Breakout Candidate: Isaac Howard, LW or Matt Savoie, C/RW
It’s either Howard or Savoie, and not both because there’s not enough space for both of them in the top six. Zach Hyman’s absence gives both players a chance to audition in the top six, and it’ll depend on what kind of scoring line Kris Knoblauch wants to form. He can go with the lefty Howard or the righty Savoie. Both have a ton of skill but both are also unproven.
We do know, however, is that Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is very likely sticking with Connor McDavid, and Leon Draisaitl has expressed utmost satisfaction having left Vasily Podkolzin on his wing. That means the right-handed Savoie is the most likely candidate to stick in the top six once Hyman returns. There are a ton of moving parts and the Oilers have other options – European veteran David Tomasek comes to mind – but Savoie gets the slight edge having proven himself as a capable scorer at the pro level in North America with AHL Bakersfield.
Buy Low Candidate: Stuart Skinner, G
The case for Skinner is that he’s young and his overall numbers are still okay. Over the past three seasons, only six goalies have had more wins than Skinner, and he’s also started the fewest games. The case against Skinner is that he’s frighteningly inconsistent and more likely to lose games than steal them.
That being said, he is still the No. 1 goalie for arguably the league’s most fearsome offensive team. Calvin Pickard will need to spell Skinner for stretches, but only when Skinner struggles will Pickard step in. I think fantasy managers are undervaluing Skinner, especially on the basis of quantity of starts and wins. Skinner is the 27th goalie taken off the board based on Yahoo’s ADP, nearly 50 picks after the Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman, who’s coming off an even worse season on a worse team.
I do not, however, think that Skinner has even a hair's chance of making the Canadian Olympic team.
Riser: Vasily Podkolzin, LW/RW
Draisaitl gave Podkolzin a big endorsement, and that’s a great sign. I have doubts about Podkolzin’s offensive ceiling – 20 goals in a career year, maybe – but he is very good at hunting pucks, forechecking and creating space for his more skilled linemates. Without power play minutes, Podkolzin will never put up fantasy-relevant numbers, but look for increased ice time and perhaps some streaming value when he gets on a hot streak. Podkolzin, is still very young and developing,
Faller: Andrew Mangiapane, LW/RW
He’s among the many options the Oilers can use in the top six, and without the minutes or shot volume, he’s really topping out to be a potential 20-20 player. That won’t register in fantasy, and there may not be a better spot for Mangiapane in fantasy than with the Oilers where he gets a chance to play with McDavid or Draisaitl. That 35-goal season was truly an anomaly and I think Mangiapane is an average middle-six winger who occasionally has some scoring pop.
All stats courtesy of naturalstattrick.com, moneypuck.com, hockeyviz.com, allthreezones.com, hockey-reference.com, eliteprospects.com unless otherwise noted.