20 Fantasy Thoughts: Pettersson struggling mightily to score

What is going on with Elias Pettersson?

That’s the question every Vancouver Canucks fan is asking and same goes for those who have invested a lot in Pettersson on their fantasy hockey squad. Pettersson has just one goal in his past 18 regular season games and only one even-strength goal in his past 23. He’s scored at a 49-point pace over his past 30 games and looks nothing like the player who notched more than 100 points two years ago. If it’s too early to hit the panic button yet, it’s not very far off.

It’s still early, but when you factor in Pettersson having just two assists in five games this year and add that to the second half of last season, it’s fair to be concerned. Jake DeBrusk’s arrival was supposed to help, though it hasn’t clicked and DeBrusk has already been shuffled off Pettersson’s line. There simply aren’t elite linemates for Pettersson to play with, so he’s going to have to drive his own line or feast on the man advantage, which simply isn’t happening.

Pettersson hasn’t been able to get anything going on the power play either and Vancouver’s top unit is loaded with talent, making it even more puzzling that he can’t get back on track. He’s in a major funk and it brings up some hard questions on what to do with him.

It’s probably a bit early to think about trading him in your fantasy league, though I’m sure the buy-low sharks are starting to circle. There’s probably going to be a number of people seeing if they can take Pettersson off your hands for pennies on the dollar, which could come back to haunt you if you move him hastily. It’s always a good idea to bet on talent and Pettersson does have plenty of it, even if we’re not seeing it right now.

As difficult as it is, patience is the best path forward here. Pettersson is averaging better than a point per game for his career, so history says at some point he’ll snap out of it. This is the time of year when critical mistakes are made during the fantasy hockey season and navigating it correctly can help set you up to win your league. There may be a time to move on from Pettersson, but it’s not now.

1. Advantage Kevin Lankinen in the battle for the Canucks crease. He’s outplayed Arturs Silovs so far with three quality starts and while Vancouver was still rotating both guys every other game, Lankinen just received two starts in a row. At some point, they may have to start leaning more on Lankinen until Thatcher Demko is ready to return.

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2. Tough luck for Kent Johnson going down with an injury, who looked like he might have been fantasy relevant this season. The Columbus Blue Jackets forward was off to a great start, scoring five points in four games and seeing a massive uptick in ice time. He was averaging nearly 20 minutes a night this year before the injury, up significantly from the 13:33 he averaged in 2023-24. Johnson was getting time on the No. 1 power play and it looked like there was potential for a breakout season.

3. Three goals for Seamus Casey so far on the New Jersey Devils blue line. Casey is taking advantage of Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce being sidelined with injuries, but his ice time is still limited and he isn’t much for peripherals. I don’t think I’d add Casey at this point, but keep him on your watchlist in case he sees a bump in power play time.

4. Jake Allen should have some decent value this season and has started strong out of the gates with a pair of quality starts. All the hype around the Devils crease heading into this season had to do with Jacob Markstrom, but Allen should play at least once a week behind a strong team. He could be the perfect third goalie for a fantasy team that is looking for quality over quantity.

5. Utah looks like a team that you might want to bench your goalies against this season. They’ve scored at least four goals in four of their six games, including putting six past Igor Shesterkin late last week. Utah’s young talent is really hitting their stride and they have a handful of electric forwards that can light the lamp.

6. Filip Gustavsson is the latest netminder to score a goalie goal and it was on the power play as well. I’ll always maintain these should count for like 10 points in fantasy leagues. It’s a fun wrinkle that’s so rare, so why not have some fun with it.

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7. Los Angeles Kings forward Alex Laferriere is worth a look if you’re in search of offence. He’s up to three goals on the season and has landed a spot on the No. 1 power play. His shot volume has been solid as well, notching five shots in two separate games. I’m not sure how long that deployment with the man advantage is going to last for Laferriere, but he’s worth a short-term pickup as the Kings’ schedule eases up over the next couple of weeks. Games against Anaheim, San Jose and Chicago should be fruitful.

8. After a bit of a slow start, Quinton Byfield has been shifted back to the wing on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. That’s the best spot for him from a fantasy perspective, as playing down the lineup at centre will make it more challenging for him to produce offence. There are more defensive responsibilities down the middle and even though it might be better for Byfield to play there from the Kings’ perspective for depth purposes, if you’re rostering him, you should be hoping he stays on the wing.

9. Matty Beniers’ hopeful bounce-back season isn’t off to a great start. The Seattle Kraken forward has just a single assist so far, despite the Kraken scoring 13 times in a two-game stretch last week and notching five in another game this year. They’ve been scoring in bunches, but Beniers is having trouble getting on the scoresheet despite getting solid minutes. I still think Beniers is going to have good long-term value, but you can only be so patient in one-year leagues.

10. Jeremy Swayman has been a little up and down to start the year. That shouldn’t be overly surprising considering he missed camp, but I’m curious to see how he handles a much bigger workload this year. He’s never played more than 44 games in a season before and has only started more than three in a row twice in his career. Swayman is going to exceed both of those significantly in 2024-25.

11. It’s only a matter of time before Mason McTavish becomes a multi-cat stud. He’s still learning the NHL game and has some inconsistencies, but Wednesday night’s game against Utah gives you a glimpse of what he can provide. McTavish notched two points, three shots, two hits and nine faceoff wins. He’s going to be tremendous for category coverage when he figures it all out.

12. You’re probably breathing a sigh of relief right now if you’re rostering Ilya Sorokin. After Semyon Varlamov played the first two games, Sorokin got the next two starts and has been excellent. The New York Islanders goaltender is coming off off-season back surgery and lost his job late last year to Varlamov, making him somewhat of a risky pick this year. If Sorokin can stay healthy and play at this level, though, he’s certainly going to outperform his ADP.

13. Don’t look now, but Erik Gustafsson is on power play one for the Detroit Red Wings and has already picked up a couple of points on the man advantage. Gustafsson, who is only 3 per cent rostered, typically isn’t a long-term hold, as he’s only really worth rostering when he gets top power play time. There are a lot of flaws in his game, but he can definitely quarterback a power play. Ride the wave while you can.

14. Has there been a more surprising team this year than the Calgary Flames? Part of the reason Calgary has started 4-0-1 is a resurgence from Jonathan Huberdeau, who looks like he could be fantasy-relevant again for the first time in a couple of years. Huberdeau is off to the races with six points and his line with Martin Pospisil and Anthony Mantha looks very solid. We’ve seen small hot streaks from Huberdeau before, but this feels a little different based on the eye test. He appears more confident and is snapping the puck around the way he did when he put up those big seasons in Florida. I’m not saying it’s going to last, but there is more upside with someone like Huberdeau compared to most others on waivers.

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15. I’ll raise my hand and own up to being wrong about Dustin Wolf, at least for now. I was concerned Wolf was going to struggle this year behind a bad Flames team, but he’s been excellent so far. Granted, Calgary is playing above expectations at the moment and Wolf’s outings have come against Chicago and Philadelphia, though Wolf’s talent is good enough to at least be used for spot starts in favourable matchups going forward.

16. The Tampa Bay Lightning’s current power play deployment right now is puzzling, to say the least. Tampa is not only operating with two defenders on the top unit, but one of those D-men is Darren Raddysh. That means Brandon Hagel is relegated to the second unit along with Nick Paul, who actually had nine power-play goals a season ago.

I wouldn’t be rushing out to grab Raddysh because he hasn’t done anything with the opportunity and this formation is unlikely to last.
Tampa’s power play is currently ranked 28th when last year they were the best in the league, so something tells me there’s going to be a shakeup coming there sometime soon.

17. A couple of Pittsburgh Penguin forwards to keep an eye on. Jesse Puljujarvi has a four-game point streak and is a great story. It looked like the former fourth-overall pick’s NHL career may have been over, but Puljujarvi has landed on his feet in Pittsburgh and may have found a home.

Meanwhile, Rickard Rakell was really clicking on Evgeni Malkin’s line and recently had a stretch where he notched goals in three straight games. Rakell is probably the higher upside add that you may be able to keep long term, though the Pens play on Sunday and if you’re looking for a streamer just for one game, Puljujarvi could be the play. He’s the hotter of the two at the moment.

18. The Devils have a great schedule once again next week with four games, so it’s a good time to consider Dawson Mercer. He scored Saturday and was just promoted to a line with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. The C/RW eligibility doesn’t hurt either.

I’d also maybe look at an off-the-board add for a spot start in goal. If Joseph Woll is still hurt, there’s a good chance Dennis Hildeby will play the second half of a back-to-back for the Toronto Maple Leafs in a good matchup against the Blue Jackets. Hildeby looked solid in his first start earlier this season.

If you’re still holding Jack Quinn, now might be the time to drop him. The Buffalo Sabres play just twice and Quinn has only one point with virtually no shot volume. He was also scratched recently as well.

19. Grab Ross Colton while you still can. He’s scored four times in his past four games and is up on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. Colton also just received dual eligibility and is filling the shots and hits column on a nightly basis. If he continues to play this well, Jonathan Drouin is going to have a tough time earning his spot back when he’s healthy.

20. Philip Broberg has a point in every game this season and is getting huge minutes for the St. Louis Blues. That offer sheet is looking better and better with each passing game.