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Fantasy Hockey News: Mathew Barzal Out | Waiver Wire Targets in Alexander Romanov, Tony DeAngelo and Pierre-Luc Dubois

Shelmo discusses the heavy New York Islanders news, including Mathew Barzal’s injury, their top defensive pairing both being waiver wire targets, as well as why you should be seeking to add the Washington Capitals' PLD.

Sheldon Moody Feb 3rd 11:31 PM EST.

Jan 25, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) plays the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at UBS Arena. Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
Jan 25, 2025; Elmont, New York, USA; New York Islanders center Mathew Barzal (13) plays the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes during the third period at UBS Arena. Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Without turning this into a New York Islanders team spotlight, this is, for whatever reason, mostly about the New York Islanders. If you’re lucky, maybe I will even throw in some bonus Islanders trade rumors at the end.

Let’s tackle the most recent injury report first.

Islanders Injury Report

Mathew Barzal of the Islanders suffered a lower body injury on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning during overtime. Not great news, but alright. The Islanders are among the lowest-scoring teams in the league, so this doesn't help, but alright.

Continuing on, this is their eighth player who is now hurt, and Barzal’s second time this season being sidelined due to injury. This doesn’t seem to be alright anymore. Oh, and now his status is considered an indefinite absence. Ouch. This is not ideal. For anyone.

Barzal is not the player he used to be scoring wise, but still is producing very well for a now depth piece. His peripherals also make him a steal in banger leagues.

He has only six goals, 14 assists, and four powerplay points. But that is in only 30 games played. He has also put up 78 shots, and 24 hits and blocks respectively. He's a mainstay on the second unit powerplay, increasing his fantasy value. 

Unlikely blueline pickups

Alexander Romanov and Tony DeAngelo are both playing in the top pairing of the Islanders after recently losing Noah Dobson to the LTIR late last month. With no estimated time or return in sight, the Islanders needed help, and boy have they gotten it.

Romanov has been playing incredibly steady hockey all year, and has stepped up to the top pairing with a very smooth transition. 

He has two goals, 11 assists, and 18 penalty minutes in only 38 games played. His peripherals are where he shines, as he has added 55 shots on goal, and 95 hits and blocked shots respectively. He reminds me of a younger Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas, just to a lesser extent.

The Isles signed DeAngelo to a league minimum contract after he returned to North America from playing the KHL and tearing it up, and in the five games he has played he has been no less than impressive. Great timing for Dobson to go down, and DeAngelo to join the team.

Right in the Tony of time! That’s how that goes, isn’t it Lou? Nevermind, that was a bad joke. Please don’t send anyone to Canada to break my legs. I am sorry Mr. Lamoriello. (Geez, that man scares me).

DeAngelo comes from a very up and down NHL career prior to this year. He was the first ever NHL player to be bought out of a contract on two separate occasions. His last stint was a one-year deal with the Carolina Hurricanes, who he also played for twice, before taking a year break and going to the KHL. 

In the KHL, he saw immediate production success, scoring 32 points in 34 games and was named to the All-Star team.

He returned this year to the NHL after some turmoil with the coaching staff in the KHL that ended in DeAngelo and his club mutually ending his contract early. Despite this, the contract termination was officially cited as ending early for ‘family reasons’. 

Taking a chance on the three-time early contract ending defenceman, Lou signed him as he had returned to North America, and he had just lost Dobson to injury.

In his five games back in the NHL with the Isles, DeAngelo has one goal, two assists and has his toes dipped into the number one powerplay unit. He also has 10 shots on goal, two hits, and 14 blocks, which partially are coming from his number two penalty kill unit time.

Both Romanov and DeAngelo are seeing huge pickups in fantasy. If you are in need of a defenceman who is on a hotstreak, primarily in bangers leagues, add them before someone else does. These guys are poised to see continued success and high ice time with decent deployment.

Feb 1, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov (28) looks to pass the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first period at Amalie Arena. Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Feb 1, 2025; Tampa, Florida, USA; New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov (28) looks to pass the puck against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first period at Amalie Arena. Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

Capitalize on this Capital

Pierre-Luc Dubois is another player who has been thrown off a couple teams. I will say that I am glad the Caps have given him a chance to succeed, and he has taken that ball (or is it puck) and run with it (or is it skated?)!

PLD has 12 goals, 30 assists, and six powerplay points. He also has 87 shots on goal, 43 hits, and 41 blocked shots in 52 games.

Somehow still only rostered in about 40% of leagues, while starting as a good streamer option from the waiver wire, he has slowly solidified himself as a hold in most leagues.

His deployment is decent, and he is on a winning team, as he is up the middle of the second line and the second powerplay unit.

PLD has had the reputation in years past as giving lackluster effort, and not taking his play or hustle on the ice seriously. This soured his reputation around the league, leaving few teams wanting to give this former third overall pick another chance.

He is proving that he still wants to play, and compete, and can produce. Last year, the Caps had an abysmal season, but are having a resurgence with captain Alex Ovechkin chasing Wayne Gretzky’s goal record, and I genuinely believe that PLD was a missing piece this team needed to jumpstart them back into the cup contender status they should be.

Pick PLD up if he is available in your league. He is definitely worth a hold and there is no sign that he cannot keep up his current pace for the remainder of the year and will help you during the playoffs. 

Plus, being on a powerplay unit with Ovi so close to the record is going to net you some free points. Let’s be honest here, everyone on the ice is going to be feeding Ovi until he crosses the finish line, so expect PLD to pick up some powerplay apples along the way.

Desert the Island or Island paradise?

I promised you a bonus, and I will not disappoint. Let’s talk about the most consistent forward on the Isles. Year after year, he quietly plugs along and sneaks under the radar as a 30 goal scoring forward. Who is it?

If you guessed Brock Nelson, you’d be correct. There have been tons of trade rumors circulating about Nelson. He would be a great addition to most teams around the league, and the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Dallas Stars were among the top candidates, according to Clutch Points.

Eyes on the Isles had Nelson going to the Minnesota Wild as recent as last week. We've heard rumors of him going to the Colorado Avalanche, too. The list goes on and on. It's no secret that he's been on a lot of trade boards this year.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet said on the latest episode of his 32 Thoughts podcast that the Isles may now hold onto Nelson, out of fear of Lou Lamoriello (see, I am not the only one). Lou likes to keep these things completely under wraps, and notorously his plans are not known until he wants them to be known. There are no leaks on long island.

How often have you known Elliotte to be wrong? Let's trust that if sources are dousing this trade rumor, that's probably the case. If you have been holding onto Nelson in hopes that he is going to another team come trade deadline, I would move him now.

I don’t think he is going to get traded, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for his fantasy value, either. He has elite deployment with the Islanders and has put up some decent numbers, so he is still a hold for me.

In 52 games played, Nelson has 15 goals, 17 assists, and two powerplay points. He also has 134 shots on goal, but only 18 hits and 29 blocked shots. 

He does hold a higher value in points leagues, but is still a decent depth piece in other league formats. Adding to his value slightly are his spot on the second powerplay unit and the first penalty kill unit. For a second line forward, he logs a lot of minutes.

#waivers #injuries

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