Fantasy NHL Trade Impact: Bruins get Nash, but Lose Spooner to the NYR

Fantasy NHL Trade Impact: Rick Nash heads to Boston:

Welcome to an action packed NHL Trade Deadline as we should continue to see a flurry of activity leading up to the 3PM EST deadline on Monday, February 26. We have already seen a handful of trades heading into today and we will break down the fantasy hockey impact of each of those deals as they break throughout the day, for Fantasy NHL!

With 32-year-old star Patrice Bergeron and 29-year-old lightning rod Brad Marchand peaking as the Bruins head into the playoff race, it wasn’t surprising to hear rumors the B’s would make a move to bulk up their offensive prowess.

The Bruins top line has been dominating this season, and one of the best DFS Fantasy NHL stacks when on the ice. While the Bruins are also getting incredible goaltending from 30-year-old Tuukka Rask, they’re also beginning to load up on young talent, like 21-year-old David Pastrnak, 21-year-old Jake DeBrusk, and 20-year-old top line defender Charlie McAvoy.

So when the Bruins realized they could keep many of their top young players already on the ice, for the Rangers 33-year-old winger Rick Nash, it was likely an ideal option. However, the Bruins had to give up 2016 defensive draft pick Ryan Lindgren (20-years-old) and 27-year-old veteran Ryan Spooner. The later is often an underrated fantasy NHL option. The biggest get of all for the Rangers was a 1st round draft pick. So even in the eyes of the Rangers it was a solid trade.

Immediate Fantasy NHL Impact:

We expect Nash to play right wing on the Bruins second line with David Krejci at center and young Jake DeBrusk at left wing. Nash also likely plays with Bergeron and Marchand on the Bruins top power play unit. This could lead to a significant increase in Nash’s fantasy NHL value for the remainder of the season.

In 61 games, Rick has 18 goals, 10 assists, and a -9 +/- on his line. Nash also has three power play goals and one assist. If you have a +/- category in your league, expect Rick’s value to improve significantly there. We also expect to see more goals/game, and his assists may double-per game. Finally, we expect Nash’s points per power play to increase on a team who’s PP units have been significantly more productive than the Rangers.

For DFS plays, Nash is consistently a great play every time the Bruins are on the ice, and for now he’s fairly cheap. But, we should expect to see Rick’s salary climb over the coming weeks. If you’re in a keeper league, consider using Nash’s increased value as trade bait. Remember, he’s nearing a difficult age to remain productive in the NHL.

As for Spooner, the Rangers are currently floating him around the 4th line. We don’t expect that to stay consistent through the rest of the season though. The Rangers will either trade Ryan away before the deadline, or he’ll continue to move up the lines as he learns the new Rangers system. In the short-term, Spooner is a hard fade in DFS, and you should either bench or drop Ryan in non-keepers leagues. However, if the Rangers keep Spooner after the deadline, he’ll likely work his way into the top two lines for next season, so he’s worth a low-value keeper consideration.

Next: FanDuel NHL Lineups

Stay tuned for the breakdowns of the rest of the NHL trade deadline deals and for all of your DFS needs!