Special to Yahoo Sports
We’re less than a month away from the actual hockey trade deadline, which means there’s probably even less time for you to make some fantasy hockey deals. Regardless of how you’re doing, it’s important to improve for now or the future.
If you’re in contention, upgrade your roster. Should you be out of it — and are in a carryover format — add supplies for next season. And if you don’t know where you’re headed, better decide soon to avoid missing out on key waiver wire resources.
All poolies need to keep up-to-date on fantasy and there’s no better place than RotoWire for the latest news and in-depth material.
Let’s give you a head start with the following lesser-liked candidates:
(Rostered rates/stats as of Feb. 24.)
Forwards
Jakub Voracek, CLS (Yahoo: 46%)
It’s not every day you’ll find a player on the wire who’s top 20 in assists with 15 power-play points, but the reality is Voracek is available in more than half of Yahoo leagues. Much has been made of the Blue Jackets’ poor defense, yet they’ve put 18 in the other net the last three games. Voracek has been on fire with points in seven of eight, which includes four PPAs. He’s teamed well on the top line with Patrik Laine and Boone Jenner, though it’ll be harder to get either with both covered in more than 50 percent of leagues.
Josh Anderson, MON (Yahoo: 20%)
Anderson was first brought up in early December right before he missed more than a month due to an upper-body injury. Hope this repeat doesn’t cause similar misfortune since he pulled off two goals and an assist against the Leafs on Monday. I’m still a little wary of adding anyone from Montreal not named Nick Suzuki or Cole Caufield, but Anderson teams with that duo and averages more than two shots and two hits per game. Anderson left Wednesday’s game after taking a puck to the face, so keep tabs on his availability.
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Connor Brown, OTT (Yahoo: 11%)
There’s been plenty of love for Ottawa forwards in this column following five consecutive appearances, including Brown and Tim Stutzle as back-to-back returnees. Brown lost half a month with a broken jaw and still managed 11 points, 27 shots and 12 blocks in 13 surrounding outings. He’s firmly situated in the top-six and participates on the Sens’ first power play while logging an impressive 20:29 a night.
Sonny Milano, ANH (Yahoo: 9%)
When Milano was mentioned mid-November he was rostered in one percent of leagues after seven points in his opening nine games. He proceeded to go on a streak of 13 in 12 and then lost a couple of weeks as a result of an upper-body problem. I was glad to grab Milano as a free agent in the RotoWire Staff Keeper League when he returned and have since been treated to a pair of goals and assists. The ice time isn’t the greatest, but he looks solid in the upper half of the lineup and lines up on Anaheim’s lead man-advantage.
Charlie Coyle, BOS (Yahoo: 9%)
Coyle endured a dry spell last month with nine consecutive scoreless efforts, but he’s picked up the pace with eight points — including two PPGs — 22 shots, 12 hits and 99 faceoff wins in 13 games. He also seems to have usurped Erik Haula as the Bruins’ No. 2 pivot while operating on both special-teams units.
Zach Parise, NYI (Yahoo: 1%)
It’s been a while since Parise received praise for his production, but he’s back at it. Maybe this call for attention is premature considering recent under-achievements, yet one can’t ignore his two goals and assist Tuesday or the five and five from 13 appearances. Parise has received a boost alongside Mathew Barzal at five-on-five while totaling five PPAs on the campaign. It’s a little much to ask a 37-year-old to prolong this pace, so enjoy the run for however long it lasts.
Oskar Sundqvist, STL (Yahoo: 0%)
Few teams can boast greater forward depth than the Blues. Their four even-strength trios are fearsome and that leads to the offense being somewhat spread out. For a fourth-liner like Sundqvist, that means more chances to contribute and he’s responded with seven points, six shots, 10 hits and a plus-4 in six games. He’s never going to get a sniff on the man-advantage due to all the existing firepower across both groups, though he makes up for it with a substantial shorthanded spot.
Joe Snively, WAS (Yahoo: 0%)
Snively took the long route to the NHL after a successful four years at Yale and parts of four more in the AHL. When summoned from the minors two weeks ago, he was already up to 15 goals and 23 helpers in 35 games. And those numbers have continued with the Caps in the form of seven points from his first nine. It remains to be seen if Snively can stick in the top-six, but he’s doing a good job of staking his claim.
Defensemen
Noah Dobson, NYI (Yahoo: 42%)
As with Parise earlier, it’s tough to endorse many Islander skaters due to the club’s inconsistent scoring. But if you’re searching for a young blueliner who’s finally figured things out while logging significant responsibilities, Dobson’s an excellent match. The 2018 first-rounder jumped straight from juniors to the NHL and endured a few rough patches the first two seasons and earlier this campaign, though he’s quickly growing on the job and has produced 12 points, 30 shots and 24 blocks in the last 12 games while averaging close to 22 minutes, with less than three of those on the top power play.
Noah Hanifin, CGY (Yahoo: 20%)
Another D-man named Noah, though this one’s a little older. And like Dobson, Hanifin has looked solid the last month with two goals, nine assists, 29 shots and 18 blocks. He may be a part of the Flames’ second man-advantage, yet that hasn’t prevented him from registering nine PPAs on the year. Hanifin’s also active on the penalty kill and will continue to accumulate stats among Calgary’s high-powered attack.
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Brady Skjei, CAR (Yahoo: 16%)
For someone with the lowest offensive-zone start percentage this season among all Carolina defenders and no power-play duty, it’s nice to see Skjei at 21 points. He may not reach the 30s like his early days on Broadway, but he’s getting sufficient ice time and has recently taken advantage of that. Since Jan. 22, Skjei has accumulated two goals, five helpers, 28 shots and 21 hits on 22:31 a game.
Jamie Drysdale, ANH (Yahoo: 16%)
Drysdale was featured way back in October as he was primed to take on major power-play minutes. He’s been mainly able to maintain that end of his profile, though there hasn’t been much in the way of other fantasy achievements. The offense has been trickling in throughout the season and the sixth selection from 2020 has supplied three PPAs in the last five outings. It would be great if Drysdale delivered in other departments, but a niche role and huge offensive upside will have to do for now.
Goaltenders
Laurent Brossoit, VGK (Yahoo: 18%)
Robin Lehner has been sidelined with an upper-body injury for the last week and no timetable has been set as to his return. Brossoit started two of three while Logan Thompson won the other one, though the former should receive the bulk of the work due to experience. And even if Lehner comes back soon, Vegas has three back-to-backs in the next 15 days and that would allow Brossoit at least three appearances during that nine-game stretch.
Anton Forsberg, OTT (Yahoo: 17%)
Matt Murray has also missed time recently and that’s allowed Forsberg to reclaim the top job. The Sens haven’t necessarily been associated with stable goaltending in recent seasons, yet the duo has mainly excelled in the New Year. Over his last nine outings, Forsberg has posted a 5-2-1 record with a 2.21 GAA and .933 save percentage, including a 40-save performance Tuesday at home against the Wild. Even when Murray returns, you’d have to figure Forsberg will retain the No. 1 role.
(Players to consider from past columns: Nazem Kadri, Tim Stutzle, Joel Eriksson Ek, Robert Thomas, Lucas Raymond, Michael Bunting, Ryan Hartman, Ondrej Kase, Brock Nelson, Jesper Bratt, Andrew Mangiapane, Jared McCann, Mason Marchment, Lawson Crouse, Anthony Cirelli, Matthew Boldy, Ryan Johansen, Trevor Zegras, Valeri Nichushkin, Tage Thompson, Nino Niederreiter, Ivan Barbashev, Nico Hischier, Anton Lundell, Kailer Yamamoto, Alex Tuch, Boone Jenner, William Karlsson, Troy Terry, Matt Duchene, Nick Paul, Mikael Granlund, Evan Bouchard, Jared Spurgeon, Damon Severson, Nate Schmidt, Moritz Seider, Shayne Gostisbehere, Rasmus Andersson, Josh Morrissey, Ryan Pulock, Oliver Kylington, Ville Husso, Kaapo Kahkonen, Jeremy Swayman, Jake Oettinger, Karel Vejmelka)
