Tampa Bay Lightning’s ELITE Forward Group EXPOSED | Is This the NHL’s Most LETHAL Offense?
There are fantasy gold mines across the NHL and none come more deadly than this Tampa Bay Lightning forward group. So, let’s talk all about it on the latest edition of your daily source for fantasy hockey. Let’s get this paper. You’re Locked on Fantasy Hockey, your daily podcast on fantasy hockey, part of the Locked Onet. your team every day. What is good guys and welcome back inside the lab to the latest edition of the Locked On Fantasy Hockey Podcast. Our leaguewide breakdown of every single club’s top five targets rolls into Tampa Bay. Shout out to the everyday holding us down and making us your first listen every single day. Make sure you keep a tap to the pod throughout the summer so you’re ready to go for draft season. Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends at Monarch Money. Check out MonarchMoney today and take control of your finances. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. Might be a couple of chops on the edit there, Mr. Rhoden, but I know you got me. And I know you got me when you’ll say this alongside me. This Tampa Bay Lightning forward group is elite. They are balanced. They are well coached. And they should be once again knocking on the doorstep for a top three spot in the Atlantic. However, some interesting conversations to be had here at that five spot, that honorable mention spot. Over to you, top five targets. Another really good team here in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Yes, they are. And they bring the boom when it comes to fantasy hockey value. There are potentially five, maybe six players that could be drafted within the first four, maybe three first rounds of your fantasy hockey league. This team is a gold mine and I still think when you look up and down the lineup with what they’ve got cooking in Tampa Bay. There are some really good streaming options. You can look at a guy who’s in the top six. And Anthony Cerelli, he’s still going to bring a ton of value. He’s an honorable mention for me. Oliver Bjorkstrand, I think he can be a guy that is a very good streaming option on a week-toeek basis as well. Nick Paul, who manages uh who managed to be on my team from time to time last year, uh uh certainly did some really good uh things as well. Darren Radish, I’m going to throw his name in the honorable mention, too. I think he’s a stud on the blue line. Unfortunately, for me, I don’t know about you, but Victor Hedman is an honorable mention as well. He does not make the top five. That’s why I said there was potentially six players that could be drafted within the first five rounds. I hate to do it because he is an absolute beast on the blue line for this Lightning club. 66 points in 79 games last year, 17 goals on the power play with, sorry, four power play goals. I was looking at Jay Gensel there for a second. Peripheral stats, 181 shots, 133 blocks. I think Victor Hedman, clear-cut, obviously one of the best defenseman in the league still, but doesn’t crack the top five. at number five on my list. He’s he might be higher on yours based on the season he just had, but I had to go with Brandon Hegel, the Energizer Bunny. This guy looks like he downed five Red Bulls before every single game. He just has a jump right from the puck drop, right from warm-ups. He’s ready to go. And we saw that the Four Nations face off. He’s into it. He loves it. You get the dual eligibility, leftwing, right-wing position. And what a phenomenal season he had. 90 points, second best on the team. 35 goals, 55 assists. We didn’t think that he could really get better than what we saw in his first couple of seasons in Tampa Bay. 64 points, 75 points. Nah, he’s going to put up a 90 point season. I expect it to drop potentially, but when you have the skilled players around you who we’re going to talk about later on this episode, I think the value is still there and he could definitely still be a uh, you know, a fourth round draft pick, maybe even sooner based on that. A breakout star last season. Like I said, he plays in the top six. He’s going to fill out the categories, shots on goal, takeaways. Uh, you know, the physicality is, you know, creeping up a little bit. So, you like to see that 228 shots on net. Like I just said, he’s a relentless forch checker with honestly very surprising finesse. He likes to dangle. He likes to bulldoze and he is going to get his nose right there in the dirty areas. And he doesn’t care who he’s going to upset. So, after the season he just had, 90 point careerhigh season, I could see maybe somewhere between 80 to 90 points. Once again, I think you’re spot on with all of the analysis you just put down. You’re on fire right now. And I appreciate this because, you know, I do. You know how I feel about Victor Hedmond first and foremost. And this is not one of those situations that we’re coming on here and we’re taking knocks or saying that he is going to drop off because that’s not the case. This is just a very real fact that this team is loaded up front. And let’s not forget about Andre Vasilki as well. I’m sure we’re going to get there. Brandon Hegel has that steady progression going for him. He moved to Tampa Bay. He’s been increasing his point totals, the share, the minutes. All of it has been pointing in the right direction. This guy is a protottypical John Cooper player. He plays sensationally well in the system. And like I said, the progression is what you like to see. Two seasons ago, 64 points. Last season, 75. And then of course the 90 point breakout. I say he falls right in between the previous season and last 90 to 75 points right in that realm and I’m totally comfortable with it. And that means in my opinion and you see what he brings with a little bit of love on the peripherals. Then I think it we have to put him in there just ahead of Victor Hedman who’s still at the ripe bold age of in this day and age going to be 35 years old still with so much success in this club as well. a lot of miles on the body. So, honorable mention maybe 5B. We’re splitting Harris here. Brandon Hegel comes in at number five and just too good of a past couple of seasons still for us to turn down. And say what you will about the rest of that Atlantic or the Eastern Conference because I think you and I have been doing a good job of hyping up how good we think these two divisions are going to be next season. Tampa Bay should be right there in the mix. And why I might give them a slight edge and why they get a little bit more love for their forwards is because what their goalender does in the cage to prop them up. Andre Vasileki comes in at number four for me and you know how much emphasis I put on goalenders. But the top players on this list for me forward-wise I want all of them on my team. So, Andre Vaselvki last year, Steel, before I get to the important numbers, he led the NHL in minutes played, over 3,700 minutes of hockey. And the reason why I bring this up is we know that back and that injuries and surgeries have kind of played into his value a little bit over the last couple of years. He’s back. He’s healthy. He’s playing well. He’s one of the best goalenders in the NHL. And you and I have had this conversation. after Hellabuk. I’m fine if Asski is that next goalie off the board. So maybe I should have him at three, but he comes in at four. And that’s because of how much I love this top three trio of snipers that we’re going to talk about. I’m surprised he’s not higher on the list because he’s high on my list here. And before I get to my number four player, just to you know, I I had to look at this once again. Brandon Hegel didn’t have a single power play goal last year. All 32 of his goals were even strength. Four of them were on the short on the penalty kill. So, this guy’s got dual threat as well on the power play and penalty kill, but he is a beast. Five on five hockey. Like I said, gets into the dirty areas. At number four on my list, I had to go with Braden Point and I I don’t know. I had to go with Braden Point. I had to go with Braden Point here. He is one of the fastest players in the league, hands down. He has the finish. She has the speed and when you put those two together, it is goals galore. He’s known for darting into the soft spots, finishing slick feeds from our boy Cooerov over there, who we’ll talk about at number one. And don’t be fooled by his demeanor. He’s a stone cold goal scorer, especially in tight and around the net. He’s got, like I said, one of the fastest players in league. He’s often overlooked, but he is a top 10 center in this league right now with 40 plus 90 plus point up sorry 40 plus goal 90 plus point upside when healthy. And when again when you look at what he is able to do uh over the last three years now 42 goals this last season, 46 the year before that, 51 the year before that. He’s put up three consecutive seasons of 80 plus points, back-to-back 90 plus points in 2022 to 2024. This guy’s got it all really. Um, again, very, very good in the faceoff circle as well for the most part. Shooting percentage was at an all-time high last year at 22.2%. So, that might dwindle down a little bit, but over the last three years, his average shooting percentage has been 21 and a half. So, he’s picking corners. He’s finding the opport sometimes he gets overlooked, but he’s still a top three round draft pick. Let’s talk all about it after the break. I’m excited to break these teams down now, Steel. Not like we weren’t when we’re, you know, waiting through the bottom third of the NHL into the middle third. I don’t know. My cat’s trying to knock off all my screens here. So, if we go black, that’s my bad AJ. Simmer down, babe. It’s not dinner time yet. However, I got a little more things to say after the break about the teams we’ll have coming up in the later in the week. And of course, the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vazzy, and all of these elite options. Let’s get to it right after a shout out to our friends from Monarch Money. Today’s episode is brought to you by our friends at Monarch Money. And you ever wish managing your money felt easier? With Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning for a big purchase, Monarch Money puts you in the driver’s seat. And it’s like having your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch Money is more than just a budgeting app. It’s a complete financial command center. You can track all your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. In addition to managing your money, you’re building wealth. Steel and I have been trying to stack that paper via Monarch Money. So take control of your finances just like us with Monarch Money today. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year. That’s monarchoney.com code lockdown NHL for half off your first year. Thank you so much for making the Locked On Fantasy Hockey podcast your first listen every single day. Smash that subscribe button, the follow button, leave that fivestar review, share with your friends and family out there. We really do appreciate all that love we get throughout the summer season. And of course in season when September and the hockey year comes back around. Look, our biggest fan AJ over there is trying to take us down right now. He’s in a little bit of a mood today. What’s going on over there? Pal, he’s an absolute menace over here. I don’t know what’s going on. But what I was trying to say before this orange boy rudely interrupted me was now we’re into a really seriously good echelon of teams. And yeah, we had some other ones already. We spoke about the Edmonton Oilers, uh, Colorado Avalanche, even the Ottawa Senators, but you know, on the next few episodes, we got the Jets, Caps, Knights, Dallas Stars, lots of good teams, including this Tampa Bay club. So, over to you, over to me, whatever you want to do. I told you who I had at number four. And honestly, after speaking about how good Andre Vaski was, that could have been a slip. He probably should have been at the third spot or higher. He is so good. And I’ll leave that argument and angle for you. Coming in at three is Jake Gensel. This is a player that wherever he’s gone, he scored. Everybody was talking about all his numbers had to do with playing on Sid’s wing. Wrong. Went to Carolina, got it done in a limited showing. Went to Tampa last year, 41 goals. Steel 40 goal guys that have done it multiple times in their career. And looking at this, he’s done it now three times. They don’t go around that often. And then when you look at who he playing again, playing with this guy becomes super attractive and he led the league last year in power play goals. So you can check that box off if you got a categorical league working. Jake Gensel, disgusting player, very offensively minded and gifted. Hit me with Jake Gensel in the three spot. Yeah, I’ve got him at number three as well. He also has that dual eligibility depending on format, leftwing, right-wing potential, and he’s just sneaky good at everything. He’s smart. He’s shifty. He’s a lethal shooter in open space. And now that he’s on Tampa Bay’s top line and power play, it’s just fantasy dynamite because we’re going to talk about Cooerov. We’ve already talked about point. We’ve talked, well, you haven’t talked about point, but we talked about I’ve talked about point, Hegel, all these guys in the top six. He’s going to feast off of Cuchov’s vision and point speed just like you just said he did with Crosby and Pittsburgh. I think he’s great for multi-cat leagues as two. He gives you goals. He’s got 40 plus goal potential every single season. He’s putting up power play points, like you said, shots on net, you know, a handful of hits here and there. He’s a quiet assassin. He blends finesse and grit with clinical finishing. And he’s always in the right spot at the right time. You really can’t leave this player by himself in open space, in the slot, or anywhere because if he’s got time to shoot that puck, he is going to put the puck in the back of the net. To me, I I just again, it’s a personal preference. I like Jake Gensel a little bit better than Braden Point. I think he does a little bit more for fantasy hockey value. That’s why I have him at the number three position. And I’ll get to why I have Vaselki at number two. I actually can’t wait. and you know they’re not too far off each other in terms of the the blocks and hits and the peripherals and you know actually power play percentage and that those numbers are very close as well. I guess I would then lean towards saying this age. So, Keeper Dynasty, slight edge to Braden Point, a little bit younger, a little bit more speed perhaps, higher ceiling, I guess, is where I personally place him. And he definitely can bring a little bit more of that overall output point total. However, I think we’re splitting hairs here. I think if you’re grabbing either of these guys outside the late second into the third round, you’re lucky. And I don’t know what the rest of the league is doing because then you also take a look at what the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to do in terms of just overall metrics. This team led the NHL last year in goals scored with 292 steel outpacing some really good offensive clubs in the Caps, Stars, Jets, Knights, and Avalanche. And then also just talk about how good they were overall. I think you and I mentioned this at some point down the stretch considering they were the seventh ranked team overall in the NHL. They had the second best goal differential at plus 75. They’re going to be heard from again this upcoming season. And that means all of these players, let’s say you can somehow even manage to snag two of the six guys that we just mentioned in our top five plus Victor Hedman. I’m feeling really good about my team. That’s just how nasty I think John Cooper has these guys cooking right now. Imagine if you could somehow get three somehow maybe manage CROV in the first round. Vasel in the second round, maybe a Victor Hedman later in the draft in the fifth or sixth. It’s all there and that’s why we do this podcast. You had Braden Point at two. Again, we were splitting hairs here. Again, that’s why I said it was a personal preference for me. Again, you could really go either of those guys. I just I like I really like having Jake Gensel on my team. I’ve had him I think I drafted him actually in four different leagues last year. He was on my team uh in that first year keeper league where I won as well. So just when you win when you win a championship and one of those guys are on your team, you want to bring him back. He’s gonna be one of my keepers. When we come back after the break, we’re obviously going to get to Nikita Coutrov who’s at number one. I’ll explain to Flip why Andre Vaselki should be a little bit higher on this list. I’m surprised you’re the goalie guru. You are the goalie man. I already tried to redact my slip. I put him a little higher. Explain to me why I’m wrong again after the break and we’ll get after it. I’ll try to do my best, but you might have to reel me in like you do so well. All of that and more coming up next on the Locked On Fantasy Hockey podcast. Once again, thank you so much for tuning in to this Monday episode. A little bit of a late one going up tonight, but we appreciate you out there. Hit that subscribe button, the follow button, share with your friends and family. We really do appreciate all that support we get on the channel. Uh it means the world to us. So, thank you so much for that. And I’ll try to I’ll try to do my best. You know, I I think you’re already coming back around on Andre Vaslesie being high on this list. But for me, he comes in at number two and he’s already back to playing 60 plus games, which we’ve seen him do countless of times over the last four or five seasons. Obviously, we knew that there was some wear and tear on this guy’s body. Obviously, the back surgery was a major implication of his fantasy value two seasons ago and and potentially the big dip that we saw. I I knew he was going to bounce back in a big way. Look, he went he’s been a perennial 915 to a 920 save percentage his entire career annually. He had that big dip obviously down to a 900 save percentage. The goals against average was still 2.90, which is still pretty solid. But then after a year of that, he comes right back into Vzna form, puts up a 921 save percentage, a 2.18 goals against average, like you said, played the most minutes out of anybody. He had six shots on net. The goals uh the goals saved above expected was his best of his career, 35.8. He also had 38. He had a record of 3820 and five. So, I think when we do the top 10 goalenders at some point, for me, he’s going to be in the top five. He’s probably somewhere in that top three, again, we’re going to have to dive into it, but Andre Vasileles is just one of those guys that when he gets into those big moments, he’s just built for it. And I know it was a little bit of a down postseason for them, the Tampa Bay Lightning overall, you know, losing in that fivegame fashion against the Florida Panthers. You know, that was a that’s obviously one the best team in in hockey right now. But Vaselki is built for the big moments. He’s one of the most athletic and intimidating goalenders in the NHL. When you see those eyes and you lock in with them, it’s like staring into his soul, into like hell. like this guy’s locked in every single night after again like I said a bounceback season post injury he’s primed to be an elite goalie tier and especially with you know the the the crew they have in the blue paint he’s going to be playing a lot of games like they had Jonas Johansson backing him up last year and that’s just not the guy you want in the blue paint that’s a great you know on a nightly basis so there’s a reason he’s a backup there’s a reason Basilki is is the number one guy in Tampa Bay and has been for so long now can singlehandedly win you a week with a 45 save shutout potentially or two wins in a weekend. And if Tampa Bay plays a tight defensive game, which you just said the best goals uh goal differential in the National Hockey LA last year, expect 30 plus wins, expect a 9-15 save percentage, expect four plus shutouts. He’s big, explosive, unshakable for the most part, and he’s got goalie reflexes like a cat, like your boy AJ over there. 100%. Yeah. Just less annoying and a lot more successful. So, when you look at this guy’s numbers, I I’m going to lose the argument on having him lower down my list. I guess we’re just all starting to see the value in letting goenders slide and seeing what you can do with, you know, that second group or third group even of goalenders. And when I see how elite the for when you see how elite the forwards are with Tampa, I wouldn’t do this with many teams and you know I haven’t. That’s just how good I think Gensel Point and the guy we’re going to talk about in a second, Nikita Cutrov. And let me just leave it at this because I I’m not disagreeing with you here to have him this high on your list. This man has eight straight seasons of 30 plus wins. Five of those years still he led the NHL five consecutive years in most wins. And how about this one? Run it back to 201718. Third in Vzna. Then he wins it third in Vzna. Second, fifth, sixth, and second in VZNA voting. This guy’s for real. and he is a backbone of this team success. Throw him in the conversation with everyone we spoke about. Throw him in the conversation with John Coops, who we absolutely love behind the bench for a myriad of reasons. Nikita Coutrov, what can you say about a guy who’s so magical with the puck, effortless with the moves, it looks like he’s, you know, you just spoke about Andre Vasileki being kind of unshakable. This guy is unflapable, unshakable, all the adjectives, and that brings elite fantasy value. One of the biggest conversations in these circles, one of the ones that you and I like to have the most are how the top slots shake out. McKinnon, you’ve turned me around on this. That’s a consensus one right now. 1B, Mac Daddy, dry citle. Then I would say steel, most people regardless of formats are probably throwing Nikita Coutrov right in there at that four spot. And after 121 points this season, I ain’t going to blame him. No, you really can’t. And he’s a top five pick. I still I I would still personally put Capriov in the top five. Cut probably be number four as well. I agree with you wholeheartedly there. He’s obviously number one on this list for a reason for both of us. And if you take out obviously the COVID year, the uh the season that he completely missed with injury and then again he he came back halfway through a year. He’s really had five consecutive seasons now of 100 plus points and you know put up 113 144 121. He’s been durable over the last three years only missing I believe five or six games in three seasons now. So even at the age of 31, 32, he’s playing a smarter way. Uh, you know, keeping himself safe out there. But Cucherov is like, you know, a grand chess master. He’s like the grand chess master of hockey. He’s always three plays ahead. You really can’t deter him at most points. He’s surgical with his uh puck moving ability, smooth puck handling, ridiculous hockey IQ. He makes the engine run of Tampa Bay’s power play. I know Headman quarterbacks it, but you know, he’s looking this way and then he’s passing this way. Like, this guy’s a wizard on the power play every single time. He’s a threat out there. He is fantasy gold mine for elite points per game, double- digit power play goals, game-breaking potential every night. You know, you made a statement, I believe last week when we did the uh the Oilers episode where McDavid is McDavid has that potential of just popping out for five points in a night. Cucharov is in that same conversation of just having one of those nights where he can casually drop five or six points and and you miss it because you’re blink you blinked like you blinked and you missed it. He’s already got five points. He’s deceptively calm out there for the most part. He does get a little cheeky with some uh some stick play, but we’ll take the penalty minutes. We’ll take those pimps. We’ll take those penalty minutes uh when we can get him. 45 penalty minutes for Nikita Cutro this last year. uh constantly manipulating space. It’s he he really is playing on cheat mode. So when you have him on your team, if you get him in that first round, you’re already off to a great start. 100% steel. How about 265 shots on net down a little bit from the previous year of 306. And then you kind of combine that, throw it in the mix with Tampa Bay being a perennial top five or six power play unit in the league. # John Cooper once again last year coming in at 25.9% proficiency. That’s good enough for fifth in the NHL. This team in all likelihood returns to the same level of offensive potency next year. Steel and I want a whole bunch of pieces on this team if possible. There aren’t many teams that have, you know, I got to get the plug in for NHL.com since we’re somehow selling their pieces all the time. There aren’t as many teams across the NHL that have as many players as the Tempe Lightning do in the top five. I believe they have five players in the top 50. I think that’s the most out of any team. I’d have to run that back, but they’re right up there. And that means if you’re confused on who to take, which by the way, if you’re tapped into this pod, you shouldn’t be go back to the Well, this is one of our favorite fantasy gold mines. I’ll speak for myself anyway, Steel, that I think if you’re at the top of the board in your draft so far and you’re unsure, go back to the well with the Tampa Bay Lightning top five or six and you’ll be coming out just fine. Yeah, if you if you don’t know who to pick somehow in the second, third, fourth, fifth round, you can always lean back and depend on this Tampa Bay Lightning squad. Thank you so much for tuning in for this Monday episode, making the Locked On Fantasy Hockey Podcast your first listen every single day. Make sure for your second listen, you go check out the Locked On NHL podcast because there is no offseason. Bringing you the daily league wide stories that matter the most with local coverage you love from Locked On. Find Locked On on NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to your podcast from your boys here, Flip Livingstone and Steel Rooden. We wish you good luck with any of those summer bets. We’re getting hyped for our parlays and bets getting back into hockey in September, October to start the year. We’ll see you next time. Peace.
Tampa Bay Lightning’s fantasy gold mine: Which players will dominate your league? Discover the top 5 fantasy targets from the Bolts’ roster that could propel you to victory.
Uncover the secrets behind Brandon Hagel’s breakout potential and Andrei Vasilevskiy’s game-changing performances. Explore Jake Guentzel’s offensive prowess and Nikita Kucherov’s elite playmaking abilities. The hosts analyze each player’s strengths, projected stats, and fantasy value, providing crucial insights for your draft strategy.
Gain a competitive edge in your fantasy hockey league by tuning in to this in-depth analysis of the Lightning’s star-studded lineup. Will Kucherov maintain his 100+ point streak? Can Vasilevskiy single-handedly win you matchups?
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