Brad Marchand – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Fantasy playoffs are upon us, the Blackhawks bring in another top prospect, Marco Rossi, Anthony Cirelli, and Quinton Byfield are producing in the middle of the ice as Troy Terry and Zach Benson are working the wings.

Scott Cullen — Sun, 29 Mar 2026 14:27:53 +0000

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 24: Vancouver Canucks center Marco Rossi (93) vies for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game between the Anaheim Ducks and the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, March 24, 2026 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, as fantasy playoffs are upon us, the Blackhawks bring in another top prospect, Marco Rossi, Anthony Cirelli, and Quinton Byfield are producing in the middle of the ice as Troy Terry and Zach Benson are working the wings.

#1 While it has been another tough season for the Chicago Blackhawks, they are getting a nice boost late in the season with the arrival of Anton Frondell, the third pick in last summer’s draft, who tallied 20 goals and eight assists for 28 points in 43 games for Djurgardens in the SHL. Frondell has arrived in Chicago, registered two assists in his first three NHL games, and is skating on the top line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Greene in addition to getting first unit power play time. He’s 18, so expectations need to be kept in check, but he’s also getting enough of an opportunity to make him immediately interesting for those in deep leagues.

#2 There may be some fantasy value to be found in players that are playing for teams out of the playoff picture. For example, it’s easy enough to dismiss the Vancouver Canucks as they have endured a brutal season, but centre Marco Rossi has produced 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in his past eight games, is getting first unit power play time and is thriving with linemates Liam Ohgren and Brock Boeser.

#3 With an established reputation as a strong two-way player, Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli is getting a shot at an expanded offensive role, skating on the top line between Nikita Kucherov and Brandon Hagel. In his past 12 games, Cirelli has produced 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 21 shots on goal, with 13 of those 14 points coming at even strength. With 2.51 points per 60 minutes during five-on-five play this season, Cirelli ranks 22nd in the league. Not bad for a checking centre.

#4 He has missed some time with injuries, but Anaheim Ducks right winger Troy Terry has been on a good run since Christmas, producing 17 points (7 G, 10 A) with 29 shots on goal in 15 games. He is scoring better than a point per game this season, a feat he has not been able to accomplish in a full season. He was scratched from Thursday’s game at Calgary, so his reliability remains an issue but his productivity makes him a valuable player whenever he is in the lineup.

#5 There are so many great stories on the Buffalo Sabres this season, as the team is poised to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2010-2011 season, and one of those great stories is the play of 20-year-old winger Zach Benson. In his past six games, Benson has seven points (3 G, 4 A) with seven shots on goal. That shot rate needs improvement, but Benson is thriving on a line with Josh Norris and Josh Doan. When Benson is on the ice at five-on-five, the Sabres are outscoring opponents 39-22.

#6 As the Los Angeles Kings push for a playoff spot, centre Quinton Byfield has stepped up his game, with nine points (5 G, 4 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past seven contests. Consistency has been elusive for Byfield, as he had five points (4 G, 1 A) in the previous 17 games, but when he’s going, Byfield can be a physical force. He is currently skating on a line with Trevor Moore and Alex Laferriere while getting second-unit power play time.

#7 The Ottawa Senators are in a competitive battle for a playoff spot but they are dealing with serious injuries on the blueline. Jake Sanderson was already out of the lineup with an upper-body injury when Thomas Chabot suffered a broken arm that will keep him out for 4-to-8 weeks. Add in injuries to Nick Jensen and Dennis Gilbert and the Sens were forced to make changes, which included calling up 2024 first-round pick Carter Yakeumchuk from Belleville of the American Hockey League, where he had 36 points (10 G, 26 A) in 50 games. Yakemchuk has two points (1 G, 1 A) with four shots on goal in his first three NHL games and the injuries on Ottawa’s blueline may prompt the Sens to keep Yakemchuk and his offensive skills in the lineup. Some D to consider from the waiver wire: Damon Severson, who has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in 14 games this month, Rasmus Sandin, who has five points (2 G, 3 A) in his past seven games, and even Sens defenders Tyler Kleven and Jordan Spence, who have combined for 12 points in the past eight games.

#8 In the past month, New Jersey Devils right winger Connor Brown has been moved into a more offensive role and has delivered 14 points (4 G, 10 A) and 24 shots on goal in 13 games. He has been a reliable middle six winger in his NHL career, but he’s skating on a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, while also getting top-unit power play time. He is up to 36 points (14 G, 22 A) on the season, within striking distance of his career high of 43 points, set during the 2019-2020 season when he was with the Ottawa Senators.

#9 It has not been an easy season for Nashville Predators winger Jonathan Marchessault, but he has recorded 10 assists in his past 11 games, a veritable surge in production for a player who has just 28 points (11 G, 17 A) in 53 games. The veteran winger is playing on PP1 for the Predators and is skating on a line with Matthew Wood and Filip Forsberg, so he’s in a decent situation to produce late in the season.

#10 It’s been a similar situation for Anaheim Ducks veteran winger Alex Killorn, who has eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 17 shots on goal in his past 10 games, which is a significant improvement for a player who had 20 points in 63 games before that. The 36-year-old winger is skating on a line with veteran pivot Mikael Granlund and rookie right winger Bennett Sennecke, which is a strong enough situation to consider Killorn for some late-season value.

#11 As the Seattle Kraken try to stay in the playoff hunt, captain Jordan Eberle has contributed seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past seven games. He is up to 23 goals on the season, which is his most in a season since 2017-2018, when he scored 25, so he is within range of that total. He has consistently been playing on Seattle’s top line with Matty Beniers at centre and there have been several wingers rotating through. Right now, it’s rookie Berkly Catton getting a shot on the left side.

#12 Staying in Seattle, right winger Kaapo Kakko is delivering quality results late in the season. In his past seven games, Kakko has 10 points (3 G, 7 A) with seven shots on goal. That shot rate is not enough to sustain that level of offensive production, but he provides useful secondary scoring, skating on a line with Chandler Stephenson and Bobby McMann.

#13 Early this season, the Utah Grizzlies winger Lawson Crouse was not playing a big part and his production was modest, managing nine points (4 G, 5 A) through his first 26 games. It’s gotten better throughout the season, and in his past seven games, he has six points (4 G, 2 A) and 24 hits, which is really where Crouse brings his most reliable value for fantasy managers. He has scored 20 goals for the fourth time in his career and it’s the fifth time in his career that he has recorded at least 190 hits. If you have a need on the wing at this point in the fantasy season, you could do worse than adding Crouse.

#14 There have been reports that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not inclined to give a qualifying offer to right winger Matias Maccelli this summer, but Maccelli has been one of the few Maple Leafs contributing consistently. Since the beginning of February, Maccelli has 16 points (7 G, 9 A) with 33 shots on goal in 20 games. He is tied with John Tavares for second on the team in scoring over that span, three points behind William Nylander and one point ahead of Matthew Knies. Most recently, he’s been skating on a line with Dakota Joshua and Bo Groulx, but that hasn’t deterred him.

#15 Although the wins aren’t coming easily, Maple Leafs goaltender Joseph Woll has been playing well late in the season while facing a heavy workload. In his past eight starts, Woll has a 2-4-2 record, but he has a .910 save percentage while facing an average of around 35 shots per game. The Leafs’ lack of success doesn’t help Woll’s value, but it is part of the reason that he’s still available in a decent percentage of leagues and he’s playing well enough that he could help a fantasy manager who needs a late-season upgrade between the pipes.

#16 While we’re considering goaltenders on teams that are out of the playoff race, look at St. Louis Blues netminder Joel Hofer, who has been unbeatable since the Olympic break. In nine games since the break, Hofer has a 7-0-2 record with a .955 save percentage! He has a .911 save percentage on the season and has recently overtaken Jordan Binnington in terms of starts, with Hofer at 36 and Binnington at 35. Perhaps this is the changing of the guard for the Blues, as Hofer has 13.44 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) and Binnington has -20.01 (GSAx), a stark difference in performance.

#17 There was some suspicion around the Olympic break that the Florida Panthers could be on the verge of shutting down a bunch of players with injuries because the playoffs were looking less and less likely, so there was not as much incentive for players to play through the injuries that they might when the team is mounting a Stanley Cup run. Aleksander Barkov has been out all season of course, but Brad Marchand is out, Anton Lundell will miss 2-6 weeks with an upper body injury, Evan Rodrigues is out 4-6 weeks with a broken finger, and Mackie Samoskevich is due to return soon, but he’s still out. That leaves forwards like Jesper Boqvist and Tomas Nosek playing bigger roles than would typically be expected of them.

#18 Philadelphia Flyers centre Christian Dvorak has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past seven games, and he really has the trust of Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet. In the past 22 games, Dvorak has played more than 20 minutes 12 times, including a season-high 25:32 last week at San Jose. He is now averaging 18:28 of ice time per game, a career high, and his 44 points (15 G, 29 A) is also the high-water mark for his career. All of this is to suggest that, in a pinch, Dvorak could have late-season value for fantasy managers.

#19 It’s a little troubling for the Vegas Golden Knights, as they scramble for a playoff spot, that star centre Jack Eichel has hit a slump. They are hoping he has broken out of it with a three-point game last night against Washington. In his previous seven games, Eichel has generated 22 shots on goal while averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game, and yet he has managed just one assist. It would be a tad aggressive to go cutting Eichel at this stage of the season, especially when he’s generating shots at this rate, but it’s also possible that he doesn’t need to be in your fantasy lineup automatically. It’s not much better for Golden Knights right winger Mitch Marner, who has two assists and 19 shots on goal in the past eight games.

#20 Anaheim Ducks winger Cutter Gauthier is tied for the league lead with 11 goals in March, tied with Pavel Zacha. Gauthier ranks second in expected goals with 7.61 ixG, barely trailing Brady Tkachuk at 7.69. Other forwards that have been around the net, rounding out the top ten when it comes to individual expected goals: Zach Hyman (7.09), Brock Nelson (6.98), Alex DeBrincat (6.93). Beckett Sennecke (6.85), Bryan Rust (6.68), Rickard Rakell (6.60), Alexis Lafreniere (6.49), and Timo Meier (6.49).

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – FLORIDA PANTHERS – Team Preview

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:44:55 +0000

SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 17: Florida Panthers Center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates with the Stanley Cup at the end of the Stanley Cup Final game six between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers on June 17, 2025 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire)

It’s an incredible thing to watch a dynasty happen in front of your eyes. The Panthers won their second straight Stanley Cup after knocking off the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The road to the Final was a bit more difficult for Florida as they were a goal away from being down 3-0 to Toronto in the second round before Brad Marchand’s overtime winner in Game 3 changed the momentum. What’s amazing about their run last season is they finished third in the Atlantic Division with 98 points behind Toronto and Tampa Bay and finished one point ahead of Ottawa. They limped into the playoffs, going 4-6-1 in the last 11 games but found their gear right away beating the Lightning in five games. They knocked out Toronto in seven games, winning Game 7 on the road 6-1 and knocked out Carolina in the Eastern Conference Final in five games as well. They were a dominant five-on-five team finishing second in the league at CorsiFor percentage and expected goals for percentage behind Carolina. They also allowed the seventh fewest goals in the league. Being an elite team can take many forms, but the Panthers do it with a ruthless forecheck, nastiness all over the ice, and skill that takes many forms.

What’s Changed?

All the big-name players the Panthers could’ve lost in free agency stayed. Sam Bennett (eight years, $64 million), Aaron Ekblad (eight years, $48.8 million) and Brad Marchand (six years, $31.5 million at age 37) each locked in long-term and role player Tomas Nosek also re-signed for one year, $775,000. While they lost Nate Schmidt to Utah in free agency, they brought in Jeff Petry as a veteran defenceman to replace him on a one-year deal for $775,000. Backup goalie Vitek Vanecek also headed to Utah, but Florida acquired Daniil Tarasov from Columbus to compete with free agent signing from Boston, Brandon Bussi, for that role. Running it back with a back-to-back championship roster makes GM Bill Zito’s job a lot easier.

What Would Success Look Like?

If the Panthers win a third straight Stanley Cup, they would be the first team to do that since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980 to 1983. That we’re even talking about this being their goal is incredible, especially in the salary cap era. We saw the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017, and the Tampa Bay Lightning did it again in 2020 and 2021 under very different circumstances, but call it recency bias if you want, this Panthers team feels different than those. Aleksander Barkov is an elite two-way forward. Sam Reinhart is as well and is capable of scoring 50 goals. They have an agitating set of role players in Bennett and Marchand, a leader like Matthew Tkachuk who thrives when games get tougher and scorers who can backfill like Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues. With high-end defencemen like Ekblad, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling along with Sergei Bobrovsky in goal, there aren’t many weaknesses, especially with a coach like Paul Maurice at the helm.

What Could Go Wrong?

Making it to three straight Stanley Cup Finals and winning it two years in a row can take its toll when it comes to exhaustion, right? Tkachuk opted for surgery from injuries he sustained during Four Nations Face-Off in February and played through in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is expected to be out until January. Everyone on the roster has played a ton of games and had short offseasons for three straight years and that kind of physical toll is tough. If they were to slip up and bow out of the playoffs before the Cup Final this year, as surprising as it would be it would be just as unsurprising given all that. It happened with the Lightning. It could happen to the Panthers, too. It’s just hard to see it while they’ve been busy celebrating.

Top Breakout Candidate

It’s tough to make your way into a lineup like the Panthers, but young forward Mackie Samoskevich has been building towards a breakout season the past two years. When he came out of the University of Michigan, he spent most of his first full professional season in the AHL. Last year, however, he got an extended look in Florida and had 15 goals and 16 assists in 72 games while averaging 13:19 time on-ice. It’ll be difficult for him to move up lines in Florida, but on special teams he should get a chance to cash in. If Tkachuk has to miss any extended time, you’d have to think that opportunity to move up into that spot will be his.

Forwards

Matthew Tkachuk

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
40	16	27	43	1.08

It’s hard to imagine the kind of gumption it takes for Matthew Tkachuk to play the way he does. It’s even harder to imagine how he does it when he’s playing hurt and it’s even more incredible to think of the way he’d play if he was at 100 percent all the time. Tkachuk toughed out a hard regular season in which he came off their first Stanley Cup victory playing through a broken sternum but was ready and recovered for the start of the season. During the year, he sustained a torn adductor and a sports hernia while playing for the United States at the Four Nations Face-Off that ended his regular season and held him to 52 games. Even still, he finished third on the Panthers in scoring with 57 points and scored 22 goals. When Tkachuk returned for action in Game 1 of the playoffs, he scored two goals and an assist against Tampa Bay to set the tone for the rest of the postseason that he was back and better than ever. In the postseason, he had eight goals and 15 assists and played in all 23 games as the Panthers won their second straight Stanley Cup. He had seven points in the Final against Edmonton alone, but the start of his new season may be delayed by two to three months if he has surgery on the injuries from February that he ultimately played through. Although you wonder how he’ll look upon returning from that, seeing how he’s done it repeatedly through his career should leave no doubt that he’ll be as dangerous as ever when he does.

Aleksander Barkov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
68	18	49	67	0.99

Being the captain of the newest dynasty in the NHL is not something anyone would’ve expected out of Aleksander Barkov five years ago, but after leading the Panthers to three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances and two consecutive championships and being arguably the most important player on the roster in doing so, we’re watching an all-time great appearing before our eyes. Barkov won his second consecutive Selke Trophy, and third of his career, as the league’s best defensive forward and finished second on the team in scoring with 71 points, 10 behind Sam Reinhart. With 20 goals and 51 assists, he was the main distributor on a line with Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe or Evan Rodrigues. While Reinhart topped out with 39 goals to lead the team, having him and Barkov together on a line also gave them two of the three Selke Award finalists on the ice at the same time. By hitting 20 goals, Barkov had his 10th consecutive season scoring 20-or-more goals in a season and it was his fourth straight year with 70-or-more points. Having one of the best two-way players in recent league history able to shut down opposing teams’ top centers while piling up points like that gives the Panthers the kind of advantage that’s allowed them to be so dominant in recent years. If there’s a next step for him it’s to win a Hart or Conn Smythe Trophy to help better fill his growing cabinet of awards.

Sam Reinhart

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	37	40	77	0.99

The Florida Panthers top goal scorer followed his career high 57-goal season two years ago with a 39-goal campaign last year and earned his first ever top three finish in the voting for the Selke Trophy during a season that was capped with his second straight Stanley Cup. Reinart came in second to Barkov for the honor as fans and writers alike at last took notice of his outstanding skills in the defensive end to go with his incredible ability to fill the net at even strength and the power play. It’s quite the turn of events for the smart and savvy forward from his time with the Buffalo Sabres to say the least but playing on a line with fellow defensive maven Aleksander Barkov gives Florida a line that can smother opponents at one end of the ice while breaking their spirits at the other by filling the net. Reinhart’s ability to find open areas around the net and tip pucks past goalies and take away their eyes has made him an even more dangerous player to zero in on. While it may look like he’s not actively doing something to make a play happen, his ability to read the action and calculate the best areas to be and where his teammates are headed or where they’re at in the moment. There’s no reason to expect coach Paul Maurice to fix what isn’t broken with the lineup and having Reinhart with Barkov once again should be expected.

Sam Bennett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	30	29	59	0.77

If ever there was a player who actively made their free agent price go up exponentially right in front of our eyes in the biggest moments, Sam Bennett did so in master class fashion. Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP as he led the Panthers and all goal scorers in the postseason with 15. Stunningly enough, only one of those proved to be a game-winning goal but the way Bennett found ways to score goals in key moments throughout the playoffs for Florida helped them secure their second straight Stanley Cup and a massive new contract worth $64 million over eight years. Although he was due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, Bennett helping the Panthers the way he did and the bond he formed playing on a line with Brad Marchand made it impossible for Florida’s management to let either one of them go. His ability to deliver huge hits that occasionally toed the legal line as well as a suffocating forecheck made him a valuable player for the Panthers as is. After Bennett piled up goals throughout the playoffs, many of which broke opposing spirits, it made it impossible to let him walk to a potential rival team. Although that deal may be painful down the road, for right now it’s one that keeps a Stanley Cup-winning group together to go for more glory.

Brad Marchand

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	25	32	57	0.77

In what was one of the most shocking trades of the 2025 trade deadline, the Panthers added Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand to help them go for another Stanley Cup. What they didn’t realize was they added the absolute perfect player to cement their hold on the title. Marchand’s aggressive and confident style of play fit seamlessly into the way the Panthers play and his ability to get under the skin of opposing players only allowed him to double up with Sam Bennett to drive other teams mad. Although Florida acquired him as he was returning from injury, he used the 10 regular season games he played with them to get acclimated. His two goals and two assists in those 10 games weren’t much, but once the playoffs started, the real Brad Marchand appeared. Marchand had 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 playoff games and led the playoffs with 48 penalty minutes. He also had a plus-17 plus-minus rating in the postseason and while that’s not always an accurate way to assess a player’s value, that kind of mark in the playoffs is noteworthy and was second only to teammate Anton Lundell’s plus-19. Marchand’s performance earned him a five-year contract from the Panthers worth $31.5 million that will pay him out until he turns 42. Not a bad gig for a 37-year-old that some in Boston wondered how much more he had left in the tank.

Carter Verhaeghe

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	25	35	60	0.76

It’s kind of wild that a player as good as Carter Verhaeghe can sort of blend into the attack that the Florida Panthers roll with. Three seasons ago, Verhaeghe scored 42 goals and helped lead the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996 and had the first of two back-to-back 70-plus point seasons. Last season, however, he posted 20 goals and finished with 53 points, fourth most on the team, with 16 of those points on the power play. Like so many others on the Florida roster, accomplishments in the regular season are one thing, but what really mattered was the playoffs. In the postseason, Verhaeghe had 23 points in 23 games including seven goals, three of which were game winners. The 23 points tied him with Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk for the team lead in the postseason and his four power play goals were second to Tkachuk’s five for most on the Panthers. Even though “clutch” isn’t a tangible skill to be measured, it’s hard to say that in the face of what Verhaeghe has done throughout his playoff career. He has 13 game-winning goals in the playoffs over the past four seasons and led the 2023 postseason with four. Now 30 years old, the eight-year extension he signed with Florida a year ago kicks in with a $7 million cap hit. It bears watching to see if he can return to his 70-point form or if 50 points a year and a monster playoff performance to follow can be the norm.

Anton Lundell

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	19	33	52	0.65

When you look at the way the Panthers are built and you see a player like Anton Lundell on their third line, it starts to hit you why they’ve been so good over the past few years. At 23 years old, the Finnish two-way forward has established himself as a capable defender up front and as a player who can make opponents pay for their mistakes in the offensive end. Lundell set a new career-high with 45 points and his 17 goals were one shy of his personal best for a season. Lundell’s importance to the Panthers is three-fold. He excels at five-on-five, contributes to the power play, and is one of their top penalty killers as well. In the playoffs, his line with fellow Finn Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand suffocated opponents with their forechecking and ability to force turnovers. If teams were able to survive getting past the top two lines, trying to get through that trio was often too much to bear. What’s most impressive about Lundell’s abilities is how he can do it seemingly under the radar. His game doesn’t have a lot of flash to it and that kind of cold efficiency helps make games against the Panthers that are much more difficult to get through. What’s more is Lundell has become excellent at faceoffs the past two seasons after struggling with it earlier in his career. Two years ago, he won nearly 55 percent of his draws and last season he won 53 percent of them.

Evan Rodrigues

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	14	22	36	0.45

There’s no such thing as a “utility position” in hockey the way there is in baseball, but with the way Evan Rodrigues approaches and plays the game, it makes you want to reconsider the idea. Whether Rodrigues is slotted in on the first, second or third line, he finds ways to contribute and hold his own in any situation. If the Panthers need a boost in offense, he can do it. He had 15 goals and 17 assists last season and had his fourth straight season with 30-or-more points and double-digit goals. Although his offensive numbers were down slightly compared to the previous three seasons, it’s his versatility and adaptability in how he plays that can have a big effect on his output. The majority of his minutes at five-on-five last season were with Sam Bennett and it’s likely we’ll see them back together again on the team’s second line this season. There’s no reason for the Panthers to tinker around with things too much considering their success, but regardless of how it shakes out, Rodrigues will be an effective player wherever he slots in. With the way he’s able to also contribute on the power play, it helps add to his value to the team in those deeper roles outside of their star players.

Eetu Luostarinen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	15	25	40	0.50

Being a checking line or energy line player doesn’t always come with a lot of adulation and in the regular season, that was certainly the case for Eetu Luostarinen. He finished last season with nine goals and 15 assists in 80 games as he played his role as a forechecker and penalty killer to the hilt to make life miserable for opponents. Fortunately for Luostarinen, that regular season role was amplified in the postseason as coach Paul Maurice rolled him out on a line with fellow Finland native Anton Lundell and newly acquired star veteran Brad Marchand. That trio went on to make foes' playoff nights miserable, wearing them out with their seemingly unending pressure, good use of sticks and ability to make any turnover a game-changer in a heartbeat. Luostarinen’s $3 million cap hit may seem a bit juicy for a player with his kind of role, but good luck finding others around the league that can do it as effectively and efficiently as he can. That he teams up with Lundell and Marchand helps add more of a counterattacking threat that opposing teams must respect. Even though physical play may not come to mind right away with Luostarinen, he was credited with 183 hits last season, a career high and third most on the team. There’s no reason to think his game plan will change next season.

DEFENCE

Aaron Ekblad

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
60	7	31	38	0.63

It was quite an adventurous season for Aaron Ekblad. Going into a contract year and coming off helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup, he was poised to have a monster year once he returned from offseason shoulder surgery for injuries he sustained during their playoff run. Like his teammate Matthew Tkachuk who also had offseason surgery, Ekblad was back and ready for the start of the regular season. Ekblad had three goals and 30 assists in the regular season in 56 games and led Panthers blue liners in scoring. Although a slight upper-body injury caused him to miss a few games in January, it was a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing substance program in March that caused him to miss the rest of the regular season and the first two games of their opening playoff series against Tampa Bay. Despite missing four games in the playoffs, Ekblad proved to still be brilliant with four goals and nine assists in 19 games while paired with Gustav Forsling on the team’s top defensive duo. Even with all of the drama, Ekblad helped the Panthers roll to their second straight Cup and even though the temptation of signing a monster free agent contract was there, he re-signed with Florida on a team-friendly deal for eight years, $48.8 million ($6.1 million per season).

Seth Jones

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	10	26	36	0.51

To show that the Panthers are serious about winning now, GM Bill Zito acquired Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks in early March for goalie Spencer Knight and a 2026 first-round pick. Jones’ addition proved to be timely when Aaron Ekblad received a 20-game suspension in late March and helped steady the Panthers blue line as the team dragged themselves across the finish line to end the season. With Florida, Jones flourished after escaping a downtrodden situation with Chicago. He had nine points in 21 games to close the regular season including two goals. But in the playoffs, Jones solidified Florida’s ranks the exact way they envisioned. His four goals and five assists in 23 playoff games, his first postseason in five years, helped guide the Panthers to the Stanley Cup. Jones paired with Niko Mikkola in the postseason and that gave Florida a good mix of puck handling and skill with Jones and physical play and nastiness with Mikkola. Being able to create that balance on their second pairing while Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad did a lot of heavy lifting on the top pair created advantages for Florida against opponents’ other lines. If it seems unfair to have that kind of depth, you might be right.

Gustav Forsling

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	9	22	31	0.39

Watching Gustav Forsling’s evolution as a defenseman who was bounced around on waivers to become one of the best in the NHL is almost as breathtaking as his ability to make the right play in every situation. Forsling led Panthers defensemen with 11 goals, and his 31 total points were second most among the team’s blue liners. Although he was held to five points in the playoffs, he paired with Aaron Ekblad to guide Florida to the Stanley Cup for the second straight year by taking on all comers in all situations. The ability Forsling has to move the puck effortlessly through all three zones and make great first passes to start the attack makes him one of the best in the league, but it’s also his mindfulness defensively that sets him apart. He doesn’t have to throw body checks to make the right play, but rather he works his gap control to ensure he’s not out of position or can get taken out of a play easily. On a team as strong as the Panthers, Forsling’s advanced stats would be very good to begin with, but his are among the best on the team regardless when it comes to shot attempts and scoring chance quality. It’s hard to call him underrated at this point, but underappreciated? Certainly.

Niko Mikkola

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	4	14	18	0.23

Although the Panthers are known for having more than a few players up front that happily take the body and thrive on dishing out physical punishment, it’s not the same on the blue line. Niko Mikkola, however, relishes the chance to do it. Mikkola found a home on the second pairing with Seth Jones and while Jones is known for his smooth skating and ability to set up plays, Mikkola’s dogged work along the walls and in corners as well as being physical around the net make him someone other teams loathe to deal with. He was fifth on the team in hits delivered but he had the most among defensemen with 137. It would be anecdotal to say that his hits were more memorable given the context they’ve come in, but while other Panther defensemen are able to defend better with body positioning and stick use, Mikkola’s use of the body helps keep opposing teams honest and worn-down dealing with him. He’s also able to be physical in his own end of the ice without it leading to sustained zone time against them as well. His advanced stats for shot attempts and scoring chance quality are positive and while that’s somewhat of a team effect, if he struggled at suppressing opportunities while on the ice it would show. Having a defender to do some of the dirty work the way he does only helps Florida be that much more difficult to play against.

GOAL

Sergei Bobrovsky

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
57	34	16	4	6	0.905	2.42

Even if the Florida Panthers hadn’t managed to pull off a repeat in Sunrise this summer, the Sergei Bobrovsky deal - once risky-looking at seven years and $70 million - would have likely been forgiven just based on the 2024 championship he brought home. Now, though, the team will enter their final year of Bobrovsky’s contract with two cups in two years, clear evidence that the 37-year-old is still capable of making the split-second lateral changes and lunging saves that have marked his most eye-catching games over the last 15 years.

As with last season, though, the Panthers will enter the upcoming year with just as many questions in net as they have answers. The team's surprising move away from Spencer Knight signaled that the former first round pick wasn't shaping up to be the definitive future starter they hoped he would be. Instead, Florida will likely be banking on one of either Brandon Bussi or Daniil Tarasov to step up and become a reliable number two for Bobrovsky. Both were once highly rated goaltending prospects in the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets systems, respectively, but have struggled to live up to expectations. Expect Tarasov to be the number two as the season starts, looking to bond with Bob over a system shift from Columbus to Florida in an attempt to bring his stats back from their free fall last season. If he struggles to find his footing, though, Bussi - who has never put up poor numbers in the AHL but never got a chance to show Boston what he could do at the top level - will likely be next up to help Bobrovsky weather the 82-game grind.

NHL: DADOUN – TRADE DEADLINE ROUND UP – What we can expect from some of the bigger players now?

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 18:58:23 +0000

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 27: Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) during a game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders on February 27, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

Friday’s trade deadline has to stand out as one of the best in recent memory. Over the last week, 45 trades occurred with almost $170 million worth of cap hit changing hands, per PuckPedia. More than just the quantity, though, was the quality.

Brock Nelson, a man who has breached the 30-goal milestone in each of the previous three campaigns was added by Colorado, while Seth Jones, a top four defenseman signed through 2029-30, was acquired by Florida in the leadup to deadline day, and yet neither of them ended up being the headline additions of this trade season. Jones didn’t even end up being the biggest name to join the Panthers.

Instead, Florida shocked the hockey world with its last-minute addition of Brad Marchand. Granted, Marchand is 36, in the final season of his contract and dealing with an upper-body injury, so there are some big caveats to consider when assessing his impact, but still, it’s Brad Marchand. There aren’t many active players out there who are so heavily linked to the team they play for than he is. To see him with the Panthers will be weird, to say the least.

Of course, he might just be a rental, so we’ll see what happens this summer. One star player who opted not to go to free agency, though, is Mikko Rantanen. The Hurricanes were clearly hoping to lock him up long term -- it's fair to say they wouldn’t have acquired him from Colorado if they didn’t think they had a shot -- but in the end, terms weren’t agreed upon, so Carolina cut its losses by sending Rantanen to Dallas, which promptly signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract.

It's a huge payout, but a justified one with the cap going up. Rantanen recorded over 40 goals and 100 points in each of the previous two seasons and has 27 goals and 70 points in 62 appearances this campaign. Dallas has now set itself up to enjoy a duo of Rantanen and Jason Robertson for years to come, which should make the Stars one of hockey’s best teams in the medium term.

That’s just scratching the surface of what happened today, so let’s start digging deeper. Typically, I highlight teams based on what their upcoming schedule is like with a bias towards teams that will be playing a lot or facing favorable opponents in the week to come. This week, I’ll be highlighting the squads I feel had the most interesting trade deadline -- including the days leading up to it -- so that I can discuss what’s changed and how this might impact various players for the remainder of the campaign.

Boston Bruins

It’s not overly dramatic to suggest that trading Marchand to Florida marked the end of an era for the Bruins. Sure, they still have David Pastrnak, but if you look back at the 2018 Bruins who made it to the Stanley Cup Final, Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are the only ones remaining.

No more Marchand. No more Patrice Bergeron. No more David Krejci. Torey Krug is gone. So are Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask. Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle were members of the Bruins’ 2018-19 squad, but they were traded to Toronto and Colorado, respectively, on Friday.

Of course, the Bruins of old have been fading away for a while. Boston was able to maneuver with a series of trades and signings to extend their dominance for a long time, but if you look at the Bruins’ recent drafting history, you can see why this decline happened. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman, despite his struggles this campaign (18-21-6 record, 3.00 GAA and .896 save percentage in 45 appearances) has proven to be a steal for a fourth-round pick, but he was taken back in 2017. From 2018 to the present, no Bruins draft pick has logged 150 or more games, and the only players over the past four drafts to even make it to the NHL among Boston’s picks are Matthew Poitras and Fabian Lysell -- the latter of which has played in just one game.

Of course, part of that was the Bruins suffering from success, which led to late draft picks, but it is nevertheless at the heart of why Boston couldn’t replenish fast enough as its old guard left.

Still, the Bruins’ moves suggest they’re looking to retool rather than rebuild. While Boston did stock up on draft picks, including a conditional first-round pick from Toronto and a conditional second rounder from Florida, the Bruins also picked up Fraser Minten, who is a 20-year-old prospect who might factor into Boston’s roster on a regular basis next year, and Casey Mittelstadt, who is in the first season of a three-year, $17.25 million contract and is a solid option up the middle.

Boston also has to keep in mind that it’ll get Hampus Lindholm (kneecap) back next season after the top four blueliner was limited to just 17 appearances in 2024-25, and there’s also the likelihood that Swayman will do better next campaign. In other words, Boston fans might not have to go long between playoff appearances.

In the meantime, though, Cole Koepke and Mark Kastelic might get top six minutes, even though neither is particularly suited for the role. We also might see them get ice time on the second power-play unit, and Nikita Zadorov could feature there as well. Boston still has one strong line in Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, but the team’s offense overall figures to be dreary, and as a result, Boston might slip even further than its current 28th rank in goals per game (2.69).

Carolina Hurricanes

Losing Rantanen hurts, especially after Carolina gave up a package that included Martin Necas to pry him from Colorado. At least the return from Dallas was strong: The Hurricanes got Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round selections. It’ll be years before we know how good or bad those draft picks are for the Hurricanes, but Stankoven is an interesting piece to get in the meantime.

The 22-year-old is playing in his sophomore campaign and had 29 points (nine goals) in 59 appearances with Dallas before the trade. He didn’t have consistent linemates, which might have made the task of adapting to the NHL a little more challenging. Stankoven did show a ton of potential in the minors, though, supplying 24 goals and 57 points in 47 outings with AHL Texas in 2023-24.

Stankoven figures to get a top six role with Carolina as well as power-play time. The tricky thing is that the Hurricanes don’t have any high-end forwards outside of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov, who might end up spending a fair amount of time together on the top line. When Carolina opts to take that path, that would leave Stankoven on a rather barren second unit. It’s a similar situation to the one Taylor Hall finds himself in. Since joining the Hurricanes from Chicago, Hall has just a goal and three points in 13 outings while averaging 14:32 of ice time. Part of that’s because the 33-year-old Hall has declined in recent years, but he’s also finding himself alongside Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jackson Blake, neither of whom have reached the 15-goal or 30-point marks this season.

With that in mind, Stankoven might not be much of an offensive force for the remainder of the season.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado has been extremely busy on the trade front all year -- in addition to the Rantanen trade back in January that got the Avalanche Necas, Colorado also has an entirely different goaltending duo than the one it began the campaign with -- and the Avalanche didn’t slow down as the trade deadline approached.

Colorado added Brock Nelson from the Islanders, Coyle from the Bruins and Erik Johnson from Philadelphia this week. It did cost the Avalanche -- in addition to draft picks and prospects, Colorado also parted ways with Mittelstadt – but Colorado looks like a major Cup contender.

Nelson and Coyle make the Avalanche extremely talented up the middle. We’ll probably see Nelson assume the second-line center spot. Although that would keep him out of the enviable position of skating alongside Nathan MacKinnon or Necas, Nelson would still have plenty to work with alongside Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nelson largely maintained his scoring pace in Colorado after contributing 20 goals and 43 points across 61 appearances with the Islanders in 2024-25 before the trade.

That would leave Coyle on the third line. He’d see a meaningful decline in his workload compared to his average of 17:38 of ice time, including 1:55 with the man advantage, with Boston this season, but he kind of deserves that dip after collecting just 15 goals and 22 points in 64 outings. He did exceed the 40-point mark in three consecutive seasons from 2021-22 through 2023-24, so having him on the third line is a nice luxury to have, but he’s unlikely to challenge Nelson for the top-six spot, and it’s also not a given that Coyle will get regular time on the power play.

Jack Drury will probably center the fourth line. He doesn’t bring much offensively to the table anyway (seven goals, 13 points in 53 outings this season), but he is effective on the draw (57.1 conversion rate) and helps kill penalties, so Drury still has a clear role. The biggest loser in this will probably be Parker Kelly, who might spend a fair amount of time in the press box after dressing in the Avalanche’s first 63 games.

Speaking of the press box, I don’t expect Johnson to play much. It’s nice to see him back in Colorado, but unlike his first stint with the team, there isn’t really a clear role for him. Maybe if the Avalanche are forced to deal with injuries, the 36-year-old will get some work, but that’s about it.

Dallas Stars

Dallas made only one trade this month, but it was a huge one. As already noted above, the Stars acquired Rantanen in exchange for picks and Logan Stankoven. Dallas also signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.

Rantanen didn’t look great in Carolina, recording just two goals and six points in 13 appearances, but he still has 70 points (27 goals) in 62 outings this campaign, and his resume is fantastic. He should do great in Dallas, likely on the first line alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.

Hintz and Robertson have typically played together this campaign, but the third member of that trio hasn’t been consistent. Wyatt Johnston has gotten a fair amount of work in that role, though, and that’s likely at an end. Johnston might not be on the second unit either given that Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund have done well together. Instead, Johnston might primarily center the third unit. That’s an odd position for a player with 23 goals and 59 points in 62 outings, but Dallas isn’t a typical team, and that would still leave him to play with Jamie Benn, who remains a solid contributor at the age of 35 (15 goals, 39 points).

Johnston may see a bit of a decline in his production down the stretch, but Dallas should remain happy given that it will be rolling out three very effective lines. The Stars’ embarrassment of offensive riches will get even better if Tyler Seguin (hip) is available for the playoffs. He was fantastic early in the campaign with nine goals and 20 points in 19 appearances. Maybe he’ll end up alongside Benn and Johnston.

Florida Panthers

The Marchand trade was jaw-dropping, especially given that the price was just a conditional second-round pick, which will turn into a first-round selection only if Florida wins at least two rounds and Marchand participates in a minimum of 50 percent of those playoff games. The latter condition speaks to Marchand’s health -- before the trade, he missed Boston’s past three games. Florida GM Bill Zito thinks Marchand will be out for a couple more weeks, but he also added that the team doctors will look at him, per Florida Hockey Now, so we’ll see.

Presuming that Marchand returns before the end of the regular season, it will be very interesting to see how he fits into the lineup. Will he play alongside another talented troublemaker in Sam Bennett? They did see some work together on Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Matthew Tkachuk (groin) is done for the remainder of the regular season, but should he return for the playoffs, he might join that duo to form a line that no one would want to play against.

Perhaps Florida will attempt to balance out the grit by separating the trio of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Maybe we’ll have something like Bennett-Verhaeghe-Tkachuk and then Marchand-Barkov-Reinhart. Whatever they decide to do, that will be a strong top six. While Tkachuk and Marchand are out, Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues will see increased roles, but that duo is likely to serve strictly in the bottom six when everyone is healthy. Samoskevich in particular might see a drop in usage once Marchand is back, but for now, he’s enjoying the extra work -- Samoskevich has three goals and four points across his past six appearances while averaging 15:30 compared to eight goals and 17 points in his first 48 outings with an average of 11:41.

On the back end, Jones logged 20:40 of ice time over his first two appearances with the Panthers. Aaron Ekblad seems to have maintained his spot on the top power-play unit and has cashed in with a power-play assist in each of his past two outings. If Jones’ role with the man advantage has been diminished by the move to Florida from Chicago -- and that seems to be the case -- then his fantasy value will take a significant hit. Of his 27 points in 2024-25, 15 have been recorded on the power play.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay loves first-round picks, and sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go. The Lightning have drafted in the first round just once dating back to 2020 -- Isaac Howard (31st overall) in 2022 -- and it seems they’ll be waiting a while before doing so again. The Lightning gave their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to Seattle in a three-team trade that brought Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Tampa Bay. The Lightning were already missing their 2025 first-round pick as part of the Tanner Jeannot trade back in 2023.

While that’s a significant cost, the Lightning are looking like a well-rounded team going into the playoffs. Obviously, they already had the trio of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov as their headline unit -- Guentzel has two hat tricks this season and still might be the worst player on that line, which is wild -- and that’s complemented by a strong second line in Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul.

Now Bjorkstrand and Gourde can man the third line, perhaps alongside 24-year-old rookie Gage Goncalves. Bjorkstrand has 17 goals and 38 points in 62 outings while Gourde has done worse this season (six goals, 18 points in 37 appearances) but has recorded over 30 points in each of his previous seven seasons. That doesn’t give the Lightning the same level of forward depth that Dallas is rocking, but that’s still really good.

These moves also probably cost Mitchell Chaffee his spot on the power play. That’s not a huge deal, but four of his 12 goals in 2024-25 have been scored with the man advantage.

Toronto Maple Leafs

There was an arms race in the Atlantic Division. Florida and Tampa Bay both made significant additions leading up to the deadline, and Toronto made some maneuvers too. The Maple Leafs acquired Brandon Carlo from Boston and Scott Laughton from Philadelphia, though in the process, Toronto surrendered, among other things, two first-round picks as well as prospects Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten.

At a glance, those sacrifices would suggest Toronto is going all in, and while it’s undeniable that the farm system has taken a hit, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Carlo is signed through 2026-27 and Laughton is under contract through 2025-26, so these aren’t just rentals.

In terms of what they bring to the table, it’s nothing headline-grabbing, but it is important. Laughton is a solid third-line center, which will allow Max Domi to shift to the wing. His presence might also push Nicholas Robertson out of the top nine, though Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann might also occasionally shift down in the depth charts, especially when Max Pacioretty (undisclosed) is able to return.

Carlo might end up being a good shutdown partner for the offensive-minded Morgan Rielly. He might even enable Rielly to take more chances and bolster his scoring pace down the stretch. The 30-year-old Rielly has seven goals and 32 points in 62 appearances in 2024-25, which is down from 58 points in 72 outings last year.

Philippe Myers, who has gotten some looks alongside Rielly lately, probably won’t be a consideration for that role going forward. Instead, Myers will probably shift to the third pairing, and once Chris Tanev (upper body) is back, Myers might find himself competing with Simon Benoit to stay in the lineup.

Toronto’s xGA/60 in 2024-25 has been 3.19, which ranks 23rd in the league. That suggests the Maple Leafs have made life somewhat hard on their goaltenders this season with their defensive play. Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have mostly been able to make up the difference, but their work should be easier after Toronto’s recent moves.

Vegas Golden Knights

It’s weird for Vegas not to be the one making a blockbuster trade. In fact, the Golden Knights didn’t make any move Friday, but they did pick up Reilly Smith from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick.

It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s a nice bit of business. Although Smith has underwhelmed this campaign with 10 goals and 29 points in 58 appearances in 2024-25, he had some amazing campaigns with Vegas. In particular, Smith provided 26 goals and 56 points in 78 regular-season games in 2022-23 and went on to supply another four goals and 14 points across 24 playoff outings to help Vegas win the Cup in 2023.

This change of scenery might be what Smith needs to rebound. He’s not too old at 33, so he still should have something left in the tank. However, the Golden Knights are a deep team. Even with William Karlsson (lower body) and Victor Olofsson (lower body) out, Smith might still find himself in a bottom-six role, and when everyone is healthy, it’s inevitable that Vegas will have to make a healthy scratch out of someone who would play regularly on most teams. Perhaps that will be Brandon Saad on occasion, but Nicolas Roy and Smith are also on that bubble.

For that reason, I recommend tempering your expectations when it comes to Smith’s reunion tour.

NHL: 20 FANTASY POINTS – TRADE DEADLINE EDITION – Rantanen, Marchand, Nelson, Cozens, Jones, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 16:14:05 +0000

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 27: Carolina Hurricanes right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) talks to a Buffalo Sabres player during the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes on February 27, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, a look at the movers and shakers from the NHL trade deadline, including Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, Brock Nelson, Dylan Cozens, Seth Jones, and much more!

#1 The biggest blockbuster of deadline day saw the Carolina Hurricanes trade Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars for Logan Stankoven and a couple of first-round picks. Rantanen has been massively productive, ranking eighth in the league with 649 points in 548 games since the start of the 2017-2018 season, but he did struggle in his short stint with Carolina, managing just six points (2 G, 4 A) in 13 games. Rantanen certainly should be a premier scorer in Dallas, where he could skate with fellow Finn Roope Hintz on the Stars’ top line, and Hintz is cooking, with 16 points (3 G, 13 A) in his past seven games. If he does recapture the form he showed in Colorado, Rantanen will raise the Stars’ offensive ceiling. Going the other way, Stankoven is officially a rookie and has 43 points (14 G, 29 A) in 83 career NHL games. He ought to have a regular spot in Carolina’s top six and it would not be a stretch to imagine an extra minute or two of ice time per game for the new Hurricanes winger.

#2 It is the end of an era in Boston, as the Bruins have traded captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. He is out of the lineup for three-to-four weeks with an upper-body injury, so that time frame means Marchand is likely of little value to fantasy managers. When he is healthy, Marchand could join Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk on a line that could wreak havoc in the postseason.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche made a big push to upgrade their roster, acquiring Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders and Charlie Coyle from the Boston Bruins. Nelson has 43 points (20 G, 23 A) in 61 games, marking the ninth season of his career in which he has recorded at least 20 goals. He is playing a career high 19:21 of ice time per game and that ice time could fall a little in Colorado, but Nelson should have better linemates with the Avalanche, so he may have a little more upside with his new team.

#4 In addition to Nelson, the Avs added Charlie Coyle, sending Casey Mittelstadt to Boston. After scoring a career high 60 points for the Bruins last season, Coyle has stumbled to 22 points (15 G, 7 A) through 64 games this season. He is likely going to fill the third-line centre role for the Avalanche, which doesn’t make him that appealing in most fantasy leagues. Mittelstadt is looking for a fresh start after putting up just 34 points (11 G, 23 A) as Colorado’s second line centre this season. Given the situation in Boston, where the Bruins are clearly rebuilding, it’s not the ideal scenario for Mittelstadt to enjoy a big finish to the season.

#5 The Buffalo Sabres dealt centre Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators, bringing back centre Josh Norris as part of the return. Cozens had career highs of 31 goals and 68 points in 2022-2023 but he has not approached those numbers since and has a modest 31 points (11 G, 20 A) in 61 games this season. He is likely to see some improvement in shooting percentage, as his current rate of 7.9 percent is below his career mark of 10.0 percent, but moving to Ottawa does not suddenly mean an offensive breakout is coming. That’s the challenge for the Senators, to figure out if they can get Cozens back to his level of production from a couple of years ago. Norris has shown that he can put the puck in the net, scoring 77 goals in 173 games across the past four seasons. His biggest issue has been recurring shoulder injuries that have cost him playing time. The opportunity in Buffalo isn’t necessarily going to be that different for Norris, and the Sabres have enough quality to surround him with skilled wingers, but his fantasy appeal will be tied largely to how consistently he stays in the lineup.

#6 Defenceman Seth Jones had made it clear that he was ready to move on from the Chicago Blackhawks, so they traded him to the Florida Panthers. While Jones will probably not be required to play as much in Florida as he did in Chicago, where he averaged more than 25 minutes of playing time over the past four seasons, there will be a clear upgrade in talent around him. At least initially, it’s possible that Jones could have less appeal as a scorer in Florida, because he is on the Panthers’ second power play unit and 15 of his 27 points (7 G, 20 A) this season have come via the power play.

#7 Going the other way in that deal was goaltender Spencer Knight, the 13th pick in the 2019 Draft who missed all of last season, but has rebounded nicely in 2024-2025. Knight had a .907 save percentage in 23 games for the Panthers and has stopped 77 of 81 shots in his first two starts for Chicago. Knight is just 23 years old and should be Chicago’s goaltender of the future and even the goaltender of the present after the club dealt Petr Mrazek to Detroit. While the Blackhawks aren’t winning enough to make Knight especially valuable this season, he could grow into a star goaltender as the team in front of him improves.

#8 Dealing with some injuries in their forward group, the Minnesota Wild added wingers Gustav Nyquist and Justin Brazeau in separate trades with the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins, respectively. Nyquist returns to Minnesota, where he had a solid stint late in the 2022-2023 season, contributing 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in nine regular-season-plus-playoff-games after he was acquired from Columbus. The veteran winger had a career-high of 75 points (21 G, 54 A) last season, but had managed just 21 points (12 G, 9 A) in 57 games for the Predators before the trade. Brazeau is a late bloomer who is playing his first full NHL season at age 27. The 6-foot-6 winger has 20 points (10 G, 10 A) in 57 games and while that does not scream offensive production, both Nyquist and Brazeau are capable of playing in Minnesota’s top nine and contributing secondary offense.

#9 The Tampa Bay Lightning turned to Seattle to add right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand and centre Yanni Gourde, bolstering a Lightning lineup that was already starting to make a strong push towards the postseason. Bjorkstrand is a five-time 20-goal scorer who had a career high of 59 points last season. He had 37 points (16 G, 21 A) in 61 games for Seattle and scored a goal in his first game for the Lightning. Gourde returns to Tampa Bay, where he was an integral part of their 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup teams. He is feisty and can contribute offensively, though he has just 18 points (6 G, 12 A) in 37 games after recording an assist in his return to the Tampa Bay lineup. Winger Michael Eyssimont was part of the deal going to Seattle and while he has struggled this season, he showed some potential last season and there could be a more consistent role for him in Seattle for the rest of the season.

#10 The Pittsburgh Penguins were busy shedding forwards to stockpile draft picks. They sent Michael Bunting to Nashville, and he has scored 79 goals across the past four seasons, making him a useful secondary scorer, in addition to his ability to agitate the opposition. In the short term, he is recovering from an appendectomy, so his contributions will have to wait. The Penguins also sent Anthony Beauvillier to Washington, and he has bounced around a lot since leaving the Islanders in 2022-2023. Beauvillier has 20 points (13 G, 7 A) in 63 games this season and it’s not likely that he will see much of an increase in playing time upon arriving in D.C. to join his new team, so his fantasy appeal will be limited. Cody Glass was traded to New Jersey, and he will give the Devils some additional help up front in the wake of Jack Hughes’ season-ending injury, but it’s not like Glass is going to fill the void created by Hughes’ absence. The sixth pick in the 2017 Draft, Glass had career highs of 14 goals and 35 points for Nashville in 2022-2023, but had just 15 points (4 G, 11 A) in 51 games for the Penguins at the time of the trade.

#11 It wasn’t all sending players away from Pittsburgh, as the Penguins brought in Tommy Novak from Nashville in the Bunting deal. After back-to-back seasons with more than 40 points, Novak looked like he could be on his way to holding down a second line centre spot, but this has been a challenging season and he had just 22 points (13 G, 9 A) in 52 games. Novak is one of the players who moved at the deadline who should see an uptick in ice time. He averaged 13:14 per game for Nashville, but it would be entirely reasonable for the Penguins to bump Novak up to 16 minutes per game to see if he can fulfill the role of the bona fide second line centre.

#12 Looking to add some depth to their roster, the Edmonton Oilers traded for Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic and San Jose Sharks defenceman Jake Walman. Frederic hit career highs with 18 goals and 40 points last season but has just 15 points (8 G, 7 A) in 57 games this season. He is a big physical presence and could have some sneaky appeal in the playoffs, but his injury makes it seem likely that Frederic is not going to make a major difference during this regular season. Walman is an unheralded blueliner, yet one who produced a career high of 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 50 games for the Sharks. He is a quality puck mover who has had some strong defensive numbers in the past when he played for Detroit. It's more difficult to put up strong defensive numbers in San Jose. Walman may see his ice time dip a little from the 23 minutes per game that he is averaging, but he should still hold a top four role and get second-unit power play time.

#13 Veteran winger Reilly Smith tallied a career high 26 goals on his way to 56 points in 2022-2023 and the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. Smith has struggled in two seasons since then, first with Pittsburgh and, this season, with the New York Rangers. Going back to Vegas, Smith could fulfill a secondary scoring role for the Golden Knights, though it also could be more challenging for him to secure a regular spot in Vegas’ top nine.

#14 The Toronto Maple Leafs, looking to improve their centre depth, brought in Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers. Laughton has limited offensive upside, hitting a career high of 43 points (18 G, 25 A) in 2022-2023, and with two points in his past 12 games, Laughton has 27 points (11 G, 16 A) in 60 games this season. However, he does have 129 hits in 60 games, so if he is contributing even a little bit offensively, there is a chance that Laughton will provide enough value to draw fantasy appeal in deep or banger leagues.

#15 After contributing five points (2 G, 3 A) in seven games for the Philadelphia Flyers following his trade from Calgary, winger Andrei Kuzmenko is on the move again, joining the Los Angeles Kings. Kuzmenko had career highs of 39 goals and 74 points for Vancouver in 2022-2023 but has been nowhere near that level of production in two years since then. He comes at a low cost for the Kings and Kuzmenko has enough skill that he could help upgrade the Kings’ offense. It looks like he could join Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, which would certainly be a quality situation for him, and might make him a fantasy sleeper at this stage of the season, but if Kuzmenko doesn’t produce in that spot, he could quickly lose relevance.

#16 For a player with little offensive output, Luke Kunin does hit enough to put him on the radar of fantasy managers. Acquired from the San Jose Sharks by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kunin has 18 points (11 G, 7 A) in 63 games but he also has 163 hits in 63 games, so there is at least a chance that if Kunin plays in a top nine role for Columbus, that he might be able to contribute enough to earn some deep league fantasy attention.

#17 The Ottawa Senators made another move to address their goal-scoring woes, picking up Fabian Zetterlund from the San Jose Sharks. Zetterlund had 36 points (17 G, 19 A) in 64 games for the Sharks this season, playing nearly 17 minutes per game for the team with the worst record in the NHL. If he moves to a line with, say, Cozens and Drake Batherson, that should give Zetterlund a good chance to provide secondary scoring.

#18 Although he has just five points (2 G, 3 A) in 19 games this season, Daniel Sprong has shown that he can score in limited opportunities, scoring 39 goals in his previous two seasons despite playing fewer than 12 minutes per game. The Devils are reeling, with injuries knocking out centre Jack Hughes and defencemen Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, but if Sprong gets a chance to play consistently, he could be worth tracking.

#19 Even if Fraser Minten isn’t likely to play much for the Boston Bruins down the stretch, after he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenceman Brandon Carlo, Minten is an intriguing long-term pickup. A second-round pick in 2022, Minten contributed four points (2 G, 2 A) in 15 games for the Maple Leafs this season and 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 26 games for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. On a Bruins team that is going through a rebuilding process, Minten could have a real shot to play in the NHL next season.

#20 The Chicago Blackhawks decided not to move veteran forward Ryan Donato, who has set career highs with 23 goals and 47 points in 61 games. The 28-year-old second generation NHLer is on a seven-game point streak and has 18 points (8 G, 10 A) in his past 12 games. Expect the Blackhawks to ink Donato to some kind of contract extension, giving him a chance to remain in a bigger role than he has typically been afforded at other stops in his NHL career.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – 4 Nations Wrap – Trade Deadline speculation edition – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 17:20:17 +0000

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 20: Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) drills a shot during the Championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Team United States and Team Canada on February 20, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

I have to give the league credit. I did not go into this season with a lot of confidence or excitement about the 4 Nations Face-Off. Sure, it’s always fun to see best-on-best play, but with the tournament being limited to just four countries and without any pre-existing prestige/history behind the tournament name, I was among those worried that it might end up looking like a series of glorified All-Star games and not attract any non-hockey fans. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

ESPN saw an average viewership of 9.252 million for the Final between Canada and the United States, making it the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record in US viewership history. Including Canadians, that rating increased to 16.1 million viewers (6.9 million between Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ and TVA Sports), which was on par for a Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final (16.3 million), per Braylon Breeze of Sports Media Watch.

The Final even took a political angle. I won’t stress people looking for an escape with the details, but the current climate between the United States and Canada was an undercurrent throughout this tournament and in the Final especially, only adding to the enthusiasm for this match.

When all that noise ended, and the puck dropped, the players didn’t disappoint. This was not a glorified All-Star Game. The players took the opportunity to represent their country seriously, and after the United States earned a 3-1 victory over Canada during the round robin, the Canadians got their revenge Thursday in a 3-2 overtime win over the States.

The winning goal was appropriately scored by Connor McDavid, who was left wide open due to a defensive breakdown by the Americans, took advantage of a nice pass from Mitch Marner to fire a wrist shot past Connor Hellebuyck.

Marner getting the primary assist on that marker and Sam Bennett’s game-tying goal at 14:00 of the second period -- the last goal before McDavid found the back of the net -- was a bit of a redemption story for the 27-year-old winger. Marner and McDavid didn’t seem to gel earlier in the tournament, resulting in the duo being separated for Canada’s 5-3 win over Finland on Monday and Marner logging just 12:46 of ice time. Had that been the end of the story, it would have been about Marner vanishing when things got tough, a story that would have added to the frustrations of Maple Leafs fans, who have seen Toronto flounder in the playoffs throughout Marner’s tenure. Instead, he added another chapter to the tale.

It was also a great showing for Jordan Binnington. Goaltending was the main question mark for Canada going into this tournament, and while Binnington certainly had some bad moments, in the end, he did step up for Canada, turning side 31 of 33 shots in the Final.

Of course, Nathan MacKinnon was also deserving of his MVP title. He scored a tournament-best four goals, including the overtime winner against Team Sweden and two markers versus Finland. Without MacKinnon’s efforts, Canada might not have made it to the final match. He also got Canada on the board first against Team USA on Thursday with his marker at 4:48 of the first period.

It needs to be acknowledged how well America played in this tournament. Both games between these two countries were intense, and not much would have had to change for Team USA to have emerged as the winner. In particular, Zach Werenski (six assists), Jake Guentzel (three goals, four points) and the Tkachuk brothers were fantastic in this tournament. Connor Hellebuyck also did his part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, largely proving his status as the league’s best goaltender, even if his team finished just shy of the title.

Canada can celebrate today, but they have every reason to be concerned about Team USA going into the Olympics. What a fun tournament that should be.

Boston Bruins

Boston will start next week at home, hosting the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and the Islanders on Thursday. The Bruins will then travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday.

It seems unbelievable to even suggest it, but those games might be among Brad Marchand’s last in a Bruins jersey. Boston is 27-24-7, which puts the Bruins a point behind the Senators for the final wild-card spot despite having played in one extra game. To be clear, Boston still very much has a chance of making the playoffs, but the fact that it's now a borderline team is cause for retrospection.

There were tempered expectations for the Bruins going into 2023-24 after losing David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. The squad managed to prove the rumors of their death were exaggerated with a 47-20-15 showing, but that success was led by elite goaltending, something the Bruins haven’t enjoyed this season. Linus Ullmark is gone and -- perhaps due to the pressures of his new contract, missing training camp or some combination of the two -- has underwhelmed with an 18-18-4 record, 2.98 GAA and .898 save percentage. Couple that with free-agent signing Elias Lindholm putting up mild numbers (11 goals, 30 points) as well as Charlie McAvoy (shoulder) getting hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and it’s looking more and more like this isn’t a squad setup for a playoff run even if it does squeak in.

With all that considered, maybe it really is time to move on from Marchand. He’s 36 and in the final campaign of what’s proven to be an extremely team-friendly eight-year, $49 million deal. He is allowed to submit a list of up to eight teams he’d veto a trade from, so he does have some influence over his situation, but the return the Bruins could potentially get from him would still be significant. There are a lot of teams out there who would be happy to take a former Stanley Cup winner with a reputation for getting under opponents' skin. Especially given that Marchand is still performing at a high level offensively with 20 goals and 45 points through 58 appearances in 2024-25. His cap hit ($6.125 million) is also reasonable enough to make it feasible for most contenders to maneuver him below the ceiling, especially if Boston retains part of what’s left of his salary.

There’s a certain logic to trading Marchand while his value is still high and at the end of that contract, but there’s also a strong argument against it. He’s the Bruins captain and a fan favorite. Trading him away, especially after a summer that didn’t go Boston’s way, would likely result in strong pushback against GM Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely, even if the return is significant. It’d be one thing if Marchand wanted to go for the sake of chasing the Cup, but in his own words, his “goal is to play here forever,” per NBC Sports Boston. True, players will usually speak highly of whoever their current employer is, but in the case of Marchand, who has dedicated his entire NHL career to Boston, it seems reasonable to believe him and assume he wants to re-sign with the team.

Plus, even if he is getting up there in age, Boston might still enjoy another serious run with him. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Jeremy Swayman rebound next season. Hampus Lindholm (lower body) might have better luck on the injury front in 2025-26, which would go a long way towards stabilizing the blue line. The team would still have secondary scoring concerns that would need to be addressed over the summer, but this is far from a franchise that’s without hope in the mid-term.

In the end, I expect Marchand rumors to persist up until the trade deadline but for him to ultimately remain with Boston.

Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles will open the week by hosting Vegas on Monday followed by Vancouver on Wednesday. The Kings will then hit the road with games in Dallas and St. Louis on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Kings hold a 30-17-7 record going, which gives them a decent cushion in the battle for a playoff spot, though they’ll have a difficult time catching up to Edmonton (34-19-4) or Vegas (34-17-6), which would be necessary in order to secure home-ice advantage in the first round.

Still, with the trade deadline approaching, the Kings are likely to be buyers if they do anything. They have all their draft picks over the next three years with the exception of their 2025 second-round selection (surrendered in the Tanner Jeannot trade) and a decent amount of cap flexibility (PuckPedia puts the squad’s deadline space at just under $4.5 million), so there is room here to get something done.

Los Angeles is rumored to be targeting Buffalo’s Alex Tuch, according to Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty. Even if that doesn’t specifically happen, it does suggest that LA is in the market for a top six winger, which would make some sense.

Los Angeles is fine up the middle. Anze Kopitar is still performing well at 37 (13 goals, 46 points). Neither Phillip Danault (five goals, 230 points) and Quinton Byfield (11 goals, 29 points) has done enough offensively to be an ideal second-line center, but either one is serviceable in the middle six. Besides, with the Pierre-Luc Dubois experiment still fresh in the Kings’ mind, Los Angeles might be reluctant to take another swing at filling that role. Instead, the hope is probably for Byfield to grow into that job and push Danault to the third unit.

The defense looks solid now that Drew Doughty is back from his ankle injury. We haven’t seen much from him offensively yet -- just one assist in six appearances with the Kings and one helper in four outings with Canada -- but he’s averaged 26:57 of ice time with Los Angeles since returning, so he’s helped stabilize the blue line.

In goal, Darcy Kuemper has been a pleasant surprise, providing a 17-6-6 record, 2.22 GAA and .918 save percentage in 30 appearances, firmly putting his 2023-24 showing with Washington -- a 13-14-3 record with a 3.31 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 33 outings -- behind him. Maybe the Kings will seek an alternate to David Rittich, who has a 12-11-1 record, 2.59 GAA and .890 save percentage in 25 appearances, but that seems unlikely.

That mostly just leaves help on the wings, especially from someone who can find the back of the net. Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala are the only Kings players with at least 15 markers -- 25 and 21, respectively -- while 3.7 players per team have hit the 15-goal milestone, so it’s fair to say that’s an area of need for the Kings.

Los Angeles is also an underwhelming 20th in goals per game with 2.83 and has instead relied on its fifth-ranked 2.53 goals allowed per game for its success.

If the Kings do add a top six forward, then Trevor Moore could see his playing time meaningfully diminish. Moore was great in 2023-24 with 31 goals and 57 points in 82 regular-season games, but he’s dropped to eight goals and 23 points in 45 appearances this season, making his average ice time of 17:05 less than ideal. Any addition up front might also push Moore off the power play entirely. As it is, he’s averaging just 1:11 with the man advantage, which has resulted in only one assist for the 29-year-old this season.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild have a full week, starting at home against Detroit on Tuesday before a back-to-back in Utah and Colorado on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The squad will then return to Minnesota to host the Bruins on Sunday.

Minnesota has a strong 34-19-4 record (72 points), but with the Jets’ dominance (39-14-3), finishing first in the Central Division still looks like a longshot. Instead, the Wild are battling with Dallas (37-18-2) and Colorado (33-24-2) for the second and third seeds in the division with the bottom of the three likely entering the playoffs as a wild-card club.

The big question for the Wild is when Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) will be back. When he underwent surgery in late January, we were told that he’d miss a minimum of four weeks, so while a return this week seems unlikely, seeing Kaprizov by mid-March isn’t out of the question. Minnesota deserves credit for managing a 4-2-0 record since Kaprizov was put on the shelf, but that stretch also included back-to-back shutout losses and an underwhelming 2.50 goals per game, so the Wild have shown some vulnerability.

Getting strong performances out of Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello during Kaprizov’s absence will be critical. Boldy had a poorly timed five-game scoring drought from Jan. 29-Feb. 6, but he bounced back with two goals and three points in the Wild’s final game before the break and held his own during the 4 Nations Face-Off, supplying a goal and three points in four outings with Team USA, so he might hit the ground running for Minnesota when play resumes.

Rossi has two goals and seven points across his past 10 appearances with the Wild, but he’s also been inconsistent during that stretch, going without a point in five of those outings. Meanwhile, Zuccarello hadn’t scored a point in five straight games before the break. Maybe the break -- Zuccarello wasn’t involved in the tournament -- has allowed him to reset and put that slump behind him.

That trio is likely to play together while Kaprizov remains out, though once Kaprizov returns, Boldy might shift off that unit to make room for the Wild’s star forward.

Nashville Predators

Nashville will open the week with a pair of difficult opponents at home, hosting Florida and Winnipeg on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The Predators will then travel to New York to face the Islanders on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday.

Nashville showed some hope from Jan. 3-23, winning seven of nine games, but the Predators followed that with a six-game losing streak they couldn’t afford. Nashville now has a 20-29-7 record, putting the team 15 points out of a playoff spot. The team isn’t mathematically eliminated, but there is no longer a realistic path to the postseason for Nashville. To hit 94 points, Nashville would need to go 23-4-1 the rest of the way. That’s simply not happening.

That makes the Predators obvious sellers going into the deadline. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi and Brady Skjei all have no-movement clauses and significant term left on their contracts, so I wouldn’t expect any kind of blockbuster involving any of them.

Interestingly, Juuse Saros’ new contract, and thus his no-movement clause, doesn’t begin until the 2025-26 campaign, so technically the Predators could trade the goaltender, but I doubt they will. Saros’ eight-year, $61.92 million deal looked good when he inked it, but the 29-year-old has struggled this campaign with an 11-23-6 record, 2.95 GAA and .898 save percentage in 41 appearances prior to the tournament. He had a minus-3.5 goals saved above expected, per Moneypuck, which suggests he’s been below average even after considering the poor play in front of him. Teams might be hesitant to take on that big contract given his recent performance, and Nashville might be equally reluctant to trade him at a time when his value is down.

Still, Nashville should be active at the deadline. Gustav Nyquist, who is playing the final season of his two-year, $6.37 million contract, is likely gone. His 20 points in 55 appearances this campaign is a far cry from his 75-point showing in 2023-24, but the 35-year-old should still be a capable middle-six forward for a contender and, frankly, a move away from the Predators’ struggles should do him some good.

Perhaps Ryan O'Reilly will be moved as well. He’s signed through 2026-27, but his $4.5 million cap hit is fair for the two-way center who has 14 goals, 34 points and a 56.6 faceoff percentage in 53 outings this season. The 34-year-old is a former Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner, which is sure to appeal to contenders, and the fact that he’s got term left on his deal means that he would command more than a rental price. He also lacks a no-trade clause, making a potential move that much easier. That said, it really depends on how bad the Predators see their situation. Nashville still has a veteran core, and with so many players locked to NMCs, the franchise is unlikely to embrace a rebuild at this time. If that’s the case, then Nashville might prefer to keep O’Reilly under the belief that the team will bounce back over the next two years. At the least, the Predators likely aren’t motivated sellers when it comes to him, so they would need to be offered a very appealing return.

It'd be much cheaper for teams to pry Luke Schenn from the Predators. He’s in the middle season of a three-year, $8.25 million contract, so he’s not a rental either, but the 35-year-old defenseman is presumably not as big of a part of Nashville’s plans. For a team looking to win now, though, Schenn provides some value. He is a physical force with 41 PIM and 207 hits through 56 outings and would be a solid third-pairing option on a playoff squad. His cap hit might be a touch high for what he brings to the table, but at $2.75 million, it’s workable.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Moving from one seller to another, the Penguins aren’t quite out of the playoff race, but they probably won’t make it. At the least, Pittsburgh needs to be great down the stretch to close the gap, which means the Penguins need a big week. They’ll play in Philadelphia on Tuesday before returning home to host the Flyers, the Bruins and the Maple Leafs on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Sidney Crosby looked great in the 4 Nations Face-Off, contributing a goal and five points across four games for Team Canada. The 37-year-old should be expected to continue to perform for the Penguins down the stretch after supplying 17 goals and 58 points across 55 appearances with Pittsburgh leading up to the tournament. Unfortunately, it’s already well established that the current Penguins can lose even with Crosby keeping up his end of the bargain.

Even if the Penguins are sellers, Crosby is unsurprisingly going nowhere. He has a no-movement clause, and it’s doubtful that either Pittsburgh or Crosby have interest in parting ways. He is the face of the franchise and will likely remain in that position until he hangs up his skates.

The same goes for Evgeni Malkin. The Russian star made his intentions clear in an interview with The Athletic’s Rob Rossi: “I not retire. I know what some people say -- like, I go back to Russia and play for my home team. But I never say it, you know? I retire with Pittsburgh. The Penguins are my team. I love this team. When I retire it’s here.”

So yeah, take him off the list, especially because his no-movement clause gives him final say over his status.

Still, the Penguins are likely to make some moves. Perhaps Matt Grzelcyk, who is playing on a one-year, $2.75 million contract, will be traded. He has a goal and 28 points in 59 appearances while averaging 20:18 of ice time, though he might see his power-play role decline with a new team, which would hurt his fantasy value. He has 10 power-play assists and has logged 2:11 per game with the man advantage this season.

Cody Glass might also be shipped to a team looking for forward depth, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same happen to Anthony Beauvillier. Neither has term left on his contract, though Glass has one season remaining of RFA eligibility.

If Pittsburgh is in the mood for something bigger, the team could take a hard look at moving Rickard Rakell. He’s having a strong campaign with 25 goals and 49 points in 58 appearances. He’s signed through 2027-28 with a $5 million cap hit, so I don’t think the Penguins will move him, but his trade value is good, so it would be a way to shake things up without touching the core. However, the Penguins aren’t expected to enter a full rebuild until after Crosby retires, so rather than move Rakell for picks or long-term prospects, Pittsburgh would presumably want at least one player who is NHL-ready in any Rakell trade.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues will alternate between home and away games next week. They’ll start by hosting Seattle on Tuesday before playing in Washington on Thursday, returning home to face the Kings on Saturday and finally traveling to Dallas for a clash Sunday.

St. Louis is in a similar position to Pittsburgh. It’d be wrong to say all hope for a playoff berth is lost, but with a 26-26-6 (58 points) record, squeaking into the playoffs seems improbable. Perhaps Jordan Binnington can ride the high of backstopping Team Canada to victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off to lead the Blues on a run after the break. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on because he’s a great netminder when he’s at his best, but the problem is that the 31-year-old can end up all over the place. Not to take away from what he just accomplished, but that inconsistency makes it hard for me to count on him to continue at that high level of performance for a sustained period of time.

If he can’t lead St. Louis on a run in the near term, then the Blues are likely to be another seller at the trade deadline. Radek Faksa, who is in the final season of his five-year, $16.25 million contract, would be the most likely player to be dealt under those circumstances. He has three goals, 10 points, 83 hits and 31 blocks in 46 appearances in 2024-25. Those aren’t standout numbers, but Faksa would likely have a market among contenders looking to add to their bottom six.

Maybe trade offers involving Cam Fowler or Nick Leddy will be entertained too. Leddy has a full no-trade clause, while Fowler can limit his options to a four-team trade list, so the two blueliners have considerable control over their respective situations, but they’re also 33 years old and might be interested in the opportunity to play for a contender. Fowler and Leddy are signed through 2025-26, so each of them would come with a bit of term, which adds to their value, especially given that they also come with a reasonable cap hit of roughly $4 million (in Fowler’s case, that’s excluding the $2.5 million Anaheim has retained).

Fowler and Leddy are each capable of serving in a top four capacity. Fowler was already involved in a trade from Anaheim to St. Louis in December, so moving him again is a bit awkward, but given the Blues’ situation, it would make some sense to flip him to a team doing better. As for Leddy, he’s healthy after missing most of the campaign due to a lower-body injury. There seems to be a bit of load management going on given that he averaged just 17:21 of ice time over his first three games back -- his 2023-24 average was 22:22 -- but as he puts some distance between him and his time on the shelf, his workload should increase.

Ryan Suter will also probably get traded if there is interest in him. The 40-year-old isn’t the defenseman he once was, but he would be a nice veteran presence for a contender. Just don’t expect him to average anywhere close to his 20:29 in 2024-25 if he moves away from St. Louis.

If one or more of those blueliners do get traded, then Tyler Tucker will likely see an increase in playing time. We might also see Samuel Johannesson get called up from AHL Springfield to make his NHL debut. The 24-year-old has shown some offensive potential in the minors, providing three goals and 23 points in 46 appearances, so maybe he’d get a trial on the second power-play unit depending on who St. Louis parts with.

If the Blues make some moves up front, then Dalibor Dvorsky would likely get summoned from Springfield. The 19-year-old has looked good with 15 goals and 35 points in 44 AHL outings. It’s also worth keeping Jimmy Snuggerud in the back of your mind. He has 20 goals and 42 points in 32 games with the University of Minnesota as a junior. If he opts to go pro after the NCAA season, it’s feasible that he’ll immediately jump into a middle-six spot with the Blues.

So even if St. Louis misses the playoffs, there are some young players who might make those final weeks worth watching.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals will be at home next week and won’t have to deal with a back-to-back set. Washington will host Calgary on Tuesday, St. Louis on Thursday and Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Washington went into the break with a dominant lead in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals had 80 points (36-11-8) through 55 appearances, putting them nine points ahead of the second-rank Panthers despite Florida having played in two extra games. Although it’s too early for Washington’s spot atop the conference standings to be assured, we’re quickly approaching a point where the Capitals will have to resist the temptation to go onto cruise control until the playoffs.

While there are obvious benefits to the Capitals’ position, resting on your laurels down the stretch can make it hard to get serious again once the playoffs start. Fortunately, even if Washington soon finds itself in a position where wins feel optional, there will still be something to play for: Alex Ovechkin. The 39-year-old entered the 4 Nations break just 15 goals behind Wayne Gretzky and delivered a hat trick in his second game upon return to close the gap to 12 goals in the remaining 25 games. He’s scored at a pace of 0.67 goals per game this campaign, so becoming the all-time goal scorer by the end of the campaign looks attainable, should he stay healthy.

However, it has to be said that using that as the team’s motivation might be a double-edged sword. Getting the puck to Ovechkin is usually the right call -- he's converting on 18.4 percent of his shots after all -- but if the team puts all its focus into securing the record for Ovechkin, even at the cost of the fundamentals, then it might create bad habits. That’s potentially especially dangerous should the act of winning or losing become secondary.

Either way, he’s the best offensive weapon the Capitals have and should be well-rested after the break. He’s not the only one either -- no Washington player was included in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Although Jordan Binnington got the job done, Logan Thompson would have also been a fantastic option for Team Canada after posting a 24-2-5 record, 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage through 31 appearances with Washington this season, but he wasn’t included on the roster. The silver lining is that the time off should have given him a chance to reset -- he was working through a slump right before the break, posting a 1-0-2 record, 3.88 GAA and .867 save percentage across three outings.

That’s in contrast to Tom Wilson, who had four goals and six points across his final four outings before the break and has added three points in two games since returning. The 30-year-old has already suprassed his career high in goals with 26 and is on course to surpass his personal best of 52 points -- he has 45 through 57 contests this campaign.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets will open the week by hosting the Sharks, and they’ll follow that up with a two-game road trip to Ottawa and Nashville on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The Jets will conclude the week back home with a clash against the Flyers on Saturday.

Like the Capitals, Winnipeg’s biggest challenge going forward might be finding ways to stay motivated down the stretch as games potentially mean progressively less. The Jets already have 81 points (39-14-3) after just 56 appearances, so their playoff position is fairly secure. They’ve even opened up a nine-point lead in the battle for the Western Conference’s top seed thanks to their active eight-game winning streak.

One benefit of that time off will be the ability to manage Connor Hellebuyck’s workload down the stretch. The 31-year-old netminder should still be counted on to play regularly, but we might see Eric Comrie move up to playing once every third game to make sure Hellebuyck isn’t burnt out by the time the playoffs start. It’s a situation worth monitoring closely if you have Hellebuyck on your fantasy team. Adding Comrie would be a good hedge, especially given that he’s been a fine backup with a 2.57 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 13 appearances.

On the trade front, Winnipeg is projected to have $11.2 million worth of deadline cap space, per Puckpedia, but the Jets are missing their 2025 second and fourth-round selections due to trades before this season, so Winnipeg has a little less to work with when it comes to acquiring players.

Another tricky thing is that…they play in Winnipeg. That’s not me trying to throw shade at the city, that’s me acknowledging a genuine challenge that the franchise has to constantly overcome because of player perceptions. The Athletic recently polled 111 players and granted them anonymity so that they could speak freely. When asked what the first team on their hypothetical no-trade list would be, 48.78 percent picked Winnipeg.

As one player put it: “There’s not much to do out there. It’s (censored) cold. I haven’t heard a guy go to Winnipeg and be like, 'This is going to be my forever home.’”

The second-place Sabres weren’t even close at 19.51 percent despite the Jets being a dominant club while Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011. It’s not fair, but if a player has a partial no-trade list, then you have to consider the probability that Winnipeg is on it. Even still, Winnipeg might be able to bolster its blue line or add a middle-six forward before the deadline.

Seth Jones has interest in leaving Chicago, and Winnipeg was mentioned as a potential destination by The Athletic. He’d help solidify the Jets’ top four and maybe serve on the second power-play unit. His $9.5 million cap hit is a bit rich, but the cap is going up, and the Blackhawks might be willing to retain part of that salary. However, Jones has a no-movement clause, and given what we’ve already discussed when it comes to players' feelings for Winnipeg, he might not be willing to waive it for the Jets.

Getting Ryan Donato from Chicago might be more viable. It’s a far less splashy move, but Donato would be a nice third-line option. He has 19 goals and 38 points in 55 appearances this season. Connor Murphy would also be a solid add for Winnipeg in a trade with the Blackhawks. After supplying a goal, 13 points, 38 PIM, 72 hits and 100 blocks in 44 appearances with Chicago this campaign, he’d look nice on Winnipeg’s third pairing. Like Jones, though, Winnipeg would have to overcome the NTC problem -- Murphy has a 10-team no-trade list.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Goaltending issues – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 18 Jan 2025 16:22:53 +0000

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 14: San Jose Sharks goaltender Alexandar Georgiev (40) doesn’t see a rebound in front of him during the game between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks Tuesday January 14, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire)

When you’re early in a season, there is always the fear of overreacting to small sample sizes, but sometimes early success or failure really is an indication of what’s to come. That holds true when it comes to two goaltenders who struggled in the opening weeks of the 2024-25 campaign -- Tristan Jarry and Alexandar Georgiev.

Jarry and Georgiev started in the Penguins’ and Avalanche’s season opener, respectively, but neither is even on that team anymore and a failure in between the pipes is the cause in both cases. Georgiev had a disastrous start, going 0-3-0 with a 5.79 GAA and an .802 save percentage across his first four games. He didn’t even post a start in which he allowed fewer than three goals until Nov. 7. In the end, he had an 8-7-0 record, 3.38 GAA and .874 save percentage in 18 outings before the Avalanche cut him loose, packaging him with Nikolai Kovalenko and two picks to get Mackenzie Blackwood from San Jose.

We can’t fully judge the trade yet until we know what becomes of those draft picks -- it will take a while because it’s a 2025 fifth-round selection and a 2026 second-round pick that went San Jose’s way -- but Colorado has plenty of reason to be happy. Blackwood has been brilliant between the pipes for the Avalanche, while Georgiev has done no better in San Jose than he had for Colorado in 2024-25.

Colorado’s situation can be considered lucky compared to Pittsburgh’s. Georgiev is in the final season of his three-year, $10.2 million contract anyway, so putting together an offering with some sweeteners to a rebuilding squad was perfectly feasible. Jarry is in just the second season of his five-year, $26.88 million contract, so finding a taker for him would be far more difficult.

No one wants that contract, and I can say that without any reservation because it’s been proven. Jarry was put on waivers Wednesday, giving the other 31 teams to take over his contract without giving up any assets and every squad passed on the offer. With that, Pittsburgh sent Jarry to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Similar to Georgiev, Jarry had a terrible start to the 2024-25 campaign, allowing 12 goals on 73 shots (.836 save percentage) over his first three appearances. Jarry then spent time in the minors on a conditioning stint and seemed to stabilize, posting a 2.16 GAA and a .926 save percentage in five AHL outings, but that didn’t translate into NHL success. After rejoining the Penguins, he allowed five goals on 38 shots to Columbus in his first start back and has continued to struggle, posting an 8-8-4 record, 3.31 GAA and .884 save percentage through 22 NHL outings this campaign.

Given that Jarry floundered even after a strong showing in the minors, it’d be hard to trust him even if he shows promise again in the AHL, especially because the 18-20-8 Penguins have very little margin for error left in their fight to stay in the Wild Card picture. There’s always the chance that injuries or a trade will change things, but for now, Pittsburgh seems set to spend the final months of the season with the goaltending duo of Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist, the latter of whom was called up in a move corresponding with Jarry’s demotion. Blomqvist is just 23 and someone the Penguins hope will be a significant part of the team long-term.

Speaking of the future, there are likely no good solutions when it comes to Jarry. Barring a comeback for the ages, the Penguins will likely look to part ways with him over the summer. They could try bundling draft picks to trade him but at $5.375 million through 2027-28 for a goaltender struggling to stay in the NHL, finding a suitor would be a challenge. Maybe a combination of the Penguins’ offering a really nice sweetener -- Penguins GM Kyle Dubas showed during his time in Toronto that he’d willingly sacrifice a first-round pick in exchange for cap savings -- and retaining some of his remaining salary would be enough to make it happen, but the Penguins would have to decide if they’re really that desperate to move him.

An alternative would be to buy out his remaining term, which would leave Pittsburgh with a cap hit of roughly $1.75 million in 2025-26 for a saving of roughly $3.63 million, but the dead cap would increase to $5.05 million in 2026-27 and be $4.55 million in 2027-28. The Penguins would then have $797,222 of dead cap space in each campaign from 2028-29 through 2030-31. In other words, they’d have a meaningful amount of extra wiggle room next season, but after that, any benefit to buying him out is basically over.

Still, the Penguins might be uniquely positioned for that arrangement to make sense. Erik Karlsson is 34, Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang are 37 and Evgeni Malkin is 38. Realistically, Pittsburgh’s Stanley Cup window has already closed, but the franchise is reluctant to start a rebuild while the old guard is still playing good hockey. So how about this: The Penguins make the 2025-26 the last dance with this group and then embrace the rebuild. Yes, Crosby and Karlsson are signed through 2026-27 and Letang through 2027-28, but by that point, Crosby and Letang will be approaching 40 while Malkin, whose contract expires after 2025-26, might be gone. Unless something major changes, it seems hard to see how the Penguins will be competitive by that point anyway, so they’ll likely be in rebuild mode regardless of what they want.

So perhaps that’s what will end up happening. In the meantime, though, Jarry will report to the minors while Crosby and Co. will chase a return to the playoffs.

Boston Bruins (Mon vs SJS, Wed @ NJD, Thu vs OTT, Sat vs COL)

The Bruins stopped a six-game losing streak with a 4-3 overtime victory over Florida on Jan. 11 and put more distance on that slump by besting Tampa Bay 6-2 on Jan. 14. Still, the Bruins have no breathing room in the battle for a Wild Card spot, so they need to stay strong. They’ll host the Sharks on Monday, play in New Jersey on Wednesday and then spend their final two games of the week at home, facing Ottawa and Colorado on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

With over half the campaign in the bank, Boston is still searching for offense up the middle. Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha kept the Bruins afloat in that regard last season, providing 60 and 59 points, respectively, but Boston believed it could do even better by signing Elias Lindholm to a massive seven-year, $54.25 million contract.

That hasn’t worked out. Lindholm has just seven goals and 22 points in 46 appearances this year. What makes that more troubling is it comes after he was limited to 15 goals and 44 points in 75 outings in 2023-24. Boston clearly felt that down campaign was an anomaly for Lindholm, who has surpassed the 60-point milestone on three occasions, but perhaps the back half of his career won’t be filled with offensive accomplishments.

Making matters worse is the lackluster production from Zacha (10 goals, 24 points) and Coyle (10 goals, 15 points) this campaign. At least Brad Marchand (16 goals, 35 points) and David Pastrnak (20 goals, 48 points) are still doing well, but the Bruins’ scoring depth beyond that is looking rather bad.

Although it would be awkward to add yet another center when Coyle, Zacha and Lindholm consume a collective $17.75 million in cap space, that might be the play that would improve the Bruins the most. Then again, perhaps the Bruins won’t be buyers at the deadline.

“We’ll see where we’re at,” Bruins president Cam Neely recently said, per Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com. “I think right now, we’ve got to look at two paths: one that we’re buying and one that we may be retooling a little bit.”

In other words, these next few weeks are all the more important. Perhaps that will provide Boston with extra motivation, especially from the team’s core.

Carolina Hurricanes (Mon @ CHI, Tue @ DAL, Thu vs CBJ, Sat @ NYI)

The Hurricanes got off to a 20-10-1 start but went just 6-6-2 from Dec. 20-Jan. 15, so they have some work to do. They’ll start on the road next week with matches in Chicago on Monday and Dallas on Tuesday before returning home to host the Blue Jackets on Thursday. The Hurricanes will conclude the week with a road tilt versus the Islanders.

Carolina got some good news with the activation of Frederik Andersen (knee) off injured reserve. Although Andersen started the campaign with a 3-1-0 record, 1.49 GAA and .941 save percentage in four outings, he hasn’t played since Oct. 26. Rust might be a factor, but he still should have the edge for the starting gig ahead of Pyotr Kochetkov, who has a 16-9-2 record, 2.54 GAA and .901 save percentage in 28 appearances. It seems extremely likely that Kochetkov will see his workload diminish but given Andersen’s age (35) and injury history, Carolina might hesitate to lean on him too much even if he produces good results. Despite the Hurricanes’ mediocre play of late, Carolina’s position is still strong enough to prioritize making sure Andersen will be optimal for the playoffs.

Andersen isn’t the only veteran of importance for the team. The 36-year-old Jordan Staal is a valued member too, though the team captain’s contributions typically aren’t in the offensive zone. One notable exception to that was from Jan. 5-10 -- a stretch in which Staal collected five goals and eight points over four games. That stretch included a hat trick on Jan. 9, the fifth of his career and second since joining Carolina in 2012.

The good times are probably over, though. He had no points and no shots for Carolina on Jan. 12 and Jan. 15, so if you picked him up for the hot streak, it’s time to move on. On the plus side, Brent Burns is still hot. He has five assists over his past five appearances and nine points (two goals) across his last 11 outings. Burns has taken a step back offensively in 2024-25, largely due to his diminished power-play role, but his recent success has pushed him up to four goals and 18 points in 45 outings in 2024-25. Who knows, maybe he’ll have a strong second half, though I’d feel more confident about suggesting that if he was on the top power-play unit. As it is, Burns has just one assist with the man advantage this season, down from 20 power-play points in 2023-24.

Minnesota Wild (Mon @ COL, Thu vs UTA, Sat vs CGY, Sun @ CHI)

The Wild are enduring about as close as they get to a cold spell with three defeats over their past four games, dropping them to 27-14-4. Things won’t get any easier Monday in Colorado, but the rest of the week looks favorable. Minnesota will host Utah on Thursday, Calgary on Saturday and play in Chicago on Sunday.

The Wild's biggest issue is the absence of star forward Kirill Kaprizov (lower body). He was moved to long-term injured reserve Thursday, and although it’s retroactive to Dec. 23, they probably wouldn’t have done that if he was expected back soon. Minnesota will also miss Marcus Johansson (head) next week after sustaining the injury Wednesday.

Those absences have opened the door for Liam Ohgren, who was recalled from AHL Iowa on Thursday and will presumably play regularly next week. The 20-year-old was taken with the No. 19 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and has shown promise in the AHL, supplying 12 goals and 23 points in 25 outings this season. He hasn’t recorded a point in eight games with Minnesota in 2024-25, but he’s also averaged just 9:53 of ice time over that stretch. It’ll be interesting to see if he plays a bigger role than he did during his stint in October, both because he’s gotten some seasoning in the minors and the fact that Kaprizov and Johansson were eating big minutes.

Then again, Jakub Lauko is also in the mix. He hasn’t played since Dec. 14 due to a lower-body injury, but he’s off IR now, setting the stage for his return. Before the injury, he had two goals and four points across 24 appearances with the Wild in 2024-25 while averaging just 10:00. Lauko is more of a gritty forward without Ohgren’s offensive upside, but perhaps that’s what the Wild want to help fill out the minutes lost, especially given Lauko’s edge in NHL experience.

That aside, Minnesota has to be happy that Ryan Hartman has stepped up in the face of those injuries, providing three goals and seven points across his past eight appearances, especially after struggling up to that point with four goals and seven points across his past 32 outings. Hartman hasn’t seen consistent use on the power play in 2024-25, but his recent play might lead to Minnesota reevaluating that. Although he hasn’t come close to replicating his 34-goal, 65-point showing in 2021-22 since that campaign, Hartman can still be an effective secondary scorer under the right circumstances and did provide 10 power-play points -- 45 overall -- in 2023-24.

Nashville Predators (Tue vs SJS, Thu @ SJS, Sat @ ANA)

This has been a miserable season for the Predators, but they’ve won their last two games and do have some favorable matchups ahead. They’ll play a home-and-away series against San Jose on Tuesday and Thursday before facing the Ducks in Anaheim on Saturday.

There’s not much in the way of silver linings for Nashville this campaign, but at least Steven Stamkos has gotten better as he’s settled in with the club. He has an impressive 11 goals and 21 points across his past 26 appearances, a stark change from his opening eight games in which he was limited to just one point (a goal). There were plenty of assessments that Tampa Bay was right to cut him loose when the squad did, and while the Lightning certainly have to be happy with how things are working out with Jake Guentzel, it seems Stamkos has something left in the tank.

Jonathan Marchessault has also hit his stride. He had five goals and 13 points over his first 28 outings with the Predators, but he’s been one of the league’s top players dating back to Dec. 10 with nine goals and 20 points across 16 games.

That begs the question, though: If Nashville’s big free-agent signings are paying off after all, then why is Nashville still just 15-22-7? Sure, the Predators have looked better from Dec. 12 onward with an 8-6-1 record, but even that stretch doesn’t align with the team’s high offseason expectations.

Part of the problem is secondary scoring. In addition to Stamkos and Marchessault, the Predators do have Filip Forsberg (13 goals, 38 points), Ryan O’Reilly (13 goals, 26 points) and defenseman Roman Josi (eight goals, 30 points), but no one else has reached the 20-point mark. That gives Nashville five players who have passed that milestone while the average team has 7.17. The average team also has 5.56 players with at least 10 goals while Nashville has four.

The fall of Gustav Nyquist, who recorded 75 points last campaign but has just 18 points (seven goals) in 43 appearances in 2024-25, is a big factor in that, and unlike Stamkos and Marchessault, Nyquist doesn’t seem to be getting meaningfully better as the campaign progresses. It’d also have been nice if the 22-year-old Luke Evangelista built off his 2023-24 39-point showing, but instead, he has four goals and 14 points in 39 appearances this season.

The other factor is the defense. Nashville is tied for 21st in xGA/60 with 3.07, per Moneypuck. Juuse Saros has held his own with a plus-2.5 goals saved above expected, but that just suggests he’s been average rather than exceptional and on a team with as leaky a defense as the Predators’, they really do need the Saros of old. Instead, the current version is 10-18-6 with a 2.75 GAA and a .903 save percentage. He continues to be consistent too, supplying a 4-5-1 record, 2.80 GAA and .889 save percentage across his past 10 games.

Ottawa Senators (Tue @ NYR, Thu @ BOS, Sat vs TOR, Sun vs UTA)

Ottawa is 22-18-4 and in the mix for a playoff spot, but the Senators have to be nervous given the recent success enjoyed by Detroit and Montreal. The pressure is on Ottawa going into its road tilts against the Rangers on Tuesday and the Bruins on Thursday. The Senators will then play in Toronto on Saturday and Utah on Sunday.

Ottawa’s forwards have been going through a quiet stretch with Tim Stutzle, Drake Batherson and Brady Tkachuk each recording three or fewer points over Ottawa’s past four games. Shane Pinto is enjoying some success, though, supplying two goals and four points over his past four games.

Pinto hasn’t been great overall in 2024-25 with eight goals and 14 points in 36 appearances. He showed offensive potential over his previous two campaigns with 29 goals and 62 points across 123 outings, but the 24-year-old hasn’t taken the next step yet, despite averaging a healthy 17:40 of ice time in 2024-25.

It’d help if he shot the puck more. He’s averaging just 6.1 shots/60, down from 8.9 last year, which is why he’s been limited to eight markers despite a healthy 12.3 shooting percentage (his career average is 10.9). He’s showing no signs of doing that, though, managing just six shots over his past four games. Unless that changes, Pinto likely won’t be a long-term play.

Things have looked better in goal, though. Linus Ullmark (back) is still out and probably won’t return next week, but his continued absence has been made tolerable by the rise of Leevi Merilainen. The 22-year-old rookie has a 5-2-1 record, 1.84 GAA and .930 save percentage in eight outings in 2024-25. He’s made four consecutive starts for Ottawa, allowing a mere three goals on 106 shots (.972 save percentage).

It’s inevitable that he’s going to have bad games, but if his overall level of play remains high, then Ottawa will have a near impossible time justifying sending him down after Ullmark returns. Instead, Anton Forsberg, who is 4-8-1 with a 3.10 GAA and an .883 save percentage, might find himself on waivers, which would allow Ottawa to go with an Ullmark-Merilainen combo. There’s also a chance that Forsberg might be traded or even claimed because he’s in the final season of a three-year, $8.25 million deal, which makes him a tolerable rental from a cap perspective but given his lackluster play over the past three years (30-31-3, 3.21 GAA, .894 save percentage), the other team would need to be fairly desperate.

Tampa Bay Lightning (Mon @ TOR, Tue @ MTL, Fri @ CHI, Sat @ DET)

Tampa Bay has played in just 43 games through Friday’s action, the second least in the league, so the Lightning are going to have a bit of a busier schedule than most for the remainder of the campaign. The Lightning will experience that in the upcoming week during their four-game road trip with stops in Toronto on Monday, Montreal on Tuesday, Chicago on Friday and Detroit on Saturday.

The Lightning are fortunate to be healthy in goal and up front, but blueliner Erik Cernak did sustain an undisclosed injury Thursday and is day-to-day as of the time of writing. Tampa Bay was already missing J.J. Moser (lower body), so that brings Tampa Bay down to five healthy blueliners if Cernak is unavailable.

Nick Perbix might see an increase in playing time from his season average of 15:28. He has four goals, 11 points, 14 PIM, 28 hits and 40 blocks in 38 appearances in 2024-25, so he’s only a factor in the deepest of fantasy leagues. The 23-year-old Emil Lilleberg getting a bigger role would be more interesting. Lilleberg ranks second among all defensemen with 72 PIM, and he has 71 hits. If an increase in playing time leads to even a modest uptick in offensive production -- he has nine assists in 40 appearances while averaging 15:43 of ice time -- then that would be interesting in leagues that also use penalty minutes.

Regardless of what happens on defense, though, Tampa Bay has a forward group to be envious of. The Lightning have five forwards with 37 or more points compared to the league average of 1.59. There’s also Nick Paul, who is a solid secondary scorer with 11 goals and 25 points in 37 appearances. He’s on a bit of a roll right now with two goals and five points over his past six games, so he’s worth consideration as a short-term grab, especially given Tampa Bay’s packed upcoming lineup.

Meanwhile, Nikita Kucherov remains as dominant as ever. He’s on a seven-game scoring streak in which he’s provided three goals and 11 points, giving him 20 markers and 65 points in 41 outings overall. He ranks third in the scoring race behind Nathan MacKinnon (17 goals, 72 points) and Leon Draisaitl (31 goals, 67 points) and just ahead of Connor McDavid (20 goals, 64 points). It wouldn’t be surprising to see those four compete for the Art Ross Trophy for the remainder of the season.

Vegas Golden Knights (Mon vs STL, Thu @ STL, Fri @ DAL, Sun vs FLA)

Vegas is cruising towards the playoffs with its 29-12-3 record, though it has hit a speed bump, dropping three of its past four games. It wouldn’t be surprising to see better results next week, though. The Golden Knights will start with a home-and-away series against St. Louis on Monday and Thursday. Vegas will then play in Dallas on Friday and host the Panthers on Sunday.

I’m so used to the Golden Knights having injury problems, that it’s weird to see the team basically healthy. Lukas Cormier is on the season-opening injured reserve list, but he’ll probably be sent to the minors once he’s ready to return.

That gives us a glimpse of how this team assembles at full strength. Presently, the forward talent is spread out nicely. Ivan Barbashev, Jack Eichel and Mark Stone make for a strong first line while Tomas Hertl and William Karlsson each center one of the other two scoring lines -- it's debatable which of those is second and which is third. Presently, Karlsson has Brett Howden on his wing while Hertl has Pavel Dorofeyev.

Then there’s the 23-year-old Cole Schwindt, who doesn’t have much of a role when everyone is healthy. He averaged just 8:24 of ice time from Dec. 19-Jan. 12 and typically doesn’t get consistent linemates. He was then a healthy scratch Tuesday but is projected to draw back into the lineup Friday with the 22-year-old Alexander Holtz resting instead. Holtz also doesn’t have a consistent role when the team is at full strength.

Nicolas Roy is technically the fourth center, but he’s playing more than that role implies, averaging 15:59 per game. He also brings more to the table offensively than someone with the “fourth-line center” label. He had 13 goals and 41 points in 70 outings in 2023-24 and is at six goals and 14 points across 33 appearances this season.

Combine that with the ability to utilize Noah Hanifin, Brayden McNabb, Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore as the squad’s top-four defensemen, and it’s not hard to see why this group is enjoying so much success. There aren’t any glaring needs that they even have going into the playoffs, though it can usually never hurt to have too much depth, so maybe Vegas will look to add a complementary piece or two as some injury insurance.

Winnipeg Jets (Mon @ UTA, Wed @ COL, Fri vs UTA, Sun vs CGY)

Winnipeg has won its past three games, bringing it up to 31-12-3 in 2024-25. That puts them on a 55-win pace, which would be the most in franchise history -- the Jets’ previous best was 52 in 2017-18 and 2023-24. We’ll see if the Jets can continue their smooth performance this campaign next week. They’ll play in Utah on Monday and Colorado on Wednesday before returning home to host Utah on Friday and the Flames on Sunday.

Connor Hellebuyck remains the backbone of their success. He’s allowed just four goals on 93 shots (.957 save percentage) over his past four starts and now has a 28-6-2 record, 1.97 GAA and .929 save percentage in 36 outings. Like the Jets, it’s entirely feasible that he’ll surpass his career high in wins. His current best is 44, which he set in 2017-18. Assumingly, that wasn’t one of the two times he won the Vezina Trophy, finishing second that year to Pekka Rinne with both of those netminders getting similar results -- Hellebuyck was 44-11-9 with a 2.36 GAA and a .924 save percentage in 67 appearances while Rinne was 42-13-4 with a 2.31 GAA and a .927 save percentage in 59 starts.

This season, Hellebuyck is looking like a heavy favorite in the Vezina Trophy race. In addition to dominating the win category (the next best goaltender is Jake Oettinger with 22), he also leads in save percentage (Hellebuyck’s .929 narrowly beats Anthony Stolarz’s .927, though Stolarz has been limited to 17 starts due to injury) and GAA (his 1.97 tops Darcy Kuemper’s 2.06, and again, Hellebuyck has a huge edge in starts compared to Kuemper’s 22) among those with at least 10 appearances.

In a different year, I think there’d be a strong Hart argument to be made for Hellebuyck too, but that would require the top of the scoring leaderboard to be less impressive. We’re probably going to see one or more forwards top 120 points, so odds are one of them will get the Hart. Still, Hellebuyck’s dominance this campaign is remarkable.

We shouldn’t sell the offense short, though. The Jets do rank second in goals per game with 3.57. The top line of Kyle Connor (26 goals, 60 points), Mark Scheifele (27 goals, 53 points) and Gabriel Vilardi (19 goals, 41 points) have led the charge in that regard, but Nikolaj Ehlers’ contributions shouldn’t be overlooked either. He has 14 goals and 38 points across 37 outings in 2024-25, including five goals and 13 points in 13 games since returning from a lower-body injury. Ehlers numbers become more impressive when you consider he’s averaging a somewhat modest 15:37. No player has more points than Ehlers while averaging under 16 minutes (Jason Zucker is next with 33 points), and that’s despite Ehlers missing nine games due to his injury.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Rossi stepping up, Kane thriving on the power play, Fantilli gets new opportunity, Knies back on track now that Mattews has returned and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 21:06:16 +0000

Minnesota Wild Center Marco Rossi (23). (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Marco Rossi has stepped up in his second season, Patrick Kane is thriving on the power play, Adam Fantilli gets a new opportunity in Columbus, Matthew Knies is back on track now that Auston Mattews has returned and much more!

Here is this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points:

#1 Although his role as a top line centre in Minnesota has more value when Kirill Kaprizov is healthy, Marco Rossi is enjoying an excellent second season in the National Hockey League. Across his past 20 games, Rossi has delivered 20 points (9 G, 11 A) with 37 shots on goal and even with Kaprizov out, Rossi still has Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello skating on his wings, so there is sufficient skill on his flanks to keep the points coming.

#2 It’s not like Showtime Patrick Kane flies under the radar, but after a slow start to the season, the veteran right winger had tended to fall out of favour with fantasy managers. Since the Red Wings changed coaches however, going from Derek Lalonde to Todd McLellan, Kane has produced eight points (4 G, 4 A) and 17 shots on goal in six games. Five of those eight points have come on the power play, which has dramatically improved since the coaching change.

#3 Second year Blue Jackets centre Adam Fantilli has struggled to find his footing this season, making his return from a calf laceration that ended his 2023-2024 season prematurely. Fantilli does have five points (2 G, 3 A) during a four-game point streak and with Sean Monahan out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury, Fantilli is getting first crack at centering Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov on Columbus’ top line.

#4 Toronto Maple Leafs sophomore left winger Matthew Knies had just one assist in his past eight games when Auston Matthews returned from injury. Since Matthews’ return, Knies has produced eight points (5 G, 3 A) during a four-game point streak. He has also hit extremes on the plus-minus front just in that four-game span, going +6 in a win over Boston and -5 in a loss at Carolina. With 16 goals, Knies ranks third on the Maple Leafs and his 22 even-strength points is tied for 63rd in the entire league. Skating on a line with Matthews and Mitch Marner is certainly a prime position for Knies to generate more offence

#5 Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn plays more of a supporting role at this stage of his career, but the 35-year-old left winger continues to deliver. In his past 19 games, Benn has produced 18 points (7 G, 11 A) with 43 shots on goal. With 57 hits in 40 games, Benn continues to provide value for fantasy managers. He is not the dominant force that he was during his peak years but remains a valuable commodity when he is scoring like he has over the past couple of months.

#6 Some lineup shuffling in Dallas has resulted in right winger Evgeni Dadonov moving up the depth chart to skate alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz on the Stars’ top line. In his past 10 games, Dadonov has contributed 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 20 shots on goal. He is a four-time 20-goal scorer, so Dadonov has shown that he is a legitimate scoring winger, but at 35 years old, it’s fair to wonder whether his recent uptick in production can continue over the long run. As long as he is playing with Robertson and Hintz, Dadonov should generate interest from fantasy managers.

#7 After managing just 40 points in 82 games for the Kings last season, Pierre-Luc Dubois needed a big bounce-back season and his arrival in Washington has provided him with a fresh start. In his past 18 games, Dubois has 19 points (5 G, 14 A) with 39 shots on goal. Dubois is thriving on a line between Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson, though Dubois has also had success with Aliaksei Protas in McMichael’s place, too.

#8 Injuries tend to be part of the package for Colorado Avalanche left winger Jonathan Drouin, but he is productive when healthy and had a career-high 56 points (19 G, 37 A) in 79 games last season. Since returning from injury this season, he has put up six points (1 G, 5 A) in five games, giving him 10 points in 10 games this season. Drouin has landed on the Avs’ top line, with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, which is one of the premier opportunities afforded to any point-producing forward.

#9 With a hat trick against Toronto on Thursday, Carolina Hurricanes centre Jordan Staal is up to 12 points (5 G, 7 A) and 26 shots on goal in his past 13 games. Staal is an elite checking centre, who has been criminally underrated in Selke Trophy voting, though he was runner-up last season and fourth the year before. Nevertheless, the 36-year-old pivot is on pace for more than 40 points, which would be the first time since 2017-2018 that he surpassed that threshold. He has had a couple of seasons in that time in which he scored at a higher per-game rate but missed time due to injury (2018-2019) and a shortened season (2020-2021).

#10 Staal’s teammate Eric Robinson is not really one for fantasy managers except in the deepest of leagues, but the 29-year-old winger also scored against Toronto, and he has 21 points (10 G, 11 A) in 42 games, moving him to within six points of his career high of 27 points. Robinson is lunch-box-and-hard-hat type of player who gives an honest effort and plays a physical game. He had some modest success in Columbus but could not settle into a consistent role in Buffalo last season. His move to Carolina this season has brought a fresh start and improved production. Robinson does not play a lot – about 12 minutes per game – but has recently moved up the depth chart to join Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas on Carolina’s second line.

#11 Veteran Anaheim Ducks centre Ryan Strome has started to pick up his production after a slow start to the campaign. He has eight points (2 G, 6 A) in his past seven games, and while it’s not unusual that he has Frank Vatrano skating on his left side, the veteran duo had rookie Sam Colangelo on the right wing for Tuesday’s game against Calgary. However, that was due to Troy Terry missing the game for the birth of his child, so when Terry returns, that is an established and proven trio of forwards that can help steer the Ducks in the right direction.

#12 It would be fair to characterize Erik Karlsson’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins as underwhelming, but it should still be noted that he can deliver points. In his past 11 games, he has a dozen points (2 G, 10 A) and is averaging 23:43 of ice time per game. He is back on Pittsburgh’s top power play unit and, considering his pedigree, Karlsson might be a decent buy-low candidate for fantasy managers because there just aren’t that many defencemen who have 100-point seasons in their history.

#13 Penguins left winger Michael Bunting has become a reliable contributor. He has been on a point-per-game pace over his past 18 games, with 18 points (9 G, 9 A), including 10 points on the power play. Bunting has recorded 48 percent of his points on the power play this season, the same as Steven Stamkos. Among players with at least 20 points, these are the only players with a higher percentage of points on the power play: Shayne Gostisbehere (66.7 percent), Jake Sanderson (63.6 percent), Kevin Fiala (50 percent), Teuvo Teravainen (50 percent), Drake Batherson (50 percent), Gabriel Vilardi (48.7 percent), and Chandler Stephenson (48.1 percent),

#14 The Washington Capitals have been one of the great surprises in the NHL this season and part of the reason is their addition of defenceman Jakob Chychrun, who has always been a capable scorer, but injuries have prevented him from maximizing his potential. This season, though, he has stayed healthy and is piling up points. In the past 21 games, Chychrun has 20 points (6 G, 14 A). Among defencemen, since 2019-2020, only Cale Makar (99) and Roman Josi (96) have scored more goals than Chychrun’s 71 goals.

#15 With Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber injured, Minnesota Wild defenceman Jonas Brodin has become an unexpected offensive contributor. In his past seven games, Brodin has seven points (2 G, 5 A) while playing a whopping 26:35 per game. Brodin scored a career-high 30 points in 2021-2022 but has largely been a standout defensive presence in his career. With 16 points in 31 games this season, Brodin could set a new career high for points, but the moment that Faber and Spurgeon return, Brodin will likely return to his defensive focus.

#16 An unlikely source of offence lately, Florida Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist has eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his past eight games. He has been skating at right wing on the third line with Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe, which does offer some upside. He doesn’t play enough to have wide fantasy appeal, averaging 12:38 time on ice per game in the past eight, but as a short-term fix, Boqvist might have a little bit of unexpected value.

#17 When the San Jose Sharks traded for goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, acquiring him from the Nashville Predators, it was easy to view him as the Sharks’ goaltender of the future. He has played seven games for the Sharks this season, posting a .923 save percentage, and the 22-year-old has done nothing to dispel the notion that he will not only be the Sharks’ starting goaltender, but he might be a very good one, at that. In the short term, Askarov may not play enough to have huge fantasy value, but that day is coming.

#18 Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle has been enjoying a bounce-back season and has 41 points in 40 games, but he has it a dry spell lately, managing one assist in his past five games. While a small sample of games like that should not hold great sway on his fantasy value but it is at least a little concerning that of the six games that Stutzle has failed to record a shot this season, three of them have come in the past five games. He is skating with Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson at evens, certainly a skilled enough line to put up some points, but it will be worth keeping an eye on the Sens’ rising star.

#19 Philadelpia Flyers rookie right winger Matvei Michkov got off to a blazing start in his first NHL season, scoring 27 points (11 G, 16 A) in his first 27 games. In the past month, though, he has just two points (1 G, 1 A) in 13 games. He does have 33 shots on goal in that time, so it’s not like he isn’t getting chances, but this slump has been carrying on for quite a while. Right now, he is skating on a line with Scott Laughton and Morgan Frost, and is on Philadelphia’s second power play unit, which isn’t exactly going to drag him back into a more productive place. He might be a buy-low target at this point.

#20 It has not been an easy season for the Boston Bruins, as they are clinging to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, after typically battling for the best record year after year. The Bruins are winless in six straight games and team captain Brad Marchand has no goals and two assists in his past seven games. If there is reason to be hopeful about Marchand, it is that the has generated 26 shots on goal in those seven games and has been a high percentage finisher throughout his career, scoring n 15.1 percent of his shots for his whole career, but what would be a career low of 11.4 percent this season. Marchand is playing with Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle right now, but if the winless streak continues, there could be more line shuffling in Boston.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Boston Struggling, Colorado returns to health and much more

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 16 Nov 2024 15:47:10 +0000

Boston Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman (1) (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

If you compare every team since the beginning of the salary cap era (2005-06), you’ll find that the Boston Bruins rank as the best defensively, allowing an average of just 2.55 goals per game. That’s not shocking when you consider that the Bruins have gone from Tim Thomas to Tuukka Rask to the duo of Linus Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman over that period.

Elite goaltending has simply become the norm in Boston, and it didn’t look like it was going to change. Sure, Ullmark was dealt to Ottawa for cap reasons, but the 25-year-old Swayman seemed ready to take his place as Boston’s clear No. 1, and yes, the negotiations got tense, resulting in him missing the preseason, but in the end, he signed an eight-year, $66 million contract, ending the saga with a resolution that both sides can be happy with. Except, noone has much reason to be happy with the Bruins right now.

Boston is a middling 8-8-2, a dramatic drop from its 47-20-15 finish in 2023-24, and Swayman has been part of the problem with his 5-6-2 record, 3.35 GAA and .888 save percentage in 13 starts. He leads the league in goals allowed (42), and his goals saved above expected is minus-4.6, per Moneypuck, which puts him in 65th place through Thursday’s action -- not exactly the type of return you’d expect from someone with an $8.25 million cap hit.

Maybe missing the preseason put him behind the curve, contributing to his shaky start, but he doesn’t seem to be stabilizing as the campaign goes on. To be fair, he does have his moments, but his good starts have been counterbalanced by disastrous ones, like allowing six goals on 22 shots en route to an 8-2 loss to Carolina on Oct. 31 or surrendering seven goals on 38 shots in Boston’s 7-2 loss to Dallas on Thursday. Swayman also just has a lot of uninspired starts sprinkled in there -- nine of his 13 outings have involved him surrendering at least three goals.

Maybe it’s the pressure of the contract getting to him, especially with how much he appeared to have to battle to get that deal. There’s a big mental aspect to goaltending, so it’s not hard to see how a slow start, coupled with the new deal, and perhaps even the absence of his longtime friend and goaltending partner Ullmark, could all snowball to create this outcome. Whatever the case, though, Boston is in waters that have been rare for it since the start of the cap era: They have a problem between the pipes.

Colorado has endured its own goaltending issues, but at least the Avalanche are tied for 10th offensively with 3.47 goals per game and could do even better now that their forward corps is largely healthy. They’re still missing Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Ross Colton (foot), but Jonathan Drouin (upper body), Valeri Nichushkin (suspension) and Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder) are all back, giving them far more options than they’ve had in a while.

This is being written before Friday’s game against Washington, which is set to see the return of Nichushkin, but it looks like the tentative plan is to run two elite lines. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen typically play together, giving the Avalanche one nearly unstoppable unit, but instead, Colorado is slated to break them up, putting MacKinnon with Lehkonen and Drouin while Rantanen will share the ice with Nichushkin and Casey Mittelstadt. If that works out, then it could make things extremely tough on the opposition's defense. It’s a luxury the Avalanche arguably couldn’t afford earlier in the season because the quality of the linemates for MacKinnon and Rantanen wouldn’t have been sufficient to split them, but at this point, it’s something they can experiment with.

It also means Ivan Ivan and Nikolai Kovalenko are now firmly in the bottom six. There was an opportunity for one or both to show what they could do with greater responsibilities when the team was ravaged by injuries, but neither stepped up. At this stage, it seems reasonable to project that Ivan and Kovalenko won’t have significant fantasy value this year, but at least they’re still okay complimentary pieces for the Avalanche.

All-in-all, Colorado’s offense looks strong at this point. The Avalanche are already on a roll, winning four of their past five games, and Colorado could continue to shine from here.

Anaheim Ducks – Mon @ DAL, Tue @ CHI, Fri vs BUF

You can get whiplash going from a conversation about the Avalanche’s offense to Anaheim’s. MacKinnon has 33 points through 17 games by himself. That equals the combined point totals of the Ducks’ top four scorers -- Troy Terry (11 points), Mason McTavish (eight), Leo Carlsson (seven) and Ryan Strome (seven).

The Ducks are consequently unlikely to generate much offense when they play in Dallas on Monday, but Anaheim might have more success in Chicago on Tuesday and when hosting Buffalo on Friday.

Health will be a factor in that. McTavish has missed the Ducks’ past two games because of an upper-body injury, but he’s day-to-day, so there’s a real chance he’ll be fine for next week’s action.

Even with him back, though, the Ducks need help on offense. A resurgence of Trevor Zegras would be the most obvious boost. However, he had just 15 points in 31 contests in 2023-24 and has diminished further to just three points through 15 appearances this season -- a far cry from his back-to-back 60-plus point campaigns in 2021-22 and 2022-23. He’s still just 23 years old, so it seems wrong to suggest he’s washed up, but then what is the problem?

First off, his lone goal this campaign was scored on an empty net, so you’d have to go back to April 13 to find the last time he beat an NHL goaltender in a regular-season game. He’s averaging 6.3 shots per 60 minutes in 2024-25, which is down from 8.1 in 2021-22 and 7.2 in 2022-23, so that doesn’t help. Seven of his 27 shots this year have been fired from a high-danger position, which puts him below the league average of 7.9 among forwards. All that’s bad, but not to the extent where he should have literally zero goals against goaltenders.

Moneypuck gives him an xG of 3.6, he has a PDO of 951 along with exactly zero secondary assists and his IPP of 42.9 is leagues below his career average. All that suggests some of his offensive woes are due to poor luck. Still, three points in 15 appearances is so bad that it’s hard to imagine him having a good campaign even if the luck was balanced.

Still, he’s worth keeping an eye on. The talent is there, and there are some indications that he’s been shifting to a more complete game despite his lack of offense, as Patrick Present of The Hockey News recently noted. Plus, he’s still young, and when coupled with him attempting to adjust his game, some growing pains are understandable. Don’t expect this to be a big campaign from him, but also don’t write him off yet.

Boston Bruins – Mon vs CBJ, Thu vs UTA, Sat @ DET

We talked about Swayman’s woes up top. Perhaps it will help him that the Bruins’ opponents next week rank in the bottom half of the league in terms of goals per game. Boston is set to host the Blue Jackets on Monday and Utah HC on Thursday before playing in Detroit on Saturday.

Swayman is the headline issue for the Bruins, but he isn’t the only one. The forward corps is also leaving something to be desired. We’ve seen better out of David Pastrnak (eight goals and 17 points through 18 games) and Brad Marchand (five goals and 13 points), but both are doing well enough, even when measured against the high standards they’re held to. The problem is no other player on the team has reached double digits in points.

Elias Lindholm, who signed a seven-year, $54.25 million contract over the summer, was the Bruins’ big offseason get to solidify the team up the middle. However, he hasn’t been that great. After scoring two goals and five points over his first three games with Boston, Lindholm has been limited to four assists across his past 15 outings. To be fair, he’s known for his two-way game, and his relative CF% and FF% are outstanding at plus-8.8 and plus-12.2, respectively. Still, you’d like to see more scoring out of him when he’s spending almost all of his 5-on-5 time alongside at least one of Pastrnak and Marchand.

Pavel Zacha has left something to be desired too with three goals and seven points through 18 outings after finishing 2023-24 with 59 points. He might be heating up, though. Zacha has two goals and four points through his past four appearances, so perhaps he can carry that momentum into next week, especially given the mediocre nature of Boston’s upcoming competition.

Chicago Blackhawks – Tue vs ANA, Thu vs FLA, Sat @ PHI

Chicago will host the Ducks and the Panthers on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before visiting Philadelphia on Saturday. Florida is a tough team, but the Ducks and the Flyers haven’t looked good so far in 2024-25.

Not that the Blackhawks have impressed either with their 6-10-1 record. Petr Mrazek has largely held his own with a 2.79 GAA and a .906 save percentage in 13 appearances, which are solid numbers when you consider that Chicago ranks 28th in xGA/60 (3.39), which suggests Mrazek hasn’t gotten much help from his teammates defensively.

They also haven’t helped Mrazek offensively. Chicago is tied for 29th with just 2.41 goals per game, and even Connor Bedard has left something to be desired with three goals and 13 points through 17 appearances. Bedard is on an eight-game goal-scoring slump with four assists in that span, but let’s not be too hard on him. He’s still just 19 years old, so some streaky play is expected, and he has a healthy enough 21 shots during that slump, so eventually he’ll break through.

I’m more disappointed in Teuvo Teravainen. He signed a three-year, $16.2 million contract over the summer to come to Chicago from Carolina and has been primarily used alongside Bedard. However, Teravainen hasn’t been able to generate much of anything in 5-on-5 play with the young star. The 30-year-old has four goals and eight points through 17 appearances with just two of those points (one goal) coming at even strength. Interesting, his 5-on-5 xG is also just one, so the issue isn’t exactly bad puck luck.

Bedard has also been tried with Taylor Hall and/or Tyler Bertuzzi, but significantly less often than Teravainen. Philipp Kurashev has seen significant time alongside Bedard as well, though Kurashev has just three goals and four points through 16 outings. That’s a massive drop from Kurashev’s 54-point showing in 2023-24, and the decline is largely due to a lack of assists.

The line mixing is likely to continue to happen as long as Chicago’s offense remains cold. In the long run, it would be nice to see Kurashev and Bedard rekindle some of their 2023-24 chemistry -- they showed up together on the scoresheet 25 times last season. If we start seeing some of that, then Kurashev would become a good buy-low candidate.

Dallas Stars – Mon vs ANA, Wed vs SJS, Sat @ TBL

Dallas will start the week by hosting the lowly Ducks and Sharks on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The Stars will then travel to Tampa Bay to play the Lightning on Saturday.

Matt Duchene will look to extend his recent success during that stretch. He has a phenomenal eight goals and 17 points across his past 10 appearances, including two goals and five points over his last two games. He’s been seeing time alongside Mason Marchment, who is also on fire with two goals and seven points over his past two outings, so that duo could do a lot of damage, especially against rebuilding squads like Anaheim and San Jose.

At the other end of the spectrum, Dallas could use more out of Roope Hintz. His six goals and 10 points through 15 outings aren’t bad, but it’s below the pace Dallas has come to expect after seeing Hintz record at least 30 goals and 65 points in each of his previous three campaigns. Hintz did endure a four-game scoring drought from Oct. 26-Nov. 7, but there’s a silver lining here because he’s found the back of the net twice over his past three games, so perhaps the worst is over.

The action is also spread out enough that Jake Oettinger might start in all three of those games. He’s 8-3-0 with a 2.39 GAA and .914 save percentage in 11 appearances in 2024-25. He’s also coming off two really strong victories, stopping 43 of 46 shots in blowout wins against Pittsburgh and Boston.

Detroit Red Wings – Mon @ SJS, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs BOS

The Red Wings will play in San Jose on Monday before hosting the Islanders on Thursday and the Bruins on Saturday. Detroit will be looking to gain some ground after a mediocre 7-7-1 start.

Detroit has to be disappointed with Vladimir Tarasenko, who inked a two-year, $9.5 million contract over the summer but has just two goals and four points through 14 appearances. This one is a bit of a “the chicken or the egg” problem. Tarasenko is averaging just 13:41 of ice time while typically serving on the third line alongside Jonatan Berggren and Marco Kasper. That’s not a recipe for success or the top six role many envisioned when he signed his deal. At the same time, he hasn’t done anything to force himself into a bigger role. From Oct. 22-Nov. 2, he appeared in five games without even recording a single shot.

You’re not going to move up in the lineup with that kind of play. On the plus side, he has logged an assist and seven shots over his past two outings, so maybe we’re witnessing the start of him getting some going. I’m skeptical, but it’s worthy of monitoring.

Detroit could certainly use another source of secondary scoring. The Red Wings rank 28th offensively with just 2.47 goals per game. Lucas Raymond, Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin have done fine with 14, 13 and 12 points, respectively, through 15 appearances and Patrick Kane is holding his own at 35, providing three goals and 10 points. The rest of the offense hasn’t been anything to write home about, though, and no one aside from maybe Tarasenko jumps out to me as a struggling forward to watch.

That includes Michael Rasmussen. He was taken with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, but he has never even reached the 35-point mark and has just two goals and four points in 15 outings in 2024-25. He’s a towering presence, but at the age of 25, I think it’s fair to believe that the offense isn’t coming.

Edmonton Oilers – Mon @ MTL, Tue @ OTT, Thu vs MIN, Sat vs COL

The Oilers will open the week with road games in Montreal on Monday and Ottawa on Tuesday. They’ll then return to Edmonton to host the Wild on Thursday and the Rangers on Saturday.

Edmonton had a mixed start to the season in part because of inconsistent offensive production, but it’s okay now: Connor McDavid remembered that he’s Connor McDavid. The superstar has posted three straight multi-point efforts, causing him to jump to six goals and 19 points through 14 appearances despite a weirdly human start in which he recorded three goals and 10 points in his first 11 outings -- good for others, not for him.

If McDavid has found his grove, then Edmonton is in a far better position, but the Oilers do still have some areas of concern. Stuart Skinner is still a mixed bag with a 5-5-1 record, 3.22 GAA and .881 save percentage in 11 outings. You’ll likely remember that Skinner had a terrible start to 2023-24 before turning a corner, and it could be argued that his Nov. 24 25-save shutout over Washington was when everything started working out for him last year. In other words, we’re getting to roughly the same stage of the year, and we’ll have to see if Skinner can once again find his rhythm or if he doesn’t enjoy that same kind of turnaround in 2024-25.

Edmonton’s offseason attempts at deepening the offense also haven’t paid off yet. Jeff Skinner has just three goals and six points while Viktor Arvidsson has two goals and five points. Arvidsson is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, so we might not see him this week. Meanwhile, Skinner has been relegated to the fourth line recently. Skinner has had a weird career full of amazing highs and significant lows. There’s consequently no guarantee that a turnaround is forthcoming this year, but if he does get another look on Edmonton’s top six, which I think is just a matter of time, then he’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

San Jose Sharks – Mon vs DET, Wed @ DAL, Thu @ STL, Sat vs BUF

I like to highlight teams who are set to play four games in a week over those with three or two games on the docket, but there aren’t many examples of that upcoming. San Jose is one of the exceptions. The Sharks’ busy schedule will begin by hosting the Red Wings on Monday. They’ll then play in Dallas on Wednesday and St. Louis on Thursday before returning home to face the Sabres on Saturday.

Naturally, if you’re going to watch Sharks hockey, the player you’ll be most interested in is Macklin Celebrini. Taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, he was out from Oct. 12-Nov. 2 due to a lower-body injury. Unfortunately, he’s been mostly quiet since, providing two goals Nov. 7 but also being held off the scoresheet entirely in his other four appearances dating back to his Nov. 5 return.

It's too small of a sample size to read too much into it, but Celebrini is a tremendous talent who is averaging 19:25 of ice time and has recorded 20 shots over six outings in 2024-25, so I expect him to start producing at a good pace as the campaign progresses.

In the meantime, Mikael Granlund has done his part. He has seven goals and 18 points in 18 games to lead the Sharks offensively this season. A lot of that was due to him recording five goals and 12 points across seven outings from Oct. 17-28, though. He’s been fine since, but his two goals and five points over his past eight contests are a noticeable decline. There might be some merit to selling him high, but I think his goal-scoring pace, which would lead to him finishing with 32 markers, has actual merit.

He’s never reached the 30-goal milestone before and finished 2023-24 with just 12 goals, but he’s traditionally been a very conservative shooter. That’s changed in a big way this year -- he's averaging a career-high 9.9 shots per 60 minutes, and that includes 14 high-danger shots, which puts him on track for 64, up from 44 last year. His increase in shots also means that his 10.9 shooting percentage isn’t significantly off his career average (10.3) despite his big jump in goals.

Granlund and Celebrini are currently centering different lines, but they share the ice on the power play. Although Sharks rank 23rd in terms of power-play percentage (16.4), that might improve as Celebrini gets going, which would also benefit Granlund.

Utah HC – Mon vs WAS, Thu @ BOS, Sat @ PIT, Sun @ TOR

Utah HC is another squad with four games on the schedule next week. The club will host the Capitals on Monday before a road trip that will place Utah HC in Boston on Thursday, Pittsburgh on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday.

Utah has been an interesting team. It got off to a 3-0-0 start fueled by some great offensive performances, but the scoring has cooled, and the club is now 7-6-3.

One positive is Mikhail Sergachev has messed well with his new team after being dealt from Tampa Bay in June. Sergachev has three goals and 11 points in 16 outings in 2024-25 while averaging 25:35 of ice time -- that'll be a career high if he maintains it for the full campaign. He also has a big power-play role and has collected three points (one goal) with the man advantage. It’s reasonable to project he’ll surpass the 50-point milestone for the second time in his career as long as he stays healthy.

Up front, Clayton Keller (six goals, 14 points), Dylan Guenther (seven goals, 13 points), Nick Schmaltz (12 assists) and Logan Cooley (two goals, 11 points) have been leading the charge, but none of them are especially hot right now. Nick Bjugstad is an interesting forward, though. He’s capable of being a solid secondary scorer, but he averaged just 13:20 of ice time this season, down from 17:27 in 2023-24. He did make his mark Wednesday, though, scoring his first two goals of the campaign to lead Utah to a 4-1 victory over Carolina. Bjugstad is getting a chance to play alongside Keller and Schmaltz, so he might be able to build off that strong showing.

That would help Utah, but what the club needs more than anything is reliability between the pipes. Although Connor Ingram has a respectable 6-3-3 record, his 3.40 GAA and .879 aren’t inspiring. Meanwhile, Karel Vejmelka is just 1-3-0, but he has a 2.37 GAA and a .926 save percentage. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vejmelka get more work, perhaps leading to him starting in at least two of Utah’s games next week.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (October 28th to November 3rd) – Jets’ Perfect Start, Sharks’ Slow Start

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 26 Oct 2024 18:00:14 +0000

_{DENVER, CO - APRIL 17: Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) makes a pass during a Western Conference match-up in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 17, 2019 at the Pepsi Center in Denver, CO. (Photo by Russell Lansford/Icon Sportswire)}

Last week I noted the Avalanche and Predators’ 0-4-0 start and focused quite a bit on Colorado goaltender Alexandar Georgiev’s disastrous play, so it seems only fair to check back in with those teams, beginning with the Avs.

Colorado has done a full 180, winning its last four games to reach 4-4-0. As noted during the Avalanche section of that article, Colorado’s recent schedule has been favorable (the Avalanche have beaten Anaheim, San Jose, Seattle and Utah), which has doubtlessly aided in the turnaround, but credit still needs to go to Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen. With the team’s depth gutted by injuries, those three have driven the offense. Makar leads the league -- not just defensemen -- with 15 points (three goals) through eight contests. MacKinnon and Rantanen aren’t far behind with 13 points each.

As for Georgiev, he hasn’t been in net since allowing three goals on just 19 shots against Anaheim in the Avalanche’s 4-3 overtime win Oct. 18. Justus Annunen has taken over the starting gig, saving a combined 75 of 79 shots (.949 save percentage) across the Avalanche’s past three victories. Georgiev is going to get other opportunities but given that the veteran netminder struggled last season as well as this one, it’s entirely plausible for Annunen to wrestle away the No. 1 job long-term, provided he remains solid.

Nashville hasn’t enjoyed the same turnaround, but the Predators finally earned their first victory Tuesday with a 4-0 showing against Boston. Steven Stamkos’ cold start has continued with a goal and no assists through six appearances, so we’ll have to see where that leads.

While the Predators’ slow start has been surprising, probably the biggest shock in the early going of the campaign is Minnesota’s 5-0-2 start. The Wild missed the playoffs last year with a 39-33-10 record, and it was expected that this would be another challenging campaign, in large part because they still have over $14 million of dead cap space due to the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts (though that crashes to just a combined $1,666,666 beyond this campaign).

Goaltending has been a big part of that turnaround. Filip Gustavsson disappointed last year with a 20-17-5 record, 3.06 GAA and .899 save percentage in 45 outings, but he’s rebounded in the early part of 2024-25, posting a 4-0-1 record, 1.40 GAA and .952 save percentage through five outings. It’s still early, but Gustavsson is still a relatively young goaltender at 26 and demonstrated in 2022-23 that he can be a high-end option, so it wouldn’t be completely out of nowhere if he goes on to have a great season.

Boston Bruins

One goaltender who isn’t having a great campaign thus far is Jeremy Swayman, who missed training camp but joined the Bruins after being presented with 66 million reasons for doing so. Perhaps because he didn’t get any preseason action, Swayman hasn’t been able to find a rhythm, posting a 2-3-1 record, 2.99 GAA and .904 save percentage through six appearances in 2024-25. Jonas Korpisalo hasn’t shown himself to be a good alternative, though, allowing nine goals on 60 shots (.850 save percentage) across two starts.

The good news is the Bruins don’t have the best of scoring teams on the docket for the upcoming week. Boston will host the Flyers on Tuesday before a two-game road trip that will see the Bruins play in Carolina on Thursday and Philadelphia on Saturday. They’ll return home to play the Kraken on Sunday. The Flyers rank 29th offensively with 2.29 goals per game while Carolina and Seattle are in the middle-of-the-pack in scoring.

Swayman isn’t the only Bruins player who has underperformed. While David Pastrnak is tied for the team lead offensively with six points (five goals), that’s less than you’d expect from him through eight appearances. Brad Marchand has fared worse though, providing no goals and four assists across eight outings.

Pastrnak should rebound, but is there reason to be more concerned about Marchand given that he’s 36 years old? It’s a little early to say, but there’s nothing that stands out to me as terribly wrong thus far. His skating hasn’t declined, and his shots/60 is largely unchanged from last year. His shots are perhaps less concentrated in front of the net compared to last year, but we’re also comparing a large sample size to a relatively small one. He merits monitoring, but not panic yet.

On the other end of the spectrum, Cole Koepke has impressed with three goals and six points through eight appearances. I recommend caution when evaluating him, though. Despite his strong start, he’s averaging just 11:04 of ice time, and that includes almost no work on the power play. He’s also been held off the scoresheet in Boston’s past two games, so the hot streak appears to be over. Don’t put high expectations on the 26-year-old.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets entered the campaign the low expectations of being projected as a team likely to be in the running for the first overall draft pick, but so far Columbus has held its own with a 3-3-0 record. We’ll see if the Blue Jackets will be able to keep that going amid a busy week that will involve a home stretch against Edmonton on Monday, the Islanders on Wednesday and Winnipeg on Friday and conclude with a road game in Washington on Saturday.

Columbus’ early success has been in no small part thanks to Kirill Marchenko and free agent signing Sean Monahan developing chemistry on the top line. Marchenko took a step forward as a sophomore in 2023-24 with 23 goals and 42 points across 78 appearances, and he seems to be destined for greater heights this season after starting with three goals and eight points through six outings. Monahan has collected three goals and seven points of his own with the duo showing up on the scoresheet together five times so far.

Yegor Chinakhov is giving the Blue Jackets some offensive depth from the second line. The 23-year-old has supplied three goals and seven points through six appearances after finishing 2023-24 with 29 points (13 goals) in 53 outings. The 22-year-old Kent Johnson also looked good early on with two goals and five points in four appearances, but unfortunately, he sustained an upper-body injury and is expected to be unavailable for a significant chunk of time.

He had been playing alongside Mikael Pyyhtia and Cole Sillinger, and due to Johnson’s absence, that line was broken up with Sillinger now joining Marchenko and Monahan, while Pyyhtia is with Chinakhov and Adam Fantilli, who has just two points (both goals) in six games this year but is averaging an encouragingly high 17:49 of ice time.

There’s a lot of potential with this Blue Jackets team, but young forwards tend to be streaky, so don’t be surprised if Columbus deals with a lot of inconsistency in 2024-25.

New York Islanders

As noted above, the Islanders will play Columbus on the road Wednesday. That’s part of the start of a three-game road trip for the Islanders that will also feature games in Buffalo on Friday and against the Rangers on Sunday. However, the Islanders will host Anaheim on Tuesday before that trip begins.

New York is off to a 2-2-2 start despite allowing just 2.50 goals per game. The offense just hasn’t been there, though. Noah Dobson leads the team with just four assists and no Islanders player has more than two goals.

Scoring was an issue for the Islanders last year too -- they ranked 22nd with 2.99 goals per game -- so this isn’t a completely shocking development. They did sign Anthony Duclair over the summer in the hopes of at least bolstering their secondary scoring, but after providing two goals and three points through five outings, Duclair suffered a leg injury, and the team announced Thursday that he’ll be out for the next 4-6 weeks.

Duclair was playing alongside Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal on the top line, and due to the injury, Simon Holmstrom is projected to take that first unit spot. However, Holmstrom had just 15 goals and 25 points in 75 regular-season games in 2023-24, so while playing on the top line should provide him with some additional opportunities, he’s probably not worth a pickup in most fantasy formats even with his new role.

The Islanders' other new forward is Maxim Tsyplakov, who is making the transition to the NHL after scoring 31 goals and 47 points across 65 regular-season appearances with the KHL’s Moscow Spartak in 2023-24. Tsyplakov has been okay, but not special so far, supplying a goal and three points through six outings. He has gotten looks on the top power-play unit, which is interesting, but for now, I’d recommend just keeping an eye on him rather than grabbing him if you’re in a standard fantasy league.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks are winless through eight games (0-6-2), but perhaps they’ll finally get a victory in the upcoming week. They’ll start on the road against Utah on Monday before heading home to host the Kings on Tuesday, the Blackhawks on Thursday and the Canucks on Saturday.

San Jose’s fairly is largely because it ranks dead last offensively with just 1.88 goals per game. Macklin Celebrini, who was taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, would have been a major help there, but after scoring a goal and an assist in his NHL debut, he sustained a lower-body injury that has kept him out of the lineup. It was announced Monday that he would miss at least two more weeks, so don’t expect him to make his return at any point during the four-game stretch mentioned above.

Things might be even grimmer for captain Logan Couture. There haven’t been any updates on the status of his groin injury since the start of the season, which leads me to believe he’s still a ways off from playing. If they were both healthy, Couture and Celebrini would probably comprise two-thirds of the first line. Instead, Mikael Granlund, Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund are the top unit.

You could do worse than that trio. Granlund has exceeded expectations with three goals and nine points through eight contests while Toffoli and Eklund have made their presence felt with seven and five points, respectively. However, while San Jose can still ice a viable first line without Couture and Celebrini, the Sharks can’t do much else. No other player on that team even has four points through eight games. Daniil Gushchin has gotten looks on the second line and with the man advantage despite the 22-year-old having no points and five shots through five appearances. Gushchin did record 20 goals and 54 points in 56 AHL outings in 2023-24, so I don’t want to pick on him, but he’s not currently a great option on the top six.

Meanwhile, Will Smith is experiencing some growing pains. He looked amazing with Boston College in 2023-24, supplying 25 goals and 71 points across 41 games as a freshman, but he has no points, a minus-4 rating and nine shots across six appearances with the Sharks this season. In the long run, he should be a big part of the Sharks’ core group, but for now, he’s another reason why San Jose’s offense is floundering.

Tampa Bay Lightning

One team that has had no problems scoring is Tampa Bay, and the Lightning will try to keep that going next week when they host Stamkos and the Predators on Monday. The Lightning will then go on the road to play in Colorado on Wednesday, Minnesota on Friday and Winnipeg on Sunday.

Letting Stamkos walk couldn’t have been an easy decision after everything he brought to the franchise, and while Stamkos hasn’t impressed early in his Predators tenure, it’s way too early to say if passing on him was the right decision. If nothing else, though, Jake Guentzel, who the Lightning could afford to sign with Stamkos gone, has meshed well on the top line with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.

Guentzel has two goals and seven points across seven games, though his early success has been overshadowed by Nikita Kucherov, who already has eight goals and 13 points across seven appearances this year. Kucherov has managed at least a point in every game thus far. In case you’re wondering, Martin St. Louis (2009-10), Stamkos (2017-18) and Kucherov (2017-18) are tied for Tampa Bay’s franchise record for the longest scoring streak to begin a campaign at 11 games, so while Kucherov isn’t close to that, he has the opportunity to reach and surpass it next week (Tampa Bay has one more clash this week, a home game Saturday versus Washington, so next Sunday’s game versus Winnipeg will be the squad’s 12th of the season).

That top line’s strong start is just part of the Lightning’s bigger offensive success -- they are tied for fifth with 4.00 goals per game -- but the squad has a middling 4-3-0 record despite that. Andrei Vasilevskiy has an amazing opening to 2024-25, but that’s been erased after he allowed 15 goals on 84 shots (.821 save percentage) across his past four appearances. He also left something to be desired last season with his 30-20-2 record, 2.90 GAA and .900 save percentage in 52 regular-season outings, but that was partially handwaved because he missed a significant chunk of the start of that campaign due to injury. However, if he’s truly no longer the elite goaltender he once was, then Tampa Bay is in trouble. Jonas Johansson isn’t a viable alternative for any significant length of time, and Vasilevskiy’s $9.5 million cap hit runs through 2027-28.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto is one of the teams that added to Tampa Bay’s recent woes with a 5-2 victory over the Lightning on Monday, but the Leafs have their own issues after suffering losses to Columbus and St. Louis, bringing Toronto’s record to 4-4-0. Toronto will try to right the ship next week, but it will have to do so while being primarily on the road. The Maple Leafs will play in Winnipeg on Monday, host the Kraken on Thursday and then conclude the week with home games against St. Louis on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday.

Toronto’s issues mostly stem from inconsistency rather than any particular underperformance, though Auston Matthews’ three goals and five points through eight appearances are certainly less than we’d expect out of him. The team in general hasn’t been as good offensively as it has been in recent years and currently is in a three-way tie for 21st with 2.88 goals per game.

That’s been offset by Anthony Stolarz, who has a 3-2-0 record, 1.83 GAA and .938 save percentage across five appearances. Notably, he wasn’t in net for either of Toronto’s recent losses. Stolarz stopped 32 of 34 shots in that victory over Tampa Bay on Monday, so naturally, he rested Tuesday with Dennis Hildeby getting the nod. Hildeby fell short in a 6-2 loss to St. Louis, but he’s back in the minors anyway because Joseph Woll (lower body) was ready to return Thursday. Unfortunately, Woll was a mixed bag in his season debut, stopping 22 of 26 shots en route to a 5-1 loss to St. Louis.

Stolarz has earned the right to be in contention for the Leafs’ starting gig, and with the packed schedule, he should be in net for at least two of Toronto’s four games next week. I’m also interested to see what happens to Knies and Bobby McMann after Matthew Knies was taken off the first line in the third period of Thursday’s loss. It wouldn’t surprise me if Knies went right back to being the third forward on the Matthews-Mitch Marner unit, but there’s also a reasonable chance McMann gets a longer look in that spot.

Maybe Nicholas Robertson also gets another look on the left wing? Robertson hasn’t demanded preferential treatment after supplying just one point through eight outings, but Toronto’s left wing is still a work in progress, so the possibility of Robertson getting a chance to serve on the top six by shifting from the right to left remains.

Washington Capitals

Washington has jumped out to a 5-1-0 record this year and will look to keep that going with a homestand with the Capitals set to host the Rangers on Tuesday, the Canadiens on Thursday and the Blue Jackets on Saturday. The Capitals will wrap up the week with a visit to Carolina on Sunday.

After a disappointing showing with the Kings last year (16 goals and 40 points in 82 games), Pierre-Luc Dubois got off to a slow start with Washington, providing two assists through five appearances, but he had his first big night with the Capitals on Wednesday, contributing a goal and three points in a 6-3 victory over Philadelphia. So far Dubois has played almost exclusively on the second line with Tom Wilson and Connor McMichael while also seeing time on the top power-play unit. That’s not a bad gig for him and could facilitate a rebound to something resembling his 60-ish-point performances in 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Meanwhile, Aliaksei Protas is doing fine on the first line alongside Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome. Protas has a goal and four points across six appearances but be careful about overvaluing his top-line spot. While he does play with choice linemates when on the ice, he’s still logging a modest 13:40 per game and is rarely deployed on the power play, so while the 23-year-old might surpass his 2023-24 total of 29 points, this isn’t likely to be a breakout campaign for him.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets have gotten off to an incredible 7-0-0 start. They’ll try to stay strong with their upcoming action, which features a home game against Toronto on Monday, road tilts versus Detroit and Columbus on Wednesday and Friday, respectively, and a home game versus the Lightning.

Connor Hellebuyck has unsurprisingly been a part of the early success with a 6-0-0 record, 1.66 GAA and .940 save percentage, but he’s gotten some good offensive support too. Six players (Mark Scheifele, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor, Cole Perfetti, Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey) have supplied at least seven points through seven games.

That’s on top of Nino Niederreiter and Mason Appleton, who each have supplied six points through seven outings while playing on the third unit. That’s some tremendous depth to have, but we’ll see how long this lasts. I’m particularly skeptical of Appleton. The 28-year-old has never come close to the 40-point mark in a single season, and his early numbers are skewed due to two multi-point performances -- he's also been held off the scoresheet four times. In the long run, his offensive pace is likely to decline substantially.

Cole Perfetti’s scoring pace will probably drop too, but not by nearly as much. Although he recorded 30 and 38 points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively, the 22-year-old has plenty of upside, and he might be starting to reach his potential. Like Appleton, he’s been inconsistent this campaign with seven of his eight points coming from just two games, but Perfetti’s offensive talent makes me more optimistic about him for the rest of the season. If nothing else, Perfetti will be nice to have on your roster while he’s hot.

McKeen’s 2024 NHL Playoff Pool Picklist

Robert Howard — Sat, 20 Apr 2024 17:01:11 +0000

COLUMBUS, OH - FEBRUARY 25: Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid #97 prior to the game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Edmonton Oilers at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on February 25, 2023. (Photo by Jason Mowry/Icon Sportswire)

In kicking off our 2024 NHL Playoff Pool coverage, Scott Cullen did an excellent breakdown of how to strategize for your pool. We recommend you give it a read and can link here.

The picklist below largely follows the strategy laid out in his article focusing on these broad categories – 1) Diversify 2) Stacking 3) First Round Winners 4) Power Play 5) Late Season Production 6) Injuries 7) Targeting playoff performers. Every playoff season will be different, of course, and simply following the Stanley Cup odds laid in many places including BetGM will provide a picture of which teams you should focus on with your picks to make the final, but the path to that result will vary. They currently have the Carolina Hurricanes (650) and the Colorado Avalanche (700) as odds on favourites to meet in the Stanley Cup Final, followed closely by Florida Panthers (700), Dallas Stars (800), Edmonton Oilers (800) and the New York Rangers (900).

If we look at McKeen’s team predictions for each of the first round series it becomes clear some teams have an easier path and their players will provide the best odds to play the most games. Lets look at how the brackets might shake out.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Dallas Vs. Vegas – We have Dallas winning in seven in a very hard-fought battle. A deep Dallas team versus the defending Champion who boasts several high-profile additions to end the season.

Winnipeg Vs. Colorado – This should be another war with the potential of a Winnipeg upset if Connor Hellebuyck rises to the occasion and Georgiev continues his late season struggles. Colorado should triumph in seven games.

Second Round Matchup: Colorado vs Dallas - The winner of these two close series meet and it means one of the highly ranked Colorado or Dallas will eliminate each other in the second round, assuming no upset in the first.

Edmonton Vs. Los Angeles – Edmonton should have the depth and firepower to take Los Angeles in six as we have predicted.

Vancouver Vs. Nashville – We hesitate to underestimate Nashville again, and this could be a close contest, but feel confident Vancouver will take it in six.

Second Round Matchup: Edmonton vs Vancouver – This should make for a thrilling series, but McDavid and company looked on a mission in the second half and should proceed to the conference final in six.

Therefore, the conference final in the west is projected to be Edmonton versus Colorado or Dallas (two very closely matched teams).

EASTERN CONFRENCE

Florida Vs. Tampa Bay – The recent two-time Stanley Cup champion meets last year’s finalist in the first round. While Tampa’s core may be aging, they are still a real threat if they get rolling. Florida showed they know how to win in the playoffs last year as well. Two goaltenders who can steal a series may make this a potential upset, but Florida should prevail in six.

Boston Vs. Toronto – Old nemesis meet again in the first round. Boston has beaten Toronto consistently in the playoffs in recent years and won all head-to-head matchups this season. There are questions about both teams, but the series should go seven and really could go either way.

Second Round Matchup: Boston Vs. Florida – with both series offering potential upsets, Florida players are ranked higher than Boston, and have ranked some high scoring Leafs and reasonable picks given they could well make it to the second round and can provide a challenge for both teams.

Carolina Vs. New York Islanders – A deep Carolina team adding some significant pieces at the deadline and should beat the Islanders here in five games.

New York Rangers Vs. Washington – The Rangers should be heavy favourites in this series and should beat the Capital in five or six games.

Second Round Matchup: - Carolina vs New York Rangers – of the second-round matchups this is the one we are most comfortable predicting. It should be a close series with the Hurricanes moving on to the Conference Final against Florida.

The following picklist is based on those possible outcomes. The first round offers some interesting matchups that could leave a favourite or two on the outside looking in early. Stack up on the teams you feel have the best odds of taking the cup but understand there are always upsets. Looking at the above, the teams with the easiest path to the conference final are Edmonton and Carolina. Colorado and Dallas are favourites of both the oddsmakers and ourselves to win a cup, but one of them will bow out by the second round. Florida has depth but will have to go through Tampa and either Boston or Toronto.

Good luck whichever strategy you choose.

Subscribers can download an excel version of this list in subscriber downloads

RANK	Player	Team	Pos	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	P/GP	EVG	EVP	PPG	PPP
1	Connor McDavid	EDM	C	76	32	100	132	35	30	1.74	24	87	7	44
2	Nathan MacKinnon	COL	C	82	51	89	140	35	42	1.71	41	92	10	48
3	Sebastian Aho	CAR	C	78	36	53	89	34	36	1.14	24	55	11	32
4	Jake Guentzel	CAR	C	67	30	47	77	25	22	1.15	25	55	5	22
5	Leon Draisaitl	EDM	C	81	41	65	106	26	76	1.31	20	65	21	39
6	Mikko Rantanen	COL	R	80	42	62	104	19	50	1.3	28	64	14	40
7	Cale Makar	COL	D	77	21	69	90	15	16	1.17	13	47	7	39
8	Sam Reinhart	FLA	C	82	57	37	94	29	31	1.15	25	55	27	34
9	Matthew Tkachuk	FLA	L	80	26	62	88	19	88	1.1	19	55	6	32
10	Aleksander Barkov	FLA	C	73	23	57	80	33	24	1.1	18	49	5	29
11	Artemi Panarin	NYR	L	82	49	71	120	18	24	1.46	38	75	11	44
12	Jason Robertson	DAL	L	82	29	51	80	19	22	0.98	20	52	9	28
13	Roope Hintz	DAL	C	80	30	35	65	26	22	0.81	19	42	8	19
14	Seth Jarvis	CAR	C	81	33	34	67	23	14	0.83	18	44	13	20
15	Andrei Svechnikov	CAR	R	59	19	33	52	13	58	0.88	14	35	5	17
16	Evan Bouchard	EDM	D	81	18	64	82	34	32	1.01	10	47	8	35
17	Zach Hyman	EDM	L	80	54	23	77	36	48	0.96	39	57	15	20
18	Valeri Nichushkin	COL	R	54	28	25	53	5	22	0.98	12	30	16	21
19	Nikita Kucherov	TBL	R	81	44	100	144	8	22	1.78	31	91	13	53
20	Auston Matthews	TOR	C	81	69	38	107	31	20	1.32	51	77	18	29
21	David Pastrnak	BOS	R	82	47	63	110	21	47	1.34	35	75	12	35
22	Jack Eichel	VGK	C	63	31	37	68	4	27	1.08	20	44	11	22
23	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	EDM	C	80	18	49	67	10	36	0.84	14	38	4	26
24	Joe Pavelski	DAL	C	82	27	40	67	12	20	0.82	16	46	11	21
25	Matt Duchene	DAL	C	80	25	40	65	15	20	0.81	19	49	6	16
26	Mika Zibanejad	NYR	C	81	26	46	72	15	30	0.89	12	35	12	31
27	Martin Necas	CAR	C	77	24	29	53	-9	42	0.69	16	40	8	13
28	Vincent Trocheck	NYR	C	82	25	52	77	16	55	0.94	13	52	11	24
29	Chris Kreider	NYR	L	82	39	36	75	19	26	0.91	19	41	18	29
30	William Nylander	TOR	R	82	40	58	98	1	24	1.2	26	59	11	35
31	Mitch Marner	TOR	R	69	26	59	85	21	18	1.23	17	57	8	27
32	Adam Fox	NYR	D	72	17	56	73	21	36	1.01	10	38	6	33
33	Miro Heiskanen	DAL	D	71	9	45	54	8	36	0.76	7	33	2	21
34	Carter Verhaeghe	FLA	C	76	34	38	72	17	36	0.95	26	51	8	21
35	Mark Stone	VGK	R	56	16	37	53	1	22	0.95	10	35	4	14
36	Wyatt Johnston	DAL	C	82	32	33	65	14	38	0.79	26	52	3	10
37	Casey Mittelstadt	COL	C	80	18	39	57	10	32	0.71	15	48	3	9
38	Jonathan Drouin	COL	L	79	19	37	56	12	28	0.71	14	37	5	19
39	Artturi Lehkonen	COL	L	45	16	18	34	11	14	0.76	9	22	7	12
40	Sam Bennett	FLA	C	69	20	21	41	17	100	0.59	15	29	5	12
41	Vladimir Tarasenko	FLA	R	76	23	32	55	13	12	0.72	20	46	3	9
42	Jamie Benn	DAL	L	82	21	39	60	8	41	0.73	13	35	7	22
43	Tyler Seguin	DAL	C	68	25	27	52	10	26	0.76	22	42	3	8
44	J.T. Miller	VAN	C	81	37	66	103	32	58	1.27	25	61	10	40
45	Quinn Hughes	VAN	D	82	17	75	92	38	38	1.12	12	54	5	38
46	Elias Pettersson	VAN	C	82	34	55	89	20	12	1.09	21	56	13	31
47	Brad Marchand	BOS	L	82	29	38	67	2	78	0.82	19	37	7	26
48	Charlie Coyle	BOS	C	82	25	35	60	-2	38	0.73	17	44	7	11
49	Jonathan Marchessault	VGK	R	82	42	27	69	-2	40	0.84	34	52	8	17
50	Tomas Hertl	VGK	C	54	17	21	38	-28	22	0.7	10	26	6	11
51	Teuvo Teravainen	CAR	L	76	25	28	53	15	10	0.7	15	32	9	17
52	Mason Marchment	DAL	L	81	22	31	53	22	54	0.65	16	42	6	11
53	Thomas Harley	DAL	D	79	15	32	47	28	18	0.59	13	37	1	9
54	John Tavares	TOR	C	80	29	36	65	2	30	0.81	20	45	9	20
55	Pavel Zacha	BOS	C	78	21	38	59	12	18	0.76	15	44	6	15
56	Brayden Point	TBL	C	81	46	44	90	-16	14	1.11	31	58	15	32
57	Steven Stamkos	TBL	C	79	40	41	81	-21	34	1.03	21	42	19	39
58	Victor Hedman	TBL	D	78	13	63	76	18	76	0.97	9	45	4	31
59	Brandon Hagel	TBL	L	82	26	49	75	1	79	0.91	24	66	2	7
60	Evander Kane	EDM	L	77	24	20	44	-4	85	0.57	21	36	2	7
61	Logan Stankoven	DAL	C	24	6	8	14	10	4	0.58	5	12	1	2
62	Devon Toews	COL	D	82	12	38	50	28	18	0.61	12	43	0	5
63	Charlie McAvoy	BOS	D	74	12	35	47	4	86	0.64	11	34	1	13
64	Morgan Rielly	TOR	D	72	7	51	58	7	27	0.81	6	38	1	20
65	Brock Boeser	VAN	R	81	40	33	73	23	14	0.9	24	48	16	25
66	Alexis Lafrenière	NYR	L	82	28	29	57	2	40	0.7	26	51	2	6
67	Mark Scheifele	WPG	C	74	25	47	72	19	57	0.97	19	54	6	18
68	Kyle Connor	WPG	L	65	34	27	61	-6	6	0.94	29	42	5	19
69	Chandler Stephenson	VGK	C	75	16	35	51	-9	25	0.68	10	35	4	13
70	Mattias Ekholm	EDM	D	79	11	34	45	44	47	0.57	8	41	2	3
71	Josh Morrissey	WPG	D	81	10	59	69	34	44	0.85	8	50	2	19
72	Ross Colton	COL	C	80	17	23	40	-8	61	0.5	14	35	3	5
73	Warren Foegele	EDM	L	82	20	21	41	3	47	0.5	18	38	1	1
74	Brady Skjei	CAR	D	80	13	34	47	15	40	0.59	11	31	1	12
75	Brent Burns	CAR	D	82	10	33	43	19	20	0.52	5	22	4	20
76	William Karlsson	VGK	C	70	30	30	60	15	22	0.86	22	43	7	15
77	Shea Theodore	VGK	D	47	5	37	42	4	6	0.89	3	27	2	15
78	Filip Forsberg	NSH	L	82	48	46	94	16	43	1.15	35	62	13	32
79	Roman Josi	NSH	D	82	23	62	85	12	45	1.04	14	51	9	33
80	Sean Monahan	WPG	C	83	26	33	59	-1	12	0.71	15	36	9	21
81	Gustav Forsling	FLA	D	79	10	29	39	56	43	0.49	9	37	1	2
82	Brandon Montour	FLA	D	66	8	25	33	1	46	0.5	7	16	1	17
83	Mathew Barzal	NYI	C	80	23	57	80	-4	34	1	18	55	5	25
84	Noah Dobson	NYI	D	79	10	60	70	12	36	0.89	9	45	1	24
85	Nikolaj Ehlers	WPG	L	82	25	36	61	27	29	0.74	25	54	0	7
86	Tyler Toffoli	WPG	C	79	33	22	55	-6	14	0.7	22	37	11	18
87	Cole Perfetti	WPG	C	71	19	19	38	13	12	0.54	14	27	5	11
88	Gabriel Vilardi	WPG	C	47	22	14	36	11	14	0.77	13	22	9	14
89	Anthony Duclair	TBL	L	73	24	18	42	-8	34	0.58	19	30	5	12
90	Brock Nelson	NYI	C	82	34	35	69	-5	28	0.84	24	48	9	19
91	Bo Horvat	NYI	C	81	33	35	68	-1	39	0.84	22	48	10	18
92	Adrian Kempe	LAK	R	77	28	47	75	13	72	0.97	20	44	5	27
93	Kevin Fiala	LAK	L	82	29	44	73	1	62	0.89	18	43	11	30
94	Anze Kopitar	LAK	C	81	26	44	70	11	22	0.86	16	44	9	23
95	Jake DeBrusk	BOS	L	80	19	21	40	4	18	0.5	15	28	2	10
96	Tyler Bertuzzi	TOR	L	80	21	22	43	2	53	0.54	16	37	5	6
97	Ivan Barbashev	VGK	C	82	19	26	45	15	42	0.55	16	40	3	5
98	Gustav Nyquist	NSH	C	81	23	52	75	7	8	0.93	17	49	5	24
99	Ryan O'Reilly	NSH	C	82	26	43	69	6	18	0.84	12	41	14	28
100	Max Domi	TOR	C	80	9	38	47	10	118	0.59	8	45	1	2