NHL Trade Deadline Breakdown For Daily Fantasy 3/1/18

Hello everyone, finally we can all breathe after a very busy and one of the most exciting NHL trade deadlines that we have witnessed in a long, long time. I am here to break down the most fantasy-relevant trades for you in no particular order, so let's get started, shall we?

Hockey is back and with it come our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NBA DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NBA lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NBA lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format.

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Rick Nash - Boston Bruins - Traded from New York Rangers

After spending his first nine years in Columbus and then six in New York, the first overall pick in the 2002 NHL entry draft now finds himself in Boston as he joins a solid Bruins squad ready for a lengthy playoff run. Nash has an impressive 800 points and an elite 3.54 shot per game average so far during his career which consists of 1,051 games. While he sported a -71 plus/minus in Columbus, he bounced back with a +64 during his six years in the Big Apple.

Nash has a goal and 10 shots in his first two games with the Bruins while playing on the #2 line and the #1 powerplay unit and when Patrice Bergeron is back from his injury, it will only help his fantasy production. The biggest concern about Nash is his aging body as he hasn't played more than 70 games in his last four years, but from a fantasy perspective as long as he's healthy, his value is much higher as a member of the Bruins.

Evander Kane - San Jose Sharks - Traded from Buffalo Sabres

I honestly thought that the Sharks would have had to give up more for this guy, but maybe his past off-ice and character issues kept his price down a tad bit. Regardless, if Kane can't succeed at his current opportunity with the Sharks, then maybe he can't succeed anywhere in the NHL. Nobody can question the 26-year-old's immense talent as he has 340 points and an elite 3.54 shot per game average in 557 games in Buffalo and Winnipeg/Atlanta, but the fourth overall pick in 2009 can't seem to gel with his line-mates for more than a short period of time.

Kane lined up with superstar Joe Pavelski on the top line in his first game with the Sharks last night and recorded two assists, two shots, and a block. With his high floor as a result of the shot volume and multi-point upside, he looks like an elite target almost every time he hits the ice.

 

Paul Stastny - Winnipeg Jets - Traded from St. Louis Blues

This was easily the most surprising move at this year's trade deadline. It was a great move by the Jets, who are almost guaranteed to be a playoff bound franchise this season. The 32-year-old who is the son of Hall of Famer Peter Stastny was drafted in the fifth-round by the Colorado Avalanche in the 2005 NHL entry draft. He recorded an impressive 633 points in 805 games and a sub-par 2.13 shot per game average in his first 12 years in the league. The veteran spent his first eight years in Colorado and then four in St. Louis, he came out with an impressive +13 plus/minus and his best year was a 79 point effort in 81 games during the 2011-2012 season.

In his first game with the Jets, Stastny lined up beside Patrick Laine and Nikolai Ehlers on the #2 line to go along with the #2 powerplay unit as he had a goal and an assist. He is tough to roster in cash games with his low shot output, but he will be a terrific GPP play against weaker opponents as he is one of the best play-makers in the league.

Petr Mrazek - Philadelphia Flyers - Traded from Detroit Red Wings

With the Flyers hurting at goalie, they decided to make a move for the disgruntled Petr Mrazek who seemed to fall out of favor to the aging Jimmy Howard in Detroit. The 26-year-old was drafted way down in the fifth round by the Red Wings in 2010 and he played three full seasons there and two partial ones and his overall record was 72-58-20 with 14 shutouts, a .912 save %, and a 2.60 GAA. After this trade was made, I listened to many people who said that the Flyers have finally found the goalie that can get them a Stanley Cup and one broadcaster even went ahead and said that Mrazek is an elite tender. Whoa! Hold the bus here for a minute and take a look at the above numbers I posted and you will see that they're only average.

On that note, the Flyers have been playing well in all areas of their game and they have won six games in a row and are 9-0-1 in their last 10. Mrazek has won his first three starts for the Flyers to go along with a shutout and he will be a decent play in the right matchup, but just realize that it is not Ken Dryden, or Martin Brodeur that you are rostering when you are building your DFS lineups.

Ryan McDonagh - Tampa Bay Lightning - Traded from New York Rangers

Do you see a theme here? Teams that are looking to go deep into the playoffs beefed their rosters up and this guy could be a perfect compliment to the established veteran, Victor Hedman. The defensive-minded McDonagh spent his first eight seasons until now with the Rangers where he was an outstanding +141, he averaged 23:33 minutes of ice-time and he had 901 shots and 1026 blocks in 516 games. The 28-year-old point man was drafted 12th overall in 2007 and he is one of the best in the league at killing penalties, which is what the Lightning badly needed.

One knock on McDonagh is that he has only played 82 games once in his career, but he has never played less than 40 in a season. From a DFS perspective, he has a solid mixture of upside and safety that we are looking for in all formats and playing for the league's #1 offense is very appealing.

Derek Brassard - Pittsburgh Penguins - Traded from Ottawa Senators

The 30 year-old journeyman who was drafted sixth overall in the 2006 NHL draft may as well just buy a cheap apartment in Pittsburgh as this is his fourth different team and his third in only four years. Brassard could very well be the best third line center in the league as he is the third option for Penguins behind Crosby and Malkin.

The veteran centerman is a better real life player and has offered little safety from a fantasy perspective throughout the years as he has averaged only 2.08 shots on goal per game. On a positive note, he does have 420 points in 703 games, so if the price is right for DFS purposes, then Brassard could be a fine GPP play in certain circumstances.

Tomas Tatar - Vegas Golden Knights - Traded from Detroit Red Wings

Wow! The Golden Knights had a pile of draft picks to burn, but a first, second, and third rounder for Tatar? I mean, the guy has potential as he is in his seventh season and has 222 points in 408 games played. He was drafted 60th overall in 2009, but he is fairly under-sized and he doesn't shoot the puck much (2.16 per game). Regardless, the Knights see something in him and he's currently skating on the third line, so while he's almost a guaranteed no for cash games, you could give him a shot in GPP's if he finds a groove with his line-mates.

Vladimir Namestnikov - New York Rangers - Traded from Tampa Bay Lightning

This guy was drafted 27th overall by the Lightning in 2011 and he has 123 points in 263 games to go along with a very poor 1.51 shot per game average. Most of his success happened while playing beside Steven Stamkos and/or Nikita Kucherov. Well, there is nobody close to as talented as those two in New York, but he is a player to possibly keep an eye on in the future with his new team.

Other notable players traded: J.T. Miller(TB), Ian Cole(CLB), Tomas Plekanec(TOR), Patrick Maroon(NJ), Thomas Vanek(CLB), Ryan Hartman(NSH), Ryan Spooner(NYR), Mark Letestu(NSH)

 

Hockey is back and with it comes our NHL projections which help inform these picks every night. When you purchase a DFSR NHL subscription to our base hockey projections you also get access to our brand new NFL DFS suite of tools including full projections, optimal NFL lineups and our Player Lab, which includes filters to help you create NFL lineups for FanDuel and DraftKings for any format. It’s a set of tools well beyond anything we’ve ever had, and something we feel will help our users *ahem* tackle the NFL season.

If you want to see the numbers behind our projections, create linueps with a single click, or research as deeply as your heart desires, click the button below to test out yourself.