The rich keep getting richer. The Boston Bruins acquired Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway from the Capitals on Thursday, sending draft picks and Craig Smith to Washington, and a pick to the Wild for retaining salary. I think this trade is far more interesting from the Washington perspective. They couldn’t agree to a contract with Orlov, with the dispute being over the term of his next deal. Until a few days ago, it seemed farfetched that they would weaken their team for this season, but I actually think it’s a smart move. Even if they snuck into the playoffs, they weren’t going anywhere. They gained some additional ammo that they can flip in the offseason to make a push again next season. They have a lot of additional pending UFA’s that could be on the way out, so it’s hard to figure out who will be there in a week to benefit from this move. My guess is Trevor van Riemsdyk takes Orlov’s spot on PP2, but he’s also a UFA making 950k so he’s a logical target for a lot of teams at that price, so he could be on the move too. Smith should crack the lineup, but I’m not expecting much at all. He’s off the radar until we see him play. As for Boston, Orlov won’t be getting PP time there with Lindholm holding down PP2, so he takes a slight hit to his value. The Bruins are so good that Orlov should stumble into enough points to be valuable in deeper leagues, but we’re talking 14+ teams. Hathaway should do what he usually does, and that is pile up a bunch of hits and PIM with an okay goal rate for a fourth liner. All in all, this trade impacts real life more than fantasy. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Ilya Sorokin – 25 saves on 26 shots in the 2-1 win over the Jets. Shame on me for not taking the under in a game with Sorokin and Hellebuyck. He’s carrying the Isles right now, which is no surprise.
Patrick Kane – Two goals and an assist, as did Max Domi. Talk about on fire! They’ve been crushing on the power play, which is a bad sign for Domi if he gets traded. There’s no way he’ll be on PP1 on a new team. We’ll see what happens with both in a week. The Chicago schedule is soft leading up to the deadline so I’d hold both for the time being.
Seth Jones – Two assists with a shot. He’s an asset in most categories, but the plus-minus is so bad that I can’t do it.
Jamie Benn – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. I did not see this Benn resurgence coming. He’s firmly on the fringe depending on team needs.
Jakob Pelletier – Two goals and two assists with two shots over two games. Sutter is giving Pelletier a chance and he’s delivering. Solid streamer.
Mikael Backlund – Two goals and an assist with eight shots and two PIM over two games. Backlund has been playing the best offensive hockey of his career lately. I’ve been holding him while he’s a hot schmotato.
Clayton Keller – Goal and an assist with two penalty minutes. Speaking of hot schmotato, Keller has 18 points in his last ten games. With the plus-minus being bad but not horrendous, he’s a clear bottom end hold for me.
Jack Eichel – Goal and an assist with three shots. This goal was his second PP goal of the season. I don’t understand how it’s even possible that Eichel has only 2 PPG.
Tage Thompson – Hat trick on four shots. This was Tage’s fourth hat trick of the season already. What an animal, and by animal, I mean giraffe. He has a real chance at 50 goals.
Jeff Skinner – Two assists with a shot. He’s going to smash his previous career high in points, as he already has a career high in goals.
Rasmus Dahlin – Two assists with a shot. Dahlin has been the top fantasy defenseman for practically the entire season. I see no reason to expect a change at this point. Huge game tonight in the playoff race between the Sabres and Panthers. Anthony Duclair is back for those who need an add.
Brayden Point – Goal and three assists with two shots. Best case for me, the Sabres win the game and I hit the Three Point Challenge for the second time this season! Point is playing his best offensive hockey in a season ever.
Steven Stamkos – Goal and an assist with five shots. We’re in the midst of a typical Stammer season.
Victor Hedman – Goal and an assist with seven shots. Hedman, on the other hand, has fallen off quite a bit this season. We could see a big finish, but I’m more comfortable seeing Hedman as a #2 than a #1.
Ville Husso – 30 saves on 31 shots in the 4-1 win over the Rangers. Seemingly out of nowhere, the Red Wings have won seven of eight to get into the thick of the playoff race. Expect Husso to get the vast majority of starts which should make him a #2.
Andrew Copp – Goal and two assists with four shots. This was not the revenge game I was expecting tonight. Bottom end streamer at best.
David Perron – Two assists with four shots. Perron’s role is starting to increase again, but I’m not all the way back in yet. He’s a middling to solid streamer.
Michael Rasmussen – Goal and an assist with two shots and four PIM. Fantasy value is minimal.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist playing over 22 minutes. Kopitar is back into bottom end hold range.
Kevin Fiala – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. The patented Fiala big finish is back en vouge. He’s been amazing for the Kings.
Sean Durzi – Goal and an assist with two shots. Durzi has an assist in five consecutive games now. It’s fringe worthy because the shot rate is brutal and the plus-minus is also bad.
Dawson Mercer – Two goals and an assist with three shots. And just like that, Mercer has nine points in his last five games. He’s thriving with Hischier and Tomas Tatar (1+1). Mercer is in the elite streamer range while he’s playing this well.
Dougie Hamilton – Two assists. Hamilton has distanced himself from the pack for being the #2 overall defenseman. He’s incredible and still doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
Connor McDavid – Two goals and two assists with seven shots. The other studs on Edmonton had two points, but unsurprisingly, McJesus stole the show again. He already has 109 points. 109!!
Kris Letang – Two goals on five shots and two PIM, both assisted by Evgeni Malkin. It hasn’t been pretty for Letang, but he does have nine points in his last ten games. The Pens are firmly in a playoff race battle, so expect Letang to get all of the minutes he can handle down the stretch.
Cam Fowler – Two assists. Fowler has been a pleasant surprise on a dreadful team. He’s on the fringe.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 30 save shutout in the 2-0 win over Columbus. Just when it looks like Gustavsson is in firm control, MAF posts a shutout. I still think it’s Gustavsson’s crease despite this game, but Evason tends to start his goalies in streaks, so it’s very hard to predict MAF’s value for the rest of the season.
Elias Pettersson – Goal and two assists with ten shots. Oh my. Pettersson is playing as well as anybody right now. He has eleven points in his last four games and 19 in his last ten. Pettersson has played his way into the league’s elite.
J.T. Miller – Goal and an assist with five shots. Miller is also in a nice run of form despite the Canucks struggling overall. Nothing really to do except keep him in your lineup.
Brad Marchand – Goal and an assist with six shots and four PIM, +3. Every top player on Boston scored two points in this game. Needless to say, the Kraken had no match for the stars of Boston.
Vince Dunn – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Dunn’s breakout has been a major factor in the Kraken’s turnaround. The shot rate is the only thing keeping him from an elite fantasy player.
Jamie Oleksiak – Goal and an assist with four shots. And there’s your biannual Oleksiak update!
Matt Duchene – Three assists with three shots. Duchene remains on the fringe as the Predators somewhat hang around the playoff picture.
Mikael Granlund – Two goals and an assist with six shots. The real surprise is Granlund actually having six shots on goal. Bottom end streamer at this point.
Nino Niederreiter – Two goals and two PIM. Nino’s minutes have been increasing lately. He’s a middling streamer, but there’s a bit more upside if the ATOI stays up.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Monday recapping the action from the weekend. The plan for next week is to have my usual notes on Monday and Wednesday, and then on Friday, I will not have a morning post, but I will do a live blog post of the trade deadline giving instant analysis of every trade. Be sure to check out MarmosDad’s DFS post tomorrow! As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
