Frozen Fantasy: Pedal Down Time

Seven-and-a-half. That's the number of weeks left. How did we get here so fast? October seems like yesterday.

And also like forever away.

MLB training camp opens this week, and that almost always distracts some managers. Especially if their seasons are teetering. People at the bottom have already jettisoned. 

How many of your trade offers were ignored in the last few weeks? I rest my case.

Now's the time for smart managers in single-season formats to slice up the standings. Create havoc. Scare the leaders or even overtake them. 

And there's still time for trade discussions in keepers or dynasties. And difficult decisions.

Don't bail if you have one foot in and one foot out of this season. Your Yahoo! Fantasy Profile means something. Giving up if you're out of the running can be catastrophic for the algorithms. 

Trust me. I know. 

I've been playing in Yahoo! leagues for more than a decade. Early on, I'd get lazy and ignore my rosters if I was down the standings. Not only did that gift the league to the frontrunners, but it sank my Fantasy Profile.

I'm a Silver level player. Merely paying attention a tiny bit more would have put me in Gold or even Platinum. I may not always win, yet I'm as proud as you are. There's no way I should toil as a Silver. And I don't know this for certain, but my gut says my profile score skews my placement in anonymous leagues.

It's fine and all to play against managers who don't have my experience. You do it too. But don't you get tired out by all the wacky trade offers? I'm considering scaling back my anonymous league play, simply to save my sanity. And my soul. 

I know you know what I mean. Now, let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Brandt Clarke, D, Los Angeles (9 percent Yahoo!) – The Kings have won back-to-back games since Clarke arrived this week. Are the wins all about him? No, but he did pot the OT winner over Boston on Saturday. And his ice time is climbing. Clarke has been excellent in the AHL and he's come to play offensively since being called up with three points - including his first NHL goal, seven shots and a power-play assist. Clarke had scuffled in previous promotions, though the Kings are in desperation mode right now. This kid may skate like he's Bambi on ice, but it's never held him back. And his confidence, which is borderline cocky, has never wavered. I'm rolling the dice, if only to say I once had Clarke on my team. Because I might not get that shot again. 

Nico Daws, G, New Jersey (18 percent Yahoo!) – Hmmmm… maybe Daws IS part of the solution in the Jersey net. All it took was a heavier workload with Vitek Vanecek (62 percent Yahoo!) out with both an injury and illness. Daws has shone in four straight starts by delivering a 3-1-0 record, 2.02 GAA and .942 save percentage. The Devils are only two points out of a Wild Card spot and looking to prove the preseason hype was right. They need to go with the hottest glove-hand in the net until they decide about a trade, and Daws is that hand. 

Conor Garland, RW, Vancouver (8 percent Yahoo!) – Garland had a great week with four points and three of those goals to go with 16 shots. It was all done at even strength, but that's okay if you have others who can deliver in other categories. Garland is on the wire in a lot of leagues. The Orcas are for real. Secondary offensive players on squads like that can be an astute play in the right situation. 

Garnet Hathaway, RW, Philadelphia (4 percent Yahoo!) – Do you need hits? Hathaway isn't going to deliver much else and that's fine. He hammered out eight hits against the Coyotes and Leafs this week, then added another five in the outdoor game against the Devils Saturday. Hathaway sits third in the NHL with 192 hits behind only Jeremy Lauzon (37 percent Yahoo!) and Dakota Joshua (27 percent Yahoo!). He'll soon move into second with Joshua out week-to-week. Hathaway is a dominant, single-category player, and that's a profile that can swing a category in standard formats.

Nils Hoglander, LW, Vancouver (4 percent Yahoo!) – Hoglander had his four-game, four-point streak snapped Saturday. But that's not the point. He did it while skating at even-strength on Vancouver's top trio. Hoglander's ice time remains modest, but all he needs to do is keep his stick on the ice and he's got a chance for points. Like Conor Garland (above), he's a secondary offensive forward on a stacked squad and he's playing with the two Eliases. I saw that smile. At minimum, he's probably better than your worst forward unless you're using that player for specialty points like hits or blocked shots. 

Patrick Kane, RW, Detroit (66 percent Yahoo!) – I don't usually recommend skaters who are on as many rosters as Kane, but here goes. As I said from the outset, a lot of managers have stopped paying attention. So some guys linger on the wire longer than they should. Kane has played four games since returning from injury, and all he's done is score. He heads into play Monday on a four-game, six-point streak that includes eight shots and four power-play points. Kane won't keep scoring like this, but another 25 games of strong multi-category offense may be worth a pickup if you need a push.

Torey Krug, D, St. Louis (28 percent Yahoo!) – What a day last Sunday was for Krug, who had been sputtering along this season like an engine with a bad cylinder. His offensive effectiveness was limited, especially on the power play – it was like his game was missing something. But that five-helper explosion was amazing. I'm so glad I had him active. And I'm thrilled with eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his last four games. I could make a cheesy dad joke about him simply needing a tuneup over the All-Star break (go ahead and use that if you need). But maybe time away really helped him – Krug only produced 20 points in his first 50 games, so something has clicked. He's available in a lot of leagues and could end up being a savvy waiver snag.

Timothy Liljegren, D, Toronto (4 percent Yahoo!) – With Morgan Rielly (93 percent Yahoo!) out, Liljegren has shown a side of his game that most Toronto fans thought had disappeared. Talk in Toronto has gone from "This guy isn't developing" to "Wow, we need more Liljegren!". It's Leafs chatter, and we both know how skewed that gets. But Liljegren has been hot with five assists, including two on the power play, in two games. Ride him right now with Rielly out. And keep him in mind should the Toronto braintrust jettison him in a deadline trade. Liljegren boasts offensive skills and could shine with another club that loosens the leash and deploys him in a way that respects his skills. 

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, Buffalo (53 percent Yahoo!) – I covered the Sabres' OT win over the Wild on Saturday night. And when I dug into UPL's recent play, I discovered how good he's been of late. I think I was ignoring him because of his uniform, so did I ever have my eyes opened. Since the December break, Luukkonen has gone 8-5-0 with only 21 goals allowed in 13 appearances. He's bricked up the twine tent three times during that stretch. And while they were against three struggling teams, he still threw down back-to-back shutouts in the middle of January. The Sabres have a lot to prove, and so does UPL with the specter of Devon Levi's (27 percent Yahoo!) potential excellence still looming. He's doing his part and might do the same for you. 

Anton Lundell, C, Florida (3 percent Yahoo!) – Lundell is a smart young pivot who's struggled to replicate his promising 44-point rookie campaign. His fantasy upside is limited due to the Panthers' depth, yet he can help in spurts. Like right now. Lundell skates into Tuesday with a three-game, five-point streak that includes three goals. He's posted seven shots, a couple of power-play points and 17 faceoff wins. Yes, it's modest. But a streak is a streak. And that can help at this time of the year, whether you're stretching for the playoffs or trying to pad your totals through streaming. 

Bobby McMann, C, Toronto (1 percent Yahoo!) – McMann has always scored goals, especially as a pro. In the last week or so, he's been provided extra opportunities with the Leafs because top scorers have been sidelined. All McMann has done is fire off a hat-trick against the Blues on Wednesday and two more (plus an assist) against the Ducks Saturday. It's been a long haul for the 27-year-old who's only appeared in 39 NHL games, with 29 of those this year. And his opportunity may dry up with the way Sheldon Keefe sends the Big Four on the ice. But McMann is the kind of opportunistic bottom-six finisher the Leafs actually need, and that fantasy managers in deep formats may benefit from rolling… as long as you can designate him at F and not C. At minimum, he's a great watch because of his joy from fulfilling his dream. 

Jake Neighbours, LW/RW, St. Louis (18 percent Yahoo!) – Neighbours' production is a bit like Bobby McMann's (above). He's an opportunistic sniper whose stat line swings more toward Cy Young than an NHLer. The difference? Neighbours is younger with a better pedigree than McMann, and he's higher in the lineup. So his opportunity is more guaranteed. In five games since the All-Star break, Neighbours has notched seven points - with four of those goals - and 15 shots, six hits and five blocked shots. That's solid production for the bottom of your roster. Be ready to make a change when he goes cold as he's young and streaky. 

Jimmy Vesey, LW, NY Rangers (1 percent Yahoo!) – Vesey ascended to the first line after Blake Wheeler (6 percent Yahoo!) got knocked out for the regular season on Thursday. What an opportunity. Vesey had already shown signs of offensive life prior to Wheeler's bad break, and he went into Sunday with three goals and an assist in his last four contests. He won't get an opportunity with the man-advantage, but who needs it when you skate 5v5 with Mika Zibanejad (98 percent Yahoo!) and Chris Kreider (94 percent Yahoo!).

Back to putting the pedal down. 

I've raised my Fantasy Profile rating a lot over last season and this one, though I've dug a near-decade-long hole. That's why I'm a simple Silver. I could've played smarter. But I will no longer gift any league to anyone.

My opponents will have their hands full, right to the end. 

I'd love to have people drop off through disinterest when I'm leading a league. But honestly, I'd rather win because I deserved it, not because it was handed to me. 

So bring it on. Earning something matters, at least to me. 

Until next week.