Fantasy NHL Trade Impact: Tomas Tatar to Vegas

Fantasy NHL Trade Impact: Tomas Tatar to Vegas Golden Knights:

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!

For the last couple of months, rumors have been flying around the NHL about a likely eventual trade for Erik Karlsson. As the trade deadline approached on Monday, one of the biggest names in the Karlsson sweepstakes as the Vegas Golden Knights. As the day progressed, the Golden Knights became the sole team in discussion with Erik.

However, by the 3pm ET trade deadline, the Senators confirmed Erik Karlsson was remaining in Ottawa, and the team would likely enter contract extension talks ‘if’ he is with the team through the remainder of the season. The ‘if’ in their statement makes you wonder if the Golden Knights and the Senators just ran out of time. It’s possible the Knights made some moves to prepare for an eventual deal after the deadline, somehow.

Interestingly, the Golden Knights then made what we consider to be a bizarre trade with the Red Wings. The Knights get 27-year-old Slovakian Tomas Tatar in exchange for a first round pick in this summer’s 2018 NHL draft, a second round pick in next year’s 2019 NHL draft, and a third round pick int he 2021 NHL draft. That is an amazing haul for what we’re consider to be a slightly above par NHL wingers.

Immediate Fantasy NHL Impact:

While we’re unimpressed with the haul from the Golden Knights trade, it’s mostly because of what they gave up. Giving up a second round and third round pick in any draft, alone, is probably too much for a winger providing 16 goals and 12 assists in 61 games. Granted, the Red Wings are struggling an entire team, but Tatar’s production is unimpressive this season.

With just over 16 minutes of ice time per game, Tomas is scoring on 11.4% of his 140 shots so far this season. On his lines, he has a -8, due to his mediocre scoring and sub-par defense. However, one BIG advantage Tomas gives you is scoring during the power play, and this may be why the Golden Knights grabbed him in their quest for a Stanley Cup their inaugural season.

Tatar only has 16 goals this season, which is solid. But impressively, eight of his 16 goals, or half, have all come during a power play opportunity. Also, Tatar has an additional three assists during the man-advantage, leading to an impressive eleven power play points on a team struggling to score during the man advantage. So while Tomas is likely a low-impact season long fantasy NHL play on a bottom six line for the Golden Knights, he’s could be a big DFS play with his high volume of power play goals.

Next: FanDuel NHL Picks and Plays for February 26

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