We are only a few days away from the trade deadline and the first big trade piece is off the market. The Jets moved their captain Andrew Ladd and sent him to the team they acquired him from in 2010, Chicago. The Blackhawks paid a massive price for the rental sending a first round pick, a conditional third, and Marko Dano. If you remember in the preseason, Dano was my favorite sleeper after he came on strong at the end of last season in Columbus. With Bryan Little out for the season, I expect Dano to be in Winnipeg right away. If that’s the case, he’s immediately worth consideration in 12’ers because his upside is through the roof. Ladd will go on the first line in Chicago on Jonathan Toews‘ wing which is also a big boost to his value. This is another trade, like the Columbus and Nashville blockbuster, that is a win for all players from a fantasy perspective. Here’s what I saw on the ice the last two nights around the league:
Alex Galchenyuk – Two goals on five shots with two PIM. Here’s what I said on Galchenyuk in the preseason: “The former third overall pick took a step forward last season posting his first 20 goal season while adding 26 assists. He should take another step forward this season but the big breakthrough is probably a couple years away.” This is certainly happening outside of a drop in PIM. I’m starting to think the big breakout is next year though, especially if Therrien is fired.
Andrei Markov – Two assists. Great source of assists and special teams points but he brings absolutely nothing else.
Lars Eller – Assist and four shots with two PIM. Solid streamer in 12’ers while he’s in the top 6 and should be owned in anything deeper.
Brooks Orpik – Two assists and a shot. He has 2 multi point games in the last 3 and I find it hard to believe he’s done that before. Orpik is clearly waiver fodder though.
Andre Burakovsky – Goal on three shots. He only played 11:30 which is a bit concerning but I’m still holding for now.
Tuukka Rask – 41 saves on 42 shots in the 5-1 win over the Penguins. You know the story with Rask at this point; you have no clue what you’re going to get. His save percentage is now inching towards respectable but a 2.56 GAA is still awful.
David Pastrnak – Two goals on seven shots. There’s the game I’ve been waiting for! I’m a huge fan of this kid for dynasties. For the rest of the season, he’s right on the fence of holding or streaming. Right now, I’d hold because he has more upside than other guys on the wire but if you want more starts and can make unlimited moves, you can keep streaming him and letting him go.
Torey Krug – Assist with a shot. I don’t know if it will happen over the course of the rest of this season or next but Krug is due for a massive run in goals. He has 3 goals on 183 shots; that’s beyond absurd. I’ll be drafting my fair share next year.
Joe Thornton – Assist. Can’t slow Jumbo Joe down.
Brent Burns – Goal on five shots. Standard for Burns.
Tomas Hertl – Assist and five shots. I still don’t understand why he’s widely available. Hertl is a clear must-own for me at this point.
Gabriel Landeskog – Goal and an assist with six shots. It’s been a disappointing year on the whole for the Kog but he’s still only 23 years old; the future is bright. I think Patrick Roy getting fired would do this team wonders but with the current run they are on, I doubt that happens.
Tyson Barrie – Assist and five shots. The increase in shots this season has been a great plus.
Nathan MacKinnon – Assist and eight shots. Man MacKinnon is so good and still only 20 years old. Last year’s sophomore slump is a clear thing of the past. The shots boost this year is outstanding for his future prognosis. He’s a top 25 player for now and probably top 10 in a dynasty.
Robin Lehner – 28 saves on 29 shots in the 1-0 loss to the Ducks. He’s firming up his role as the Sabres goalie of the future. He has a .930 save percentage on the season now and .917 through his first 100 games of his career. That’s better than Quick and Price for what it’s worth.
Ryan Getzlaf – Assist and a shot. Nine game point streak for the big center. He’s an absolute tank.
Fredrik Andersen – 26 save shutout. He’s been a beast lately and it’s now firmly a split between him and John Gibson. With the way the Ducks are playing, you have to like both for the rest of the season.
Thomas Vanek – Goal and an assist with four shots. The days of 40 goals are far in the past but Vanek still has plenty of value. He has a solid chance of getting 50 points with over 20 goals. The shots have been much better lately as well.
Mike Reilly – Assist. Matt discussed Reilly here so check that out. He has a good chance to be a significant producer in the future and in deep leagues, his role right now makes him worthwhile.
Sam Gagner – Goal on four shots. While Claude Giroux is out injured, Gagner is on the first line so he’s worth consideration for streaming in the short term.
Brayden Schenn – Assist with three shots. He’s a clear must own right now for me.
Cory Schneider – 8 saves on 11 shots before being pulled in the first period. Yikes. It’s still been a great year for Schneider but the duds are starting to appear more frequently.
Nick Foligno – Three goals and an assist with four shots and two PIM. Where the hell has this been? He increased his goal total by 50% with this game. Remember how he had 31 goals and 73 points last year? Craziness. He’s not as bad as he’s been this year, his shooting percentage is still incredibly low after the 3 goals, but it’s clear last year was the outlier. Leave him on the wire outside of deep leagues.
Matt Calvert – Three assists with a shot. Another guy to just leave on the wire.
William Karlsson – Three assists. I had expectations that Karlsson could take a step this year. He just turned 23 so there’s some hope here but he has to start shooting the puck more to have any value, even in the deepest of leagues.
Brandon Dubinsky – Goal on two shots with four PIM. There’s a decent change Dubinsky finishes as a top 50 player for the second half of the season.
Cam Ward – 26 saves on 29 shots. Not a bad game but it feels disappointing to lose to the Leafs. The Leafs are atrocious right now and this game is a good reason for the Canes to sell.
P.A. Parenteau – Goal and an assist with three shots and four PIM. I’d prefer to stream him in 12’ers but if you’re desperate for goals and PIM, Parenteau could be of value. Then again, he could get moved by the deadline which would kill his value. If you own him, hope he stays. Things are bleak in Toronto and it’s not getting better with James van Reimsdyk and Joffrey Lupul both out for the year. Parenteau’s role is carved out.
Jonathan Bernier – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 3-1 win over the Canes. It was his first win since January 6th, his GAA is still over 3 and his sv% is right at .900. Avoid like the plague.
Shane Doan – Goal and an assist with a shot playing over 23 minutes. It’s being overlooked because of other old guys but Doan has been remarkable this year. He’s up to 23 goals, he’s +2 on a poor team and has 69 PIM.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson – Goal on four shots with four PIM. He’s an beast, no doubt about it. Still remarkable to me that he’s only 24, it seems like he’s been around for a decade plus.
Aleksander Barkov – Two goals on four shots in 20 minutes in his first game back from injury. There’s no slowing this kid down. He’s had an outstanding season and it’s only going to get better going forward.
Jussi Jokinen – Assist with two shots playing 22 minutes. Expect a boost with Barkov back as long as Jonathan Huberdeau is out.
Henrik Lundqvist – 35 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 win over the Blues. The wins are starting to come more frequently and his numbers are right in line with past years. The King stay The King because of his consistency.
Tanner Glass – Goal on two shots. He’s quite possibly the worst player in the league so I figured I’d mentioned that he actually scored a goal. Go Tanner!
Chris Kreider – Goal on three shots. Quite disappointing that Kreider didn’t take the next step this year. I can’t help but wonder if it will ever happen now. Kreider has all the tools but no toolbox. He’s very fringe in 12’ers.
Jake Allen – 21 saves on 23 shots in the loss. Brian Elliott is out 4 weeks or longer so after he made every start when Allen was out, expect Allen to start every game now that Elliott is out.
Pekka Rinne – 38 saves on 39 shots in the 3-1 win over the Blackhawks. He’s been playing much better lately and while I still don’t love him going forward, the team is so good in front of him that he could easily stay this hot.
Mike Fisher – Two assists with three shots. He’s been on a steady decline the last few years; no surprise because he’s going on 36 years old. Leave him on the wire.
Ryan Ellis – Assist with four shots. I think he’s a must own, even in 8’ers, as long as Shea Weber is out.
Andrew Shaw – Three shots. I’m speculating here but I think he’s losing his spot on the first line to Ladd; if he doesn’t he’s going to lose it to Marian Hossa when he comes back. If you’ve been holding him, you can safely let him go.
Mark Scheifele – Goal and three assists with four shots. Oh baby. Here’s what I said about him on Wednesday: “He’s available in over 20% of leagues; I think he should be owned everywhere. I’m a big believe in his game and he will be one of my favorite targets next season.” Yeah, games like this are why I believe.
Joel Armia – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Here’s another kid who I’ve paid close attention to (former Sabres prospect) and I’m a big fan of. He played a career high 19:20 and scored a highlight reel goal in the third period. The trade of Ladd could see his role increase. Armia is on the radar for streaming in 12’ers now and should definitely be owned in deep dynasties.
Tobias Enstrom – Goal and an assist with a shot. There’s talk that Toby could be moved at the deadline but I don’t think it’ll matter much. He simply doesn’t shoot enough to have value.
Jacob Trouba – Goal and an assist with a shot and two PIM. I think there’s an offensive side to his game that we haven’t seen yet. With the extension of Dustin Byfuglien (assist with a shot and 4 PIM) and Tyler Myers (assist) locked up on the right side, perhaps Trouba is moved. He turns 22 today (Happy Birthday!) so there’s still plenty of time for him to take the next step in his development.
Nikolaj Ehlers – Two assists with a shot. He’s locked into the first line now and is still available in over 75% of leagues. Quite frankly, I don’t get it. Own him.
Antti Niemi – 5 saves on 8 shots before being pulled after the first period. Yikes. The Stars goalies have been great for wins but otherwise, they’ve been a disaster.
Patrick Sharp – Three assists with two shots. He’s currently on the second line and most importantly, the first power play unit that killed it to start the year has been reunited so look for Sharp to start rolling again.
Jason Spezza – Two goals on three shots. He looked good with Sharp tonight; they hadn’t played much together outside of the power play. Spezza is going to have the most goals in a season he’s scored in years despite missing time. The assists have fallen off but he’s still had plenty of value.
Jamie Benn – Assist and three shots. Tyler Seguin had a goal and four shots. They’re obviously incredible but they’ve taken a beating in plus-minus over the last month. That said, they could just as easily turn it around and have a week where they’re +7 or something. You don’t need me to tell you to keep rolling them, don’t trade them, etc.
Jaroslav Halak – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 2-1 overtime win over the Flames. In his last 3 starts, Halak has allowed 2 goals on 91 shots. He’s had these types of heaters before; hopefully Capuano rides him while he’s hot. Ideally you own Thomas Greiss with Halak.
Josh Bailey – Game winning goal on his second shot. He played over 19 minutes and was out there with John Tavares (assist and two shots) in overtime so he’s on the streaming radar again.
Joni Ortio – 32 saves on 34 shots in the loss. It’s the first time this year Ortio had back to back to starts. As I said Wednesday, I expect him to be the workhorse the rest of the season and for it to be kind of ugly. The team in front of him is a mess.
Jiri Hudler – Goal on three shots. Shockingly, his goal was assisted by Johnny Gaudreau (five shots) and Sean Monahan (four shots) #notshocking . Nothing has changed with Hudler; I expect him to be traded by the deadline and it will almost certainly hurt his value.
Dion Phaneuf – Two assists with two shots and two PIM. His role with Ottawa is still big and he’s on their lethal first power play unit. Phaneuf should be owned in 10’ers and deeper now.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Two assists with three shots playing over 22 minutes. He’s on a four game point streak and the minutes are insane right now. Pageau is firmly on the streaming radar in 12’ers; I’m not holding because of the lack of shots and PIM.
Mike Hoffman – Goal on four shots. He had been cold but you can’t keep the Hoff down for long! No, no that Hoff who sometimes allows blood in his alcohol system…
Mark Stone – Goal on five shots playing over 22 minutes. Really starting to heat up again.
Kyle Turris – Nothing but a -2. He’s pointless in 10 games since he came back from injury; he can safely be dropped.
Matt Bartkowski – Two goals and an assist with three shots. And there’s your annual Matt Bartkowski post!
Emerson Etem – Two goals on four shots. He’s been better in Vancouver than he was in New York but he doesn’t have the role to perform consistently.
Linden Vey – Two assists with two shots. You get flashes from Vey but he hasn’t been able to put it together. And he only has 23 shots on the season.
Jake Virtanen – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. There’s a lot of upside with this kid (he’s still 19); hopefully he gets more minutes down the stretch with the Canucks out of the race.
Cam Talbot – 34 saves on 36 shots in the 2-1 loss to the Kings. Talbot was outstanding but couldn’t hold off the Kings in the third period. The Oilers are in trouble and have little incentive to play well down the stretch so avoid this situation if you can.
Zack Kassian – Goal on three shots playing almost 18 minutes. He played on the first line with Teddy Purcell scratched (trade coming!) and delivered. While he’s in the role, Kassian will be on the streaming radar.
Jonathan Quick – 26 saves on 27 shots in the win. That’s three straight games with 1 goals against for Quick. He’s pushing towards top 5 for goalies on the season.
Jeff Carter – Goal and an assist with six shots. He hasn’t been doing much lately but with back to back 6 shot games and 2 points in this one, a hot streak could be coming.
Tyler Toffoli – Two assists with five shots. Ditto for Toffoli who still has a good chance for 30+ goals.
Dwight King – Goal and an assist with three shots. As long as he’s playing with Carter and Toffoli, King is worth considering for streaming.
Friday Streamers: There are only five games on the slate Friday night so be sure to set yourself up for the weekend with some streaming. Here are my top 3 options:
Tomas Hertl (28.2%) – He’s higher than my normal streamer but he’s still widely available and it’s my article so sue me! Anyways, Hertl should be owned everywhere and he gets a great matchup against the Sabres.
David Pastrnak (11.4%) – See above. A matchup with Carolina on the second of a back to back only sweetens things.
Zack Kassian (0.3%) – Most of the Ducks I like e.g. Rickard Rakell are over 20% now so I’ll throw Kassian out there since a) he’s widely available and b) I could definitely see this game getting feisty and Kassian getting in a fight. If you need some PIM with the chance for points, Kassian provides that opportunity.
That’s all for now guys. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Matt’s newest article on defensemen that I linked above in the Mike Reilly section. I’ll be back on Monday with two different things. I’ll have my usual daily notes bright and early in the morning and then in the late morning / afternoon I’ll be starting a live blog on the trade deadline updated throughout the day discussing the fantasy impact of the trades made around the league. I personally can’t wait for it and I hope you guys all join me. As always, feel free to post any questions and leave any comments below. I hope everyone has a great weekend; take care!
