All fantasy owners need help in the short term AND the long term. The Looking Ahead feature identifies one player to plug into lineups in the short term, a second to invest in for the long term, a third to bench for the coming week, and a fourth who will struggle to meet expectations for some time. All players discussed are selected based on their upcoming schedule. Stats in this article updated through January 24th

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

Elias Lindholm, RW, Carolina Hurricanes (Available in 88 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – With Sebastian Aho (…the forward…) currently injured with both a lower-body injury and a concussion, Elias Lindholm found his way to the top line of a very strong possession team that fires a ton of pucks (4^th-most SOG/game). Since taking over that spot, Lindholm has put up 2G-1A with 8SOG and 9 combined HIT/BLK, with both goals coming on the power play as the net-front. Given Carolina’s strong upcoming schedule, Lindholm is an excellent fill-in that can produce.

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

Justin Faulk, D, Carolina (Available in 33 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – It’s an all-Carolina Pick ‘Em Up section this week, with the time to buy Faulk – or pick him up if he’s available given he’s still out there in THIRTY-THREE PERCENT of leagues. Faulk has fired 138 shots on net this season and has only connected for four goals, which is a career-low shooting percentage of only 2.9%. Taking out the year where he shot 3.3%, Faulk’s career average is 7.4%, which means positive regression should be coming. In points-only leagues he’ll still offer value if that regression comes, and seeing 22:24 per game and time on the first power play, it would be a shock if he didn’t find the back of the net with his current shooting rate.

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

Patrick Maroon, LW, Edmonton Oilers (Owned in 45 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Getting dropped to the third line ahead of the All-Star Break, Maroon’s value is almost nil in leagues that don’t account for peripheral stats like HIT/PIM, with only 13G-13A on the season while playing alongside (arguably) the best player in the league. With his role unclear, lack of strong production to date, and the Oilers’ weak three-game schedule coming back, Maroon can take a backseat.

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

Max Domi, LW, Arizona Coyotes (Owned in 27 percent of Yahoo! Leagues) – Although owned at only 27%, Max Domi is owned by about 26% too many Yahoo! users. Beyond the very small percentage of deep keeper leagues, Domi shouldn’t be active in any of them, which makes him a droppable (or hopefully tradeable if someone else bites on “potential”) asset. Without missing a game, Domi’s only found the back of the net THREE times this year, while seeing 17:36 a night. His role is slipping as his other young teammates (Fischer, Perlini) produce, and he’s not putting up the peripheral statistics expected with only 30PIM and 48 combined HIT/BLK.

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

Carolina – The Hurricanes have only four games during this stretch, but with the All-Star Break that’s actually a reasonable number. More importantly, all four games come at home, and three of the four come against very soft competition – four if the Sharks decide to start Martin Jones. They get the weak end of the Atlantic division for their other three: Detroit, Ottawa, Montreal.

Ottawa – Ottawa’s been very inconsistent from a scoring perspective, popping six in back-to-back games to start the month before scoring five combined goals in their past four games. Based on volume – five games – they can be rolled out even as they struggle; there are few fantasy-relevant Senators, but they should all be deployed for games against CAR, ANA, PHI, MTL, and NJ.

Anaheim – With their roster fully healthy, the Ducks have been clicking recently: in their past five games they’ve fired at least 30SOG and potted 16 goals – although that sample includes a five- and six-goal game, it’s good to see the team with the 13^th-least goals per game starting to score. The Ducks get five games in this period (although they all come on the road), against some real bottom-feeders in Ottawa, Montreal and Buffalo. Their other two are a bit tougher against Toronto and Boston, but they should find ways to score in all of their games with strong balanced lines.

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

The bye weeks are finally over, but the All-Star Break also coincides with this week’s Looking Ahead, which means lots of options for teams to steer clear of.

Edmonton – #HereComeTheOilers is the best hashtag on Twitter as the Oilers struggle, and their struggles should continue during this period: the Oilers only have three games upcoming, and they come against some pretty staunch defensive teams in Tampa Bay (4^th-least Goals Against/game), Colorado (17^th), and Los Angeles (2^nd). In their past ten games, the Oilers are averaging only 1.7 goals per game.

Arizona – The ‘Yotes have been scoring more lately, with 29 goals in their past ten games, with scoring coming from an exciting bunch of rookies, but their schedule and inconsistency makes them a team to leave. With only three games upcoming – home vs. Dallas and on the road against LA and Winnipeg – they’ll be in tough to keep finding the back of the net at the rate fantasy players need.

New York Rangers – Off three straight losses where the Rangers gave up at least three goals and averaged two goals per game, the Rangers limped into the All-Star Break (not including game vs. Sharks), and their schedule is light coming out of the break. The Rags don`t hit the ice against until Feb. 1^st and although they do play four games between Jan 26^th – Feb 7^th, their schedule is no prize: home against Boston and Toronto, and away games at Dallas and Nashville – not a recipe for offensive success.