Ramblings: All-Star Game, Waiver-Wire Pickups for an Unusual Week (Feb 5)

Ian Gooding

2023-02-05

In case you decided to make other plans on Saturday, the Atlantic Division defeated the Central Division 7-5 in the All-Star Game final on Saturday. Dylan Larkin scored a hat trick in the final game for the Atlantic Division. Playing in his home rink, Matthew Tkachuk was named the game MVP with four goals and three assists between the two mini-games. For their efforts, the 11 players on the Atlantic Division roster will split $1 million.

Today (Sunday) will be a travel day before real NHL games resume on Monday.

In other All-Star news, Toronto has been named as the site of the 2024 NHL All-Star Game.

One day after signing Dylan Strome to a five-year extension, the Capitals have signed Sonny Milano to a three-year extension with an AAV of $1.9 million. Milano is currently on a one-year, league minimum $750,000 contract. He has played well enough to earn a more permanent spot as a middle-six forward for the Capitals, scoring 22 points (8 G, 14 A) in 40 games this season. Milano isn't as impactful a player as Strome, so I don't have as much to say as I did yesterday. That being said, Milano could generate more fantasy interest if he can stick with the right linemates.

Remember that next week is one in which you'll have to pay close attention to the schedule. Teams play anywhere from one to four games, which could make things dicey if you stock plenty of players on the one-game side (although they may have also played earlier this week, balancing things out over the whole scoring period).

Teams with 4 games: Anaheim, Edmonton, Minnesota, NY Islanders, NY Rangers, Philadelphia, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Vancouver

Teams with 1 game: Boston, Buffalo, Carolina, Los Angeles, Ottawa, St. Louis, Winnipeg

Everyone else plays either 2 or 3 games.

For more on the schedule next week, see the Schedule Planner at Frozen Tools.

Of the teams that play four games, Anaheim and Seattle play on light days all four times, so you won't likely find a scheduling conflict with any of these teams and might want to give preference to players on those teams if you're undecided.

Saturday is the only truly busy day of the week with 14 games, so your fringe players with one-game weeks that only play on Saturday should be benched. In fact, all of the one-game teams listed above only play on Saturday.

As crazy as it might sound, is this the kind of week where you start Adam Henrique (the Immediate Fix player in this week's Looking Ahead) over David Pastrnak if you have to make a weekly roster choice? Pastrnak scores at 1.41 PTS/GP, which means he could supply 1-2 points if you roster him. Yet Henrique, who averages 0.61 PTS/GP, would be expected to provide around 2-3 points (0.61 x 4 GP) over his four games. This simple points calculation could be a way to decide who to start, and the Player Compare feature at Frozen Tools could help you with that. I would never suggest that you drop Pastrnak for Henrique, but just work within what is reasonable for you.

Besides Henrique, below are some potential waiver-wire pickups that you might receive some decent mileage from next week. The hope is that you can find the right player(s) for you based on scoring, peripheral categories, positional needs, schedule, and league depth.  

Mason McTavish, C/LW, ANA – Currently third in rookie scoring with 28 points (10 G, 18 A), McTavish has cooled off a bit with just a single point in his last five games. He's still readily available in some formats (15% Yahoo) and receives first-unit power-play minutes.

Cam Fowler, D, ANA – Fowler won't blow you away with his production or his peripherals, but he's a decent fill-in option if you need points or power-play points from the defense position. He's also hot with seven points (3 G, 4 A) and a plus-7 over his last five games.

Klim Kostin, LW/RW, EDM – Finding hot names on the Oilers outside of the usual suspects isn't usually easy, but Kostin is a name that you should have on your radar if you in a bangers format (97 Hits/43 PIM). His value increases further when he can find his way onto a scoring line.

Marcus Foligno, LW/RW, MIN – Another bangers league option, as he far and away leads the Wild with 140 Hits. He has just one point in his last seven games and has just four goals in 39 games, but he generally doesn't hurt fantasy teams in the scoring department otherwise.

Calen Addison, D, MIN – The rookie's overall scoring numbers aren't that high for a defenseman that usually receives PP1 minutes. However, he sits just outside the top 10 in power-play points by defensemen, as 17 of his 24 points have been with the man advantage. He also leads all rookie defensemen in scoring.

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Sam Steel, C, MIN – No points in his last six games, but he's still centering Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello. That should eventually lead to something.

Alexander Romanov, D, NYI – No points in his last seven games, so ignore this if you're in a pure scoring league. He's a top-10 option in hits plus blocks, so add him as a role player if needed.

Kyle Palmieri, RW, NYI – Since returning from injury, Palmieri has five points (all assists) over his last four games. He's also averaging three shots and three hits over that span. He's also been on a scoring line with Brock Nelson and Anders Lee.

Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere, Kaapo Kakko, F, NYR – I'll just lump in the entire Kid Line here, since they are all under 30% rostered in Yahoo. Chytil is Andrew's Building Block player in Looking Ahead, so I'll let you click on the link for the explanation on this one.

Owen Tippett, LW/RW, PHI – For more on Tippett, check out this week's The Journey.

Rasmus Ristolainen, D, PHI – I know, you're wondering what I'm thinking. But just hear me out. After recording just two points over his first 37 games, Ristolainen has suddenly found the scoresheet again with seven points over his last seven games. His calling card is usually peripherals such as hits and blocked shots, which he should provide at the very least. You might not want to add him in a league that counts plus/minus, but I was surprised to learn that Ristolainen has basically been neutral in that category with a 0 rating.

Noah Cates, C/LW, PHI – I mentioned him last weekend. Just to update, Cates now has three goals and five points over his last five games.

Jordan Eberle, RW, SEA – Just one point out of the Kraken team scoring lead and rostered in fewer than 20% of Yahoo leagues. Mainly assist-heavy and lacking peripherals, so more suited for pure points leagues.

Eeli Tolvanen, LW/RW, SEA – Also discussed in last weekend's Ramblings and The Journey. Just 12% rostered in Yahoo, but I think that number is about to skyrocket. Also enters the week with goals in each of his last three games.

Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW, SEA – One of Dobber's favorites over the last few years, Bjorkstrand's value might have actually taken a hit by moving to Seattle, in spite of the team's success. His icetime is down over two and a half minutes per game, which might be from playing on a team where the scoring responsibility is shared very evenly. Bjorkstrand is hot with four points in his last three games, so now might be the right time to add him.

Anthony Cirelli, C/LW, TB – There's usually a big gap between the universally-rostered players and the rest on the Bolts. Cirelli can help a bit in the scoring department, but you might want to add him for his ability in the faceoff circle. In just 25 games, Cirelli has won nearly 200 faceoffs with a 53.2% success rate.

Anthony Beauvillier, VAN – I broke down the Bo Horvat trade two days ago. A player in need of a fresh start moves to a team that is more skilled offensively. I'm really interested to see how this plays out.

Don't forget about the Midseason Guide, if you haven't purchased yours already.

Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.

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