Three Lingering Questions For Week 12

Roster Dilemmas on the Minds of Fantasy Hockey Managers

Due to the Christmas holiday, we’ve got a short fantasy hockey week in Week 12. There will be no NHL games from December 24th through December 26th. However, the World Juniors begin on December 26th, so there will be some hockey, at least on Boxing Day, for those itching for their puck fix. 

Despite the short week, there are some roster questions that fantasy managers might have as we begin Week 12 of the fantasy hockey season. With fewer games this week, it will be even more critical for fantasy managers to have productive performances from their players, whether in points or category-scoring formats. One off-day can seriously sink a fantasy team this week.

That said, here are three lingering questions that fantasy managers may have as we begin competition from December 23rd to December 29th.

---

Should Yaroslav Askarov Be a Must-Add Goalie?

The Sharks have been conservative with Askarov since acquiring him from Nashville on August 23rd.

San Jose started the season with Mackenzie Blackwood and Vitek Vanecek as the primary goalie combo. While the Sharks have been a sub-par team (which was to be expected under year two of this rebuild under GM Mike Grier), Blackwood and Vanecek have been serviceable, with the former being more so. That led to Blackwood (and forward Givani Smith) being traded to Colorado in a multi-player deal that brought over goalie Alexandar Georgiev, defenseman Nikolai Kovalenko, and future draft picks to San Jose.

Georgiev has continued to be the primary goalie with the Sharks, which has kept the talented Askarov in the AHL. However, an injury to Vanecek led to Askarov being called up again, and he thrived in the net against a hot Oilers team in Edmonton on December 21st.

The Sharks didn’t get the win, but Askarov stopped 39 of 42 shots in the effort, producing a GAA of 2.99, an SV% of 0.929, and a GSAA of 1.20. He’s only gotten one win in three starts with the Sharks this season, but all of his other metrics have been solid, as demonstrated in his player card via Dobber.

Askarov has yet to NOT have a quality start in the net at the NHL level this season, and his GAA of 2.30 and SV% of 0.928 are much better marks than Georgiev's (3.44 GAA, 0.875 SV%) and Vanecek (3.84, 0.885 SV%). Thus, with only an 11% rostered percentage in Yahoo, Askarov should, theoretically, be an easy add.

Unfortunately, it may be hard to pull the trigger on Askarov in fantasy, especially in re-draft leagues (he should be a no-brainer in keeper or dynasty formats).

Right now, Vanecek is expected to miss 2-3 weeks due to being hit by a puck while on the bench. Askarov will likely remain up with the Sharks over that timespan and receive a fair number of starts in the process. Conversely, Georgiev, an unrestricted free agent this offseason, will likely continue as the primary goalie, as San Jose will try to find a trade suitor for him before the March Trade Deadline.

Askarov may be worth picking up and riding for now (especially with the Sharks playing three games this week and next week). That said, fantasy managers may want to have two good goalie options available for regular play, as it is likely that Askarov will be sent back down to the AHL as soon as Vanecek, another trade candidate, is 100 percent.

---

Is Kevin Lankinen a Drop With the Return of Thatcher Demko?

There’s no question that the Vancouver Canucks have greatly benefitted from Lankinen’s surprisingly effective 2024-2025 season thus far.

The Canucks are tied for fourth in the Pacific division despite having negative shot (-2) and goal (-1) differentials as of Monday, December 23rd. Vancouver certainly has firepower, but underwhelming seasons from Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk haven’t helped with the Canucks’ scoring production this season.

Thankfully, Lankinen, who was acquired in free agency after last playing in Nashville, has kept the Canucks competitive thanks to his solid goalie metrics, which can be seen below.

Lankinen has been one of the top goalies in fantasy, even if he doesn’t have name recognition.

In 23 games this season, he has 14 wins (a 61% winning percentage), 14 quality starts (a 61% QS%), a 4.20 GSAA, a 2.61 GAA, and an SV% of .907. He’s also limited the bad outings, as demonstrated by his 13% Really Bad Start percentage. That has kept Vancouver in the hunt in the Pacific Division despite the disappointing start from their skater lines.

Hence, Lankinen should be an easy hold, right?

Unfortunately, that has become more complicated with the return of Thatcher Demko, Vancouver’s primary goalie a season ago.

Last year, Demko collected 35 wins and 30 quality starts (58.8% QS%) and posted a GAA of 2.45, SV% of 0.917, and GSAA of 21.53. The American goalie was unlikely to replicate that GSAA again in 2024-2025, but he’s seen regression in that category, and a few others, since returning to the ice on December 6th.

It’s only four games, but Demko has lagged a bit so far this year with the Canucks. He only has one win and two quality starts, and he’s also posted two really bad starts to boot. His GSAA is -1.50, his GAA is 3.18, and his SV% is 0.887. That pales to what Lankinen has done this season, even though it’s a smaller sample for Demko.

Here’s what the last two weeks have been like for the Canucks goaltenders, as they each have accumulated four starts in the previous eight games.

Lankinen has posted more quality starts in his four starts and significantly outperformed Demko in penalty kill situations (0.905 SH SV% to Demko’s 0.750% SH SV%). They’ve been pretty even in EV SV%, with Lankinen having a one-point edge. Demko has been better on close-range shots (0.841 SV% to 0.793 SV% on 1-15 ft shots), but Lankinen has been better in medium and long-range shooting situations.

The Finnish goalie has a 1.50-point advantage in GSAA over Demko over the past two weeks. Hence, even though Demko may decrease the number of starts Lankinen will receive for the rest of the year, fantasy managers should still expect Lankinen not just to receive a fair share of outings but quality ones as well for the remainder of the 2024-2025 season (if he stays in Vancouver).

---

Is Seattle’s Kaapo Kakko Worth Streaming?

The Rangers fire sale continues this season as they traded 2019 second-overall pick Kakko to Seattle for defenseman Will Borgen and two future draft picks.

The deal is significant for Kakko, who gets a fresh start after struggling to receive consistent ice time with New York. The 23-year-old wing has scored five goals, accumulated 15 points, and averaged 0.45 PTS/G in 33 games. He’s also on pace for 37 points in 82 games, an improvement on his 26-point pace from last season.

Unfortunately, with the Rangers, Kakko only received 13:19 TOI and 1:00 PP TOI, equating to a PP% of 23.9%. However, he has produced some intriguing rate metrics, which is probably a big reason why the Kraken acquired him.

The goal rate isn’t high (0.15), but his SH% of 10% is decent, as his 5-on-5 SH% at 10.1%. He also has a PDO of 1043 and a 2.0 PTS/60 mark. Lastly, he’s produced an IPP of 65.2% and a Hits/G mark of 0.97. Thus, he has demonstrated that he can be heavily involved in point-creating opportunities when he’s on the ice, and he’s also a nice fit in banger-league formats.

Kakko scored his first Kraken goal on Sunday night against a tough Avalanche team in Colorado.

Regarding Kaako’s line outlook in Seattle, he saw second-line duties with Jaden Schwartz and Matty Beniers against the Avs. The group produced a SH% of 90% and CF% of 81.3%, signifying that this trio could be a potent trio for Seattle for the remainder of the season.

Unfortunately, the group only played together on Sunday at 10:20 TOI. The Kraken opts for a deeper four-line rotation, which deflates the TOI for many of its top forwards.

According to Dobber’s Seattle depth chart, only center Chandler Stephenson averages 18 minutes of ice time per game. Thus, it’s hard to imagine Kakko surpassing his 13:19 TOI average in his new surroundings in the Pacific Northwest. Kakko touching the 15:00 TOI mark for the rest of the season would be incredibly optimistic.

Nonetheless, if Kakko stays on this line with Schwartz and Beniers, he could be a sneakily productive right-wing option in deep-league formats. The Kraken only plays one game this week, so there should be no rush to pick him up if available (he is in 96% of Yahoo leagues).

Thus, he may be a better streaming target in week 13, especially with Seattle getting three games at home (Utah, Vancouver, and Edmonton).

Photo Credit: Nam Y. Huh/AP