There are few things cooler than when a player makes a homecoming. Whether it's to face a former team or to his hometown, it makes for a memorable game, even if the play on the ice doesn't warrant remembering.
For Ontario native Ryan O'Reilly, he got that homecoming this week, with a three-team trade sending him to the Maple Leafs after a long and productive run as the Blues' captain. He was in the starting lineup Saturday night, on Hockey Night in Canada, versus the rival Canadiens. His stat line was alright -- one assist, 16:12 of ice time, 12-for-14 at the faceoff dot, but it'll be a moment he and his family can remember for a while, regardless of how long he dons a Toronto sweater.
He's the biggest part of Friday night's blockbuster trade, though O'Reilly notably has just 20 points through 42 outings this season. Scoring output matters less to the Maple Leafs right now -- O'Reilly is a fantastic upgrade for a middle-six spot, either at center or on the wing. He's a defensively reliable player with a championship resume and strong leadership skills. His offense should benefit from being around more talented linemates, but it's the intangibles that make this a good hockey fit rather than a fantasy goldmine.
Noel Acciari also went from St. Louis to Toronto in that trade. Acciari's a depth guy -- he'll have to battle for a fourth-line spot, but he injects some serious toughness to the Leafs' bottom six. He's picked up 19 points in 56 contests, to go with 174 hits. The 31-year-old is usually on the bubble for deep fantasy formats. He might be worth a look now that he's part of a stronger offense.
Going to the Blues were Adam Gaudette and Mikhail Abramov. Gaudette's a journeyman at this point in his career, but he could get an NHL look if the Blues continue to sell off forwards. Abramov is a fourth-round pick from 2019 who has produced 44 points in 100 AHL games with Toronto's farm team. Neither will be a fantasy factor this year, but Abramov may eventually have middle-six potential once he gets a call-up.
In a much smaller trade from Sunday, Tyler Motte rejoined the Rangers while Julien Gauthier went to the Senators. This is a classic fourth-liner swap that will have little impact on fantasy. Gauthier had 26 points over 131 contests in parts of four seasons with the Rangers, and he rarely saw more than 10 minutes of ice time per game. Motte is a little more useful -- he had nine points and 88 hits in 38 outings with the Senators this year. This is the second year in a row the Rangers have acquired him around the trade deadline. Familiarity is nice, but his only two points with the Blueshirts were a pair of goals in the second round of the playoffs last year. There's not much upside here, even if he'll have a regular role in the lineup.
Shifting to a fantasy focus, the Blues' sell-off will have a few fantasy impacts. I was down on Sammy Blais last week, but it appears he'll get a top-six look going forward. Robert Thomas and Brayden Schenn will be the team's top centers -- you can't extract much extra fantasy value out of that, especially with more dominoes to fall. It's been a bad time for guys like Brandon Saad (upper body), Pavel Buchnevich (lower body) and Jake Neighbours (upper body) to get hurt, since there's more minutes available in prime positions on this roster. Someone will be asked to step up, and that means there's some readily available talent lurking on your waiver wire, but it's too soon to tell who might take advantage.
If you're looking for players from teams that have yet to dip their toes in the trading pool, take a gander at Robby Fabbri. He's on a five-game point streak, posting three goals and six assists in that span. Six of those nine points have come on the power play. The Red Wings' pummeling of the Western Canada teams home and away has vaulted them back into what's shaping up to be a thrilling wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. If it ain't broke, the Red Wings don't need to fix it -- Fabbri in the top six looks like a great alignment, as long as he can avoid his all-too-frequent injury issues.
I've backed the fantasy case for Anders Lee multiple times this season, so I don't need to reiterate too much here. He's a top-six guy for sure, but I like his potential more if he can end up alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal rather than Brock Nelson and a revolving door that currently has Kyle Palmieri taking a spin on the second line. Lee has five points over seven games since the All-Star break -- nothing special, but solid enough to help.
Another player whose been in the column recently but warrants more talk: Mikael Backlund. Second-Half Backs is at it again -- he had a respectable 19 points in 38 games through New Year's Eve. He's followed it up with 17 points in 18 contests since 2023 began. You can set a clock to that upswing each year. It's enough for him to be worth a look in most formats, even at a deep center position. The Flames need some kind of consistency, and Backlund's been one of the few to show it lately.
Dillon Dube's also worth another look. A four-point outing Feb. 11 versus the Sabres earned him some attention, and he followed it up three goals over the next two games. He was missing usual center Elias Lindholm (paternity) in Saturday's 3-2 overtime win over the Rangers, but they've worked quite well together on the top line. Dube's already posted a career year with 34 points in 56 games, and he's added 103 shots on net, 89 hits and 41 PIM. He's not really a power winger yet, but he's playing like one.
Could this finally be when Alexis Lafreniere puts it all together? He hasn't been explosive over the last month; just consistent, with five goals and five assists over his last 11 games. Only one of those was a multi-point effort, and he's chipped in 22 shots on goal and 27 hits. The Rangers look like they're going for it, and they've got enough talent to roll three solid scoring lines, so don't be discouraged by his role or his fluctuating ice time. He's put those numbers up against mostly playoff-bubble teams and a few high-end clubs -- only Vancouver (twice) is clearly out of it among the opponents the Rangers have faced lately.
It's a bit more speculative than I'd prefer, but with Erik Johnson (ankle) out long-term and Cale Makar (upper body) shaking off another injury, Bowen Byram continues to be a player to watch -- and maybe add if you're thin on the blue line. Since Byram got back in the lineup Feb. 7, he has two goals and four assists over seven games. A plus-3 rating with 14 hits and 13 blocked shots also helps round out a solid stat line. Samuel Girard is the more proven option to fill in when Makar's hurt, but Byram's got a fair bit more upside. This is no time to be playing it safe.
I've often thought of the Kings as a team where the line of fantasy relevance is drawn sharply at the border between top six and bottom six. Some savvy shuffling from head coach Todd McLellan is changing that concept this season. Kevin Fiala and Alex Iafallo -- players with a top-six track record -- have combined very nicely on the third line, with Blake Lizotte as their center. Lizotte has two goals, seven assists and 15 shots through his last nine games, and he's the exactly the kind of on-a-roll forward that can help shore up a fantasy roster's depth.
If you've been waiting on Anthony Beauvillier, this is your sign to go get him. Since the big trade that sent Bo Horvat to the Islanders, Beauvillier has produced six points in seven games with the Canucks. He's scored three of his four goals on the power play. His top-line role at even strength is alongside Elias Pettersson. I was hesitant to recommend him without seeing how Rick Tocchet would deploy him, but that hesitation is gone now. There's very little downside, although Beauvillier won't shoot 22.2 percent forever as he has since heading west.
Investing in Coyotes goaltending is always a risk, especially since the team is not using its two best defensemen. That hasn't stopped Connor Ingram from putting together a solid week -- he's gone 2-0-1 with two goals allowed on 106 shots over his last three appearances. He's unlikely to push for more than a 50-50 split of the starts for the rest of the season, but he's a solid streaming target when he gets a favorable matchup.
Philipp Grubauer has finally played like a No. 1 goalie again. He's 3-0-1 with nine goals allowed over his last four games, and he hasn't given up more than three goals since Dec. 13. The 31-year-old struggled for a season and a half in Seattle, but his recent success has helped him wrangle some playing time away from Martin Jones. The Kraken's shot-suppression defense doesn't give Grubauer a ton of appeal in points formats, but he's been getting it done for wins and GAA lately.
Now's the time to check in on your fantasy trade deadline. If it hasn't passed already, it's likely close -- send out some offers and see if you can address your needs in deals. Once the deadline's passed, the waiver wire is your only route to improving your roster, and it can be more fickle and less fruitful than the trade market. I've got a league that's already starting the playoffs this week. As Ferris Bueller said, life moves pretty fast. So does hockey. We'll see what the NHL has in store this week, and I'll have more for you next Monday.
