Despite Valentine's Day being over-corporatized, it is a great reminder to reach out to your loved ones, and remind them how much they mean to you. Shoutout to Roman Josi and K'Andre Miller!

On another note, even though it's a day notable for making pairings, there were no NHL trades yesterday. When they do come in, we're on top of it as soon as possible with our fantasy takes, even on deadline day with 20 trades, we put out as many articles as there are fantasy-worthy trades. There has been a lot of buzz thus far though, and as usual there are a lot of big names that could be on the table for the right price. Thus far, we have already seen a few of the prime candidates to be moved are getting the bubble-wrap treatment and not

**Keep an eye 👁️ on**
I'm told in addition to the @NJDevils , the @GoldenKnights , @Canes , and @MapleLeafs have significant interest acquiring @SanJoseSharks F Timo Meier. @espn @NHL @NHLNetwork @TSNHockey @DKSportsbook #HockeyTwitter

— Kevin Weekes (@KevinWeekes) February 14, 2023

The next one to be sat might just be Timo Meier, so make sure you have a backup plan ready if/when he takes a seat for "trade related reasons".

Sharks coach David Quinn said there has been no conversations with Mike Grier about sitting players ahead of the trade deadline to this point.

DQ noted that Meier/Karlsson are both under contract/team control beyond this season and the team doesn't have to trade them.

— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) February 14, 2023

However, as a counter-point, those with term on their contract (or at least term control as an RFA) are less of a risk to be taken out of the lineup. Plan for that as you see fit.  

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On that note, if you need some help with how to approach the upcoming deadline in your fantasy leagues, the upcoming edition of Rick Roos' monthly mailbag has some room for questions. To send yours in you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums, or send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line. No one does a deeper dive to help you out with any kind of fantasy hockey question.

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With Arber Xhekaj out indefinitely for the Canadiens, Chris Wideman is drawing back into the lineup, and may be a regular while Xhekaj is out. Wideman brings some good depth scoring and has been on the power play earlier in the year for the Habs. However, with Mike Matheson running the first unit, there is only second-unit time available at the moment. Last night that went to Jordan Harris, who posted a power play assist which should buy him a little bit of leash to run with that role. The former first rounder has some offensive upside, but he needs to shoot a lot more before he can grow into a real fantasy asset.

Jonathan Drouin has five assists in his last two games, bringing him up to 12 in his last 12. He has five straight games with at least one shot as well, and 11 over his last five games. Don't forget about him.

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The Golden Knights' goalie situation got a little bit of clarity on Monday despite the timeline for Logan Thompson still being an unknown.

Maybe the most biggest news item from McPhee's interview yesterday is that #VegasBorn is not in the market for another goalie.

If Logan Thompson hits his timeline, they'll be fine. If he doesn't they are riding Brossoit and Hill. Context says that any adds will be up front.

— Jack Manning (@NHLJackManning) February 14, 2023

This means that we have a pecking order of Thompson, Adin Hill, and then Laurent Brossoit, and those three are going to be the only options that the Golden Knights play with the rest of the year (assuming there isn't a string of injuries). That leaves Hill as a very valuable goalie in the short term, and if he plays well enough, it may not matter when Thompson returns because at minimum he can play himself into a timeshare to close out the year.

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Alex Ovechkin is away from the team for family health reasons. Aliaksei Protas was also a late injury scratch, so Joe Snively got added to the lineup and made an immediate impact with two points. The Capitals are rolling a fairly balanced top-nine, but the lines have been mixed up a lot lately. There is potential for someone like a Conor Sheary, Sonny Milano, or a Joe Snively to go on a streak, but there's a very real possibility of healthy scratches as we have seen with Anthony Mantha.

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The Blues rolled over the Panthers last night scoring six on Spencer Knight. He has allowed at least three goals in all six appearances since Dec 6^th. He needs to be playing frequently to be playing well.

On the St. Louis side, Torey Krug is playing very well of late after starting the season slow. He has 10 points in his last 10 games, with five of those points having come on the power play. He's over two shots per game, and is looking more like his old self. The big problem is that the Blues aren't a good team, and Krug is already a minus-26 on the season.

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The Ottawa Senators are running with their third- and fifth-string goalies at the moment. Mads Sogaard has the best claim to the future of the Sens' crease, and from Monday's game, he is looking like he belongs already. Kevin Mandolese, a 2018 sixth-round pick, started last night and also put together a good outing with only two goals against on 48 shots, winning the game in overtime.

The competition should be good for both goalies in the short term, though it does sound like Cam Talbot isn't very far away from returning from his injury. The pending UFA could be back any time now, but as a UFA, he could also be trade bait for a team like Toronto, Pittsburgh, or New Jersey looking to bring in a reliable 1B option.

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There was a three-team deal in one of my leagues (a 24-team, points-focused, cap dynasty), and I'm still trying to process it all. Here's how it broke down:

Team A (19th Place)	Team B (12th Place)	Team C (8th Place)
Acquired:   Jack Hughes Anthony Mantha Nate Schmidt Charlie Coyle Pro Draft Round 2 Pick Pro Draft Round 5 Pick Rookie Draft Round 3 Pick	Acquired:   Brayden Point Victor Hedman Sammy Blais Pro Draft Round 1 Pick Pro Draft Round 1 Pick	Acquired:   Roman Josi Oskar Sundqvist Rookie Draft Round 4 Pick
Traded Away:   Roman Josi Brayden Point Sammy Blais Oskar Sundqvist Pro Draft Round 1 Pick Pro Draft Round 1 Pick Rookie Draft Round 4 Pick	Traded Away:   Jack Hughes Charlie Coyle Nate Schmidt Pro Draft Round 2 Pick Pro Draft Round 5 Pick	Traded Away:   Victor Hedman Anthony Mantha Rookie Draft Round 3 Pick

Quick bit of context. Team B is right in the thick of a large playoff bubble, and as the owner of Kirill Kaprizov and Igor Shesterkin, he has a good chance to make the jump into the top-eight who play in our playoff bracket. Team C is also right in the thick of things, and as league-champ from two seasons ago, he also has a great shot to contend this year. Team A has a couple of solid pieces, but is lacking the depth needed to contend, so Jack Hughes fits his timeline a lot better. The league keeps 30-players per team, and everyone else is eligible to be drafted in one of the two drafts each summer. The Rookie draft includes all the new draftees, including other minors-eligible players under 25-years-old. The Pro draft covers all of the leftover players after that, so the first-round picks don't have huge value outside of the top couple picks, which those above selections aren't.

It's so much easier to see the whole trade in a chart like this, and I do recommend when you have more complex leagues, the easier you can make it for yourself to see the ins, the outs, and the effects on your team, the better. I have spreadsheets for all of my bigger leagues, and couldn't manage my teams (especially the cap ones) without it.

Viewing the blockbuster this way it looks so clean. The same amount of players and picks moving in and out for each team. Jack Hughes is the best player in the deal, and his $8 million deal still makes him the best asset in the trade. It was a hefty price though with Josi and Point both dealt out to acquire him, but as the two older and more expensive assets age over the next couple of years, they wouldn't have nearly the same value for Team A. When players like Hughes (or Point or Josi for that matter) get added to the block, you have to do your due diligence and check in – and believe me I tried on all of them.

Team B and Team C both look to have improved a little this year, and neither one really mortgages the future to do so. Overall, it's tough to really see any loser of the set, because all of the in/out balances look to be reasonable. It makes such a difference in fantasy leagues to find good GMs who can pull this kind of thing off, make some even trades, and keep things interesting for everyone throughout the standings.

Hats off to the group!

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See you next Wednesday. In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter @alexdmaclean if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments.