Whether or not you like Craig Button, he had a big take yesterday about Bo Horvat, said Horvat was done in Vancouver. Now, a lot of people immediately took that a step too far, thinking he's going to be traded tomorrow. While it's not impossible, it's as close as you can get. I think what Button is alluding to, is that Horvat's negotiations have not gone well, and may force Vancouver's hand by opting for free agency. If the Canucks are not in the playoffs come March and the trade deadline, then there's a very serious discussion to be had about whether he gets traded at that point or not.

Here's the radio clip from Button:

Is it time to shakeup the #Canucks core versus firing another coach?@CraigJButton talked about that and Bo Horvat's #Canucks future.

Full interview.. https://t.co/w9mxA4teDo pic.twitter.com/ssNjfQbwaL

— Donnie & Dhali (@DonnieandDhali) November 15, 2022

If he does get moved, Horvat is the kind of player that could turn almost any playoff team into a very real threat to go all the way. He scored again last night, adding two assists, and bringing this season's point total to 20 in 17 games. His underlying numbers really aren't far out of line either. The shooting percentage is a touch high, but it's only an extra goal or two that he has added as a result. He has grown into a point-per-game centre that will win 1000 faceoffs and adds over three shots per game. There aren't many of those around.

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Tyler Bertuzzi made his return to the Wings lineup, and was slotted right away onto the top line with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. After Raymond started the season with only two points in seven games, he has heated up of late with points in six of his last eight. Larkin has also been hot all season, with 17 points in his first 15 games. Alongside those two, that bodes well for Bert to hit the ground running and put up a 75-point lace the rest of the way, just like what he did last season.

Jonatan Berggren scored the opening goal for Detroit, and may be here to stay. He has top-six scoring upside, though he is generally more of a playmaker than a shooter. Having that kind of depth in the lineup means that Bertuzzi bumping Dominik Kubalik down won’t kill his fantasy value.

As a dad of a toddler, I went to bed before the game finished. That means I don't have stats for you right here, but if you want a boxscore then everything you need is here. The Frozentools boxscores are second to none, and give you lines, all the stats you need, links to player pages, sortable tables, and more.  

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John Carlson appears to have shaken off that early season injury, with three points and 12 shots in his last three games. He's still sitting at "only" eight points in 12 games, so you may be able to buy him at that 55-point pace while getting his usual 70-point pace the rest of the way.

On the other end of the match, Carter Verhaeghe continued his rebound after a very slow start to the year. The entire Panthers team started off a little slow, but their offence especially has come back to life. The buy-low window has closed for the team, so if you do want a buy-low, look elsewhere. The Penguins and the Blues are the overall teams that you want to be targeting. Sometimes it just takes a while for a team to gel, and if you get in on a few from the same slumping squad at the right time, it can be a huge surge for you when things turn.

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The rest of the week's schedule is very packed on Thursday/Saturday. If you're looking for waiver adds for the rest of the week, only the LA Kings can give you three total games with two games on off-nights. Now's a good time to check the FA pile for Arthur Kaliyev, Sean Durzi, Matt Roy, or Rasmus Kupari.

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Speaking of streaming spots and waiver wire guys, I have quite a few this year that haven't panned out for me thus far. Starting with Chris Wideman, who I just checked in on today and noted that he has only played one game in the last two weeks. I was certain that he was going to be a lock for bottom pair minutes this year and feed off of some solid sheltered minutes and power play time (on either unit). Well, now he's on the waiver wire, and there's no reason for him to be owned in any league at this point.

Similarly, Tyson Jost, Cal Foote, Alex Carrier, Dylan Coghlan, Anders Bjork, and Dryden Hunt all flopped for me. I was counting on at least a few of them to be cheap depth players in my cap league, but none of them have really panned out. Aside from Coghlan that I stuck in the minors, Carrier is the only one still on my roster.

Tyson Jost was supposed to be my great redraft pick, and I actually turned down Nick Schmaltz for him early on. He was lining up in the top-six to start the year, and put up great numbers in the pre-season with those same linemates. Unfortunately, things just haven't clicked for him even though Minnesota has dealt with a lot of forward injuries thus far. He's down on the fourth line, and may even be relegated to the press box if everyone is healthy at the same time. The former 11^th overall pick may need another fresh start in the right situation to really get going, but it's not looking hopeful at the moment.

Cal Foote, Alex Carrier, and Dylan Coghlan all fit the same mold of defencemen that just haven't been given a regular lineup opportunity. They have some upside, but the players in front of them have just played better, and they haven't lucked into those secondary assists yet to keep them at all fantasy relevant. Foote and Carrier have even seen some stretches on the top pairing over the last year, but it hasn't lasted and turned into any kind of relevance moving forward.

Dryden Hunt and Anders Bjork were both waived early on. There were middle-six spots available with early injuries, but neither could make their shot count.

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Matt Murray returned for the Leafs and allowed only two goals on 36 shots in a win over Pittsburgh. It could have been a one-goal-against performance too if it wasn't for a giveaway by Rasmus Sandin right to Sidney Crosby charging down the middle of the ice.

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The Columbus power play scored for the fourth time in the past five games, though they remain last in the NHL after starting the season 0-25. They're missing Patrik Laine, Jakub Voracek, and Zach Werenski, but despite that, the top unit has not just scored, but looked very dangerous lately, creating chances at a much higher rate the last few games. Kent Johnson has been a big part of that, and may retain a top-unit spot even as the team gets healthy again.

However, in the short-term, they don't look to be getting any healthier:

Jake Bean was slow to the #CBJ bench after being hit by Owen Tippett.

— Mark Scheig (@mark_scheig) November 16, 2022

If Bean misses any length of time, and if David Jiricek is left in the minors, that would make this Columbus' top-six defencemen:

Vladislav Gavrikov – Andrew Peeke

Erik Gudbranson – Jake Christiansen

Gavin Bayreuther – Marcus Bjork

Maybe some upside for Gavrikov in the short term? Would not be too surprising to see them go with five forwards on the power play with this group though. Well, that was the idea until Andrew Peeke left as well. No word on his status yet, but this is just getting silly at this point, and you can't make this kind of thing up.

If Peeke is out for any length of time, then David Jiricek is definitely going to get called up again.

For some deep fantasy value, keep an eye on Emil Bemstrom. He's playing on the top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner. Only one point thus far through three games, but he has some scoring upside to match this opportunity.

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Later in that same game, Elvis Merzlikins limped off and did not return. He fell awkwardly at one point, tweaking what looked like his left knee, and then having to stretch across the crease on the very next play. Joonas Korpisalo got the last two starts before last night's game, and would be in line for some heavy volume if Merzlikins were to miss time. He picked up the OT win in relief last night, allowing two goals on 20 shots. Daniil Tarasov does have some excellent upside as a goalie prospect, so don't sleep on his and his ability to possibly steal some starts.

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Really hope Sam Reinhart starts scoring again soon, and not just because of his six percent shooting percentage, or because I own him in a couple Fantasy leagues.

OMG Sam Reinhart's goal song is the Macarena

— David Wilson (@DBWilson2) November 16, 2022

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You can find me on Twitter @alexdmaclean if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.

See you next Wednesday!