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:
Monday’s Games
Tyler Bertuzzi – Two assists with three shots. There’s a lot of talk about Bertuzzi possibly be traded which would be worst case for his fantasy value. I also have a hard time seeing a team willing to acquire him when he could have to miss playoff games in Canada. He’s in the midst of a great season.
Dylan Larkin – Goal and an assist with four shots. Can’t stop, won’t stop!
Moritz Seider – Two assists with four shots. He’s really starting to come into his own in the second half of the season. There’s no doubt in my mind that he’ll be a fantasy superstar.
Matthew Boldy – Hat trick and an assist with six shots. Boldy has been nothing short of spectacular so far for the Wild. He’s an easy hold in all formats.
Mats Zuccarello – Three assists. He’s had a nice career to this point, but Zucc having the best season of his career by a longshot at age 34 is unbelievable. What a season.
Kirill Kaprizov – Two goals and an assist with three shots. He’s on pace for almost 110 points. It appears that the hype was actually selling him short.
Jared Spurgeon – Two assists. Spurgeon is right on the fringe depending on team needs and your league categories.
Frederick Gaudreau – Two assists with a shot. For now, he’s with Fiala and Boldy which makes him a middling streamer by default. I have to think the Wild look to upgrade this position sooner than later.
Joel Eriksson Ek – Goal and an assist with five shots and two PIM. Eriksson Ek is also on the fringe, although I lean towards holding for his all-around contribution.
Marc-Andre Fleury – 31 saves on 32 shots in the 3-1 win over the Jets. It’s always up and down, but overall, it’s decent enough from MAF to hold.
Patrick Kane – Goal and an assist with two shots. He’s taken a step back, but Kane is still hovering right around a point per game. That said, his days of being a top 20 guy appear to be over.
Kirby Dach – Two assists with two shots. I’m still keeping Dach as a bottom end streamer. Just not enough consistency to bump him higher.
Mitchell Marner – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. To say he’s caught fire is an understatement. How about 20 points in 10 games?
William Nylander – Two assists with three shots. Nylander remains around a point per game and the shot rate has stuck around an elite level. I’ll take things you love to see for $200.
Michael Bunting – Goal and an assist with two shots. Solid streamer as long as he stays on the first line.
Auston Matthews – Two assists with a shot. Nine game point streak from Matthews who is at the peak of his powers right now.
Timothy Liljegren – Two assists with a shot. He hasn’t transitioned to the NHL as well as I had hoped. He’s still only 22, but his fantasy value is minimal for this season. Perhaps it gets better this season if he’s traded, but otherwise, it would take a couple injuries from Liljegren to be on my radar in anything outside of super deep leagues.
Calle Jarnkrok – Goal and an assist with two shots. Jarnkrok is a bottom end streamer that could get a bump if he’s moved at the deadline.
Stuart Skinner – 20 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Sharks. The Oilers sure look better defensively after the coaching change. It remains to be seen how much opportunity Skinner gets, but he’s a real nice piece in dynasties. Welcome to the Razzball Database!
Evan Bouchard – Two assists with a shot. He played only 15 minutes in this game and on Tuesday which is a really bad sign. Bouchard is still a hold, but it’s very tenuous out of nowhere.
Tuesday’s Games
Kyle Palmieri – Two goals on three shots. It’s been the season from hell for Palmieri, who had only one goal before this game. I’m not using him yet, but hopefully this sparks him.
Dylan Cozens – Three assists with three shots and two PIM. Cozens is only a bottom end streamer for now, but there’s a fair amount of upside here in time. I don’t see a fantasy superstar, but he should end up a consistent hold.
Alex Tuch – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s been an absolute buzzsaw this season in Buffalo. If you have any questions about him being a hold, those should have been answered by now.
Victor Olofsson – Two goals on five shots. Olofsson has had a lost season to this point, but we’ve seen the upside before. Hopefully he finds his game again because his shot is deadly.
Peyton Krebs – Two assists. Krebs’ playmaking is among the best in the league and that’s not hyperbole. His vision and feel for the game are remarkable. That doesn’t necessarily mean it’ll translate to fantasy as a lot of great playmakers end up on the fringe due to lack of shot volume, but he could end up being a 40+ assist guy for a decade or more.
Corey Perry – Two assists with two shots. With Tampa healthy, Perry is back on the fourth line with Patrick Maroon and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who each had a goal and an assist. Perry is a bottom end streamer while the other two are unusable.
Victor Hedman – Goal and an assist with four shots. Hedman has been even better offensively than in his Norris winning season. The battle for #1 fantasy defenseman is as good as it’s been in years.
Nikita Kucherov – Goal and an assist with five shots. He’s reminding everybody just how good he is with 20 points in his first 14 games of the season.
Dawson Mercer – Goal and two assists with two shots. Mercer’s rookie season has gone about as well as anyone could have hoped. He’s just shy of a 20+30 pace. He’s a middling streamer, but I like his long term prospects.
Yegor Sharangovich – Goal and an assist with three shots. He’s on a nice hot streak in his elevated role at the moment, which is enough to bump him to a middling streamer.
Jack Hughes – Goal and an assist with four shots. This brings Hughes up to a point per game and the shot rate is over three per game now. We’re starting to see that long term upside. It wouldn’t shock me if Hughes ends up being a 90 point player on an annual basis.
Vladimir Tarasenko – Two goals and an assist with five shots. Robert Thomas had a goal and two assists with four shots, while Pavel Buchnevich had three assists with two shots. I don’t get why this line was ever separated as they’ve been elite offensively all season. Tarasenko and Buchnevich are easy holds, while Thomas depends on team needs.
Erik Brannstrom – Two assists. It’s never panned out for Brannstrom, who was the center piece of the Stone trade and an elite prospect. Yes, he’s still only 22, but I don’t really see it.
James van Riemsdyk – Two assists with two shots. JVR is a decent streamer, but the assists have fallen off and he’s getting killed at evens, so it’s hard to find any upside.
Scott Laughton – Goal and an assist with three shots. Six game point streak from Laughton, which puts him back on the streaming radar. He’s a solid streamer at the moment, although I’m not expecting this to last.
Sidney Crosby – Goal and an assist with two shots. Congrats to Crosby on his 500th goal! It’s fitting that the only two guys with 500+ goals that are active in the NHL right now are Crosby and Ovechkin.
Kris Letang – Goal and an assist with three shots. Letang is almost up to a point per game now while crushing the rest of the categories. It will be very interesting to see what happens next with him as he’s a free agent.
Jeremy Swayman – 33 saves on 34 shots as the tough luck loser in a 2-1 SO to the Rangers. I’m back to having Swayman a hold in most formats with Rask retired.
Igor Shesterkin – 31 saves on 32 shots earning the win. You can make a case that Shesterkin is the #1 goalie over Vasilevskiy now. That’s how good he’s been.
Ilya Samsonov – 33 saves on 34 shots in the 4-1 win over the Predators. The numbers aren’t the best, but the wins are great. That’s enough to hold him as a #3 with upside from there.
Alex Ovechkin – Two goals on four shots. He’s hit a bit of a rough patch lately, but Ovechkin could still end up scoring 50 goals. What an animal.
Elias Lindholm – Goal and two assists with two shots. While Lindholm cooled off for a bit, he now has a five game goal streak. That top line continues to crush and even though he’s the third wheel after being the best of the three the past couple seasons, Lindholm is easily a top 100 guy.
Johnny Gaudreau – Two assists with three shots. The Flames are looking like a real contender, and a big reason is the resurgent play of Gaudreau. He’s on pace for around 35+70. Just time for the Brinks Truck to find him in the offseason!
Joe Pavelski – Two goals and two assists with five shots. It’s insane that two years ago, Pavelski looked like his career was on a massive downslope. Now, he’s well over a point per game again. Sure, he has two great linemates, but at 37 years old, he deserves a ton of credit.
Tyler Seguin – Goal and two assists with two shots and two PIM. Seguin has been surging, mostly because of the top power play. He’s a solid streamer again, but not that close to a hold.
Jason Robertson – Goal and an assist with four shots. I’ve run out of superlatives to describe Robertson’s breakout over the first two seasons of his caerer.
Jake Oettinger – 46 saves on 47 shots in the 4-1 win over the Avalanche. If you’re going to beat the Avs, it’s going to take a goalie standing on his head. It depends what you’re looking for, but I see the case for holding Oettinger despite the lack of volume.
Connor McDavid – Goal and an assist with two shots and two PIM. The minutes aren’t quite as crazy without Tippett, but he’s still going to be just fine.
Evander Kane – Goal and an assist with three shots and four PIM. The shot rate is outstanding per usual, and it’s no surprise to see him pile up the hits and PIM. Even on the second line, Kane is a slam dunk hold.
Three Point Challenge. We will do Thursday’s games per usual. You can’t take McDavid, Draisaitl, Huberdeau, Kadri, Ovechkin, Gaudreau, Kaprizov, Matthews, Rantanen, or Stamkos. I’ll go with Panarin against the Red Wings.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back on Friday recapping the action of the next two nights. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
