We are in the final stretch of matchups before league playoffs. For a lot of teams these matchups are make or break weeks for making those playoffs or for securing more favorable positions. Last week we reviewed players who were potentially available in your league and identified those with good schedules remaining over this period. This week we are going to tackle some cold players and attempt to have the hard conversation about whether or not we should be cutting ties.

In order to gather players for this list we are taking a look at the Frozen Tools home page. The page contains an overview of links for each team and then includes current hot and cold players. I grabbed a number of interesting cold names for consideration and then will be reviewing player profiles to grab individual data.

The caveat with this exercise is that every league is going to be a little bit different. Recommending to drop a player is going to come down to your individual league settings as well as who are the available free agents who can take said player's spot. I will be looking at each player's recent performance and trying to see if I see anything that leaves me with some optimism, they will be better over the next stretch of games.

Data is as of the morning of February 27^th.

Carter Verhaeghe makes the cold list because he only has one point in his last four games. He is rostered in over 90% of leagues despite a slightly disappointing season with only a 60-point pace, down from two seasons of almost 80. The TLDR here though is unless you have access to a point per game player on the waiver wire, I think you are holding Verhaeghe. He is getting plenty of ice time, both at even strength and on the power-play (he topped 20 minutes in three of his last five games), is shooting more than three times per game, and is playing on the top line and top power play with Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. He has 14 shots over these four slumping games, and had a run of seven points over the three prior games. Overall, his and his teammates shooting percentages are down, as is his point participation numbers. There is no guarantee those season-long numbers are going to rebound over the next few weeks, but the likelihood of finding someone better is small.

Steven Stamkos has been all over the place this season. He is also rostered in above 90% of leagues, but has only a 46-point pace, and has not registered a point in 10 games. His season-long time on ice numbers are fine, and he has spent considerable time on a top line and top power play with Filip Forsberg, though recently his even strength deployment has swapped and he has seen time on what appears to be a second line with Tommy Novak and Gustav Nyquist. Unlike Verhaeghe, Stamkos has not maintained his shot rates. He is down almost a shot per game. Sure, it looks like he is still a little bit unlucky at the team level, but his personal shooting percentage is just fine. Stamkos won't have zero points in his next ten games, but there is no real reassurance that he will earn better than a 50-point pace either. He had two good months in December and January, but it is a risk at this point. If you have a competitive free agency, there are some very rational reasons to cut bait at this point.

Mikhail Sergachev is also around that 90% rostered rate and has been manning the point in Utah all season. He makes the list here because he has not pointed in three games and only has two over his last six. There are certainly some opportunities for improvement in his stats (still shooting less than twice per game, low hit counts, very high shooting percentage), but like with Verhaeghe unless you have an incredibly shallow league you aren't finding something better in free agency. Sergachev is averaging almost 26 minutes a night, has 70% of Utah's power-play time, and has a 55-point pace. The opportunity is there so unless you see a 60-70 point top power-play D available, hang tight and hope the bounces shift a bit.

Brock Faber is more in the range of 70% rostered, which honestly feels too high. The good news is that Faber has been seeing more than 50% of the power-play time since the start of February, but I can't really say it has improved his numbers a whole lot. He has one point on the power play in that span. It is in fact his only point in that span, and his only point since January 20th. He only has those two points since December 31st (though he did miss a few games in there). It isn't like his peripherals make up for it either, he barely shoots, doesn't hit, barely blocks. I find it hard to imagine that there aren't defense in your free agency who are contributing more than Faber, even with his excellent deployment and massive ice time.

Mats Zuccarello is rostered in about 55% of leagues but is on a relatively significant cold stretch. He has no points in his last seven games, and a total of three over his last 12.  With Kirill Kaprizov out of the lineup he is on a top line and top power play with Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi. He is getting significant time on ice, power-play time, and still seems to be shooting more or less. While Boldy and Rossi are doing just fine, Zuccarello definitely isn't. He is participating on many fewer goals than anticipated, and his personal shooting percentage is in the tank. By the same token, those things should rebound and he is getting excellent opportunity. Obviously the When matters though so if you don't have time to wait, and have hotter 65-70 point players on a top power-play available to you, sure, consider the swap. Many leagues won't have that available though you might be stuck waiting.

Mason Marchment is rostered in about 30% of leagues, and makes this list as he has only two points in his last seven games. Prior to his injury, back in December he went seven more games without a point. In November he went and put up 16 points in 10 games. That is Marchment in a nutshell. A raging inferno, or ice cold. It balances out to just shy of a 60 point pace so far in 2024-25. This one really comes down to personal preference. Need a Hail Mary? Maybe keep him around, want something a little more consistent? I am sure there are second line, mostly second power-play players around who are putting up a 60ish point pace.

Alex Lafreniere ended the 2023-24 season with a splash so let's see if it looks like he has something left in the tank here. He is only rostered in about 20% of leagues which makes sense since he is only on a 45-point pace in 2024-25. He has been running on a top line with Artemi Panarin, and on the second power-play unit. He is shooting a bit, though not impressively so. Moral of this story is that while playing with Panarin does give some reason for optimism, he has been there for most of the year and has a 45 point pace with two shots per game. If you have hung on hoping for upside or because of the deployment I think it very likely there is someone on the wire that is performing better, and you should be making a swap.

That is all for this week.

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