Fantasy Hockey: Preseason Mailbag

Nick Alberga
Nick Alberga(@thegoldenmuzzy)
Fantasy Hockey: Preseason Mailbag

Believe it or not, even though he’s coming off a career high 21-goal, 57-point season, I do think Zacha has untapped fantasy potential, especially if he sticks on the top-line with David Pastrnak. Furthermore, your second question is hard to answer right now. If Boston is contention around the trade deadline, obviously, they’ll be looking to add some centre depth. That said, there’s no question they feel strongly about Zacha, and they should considering the season he’s coming off of. We’ll see if he can handle the promotion. Those are big shoes to fill.

I’m probably in the minority on this, but considering the body of work for that franchise over the past decade, I’m not ready to bury them just yet. With that in mind, I’m definitely leaning Marchand over Tuch in a head-to-head. Even without Patrice Bergeron, I think Marchand will have no problem being a top-30 fantasy player – at the very least – this season. And that’s no slight on Tuch either. I like him a lot; I just like Marchand more.

Both are studs, but I have Pettersson ranked slightly higher than Stutzle, so I’ll go with him. Also, I love the contract year angle for EP40. As a general practice, I love owning players with money motivation on the mind. Hot take: Pettersson hits the 40-goal plateau for the first time in his career this season.

My early money is on Mario Ferraro, but we’ll see. Furthermore, whoever breaks camp with that role could prove to be a cheeky waiver play down the road.

The sky’s the limit for Beniers, especially coming off a Calder Trophy. Assuming there’s no sophomore slump and he continues to progress, I don’t see why he can’t tally 25-30 goals and 65-75 points. Again, it’s a hard league, so it’s fair to expect some turbulence. This kid’s a stud, though.

Until Philadelphia demonstrates consistency defensively, I’m staying far away from their crease. He’s a solid goalie with tons of potential, but unfortunately he’s stuck in a graveyard right now. Furthermore, I do see a trade going down in-season. For my money, that’s more of an offseason move —if the Flyers elect to go that route.

Yes, unequivocally, I like Kane over all three of those guys you mentioned. Not only does he quietly cover a ton of different categories, but most importantly, night in and night out, he gets sublime exposure to the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl at even strength and on the power play, too. No brainer decision for me.

Depending on your league settings of course, I think Dahlin’s definitely worth considering as a keeper —at the very least. Considering the season he’s coming off, you have every reason to feel skeptical about him replicating those numbers. That said, I do believe the hype. Dahlin’s rapidly ascending into one of the top blueliners in the world. Period, full stop. He should be on every keeper radar right now.

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