Edmonton Oilers' Connor McDavid works for the puck against the Columbus Blue Jackets during an NHL hockey game in Columbus, Ohio, Friday, March 4, 2016. The Blue Jackets won 6-3. (AP Photo/Paul Vernon)
ALL ABOARD!! Welcome to another awesome NHL season at DFSR. Chris Durell and myself will be co-driving the train again this season and we couldn't be more excited. We have a new team in the league this year, the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The team has hired a few gambling counselors I'm sure. There are so many superstars in the making and I could keep going on and on, but I'll save the talking for the article. Let's dive right into the picks shall we?
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Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 18.67 DK - 4.67
Did I mention that I'm excited about the NHL season? And guess what my friends? We get to witness the battle of Alberta on opening night. This rivalry isn't for the faint of heart and I totally recommend that you tune into this game. Edmonton is currently the biggest favorite of the night at -190 and I can't see the Flames putting up much of a fight here. Talbot has solidified himself as a top 10 tender and the Oilers look even better this year. Last season, the workhorse started 73 games which were seven more than any other goalie in the league. He had 42 wins, which was tied for first. He was second in the league with a GAA of 2.39, 14th with a save % of .919 and tied for third with seven shutouts. The Flames were ranked a below average 17th on offense last season and they don't look much better on paper this year. I can vision a lot of people flocking towards Jones against Philly, but I'm not a fan of San Jose this season, so I am all-in on Talbot here. He is an elite play in all formats.
**Update: Oilers down to -150 favorites but still loving Talbot as an elite play in net**
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 18.65 DK - 4.66
If for some reason you don't like Talbot, then this two-time Lord Stanley champion is my second best choice on this small four-game slate. I'll warn you though that the Blues were ranked 12th on offense last season, but Pittsburgh's offense was ranked first in the league, so expect some goal support here. In 2016 Murray only played 49 games because of an injury, but he had an awesome record of 32-10-4. Like I said above, I'm all in on Talbot, but having some exposure to Murray in a few GPP's isn't a bad idea.
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 18.81 DK - 5.35
Just as I typed this young man's name, I can hear some people say, "This is an obvious pick, give us someone not so obvious." Well, that would be dumb in my opinion because our goal is to help you win money. Fading "McJesus" here would be a losing proposition, especially on a short slate like this one. The young stud reached 100 points in 2016 in his sophomore season and his ceiling is still higher than that. He skated an average of 21.1 minutes last season and he plays on the top line and the #1 PP unit in Oil land. There is a ton of value in this slate, so lock McDavid into your cash game line-ups immediately and stack him with his line-mates in GPP's
Stack with: Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon
Opponent - SJ
Proj Pts FD - 9.82 DK - 2.98
Wow! This kid was good in the WHL. I watched him play with my local junior team, the Brandon Wheat Kings. But I honestly didn't expect him to crack the Flyers roster in his rookie year. He still could get sent down after a few games, but Philly has him skating on the second line and the #2 PP unit to start the season. You can bet that he will see a ton on ice-time to try and prove himself early on this year and with his incredibly cheap salary on both sites, we don't have to worry about matchups or anything. Just simply get him into your lineups in every single format and spend up elsewhere.
Stack with: Wayne Simmonds, Jordan Weal
Opponent - WPG
Proj Pts FD - 11.67 DK - 4.08
This young star in the making happens to play with Auston Matthews on the top line and the #1 PP unit on an offensively powerful Maple Leafs squad. Nylander and Matthews showed great chemistry in the pre-season and they are about to face a defensively challenged Jets squad who was ranked an awful 27th last season. In 2016, Nylander had 61 points in 81 games, with a whopping 26 of them coming via the powerplay and he fired a respectable 205 shots on goal. He should easily out-produce those numbers this season. Nylander is my favorite overall play from a PTS/$ perspective in all formats.
Stack with: Auston Matthews, Zach Hyman
Opponent - TOR
Proj Pts FD - 14.86 DK - 4.57
I am going to stick with a game that Las Vegas thinks is going to be the highest scoring game of opening night. Both teams still have defense and goalie issues. The Jets have Steve Mason or Connor Hellybuck and I am not yet sold on Jonathan Bernier as a great goalie either, by the way. Laine is an elite sniper and he is starting the year off as simply too cheap to ignore on both sites. He always plays on one of the top two lines and the #1 PP unit in Winnipeg and he looked sensational in the pre-season. Last year, he scored 36 goals to go along with 28 assists in 73 games, while firing 204 shots on goal. If he stays healthy, he should easily surpass those numbers and contend for the most goals scored in the league in his sophomore season.
Stack with: Brian Little, Nikolaj Ehlers
Opponent - STL
Proj Pts FD - 11.72 DK - 3.3
The winger position is absolutely loaded at the mid-range salary pool today and here is another player that is way too cheap to ignore to start the season. He is one of the fastest players in the game and he gets to skate on the top line with Sid the Kid and on the #1 powerplay unit. Actually, we should call Crosby Sid the old man now that he plays with Sheary and this guy. Sid and the kids fits the bill I suppose. Anyways, Guentzel showed last year in the regular season and the playoffs that he's mature for his age and ready to be a potential star in the show. Last year in the regular season the young man scored 16 goals to along with 17 assists and 81 shots on goal in only 40 games. He has an almost unlimited ceiling playing with Crosby and other stars. Fire him up in all formats this evening and relax and enjoy opening night.
Stack with: Sidney Crosby, Connor Sheary
Stack with:
DEFENSEMEN
Opponent - CGY
Proj Pts FD - 11.68 DK - 3.52
My fellow writer Chris Durell and I agree on many things, especially at the defense position. Value, value, value is the way to go almost always. It just opens up so many opportunities at other positions and the blocked shots statistic is very important here, as well as ice time and opportunity. Okay, so Klefbom plays on the top defensive unit on the Oilers as well as the #1 PP unit you say? Sign me up baby. Last season this dude played every single game and had 38 points (16 on the powerplay,) 201 shots on goal and 146 blocked shots. I'm not fading him today in any format and either should you.
Opponent - EDM
Proj Pts FD - 6.26 DK - 1.85
This St. Malo, Manitoba native was wanted by almost every team last season and I just couldn't understand why. The Flames gave up two first-round draft picks and a second rounder for him. I thought it was way too high, but then I looked into his statistics and read about the kind of player he is. He can play the powerplay, he's one of the best penalty killers in the league, he scores a few points, blocks a few shots and hits almost as hard as an NFL linebacker. Oh, and he can fight if he has to and has leadership skills. What we are interested in though is fantasy production and he is at almost minimum salary on both sites for what he can give us in return. Last year, in only 49 games with the Islanders, Hamonic had 14 points, 74 shots, and 108 blocks while averaging 21 minutes of ice-time per game. To start the season with the Flames, he is playing on the #2 D line and #2 PP unit. Hamonic gives you a great deal of salary relief on opening night.
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View Comments
if draisatyl is playing along with mcdavid, wouldn't It be smarter to put in draisatyl and little over mcdavid and Patrick?
Patrick is a nice punt play that allows you to get McDavid, who is obviously better at hockey. A large part of the write up also comes from the projection system and not only is McDavid at the top of the raw points but also near the top of the PTS/$. That is why he is written up day 1. He also mentioned stacking Draisaitl with McDavid. Good luck tonight and thanks for reading.
is there no opto for the NHL rankings?
No there isn't an optimizer Sandy.
Jesse, I feel that it is important to find an elite venter to start the article off and then find a value centre. I like draisaitl as well, but I've seen it to many times at warmups, the coach will separate two superstars such as in this example. One thing we know with McDavid is the fact that he will always be on top line and top pp unit. Draisaitl is almost always on pp1, but last year, he would often rotate lines throughout the game. We will see how this year plays out.
*center
RotoWire.com has a Optimizer for NHL Sandy :)