In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll take a look at two players who are off to slow starts in 2021: Cam Atkinson and Tony DeAngelo. Considering we're just a few games into the season, I'd advise against making any rash decisions. Maximizing value is a big part of building the best fantasy roster, so please avoid buying high and selling low.

Cam Atkinson

The beginning of a new NHL season provides us with a unique opportunity to overreact. It isolates and magnifies short stretches of play that would normally get lost over the course of a full season. During the 2018-2019 campaign, Cam Atkinson tallied a career-high 69 points through 80 appearances. Despite the impressive overall point total, Atkinson experienced a four-game stretch and a five-game stretch where he didn't register a single point. If I asked you today about Atkinson's 2018-2019 performance, you're more likely to recall his impressive overall production as opposed to those short dry spells.

Fast forward to the present and we see that Atkinson has failed to tally a single point through his first three games of the 2021 campaign. There's a portion of the fantasy hockey community that believes Atkinson's fantasy hockey value was tied to Artemi Panarin, and without Panarin, Atkinson can't produce. Atkinson's most productive year saw him score at a 71-point pace, that was back in 2018-2019 – the second of Panarin's two seasons with the Blue Jackets. However, Atkinson scored at a 62-point pace in 2016-2017 – before Panarin arrived in Columbus. That represents a greater output than the 58-point pace put up in Panarin's first season with the Blue Jackets (2017-2018). Now, some of you will argue that 2016-2017 was forever ago, and Atkinson's 48-point pace last year is more representative of the offense he's currently able to provide. I'll remind you that Atkinson was hindered by a sprained ankle last season and managed to bounce back in the 2020 playoffs, tallying eight points through eight games.

In all fairness, there are some more relevant causes for concern as we look through the small sample of Atkinson's 2021 deployment. He's averaging 15 and a half minutes of ice time per game, which is significantly lower than the 18 to 19 minutes he had been seeing in recent years. However, it's important to note that his ice-time has increased gradually over the team's first three games. He skated 14 minutes in game one, ~16 minutes in game two and 17 minutes and game three. Thus, his current average TOI is slightly misleading and shouldn't be interpreted as a reduced role with the team. Through these first few games, Atkinson has spent most of his time alongside Max Domi and only a small portion beside Pierre-Luc Dubois – who he's more familiar with. I personally think it's best for Atkinson's fantasy value if he's skating with Dubois, but perhaps Domi and Atkinson just need a few more games to develop some chemistry.

Tony DeAngelo

DeAngelo broke out with 53 points in 68 games last season, finishing fourth in scoring among the league's defensemen. A significant portion of his offensive output was fueled by a prominent role on New York's top power-play unit. He was on the ice for 58-percent of the team's total power-play time and 19 of his 53 points were scored with the man advantage. As a result of last year's strong showing, expectations are high for the 25-year-old defenseman in 2021. Unfortunately, he's off to a rough start. DeAngelo is currently being kept out of the lineup following an unnecessary unsportsmanlike penalty for arguing a holding call and slamming the penalty box door. The incident happened in New York's first game of the season – a 4-0 loss to the Islanders on Thursday, in which DeAngelo's defensive shortcomings were on full display. With DeAngelo absent for Saturday's rematch between the two teams, the Rangers managed to trounce the Islanders 5-0. That same lineup is expected to face the Devils on Tuesday, which means DeAngelo will be sidelined for a second-straight game.

If DeAngelo is on your fantasy roster, you have every right to be concerned. At this point in his career, he hasn't done enough to solidify himself as a core component of the team's offense. In my opinion, DeAngelo's impressive production last year was largely a product of talented teammates and favourable deployment. He has some internal competition from Adam Fox, who is more than capable of quarterbacking the team's top power play. I don't think there's a huge difference in talent between DeAngelo and Fox. So, if DeAngelo were to fall out of favour in New York, Fox could step up and become the team's most productive defenseman.

With all that being said, I don't think Fox has stolen DeAngelo's job just yet. Despite a dominant 5-0 over the Islanders on Saturday, the Rangers converted on just one of eight power-play opportunities. Sure, Fox got an assist on that one power-play goal, but a 12.5-percent success rate in one game isn't enough to justify replacing DeAngelo with Fox just yet. I think DeAngelo takes over his regular duties when he returns to the lineup and his performance will determine what kind of role he plays this season. At this point, I think it's fair ask what kind of return DeAngelo would fetch in your fantasy league, but I wouldn't be so quick to pull the trigger on an actual trade. The Rangers have played just two games this season and DeAngelo has only featured in one. DeAngelo's poor start is further magnified because we don't have any other games to soften the blow. At this point, you're probably not going to get full value if you trade him away. I say you give it at least a few more games before reassessing the situation.