The hottest thing in the NHL right now is a general manager’s phone. These guys are working the lines like crazy ahead of this week’s trade deadline. Already we’ve seen a few moves with Patrick Eaves dealt to Anaheim, Ben Bishop and Peter Budaj swapping coasts, plus Martin Hanzal going to Minnesota and Kevin Shattenkirk heading to Washington. Before checking in on some of the league’s top performers, let’s first give a quick synopsis on a few of these deals.
Patrick Eaves
Not many fantasy owners were taking advantage of Eaves’ career season, despite how well the winger was clicking with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. Many times when an over-achiever moves to another team at the deadline, he does so in a depth role but Eaves was out on a line with Rickard Rakell and Corey Perry in his first game in a Duck uniform.
What Eaves will miss the most is the top power play minutes he saw in Dallas, where he scored 11 goals and 17 points. He is skating on the second unit for Anaheim, which is not nearly as lucrative a spot. A player already on the fringes of fantasy relevance cannot afford any detractions from his value.
Martin Hanzal
Even more than Eaves, Hanzal should see his fantasy value fall off with his new team. That’s no good considering he was already so scarcely owned. Hanzal did have a nice streak with six goals in eight games before getting dealt, but that should cease. In Minnesota, he may wind up as the league’s most over-qualified fourth-line centreman. Wild GM Chuck Fletcher even went so far as to indicate that part of the motivation in landing Hanzal was to block him from going to another contender.
Ben Bishop
Bishop was 5-1-0 with a 1.64 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage since the all-star break. He was Tampa Bay’s only winning option and had a chance of being the hero who carried the team to the playoffs. Now he goes to a situation in Los Angeles where he is clearly the No. 2 option. If Jonathan Quick’s groin isn’t as sturdy as we’d hope, Bishop could snag 50 per cent of the remaining starts, but there’s no question this hurts the fantasy values of both goalies. Your move if you own one of these two is to seek out the owner of the other and try to find a trade that will marry them, otherwise you’ll both have half of a tandem for a team that can’t score goals.
Peter Budaj
Going in reverse, Budaj’s numbers since the all-star break: 5-6-0, 2.35 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage. Apparently, the Kings were alarmed enough by Budaj’s play in February that they felt the need for an upgrade.
For what it’s worth, Bishop probably is an upgrade on Budaj but if Budaj can bring anything close to what he did with the Kings to the Lightning, he’ll keep Andrei Vasilevskiy from claiming the crease. Vasilevskiy is the future, but he may not be the present. Odds are Budaj will tank outside of the goalie-friendly environment in Los Angeles, but that means the Lightning have two bad goalies and will quickly fade from the playoff picture.
Ultimately, goalies are voodoo. There are about 20 games remaining for the Lightning and Kings. Any of these goalies could step up and play great hockey for 15 of those 20 games – likewise, any of them could crumble under the pressure. Vasilevskiy has a better chance of claiming the crease with Bishop out of the picture, so despite his poor play, his stock has still gone up, while Budaj has probably become droppable.
With that out of the way, let’s check in on some of the hottest players in the league:
Radim Vrbata – RW – Coyotes – 4 goals, 11 points in his past 9 games
Taking Vrbata’s centre away from him makes no difference. He extended his scoring streak to nine games all the same, including four in a row with a goal. Jordan Martinook took over Hanzal’s spot between Vrbata and Max Domi, but it may not matter who centres that line with how well Vrbata is playing. He is now on pace for a 60-point season, which is shockingly good offence. Vrbata could himself be moved as a rental and would draw a lot of suitors if this play continues.
Filip Forsberg – LW – Predators – 8 goals, 10 points in his past 4 games
What a week it was for Forsberg who is suddenly on pace for 32 goals and 61 points. All it took was one wild week and Forsberg made up for his dreadful start to the season. Consider him an example of why you bet on star players, even when they struggle.
Jonathan Toews – C – Blackhawks – 7 goals, 18 points in his past 10 games
Toews has always been a bit overrated when it comes to fantasy production. But right now he is carrying Richard Panik and Nick Schmaltz to fantasy relevance while also clicking with Patrick Kane and Artemi Panarin on the top power play unit. You probably can’t get Toews in any leagues, but it would be worth adding Panik and Schmaltz while he remains possessed.
Tanner Pearson – LW – Kings – 4 goals, 11 points in his past 7 games
The Kings experimented with Tyler Toffoli on Anze Kopitar’s wing when the former returned from injury. That combination did not work out, with both struggling to score. In their most recent game the Kings reunited Toffoli with Pearson and Jeff Carter and that resulted in fireworks. It’s safe to say That ‘70s Line is back, which is good news for the already sizzling Pearson.
Jussi Jokinen – LW – Panthers – 4 goals, 9 points in his past 10 games
Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov have gotten all the headlines, but since those two returned, Jokinen has been quietly productive. Remember, Jokinen was a superstar during the fantasy playoffs last season. Keep an eye on him down the stretch, when he could be a difference maker.
P.K. Subban – D – Predators – 1 goal, 12 points in his past 9 games
Subban appeared to be in bad shape just a few weeks ago, but now he looks healthy for the first time all season and is clicking with Ryan Ellis on the second power play unit. His presence on the second unit, while Roman Josi gets the bulk of the top power play time, should be a negative for Subban. It likely will be in the long run, but at present that second unit is clicking. Five of Subban’s 12 points in this run have come on the man-advantage.
Final note: only the Ducks are on their bye this week, although the Oilers also only have two games. Anaheim’s bye week is the last bye of the season so expect fuller schedules as we get close to the playoffs. Good news for your fantasy teams!
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Steve Laidlaw is the Managing Editor of Dobberhockey. Follow him on Twitter @SteveLaidlaw.
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