This year, we’ve decided to go with a bit of different coverage for the Daily Fantasy Hockey picks. For those that were around last year, remember the 2,000-3,000 word publications every day. It was a long, arduous task for both myself and the editors to go through on a daily basis. Even worse, it was a long, arduous task for the readers to go through. In reality, most people don’t have the time to read upwards of 4,000 words a day for DFS hockey, and that was made clear to me.
This year, we’re going to go with a “cheatsheet” style of daily preview.
Everything will be assimilated in two categories: cash games (head-to-head and 50/50) and Guaranteed Prize Pools (GPPs, or tournaments). It should be easy to read, easy to follow, and should only take a couple of minutes to scan. It will help divide players by position, and by cost. Every position from every game won’t be reviewed, rather the focus will be on the absolute best plays possible. There will be thoughts at the end with regards to why certain players are chosen. I will also add in some “bargain bin” plays at the end of guys who are exceedingly cheap, and thus allows the DFSer to punt a roster spot and focus the salary cap elsewhere.
Players that will be in order of perceived value, by position, and there should be enough to mix-and-match for each type of game available on DraftKings. Some positions might only have a few plays, some might have several. It all depends on the day, the matchups, and the price.
Remember: players are in order of value, not necessarily in cost. Just because Sidney Crosby is $8,000 one day doesn’t mean he’s a better value than Andrew Shaw at $4,000.
Cash Games
| Centre | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Galchenyuk (MTL) – $4200 | Nieto (SJ) – $2500 | Tanev (VAN) – $3300 | Rask (BOS) – $8500 |
| Bozak (TOR) – $4200 | Marchand (BOS) – $4700 | Burns (SJ) – $4700 | Niemi (SJ) – $7500 |
| Monahan* (CGY) – $4600 | Hudler (CGY) – $4000 | Subban (MTL) – $6100 | |
| Eller (MTL) – $3300 | Pacioretty (MTL) – $6800 | Rielly (TOR) – $3600 | |
| Thornton (SJ) – $4800 | Kessel (TOR) – $7300 | Beaulieu (MTL) – $2500 | |
| Schenn (PHI) – $4400 | Smith (BOS) – $4100 | ||
| Sekac (MTL) – $2500 |
- The only goalie I want in cash games tonight is Tuukka Rask. I don’t have a good feeling on the winner for either of the Western Conference games, and the Toronto/Montreal game could be pretty high-scoring.
- Chris Tanev (D-VAN) will be playing first pairing minutes with second power play unit duties. For not much above minimum, that seems to be pretty good value.
- I’m focusing a lot of my targets on the early Leafs/Canadiens game. It looks like it should be the highest scoring game, and that makes for a lot of good cash game values.
- Matt Nieto (SJ) is the minimum price and will be playing on the second line with Logan Couture and Patrick Marleau. He also gets second unit power play duties. That’s just too much profit potential to pass up.
- Sean Monahan (CGY) looks to be a game-time decision. If he’s good to go, I will be using him. If not, there are similarly-valued players I like almost as much.
Guaranteed Prize Pools/Tournaments
| Centre | Wing | Defense | Goalie |
| Giroux (PHI) – $7000 | Voracek (PHI) – $5500 | Streit (PHI) – $3900 | Hiller (CGY) – $6700 |
| Schenn (PHI) – $4400 | Vrbata (VAN) – $5700 | Edler (VAN) – $4400 | Bernier (TOR) – $6800 |
| Bozak (TOR) – $4200 | D Sedin (VAN) – $5800 | Beaulieu (MTL) – $2500 | |
| H Sedin (VAN) – $4300 | Smith (BOS) – $4100 | Hamilton (BOS) – $3800 | |
| Thornton (SJ) – $4800 | Brown (LA) – $4300 | ||
| Desharnais (MTL) – $4000 | Burrows (VAN) – $3200 | ||
| Monahan (CGY) – $4600 | Hertl (SJ) – $4700 |
- In a large GPP, I’ll be targeting Philadelphia’s top line. It’s a tough matchup for them, which could shy most people away from it. That top line is also one of the few in the East that could do damage against Chara and company.
- I do like the idea of stacking the top Vancouver line, too. They will be a bit cheaper than the Philadelphia line, which leaves room for maybe paying for a couple of good defensemen. It should go without saying, but those that stack the top line for Vancouver should obviously avoid Calgary goaltending.
- Stacking players out of the Toronto/Montreal game might not be ideal. There should be lots of goals, yes, but that also means most people in tournaments will be on quite a few of them. I’m avoiding the high-priced players, at least.
Bargain Bin List
These are guys that can be used for minimum pricing (or near-minimum) to help slide in more expensive players. Note that these are aside from the guys already mentioned in this article.
- Roman Polak (D-TOR, $2500) – The Leafs’ third pairing defenseman isn’t anything special, but all he really needs is three blocked shots to reach value. The Leafs have a penchant for getting hemmed in their zone, and three blocked shots isn’t much to expect from him.
- Rene Bourque (W-MTL, $3100) – Montreal’s third line could be a sneaky play in GPPs as a secondary stack. Playing against the depth defensemen of Toronto is a gold mine, and that should be who Bourque/Eller/Sekac end up against most shifts.
- Chris Kelly (C-BOS, $2700) – David Krejci’s injury has shuffled the Bruins lineup a little bit, and this has thrust Kelly into Boston’s unofficial top-six forward mix. Though he probably won’t get power play time, he will be on the penalty kill for his team.
Good luck today!
