Depending on the timing, prolonged cold streaks from a number of your fantasy assets can quickly torpedo your fantasy season. 

Most players will hit a cold spell, but you hope those cold periods will be short and that they won’t all occur at once. You also hope they arrive earlier in the year rather than during the stretch drive or the fantasy playoffs. 

One of my favourite things to do on the Dobber web site is to sift through the hot/cold section. It’s a quick, simple way to see if there might be a player you can target that may be frustrating another fantasy general manager. Think of all those GMs who sold low on Blake Wheeler before Wheeler put up 12 points in seven games. The fact Wheeler may be out long-term after Friday’s game shouldn’t deter you from picking up other cold players. Andre Burakovsky just went through a spell where he had one point in seven games, but now has five points in his last two games. 

However, not all cold streaks are created equal. Some may be because of puck luck or because of injuries to teammates, and you figure they’ll bust the slump soon enough. But some other cold streaks may not have a silver lining. These are the players you want to avoid. 

Below are 10 players who are going through a cold streak, along with some reasoning of whether there is a reason to worry or not. 

10. Cole Sillinger

Only three players from the 2021 draft made the NHL this season, and the other two have been sent back to juniors or overseas. Sillinger had eight points in his first 13 games, but has two points in his 12 games since. Is there a reason for concern? Yes. In those first 13 games, he averaged three shots a game, 14:37 minutes and 1:52 of power-play time per game. In 13 games since, he is averaging 1.08 shots, 13:05 minutes and 1:09 minutes of power-play time per night. He’s also a minus-eight in that time. If you are in a dynasty league and can stash him in your minors, you should. 

9. Blake Coleman

Coleman had a small impact on the Flames early, with four points in his first six games, but he has slowed to a standstill since then. He has one point in his last 13 games, and three in his last 21. Is there a reason for concern? Yes, at least when it comes to points. But you probably drafted him based on his peripherals, where he has been great. He is averaging 1 PIM a game, his highest since his rookie season. His 2.96 shots per game are the second highest of his career, and his 0.74 blocked shots per game are the highest of his career. He is also averaging 2.26 hits per game, up from last season, but the second-lowest of his career.

8. Dawson Mercer

It wasn’t too long ago that Mercer was mentioned as a top-three Calder nominee as he was close to the league lead in points among rookies. However, he has only one point in his last seven games. Is there a reason for concern? It depends on your perspective. He is averaging 17 minutes a night during this seven-game stretch, while also being on the ice for 48.4 per cent of the Devils’ power-play minutes. However, he has only five shots and is a minus-six in this time. There’s also always a concern that a head coach will choose to reduce ice time for a struggling rookie rather than let him play his way out of it. 

7. Owen Tippett

Tippett was a popular pick for a breakthrough season as he was playing a top-six role at the start of the campaign. He had nine points in his first 16 games but has only one in his last 11 and none in his last nine. Is there a reason for concern? Yes. He’s no longer in a top-six role alongside Jonathan Huberdeau and Sam Bennett and he’s been below 10 minutes in three of his last five games.

6. Dominik Kubalik

Kubalik, a sexy preseason pick to reach the 50-point mark, started the season well with six points in 10 games. Since then, he has three points in 17 games. Is there a reason for concern? Yes. He’s been shuffled among the power-play units, which doesn’t help with building chemistry. In his first 17 games, he averaged 16:23 per night, 2.4 shots per game, 1.8 hits per game with 2:41 PPTOI. In his last 10 games, he’s averaged 15:07 with 1.9 shots per game, one hit per game and 1:43 PPTOI. 

5. Kevin Shattenkirk/Cam Fowler

These two deserve to be listed together, as they have both been awful the past month or so. Shattenkirk had 14 points in his first 17 games, but only two points in his last 13. Fowler had 13 points in his first 17 games, but only three in his last 13. Is there a reason for concern? This depends on what you were hoping for. If you picked these two off the waiver wire and hoped they would be able to keep up a hot start, then yes. If you were willing to enjoy the ride and drop them as soon as they cooled down, then they should no longer be on your roster. Neither of them is on the top power-play unit and neither has been a top offensive defenseman for years. Cut your losses. 

4. Kaapo Kakko 

Kakko has been hot and cold all season, which has to be incredibly frustrating for anyone that has him in a league. He went pointless in his first 10 games, then had eight points in his next seven contests. Now he’s pointless in six. Is there a reason for concern? No. He plays alongside either Mika Zibanejad or Artemi Panarin at even strength, and that hasn’t changed all season, no matter how bad he struggles. He may not set the world on fire, but he’s being put in the best position to succeed. 

3. Ivan Provorov

A few days ago, you could have subbed James Van Riemsdyk or Sean Couturier into this spot, but they’ve both put up points in their last two games, so they get a pass for now. After a slow start with two points in his first 12 games, Provorov responded with six in his next eight. Now he is pointless in his last six. Is there a reason for concern? Yes. Although Provorov is good enough that you normally wouldn’t be worried about a six-game pointless streak, he simply isn’t getting the power-play time (instead it goes to Keith Yandle) and he’s averaging fewer than two shots a game on the season. 

2. Anthony Beauvillier

A worrying sign for anyone that has Beauvillier on their team is how unproductive he has been for most of this season. He had seven points in his first eight games, but is pointless in 13 games since. Is there a reason for concern? Yes. He was a healthy scratch on Saturday night, which the Islanders won. He doesn’t contribute in any other categories, so he’s been worthless in your fantasy league. At this point, you’re hoping that he has one of his great second-half rebounds that he normally has, but hope is all you have right now. 

1. Carter Hart

There was plenty of want that Hart's struggles last season would be a one-time thing. After all, Hart was excellent in his first couple of years, and he looked fine early on this season. In his first 10 starts, he was 5-3-2 with a 2.19 GAA, a .935 SV% and seven quality starts (and no really bad starts). In his last seven games, he is 1-5-1 with a 4.03 GAA, 0.879 SV% and two quality starts (and two really bad starts). Is there a reason for concern? For most goalies, I would say no. They are so streaky that a goalie can easily go from losing seven in a row to winning their next eight. Hart is in a different situation. Philadelphia is tough on their netminders, and Hart has let in at least three goals in six of his last seven starts. Forgiveness from the Flyers faithful won’t come easy. The only positive is that his backup, Martin Jones, is also struggling, so there’s zero goalie controversy for starts.