Frozen Fantasy: Boosted by the Break

How was your 4 Nations break? I came back with my passion for hockey reignited. 

And not solely because Canada won. 

Winning was great. But I was blown away by the speed, intensity and the puck-on-a-string talent of every single player. The Canada-Sweden game was the fastest game I think I've ever seen.

I hope this tourney replaces the All-Star Game. Permanently. 

I was surprised by Juuse Saros (94 percent Yahoo!) - I thought the rest of the Preds were the problem, but now I'm not so sure. Connor Hellebuyck (100 percent Yahoo!) was incredible. Sidney Crosby (100 percent Yahoo!) cemented his spot on hockey's Rushmore. 

Zach Werenski's (97 percent Yahoo!) ascension into Norris consideration is real. Adam Fox (99 percent Yahoo!) left me wondering if he should be left off the U.S. Olympic squad. And Cale Makar (100 percent Yahoo!) took my heart - he's my dream defender. Sigh. 

Charlie McAvoy (91 percent Yahoo!) and Jaccob Slavin (18 percent Yahoo!) are game changers. Mikael Granlund (69 percent Yahoo!) has a bit of that, too - talk about underrated. Erik Karlsson (92 percent Yahoo!) still has it. And Jack Eichel (99 percent Yahoo!) is one of the best two-way pivots in the NHL. 

I really liked what I saw from Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid (100 percent Yahoo!, respectively), even if the former focused more on D than scoring. I thought Mitch Marner (100 percent Yahoo!) showed exactly why the Leafs should cash out and trade him by the deadline. 

Though I was disappointed with the meathead antics of Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller (100, 100 and 98 percent Yahoo!, respectively). Those nine seconds against Canada was 80s-90s Canadian hockey, when we had no choice but to muscle teams that had more skill. 

Hey, Team USA - there was no need to be Neanderthals. Canada couldn't match Brady's power on the boards nor Matthew's grind in the kitchen. You didn't need to live out the car commercial. 

Back to the NHL. This weekend's hockey was super sloppy - two weeks off will do that. 

Let's take a look at who caught my eye this weekend. 

Eric Comrie, G, Winnipeg (8 percent Yahoo!) - I was rewarded with a Comrie win Saturday after scooping him up that morning. Lucky? Sure - he hasn't seen a lot of ice this season, what with Connor Hellebuyck's (100 percent Yahoo!) absolute dominance. But I believe his ice time is about to change. Helly has played a lot of hockey the last three seasons and was a shell of himself during last year's playoffs. The Jets need more, so enter Comrie. Hellebuyck has already logged 41 games plus three more at the 4 Nations. Comrie has only received 14 starts, yet he could come close to splitting the Jets' remaining 25 games. Or get at least 10 of them. He's 3-0-0 with one shutout and a .933 save percentage over his last three starts. And on this team, Comrie could easily get you six wins or more plus solid ratios. 

Phillip Danault, C, Los Angeles (7 percent Yahoo!) - Danault is an on-again, off-again standard in my articles, and here he is again. He set up two goals Saturday to run his scoring streak to three games with five helpers. Add in five blocked shots, four hits and 33 faceoff wins (53.2 percent), and you have a decent, if unspectacular, multi-cat forward. Be ready to jettison Danault when this scoring dries up. You'll get another chance to grab him on the next warm streak since that seems to be how he rolls. 

Casey DeSmith, G, Dallas (10 percent Yahoo!) - DeSmith is a must-roster netminder when he's in the blue paint. He singlehandedly beat the Devils Saturday and is 8-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and 2.25 GAA since Dec. 1. The Stars don't have another back-to-back until Mar. 26/27, but at some point the team will give Jake Oettinger (100 percent Yahoo!) a rest before the postseason. He's already started 41 outings, so they may cap him out around 55. That means DeSmith could see another 10 the rest of the way. That's worth stashing given his talent. 

Barrett Hayton, C, Utah (13 percent Yahoo!) - I'm torn on Hayton. He recorded Utah's first-ever hattie on Saturday night and looked like he owned the world. He even won 12-of-20 faceoffs against a strong Kings squad. But he's been held off the scoresheet 36 times this season with 19 of his 32 points coming across nine appearances. That means Hayton still disappears into the woodwork far too often. But when he goes off, he goes off. Can you fit that onto your roster? Depends on your needs. And your desperation. 

Marcus Johansson, LW, Minnesota (1 percent Yahoo!) - It's time for Johansson's annual appearance here. This time, it's due to Kirill Kaprizov's (99 percent Yahoo!) move to LTIR. Johansson recently missed eight games due to injury, yet finally looked like himself when he set up two against the Red Wings on Saturday. His production is typically thin as he doesn't give you much in secondary categories, but his 6.8 shooting percentage is well below his career 12.3, so this top-six opportunity could bring that number up fast. Grab Johansson if you see that start to happen. 

John Klingberg, D, Edmonton (2 percent Yahoo!) - On Saturday, Klingberg potted his first goal since Apr. 3, 2023. It's been a long road back from double-hip resurfacing surgery - that's a procedure that implants a metal prosthetic on the head of the femur. Ouch. Klingberg will never be an elite offensive performer, but may receive some power-play time if the Oilers ever shake things up. Don't grab him now, though put him on your watch list. 

Kent Johnson, LW/RW/C, Columbus (22 percent Yahoo!) - Johnson has been on the radar of a lot of folks since the middle of January, and rightfully so. He's racked up 12 points in his last 11 games, including two goals Saturday. During that stretch, Johnson has registered seven goals - including two PPGs - along with five assists and 19 shots. And he's put up points in all but one. Johnson is creative and crafty with the puck while his positional versatility is a huge bonus. I have stock in him in one league, and I'm looking to take on more. 

Mason Lohrei, D, Boston (4 percent Yahoo!) - Jump on Lohrei now. He posted two assists - with one on the power play - during Saturday's loss to the Ducks. Charlie McAvoy (91 percent Yahoo!) is out for a while, so Lohrei is now the PP1 quarterback. He's already notched 25 points, with 11 of those while up a man.

Vladislav Namestnikov, LW/C, Winnipeg (12 percent Yahoo!) - Namestnikov's helper Saturday stretched his scoring streak to five games and seven points (six assists) with 10 (nine assists) from his last nine. He's even managed three power-play points during that span, though he won't help at the faceoff dot as he's 20-for-56 through five contests. The Jets are looking for a second-line center in a possible trade. Or they may end up putting Adam Lowry (14 percent Yahoo!) there. Until then, Namestnikov can help.

Kiefer Sherwood, LW/RW, Vancouver (37 percent Yahoo!) - Sherwood was a wrecking ball on Saturday as he leveled nine hits and picked up an assist in a loss to the Golden Knights. His skills are limited, but he's skating on the top line. And he's dominating the NHL hit list with 303 (not including Sunday), some 90 more than Mathieu Olivier (14 percent Yahoo!). Sherwood has a whopping 30 of them over his last five games after Saturday. At this rate, he's going to obliterate Jeremy Lauzon's (12 percent Yahoo!) single-season hit record of 383 from last year. You can own this category with Sherwood on your team. 

Alex Steeves, C, Toronto (0 percent Yahoo!) - Steeves scored his first NHL goal Saturday on a beautiful feed from John Tavares (92 percent Yahoo!). It was a real sniper's marker, and that's precisely what caught my eye. Steeves is having the best year of his pro career leading the AHL with 29 goals. And his 46 points have him in the top-10. The Leafs need secondary scoring, and Steeves could be their homegrown solution. He only logged 9:03 of ice time Saturday and a touch more on Sunday, so that's always a worry. And he needs more than a C designation to be valuable in fantasy. But he can clearly slot into a middle-six role on the wing and could give the Leafs more scoring than Max Domi (4 percent Yahoo!) or Pontus Holmberg (0 percent Yahoo!) despite the latter's three-point burst Saturday and another goal Sunday. I'm watching this one closely, and not simply because I'm looking for a reason to jettison Domi. I should have done that a long time ago. 

Jason Zucker, LW/RW, Buffalo (22 percent Yahoo!) - Zucker has been on fire since late December, and that has put him on pace for a potential career season at the ripe young age of 33. He looked great Saturday with three assists, four hits, a block and three shots. And Zucker has 23 points (11 goals, 12 assists) across his last 20 outings going back to Dec. 21. That run includes six PPG, four PPA, 21 hits and 39 shots, and he's been a huge part of Buffalo's 12-9-1 success in that stretch. Zucker is woefully under-rostered right now. 

Back to hockey passion reignited. 

The 4 Nations Face-Off got my head and heart back in the game. I got to enjoy the games (and also cover the tourney). And the break helped me address some nagging fantasy decisions. 

With the deadline looming, I folded my tent in the Rotowire Staff League. I moved out expiring contracts for young upside guys, and moved a keepable Andrei Vasilevskiy (99 percent Yahoo!) for a keepable Tim Stutzle (97 percent Yahoo!). Now he and Jack Eichel (99 percent Yahoo!) will be my pillars next year. And I will still have two of Stuart Skinner (95 percent Yahoo!), Alex Nedeljkovic (20 percent Yahoo!) and Yaroslav Askarov (8 percent Yahoo!), all for cheap. 

And I rolled the dice on players like Trevor Zegras and Kirby Dach (both 6 percent Yahoo!), who'll either exceed their current contracts or be droppable after a year. 

I also got a top-50 prospect in Carson Rehkopf (unlisted) for my minors, who's tearing up the OHL. Assets are assets. I will need them to load up next season.

Oh yeah - speaking of passion reignited. Alex Ovechkin (98 percent Yahoo!) ripped off a hat-trick Sunday right when it seemed impossible to break Gretzky's record. He now only needs 13 goals to pass the Great One. I love it. 

Until next week.