The NHL season is just about at the 40% mark for 2022-23, but most of our fantasy leagues have hit the halfway milestone. In a standard 12-team league, we've just finished round #11, meaning you have opposed each of your mates once. Time to take account – are you comfortably in, fighting for a playoff spot, or maybe looking to trade assets already? And who's (maybe) available?  (I've limited myself here to players available in at least 50% of Yahoo leagues.)

Quick fixes:

Logan Couture (C, available in 50%) – Looking for a third or fourth center? Couture has very quietly played at a 66-point pace, with (pro-rated) 670 FOW, 185 shots, 134 hits. Yeah, he's a minus-12 now (pro-rates to -28), if your league counts plus/minus. The Sharks have four games this week, including Vancouver, Philadelphia and Chicago.  

Brandon Hagel (LW/RW, 48%) – in the last month, since elevation to Tampa's top line, he's ranked just out of the top-100 in standard leagues, and his spot on power play and at even strength seems secure for now. Tampa is home for three games this week. 

Eric Gustafsson, (D, 22%) – with John Carlson out for at least this week, Gustafsson is a must-add. Yeah, he had that rare defenseman hat trick, but also 10 shots and 4 points in the three games since then.  And now on PP-1 for the short-term. Oh yeah – Washington plays the Rangers tonight, but then eight of their next nine games are against teams that weren't in the 2022 playoffs.  

Charlie Lindgren (47%), Filip Gustavsson (35%), Mackenzie Blackwood (26%), and Phoenix Copley (25%) are all goalie options who should continue to get starts, even when their team's GK-1 is healthy. Copley may be the gem here – he's started seven of the Kings' last ten games, and has won six, with a 2.49 GAA. Jonathan Quick has one win in December, all I need to say.  

Coming off injuries:

Tom Wilson (RW, 50%) – in what world would you allow your fantasy opponents to scoop up Wilson? He and Nicolas Backstrom (C, 20%) are both nearing returns to Washington's top-six, maybe this week. Wilson is a multi-cat monster who will see time with Alex Ovechkin, as Ovi pumps shots into the same blue paint where Wilson resides. If your league counts PIMs, so much the better. 

And don't forget:  Jakub Vrana (LW, 40%), Ondrej Palat (LW, 26%), Anthony Duclair (RW, 14%), and a bit later, Max Pacioretty (LW, 43%).  

Loading up for '23-'24

Wow, what a delicious buffet of coming attractions – Kirby Dach (C, 21%), Alexis Lafrenière (LW/RW, 21%), Mason McTavish (C, 16%), Jack Quinn (RW, 10%), Shane Wright (C, 5%).  How many of these players will be a "miss" over the next two years?  For those in keeper leagues who need to re-tool, trading away a star over the age of 32 for pick(s) and adding one of these guys, not a bad move…. I personally added Fabian Lysell (RW, 1%) to a NA position, gambling that he tears up the World Juniors (tho' not on day #1).

Daily fantasy:

I mean, technically that's what this column is about, right? Tonight's lineup has 11 games (after the cancellation in Columbus), with the most lopsided on paper being Chicago visiting the white-hot Carolina Hurricanes. I'm playing Pyotr Kochetkov ($8500, DraftKings), Martin Necas ($5900), Seth Jarvis ($3200). and Jacob Slavin ($4100).  

My intermediate lineup, maybe against the grain, is that the streaky St. Louis Blues find the net against the Leafs. I've been astonished, honestly, at the success of the Toronto defense, missing so many parts. First power-play line Pavel Buchnevich ($5200), and Vladimir Tarasenko ($5500), will connect twice on the advantage, and rack up four points.  

Late, I'm looking at the defensive matchup (not) between the Canucks and Sharks. Having saved some value above, I can afford both Bo Horvat ($7500) and Tomas Hertl ($5900). Add for the final defenseman, the Caps' Gustafsson ($4000), profiled above. 

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas.

@dokhockey