Fantasy playoffs are here (or right around the corner), which means roster decisions get brutally simple: follow role, follow schedule, and stream categories on purpose. The names below are a mix of "boring but winning" glue pieces, real upside shots with bankable deployment, and one stash-style bet where the situation just changed overnight. The goal isn't to find the prettiest season totals , it's to find players whose minutes and usage are trending toward "coach trusts him," because that's what holds up when the bounces get weird in a one-week matchup.

Player data from Natural Stat Trick.

Yahoo roster percentages via Frozen Tools.

Line combinations and power-play deployment via Daily Faceoff and Frozen Tools.

All information is current as of March 5th, 2026. Trade Deadline ends today.

Andrew Copp (5%) — Detroit Red Wings

Role: L2, PP2, PK1 | Context: post-break minutes climbing; Detroit leaning on him more at both ends

Copp's season line is exactly what it looks like: 35 points in 62 games (0.56 P/GP) with 89 shots (1.44 SOG/GP) and a modest peripherals base (36 hits, 48 blocks) — not a "carry your week" scorer, but not empty either. The quiet fantasy glue is the workload: 16:11 TOI/GP, plus real center usage with 384 FOW at 53.0%.

The micro-trend is the part that matters right now. His quarter-by-quarter usage has ramped hard: TOI from 14:25 → 16:05 → 18:15, and PPTOI from 0:50 → 1:22 → 1:47. That's the post-break shape you actually want — the points don't need to explode if the role is getting more "usable" every month.

The recent game log matches that story with five points in his last 10 games, but the more important part is he's consistently living in the 17–19 minute range (avg ~17:42), and the PP time is no longer a rounding error (avg ~1:36 PPTOI over those 10, with a spike to 3:09 PPTOI on Mar 4). That's how a low-rostered depth center turns into a real streamer: not because he suddenly became elite, but because the ice time finally looks like someone the coach trusts.

Fantasy call:

Cats/bangers: stream/add if you need FOW + some blocks and you're okay with "secondary points."

Points-only: schedule stream — the ceiling is thin without PP1, but the minutes trend makes him less fragile than earlier in the year (same logic you used last week: don't sell a heater, follow the role). 

Watch list (next week):

Does PPTOI keep living north of ~1:30, and do we see more 2:30–3:00 games?

Is he staying with your best 5v5 look (Lucas Raymond or Alex DeBrincat attachment / true top-six usage), or does he bounce back into "utility line blender" mode?

Shot volume: if he stays around 1.5+ SOG/GP, the points floor is way less annoying.

Esa Lindell (32%) — Dallas Stars

Role: L1, PP2 (in name only), PK1 | Context: this is a "win cats by existing" defenseman, not a points play.

Lindell's season line screams exactly what he is: 24 points in 61 games (0.39 P/GP) with just 63 shots (1.03 SOG/GP) and zero PPP. If you're adding him, it's for the reliable category base — especially 134 blocks (2.20 BLK/GP) plus steady minutes (23:38 TOI/GP). That's a weekly floor in leagues that reward BLK/TOI, and it plays even better in head-to-head where you can stream stability.

The micro-trend is usage, not production. His quarters show Dallas ramping him into full "matchup-eater" mode: 22:55 → 24:35 → 23:21 TOI with PPTOI basically flat and minimal (~0:40/game). Translation: the Stars trust him to defend and kill penalties, not to juice PP points. His pairings have been mostly with Miro Heiskanen, with some rotation (Thomas Harley, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Nils Lundkvist) when Dallas mixes looks, but the constant is Lindell playing heavy minutes against real competition. Tyler Myers coming in adds depth which will eat at more minutes from the deep D-core.

The recent game log backs up the Lindell thesis: points pop up as secondary assists (he has 4 assists in his last 4 games), but the real fantasy value is the recurring "cat chunk" nights. In that same stretch he's rolling ~22:00–24:00 most games, with blocks showing up basically every night (often 2+), and the PK workload stays high (SHTOI regularly around 4:00/game recently). That's why he's useful even when he's not scoring.

Fantasy call:

Cats/bangers: Add/hold if you need blocks and ice time with a mild assist trickle. This is one of the safest "peripheral defense" profiles you'll find on a wire.

Points-only: Pass unless your league rewards TOI/blocks or you're desperate for a low-risk minutes filler (the PP role is not real enough to bet on).

Watch list (next week):

Does he keep sitting at 2.0+ BLK/GP pace (that's the whole reason he's roster-able)?

Any pairing change that knocks him off the heavy-minute lane (if he stops living around 23–25 TOI, the fantasy floor drops fast).

If Dallas ever gives him real PP time (not just token ~0:40), then the ceiling changes — but right now, the data says "nope."

Beckett Sennecke (50%) — Anaheim Ducks

Role: top-six winger, PP1 | Context: the "young gun" breakout is real, and the usage is getting louder as the season goes.

Sennecke's season line is the kind that forces your hand in fantasy: 51 points in 61 games (0.84 P/GP) with 20 goals, 139 shots (2.28 SOG/GP), and a real cats bonus (74 hits = 1.21 HIT/GP). He's not just riding heaters — he's contributing across multiple columns, and the scoring pace is already "weekly starter" territory in most formats.

The micro-trend is where it gets fun. Quarter by quarter, his workload is ramping like a player the coaching staff has stopped protecting:

Points: 15 → 16 → 20

Shots: 35 → 47 → 57

PPTOI: 1:39 → 1:56 → 3:04

TOI: 16:37 → 16:54 → 19:02

That Q3 jump is the tell. When a rookie goes from "PP contributor" to 3+ minutes of PPTOI a night, you're no longer arguing about talent — you're tracking opportunity. That's why his PPP climbed too (2 → 3 → 6): the role is scaling.

The recent game log shows both the ceiling and the floor you can live with. He's had real spike games (the 3-goal night at CGY, the 3-assist game vs WPG), but even on quieter nights he's still seeing premium special teams time (multiple games with 4–6 minutes of PPTOI). That's exactly what you want from a mid-rostered breakout: the "bad" games don't kill you because the minutes keep him in the scoring ecosystem.

Fantasy call:

Add everywhere that isn't ultra-shallow. In points leagues he's already producing like a no-doubt hold. In cats/bangers he's even better because the shots + hits keep him relevant when the puck isn't going in. If someone thinks he's just a nice rookie story, that's a trade-for window.

Watch list (next week):

Does PPTOI stay around 3:00+ (that's the difference between "hot rookie" and "locked-in fantasy asset")?

Which top-six look sticks: the Mason McTavish/Cutter Gauthier versions are the money.

Shot rate: if he keeps living around 2.3+ SOG/GP, the goal pace stays believable even if the shooting% wobbles.

Nikolaj Ehlers (83%) — Carolina Hurricanes

Role: middle-six winger, PP2 (but getting real PP usage) | Context: the Canes' system can flatten pure rush scorers… until it doesn't. Ehlers looks like he's figured out where the points live in this structure.

First, the production is still legit even with the "new team tax": 48 points in 61 games (0.79 P/GP) with 19 goals, 152 shots (2.49 SOG/GP), and a monster 18 PPP. That power-play number is doing a lot of the heavy lifting — and it's backed up by deployment: 3:00 PPTOI/GP and 60.8% PP share. That's not "PP2 cameo," that's "the puck goes through him" time.

The quarterly split  shows "steady role, steady points, constant shooting":

Q1: 13 points, 57 SOG, 3:04 PPTOI

Q2: 18 points, 44 SOG, 2:48 PPTOI

Q3: 17 points, 51 SOG, 3:08 PPTOI

So even when the shot totals wobble a bit, the PP workload stays right around 3 minutes a night, which is the cheat code for keeping a winger fantasy-relevant during the inevitable 0-point stretches.

Now the game log: this is the part where you circle the calendar in red marker like a hockey goblin.

He just dropped 4 goals in two games:

Mar 2 @SEA: 1G on 4 SOG

Mar 4 @VAN: 3G on 3 SOG (PPG)

And it's not like he's been invisible before that — he's had multiple multi-point games (Jan 16 vs FLA: 4 points, Jan 6 vs DAL: 3 assists, Jan 1 vs MTL: 3 points) while consistently logging PP time. The streakiness is real, but the usage is stable enough that you don't have to be a fortune teller to benefit.

Line context matters: he's bounced around (Sebastian Aho/Andrei Svechnikov, Logan Stankoven/Jackson Blake, even some Jordan Staal checking-line minutes). That's the one caution flag: the Canes will move him up/down without apology. The good news is the power play keeps him insulated — PP points travel even when even-strength line mates don't.

Fantasy call:

Hold/add everywhere. In points leagues, he's a locked roster piece as long as that ~3:00 PPTOI remains. In cats, he's mainly a goals + shots + PPP play (hits/blocks aren't his thing). If anyone in your league is still stuck on the "CAR suppresses his ceiling" narrative, that's a buy window — because the role says the ceiling is already back.

Zayne Parekh (15%) — Calgary Flames

Role: L2, PP1 | Context: MacKenzie Weegar to Utah Mammoth blows open a chunk of Calgary's blue-line minutes, and Parekh is exactly the kind of "let the kid cook" beneficiary a non-contender leans into.

With Weegar gone, the Flames suddenly have a lot of defensive TOI to replace — and on a team that isn't chasing a Cup so much as chasing Gavin McKenna lottery odds, those minutes don't have to be "perfect," they just have to be useful for development. That's where Parekh fits. His NHL line so far is ugly (1 point in 17 games), but that's not the bet. The bet is that Calgary can afford to feed him garbage 5v5 minutes while still giving him the only deployment that matters for fantasy: PP1. If that sticks, his value flips fast — rookie D scoring is mostly "do you touch the puck on the power play?" not "are you already an NHL finisher at even strength."

Fantasy call: stash in deeper leagues and basically all dynasty formats. In redraft, he's only worth it if you can stomach the floor (low points, low peripherals) while you wait for the PP1 role to translate into actual production.

(Editor's Note: Parekh was on Calgary's top PP unit in his first post-Weegar game on Thursday night. He only skated 17:36 overall, though, as Zach Whitecloud and Kevin Bahl got heavy usage.)