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It's no secret that I think Nikolaj Ehlers is the best forward on the Jets and it's not much of a debate.  Ehlers stole the show on Tuesday night, tying the game with the goalie pulled, only to score 19 seconds later and win the game for Winnipeg.  Ehlers had an assist earlier in the game bringing him up to 2+2 in six games.  The big thing is that he has 25 shots in six games.  Ehlers is an absolute stud and the points are going to keep flowing in.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Joel Eriksson Ek took a big step forward last season, one of the main reasons the Wild made the playoffs with relative ease.  It was more on the defensive end than offensively, but he showed plenty of offense with 19 goals in 56 games.  On Tuesday, Eriksson Ek controlled the game for the Wild, scoring a hat trick on seven shots in the 6-5 OT win over the Jets.  Eriksson Ek averaged just over two shots per game last season, but he now has twelve shots in three games.  The minutes are going to be there so there's a chance he could push into bottom end hold territory.  For now, he's an elite streamer.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I talked a lot about Taylor Hall in Monday's post (you can read that here).  The trade that I was talking about happened on Monday with Hall moving to Arizona.  In the trade, Hall and Blake Speers went to Arizona for a 2020 conditional first-round draft pick, a conditional 2021 third-rounder, along with forward prospects Nate Schnarr, Nick Merkley and defenseman Kevin Bahl.  First, let's look at this from Arizona's perspective.  It's a steep price to pay for a rental, but Hall is the best player traded in quite some time, and Arizona is looking to snap a long playoff drought in a weak division.  I totally get the move given their strong defensive talent but lack of overall offensive talent.  Hall played on Tuesday dishing an assist and adding a shot in 18 minutes.  He played with Christian Dvorak and Clayton Keller.  In Monday's piece linked above, I said to buy Keller going forward due to his recent play.  This only enhances his value.  Same goes with Dvorak, but he moves up to an elite streamer for now.  As for New Jersey, it's hard to complain about this return.  You have potentially two first round picks in this deal, but at least a 1 and 3.  Bahl is a monster coming in at 6'7 and can skate fairly well.  I don't see a PP guy there, but he should be a modern stay-at-home who is strong on the PK.  For those in deep leagues, he should be a very good hits/blocks guy down the line.  Merkley has decent upside, but he has already had reconstructive knee surgery.  He's not the best skater, but he has great hockey IQ and should end up as a playmaking center in the middle six.  Schnarr was a third round pick in 2018 who didn't show a ton of offense until after he was drafted.  He then exploded in Guelph last season, but he's struggled in the AHL so far.  That isn't a surprise as many 20 year olds struggle in their first pro season.  I don't expect a ton, but there's a decent chance he ends up an NHL'er.  All in all, seems like this trade has the potential to be a win-win once you consider that Hall seemingly didn't want to stay in New Jersey.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Three years ago, Ben Bishop was the #1 player in fantasy hockey.  The following year, he struggled in Tampa, then they moved him to Dallas.  Last season, Bishop was solid, but he's been at his best this season.  Bishop posted a shutout on Tuesday, stopping all 28 shots he faced in the 1-0 win over the Rangers.  Injuries have hurt his volume, but Bishop is approaching a 2.20/.930 stat line.  That is pushing towards being the #1 goalie in the league again.  He won't end up there because of the lack of starts, but with the Stars battling for the playoffs, Bishop has the ability to win people fantasy titles this season.  The Stars play 14 games in the fantasy playoffs (more details on their schedule here) which is the most of anyone in the league.  Look for Bishop to be a massive difference maker down the stretch.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It was quite the weekend for last season's Calder Trophy winner.  Mathew Barzal entered Friday's game against the Senators with five goals on the season, and he matched that in two games.  Barzal scored two goals and an assist against the Senators before scoring a hat trick against the Maple Leafs on Saturday.  That brings Barzal up to 10+25 in 37 games with solid PIM and an improved shot rate.  He's still only 21 years old so clearly the best is to come.  For the rest of this season, I think he's just inside the top 50 now that his shot rate isn't far from average.  If he can eventually get that up towards three a game, it's game over.  Barzal has top 20 player upside down the line; hopefully the Isles get some more talent around him.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
To say the season for Philadelphia as been a mess is an understatement.  First they fire Hextall as GM, then the mess last week of Hakstol being fired as coach, only to still be the coach for a couple days as new GM Chuck Fletcher said no decision has been made, only for Hakstol to be fired anyways.  They were in last place in the Eastern Conference on Monday when Fletcher decided to recall Carter Hart.  The 20 year old is arguably the best goaltending prospect in the league, and he received his first NHL start on Tuesday.  Hart saved 20 of 22 shots against the Red Wings getting his first career win by a score of 3-2.  Look, I'm not saying Hart is a future superstar.  Goaltending is extremely unpredictable and it seems like Philadelphia has been cursed in net for a while.  However, he has as good of a chance as any young goaltender to be a starter for years to come.  For that alone, he's worth grabbing in all formats, especially dynasties.  Who knows how long that Fletcher keeps Hart on the big squad, but it seems like he should be up going forward.  Either he plays so well they have to roll Hart, or they fall out of it completely and want to get him more playing time.  There's no guarantee it's good now either, but I doubt another goalie with more upside will show up on the waiver wire later on in the season.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Jonathan Quick was already out.  Now Jack Campbell is out 4-6 weeks with a knee injury.  That makes Cal Petersen the starter in Los Angeles for the time being.  Petersen was a 5th round pick for the Sabres that blossomed at Notre Dame and signed with the Kings after he became a free agent due to waiting out his time at Notre Dame.  He is a very good prospect, and now he's jumped into the show.  In his two starts over the weekend, Petersen made 34 saves on 35 shots against the Blackhawks before stopping 38 of 42 shots against the Predators.  Obviously the Kings are a bad team, but their schedule is decent for the next two weeks, so I don't mind taking a gamble on Petersen if you need goaltending help.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Jake Guentzel was on an absolute tear before he suffered a concussion after a hit from Rasmus Ristolainen. He was owned by most of Razzball Nation as we got on top of it before Guentzel broke out. Thankfully, Guentzel recovered quickly and returned on Friday night. He scored a goal on three shots in his return and then repeated that performance on Sunday. The Penguins have a decent schedule this week with four games, including a back to back on Saturday and Sunday to close the regular season. You can wait a day since the Pens don't play tonight but I'd look to grab Guentzel again if you cut him when he went down. The minutes and role are right back to where they were pre-concussion so I'm looking for Guentzel to finish the season strong before he contributes to a potential playoff run for Pittsburgh. Here's what else happened on the penultimate weekend of the season:
Hey everyone! Last year's trade deadline post was a hit so I'm back updating all of the latest trades and providing instant analysis. Reid will also be giving his thoughts as well that I will add into this post with mine. An hour or so after the deadline, we will record a podcast that will go up Thursday morning recapping everything in more detail. Anyways, I'll recap everything that happened before 1 AM EST now and starting around 10-11 AM later today, I will start updating this post as trades happen. As always, post any questions or comments in the section below or we will answer them. Let's get to it!