After a strong showing for Team Europe at the World Cup in September, Halak has struggled throughout the regular season in Brooklyn, compiling a 6-8-5 record with a 3.23 goals against average and .904 save percentage.
Halak was pulled in his latest outing, after allowing four goals on 24 shots Thursday versus Minnesota.
The 31-year-old has been mostly reliable over his career, but a $4.5-million cap hit this season and next could affect where he lands, be it with a team in need of goaltending help, or the AHL.
Count T.J. Oshie on the list of those who want to see NHLers at the 2018 Olympic games.
After participating in the last five, the NHL's presence in Pyeongchang is in doubt because of travel logistics, costs, and preference among owners.
Oshie, however, has a different opinion than those in charge.
"One hundred percent, we should be there," the Captials' winger told Barry Svrluga of The Washington Post. "I think it's just important for hockey. I think it's our responsibility in the stage that we're at and the impact that we have on the game. I think it's our responsibility to play in that tournament and represent our country."
Oshie was a hero for the Americans at the 2014 games in Sochi, scoring four times in one shootout to defeat the host Russians.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman is expected to provide a definitive answer in the new year.
The 2016 calendar year meant big things for many NHL players, but these five saw their stars rise more precipitously than most:
Brent Burns
Maybe you purchased stock in Burns, when he was a rangy "tweener" with the screwball personality and dreams of growing the gnarliest of beards - and finding the right fit for his hockey career.
If so, 2016 was the payoff.
Not a single player boosted his status and enhanced his exposure this year quite like the San Jose Sharks rover. He was the best defender in the world over the last 12 months, and because no subject is more interesting, or could provide a better interview, he might have been the most written about, too.
But beyond sartorial choices at All-Star weekend, the military-grade backpack stuffed with the essentials, his fascination in all things, and other eccentricities that make for good reading, it's Burns' impact that made him a must-see attraction this year. Just a handful of superstar forwards recorded more points than Burns' 100 in 2016.
Mark Scheifele
When we look back on the Winnipeg Jets in 2016, what will immediately come to mind is Patrik Laine, the prized sniper bagged in the NHL draft.
But the Jets discovered more than their elite finisher - they discovered they had a true No. 1 center, too.
Scheifele broke out late last season after he was upgraded to the top-line center role, scoring 17 times and accruing a league-best 29 primary points over the final eight weeks. His increased production carried over into the 2016-17 campaign, as he was neck-and-neck with Connor McDavid for the NHL scoring lead entering December before picking up an injury.
Sandwiched between his scoring runs, Scheifele inked a max-term contract with the Jets.
Artemi Panarin
Oh, the chicken and the egg: Was it that Panarin scored a top-10 finish in scoring because of Patrick Kane, or was it that Kane won the Hart Trophy because he had Panarin at his side?
Nevertheless, Panarin is a genuine superstar in his own right. The shifty wing scored 19 goals and 43 assists in the first four months of 2016 to finish among the NHL's elite scorers in his rookie season, and cash in the incentives built into his contract.
And so far this year he's outshone Kane, sitting fifth in league scoring with 15 goals and 28 points.
David Pastrnak
Crosby, Pastrnak, Ovechkin: the top goal rates in all situations in 2016.
It's been a meteoric rise for Pastrnak, the 20-year-old Boston Bruins sniper who, when he wasn't injured, was often nailed to the bench last year. He's now tied for second in the NHL with 19 goals, and has made better use of his ice than any player (save for Sid, of course), when speaking solely in terms of goal scoring.
Cam Talbot
There are two reasons the Edmonton Oilers find themselves in the thick of a division race for the first time at this point in a season since, well, what feels like forever. Connor McDavid's one, and Talbot's the other.
Talbot was indispensably terrific in 2016. In the face of more shots and more high-danger scoring chances than any other goalie, Talbot's maintained higher than a .920 save percentage.
His Goals Saved Above Average (at stat that offers a relative comparison to the league average) is tops in the NHL.
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Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Friday, December 30:
Triple Threat
C Ryan Kesler (49K), RW Corey Perry (57K), D Cam Fowler (35K), Ducks (at Canucks) : The Canucks are in the NHL's bottom third in penalty kill percentage (80.2) while the Ducks are the second-most effective with the man advantage. This trio represents three of the Ducks' top four power play producers and they aren't breaking the bank.
C Brayden Schenn (45K), RW Wayne Simmonds (62K), D Shayne Gostisbehere (44K), Flyers (at Sharks): Simmonds and Schenn are one of the most potent duos, both coming off multi-point performances in St. Louis. This is still more of a contrarian stack because the Sharks have allowed the fourth fewest goals in the NHL and are 12-4 at home.
C Jori Lehtera (31K), LW Alex Steen (51K), RW Vladimir Tarasenko (78K), Blues (vs. Predators): Lehtera's struggles are noted, but his salary and playing time alongside Tarasenko make him worth the risk as the Predators play their second game in two nights. Tarasenko has 12 points in his last 10 games, largely making up for his linemates' woes.
Goalie Breakdown
TARGET/BARGAIN: Jonathan Bernier (75K), Ducks (at Canucks): After a strong start to his run in Anaheim, Bernier has not played well. He has allowed 12 goals in his last three starts. That should change against the Canucks, who are 25th in scoring and struggle on the power play. While total saves may be at a premium, the chances of winning are high.
FADE: Ryan Miller (102K), Canucks (vs. Ducks): That salary is nonsense. Miller is easily mired in the worst season of his career with a 2.86 GAA and .908 save percentage. Lack of scoring in front of him has kept his win total low. A surprise isn't impossible, but investing top dollar in Miller is a mistake.
CONTRARIAN: Steve Mason (81K), Flyers (at Sharks): The Sharks are one of the best home teams in the NHL, while the Flyers are merely mediocre away from Philadelphia. Prior to Mason's recent struggles, he had put together a string of stellar performances and remains the starter in Michal Neuvirth's absence. The Sharks are 23rd in scoring, though, which could go in Mason's favor.
Bargain Plays
C Mike Fisher (30K), Predators (at Blues): Fisher just steadily does his thing. Of his 19 points, 10 have come on the power play and he has 65 hits to his name, so a little sandpaper pushes him the extra distance to relevance. Ignore his recent four-game point-less streak. He broke through with a goal Thursday and can follow it up with another.
LW Nick Ritchie (26K), Ducks (at Canucks): Ritchie has struggled lately with only two points in eight games after a three-game point streak ended. He needs to take more shots to take advantage of his 13.3 shooting percentage. The Canucks have allowed the sixth-most goals in the NHL, however, giving Ritchie a slight edge.
D Ivan Provorov (25K), Flyers (at Sharks): If you don't trust Gostisbehere due to his inconsistency, Provorov is available for almost half the price. He provides a healthy dose of hits and blocked shots with the odd assist. He takes close to two shots on goal per game, as well.
Top Fades
LW Daniel Sedin (63K), Canucks (vs. Ducks): Sedin, like the rest of this trio of fades, is the most expensive option at his position. This is absurd. The Canucks are 25th in scoring and both Sedins are in danger of recording their worst seasons ever. Every other LW in his price range is more likely to return value.
D Brent Burns (74K), Sharks (vs. Flyers): Burns is easily the best fantasy defenseman on Friday's slate, but it will be difficult to fill a balanced roster with him as the anchor. With the price gap so wide, it's best to be conservative.
RW Patrick Kane (82K), Blackhawks (at Hurricanes): Hurricanes G Cam Ward is shockingly having the best season of his career with a .917 save percentage and 2.27 GAA. While Kane could easily slide one past him, the likelihood of a multi-point game is slightly reduced. It's wiser to spend less on a variety of options with better odds of scoring.
Contrarian Options
C Jonathan Toews (53K), Blackhawks (at Hurricanes): Toews is much cheaper than teammate Kane due to his difficulties scoring at a consistent rate. The difference is his salary makes a single point more valuable than it would coming from Kane. In tournaments, he's a solid mid-range option.
LW Filip Forsberg (56K), Predators (at Blues): Forsberg, at the rate he's playing, might not qualify as a contrarian much longer. He's still playing his second road game in two nights, so extending his goal streak to three games may seem iffy. He's turning his season around, however, and can be trusted while his salary is still outside the top tier.
RW Sebastian Aho (53K), Hurricanes (vs. Blackhawks): The rookie Aho has had a quietly strong December with seven points in 12 games. While he finished Wednesday's game goal-less he took a season high seven shots on goal. Breaks are incoming for the youngster.
The Washington Capitals are 20-9-5 through 34 games, sitting comfortably in a wild-card position with 45 points.
Sounds good, right? Sure, but the results could be better.
One season after capturing the Presidents' Trophy, the Capitals haven't consistently looked like the Eastern Conference force they were a year ago.
Why, you ask? The Metropolitan Division.
Playing against Metro opponents, the Captials own a record of 4-5-4, creating a strange disparity between that and their record versus everybody else: 16-4-1.
Much has been made of the Metro's depth this season, but it sent five teams to the playoffs last season as well, and the Capitals won the crown with a 16-point cushion, going 20-5-5 against divisional opponents.
The Capitals are stumbling their way into the New Year, dropping four of their last five - three of those losses to different teams behind them in the Metro standings.
In order for Washington to get back to the point they reached last season - and beyond - they'll need to rectify the problem, as inter-divisional points become even more crucial down the stretch, and a playoff meeting with a Metropolitan opponent is more than likely.
All eyes will be on the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild on Saturday evening. You can probably count on one hand how many times that's ever been said.
It isn't a significant rivalry, or a homecoming for anybody. In fact, the only historical connection between the franchises is joining the league together in 2000. But as of right now, the Blue Jackets and Wild are the hottest teams in the NHL.
Columbus has won 14 games in a row, and Minnesota 12. Saturday's matchup will mark the first time in NHL history two teams will play each other on active streaks of at least 12 games, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Additionally, the respective streaks mark the first time two NHL franchises have had concurrent winning streaks of 12-plus games, per ESPN. It's perfect timing.
Columbus entered the season pegged as a lottery pick for the 2017 draft, while Minnesota started a new regime under Bruce Boudreau, and was hardly expected to be within a point of the Central Division lead by the New Year.
The Blue Jackets and Wild have the same recipe for success: stellar netminding, and plenty of goals. Their impressive surges share many similarities and have taken the NHL by storm, but come Saturday night, something has to give.
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Stats are as of Thursday, December 29; advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey.
Sell high on Jeff Carter
Carter has been magnificent for fantasy owners this season. He is second in the NHL with 19 goals. He takes plenty of shots and also chips in with a healthy amount of hits and blocks.
Now is the best time to trade Carter for an elite asset. His 17.0 shooting percentage is the second-highest of his career. Furthermore, his linemate, Tyler Toffoli was recently placed on IR, leaving him with Devin Setoguchi and Tanner Pearson on his wings. Yikes.
Add Anders Lee
Lee scored 25 goals in 2014-15, but really bottomed out a season ago, scoring just 15. This season he got off to a terrible start, but now has 12 goals in his last 16 games. Playing on a line with John Tavares is a big part of his success.
Lee won't add much in the assists column, but 30 goals is a realistic possibility. He also has 80 hits on the year, helping those in banger leagues.
Drop Pittsburgh's depth players
The 2016-17 NHL schedule introduced bye weeks, sort of like the NFL. The Penguins will have theirs this coming week. They play against Montreal on December 31, but then don't hit the ice again until January 8 against Tampa Bay.
Obviously Pittsburgh's marquee players should be held onto, but if you were streaming the Bryan Rusts and Chris Kunitzs of the world, they can be dropped for players who play three or four games this coming week.
Hang on to Marc-Andre Fleury
Despite the fact that Pittsburgh only has one game this coming week, you must keep Marc-Andre Fleury, even though he is having his worst season in more than a decade. Matt Murray is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, but for goalies, it could it always be much longer. Fleury has regained the starting role for the time being, giving him great fantasy value.
No matter how much work gets put into the ice, the playing surface will always be much worse than a regular indoor game. Teams simplify their approach and usually play a chip-and-chase type of game.
Some of the most recent outdoor games have ended in lopsided affairs, but it is still best to stay away from these games in daily fantasy.
Take a flier on Brandon Montour
Montour, 22, has 88 points in 107 games in his AHL career across three seasons. These are pretty impressive numbers, but even more so since he is a defenseman. The second-round pick by the Ducks in 2014 has recently been called up to the show. If you need help on the back end, get him on your roster. There is obviously plenty of upside.
Pick up Mika Zibanejad
Zibanejad is injured, but he is expected to return to the lineup in mid-January. The 23-year-old was on the verge of a breakout season before being sidelined, picking up 15 points in 19 games. He was getting 4.63 iSCF60 (individual scoring chances for per 60 minutes) at 5v5, the the ninth-most in the NHL among players with at least 200 5v5 minutes.
Scoop up Timo Meier in keeper leagues
Meier, 20, has only played five NHL games this season - and in his career for that matter - but his 19.64 iSF60 (individual shots for per 60 minutes) at 5v5 is the highest in the NHL - by far. The next highest is Patric Hornqvist with 13.67.
Meier only has one goal in his brief five-game career, but his willingness to get pucks to the net could earn him more ice time and maybe even an audition on Joe Thornton's line.
Scout the World Juniors for future fantasy talent
The IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is not only great for pure viewing purposes, but it is a great way to recognize future fantasy stars. Some of these teenagers may not be fantasy relevant for another five years or so, but if you make a list of players you think stood out to you from an offensive standpoint, you will remember their names when they get called up.
This is especially helpful in keeper leagues. Some keeper leagues have multiple NA spots where you can stash high-potential youngsters before they're even in the NHL.
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theScore will be giving out fantasy report cards discussing the fantasy value of key players on each of the 30 teams. This edition focuses on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Andersen has been everything the Leafs expected and more. He was dreadful in the first five games of the season, but since then he is 14-7-3 with a .939 save percentage. He has started 29 of Toronto's 35 games this season. The Dane has been one of the most reliable goaltenders in all of fantasy, despite his team's defensive zone deficiencies. Grade: A-
C Auston Matthews
Matthews has lived up to his expectations. The No. 1 overall pick already has 18 goals and 12 assists in 35 games. He is among the league leaders in shots on goal and fantasy owners can expect him to get better as the season goes on. He is both physically and mentally mature beyond his years. At 19, he is already one of the game's elite fantasy producers. Grade: A+
LW James van Riemsdyk
JVR is on pace to match his career high of 30 goals set back in 2013-14. With more talent around him compared to previous years, it's not surprising that he has improved his production. Grade: B
C Nazem Kadri
Playing fewer minutes in a shutdown role has somehow helped Kadri's offensive game. He is on pace for 30 goals, which would shatter his career high of 20. He was bound to get some luck on his side after finishing with a 6.5 shooting percentage last season. In addition to his goal scoring, he provides plenty of shots, hits and PIMs for banger leagues. Grade: B+
C/RW Mitchell Marner
Many thought Marner's slight frame wouldn't hold up in the NHL as a 19-year-old. With a boatload of skill and an advanced hockey IQ, he has proved his doubters wrong. He has benefited from playing on a line with two veterans (van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak), but has arguably been the line's best player with 26 points in 35 games. Grade: A-
C/RW William Nylander
Nylander has spent a good chunk of the season in Mike Babcock's doghouse, but he has still been able to produce offensively - in large part due to his power-play prowess. Fourteen of his 24 points have come with the man advantage. The slick Swede doesn't play on a line with Matthews these days, but it hasn't affected his fantasy value in a dramatic way. Grade: B+
C Tyler Bozak
Bozak has never reached the 50-point mark in a single season. He has come close multiple times though. He does have a solid chance to do so this season, but with the depth at the center position, he is only worthy as a streaming option in season-long leagues. Grade: C
D Jake Gardiner
Gardiner is well on his way to setting career highs in goals, assists and points this season. He is one of the best skaters in the entire league and plays for one of the fastest teams in the NHL. He is still prone to defensive-zone gaffs, but fantasy owners don't mind as long as he produces. Eight of his 18 points have come on the power play. Grade: B+
D Morgan Rielly
Rielly is also one of the league's best skaters. He is on pace to set a career high in assists, but he has scored just one goal. His 1.3 shooting percentage is bound to improve, but his shot is inferior to Gardiner's. What he has lacked in goal scoring he has made up for with 61 blocked shots. Grade: C+
Player to watch - C/LW Zach Hyman
Hyman is not the most talented player on the Leafs, but he might be the hardest working. He has 84 shots this season, but just five goals. He is getting 3.78 individual scoring chances for per 60 minutes at 5v5, per Corsica.Hockey. Playing exclusively on Matthews' LW, it wouldn't be shocking if he finished with 20 goals and provided excellent daily fantasy value the rest of the way.
