NHL

3 NHL FanDuel Values to Target on 12/16/19

Ryan Sheppard Dec 16th, 2019
Ryan Ellis has a fantastic matchup against the New York Rangers tonight. What other value plays should you target?

If you follow the NHL, you already know all of the top players. Obviously, when playing DFS, those players will come at a high cost. In this article, we are looking to find the cheaper value plays to help you afford the superstars.

Pierre-Luc Dubois, Center, Columbus Blue Jackets

FanDuel Price: $5,000

While the matchup against the Washington Capitals is not the most ideal, Pierre-Luc Dubois and the Columbus Blue Jackets are on home ice, which is always a bump. In addition, Dubois is tied for the team lead in points with 20, and in the outright lead for goals with 10. However, they've played 32 games so these are not the best numbers out there.

Dubois plays on the top power-play unit, which is great, but his even-strength wingers aren't the greatest. He'll center Alexandre Texier and Eric Robinson, two very cheap players, but could limit his upside a bit and also be a factor as to why he is so cheap for his skill.

Frank Vatrano, Winger, Florida Panthers

FanDuel Price: $3,600

The Florida Panthers seem to have completely juggled their lines in hopes of balancing their scoring. With their usual top line dispersed across three, we're left with Aleksander Barkov centering Brett Connolly and Frank Vatrano. This is a great opportunity for Vatrano, who has shown flashes on multiple occasions throughout his career but is never able to land in a top-six role.

While he doesn't get to play on the top power-play unit with all of the studs, Vatrano can make up for it with a solid shot volume -- he has 75 in 32 games and 29 blocks on top of that. He presents a decent floor for a forward that is playing on the top line and hasn't been too successful offensively this season.

Ryan Ellis, Defense, Nashville Predators

FanDuel Price: $4,800

Ryan Ellis is on pace for his best offensive season, with 21 points and 31 games. P.K. Subban being traded has really boosted Ellis' offensive game, and in addition to that, he provides a very high floor with 74 shots (2.39 per game) and 55 blocks (1.77 per game).

Ellis plays on the team's second power-play unit, as the top one is quarterbacked by the elite Roman Josi. The only small issue here is that the Nashville Predators power play is abysmal, converting on just 14.7 percent of their opportunities, which ranks 27th in the NHL.


Ryan Sheppard is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Ryan Sheppard also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username donkshow_. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.