Fantasy Hockey Sleepers: Pacific Division: Sharks and Kraken

With the calendar now in October and the season almost upon us, fantasy hockey leagues are in the middle of their drafts. Hopefully, you have been keeping up with the off-season moves, rookies added, and players looking to take a step forward (while some may be regressing in other cases). To help you plan, this series of columns will focus on fantasy hockey sleepers, one per team in each division.

Fantasy hockey sleepers mean different things to each person. For some, it’s the hot rookie. For others, it’s those who will take a step forward. Some view them as prior year players or acquisitions in new situations, enabling that individual to exceed projections or their initial role. For purposes of this series of columns, the focus will mainly be on the latter – those who have a chance to surpass expectations or prior production. I welcome feedback, criticism, thoughts, etc., as one man’s meat is another man’s poison, and your view may differ vastly from mine.

We kicked off this series by looking at the Atlantic Division, and then discussing the Central Division — each of which was completed. We moved on to the Metro Division review, which now has been followed by the Pacific. As noted, two teams are covered in each column. To simplify it, we are going alphabetically by first team name rather than by nickname. We continue our Pacific Division review by covering San Jose and Seattle in this column.

San Jose Sharks

San Jose was already in rebuild mode, but if there was any doubt, the trade of Erik Karlsson made that abundantly clear. The Sharks will likely jettison a few more veterans at the trade deadline, opening the door for the kids to see more playing time. Coach David Quinn has experience with playing youth and will need to draw up all that information this season.

William Eklund was the seventh overall pick in 2021 and has received a pair of cups of coffee in the past two seasons. He spent the majority of last season in the AHL where he tallied 41 points in 54 contests. The upside is still very evident in Eklund with most believing it’s a matter of when not if he takes a major step forward.

The Sharks brought in a handful of veterans to fill roles in the top six, but if they are smart, they will just insert Eklund into one of those spots and see what he can do. One experienced player who should take advantage of the additional playing time is Anthony Duclair, who has a 31-goal season on his resume. Someone has to score, so why not take a flier on Duclair in your leagues?

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken rebounded from a disappointing – at least in their eyes – first season to make the playoffs last season. Matty Beniers showed he was capable of filling the first-line center role while several veterans had rebound campaigns to help propel Seattle. That list includes several players up front but also from the backline, Vince Dunn, who had that long awaiting breakout season.

Midway through the 2022-23 campaign, Eeli Tolvanen looked like a first-round bust, as Nashville placed him on waivers. Claimed by Seattle, Tolvanen saw full-time action, notching 27 points in 48 games while skating on the third line. Tolvanen meshed nicely with Yanni Gourde, creating a physical, tough-to-face duo. He has 20+ goals and 40+ point potential, making him a nice late-round target.

Martin Jones helped save the Kraken’s bacon during the season when Philipp Grubauer was injured. Jones returned to earth while Grubauer was solid enough in the playoffs. With Jones gone, Grubauer will get another chance to be the man between the pipes supported by Joey Daccord, who makes for a sleeper as well if Grubauer struggles.

Atlantic Division:

Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres

Detroit Red Wings and Florida Panthers

Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators

Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs

Central Division:

Arizona Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks

Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars

Minnesota Wild and Nashville Predators

St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets

Metropolitan Division:

Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets

New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders

New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers

Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals

Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks and Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers and Los Angeles Kings