Saturday's NHL showdown on DraftKings is a single-game slate, BUF @ LAK, with a $50,000 salary cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. It locks at 4:00 p.m. ET (1:00 p.m. PT).
Tage Thompson tops our model's ranking at $10,200, with a ceiling of 34.7 against a DraftKings average of 17.0. That ceiling is the highest of any player on the sheet by a wide margin, which is why he is the captain pick. Artemi Panarin follows at $9,800 with a 24.9 ceiling and a 13.5 average. Rasmus Dahlin sits at $9,400 with a 23.1 ceiling and an 11.9 average.
Goalies are priced like stars but carry lower ceilings. Colten Ellis costs $10,400 with a 15.1 ceiling, and Darcy Kuemper costs $10,000 with a 15.8 ceiling. Those numbers sit well below the skaters at similar prices, so our model leans elsewhere.
The value plays sit lower on the board. Drew Doughty at $4,800 carries a 21.2 ceiling and a 7.1 average, and Jason Zucker at $5,000 posts a 22.4 ceiling and a 6.9 average. Both offer ceilings close to players who cost twice as much. Brandt Clarke at $8,200 is a mid-tier option with a 17.0 ceiling and a 12.0 average.
The sheet does not include ownership figures, so we can't say where the crowd is likely to land. Several players carry DraftKings status tags, including Adrian Kempe (LAK) and Jiri Kulich (BUF), both tagged OUT, so check the tags before building.
Our model's top lineup spends $48,700 of the $50,000 cap. It puts Thompson at captain for $15,300 and surrounds him with Zach Benson at $7,800, Josh Norris at $4,000, Dahlin at $9,400, Jack Quinn at $8,600 and Joel Edmundson at $3,600. Lock is Saturday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
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