NHL Fantasy on Ice

Pete and Rob are joined by Sportsnet’s fantasy hockey guru Nick Alberga to compare his top 250 rankings to the NHL.com/Fantasy list, dive into his draft kit and answer fan questions. The guys discuss players in their UFA and RFA contract years, which teams have the edge in the difficult East Division, the Buffalo Sabres’ top-line options and the concerns facing the Edmonton Oilers. Nick identifies some value picks in drafts, why you shouldn’t reach for Patrice Bergeron, goalie advice and answers the Alex Pietrangelo vs. Shea Theodore debate. The guys also reflect on some training camp storylines and prospects who gained long-term fantasy value at the World Junior Championship, most notably Trevor Zegras, Tim Stuetzle and Dylan Cozens.

Pete, Rob and guest David Satriano get you ready for prime fantasy draft week with reaction to NHL.com/Fantasy's 12-team, 192-player mock draft for standard leagues. They discuss the best stacking options, goalie tandems and overall strategies, especially some lessons learned about how to approach the new divisions. The guys debate Andrei Svechnikov’s fantasy ceiling (6:27), Ilya Sorokin vs. Igor Shesterkin (35:00), training camp storylines like Brad Marchand’s return and Anthony Duclair of the Panthers (45:00) and Joe Thornton of the Maple Leafs playing on top lines (50:00). The guys also weigh in on the value of Patrick Kane with the absences of Jonathan Toews and Kirby Dach (10:50) and identify some key storylines for hits leagues and about back-to-back sets for the new season.

Pete and Rob go more in-depth on each of the NHL’s four new divisions with projected standings based on the fantasy goalie/team win predictions on NHL.com/Fantasy. The guys touch on some important fantasy trends like Nikita Kucherov being out for the entire regular season and which Lightning players are affected, for better or worse, as well as the recent PTO contracts for Mike Hoffman with the Blues and Craig Anderson with the Capitals. The guys also discuss which players to prioritize in points-only fantasy formats and their best bets for dark horse division title winners and teams with the edge to fill out the final spots in the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs from each group. 

Pete and Rob react to the big news of a 56-game NHL season, slated to begin January 13, 2021, and the new divisional alignment, which includes the North with all seven Canada teams. The guys preview each division with player rankings debates, fantasy draft strategy, projected standings and what the early rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs could look like. The guys debate how the new divisional setup impacts teams like the Carolina Hurricanes, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vancouver Canucks, San Jose Sharks and Buffalo Sabres and also how the long-term injury to Nikita Kucherov affects the fantasy stock of other Tampa Bay Lightning players. Other topics discussed are the value of goalie tandems for this condensed season, the fantasy impact of the Panthers signing Anthony Duclair, Henrik Lundqvist and Oscar Klefbom being ruled out for the season and how everything has changed the top 250 rankings on NHL.com/Fantasy.

Pete and Rob set the table for the upcoming fantasy season with the annual fantasy 101 episode for beginners. The guys talk general draft strategy, including stacking, handcuffing and various player storylines like breakouts, bounce-backs, sleepers, rookies and more. They discuss basic fantasy terminology (waiver wire, average draft position, queue, category coverage, exposure, etc.), different league formats to consider playing, roster sizes and category preferences. They also identify some of the other factors to take into account in your player selections and how following NHL.com/Fantasy and the @nhlfantasy social accounts (Twitter, Instagram & Facebook) will give you an advantage leading up to draft day.

Pete and Rob run through the most compelling fantasy player debates ahead of the new season based on either their NHL.com/Fantasy positional rankings or fan questions. Debates include Nathan MacKinnon vs. Connor McDavid at the top, Leon Draisaitl vs. Auston Matthews, Alex Ovechkin vs. Mika Zibanejad and Brayden Point vs. Sebastian Aho. The guys make the case for a few different goalies for the No. 2 spot at the position, including Carter Hart, Tuukka Rask and Robin Lehner and weigh the value of other potential 2021 UFA goalies like Frederik Andersen, Philipp Grubauer and Jordan Binnington. Compelling defenseman debates included Cale Makar vs. Quinn Hughes, Dougie Hamilton vs. Roman Josi and Rasmus Dahlin vs. Miro Heiskanen.

Pete and Rob are back after Thanksgiving to discuss Yahoo’s fantasy forward position eligibility changes and the goalie tandem rankings on NHL.com/Fantasy. They discuss players with updated positions like Steven Stamkos, Alexander Radulov, William Nylander and why teams like the Minnesota Wild and Los Angeles Kings are attractive fantasy-wise during their rebuilds. They discuss the most improved and overlooked teams around the League, the goalie tandems of the Boston Bruins, Dallas Stars, Montreal Canadiens and Washington Capitals, potential breakout players like Adam Fox and Ilya Sorokin and how potential divisional realignments could alter the fantasy landscape. The guys also begin to preview the 2021 class of potential unrestricted free agents.

Pete and Rob continue their fantasy preseason list coverage with all the potential breakouts and bounce-back players around the League. They open with the impact of Ben Bishop and Tyler Seguin being out long term and how it impacts bounce-back hopeful Alexander Radulov, breakout candidates Denis Gurianov, Roope Hintz and also the fantasy value of veteran goalie and postseason hero Anton Khudobin. The guys then discuss various teams with multiple candidates to rebound, including the San Jose Sharks (Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns), Columbus Blue Jackets (Cam Atkinson, Max Domi), and Buffalo Sabres (Taylor Hall, Jeff Skinner). Other players discussed in this episode include bounce-back defensemen Tyson Barrie, Morgan Reilly, Thomas Chabot and breakout targets Victor Olofsson, Ilya Samsonov, Charlie McAvoy, Elvis Merzlikins, Kirby Dach, Anthony Beauvillier and more.

Pete and Rob break down their preseason lists of sleepers and deep sleepers on NHL.com/Fantasy, identifying all the sneaky players who will be available late in drafts in standard and deeper leagues or off the waiver wire. The guys give their favorite sleeper for the upcoming season, debate the value of offseason movers Patric Hornqvist vs. Evgenii Dadonov, top 2019 NHL Draft picks Jack Hughes vs. Kaapo Kakko, Oilers forwards Jesse Puljujarvi vs. Dominik Kahun and overlooked goalies like Devan Dubnyk, Mackenzie Blackwood, Linus Ullmark and Cam Talbot. Other players discussed in this episode include Thatcher Demko, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Ryan Pulock, Nate Schmidt, Jake DeBrusk, Alex Tuch, Brandon Saad, Cody Glass, Martin Necas, Vince Dunn, Joel Kiviranta and more.

Pete and Rob are back to preview the rookie class for the upcoming season and break down the top 100 rankings on NHL.com/Fantasy for keeper and dynasty leagues. The guys discuss the top four rookie options, Igor Shesterkin, Alexis Lafreniere, Kirill Kaprizov and Ilya Sorokin, the value of 2020 NHL Draft picks Quinton Byfield, Tim Stuetzle and Marco Rossi and also some high-upside players from previous drafts like Nick Robertson, Bowen Byram and Trevor Zegras. They debate the staying power of defensemen Cale Makar, Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox and identify some of the other teams with fantasy appeal in long-term leagues, including the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. They also touch on how the Buffalo Sabres’ keeper outlook has been affected by the signing of Taylor Hall and potential promotion of prospect Dylan Cozens.