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!
What looked like an amazing weekend for Mark Stone turned for the worst at the last minute. Stone had one of the biggest games of the year on Saturday scoring a goal and four assists with five shots in the 6-3 win over the Maple Leafs. Stone followed that up by scoring a goal and taking a penalty against the Jets on Sunday before a hit to the head from Jacob Trouba knocked him out of the game. As if a hit to the head wasn't concerning enough, Stone has already had a concussion in the preseason, an injury that caused him to become a value in drafts. Stone has been terrific this season with 22 goals and 25 assists through 56 games but now, his fantasy owners are in a tough spot as are the Senators who were decimated by injuries over the weekend. Look for some news to come out later today on Stone's status but here's to hoping it's nothing serious like another concussion. Let's take a look at what else happened around the league this weekend:
It's the trade Blues fans have prayed for, Sabres fans have dreaded and fantasy owners have been dying for; The Sabres traded Ryan Miller and Steve Ott to the St. Louis Blues for Jaroslav Halak, Chris Stewart, prospect William Carrier, a 2015 first-round pick and a 2016 third-round pick tonight. Clearly the Blues are going all in for the cup this season and this move makes a team that was a serious contender to begin with seem like a near lock for it now. So, what does this do to their respective fantasy values? Miller goes from middle of the pack to top 5 with a huge spike in value. You can expect fantastic peripherals and, finally, loads o' wins from the former Vezina winner. Jaroslav Halak's value goes in the exact opposite direction and man, it's bummersville for him as he joins Jhonas Enroth on the league's worst team. If you own Halak you shouldn't drop him, but I'd bench him to see how he handles the onslaught of shots he's going to face now. Obviously he's not going to give you many more wins, so if you're a Halak owner in a H2H league, you need to start looking at the wire and seriously considering who you're going to be comfortable streaming when Halak's numbers inevitably tumble down, down, down into the deep, dark waters of mediocrity. Man, that's some Edgar Allen Poe shiz right there! It's appropriate, can you imagine what it's like for Halak? One minute he's on one of the league's best teams, poised to be strong for years to come, and the next he's in nowheresville, New York. Ouch. Anyway, here's how the rest of the guys in this deal shake out:
Pittsburgh’s Matt Niskanen scored with 8:02 left in the third period to break a 1-1 tie and lead the Penguins to a 10th straight win, 2-1 over Washington. Paul Martin had the other goal for Pittsburgh while Alex Ovechkin lit the lamp for Washington. Please, blog, may I have some more?
A few days ago I summarized the Chicago Goaltending situation like this: “Don’t look now but brother man has saved 69 of the last 73 Shots directed his way (spanning 2 1/2 games). Please, blog, may I have some more?
I wrote this about J-Quick back on November 16: “And oh yeah, J-Quick is the most underrated Goalie in the NHL right now.” I for one second that notion. In fact I third, fourth, and fifth it. Please, blog, may I have some more?
So alot of games tonight in the NHL and that means alot of random Goals by random players. The immortal Jet/Thrasher Jim “AC” Slater scored a pair of Goals tonight against the Blackhawks. Please, blog, may I have some more?
So it was the ultimate Ticker Tease in Washington last night. 10 Goals were scored, and yet not a single point from Ovechkin, Stamkos, St. Louis, Backstrom, Lecavalier, Semin or Green. Please, blog, may I have some more?
So this time of year is the calm before the storm in the sports world. Sure we’ve had preseason NFL and a few important college football games, but the preseason sucks in the NFL and I went to Cal State Fullerton – I don’t give a flying F about college football. Please, blog, may I have some more?
Penalty Minutes are a somewhat controversial category in fantasy hockey, but I love it. In fact I won’t ever play in a league that doesn’t count it. Fighters (tough guys) are the gladiators of the NHL. Please, blog, may I have some more?