Frozen Fantasy: Start the Car

I thought of that old Ikea commercial Friday night. You know, the one where the crazy-haired lady thinks she mistakenly scored the deal of the century.

"Start the car!"

I almost yelled the same Friday night when I realized James Van Riemsdyk was on the wire in the Yahoo! Friends and Family league. The guy just scores goals.

Mine. All mine.

Sure, JVR has struggled in Philly so far. But he's coming off a 36-goal season and I think he's just getting warmed up. He did miss a big chunk of the season, after all.

He shouldn't be on the wire.

I dropped J.T. Miller a week ago – yes, right before his three-game, five-point streak. But I'd still rather have JVR and I'm not just blowing smoke.

Better track record. Better potential role.

My point? Be the Ikea lady, whether you like hex wrenches or not. You can find a steal in every league. Evander Kane might not be playing well right now, but I never expected to find him on the wire in another league.

Or Rickard Rakell, injured or not.

Never overlook someone else's mistakes – I mean drops. Get in the habit of doing a simple search of available players, sorted by ownership, at least once a week.

I hope you find your "Start the car!"

Now let's take a look at who caught my eye this week.

Anthony Cirelli, C, Tampa Bay (6 percent Yahoo! owned) – Cirelli has been clutch no matter where he has played – he channels his inner Jonathan Toews at big moments. And he's finally tapping into the promise that made him one of my preseason Calder picks. Cirelli enters Saturday with a four-game, five-goal streak (six points). Cirelli is outstanding on both sides of the puck and he's going to be a fave for many years. I'm rolling him this weekend.

Stefan Elliott, D, Ottawa (0 percent Yahoo! owned) – Once upon a time, Elliott was the object of affection for fantasy owners obsessed with prospects. But that was almost a decade ago and Elliott has never lived up to the hype. I'm not saying he will now – he's a 27-year-old journeyman who last played in the NHL in 2015-16. And even then, it was just two games. But Elliott has offensive upside and opportunity with the Sens – they seem intent on letting him work on the second power-play unit. He's cheap. That was easy.

Kevin Hayes, C, NY Rangers (16 percent Yahoo! owned) – Hayes will likely be on and off this list all year. He has spun three-straight two-point efforts and is hot as they come. Trouble is, Hayes only qualifies as a pivot. And he rarely produces on the PP. Still, he's a solid temporary pickup until someone hotter comes along.

Caleb Jones, D, Edmonton (0 percent Yahoo! owned) – Jones has the same skillset as his brother Seth. He's a great skater, smart and skilled. It's actually too bad the Oilers called him up – they've actually done the right thing with him by letting him grow his game in the AHL. But Jones is up and his versatility – especially his ability to play the right side as a left shot – and Oscar Klefbom's injury mean he's going to play. Defenders are slow to develop, so he might not help right now. But Jones is a name to remember.

Alex Killorn, LW, Tampa Bay (11 percent Yahoo! owned) – The Bolts may just be the deepest, most talented team in the NHL. No offense, Leaf fans. Like Kevin Hayes (above), Killorn is a guy who will probably be on this list a few times this season. Right now, he's on a four-game, four-point streak. And he has eight points in his last 10 games. That's a mid-60s pace and that makes him roster-worthy for now.

Bryan Little, C, Winnipeg (11 percent Yahoo! owned) – Pivots who produce in the mid-40s are a dime a dozen. But mid-40 pivots like Little are worth streaming if they're on a scoring line and they get power-play time. Sure that's a baseball strategy, but who cares? You have 50 roster moves in Yahoo! So 10, two-week streaks by different guys in your third center spot could give you 70-80 points by season's end. Little could be part of that effort.

Mathieu Perreault, LW/RW/C, Winnipeg (6 percent Yahoo! owned) – Perreault is on a slow roll. Slow because that's his game now. He's 30 and a third liner. But his hands are still sweet. Perreault has six points in the last eight games, half of which came on the power play. He won't slide up into the top six without an injury ahead of him. But short term, Perreault can help.

Colton Sissons, LW/C, Nashville (15 percent Yahoo! owned) – Sissons' ice time shot up to over 20 minutes Thursday against the Orcas – he even notched the winner in OT. Guys in the West tend to fly under the radar, so his four-game, six-point streak caught me by surprise. Not any more.

Dylan Sikura, RW, Chicago (0 percent Yahoo! owned) – Sikura was a preseason Calder darling, but he failed to make the Hawks out of camp. But the team is now 1-9-0 in its last 10 and second-last in the NHL. It's time to experiment with this Hobey Baker finalist, both on the ice and in fantasy. And if Chicago blows things up with trades, Sikura could vault up the lineup.

Back to JVR.

He's only played 13 games. His production will come. And that might as well be on my squad than another owner's.

There are a few guys that I don't think will rebound after a slow start. He's not one of them.

Now, Matt Murray on the other hand? He's more Cam Ward than Cam Ward.

But I digress.

Until next week.