Why you should pick up Marchessault to take advantage of the Panthers' favourable upcoming schedule.

All fantasy owners need help in the short term AND the long term. The Looking Ahead feature identifies one player to plug into lineups in the short term, a second to invest in for the long term, a third to bench for the coming week and a fourth who will struggle to meet expectations for some time. All players discussed are selected based on their team’s upcoming schedule. Without further ado…

The Immediate Fix (Grab this guy and use them for the next several days)

Jonathan Marchessault, C, Florida (Available in 61 percent of Yahoo leagues) – Here’s the deal on one of Dobber’s best calls in terms of early-season sleepers:  Marchessault, a 25-year-old who entered the 2016-17 campaign having registered just 19 points in 49 career NHL games, is currently seeing action on the same line as fellow Florida Panther forwards Jaromir Jagr and Aleksander Barkov. He has scored eight points in six games played, and his playing time seems secure in the short term. He deserves a look in the vast majority of formats, mostly because of who his linemates are at this point in time. All that being said…  Marchessault is probably not going to shoot .158 for the year. Also, injured teammates Jonathan Huberdeau, Jussi Jokinen and Nick Bjugstad are going to get healthy and threaten Marchessault’s enviable playing time situation. In the meantime, enjoy his useful production while it lasts and while the Panthers’ schedule looks good.

The Building Block (Buy now, sit back and enjoy the production)

Tomas Tatar, LW, Detroit (Available in 70 percent of Yahoo leagues) – At first glance, this Detroit Red Wing power forward fails to impress. Tatar is coming off a 45-point campaign a year ago and just has two points in seven games played on the young season. However, he is averaging more than three minutes of power-play ice time per game, is firmly entrenched in his squad’s top six and should expect to see his anemic 5.0 shooting percentage (which is well below his career mark of 12.7) see some positive regression in the coming weeks. No, he does not offer a whole lot in terms of upside. No, he is not going to evolve into a point-per-game player. Tatar is just a steady player who has carved out a useful role on his team. He’ll probably total 55-plus points this year, especially if he continues to fire about three shots on goal per game. Give him a shot as bench depth and fire him up as a plug-and-play option when the circumstances warrant it.

The Odd Man Out (His short-term value is cause for concern)

Matt Dumba, D, Minnesota (Owned in 60 percent of Yahoo leagues) – A popular breakout candidate heading into the regular season, Dumba has performed well from a fantasy standpoint thus far in 2016-17. He’s seeing more than 22 minutes of ice time per game, and he’s totaled four points in seven games played. However, he was very nearly a healthy scratch a little more than a week ago and may not be playing alongside star veteran defenseman Ryan Suter once teammate and fellow blueliner Jared Spurgeon returns from an upper-body injury (which could be in the very near future). Dumba is a great example of a young player looking to develop into a contributor in all facets of the game, and it seems like the Wild coaching staff isn’t quite sure they are ready to anoint him as one of the squad’s defensive mainstays just yet. There looks like there’s going to be some ups and downs for Dumba this year, which makes sense given the fact that he just turned 22 years of age this past July. This young defenseman has a ton of upside, but it remains to be seen if he can be trusted day in and day out as a reliable fantasy option. With Minnesota’s sketchy schedule coming up, fantasy owners would be well-served to leave Dumba out of their lineups for the time being.

The Anchor (He’ll do nothing but disappoint, even over the long haul)

Patric Hornqvist, RW, Pittsburgh (Owned in 85 percent of Yahoo leagues) – This veteran winger is nothing if not consistent. Over the course of the last three seasons (two with the Pens and one with Nashville), Hornqvist has registered somewhere between 51 and 53 points and played somewhere around 16 and 17 minutes a game. He’s proven to be a useful fantasy option, but he’s hardly an exciting one. While Hornqvist does benefit from seeing a ton of time on the man advantage for the defending Stanley Cup champs (only Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang see more on average per night), and he’s currently playing on the same line as Geno, he now sees just 15 minutes of ice time per game. Simply stated, he’s not going to keep up his current scoring pace (five points in seven games played), and he could end up finishing with less than 50 points on the season if his ice time doesn’t rebound to that of previous seasons. He’s fine to own, but don’t expect an overwhelming amount of production moving forward.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)

Vancouver – Forget for a moment that this team does not have a whole lot of fantasy-relevant talent beyond the Sedin Brothers. The Canucks play a whopping eight games between Friday, Oct. 28 and Thursday, Nov. 10. So… Play the Sedin Brothers, Loui Eriksson, Ryan Miller and… uhhh… Alex Edler? Let’s just move on.

Detroit –  Five of this squad’s seven games between Saturday, Oct. 29 and Thursday, Nov. 10 will take place in the Motor City. The matchups aren’t the easiest, but it’s difficult to argue with all that home cooking coming up for the Red Wings.

Florida – Volume, volume, volume… This is a team that plays six games between Saturday, Oct. 29 and Monday, Nov. 7. Who cares that only three of them are at home? Any and all fantasy-relevant Panthers are worth a look in the coming week or so. That includes the aforementioned Marchessault.

Leave ‘Em (These squads will leave fantasy owners sorely disappointed in the short term)

Minnesota –  There’s no other way to say it: Minnesota does not play much at all over the course of the next several days. The Wild host Dallas on Saturday, Oct. 29. Then they have two days off. On Tuesday, Nov. 1, they host Buffalo. Then Minnesota will take to the ice just once over eight days after that.

Pittsburgh – Starting Saturday, Oct. 29, the Pens will hit the ice for four straight games on the road. ‘Nuf said.

Calgary – Few squads, if any, have it tougher than the Flames in the coming days. Here’s how their next four go: at Chicago, at San Jose, at Los Angeles and at Anaheim. That just screams “Stay away.”