Fantasy Hockey Analysis

Fantasy Hockey Scouts: The Fantasy Five - Week 22

#1 Give 'em a Look

Whether it’s a single-year, keeper or dynasty league, the Stars’ Jamie Benn is your man... and you’re in luck as he’s still available in many leagues right now. Benn is only 21 and scored 59 goals (in 75 regular & playoff games) in his final year in the WHL before putting up 41 points in his NHL rookie season last year. This year he’s picked up the pace with 40 points through 54 games so far, he’s currently on a streak of eight games in a row where he’s played 20+ minutes and has goals in each of his last five games. He has a very bright future and we think this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Others worth a look: Olli Jokinen (Cgy – C), Blake Comeau (NYI - LW), Andrej Sekera (Buf – D) and Craig Anderson (Ott – G)

There were at least a few people out there that were excited about Alex Kovalev returning to Pittsburgh... not sure if it was that he was returning to the place he had his best season or the thought of him playing with Crosby or just the perpetual tease that is the talented Kovalev. Whatever it was, you need to drop it cause it ain’t happening. First off, Kovalev’s best season (95 pts with Pittsburgh) was over 10 years ago. Secondly, there’s no Crosby to play with so Kovy is stuck with guys like Letestu & Jordan Staal. And, of course, there is the issue that Kovalev isn’t always the most motivated cat and so far he’s only managed one point and nine shots in six games with the Penguins.

Others worth a boot: Alex Steen (StL – W), Mike Fisher (Nsh – C), Cam Fowler (Ana - D) and Jaroslav Halak (StL – G)

Taylor Hall is done for the season after spraining his ankle cause the rookie thought it would be a good idea to show everyone how tough he was by dropping the gloves for the first time this year with an experienced fighter like Derek Dorsett... poor decision. Also of concern is that Nicklas Backstrom missed a game for the first time in his NHL career with a broken thumb but he’s only expected to be out for a handful of games.

The most intriguing battle for the crease happening right now is in Washington where three young goalies are battling it out to see who gets the chance to carry the mighty Caps into the playoffs. Semyon Varlamov is the most experienced of the three but he’s currently on the shelf with a knee injury. Michal Neuvirth has seen the most action this year and has performed very well for a 22-year-old rookie but was recently sidelined with a freak eye injury. This has allowed #3 goalie, Braden Holtby, to step in and the 21-year old hasn’t given up a goal in his past two games and is 4-0-1 over his last five starts.

This article isn’t going to help you win your fantasy league but it was one of the more thought-provoking articles I read this week so let’s go with it... Edward Fraser, from The Hockey News, with a piece about how the Predators should explore the possibility of trading Shea Weber.