Frozen Fantasy: Panic or Patience

The first two-plus weeks of the NHL season have been both thrilling and maddening. The Leafs have been a scoring machine. The Canes lead the Metropolitan. And five of the seven Canadian teams are playing well enough to be in contention.

That last one is crazy. Who would have thought that?

But more has been maddening. And that's creating chaos in fantasy leagues. The Oilers scored 13 goals in their first five games. The only guy getting offence there is You-Know-Who. The Coyotes have gotten outstanding goaltending, but they only scored eight goals in six games.

Six games!

And teams that should be better – like the Blues, Kings and Panthers – can barely buy a win.

If you're like me, you feel a bit shell-shocked to start the season. I play in five leagues and my teams are all over the map. I'm leading one league and close in a second. But I'm dead last in two. The other? It's too early to tell.

How is that even possible? Same person, same general approach. Wildly different outcomes.

I'm not panicking yet. But I am getting twitchy, at least in those two leagues where I have nowhere to go but up. Yes, it's early. But when is too far behind too far behind?

I'm waiting on Jake Allen, Mike Smith and Sergei Bobrovsky … in the same league. Along with Leon Draisaitl, Drew Doughty, Roman Josi, Colton Parayko and James Neal. And wee William Nylander, who has been stashed on my bench.

Same league. Spit.

In the other, I'm waiting on almost everyone except Auston Matthews and Carey Price. Where are you, Mark Scheifele, Anze Kopitar, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Max Pacioretty, Ryan Pulock and Brayden Schenn?

They will get better. We both know they will. But I only ice three forwards, two defenders and a goalie in that league. Mr. Matthews is a stud, but he can't carry those stiffs. Not in a super competitive league.

Patience is a virtue. I'm exercising it for another week. Or so. I think.

Now let's take a look at a few guys who have caught my eye (and helped me) this week.

Tyler Bertuzzi, LW/RW, Detroit (11 percent Yahoo! owned) – Bertuzzi delivered at a 40-point pace last season. Not great, but not bad either. He never really jumped out at me. But this year, he has taken his game a step higher. Bertuzzi has five points (two goals, three assists) with an even plus minus – that's solid in seven games (all losses). And he's doing it with the same level of abrasiveness he showed in the AHL. Bertuzzi is a sneaky play, particularly for standard Yahoo! leagues. There's real value in a guy who might deliver 45-50 points and 125 or more PIM. Sin-bin points are hard to come by in today's NHL, so guys with snarl and speed who can score are critical to success.

Robert Hagg, D, Philadelphia (31 percent Yahoo! owned) – This smooth-skating Swede has taken off this season. Hagg already has five points (two goals, three assists) in just eight games. He's not a natural point producer and his game isn't flashy. But he's gaining relevance in 12-team formats – Hagg's ownership jumped almost 20 percent overnight Friday. At minimum, he can stabilize your blue line while you wait for Roman Josi, Drew Doughty and OEL to wake up. Just saying. No, I'm not bitter. Well, maybe a little. See above.

Scott Mayfield, D, NY Islanders (0 percent Yahoo! owned) – Mayfield put up three helpers Thursday night against the Kings. That gave him five points (one goal, four assists) in four games this season. Nice, especially when you consider the Isles' other six defenders have put up three assists. Total. Sure, they'll pick things up – that's a given. But right now, Mayfield is carrying the offensive mail on the back end. Cripes, he was the eighth most productive Yahoo! defender for the week ending Friday. Use him short term and be ready to send him back to the wire. He can't keep it up, but you might as well use him for all he's got right now.

Michael Hutchinson, G, Florida (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – I talked about this guy last week. He's still available and has the kitties' only win. Hutch is in net again Saturday. Just saying.

Ondrej Palat, LW, Tampa Bay (16 percent Yahoo! owned) – Palat was reunited with fellow-Triplets Tyler Johnson and Nikita Kucherov early last week and the trio immediately paid dividends. Snap Palat up now. He averaged 61 points in two seasons riding with this duo. He might not get much power-play time, but he will put up points. And he's the least-owned member of the potent threesome.

Neal Pionk, D, New York Rangers (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – Pionk has offensive talent, but he has scuffled so far. That is, until Wednesday. He set up all three Ranger goals in a 4-3 loss to the Caps. Still, Pionk needs to pull his game together to keep a regular spot. Offence is one thing, but he won't keep a roster spot with 'horrific' advanced metrics. There's enough here to take a flyer on Pionk. Just be ready to drop him if his Corsi% rating continues to hover around 40. Gulp.

Mike Reilly, D, Montreal (1 percent Yahoo! owned) – Like Pionk, Reilly was a coveted college free agent a few years ago, but he has struggled to break through in the NHL. He's skilled and someone needs to step up with Shea Weber hurt. The Habs have other defenders to do the dirty defensive work. Reilly won't star on the blue line, but he could be a 40-point guy. Or at least score at that pace. In deep formats, he has value.

David Rittich, G, Calgary (2 percent Yahoo! owned) – Mike Smith may be the undisputed starter, but Rittich is solid – maybe even excellent – when he hits the blue ice. He's 1-0 with a 1.54 GAA and .941 save percentage so far. By season's end, Rittich could see 25-30 starts. That's stash worthy, even if his playing time has been limited so far.

Jason Spezza, RW/C, Dallas (7 percent Yahoo! owned) – Fantasy owners largely ignored the old man after last season's 28-point hairball. But prior to that, Spezza delivered 66, 62, 63 and 50 points in his previous four seasons. He's slowing down, but he has five points (one goal, four assists), including three on the power play, in his last six games. Ignore him at your peril.

Alexander Steen, LW/RW, St. Louis (11 percent Yahoo! owned) – Even at 34, Steen can still deliver. Heading into Saturday, he was on a quiet, four-game, five-point scoring streak. Steen seems to be clicking with Tyler Bozak after a move to the Blues' third line. He dropped to 46 points last season and he might replicate that. But he could top 50-55 again with some power-play production. Steen can help.

Linus Ullmark, G, Buffalo (5 percent Yahoo! owned) – Ullmark has looked fantastic so far. He shut out the Coyotes a week ago and Saturday, Ullmark was looking every part a brick wall against the Kings. Carter Hutton is the starter in the city of fires, but Ullmark is destined to get more starts if he keeps up this excellence. That team needs to win and they'll do what it takes to do that. Including putting this guy in net.

Jakub Vrana, LW/RW, Washington (12 percent Yahoo! owned) – Before the season, I weighed Vrana against Andre Burakovsky. Both are talented. Both can score. Vrana won out for me then, especially after his playoff performance with Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie. And he's still my choice today. Vrana looked sharp Friday night against Florida when he was slotted alongside Lars Eller and Brett Connolly on the third line. I still think he's second-line worthy, so stash him before he heats up.

Back to patience. And panic.

I have no choice to be patient. I can't sell off my underperforming studs – that's too much of a loss. Besides, you and I both know they'd start producing the moment I do something with them.

But James Neal? I'm getting close to a drop kick. The dude is a passenger, not a driver. He's not going to move up the Flames' top line, what with Elias Lindholm's explosion. And Michael Frolik has always seemed to be a fit with Mikael Backlund.

James Neal should have stayed in Vegas. And I should never have drafted his butt.

Are you feeling the same pain as me? Or are your rosters performing as advertised? Tell me about it. It might make me feel better LOL.

Until next week.