This article is part of our The Daily Puck series.
One of the biggest surprises of the season has been the 0-7-0 start for the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that should have a lot of fantasy relevant players. Their defense isn't great, but they have a load of forwards who should be solid fantasy producers.But they haven't been. That's why it's notable for your team that the Blue Jackets fired coach Todd Richards and hired John Tortorella on Wednesday.
Now, as Chris mention yesterday, there are a few examples of teams with this bad of a start who found their way into the playoffs after a coaching change. There should be plenty of motivation for the Jackets.
However, I'm not too concerned about the playoffs. I'm concerned about the production of their forwards and if there are any steals to be had on waivers if Torts can turn the team around.
I think there are. Ownership on some solid depth roster guys is sinking fast and their production could rebound if this team starts playing the way many thought they would before the season started. I don't think I'm jumping into the deep end yet unless someone in my league has unreasonably dropped Ryan Johansen, Brandon Saad or maybe a guy like Brandon Dubinsky (who I think was underrated in most drafts) or Nick Foligno (who I think was overrated in most drafts).
Here's a look at the lackluster production from guys on Columbus with the ability to be fantasy relevant, their ownership percentage and their ownership percentage change recently. It's possible that their ownership numbers keep falling and a big part of that is just poor team play. If the team turns it around under Tortorella, there are steals to be had.
| GP | G | A | P | Ownership% Change | Ownership | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryan Johansen | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 100% |
| Nick Foligno | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 100% |
| Brandon Saad | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 100% |
| Scott Hartnell | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | -1% | 99% |
| Brandon Dubinsky | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -4.70% | 45.20% |
| Cam Atkinson | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -16.70% | 32.10% |
| Boone Jenner | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | -1% | 3% |
| David Savard | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -17.90% | 14.70% |
| Fedor Tyutin | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0% | 0% |
| Jack Johnson | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -12.90% | 86.90% |
| David Clarkson | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0.30% |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -0.10% | 0% |
| William Karlsson | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
| Rene Bourque | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0% |
Projected Goalie Starters (all times Eastern)
For updates on the projected goalies later in the day, check our Projected Goalies Grid
Coyotes (Mike Smith) at Rangers (Henrik Lundqvist), 7:00 PM
Stars (Antti Niemi) at Penguins (Marc-Andre Fleury), 7:00 PM
Devils (Cory Schneider) at Senators (Andrew Hammond), 7:30 PM
Ducks (Frederik Andersen) at Predators (Pekka Rinne), 8:00 PM
Blue Jackets (Sergei Bobrovsky) at Wild (Devan Dubnyk), 8:00 PM
Panthers (Roberto Luongo) at Blackhawks (Corey Crawford), 8:30 PM
Capitals (Braden Holtby) at Canucks (Ryan Miller), 10:00 PM
Kings (Jonathan Quick) at Sharks (Martin Jones), 10:30 PM
Injury News For Teams Playing Thursday
Arizona Coyotes
Joe Vitale, C (broken orbital bone) - will be sidelined for the next 4-to-6 weeks
New York Rangers
Derek Stepan, C (wisdom teeth) - missed practice Wednesday due to having his wisdom teeth extracted, but head coach Alain Vigneault indicated that he "should be fine for [Thursday]"
Dallas Stars
Patrick Eaves, RW (lower body) - remains out
Travis Moen, LW (upper body) - was placed on injured reserve Wednesday
Brett Ritchie, RW (wrist) - has returned to practice
Curtis McKenzie, LW (lower body) - has returned home but remains on crutches
Pittsburgh Penguins
Beau Bennett, RW (undisclosed) - skated prior to practice Wednesday
Daniel Sprong, RW (visa issue) - missed Tuesday's game and Wednesday's practice due to visa issues
Kevin Porter, C (undisclosed) - missed practice on Wednesday
Pascal Dupuis, RW (lower body) - practiced again on Wednesday, but is unlikely to play Thursday
Eric Fehr, RW (elbow) - is still without a timetable for return
New Jersey Devils
Patrik Elias, LW (knee) - is skating on his own and making progress in his rehab, but still has no timetable for a return
Tuomo Ruutu, LW (undisclosed) - didn't play Tuesday
Jon Merrill, D (illness) - missed Tuesday's game
Ottawa Senators
Marc Methot, D (concussion) - skated with the team at practice Wednesday
Clarke MacArthur, LW (concussion) - remains out for a while
Chris Phillips, D (back) - is making progress
Anaheim Ducks
Clayton Stoner, D (lower body) - coach Bruce Boudreau says Stoner is close
Nate Thompson, C (shoulder) - is out
Simon Despres, D (upper body) - is on IR
Nashville Predators
Ryan Ellis, D (leg) - returned to practice Wednesday
Columbus Blue Jackets
Pretty healthy, minus the 0-7-0 record.
Minnesota Wild
Tyler Graovac, C (lower body) - has skated, but is still out
Florida Panthers
Healthy in Sunrise.
Chicago Blackhawks
Duncan Keith, D (knee) - was placed on long-term injured reserve Wednesday
Michal Rozsival, D (ankle) - Has returned to the ice
Washington Capitals
Looking good in the nation's capital.
Vancouver Canucks
Jared McCann, C (undisclosed) - is unlikely to play
Chris Higgins, LW (foot) - skated on his own Tuesday
Jacob Markstrom, G (lower body) - isn't back in the lineup, despite returning to the ice
Los Angeles Kings
Matt Greene, D (upper body) - has missed the last couple games
Dwight King, LW (foot) - is going to miss a couple months
San Jose Sharks
Joonas Donskoi, RW (lower body) - returned to practice on Wednesday and could play Thursday
Logan Couture, C (foot) - is out long term
Ben Smith, RW (lower body) - didn't practice Wednesday
Raffi Torres, LW (suspension) - is still serving out his massive suspension
Paul Martin, D (lower body) - didn't practice Wednesday, his status for Thursday is "in doubt"
Hot
Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS — Bergeron's wife had a child yesterday morning, but Bergeron decided, after missing practice, that he was going to be at the game. So naturally he was an absolute beast against the Flyers last night. He put up a goal and an assist, with two shots, two hits, two takeaways and 20:10 of ice time.
Nail Yakupov, RW, EDM — Yak has six points in the last five games, following a two-point performance on Wednesday. He's averaging nearly three shots per game. He has a positive plus/minus. Things are going well for the former number one overall draft pick.
Cold
Michael Del Zotto, D, PHI — Finding scoring from defensemen can be tricky, but that's Del Zotto's calling card. He's a streaky player, but seemed to find a groove with Philadelphia last year, tying a career-high in goals with 10, scored in 13 fewer games than the other time he scored 10. So far this season he has no goals and a single assist in six games. Throw in a minus-3 rating, 11 shots and no penalty minutes, the only thing you're getting from him is his 23:45 average ice time.
Mike Green, D, DET — The power play specialist was once one of the best defensemen you could draft. Now, he's six games deep into his life as a Red Wing and has just a single point despite solid power play time. He's also taken just four shots in six games. It's just not enough for what we expect from Green.
Recommended Pickup
Sam Gagner, C, PHI — I know. I'm reticent to pick him up based on history as well, but he's been on fire. He sat out as a healthy scratch to start the season and has only found his way into four games, but he's proving his point. For a guy that you wouldn't touch in the draft with a rubber glove on a pole, he has three points in four games, including a goal last night against Boston. If you're struggling with injuries or play in a particularly deep league, there's production to be had right now with Gagner. Will it last? I don't think he keeps up his 40% shooting percentage, so maybe not, but he is getting power play time, so there may be ways that everything balances out.
