Frozen Fantasy: Don’t Stress the Small Stuff

There were a lot of nice home openers this season. Montreal always impresses. But the best came in Columbus. 13 seconds. Johnny Hockey's toddler pointed to the rafters. And his BFF Sean Monahan (15 percent Yahoo!) honoured him with a goal. 

There wasn't a dry eye anywhere in hockey. 

The streams on X trending that night and the next day ripped my guts out, like they did yours. Just like the tributes to Wade Belak after this death. 

In 2012, CBC's Hockey Night in Canada did a Belak tribute on the night of the Leafs' home opener. It may have even been the simulcast of the Leafs' in-house tribute to him. 

I broke with the image of Belak during a Leafs warmup, touching the glass and waving at his infant daughter in his wife's arms. It still gets me. In the same way an empty spot on the left wing on the opening draw. Except for a puck.

It's easy to stress the small stuff. Being stuck in traffic. Worrying about a tight fantasy week. Getting frustrated when the UberEats app is down. 

Johnny Gaudreau would love to stress the small stuff. So would everyone who loves him. 

Remember the 13 seconds the next time you lose a close game. Or someone rattles your chain on the road. Life's too short to do anything else. 

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Anthony Cirelli, C, Tampa Bay (4 percent Yahoo!) - Cirelli may help if you're streaming or stacking starts in daily leagues. He has four points (one goal, three assists), 19 faceoff wins, five hits and four blocks in his last three games as the Bolts 2C. Cirelli has never posted more than 45 points in a season, but that could change this year. But don't hold him if the scoring dries up for a few games. Be ruthless and pick up someone else. 

Ross Colton, LW/C, Colorado (46 percent Yahoo!) - Colton should buy a Powerball ticket. He went from the bottom-six to the first line and PP1. And Colton's performing with a five-game, seven-point week that included six goals. And he's continued to lay hits, which makes him a great multicategory player. This isn't short-term as Colton will skate with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen (both 100 percent Yahoo!) for a while.  Fellow left winger Jonathan Drouin (22 percent Yahoo!) hit the IR this week, and neither Artturi Lehkonen (51 percent Yahoo!) nor Gabriel Landeskog (47 percent Yahoo!) have return dates. A career year is on the horizon.

Casey DeSmith, G, Dallas (11 percent Yahoo!) - Two words: spot starts. Jake Oettinger (100 percent Yahoo!) started 53 games last season and 61 the one before. That leaves 20-30 appearances for DeSmith on one of the NHL's best teams. That's pretty much a guarantee for 15 wins (maybe more) and fantastic ratios. 

Samuel Girard, D, Colorado (2 percent Yahoo!) -  Girard is going to fill the boots of Devon Toews (89 percent Yahoo!), who went on the IR Sunday morning on the Avs' top pairing and PP2. He's but a season removed from a 37-point effort, and he simply needs an opportunity to show his stuff. Looks like Girard has it, at least in the next little while. 

Kevin Lankinen, G, Vancouver (26 percent Yahoo!) - Lankinen is the de facto starter in Vancouver with no Thatcher Demko (93 percent Yahoo!) in sight. Demko's injury is a tough one - a problem popliteus is usually a sign of a bigger problem in the knee. I hope not, for his sake and fantasy managers alike. Get Lankinen as insurance. I bet on Arturs Silovs (18 percent Yahoo!) in a preseason draft. It seems Lankinen has taken the reins so far.  

Anton Lundell, RW/C, Florida (34 percent Yahoo!) - Give men an opportunity, and the good ones will seize it. That's Lundell, whose game took off when he slid up the lineup with Aleksander Barkov's (96 percent Yahoo!) injury. He's on a four-game, seven-point streak (four goals, three assists) heading into Tuesday while Barkov may be out for another week. Carpe diem! Lundell isn't the fastest guy, yet he's always on the right side of the puck. Never fail. And those smarts are producing points. 

Bobby McMann, LW, Toronto (4 percent Yahoo!) - McMann is a north-south power scorer who's earning the confidence of new coach Craig Berube. His ice time has gone up from 10:20 to 15:25 over the course of four games, even earning time with William Nylander (100 percent Yahoo!) and Max Domi (16 percent Yahoo!) on the second unit. And McMann has delivered three goals on 10 shots and nine hits. He's even participated on PP2. McMann isn't a lock on that trio, but his odds improve with every hard-nosed effort. That's the Berube way. 

Jamie Oleksiak, D, Seattle (2 percent Yahoo!) - Need blocks or hits? They're often overlooked early in the season, and then we get desperate when we're too far behind to catch up in those categories. You can start early with a player like Oleksiak, who's already registered 13 blocks and 11 hits while staying on the plus side of the ledger. I'm a big fan of using my last D spot for a specialty guy such as Oleksiak - he's headed for a 200-block campaign. Consider the bulk-up-early strategy even if you don't like the giant Kraken. There are others like Oleksiak who can help in the same way. 

Vladislav Namestnikov, LW/C, Winnipeg (6 percent Yahoo!) - Namestnikov is off to a hot start. He's centering Cole Perfetti (below) and Nikolaj Ehlers (85 percent Yahoo!) on the second line, and that trio exploded Friday for 11 points total. And Namestnikov went off for a goal and three assists in that contest. Sure, it was the lowly Sharks, though it was a huge game nonetheless. Namestnikov wouldn't be a 2C on a lot of other teams. But think back to his junior days as he knows how to play with talented snipers like Ehlers. Back then, he skated with Nikita Kucherov (100 percent Yahoo!) with their London Knights winning the OHL championship. Anything is possible.  

Cole Perfetti, LW/C, Winnipeg (21 percent Yahoo!) - Perfetti is uber-talented and smart and finally getting to show that off in the Jets' top-six. I don't think he's the star people thought he'd be when he was drafted 10th overall in 2020 as his feet just aren't quick enough. But Perfetti will have games like Friday when he notched two power-play goals and added two assists. The Jets are headed to the postseason again, and that means anyone in the upper half of their depth chart will be fantasy-worthy. 

John-Jason Peterka, RW, Buffalo (38 percent Yahoo!) - Here's a bright light on a decent team off to a bad start. Peterka's four goals (five games) tie him with Tage Thompson (98 percent Yahoo!) for the team lead, and his six points overall also match Thompson for second in overall scoring. Peterka's 40.0 shooting percentage is unsustainable, though he's a sniper who's on PP1. Get him now before he's gone. 

Damon Severson, D, Columbus (2 percent Yahoo!) - Good players on bad teams can have real fantasy impact. Severson has long been considered Shea Weber-lite with a combination of two-way poise, defensive acumen and veteran leadership that's precisely what the Jackets need as they navigate the most trying period of their existence. Severson had his season-starting four-game point streak snapped Saturday night. He's up to a goal and three assists in five games combined with nine shots, nine blocks and a plus-3 rating. That will go a long way toward stabilizing your blueline on the cheap. 

Maxim Tsyplakov, RW, NY Islanders (5 percent Yahoo!) - Opportunity has knocked for Tsyplakov, who should get the first shot filling Anthony Duclair's (14 percent Yahoo!) spot on the first line alongside Bo Horvat (72 percent Yahoo!) and Mathew Barzal (90 percent Yahoo!). If you didn't see it, Duclair was helped off the ice Saturday and couldn't put any weight on his right leg. Tsyplakov can score as he potted 31 goals (47 points) in 65 games with the KHL's Moscow Spartak last season. Yes, he's still getting used to the smaller NHL ice, yet his sniping alongside Barzal's playmaking? That's worth a speculative bid.

Dan Vladar, G, Calgary (8 percent Yahoo!) - Like him or not, Vladar is in a straight platoon for the leading team in the Pacific. No, the Flames won't stay there. They can ill afford to get enamored with their hot start as this is a rebuild year. But Dustin Wolf (42 percent Yahoo!) is too green to start 50-55 games. And the team needs to protect his development for the long-term. Some young netminder never recover from being misused early in their careers. Vladar will hurt you some days, and help on others. But that can be said of a lot of NHL goaltenders. Spot starts await. 

Back to the small stuff. Or not. 

It's your choice. I know which route I'm traveling. 

It's the relaxing scenic one. I even changed one of my fantasy teams' names to Waiting for Gaudreau, so I always remember. 

Until next week.