Frozen Fantasy: Raise the Floor

I got a bit of a shock this week. I toggled the "Show my team" filter in the player list. Ugh. 

Why is perception so different from reality?

I'll start by saying it was in a league where I'm sitting second overall. A three-forward, two-D, one-G daily head-to-head where I can roll Auston Matthews, Kirill Kaprizov and Jason Robertson a lot of nights. I'm doing great, so why go looking?

Easy – perception is different from reality.

The success of my squad is tied to more than those three players. There are plenty of nights when I don't have one or all of those three in my roster, and I still need to win that matchup. "Show my team" sure was a sobering moment. 

I drafted Sam Reinhart (83 percent Yahoo!) early after last year's 82 points. Seemed sound – he'd be a great bench guy. Right? But "Show my team" flagged that eight free-agent forwards are YTD more valuable than Reinhart, who is ranked 142 right now (pre-season 60). 

And it includes three guys with pre-season ranks of – wait for it – 650, 679 and 745. Those three, in order, are Gabriel Vilardi, David Krejci and Andrei Kuzmenko. One could argue that Krejci could easily outperform Reinhart the rest of the way. And maybe Vilardi, too. OK, even Kuzmenko. Ugh.  

Then I found free-agent rookie Matias Maccelli (2 percent Yahoo!) ranked two spots ahead of my Vladimir Tarasenko (90 percent Yahoo!). YTD Maccelli, who was ranked 819 in the preseason, has more PPG and GWG. In fact, Tarasenko has none. 

Zilch, nothing, nadda. 

I'm not planning on dumping Tarasenko for Maccelli, but I'm going to go through all my teams this week. I need to test my perceptions against the realities of my teams. It's all about raising the floor on all my teams. Like they do in the NHL. 

Teams today are most successful when the lower lines are as skilled as possible. Gone are the enforcers and hard-hitting forecheckers with stone hands. The player at the bottom of this list is a prime example. Take a look at what he's doing with just under 10 minutes of ice a night. 

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

Matt Benning, D, San Jose (2 percent Yahoo!) – Erik Karlsson gets all the glory on the Sharks' blue line, but Benning is contributing some sneaky value deep under the radar. Yeah, Matt Benning. The points are a surprise – he had five in seven games heading into Buffalo on Sunday night. But the blocks aren't. Benning has 22 in that span and 12 hits. At this rate, he'll set career marks (and top 100) in both categories, and may even flirt with close to 25 points. Weigh your options – steady and boring can sometimes be a better option than using up valuable moves chasing those specialty categories. 

J.T. Compher, RW/C, Colorado (4 percent Yahoo!) – The Avs will upgrade their 2C at some point this season. But for now, Compher is their man and he was impressive Thursday night. He played more than 22 minutes, scored twice and added two assists. Compher's slow start is behind him and his 10 points, including eight helpers, in 10 games heading into Saturday is steady production for just about any roster.

Dylan Cozens, C, Buffalo (38 percent Yahoo!) – Cozens is entrenched as the Sabres' 2C, on PP1 and is pacing toward his first 70-point season. He was on a three-game, four-goal streak (six points) heading into Sunday and has 10 points in his last seven games (32 SOG). Tage Thompson gets all the attention in Buffalo, but Cozens is a pure goal scorer with a high hockey IQ. And that skill set should never be overlooked. He jumped from 27 percent rostered to 38 overnight Saturday, so move fast. 

Nicolas Deslauriers, LW, Philadelphia (6 percent Yahoo!) – No, I'm not out of my mind. Deslauriers has been a human wrecking ball on ice, especially over the last couple weeks. Since Nov. 19, he's racked up 31 PIM - mostly based on majors and a misconduct - and 45 hits. His two assists are just gravy – I really don't expect much there. But Deslauriers is on track for more than 350 hits and close to 200 PIM. He's more of an old-school category king - especially for managers in meathead leagues - than someone who lifts the floor overall. But a king is still a king.  

Vince Dunn, D, Seattle (53 percent Yahoo!) – Throw out Dunn's first 15 games – the defender has finally found the offensive spark fantasy managers have dreamed about for so many years. He went into Saturday's tilt with the Panthers on a three-game, four-point streak with eight points (two goals, six helpers) in his last eight games. Best of all, half of those came with the man-advantage. Sprinkle on 13 SOG and 10 blocks, and Dunn's appeal becomes even brighter. That point streak stopped Saturday, but someone in your league will regret dropping him when you snap him up. 

Mikael Granlund, C, Nashville (14 percent Yahoo!) – Granlund has had a funny season. He's on pace to match his 64 points from last season, but he's only rostered in about one-in-every-seven leagues. He's on PP1 and the Preds' top line, but he's just not taking as many faceoffs. Granlund is on a modest three-game, three-point streak heading into this week, and last season's sixth-rated power play is bound to improve from its spot in the basement (26th overall). Stream the Preds-Bolts on Thursday night and see if he stands out. Granlund will be on watch lists soon after. 

Pierre-Olivier Joseph, D, Pittsburgh (0 percent Yahoo!) – Joseph is young and inexperienced, and the Pens likely hoped they could ease him into increased responsibility. Nope. Not with Kris Letang (stroke) out and with no timetable for a return. There will be growing pains, but Joseph has the pedigree to fill Letang's skates on the power play. Jump on him if you have room – that Pens' PP is potent and Joseph is a better fit long term than Jeff Petry, who's getting first crack at PP1.

Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Carolina (35 percent Yahoo!) – Frederik Andersen is hurt (again). And it's third-stringer Kochetkov and not Antti Raanta (36 percent Yahoo!) who has seized the blue paint. The young goaltender defeated the Pens on Tuesday, got a win over the Blues in relief on Thursday, and held the Kings to two goals in another win Saturday. The Canes are a sharp play most nights and it looks like they've left that five-game skid in late November behind. I'm betting on Kochetkov, at least over the next month. Maybe more. 

Spencer Martin, G, Vancouver (26 percent Yahoo!) – Get him now. Thatcher Demko is out six weeks with a lower-body injury and AHL call-up Collin Delia isn't the answer, even in spot starts. Martin has been better than Demko for much of this season, and his star is about to rise. Check out Jason Chen's The Goalie Report for more.

Cole Perfetti, LW/RW/C, Winnipeg (29 percent Yahoo!) – Perfetti has elite hockey IQ and the talent to match, and he can skate with the best. And his deployment on the top line in the mosquito capital of Canada has been nothing short of impressive. The 20-year-old has Mark Scheifele as his pivot and Blake Wheeler on the other flank, and the trio has taken off. Perfetti is on a five-game, seven-point (one goal, six assists) streak heading into this week and he's fired 15 shots over that span. The kid had one of the best shots in the 2020 Draft class, so goals are bound to come. He could easily challenge the Kraken's Matty Beniers for the Calder by season's end. 

Rasmus Sandin, D, Toronto (21 percent Yahoo!) – I'm among the many who've wondered if Sandin would ever feel comfortable in blue-and-white. And I rolled my eyes two Saturdays ago when he woofed on a pass and gifted Sidney Crosby a goal. But last Monday, he looked strong against the Wings and ended up with a goal and an assist. And Saturday against the Bolts, Sandin looked even more confident – defending, carrying the puck and on PP1. The Leafs are a potent offense and that top power-play unit is beyond stacked. It's opportunity time for Sandin, at least until Morgan Rielly returns in a few weeks. 

Daniel Sprong, LW/RW, Seattle (1 percent Yahoo!) – Sprong had a rough summer. All 32 NHL teams said, 'no thanks' to a deal – even Seattle, who he'd played for in 2021-22. He took a slice of the ol' humble pie, inked a PTO from the Kraken and showed that he deserved a fourth-line gig. His ice time is under 10 minutes a night, but he's relaxed and thriving… to the tune of 14 points in 17 games heading into this week. Sprong has always boasted talent, so he can slide up the lineup at any time. And he's being deployed on the power play (both units) as the weak-side slapper option. 

Back to raising the floor. 

Sprong's the epitome of a raise-the-floor talent. But I get it – it's not easy to just dump guys, especially name ones, for better statistical performers on lower lines. I can talk all I want, but as I said before, I'm not dumping Vladimir Tarasenko for Matias Maccelli. 

But I might trade Tarasenko based on name-value, history and potential, and do it in a deal that allows me to upgrade my D. I have Filip Hronek, Quinn Hughes, Brent Burns and Noah Dobson, but it's a huge drop-off to Jared Spurgeon, who's next on my list. 

Raise the floor. That upgrade would then let me pluck Krejci or Sprong or any of the other guys off the wire, and the net gain would be huge.

I think I need to go find a trade partner. L8r. 

Until next week.