6 one-category specialists who need to be on your fantasy team
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Find yourself constantly losing a certain category in your head-to-head league? Acquire the following player adjacent to the category you're struggling in and your problems could be solved immediately!
While these players excel in one specific category, they need to be able to at least keep their head above water in a handful of others in order to be worthy of a permanent roster spot.
LW Marcus Foligno, Buffalo Sabres (Hits)
Foligno is third in the NHL with 195 hits. He plays a stable 15:53 minutes per night, keeping his game-to-game hit total fairly reliable. His 46 blocked shots are the 15th most among forwards and he also contributes with 60 PIMs.
Foligno has spent time on a line with C Jack Eichel this season, but he's currently on the third line. The LW spot on Buffalo's first line with C Ryan O'Reilly and RW Kyle Okposo has been a revolving door all season, so it wouldn't be surprising to see Foligno get his crack soon.
RW Radim Vrbata, Arizona Coyotes (Shots)
Heading into Monday's tilt with the Calgary Flames, Vrbata ranked 23rd in the NHL with 162 shots on goal. Every single player ranked ahead of him is owned in the majority of fantasy leagues, but Vrbata is owned in less than 15 percent.
There's a reason for this: he has just 11 goals on those 162 shots and is minus-17 on the season. He does have 25 assists, though.
As a pending unrestricted free agent with a cap hit of just $1 million, Vrbata is a lock to be moved at the deadline to a contender, where he could very well wind up on a line with an elite center. This would help his goal total as well as his plus/minus rating, which is looking very reminiscent of a winning golf score right now.
D Calvin de Haan, New York Islanders (Blocks)
With 142 blocks, de Haan is just four back of the NHL leader, Chicago Blackhawks D Niklas Hjalmarsson. Of the the top six leaders in blocked shots, de Haan is the only one to have more than 60 shots and 60 hits, with 78 and 86 apiece.
The Islanders have been playing some of their best hockey lately, posting a record of 8-2-2 since Doug Weight replaced Jack Capuano as head coach. With Capuano behind the bench, de Haan was playing 18:24 per night, but with Weight his ice time has jumped to 20:46.
C/RW William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs (Power-play points)
Nylander is the lone player on this list who would need to be acquired via trade rather than the waiver wire. He shouldn't be overly costly. Even including his hat-trick against the Boston Bruins on Feb. 4, he has just seven points in his last 12 games.
Of Nylander's 36 points this season, 16 have come with the man advantage. His dynamic skill set, plus the surrounding talent in Toronto make it plausible for his power-play success to continue.
D Brooks Orpik, Washington Capitals (+/-)
Orpik leads the NHL with a plus-32 rating. At 36 years old, he is no spring chicken, but he still logs nearly 18 minutes per night for the NHL's best team. In addition to his high +/-, he has 139 hits and 93 blocks.
LW Antoine Roussel, Dallas Stars (PIMs)
Roussel's 111 PIMs are the most in the NHL. The next most? Montreal Canadiens RW Andrew Shaw's 95. In fact, Roussel is one of two players with at least 80 PIMs to average more than 15 minutes of ice time per night. Philadelphia Flyers RW Wayne Simmonds is the other.
Roussel isn't an offensive juggernaut by any stretch, but with eight goals and 13 assists, he isn't completely useless either. He also chips in with 64 hits and 38 blocks.
(Photos courtesy Getty Images)