I am back in the saddle for Frozen Tool Forensics this week after a couple of weeks off for the holidays. Given that December was a bit of whirl, with wonky NHL schedules and folks taking time for the holidays it seems like a good time to check back in on some line combos and production.

For today I am going to be pulling the top producing even strength lines over the past month, see what names are popping up, and give some recommendations as to what we should be doing with these folks. In order to do this I am pulling the Top EV Line report to get the goals for numbers, and using Player Profile pages and the Last Game Lines section to look at recent production and deployment. I will also be taking a look at rostered percent numbers using that report.

Data for this report was pulled on January 4th, so will not have the results of the Thursday games included.

Without further ado – here are the top producing even strength lines over the past month.

Our first stop is Edmonton. That Connor McDavid line is really clicking. There really isn't much actionable advice here though. Everyone on that line is highly rostered, and rightly so. Hold if you have them or sell for a king's ransom if you can.

Over in Long Island there is a bit of a different story though. Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal are highly rostered (between 85 and 95 percent rostered) but Anders Lee is widely available. He is only rostered in 31 percent of leagues across platforms. As of January 2nd this line was still together, which makes Anders Lee a bit of an interesting name. On the plus side we have his even strength deployment and his shot rates – at almost three per game over the last several weeks. On the down side he isn't getting top power-play time and only has five points over his last eleven games. He went on a bit of a run at the end of November, but has been relatively quiet since then. The shot rates and other peripheral contributions make him a little more bearable in deep leagues, but even in deep leagues he is only borderline rosterable without an uptick in scoring. I wouldn't invest now if you don't already roster him, but would maybe only give another game or two to see if he can put up some more points before cutting ties.

In Winnipeg the Kyle Conner injury (plus the return of Gabriel Vilardi) has done wonders for the top line and for Nikolaj Ehlers in particular. Though the entire group has been buzzing of late Ehlers is notable as he had a slow start, but anyone who hung through the tough times has been rewarded. Of the three Vilardi's rostered numbers are the lowest but he is still probably rostered in most competitive leagues. We do have a bit of a warning sign for the group though with four pointless games for Vilardi and Schiefele, and Ehlers with one over that span. For the most part I am not overly concerned as there was bound to be some course correction after the torrid December but Vilardi in particular has also dropped his shot count over the course of those games. As long as that group stays together I am assuming all will continue to be reasonably valuable producers, just at a lower, more sustainable rate than we saw in December.

Ok so who had Teddy Blueger on their 2024 bingo card? I certainly didn't. The line is still together and as of January 2nd, were getting the most even strength deployment of any Vancouver line. In that game they only managed four shots four, and gave up ten so it isn't like we are talking about a world beating line here. What it comes down to really is Dakota Joshua going on a shooting bender. Since December 14th he has put up five goals in eight games. On ten shots. I shouldn't need to say this next part, but there is no way that is going to continue. Barely a shot per game doesn't translate to five goals in eight games over any future time period. Conor Garland had a nice assist heavy streak through that time period, but again without Joshua scoring the goals the assists will dry up too. It was a great run, but time to jump ship if you even bought in in the first place.

Finally over in Dallas it is nice to see the top line starting to produce. Like in Edmonton there really isn't much actionable advice here. All three are highly rostered. It is just nice to see that Jason Robertson in particular is putting up stats again as his slow start was certainly concerning to managers.

For a quick bonus round, let's return to Edmonton

Hopefully you weren't on the receiving end of this line last week (as I was). Warren Foegele put up a five point night on December 31st and had four points in five games prior to that, and Ryan McLeod had eight points in five games prior to being held off the score sheet on January 2nd. Both of these guys are less than 13 percent rostered on Fantrax – so widely available. Given their recent production it is kind of hard to say it, but I don't think I would jump on them. We have chased Edmonton third wheels for years and it basically never works. Foegele himself has had several opportunities with McDavid and/or Leon Draisaitl and it has never paid off. McLeod sure had eight points, but it was five goals on seven shots. Foegle's three goals on 17 shots is certainly better but still more than double his usual shooting percentage. If the line sticks (and Foegle keeps shooting) there is a chance at a career numbers for both of them (but in Foegle's case that is a 34 point pace so not hard to top), but Edmonton changes up lines so frequently it is hard to believe that any of this is for real. The line was still together as of January 2nd so if they are still together come the weekend sure give one a whirl and see if lightning will strike twice, but I would not be giving up much to take that swing.

That is all for this week.

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