There has been a lot of horse-trading of depth forwards in the NHL this season. The latest move was the swap of Nino Niederreiter and Victor Rask between the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. It has been a couple seasons since either player was impactful for fantasy leagues, but it got me thinking about the "change of scenery" deals we've already seen this season.
If you play in a 10-team fantasy league with smaller rosters, none of these players is a guy you need to run out and pick up before someone else does. However, in deeper leagues, I think it may be worth picking your favorite here and speculating on the opportunity going forward. There are usually a few examples every season of players who rediscover their games mid-season in new surroundings. Niederreiter is rostered in 40 percent of ESPN leagues, but the rest of the players below are rostered in 5 percent or less.
Jordan Weal, C, Arizona Coyotes: I feel like Weal has been miscast as a checking-line center in the NHL. He's small and quick, and has proven to be a very good defensive center, but his history is that of a player who knows what to do around the net. Weal had 385 points in 282 games in junior hockey with the Regina Pats, and then managed to get 220 points in 264 games in the AHL. In his last three seasons in the AHL, Weal has 186 points in 192 games. The kid can score, even though he's been given little-to-no opportunity in the NHL to do so. Now with the Coyotes, Weal has been on a line with Clayton Keller and Christian Fischer, which, like it or not, is one of the team's scoring lines.
Josh Leivo, W, Vancouver Canucks: Last week, I looked at the top lines in the NHL, pointing out the trios that have produced the most goals-per-minute as a unit. I didn't mention the line of Leivo, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, which is the fourth-best trio in the NHL this season for goals-per-minute. They have played only 90 minutes total together and all that output came in the games immediately following Leivo's trade to Vancouver. If the Canucks ever reunite this threesome, Leivo is immediately an option to plug into your lineup.
Nino Niederreiter, W, Carolina Hurricanes: He's only 26 years old, yet he has three 20-goal seasons under his belt. That's why I'm not writing off Niederreiter just yet. There's some flexibility to be found in the Hurricanes lineup and Niederreiter may be an option to inject on the team's power play. Carolina's man-advantage has had 156 opportunities (fifth-most in the league) but has scored only 26 times (20th in the league). Even though he's struggling, Niederreiter can still be a force on the power play, as seen by his three goals and eight points with the extra skater this season.
Daniel Sprong, W, and Devin Shore, C, Anaheim Ducks: The opportunities keep coming and, one of these days, Sprong is going to spring. I have no doubt he will be a scoring-line threat in the NHL at some point. It looked like he was ready to go after a point-per-game rookie campaign in the AHL last season, but sadly Sprong struggled in Pittsburgh and was dealt to the Ducks just before Anaheim's epic losing skid -- which is finally over! Meanwhile, Shore has some offense to his game, but last season's minus-30 for the Stars doesn't exactly lure you in. He played on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Rickard Rakell on Thursday in Anaheim's win, so he could stay there for the time being. Both of these players have the potential to carve out a role, but it will take some work.
Carl Hagelin, W, Los Angeles Kings: We know Hagelin can be a part of a successful scoring line, as he's had great stretches in the past. Still, he has yet to put together a complete season. In fact, before the trade, his line (with Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel) in Pittsburgh scored 11 times in 145 minutes together, which still ranks 21st in the NHL this season in goals-per-minute. On Thursday, he scored his first goal since October while playing his most minutes to date in Los Angeles (16:33). If he gets a top-line opportunity, he may be worth a look.
Drake Caggiula, W, Chicago Blackhawks: What a lucky guy! Caggiula got to play on a line with Connor McDavid earlier this season and he's now lined up with Patrick Kane. He picked up an assist in his first game with Kane and Dylan Strome on Thursday. He will pick up a few more points simply by virtue of sharing the ice with this duo, assuming he can keep the job.
Fantasy Forecaster: Jan. 21-Feb. 3
The bye weeks have arrived and, combined with the break for the All-Star Game, you're going to find yourself short on stats for this scoring period. This scoring period has been extended to two weeks on ESPN.com because of the lack of games, so Week 17 runs through Feb. 3. By combining the two weeks, we actually end up with a pretty typical scoring period -- eight teams play four games, three teams play twice and the rest play three times. Still, it's going to feel light because of the extended time frame. If John Gibson is your goaltender, for example, you will go from Jan. 24 to Feb. 1 without his team playing a game.
Teams playing four games: The Hurricanes, Wild, Nashville Predators, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Vegas Golden Knights, Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets all play four times during this scoring period. All eight teams have a back-to-back set somewhere in the mix, so no goaltender gets to stand above the crowd here for a possible four-start scoring period.
Teams playing two games: The Ducks, Kings and Canucks have only two games on tap during this two-week stretch. The matchups for all three are on the tough side, too, so it may be worth shying away from many of the options here. Outside of Anze Kopitar, Brock Boeser and Drew Doughty, I don't know that there's anyone you should really feel obligated to start for the entire scoring period.
Highlights from teams playing three games: Back-to-back sets somehow manage to be a major part of the schedule despite there being so few games over a two-week stretch. Of the teams playing three games, the Coyotes, Sharks, Sabres, Blackhawks, Stars, Red Wings, Panthers, Canadiens, Islanders, Lightning, Senators and Maple Leafs all have a back-to-back set in the mix. That could take important fantasy starts away from Martin Jones, Ben Bishop, Carey Price, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Frederik Andersen.
For those new to the forecaster chart, here are some explanations: "O" (offense) and "D" (defense) matchup ratings are based on a scale from 1 (poor matchup) to 10 (excellent matchup) and are calculated using a formula that evaluates the team's season-to-date statistics, its performance in home/road games depending on where the game is to be played, and its opponents' numbers in those categories. The "Ratings" column lists the cumulative rating from 1 to 10 of that week's offensive ("O") and defensive ("D") matchups.
Every week, the focus in the notes below will be mainly on players who are available for potential use. The generalized cutoff is that a player is rostered in less than 50 percent of ESPN leagues, but this space will also include players below 10 percent whenever possible to try to cater to deeper formats.
Team notes
Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes grade out the strongest on the Forecaster over the combined two weeks. Anecdotally, I wouldn't have guessed that matchups with the Flames (twice), Canucks and Golden Knights would be that strong for both offense and defense, and I still don't think there's a goaltender here you can lock in for the whole scoring period. ... Niederreiter practiced on a line with Greg McKegg and Justin Williams, which is where he'll debut on Friday. I don't think that's quite enough of a role to lock him into lineups, though I admit that I like the look of the second power-play unit, which features Niederreiter, rookie Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton, among others. ... For possible pickups to make in order to take advantage of the schedule, I'm looking at Jaccob Slavin and Micheal Ferland. Slavin has put together a solid January with five points in eight games, and Ferland is on the top line and still available in about half of leagues.
Winnipeg Jets: The Jets offense is rocking a perfect offensive rating for the coming schedule and, because of Nikolaj Ehlers' absence, there is actually an opening in which you can find some potential help on the wire. Jack Roslovic hasn't exploded yet, but playing with Patrik Laine and Bryan Little has almost doubled his ice time and he has the talent to start putting up points. He's not a terrible dart throw if you happen to have a larger share of the two-game teams (Ducks, Kings, Canucks) on your roster. For that matter, if Little is available in your league, he's riding a seven-game point streak. ... If you have Gibson as one of your goaltenders and are worried about your head-to-head categories for the coming week, toss out Laurent Brossoit instead. He'll get at least one start and is 10-1-1 this season.
Player notes
Alex Killorn, W, Tampa Bay Lightning: Tyler Johnson went down in Wednesday's game. We don't know the extent of the injury yet, but if he's out for a bit, Killorn is usually the "next man up" in this offense. He could be useful over this stretch if Johnson's injury keeps him out.
Vincent Trocheck, C, Florida Panthers: It's time to pick up Trocheck again. He was dropped in about one-quarter of fantasy leagues after an ankle injury that, at first glance, looked like enough to keep him out for the season. However, Trocheck has healed and is practicing with the Panthers again. If he's lingering on the free-agent pile, snap him up.
Tony DeAngelo, D, New York Rangers: With Neal Pionk sidelined and Kevin Shattenkirk still doing little offensively, DeAngelo is getting a chance to move up the depth chart. He's a young, puck-moving defenseman who has struggled to get regular shifts so far this season. However, he got two goals on Tuesday and was rewarded with his first 20-plus-minute game since mid-December on Thursday.
Max Jones, W, Anaheim Ducks: We are getting our first look at this future power forward for the Ducks. He profiles as the type of player who could end up on a scoring line in the future, helping clear space in the offensive zone and putting pucks in the back of the net. He has 12 goals and 12 assists as an AHL rookie, and has the best combination of PIM and points in the league's rookie class, with 42 penalty minutes in 32 games. While he's not worth stashing just yet, keep an eye on him.