Another star player has made his way to the Eastern Conference well ahead of the trade deadline. We already had Horvat and Tarasenko move, and now we have a former Conn Smythe winner. Ryan O’Reilly was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, along with Noel Acciari, for a bevy of draft picks. The Wild also acquired a pick for retaining salary, and there were prospects involved, but none of them are particularly relevant. For fantasy, we care about RoR and Acciari. Let’s start with Acciari because it’s easier. Acciari moved right onto Toronto’s fourth line. He scored a goal against the Blackhawks on Sunday, and is piling up hits. He’ll be a deep league value for his hits and decent goal rate. O’Reilly is an interesting debate. He’s easily having the worst offensive season in the last decade. On the other hand, RoR has been playing much better lately, and he went right onto the second line with Tavares and Marner. He dished an assist in his debut on Saturday playing just over 16 minutes in the 5-1 blowout against Montreal. He also won 12 of 14 draws, which is notable that he bumped Tavares from the faceoff circle most of the time. I’m not rushing to pick up RoR, mostly because we know that he’s not cracking Toronto’s first power play unit. That said, there’s upside in Toronto that he couldn’t touch in St. Louis again. If you want to stream him on Tuesday against the Sabres and see where it goes, I can get behind that. Let’s take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Friday’s Games
Brock Nelson – Two goals and an assist with three shots. Nelson’s shooting percentage has dropped to a more reasonable level, but his shot rate has taken a big jump forward to counteract that. He already has a career high in assists and it’s possible he tops last season’s 37.
Anders Lee – Two goals and an assist with six shots. Lee moved onto the first line with Horvat and Barzal in this game. That’s enough of a value boost to move Lee into a bottom end hold from the fringe.
Mathew Barzal – Two assists with a shot and two PIM. The shot rate hasn’t been good with Horvat’s arrival, but the points are still coming in strong.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and an assist with four shots. Crosby has been out of this world over the last month, but in reality, it’s been most of the season. The Penguins are in trouble right now, but Crosby is doing his best to keep them afloat.
Rickard Rakell – Two goals on eight shots. Rakell is thriving on Crosby’s line again and still has his spot on PP1. He’s on the fringe.
Chad Ruhwedel – Two assists with three shots. And there’s your annual Ruhwedel update!
Pierre-Olivier Joseph – Two assists with a shot and four PIM. Joseph has some big games mixed in, but he also has a lot of games that he provides absolutely nothing. There could be more long term, but for now, it’s deep league only.
Patrick Kane – Two goals on three shots. And it wasn’t his best game of the weekend, spoiler alert! We’re getting close enough to the deadline that if you want to make a spec add on the hope he’s traded and can tough it out through his hip injury, I’m fine with it.
Jake McCabe – Two assists with a shot. McCabe could also get traded, but he doesn’t bring much in fantasy outside of hits and blocks.
Max Domi – Two assists with two shots. Domi is getting big minutes right now, so if he’s moved, I’m not sure it would be any better than it is in Chicago, which is middling streamer worthy.
Filip Gustavsson – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 2-1 SO win over Jake Oettinger (31/32) and the Stars. I really don’t understand how Evason is splitting the games with his goalies. Regardless, Gustavsson has to be held.
Chris Kreider – Two goals on three shots. Kreider is back to his usual levels. He is who we thought he was!
Mika Zibanejad – Goal and an assist with three shots and two PIM. Six game goal streak for Zibanejad who is well on his way to another 40 goal season.
Artemi Panarin – Two assists, as did Adam Fox. Both are unstoppable at the moment.
Zach Hyman – Two assists, as did Connor McDavid. It’s a testament to McDavid that Hyman is a top ten forward in fantasy to this point. Absolutely insane.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Goal and an assist with two shots. RNH is tied with his previous career high in points and still has 25 games to go. Just an unbelievable season.
Frank Vatrano – Goal and an assist with six shots and two PIM. Vatrano is a great source of shots for deep leagues. He’s a decent streamer in shallow leagues, but the plus-minus is rough.
Cam Fowler – Two assists with three shots. Fowler has surprised me with how well he’s done on a team that is awful. Again, it comes down to the plus-minus.
Kevin Fiala – Goal and two assists with five shots. Fiala is in the midst of one of his patented big finishes to the season. Career highs across the board are in play in his first season in L.A.
Anze Kopitar – Goal and an assist with two shots. Firmly on the fringe.
Drew Doughty – Two assists with five shots and two PIM. Doughty is as bottom end of a clear hold as you can be. It’s boring, but gets the job done.
Viktor Arvidsson – Two goals on five shots. Solid streamer, but Arvidsson isn’t getting back to his previous heights in Smashville.
Alex Iafallo – Two assists with three shots. He’s doing well on the third line, but that doesn’t give Iafallo the opportunities he used to have. Bottom end streamer.
Blake Lizotte – Goal and an assist with seven shots and two PIM. While he’s with Iafallo and Fiala, Lizotte has produced at a fairly good clip. There’s quality deep league value here.
Saturday’s Games
Jeff Skinner – Goal and an assist with two shots. Skinner has already tied his previous career high in assists in 31 less games. Add in his usual 30+ goal pace and three shots per game, and we’re looking at an elite Skinner season.
Alex Tuch – Goal and an assist with three shots. Tuch has already set career highs across the board. His shooting percentage is a little high, but nothing too crazy. He’s making Sabres fans and fantasy owners very happy.
Justus Annunen – 19 saves on 20 shots in the 4-1 win over the Blues. Spot start for Annunen and he delivered. He’s been quite good in the AHL and is only 22 years old, so there’s potential for long term value. That said, he might not play another game this year in the NHL so nothing here. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Nathan MacKinnon – Two assists with six shots. MacKinnon is playing as well as anybody right now.
J.T. Compher – Two assists with two shots and four PIM. More on Compher under Sunday (spoiler alert!)
Bowen Byram – Two goals on three shots. Byram is a clear hold as long as he’s healthy.
Samuel Girard – Two assists with two shots. He gets a boost with Cale Makar day-to-day, but I’m not rushing to grab The Deputy.
Mikko Rantanen – Goal and an assist with three shots. Can’t stop, won’t stop scoring.
Brandon Montour – Two assists with four shots. Montour could be the biggest surprise of the season. None of his production is in line with what he’s done in the past. He’s the #3 overall defenseman so far (with a big gap to #4) because of the PIM with his points. Mind blowing.
Ryan McDonagh – Three assists, +4. McDonagh is playing with Roman Josi (1+2, 5 SOG) right now which will allow McDonagh to stumble into more points. That said, I still don’t see anything here outside of a blocks streamer.
Thomas Novak – Two goals. Novak was getting more minutes when he was first called up, but right now, he’s on the 4th line. Pass.
Ryan Johansen – Goal and an assist with two shots. Bottom end streamer.
Nick Foligno – Goal and an assist. Trent Frederic scored two goals. Even with the bottom six in Boston producing, I don’t want anything to do with them.
Jake DeBrusk – Goal and an assist with three shots in his return. Easy hold while he’s on the first line.
Evgeni Malkin – Two goals. Just stay healthy!
Nico Hischier – Two goals and two assists with five shots. Just a perfect season for Hischier in his development. Easy hold in all formats as he plays his way into the Selke conversation.
Yegor Sharangovich – Two assists with three shots. Bottom end to middling streamer depending on what his role is that night.
Jack Hughes – Two assists with three shots. Is five straight multi-point games good? Asking for a friend.
Dawson Mercer – Goal and an assist with eight shots. The Devils are in such a good place in the short and long term. Mercer is what, their 4th best forward long term and 8th skater? Talk about accumulating talent. For now, it’s middling streamer territory, but the upside is high long term.
Joonas Korpisalo – 27 saves on 28 shots in the 4-1 win over the Stars. Korpisalo is on a hot streaker right now against top teams. If you want to stream him while he’s a hot schmotato, I don’t hate it, but beware of the downside.
Mathieu Olivier – Goal and two assists. Eric Robinson had a goal and an assist, while Sean Kuraly dished two assists. This line went off in his game, but I think it’s safe to say that the 4th line on a poor offensive team isn’t who we want to target in fantasy. Welcome to the Razzball Database Olivier!
Joseph Woll – 29 saves on 30 shots in the 5-1 win over the Canadiens. I don’t expect Woll to get many more starts, but I would stream him against most teams.
Michael Bunting – Two goals on three shots. Bunting has played his way into a bottom end hold.
Pierre Engvall – Goal and an assist with four shots. Engvall lost his spot on PP2 to RoR. I’d like to see what Engvall can do on a worse team, but for now, it’s bottom end.
Rasmus Sandin – Two assists with two shots. I just can’t do it with Sandin’s shot rate. I do see a very good defenseman, but that doesn’t necessarily translate to fantasy.
Frederik Andersen – 24 saves on 25 shots in the 4-1 win over the Capitals. Andersen is the ultimate case of “just stay healthy,” even if he hasn’t been as good this year as usual.
Martin Necas – Goal and two assists with four shots. The breakout season we’ve been waiting for from Necas has finally arrived. The minutes are down a bit lately, but I’m not concerned.
Teuvo Teravainen – Goal and an assist with three shots. Teravainen is starting to get back on track. I don’t mind holding him, but I lean towards elite streamer.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi – Goal and an assist with two PIM. Kotkaniemi is also showing signs, but the shot rate is dreadful. Middling streamer.
Vincent Trocheck – Two assists with three shots and two PIM. Trocheck is on the fringe, although I lean towards elite streamer because he’s off PP1 (for now).
Mikael Backlund – Goal and an assist with five shots. Backlund’s line has been dominating at even strength, and it’s resulted in his shot rate going up a ton. He’s a solid streamer bordering on elite now.
Jonathan Huberdeau – Two assists with two shots. This was arguably the best game Huberdeau has played with the Flames. He’s showing signs of breaking out. I don’t own him everywhere, but if I did, I would continue to be stubborn.
Elias Pettersson – Two goals and three assists with four shots. This was Pettersson’s third five-point game of the season already. My bold prediction has real legs! Pettersson is a full blown superstar.
Luke Schenn – Three assists, six hits. Schenn seems very likely to get traded and will probably go into a smaller role than he has in Vancouver. Either way, he’s only a hits streamer.
J.T. Miller – Two assists with three shots. The shot rate is up for Miller lately which is nice to see. He’s a bottom end hold.
Anthony Beauvillier – Two goals on four shots. Tocchet seems intent on having Beauvillier succeed. His minutes are through the roof and he has 4+2 in seven games. I’m boosting him up to an elite streamer.
Kevin Fiala – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Hotter than a pistol! I think two three-point games qualifies as a strong weekend.
Matt Roy – Goal and an assist with five shots. Roy is fine for super deep leagues, but that’s it.
Clayton Keller – Two goals on four shots. The Coyotes are on a shockingly good run, and Keller has 12 points in his last seven games. He’s alleviated any doubt about his hold status.
Mattias Maccelli – Two assists with a shot. He’s getting plenty of assists, but I still have no interest while Maccellli is under one shot per game.
Travis Boyd – Goal and an assist. His role has been reduced with Schmaltz back. Easy pass.
Josh Brown – Goal and an assist with six blocks and five hits. These games happen from time to time, but Brown is a super deep league guy at best.
Shea Theodore – Goal and two assists with two shots. It’s been a disappointing year for Theodore, but everything is in place for a big finish like last season.
Reilly Smith – Two assists. Middling streamer.
Jonathan Marchessault – Two goals on seven shots. The minutes are trending in the wrong direction. Marchessault is still a top end streamer, but I’m not considering him for a hold right now.
Corey Perry – Goal and an assist, as did Vladislav Namestnikov. Both played under 10 minutes. Their roles are too low to consider right now.
Victor Hedman – Two assists with two shots. Hedman had 38 PPP last season. This year, he has only 12 so far. That’s most of the difference in his performance. He could take off, but I see him more as a #2 for the rest of the season instead of his usual #1.
Mikhail Sergachev – Two assists with two shots. The shot rate being under two per game is what’s holding Sergachev from being a #1 defenseman in 12’ers. Everything else is quality.
Jordan Eberle – Two goals and an assist with four shots. Decent run from Eberle with seven points in the last four games. The shot rate has been relatively poor though, making him a solid streamer.
Matty Beniers – Two assists with three shots. Beniers has had a strong rookie season, but it’s only elite streamer territory. If you want to hold him for upside, it’s probably okay.
Sunday’s Games
Alex DeBrincat – Goal and two assists with two shots, as did Brady Tkachuk. The entire Ottawa top six had two or three points. Ottawa is rolling right now, but the main thing for me is that St. Louis is a dumpster fire defensively and will be for the rest of the season.
Shane Pinto – Goal and an assist with two shots. Pinto has five points in his last five games, but only six shots. The shot rate is so bad that even with playing on the second line, he’s a bottom end streamer.
Roman Josi – Goal and an assist with five shots and three blocks. While Josi won’t repeat last season’s 96 points, he has been elite once again.
Kirill Kaprizov – Two goals on six shots and two PIM. Kaprizov is almost on pace for 50+50. The assists are down quite a bit at even strength, but everything overall is great regardless.
Ryan Hartman – Goal and an assist with two shots. Hartman is back on the top line, but he hasn’t done much yet. I have him as an elite streamer, but he could definitely play his way back into being a hold.
Cody Ceci – Two assists with two shots. No thanks.
Mattias Janmark – Goal and an assist with two shots. Janmark actually played 18:38 in this game. If that continues, there could be something there. For now, it’s still a pass.
Warren Foegele – Two goals on three shots with four PIM. Easy pass.
J.T. Compher – Goal and three assists with five shots. Compher has been quite good for Colorado lately. Right now, they don’t really have an alternative but to give Compher a big role. He’s an elite streamer.
Nathan MacKinnon – Goal and two assists with nine shots playing over 28 minutes. I can make a compelling case that MacKinnon should be the #1 overall player for the rest of the season. I know that seems farfetched given what McDavid has done, but MacKinnon is approaching an average of 5.5 shots per game with a 125 point pace. He’s been unbelievable.
Samuel Girard – Two assists with two shots. Still don’t love The Deputy, but if Makar misses extended time, maybe. I still have him behind Toews and Byram fairly easily.
Morgan Rielly – Two assists with three shots. Reilly has been a huge disappointment. He still needs to be held, but keep expectations in check.
Patrick Kane – Hat trick and an assist on five shots, with Max Domi scoring a goal and three assists with four shots. Well then. It would be pretty amazing if Kane’s last game at home in Chicago was this offensive explosion. I can’t wait to see if Kane gets moved and to where. A for Domi, I stand by what I said above. Staying would be the best thing for his fantasy value.
Mark Scheifele – Two assists with three shots. The assists are down quite a bit compared to Scheifele’s norm, but he has a real chance at 40 goals for the first time. It’s not what you drafted him for, but it’s still very good.
Neal Pionk – Goal and an assist with three shots. Pionk is a step below a hold in 12’ers, but does enough for 14’ers.
Dawson Mercer – Two goals on four shots. I can’t wait to see if Mercer can build on this. His role can also decrease if the Devils take a big swing at the deadline.
Erik Haula – Two assists with three shots. It seems like a certainty that Haula won’t get another chance in the top six. He dropped down already and another add eliminates that chance. Bottom end streamer.
Boone Jenner – Goal and an assist with four shots. Jenner is an elite streamer if you need the categories he provides.
Three Point Challenge: We will Tuesday’s Games per usual. You can’t select McDavid, Draisaitl, Kucherov, M. Tkachuk, Karlsson, Robertson, Thompson, Pastrnak, Hughes, or Pettersson. I’ll go with Aho against the Blues.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Wednesday recapping the action from tonight’s games. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
