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

Derick Brassard, C, Philadelphia Flyers (Available in 97% of ESPN leagues, 85% Fantrax, 97% Yahoo )- Sometimes the best way to search for value is look to a club that sustained an injury and look for the player that has filled that role. The NHL injury ward is getting a little full in the early going and there's no worse feeling than scanning the waiver wire before lock looking for a player to replace. I give you Derick Brassard.

Brassard signed a 1-year deal in Philly towards the end of August and was slated to be a third line center behind Sean Couturier and Kevin Hayes but when Hayes underwent abdominal surgery in late September it gave the 34 year old veteran a spot on Philadelphia's second line centering Joel Farabee and Cam Atkinson. How has that line produced so far? They lead the NHL in 5 on 5 goals with 6 with Brassard himself tallying a goal and four assists during the Flyers last two contests. Typically when the Flyers are at home the Couturier line usually goes out to match against opposing top competition, which gives other lines a chance at a potential matchup with middle or bottom six players. The Brassard line has been excellent so far in this role. If you're in a league where you play multiple centers it might be worthwhile to strike while the iron is hot.

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

Jordan Kyrou, C/RW, St.Louis Blues (Available in 67% of ESPN leagues, 16% Fantrax, 50% Yahoo) – Believe me, those availability numbers might be even lower by the time you're reading this. Kyrou might be one of the "it" players of the week and in leagues where he is available this could be a perfect building block to any fantasy owner looking for a winger.

Kyrou scored twice on a career-high four-point night vs the Yotes and has gotten a point in each of the Blues first three games. The Blues are a very deep team with Kyrou skating along side Ivan Barbashev and Vladimir Tarasenko on the Blues third line for most of the first two contests St.Louis has played but has seen time playing up on the second line with center Brayden Schenn. His ATOI is a little lower than I'd like to see it at 13:52 in his three games of the season but if he continues to play well, I don't see why he wouldn't begin to see more ice time, which would mean more time on power play. I think that this is a great addition if he's available in your players pool and possibly an even better addition for those in keeper leagues.

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

Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders (Owned in 38% of ESPN leagues, 87% of Fantrax, 92% Yahoo) – If you're a Sorokin fantasy owner, which it appears a fair amount of you are, it may be time to look elsewhere for a goalie that will get consistent starts in net moving forward.

Sorokin is a solid net minder with a bigger frame in net who even last season in playoffs I thought looked good. The reason for concern moving forward is that all indications are pointing for a return of Semyon Varlamov (undisclosed), possibly as early as this weekend. Varlamov traveled with the club during the Isles opening road trip out west and began practicing with the club where it was reported that during those practices he saw a heavier shot volume. Bit of a rocky start for Sorokin letting in 5 goals in each of his first two games but he bounced back during his past start in Chicago stopping 39 of 40 shots with the only goal coming on a questionable offsides. The Isles have a great D core which will tremendously help whoever is starting in net, but if last year is a sign of things to come I think we see more Varlamov who started in 36 games last year to Sorokin's 22.

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

Jacob Trouba, D, New York Rangers (Owned in 63% of ESPN leagues, 78% of Fantrax leagues) – Trouba's average draft position in leagues this season was right around 80 which may be a little high for this defensemen. The Rangers need him to be a shutdown defensemen and help bring along a young and talented defense grouping. Last season he had problems turning the puck over before breaking his thumb blocking a shot. Following his return he had 10 assists in 40 games but fantasy owners might be looking at his Jets numbers more than his New York ones.

I think where his average draft position was fantasy owners are expecting big things from Trouba but during parts of last season he struggled to produce on 5v5 and special teams, at one point coming off the Rangers power play unit all together before drawing back on towards the end of last season. He has no points to start the season and while the Rangers have only played four games he has taken a penalty in three of them, hurting his ice time and fantasy value. This season he has played on the Rangers second power play unit and likely will remain in that spot with Adam Fox taking the bulk of time quarterbacking the Rangers top PP unit. In leagues that score blocked shots and hits there may be some value to having him in as a bench player but if his ice time and output begin to slip it may be better to roster someone else.

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

This period runs from October 22^nd to November 3^rd

Washington – This is a fun Caps team early in the season and looking at their upcoming schedule they have home games vs Calgary, Detroit, and Arizona. If you have the Caps in a points pool this might be a great week to get two points on more than one occasion.

Anaheim – It's weird putting Anaheim as a Love 'Em but you know what I like more than anything? A full lineup of players, and the Ducks play plenty of games upcoming to help fill out any fantasy or DFS roster. They will play tomorrow vs Minnesota and then next week (Oct 25^th-31^st) have four games with a nice Winnipeg, Buffalo, and Montreal matchup, all on home ice. This could be a good spot to pick up some points for any fantasy league or points pool and from a DFS perspective they are usually very cheap and virtually unowned which makes then an excellent filler stack.

Los Angeles –I feel like I can just copy/paste what I wrote for the Ducks and put them here for the Kings. Home ice. Winnipeg, Buffalo, Montreal. From a fantasy prospective their top line has been good with an xGoals For of 2.1 and Cal Petersen has been solid in the starts he's gotten going 1-1 with allowing 2 goals in each contest. Upcoming, the Kings are a great way to get unique in a DFS lineup. Where have we heard this before? Wash, rinse, repeat.  


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

Ottawa – Brady Tkachuk owners and Sens fans rejoice, he suited up this week! It might take some time for the production for him and this club as a whole to show with Ottawa only playing three times within the next week.

Columbus – The Jackets only play twice the week of the 25^th-31^st with both games coming against the Avalanche and looking even further ahead for leagues that lock later in the week, Columbus plays only twice the first week of November as well. With only four games in two weeks it's hard to love Columbus here.

New Jersey – It's a California road trip coming up for New Jersey and while I think that getting a western road trip out of the way early in the season can help lighten a schedule later, it might not be a great spot to play the Devils in the coming days.