Fantasy Hockey Mid-Point Trends and Pretends 18.0 (NHL Power Rankings)

We are just over 64% of the way into the 2015-2016 NHL season.

Struggling stars:
Removing the name from the reality. We are late enough in the season that if someone isn't producing it's time to be done with it. Case and point is Sidney Crosby, he's finally showing what one would expect. So the purpose of this article isn't to be on the front line of what guys to let go of, chances are most of these guys have already been dropped. The question is, was it right to be dropped and should they be targeted/picked up for a strong push towards the elusive Championship down the stretch.

1. Mark Streit (49% owned) - Once the 50 point scoring defensemen his age is now catching up with him. Specifically, the coach of the Flyers is ushering in the newer younger players and Streit is on the second line alongside Nick Schultz while Michael Del Zotto and Shayne Gostisbehere are on the top line. Through 33 games he has 11 points as compared to 52 last year and 44 the year before that, his shots are down, his power play points are down and he's going to be seeing less and less ice. I'm selling this stock.

Mark Streit	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	PHI	81	9	43	52	-8	36	144	6.3	4	26	0	0	0	22:22	34:51:00
	'15-'16	PHI	33	4	7	11	0	8	51	7.8	1	3	0	0	1	21:26	64:19:00

2. Nick Foligno (66% owned) - He finished last year with 73 points which was 26 points higher than any previous season. His shooting percentage was a mere .8% higher than the previous year but he has seen considerable success in shooting percentage while in Columbus. The biggest spike was power play points. His previous high was 10 power play points and he neted 26 last year.  He is still on the power play unit and has 10 power play assists but has yet to net a goal. His shooting percentage is down around 5.6% (down from 17 % 16.2% over the last two seasons). His TOI is down 2 minutes this year and he lost his connection with Ryan Johansen in the trade. The Blue Jackets will naturally start winning as they always do in February when they are out of the playoff run but the goal production is coming much more from Alexander Wennberg, Brandon Dubinsky and Boone Jenner as of late. Finally he has had off and on injuries this season and I'm not convinced he's 100% healthy. No lofty expectations through the remainder of the year for Nick. I'm selling this stock.

Nick Foligno	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	CBJ	79	31	42	73	16	50	182	17	11	15	0	0	3	18:50	20:23
	'15-'16	CBJ	46	6	20	26	-7	32	107	5.6	0	10	0	0	0	16:50	29:47:00

3. Patrick Marleau (79% owned) - He's been rather up and down over the last few seasons but is likely on the down slide of his career. It's ok he's 36, this is natural. His TOI is normal, his game winning goals are normal, his shots on goal are actual high as are his shooting $ but the biggest adjustment to me is the line combinations. Rather than playing alongside Joe Pavelski or Joe Thornton or Logan Couture or Tommy Wingels, he's stuck on the second line with Matthew Nieto and Joel Ward who have a combined 43 points and -19. This is a player who has scored at least 30+ assists in 6 of his last 7 years and is on pace to not reach that this year (the one year he didn't was the shortened year). Expect more of the same from Patrick Marleau through the remainder of the year, he could finish below 50 points. I'm selling this stock.

Patrick Marleau	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	SJ	82	19	38	57	-17	12	233	8.2	7	17	0	0	4	0.816	1.17
	'15-'16	SJ	52	16	17	33	-16	6	131	12.2	6	11	0	0	4	0.825	1.3

4.  Joe Thornton (82% owned) - Speaking of 36 year olds I am actually going to switch it up with Joe. On the top line with Joe Pavelski and Thomas Hertl, Thornton could reach 75+ points by year end. His faceoff wins have declined steadily but his time on ice is steady, Power Play Points is steady, Shots on goal is slightly below pace but his shot percentage is up, he's +17 and is showing more aggressive play this year. Finally when you dig into his shot attempts for vs. against (a deviation of CORSI) he ranks in the top 4 among centers. I feel like he is playing the Monty Python version of "I'm not quite dead yet" this season and I'm on board. Buy this stock.

Joe Thornton	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	SJ	78	16	49	65	-4	30	131	12.2	4	18	0	0	0	18:25	22:07
	'15-'16	SJ	52	12	34	46	17	42	83	14.5	6	10	0	0	4	18:35	21:01

5. Ondrej Palat (49% owned) - Fresh off back to back 50+ points seasons, a part of the Triplets line is off to a measely 16 points through the start of this season. He has only played 33 games due to an ankle injury that sidelined him for almost 20 games. Tampa Bay is heating up but he is not with only 3 points in the last 7 games. Everything is pointing to sell but he is now on the top line with Vladislav Namestnikov and Steven Stamkos. I'm on a hold status with him.  I'm on board over the next month where he plays San Jose, Winnipeg, Carolina, Arizona, Toronto, Philadelphia and Ottawa but then I'm quite bearish on the last part of the year where they play: NYI, NYR, Florida and Montreal. He is not a fantasy playoff assets. Sell for the playoffs.

Ondrej Palat	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	TB	75	16	47	63	31	24	139	11.5	3	8	1	1	5	17:26	20:45:00
	'15-'16	TB	33	6	10	16	1	4	61	9.8	1	3	1	0	2	17:24	35:53:00

6.  Jaden Schwartz (55% owned) - 23 year old Jaden off back to back 50+ point seasons returns after a fractured ankle. He will be coming back late this week/early next week. I'm on board, I think he could have a very solid remainder of the year. Through his whole career he's been an excellent scorer and with TJ out, he could see bonus Power Play and top play time. The team as a whole is 4^th in man games lost to injury so as healthy players come back they will make a strong push down the final stretch.  Buy this stock!

Jaden Schwartz	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	STL	75	28	35	63	13	16	184	15.2	8	8	0	2	4	18:15	21:43
	'15-'16	STL	7	0	4	4	4	2	15	0	0	0	0	0	0	17:25	30:29:00

7. Radim Vrbata (39% owned) - The 34 year old Czech product has had 50+ point seasons 3 of the last 4 (only one that wasn't is the NHL shortened season). He scored 30 goals last year with 7 game winning goals. While he spent some time with the Sedin twins last year he is with Bo Hovart and Sven Baertschi this year which has shown an uptick with their stats but has brought his down some. He remains on the top Power Play unit but Vancouver as a whole is seeing less success on the power play. He will continue to get his power play points but will not reach the 50 point marker this season. Additionally he is a -23 (he's never been the best two way player). I'm selling this stock.

Radim Vrbata	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	VAN	79	31	32	63	6	20	267	11.6	12	11	0	0	7	16:37	20:50
	'15-'16	VAN	52	11	11	22	-23	12	172	6.4	4	4	0	0	0	16:23	38:43:00

8. Sean Monahan (68% owned) - I have been and will continue to be a big Monahan fan. He plays alongside Johnny Gaudreau who is a future star of the league. He will get you faceoff wins and his scoring touch is improving each year. Their power play points as a whole are down but he should see right around 60 points again this year. He hit a dry spell in January but he has 6 points in the last 3 games. Last year he went strong down the stretch with 28 points in the last 26 games. If he is available in your league - Buy this stock!!

Sean Monahan	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	CGY	81	31	31	62	8	12	191	16.2	10	9	1	1	8	19:37	25:38:00
	'15-'16	CGY	51	16	19	35	-1	10	121	13.2	3	5	0	0	2	19:35	28:32:00

9. Mark Stone (70% owned) -  He had 64 points last year and is up to 41 already this year. Why he is not owned by 1/3 of leagues is beyond me. His TOI is up from last year, his Shots on Goal are up, his % is still strong, he is on pace to score almost 20 power play points, the only negative is his plus minus at -12. With that said, he is a +5 through his last 5 games with 8 points as well. Finally, he's a RW which is notoriously a tough position to find. A 65 point RW should be owned in all leagues. Buy this stock!

Mark Stone	SEASON	TEAM	GP	G	A	PTS	+/-	PIM	SOG	%	PPG	PPA	SHG	SHA	GWG	TOI/G	PROD
	'14-'15	OTT	80	26	38	64	21	14	157	16.6	5	8	1	0	6	17:01	21:17
	'15-'16	OTT	53	16	25	41	-12	28	105	15.2	4	8	0	1	1	20:08	2:02

10. Frederik Andersen (62% owned) - 35 wins last year but he has seen fewer starts this year behind Gibson who is seeing much more playing time. They have been fairly equal in their ups and downs this year but John has 4 shutouts to none by Frederik. I think both can be quality goalies but while the committee continues he should be treated as such. If you are going day by day and need a filler for a day, he'll work well but if you need  a starting goalie, then Sell this stock.

Frederik Anderson	SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	TOI/G	W	L	T	OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
	'14-'15	ANA	54	53	57:31:00	35	12	--	5	123	2.38	1436	1313	0.914	3
	'15-'16	ANA	28	24	52:44:00	11	8	--	5	56	2.28	703	647	0.92	0

11. Ryan Miller (78% owned) - It was touch and go for a bit there as to whether Ryan Miller would still be the Vancouver starter by year end but he seems to be grasping back onto the job. He's had a poor last 30 days with 2 wins and 4 loses as the Canucks as a whole have struggled losing to the Blue Jackets, Flames, Predators, Penguins and Rangers. He has a tendency to come back strong down the stretch especially in March so he could have a bullish February and March with an excess of home games vs. road games. Buy this stock.

Ryan Miller	SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	TOI/G	W	L	T	OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
	'14-'15	VAN	45	45	56:29:00	29	15	--	1	107	2.53	1198	1091	0.911	6
	'15-'16	VAN	36	36	59:48:00	12	15	--	8	93	2.59	1110	1017	0.916	1

12. Kari Lehtonen (59% owned) - Dallas seems to have lost their faith in Lehtonen as they play Anti Niemi more and more. Since the turn to 2016, Niemi has played  10 of the 15 games vs. Kari's 5 games. Niemi had 4 wins and 6 loses to Kari's 2 wins and 3 loses. For a while Kari was good for a win during each start but they are in a bad slide much like the Canadiens and it's unclear when the ship will right itself. In the forseeable future I am selling. He will not see 20 wins this year which is tough compared to 4 out of 5 seasons with 30+ wins (the one shortened season again breaking that up). Sell this stock.

Kari Lehtonen	SEASON	TEAM	GP	GS	TOI/G	W	L	T	OTL	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
	'14-'15	DAL	65	65	56:53:00	34	17	--	10	181	2.94	1875	1694	0.903	5
	'15-'16	DAL	24	22	51:19:00	14	5	--	0	58	2.83	634	576	0.909	1

Power Rankings

Week 2/9/2016	Bleacher Report	ESPN	Fox Sports	CBS Sports	Average	vs. last week
Anaheim Ducks	12	4	9	14	9.75	23.50
Arizona Coyotes	23	22	21	22	22.00	15.75
Boston Bruins	9	9	8	10	9.00	11.25
Buffalo Sabres	30	26	28	27	27.75	22.50
Calgary Flames	25	28	24	26	25.75	29.25
Carolina Hurricanes	17	17	18	18	17.50	25.50
Chicago Blackhawks	1	1	2	2	1.50	6.50
Colorado Avalanche	18	18	17	17	17.50	27.50
Columbus Blue Jackets	29	29	29	30	29.25	24.75
Dallas Stars	3	10	10	3	6.50	2.00
Detroit Red Wings	10	12	11	9	10.50	14.50
Edmonton Oilers	27	27	30	29	28.25	29.75
Florida Panthers	5	5	4	5	4.75	18.50
Los Angeles Kings	4	6	6	4	5.00	6.25
Minnesota Wild	20	23	22	20	21.25	12.00
Montreal Canadiens	21	21	23	19	21.00	2.25
Nashville Predators	14	16	16	16	15.50	11.50
New Jersey Devils	16	15	15	15	15.25	16.00
New York Islanders	13	13	12	12	12.50	13.25
New York Rangers	8	8	14	7	9.25	5.50
Ottawa Senators	24	20	19	23	21.50	8.50
Philadelphia Flyers	19	19	20	21	19.75	23.75
Pittsburgh Penguins	11	11	7	11	10.00	13.50
San Jose Sharks	15	14	13	13	13.75	9.00
St. Louis Blues	7	7	5	6	6.25	4.00
Tampa Bay Lightning	6	3	3	8	5.00	18.25
Toronto Maple Leafs	28	30	27	28	28.25	27.00
Vancouver Canucks	26	25	25	24	25.00	20.25
Washington Capitals	2	2	1	1	1.50	1.75
Winnipeg Jets	22	24	26	25	24.25	21.00