Yahoo Sports 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Week 17 Primer And Pickups: Rantanen-Necas Trade Fallout; Fantilli, Allen Become Season-long Holds
It's a muted week with a week-high 10 games on Thursday. The wrinkle is Sunday's just as busy as Saturday with nine games, and that's because Monday, Feb. 3 features only one game (Senators at Predators - yawn) and 4 Nations is quickly approaching, so the league has to fit in all the games.
The rankings on the schedule matrix are not a 'hard' ranking, meaning that players on a team that's ranked lower will not always outperform players on a team that's ranked higher. For example, Jack Hughes and the Devils play three games in Week 17, but he's still probably a better option than Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings, who play four times.
The schedule matrix is just based on simple mathematics, but it's still a little shocking to see the Kings ranked at the top. They play all four games on the road and it's a really, really tough schedule with a back-to-back on Wednesday and Thursday against the Panthers and Lightning, and then Saturday against the Hurricanes with Mikko Rantanen. What drops their opponents' points percentage is Monday's matchup against the Wings.
On the other hand, the Penguins have the easiest schedule - Sharks, Utah and Predators, two teams ranked lower in the standings and one that's just one point ahead as of Saturday - but because their team has been so weak, they're ranked 19th. If the choice is between Rickard Rakell and Kevin Fiala, I might lean Rakell, though I admit Fiala has been a lot better lately.
The big storyline heading into Week 17 is the fallout between a monster trade between the Hurricanes and Avalanche. You can read the full fantasy breakdown here, and here are a couple observations that have already rung true:
- the LW spot beside Sebastian Aho and Rantanen is up for grabs. It's likely Andrei Svechnikov, or maybe Jackson Blake in certain spots. Jack Roslovic's fantasy value has tanked since his demotion to the fourth line.
- Rantanen skated 19 minutes in his Canes debut after averaging nearly 23 with the Avs. This was expected given the Canes' committee approach.
- Taylor Hall played played just 11:36 in his Canes debut. A move to a better team may not lead to more minutes or increased production and, at this point in his career, is more of a role player.
- Necas skated skated 25 minutes in his Avs debut after averaging 18 with the Canes. This was also expected given the Avs lean on their star players. He finished with zero points and a minus-3 rating, and it'll take time to establish chemistry with MacKinnon, and both were far better Sunday against the Rangers.
Schedule
Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of Yahoo Fantasy. Points percentages are as of Saturday.
Jason Chen
Season-long adds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Marco Rossi, C, Wild (47% rostered)
Rossi scored three assists in a 5-4 loss to the Flames on Saturday, giving him 43 points in 49 games. Even with Joel Eriksson Ek back in his usual spot between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, Rossi should have more fantasy value based on his scoring alone.
Pavel Dorofeyev, LW/RW, Golden Knights (46% rostered)
There's a strong argument for Dorofeyev to be a ROS hold. He ranks 20th in the league in shots (147) and he's averaging over 17 minutes per game this month with 11 points in 12 games. He's streaky and he scores in bunches, but the consistent shot volume is nice and he's a fixture on the Knights' top two lines and power play.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, Capitals (40% rostered)
Aliaksei Protas, C/LW, Capitals (33% rostered)
We're getting to the point where Dubois is really not just a streaming option. He's having a solid season and scoring at a 65-point pace, which is near the top end of his range. That includes five points in his past four games, and he's a multi-category contributor with faceoff wins, shots, and some blocks and hits.
I'm less bullish on Protas - he's more of a mid-term hold - but note he's scored five points in his past four games. His scoring remains sporadic, but in deeper leagues, he's worth rostering ROS. He lacks the all-round multi-category contribution Dubois provides, but the points should keep rolling in.
Adam Fantilli, C, Blue Jackets (23% rostered)
With news that Sean Monahan may be out for the next two months, Fantilli has solidified his spot as their 1C. Boone Jenner is expected to return soon, but Fantilli has been a great fit on the top line and his offensive ceiling is undoubtedly higher. Fantilli should be rostered in all leagues for the rest of the season. Monahan's return may coincide with the final week of the regular season, and most fantasy leagues should be finished or finishing up by then.
Cam Talbot, G, Red Wings (42% rostered)
I may be in the minority on this, but I think Talbot is better and more reliable than Alex Lyon. After losing three of four, Talbot's backstopped the Wings to two straight wins against tough opponents, allowing two goals on 57 shots (.965 SP). At worst, I think Talbot splits the starts, so there's plenty of value - another 15-20 starts or so - for the rest of the season.
Jake Allen, G, Devils (30% rostered)
Pick him up, now. Allen is the hottest commodity among fantasy goalies with Jacob Markstrom expected to miss at least a month's worth of action. He'll be the starter going forward. What he lacks in quality - he hasn't been particularly good this season - he will make up for in quantity. I don't expect backup Nico Daws to be anything more than a matchup-dependent streaming option.
Mid-term holds
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, Utah (39% rostered)
Schmaltz is one of those players who you forget about but end up getting surprised he finished the season scoring at a near point-per-game pace. His points streak is now at eight games scoring at a 65-point pace. As a fixture opposite Clayton Keller and with Logan Cooley as 1C, Schmaltz should be a good source of points.
Troy Terry, C/RW, Ducks (25% rostered)
That's five points in six games for Terry since returning, and he accounted for three of the Ducks' 10 goals over the past two games. The Ducks offense won't be this potent for long - it almost never is - but Terry's one of the few Ducks worth rostering with lots of minutes and good deployment. Matchups against the Flames and Habs are intriguing streaming options.
Pavel Zacha, C/LW, Bruins (20% rostered)
Morgan Geekie, C/LW/RW, Bruins (10% rostered)
I'm not entirely confident in Zacha or the Bruins' ability to generate consistent offense, but it's worth noting he's scored two goals and seven points in his past six games. Their top line with Zacha between Geekie - four goals in three games - and David Pastrnak has been very good.
Jiri Kulich, C, Sabres (1% rostered)
Kulich has taken over the 1C spot while Tage Thompson is nursing an ailment - not sure what - and not taking faceoffs. To Kulich's credit, he's played well in that spot, and he's scored four points in four games. His ice time is still limited but he shoots the puck a ton (17 in four games), wins faceoffs, and provides blocks and hits. He's a short-term streaming option at this point unless he produces more consistently.
Filip Hronek, D, Canucks (42% rostered)
Hronek looked rough in his first few games back but his play has really picked up and he's scored four points in six games since his return. The Canucks defense is thin, and even when Tyler Myers returns from his suspension, expect Hronek to play a lot of minutes with PP2 action.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Maple Leafs (22% rostered)
OEL is quickly surpassing Morgan Rielly as the Leafs defenseman to roster. His points streak is now at four games and basically pulled even in points on the season. With the Leafs playing five forwards on PP1, Rielly's PP TOI advantage over OEL no longer holds true; they're sharing duties with PP2.
Darren Raddysh, D, Lightning (22% rostered)
Raddysh has been featured in this space a few times and his play has dropped off a little - one assist, minus-5 in three games - but the Lightning have struggled as a whole. Hedman still takes the bulk of the minutes but Raddysh's PP unit consists of Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point and Jake Guentzel - that's pretty darn good.
Lukas Dostal, G, Ducks (37% rostered)
John Gibson left Saturday's game with an upper-body injury, setting up Dostal to take the bulk of the starts going forward. No word on how long Gibson will be out for, but with the increased playing time, Dostal regains some of the value he had lost earlier in the season. He's not racking up the saves and stealing games with the same frequency, but his fantasy value has increased for sure.
Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah (37% rostered)
Connor Ingram looks like he may be taking back the starting job, but Vejmelka was excellent with a 26-save shutout win against the Wild. This is shaping up to be a 1A-1B situation, and those who dropped Vejmelka upon Ingram's return might want to think about rostering him again.
Short-term streamers
(< 50% rostered on Yahoo)
Anton Lundell, C/RW, Panthers (37% rostered)
Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov seem to be coming out of their slumber, which should raise the Panthers offense overall. Lundell has four points in his past five games with some intriguing matchups coming up against the Hawks and shorthanded Isles.
Bobby McMann, LW, Maple Leafs (8% rostered)
The points come sporadically but what's worth paying attention to is McMann's ice time. He's played over 19 minutes in four of his past five games, scoring five points during that span. His role is only going to get bigger if Matthew Knies misses more time.
Tony DeAngelo, D, Islanders (7% rostered)
DeAngelo's signing signals Noah Dobson may be out for at least the majority of the rest of the season, and Ryan Pulock played just 15 seconds before leaving Saturday's game due to injury. That opened up the opportunity for DeAngelo to play 25:07 (!) in his season debut, finishing with zero points, two shots and two blocks. His upside is power-play points or nothing, and I suspect he'll play significant minutes - around 20, not 25 per game. He's a speculative add at this point until we get more viewings to really determine his ROS fantasy value.
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