NHL Fantasy on Ice

Pete and Nick are joined by Anna Dua and David Satriano from NHL.com to discuss their first fantasy hockey mock draft for the upcoming season. Each manager drafted three teams in the 12-team, 16-round, 192-player simulation and reacts to placement of the biggest offseason movers like Jonathan Huberdeau, Matthew Tkachuk, Johnny Gaudreau and the most intriguing stacks from the Rangers, Hurricanes and new-look Flames (Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar). Other topics include Cale Makar vs. Auston Matthews at No. 3 overall, how to approach elite players entering contract years (e.g. J.T. Miller, Patrick Kane), the value of Bruins players after Patrice Bergeron re-signed and David Krejci returned from overseas on one-year contracts, players who were reached for (e.g. Robin Lehner, Jake Sanderson) or slipped based on their NHL.com/Fantasy rank and late-round picks with hidden upside (e.g. Andrei Kuzmenko, Calen Addison).

Pete and Nick cover all angles of the huge trade sending Matthew Tkachuk to the Panthers and Jonathan Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar to the Flames with the impact on the NHL.com/Fantasy top 250 rankings for the upcoming season. The guys debate the big offseason movers like Max Pacioretty vs. Johnny Gaudreau, Brent Burns vs. Weegar, John Klingberg vs. Tony DeAngelo, the four best goalies to change teams and discuss the sneaky fantasy appeal of the Kraken after acquiring Oliver Bjorkstrand, signing Andre Burakovsky and drafting Shane Wright. Other topics covered include teammates impacted by big moves (Aleksander Barkov, Brady Tkachuk, Zach Werenski vs. Thomas Chabot, Jakub Vrana), who's most worthy of being ranked as the No. 3 goalie in fantasy behind Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin, where to rank injured Brad Marchand and more.

Pete and Nick catch up after the big NHL moves so far this offseason with fantasy spins and reaction from a Stanley Cup futures betting standpoint. The guys break down the biggest signings, including Johnny Gaudreau to the Blue Jackets, Claude Giroux to the Senators, Jack Campbell to the Oilers, Darcy Kuemper to the Capitals, Ondrej Palat to the Devils, and the most notable trades, including Brent Burns and Max Pacioretty to the Hurricanes, Alex DeBrincat and Cam Talbot to Ottawa, Kevin Fiala to the Kings, Ville Husso to the Red Wings, Alexandar Georgiev to the Avalanche and more. The guys also mention various sleeper moves, the impact of the Canadiens’ big splash at the NHL Draft and identify the winners and losers of the offseason to this point.

Pete and Nick recap the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs with the impact of the Avalanche’s championship on the fantasy rankings and betting market for next season. The guys discuss whether Cale Makar is a top five fantasy player moving forward, who should be the top-ranked goalie (Andrei Vasilevskiy or Igor Shesterkin) and which players are worth targeting in the first round of the way-too-early fantasy rankings. The crew also covers the impact of recent coaching changes, including Paul Maurice to the Florida Panthers and Pete DeBoer to the Dallas Stars, players who gained significant fantasy appeal from the postseason (Jake Oettinger, Bowen Byram, Zach Hyman), big names who could be traded around the NHL Draft and the preliminary betting odds for 2022-23.

Pete and Nick are joined by Lauren Gardner of NHL and MLB Networks to break down the Stanley Cup Final after the Lightning’s bounce-back performance in Game 3. The crew reacts to the updated series price, the Avalanche’s sudden goalie dilemma and the impact of the Nikita Kucherov injury concern. They also get Lauren’s thoughts on who could be Colorado’s hero in a clutch situation later in the series and her takeaways from covering this Avalanche core through the years. Pete and Nick then identify two dark horse Conn Smythe contenders and have the fantasy spin on the Flyers hiring John Tortorella.

Pete and Nick are joined by David Satriano of NHL.com to break down all angles of the Stanley Cup Final and spin things forward from a fantasy and betting perspective. The guys discuss big performances from Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nichushkin, Bowen Byram and Ondrej Palat, how the Lightning will likely respond from here and the impact of Brayden Point returning from injury. They also update the Conn Smythe Trophy race and have the fantasy spin on the Vegas Golden Knights hiring Bruce Cassidy with their fantasy bounce-back candidates, goalie outlook and renewed Stanley Cup futures appeal for next season.

Pete and Nick are joined by Jake Hahn from SiriusXM NHL Network Radio and the Mayo Media Network to break down all the fantasy, DFS and betting angles for the Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Colorado Avalanche. The guys cover all the storylines, including the Lightning being series underdogs yet again and impact of centers Brayden Point and/or Nazem Kadri potentially returning from injury. They also narrow down the Conn Smythe race to four players and give their sleepers, X-factors and series picks for this year's championship.

Pete and Nick are joined by Jackie Redmond of NHL Network and WWE to discuss the Colorado Avalanche punching their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final by sweeping the Edmonton Oilers and break down the Eastern Conference Final between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The crew marvels at Cale Makar's two-way dominance and increased chances of winning the Conn Smythe Trophy, contemplates the Lightning's appeal as series underdogs once again and reacts to the Nazem Kadri injury and its impact on Colorado's Stanley Cup chances. Jackie also draws some comparisons between hockey and wrestling, tries to solve the offseason dilemmas facing the Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs and gives her take on the coaching openings around the NHL after the Bruins surprisingly fired Bruce Cassidy. 

Pete is joined by Anna Dua of NHL.com/Fantasy for early reaction to the conference finals. They discuss the high-scoring games so far, ways to get involved in DFS contests and the props market, the impact of the injury to Avalanche goalie Darcy Kuemper, how the Rangers won the trade deadline and why Filip Chytil should be on your radar in fantasy leagues next season. They also break down key secondary scorers from the four remaining teams and the updated series prices, including the Lightning again being underdogs despite their history of bouncing back.

Pete and Nick are joined by guest Matt Russell, betting writer at The Score, to preview the NHL's conference finals: Colorado Avalanche vs. Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers vs. Tampa Bay Lightning. The guys break down all the star-studded matchups in the final four: Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl vs. Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, a goalie matchup for the ages between Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin and two of the elite defensemen in Victor Hedman and Adam Fox going head-to-head. They also discuss sleeper picks to target in the props market, Conn Smythe Trophy contenders, the potential injury impact of Brayden Point and how Barclay Goodrow could make a difference against his former team.