Fantasy Hockey Mailbag: What the Gauthier trade might mean to your roster

Out-of-nowhere trades are the best trades. 

That’s exactly what we got this week when Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick were shipped to the Philadelphia Flyers for Cutter Gauthier, creating a ripple effect of fantasy implications in the aftermath. The most obvious of them being how beneficial this is for Pavel Mintyukov when he gets healthy once again. The Anaheim Ducks defender sees his path cleared for top power-play time, something that should help him on build on a strong season. That was really tough timing for an injury to sideline Mintyukov for six weeks. 

Drysdale now finds himself in Philly with a good chance to quarterback power-play one as well. On the surface, it’s a great opportunity for Drysdale, and he’s off to a solid start, but keep a few things in mind before you rush out and grab him. The Flyers power play is dead last in the NHL and Drysdale has battled injuries in his young career. Not to mention, he’s the exact type of player that could find himself in coach John Tortorella’s doghouse and receive a scratch or two if things don’t go swimmingly. 

Gauthier goes to Anaheim, which now suddenly has a plethora of young centres. Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish are a great one-two punch, so maybe Gauthier starts on the wing when he turns pro. It could also mean the Ducks could shift Trevor Zegras to the wing on a more permanent basis. 

Or does it make Zegras expendable if the right trade offer came along?

Let’s get to your questions:

That’s really tough to say, given his overall small sample size, and logic says he’ll probably cool off at some point, but Joey Daccord is playing incredibly well. The Seattle Kraken goalie has allowed two goals or fewer in 15 of his past 17 games and has won seven straight, so I wouldn’t overthink this run and enjoy it while it lasts. 

If there’s reason to be optimistic that Daccord can keep this up, it’s the defensive play of the Kraken. Seattle has allowed the second-fewest high-danger shots against in the league, so it's been doing a good job of helping Daccord out. 

A lot of the time with goalies, you have to ride the hot streaks and always be looking for replacements for whenever they inevitably come to an end. Don’t think so much about the rest of the season and try to look for guys who can get you through the next few weeks or month. Someone new who's a decent option will always emerge.

I think Gabriel Vilardi is in the best position and on the best team of the three, so he's first. Then I’d go with Rickard Rakell, as he’s looked strong recently with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel. I’d put Pavel Buchnevich last just because he doesn’t have as much talent around him as the others.

Artturi Lehkonen has been practicing and will travel with the Colorado Avalanche on this road trip, so he can’t be that far off. What’s interesting is where Lehkonen will slot in when he’s healthy. I’m sure he’ll be in the top six, but first line and power-play one seems unlikely. Jonathan Drouin has been playing really well recently, so I don’t see them immediately giving Lehkonen his spot in either situation.

I’m not willing to say he’s for real at this point, but Stuart Skinner does have a really strong team in front of him, and that counts for a lot in fantasy hockey. My main concern wouldn’t be Skinner’s play so much but the Edmonton Oilers' confidence in him. Do the Oilers eventually address the position and make a move for a goalie or try to snag someone in the summer? That wouldn’t be ideal for Skinner going forward. Still, looking at the other options you have, I’d go with Skinner and Pyotr Kochetkov as well, since they have the best teams in front of them and there is still uncertainty around Devon Levi and Yaroslav Askarov.

I think he’s worth a look, but I’d just be careful about some of the things I mentioned in the intro. Drysdale has struggled to stay healthy, the Flyers power play has been awful and he doesn’t seem like a player Tortorella is going to fall in love with. If you’re just using a waiver add on him, though, and it isn’t costing you anything, Drysdale seems like a decent bet to make.

You might. Jack Hughes is probably a top-three fantasy player this season so I would have kept him. That said, he doesn’t do you any good injured and Tage Thompson had been playing better since returning from his own injury — until Tuesday, when he was bumped down the lineup and played fewer than 15 minutes, and then Thursday, when he left early with an injury. Now, Jeff Skinner is set to miss time, which won’t do Thompson any favours. Thompson hasn’t produced anywhere near the way he did last year, so it’s definitely a risk if Hughes doesn’t miss much time. We shall see.

It seems unlikely, for a couple of reasons. One, Steven Stamkos has a no-move clause and as good as the Winnipeg Jets are, I can’t see him waiving it to go there. Second, the Jets typically try to pursue players with term or who they feel they can re-sign, such as Nino Niederreiter or Brendan Dillon in recent years. Even if Stamkos were to agree to waive his clause for the Jets, the likelihood of him extending there is very slim and Winnipeg probably wouldn’t give up a big haul for him without assurance that he wouldn’t just walk as a free agent in the summer. Stamkos would probably be a great fit there, but it’s a long shot at best.

Tough one. I always have concerns about players who miss a large chunk of time at the beginning of the season because sometimes it takes them a while to get rolling without the benefit of a training camp. Brandon Montour has played 25 games, though, so he should be up to speed. He’s still getting good minutes and top power-play time, so you could see if anyone is interested in buying low in a trade to try to get something back for him. Otherwise, maybe give him a few more games to see if he gets going before considering a drop.

I would give J.J. Peterka a little more time to see what the Buffalo Sabres do with the lines now that Skinner is injured, and he did just score a goal on Thursday. If Peterka is promoted, it could jumpstart him again. If he remains cold after that, you could move on. Peterka isn’t a must-hold, by any means.

In the short term, I’d go with Thomas Harley. With Miro Heiskanen out, he has a great opportunity and there is a lot of talent on that top Dallas Stars power play. Long term, though, I’d go with Brock Faber. He doesn’t have as much competition for power-play time as Harley does. When Heiskanen returns, it’s really going to hurt Harley’s value.

So, I’m of the belief that you should never roster more than three goalies. It’s like you said, you always have one or two of them sitting if you have four and lose out on the opportunity for a skater who could be providing help in other categories. You want to avoid having empty lineup spots as much as possible. Rostering only two leaves you vulnerable to an injury and four is too many, but three is optimal because it also allows you flexibility of who to start based on matchups.

If you feel they are all too good to drop, you should try to shop one in a trade to upgrade a different position of need on your roster. I imagine if you have four quality options, there is probably someone else out there in your league who needs help in net.

Charlie Lindgren has been the far better goalie this season, so the obvious answer would be him. Still, I think Darcy Kuemper will get a fair bit of playing time, as I don’t see Lindgren completely taking over the net and playing like 75 per cent of the time. The reality is the Washington Capitals don’t look like a very strong team, so both goalies will likely have their ups and downs, and may end up more like streaming options than holds by the end of the season.

Is it worth, in a points league, stashing Sergachev and Werenski for the playoffs on IR? If not, what do you suggest. Thanks always for the help.

I always think if you have empty IR spots, there’s nothing wrong with using them. It’s just another way to maximize your roster and gain potential benefits down the line, so if you have the space, just keep them for now. If you end up in a scenario where you have more injured players than IR spots, though, it can become problematic as you don’t want a player taking up an active roster spot who can’t play. You could always try gauging the trade market for Mikhail Sergachev or Zach Werenski to see what’s out there. You might find there is someone in a good position in the standings who’s willing to stash them for the future and give you someone who can help you now. It’s always best to try to see if you can get something for a player before dropping them.

I’d probably go with Morgan Geekie, Marco Rossi and Boone Jenner. I think those three have the most upside for offense. Jenner is always a concern for injury, though. As for the defenders, I think they are all pretty comparable and are really only valuable for blocks. I’ll say Colton Parayko, K’Andre Miller and then Adam Larsson. But go with your gut, as I don’t think there’s a clear frontrunner here.

Ilya Sorokin, Cam Talbot, Sergei Bobrovsky, Daccord and Carter Hart is how I would rank them. Sorokin is really in a class by himself, and Talbot has been solid all year and the Los Angeles Kings are really good defensively. The Florida Panthers look very strong as well, which will benefit Bobrovsky. I’m tempted to move Daccord up this list but the other three are more proven and safer.

Has Evander Kane become irrelevant?

I wouldn’t go that far, but it’s getting close. Evander Kane needs to get back into the top six to really have an impact. He’s still decent for shots and hits, but he won’t have the offensive production on the third line to make him a significant asset. That said, it wouldn’t be shocking at all to see the Edmonton Oilers eventually move Ryan McLeod or Warren Foegele back down in favour of Kane. The question is, though, can you afford to keep Kane long enough until that happens?

I’d probably go with the Vegas tandem and then keep Joseph Woll as well. Vegas is a little better than Toronto defensively and Bruce Cassidy’s system is very goalie-friendly. I know Martin Jones is playing really well, but it’s tough to imagine him delivering at this level for the rest of the year, given what he’s shown in recent years. Long term, I think you’ll be in a better spot with the Vegas duo.