Welcome back in, everyone! First off, I hope everyone had a safe and happy Christmas! Happy Holidays and wishing you all nothing but the best in the New Year.

While this might not be related to the schedule, I found something that I have to put in here, it's imperative. Last week my wife and I finally became grown adults. No, we were married two years ago, so it's not that. We finally got our own cell phone plan at the young age of 34. While I waited in the T-Mobile store for things to come off of Apple Cloud I was looking through previous things on the Notes app and found one called "Dobber"…confused, I didn't remember writing anything in Notes app for the site but then it hit me all at once; I had written down to share with you all the dynamic of any 10-man fantasy hockey league. I feel like this is an accurate depiction of just what that may look like, while the members of your league may be slightly different, this paints a good picture of the 10 or so people that populate fantasy leagues everywhere. The ten-man fantasy hockey dynamic is as follows:

• Recently hired guy from work. This person mentioned they like hockey once, now it's a daily conversation between desks.
  Younger brother who is a fan of a west coast team. Burning the midnight oil watching the Ducks lose 3-1. Someone's gotta do it.
• The Leafs fan. Don't think this one needs an explanation.
• Friend from high school one
• Friend from high school two
• Guy who played major midget…somehow this person usually finishes near the bottom of the standings while easily having the most knowledge around the game.
• Late league fees guy. Close cousin to move draft night guy.
• The trade machine. "Did you see my trade? Yeah, think about it!" (Brandon Montour for Jesper Bratt)
• Fighting is part of hockey guy (this is someone's dad, uncle, or older relative)
• The guy who always shows up to the draft in a 10/10 retro sweater. Keith Magnuson home white Hawks sweater, Pavel Pure flying skate, 90's Ducks sweater. You get the idea.

Anyways, I hope you all found that enjoyable as I apparently did on November 18^th, 2021. Now onto Looking Ahead, probably what you originally came here for.

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

Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Washington Capitals (Rostered in 16% of ESPN leagues, 54% Fantrax, 27% Yahoo) – Let's look back at the timeline here. The Washington Capitals bought CapFriendly, took a look around at contracts in the NHL, and out of all the ones to trade for they thought Pierre-Luc Dubois was the one to trade for. Six-months or so later, they may have been on to something.  

Coming into the week, PLD had points in four out of five games and has looked excellent skating alongside Connor McMichael. I think some people have been hesitant to roster Capitals in fantasy hockey, but they've passed American Thanksgiving looking fantastic and don't think that's likely to change as we move forward. The Capitals have the most or second most goals off the rush this season (they trade that honor with Winnipeg) and while I wish Dubois was on the top power play unit, the Caps do split their power-play fairly evenly on most nights. With Alex Ovechkin returning as well, this may change up the Capitals second line a bit, but good news for the second power-play that Dubois centers, as Ovechkin usually skates on both.

The reason for an Immediate Fix and not a building block is…well, I know I said there's hesitancy on rostering Capitals but there's a track record here with Dubois. It's sort of like the buddy who keeps getting together with the same girl, telling everyone this time it'll work. Hey, so far with Pierre-Luc is has, as I've played him in DFS a number of times and had success. If you're in need of a center in fantasy this week because let's say, oh for example, you're rostering a #34 on the Leafs who is out right now, I like the pivot to Dubois here at center as the Capitals play on both Saturday and Sunday. If he's a two-day rental player that can help get you a win on a short week, then that's a great Immediate Fix in my book.

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

Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah Hockey Club (Rostered in 14% of ESPN leagues, 49% Fantrax, 41% Yahoo)

A winner of four games in a row before dropping one to the Stars (that happens), Karel Vejmelka might make for a nice addition here moving forward.

We're getting right up to the point in the season where goaltenders are getting harder to add off waivers each week unless you're taking a goaltender to play for a single slate or two. I added Vejmelka to my own team about two weeks ago for this very reason but have since kept him on the team and have been enjoying the results. Utah has the lowest goals against in the league right now, in part to Vejmelka, but also to their good defensive forwards at the top and solid blueline. Maybe you can go ahead and grab Sam Montembeault here or there, or maybe even Arvid Soderblom, but for a long-term addition in net, Vejmelka makes a lot of sense.

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

Chris Kreider, LW, New York Rangers (Rostered in 84% of ESPN leagues, 84% Fantrax, 85% Yahoo) – I'm playing the person who has Chris Kreider in our league right now, and was looking at our matchup mid-afternoon yesterday and saw that Kreider had a zero next to his name. Confused, no ice-time either. I think you all know where this is going.    

Krieder was healthy scratched as the Rangers took on the New Jersey Devils on the road. There's some smoke here, and I think I see fire. While there's no player movement with the Christmas roster freeze, it could only be a matter of time until the Rangers winger is moved. Now, the Odd-Man out here says there's still value and believe me there is, if Kreider is moved to a good club here in the coming days or weeks, his fantasy value may only improve. Even with only one goal in his last nine games coming in as an empty netter, this is a player that has excellent peripherals and if he can post up in front of the net on power play, will only be able to produce more in a different situation.

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

Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs (Rostered in 81% of ESPN leagues, 96%, Fantrax, 87% Yahoo) – There was a brief, maybe a week-or-so, where I thought the Leafs were maybe more of a defensive club than they were offensive. The powerplay wasn't really, we'll go "Leafsy" and the club even tried to go with a five-forward power play once Morgan Rielly was left off for Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

I drafted Morgan Rielly this season in fantasy, but it was shorter lived as I typically go lighter on defensemen in fantasy to replace with a forward or roster a third goaltender. For Rielly, the eye-test is starting to back up the fantasy production as twice in Toronto's game against Dallas, Rielly got burned back in his own end for goals. Right now, Rielly is only on pace for around 40 points, and while that's fine for a defenseman, it's far from the production that we've come to get from him in past seasons. I completely understand that defensemen can be harder to find in fantasy so if your league is thin at that position on waivers than holding on to Rielly might be the play here. Also get that there's a real chance that if he's on waivers, it won't be for long but that gives you the advantage of using him as a trade piece. I know sometimes leagues can be stingy with trades, but this might be a chance to get something back in return.

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

This period runs through December 27^th – January 6th

Winnipeg – I love the Jets here moving forward, they're going to be in action four times next week, that means likely three starts from Connor Hellebuyck in fantasy.  

Carolina – The Hurricanes will see New Jersey twice to end the week, followed by four games next week. For a club that's more popular in fantasy and DFS, they're a Love 'Em for this week.

Vegas – The Knights have one of the best home records in hockey and next week will see the Canadiens, Flyers, and Sabres all on home ice.  

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

Pittsburgh – Three games all on the road upcoming for the Pens has me off them for now but encouraged by their play as of late.

Ottawa – Week two of the Senators being a Leave 'Em, even with their improved play the past couple of weeks. It's just a lack of games on the schedule that's keeping me away them for now.

Los Angeles – Liker the Senators above, the Kings are only on the schedule twice next week. Leave 'Em for now, but they'll be on the opposite side before long.

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