Fantasy Advice Fridays: Am I any help at all?

A probably foolhardy attempt to redeem myself

Courtesy Edmonton Sun

By Josh Duncan

Last week I told you that Alex Steen was going to start cooling down, Claude Giroux was poised to snap his early season slump and Semyon Varlamov had no foreseeable future in the NHL. All three of those pieces of terrible advice were wrong, so I don't know why you're reading this. But if you're here, you're willing to give me another chance, and I appreciate that. I have a few more pieces of advice that will hopefully help you come out on top in your weekly fantasy match-up.


I will stand by one of my major points from last week. If you still have Alex Steen in your pool and you have the chance to deal him for a more proven scorer, pull the trigger. The two examples I gave last week were Bobby Ryan and Patrick Kane, two underachieving star forwards that have a much higher value than Steen in both single-season and keeper pools. Both players have picked up their play significantly recently, especially Ryan as the Senators' big off-season acquisition is now riding a five game point streak and has an impressive three goals and six assists over that span.

Screencap

First Koivu's stick, now a broken one? Not even fair.

Ryan and Kane are both names you should still be looking at if their owner in your league has yet to pick up on their improving play of late. If someone is dissatisfied with one of these two it's time to start throwing some serious offers at them because Ryan and Kane should continue to light the lamp as the Olympics and playoffs get closer.

If you're looking for short term help in a head-to-head league as the weekend approaches, there are a few teams playing back-to-back games on Saturday and Sunday with valuable players available on the waiver wire in your league. The Washington Capitals, New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks, Edmonton Oilers, Florida Panthers and Vancouver Canucks all have multiple games this weekend and there are a few players from those teams that could be savvy additions to your roster for the next couple of days.

The Province

Including the Canucks' entire second-line. 

Tomas Fleischmann of the Panthers has 11 points this season and has been one of Florida's best forwards along with rookie Alex Barkov. Either would be a safe bet for a couple of points and Fleischmann is always good for a boat load of shots on goal if your league counts those. Edmonton's surprise rookie Mark Arcobello picked up his first two goals of the season this week to go with his 10 assists. He's also amassed 10 of his 12 points so far this year in road games and the Oilers will be playing in both Philadelphia and Chicago this weekend. The newly formed second line of the Vancouver Canucks has really started to produce as a unit and both Chris Higgins and Mike Santorelli (but not Alex Burrows) are free agents in most leagues.

There isn't a lot to my goalie section this week, but I wanted to take the chance to point out what Josh Harding is doing early this season. The 29 year old native of Regina, Saskatchewan is leading the NHL with a 1.16 GAA and .949 save %, that GAA being a full half point higher than Tuukka Rask who sits second in the league with a 1.68 GAA. All this has helped Minnesota to within one win of the Western Conference lead early this season. The reason this is all so spectacular: Harding was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, which was made public less than a year ago on November 28th, 2012. Harding is a true inspiration and hero for kids to look up to both on and off the ice and anyone looking to find out more or support the cause should visit his charity's website.

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Josh Duncan doesn't always shamelessly ask for your money, but when he does, it's for a great cause. Donate to Josh Harding's charity and follow Josh Duncan on the Twitter machine at @Josh10Duncan