Geek of the Week – Patrick Maroon

Terry Campkin

2015-02-08

Patirck Maroon

 

The Geek of Week explains why you should pick up Patrick Maroon for the stretch run.

The NHL season has been flying by hasn't it? To me, it feels like just yesterday that I was at the draft table talking about how Jakub Voracek would never amount to more than a poor man's Tomas Vanek. Suddenly though, the all-star break is behind us and about 70% of the fantasy regular season is in the books. It's officially time for the home stretch. This is the perfect time of year for your team to get an extra little boost to push them to the next level and this week, I have a player that can help do exactly that: Patrick Maroon.

Rank Player G A +/- SOG PPP SHP HITS
72 Patrick Maroon 4 6 5 34 3 0 27

 

Since the calendar turned to 2015, Patrick Maroon has been the 72nd most valuable player in a league of this format which ironically is higher than both Getzlaf and Perry over the same time frame. With 10 points in 11 games and shots and hits hovering between two and three per game, Maroon has been putting up numbers that are close to what we have come to expect from the aforementioned Kunitz. Can he keep it up? I don't know – but there are some factors that lead me to believe that it's possible:

 

A)Maroon's points have come on a reasonable shooting % that is below 13%. Often when you see players get hot in the short term it's because they have had some good fortune and scored on five out of ten shorts or something of that nature. This isn't the case with Maroon though. The change in his utilization has increased his shot volume so his goal output has predictably gone up accordingly. If goals go up without a corresponding increase in shots it isn't likely to be sustained but when goals go up as a result of an increase in shots it is far more likely to continue. If Maroon keeps shooting, he will keep scoring.

B) Maroon is being utilized not only on the top line, but on the top powerplay. As long as this keeps up, all of Maroon's stats will benefit. He will obviously get more PPP but he will also get more looks at the net (SOG) and the increase in shots will result in an increase in goals.

 

Maroon is a great example of a well-rounded player whose utilization can drastically change his value. Fantasy Hockey Geek shows us that players who contribute well across all categories are worth considerably more than those who don't (players like Byfuglien, E Kane, Kunitz etc are always worth way more than the general public realizes). When these types of players aren't producing offence though, their value can fall off the map: as an example look at Dustin Brown who has always contributed high end shots and hits. In his hay day, Brown used to be a top 20 own in this league, banging out 60 points a year and contributing on the powerplay while shooting and hitting at an elite clip. Now that his role has changed though, Brown is actually providing less value than Maroon. When a player like Brown or Maroon are given offensive opportunities though, we need to take notice because that's when you are on the verge of a fantasy dynamo. It is so key to understand when these types of guys are ready to contribute offence because when they do, they're some of the best owns in Fantasy.

 

One bonus factor with Maroon (and all Anaheim players) is his schedule, particularly in the fantasy playoffs. Anaheim tends to play their games on days that aren't overloaded with other NHL games, meaning that in daily leagues Maroon will be easy to get into your lineup. Over the three weeks of fantasy playoffs (March 16- April 5), Maroon has six games on off-nights (light schedule nights). As a bench player on your roster, you would never put him in on the busy nights because you presumably have better options, so when your depth player plays on off nights as Maroon does, it is a huge advantage in daily leagues because he gets you more GPs.

 

I don't know how long Maroon will be on the top line and top powerplay but as a guy who is only 12% owned – I am adding him in all of my leagues and holding him for as long as he can hold that role. FHG shows us just how valuable a player like Maroon can be when he is given offensive opportunities so I am going to take advantage of that value for as long as I possibly can. If he keeps the role for the remainder of the year then I just got myself a multi-cat stud for nothing. If he happens to lose the job, I'll drop him without hesitation and move on. No risk, very high reward – that's just what the doctor ordered with only six regular season matchups remaining. Add Maroon today and make a push towards your title. While you're at it, run your league in Fantasy Hockey Geek and see if you can find a couple more like him. These are the types of adds that win you titles.

Leave A Comment

UPCOMING GAMES

Mar 28 - 19:03 OTT vs CHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 TOR vs WSH
Mar 28 - 19:03 MTL vs PHI
Mar 28 - 19:03 PIT vs CBJ
Mar 28 - 19:03 FLA vs NYI
Mar 28 - 19:03 CAR vs DET
Mar 28 - 20:03 MIN vs S.J
Mar 28 - 20:03 STL vs CGY
Mar 28 - 20:03 WPG vs VGK
Mar 28 - 21:03 EDM vs L.A
Mar 28 - 21:03 COL vs NYR
Mar 28 - 22:03 SEA vs ANA
Mar 28 - 22:03 VAN vs DAL
Mar 28 - 22:03 ARI vs NSH

Starting Goalies

Top Skater Views

  Players Team
TAGE THOMPSON BUF
JJ PETERKA BUF
ANTHONY DUCLAIR T.B
JORDAN GREENWAY BUF
JURAJ SLAFKOVSKY MTL

Top Goalie Profile Views

  Players Team
ALEKSEI KOLOSOV PHI
JOONAS KORPISALO OTT
KAREL VEJMELKA ARI
UKKO-PEKKA LUUKKONEN BUF
JUSTUS ANNUNEN COL

LINE COMBOS

  Frequency BOS Players
22.7 PAVEL ZACHA DAVID PASTRNAK DANTON HEINEN
20.4 BRAD MARCHAND JAKE DEBRUSK CHARLIE COYLE
9.1 JUSTIN BRAZEAU JESPER BOQVIST JOHN BEECHER

DobberHockey Podcasts

FIND US ON FACEBOOK