FanDuel NHL Lineup and Value Picks
With the fantasy hockey cap structure on Fanduel so tight, it’s critical that you not overpay for a player at any position. This week, I’ll highlight a few players at each position that are clearly overpriced and not delivering value for that high cap hit.
Goalie
After a full season of playing hockey on Fanduel every day, I’ve come to realize that you shouldn’t spend top dollar on a goalie unless you have no other options. More often than not, you can find a value goalie with a fair chance to win, such as Crawford, Schneider, or Bobrosvky, who will give you enough points to get by. While the top priced options like Luongo or Bryzgalov will average an extra point over those guys, they typically come at too high a price. Here are a few to avoid at the top for the final weeks of the season:
- Niklas Backstrom (MIN – $8200) – The Wild seem to have given up on the season and Backstrom’s stats are starting to decline.
- Dwayne Roloson (TB – $8000) – Has there been a more inconsistent goalie from week to week this season? Since arriving in Tampa, he’s gone from crazy hot to tragic and back several times. $8k is too much to spend on a risk like Rolly.
- Craig Anderson (OTT – $8100) – Though he’s pulled together some surprising wins since arriving in Ottawa, you can always find a better option far less than $8k.
Center
Generally speaking, it’s worth spending around $7k on at least one center option; however, there are a few in this territory that won’t be worth the cost:
- Tomas Plekanec (MON – $7200) – Probably the most expensive forward averaging less than 4 ppg. His production has died down.
- Jason Spezza (OTT – $7100) – Spezza just doesn’t have the talent on the wings that he once enjoyed. He barely delivers 3.5 ppg.
- Joe Thornton (SJ – $6800) – Thornton’s offensive output is nowhere near the level it once was. Even when he is on the score sheet, it’s typically in the form of an assist.
Left Wing
With guys like Ovechkin, Daniel Sedin, Datsyuk, and Ryan to choose from, here is where you’ll spend a good deal of cap. Don’t spend it on these guys:
- Alex Burrows (VAN – $7200) – Burrows tempts, but doesn’t delivery. Just 3.4 ppg for over $7k is a waste.
- Patrick Elias (NJ – $6700) – Elias went on a hot streak, but has cooled off again. Just 16 goald and 53 points on the season isn’t worth the price.
- Matt Moulson (NYI – $6400) – Moulson was a fantasy find early in the season, but he hasn’t kept up the pace lately.
Right Wing
You can’t go wrong with Corey Perry on any given night at $8100. Here are some names in the 7-8k range to avoid:
- Marian Gaborik (NYR – $7400) – Sure you get the occasional 5-goal game, but more often than not, you get squat here.
- Ilya Kovalchuk (NJ – $7300) – For most of January and February, Kovalchuk was underpriced as he led the Devils charge. Now that his salary has caught up, his production has tailed off.
- Brian Gionta (MON – $6700) – Montreal has had a tough time finding goals lately.
Defense
Generally speaking, anyone over $6k is too pricey for me to consider on Fanduel. You just don’t get any return on your investment in this position. As for the guys priced below $6k, here are a few to dodge:
- Tyler Myers (BUF – $5400) – Myers sophomore season has been a major letdown for fantasy players, despite his 10 goals. He delivers a meager 2.09 ppg.
- Erik Johnson (COL – $5300) – Another disappointment this year. Johnson was expected to do much better than he has. He sits below 2 ppg.
- Sergei Gonchar (OTT – $5300) – This has been the worst season of Gonchar’s career. Avoid him.
Target Picks
Here are my target picks for this week on Fanduel. For each position I’ve included the Top Price player who is the most expensive at that spot, my Target players who I am trying to get on my lineup at a fair cost, and my Value picks which are players that are priced very cheaply based on what they are expected to produce.
| Player | Position | Price Tier | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crosby, Sidney | C | Top Price | $9,900.00 |
| Ovechkin, Alex | LW | Top Price | $9,200.00 |
| Thomas, Tim | G | Top Price | $9,000.00 |
| Stamkos, Steven | C | Target | $8,900.00 |
| Sedin, Daniel | LW | Target | $8,800.00 |
| Semin, Alexander | RW | Top Price | $8,100.00 |
| Nash, Rick | RW | Target | $7,900.00 |
| Sharp, Patrick | C | Target | $7,600.00 |
| Briere, Danny | RW | Target | $7,600.00 |
| Lehtonen, Kari | G | Target | $7,300.00 |
| Varlamov, Semyon | G | Target | $7,100.00 |
| Tavares, John | C | Target | $6,800.00 |
| Grabovski, Mikhail | C | Target | $6,800.00 |
| Green, Mike | D | Top Price | $6,800.00 |
| Clowe, Ryane | LW | Target | $6,800.00 |
| Eriksson, Loui | RW | Target | $6,800.00 |
| Franzen, Johan | RW | Target | $6,800.00 |
| Lucic, Milan | LW | Target | $6,500.00 |
| Couture, Logan | C | Target | $6,400.00 |
| Neal, James | LW | Target | $6,400.00 |
| Johnson, Brent | G | Target | $6,300.00 |
| Bobrovsky, Sergei | G | Target | $6,200.00 |
| Burns, Brent | D | Target | $5,900.00 |
| Subban, P.K. | D | Target | $5,600.00 |
| Crawford, Corey | G | Value | $5,600.00 |
| Skinner, Jeff | RW | Target | $5,600.00 |
| Hall, Taylor | LW | Value | $5,500.00 |
| Gerbe, Nathan | C | Value | $5,300.00 |
| Leino, Ville | LW | Value | $5,300.00 |
| Gerbe, Nathan | RW | Value | $5,300.00 |
| Pietrangelo, Alex | D | Value | $5,200.00 |
| Schneider, Cory | G | Value | $5,200.00 |
| Carlson, John | D | Target | $4,800.00 |
| Theodore, Jose | G | Value | $4,800.00 |
| Shattenkirk, Kevin | D | Value | $4,400.00 |
| Fowler, Cam | D | Value | $4,200.00 |
| Bouchard, Pierre-Marc | LW | Value | $4,100.00 |
My Roster
Finally, down to tonight’s action. With just 5 games on the schedule, there are no cheap options in net, so I’m turning to Neuvirth. Here is my lineup for this evening:
| Position | Player | Salary | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Goalie | Michal Neuvirth | $7,300 | The Caps look unbeatable these days, and Neuvirth will be getting the start against the Senators. |
| Center | Jeff Skinner | $5,700 | Skinner is a clear value pick at center for under $6k. |
| Center | Marcus Johansson | $4,500 | The young center has 7 points in his last 7 games, as he fills in for Washington’s injured elders |
| Left Wing | Daniel Sedin | $8,800 | You can’t go wrong with the league’s leading scorer versus Atlanta |
| Left Wing | Tyler Kennedy | $6,200 | Kennedy has been the most consistent forward for the Pens for the past month. 7 points in his last 5 games. |
| Right Wing | Mike Knuble | $6,300 | Knuble is the hottest player this week, with back-to-back 3-point games |
| Right Wing | Martin St. Louis | $7,500 | St. Louis sits 4th in the league in scoring. |
| Defense | John Carlson | $5,000 | With 4 points in his last 4 games, Carlson is making a late push for Calder consideration. |
| Defense | Marc-Andre Bergeron | $3,400 | It’s all about cap hit here. Bergeron has tanked in the last couple weeks, but the potential for scoring remains at a bargain price. |
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About the Writer: ‘Chewy’ aka Gary Wilson, operates LandShark Hockey, and has been helping others dominate Fantasy Hockey Leagues for almost 20 years now. Landshark Hockey provides fantasy hockey fans with daily news, updates, and draft strategy including the LandShark Hockey War Room for Daily Fantasy Hockey Lineup Help.