T-minus 15 days until the NHL trade deadline.
Aside from the Tyler Toffoli deal, not much has happened that bears much fantasy fruit. Instead, we wait with bated breath for the dominos to fall.
If you haven’t done so already, now’s a good time to turn on notifications for Elliotte Friedman tweets. Business is about to pick up.
1. After taking an initial wait and see approach with Tyler Toffoli, I’m ready to invest. In nine games with Calgary, the winger has three goals and five helpers. Most importantly, he’s been elevated to the first power-play unit. Do it.
2. Call me crazy but I don’t think it’s the worst idea to gauge trade interest in Jack Eichel. The optics in Vegas aren’t great right now, especially with no Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty in the lineup.
3. Along those lines, Chandler Stephenson is teetering towards ‘expendable’ territory. The 27-year-old has just six measly points in his past 14 outings. You can always jump back in if he heats back up again.
4. Some Pacioretty injury replacement options: Tage Thompson, Michael Bunting and Clayton Keller.
5. Cut bait with Martin Necas. The Hurricanes forward is currently riding a nasty 19-game goalless drought. Ouch.
6. Make a move for Nikolaj Ehlers. The dual-eligible Jets winger tallied an assist in his return from a knee injury on Friday night. By his standards, the Dane has had a down season, which in turn, should pave the way for you to acquire him for less than market value. I’m projecting a strong finish for Ehlers. Move quickly.
7. Pick up Anthony Mantha. The power forward returned to the Caps lineup on Thursday night after missing four months with a shoulder injury. He’s skating with Nick Backstrom and T.J. Oshie on line two. Mantha’s pointless through two games; give him some time.
8. Speaking of returns, Josh Norris is back for Ottawa, and you should consider grabbing him immediately. The 22-year-old Sens centre potted his 19th of the season on Saturday afternoon. I love what Norris and Brady Tkachuk have cooked up together this season.
9. This is a recording: Take a flier on Alexis Lafreniere. The sophomore forward has come alive since being promoted to the Rangers’ top line to play with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He has three goals and four points in his past five outings. Let’s party.
10. Need a coy streamer play? Can I interest you in some Kyle Palmieri? The veteran winger has six goals in the past 10 games for the Islanders. Ride the hot hand.
11. The David Perron buy-low window is closing quickly, so you’d better act swiftly. The Blues winger, who’s in the midst of a contract year, is up to seven points in his past five games. Watch out.
12. Scoop up Jeff Petry. The Montreal blueliner has seven points in 12 games under Martin St. Louis. Going into the season, the 34-year-old was widely regarded as a top-15 fantasy defenceman. On top of that, there’s a chance he may be moved between now and the deadline, which certainly would help to increase his fantasy value moving forward.
13. Add Noah Dobson immediately. The Islander defender has registered 10 points in the past 11 games. He’s arrived.
14. With Tyson Barrie on the shelf, Evan Bouchard becomes a person of interest again in Edmonton. Someone has to run that lethal power play, right?
15. Put Panthers rookie goalie Spencer Knight on your watch list. The 20-year-old was recalled from the AHL on Saturday. In 10 appearances with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, the 2019 first rounder posted a 7-3-0 record with one shutout to go along with a 2.55 goals-against and 0.917 save-percentage.
16. Another rook to keep close tabs on is Nashville’s Philip Tomasino. The 20-year-old’s currently riding a modest four-game point streak where he’s tallied six points. He could be in the top-six again in no time.
17. Time to go depth hunting again in Boston; Erik Haula and Craig Smith have been lighting it up lately. The former has eight points over a six-game point streak while the latter has four goals and seven points in the past seven contests.
18. It would be rude not to mention Nick Schmaltz in this week’s piece. Afterall, all the dude did was notch SEVEN points in Arizona’s 8-5 win over Ottawa on Saturday afternoon. The 26-year-old is under 10 percent owned in standard leagues. Ride the hot hand!
19. Let’s take a deep dive into the upcoming schedule (Mar. 7 – 13):
Monday: 5 Games
Tuesday: 11 Games
Wednesday: 2 Games
Thursday: 13 Games
Friday: 4 Games
Saturday: 10 Games
Sunday: 10 Games
Total: 55 Games
20. Extra! Extra! The Calgary Flames have the golden unicorn of fantasy schedules —they’ll play five times.
Calgary Flames: Mon (EDM), Tues (WSH), Thurs (TBL), Sat (DET), Sun (@COL)
Waiver Looks: Tyler Toffoli, Blake Coleman, Daniel Vladar
SN Fantasy: Johnny Gaudreau 3, CGY Goalies 3
Furthermore, there’s 14 four-game teams: ANA, COL, CBJ, FLA, LAK, MIN, NSH, NYI, PHI, STL, TBL, TOR, VGK, WPG.
Personally, these two slates pique my interest the most:
Florida Panthers: Mon (@BUF), Tues (@PIT), Thurs (PHI), Sun (@LAK)
Waiver Looks: Mason Marchment, Anton Lundell
SN Fantasy: FLA Goalies 4, Jonathan Huberdeau 3
Toronto Maple Leafs: Mon (@CBJ), Tues (SEA), Thurs (ARI), Sun (@BUF)
Waiver Looks: Petr Mrazek, Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, Nick Robertson
SN Fantasy: Auston Matthews 4, Michael Bunting 1
Lastly, steer clear of Dallas and San Jose. They play just twice.
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