This article is part of our Frozen Fantasy series.
I will keep this short. Our world is upside-down and it would be tone-deaf to ignore the pain and fears we all have right now. Sports and fantasy are our escapes. But it's hard to escape much these days.
Thousands of miles away feel just next door.
My tweet feed alternates between hockey highlights and images of human suffering. I can't make sense of it, so I won't try. I'm not sure there's sense to it. Instead, I will allow myself to feel and not judge myself for using fantasy to escape every once in a while.
You shouldn't either.
We are all human. For our perceived differences, we're basically all the same. Sometimes we forget that. It's hard not to see it today.
Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, Los Angeles (49 percent Yahoo!) – Arvidsson had his five-game (seven-point) streak snapped Friday night, but he, Trevor Moore (9 percent Yahoo!) and Phillip Danault (22 percent Yahoo!) remain solid fantasy assets in deep formats. Arvidsson has five goals and four assists in eight games heading into Saturday, and it's only a matter of time before he converts more on the PP. He's rostered in half of Yahoo! leagues, but there's always a chance he's been overlooked in yours.
Jean-Francois Berube, G, Columbus (8 percent Yahoo!) – What a week for the 30-year-old journeyman who never gave up on his NHL dream. He downed the Leafs and Panthers,
I will keep this short. Our world is upside-down and it would be tone-deaf to ignore the pain and fears we all have right now. Sports and fantasy are our escapes. But it's hard to escape much these days.
Thousands of miles away feel just next door.
My tweet feed alternates between hockey highlights and images of human suffering. I can't make sense of it, so I won't try. I'm not sure there's sense to it. Instead, I will allow myself to feel and not judge myself for using fantasy to escape every once in a while.
You shouldn't either.
We are all human. For our perceived differences, we're basically all the same. Sometimes we forget that. It's hard not to see it today.
Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, Los Angeles (49 percent Yahoo!) – Arvidsson had his five-game (seven-point) streak snapped Friday night, but he, Trevor Moore (9 percent Yahoo!) and Phillip Danault (22 percent Yahoo!) remain solid fantasy assets in deep formats. Arvidsson has five goals and four assists in eight games heading into Saturday, and it's only a matter of time before he converts more on the PP. He's rostered in half of Yahoo! leagues, but there's always a chance he's been overlooked in yours.
Jean-Francois Berube, G, Columbus (8 percent Yahoo!) – What a week for the 30-year-old journeyman who never gave up on his NHL dream. He downed the Leafs and Panthers, then stood on his head in a Friday loss to Carolina. 50 shots against? Wow. He can't keep it up, but Berube is a classic lightning in a bottle guy, and you have to pounce on that. Sure, guys like Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger are better long-term bets given underlying analytics. But they're likely unavailable in competitive leagues. And at this point, analytics aren't going to help you if you're scrambling to make fantasy gains. Just don't drop a guy with strong underlying numbers to pick Berube up.
Jake DeBrusk, LW/RW, Boston (5 percent Yahoo!) – DeBrusk is a guy on the block who's upping his game at the right time. He's on a three-game, four-goal scoring streak and was elevated to the top line beside Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on Thursday night. It had to be a showcase game and he delivered with two snipes. DeBrusk can score and during the streak, he's been more involved – he laid four hits, blocked three shots and fired 11 of his own. There are plenty of people dreaming that he could pull a Sam Bennett resurrection in another jersey. Maybe, maybe not. But if they're displaying him on the top line and he's producing, the juice might be worth the squeeze for fantasy managers right now.
Shayne Gostisbehere, D, Arizona (35 percent Yahoo!) – Gostisbehere is already the Yotes top power-play guy. And when Jakob Chychrun is thrown overboard, he'll be their only option. Gostisbehere is a guy flirting with a 50-point pace if you can stomach the plus-minus hit. Yah, 50 points. Seriously. Put his stats beside Zach Werenski (89 percent Yahoo!) and the difference is negligible except for SOG. Savvy managers could leverage Werenski's perceived value into an upgrade in another role, and lose almost nothing with this wire grab.
Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis (27 percent Yahoo!) – Need blocks with an occasional point? Parayko is worth a look. He's light on the hits, but big on putting his body in front of pucks. This week, he blocked eight in three games while scoring a goal, adding an assist and ringing up a plus-eight rating. The scoring won't last, but Parayko can help you make up ground in that single category without being an anchor in others.
Zach Parise, LW/C, NY Islanders (2 percent Yahoo!) – Parise's current hot streak is hard to ignore. The grizzled vet has three goals and three assists in three games heading into Saturday. Parise is getting a little time on the PP and is chipping in category coverage during that stretch with a plus-5, eight SOG, three blocks and two hits. He's 37, but only three seasons removed from a 61-point season. And his shooting percentage this year is abysmal, relative to his career. That hints that an uptick could be coming. Parise may have a little something left in the tank. Might as well empty that on your roster if you have space.
Rickard Rakell, LW/RW, Anaheim (18 percent Yahoo!) – This shoot-first power winger is warming up at the right time. Over his last eight games, Rakell has racked up six goals and an assist on 21 shots while throwing 15 hits. He's a UFA whose game peaked five years ago and the Ducks, who are five games out of a wild card and have hard decisions to make. There will be suitors at the deadline and Rakell would be a solid second-line rental. If you're investing, do it now. It always takes time to fit into a new system and this heat could cool. I'm reaping the Rakell rewards right now in a big push into a playoff spot.
Nick Robertson, RW, Toronto (2 percent Yahoo!) – Robertson was once called the most dangerous goal scorer in junior hockey. Now he has a chance to show it. The Leafs moved Ondrej Kase (3 percent Yahoo!) up to the second line this week to try to inject life into John Tavares and William Nylander, but Robertson is a better fit … if he can find the magic he had in 2019-20. At minimum, he'll help while the team deals with the stomach bug that's sweeping through. If he performs, Robertson will get a few weeks to show what he can do. Best case, he's the answer on line two and the Leafs can focus on improving their blue line rather than adding a forward. I'm investing, at least for a couple weeks.
Logan Thompson, G, Las Vegas (1 percent Yahoo!) – Thompson is another target for managers scrambling for goalie points. I love Robin Lehner, but it's clear the Golden Knights traded the wrong goalie. No knock on Lehner – he's elite, but injuries have become a problem. Cap issues hamstring Vegas, so goalie help will be costly if they decide to make a trade. And those rumors of a Marc-Andre Fleury deal? I can't imagine he'd agree to return after the betrayal he felt. I like Laurent Brossoit, but the team will need Thompson. And with a solid group in front of him, he could be a decent fantasy option.
Samuel Montembeault, G, Montreal (5 percent Yahoo!) – Oh boy – a mediocre goalie on a bad team. How can you even contemplate adding him? If you're reading this, you're scrambling and trying to claw your way to a better finish. The Habs have responded to Marty St. Louis' enthusiasm and praise, and are delivering fans a much better product. Montembeault is part of that – he's on a three-game win streak heading into Saturday with a .935 save percentage over his last five starts (3-2-0). Carey Price won't even skate for at least another week. Then it will take a while for him to see real games, if he even does at all. Montembeault and Andrew Hammond (9 percent Yahoo!) are splitting time and there's value in both if the Mighty Mite effect continues.
Until next week. Stay safe. Be kind.
