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Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! I can say that I’m glad I didn’t take a sick day last Friday to watch the “excitement-challenged” trade deadline unfold the way that it did. I suppose for something to unfold, it would have needed to be packaged up neatly to begin with. All that means is the asking prices were far too high on the “sellers” pieces, and the buyers were not willing to pay them. Nicolas Roy for a conditional first-round pick? No thanks. Corey Perry for a second-rounder? Wow.  Is there ANY Perry worth that kind of premium?
After missing the playoffs for fourteen straight seasons, I keep waiting for the Sabres to slump, but instead, they keep getting better.  On Friday, they had a big 3-2 regulation win in Florida.  If that wasn't enough, on the second of a back to back, they absolutely destroyed Tampa 6-2, including a 5-0 lead less than two minutes into the second period.  Only the Colorado Avalanche have more regulation wins this season than the Sabres.  What's been different this week is that Josh Norris has actually been in the lineup.  Norris had an assist with three shots against the Panthers, before scoring two goals against the Lightning.  As has been the case for Norris for four straight seasons, he's been hampered with injuries.  The good news is that he's dominated when he's played this season, sitting with 8+12 in 22 games.  The shot rate is poor so I wouldn't necessarily hold, but he's an elite streamer who probably belongs on the fringe.  Ride the production while you can.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
I started the opening paragraph before the Blues game ended and got punished for it.  I was already writing about Dylan Holloway, but his night got a lot better late improving his stat line.  Holloway was playing his first game since January 18th, and only his second since December 12th, and he delivered the best game of his career.  Holloway had a hat trick and an assist with five shots in the 5-1 win over the Kraken.  Holloway broke out last season with 26-37 in his first year with the Blues, but this season has been a huge disappointment both for him and the team.  The Blues are out of the playoff picture, so it's hard to say who will be traded and who will stay.  Holloway is one of the few players that I'd be surprised if they moved.  The 24 year old has the upside of a bottom end hold in 12'ers, as he showed last season.  The Blues play a bunch of poor defenses in the short term, so for now, Holloway is an elite stremer.  Let's take a look at what else happened in the first two nights back from the Olympic break:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! With just 7 games on tap, it was a shorter schedule than usual for our final Tuesday night before the Olympic break.  But that didn’t stop a certain Carolina Hurricanes goalie from saying "neato," checking his libido, and heading to the rink in a new tuxedo. Brandon Bussi - 22 saves on 25 shots and the 4-3 win vs OTT - did his best 1989 pop-rap impression and Busted a serious Move at home against the Ottawa Senators. Hopefully, you listened to Viz and me when we said to add Bussi anywhere and everywhere you could, when it looked like he was playing himself into extra time in the Canes’ crease.
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! It was an 8-game schedule, so a bit lighter than usual, to peek in on Tuesday night. But that didn’t stop Wyatt Johnston (1 G [26], 3 SOG, his league-leading 16th PPG) and the rest of the Stars from feasting on a steady diet of bear paws on home ice. Jeremy Swayman (19-12-1-1) faced 32 shots on goal…before the third period started. Oh boy. The B’s defense corps looked like they were late to the opening faceoff in this one, then spent the rest of the game spinning in circles trying to figure out which way was up. The 6-2 Dallas win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Stars and pushed Dallas’ record to 3-5-2 in its last 10 games. 
We're very accustomed to Vegas making a big trade every season at this point.  Surprisingly, we got their big move on Sunday already.  Since they were willing to acquire Rasmus Andersson without a contract extension, the Flames sent him to the desert, acquiring Zach Whitecloud, a first round pick, a second round pick (turns to another first if Vegas wins the Cup), and a prospect that projects to be an AHL'er.  It's a good return for Calgary, taking advantage of Andersson bouncing back from a dreadful 24-25 season.  For Vegas, the fit is kind of weird to me.  It's a team that doesn't even play a forward on their top power play unit, so are they really going to jam Andersson with Theodore on the second unit?  Probably to make him happy, at least with their current injuries, but I don't see a lot of gain there.  Scoring goals hasn't been a problem, and Andersson has still been bad defensively.  He should play with Hanifin which maybe helps a bit?  Overall, I think this is a net negative for Andersson's fantasy value, but I'm still holding him for the time being to see how it looks for the next couple weeks.  For Calgary, Weegar takes over the top power play unit by default.  He's on the fringe.  Whitecloud could gain some deep league value.  My assumption is he gets a top four role, and with that, some quality hits and blocks.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It was another 10-game schedule on tap for Tuesday night’s NHL action!  And no one had a better night than the Boston Bruins’ netminder, Jeremy Swayman - 24 saves on 24 shots and the 3-0 shutout vs Detroit.  Swayman’s GAA (2.38) and save percentage (.919) over his last 5 games are as solid as it comes, and were good enough to give him a 4-1 record since New Year’s Eve. With an 18-11-1-1 season line, Swayman is sitting third overall in wins (behind Karel Vejmelka, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Andrei Vasilevskiy). The shutout was his first of the year, but second in two games for the B’s.
Like most of the Rangers, Mika Zibanejad has been extremely frustrating this season.  Before Friday's outdoor game in Miami, he had one shot on goal in the previous five games combined!  So naturally, he had one of the games of the season so far, scoring a hat trick on six shots and adding two assists in the 5-1 win over the Panthers.  The top line for the Rangers was dangerous throughout, and just like that, Zibanejad is ahead of last season's points pace.  He's just shy of a 30+40 pace now and the shot rate is back up towards three per game.  It's not exciting, and it's definitely close to the fringe, but I lean towards bottom end hold still.  The minutes are through the roof at the moment and with their lack of depth, I can't imagine that changing any time soon.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! It was a short slate on Tuesday night with just 5 NHL games to recap. In Toronto, we didn’t even have Auston Matthews or William Nylander to check in on. The announcement on Tuesday afternoon was that both would be “out with a lower body injury.” Well, that’s certainly not a very Knies gift for Leaf fans this holiday season!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful! We had some red-hot NHL action last night with 10 games on the schedule! But no one was hotter than that little devil, Arseny Gritsyuk: 1 G (7), 2 A (9), +3, 3 SOG. The New Jersey rookie is still getting bottom-six minutes (14:33 TOI) and PP2 time (2:19), but he’s making the most of his limited action. The three-point night pushes his first-year total to 16 PTS in 30 GP and puts him on pace to record a respectable 50 points by the time April rolls around. Arseny was certainly on fire last night, but with a deep forward group ahead of him on the depth chart, Gritsyuk is going to have to add another couple of points on that 9.7 shooting percentage to get an increase in playing time.  If he can consistently put up more nights like this one, and one of New Jersey’s Top 6 forwards has a setback, get ready to pounce on the 24-year-old Russian in those deeper leagues if you need some scoring help. Was that the only Devil to bring the heat last night? Did we have any other players setting the fantasy hockey world on fire?
It was ridiculous enough that Tom Wilson set career high in both goals and assists in his 12th season in the NHL, especially after coming off a horrible 2023-24.  So of course, Wilson is blowing last season out of the water so far in his age 32 season.  Wilson had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday against Toronto, before scoring two goals and an assist with three shots and two PIM against the Isles on Sunday.  Wilson is somehow sitting with 15 goals already, adding 14 assists, in only 26 games.  Add in 54 PIM and 69 hits already and Wilson is having a top five fantasy season for a forward as we enter December.  Am I buying this?  Definitely not.  Guys just don't go from a 40-50 point player to 65 and then blow that 65 out of the water at age 32.  However, I also wouldn't be looking to move him without getting an insane return.  The PIM and hits are locks to be elite and he has turned into a good play driver.  With where you drafted Wilson, you're already playing with house money, so let it ride!  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend: