This article is part of our Ice and Fire series.
Patrick Kane's monster season has seen him enter the All-Star break as the NHL leader in goals (30), assists (43) and of course points. His 73 points are 15 more than the current runner up for the Art Ross Trophy, Jamie Benn. Kane has been on another level this year, enjoying easily the best offensive season of his career. While this point total is hardly going to set any records, considering the way overall league scoring has fallen off recently, the fact that Kane is so far ahead of his nearest competition is staggering.
In most drafts, Kane ended up coming relatively cheaply due to offseason legal issues that took a while to get resolved. But with that cleared up, we've seen a newly motivated Kane, whose spectacular play has led to the Calder Trophy candidacy of rookie linemate Artemi Panarin and given veteran center Artem Anisimov the highest value of his career. With 17 goals, Anisimov should easily break his career high of 22 this year, and he's on pace to finish with a positive rating for the first time since his days with the Rangers.
To this point, Kane has positioned himself to be the top forward taken in next fall's drafts, but owners should still expect some regression. Prior to this season, Kane had only cracked the 30-goal plateau once, back in 2009-10. He registered 88 points that year, but hasn't come close to replicating those numbers between then and his current exploits.
Fantasy Norris
Patrick Kane's monster season has seen him enter the All-Star break as the NHL leader in goals (30), assists (43) and of course points. His 73 points are 15 more than the current runner up for the Art Ross Trophy, Jamie Benn. Kane has been on another level this year, enjoying easily the best offensive season of his career. While this point total is hardly going to set any records, considering the way overall league scoring has fallen off recently, the fact that Kane is so far ahead of his nearest competition is staggering.
In most drafts, Kane ended up coming relatively cheaply due to offseason legal issues that took a while to get resolved. But with that cleared up, we've seen a newly motivated Kane, whose spectacular play has led to the Calder Trophy candidacy of rookie linemate Artemi Panarin and given veteran center Artem Anisimov the highest value of his career. With 17 goals, Anisimov should easily break his career high of 22 this year, and he's on pace to finish with a positive rating for the first time since his days with the Rangers.
To this point, Kane has positioned himself to be the top forward taken in next fall's drafts, but owners should still expect some regression. Prior to this season, Kane had only cracked the 30-goal plateau once, back in 2009-10. He registered 88 points that year, but hasn't come close to replicating those numbers between then and his current exploits.
Fantasy Norris Trophy
Ottawa's Erik Karlsson is the obvious winner here with 52 points in 50 games – nine more points than Brent Burns, who entered the break in second place. But despite trailing Karlsson, San Jose's bearded blueliner is my choice.
Burns' 18 goals through 48 games lead all defensemen, and he has a legitimate shot at becoming the first blueliner since Mike Green in 2008-09 to crack 30 goals. The 30-year-old fell into a second tier of defenders in most drafts, going after Karlsson, P.K. Subban and several others, which has rewarded owners who snagged him with substantial value. He's been the most productive blueliner on the power play with 19 points, Burns' 19 power-play points and 205 shots on goal are tops among defensemen, with his shot total beating second-place Justin Faulk by 51. There's no doubt that he's been one of the biggest reasons – along with Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski – that San Jose sports the league's third-best power play.
At Last?
Jake Allen and Petr Mrazek appear to have finally unseated a pair of veteran goalies to lay claim to No. 1 netminder roles. Allen outplayed Brian Elliott for St. Louis, while Mrazek's impressive efforts will likely spell the end of the Jimmy Howard era in Motor City.
These two fine young goalies looked to be on parallel paths this year, but it's funny how quickly an injury can change that. Allen was enjoying a tremendous season for the Blues with a .924 save percentage and 18-10-5 record before suffering a lower-body ailment three weeks ago; he's still listed as week-to-week, and his absence has allowed Brian Elliott to regain some ground.
Elliott started the last nine games for St. Louis heading into the All-Star break, rewarding owners who snatched him off their waiver wires by going 5-2-2 with a stellar .940 save percentage and 1.98 GAA. He's allowed more than two goals just twice in that span, with no blowups. Given that St. Louis is winning games, Allen will have to come back just as strong as he was before the injury to regain a majority of the starts.
Allen is still the long-term solution in St. Louis, but Elliott's recent form definitely makes him a useful option whenever he gets the call between the pipes.
Shifting to Detroit, Mrazek has always figured into the Red Wings' plans after several successful AHL campaigns in Grand Rapids. Mrazek has started 12 of Detroit's 15 games since Christmas, posting a ridiculous .944 save percentage and miniscule 1.60 GAA en route to an 8-3-1 record with two shutouts in that span. His emergence as the No. 1 backstop has been a tremendous reward for owners who banked on him beating out Howard. Further boosting Mrazek's stock, Howard has struggled of late, losing his last three starts.
Crease Concerns
Roberto Luongo has entered the Hart Trophy discussion with his indispensable play in goal for the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers. Considering he was in the middle tier of fantasy goalies on draft day, Luongo and his .930 save percentage have provided tremendous value for owners. No one expected Bobby Lu to win a whole lot in Florida, but his 22 victories have him tied for fifth in the league with New Jersey's Cory Schneider.
Look at the goalies who went at the top of most drafts: Carey Price, Henrik Lundqvist, Tuukka Rask and Pekka Rinne. Luongo's stats are right there with any of those guys, if not better in most cases. The likes of Luongo, Schneider, Chicago's Corey Crawford and San Jose's Martin Jones have been far more reliable, and at a far lower cost. Apparently, high-priced goalies aren't as reliable as they used to be. You'll be better served loading up on scoring talent and waiting until the second wave of goalies in next fall's drafts.
