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Teams did not wait for the NHL trading deadline to pull off their blockbusters. And players did not wait until the deadline to suffer season-ending injuries, either.
Injuries and trade deadline deals have had drastic effects on fantasy’s finest hockey players. A change in uniform or a change in role when a teammate suffers an injury usually helps a player’s fantasy value. The great thing for daily fantasy hockey leagues is that these players’ price values do not normally change until a few games later when they start producing on their new line and/or with their new team. Conversely, some players who were traded might be in worse situations now than before, but that might not be reflected in their DFS values for another week or so.
Here are this week’s DFS fantasy hockey buys and don’t buys:
Week 22 NHL DFS Buys
Andrew Ladd - LW, CHI
Mr. Ladd just hit the NHL’s version of Powerball. After slumping all season with the lowly Winnipeg Jets, watching his fantasy value shrivel with every passing game, Ladd and his fantasy owners were handed the golden lottery ticket when he was traded to Chicago last week. Instead of having his plus-minus plummet every night Winnipeg loses 6-3 and needing to try and score without first-line center Bryan Little (out for the season with a fractured vertebrae), Ladd gets the chance to play on a top line and a top power-play unit and have Jonathan Toews set him up while his plus-minus goes from the negatives to the positives faster than Carl Hagelin can skate from blue line to blue line.
Ladd’s price tag in DFS has not caught up to his updated fantasy value. His price is still probably lower in most formats than it should be since his subpar numbers (35 points and minus-10 in 60 games) have made him a mediocre buy in daily leagues. Ladd recorded an assist in his first game with the Blackhawks, though, and should continue to bump his points-per-game and plus-minus in a positive direction while skating with Toews and Co. Use Ladd this week if you can before he gets more expensive.
Mark Scheifele - C, WPG
So with Ladd in Chicago and Winnipeg’s first-line center Little out for the season, someone has to play on Winnipeg’s top line alongside leading scorer Blake Wheeler and young dynamo Nikolaj Ehlers, and Scheifele is the lucky duck who had his number called. Scheifele has been the second-line center throughout the season (when he has not been concussed) and done a respectable job with 15 goals and 19 assists over 50 contests. What is eye-popping for fantasy owners is that he has posted a plus-12 even though the Jets are on the outside looking in for a playoff spot.
Winnipeg’s season is as doomed as any villain’s plans for world domination when he has to square off against The Avengers, and Little’s season-ending injury poured dirt over the Jets’ grave. But with Scheifele getting promoted to the top line and getting to play with Wheeler, there is at least one Jet who should be a great bargain this week in DFS leagues. Winnipeg has four home games this week, so getting Scheifele on your DFS team a time or two would be prudent.
Week 22 NHL DFS Don't Buys
Teddy Purcell - RW, FLA
On paper it appears Purcell’s fantasy worth on a daily basis should improve by going from hapless Edmonton to division-leading Florida. But before you go plucking a couple thousand dollars of your DFS cap on Purcell thinking he is going to tear it up on his new team, you have to know a couple things. One is that Purcell was always playing on one of Edmonton’s top two lines this season, and playing alongside some of the most highly-skilled youngsters in the NHL. While he will likely get to line up with some of Florida’s notable goal scorers as well, he could be used for depth down on the third line, and I doubt he will receive as many minutes on Florida’s power play as he did on Edmonton’s.
The other thing to know is that Purcell’s DFS price could inflate over the next week because of his new surroundings. His plus-minus can only go up now that he has escaped Edmonton, so sites adding $500 to $1,000 onto his price would not be shocking. But until Purcell’s role and linemates are determined in Florida, he is someone I would avoid. Florida’s other acquisition from last week, Jiri Hudler, has a better chance of making an immediate fantasy impact.
James Reimer - G, SJ
Reimer was mentioned in my column a couple weeks ago as someone to stay away from because there was no way he was going to keep his goals against average so low and his save percentage so high while playing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Good news! Toronto traded him to a team that scores goals, plays defense and has playoff aspirations!
Bad news! Reimer goes from being a semi-starter in Toronto to a dependable backup in San Jose. Incumbent starter Martin Jones has not been a problem. While he will not be winning the Vezina trophy or any fantasy-related awards, Jones has been solid all season and will not lose his job to Reimer unless he gets hurt or goes on a terrible losing streak. That means Reimer becomes one of the best backup goalies in the NHL, which for fantasy purposes is equivalent to being the best fourth-line forward on the Buffalo Sabres. Sure, you can spot start Reimer that one day a week you hear he will start against a below-average team, but otherwise his DFS value has dried up like Ben Carson’s chances to become President.
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