NHL Barometer: Risers & Fallers

This week's article includes McCann can in Seattle, Ryan who? in Minnesota, a young blueliner blossoming, Darth Vladar in Calgary, the Czar down for a bit and what the heck happened to Petry this year? 

First Liners (Risers)

Jared McCann, C, SEA – McCann continues to produce in the Emerald City. After missing five games due to COVID-19 protocols, McCann has posted seven goals and an assist in his last 12 games. Overall, McCann, taken 24th overall by Vancouver in 2014, has 15 points, 41 shots, 21 hits and a minus-5 rating in 20 appearances. With Seattle a long-shot to make the postseason, McCann, in the last year of the two-year, $5.88 million contract he signed with the Penguins in September 2020, will be a hot commodity at the trade deadline. 

Anthony Cirelli, C, TB – Cirelli has stepped up, picking up some of the slack created by the loss of Brayden Point. Prior to being shut out Sunday, Cirelli was riding a modest three-game point streak. With eight goals and 16 points through 24 games, the 24-year-old Cirelli is on pace to top his career highs of 19 goals and 44 points, set in 2018-19 and 2019-20, respectively. A third-round pick in 2015, Cirelli averages more than 20 minutes of ice time, a jump of more than two minutes a game from last year, which should aid him in his quest to set career highs this season.

Joe Pavelski, LW, DAL – Pavelski has reeled off four consecutive multi-point efforts, scoring nine points in those four games. After turning back the clock last season following a poor first campaign in Big D, Pavelski has built off that success this year. The 37-year-old American is at 19 points, 41 shots on net, a plus-7 rating and 24 hits through 22 games. On Nov. 26, Pavelski joined the 400-goal club, and he is 38 points away from 900 for his career, which might be reachable this season.

Ryan Hartman, RW, MIN – Hartman could easily be a sell-high candidate, but as long as he skates alongside Kirill Kaprizov, he is worth a look in most formats. The American forward saw his five-game point streak, during which he has four goals and four assists, end Saturday. But that streak raised his season totals to 13 tallies, 21 points, 86 shots, a plus-21 rating and 23 PIM in 24 games. Somewhat impressively, he has just one power-play point, a goal, despite seeing more than two minutes a game on the man-advantage, boding well somewhat for continued success. 

Evan Bouchard, D, EDM – Bouchard, drafted 10th overall in 2018, played seven games for the parent club in 2018 but spent all 2019-20 in the minors, recording seven goals and 29 helpers in 54 outings with AHL Bakersfield. He was quite clearly one of Edmonton's best six defenders a season ago, but for some reason he played just 14 games with the big club. Bouchard is making up for lost time, skating almost 22 minutes a game, and is up to four goals, 11 assists, 54 shots, 39 blocked shots and a plus-9 rating through 23 games. 

Jani Hakanpaa, D, DAL – Hakanpaa signed a three-year, $4.5 million contract with the Stars this offseason, a deal that so far looks like a bargain. He doesn't score much and usually plays on the third pairing but has shown he can slide up the lineup when needed and is a physical presence on the Dallas blue line. Hakanpaa has just four points this season, but the Finnish defenseman has added 50 hits, 24 blocked shots, 27 PIM and a plus-4 rating. 

Daniel Vladar, G, CGY – Due to the presence of Jacob Markstrom, Vladar doesn't play much. But when in the lineup, Vladar has proven that he can hold his own between the pipes. The 24-year-old has gone 5-0-1 with a 1.78 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in six games this year. Shipped to Calgary by Boston for a third-round pick in July, Vladar was surpassed by Jeremy Swayman as a Bruins' prospect, which has been a boon for the Flames, who needed a solid backup goalie. 

Tristan Jarry, G, PIT – Relatively quietly, Jarry is 11-5-4 with a 1.92 GAA and a .934 save percentage in 20 games. Those numbers were sparked by his recent 7-1-1 stretch, including five wins in a row, highlighted by three shutouts. Jarry took over as the Pens' top goalie in 2019-20, but he faltered last season, sparking some concerns if he was the right man for the job. His fine start to 2020-21 has relegated Casey DeSmith to backup duty and solidified his spot as the No. 1 netminder in the Steel City. 

Others include Ryan Strome, Alex Newhook, Anton Lundell, Adrian Kempe, Sidney Crosby, Mathew Barzal, Chandler Stephenson, Mark Scheifele, Trevor Zegras,  Dylan Cozens, Corey Perry, Nathan MacKinnon, Ryan O'Reilly, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Reilly Smith, Jake Guentzel, Artemi Panarin, Joonas Donskoi, Ross Colton, Victor Olofsson, Alex DeBrincat, Max Pacioretty, Timo Meier, Valeri Nichushkin, Sonny Milano, Oliver Kylington, Scott Perunovich, Jacob Trouba, Adam Boqvist, Jamie Oleksiak, Moritz Seider, Aaron Ekblad, Dmitry Kulikov, Seth Jones, Kris Letang, Anton Forsberg, Antti Raanta, Alexandar Georgiev, Alex Nedeljkovic, Ilya Samsonov and Ville Husso. 

Buy Low

Cole Caufield, LW, MTL – Caufield was on the Fallers list a few weeks ago when his rough start to the season landed him in Laval of the AHL. Following a relatively brief stint in the minors, Caufield was called back up, rejoining the lineup Nov. 18. Caufield didn't catch fire right away, as he did last year when he joined the Habs, but he seems to be finding his game. He notched his first goal of the season and added four assists in his last six games, giving hope that he finally has turned the corner. 

Training Room (Injuries)

Igor Shesterkin, C, NYR – Every Rangers' fan and those who have Igor on their fantasy rosters had their heart in their throat when they saw the Russian goalie go down and struggle to get up Friday versus San Jose. He suffered a lower body injury and was placed on injured reserve. But the good news is that Shesterkin reportedly does not have a major injury and could be back after the minimal stint on IR. In his absence, Alexandar Georgiev is getting his chance to show he can be a viable backup and possibly more in the NHL.

Others include Ryan Getzlaf (lower body, placed on injured reserve Sunday retroactive to Dec. 1), Mitch Marner (undisclosed, collided with Jake Muzzin at practice Friday, missed Sunday's game), Nicklas Backstrom (hip, out season to date, wore a regular jersey during Friday's skate), Tyler Johnson (underwent neck surgery Dec. 3, expected to be sidelined for three months), Tyler Toffoli (upper body, injured Saturday, expected to miss multiple weeks), Josh Anderson (upper body, injured Thursday, is expected to miss 2-to-4 weeks), Darnell Nurse (fractured finger, activated off injured reserve Sunday after missing six games), Darcy Kuemper (upper body, missed Saturday and Monday's games, could return Wednesday) and Pavel Francouz (ankle, started an AHL conditioning stint this past week) 

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers) 

Bo Horvat, C, VAN – Horvat has shown signs of life recently, but his overall production has left a lot to be desired, a situation mirrored by several of his Vancouver teammates. The team's issues have resulted in a massive shake up, including the hiring of coach Bruce Boudreau, which could aid the skill players. Horvat posted points in consecutive games last Monday and Wednesday for the first time since Nov. 5 and 7, evidencing how poor his year has been. Overall, he has notched just seven goals and six helpers with a minus-2 rating in 24 games. 

Zach Parise, LW, NYI – Parise almost landed with Islanders last season, but trade talks didn't come to fruition. The Wild bought out the final four years of both Parise and Ryan Suter's contracts this summer, paving the way with Parise to be reunited with Isles' GM Lou Lamoriello, who was his GM with New Jersey. Sometimes reunion don't always go well, though time remains for Parise to produce, as to date he has just four assists in 20 games on the Island. 

Jeff Petry, D, MTL – Petry is nursing an upper-body injury but that hasl little to do with his play completely falling off the rails. A potential Olympic blueliner, Petry likely still with make the Team USA roster, but his struggles this year could push him down the pecking order. After a fourth consecutive 40-point campaign last season despite the abbreviated schedule, Petry has just a pair of helpers in 25 games this season. In the second year of a four-year, $25 million deal signed in September 2020, Petry should eventually turn it around, but he looks to be a shell of his former self and now is dealing with an injury.                         

Others include Sam Steel, Taylor Hall, Andre Burakovsky, Anthony Beauvillier, Evgenii Dadonov, Brock Boeser, Quinn Hughes, Carter Hart, Jonathan Quick and Jordan Binnington.

Sell High 

John Gibson, G, ANA – Through mid-November, Gibson and the Ducks were cruising. Each have come back to earth, with Gibson dropping five consecutive games while allowing 17 goals. Due to those struggles, the 28-year-old netminder is 10-6-4 with a 2.69 GAA and a .914 save percentage through 20 games this year. The Ducks kicked off a five-game East Coast swing with a loss Monday against the Capitals. With a pair of back-to-back contests, Gibson could cede a start or two to Anthony Stolarz.