Frozen Fantasy: Frustration Rising

I had such high hopes just six weeks ago. Scoring was up to mid-90s levels. The game was exciting. Now, it's worse than ever.

Sustainable? Spit.

Goal scoring has dropped back to pre-lockout levels. On-ice frustration is rising courtesy of guys like Nazem Kadri, Andrew Shaw and Antoine Roussel.

And stars are losing their crap.

Carey Price threw down MMA-style on Kyle Palmieri's kidneys Thursday night. And Connor McDavid channeled his best Urban Dictionary profanities at Brandon Manning that same night.

Change is needed. The what is easy. The how is not.

I still maintain that individual skill level has never been higher. And individual skill translates into offense.

Or it's supposed to translate into offense.

I'm like you – I play fantasy hockey because of offensive metrics. Some of my leagues weight each scoring category equally. But others emphasize stud categories – goals, power-play points, even defense goal scoring.

I'm not advocating for run-and-gun, fire wagon hockey. Just let the great players be great and the good ones be good.

It's good for the game as a whole. It's good for the players. And it'd be great for fantasy owners.

Mind you, there's something strangely satisfying to see calm, collected Carey Price take matters into his own hands – or blocker – and go straight for Palmieri's kidneys.

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

Drake Caggiula, LW/C, Edmonton (3 percent Yahoo owned) – - Meet Connor McDavid's new line mate. Yep. And the two of them have a bit of chemistry, too. Caggiula (pronounced "Ca-JEWEL-Ah") is a hard-nosed, 5-foot-9 water bug on skates that darts around and sometimes through opponents, all while irritating the snot out them. And he has skill – the guy can score. Think Brad Marchand or Brendan Gallagher, but with better hands – there's real value in that. Especially beside Connor McDavid.

Alex Chiasson, RW, Calgary (1 percent) - Oh, my – Chiasson must be pinching himself. He's skating with the now-healthy Johnny Gaudreau and Sam Bennett on the Flames top line, and the trio has clicked. Chiasson has seven points, including three goals, in his last eight games. He has never replicated his rookie production (35 points), but that might just change this season. In a big way.

Matt Cullen, C, Pittsburgh (2 percent) - This 40-year-old non-virgin (just guessing here, of course) is on a modest three-game, three-goal streak heading into play Saturday. Sure, the dude is old, at least in hockey years. But Cullen's seven goals overall this season actually put him on pace for just his third career, 20-goal season. He's not worth much at center, except in super-deep leagues. But those of you who carry forwards instead of individual positions may find Cullen's old-person smell quite pleasant.

Carl Hagelin, LW, Pittsburgh (12 percent) - Four words – Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin. Those are Hagelin's wingmen and he's starting to score. He has three points (one goal) and a plus-6 rating in his last three games. Six more words … get thee to the wire posthaste.

Anders Lee, LW, NY Islanders (6 percent) - When you're hot, you're hot and Lee is off the charts hot right now. He has seven goals in his last eight games and now shares the team lead with John Tavares. Yes, you read that right. And he's owned in just six percent of Yahoo! leagues heading into the weekend. I'll stop typing now so you can do what you need to do.

Anders Nilsson, G, Buffalo (8 percent) - Buffalo is 3-4 in its last seven; Nilsson has won all three of those games and is 3-0 in his last three appearances. His overall stats are actually strong (2.38 GAA and .932 save percentage), so there's some value in those pads. The wins might be tough to get over the long haul, but he sure looks like he can deliver solid ratios.

Michael Raffl, LW, Philadelphia (1 percent) - Two years ago, Raffl put up Cy Young numbers in 67 games. What's that, you ask? He tickled twine 21 times that season, while only picking up seven assists. And Raffl is doing the same again this season. He already has six goals and two helpers in 20 games, and he's skating on Philly's top line with Jakub Voracek and Claude Giroux. At this rate, he could hit 20 goals again. Cheap and cheerful scoring. There's nothing wrong with that.

Andrej Sekera, D, Edmonton (9 percent) - Sekera is hot. Yah, I know – it's about time. He's never lived up to the hype that came with his 44-point season in 2013-14. But Sekera's recent offensive success (seven points, including five assists, in the last seven games) has put him on a 35-point pace. That's roster worthy and not just in deep formats.

Jaccob Slavin, D, Carolina (1 percent) - Slavin is an emerging stud – he's a young guy who can actually play defensive hockey and put up some offense. You and I both know how rare that is. Slavin is smart in his own end – his gap control is near perfect and so are his positioning and stick work. And he's just as good on offense – Slavin moves the puck effectively and puts up points. He has three points in his last four games and recently fired seven shots in a single game. I think Slavin has a fantastic future and his current near-30-point, 170-block pace is a great combo for those in specialty leagues.

Back to frustration.

The game has never been faster. The skill level – at speed – is glorious to watch.

I only have to think back to team North America at the recent World Cup of Hockey. All those under-23 guys – that team was easily the class of the tourney behind Canada.

They WERE the class of the tourney when it came to exciting hockey.

So, how do we make the game that exciting again. Every day.

Ideas?

Until next week.