Sometimes, there are weeks in fantasy hockey where there's not a lot of earth-shaking analysis to report. I went to look at the rankings from my home league over the last two weeks in preparation for this week's column. Connor McDavid's at the top -- a welcome return to form for managers who had been underwhelmed in October and November. Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Hughes are all occupying top-10 spots in that format as well. Sergei Bobrovsky's been the top goalie over that time, which is a little surprising, but he's having a good year.
When there's not a lesser-known player flying up the rankings, I like to keep my moves simple. I'll rotate out some of my lower-ranked players and pick up a hot hand or a reliable player someone else cut. I was able to pluck Miro Heiskanen off waivers in one league recently -- sure, he's had a down year, but I like the player and his team situation a lot for rest-of-season purposes.
In a similar vein, that's why I'm reluctant to let go of a struggling Chandler Stephenson. He's not playing all that well, but I like his team, and I'm not banking on William Karlsson staying hot all year. Vegas has a balanced offense, and Stephenson will get his looks, even if he's more of a supporting cast member.
My rule of thumb is that I won't drop a player with top-100 potential unless there's a season-ending injury. It's asset management; you've got to find a trade route there instead of a cut. I did that with one of my Bobrovsky shares a couple of weeks ago, flipping him for Steven Stamkos in the only league where I drafted Andrei Vasilevskiy. I've had plenty of situations where I've benefited from someone dropping a player that should never make it to the waiver wire -- it's recognizing those rare chances that can really improve your roster.
This week, I think there's good things to come for Jared Spurgeon. He recently had a four-game assist streak, which is all the offense he's mustered this season after missing the first four weeks of the campaign. With Jonas Brodin (upper body) now out on a week-to-week basis, Spurgeon is the unquestioned No. 1 on the Wild's blue line. Spurgeon should get you points, and he'll also be a boost for plus-minus and blocked shots regardless of how he performs on the scoresheet.
If you need to dig a little deeper, definitely take a look at Brock Faber. He's got six assists over his last 11 games, averaging 23:47 of ice time per game in that span. The 21-year-old Minnesota native should also see an increased role in Brodin's absence. Faber has done everything asked of him as a rookie this year, and any slowdown in performance is likely to come in the final quarter of the season, not at the midway mark. I could even see a strong stretch here leading to low-level Calder buzz for Faber -- not that he'll be particularly close to challenging Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson or Adam Fantilli for the trophy at the end of the year.
Evan Rodrigues was on his longest point streak of the year before going scoreless versus Columbus on Sunday. The 30-year-old picked up eight points over four contests, bringing a hot start to December. He's been the definition of streaky this season -- prior to the heater, he went eight games without a point. Keep an eye on where he lines up for the Panthers. I like him in a top-six role, especially if he's alongside Aleksander Barkov, but his intrigue is lower when he slips onto the third line. His versatility and willingness to shoot are positives, as is his plus-minus rating, but consistency hasn't been his strong suit.
There's no ignoring what Anthony Cirelli has done lately, racking up four goals and two assists during a four-game point streak. The Lightning continue a road trip out west for the upcoming week, playing in Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary. There's some soft defenses and goalies to test during that, and even the Canucks have been getting more on the high-event end of things lately. Cirelli's role is as stable as ever as a two-way center, so while the offense is unlikely to last, he won't lose ice time when the stick goes cold.
I have to admit, I didn't anticipate the Flyers being much more than a cellar dweller in 2023-24. Instead, they're playing strong all-around hockey -- their recent wins in Arizona and Colorado were among the best efforts I've seen recently. Tyson Foerster is playing a huge part in the success with four goals and three assists over the last six games. The 21-year-old, a first-round pick from 2020, has stepped right into a top-line role at even strength, along with a power-play role. There's always some concern a young player will have a bad shift or two and lose their spot in a John Tortorella lineup, but Foerster's been under 15 minutes of ice time just eight times in 26 outings, and just once since Nov. 11. That's a strong vote of confidence in the youngster.
I've been patiently waiting for the Thomas Harley train to reach the station, and the recent scratches of Nils Lundkvist means it's just about boarding time. Harley has five points over his last six games, but the big change is a little more power-play time. The Stars trust Harley to handle top-four minutes at even strength while Lundkvist is barely given a third-pairing assignment. If the team reshuffles the defense corps -- trading Lundkvist is a real possibility -- Harley would have the most to gain. You don't have to jump on him now in most formats, but he's certainly worth a look if you need points or blocked shots.
A quick shout-out for the Blue Jackets' recently assembled Russian line. Kirill Marchenko is the headliner here, racking up eight points over his last 11 games. He's looked much better this season after posting a Cy Young-like 21 goals and four assists in 2022-23. In that same 11-game span, the long-awaited Dmitri Voronkov has seven points, while Yegor Chinakhov has eight points. There's offense to be had with the Blue Jackets' veterans struggling, and these younger players have stepped up. With Boone Jenner (jaw) out for six weeks, they'll likely have even more chances to contribute, though it's Justin Danforth who's getting the first top-line look after spending most of the year on the fourth line.
Sam Lafferty is back on the radar again. He had a strong start to the year as a reliable bottom-six forward helping to stabilize the Canucks when the big names weren't on the ice. Over the last four games, he's been with Elias Pettersson and Ilya Mikheyev on the top line, replacing Andrei Kuzmenko on the right wing. Lafferty has five points in that span, and this looks like a combination that could stick for a while. He had a career-high 27 points last season, and he's already picked up 15 points with 43 hits, 22 PIM and a plus-15 rating over 28 games in 2023-24.
I'm curious to see if Jason Zucker will stick on the Coyotes' top line. He moved up there Saturday after Logan Cooley was demoted to the bottom six. Cooley wasn't ready for that spot, but Zucker's a veteran. It's a move that has forced Nick Schmaltz back to center. Zucker has four points over his last three games and is capable of handling significant minutes and power-play time when healthy, so I'm keeping my eye on how this goes.
It seems that no one in DC wants to say it outright, but it looks like Charlie Lindgren is taking a run at Darcy Kuemper's starting role. Lindgren posted a 31-save shutout against the Rangers on Saturday, improving to 6-2-1 with a 2.34 GAA and a .931 save percentage on the year. Kuemper has been noticeably less consistent, so a move makes sense. Lindgren's still available in 72 percent of Yahoo leagues as of Sunday -- I've already started scooping him up in places where I need a goalie, and I might be going out of my way to add him elsewhere.
There's no such controversy in the crease in Vancouver, but Casey DeSmith has proven himself to be a solid backup when Thatcher Demko rests. At 5-2-1 with a 2.69 GAA and a .913 save percentage, DeSmith is among the best true backups in the league this season, in large part thanks to his strong team situation. As with any little-used goalie, it may be better to stream them when they get a confirmed start rather than hold onto them. DeSmith's playing every 10-14 days at this point, though he probably deserves to be in the 7-10 day range between starts as long as Demko's healthy.
The key to keep in mind this week is that you don't need to make a big home-run swing with every trip to the waiver wire. A sequence of small moves can be just as effective.
I've been antsy this season amid a fantasy showing that I'm not used to -- too many teams in the middle of the pack (or worse) and not enough dominating their leagues. Still, amid the struggles, I've opted for patience in most places, expecting slow starts to turn into strong surges in the middle of the season. I'll keep opting for small moves this week and have more free-agent explorations next Monday in the final Hutch's Hockey of 2023.
