In this article, I will be looking at some recent NHL storylines, determining how much you should care about them and how you should react in your Fantasy Hockey league.
“Pissy” Edmonton Oilers in an Incredible Slump
How much should I care? 3/5
If you haven’t seen it yet, Leon Draisaitl was asked why he’s so “pissy” after giving a short response to Jim Matheson’s question:
Watch Leon Draisaitl get into it with HHOF reporter Jim Matheson 😬#Oilers pic.twitter.com/KsoN8KKqWR
— Tim and Friends (@timandfriends) January 18, 2022
To be fair to Draisaitl, it would be extremely tiresome being asked why you’re playing so poorly after every single game for over a month. The Oilers were 16-5-0 on December 2nd and have been 2-10-2 since. From a fantasy hockey perspective, the Edmonton Oilers’ players have been terrible since the beginning of December (points per game in standard Fantrax leagues shown below):
| Position | Player | Oct. 13 – Dec. 2 Fantrax Points Per Game | Dec. 2 – Jan. 19 Fantrax Points Per Game | Fantrax Roster % |
| F | Connor McDavid | 9.86 | 5.52 | 100% |
| F | Leon Draisaitl | 10.07 | 4.70 | 100% |
| F | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 5.02 | 3.42 | 96% |
| F | Zach Hyman | 4.92 | 1.50 | 89% |
| F | Jesse Puljujarvi | 4.75 | 4.21 | 84% |
| D | Darnell Nurse | 5.31 | 3.75 | 98% |
| D | Tyson Barrie | 3.43 | 1.87 | 92% |
| D | Evan Bouchard | 3.85 | 2.50 | 78% |
| G | Mike Smith | 8.33 | 3.42 | 73% |
| G | Mikko Koskinen | 8.68 | 2.46 | 57% |
| G | Stuart Skinner | 6.46 | 4.95 | 24% |
If you have McDavid, Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins, or Nurse on your roster, there’s nothing to do except be patient and hope they turn things around sooner rather than later. However, it is time to very seriously consider dropping the rest of the Oilers’ players depending on how deep your league is and who is available on your waiver wire. We can reasonably assume they will bounce back from their recent performance, but even a small bounce back may not make Hyman, Barrie, Bouchard, or any of the goalies worth starting in your fantasy hockey league.
Timo Meier’s Big Breakout
How much should I care? 2/5
Timo Meier scored 5 goals last game and is now up to 20 goals and 45 points in 35 games, putting him 8th in the league in both goals and points at the moment. This is a massive breakout for Meier, whose previous highs were 30 goals and 66 points in 78 games back in the 2018-19 season. Those are good numbers but not nearly as good as Meier’s current season.
I was expecting Meier’s spike in production to be driven by a sky-high shooting percentage, but his 13.7% is not that much higher than his previous season-high of 12.0% or his career average of 10.3%. One driver of his increased production is his average ice-time, which is at a career-high 18:46 with 2:24 on the powerplay per game. That ice time could still potentially increase given he’s the Shark’s best forward by far.
The only reason I have this at just a 2/5 level of care, is there isn’t much action to take on this news. If you have Meier on your roster, enjoy the ride. You can consider selling high on him as he’s likely to regress a bit, but if you aren’t getting full value for him, you can hold on and enjoy his breakout season.
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