This article is part of our Frozen Fantasy series.
It's been a busy week - I spent my weekend setting up my mom's milestone birthday party. She had a blast with so many family members popping by for a visit. But I had little time to write, so I'll get to my recos fast. You have weekly lineups to set, and there's no need to waste time on your Monday morning.
Let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Phillip Danault, C, Los Angeles (8 percent Yahoo!) - Danault is a deep-league option who never gets enough love. He's a consistent 50-plus point pivot averaging more than nine faceoff wins since the start of 2018-19 and 4,194 overall with a 53.9 percent success rate during that span. Danault is hot heading into Monday on a five-game, six-point scoring streak with five assists. And his 3.7 shooting percentage is abnormally low, so some goals are coming soon. Get them on your team.
Max Domi, LW/C, Toronto (11 percent Yahoo!) - Domi has been held scoreless over his last 10 outings, but stay with me for a sec. He may not have points, though he's looked way better alongside elite talent in the top-six than with his regular lower-half linemates. It's a hunch, but I think Leafs coach Craig Berube could split up Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews (both 100 percent Yahoo!) after the latter returns from injury. That would spread their offensive skill around and instantly give Domi an elite partner. No offense to Pontus
It's been a busy week - I spent my weekend setting up my mom's milestone birthday party. She had a blast with so many family members popping by for a visit. But I had little time to write, so I'll get to my recos fast. You have weekly lineups to set, and there's no need to waste time on your Monday morning.
Let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.
Phillip Danault, C, Los Angeles (8 percent Yahoo!) - Danault is a deep-league option who never gets enough love. He's a consistent 50-plus point pivot averaging more than nine faceoff wins since the start of 2018-19 and 4,194 overall with a 53.9 percent success rate during that span. Danault is hot heading into Monday on a five-game, six-point scoring streak with five assists. And his 3.7 shooting percentage is abnormally low, so some goals are coming soon. Get them on your team.
Max Domi, LW/C, Toronto (11 percent Yahoo!) - Domi has been held scoreless over his last 10 outings, but stay with me for a sec. He may not have points, though he's looked way better alongside elite talent in the top-six than with his regular lower-half linemates. It's a hunch, but I think Leafs coach Craig Berube could split up Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews (both 100 percent Yahoo!) after the latter returns from injury. That would spread their offensive skill around and instantly give Domi an elite partner. No offense to Pontus Holmberg (0 percent Yahoo!) and Nicholas Robertson (1 percent Yahoo!), but skating with Marner or Matthews is an obvious upgrade. And the points will eventually come.
Warren Foegele, LW/RW, Los Angeles (3 percent Yahoo!) - Foegele is riding a three-game, four-point streak (two goals, two assists) with nine points - including six goals - and 24 shots from his last 10 matchups. He could top 50 points, almost all coming at 5v5. Cripes, Foegele could end up this year's Trevor Moore (41 percent Yahoo!), who ripped 31 goals and finished with 57 points last season. There's real value in that kind of output.
Vladislav Gavrikov, D, Los Angeles (5 percent Yahoo!) - The Gavrikov of 2024 is starting to look a little like the one from 2021-22. You know, the defender who managed 33 points, 108 shots, 124 hits and 138 blocks. Gavrikov hasn't replicated that since, and that means he's been on the fantasy shelf. But he's on a four-game, four-point streak (two goals, two assists) going into Monday with nine blocks, five shots and a plus-6 rating. That's solid value in deeper leagues that count a lot of categories.
Jonathan Lekkerimaki, RW, Vancouver (2 percent Yahoo!) - Watch alert! Lekkerimaki is a natural goal scorer who ripped a team-leading 19 goals in the SHL last year as a 19-year-old. And before his call-up Sunday, he had notched five snipes in seven AHL games. Lekkerimaki will slide into Brock Boeser's (92 percent Yahoo!) spot on the top line Tuesday. This is likely a short-term addition as Boeser will hopefully be back soon after taking a hit to the head Thursday. But it'll be our first look at the 165-pound kid sniper of the Orcas' future. I'll be staying up late to see the results.
Jordan Martinook, LW, Carolina (1 percent Yahoo!) - Martinook is a coach's dream. He's a versatile, lunch-bucket winger with sandpaper who plays exactly how and where his coach wants. Martinook has always boasted a strong shot and he's posted a three-game, five-point streak with four goals and 10 shots heading into Vegas on Monday. He won't keep this up as his 16.7 shooting percentage is unsustainable. But a hot Martinook may help short-term while surging - and then get him back on the shelf for another streaker.
Valeri Nichushkin, LW, Colorado (58 percent Yahoo!) - Nichushkin will be reinstated on Nov. 15 - that's only a few days away. The Avs desperately need him in the top-six, and he's proven in the past he can immediately step in and excel. The winger has accumulated 100 points - with 45 of those goals (26 PPG) - across 107 games the last two seasons. Nichushkin will also wire a load of shots and lay a bunch of hits. You can't get much better, and he might still be there on your wire.
Dmitry Orlov, D, Carolina (17 percent Yahoo!) - Orlov helped me this week with a four-game, five-point scoring streak (two goals, three assists, nine shots and a plus-nine rating). It was snapped Saturday, yet I'm keeping him in my lineup. He was a great upgrade for Juuso Valimaki (0 percent Yahoo!), even in a dynasty league. (I'm seriously out on him as he's really the player he was in Calgary. But I digress. Back to Orlov.) Orlov's not going to be able to maintain his current 50-point pace, though he managed two campaigns of 35 this decade on a deeper team than he's been for a long time. That counts for something.
David Rittich, G, Los Angeles (7 percent Yahoo!) - Do I trust Rittich? Heck, no. But he's alternated starts with Darcy Kuemper (71 percent Yahoo!) the last four games and put up two wins over the Wild and Blue Jackets with only three goals allowed. The only teams he's beaten up to now are the Habs, Quacks and Sharks, so he's no guarantee. But the Kings play such a strong system that even a plywood goalie might win. Rittich is a bit better than that, so…
Jack Roslovic, RW/C, Carolina (11 percent Yahoo!) - The streaky Roslovic will crash soon enough. But you can't dismiss nine goals (10 points) in 13 games from his last six games. Roslovic is skating on the first trio with Sebastian Aho (98 percent Yahoo!) and Andrei Svechnikov (96 percent Yahoo!) - they're the best linemates of his life. Yes, better than Mika Zibanejad (92 percent Yahoo!) and Chris Kreider (97 percent Yahoo!), with whom he never found chemistry late last season. This might be the year Roslovic reaches 30 goals. Surely there's room for him in more than one-in-nine leagues.
Until next week.
