Monday's NHL showdown on DraftKings is a single game, NYI @ SJS, with a $50,000 cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. The slate locks at 10:00 p.m. ET (7:00 p.m. PT).
Macklin Celebrini of SJS tops our model's ranking at $11,800, with a ceiling of 38.6 and a DraftKings average of 17.6. That ceiling is far above anyone else on the board. Ilya Sorokin of NYI is next at $10,000 with a ceiling of 23.7 and an average of 13.7. Matthew Schaefer ($9,400, ceiling 24.1) and Bo Horvat ($9,200, ceiling 23.2) round out the NYI core, with averages of 13.5 and 12.2.
The value plays sit in the lower tiers. Victor Eklund of NYI costs $5,000 and carries a ceiling of 23.3 against an average of 6.4, a gap that rivals players priced much higher. Michael Misa of SJS is $4,400 with a ceiling of 20.5 and an average of 5.9. Will Smith of SJS at $8,800 has a ceiling of 20.2 and an average of 9.4.
Several players carry DraftKings status tags. Ryan Pulock of NYI is listed OUT, while Mathew Barzal, Matias Maccelli, Alexander Romanov and Calum Ritchie of NYI are tagged IR. On the SJS side, Kyle Keyser, Igor Chernyshov and Quentin Musty are also tagged IR. We have no ownership figures for this slate.
Our model's top lineup totals $49,600 against the $50,000 cap. It puts Michael Kesselring at captain for $7,200, then fills the flex spots with Darnell Nurse ($7,400), Will Smith ($8,800), Macklin Celebrini ($11,800), Michael Misa ($4,400) and Ilya Sorokin ($10,000). It pairs a star-heavy core with Misa's cheap salary and stays under the cap.
Lock is Monday at 10:00 p.m. ET.
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