Welcome back from the All-Star Break everyone! This week always feels a little strange for fantasy hockey as the schedule is usually much lighter meaning some matchups may be lobsidded one way or another. If you're one of those out there that can't fill out much of a roster this week trust me, you're not alone. If anything, this could be a great time to adjust your roster and "punt" so to speak on this week to help stack your club moving forward. This is also an excellent time to get some trades out there as most leagues have their trade deadlines coming shortly.

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

Pius Suter, C/LW, Vancouver Canucks (Rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues, 19% Fantrax, 5% Yahoo) – Okay so this may be a little bit of a reach here, but Pius Suter might be a sneaky good Immediate Fix here this week, both by schedule and oppourtunity.

Off the bat, the Canucks are one of four clubs that will play on both Saturday and Sunday this week and we love that for fantasy, there's nothing more re-assuring than having a somewhat full roster going into a Sunday afternoon slate. For Suter here, there's also oppourtunity, as Last game he skated along the Canucks top-line with J.T. Miller and Brock Boeser, who have been the best duo in hockey so far this season.

The icetime may be a bit lower than we'd want to see for someone on a top line, but that just has to do with the power play time that's being distributed. If this Vancouver top Looline can play the way that they have so far this season, then Suter could be a benefactor of whatever production Miller-Boeser produce. Suter was hot before the break with six points in four games and might just be a decent addition to make here so long as he's seeing time on the top line. For deeper leagues this makes for a nice add, and in DFS this is a spot where I think you can play the full line to differentiate your lineup. Plus, for reasons we'll never truly understand Vancouver goes overlooked when they're on the slate. We'll get the DobberHockey research and development team to look into why that is.  

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

Sean Monahan, C, Winnipeg Jets (Rostered in 25% of ESPN leagues, 60% Fantrax, 29% Yahoo) – I go through a inter-struggle each offseason leading up to my Points Pool draft. I talk myself into Winnipeg being good, begin to doubt myself, ultimately pass on them, then usually regret it because I take the wrong club over them (this season that was Detroit so not all bad). One of the reasons I started to question this club was center depth outside of Mark Scheifele but with Vladislav Namestnikov playing well, along with the addition of Sean Monahan, it helps this club tremendously come playoffs and I think in fantasy as well.

If you were rostering Sean Monahan prior to him being traded to Winnipeg, I congratulate you for sticking this one out and you're being rewarded with a pretty good fantasy situation. You went from playing with Josh Anderson and Jake Evans to Cole Perfetti and Nikolaj Ehlers. That's a win in my book. The thing is the roster numbers here are still pretty low all things considered and that could give you a chance to add him now before the Jets potentially takeoff. Pun intended.

It's early and it's Winnipeg, but at least for now Monahan is also skating on the top power play unit which can only help his fantasy value and I could see him finishing the season somewhere in the mid-50's for points if that remains the case. He makes for a good Building Block given the new situation, so this is an addition I would make now rather than later. The Jets have a light week of games next week with only two contests which does hurt in the short-term, but down the road this addition can be one that helps your fantasy team on any size roster that your league plays.

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

Boone Jenner, C, Columbus Blue Jackets (Rostered in 68% of ESPN leagues, 63% Fantrax, 42% Yahoo) – I added Boone Jenner in my main league in I believe the second week of the season, and if you found yourself in a similar spot we had a good run didn't we? A broken jaw to Jenner forced him to spend time on IR but coming back the only contribution I could come up with for him was that he'll really help the Jackets PK. That doesn't move the needle much for fantasy, even in the leagues out there that score shorthanded points.

I like Jenner as a player and actually considered drafting him in two of my leagues, ultimately ending up with him on my roster in my main league. These hits and blocked shots are great, so there's your short-term value. The odd man out here though, is for the situation itself. He's top line so that's a plus but playing alongside Johnny Gaudreau who we gave the Anchor designation to weeks ago and a rotating door at RW.

There's also the power play time, or lack thereof, as Jenner is on the second power play unit for Columbus. Does he still have value in fantasy? Sure, the hits/blocks as we mentioned along with games where he'll easily get to his spot for four-five shots a game. The play here though might just be moving foreward that if you find yourself between Jenner and another C to start on a given slate, then you may be better off leaving Jenner on the bench. As far as DFS goes I've tried a couple times this season to play the Jackets in spots where they wouldn't have as many people rostering them. Nailed it on the lower roster numbers but…well, there was reason for it.

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

Alex Ovechkin, RW, Washington Capitals (Rostered in 98% of ESPN leagues, 93%, Fantrax, 94% Yahoo) – I never ever thought I'd get to this point. Never once even considered Alex Ovechkin as an Anchor, and I can say now it feels very off even putting him in this spot. But he has ten goals on the season and it's February.    

In my main league a month or so back, the person rostering Ovechkin listed him as "likely to trade", I sort of thought it was just to get feelers out there and to a degree I'm sure it was because Ovechkin's play so far this season has been talked about here, there, and everywhere. Right now, he's just not the fantasy player we've come to know, and I can contribute a half dozen reasons why. It's a combination of that, along with I can provide you all with probably four or five fancy stats that tell you that he is about to break out, but likewise they'll be just as many that will tell you that right now, he's the player that he'll likely be moving forward.

For fantasy, I'll leave starting him or sitting him on a given night up to you, it's Ovechkin so there's always the boom potential even with us not seeing that much this season. It's a hard spot to be in I know, but maybe there's even trade value here if you're looking to get a piece back on your roster. For DFS, you probably by now all know my hard stance on rostering anyone but maybe like a one-off John Carlson from the Caps. It's a no for me, dog.

Love ‘Em (These squads are sure to pay dividends in the coming days)
This period runs through February 9– 21

Vancouver – A club that has really become one of the higher rostered teams across the board for fantasy, the Canucks will be in action plenty in the coming days. I like them as a Love 'Em just off of the games played.

Montreal – The Habs open up a three game homestand this weekend with another home game later next week against the Capitals. Plenty of home games in a shorter amount of time makes them a Love 'Em.

Pittsburgh – Back-to-back on the road in Minnesota and Winnipeg might be tough but next week they'll have a game against Chicago which puts them in a great spot in the near future.

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

San Jose – Keep it short here. No games this week and it's the Sharks.

Vegas – I'm usually a fan of all things Vegas but with only two games on the schedule next week they make hard case to be a Love 'Em. They are at home for each of their contests but the lack of game days on the horizon puts them as a Leave 'Em for now.

Washington – The Capitals will go back-to-back Boston and Vancouver this weekend, leading into a game against the Avalanche next Tuesday. That's a tough stretch for anyone, let alone a club that is struggling.    

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