This article is part of our FanDuel NHL series.
There are a lot of players who have had their situations change for the better across the NHL recently, be it because they merited a promotion, benefited from injuries, or a whole host of other reasons. These positive changes in lineups can take time to be properly reflected in pricing in daily fantasy sports, so it's best to get in early before the cost does start climbing.
These are some players I'm looking at for FanDuel this week, due to a matchup, a particular circumstance, or a little bit of both. All value plays will be under $4,000 except for the goaltender.
Left Wing
Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary ($3,500)
Among the rookie forwards coming into the fantasy hockey season, there were three names that were consistently bandied about: Jonathan Drouin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, and Gaudreau. As of right now, it's the last of those three names that may have the most daily fantasy value.
Through Gaudreau's first five games with Calgary, he cracked the 13-minute mark just once, and the one time he did was the first game of the season. In those five contests, he amassed zero points and one shot on goal. In the seven games he's played since, he's tallied two goals, six assists, and 17 shots on goal, while cracking the 15-minute mark in all but one game. He's being used more often, he's seemingly playing with more confidence, and the stats are fleshing this out.
It's not that Gaudreau is just being used more; it's also who he's playing alongside. His latest game against Montreal saw him on the top line with Jiri Hudler, but he was also fifth on the Flames in total power-play time. It seems like the coaching staff trusts him more, and what he's doing on the ice justifies their faith. Even though he's not on a great team, he's in a good place to succeed offensively and, for now, is still exceedingly cheap. That won't last much longer.
Center
Jori Lehtera, St. Louis ($3,900)
This is a player that has been discussed in this corner previously. A few weeks ago, I had mentioned Lehtera because he was playing on the third line for Blues, seeing some secondary minutes.
Lehtera's situation hasn't changed a whole lot, although as of right now, with Paul Stastny still not officially back in the St. Louis lineup, Lehtera is playing on the second line. His last game saw him play with Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko. The former was a 30-goal scorer last year, and the latter has 31 goals in his last 80 games for the Blues (including playoffs). That's a pretty good spot to be for a distributing centerman like Lehtera.
One aspect of Lehtera's game that does hurt him in the daily fantasy side of things is he doesn't take a lot of shots. In fact, Lehtera ranks 174th out of 275 forwards in individual shot attempts per minute. That means there will be games where he puts up bagels because he offers no real floor in shots on goal. On FanDuel though, with David Backes still taking most of the tough assignments, Lehtera should be able to post some nice plus/minus totals. That gives him additional upside at a very reasonable price.
Right Wing
Tom Wilson, Washington ($3,000)
For the DFS players out there that might not follow the NHL closely (I do it with other DFS sports; no one follows everything), Wilson isn't just a fourth liner that was promoted to the top line. Wilson was an 18-year-old when he started his final season of junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League. That year, including playoffs, he tallied 75 points in 60 games. On top of that, he did have 145 penalty minutes, so that's where his reputation for feistiness comes from.
Even with all those penalty minutes, Wilson was selected with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 Entry Draft. That draft position meant Washington didn't think he was an enforcer; rather, he was viewed as a power forward. At least, that was the hope from Hockey's Future in their assessment of Wilson. It wasn't that he was just a tough guy; it was that he was a tough guy that had a nose for the net.
This isn't just random, either. There had been rumors that Wilson was destined to find his way to the top line in Washington since the offseason. Now that he has, it's a fair assumption that he will be given the chance to prove he can contribute on that line. For his price, even without the power-play time, he's a solid option. He's on a very good scoring line and will contribute penalty minutes even if he otherwise stays off the score sheet.
Defenseman
Jonas Brodin, Minnesota ($3,000)
The young Minnesota defenseman returned over the weekend after missing a couple games with a hand injury. In his return, Brodin was paired up at even strength with Ryan Suter, and was playing secondary power-play minutes for the Wild. It should be noted that in that game, Minnesota scored their first two power-play goals of the season.
The Minnesota power play was too talented to go much longer without a power-play tally. Now that the team has finally broken through, I would expect that unit to catch fire. As of right now, the Wild have a shot rate that puts them in the middle of the pack with the man advantage (via War On Ice). That means this power play should (and already is beginning to) start regressing to the mean. That bodes well for anyone on either unit, Brodin included.
More than the power-play time for Brodin, what I like best for him this week are his matchups. While Tuesday's game is a tough contest with Pittsburgh coming to town, Minnesota then starts a road trip with games in Ottawa and Montreal. Both teams are in the bottom six in the NHL in shot attempts allowed per minute at even strength (again via War On Ice), which means that Brodin's plus/minus should be an asset on Thursday and Saturday. That provides him with a nice floor in those two games at a cheap price.
Goaltender
Viktor Fasth, Edmonton ($7,300)
There's nothing special about Fasth, especially in terms of being a goalie for Edmonton. There is a very good matchup coming this week, though, where Fasth could get some work in for the Oilers.
On Thursday and Friday, the Oilers play a back-to-back set on the road. The first game is in Boston, and I would assume that starter Ben Scrivens gets that one. That means, presumably, Viktor Fasth will get the game Friday, and that game is in Buffalo.
Buffalo is truly awful this season, as was to be expected. The team has scored 14 goals in 13 games to start the season. For comparison, the Ducks' Corey Perry has scored 11 goals by himself. That is a tantalizing matchup for the Oilers to get Fasth some work, and for DFSers to hunt for a shutout on the cheap.
There are only five games on Friday, so perhaps there will be a lot of people on Edmonton's goalies for DFS that night. All the same, the Sabres have been shut out five times this year. With a relatively high likelihood of a shutout, that makes Fasth a must-play on Friday in tournaments.
