METRO DIVISION NHL DFS PRIMER
If all goes to plan we will get our first full 82-game NHL season in three seasons starting in a few weeks. This summer has seen a ton of movement, more than I can ever remember seeing. This article will recap the Atlantic Division and we will figure out what the fantasy impact will be for each team.
Mar 15, 2018; Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports
Carolina Hurricanes:
Not only do they bring back a lot of the pieces from a division-winning team from last season but they also won the social media war this offseason with their successful offer sheet of Jesperi Kotkamiemi. This team is going to roll three lines deep -if everyone is healthy Jordan Staal will be their 4th line center – and will be able to score with anyone in the league. The loss of Hamilton and all three starting-caliber goalies will cause some NHL growing pains but overall they will be fine with the replacements they brought in. Brind’Amour inspires his guys to run through a wall for him every night, so even when they aren’t at full strength this will be a tough team to play night in and night out.
Additions:
Frederik Andersen, Josh Leivo, Tony DeAngelo, Ian Cole, Derek Stepan, Stefan Noesen, EthanBear, Brendan Smith, Alex Lyon, Antti Raanta
Subtractions:
Petr Mrazek, Alex Nedeljkovic, Dougie Hamilton, Brock McGinn, James Reimer, Jani Hakanpaa, Cedric Paquette, Morgan Geekie, Jake Bean
Columbus Blue Jackets:
Yikes, this is going to be a long year in Columbus. Seth Jones made it clear that he didn’t want to play there anymore, so the Jackets got the best they could for him – and honestly, I think it was a decent haul for a team that had very little leverage. It will take a few years for those assets to help lead to a successful team. The Voracek for Atkinson deal seems like a lateral move at best. DFS wise, I think this NHL team is going to be Nyqvist, Voracek, Boqvist, Werenksi, and not much else.
Additions:
Sean Kuraly, Jakub Voracek, Zac Rinaldo, Jake Bean, Adam Boqvist
Subtractions:
Cam Atkinson, Seth Jones, Kole Sherwood, Matiss Kivlenieks (tragically passed away this summer)
New Jersey Devils:
The Devils aren’t going to be a door-mat but they aren’t going to be a great team by any stretch. Hamilton and Tatar will be nice additions and the young forwards will lead to some frustrating nights for the better NHL teams in the league. DFS wise: most nights it’ll just be the top 2 lines and PP1 depending on match-ups.
Additions:
Dougie Hamilton, Tomas Tatar
Subtractions:
Ryan Murray, Aaron Dell, Nikita Gusev
New York Islanders:
Lou Lamoriello did what Lou Lamoriello does again. He got everyone re-signed, traded Ladd and Leddy to make a little bit of cap space, and brought virtually the entire team back. NYI is going to be a tough team again. They can run 3 lines deep, especially if Oliver Wahlstrom can stay healthy. DFS NHL wise they will be frustrating because they aren’t going to score 5 or 6 very often to break a slate but they will lock down their opponents and beat them into submission for a 2-1 or 3-2 win. The Isles will contend for the division title again and be a tough out in the playoffs.
Additions:
No significant additions, but they re-signed most of their own guys and get Anders Lee back from injury.
Subtractions:
Nick Leddy, Andrew Ladd, Jordan Eberle
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New York Rangers:
The Rangers did a lot of good things at the end of last season. They didn’t miss the NHL playoffs by much and their young core made a lot of improvements. I think they can contend for a playoff spot again but they aren’t in the class with NYI, CAR, WSH, PIT, and PHI. Their offseason moves are puzzling. I understand trading Buchnevich because of salary issues but the rest of the moves seemed like Tom Wilson is living in their heads rent-free. DFS wise: This team should have 3 solid lines and also get great production from Adam Fox again on the back end. They will be in play most nights and break a few slates for you.
Additions:
Patrik Nemeth, Jarred Tinordi, Greg McKegg, Ryan Reaves, Barclay Goodrow, Sammy Blais
Subtractions:
Tony DeAngelo, Brendan Smith, Phil di Giuseppe, Darren Raddysh, Colin Blackwell, Pavel Buchnevich
Philadelphia Flyers:
Philly always makes big offseason moves and this year was no different. They made a few free agent moves but most of their additions came via the trade: Ellis, Glass, Ristolainen are the big prizes. DFS wise their D core should put up big NHL numbers but outside of Ellis, most of them are defensive liabilities so stacking against Carter Hart and hoping for a shootout is going to be the path to wins with Philly this season I think. They remind me of the Panthers a few years ago but with bigger names on the blue line.
Additions:
Keith Yandle, Rasmus Ristolainen, Martin Jones, Cam Atkinson, Nate Thompson, Derek Brassard, Ryan Ellis, Cody Glass
Subtractions:
Carsen Twarynski, Jakub Voracek, Brian Elliott, Nolan Patrick, Phil Myers
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Pittsburgh is always good but this team is going to fall hard sooner or later. The beginning of the NHL season is going to be very tough with Crosby and Malkin expected to miss the start of the season with injuries. Their top line will be fine to start the year (Rust, Carter, Guentzel) but it gets thin in a hurry when you have to play Carter on the top line when you planned on him playing 3C or wing on the second line. Early on there will be some value on the cheap guys playing top-6 minutes. If Malkin and Crosby miss more than the first few weeks this division could start to bury them. This will be a brutally tough division and a slow start could make this a rough season battling for a playoff spot.
DFS wise, once everyone is healthy there will be 3 solid lines but until then it’ll be the top line, Letang and hoping for value to open up. DeSmith and Jarry both struggled at times last year and I don’t think either improved a great deal this season. Stacking Pitt’s opponents will be profitable.
Additions:
Brock McGinn, Danton Heinen, Louis Domingue, Taylor Fedun
Subtractions:
Brandon Tanev, Jared McCann, Cody Ceci, Frederik Gaudreau, Manny Legacy, Pontus Aberg
Washington Capitals:
Not a lot of movement with the Caps this summer. The only real loss was Brenden Dillon. They lost Vanecek to the Kraken in the NHL expansion draft, then traded picks to get him back. Washington has been good for a while and that isn’t going to change this year. They will be in the thick of the playoff mix all season. This whole division is going to be tough top to bottom. At least one of the Wild Cards will also come from this division, I don’t see 4 or 5 teams better than Washington. DFS wise: Same as every year, top 2 lines, a few 3rd line hot streaks and John Carlson.
Additions:
Matt Irwin
Subtractions:
Michael Raffl, Brenden Dillon
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