Fantasy hockey stock watch: Pay attention to these goalie moves
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Connor McDavid tallies a goal and four assists to become the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to record his 900th point. (1:30)
Martin Jones earning a shutout against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday is its own fresh twist in the Toronto Maple Leafs crease, which can be classified as a tragic drama this season. But I want to talk about the goaltender who was backing him up. It is not a lock that we see Dennis Hildeby make his NHL debut Wednesday as the Leafs compete in the back half of consecutive games against the Anaheim Ducks.
But either way, with Ilya Samsonov waived, Joseph Woll still injured and largely unproven, and Jones only so reliable as a veteran we know, Hildeby needs to be on any and all fantasy radars. It’s unlikely he conjures the ghost of Andrew Hammond and/or Jordan Binnington (“Hammington,” henceforth), which means an third-or-more-string goaltender running the table in the second half of a season. But when that happens, the fantasy manager that starts riding the wave first can often do so all the way to a championship.
You might even be just fine for fantasy goaltending and have little to no interest in adding another one. That shouldn’t matter, as the pure value from a Hammington-type run can be parlayed into trade well before the deadline.
Hildeby, 22, stands 6-foot-7, so almost appears as a total eclipse of the net. Though the Leafs might be loath to use him, circumstances have come about that could propel him to the top of this ever-changing depth chart in the coming weeks. For context: Hildeby is dominating the AHL this season, with the second-best goals-against average (2.20), seventh-best save percentage (.919) and a 7-5-3 record despite the Toronto Marlies middling record. And despite his own youth, he was fifth in both ratio categories in Sweden’s SHL last season.
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In other words, he is on the usual track that would see him competing for the Leafs crease in about two years, when he is 24 (kind of how Woll is doing this season at age 25). That, however, is in an ideal development scenario. When an NHL franchise waives it’s top-paid goaltender, it is not an ideal development scenario.
So we could see Hildeby, whether it’s Wednesday night against the Anaheim Ducks or in the coming days, as Woll is still not expected back until Jan. 9. The Leafs play the San Jose Sharks twice between now and Jan. 9, so it’s certainly an interesting exercise to have the best fantasy opponent on tap if Hildeby does get into the crease over Jones.
And that’s the other aspect of this, as Jones could very well start again on Wednesday and stay in the crease until Woll is healthy and we never even see Hildeby make his NHL debut this season. And that’s fine, too. But it’s worth having Hildeby on your radar.
In fact, we’d be remiss not to put Olivier Rodrigue on your fantasy radar for almost the same reason.
If you’ll recall my statement about a team waiving it’s top-paid goaltender being a good indication that all bets are off, you may recall the Edmonton Oilers waiving Jack Campbell. Stuart Skinner has stabilized the crease since the coaching change on Nov. 12, going 13-4-0 since then (which is the most wins in the NHL in that span).
So, it would likely be an injury to Skinner that actually gets Rodrigue into the NHL.
The 23-year-old is in his fourth AHL season and really seems to have found his groove. Rodrigue sits fourth in goals-against average (2.25) and second in save percentage (.932), with a 5-2-3 record. If something were to befall Skinner, he might be the choice to make the leap to the NHL and get his own opportunity to “Hammington” the rest of the season.
Whatever comes this campaign, these are two franchises that will still have elite cores in their prime for another couple campaigns. And these are two goaltenders that keeper leagues will want to consider for rosters as early as next season.
The Oilers, as it is, are the only NHL club getting the latter part of the work week off, as they don’t play Wednesday, Thursday or Friday, but everyone else is in action. The Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils, Chicago Blackhawks and Winnipeg Jets all get two games in. The Jets and Blackhawks are in back-to-backs Thursday and Friday.
The schedule is still in light, heavy, light mode with two games Wednesday, 13 on Thursday and three on Friday.
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Andrei Svechnikov, W, Carolina Hurricanes (13.2% available): Not that he’s available in very many leagues, but it’s just nice to see the continued faith finally start to pay off, as Svechnikov has erupted like a volcano with 23.9 fantasy points in his past five. Relish it.
Warren Foegele, W, Edmonton Oilers (98.5% available): Setting aside the obvious from his five-point night, the Oilers are finding some success finally for an even-strength Leon Draisaitl line. Foegele and Ryan McLeod are helping drive a lot of chances with Draisaitl. The trio could be in line for more outbursts like Sunday’s.
Marcus Johansson, W, Minnesota Wild(98.4% available): The injury to Kirill Kaprizov pushes Johansson up the depth chart into Kaprizov’s recent spot next to Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy. With both Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello sidelined, this is the Wild top line.
Morgan Geekie, C, Boston Bruins (97.9% available): Averaging 2.0 fantasy points per game (FPPG) across his past 10, Geekie has spent the past four games on a line with David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha, which was formed after a four-game losing streak and has resulted in a four-game winning streak.
Gustav Nyquist, W, Nashville Predators (92.1% available): He’s been in position to get them all season, but it’s not until lately that the points have started to flow for the veteran Nyquist. He’s been locked in on the top line with Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg all season, including a role with them on the power play. And it’s on that advantage that things have started to click. Four of his nine points in the past seven games have come on the PP.
Nico Daws, G, New Jersey Devils (99.5% available): Don’t take your eyes off Daws here, as he is another third-stringer currently looking to carve out a larger role with a club that has struggled to find consistent goaltending this season. It wouldn’t take much to spike his crease share to a split with Vitek Vanecek, and the sky is the limit from there.
Jared McCann, W/C, Seattle Kraken (18.6% available): The magic is gone this campaign. McCann is barely sniffing 15 minutes a game at this point, and squarely out of the top six with minimal power-play time. You can use a roster spot more wisely.
Filip Hronek, D, Vancouver Canucks (17.2% available): The ride is over. Among the top defenders for fantasy in the first part of the season, Hronek has stopped getting points. That is relevant because he is not a player that can prop up his stats with blocks or hits. It’s time to ditch him.
Jamie Drysdale, D, Anaheim Ducks (91.6% available): There are two games for the Ducks in the next three days, Wednesday’s matchup with the Leafs is a juicy one for Drysdale and he’s soaking up power-play time of late. Worth a start.
Philipp Kurashev, W, Chicago Blackhawks (94.8% available): As long as plus/minus isn’t a concern for your fantasy team, there’s no harm in mixing in a little Connor Bedard-adjacency to your lineup when the Hawks have back-to-backs. And it doesn’t get more Bedard-adjacent than Kurashev, who has managed 2.1 FPPG over his past five.
Laurent Brossoit, G, Winnipeg Jets (97.7% available): He should get one of the back-to-backs against either the Ducks or Sharks. Honestly, I’d take either one from Brossoit.
Martin Jones, G, Toronto Maple Leafs (90.8% available): If you find out he’s staying in the crease on Wednesday, now is the time to add him. After the Ducks, the Leafs next two games are against the Sharks.
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina Hurricanes (59.9% available): The Capitals are a good goaltender matchup (fourth-most fantasy points to opposing goaltenders this season) and Kochetkov has been slowly heating up.
Rasmus Sandin, D, Washington Capitals (82.1% available): He has not been consistent enough to keep in fantasy lineups, but the two games in three days, including one against the Devils (most fantasy points against to opposing blue line), puts him on the margins of streamable here.