Hello and welcome back all to the world's #1 most trusted source when it comes to all things NHL salary, salary cap, and your salary league. This week, it's all about the New Year and as we turn the calendar to 2026 some players that may be starting to turn it on a bit as we go into the next few months of fantasy puck. It's always difficult to predict future outcomes, but a few players caught my eye that may be either potential trade bait in your dynasty/salary league or could get the nod for a start here and there.

Alright, so show of hands, who else took Joel Eriksson Ek maybe two rounds too early in their non-dynasty leagues? My hand is raised, and I'm sure I'm not alone out there.

After a goal and two assists on Monday, I wanted to dive in and see if this is a player that could take off a bit and there are some encouraging signs here. Last season during Q1, he had 10 points on 47 SOG. This season those numbers were elevated at 13 points on 65 SOG. In Q2, we've also seen some increased offensive numbers comparing to last season as last year he accumulated only eight points in that span on 29 shots, with this year those numbers coming in at 16 points on 51 shots on goal. This Minnesota offense with Quinn Hughes moving the puck up the ice on power play is only going to help his numbers and I see a player that has been more unlucky than good. He is only shooting 8% on the season and while his shooting percentage over his career has been on the lower side, he can rise to be close to a point-per-game player at various spots throughout the rest of the season. I'd say he deserves a start in your league at the center position, and if your league is like mine with three C spots, then he is easily one of the players that gets the starting nod.

I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV, but I do have a doctor's handwriting. I wrote down something here on Noah Cates that looks like, "Cates opts in 6 hammers" …I think what I was trying to scribble down there was that Cates has six points in his last six games and is one of those players that is becoming valuable in salary leagues. Trust me. I have him on my team and usually get a trade offer once a week.

Wherever Cates has been in Philadelphia's lineup, he has produced. Don't let the people in your league looking to trade for him tell you otherwise! While some of his best numbers on the season were with the now-injured Tyson Foerster, he has been good with each line pairing the Flyers choose to deploy him on. Last night, that was including Bobby Brink and Matvei Michkov, which did well as a trio with Cates scoring a goal with an added assist. I watched most of that game, and he was noticeable out there, even with his offense at times suppressed on a depth line. He has definite fantasy appeal moving forward and should be considered either as a start, or hey, if you need to move a player for a pick, he could get you a decent yield in return. I would like to note as well, that some leagues have him listed as both a center and left-wing, which only adds to future value.

Maybe there's a world out there where the Predators get out to a better start than they did this year, but for now I noticed that in my league Ryan O'Reilly hasn't gotten starts over other players. I think is something that could potentially change as we move into January, and that's not including the trade speculation that has been following him since around American Thanksgiving.

While I don't have O'Reilly in fantasy, I do have his buddy Juuse Saros in the "no goals" commercial and can confirm that it's been touch and go in Nashvilleland this season. In Monday's game against the Mammoth, he logged two assists which put him up to three multi-point games in his last four, and 16 points in 13 games in the month of December. I get maybe benching him at points this season, but this could be a player that has really started to find their game in the past few weeks and I'm not sure how many people outside those who roster him in fantasy or Preds fans recognize it. At one point in mid-November many of us thought that the 53-point season that he had last year was just the type of season that he was going to churn out this year, but that doesn't look to be the case. His $4.5 AAV is fine to manage when you look across the salary landscape, and if your league scores faceoff's, he's been at or around 50% in his last eight contests outside of going 4-8 against the Leafs in the dot.

I had some really great nights going against the Blues in DFS early in the season and I'm sure those nights were at the opposite end of the spectrum for those who roster Hofer in salary leagues. I have good news though; this is a player that may turn the corner if he hasn't already in the month of December.

In Joel Hofer‘s last 10 starts he has 6.47 goals saved above average, and that's near the top of the league in that regard. He also has three wins, and four quality starts in his last four games, while only sitting at around 40% rostered in Fantrax leagues. Last season, the Blues turned the page quickly on being a pretty sound defensive club, and if that's going to be the case this year than Hofer may be a player to use in a spot start role. Right now, he's putting up some of his best numbers in two seasons to the point where I'd consider him as a potentially start for leagues that start more than one goaltender. Even if your league is like mine to where you only start one, you can do a lot worse right now for a goaltender with a cheaper AAV.

*Salary Cap data from PuckPedia.com  

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