Fantasy buzz: Impact of Brassard trade to Penguins

All season long, NHL.com's fantasy hockey staff will have you covered with daily lineup news, production trends and injury notes from around the League. We will identify how these developments affect fantasy owners in year-long (Yahoo) and daily (DraftKings) formats.
The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired center Derick Brassard from the Ottawa Senators on Friday, making him a valuable fantasy asset for the remainder of the season. The move makes Pittsburgh deep at the center position with Sidney Crosby (ranked 9th in Yahoo), Evgeni Malkin (ranked 2nd), Brassard (138th) and Riley Sheahan (C/RW; 383rd).

Despite missing two games in February with an undisclosed injury, Brassard (34 percent owned in Yahoo) led the Senators in goals (six) since Feb. 1. He had 10 points (six goals, four assists) over the span, which was ranked second on the team behind center Matt Duchene (13). Brassard has also provided category coverage with face-off wins (433; first on Senators), SOG (164; second) and hits (78; seventh) in 58 games.
The 30-year-old already has surpassed his Yahoo preseason ranking (242) and could finish higher after joining the Penguins, who rank sixth in the League in goals scored (199) and fifth in shots per game (34.1). Brassard's ownership has risen 10 percent since the trade. It's likely that he will slot in on the third line with forward Jake Guentzel (C/LW; ranked 156th in Yahoo) and right wing Phil Kessel (fourth). Another possible linemate for Brassard is left wing Carl Hagelin (4 percent owned in Yahoo), who Brassard was teammates with when they were on the New York Rangers.

Penguins right wing Patric Hornqvist returned to the lineup Friday against the Carolina Hurricanes after missing the previous eight games with a lower-body injury. With Hornqvist back, it's unlikely that Brassard will see much power-play time. This should not deter prospective fantasy owners because the majority of Brassard's points (33 of 38) have come at even strength. He is not expected to make his Penguins debut against the Florida Panthers on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV), but will be worth monitoring in DraftKings going forward to stack with his potential linemates Kessel ($6,700) and Guentzel ($5,100).

Grabner to debut for Devils

Recently acquired wing Michael Grabner (LW/RW; 21 percent owned), will make his debut for the New Jersey Devils on Saturday against the New York Islanders (6:15 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG+2, NHL.TV). He is expected to skate on a line with forward Pavel Zacha (C/LW; 3 percent) and right wing Kyle Palmieri (49 percent). Grabner ($3,700) should be considered a value pick against the Islanders, who have given up the most goals in the League (221) and should be on a short-list of players to add in season-long formats.
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