Nick Alberga: Yeah, I hear you on that one. All in all, it’s been another inconsistent season for Chabot, who many in the fantasy community had pegged to potentially be a top-10 defender this season. That said, there’s still plenty of time to make amends. Perhaps Wednesday night’s three assist performance was the start of something bigger. Additionally, even though he’s struggled, I still prefer him over someone like K’Andre Miller. Also, Josh Norris is back, which should be good news for everyone in that Senators lineup.
Brock Seguin: I would not be dropping Chabot for K’Andre Miller. Miller has been a great story, but the fact of the matter is, Chabot is the alpha in Ottawa; Miller will always be behind Adam Fox, especially in terms of PP usage. Chabot has been frustrating for sure, but the return of Josh Norris should help solidify the Senators’ top-6. Ottawa had the largest discrepancy between xG and actual goals in the first half; I think their offence takes a step forward in the second half with a healthy Norris, and Chabot will have a big bounce-back.
Matt Larkin: Argh, Chabot. He teases me every year and I just can’t quit drafting him. He never quite reaches that ceiling, eh? In a hits league, Miller’s value is creeping up toward Chabot’s level. In an offense-heavy league, however, Chabot still has significantly more upside. He’s still on pace for more than 50 points and roughly 200 shots. He ranks fifth among all defensemen in average power play TOI at 4:04. Miller averages 0:17. Given Chabot also blocks more shots, it’s no contest here. Maybe Chabot will never become that elite D1 in fantasy, but he’s a rock-solid D2.
Nick Alberga: Yes, without question, I think Norris is a must-own player right now. From the U.S. program to Michigan to the AHL to the NHL, all this guy has done in his career is produce. Additionally, it’s hard not to love the five-on-five attachment to wingers Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux. And yessir, Coyle’s the easy drop in your situation.
Brock Seguin: Yes, Norris will have an immediate impact. He should score 15 goals if he’s healthy for the remaining 38 games, and I wouldn’t be surprised if his assist totals increase from his career averages because of the more talented surrounding cast. I would drop Coyle to make room.
Matt Larkin: It may take a few games, but it’s still worth nabbing Norris if he’s available. Shane Pinto didn’t show enough consistency to usurp Norris for a scoring-line center job, so Norris is a virtual lock to hold down top-six work for the rest of the season, whether it’s with his usual linemates Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson or between Alex DeBrincat and Claude Giroux, as Norris was for his first game back.
Coyle is the easy drop for me. He contributes nothing above average in any category and plays in Boston’s bottom six.
Nick Alberga: Even though he’s had a tough year and has looked mediocre at best since returning, I still have legitimate faith in Bertuzzi for rest of season purposes. Firstly, I love that he’s in a contract year. Secondly, he’s been receiving prolific attachment to the likes of Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, among others, which should be music to the ears of a fantasy owner. Lastly, I think there’s a good chance he’s traded; both sides seem ready to move on. Give it a couple weeks.
Brock Seguin: I think he still carries some value in keeper leagues, especially if he ends up getting traded to a contender and plays a prominent role. He hasn’t looked great so far, but he is shooting just 3.3 percent. That will undoubtedly improve, but he’s probably only going to give you 10-13 goals and 15 assists the rest of the way. If there are better options on the wire, I wouldn’t hesitate to drop him.
Matt Larkin: I’ll put it this way: my main league is a 16-teamer with 23-man rosters, meaning 368 players are owned, and Bertuzzi is available on the wire. He’s having a hard time finding his rhythm, and his ice time is down. So he’s not a must-roster player at the moment. If you have a bench, however, he’s a reasonable stash given he’s playing on the top line and the Wings will want to showcase him for a trade if they slide out of the race. Just keep in mind that a trade might not boost his fantasy value: on a contender he could end up ticketed for a middle-six role.
Nick Alberga: Unfortunately, the only thing you can do in this situation is hold. That said, early on in his career, Boldy’s had way more hot streaks than cold streaks. Keep the faith; he’ll figure things out. For all we know, maybe he’s just been stressed out from the recent contract negotiations. Who knows —good player, though. (NOTE: Boldy scored on Thursday night against Carolina)
Brock Seguin: I’m not worried about Boldy, and obviously, the Wild aren’t either, signing him to a 7-year, $49.0M deal. He has just three points in his last 10 games, but his personal shooting% is 3.2 and his on-ice SH% is 7.6 over that stretch. For comparison, his career SH% is 11.6 percent, and his on-ice SH% is 12.5 percent. He’s just had some unfortunate puck luck over the last three weeks; he’ll bounce back. Ryan Hartman’s addition to the line has been a huge boost to their underlying metrics; Boldy will heat back up.
Matt Larkin: What I’m doing is…holding him if I have him and trading for him if I don’t. All his underlying numbers suggest he’s driving play not just as well as last season, but better. He’s merely having bad puck luck, scoring on 9.5 percent of his shots after converting at 13.3 percent last season. In his past 15 games, he has one goal on 42 shots. No way he stays that unlucky for that long. He’s one of my favorite buy-lows for the stretch run.
Nick Alberga: Probably to buy another jet ski, or something. Sarcasm aside, it was unfair to expect the blueliner to continue producing at his early season rate. On top of the expected regression, Victor Hedman was moved back to PP1, which obviously negatively impacted Sergachev’s fantasy value. Having said all that, he’s still on track for a career-year. Nothing to see here.
Brock Seguin: Sergechav has never really been a huge point producer, he’s averaged 40 points per 82 games throughout his career before this year. He was helped out by an 11.4 SH% and 11.5 on-ice SH% in his first two months of the season, both well above his career averages. He was due for regression, and then Victor Hedman taking back PP1 duties cratered Sergachev’s value. He’s still a serviceable No.4 fantasy defenceman.
Matt Larkin: Nowhere! The young man is on pace for a career-best 62 points. He started out a lot hotter than that, of course, but his shooting percentage was unsustainably high, so we’re just seeing a stretch of mini regression in his goal scoring. The luck has overcorrected to the point he’s due for some better goal efficiency in the near future. He’s fine.
Nick Alberga: Heck to the no. While I understand your frustration, now’s not the time to make a brash decision that could end up costing you in the long run. Unless you have no choice but to part ways with him, I would sit tight for the time being. There’s no reason to overreact here. Be smart.
Brock Seguin: There hasn’t been a lot of news regarding a timeline for Carlson other than to say he’s out for months. I believe his fantasy season is probably over, but there’s also a chance he returns in time for the fantasy playoffs. If you have an IR spot for him, I’d maybe hold out hope he comes back sooner than later, but if you don’t, then you can probably drop him without worry.
Matt Larkin: I place Carlson in the elite fantasy category of players you only drop if you have to, as in, if your IR is full and someone has to go. We aren’t too far from the start of the fantasy playoffs in Head-to-Head Leagues, and any reports we’ve heard so far about his scary head/ear injury suggest he has a ways to go before returning, so we shouldn’t count on his services for a while. If you have the IR space, however, hold onto him as long as you can.
Nick Alberga: While I’m one of the biggest Filip Gustavsson guys you’ll find, I have faith in Fleury to regain form in time for the fantasy hockey playoffs. Full transparency, I’ve doubted this guy way too many times throughout his career, and he always seems to rise up. I’m not concerned.
Brock Seguin: I’ve been a huge Gustavsson supporter, and I do think that he should be getting more starts, but the Wild seem pretty committed to the split. I’m not sure Fleury will ever be Gustavsson’s true backup, so I think he still carries some value behind one of the best defensive teams in the league. With that said, he’s been drastically outplayed by Gustavsson, and the danger is certainly there. If you can use Fleury’s name value to move him and get a decent return, maybe a Jeremy Swayman or Tristan Jarry, then I would absolutely be doing that.
Matt Larkin: It’s tricky, isn’t it? I do worry the Wild are load-managing Marc-Andre Fleury trying to keep him fresh for the playoffs. He’s 38, after all, and the Wild seem to be in more of a goaltending groove since they’ve started splitting the work almost evenly between Fleury and Filip Gustavsson. Since Nov. 1, Fleury has appeared in 20 games, posting a .913 save percentage, and Gustavsson has 15 appearances with a .935 mark. I don’t see any reason for coach Dean Evason to go away from this 1A/1B setup when it seems to be getting the most out of both stoppers. If your league favors volume goalie categories, I’d sign off on shopping Fleury for someone who should play more. How about a buy-low on Jacob Markstrom?