster him regularly, but if you’re desperate for a streaming option to give you a quality start, there are worse options than Blackwood.
17. Joel Farabee is up to 12 points on the season and brings pretty good shot volume to the table. You won’t find too many better options on the waiver wire that are 10% rostered.
18. It’s a very light schedule next week, with 11 teams playing just twice and the Rangers playing only once. You’ll have to get creative to fill some empty spaces in your lineup. The Blues are one of the few teams that play four games, so have a look at Robert Thomas. Thanks to a four-point night Saturday, he has five goals and 10 points in six games.
19. Connor Zary looks like he could get an extended look with the Calgary Flames. He’s recorded a point in four of five games since his callup and has 10 shots. Zary has also played over 18 minutes in two of his past three outings. Matt Coronato couldn’t turn a strong pre-season into a regular roster spot, but Zary appears to have more staying power. The biggest difference between Darryl Sutter and Ryan Huska seems to be Huska is more willing to give young Flames a shot.
20. Only two points for Alex DeBrincat in his past eight games. I wouldn’t be overly concerned if you’re in a roto league, as DeBrincat should still finish with around 40 goals and 80 points if he can stay healthy. He’s just a little more streaky than some other elite scorers. If you’re in a head-to-head league, it’s a little more worrisome. You have to be able to withstand some cold streaks.
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