The NHL Trade Deadline is Friday afternoon, and boy, did we have it kick into full gear on Wednesday. While the biggest name on the block wasn't moved (Guentzel), most of the other big names already moved. We also had a massive one for one hockey trade that makes a ton of sense for both sides. I'm going to look at all of the recent moves and talk about the impacts for both teams, from both the short term and long term. Let's get to it!
What’s poppin’, Razzpimples?
If you’re new to this column or have no idea what the Friday/Sunday split is, it’s a simple yet effective way to maximize your weekly output no matter the format of your league. Typically — and it’s not always the case — heavy game loads are Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, whereas Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Sundays are lighter. Streaming players on those lighter days is almost a necessity to ensure you’re getting the most of each week, but this column focuses on just Fridays and Sundays. Reason being is that you get more bang for your waiver add buck in picking up a guy who will play those two days and will almost always be able to slot into your starting lineup without having to sacrifice someone else to the bench.
We found a new level of ridiculousness on Thursday night. The Canadiens were in Florida and they managed to tie the record for the most goals in a first period in modern NHL history, and they did it in barely over 13 minutes! Both Montreal goalies allowed 3+ goals in the first 13 minutes, and Sergei Bobrovsky allowed goals on the first three shots he faced. My god. The Panthers ended up winning 9-5 to keep pace in the Eastern playoff race. The only player who made more than two points was Matthew Tkachuk, who had a goal and three assists to keep up his torrid pace. Thanks Aleksander Barkov for not getting three points when I pick him in the three point challenge! Anyways, Florida is battling hard for a Wild Card spot, so expect their studs to get all of the minutes they can handle. For playing all games against Eastern teams the rest of the way, Florida's schedule is fairly soft, so expect it to come down to the wire. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Carolina's offense has been a bit disappointing overall, with only Aho sitting around a point per game. The injury to Patches really put a hole in their lineup that I assume they're going to address before the trade deadline. On the bright side, their most recent high draft pick just had the game of his early career. Seth Jarvis scored a hat trick in the 6-2 win over Montreal on Thursday. Overall, Jarvis has taken a step back offensively this season which is disappointing. His points are down despite playing 2 minutes more per game on average. It's dropped him down to being a middling streamer, but it hasn't really changed my long term opinion of him. He has great speed, solid hands, and an elite compete level. Jarvis just turned 21 years old so the best is yet to come. If you owned him in a dynasty, I wouldn't panic. He's going to be a top six winger for a long time. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
I've never seen an organization do more to sabotage their own team and coach as the Canucks have over the last six weeks. They've been openly interviewing coaches for two months while Boudreau was still employed. It was already reported that Rick Tocchet was going to take over the Canucks before the Canucks played on Saturday night. It was highly emotional for the fans, players, and coaches, as Zach Hyman had a goal and three assists with five shots to lead Edmonton to a 4-2 win over the Canucks in Boudreau's last game. He was 50-40-13 in his Vancouver, a 90 point pace per 82 games, much better than it should be with their roster. Boudreau is one of the best coaches of the last 20 years, and I hope he gets another chance. Fantasy wise, Tocchet steps in and well, he was really bad when he coached the Lightning and Coyotes. His only playoff appearance was in the bubble because of an expanded playoffs. The schedule does lighten up quite a bit for the Canucks in the short term, which obviously helps. The distraction of the entire situation being gone also helps, but at the same time, they're going to trade Horvat sooner than later, and this could end up a slight negative for the value of their players. If anything, I lean neutral to their values, but I really don't like the way things are trending in Vancouver. Shame on Aquilini and Rutherford for handling this situation as poorly as possible. As for the Oilers, they're on fire finally starting to solidify their playoff positioning being carried by their superstars. The big thing I would say is never panic about their lines, Hyman and RNH will score plenty regardless, and will end up taking extra shifts with McDavid and Draisaitl anyways. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It’s that time again. Friday/Sunday stream targets to finish out the week. Get those claims in today so you don’t miss out! Unless you’re in one of them fancy same-day adds leagues.
Six teams to pick from this week: the Sabres, the Canes, the Flames, the Flyers, the Sharks, and the Caps.
Note: For the sake of uniformity and convenience on my part, only players rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues will be included. Also, a “***” denotes a priority stream, in my humble opinion.
David Perron had a horrible start to the season and was shaping up to being one of the biggest fantasy busts of this year. To say things have turned for the better is an understatement. Perron scored two goals on seven shots against the Predators before scoring a goal on seven shots against Winnipeg. Since Perron went back on the top line, Perron has exploded. He has eight goals and five assists in the last ten games with 35 SOG. It's good enough across the board that Perron is a clear hold in all formats again. He's only available in about 25% of leagues, but even in a shallow league, I wouldn't be cutting Perron to keep a stream spot. The schedule is a little light the next couple weeks, but it really picks up in the last week of March and early April. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It’s that time again. Friday/Sunday stream targets to finish out the week. Get those claims in today so you don’t miss out! Unless you’re in one of them fancy same-day adds leagues.
Eight teams to pick from this week. Whew boy! Let's do it to it.
Note: For the sake of uniformity and convenience on my part, only players rostered in less than 50% of Yahoo leagues will be included. Also, a “***” denotes a priority stream, in my humble opinion.
We have our first big named moved prior to the trade deadline. It appears that teams want to get their business done early this season, especially Montreal, and they did on Monday sending Tyler Toffoli to Calgary for a prospect and picks, including a first. In Toffoli's first game, he scored a goal on four shots in 12:18 of ice time. The game was lopsided so it's hard to make a lot of judgments yet. Toffoli started the game on the third line, but his goal was assisted by Lindholm and Gaudreau as Sutter was trying out different looks. Given how well the first line has played, I can't imagine Toffoli stays there, but it's worth noting. If he's on the third line and second PP, he's capable of being a hold like Mangiapane has been in that role in the past, but it also caps his ceiling quite a bit. I'm not rushing to hold him, but his underlying numbers are still quite good this season despite Montreal being a dumpster fire. I wouldn't be surprised if he does turn into a hold at some point again, so if you want to make the spec add, I'm completely fine with it. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Those of you that have been patient holding Evander Kane for almost four months were rewarded on Saturday night. Kane played his first game of the season with the Oilers and went right on McDavid's wing. Kane scored in the first period and finished with three shots in the 7-2 win over the Canadiens. He's still available in 50% of ESPN leagues and very close to that on other sites. Kane is a must own immediately, and if you use FAAB, you should bid a large amount of your budget. Yes, he could do something stupid and be banished, but the upside is too high for him to be on waivers. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
The move that we've all been waiting for finally happened on Thursday. Jack Eichel was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights for Alex Tuch, Peyton Krebs, and draft picks. The impact of this trade in the short term is minimal. Eichel will have his surgery next week and will be out at least three months. Tuch is out for at least a couple more months with his shoulder surgery, and Krebs was sent down to Rochester for now. Long term, this could be big for all parties involved. First off, if Eichel comes back and gets to play with Stone, he'll have the best linemate he's ever had. We've seen this upside before, and now it's only a matter of getting healthy. This will be a big hit for Chandler Stephenson down the line. Tuch will finally get consistent top six minutes once he returns. With his shot rate, I could see him becoming a hold at the end of this season or next season. Krebs will also end up a top six player, although the time line is a bit more iffy. For fantasy purposes, it's a bit rough that he's a poor finisher, but every other part of his game is above average or higher, so I still suspect he'll be a hold in due time. All in all, I hoped for a slightly better return for Eichel, but given the injury and how long this dragged out, I can't complain about getting a couple top six players and what should end up a middling first round pick. Let's hit on a few other things around the league to bring people up to date:
