Special to Yahoo Sports
It’s been a chaotic October in fantasy hockey. Auston Matthews and Kyle Connor have each scored only one goal. Thatcher Demko has yet to win a game.
Meanwhile, David Krejci has eight points in seven games and Gabriel Vilardi leads the Kings in goals. Carter Hart, Ilya Samsonov and Alexandar Georgiev are three of the best goalies in the league right now.
With nearly three weeks’ worth of games under our belts, it’s time to recalibrate the player hierarchy in fantasy and figure out which ones to acquire while their value is low and which ones to dump while they remain overvalued.
TRADE FOR
Clayton Keller, LW/RW, Coyotes (67% rostered)
Keller’s three-assist effort Tuesday against Columbus extended his points streak to five games, and if there’s anybody on the Coyotes worth rostering, it’s definitely him. The crafty playmaker has been a consistent point producer even though his team is devoid of any other offensively gifted players. Don’t let the fact that he plays on the Coyotes discount his fantasy value, as Keller can be a very good source of points as the team’s best player.
Alex Tuch, RW, Sabres (74% rostered)
A 5-1 loss to Seattle on Tuesday snapped Tuch’s four-game point streak in a lackluster effort from the Sabres overall. We’ll cut them some slack since it was their fourth straight road game and some rust may have appeared following a two-day break, as the Sabres continue to impress overall early this season. The Sabres’ top six hasn’t changed with Tuch playing on the top line with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner, and Tuch also features on the top power-play unit. If managers act fast, they can also take advantage of a soft schedule coming up with the Habs, Hawks and Red Wings all visiting Buffalo starting Thursday.
Taylor Hall, LW, Bruins (61% rostered)
The Bruins have jumped out to a 6-1-0 record and surpassed expectations, and if this continues, they’ll be drawing more and more attention in fantasy. Hall is the third wheel on a line with David Krejci and David Pastrnak, both of whom are off to fantastic starts, and it’s rubbed off on Hall, who now has scored a goal in three straight games. While Hall has been disappointing relative to expectations throughout his career, as long as he sticks on that line, he has a chance to exceed last season’s 61-point output, his highest total in four years.
Tyler Seguin, C/RW, Stars (72% rostered)
Seguin leads the Stars with 53 faceoff wins and 105 faceoffs taken, and his RW eligibility brings a lot of added value. Though the sample size is small, Seguin is taking more faceoffs than in previous seasons and his scoring pace has increased for the second straight campaign, a good sign after he was limited to just three games in 2020-21 due to injury. Part of Seguin’s return to form has been better health, but also note that the Stars’ offense is deeper after adding Mason Marchment, who has been a fixture on Seguin’s wing. They’re also free from the shackles of the defense-first Rick Bowness. Knowing that his current shooting percentage of 11.8 percent is close enough to his career average that a big regression isn’t likely to come, Seguin is a moderate buy at this point.
TRADE AWAY
Sam Reinhart, C/RW, Panthers (92% rostered)
Reinhart has struggled in the early going, managing just one assist in seven games as the Panthers stumbled out of the gates. While Matthew Tkachuk has played well, the same can’t be said for the rest of the team, who continue to slump following last year’s lackluster playoff showing. Reinhart scored 82 points in 78 games last season but his slow start means it’ll be tough to replicate that success, and the Panthers as a whole seem to have taken a step back. Other than points, it’s important to note that Reinhart doesn’t offer much of anything else; despite having C eligibility, he barely takes enough faceoffs, and he doesn’t like shooting the puck very often, a disappointment for a player who is very good at finishing. If the points aren’t flowing, Reinhart’s fantasy value is very limited.
Filip Forsberg, LW, Predators (95% rostered)
Slump or season-long trend? After scoring 42 goals last season and securing the bag, Forsberg is off to a tough start, with just two goals and four points and a minus-5 rating through seven games. Remember, Forsberg rode a career-high 18.6 shooting percentage en route to his career season even though he’d scored more than 30 goals just twice in his career. Forsberg has also missed games due to injury in each of the past five seasons, and combined with a regression in shooting percentage, it seems highly unlikely he’ll even come close to matching last season’s total.
Thatcher Demko, G, Canucks (93% rostered)
Another week, another Canucks catastrophe. Demko has been one of the most disappointing goaltenders in fantasy, losing all six of his starts and allowing 24 goals. Demko’s fantasy value has never been lower, but all managers are aware that his play should improve, and that would be the biggest selling point. But, even if Demko’s form returns, keep in mind the bigger picture; the Canucks have no immediate solutions for fixing their defense and Quinn Hughes is out multiple weeks with an injury. Vancouver dressed two rookies on the blue line in their last game and wound up surrendering 39 shots.
