Fantasy Hockey Quarter Point Trends and Pretends 10.0 (NHL Power Rankings)

We are just over 36% into the 2015-2016 NHL season.

Have you ever seen Hoarders the show? Do you see how people assign sentimental notions to tons of possessions and can't let go? Well in fantasy we do the same thing sometimes, I am very guilty of this, I have a player who helped me win a championships or has consistently produced for me and I want to stick by him thick and thin because of that. But sometimes it's time to cut the cord and set them free, they surely don't know that you've let them go and won't care, it's all about you being willing to move on to a better and more promising option. Below are players that I am letting go in a 10 or 12 team league. Some may be obvious and yet they still have some decent form of ownership. Below are players that I am cutting ties with the for the season, not just a week lapse. This is not full proof, there is always a chance that one of these players turns around and has an all-star year but you have to play the odds. These are players who are declining in points and other stats for one or multiple reasons and can be replaced by better odds players:

1.       Marian Gaborik. 30 games played 6 goals 4 assists, 78 shots on goal and 14 hits. He had a propensity in his career to get injured a lot but this is the inverse, he's in the lineup and not producing. I'm dropping him if I have him. (43% owned)

2.       Nail Yakupov, each year we speculate - is this the year he breaks out? Well, probably not this year. He's still on the IR and has 2 goals and 10 assists in 22 games. Some Oilers are showing promise under Todd McLellans tutelage, Nail doesn't appear to be one. (39% owned)

3.       Jonathan Bernier - 0 wins and 8 loses he was sent down to AHL affiliate Marlies to get his game back together. He mostly played well with 3 shutouts but still had one bad game allowing 5 goals.  The Maple Leafs are not looking to be competitive anytime soon and his game should improve some but I'm not seeing any value in Bernier for the remainder of this year. Most people have given up but he needs to be dropped altogether. (25% owned)

4.       Marian Hossa, he's a hall of famer and has 2 cups to show for his tireless efforts to get on a team who would win it but he's not hacking it this year. 28 games, 5 goals, 8 assists across 87 shots, he doesn't have the magic touch this year. He's not providing faceoffs, hits or blocks to supplement the point drop either. His name is carrying him this season. (77% owned)

5.       Dougie Hamilton, with the big move to Calgary I expected big things. Well 29 games in and he has 3 goals, 6 assists a -1, 31 hits and 39 blocks. There are better options out there on defense. (69% owned)

6.       Cam Fowler, he does have 40 blocked shots which is decent but it's not worth the 10 points in 29 games, -10 and 18 hits. Of the Anaheim struggling players, this is the one I've given up on, there is still hope for Corey Perry, Ryan Ketzlaf and company. (39% owned)

7.       Craig Smith, the second line right winger for the Predators had 44 points last year and I'm skeptical he'll get past 35 this year. He has 7 goals and 4 assists in 30 games this year. He's shooting the puck a lot which is something for that stat category but further testament to how bad he's playing right now, 25 faceoffs won and 31 hits. (36% owned)

8.       Brian Campbell, oft the offensive defensemen he has 11 points in 30 games and is largely providing leadership for the Panthers right now. He has 15 hits and 28 blocked shots and nothing large to provide for fantasy. The Panthers came out strong early in the season but are tapering off quickly. (23% owned)

9.       Jack Johnson- RUN AWAY FAST. He's playing big time minutes with small time production. 8 points in 32 games with a -12 rating and the ONLY thing he ‘s giving you is 42 hits and 41 blocked shots which is more than offset but his non-existent points and terrible plus minus. (22% owned) The Blue Jackets are showing no signs of improving anytime soon.

10.   I saved the best for last: Thomas Vanek. He ALWAYS starts strong and then just stops producing after the first third of the season. He has 10 goals and 9 assists in 28 games, very respectable. He's going to fall soon, he doesn't provide hits, blocks, PIMs or faceoffs and is a -1 in plus minus. He's on a 6 game pointless streak and is not worth owning from here on to the rest of the season. He'll have a few decent games but there are many better candidates for points. (67% owned)

It looks dark but I'm still holding on to: Phil Kessel, Ryan Ketzlaf, Jakub Voracek

NHL Power Rankings:

Some Extra Cheddar:
Flyers testing Voracek from the other side to get him started offensively:
http://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/en/preview?id=2015020456&navid=nhl:topheads

The Islanders are red hot right now:

http://www.lighthousehockey.com/2015/12/13/10048380/new-york-islanders-new-jersey-devils-zidlicky-of-youth

Did you like Sudden Death with Jean-Claude Van Damme?

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/oral-history-the-making-of-hockey-action-movie-sudden-death/