Geek of the Week: Two Bolts and a Goalie

Scott Royce

2022-12-04

Another Sunday has dawned which means it's the end of another action-packed fantasy hockey week! Earlier in the week we were all treated to the highest scoring game of the year so far when the Kraken needed nine goals to beat the Kings by a final score of 9-8 in overtime. Even if you didn't have players in that matchup, boy was it a fun watch. Apparently this was the straw that broke the camel's back for Kings' goalie Cal Petersen who was sent to the AHL following the goal-scoring bonanza. I thought for sure someone might take a chance on him when he had to clear waivers, but sure enough he cleared and now finds himself playing for the Ontario Reign. Looking onwards though, it's time to find some players who could make an impact for you in the near future. Let's see what's out there!

Spencer Martin

I don't often foray into goalie discussion in this column very often, but Martin has a prime opportunity right now to make a decent fantasy impact. This opportunity came about after Vancouver's top goalie Thatcher Demko went down with a scary looking injury during the first period in a game Thursday versus the Florida Panthers. From the sounds of it, Demko will be out for at least six weeks, so Martin will be handed the reins of the crease for the time being, while Collin Delia will serve as his backup.

While admittedly, the Canucks are a bit of a dumpster fire this season, I still don't think they are quite as bad as their record would indicate. I feel like Martin will treat this as an audition of sorts, as he should. This will be his chance to shine and show he has what it takes to stick around in the NHL. Martin is 27, going on 28 in the spring. While that isn't too old for goalies and their development, Martin definitely needs to put together a string of strong starts to legitimize himself. He hasn't had an opportunity like this up to this point in his career, so the next few weeks could be telling.

In 11 contests this season, Martin has posted a 7-2-1 record with a 3.08 goals-against average and a save percentage of .901. By all accounts he's been fine, but the team in front of him could be a bigger cause for concern. This has been a disastrous season for the Canucks up to this point. After doubling down and re-signing some of their core players this offseason, it's been a comedy of errors and misplay up to this point of the season. With Brock Boeser's long-term status with the club becoming unclear as of late, it's hard to see the Canucks turning the season around at this point.

But for now, they still have a formidable core that is plenty capable of getting hot and winning games. Their problems mostly lay on the defensive side of things. They aren't deep on the blueline, and their overall team defense isn't great either, so the goaltenders haven't been getting a ton of help for their teammates. That being said though, if you are in need of a goalie for whatever reason, Martin could be an interesting option. I personally owned the Los Angeles duo of Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen. With Petersen being demoted, I've decided to take on Martin as plan B for now. He can still be had in most leagues and formats. Yahoo has him at 26% rostered, while Fantrax shows him at 38%. Martin seems fully capable, but his worth will probably heavily depend on the overarching play of the Canucks.

Anthony Cirelli

Shifting gears to the skaters, Cirelli is a guy who has flown under the radar up until this point because he has been sidelined because of an offseason shoulder surgery. Cirelli made his season debut last night for the Bolts versus the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was slotted into the third line while he only played 12:45, he still managed to collect two assists, five faceoff wins and a hit in Tampa's overtime win versus the Leafs.

Last year Cirelli was bounced between the first, second, and third lines, so it's hard to tell where he will end up long-term. For now, he is being eased back into things, and surely, he will see his ice-time and deployment rise as he gets back into NHL game shape. Ideally, for fantasy owners to get the most out of Cirelli, he would need to slip back into the top-six and be playing alongside one or multiple of Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, or Nikita Kucherov

Cirelli is 25 years old and there's been times during his tenure in Tampa Bay where I thought he was close to breaking out and becoming a real fantasy asset. However, up to this point he's only been a waiver wire or depth guy. Despite that, I still think he's worth a speculatory add if you have room for him on your roster right now. He will get you a little bit of everything in terms of hits and blocks. Yahoo has the extra added bonus of giving him left wing and center dual-eligibility, meaning he can rack up some faceoffs for you while slotting into left wing. Any time you can pull that off is a nice bonus. 

I don't recommend you go dropping anybody of importance to grab Cirelli, but it could pay off to get him while you can if you have an open spot on your roster. Cirelli would also be a great option specifically for next week since the Lightning play four games next week. Like I said before, he's still flying under many people's radars right now. Yahoo shows him at 13% owned, while Fantrax he is owned in a third of all leagues at 33% owned. 

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Alex Killorn

It's a little abnormal for me to take two guys on the same team in one week, but I feel Killorn is too good of a choice to pass up on right now. Through 24 contests this season, Killorn has eight goals and 12 assists for 20 points. While that doesn't leap off the board at you, consider that 12 of those points have come in his last 10 games. He's been on a roll lately and scoring the game overtime winner versus Toronto last night can't be bad for his confidence either! 

Killorn currently finds himself on the second line with Nick Paul and Steven Stamkos. The three have been producing a ton as of late so I could see coach Jon Cooper not wanting to mess with the chemistry. Ideally though, I think Cirelli moving up to the second line to join Stamkos and Killorn would be most optimal. Either way though, Killorn has proved he can chip in with just about anybody.

This is Killorn's 11th season this year, all spent with Tampa Bay. Last year he enjoyed career highs in goals, assists, and points. If he can be a 60-point guy again this year while chipping in with some hits, he can be a viable bench option for deeper fantasy formats. One trend so far this season that isn't great though is that his shots per game has dipped down to 1.7 per game which is the lowest rate of his career up to this point. It's also worth noting he won't be cracking the top power-play unit this season barring any injuries to his teammates, so those 60 points may be harder to come by this year. So far though, he is on pace to hit 68 points.

As I mentioned with Cirelli, Tampa has a busy schedule next week, playing in four games. Even if you wanted to take Killorn on a one-week flier, it would be a good choice, especially as all their games next week are at home. Also it's worth noting Tampa has started to look like the same old Tampa again, having won eight of their last ten games. You should be able to pick up Killorn in most leagues. In Yahoo leagues he is 30% owned while on Fantrax he is just over half owned at 53%.

Well, that'll do it for this week. Hopefully you guys find some of these recommendations helpful. I definitely don't hit on all of them throughout the year, as my parameters usually require me to analyze guys that are owned in about a third or less of leagues. But there's been some solid options in the column this season, so hopefully some of you have been able to bolster your squad accordingly! We will try to keep it going next week, so until then be safe out there!

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