With the All-Star break now in our rear-view mirrors, it's time to focus ahead towards the trade deadline and the subsequent home stretch of the season. We are quickly approaching the time where you as an owner need to decide whether you are a contender or a pretender. For those of you in keeper leagues, is it time to sell off pieces for draft picks? Or alternatively, do you think you are a piece of two away from finishing in the money? Before you go making any big splashes though, let's take a look at some add and drop candidates for this week.

Adds

Jesse Puljujarvi

After an unexpected coaching change in Edmonton this week, new head coach Jay Woodcroft is opting to roll with Puljujarvi on the top line with Connor McDavid and Zach Hyman. Friday's game versus the Blackhawks saw Puljujarvi score a goal, so hopefully the trio can get some offense brewing for the Oilers under their new coach. Puljujarvi has 11 goals and 15 assists to date and is on pace for a 50-point season, which would be the best of his career.

2016 feels like a lifetime ago, but it's crazy to think Puljujarvi is still just 23 years of age. Hopefully he can continue to develop his game even further and eventually be a bonafide fantasy asset down the road, but for now he is worth a look if you need some forward depth. He is averaging 2.5 shots per game this season, which is also a career best. On top of his offense, he also is good for a hit or two per game which is a nice added bonus. 

It's worth noting the Oilers play five times next week, so you will have some opportunities to get him in on the off-nights where less games are being played. While he is heavily rostered in Fantrax leagues at 78%, he is still widely available in Yahoo leagues where he is just 33% owned, and as well as ESPN leagues where he is 43% owned.

Matt Boldy

Boldy has just recently begun his NHL journey as he has only played in 12 games. Through those games though, Boldy has impressed. He's netted four goals and added six assists for 10 points to date. He's been getting surprisingly solid deployment, seeing top-six minutes and playing on a line with Frederick Gaudreau and Kevin Fiala.  Even better is that he has been in on 54.5% of power-play time, which for a rookie during a mid-season call-up is pretty solid.

The American left winger is still just 20, but he is showing that his game plays at the top level. For now, Boldy will just be a good option if you need some supplemental scoring, along with a decent amount of shots. He's already played more than the nine-game maximum for entry-level contracts, so I assume the Wild are planning on keeping him up for the foreseeable future. Boldy is owned in 23% of Yahoo leagues, 59% of Fantrax leagues, and just 16.8% of ESPN leagues, so he is pretty obtainable in most formats still. 

Drops

Chandler Stephenson

Over the past ten games, Stephenson has only put up three points. While his overall body of work this season has been more impressive than as of late, he certainly has underwhelmed as of late. While he still remains a solid source for faceoff wins and hits, his value really starts to drop off after that. And on top of all this, I don't see his production getting any better, especially with the inevitable debut of Jack Eichel seemingly imminent. 

Until Eichel arrives, Stephenson still will get a decent amount of ice time so maybe you shouldn't write him off entirely just yet. He still remains rostered at over 60 percent across all three platforms, but his ownership has been trending down lately. I'd say unless you are really in need of faceoffs, you could probably hit free agency and ride a hot hand and take your chances!

David Perron

David Perron is a tricky player to gauge. He is a 15-year veteran and has shown that despite being in the twilight years of his career, he can still produce. But as all sports fans (especially hockey fans) know, Father Time has a way of catching up with everyone eventually and at some point, everyone always starts to lose a step. This season Perron was stifled with an upper-body injury that kept him out of the lineup for an extended period of time. Following that, Perron found himself dealing with COVID protocol. 

Despite his absences, Perron has been back into the Blues' lineup on a regular basis for some time now, but in his 13 games back since his COVID stint, he has just four points. While he still gets a decent number of shots and hits, and he also gets solid deployment on the man advantage, I still feel you could find better replacements in free agency. He currently sits at 22 points in 33 games played this season, yet despite that, he is still over 50 percent owned across all platforms. 

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That's all for this week but be sure to check back next week for some more fantasy analysis. As we approach the NHL Trade Deadline, be sure to keep an eye out for players that could see an uptick in production if they were to get dealt to different teams. They could provide you a nice late-season boost to your team down the final stretch! Until next time, cheers!