I announced to my wife it is Bubble Keeper Week. She had the look on her face she gets when worried I have spent a large amount of money on a new hobby. I have no idea what she was imagining I might have bought. Bubble wands? Some sort of bubble storage device? To set her mind at ease, I told her it was a fantasy hockey thing. She rolled her eyes, clearly missing the significance of Bubble Keeper Week and the honor I have of kicking it off. Thankfully, I have you readers. You are like the supportive spouse I never had.

Bubble Keeper Week involves some parameters. DobberHockey writers are sent a list of players to avoid talking about because those players are generally slam-dunk keepers. This guarantees we will feature players pretty much off the radar of small fantasy leagues or leagues with shallow rosters.

Most of the guys below are not on my current roster (I have indicated when they are with a "*"), but if they were on my roster I'd be tempted to keep them. "Temptation" is the right word because temptation isn't always logical and some of my picks have little to commend them except my own weird affinity towards them or an inarticulate hunch. Others, the temptation makes more sense given their trajectory and deployment next year.

Puck Pastor's Top Ten Most Tempting Bubble Keepers:

10. Jeff Skinner

"Tempted" is probably too strong a word. I don't know how tempted I'd be, but I am still watching this guy. He has scored a lot of goals at the NHL level. If he gets some confidence, power play time, a rebound in his shooting percentage, and starts taking more shots he might surprise. That is a lot of "if's".

9. Craig Smith*

He is currently on my roster and I am wondering if I will get the Craig Smith I plucked off the waiver wire when Hall was traded to Boston? Or do I get the Craig of years gone by? I'm betting on the Craig of years past and am going to pass on Craig.

8. Nolan Patrick

This former 2nd overall pick is twenty three years old and would be rounding into form if injuries hadn't intercepted his trajectory and caused him to miss an entire season. His pedigree is solid. Both his dad Steve and his uncle James played in the bigs. His first two seasons in the NHL were very promising. He lit up the WHL. And now, he only has to outplay Chandler Stephenson to secure the second line gig. If he plays like many think he can, he will do it. If he plays like last year Vegas is going to wish they had Cody Glass back.

7. Adam Gaudette

This former Hobey Baker award in 2017 can put up points. He didn't do much with Vancouver but we got a glimpse of what he might do in Chicago and he saw time with Kane and Strome.

6. Phil Kessel*

In my Keeper league, I'm not strong at RW after Patrick and Evander Kane (others on my roster with RW eligibility are Bjorkstrand, J, Anderson, Craig Smith). It's not like anyone is going to steal his ice time and he had a decent year last year.

5. Nate Schmidt

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He has never been the "go to" power play QB and he might not be in Winnipeg. But if he gets a shot at it he might stick and this energetic bubble boy becomes a keeper.

4. Tomas Tatar

I don't know what happened in Montreal that saw him lose favor with the coaching staff, but he was having a great year and this year will be locked in with either Jack Hughes or Nico Hischier as center.

3. Troy Terry

When Zegras and Terry become the next Getzlaf and Perry you will be glad you hung onto this young stud. (My wife read this last sentence over my shoulder and now I am feeling even more shame).

2. Zach Hyman

He goes from what is arguably the best gig in hockey in Toronto to perhaps an even better gig in Edmonton. He knows how to secure a spot on a line with elite superstars and I have him penciled in for a career year.

1. Kasperi Kapanen*

Also on my current roster, I will keep him. He is guaranteed an elite center (until Malkin gets injured) and may be the only guy on this "Top Ten" list who flirts with being a point per game scorer.

Have a great Bubble Keeper Week everyone!

Puck Pastor