A tough decision can be made easier with these charts showing you the best five and worst five schedules for upcoming seven-day periods. Some of you used them last year but for the benefit of new readers here is a refresher. The number next to the team indicates the ‘multiplier’ to use on a player’s point-per-game pace to give you an idea how many points to expect for that week.

Since next Friday is the 30^th, I figured some people might want to take an early advantage of some games played differences for the month of January.

Monthly Look Ahead

A month ago, only five points separated first from 15^th in the entire NHL. That difference has now doubled to 10 points, although there are some discrepancies in games played. For instance, the Sharks have only played 31 games thus far, while Chicago, Florida, Carolina, Colorado and Ottawa have played 35. The Habs sit at the top of the list at 36 games played already.

Things slow down about in the month of January because of a five day, All Star Game break at the end of the month, but that doesn't mean there aren't variances in the schedule.

14 Games: Ottawa, San Jose
13 Games: Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Edmonton, Nashville, Long Island, Philadelphia, Winnipeg
12 Games: Anaheim, Buffalo, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Columbus, New Jersey, New York, Pittsburgh, Phoenix, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Washington
11 Games: Dallas, Los Angeles, Montreal, St.Louis, Vancouver
10 Games: Minnesota
9 Games: Florida

January Trade Suggestion

First I have to take a look back at my suggestion for the month of December. I suggested trying to make a deal using RNH (12 games in the month) to grab Jarome Iginla, who played 16 games. Through 12 of those games, Iggy has six goals and eight assists, while the rookie only has two goals and five assists in nine games this month. We all knew it was coming for Iginla, I just hope every capitalized when you could buy low.

Of the two teams that play 14 games in January, San Jose is obviously the sexier option. If you've been banking off of the amazing start from the trio is Florida, this is your time to make a deal. In most league formats, I would send Fleischmann, Weiss or Versteeg for a Marleau or Pavelski, both of whom are struggling right now, in a heartbeat. Both Sharks give you multiple position eligibility, and as mentioned, their values are pretty low right now. Another bonus is that the Sharks have played a League low 31 games thus far, so they'll still have some catching up to do after a busy January.

Happy Holidays to everyone at DobberHockey!