Shea Weber Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

If you read today’s Grind Down you know that defenseman Shea Weber has been playing a little better of late. After missing the first 24 games Weber has come on to grab seven of his 30 points over the last 10 games. Are there better defensemen to choose from on today’s slate? Absolutely but Montreal’s match-up today would seem to favor a shooting defenseman that soaks up a lot of the extra ice time when the team draws a penalty. Since the beginning of the month Buffalo has given up 354 shots on goal, 37 goals and seven power play goals over the last 10 games they have played. Montreal has their play-off lives at stake so expect Weber and Company to come out flying in this one.

Brendan Gallagher, Phillip Danault, and Tomas Tatar have looked great together since being reunited on the top line. Gallagher has continued to fire the on net at a torrid pace, with 16 shots on goal in his past four games. I expect this loaded up top line to generate plenty of chances against a Chicago team that has struggled all year keeping the puck out of their net. Adding power-play quarterback Shea Weber is my preferred correlation play at defense.

Shea Weber is one of the most valuable players to his team in the NHL. While not all of his value shows up on the scoresheet, he is still a valuable fantasy asset. After a slow start to the year after his return from injury, Weber is beginning to show signs of the Norris Trophy caliber player that he is. He has three points in his last three games, and is beginning to log his usual heavy minutes, approaching 25 a game lately. He'll tee off against an Arizona team on the second of a back-to-back and should have plenty of opportunities to unleash his shot on the powerplay against a tired opponent.

Max Domi, Jonathan Drouin, and Andrew Shaw will host the Ottawa Senators tonight, who are leading the league in CA/60 at 68.43 and goals against per game (3.81). While potentially all of Montreal’s skaters are in play with a whopping team goal total coming in over four, I will be attacking Ottawa’s weak penalty kill with this line. Adding defensemen Shea Weber give’s you three pieces of the top power-play unit.

Shea Weber is a fantasy darling this season, as not only is he producing offensively for the Habs, he puts up solid peripheral numbers as well. He has six goals and 16 points in 23 games this season, which is pretty solid. However, his peripheral stats are what really raise his floor. Weber is averaging 2.26 blocks per game and 3.04 shots per game, which definitely gives him an average of a 2.65 DraftKings floor, without factoring in the offence. Averaging 4.0 DraftKings points per game this season, that ranks first among all defensemen on the slate. The Habs are home to the Oilers tonight who are still rolling Laurent Brossoit in net, which is a great matchup for Montreal and Weber should have a big game.

Shea Weber is expensive, but he is one of the best tournament plays every single slate. He has been putting up solid offensive numbers this season, with 13 points in 19 games, which puts him on pace for his second best offensive season. Weber is attractive not just because he is putting up points, but his blocks and shots on goal also give him a very nice floor for games in which he does not get on the scoresheet. He is averaging 2.37 blocks per game and 2.89 shots per game, which technically gives him a floor of 2.6 DKpts on average, before factoring in the offence. Weber is averaging 4.3 DKpts per game this season, which is second highest on the slate among defensemen behind only Alex Pietrangelo. The Habs are home to the Leafs tonight, who have been much better defensively as of late allowing just eight goals over their last five games. However, with the Leafs shot generation, Weber should be able to pick up a lot of blocks and he will still get plenty of offensive opportunities even though the Leafs goaltending has been much better as of late.

Both Kris Letang and Shea Weber are elite plays tonight, thanks to very favorable matchups on home ice. The Arizona Coyotes (ranking 22nd overall in both CA/60 and SCA/60, which has resulted in them allowing the second-most goals against per game this year) and the Vegas Golden Knights (ranking 26th overall in both CA/60 and SCA/60) are two of the weakest defensive teams in the National Hockey League, and they are both playing their second road game in as many nights. They are certainly not cheap to roster, but these two offensively gifted defensemen have both a higher floor and ceiling in comparison to the other defenseman in action this evening. Regardless of which stud blue liner you roll with tonight, you will likely need a value defenseman to pair them with, so here are a few moderately priced options - Nick Leddy, T.J. Brodie and Nate Schmidt, along with a few punt options - Noah Hanifin, Shea Theodore and Ben Hutton.

Shea Weber is a great GPP play because not only does he produce offensively, his peripheral stats are elite so he won't kill your team if he doesn't get on the scoresheet. With 11 points in 14 games, the offence has been there and there is a great chance for that to continue against the Blackhawks and their backup goalie Anton Forsberg. His floor is high as he averages 2.5 blocks per game and 3.2 shots per game. Forsberg's career numbers in the NHL have been terrible, with a 4.08 goals against average and a .895 save percentage, albeit in limited action, so the offensive potential for Weber is there tonight as well.