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DFO Fantasy Mailbag: Mar. 2

Nick Alberga
Nick Alberga(@thegoldenmuzzy)
Mar 2, 2023, 17:30 EST
DFO Fantasy Mailbag: Mar. 2
Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Nick Alberga: I wouldn’t say he’s a must add, but at the very least, I’d put him on your watch list. Full transparency, I just don’t know how much I believe in Evan Bouchard to hold onto that PP1 job. Throughout the season, he’s been given every opportunity to stick, and he hasn’t been able to secure the role. Furthermore, I think there’s some untapped potential offensively for Ekholm, especially when you see what he now has cooking around him in Edmonton. Monitor closely.

Matt Larkin: I don’t think he’s a must add in shallow leagues. He’s not a zero on offense – he has eclipsed 30 points five times in his career and has a career high of 44 points – but the Oilers didn’t acquire him for offense. Ekholm is there to play a shutdown role and won’t be a PP1 fixture. That said: he’s never played on an offensive juggernaut like this, so his fantasy value spikes simply by sharing the ice with the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. In medium and deep leagues I’d add him for sure.

Nick Alberga: Hold. Assuming he stays on the Predators through the deadline, I don’t mind the attachment to Roman Josi one bit. Finally out of Canada, Barrie will be able to chill out a bit again and do his thing. Nashvillle was a good landing spot for him, but we’ll see what happens.

Matt Larkin: You’re holding him through the Trade Deadline for sure. The Preds are scorching the Earth now, loading up incoming GM Barry Trotz with draft picks. They took on Barrie to make the money work in the Ekholm trade with Edmonton, but that doesn’t mean Barrie is part of their long-term plans. What if GM David Poile flips him? Say you were a team interested in John Klingberg. Wouldn’t you rather make an offer for Barrie, who is better, costs $2.5 million less and has an extra year on his deal? I could see Barrie having a(nother) new home in short order.

Nick Alberga: Honestly, I think Chychrun’s arrival to the nation’s capital is excellent news for Chabot. For starters, it’s likely he’ll be placed in a shutdown role, which should allow Chabot to focus more on offence. As we’re all aware by now, defence is not really his forte anyway. Hold onto both.

Matt Larkin: Excellent question. I do think it poses a threat. I’m not too worried about even-strength minutes given Chychrun could shift to the right side to make a solid top four with Chabot, Jake Sanderson and Artem Zub. But on the power-play? The Sens have been using four forwards already, and Chychrun is more of a threat with his shot than Chabot. So I do think he could steal Chabot’s PP1 work at some point.

Nick Alberga: With Morgan Rielly going nowhere, I don’t currently forsee a pathway for Gustafsson to hold onto the fantasy value he possessed in Washington. That said, Rielly’s looked dreadful lately, so anything’s possible. I’d feel comfortable dumping Gustafsson for Orlov. Of course, if Gustafsson overtakes Rielly for PP1 duties, we can revisit this conversation.

Matt Larkin: With any Leaf acquisition right now, you have to take a wait-and-see approach until Friday at 3:00 p.m. ET, as I really don’t think they’re done maneuvering and they have too many defensemen. I’m not even totally sure Gustafsson remains a Leaf! For now, I’ll assume Gustafsson loses value. He was a PP1 fixture in Washington with John Carlson out. The Leafs use four forwards at minimum on their PP1 unit, and Gustafsson would have to beat out Morgan Rielly for one D-man slot. Orlov seems to be shot out of a cannon since arriving in Boston. I’d scoop him up.

Nick Alberga: Kadri, and it’s not even close. I love Kuzmenko, but in a bangers league, it would be crazy to take him over Kadri. On top of that, I expect Kadri to have a much better second season in Calgary than his first. Be smart. The right player here is Kadri over Kuzmenko.

Matt Larkin: Kadri. For one – the answer lies in your question. Banger league? Faceoffs? Kadri is a center who averages more than a hit per game. Kuzmenko is a winger who doesn’t hit at all. He also leads the NHL with a laughable shooting percentage of 25.7. That is impossible to sustain. He could slump when you need him most down the stretch.

Nick Alberga: Without question, Korpisalo is the far better option, but Copley has been sneaky good for the Kings this season. Initially, I expect a bit of a tandem situation. That said, I fully expect Los Angeles to ride the hot hand down the stretch with a playoff spot far from a formality at this point. Personally, I’ve giving the lean towards Korpisalo. I mean, they gave up quite a bit to acquire him, right?

Matt Larkin: It depends on how you define “split.” I don’t think Korpisalo gets thrown into a true workhorse No. 1 gig right away. He has battled injury problems in the past and has never started more than 35 games in a season. That said, L.A. acquired him for a reason. It wasn’t looking for a backup. Korpisalo is undoubtedly the 1A now to Copley’s 1B. I could see Korpisalo starting six or seven of every 10 games going forward. Remember the AAV on Copley’s recent contract extension: $1.5 million. That says “You’re our backup.” Money talks.

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