Frozen Fantasy: Get Tough

It was only a matter of time in pro sports. An entire team, knocked flat, because of COVID-19.

Godspeed, Orcas.

Lives need to come first. These are young, healthy players (and staff) stricken by an unforgiving disease. The variants are real. They spread faster. They attack the young and otherwise healthy quicker.

They cause more serious disease – and death.

No matter how frustrating it is to see so many PPDs in a fantasy lineup, we're talking about life and death right now. No, I'm not suggesting I know anything about the severity of illness on the team. But I do know these are people, just like you and me. And being a pro athlete doesn't mean you're not scared. For yourself, your family and especially your littles if you have them.

Godspeed, Orcas. Godspeed.

The team will need government clearance to resume play this year. The league is scrambling to figure out what a schedule might look like, given how little time is left. As much as we all want them back on the ice this year, one of the options HAS to be ending their season soon.

It sounds whiny to complain about the impact on our fantasy teams when health and life is at stake. We need to make some decisions and fast about how to handle our rosters. For me, the choice is clear.

Drop my Canucks.

Drop my borderline Canadian-based players. Like Adam Larsson, who has been putting up hits and blocks for me.

If the Orcas aren't playing, that shortens every Canadian team's schedule.

Keep your heart open to the people, including the Orcas, affected by this disease. But get tough with what's needed to win your league. You can't do that if your guys aren't playing. Full stop.

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Jesper Bratt, LW/RW, New Jersey (16 percent Yahoo!) – Bratt is still at it. He's riding a modest, four-game, six-point streak heading into Saturday. Yes, everyone has hot spurts. But it's bigger than that – he has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games and has been held off the score sheet just twice over that span. Half of those points have come on the power play. I just dumped Jakub Vrana for him. I should have gotten tough and done it weeks ago.

Connor Brown, LW/RW, Ottawa (10 percent Yahoo!) – I come from a family of redheads, so the carrot tops always catch my eye. And Brown really did that this week – he's on a six-game goal streak (seven points) heading into Saturday night and is playing with the same kind of verve he did in his rookie year. That was Brown at his best. He has three special-teams goals, including two shorties, in that span. Brown is a plus-minus risk, but he's going to fire pucks.

Michael Bunting, LW, Arizona (3 percent Yahoo!) – Who? The guy hasn't seen NHL ice since 2018-19 (and just one game in 2019). But he's been dropped on a scoring line with Nick Schmaltz and Conor Garland. Stick down. Clean pass. In the net. It's not luck – Bunting has an AHL scoring pedigree. And now he has five goals, including a hattie, and six points in six games heading into Sunday. Sure, this might be short-lived, but Bunting is delivering. Might as well be on your roster and not someone else's.

Cole Caufield, RW, Montreal (5 percent Yahoo!) – Stash him now if you have space to speculate. The reigning Hobey Baker Award winner (announced Friday) exploded for three points the same night in his first pro game in the AHL. Caufield's talent is elite and the Habs will likely do anything to win this year. That could mean the phenom is elevated to the big roster sooner than expected. The puck comes off this kid's tape fast.

Blake Comeau, LW/RW, Dallas (0 percent Yahoo!) – Comeau is an old man by today's standards, but the 35-year-old has seriously picked up the scoring pace in April. He headed into the weekend with two consecutive two-point games and six points (two goals, four assists) in his last five games. Comeau is a third liner, so this level of production won't continue. But he could be helpful for a couple games, especially with the Stars playing a lot of games in the next short while. That matters. A lot.

Yanni Gourde, LW/RW/C, Tampa Bay (48 percent Yahoo!) – Gourde had the game of his life Thursday, so he has to be here. And from a pure projection perspective, he's on track for his second-best scoring season in the NHL. He'll likely never repeat a four-point game. But Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow are on fire right now. Gourde's confidence is high and that's as good a reason as any to take a chance on him.

Mikko Lehtonen, D, Columbus (1 percent Yahoo!) – WTF, you say? Two things. Lehtonen is talented and finally getting ice time in Columbus that he couldn't in Toronto. Then there's this – Zach Werenski is done for the year and Lehtonen has the tool belt to pick up a bit of the slack, even on the PP. This may be his big opportunity.

Esa Lindell, D, Dallas (19 percent Yahoo!) – Lindell won't give you much offense, but he knows how to lay a hit and block a shot. And when he picked up two points in two games this week, Lindell suddenly amped up his fantasy merit. This is a temporary fix in a lot of formats, but like Comeau (above), he's going to play a lot in the next few weeks. Games played matters in a PPD world.

Yegor Sharangovich, LW/RW/C, New Jersey (1 percent Yahoo!) – Don't look now, but the unheralded Sharangovich is tied for fifth in rookie goal scoring (nine) and top-10 in overall points for first-year players. I can't remember a single preseason rookie list that mentioned his name. EA Sports even graded the kid as a lucky fourth liner (maybe). That algorithm was dead wrong. Today, Sharangovich is on the top line beside Jack Hughes and heading into Sunday has four points (one goal, three assists) in his last two games. And five points, including two goals, in his last four. He's warm enough to roster if you're suffering from PPD due to COVID-19.

Jeremy Swayman, G, and Daniel Vladar, G, Boston (15 and 11 percent Yahoo!, respectively) – It's been 25 years since two rookies debuted in the B's net in the same season. Swayman and Vladar have been pressed into action out of necessity, but are both showing skills worthy of rostering. Swayman had two straight wins and a .947 save percentage heading into Saturday. He got caught napping on the first goal that afternoon, but tightened up fast. Vladar hits the blue paint Sunday with a .922 save percentage. He doesn't have a win in April, but he's solid.

Back to getting tough.

Playoffs are upon us. We play in world where if you don't win, you lose. That's why – even in a keeper league – I moved stud Elias Pettersson for guys that can help in a keeper league right now.

There's money for third. There's nothing for fourth. Just loser points.

Get at it. Get tough. And stay safe, everyone. And let's keep the Canucks in our thoughts and prayers, if that's your thing. We are all human. We all put our pants on the same way.

Until next week.