It’s crunch time.
The NHL trade deadline is Friday, March 7, and teams are already making moves. On Friday, the Panthers acquired Seth Jones from the Blackhawks for Spencer Knight and a first-round pick, while earlier in the day the Wild acquired Gustav Nyquist from the Predators.
This is the time where managers should be careful with their lineups just in case players are held out pending a trade. The Rangers, for example, held out Reilly Smith on Sunday for that reason. Some other teams to watch in that regard: Canucks (Brock Boeser), Blues (Brayden Schenn), Islanders (Brock Nelson), Penguins (Erik Karlsson), Sabres (Dylan Cozens) and Hurricanes (Mikko Rantanen).
Fantasy playoffs are also creeping up, and I’ll have more content for that coming soon, including next week’s episode on the Sleepers and Keepers podcast (new episodes every Monday at 8 a.m. PT/11 a.m. ET) and in the coming columns.
Quick notes for Week 20:
- 13 teams play four games with the Flyers playing all four at home while the Jets play all four on the road
- The Isles have four games but it’s two back-to-backs with a three-day break in between. I know Patrick Roy likes to push, but it’d be surprising if Ilya Sorokin gets all four games
- The Preds have the easiest schedule but they can’t be trusted right now with poor goaltending and zero offense
- Utah should be avoided with only two road games this week, and it’s a back-to-back so Connor Ingram and Karel Vejmelka will likely split the starts
- Sunday is busy with eight games, which affords you time to catch up if you’re behind on Saturday
Schedule
Pick players from teams at the top of the schedule matrix to maximize games and matchups. Green is good. Red is bad. All advanced stats courtesy naturalstatrick.com. All positions and rostered percentages are courtesy of chof360 Fantasy. Points percentages are as of the conclusion of Saturday’s games.
Week 20 - Courtesy Jason Chen
Season-long adds (< 50% rostered on chof360)
Logan Cooley, C, Utah (45% rostered)
The shackles are off with Cooley skating 20:02 in a 3-1 loss to the Devils. He was eased back into the lineup but he’s a potential point-per-game threat playing on a team with a really good offense and (finally) a healthy defense. The drawback is the lack of PP1, but I think he’ll find his way on there eventually.
Dmitri Voronkov, LW, Blue Jackets (33% rostered)
Adam Fantilli, C, Blue Jackets (30% rostered)
Boone Jenner, C/LW, Blue Jackets (27% rostered)
Kent Johnson, C/LW/RW, Blue Jackets (24% rostered)
I’ve been saying it pretty much all season but it’s time to go all-in on the Jackets for the rest of the season. I think they’ll finish the season with a top-10 offense and they’ve got great depth. Sean Monahan is expected to return before the end of the season but I don’t see Fantilli’s fantasy value falling off a cliff upon his return. Jenner and Johnson have been good together, and Jenner’s a forgotten banger-league favorite with potential for goals and hits.
Jackson LaCombe, D, Ducks (41% rostered)
He should’ve been picked up a week ago, but note LaCombe’s points streak is now at five games. There’s no one better than him on the Ducks blueline right now and he’s averaging more ice time than everybody else.
Alex Vlasic, D, Blackhawks (5% rostered)
Trading Jones has opened the door for Vlasic to be the Hawks’ permanent PP1 QB. He’s been great for blocks all seasons and he’s filled in for Jones when he’s been playing poorly or healthy scratched. I don’t think the Hawks are appreciatively worse without Jones in the lineup, and note 11 of Vlasic’s 23 points this season have come on the power play. Vlasic should have plenty of ROS value.
Elvis Merzlikins, G, Blue Jackets (37% rostered)
If you want wins, go for Merzlikins. The Jackets offense has gone nuts lately and Boone Jenner’s return has solidified their top six, and they’re still awaiting Sean Monahan’s return. Merzlikins will not save any team with a pedestrian save percentage, but he’s note the type to lose games for his teams. As long as the Jackets provide good goal support – which they’ve done all season – Merzlikins will win games.
Mid-term holds (< 50% rostered on chof360)
Patrik Laine. © Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images
Patrik Laine, LW/RW, Canadiens (45% rostered)
I think he’s a power-play merchant of the highest order but the Habs play three sub-par penalty killing teams in Week 20, setting up a big week for Laine. He’s already on a four-game points streak and the Habs are suddenly red-hot against with four straight wins.
JJ Peterka, LW/RW, Sabres (38% rostered)
Peterka’s on a four-game points streak and despite some mid-season stumbles has been locked in on the Sabres’ top line. I think their offense can be unreliable at times, but the schedule’s too good to pass up with the Habs and Sharks coming up.
Morgan Geekie, C/LW/RW, Bruins (18% rostered)
As long as David Pastrnak remains a top-five fantasy player, Geekie has some fantasy value. He scored four points in five games heading into Sunday, and skated over 20 minutes in three of his past six games. That kind of usage and deployment is intriguing even though the Bruins are struggling.
Gustav Nyquist, LW, Wild (7% rostered)
We shall see what kind of impact Nyquist will have playing L1 and PP1 with Matt Boldy, but he’s certainly moving into a better situation. The Preds have not been able to generate much offense despite their talent, and Nyquist immediately joins the Wild’s top line that John Hynes has leaned on heavily while Joel Eriksson Ek is injured.
Filip Hronek, D, Canucks (45% rostered)
Quinn Hughes did not play the second half of the third period Saturday against the Kraken, and we shall see if he returns. If he doesn’t, look for Hronek to be the go-to option on the blue line once again. The Canucks offense is struggling – among the league’s worst since Feb. 1 – so the upside is capped, but Hronek can be a multi-category contributor at his best.
Mason Lohrei, D, Bruins (25% rostered)
Lohrei didn’t produce much during his prior stint as PP1 QB when Charlie McAvoy was out, but he’s doing a lot more this time. He has 17 shots in his past four games heading into Sunday’s matchup, which accounts for nearly one-third of his entire season total. He’s been more aggressive and better at getting shots through to the net, and as a result has compiled a goal and four assists during that span.
Lukas Dostal, G, Ducks (40% rostered)
John Gibson has returned, which means the Ducks will split the starts again, but I’m still holding out for a potential Gibson trade. Dostal performed well in Gibson’s absence and building back up his fantasy value as a source of high-volume saves. The Ducks have a great fantasy schedule with plenty of games on off-nights (Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Sundays) and potentially easier opponents in a Western Conference playoff race where teams are really starting to drop out.
Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah (34% rostered)
Utah’s strong defense should be given the most credit during Vejmelka’s winning streak, but kudos to him for wrestling the starting job away from the struggling Connor Ingram. I still think this is a tandem situation where Vejmelka and Ingram will take turns being the 1A and 1B, but with Utah in the hunt for a playoff spot, Vejmelka’s their best option right now. They provide good goal support and Vejmelka should be a decent source of wins.
Calvin Pickard, G, Oilers (11% rostered)
There’s a part of me that wonders if the Oil will move away from Stuart Skinner for a while and run with Pickard, who limited the Canes to just one goal on 36 shots (.972 SP) to snap their five-game losing streak. I don’t think Pickard is as bad as many people say – he’s certainly better than Skinner right now – and who can argue with 15 wins in 20 starts. The stats won’t always be good but the wins will be there, especially once Connor McDavid picks it back up.
Short-term streamers (< 50% rostered on chof360)
Ryan Donato, C/LW/RW, Blackhawks (24% rostered)
Might he be the next on the block? Donato is an expiring UFA who has some offensive pop and showcasing a four-game points streak at the moment. With triple-position eligibility and the prospect of moving onto a stronger team, I think Donato has some hidden value.
Spencer Knight, G, Blackhawks (16% rostered)
We shall see how the Hawks sort out their rotation, but it’s in their best interests to give Knight some reps as their goalie of the future. I think Arvid Soderblom will be the odd-man out – it’s the obvious choice – and Knight should get more playing time than he did in Florida. However, the Hawks are not good, so the quality of starts will be worse.
Chris Driedger, G, Panthers (0% rostered)
Be careful with this one because Driedger hasn’t seen a minute of NHL action and he’s struggled in the AHL this season with a .878 SP despite backstopping Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup final last season. Trading Spencer Knight means the Panthers will be leaning on Sergei Bobrovsky a bit more, but at some point they’ll have to rest him, opening the door for Driedger to start. I think the Panthers defense improves with Jones in the lineup, and playing on a strong team gives Driedger some streaming value. I’m just not sure when that first start will come, or whether or not the Panthers will make another move to shore up their goaltending.
