Welcome to my favorite post of the year, my live trade deadline post! From now until all of the trades come through later today, I will provide all of the details for each trade with my instant analysis. I will launch this post with everything from over the weekend as well since I haven't given my thoughts on those at this point. Be sure to keep checking this page as I will be constantly updating it. Any questions can be asked in the comments section and I'll get to them as soon as I get a chance. Here we go!
On January 3rd, the St. Louis Blues were in last place of the entire NHL. Here we are six weeks later and they're safely in a playoff position. The Blues have matched the longest winning streak in the NHL this season at 10, winning two games this weekend in convincing fashion. First, Jake Allen shutout the Avalanche, then Jordan Binnington shut out the Wild on a back to back. Right now, Binnington is as hot as it gets in the league. I don't expect this to continue, but for now, he's a must start every time out. I still view Allen as somewhat of a desperation play, but with how well the team is playing in front of him, I'm fine with streaming him for the time being. Looks like a coaching change was what they needed to right the ship. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
I didn't expect to be writing about Adin Hill this year, but here we are. The Coyotes netminder stopped 25 of 26 shots in the 2-1 win over the Kings on Tuesday night. that means Hill has allowed 2 goals in his past 4 games. Antti Raanta is close to returning, but the 22 year old is showing some upside for dynasty leagues. If you're desperate for goaltending, I wouldn't mind streaming Hill if he starts Thursday against the Caps. The Coyotes are playing well lately and Hill looks to be a prime hot schmotato. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Bartender! Shot of Jack. Man, I loved that call growing up, RIP Stuart Scott. This shot is of Jack Eichel who is lapping the entire league when it comes to points over the last month. Eichel now has the second longest point streak of the season after another big game on Tuesday night. He was seemingly the only Sabre who could get anything going scoring two goals and an assist with three shots in the 6-3 loss to the Flyers. Eichel now has 45 points (18+27) in 46 games with over four shots per game. If he has stayed healthy all season, he'd be recognized in the same light as the two rookies going off this season. Eichel has been carrying fantasy teams for weeks now and he has the potential to do that the rest of the season. For where Reid and I think we'll rank him for next season, listen to Tuesday's podcast . Here's what else happened the last two nights around the league:
Viktor Arvidsson has been among the best waiver wire pickups of the season, especially at the forward positions. He's thriving in Nashville seemingly out of nowhere. A late bloomer, which caused him to be drafted at 21 years old in the 4th round by Nashville, Arvidsson first made his name in the league by scoring an overtime goal in Game 6 against the Sharks last season, his rookie campaign. Now, in his sophomore season, we're seeing upside that I quite frankly didn't know what there. On Saturday, Arvidsson scored his first career hat trick on eight shots, albeit in a 7-4 loss against Florida. He came right back on Sunday to record an assist with six shots. That brings his totals to 18+21 in 54 games with well over 3 shots per game and a +16 rating. Arvidsson moved back onto the first line Saturday which helped sparked this surge. He's a clear as day hold at the moment and should be even if he eventually drops down a line. Regardless, Arvidsson is available in over 50% of leagues so do your part to fix that and pick him up. Here's what else I saw around the league this weekend:
Brad Marchand was one of the biggest breakout players in 2015-16 scoring 37 goals drastically increasing his shot rate to 3.5 per game while adding 90 PIM. While all of those numbers are taking a slight step back this season, he's improving the weaknesses in his game to become a well rounded player. Marchand returned to his old ways this weekend with three goals on six shots over two games to give him 12+22 on the season. He's only six assists from a career high and we've just reached the halfway point. Marchand also has nine power play points which is already a career high. Instead of being a three or four category stud (depending on plus-minus), he's become a big plus in five categories with the potential for all six if the plus-minus improves. These totals have him 15th in the player rater among forwards and that shouldn't come as a shock coming off a top ten season. It might not be exactly what you wanted but it's been excellent across the board. Here's what else I saw around the league this weekend:
The first few weeks of the season, Connor Hellebuyck was a polarizing figure in the fantasy hockey world. He made the Jets roster and was clearly the best goalie but Hellboy was struggling and splitting starts. Plenty of people were asking me if he was worth rostering and justifiably so. Well, things no longer look to be a mixed bag after the last week of games. Hellebuyck has won 4 straight starts allowing no more than 2 goals in a game. His best performance came last night recording a 27 save shutout at home against the Blackhawks. Hellebuyck is getting massive offensive support right now and the defense is gradually improving in front of him. At the end of the year, I believe he will finish as a top end #2 goaltender with the expectation that he will be a #1 in 2017-18 and beyond. Here's what else I saw around the league in a very busy Tuesday night slate.
If you've been following along with me all year, or at least the last month, you know how much I like Mark Scheifele. The 22 year old was having an excellent start to the year until an injury sidelined him for 11 games. He came back and started well only to take off when he moved up to the first line in the wake of Bryan Little's injury. Scheifele is in the midst of his best stretch to date. After his two goal performance on Thursday, Scheifele topped it with his first career hat trick on four shots in the 4-2 win over Montreal on Saturday. He then scored a goal on five shots in the 2-1 defeat against the Oilers. Scheifele now has 21 goals and 20 assists in 54 games with an excellent plus-minus, solid PIM and a near-elite shot rate. Scheifele is conservatively a top 50 player for the rest of this season and going forward. As I've said before, I want him on all of my teams next year. Here's what else I saw around the league this weekend:
In my preseason rankings, I had a bunch of players much higher or lower than their ADP. I will recap these players on both sides of the spectrum at the end of the season but Mike Hoffman appears to be my biggest hit at this point. I had him ranked in the top 100 (97th to be exact) and said "I’d be absolutely thrilled to get Hoffman because if he gets top power play time, he could be a top 50 player." Well, he's getting that time and he's crushing it so far this year. After his two goal,one assist, seven shots and two PIM effort on Thursday, Hoffman has 13 goals and 12 assists in 21 games. Depending on the website, his ADP was 20-40 spots later my ranking so hopefully you all are reaping the benefits. Here's what else happened on Thursday night:
Last year, Filip Forsberg was one of the biggest breakouts of the NHL season. I had him ranked in the top 50 preseason and was a disappointment so far this year. Signs of a return to last year's dominance have been seen in the last few games and it finally happened Tuesday night, scoring two goals on eight shots and adding an assist in the 5-2 win over Arizona. He's up to 24 shots in the last 5 games which is a good sign that the goals are coming. It may be too late after Tuesday but with 5 goals in 24 games, perhaps his owner is fed up with him and you can try to add him in a trade. Here's what else I saw on a busy Tuesday night:
Marv: I’ve always been told to start my stud players. Whether one of my studs is having a cold streak, their team has a strong schedule, they’re playing a hot goalie or is coming back from injury, they’re in my lineup. FYI I went against this and sat Michal Neuvirth for Saturday night’s game where he got a shutout, which definitely would have helped me out in this week’s matchup. I know a lot of fantasy managers play the matchups, and I’m definitely not encouraging you to ignore these items listed above or ignoring advanced stats (Corsi, etc.) but I, myself, play them not matter what. So maybe don’t go as hardcore and follow my lead, but try not to throw away a stud on a down week or with at least high potential for turning things around to grab a hot, unproven player on the wire. This might work out half the time, but more than likely you will see this stud get picked up off the wire by your competition. Losing the year is bad (for obvious reasons) but the loss is that much harder to swallow when you lose to a team who grabbed your stud who managed to turn things around.
Marv: This week we’re starting off with some Studs who have fallen out of love with their old fantasy managers and find themselves available in under 50% of leagues.
Even the most casual of hockey fans know who Patrick Kane is. Last year, he was well on his way to his best regular season ever until an injury shut him down until the playoffs. This year, he's well on his away again. In two games over the weekend, Kane had two goals, three assists and nine shots, putting him at 23 points in 15 games this season. A big reason for his big year is his new linemate, the rookie Artemi Panarin. Panarin had two goals, two assists and six shots over the weekend bringing him up to 15 points this year. With the injury to Connor McDavid, Panarin is arguably the front runner for the Calder Trophy now. Kane is pushing the top 5 overall for the rest of the season while Panarin has showed no signs of slowing down and is now a top 50 player.
Here's what else happened over the weekend:
