It didn’t take long for Ryan Hutson to make his presence felt.
Just 32 games into his NHL career and at just 20 years old, Hutson is starting to show signs that he could one day be a fantasy stud on the blueline. The Montreal Canadiens rookie has recently scored in seven straight games, and he has supplanted Mike Matheson as the top power player. It certainly doesn’t hurt to have Patrik Laine back in the lineup, and he’s a great option to pass the ball with the man advantage.
At even strength, Hutson and Matheson were paired together, resulting in plenty of ice time. Hutson skated nearly 23 minutes a night, an astonishing number for a rookie defenseman. He’s currently on pace to score 55 points this season, which would tie him with some elite teams. Quinn Hughes and Kyle Makar both scored around 50-55 points as rookies, although their scoring averages are much higher than Hutson’s currently.
As good as Hutson has looked lately, he’s far from a finished product as a player. The most glaring flaw in his game right now is on the defensive end, as he’s currently sitting at a -14 rating and is still learning how to defend at the NHL level. It’s not uncommon for a young NHL player to struggle defensively, and unless you’re in a plus-minus-focused league (which I hope you’re not), Hutson’s challenge on his own side isn’t something that can be expected in fantasy hockey. should be a real issue.
Another thing to note about Hutson right now is his peripherals. His field goal percentage is almost non-existent, while Hutson is averaging almost zero shots per game. Field goal shooting is where Hughes has really improved, which has certainly increased his fantasy value. Before the 2023-24 season, Hughes’ career-high number of attempts was 154, which reached 199 last season and is expected to reach 263 this year. Once Hutson becomes more comfortable and confident, I think he’ll reduce some of the lag and take more shots.
Hutson also has to start looking for opportunities in the back of the net more. The scoring and power play were great, but goals were the hardest to find, and Hutson just scored his first on Saturday night. If he can increase his shooting volume and consistently score around 8-10 goals per season, that will be a huge bonus.
If you’re putting Hutson in the goalie league right now, be patient. You may like those scores, but there are other parts of his game that still leave you wanting more. This will come with development and experience. Hopefully the Canadiens can also improve overall and become stronger offensively as a team, which can only help Hutson.
Hold on to Hutson as tightly as possible.
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1. Pius Suter really stepped up for the Canucks when JT Miller was out of the lineup. He is the center of the second line of defense and has scored 11 goals this year. He also has C/LW status. Suter’s value is likely to decrease now that Miller has returned, so give him one or two more games before deciding whether to move on.
2. It’s a strange time in Brock Nelson’s recent slump. The New York Islanders forward has gone six straight games without a goal, despite consecutive stellar performances from teammate Anders Lee. If you still can, now might be a good time to buy him cheap from a frustrated fantasy general manager, as Nelson has bounced back with assists in back-to-back games but still hasn’t scored since Nov. 27. Nelson is usually very consistent and usually locks in 30 goals, so I’m sure he’ll start scoring sooner than later.
3. In their second goalie trade in as many weeks, the Colorado Avalanche changed things up again by adding Mackenzie Blackwood and moving Alexander Georgiev. Blackwood has a huge opportunity here, and he’s putting up very solid numbers on a bad team in San Jose. He will now have a chance to start on a very good team and potentially hold the job. Blackwood’s performance is by no means a sure thing, but the upside is huge and he’s off to a strong start. Georgiev is probably a streamer now. He didn’t perform well in the Avs, so what value would he have to a Sharks team that’s going to have a hard time winning?
4. Times have not been easy for the Buffalo Sabers as of late, but Jason Zucker is still a fantasy-relevant option. I was really tempted to grab him this week due to his schedule, though ended up coming through at the last minute and immediately saw him score two goals and an assist on Monday night. He now has seven points in six games, and Zach is putting up respectable shots and hits.
5. Illnesses can crop up this time of year, sometimes at the last minute. The news came in the warm-up that Joey Daccord was out with injury before last Sunday’s game and Aleksander Barkov also missed Saturday’s game due to illness. of. There have been other recent decisions made at game time. It’s important to go through your roster half an hour before the game so you can make quick adjustments if necessary.
6. Matvei Michkov’s incredible rookie season continues as he now has 27 points in 29 games and is likely on his way to the Calder Trophy. Michkov also really tore it up with his man advantage. Nearly half of his points come on the power play, and he’s on pace for 34 points this season. That’s an impressive performance considering the Flyers are only 27th in the NHL. If the Flyers’ personnel advantage improves, Michkov’s numbers could actually even improve in that area.
7. After a slow start, Stuart Skinner is turning things around. He’s been on a tear of late, making six consecutive quality starts, five of which have allowed two goals or fewer. You may remember something similar happened last year, with Skinner having a bad year in October and November before getting back on track. The Edmonton Oilers have been much better, which is why it’s always good to keep a goalie on a strong team. It usually pays dividends.
8. Robert Thomas has returned from injury. Thomas has scored in every game but has only two points since returning, giving him a total of 15 points in the last 12 games. The St. Louis Blues forward would have been on Team Canada if not for injuries, and he’s shaping up to be a bona fide top fantasy center. His peripherals may not be great, but I think Thomas’ draft target will be higher next season.
9. Lucas Dostal’s value has plummeted since John Gibson’s return. Dostal has started just six of the past 16 games, making it difficult to make the cut if he only plays one game a week. I know the Anaheim Ducks may be trying to trade Gibson, but having one of the hottest goaltenders start the season on the bench doesn’t make a lot of sense.
10. The Ducks traded Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues on Saturday, bringing in a small fantasy hint. I really don’t see Fowler surpassing Justin Faulk or Flip Broberg in power play time, but his departure now opens up the left side of the blue line for Anaheim. Pavel Mintyukov and Olen Zellweger have both been healthy as of late and should see improvements in playing time and deployment.
11. The Los Angeles Kings are back to their stingy ways. They’ve allowed 2 or fewer runs in 10 of their last 12 games, making Darcy Kuemper and David Rittich huge value. Kuemper is the top goalie prospect, but can he stay healthy enough to make an impact? He battled injuries last year and has missed a lot of games this season. I don’t think Rittich deserves inclusion on his own, but if you can get the tandem, it’s a good idea. This makes you more committed, and if Kuemper gets hurt, Rittich’s stock price will rise.
12. The Toronto Maple Leafs are in for a rough break with Anthony Stolarz sidelined due to injury. I’m one of those who thinks Joseph Wall should start Thursday because Stolarz faced two shots and quality opportunities in the previous game, though I don’t think the injury has anything to do with fatigue. relation. Just bad luck. Still, it’s worth noting that Stolarz plays a lot. His career-high number of appearances is 28, and with four months to go this year, he has already reached 17. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Maple Leafs start rotating Wall and Stolarz in a closer 50/50 split to retain both players. Stolarz has been great this season and was the MVP of many fantasy teams, so hopefully he won’t be out for long.
13. Thursday was a bit of a surprise, with Ryan O’Reilly returning from injury to start much sooner than expected. He scored three points in no time, so if your league counts matchup wins, check your waiver wire because O’Reilly is currently in less than 40 percent of the lineup. If the Nashville Predators decide to offload some players, O’Reilly’s name will also appear in trade rumors, and while that’s far from a guarantee, his value will obviously go up on a better team.
14. Thursday night certainly featured a number of dream matchups. Not only are there 14 games, there are also some big performances. Most specifically, it was Nikita Kucherov and his six-point night as the Tampa Bay Lightning forward continued to dominate the defense. The Lightning have allowed eight goals on three separate occasions in their last nine games, and I’d be worried about putting any goaltender against them right now. Oh, by the way, Jake Guentzel has eight goals in six games.
More unexpectedly, Scott Lawton scored four goals. Laughton has played only 4% of the games, but has more than doubled his goals for the season and has nine shots on goal. Sure, two of them went into empty nets, but those few who put him on the roster wouldn’t mind.
15. Brian Rust also had a big night Thursday, scoring a hat trick and adding an assist. Rust now has 12 points in his last nine games and has been used extensively in all leagues. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward plays significant minutes alongside Sidney Crosby and is a very effective fantasy asset when healthy.
16. The Vegas Golden Knights have gotten a boost recently with the return of Victor Olofsson. He has scored four points in his past four games and knocked Pavel Dorofeyev out of the top ranks. If you need scoring help, you could look to Olofsson, but I wouldn’t give up on Dorofeev just yet. Olofsson has struggled to stay healthy and has had consistency issues, so I could see Dorofeev being deployed again soon.
17. Is now the time to take a chance on Sean Wright? The Seattle Kraken forward will play in four games next week and has been on a tear lately, scoring 12 points in the past 11 games. Wright’s partnership with Eeli Tolvanen and Oliver Bjorkstrand has been solid for Seattle. I’d also like to look back at Aliakse Protas of the Washington Capitals, who also has four games. Protas doesn’t seem to be too affected by Alexander Ovechkin’s absence, having scored three goals and five points in his last four games. He’s averaging nearly a point per game, and his C/LW eligibility isn’t affected.
Ilya Samsonov may be down at this point. I thought he would be a good zero-gravity candidate with Vegas’ strong defensive structure, but his numbers did go up and down and Adin Hill started to take over the net. The Golden Knights have only played twice, so Samsonov may not even start next week.
18. The Calder Trophy battle between Michikoff and McLean Celebrini will be an exciting one. Celebrini has a scoring pace around 80 and seems to be doing something exciting every night. He’s been nearly impossible to slow down lately, scoring 13 points in his last 10 games. I have to admit, I didn’t expect the Sharks’ talent to make such an impact so quickly. You could argue he has more fantasy value than Connor Bedard this season.
19. You couldn’t have had a better December than Linus Ullmark. He has conceded just five goals in his past five starts and has a record of 5 wins, 0 draws and 1 loss, which is beginning to make up for his inconsistent start to the season. The question now is, can he keep that up, or is Ullmark a one-year league sell-off high? If you could get a good skater in return, I would consider it, but I think keeping him is probably the best option. Good goalies are hard to find, so I’ll ride that wave for as long as I can.
20. Frank Nazar has been drafted to join the Chicago Blackhawks. Nazar has 24 points in 21 games for Rockford this season and could have some short-term value if your team needs an offensive spark.
