NHL Fantasy on Ice

Pete and Rob are joined by guest “Waiver Wire” James Harding to discuss the fantasy landscape and the best players to add at each position. The guys react to top-ranked fantasy player Nathan MacKinnon leaving the game Sunday with a lower-body injury and where the Avalanche, who also recently lost Devon Toews to an injury, and fantasy managers (for potential replacements) should go from here. The guys discuss players like Jordan Kyrou, Joel Eriksson Ek, Jordan Greenway, Justin Schultz, Vitek Vanecek, James van Riemsdyk, Linus Ullmark, Alexandre Texier, buying low on Mika Zibanejad, the return of Jamie Benn and Roope Hintz from injury and young defensemen Pierre-Olivier Joseph and K’Andre Miller, who are worth adding after Kris Letang’s injury and Tony DeAngelo was placed on waivers. The guys also give a shoutout to the Edmonton Oilers for promoting the podcast. 

Pete and Rob catch up after another huge NHL slate to break down all the storylines heading into a busy weekend of games. The guys discuss some fantasy waiver wire options from the Capitals, including defenseman Justin Schultz and rookie goalie Vitek Vanecek, and the impact of the eventual returns of Washington’s top players and also elite Bruins forward David Pastrnak, who’s in the top 10 overall rankings on NHL.com/Fantasy. The guys discuss teams with multiple games in hand early in the season (Stars, Hurricanes, Lightning, Panthers, Flames), some of the Oilers’ flaws and throw around some potential fantasy trade offers and targets. Other topics include Alexandre Texier being an early season standout for the Blue Jackets and potential beneficiary of the Patrik Laine trade, Carter Verhaeghe’s value on Florida’s top line with Aleksander Barkov and the fantasy appeal of Kaapo Kahkonen (compared to Vanecek), Joel Eriksson Ek and Jordan Greenway from the Wild.

Pete and Rob break down all the fantasy, DFS and sports betting trends after a busy Tuesday of NHL action. The guys discuss the state of the slow-starting Rangers and whether to keep rookies Alexis Lafreniere and Igor Shesterkin in one-year fantasy leagues, including a fan question about whether to drop the NYR goalie for red-hot John Gibson. The hosts weigh Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin’s fantasy stock for this season and in keeper leagues, highlight the stellar performance by Winnipeg forward Andrew Copp lately and how the Jets stack up in the North Division playoff picture through two weeks of the season, especially after the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade. The show concludes with best bets for another big slate for this Thursday.  

Pete, Rob and guest James Harding break down all angles of the big trade sending Patrik Laine and Jack Roslovic to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pierre-Luc Dubois to the Winnipeg Jets. The guys discuss potential beneficiaries on each team, each player’s individual fantasy appeal after the trade and those connected to the deal who are worth adding off the waiver wire. The guys also run through “Waiver Wire“ James’ top 10 list, identify the best defensemen pickups who are readily available, including rookies Ty Smith and Bowen Byram, and touch on some key lineup trends, including Pius Suter and Jesse Puljujarvi playing on top lines. 

Pete and Rob are joined by fantasy, DFS & hockey betting guru Chris Wassel to go around the League and identify all the biggest trends. The guys discuss the absence of some top Washington Capitals players, the appeal of the Dallas Stars ahead of their (late) season opener and some of the top buy-low players to target in season-long fantasy trades (Elias Pettersson, Kevin Fiala, etc.). The guys discuss the slow starts for the New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks and debate whether to drop Pierre-Luc Dubois in fantasy amidst the drama in Columbus. Other topics covered are impressive starts for the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings, a keeper league trade offer of Alexis Lafreniere for Jack Hughes, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltending and defensive concerns, the sneaky production of rookie defenseman Ty Smith, best bets and DFS picks for Friday.

Pete and Rob are joined by guest David Satriano to talk all things season-long fantasy, DFS and betting at the one-week mark of the NHL season. The guys discuss the surprising New Jersey Devils, including Jack Hughes and Mackenzie Blackwood, and which players could be affected once Nico Hischier eventually returns from injury. Other players covered from this week’s NHL.com/Fantasy rankings include Bobby Ryan, Alexander Romanov, Anthony Duclair, Patric Hornqvist, Carter Verhaeghe, Casey DeSmith, Tony DeAngelo, John Gibson, Chandler Stephenson and more. The four “founding fathers” of the podcast also celebrate the milestone of one million listens (leave us a review for the occasion)!

Pete, Rob and guest “waiver wire” James Harding discuss the best fantasy pickups around the League. They open with the implications of J.T. Miller rejoining the Vancouver Canucks from the COVID-19 protocol, the impact of Sean Couturier’s injury on the Philadelphia Flyers lineup and some big storylines from the Florida Panthers’ season opener on Sunday. The guys discuss players like Oskar Lindblom, Morgan Frost, Devon Toews, Patric Hornqvist, Ilya Sorokin, Cam Talbot, Jakob Chychrun, Yegor Sharangovich and give their best bets and DFS targets for Monday’s slate. James also explains his bold take that the Toronto Maple Leafs will miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2021. 

Pete and Rob react to a thrilling first two days of the NHL season, including Kirill Kaprizov’s stellar debut for the Wild, the high-scoring trend in the Scotia North Division and some underrated rookies (Nils Hoglander, John Leonard, Alexander Romanov) to consider adding in fantasy. The guys react to news that Pierre-Luc Dubois wants to leave the Blue Jackets, whether Joel Farabee could be the real deal for the Flyers after his four-point game on opening night and give their best bets and DFS targets for the weekend.

Pete and Rob get you ready for opening night with fantasy draft reaction, DFS lineups, best bets and all the big storylines for the 5-game slate and across the League this week. The guys discuss the value of Joe Thornton on the Maple Leafs’ top line, compare the goalie tandems for the Canucks and Oilers and provide fantasy reaction to news surrounding David Pastrnak, J.T. Miller and Keith Yandle. The guys also identify the top rookies to watch this season and update the NHL.com/Fantasy landscape for anyone who still has their fantasy draft coming up this week.

Pete and Rob are joined by hockey betting analyst Michael Leboff from the Action Network to preview the NHL season from a sports wagering perspective and give his favorite bets. The guys discuss various Stanley Cup picks, potential division winners, injury implications, dark horse picks and the sneaky appeal of the Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens and Calgary Flames. They also go around the League to identify potential surprise teams, including the Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Anaheim Ducks, San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators plus some long-shot picks for NHL awards, including Andrei Svechnikov, Ilya Sorokin, Juuse Saros, John Gibson, Tim Stuetzle, Seth Jones and more. Pete and Rob then close out the show by recapping some of their bold (yet feasible) fantasy predictions, which are available on NHL.com/Fantasy.