Buckle up, silly season is here — the NHL trade deadline is now just one month away.
From a fantasy lens, it’s always important to keep close tabs on the latest buzz and speculation, even if most of it is derived from someone’s parents’ basement.
Due to the continued quarantine regulations here in Canada and the pandemic, as a whole, there’s no telling what April 12 — the day itself — will actually look like. Despite that, there’s no doubt that there will be action, the timing is the bigger question.
Here’s a top-10 list of fantasy-relevant players who could be on the move between now and the trade deadline:
1. BUF Taylor Hall LW
2. ANA Rickard Rakell LW/RW
3. NJD Kyle Palmieri LW/RW
4. NSH Viktor Arvidsson LW/RW
5. CBJ Nick Foligno LW/RW
6. NSH Mikael Granlund LW/RW
7. BUF Eric Staal C
8. NYR Tony DeAngelo D
9. BOS Jake DeBrusk LW/RW
10. NSH Mattias Ekholm D
Undeniably, the Nashville Predators are the most fascinating team to watch between now and the deadline. Honestly, I can’t remember the last time they were sellers, probably the David Legwand era or something. With each and every passing day, there should be more and more clarity in the standings, especially with all the four-point games this season.
1. With Roman Josi out in Music City, Ekholm is the logical in-house replacement. Also, rookie Jeremy Davies could emerge eventually with some DFS value too.
Externally, MacKenzie Weegar, Kevin Shattenkirk, P.K. Subban and Adam Boqvist are good options to help you fill the massive void.
2. Trade Jack Eichel. While the Sabres have been extremely mum on the extent of his injury, it doesn’t sound like he’ll be returning anytime soon. I think you cut your losses, get what you can and move on.
3. Memo to Eichel, Elias Pettersson and Vincent Trocheck owners: Scoop up Chandler Stephenson immediately. The 26-year-old, who’s become a mainstay five-on-five with Max Pacioretty and Mark Stone, has two goals and nine points over his past eight contests. The former Capital was also recently promoted to PP1 duties, too. This is a no-brainer.
4. Elsewhere, Max Domi, Jack Roslovic, Brock Nelson, Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Paul Stastny are five other centre eligible files that are worth a pickup.
5. Scoop up and stash Kirby Dach. The Blackhawks sophomore centre is on the mend after suffering a nasty wrist fracture back in December during World Juniors exhibition play. When the 20-year-old is able to make his season debut, I wouldn’t be shocked whatsoever to see him line up with Hart candidate Patrick Kane. Obviously, tons of value to be found here.
6. Grab Antti Raanta. The 31-year-old UFA-to-be will see the majority of the workload for the Coyotes as long as Darcy Kuemper remains out. In two appearances against Colorado this past week, Raanta surrendered two goals on 66 shots. Not bad.
7. Now that he’s signed a brand spanking new extension with the Blues, I’d look to acquire Jordan Binnington. St. Louis, a serious contender for the Stanley Cup, should turn it on in the second half, right? Wonder if the newfound job security takes the edge off the 27-year-old. It’s worth the gamble.
8. If you’re looking to maximize value, I’d look to sell high on Sergei Bobrovsky as soon as possible. And it’s not that I don’t believe in the Panthers or anything, they’re legit. Putting it simply, I’m just skeptical of Bobrovsky’s .921 save-percentage over his last seven starts. The 32-year-old is 11-2-2 on the season with a 2.95 goals-against-average and .905 save-percentage. If you’re in search of category coverage, he’s not your guy.
9. Conversely, now’s an excellent time to buy-low on Chris Driedger. The 26-year-old, who’s currently mired in a mini three-game winless skid, hasn’t played since March 7. In 12 appearances this season, the Manitoba native has been better than Bobrovsky with a 2.40 goals-against and .920 save-percentage.
10. It’s buy-back time on Tristan Jarry. After a rough start, the 25-year-old has rebounded nicely. Over his past 12 outings, he’s 9-3-0 with a 2.49 goals-against and .921 save percentage — he’s even notched three assists along the way as well.
11. Go out and get Ryan Strome. After a nine-game leave of absence, Artemi Panarin returned to the Rangers lineup on Saturday afternoon in Boston. Enough said.
12. Also, I still think there’s substantial value in executing a buy-low on Mika Zibanejad. As a whole, I expect the Rangers to be much better in the second half of the season.
13. Considering how difficult it is to find consistent blue line production these days in fantasy hockey, I’d make a play for the suddenly surging Erik Karlsson. The 30-year-old has five points in the past seven games. For what it’s worth, he’s looked much more comfortable in recent games, way better than he did in the early going. I’m buying.
14. Two other Sharks players with buy-low appeal for rest of season purposes: Timo Meier and Tomas Hertl. Both returned to the lineup on Friday night and scored.
15. Looking for an Anders Lee replacement? Alex Killorn, Blake Coleman, Anthony Duclair, Carter Verhaeghe and Andre Burakovsky could do the trick for you.
16. If there’s one week to pull the trigger on plucking dual-eligible winger Kasperi Kapanen off waivers, it’s this one (more info on that coming). Attached to Evgeni Malkin’s hip, the 24-year-old has tallied four goals and eight points through seven games in March.
17. File this in deep sleeper territory. If there’s one thing Mikko Lehtonen proved in his limited time with the Maple Leafs, it’s that he can run a power play. Wonder if the 27-year-old gets a look in Columbus? The Blue Jackets currently rank 25th in the NHL on the PP. Strictly some food for thought.
18. Nothing to see on Nikita Kucherov. The Lightning sniper caused quite a stir on social media after appearing at Lightning practice this past week. The 27-year-old, who’s recovering from off-season hip surgery, is still not expected to suit up in any regular-season games. If anything, just monitor this situation closely as it unfolds.
19. Let’s set you up for the wild 56-game week ahead in the NHL (March 15 – 21).
Monday: 10 games
Tuesday: Seven games
Wednesday: Six games
Thursday: 10 games
Friday: Five games
Saturday: 14 games
Sunday: Four games
Why’s it wild, you ask? Well, there are two teams with the golden unicorn of fantasy schedules. That’s right, Pittsburgh and Tampa will play five games in seven days.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Mon (BOS), Tues (BOS), Thurs (@NJD), Sat (@NJD), Sun (NJD)
Waiver Looks: Kasperi Kapanen, Casey DeSmith
SN Fantasy Pool: PIT Goalies 3, Evgeni Malkin 2, Kris Letang 2
Tampa Bay Lightning: Mon (NSH), Tues (@DAL), Thurs (CHI), Sat (CHI), Sun (FLA)
Waiver Looks: Blake Coleman, Alex Killorn
SN Fantasy Pool: TBL Goalies 4, Steven Stamkos 3, Victor Hedman 2
20. In addition to that, there are 18 teams with a busy four-game slate (BOS, BUF, CGY, DAL, EDM, FLA, LAK, MTL, NSH, NJD, NYR, PHI, SJS, STL, VAN, VGK, WSH, WPG).
Los Angeles and Vegas intrigue me the most — they have the always appetizing Mon-Wed-Fri-Sun schedule.
Los Angeles Kings: Mon (STL), Wed (STL), Fri (VGK), Sun (VGK)
Waiver Looks: Calvin Petersen, Andreas Athanasiou
SN Fantasy Pool: Anze Kopitar 3, Drew Doughty 2, Dustin Brown 2
Vegas Golden Knights: Mon (SJS), Wed (SJS), Fri (@LAK), Sun (@LAK)
Waiver Looks: Reilly Smith, Chandler Stepehenson
SN Fantasy Pool: VGK Goalies 4, Max Pacioretty 3, Shea Theodore 2
Lastly, stay away from complimentary adds in Columbus, Ottawa and Toronto — each has just two games.
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