Fanatics View Write Up: 90fifty10 NHL edition

(Photo By: Chris LaFrance/Icon Sportswire)

90fifty10 NHL edition

I’m 90% sure the Edmonton Oilers will break their 10-season playoff drought this year. In a league where over half the teams make the playoffs each year, it’s actually fairly incredible the Oilers have not played for the cup in a decade. Couple that with the numerous #1 overall picks they have had over that decade, and it looks even more peculiar. That being said, this is the year of the Oiler, all thanks to one player, the stupendous…Cam Talbot? Yes, that might be an odd spelling of M-C-D-A-V-I-D but I’ll get to him later. Talbot has been stupid good starting the season, playing to a 7-1 record with a great .934 save percentage. He can’t keep this up, but if he remains even close to this good, we’ll see the Oiler’s make the post-season, and probably not in that lame 8^th spot, win one game then say we made it so get off our backs position.

Speaking of, I’m 50% sure Connor McDavid from the Edmonton Oilers finishes as a top three scorer in the NHL. Honestly, 50% might be a bit of an understatement, as that figure will probably boost to 90% for the next 10 seasons. For now though, McDavid is still very young and finding his feet, er, skates with the Oilers.  He’s got 12 points in 7 games, and even more telling is his +9 rating. Considering McDavid is currently shooting and scoring at a 25% pace (5 goals on 20 shots) and the league average sits around 9.5%, we know there’s bound to be some regression,  but McDavid knows how to set up his linemates, will break the #1 overall curse (Ryan Nugent who?) and will continue to put up huge numbers and finish with 80-85 points.

I’m 10% sure William Nylander of the Toronto Maple Leafs finishes within three points of his slightly more famous line mate (and city savior) Auston Matthews. Matthews has also gotten off to a scorching start, netting four goals on opening night and sitting at 10 points through 10 games now, but Nylander is also at 10 points and not getting any of the love he deserves. There has been criticsm to lining up the rookies together, as many say it’s never a good idea to keep young talent together, but it seems to be working now. The two know how to score, and score plenty they will, but most of time you’ll only see Matthews name make the marquee. Sit back and watch Nylander rack up points and finish with 70 while Matthews puts up 73.

Fantasy

Sabres D Rasmus Ristolainen is currently owned in 89.2% of leagues in ESPN, but he deserves to be owned everywhere. Even though defense seems surprisingly deep this year, Risto is a star and will prove it this year. He finally signed a six-year deal with the Sabres, so now that he has his money all he has to do is perform. Buffalo is a young team loaded with talent and Risto will be there to anchor the power play. Six of his seven points have come with the man advantage; despite the fact Buffalo has been missing studs Kane and Eichel. When they return and begin to form a bit more chemistry, we’ll see things really start to go right. Pick him up if for some reason he is on waivers in your pool, and if not, look to swap someone like Markov or Carlson for him and trick your league mate into thinking he’s selling Risto high.

Hurricanes center Victor Rask is owned in 57.5% of leagues and deserves to be taken seriously. Carolina looked a little desparate when they signed Rask to a six year deal, but the 23 year old has already put up nine points through seven games while skating with line mates Skinner and Stempniak. It’s a perfect combo: lethal scoring weapon, talented young playmaker and veteran levelheaded presence. However, look for this line to get hot then fizz out and repeat – we know how Skinner and co. works, so we may need to temper our expectations. However, Rask put up 48 points last year, and there’s no reason he can’t surpass 60. Center is the deepest position in the NHL but he is worth a look and add in 12 team leagues.

Ahh, my friend Mr. 12.6% owned Radim Vrbata. In 14/15, you put up 63 points, then only 27 in 15/16. Sure you may have been hurt a bit, but that kind of drop really damages the trust in our relationship. Nevertheless, you’re off to a quick start with four goals and six points in eight games. There’s no way you put up any kind of career highs, but you are skating with Max Domi and seem to be jiving well. Coyotes will never help you in the +/- department but Domi seems to be assuming a playmaker role and someone needs to reap the benefits. Vrbata will slide in well, capitalizing on his almost 17 minutes of ice time a game and maybe looking to score 25 goals this season. He’s worth a flier if you’ve got the room, but track his chemistry on the top line and if he drops to the second or third line, he should drop off your roster.

By Max Greenwood