Welcome back to the Weekly Wrap. The NHL trade deadline is creeping up—it’s just three days away. For some of you, your trade deadline may have passed. For the rest of us, it’s either in alignment with the NHL’s deadline or just a few days beyond. Regardless, Week 22 of fantasy hockey is going to be a busy one for most of us. For now, let’s focus on what happened during Week 21 of fantasy hockey.
Week 21 of Fantasy Hockey
Seth Jones, D, Florida Panthers.
He was traded this weekend to the Panthers from the Chicago Black Hawks. The Hawks also retained $2.5 million in salary for the next five years.
This is a big upgrade for Jones. The Panthers are the best team he’s ever played for. The Panthers have been looking for a replacement for Brandon Montour, D, Seattle Kraken all year. He should slide right onto the Panthers’ first power play unit. They’ve tried everything but Paul Maurice on the power play this year.
Jones is a two-time 50-point defenceman. The last coming in 2021-22, his first year in Chicago. He’s currently on pace for 53 points. There should be a sizeable uptick with the move. The concern is injuries. He’s missed time this year, and half of last year due to injury.
If he’s healthy, Jones owners should be ecstatic with this trade.
Sam Knight, G, Chicago Black Hawks
Knight and a conditional first-round draft pick was the return for the Black Hawks. Knight made quite the impression in his first start on Monday, with a 41-save victory. Â This is great news for Knight. It’s not the best news for a long list of goalies in the Chicago system.
Petr Mrazek, G, Chicago Black Hawks.
He’s been a warrior for the Hawks through some very bad years. At best, Mrazek will share the net with Knight. at worst, he gets relegated to his backup. More likely, Chicago finds Mrazek a new home.
For Arvid Soderblom, G, and Drew Commesso, G, the depth chart just got a lot deeper and they’re sitting a lot lower on it.
Steven Stamkos, C/LW, Nashville Predators.
His pointless streak hit 13 games. I don’t know if Stamkos went 13 games without a point in his rookie season. Just all kinds of ‘yikes’ in Nashville.
Andrei Vasilevsky, G, Tampa Bay Lightning
It’s been three, maybe four years since we’ve seen Vasilevsky play at this high level in the regular season. His nine-game winning streak just came to an end Monday night. That streak included 4 straight games, three last week, where he didn’t give up more than one goal.
Roope Hintz, C, Dallas Stars
Is anyone hotter right now? Hintz picked up nine points in three games last week. Add three more last night. Since January 1st, Hintz has 28 points in 22 games.
He’s now up to 50 points in 57 games. After what felt like a lackluster first half of the season, Hintz is right on track to meet projections.
Brock Nelson, C/LW, New York Islanders
Nelson appears completely unphased by the trade rumors. Six points in four games last week is a testament to that. His hot play is going to increase the return the Islanders can command. We’ll find out where that is in just a couple of days.
Boone Jenner, C, Columbus Blue Jackets
Week 21 of fantasy hockey marked the return of Jenner, and return he did. Â Jenner had seven assists in his first four games back. This guy seems to get better with age. He’s a strong, undervalued fantasy asset when he’s on the ice. He produces strong hits, and shots and has an above-average face-off win percentage.
Jacob Markstrom, G, New Jersey Devils
After missing 11 games, Markstrom made his return to the Devils net. His first game was strong, with 22 saves on 24 shots for a .917 save percentage. Unfortunately, the Devils couldn’t muster a single goal. Tough first game back.
It was reassuring to see him in strong form after missing over a month.
David Pastrnak, RW, Boston Bruins
Pastrnak picked up two goals, and six assists on 24 shots in four games last week. Pastrnak is simply doing Pastrnak things.
Ryan Donato, LW/RW, Chicago Black Hawks
Donato’s breakout season continues. Like Nelson, he is thriving amongst the swirling trade rumors. In three games last week, Donato picked up five points and now has points in nine of his last 10 games.
I expect a drop in his production if he lands on a top team. The deeper the team, the harder it will be for Donato to replicate these minutes. He’s been averaging 18:43 per game since February 1st. We can expect this to drop down to closer to 15 minutes once he’s dealt.
Alexander Ovechkin, LW, Washinton Capitals
Career Goals: 884 (31 on the season)
Gretzky’s Record: 894
To Tie Record: 10 Goals
To Break Record: 11 Goals
That will do it for this week. Thanks for reading.
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