Welcome back for another week of 'Looking Ahead', the Dobber column that looks at future schedules and the players that benefit from them. There will be players recommended to pick up, play, or avoid, depending on the team's games over the next little while. As always, things can change quickly in the NHL, so be up to date on news in our daily Ramblings.

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

Lawson Crouse, LW, Arizona Coyotes (Available in 95% of ESPN leagues, 63% Fantrax, 85% Yahoo) – Lawson Crouse might just be the most immediate fix we've had in a while.

I do like Crouse and if there's one part of his game that we're noticing from him is that he is a decent offensive player: six points in his last five games with sixteen shots on goal in that same time span. This is a strike-now addition to any fantasy team and I'd like to say that his offensive production continues, but this is Arizona, and he might be playing in his own end most of next contest. With rosters as COVID bitten as they are right now I think Crouse could be a good addition at very low ownership across all fantasy platforms.

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

Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, Los Angeles Kings (Available in 87% of ESPN leagues, 38% Fantrax, 62% Yahoo) –Did LA win the trade? Hard to tell this early with how well Nashville is playing but we also can't ignore how well Arvidsson is playing out on the west coast.

Great as of late, with six points in his last four games, and has played well on a higher event Kings second line that has 29 shots for in their last three games. One of the nice things about Arvidsson is his flexibility to play up anywhere on LA's top six with 113 minutes played on each of the top lines, along with seeing regular time on LA's top powerplay unit. This is a player that I really like going forward this season. With Los Angeles now starting to get healthy along with better as of late goaltending, Arvidsson could be in a fantastic spot to help swing a matchup in your direction.

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

Tom Wilson, RW, Chicago Blackhawks (Owned in 89% of ESPN leagues, 88% of Fantrax, 82% Yahoo) – Not really a hot take here, Wilson isn't the most popular player in the NHL today, but I might be on an island of my own saying that this is a player that I would love to have on my favorite team…goes the same for fantasy. However, so far this season the numbers may be slightly below the mark we'd expect from him.

After missing time due to a lower body injury Wilson has been left off the point sheet in the Caps past six contests. Wilson was in a great spot to start the season with eight points in his first ten games and was seeing time on Washington's top line with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin. Currently, Wilson is on the Caps second line with Niklas Backstrom, who is fantastic, and Aliaksei Protas who seems to draw offsides at least twice a game. Now if Washington is looking for a line with size, they have it with this grouping, but I'm concerned of the offense moving forward. If you're a Wilson fantasy owner he is absolutely still worth holding onto but be cautious if the offensive numbers become few and far between.

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

Tyson Barrie, D, Edmonton Oilers (Owned in 86% of ESPN leagues, 94% of Fantrax, 87% Yahoo) – Sorry Oilers fans, I know this comes after dropping five straight but I think we need to talk about Tyson Barrie as an anchor candidate. Should you still roster him? Will trading him help the Oilers current issues? Is he worth $5,100 on DK? I'm just shoulder shrugging to all these questions like McDavid did in his press conference the other day.

I think this season Barrie goes as the Oilers power play goes, and if that's struggling, he's just flat out left off the score sheet. The Oilers on the man advantage haven't managed to score this month which has left Barrie off the score sheet in his last five games. Barrie is also a defender that doesn't necessarily throw his weight around to help fantasy owners with only 16 hits and 34 blocks so far on this season. With those numbers, there are most likely better options on your waiver wire, and that even goes for deeper leagues. This is a player moving forward I think you could for sure bundle in a trade to help your team the rest of the way.

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

This period runs from January 14^th to January 26^th

Pittsburgh – Malkin is healthy, the team is third in the NHL this month in goals scored (16), the Steelers somehow made Playoffs, and everything is coming up Pittsburgh! A good mix of road and home games upcoming here, but two boxes we love to check these days are a full schedule for a good team. Both apply here to the Pens.

Colorado – Loved the Avs last week, love them again this week. Colorado has a game at home vs Arizona later this week followed by a favorable four game schedule next. This is a great spot for the Avs to possibly climb back towards the top of the Central Division.

NY Islanders – I feel like I haven't watched an Isles game since around American Thanksgiving? Regardless, if the Isles can get games off upcoming, they'll see Philadelphia twice, Arizona, and Toronto. Toronto will be a tough game for sure, but I like the Isles top lines going up against Philadelphia and Arizona at home.

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

Anaheim – Anaheim plays twice next week. Once vs Colorado, once vs Tampa. A light schedule with difficult opponents is what's landing them as a Leave Em.

Toronto – Like another club we're going to get to here, it's just a sign of the times. Toronto has a very light schedule upcoming which is going to hurt fantasy owners as they have a very high owned top six.

Vegas – Just not a lot of games upcoming on the schedule for the Knights and with Vegas being a higher owned fantasy club it will be more filling roster spots for fantasy owners.