Columbus Blue Jackets season snapshot fantasy honors

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a fantasy recap of the Columbus Blue Jackets at the pause:
NOTE: Rank for fantasy most valuable player is based on standard-category production to date.

MORE FANTASY COVERAGE:
Top 250
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100 forwards
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50 D-men
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Season snapshots
Fantasy MVP: Elvis Merzlikins, G -- The rookie started 0-4-4 with a 3.41 goals-against average and .889 save percentage in his first 10 games but broke out after Joonas Korpisalo required knee surgery, going 13-5-4 with a 1.97 GAA, a .935 save percentage and five shutouts in his past 23 games. Merzlikins, who leads rookie goalies with a .923 SV% (minimum 15 games), has been one of the better fantasy goalie options in the second half of the season and is among the 10 best at the position in keeper leagues.

Biggest surprise: Nick Foligno, C/LW/RW -- He's fifth on the Blue Jackets with 31 points (10 goals, 21 assists) in 67 games but is a category coverage asset with 131 shots on goal and 212 hits (seventh in NHL). Foligno also gains value with tri-eligibility and is surprisingly the Blue Jackets' second-ranked forward in standard leagues behind center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Foligno became a must-own player in most formats with seven points (four goals, three assists) over his past nine games, averaging 21:18 of ice time in that span.

Unsung hero: Zach Werenski, D --He leads defensemen with an NHL career-high 20 goals in 63 games and stepped up after Seth Jones missed the final 14 games before the pause because of ankle surgery. It's also impressive what Werenski has been able to accomplish after losing key forwards Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene during the offseason, and with right wing Cam Atkinson missing significant time because of an ankle injury. Werenski has scored at least 11 goals in each of his four NHL seasons and has solidified himself as one of the premier players at the position in fantasy.

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