Saturday's Center Value Rankings
Here are the center value rankings for Saturday, March 12:
Top Options
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Zack Smith (OTT) | vs. TOR | 9 |
| Aleksander Barkov (FLA) | vs. PHI | 9 |
| Frans Nielsen (NYI) | at BOS | 9 |
| Matt Duchene (COL) | at WPG | 9 |
| Jean-Gabriel Pageau (OTT) | vs. TOR | 8 |
| Mike Ribeiro (NAS) | at VAN | 8 |
| Patrice Bergeron (BOS) | vs. NYI | 8 |
| Jussi Jokinen (FLA) | vs. PHI | 8 |
| John Tavares (NYI) | at BOS | 8 |
| Nathan MacKinnon (COL) | at WPG | 8 |
Smith will be a cash game staple in lineups Saturday. With points in his last seven games, he's a slick value play against the lowly Maple Leafs.
The Senators' injuries have paved the way for Pageau to assume a first-line role. Use him in all formats.
Duchene has been much more consistent than MacKinnon, resulting in a higher rank. Both can be rostered with confidence they will exceed their return value.
Nielsen comes at a much cheaper price than Tavares and has registered three multi-point outings in his last four games.
Best of the Rest
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Connor McDavid (EDM) | vs. ARI | 7 |
| David Krejci (BOS) | vs. NYI | 7 |
| Nicklas Backstrom (WAS) | at SJ | 7 |
| Evgeny Kuznetsov (WAS) | at SJ | 7 |
| Nazem Kadri (TOR) | at OTT | 7 |
| Derick Brassard (NYR) | at DET | 7 |
| Logan Couture (SJ) | vs. WAS | 7 |
| Joe Pavelski (SJ) | vs. WAS | 7 |
| Joe Thornton (SJ) | vs. WAS | 7 |
| Vincent Trocheck (FLA) | vs. PHI | 7 |
| Mark Scheifele (WPG) | vs. COL | 7 |
There will be plenty of shares tied into McDavid Saturday night playing alongside W Taylor Hall on the Oilers' first-line, but his hefty price-tag on a 12-game slate hinders his value.
Backstrom and Kuznetsov may suffer from fatigue as their West Coast road trip comes to a close, which could result in reduced production.
Brassard has scored two power-play goals over his last three outings and has yet to see a significant increase to his salary.
Couture and Thornton come at a significantly cheaper price than Pavelski, who could struggle to return his steep price-tag.
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Claude Giroux (PHI) | at FLA | 6 |
| David Backes (STL) | at DAL | 6 |
| Brayden Schenn (PHI) | at FLA | 6 |
| Ryan Johansen (NAS) | at VAN | 6 |
| Antoine Vermette (ARI) | at EDM | 6 |
| Pavel Datsyuk (DET) | vs. NYR | 5 |
| Henrik Zetterberg (DET) | vs. NYR | 5 |
| Anze Kopitar (LA) | vs. NJ | 5 |
| Jordan Staal (CAR) | at BUF | 5 |
| Jason Spezza (DAL) | vs. STL | 5 |
| Jack Eichel (BUF) | vs. CAR | 5 |
Johansen returns home to Vancouver and has totaled two points over his last three games but has yet to be a consistent fantasy producer.
Schenn, Spezza and Kopitar all face superb goaltending and will make stellar contrarian plays.
Nothing to See Here
| NAME | OPPONENT | VALUE |
|---|---|---|
| Tyler Seguin (DAL) | vs. STL | 4 |
| Jeff Carter (LA) | vs. NJ | 4 |
| Alex Galchenyuk (MTL) | vs. MIN | 4 |
| Adam Henrique (NJ) | at LA | 3 |
| Dylan Larkin (DET) | vs. NYR | 3 |
| Mikko Koivu (MIN) | at MTL | 2 |
| Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (EDM) | vs. ARI | 2 |
| Martin Hanzal (ARI) | at EDM | 2 |
Larkin is ice-cold, scoring two goals his last ten games and should be faded. Seguin has no points in his last four games and will likely fail to return his gargantuan salary against the Blues' defense that is allowing 2.38 goals against per game.
Nugent-Hopkins has been activated from IR, though it's undetermined whether or not he will suit up Saturday night against the Coyotes.