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Keeper/dynasty leagues can vary in terms of settings. If you're in a keeper league requiring value retention, such as auction keepers or keep-by-draft-position leagues, then the following list can be extremely beneficial.
In keeper leagues where you're allowed to keep only a handful of players, this article may not be all too relevant. However, if your league doesn't put a cap on how many players you can keep, or simply allows you to keep a large number, the following players are gold.
These players may not be having the most outstanding seasons but for various reasons, should improve significantly in 2017-18 (stats as of Wednesday, March 29).
C/RW Elias Lindholm, Carolina Hurricanes
Lindholm has enjoyed a solid season. He has 43 points in 65 games but the total could be much higher.
He ranks eighth in the NHL with 29 primary assists in all situations, according to Corsica.Hockey, leaving him with just a handful of secondary assists. This is quite an absurd and unfortunate assist ratio for Lindholm. For example, Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid leads the NHL with 38 primary assists, but he also has 24 secondary assists.
Lindholm is a former top-5 pick as recently as 2013. He may not seem so young since this is his fourth year in the league, but he has plenty of room to grow - especially as apart of a youthful Carolina team which is a lock to improve in 2017-18. The Swede could register 70 points as soon as next season.
RW Oliver Bjorkstrand, Columbus Blue Jackets
Bjorkstrand doesn't have much hype around him. He doesn't come with the luxurious top-10 pick tag (he was a third-round pick in 2013) and he hasn't produced at an otherworldly rate in his brief NHL career.
He does, however, rank third in the NHL in iSCF60 (individual scoring chances for per 60 minutes) among players who have played at least 300 minutes this season. He has only six goals and five assists in 22 games to show for it.
Given his track record of scoring in both the WHL (144 goals in 193 games) and the AHL (31 in 88), his scoring touch at the highest level could be right around the corner thanks to an absolutely lethal shot.
Even though the Blue Jackets are a youthful team built around depth, there are permanent openings in their top-six forward group for Bjorkstrand to take. Don't rule out a 30-goal season in 2017-18.
LW/RW Nino Niederreiter, Minnesota Wild
Niederreiter, like Lindholm, is a former fifth-overall pick who has been severely unlucky in the assist column. Of Niederreiter's 30 assists, 24 have been primary helpers.
In addition to being unlucky in the assist column, he also hasn't had much luck in the scoring department. Take a look:
| Year | Shots | Goals | S% | Avg.DIST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16-17 | 171 | 20 | 11.7 | 24.49 |
| 15-16 | 159 | 20 | 12.6 | 26.1 |
| 14-15 | 149 | 24 | 16.1 | 24.82 |
He has already set a career high in shots this season but it hasn't resulted in more goals, despite taking higher quality shots. With a bit more puck luck in 2017-18, 30 goals is a real possibility.
Furthermore, Niederreiter comes with dual-position eligibility and has racked up at least 100 hits in five straight seasons, cementing his value in banger leagues.
D Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes
Slavin might be the most underrated defenseman in the NHL - and he's only 22 years old. Since the 'Canes dealt veteran blueliner Ron Hainsey at the trade deadline, Slavin has 14 points in 18 games while averaging 24:23 per game. In fact, nobody on Carolina has logged more minutes per game this year - even D Justin Faulk.
Perhaps the most impressive part about Slavin's game is he has a plus-21 rating on such a poor and inexperienced team. Considering he is second in the NHL in takeaways, this plus/minus doesn't appear to be a fluke.
A young defenseman on a growing team who could potentially put up 40 points (he has 33 this season) with a high plus/minus and plenty of blocked shots is more than worth keeping for a pick typically reserved for a dart throw.
(Photos courtesy Action Images)
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