This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
Welcome back to another round of bargain options to use for the upcoming NHL week on FanDuel.
Last week was a decent week overall. The goalies missed (though one was because he didn't start) and David Pastrnak before his prime matchup on Saturday night. Matt Dumba also didn't do much against Winnipeg. There were couple of big hits though, as Tomas Hertl and Andre Burakovsky both had multi-point games.
As always, there will be one skater listed for each FanDuel position that is priced at $4,000 or less. Keep an eye on the RotoWire charts, as the value plays usually come from players being given advantageous situations in the lineup. Those lineups can be very fluid.
There will also be a couple goalies to use at the end of the article that are cheap as well.
Center
Alexander Wennberg (Columbus) - $3,800
I can almost hear the groans already. Yes, it's a Blue Jackets player being recommended even though they're a last-place team. That is part of the beauty of DFS; value can come from anywhere. It's about figuring out when that is likely to happen.
Wennberg has had a decent season so far with 16 points in 34 games. What is most important is that he is now being given a top-tier role on the team. Wennberg spent most of the season in the bottom-six forward mix. In his last five games – or, since Ryan Johansen was traded – Wennberg has played at least 16 minutes in all of them, at least 18 minutes in three of them and over 20 minutes once. In that time, he had two goals and averaged two fantasy points per game.
Now centering Brandon Saad, Wennberg's line is given secondary duties as Brandon Dubinsky's line takes the top competition. That should come in handy Thursday when the Flames are in town. Dubinsky's line will take the Johnny Gaudreau line, allowing Wennberg and company to flourish against Calgary's (minimal) depth. I would use him then.
Right Wing
Micheal Ferland (Calgary) - $3,900
Ferland isn't a household name, but he should become familiar to the fantasy community, as he's playing on Calgary's top line with Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. That includes time with that duo on the top power-play unit as well. That is a pretty good spot to be in.
Although he's not widely known yet, Ferland does take a relatively high numbers of shots per minute and that helps build in a floor for his production. Also, now that he's on the top line and power-play unit, Ferland is seeing a lot of ice time; he never averaged more than 13 minutes per game any month this season, but is averaging over 16:30 so far in January.
While Wennberg is fine to use against Calgary because he will avoid Ferland's line, it's hard to ignore Ferland in that same matchup. Columbus isn't a great team, and even with Sergei Bobrovsky coming back, he may need some time to acclimate. As long as Ferland is on the top line and top PP unit, in Calgary, he deserves consideration. That Thursday game against Columbus seems like a good time to use him though don't use both in the same lineups.
Left Wing
Kevin Fiala (Nashville) - $3,000
The Ryan Johansen/Seth Jones trade isn't the only big news to come out of Nashville over the last couple of weeks. Kevin Fiala was called up by the Predators in hopes of jump-starting their offense. He replied with a goal in his first game (and eight shots on goal in the two games he has played so far).
For those unfamiliar, Fiala was a very highly-touted prospect for the Predators. He was an 11th overall selection, showed great in the World Juniors a year ago and played for Switzerland at the previous World Championships. He only has 41 points in 67 games in the American Hockey League, which isn't bad, but not great, either.
Mostly, this is about where he is in the lineup. Fiala was called up and immediately inserted next to Johansen. He has stayed there since hasn't looked out of place at all.
Nashville has two games later this week in Winnipeg and Edmonton. I am not a fan of the Winnipeg matchup solely because he should see a lot of the Dustin Byfuglien-Jacob Trouba pairing, which has been very good for the Jets. Against Edmonton, though, there really isn't a matchup to fear. Fiala is an excellent option Saturday night.
Defense
Shea Theodore (Anaheim) - $3,100
Another young potential star on the Anaheim blue line. There's a few of them, and the newest one is Theodore, Anaheim's first pick (26th overall) in the 2013 draft.
Theodore showed a penchant for production in Junior, but even more importantly, he has 27 points in his last 36 games in the AHL, going back two seasons as a 19- and 20-year-old. For a defenseman, that is impressive.
After going pointless in his first seven games with the Ducks, Theodore now has points in three straight. He is also averaging two shots on goal per game, and that alone can help recoup nearly half his cost at his near-basement price.
On top of all this, Theodore isn't really being "hidden," as he's played at least 18 minutes in eight straight games, and at least 20 minutes in half of those. The cherry on top is that Theodore is now playing on the top power-play unit with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. Though they have had their troubles, that is still an elite duo in the NHL.
Anaheim hosts the Wild on Wednesday, and Minnesota isn't very good on the penalty kill as a team, ranking 24th in the NHL in high danger scoring chances allowed while short-handed. Hopefully the Ducks can convert at least one, and that gives Theodore value on a very short Wednesday slate.
Goalie
Jonathan Bernier (Toronto) - $7,100
James Reimer (Toronto) - $7,300
I am putting both Toronto goalies here because both are reasonably priced, and the last five games has seen a 3:2 split in favor of Reimer.
After a terrible start to the year, the Leafs' goaltending is tied for fifth in the league in five-on-five save percentage. That was a big reason for the team's turnaround until their latest skid. With a usually inept Carolina team (at least in terms of scoring), there is a decent chance of a 30-plus save win for whichever goalie faces the Hurricanes on Thursday night.
Calvin Pickard (Colorado) - $7,500
Colorado isn't a very good team, but one thing that does is allow their goaltenders to rack up the saves. Out of the team's 23 wins, 13 have been on the back of a goaltending performance requiring at least 30 saves. For reference, Minnesota, a better team that also had 22 wins, had six such performances. The Avalanche have a back-to-back this weekend with St. Louis and Dallas. I suspect most of the public will be off Pickard as a goalie, and that is the perfect time to use him in a tournament.
