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 upcoming schedule. Stats in this article updated through January 3rd

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

Josh Manson, D, Anaheim (Available in 61 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Quick, name the point-leader from Anaheim’s defensemen! This isn’t the best game because of how obvious it is, but Josh Manson, and not Brandon Montour or Cam Fowler, leads the Ducks with 3G-17A. Manson is also a plus/minus stud which is to be expected given his fancy stats (53.5% CF over his career against the toughest opposition), and is seeing 20:39 a game. He doesn’t see time on the power play unfortunately, but he rarely misses games – full 82 games last season and 71 in ’15-16 – and is actually shooting the puck at a great clip from where he used to be. He picks up peripherals (2HIT/gm and a little over 1BLK/gm) and given his TOI, could be picked up to fill a gap in the short-term.

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

Calle Jarnkrok, C, Nashville (Available in 91 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – The Predators’ loss of Filip Forsberg for the next 4-6 weeks is a big one, but for the 9% that already own Calle Jarnkrok it couldn’t be better. The man known as ‘Ironhook’ has already had a productive season even in a small role on the Preds, scoring 10G-10A while seeing just under 16 minutes a night with some second-unit power play time, but it’s his role without Forsberg that intrigues: in the first game since getting bumped up beside Ryan Johansen/Viktor Arvidsson, Jarnkrok saw 20:00 (2A, 2SOG), and 20:02 three nights later. With the second line of the Preds humming along, there aren’t many options for the first line, and Jarnkrok has already shown he fits – albeit in a small sample. Grab him while he’s still available.

Note: this was written before Pontus Aberg jumped Jarnkrok onto the first line. Given Nashville lost yet again, speculating on Jarnkrok if you have room is still the play that makes the most sense.

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

Oscar Klefbom, D, Edmonton (Owned in 48 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – There are a number of things wrong with the Oilers these days, but it’s been an incredibly disappointing season for a player expected to take a giant leap as the quarterback of what was supposed to be the best PP in the league. Instead, Klefbom has only 3G-7A in 36 games, is a minus-10 for leagues where that matters, and has only four power play points. He still shoots the puck at an incredible rate (3/gm) and sees 22+ a night, but with an injury history and the Oilers’ struggles, Klefbom can sit on the side until the Oilers start to score again.

The Anchors (They’ll do nothing but disappoint even over the long haul)

Andre Burakovsky, LW, Washington (Owned in 30 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – A non-comprehensive list of the players owned at the 25-30% range on Yahoo!: Derrick Brassard (10-14-24), Derek Stepan (8-16-24), Bryan Little (7-17-24), Craig Smith (13-10-23). That Burakovsky – with the 3-5-8 line and averaging only 13:08 with some healthy scratches and no special teams play – is owned anywhere close to those players says something either about inactivity in pools, or keeper league owners that refuse to give up the ghost. He’s playing fourth line minutes and is droppable in all formats.

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

Minnesota – The Wild finally have their intended line all fully healthy, and their depth with the returns of Nino Neiderreiter, Zach Parise and Charlie Coyle is astounding. With three home games upcoming against soft competition (Calgary sans Frolik, Winnipeg, Vancouver) and road games against Colorado and Chicago, the Wild should keep putting pucks in the net after putting up 11 goals in their last two games.

Carolina – Fresh off a 4-0 win against Pittsburgh, the ‘Canes have a nice five-game stretch upcoming, although that’s more based on volume than anything else. Carolina will face Boston and Tampa which are tough defensive matchups, but then have a back-to-back home-and-home against Washington, with their last game before the bye coming against the Flames. With Aho and Teravainen finally getting on the scoresheet, feel free to unleash the few Carolina studs, and hope to see some value from Justin Faulk.

Chicago – The Blackhawks have six games before heading off for their bye after the 14^th, all but one coming at home and only one back-to-back. That back-to-back is a road-home b2b, but the first leg is against the hapless Sens which is always good for a deep team like Chicago, and they also get games against Edmonton (#HereComeTheOilers) and Detroit.

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

With all the bye weeks during this period, this week’s Leave ‘Em will be a little different.

NHL teams on bye Jan 7^th-12^th: Anaheim, Arizona (-11^th), Colorado, Dallas, Los Angeles

NHL teams on bye Jan 8^th-12^th: Boston, Detroit, Montreal, New Jersey, New York (Islanders and Rangers), Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Vegas

NHL teams on bye Jan 10^th-15^th: Nashville, St. Louis

NHL teams on bye Jan 11^th-15^th: Ottawa (-17^th), Toronto

NHL teams on bye Jan 12^th-17^th: Buffalo, Tampa Bay

NHL teams on bye Jan 13^th-17^th: Columbus, Florida (-18^th), Washington

NHL teams on bye Jan 14^th-19^th: Edmonton, Winnipeg

NHL teams on bye Jan 15^th-19^th: Calgary, Carolina, Chicago, Minnesota, Vancouver

The advice would differ depending on when your league starts, but the most effected teams this week to come will be the 15 teams that start their bye on the 7^th or 8^th, and should be avoided as much as possible.