ADD: Jiri Tlusty

When it comes to players who know how to get exposure on the internet, Jiri Tlusty takes the cake.  All joking aside, Jiri Tlusty is rounding into form and becoming the full package that he posed as once upon a time when he was taken 15th overall in 2006 by the Toronto Maple Leafs.  Since coming over to the Hurricanes Tlusty has struggled to become a prominent scorer … but a current 8-game point streak is causing poolies to think maybe, just maybe, this kid has the tools and is ready to show them off (couldn’t resist).

Reasons to pick up Tlusty:
- 9 points in his past 8 games
- Plays on the top line with Eric Staal, who is known as a strong second-half player (click here to see our “TRADE FOR: Eric Staal” article)
- His overall ice time has sky-rocketed lately, he played almost 20 minutes on Saturday @ NYI (up from his average of 13:56 on the season)
- Increasingly getting more power play time with each passing game, around 3 minutes per night in his past 4 outings
- With Tuomo Ruutu on the shelf with an injury (roughly 3 weeks), and a likely trade-deadline departure, don’t expect Tlusty’s ice time to go back down to the natural mean.  He should remain on the top line for the rest of the season due to lack of scoring depth in Carolina

As mentioned in my article on Eric Staal (see above for link), he is starting to make up for a lacklustre start to achieve his perennial 75-point scoring pace down the stretch.  He is making up serious ground on his poor first half to achieve that pace, with 13 points in his past 9 games … now you see why Tlusty is tearing it up?

As long as Staal stays hot, which he is always known to do down the stretch, Jiri’s Tlusty will be in full swing.  The best part: He is 5% owned in Yahoo! Leagues right now.

Click here to see Jiri Tlusty’s career statistics