Fantasy Hockey Mailbag: Sell high or hold on to Joseph Woll?

Lukas Dostal can’t possibly keep this going, can he?

The Anaheim Ducks goaltender is now 5-1-0 with a .920 save percentage and he’s been over .914 in five of his six appearances. Dostal has been the surprise of the season in net, coming from well off the radar to be a tremendous pickup for goalie-needy fantasy squads.

The reason Dostal wasn’t supposed to be a great bargain goalie candidate this year is that he had John Gibson in front of him and the Ducks weren’t supposed to be that good. Now Gibson is hurt and Anaheim is one of the most electric teams in hockey, with players like Frank Vatrano, Mason McTavish and Pavel Mintyukov exceeding expectations.

I’m sure Gibson will be back in play at some point and Dostal and the Ducks will cool off eventually. But for now, enjoy the ride while it lasts.

Let’s get to your questions:

Ridly Greig is definitely an interesting option to consider with Shane Pinto out for half the season. The Ottawa Senators forward has seven points in nine games and the key here is going to be his deployment. Greig delivered the majority of his production while Josh Norris was out and he was in the top six, and then when he was playing with Vladimir Tarasenko after being dropped down. Now, Tarasenko is no longer on his line, but Greig is still on the second power play unit, which isn’t a bad spot to be in given all the talent the Sens have. Players like Claude Giroux, Jakob Chychrun and Tarasenko are still with Greig on power play two.

The issue here is Greig went down with an injury Thursday, so as good as he looked, it probably doesn’t make sense to add him now.

Tim Stutzle has developed into an elite player that fills a lot of categories besides points. He’s into keeper status with a ton of long-term value. I’m really high on Jack Hughes this season as well and had him ranked fourth in my pre-season rankings. It would not surprise me if Hughes easily eclipses 100 points with a chance at even around 115 or so. He’s the real deal.

I don’t think Arthur Kaliyev plays enough to hold on your roster, but he does score at a decent rate for the amount of ice time he gets. Even if he does have a mini-breakout, I don’t see him exceeding 40 points.

As far as Quinton Byfield goes, I like his outlook a lot better. He’s playing with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe right now and has scored six points in his past five games. I’d give him a look and I wouldn’t be surprised if he gets between 50-60 points.

Some rapid-fire answers for this one:

– The Calgary Flames could become sellers very quickly if they don’t pick it up. At the very least, maybe new contracts for Elias Lindholm and Noah Hanifin get put on pause. Outside of Jacob Markstrom, there aren’t many bright spots right now.

– The East is so tough and the Pittsburgh Penguins have an older core, even though most are still playing pretty well. They may need incredible goaltending to help them to the playoffs.

– I think the Vancouver Canucks can sustain their strong start. They have three elite players and Thatcher Demko looks like he’s back. That’s a great sign.

I think I would keep Pavel Zacha and Sean Couturier. Ideally, you could stash Sam Bennett, given his latest injury, on IR and grab Paul Cotter. If that isn’t a possibility and Bennett is out long-term, you could consider dropping him. Cotter is great for hits but I don’t think he’ll provide as much offence as the other three over a full season.

This is an interesting question and I can see an argument both ways. On the one hand, for as well as he’s played, Joseph Woll only has 16 career games under his belt. It wouldn’t be shocking to anyone if he had trouble keeping up this pace and eventually Ilya Samsonov worked his way back into more playing time. It’s a classic sell-high situation.

At the same time, we saw goalies like Stuart Skinner, Pyotr Kochetkov, Pheonix Copley and Filip Gustavsson all come from similar obscurity a year ago to have major value. Woll could easily follow that same blueprint with a very strong team in front of him to have a productive campaign. You could regret giving him away this early.

I think it comes down to the return. You mentioned someone like Vitek Vanecek as an option and I don’t think that’s a trade I would make. Vanecek is in a very similar position and even though he’s a bit more experienced, I don’t think he has that much of a firmer grip on the starting job than Woll. Plus, the New Jersey Devils aren’t exactly the stoutest defensive team out there, so I don’t think the Devils can prop up Vanecek any more than the Toronto Maple Leafs can prop up Woll. If you are getting someone like Andrei Vasilevskiy or Connor Hellebuyck in return you could consider it, but I’d keep Woll if you’re just getting another goalie with upside.

Two weeks ago. Dawson Mercer is out of the top six, hasn’t picked up a point yet and has very low shot volume. You can’t keep holding out for a turnaround at this point in the season.

Depending on who’s on your waiver wire, they all could be drop candidates. I’m the least confident in Tomas Hertl, as the San Jose Sharks look historically bad. Nazem Kadri’s outlook also isn’t ideal with the Flames looking out of sorts. I think I’d have the most confidence in Rickard Rakell figuring things out because at least he’ll likely be playing with either Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

Definitely Mason McTavish for me. Nick Paul is off to a great start to the year, but it’s been aided by a spot on the Tampa Bay Lightning’s top power play unit. If that changes, Paul’s value will drop significantly. I think he’s really a bottom-six player. McTavish looks like he has the makings of being a fantasy stud for years to come that provides a lot of category coverage. He’s averaging more than a point per game and has bonus value for leagues that count faceoff wins and penalty minutes.

I would drop Drake Batherson for McTavish for all the reasons I stated above. McTavish is going to be a keeper for the foreseeable future and the Anaheim Ducks young core is only going to get better around him.

He’s droppable. Lukas Reichel isn’t playing with Connor Bedard or on the first power play for the Chicago Blackhawks right now, and he has yet to pick up a point. Keep tabs on him in case Chicago juggles the lines and Reichel gets a promotion, but for now you should look at other options on the waiver wire.

There’s absolutely nothing wrong with rostering Jeremy Swayman full time. He and Linus Ullmark should have almost a 50/50 split in playing time and the way the Boston Bruins look, most of those starts should be quality. If you can get Ullmark at a decent price that’s fine too, but I wouldn’t feel compelled to do so. I think you’ll be fine with the options you have and Swayman has very similar value to Ullmark.

I don’t think he gets to 40, but I could see 30-plus given the start he’s had. Frank Vatrano is shooting almost 26% right now, so that’s going to come down. That said, his shot volume is high enough that even if his shooting percentage drops a fair bit, he should still be able to find the back of the net with regularity. Plus, it doesn’t hurt he’s playing with the aforementioned McTavish.

Mitch Marner hasn’t looked quite like himself so far in 2023-24, but he still has nine points in 10 games and he’s likely only going to get better. Even so, I see no reason to risk moving Alex DeBrincat, who’s off to an incredible start. DeBrincat should perform better for goals and shots on goal anyway and he looks like he should be able to cruise to at least 40 goals and 80 points. Marner would have to have an incredible season and score at a great rate the rest of the way to really make the deal worth it.

I’m giving a slight edge to Patrik Laine, but it’s closer than you think. Both players have battled injuries and Nick Schmaltz has been sneaky good over the past two seasons, essentially being a point-per-game player. Laine is more talented, though, and if he can stay healthy, will still have a much higher ceiling.

If you’re in a one-year league, you may have no choice but to drop Johnny Gaudreau. He only has one goal, an empty-netter, and with Laine hurt, it’s going to be tough for him to really take off. It also looks like the Columbus Blue Jackets may be heading for another long year. I’d see what’s out there on your waiver at this point.

I think a lot depends on where the Buffalo Sabres are when Zach Benson returns from injury. If they could use a jolt of offence maybe Benson gets another look, but if they are rolling with an optimal lineup, it may make more sense to send Benson back down to develop. Drake Batherson is talented enough to take a chance on as long as the price is reasonable. He’s still playing in a loaded top six, so one would think he will start clicking eventually.

They’re all great options, but I’m going with Brandt Clarke. I think he has the best path to big minutes and power play time with Drew Doughty approaching his mid-thirties. The Los Angeles Kings are also well-positioned to be a strong team for years to come. I’d take a chance on Clarke.

I’ll give a slight edge to Jamie Drysdale. Even though Pavel Mintyukov has looked great so far, Drysdale has more experience and Mintyukov is probably going to go through a slump eventually. Considering the Ducks have a bit more invested in Drysdale as well, I think he’ll get the first look if he’s healthy.

Joey Daccord could be interesting if the Seattle Kraken are as strong as last year. He’s already stolen starts from Philipp Grubauer. I’d look at Dostal, too. He’s played well so far and the Ducks might be better than we think.

I actually have a little more confidence in Zegras bouncing back than Jonathan Huberdeau. The Flames look out of sorts to me and there is a lot of offensive talent in that Ducks lineup. I might try to buy low on Zegras.

I’d keep Woll, Logan Thompson and Frederik Andersen. Devon Levi is very unproven and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is coming off back-to-back strong starts. The first three are also on much stronger teams, so I’d move on from Levi if you have to let one go.

I’d probably give John Klingberg a few more games to see if he gets moved back up to the top power play. It’s a coveted spot and no one out of that group really jumps off the page at me. If it doesn’t work out for Klingberg in the next week, you should be able to grab one of those guys then.

I’m easily going with Jake Sanderson here. He’s playing really well and averaging almost a point per game. Plus, he’s taking advantage of a huge opportunity on power play one with Thomas Chabot sidelined with an injury.