The Canucks' injury situation might be getting worse before it gets better. According to multiple reports, Filip Hronek is expected to be out for a while after being injured late in Wednesday's game against Pittsburgh. Hronek is valuable to the Canucks as Quinn Hughes's partner on the top pair and a mainstay on the second power-play unit. The Canucks' depth on defense drops considerably after that, which could affect the numbers of Kevin Lankinen, Arturs Silovs, and Thatcher Demko (once he is ready to return).

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If you live in the United States, I hope you enjoyed your Thanksgiving. If you live anywhere else, I hope your Thursday went well.

Thanksgiving/Thursday didn't feature any NHL games, likely to accommodate the NFL schedule. That gives us an opportunity to pull names that have appeared in the Frozen Tools popular profiles recently. A few of these players might be grabbed as quickly as those Black Friday specials today.

Josh Manson

Why was Manson at the top of the Frozen Tools search list? I don't see a recent run of points, sudden power-play usage, or even a crazy hits or blocked shots total. However, the most amazing feat to happen to Manson recently is a plus-2 rating in an 8-2 blowout loss. Plus/minus might not be a credible hockey statistic in the eyes of some, but once in a while it can provide something interesting.

Will Cuylle

Last season Cuylle was sixth in the NHL with 249 hits, but he didn't bring enough offense to be rostered in many leagues. This season has been a different story, as Cuylle has piled up 18 points in 21 games. His icetime is up more than three minutes per game, and he's shooting the puck a bit more often as a result. I doubt he is a breakout scoring star, as his advanced stats (22.5 SH%, 14.7 5v5 SH%, 3.6 PTS/60, 1075 PDO) are all showing red on Frozen Tools. If you can sell high for a more proven scorer, do it. Otherwise, assume he will continue to pile up hits while providing modest scoring.

Kent Johnson

Like Cuylle, Johnson has a lot of red on his Advanced Stats (30.8 SH%, 5.0 PTS/60, 66.7 5v5 SH%. He won't continue to score at over a point per game. However, Johnson has more scoring upside and he's being given top-6 minutes and first-unit power-play time on a Blue Jackets team that has no reason to push him down the lineup. Moreover, Johnson has points in all seven games he has played this season, with a total of 10 points overall. He's just 14% rostered in Yahoo, which might be due to his overall stats being lower because of the games missed. That percentage could pick up soon, though.

Dmitri Voronkov

Another name from the Blue Jackets, who have piled up 20 goals over the past four games. Voronkov had a late start to the season, as he missed all of October because of an upper-body injury. After a slow start (1 PT in 6 GP), he has been heating up recently with seven points over his last six games. In addition to that, Voronkov has been receiving cuts on the top power play. If Johnson isn't available, then Voronkov (4% Yahoo/29% Fantrax) is also a solid option with the Jackets playing four games next week. He also has his share of red (21.7 SH%, 11.5 5v5 SH%, 2.7 PTS/60, 66.7 Sec Asst%), but he is getting the opportunity. For those reasons, I recently added Voronkov in one of my leagues.

Juraj Slafkovsky

With a goal and an assist on Wednesday, Slafkovsky broke a five-game point drought and a 14-game goal drought. Yet in just 19 games, Slafkovsky has just two goals. He was forced to miss a few games because of a shoulder injury, so that may have been affecting him. His recent icetime has been a concern, as he has played just 11:29 and 13:04 over his last two games. Slafkovsky has also been moved off the top line with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield and onto a secondary scoring line with Brendan Gallagher and Christian Dvorak. Despite all that, Slafkovsky is on a better scoring pace than he was last season. Hold for now in case he is moved back onto the top line, but he might be the player you bench on busy nights.

Olen Zellweger

In a rebuilding state with a lot of young players, the Ducks are the kind of team in which top-line and power-play icetime could be in flux from season to season. Last season Pavel Mintyukov was on the top power play, then veteran Cam Fowler took over. This season Zellweger has received his turn. Four of his 10 points have been with the man advantage, so it looks like he could stay there for now. Yet the Ducks have other options to turn to if he can't get it done on the power play. Zellweger has been finding his way onto the scoresheet in general recently with six points over his last six games.

Dylan Guenther

Guenther is now rostered in over half of Yahoo leagues, and he won't likely be dropped anytime soon since he is scoring at nearly a point per game (20 PTS in 22 GP). Guenther was hot to start the season, and he has been hot recently (6 PTS in last 3 GP). Although a 13.7 5v5 SH% and 1080 PDO are significantly higher than how he has produced in his limited NHL duty, he shouldn't be hit massively by regression due to consistent shot rates and icetime in all situations. Guenther looks like the real deal.

Lane Hutson

With Mike Matheson missing the past two games, Hutson has jumped onto the Canadiens' top power play. Despite the obvious team struggles all season, the Habs have actually had one of the league's better power plays. Depending how long Matheson is out, the offensively gifted Hutson could stand to benefit and is worth an immediate pickup (33% Yahoo) where available. Note that his next goal will be his first NHL goal, as all of his career points (14 PTS in 24 GP) have been assists.

Kiefer Sherwood

Sherwood has cooled off a bit in the scoring department with no points over his last two games, but he is still on a scoring line with Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk. In addition, he is still hitting everything in sight with a league-leading 137 hits, including 32 hits over his last four games. Sherwood was a strong scorer in the AHL, but he had to earn his NHL spot the hard way as an undrafted player. Now 29 years of age, he fits the definition of a late bloomer. Yet if the scoring dries up, the hits won't. He is rosterable in multicategory leagues based on the hits category alone.

Anthony Cirelli

Cirelli looks like he is on his way to his first 50-point season, which has a lot to do with him centering Nikita Kucherov – something he didn't do nearly as often in the past. Cirelli hasn't been on the Kucherov recently, which makes him more vulnerable to regression (22.5 SH%, 14.8 5v5 SH%, 3.3 PTS/60). I would sell high here, given Cirelli's real-life dual value as a scorer and a shutdown center, the latter of which drags his value down. Perpetually skating on the second power-play unit also cuts into his potential scoring, as there's a major dropoff between Tampa's PP1 and PP2.  

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Finally, a friendly reminder that games start at 1 pm ET/10 am PT, so make sure your lineups are set early for Black Friday!

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