Author: Dave Pitman, FNTSY Analyst
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their spots in the standings, while others struggle to replace injured stars like Steven Stamkos, Tyler Toffoli, P.K Subban and Aleksander Barkov. The feeling of having to scour the waiver wire leaves a bad taste in ones mouth, comparable to the foul taste of black jelly beans. Seriously, who likes black jelly beans? Luckily, there is still some value to be found week-to-week if we look in the right places.
Tanner Pearson – LW – Los Angeles Kings
Tanner Pearson has been impressive on a line with Jeff Carter. Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire
Tyler Toffoli has built himself a pretty good image in Los Angeles as the next up-and-coming star, a reputation he’s earned. But while Toffoli basks in the glow of the California spotlight, Tanner Pearson and the big old chip on his shoulder waits for his turn. A former first round pick, Pearson has pretty good pedigree himself. He scored 91 points with 37 goals in his final year in the OHL and was a solid producer while playing in the AHL. While Pearson has shown he can contribute at the NHL level, he hasn’t reached the next tier yet and perhaps never will; but the potential is there. With Toffoli out, Pearson has had a chance to step into a more significant role, and he has impressed so far while playing on a line with Jeff Carter.
In his last five games played, Pearson has three goals and two assists, adding five hits for good measure. While his season average TOI is 15:50, Pearson has played well above that the past seven games and will continue to log bigger minutes for as long as Toffoli is out. He’s worth an add until Toffoli returns.
Mike Fisher – C – Nashville Predators
Last year, it seemed as though Mike Fisher was about to drop off the planet, never to be seen on Fantasy rosters again. He has never been a Fantasy powerhouse, but in many years he has offered fair value in a few categories. Now’s the time for a short-term pickup, especially in multi-category leagues.
In his last six, Fisher has six points, seven penalty minutes, six blocked shots and 59 face off wins. Not bad, for a guy that seemed to have passed his prime. Fisher finished the 2015-16 season with 23 points and has already surpassed that this year. He’s a good short-term complementary player for your roster.
Justin Williams – RW – Washington Capitals
While we’re on the topic of older guys, here comes Justin Williams, one of my favorite nostalgic adds. Seriously, the amount of times I’ve added and dropped Williams over the last ten years is astounding. He’s been a go-to guy throughout many seasons since 2006, when he scored 31 goals for Carolina.
Williams’ latest boost in offence comes over the last eight games, totaling 10 points with a plus-10 rating. The jump in production can partially be credited to his line-mates, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Marcus Johansson. In the last four games, the trio have combined for 18 points.
Patrick Maroon – LW – Edmonton Oilers
I’ve written about Maroon many times this year, including last weeks article, so I’m not going to spend a lot of time here other than to ask, what are you waiting for?
Somehow, Maroon’s ownership is still below 50 percent in Yahoo! leagues, and I can’t understand why. Apart from being a monster of secondary categories (14 penalty minutes, 13 hits in the last five games), Maroon has been playing with Connor McDavid and has scored five goals in the last three games alone. Go pick him up, now. Are you still reading this?
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