Guys You Should Keep A Close Eye On

As the season wears on, trades occur and spots open and we see guys step up and show case their potential. Some of these guys are flashes in the pan while others are legit and are players you should keep an eye on(especially for those of us in deep keeper leagues).

Guillaume Latendresse- LW/RW- Minnesota Wild- Owned in 2% of Leagues

As a fan of the Montreal Canadiens, I can say that we'll likely regret trading Lats unless Benoit Pouliot does what he has the potential of doing. Latendresse has already matched his season totals in goals, assists and points in 20 less games. In 3 games, Latendresse has totalled 2 goals and 1 assist and a +1 rating. He's making himself look good and making Gainey look bad, which bodes well for us fantasy players. All indications are Latendresse will keep his pace and he's getting rewarded for his strong play, having received an increase of ice time in all 3 of his games.

Max Pacioretty- LW- Montreal Canadiens- Owned in 1% of Leagues

Pacioretty is finally looking like a real 1st round pick. After starting the season incredibly slow(20 GP, 1 G, 2 A, 3 Pts, -4, 4 PIM, 0 PP Pts), Pacioretty has turned on the jets over his last 8 games(2 G, 5 A, 7 Pts, 8 PIM, 1 PP Pt). He's been frequently shuffled between Scott Gomez and Tomas Plekanec which is a good thing for fantasy leaguers as it means he'll get Top 6 minutes consistently.

Claude Giroux- RW- Philadelphia Flyers- Owned in 27% of Leagues

Giroux is a stud, plain and simple. He's also a guy you should get immediately. He registered only 4 points in 11 October games but has proceeded to register 12 in his last 13 games. He's a guy you can easily insert into your line up and not miss much(if any) production.

Niclas Bergfors- RW- New Jersey Devils- Owned in 19% of Leagues

Bergfors is a bit of a risky guy to grab as he plays for the Trap-oriented Devils. Bergfors has also never really been a big scorer in his 4 AHL seasons. He's taliied 40, 32, 27 and 51 points respectively over 65, 60, 66 and 66 games respectively. His current pace right now is for a 23 goal, 33 assist, 56 point season, all 3 of which top his best AHL season of 22 goals, 29 assists and 51 points in 2008-09.

Matt Duchene- C- Colorado Avalanche- Owned in 16% of Leagues

I'll be the first admit, I'm a very impatient fantasy owner. I've dropped some diamonds in the rough after they had slow starts only to watch them get plucked and go on a season ending tear. Duchene is now my newest impatient dropee. Duchene started the year with a fair bit of hype and was fairly steady to start the year(6 points in his first 10 NHL games). He then went really cold over his next 15 games, netting just 4 points. That's when I dropped him from 3 of my teams. In his last 5 games, he's registered 5 goals, 1 assist, 6 points, +3 and 3 PPG. He's a guy anyone could use but shouldn't be one of your best C at this point.

Free Agents Who Have Potential To Help You Now and Going Forward

Tomas Plekanec- C- Mtl- Available in 46% of leagues

Season To Date: 25 GP, 5 G, 19 A, 24 Pts, +8, 10 PIM

Analysis- He's on pace for a 62 assist/79 point season and leads Montreal in scoring and has shown no sign of slowing down. He's picked up points in 5 of his last 7 games(counting 10 points in that stretch) and has moved into Scott Gomez's spot while he's nursing an upper body injury.

Tobias Enstrom- D- Atl- Available in 47% of leagues

Season To Date: 22 GP, 3 G, 16 A, 19 Pts, +10, 10 PIM

Analysis- Enstrom has been putting up points on a consistent basis early on, he's been held scoreless in back to back games just once so far and is on pace for a 71 point season. He currently ranks 6th in defenceman scoring, ahead of such proven players as Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Shea Weber, Mark Streit, Brian Campbell, Kimmo Timonen and Ed Jovanovski.

Anton Stralman- D- Cls- Available in 80% of leagues

Season To Date: 22 GP, 4 G, 11 A, 15 Pts, -8, 10 PIM

Analysis: Although his +/- leaves little to be desired about, Stralman is QB'ing the NHL's Top Power Play unit with Fedor Tyutin and it's paying off, he has 11 points in 12 November games, 7 of which have come via the PP. If the Jackets defense and goaltending can tighten up, Stralman's +/- will improve and he'll be an all around steal off the waiver wire.