Top 10 players you should worry about

Tom Collins

2014-10-27

AlexSemin

 

Ten players you should be worried about in fantasy hockey…

 

In last week's top 10 list, we focused on players where there was no cause for concern. The season is too young, small sample size, yada yada yada.

This week, we throw the small sample size argument out the door, and look at guys who you should be worried about. Whether they have a tendency to start off hot before cooling down, they play for a bad team or they're not playing with the linemates we thought they would, the fantasy owners of these 10 guys could be in for long seasons.

Here are the top 10 guys you should be worried about.

In Smith's first year with Arizona (then Phoenix), Smith was a sensation, finishing with a 38-18-10 record, .930 save percentage, and 2.21 GAA. In the two-plus seasons since, Smith is 44-36-15 with a .911 save percentage and 2.68 goals against average. This year has been exceptionally bad, with a 2-3 record (those two wins coming against Florida and Edmonton), .867 save percentage and a 3.80 GAA. What makes Smith owners worry is how strong the Western conference is, and how weak Arizona is.

 

5. Henrik Sedin

I've never been a big believer in the Sedins. They benefitted greatly from crazy-high offensive zone starts. And since that number has been decreasing the past number of years, so have the points. Now it may sound strange to have Sedin on this list the way he has started the season, but let's look at things realistically here. Sedin has basically been beating up on the NHL's weaker teams so far. Six of his 10 points came in the team's first three games against the Flames and the Oilers (who they played twice). And last year, Sedin also started off hot, scoring nine points in his first seven games (identical to this year), and 20 in his first 17 games before the wheels fell off. As the schedule wears on, the competition gets tougher, his point-per-game pace will start to decrease dramatically as well.

 

4. Jaroslav Halak

Much was expected from Halak and the Islanders this season. And while the Islanders offence hasn't disappointed (they lead the league in goals), Halak hasn't been that great. Halak has just a 3-2 record, and a .893 save percentage and 3.38 goals against average (both career worsts). If that wasn't bad enough, backup Chad Johnson has started three games as well (3-0 record, .891 save percentage, 3.00 GAA). So while neither goalie can get it done in New York, head coach Jack Capuano seems happy enough to spit the duties for now. Throw in the inevitable annual Halak trip to the IR, and there's plenty to be worried about.

 

3. Brad Richards

Really, you could have chosen Mike instead of Brad for this list, but the new-Chicago forward came into the season with a lot of hype. Early speculation was that Richards was would be playing on the second line with Patrick Kane, plus on the second power play unit. None of that has worked out. Richards has been stuck on the third line, playing mostly with Bryan Bickell, Ben Smith, and Brandon Saad. And he averages just 2:17 power play time per game, seventh on the team among forwards. Richards is no longer a viable fantasy option.

 

2. Jonathan Huberdeau     JonathanHuberdeau2

While it may be too early to call Huberdeau a bust, he's quickly heading in that direction. Huberdeau followed a Calder win in 2013 with a nine-goal, 28-point season last year. And he's looking even worse this year. So far, he has just one goal and one assist in seven games. He is getting lots of opportunity (he gets more power play time than any other forward), but Huberdeau hasn't been able to turn a successful junior career into long-term NHL success. Of course, when Brad Boyes, Sean Bergenheim and Jussi Jokinen are your best offensive options, there's not a lot of great leadership for Huberdeau to learn from.

 

1. Alexander Semin

One of my initial surprising season candidates, injuries are the main cause for worry for Semin owners, and for once, it's not Semin's injuries causing the headaches. Eric Staal and Jordan Staal are both on injured reserve, and Jeff Skinner just came back from a concussion. Andrej Sekera and Ryan Murphy are banged up. In the last three games, Semin's top linemates have been Jiri Tlusty, Riley Nash and Victor Rask. If the Hurricanes can't get healthier quick, then Semin's production is going to continue to suffer.  

 

Top 10 Slow Starters      
10 Worst Picks From the Expert’s Draft      
Top 10 potential surprises for this season      

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

Mar 28 - 19:03 OTT vs CHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 TOR vs WSH
Mar 28 - 19:03 MTL vs PHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 PIT vs CBJ
Mar 28 - 19:03 FLA vs NYI
Mar 28 - 19:03 CAR vs DET
Mar 28 - 20:03 MIN vs S.J
Mar 28 - 20:03 STL vs CGY
Mar 28 - 20:03 WPG vs VGK
Mar 28 - 21:03 EDM vs L.A
Mar 28 - 21:03 COL vs NYR
Mar 28 - 22:03 SEA vs ANA
Mar 28 - 22:03 VAN vs DAL
Mar 28 - 22:03 ARI vs NSH

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
TAGE THOMPSON BUF
JJ PETERKA BUF
JORDAN GREENWAY BUF
ANTHONY DUCLAIR T.B
JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY MTL

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
ALEKSEI KOLOSOV PHI
JOONAS KORPISALO OTT
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN BUF
KAREL VEJMELKA ARI
JUSTUS ANNUNEN COL

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency WPG Players
20.5 NINO NIEDERREITER ADAM LOWRY MASON APPLETON
19.5 TYLER TOFFOLI SEAN MONAHAN NIKOLAJ EHLERS
13.4 MARK SCHEIFELE VLADISLAV NAMESTNIKOV KYLE CONNOR

DobberHockey Podcasts

FIND US ON FACEBOOK