Under The Radar- Saku Koivu

After missing three weeks of action with a groin injury, Saku Koivu has been playing very well in his first four games back.

Analysis: Koivu has four assists, one goal, an average of nineteen minutes of ice time and is a plus four in his four games since returning from injury. Koivu is only owned in about twenty percent of fantasy leagues and he is certainly going under the radar at the moment. He started the season without a point in twelve of his first  fifteen games but since he has put up sixteen points in seventeen games.

Koivu isn’t a force on the power play nor does he rack up tons of shots but he is a reliable source of points. His plus eight rating on the year is exceptional when considering Ryan Getzlaf is a minus seventeen and Corey Perry is a minus eleven on the year. Koivu is about as consistent as they come and as far as lower tier fantasy centers go… he’s solid. He’s a great buy low option at this point in the fantasy hockey season.

Forsberg Suddenly Retires, Replace With Saku Koivu

Peter Forsberg retired from the NHL again Monday just two games into his comeback. This does hurt fantasy owners banking on Forsberg putting up monster numbers, however, Saku Koivu is owned in just forty percent of fantasy leagues and should help ease the loss of Forsberg’s expectations.

Analysis: Saku Koivu is certainly under the radar and is playing some great hockey lately. Koivu has 2 goals, 6 assists, 3 power play points and seven games with over 20 minutes of ice time in his last seven games. There are very few available fantasy centers getting the ice time or putting up the numbers like Koivu has these past few weeks. Obviously, the loss of Peter Forsberg hurts but Koivu is a consistent force.

Projection: There are only twenty-five games left on the Ducks schedule and expect Koivu to amass about 15 points, over 5 power play points with an average time on ice over 20 minutes. He isn’t going to go on a streak and leave the league on fire but he won’t let you down either.