Eric Staal is officially back for one more season. After a pro trial, the Panthers signed Staal to a one-year contract worth $750,000. He wasn’t in the lineup for Friday’s game against Tampa Bay, but is expected to make his season debut on Sunday. Staal last played in the NHL in 2020-21, when he split time between the Sabers and the Canadiens. Although he’s built a solid Hall of Fame argument, Staal shouldn’t be on anyone’s fantasy radar at this point in his career.
In that game on Friday, Brayden Point scored both the tying goal and the winning goal (in overtime). He also took five shots in that game.
Steven Stamkos scored Tampa’s other goal, which was also his league-leading seventh goal of the season. Stamkos scored at least one goal and took at least four shots in each of his five games played, making him one of the best early fantasy players.
Following the injury of Aaron Ekblad and the departure of Mackenzie Weegar, Brandon Montour and Gustav Forsling saw their value increase considerably. Returning from a two-game absence, Montour had two assists. Forsling has five points in his last four games and has played at least 22 minutes in each of his five games. They’re also Florida’s top defensive pair right now, so they should continue to log important minutes for a little while. Montour is the least likely to be listed in your league (only 20% Yahoo/49% Fantrax) compared to Forsling (69% Yahoo/83% Fantrax). Combine that with the fact that Montour receives more power play minutes than Forsling and the decision to choose from your waiver lead should be made easier. Florida appeared to stage a power play with five first-unit forwards, as it has sometimes done in the past.
Matthew Tkachuk must be loving South Florida so far. Tkachuk had eight points in his first five games, including a goal and an assist on Friday. Tkachuk also filled multiple categories in the Battle of Florida, also contributing 6 PIMs and 6 SOGs.
On the Tkachuk line, Rudolfs Balcers has scored in consecutive games and points in each of his last three games.
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Despite their best efforts during the offseason, the Blackhawks will not lose every game. On Friday, Max Domi completed the comeback from a 3-1 deficit to secure the overtime win.
Dominik Kubalik was one of those players the Blackhawks parted ways with in the offseason. Against his former team, Kubalik scored a goal and added an assist while firing four shots. He’s off to a quick start with the Red Wings, scoring five points in his last three games. He was a 30-goal scorer (in just 68 games) just three seasons ago, and he sees time evenly matched with Dylan Larkin and David Perron. That’s a good thing because he’s a line-mate-dependent player, with this 30-goal season ahead alongside a more productive version of Jonathan Toews. He’s also playing in his fourth season and he’s widely available in fantasy leagues (14% Yahoo/32% Fantrax).
Petr Mrazek (a former Wing who is now with the Blackhawks, if you’re having trouble keeping up) left that game late in the second period with an injury. Alex Stalock took over in the third period and would be the Blackhawks’ default starter should Mrazek miss at any time. I would recommend adding Stalock under normal circumstances, but you know the state of the Blackhawks. Arvid Soderblom was called up after the game, meaning Mrazek could miss games.
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In a game that made absolutely no sense in terms of expected outcomes, the Kraken beat the Avalanche 3-2 in Denver while beating the Avalanche 38-20. Philipp Grubauer was reportedly in line for an upset win (for anyone feeling lucky), but left the game shortly after the Avalanche’s third-period tying goal due to injury. . Martin Jones only had to make one save to take the win. Did I say it was a weird game? You can re-read what I wrote about the Chicago goalie situation and apply it to Seattle as well. The Kraken goaltenders have allowed at least four goals in four of their six games.
Jaden Schwartz scored a power-play goal and added an assist, giving him five points in his first six games. We know Schwartz is Band-Aid Boy certified because he missed more than half of last season with a hand injury and 16 games the previous season. He was on a line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, so he could be a half-decent contributor if he can stay healthy all season. It is also widely available (18% Yahoo/39% Fantrax).
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The Jets placed Nikolaj Ehlers on IR with an undisclosed injury (or at least I couldn’t find it anywhere). Ehlers has missed a total of 29 games over the past two seasons, so he could be on the edge of Band-Aid Boy territory. As a result of the injury, Mason Appleton was lifted to a scoreline with Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, so he could be one to watch for near-term value.
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Looking to maximize your one-on-one results at the end of your week? Look no further than the Frozen Tools Schedule Planner. Then set the date range to Custom date range and enter the dates from Saturday to Sunday. Four teams play on Saturday and Sunday, while all other teams play once. I’m going to focus on the potential waiver wire pickups for these four teams playing twice.
Columbus
Justin Danforth, who we talked about last week due to his sudden rise to the top line, has goals in back-to-back games. He’s not really on the front line or the best power play unit anymore, but he’s an option just about everywhere as he’s only listed at 1% in the Yahoo leagues.
Boone Jenner and Gustav Nyquist were on Johnny Gaudreau’s line in the final game. Jenner is more likely to be listed because he’s been tied to the frontline longer, but Nyquist is only 21% listed in Fantrax and 5% in Yahoo. Additionally, Nyquist has skated for 21 minutes in each of his last two games.
While we’re talking about Columbus, Adam Boqvist has been a healthy takedown the past two games. This allowed Nick Blankenburg to enter the formation. While I wouldn’t say Blankenburg has as many attacking advantages as Boqvist, Blankenburg could provide some of its own value in the bangers leagues. He scored a goal and an assist on Thursday, and he added six combined shots, seven hits and three blocks in those two games. Despite weighing just 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds, former University of Michigan captain Blankenburg is known for his physique.
New York Islanders
Kyle Palmieri currently finds himself on the better side of even-strength line and power-play combinations. Aligned with Mathew Barzal, Palmieri is listed at just 1% on Yahoo and 10% on Fantrax. Although he is yet to score a goal this season, Palmieri recorded one assist and five hits on Thursday.
philadelphia cream
I was about to add James van Riemsdyk to a league, but someone beat me to it. (Well, I had to settle for Nick Robertson, although I missed his debut with two goals.) has exceeded expectations so far. JVR has points in each of its four games, including goals in back-to-back games. In addition, his ice time has exceeded 20 minutes in each of his last two games and he is on the power play with the first unit. It is registered in only 12% of Yahoo leagues and 21% of Fantrax leagues. Adding it comes with the caveat that it’s likely to fall once it hits a dry spell, which seems inevitable.
San Jose
The closet is emptier in San Jose than it has been in years, but I managed to snag Logan Couture in a league. He’s probably already signed up in deeper leagues, but he could be worth at least a short-term addition as the Sharks hit New Jersey and Philly this weekend.
For the deeper leagues, Luke Kunin is back on the first unit power play, where he started the season. He might not be the long-term solution there, but he might be worth going while he’s there. Kunin recorded an assist while adding bangers worth (6 PIM, 3 HITS) on Thursday.
Mario Ferraro has three assists in six games, although I would never consider him a big-point player, even though he is logging some serious minutes for the Sharks. If you need blocked shots, he’s averaging more than two per game so far.
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follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.
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#Ramblings #Florida #defense #Kubalik #Schwartz #potential #weekend #additions #October