Every week our Fantasy staff will evaluate the landscape around the NHL and how it pertains to Fantasy owners in Fantasy Stockwatch.
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| | Ryan Malone, LW, Tampa Bay Malone had to have been one of the most excited players when Rick Tocchet took over as coach in Tampa, because the winger had only three points in his first 14 games this season. Now he has eight points in his last five games, including a goal in four straight, and is back looking like the guy who put up 51 points last season. He's owned in only 45 percent of leagues at the moment and is worth starting in deeper leagues. |
| | Peter Mueller, C, Phoenix Mueller had 54 points in rookie season and got off to a slow start this campaign. He did have a nice spell in the first 10 days of November, but now has zero goals and two assists in his last nine games. Somehow he's still starting in 43 percent of leagues, so apparently a lot of you still have faith he can turn this around. Do yourself a favor and bench Mueller in deeper seasonal leagues until he shows some signs of life. He has good keeper value, but you can do better on a week-to-week basis than this guy. |
| | Matt Hunwick, D, Boston Hunwick started this season in the AHL and then was called up in mid-October before sitting out a ton of games as a healthy scratch. Then Andrew Ference broke his leg in mid-November and Hunwick has been impressing ever since. He had a six-game point streak end on Saturday and has been averaging over 20 minutes a game in his last three. Obviously his value will take a slight hit when Ference returns, but Hunwick won't be heading back to the AHL anytime soon, so use him while he and the Bruins are sizzling. |
| | Todd Bertuzzi, RW, Calgary Many people thought Bertuzzi would have himself a solid season with his return north of the border, and he got off to a good start with 14 points in his first 17 games. Unfortunately, he's really struggling lately with only two assists in his last seven games and has played about 15 minutes a game in his last three contests after starting the season playing over 20 minutes on a consistent basis. He is also a minus-10 on the season and is barely hanging on to his status as a low-end starting forward in deeper Fantasy leagues right now. |
| | Chris Mason, G, St. Louis Mason has shown some flashes of brilliance in his NHL career, but struggled last season in a starting role for Nashville and began this year with an 0-4 record as Manny Legace's backup. Now Mason has won three straight decisions and has allowed only four total goals against in his last four starts. He is barely a No. 2 Fantasy goalie right now, but is definitely a nice addition in deeper leagues simply because of his down-the-road potential. |
| | Rod Brind'Amour, C, Carolina If you look at the bottom of the NHL's plus/minus rating this season, you'll see Brind'Amour's name at a miserable minus-17. For a guy who has only four minus ratings in his last 12 seasons, this is a complete departure from the norm. While his 14 points are OK, he has only one point in his last seven games and his rating has to be killing people in Rotisserie formats. While he still has some value in deeper leagues, you should consider benching him until he starts to play some defense. |
| | Doug Weight, C, N.Y. Islanders Weight is with his fourth team in as many seasons in 2008-09, but the veteran seems to have found a new lease of life on Long Island. He has 22 points in 24 games after putting up only 25 in 67 games with the Ducks last season and is on pace to have his best campaign since his 90-point effort in 2000-01. Weight is clearly enjoying his time on the top line in New York immensely and should be starting in a lot more than the 26 percent of leagues he is right now. |
| | Cam Barker, D, Chicago Barker got off to a hot start this season after his late-October call-up from the AHL, but he has just one assist in his last six games and has a minus-4 rating over that timeframe. Looking back at his stats since graduating from the WHL, Barker has never been a consistent offensive force, so you might want to just bench/cut him in everything but deeper leagues for the time being. |
| | Trent Hunter, RW, N.Y. Islanders I've watched the Islanders play a few times this season, and every time Hunter has stood out for some reason. He just seems to know exactly what to do when he has the puck. After putting up only five points in October, Hunter turned up the heat in November with 14 points in 15 games. A point-per-game threat in his minor-league days, Hunter is a nice sleeper pickup right now in 12-team formats that could end up in the 60-70 point range this season. |
| | Ian White, D, Toronto You gotta be up to come down and vice-versa, right? Well, White is a perfect example of that this season. He was an early-season healthy scratch, but then got a chance to move up into the forward rotation, where he produced seven points in eight games. Now he's back as a blue-liner and his Fantasy value is back to being almost zero. |
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