Welcome back in, everyone! It is a fight in almost every matchup in my league this week and I'm sure there's plenty of you out there that are in the same spot. Let's try and bring it home for a win here as we go into the weekend.

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

Ross Colton, LW, Colorado Avalanche (Rostered in 55% of ESPN leagues, 63% Fantrax, 43% Yahoo) – So there I am last Sunday evening doing what has become the norm this season, sweating out my fantasy matchup. I won, thankfully, but was worried there for a minute as Ross Colton got on the board for the Avs. Colorado plays once this weekend along with four times next week, making Colton is a great add here for the short-term.

I missed on Colton earlier this season, but am not missing out on him now. Since returning from injury, he’s been good, and I think part of that is because he has Valeri Nichushkin on his opposite wing. While you may not be in a position Sunday to have Colorado on the slate, you will have them on Saturday as they'll face Nashville in a game that I'm sure nobody will be paying attention to in DFS. Nope. Definitely not.

Going into next week as well, the Avs will have San Jose on the schedule (Georgiev revenge game?), and Anaheim who between me, you, and my brother who's an Anaheim fan, surprisingly play Colorado close. Still, I like the matchups that this Avs second line is going to get here upcoming, making Colton a fine addition here for the next ten days or so.

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

Alex Vlasic, D, Chicago Blackhawks (Rostered in 40% of ESPN leagues, 38% Fantrax, 10% Yahoo) – At least twice a season, a 'Hawks fan friend of mine and myself will go back and chat about the 2019 draft. There were players we liked (UW-Madison fan here and early Cole Caufield stan), and players that we may not have liked as much. One of them was the player that the 'Hawks may or may not have taken third overall. Still, when Alex Vlasic was selected in round two, we felt that we got a steal early in that round. With no Seth Jones in the way at the moment to skate to the half wall and back on the power play, I think it's time we talk about making Vlasic a long-term addition.

Vlasic's roster numbers on ESPN have slowly started to come up over the past week ever since he started off scoring for the Hawks in a game Winnipeg this past Sunday. Even though the Hawks fell to the Jets that day for the 97^th consecutive meeting in a row now, I liked the way Vlasic out on the ice and that held true as well in the Hawks contest against the Rangers. Defensemen are getting harder and harder to find right now on waivers, so if you have the option to grab one that's skating at close to 24 minutes a night with good peripherals then that's a nice move to make. While Chicago hasn't been stellar at even strength, this is an alright power play now with Connor Bedard on the wing, and they do cycle the puck back out to the point a fair bit. If you're in need of help on your blueline, I think circling Vlasic and keeping tabs with is play is good move going forward if you want to add him in the short term or make a decision when add/drops resent next week.

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

Thomas Chabot, D, Ottawa Senators (Rostered in 50% of ESPN leagues, 82% Fantrax, 60% Yahoo) – You guys, I work crazy hours. It's a 9-5 but for us that usually means 7-6. I'd love for a Friday night to be able to relax and watch hockey, and good news, the NHL gave us just that tonight! Except…not particularly. We have one game tonight. One. Uno. Eins. Whatever one is in Swedish. This did though help me find out Odd-Man Out for the week, so not all bad.  

I remember back in 2019 and early 2020 when Thomas Chabot was the man to play in DFS and a gem that likely went undrafted in fantasy. His time on ice was out-of-control high and his offense and physicality made him a night in, and night out start. I have one more add to make this week before I've reached out weekly max of three and was considering Chabot because he plays tonight on a one game slate, and I'm actually short one D spot on Saturday where Ottawa is on a back-to-back. That led me to looking into Chabot's numbers and they're just down for fantasy. He still skates around 22 minutes a night but is on a five-game scoreless streak. The Odd-Man out here, may have come by way of Jake Sanderson running the Sens top power play here this season. Even though Chabot is still shooting the puck enough, his offense on the man advantage is lacking this season. He's still a good option here and there, but in the long term you may be better suited elsewhere.  

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

Noah Hanifin, D, Vegas Golden Knights (Rostered in 69% of ESPN leagues, 80%, Fantrax, 61% Yahoo) – This is strictly a roster number Anchor here. Don't get me wrong, I like Noah Hanifin as a player but not at the percentages that I'm seeing out there right now. Sorry Noah.

Hanifin is skating on the Vegas top pair, which is great, and even equal for the most part in power play time. The issue here is the offensive production, which in his career, has fluctuated. There were parts of seasons in Carolina and Calgary was a 40-point player, and times where that was closer to 20. I still think he gets to at least 35 this season when it's all said and done, and maybe the roster numbers are higher because of larger leagues out there? We'll call him an Anchor(ish) this week. Maybe not a full anchor, but a cinder block tied to a fish stringer. Works just as well, trust me.

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

This period runs through December 13^h – December 23rd

Vancouver – Love Vancouver upcoming here with four games next week and two of them falling on light days.  

Ottawa – The Senators will be on their western CA road trip which can be tough, but this would be about the latest in the season I would want to take that trip. This will work out great for their schedule later in the season.

Colorado – The middle of next week the Avs will see the Sharks and the Ducks. Love 'Em and Love 'Em some more.  

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

Vegas – This is week two of Vegas as a Leave 'Em and it all has to do with their schedule with only two games next week with each coming on busy Tuesday and Saturday slates.

NY Islanders – The Islanders also will be in action twice next week, and similar to Vegas above, they'll only be playing on busy Thursday and Saturday slates.

Toronto – The Leafs will be on yet another back-to-back this weekend and at the end of next week, there's no breaks in the schedule for this Toronto club.

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