Looking Ahead: Short Upcoming Week; a New Role for Martinez; Henrique’s Production, and More

Andrew Santillo

2024-01-26

Welcome back everyone! Happy All-Star break week…eve? I guess we can call it that. Lots to discuss before the break so let's dive on in.

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

Alec Martinez, D, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 44% of ESPN leagues, 20% Fantrax, 13% Yahoo) –
With the very short schedule next week, and most clubs off entirely, I went to check for an Immediate Fix on a team that plays on both Saturday and Sunday this week. The only team that fits those criteria – Columbus. This is not the first time that's happened, so if you'd like someone from that club…I don't know, Erik Gudbranson maybe? Yay block bonus on DK! So, let's open this up a bit, clubs that will be in action on Friday and at least one weekend day, here we now see Vegas and Alec Martinez.

I'm happy Alec Martinez and the Knights came through as suitable Immediate Fix because Martinez is someone, I had some interest in writing about earlier in the week but really does make sense now. I watched the Vegas/NY Islanders game the other night and noticed that Alec Martinez was out on the Vegas top power play. I thought it was maybe a situation where Alex Pietrangelo had just come off a long shift, so they threw Martinez out there, but the following time on the man advantage, there was Alec Martinez out there again. Let's go Immediate Fix, let's go.

I like this addition now because if Vegas goes back to Pietrangelo on the top power play then Martinez's value will decline but for now there's a lot of opportunity here. This means more ice time, exposure on the man advantage, and the roster numbers across each fantasy site are low enough to where odds are, he's available for a quick add. Vegas's power play as a whole has been fine this season, so let's look at who they'll see upcoming if we're looking at the power play specifically. They'll see the Rangers tonight which admittedly will be a tough task to score on the power play as the Rangers are in the middle of the road in times shorthanded but have the fourth best PK%. Where there's points to be had (potentially) is the following night, as Vegas will be on a road back-to-back against the Red Wings who take far more penalties than New York with a substantially weaker PK.

For 5-on-5 play Martinez brings one thing and a lot of it – blocked shots. I love that for leagues that score that might put an emphasis on blocks and for those out there in the DFS world, Martinez is usually cheaper and can offer the block bonus potential on DK. I think this is a good player to take a flyer on for right now, and possibly even coming out of the break as well.

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

Adam Henrique, C/LW, Anaheim Ducks (Rostered in 19% of ESPN leagues, 32% Fantrax, 24% Yahoo) –
All the Ducks forwards outside of my guy Leo Carlsson sort of blend in to me, but every now and again I'll take a pass through their roster to see if there's anyone on it who might be overlooked. I think now might be a good time to kick the tires on Adam Henrique, and as scary as that may sound, we may have opportunity here.

Henrique has five points in his last three games played, and going back even further than that he has had a point in each game, outside of just one, since January 7th versus Detroit. He's seeing top line usage, which is excellent on any club, but I understand any hesitation for fantasy right now to pick a player off this Ducks roster. The question that I keep thinking here, are we sure that Henrique is on the Ducks in a month?

Henrique is on the final year of a contract with $5.82M cap hit and is 33 years old. If his production stays high, I could see a roadmap to where the Ducks flip him at the deadline to a contender instead of either him signing elsewhere come July and losing the asset entirely. We're about two, maybe three, weeks away from where trade talks are going to really start to heat up and if the Ducks want to sell, they're in a good spot to do so as they can retain salary to make a move happen with close to $8M in available cap space. For fantasy, adding Henrique now might be a good play for later if he's dealt somewhere that can give him more support in a lineup. If you want to wait-and-see, I don't hate that idea either but maybe just for now put a flag next to his name to keep tabs on his production.  

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

TJ Oshie, RW, Washington Capitals (Rostered in 10% of ESPN leagues, 24% Fantrax, 22% Yahoo) –
The Odd-Man Out and Anchor are both going to be Washington Capitals and that's totally not because I watched their game last night where Nathan MacKinnon had somewhere between four-17 points. A…MacTrick? Can we call it that? For the Odd Man Out though, we may have a true situation where there's short term value but most definitely a cause for concern.   

I played a broken Washington Capitals power play stack against the Wild in DFS, which is something I don't think I'd put together in at least three seasons to be honest. Although the Capitals came up short in a game that was at times entertaining, the Capitals top line contributed to most of the scoring. What led me to this stack was TJ Oshie's hat-trick against his former team last Saturday, plus roster % and price too of course. I started to look into his production and his ice time may be down, but the offense is up right now, and I think this is a time to take advantage of that.

So why now? Well for starters, Oshie's roster numbers are low enough to where he's available in most league along with the Capitals shifting focus to both him and Tom Wilson (we'll get there momentarily), on the power play over Alex Ovechkin. Besides that being a sentence I never thought I'd write, that's great to get in on some quick offense if the production continues.

The reason for the Odd-Man call out though is what it always comes back to when we talk about Oshie and that would be health. I just don't trust him being healthy enough for at the very least a four-week stretch. This season he missed time in December all the way into mid-January, last season he missed the same stretch of the season and was sidelined from March 30th through the end of the season, the season before that it was random DTD designations from January on…you get the idea. I think short term this is an add that could make sense, but beyond that the value declines.

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

Tom Wilson, RW, Washington Capitals (Rostered in 40% of ESPN leagues, 68%, Fantrax, 53% Yahoo) –
From one Capital to the next, let's chat about another winger on the club with much higher roster numbers than TJ Oshie.   

At the start of this season in my main league, had an injury on my roster and went to look on waivers and actually did make an addition for Tom Wilson, and why not? He was averaging close to (and sometimes over) three points per game on ESPN standard scoring and was given more opportunity on the power play. That's all not to mention the hits and blocked shots that he's been able to provide for years now. However, that was then, and this is now, and I don't think Wilson is the player that you may have added to your roster at the beginning of the season.

Besides the Caps shuffling their lines to make anything work at even strength, Wilson has been on a cold snap with just one point in the last four games and two in the last ten. He's also seen a sharp decline in his shooting %, which has directly hurt is pts/60 that is now down to 1.5 from 2.3 where he was just a season ago. If you're rostering Wilson for the hits and blocks, sure that's fine but for offense I could maybe see him hitting 40 points this season which would be low for him. I think right now it's at the point where he can easily be replaced on your roster, and that's considering leagues of all sizes.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)


This period runs through January26th – February 1st

San Jose – With the All-Star break right around the corner, the optimizer got a little wonky. There are just so few games in a long stretch that certain clubs grade out pretty well that otherwise probably wouldn't be. Like oh say for example, San Jose. With the Sharks in action twice next week, they'll be a Love 'Em.     

Seattle – Seattle is difficult for fantasy and even harder for DFS but for those with the Kraken in wins pools, this could be a nice stretch. The Kraken will host Columbus on Sunday and then have a meeting with the aforementioned Sharks next Tuesday. That alone would make them a Love 'Em on most weeks.

Ottawa – I don't know what else to say here, they are an NHL team that plays twice next week. Ottawa. Love 'Em. Sure.

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

Arizona – So we can go through and pick which matchups of the remaining schedule might be the worst as things are close to equal before the break, but for now we'll go with the Yotes to start. On the road in Carolina is a tougher matchup as their lone game left, they're a Leave 'Em to close out the first half.

New Jersey – There's a theme here, on the road at Tampa Bay might be difficult spot for the Devils making them a Leave 'Em.

Washington – I mean, has anyone watched them lately? On the road in Dallas…sorry Caps.  


Friday, January 26th to Thursday, February 1st, 2024
Best Bets
San Jose 3.36 – Away ANA – Home BUF SEA
Seattle 3.24 – Away SJS – Home STL CBJ
St. Louis 3.09 – Away SEA – Home LAK CBJ
Ottawa 2.94 – Away DET – Home NYR NSH
Nashville 2.89 – Away EDM OTT – Home LAK
 
Steer Clear
Arizona .75 – Away CAR
New Jersey .86 – Away TBL
Washington .86 – Away DAL
Chicago .90 – Away CGY
Colorado .95 – Home LAK
Saturday, January 27th to Thursday, February 2nd, 2024
Best Bets
San Jose 3.36 – Away ANA – Home BUF SEA
Ottawa 2.94 – Away DET – Home NYR NSH
Nashville 2.89 – Away EDM OTT – Home LAK
Columbus 2.80 – Away VAN SEA STL
Seattle 2.24 – Away SJS – CBJ
 
Steer Clear
Arizona .76 – CAR
Florida .81 – NYI
New Jersey .86 – Away TBL
Washington .86 – Away DAL
 
Sunday, January 28th to Saturday, February 3rd, 2024
Best Bets
Seattle 2.24 – Away SJS – Home CBJ
San Jose 2.20 – Away ANA – Home SEA
St. Louis 2.05 – Home LAK CBJ
Ottawa 2 – Away DET – Home NSH
Columbus 1.95 – Away SEA STL
 
Steer Clear
 
 
 
 
 
Monday, January 29th to Sunday, February 4th, 2024
Best Bets
San Jose 2.20 – Away ANA – Home SEA
Ottawa 2 – Away DET – Home NSH
Nashville 1.94 – Away OTT – Home LAK
Anaheim 1.26 – Home SJS
Seattle 1.14 – Away SJS
 
Steer Clear
 
 
 
 
 
Tuesday, January 30th to Monday, February 5th, 2024
Best Bets
San Jose 2.20 – Away ANA – Home SEA
Anaheim 1.26 – Home SJS
Seattle 1.14 – Away SHS
St. Louis 1.10 – Home CBJ
Detroit 1.10 – Home OTT
 
Steer Clear
 
 
 
 
 
Wednesday, January 31st to Tuesday, February 6th, 2024
Best Bets
Colorado 1.90 – Away NYR NJD
Washington 1.26 – Home MTL
Anaheim 1.26 – Home SJS
Florida 1.21 – Home PHI
Detroit 1.10 – OTT
 
Steer Clear
 
 
 
 
 
Thursday, February 1st to Wednesday, February 7th, 2024
Best Bets
Dallas 2 – Away BUF TOR
Colorado 1.90 – Away NYR NJD
NY Rangers 1.89 – Home COL TBL
Toronto 1.84 – Home NYI DAL
Washington 1.26 Home MTL
 
Steer Clear
Washington .86 – Away DAL
Colorado .95 – Home LAK
Toronto .95 – Away WPG
Winnipeg 1.05 – Home TOR
Vancouver 1.10 – Home CBJ

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

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Dec 22 - 12:12 NYR vs CAR
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Dec 22 - 20:12 COL vs SEA

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