The Hockey News – September 17, 2019

ULTIMATE FANTASY POOL GUIDE 2019-20 THE HOCKEY NEWS | 11 |

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FL AVOR OF

THE YEAR

Past performance doesn’t always equal future gains

for these 2018-19 breakout players BY MATT LARKIN

L

AST YEAR’S SLEEPER CAN be this year’s bust. You land a breakout

’Žƒ›‡”™‹–ŠƒŽƒ–‡’‹…ǡŠ‡–—”•ƒ‘•–”‘—•’”‘β‹–ƒ†ǡ–Š‡ˆ‘Ž-

lowing season, he carries a star-caliber price in pools – then his

„‹‰›‡ƒ”–—”•‘—––‘„‡ƒƒ‘ƒŽ›Ǥ‹ŽŽ‹ƒƒ”Ž••‘™‡–ˆ”‘

Ͷ͵‰‘ƒŽ•–‘ʹͶǤ—–‘–‡˜‡”›„”‡ƒ‘—–‹•—–”—•–™‘”–Š›Ǥƒ–…Šˆ‘”

•‹‰•Ǥ‡–ǯ•ˆ‘”‡…ƒ•–ʹͲͳͻǦʹͲˆ‘”•‘‡‘ˆŽƒ•–›‡ƒ”ǯ••—”’”‹•‡•–—†•Ǥ

BUYER BEWARE/BELIEVE

Across Domi’s previous two seasons: 18 goals in

141 games. His first year as a Hab: 28 goals and

72 points. He also had a career-best shooting

percentage of 13.8, but that number isn’t high

enough to be an outlier. Domi is a post-hype

breakout who needed a new environment.

MAX

DOMI

VERDICT: BUYER BELIEVE

MAX

DOMI

In January, the Blues were in last place and

Binnington was in the AHL. By June, he was the

starting goalie for the Cup champs. He ranked

among the league’s best in almost every ad-

vanced metric, from 5-on-5 SP to high-danger

SP. Nothing about his rookie year looks fluky.

JORDAN

BINNINGTON

VERDICT: BUYER BELIEVE

Kuemper, a career backup called into injury-

replacement duty, was such a revelation that

he earned a Hart Trophy vote. Now Antti

Raanta returns to the crease healthy to open

the season. Even if Kuemper has earned a big-

ger role, it won’t be as big as last year’s.

DARCY

KUEMPER

VERDICT: BUYER BEWARE

A 27-goal, 78-point year looks great on paper

considering Lindholm’s previous bests were 17

goals and 45 points. But he cratered with two

goals in his final 24 games. Lindholm’s a good

player with excellent linemates, but you only

want him at the price of a 65-point producer.

ELIAS

LINDHOLM

VERDICT: BUYER BEWARE

When a seventh-round pick scores 20 goals

as a 24-year-old rookie, he might be mistaken

for lucky. On a per-60-minute basis, however,

Johnsson produced like a legit first-liner.

With Patrick Marleau dealt, Johnsson is firmly

established as a scoring-line winger.

ANDREAS

JOHNSSON

VERDICT: BUYER BELIEVE

Strome, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2015 draft,

was close to taking up a permanent residency

in Bustville before a trade revived his career. He

made magic with his old junior linemate Alex

DeBrincat. Now Strome is back on a star trajec-

tory. He will exceed last season’s 57 points.

DYLAN

STROME

VERDICT: BUYER BELIEVE

Parise showed he has something left with 28

goals in his age-34 season. But he’s missed an

average of 16 games over the past six seasons,

with 74 games his highest total. No longer

just a health risk, he’s now a health risk whose

price has increased significantly year over year.

ZACH

PARISE

VERDICT: BUYER BEWARE

At 27, the obscure D-man goes off for 17 goals

and 60 points? He scored on 10.6 percent of

his shots, ridiculously high for a blueliner, and

faces competition for ice time after the Hawks

acquired a few veteran defensemen in the off-

season. Bet on a decline to the 40-point range.

ERIK

GUSTAFSSON

VERDICT: BUYER BEWARE

Everything clicked for Vezina finalist Lehner.

Consider: (a) he’s come to terms with his

mental-health issues; (b) he has coaching from

goalie guru Mitch Korn; and, (c) he broke into

the league as a ballyhooed prospect, and it

feels like 2018-19 Lehner was the real Lehner.

ROBIN

LEHNER

VERDICT: BUYER BELIEVE

Mrazek appeared destined to disappoint again

before finding his groove after the all-star

break, posting a 1.83 GAA and .938 SP. He’s

always had the talent, but he has yet to show

consistent excellence for a full season. A fine

bench stash, but don’t make him your starter.

PETR

MRAZEK

VERDICT: BUYER BEWARE