Fantasy Hockey: Ivan Barbashev Vegas Trade Implications
In case you missed it, Ivan Barbashev has been traded to the Vegas Golden Knights. What does this mean for those in fantasy hockey leagues? Should you rush to the waiver wire or send out trade offers to go acquire the new VGK forward? Let’s have a chat.
Barbashev is taken in our Vendetta fantasy league but he’s widely available in most formats. At this current moment as I’m writing this Barbashev is owned in 11.3% of ESPN fantasy leagues. More likely than not, he’s available in your league. Better yet, with the week wiped clean every Monday, Barbashev would be a nice streaming target right out of the gates as Vegas plays Colorado.
In Vegas, Barbashev will likely be deployed as a winger primarily. With a center core of Jack Eichel, William Karlsson, and Chandler Stephenson down the middle, Barbashev can do his thing on the outside. Lay hits and score goals. He’s also got a much better supporting cast now than the one with St. Louis that was in the middle of being torn down.
Barbashev has 29 points in 59 games this year. That’s after coming off a career high 60 point campaign a year ago. He’s probably somewhere in the middle of that. What also helps is the fact that Barbashev is a nasty SOB. Guy loves to lay out hits. Barbashev is going to set a career high mark in the hit totals and has 132 up to date. Those add up in fantasy to help keep a good floor.
At the end of the day, I think Barbashev is worth the gamble as a streaming target. Once on your roster, see how he’s utilized within the VGK lineup. Does Barbashev take Mark Stone’s spot as a temporary top line right winger? Does he push Michael Amadio down the pecking order and settle in on the second line? Vegas is so banged up right now that Barbashev is worth a look at the back end of your roster for fantasy. If the Golden Knights secure a trade for Timo Meier as it’s been reported today they’re still very much in the mix.
Long story short; Daily Faceoff is a great tool to use when checking lines. After the trade see where head coach Bruce Cassidy plans to use their new acquisition. If deployed on the power play and a top two line usage, he’s a worthwhile pick up.
