Welcome back all! I feel like as this is primarily an article about all things NHL schedule life and love we need to go over thoughts on the Frozen Frenzy Tuesday night and what fantasy implications it might have. First off, I really liked it and thought that ESPN did a good job presenting it in the RedZone-type fashion that we see Sunday to Sunday. Now, would I have put all clubs in action on the same day as NBA Opening Tip-Off? Probably not but still a decent enough idea and I think the NHL could do something similar or replicate what we just saw, but put it on say a Saturday in November maybe? You're past most college football here in the states to compete against and right before the Saturday NFL games begin, all eyes could be on the NHL.

For fantasy aspects of things, Tuesday was great, Monday and Wednesday were nightmares. Let alone with every team in action we can't really navigate the week like we could on a "normal" seven-day NHL week. I do also think that some teams knew that this was coming and almost took it as a sort of day-off period and I'm just going off some of the names that took part in skates and the backup goaltenders we've seen get the nod early in the week. I've often said that the best answer here would ideally be more balanced slates, and sure you can go lighter on games for Sunday especially when the NFL is going on. I know with some travel complexities and building availability that can be difficult but if the NBA does it, I don't see why the NHL can't follow suite? Still, I enjoyed Tuesday for what it was and think the bones were good enough to build off of.

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

Paul Cotter, C, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 2% of ESPN leagues, 26% Fantrax ,7% Yahoo) – They can't keep getting away with this, the Knights might have another young gem on their bottom six that might be worth a look in fantasy. Paul Cotter looked great during Vegas' contest against Philadelphia and with their upcoming schedule, he might just be what your lineup needs.  

Four points in Cotter's last three games have been a great recent impact offensively but even going back to last season he's fifth in Vegas even strength goals and fourth in Vegas even strength goals per 60. His time on ice is a little lower than we'd want to see for fantasy but skating on the Vegas third line that's going to be the case. To be fair here as well, most Vegas forwards not named Jack Eichel have slightly lower average ice time.

For the schedule and how it can help, Vegas is perfect in the short term. They are one of only three clubs that play four times next week, but their schedule offers them a slight boost. They have three home games, followed by a Sunday Ducks matchup on the road where they'll be just one of two clubs in action. If you're stuck right now trying to fill out a roster for the week, I think Cotter makes a good deal of sense just because of the number of games he plays would be equal or outweigh points of someone you would add for less games.

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

Alex Iafallo, LW, Winnipeg Jets (Rostered in 6% of ESPN leagues, 25% Fantrax, 5% Yahoo) – Sometimes when looking for players that could be on a roster long term you just gotta look at the add numbers and follow the heard. This combined with a couple other aspects, is how Alex Iaffalo became Smooth Jimmy's Block of the Week.

Winnipeg to me is that one club that I can never quite get myself to roster in DFS but will always take skaters from them in fantasy when I have the chance. Recently, the Jets have given up on the Mason Appleton top line experiment and have given this opportunity to Alex Iaffalo, and unless Nikolaj Ehlers is let out of Rick Bowness jail, I can see him skating on the Vegas top line for a while.

I think this is an add to look at for clubs out there in larger leagues or if you're that person in your league where injuries have already started to take a toll on your roster. There are things I like here, and the first would be consistency. Odds are if he's healthy and skating on a top Winnipeg line I can't see why 40 points for him the floor wouldn't at least be, and that will also come with more time on the power play. Plus say he really skates well with Connor Scheifele and Kyle Connor, then you're looking at a player who might not be lighting the lamp, but this is someone who can really help in the primary or secondary assist department. If you want to throw him on a watchlist for now too I think that's fine, see just how the Jets mix and match their lines before using a waiver claim. For DFS if you're braver than me in stacking Winnipeg, if you have a two-man of Connor-Scheifele, add on Iaffalo as sneaky play to get your lineup different.

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

Connor Brown, C/RW, Edmonton Oilers (Rostered in 43% of ESPN leagues, 45% Fantrax, 16% Yahoo) – Okay so just looking through the numbers here, a fair amount of people have already got off the Connor Brown train. For those who have not: the time is now, my friends.

I really like Brown as a player and coming into the season he was a player I saw either get selected in drafts or claimed off waivers shortly thereafter and that was because he was slated to skate on Edmonton's top line with Connor McDavid. Fast forward two weeks and we're in a much different place. Edmonton at one point went full-go on line one with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl then the unfortunate happened, and McDavid went down with an injury. We find ourselves here now with an Edmonton top line of Evander Kane, Draisaitl, and not Brown but by the looks of things it will be Mattias Janmark. 

Besides the fact that I swear Mattias Janmark was a Blackhawk player from the late 90's (dark times), this is going to bump out anyone who took a flyer on Connor Brown coming into the season. Odds are you didn't spend a high pick on him, so that's a positive and there's plenty of other options in the early going to make up for him on your roster. It's not really and Anchor so to speak because once McDavid comes back, Edmonton could Edmonton their lines all over again and Connor Brown finds himself skating next to #97, but it's an Odd-Man out due to…we'll go circumstance?   

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

Drake Batherson, RW, Ottawa Senators (Rostered in 58% of ESPN leagues, 88%, Fantrax, 73% Yahoo) – Hi. It's me. Someone who took Batherson in the 8^th round in my main league for the offensive production and peripherals. At least me and the other 58% of folks over on ESPN will get the latter of those two things. 

So far on the season Drake Batherson has no goals as of yet but I believe has hit the post or come close a handful of times. That's great when we're trying to talk ourselves into a situation but here's where I worry, if Ottawa decides to skate Batherson primarily on their third line. They're going to have to at some point, right? The Sens can't put Dominik Kubalik and Vladamir Tarasneko on a line together. Well, they can but they have to know in doing so they would get ran out of the rink defensively so that leads to Batherson skating down on a checking line. He does still get top power play time which is great but I'm leery that the even strength offense might not be there for him to start the season. I hope I'm wrong here but for now. Anchors aweigh.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)
This period runs through October 27^TH – November 8^th

Arizona – We're rostering Yotes everyone! The optimizer Loves the home matchups for Arizona and hey, I'm not going to argue it. This might be the best Arizona top six in…eleven years?

Philadelphia – Don't laugh but I've actually liked the way Philadelphia has been able to play and looks like Sean Couturier is back and healthy which is a big time boost defensively. With four games next week they'll be a Love 'Em for me.

Dallas – For a team getting the western Canada road trip out of the way early is an underrated big deal and good thing to get out of the way. They'll be on the road in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver next week before coming back home to host Boston.

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

Edmonton – A lighter schedule is just what the doctor ordered for this club starting the season 1-4-1. Although it hurts for fantasy, I think this came at the perfect time for them. For now they're a Leave 'Em fantasy-wise but as far as the club on the ice this might be a great time to regroup.

Chicago – Another week on the Leave 'Em side of things but it's just a matter of games played. They're a club that outside of Connor Bedard and maybe Seth Jones aren't really higher rostered so less Hawks shouldn't be a problem to most fantasy teams.

Ottawa – With only two games on the schedule it's tough to Love Ottawa next week. As one of the higher rostered clubs in fantasy it may lead to some holes in lineups next week with the Sens only in action twice.

*For continued fantasy news and notes, follow me on Twitter @ndySanz.