Jakob Chychrun – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – A major injury for the Oilers, a renaissance in Pittsburgh, a big trade acquisition is paying off for Seattle, Columbus’ driving force, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 21 Mar 2026 14:33:30 +0000

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, a major injury for the Oilers, a renaissance in Pittsburgh, a big trade acquisition is paying off for Seattle, Columbus’ driving force, and so much more!

#1 The Edmonton Oilers have lost star centre Leon Draisaitl for the rest of the regular season due to a lower-body injury. This causes a lot of dominos to fall in response when it comes to the Oilers lineup. They have moved Ryan Nugent-Hopkins into the second-line centre role, between Zach Hyman and Jack Roslovic, with Vasily Podkolzin moving to left wing on the first line with Connor McDavid. In his past 10 games, Nugent-Hopkins has four goals and zero assists with 20 shots on goal, which starts to lean him towards the fantasy roster bubble in basic leagues. Podkolzin is intriguing for deeper leagues as he has been picking up his pace. Since the beginning of February, he has eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 30 shots on goal in 14 games.

#2 As a 35-year-old future Hall of Famer, Pittsburgh Penguins defenceman Erik Karlsson has had ups and downs over the course of a long career, but when he is on, his greatness still shines through and, right now, he’s on. Coming out of the Olympic break, with the Penguins missing Sidney Crosby (and, for five games, Evgeni Malkin) Karlsson has been killing it. In 12 games, averaging more than 24 minutes of ice time per game, Karlsson has put up 17 points (5 G, 12 A) with 36 shots on goal. It’s elite, superstar-level production once again and over the entire season the Penguins have outscored opponents 60 to 41 with Karlsson on the ice at five-on-five.

#3 The Seattle Kraken are still in the playoff hunt and made a savvy move to acquire Bobby McMann from the Toronto Maple Leafs before the trade deadline. He has joined Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle on the Kraken’s top line and in his first four games for the Kraken, McMann has six points (4 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal. What is especially interesting is that he is also getting nearly three minutes more of ice time per game.

#4 Every time a team makes a head coaching change, they dream of getting the kind of results that the Blue Jackets have received since replacing Dean Evason with Rick Bowness. The Blue Jackets have a 17-2-4 record under Bowness and there is one player who has really reaped the rewards from this change. Zach Werenski, Adam Fantilli, and Kirill Marchenko have all put up at least a point per game but the leading scorer on the team over that time is Charlie Coyle, who has 29 points (10 G, 19 A) and 57 shots on goal in those 23 games. He is up to 55 points in 68 games for the season, now within five points of his career high of 60 points, set in 2023-2024.

#5 Coming out of the Olympic break, Boston Bruins centre Pavel Zacha has turned into a much-needed productive scoring forward. In 12 games, he has recorded 14 points (8 G, 6 A) and 22 shots on goal. That shot rate isn’t ideal, but he has found a good line with veterans Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson on the wings. Zacha has a career-high 23 goals and, with 51 points, he is within range of his career high of 59 points, set in 2023-2024.

#6 With Sidney Crosby returning to the Penguins lineup, after recovering from the knee injury that he suffered during the Olympics, that has allowed Rickard Rakell to move back to left wing on the top line. Rakell had filled in at centre on the Penguins’ top line and he’s now riding a seven-game point streak, during which he has nine points (2 G, 7 A). He has taken 147 faceoffs this season, his most in a season since 2017-2018.

#7 With the end of his brilliant career on the horizon, Los Angeles Kings centre Anze Kopitar is still pushing for a playoff spot and he’s playing between high-octane scoring wingers Artemi Panarin and Adrian Kempe on the top line. Kopitar is 38 years old and, in the month of March, he has nine points (5 G, 4 A) and 24 shots on goal in nine games. Definitely worth adding for the stretch run in fantasy leagues just based on his linemates alone.

#8 The season has obviously gone in the wrong direction for the Vancouver Canucks, but that does offer a chance to find undervalued players. Veteran winger Brock Boeser has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) and 19 shots on goal in his past nine games, finding a good connection with former Minnesota Wild forwards Marco Rossi and Liam Ohgren as his linemates. Even with this recent surge in production, Boeser has just 36 points in 61 games. His previous career low was 45 points, which he scored in just 57 games during the 2019-2020 season.

#9 The Minnesota Wild have been having such a strong season that it has allowed secondary players to become viable fantasy contributors. Vladimir Tarasenko has six points (3 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal in the past six games, and while he does get top unit power play time, he is playing with Mats Zuccarello and Ryan Hartman on a solid veteran second line. He’s not the top line scorer that he was during his peak years, but Tarasenko is one goal away from the ninth 20-goal season of his career.

#10 Carolina Hurricanes sophomore right winger Jackson Blake continues to improve. Since the Olympic break, he has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 29 shots on goal in 11 games. He has been cooking on a line with Logan Stankoven and Taylor Hall, and Blake’s ability to generate chances totally fits with the Hurricanes’ ethos. His 1.02 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play ranks third on the team, behind Seth Jarvis and Eric Robinson.

#11 As the Ottawa Senators make a furious push for a playoff spot, centre Shane Pinto is delivering solid secondary scoring, with eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past eight games. He has 37 points (18 G, 19 A) in 58 games this season, tying last season’s 37 points in 70 games for his career high. At even strength, he’s playing with Nick Cousins and Michael Amadio, so it’s not like Pinto’s production is getting propped up by strong linemates, but he does do most of his damage at evens, recording 32 of his 37 points at even strength.

#12 One of the players that has been covered the most in these 20 Fantasy Points articles this season is Penguins winger Anthony Mantha, who is having the best season of his career while coming off a torn ACL suffered while playing for the Calgary Flames last season. He has eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 16 shots on goal during a six-game point streak and is up to 26 goals and 53 points for the season, both of which are career highs. He is skating on a line with rookie Ben Kindel and fellow towering winger Justin Brazeau.

#13 While the San Jose Sharks have other young players that command more of the spotlight – and justifiably so – winger Collin Graf has shown that he can be a valuable contributor in the NHL. Graf joined the Sharks after putting up 49 points in 34 games for Quinnipiac in 2023-2024 and split last season between the AHL and NHL. This season, his most common linemates have been Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith, which is obviously a great situation for him. Right now, Tyler Toffoli is on the right side with Graf and Celebrini and Graf has nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 23 shots on goal in 10 games this month.

#14 He is not the player that he was during his peak years, but 37-year-old Detroit Red Wings right winger Patrick Kane can still deliver the goods offensively. With Dylan Larkin out of the lineup, Andrew Copp has stepped into the No. 1 centre spot for the Red Wings, between Kane and Alex DeBrincat, and Kane has eight points (3 G, 5 A) with 21 shots on goal in his past seven games. His ice time is up over 19 minutes per game in that span, suggesting that the Red Wings are leaning on him more as they fight for their playoff lives.

#15 Tampa Bay Lightning left winger Gage Goncalves has shown flashes in his first two NHL campaigns, using his speed to create chances, and he is getting a prime opportunity right now, skating on a line with Brayden Point at centre and Jake Guentzel on right wing. In his past nine games, Goncalves has 10 points (5 G, 5 A) with 17 shots on goal, which is remarkable production for a player averaging 13:32 of ice time per game.

#16 The season has certainly not gone the way that the St. Louis Blues might have hoped, but down seasons for teams can provide pockets of fantasy value for specific players. Case in point: veteran defenceman Cam Fowler has contributed seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past eight games even though young defencemen Philip Broberg and Logan Mailloux are ahead of Fowler on the power play depth chart.

#18 The Washington Capitals are fading from playoff contention, and their big guns are firing blanks at an inopportune time as they are 3-4-1 in their past eight games. Alex Ovechkin, who is 40 years old, has two points (1 G, 1 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past seven games. It’s not going any better for playmaking centre Dylan Strome, who has two assists and 10 shots on goal in the past seven games. Defenceman Jakob Chychrun, who leads NHL defencemen with 23 goals, has three points (1 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal in his past eight games. Maybe the Capitals can turn their attention to Cole Hutson, the 19-year-old defenceman who was a second-round pick in 2024. Hutson, the younger brother of Montreal Canadiens star Lane Hutson, signed with the Capitals after scoring 32 points (10 G, 22 A) in 35 games during his sophomore season at Boston University. Hutson made his mark with a goal and three shots on goal while playing 16:24 against Ottawa in his NHL debut

#19 While there is some uncertainty about the Montreal Canadiens’ goaltending, with Samuel Montembeault, Jakub Dobes, and rookie Jacob Fowler all options, Dobes is doing his part to claim the crease. Since the trade deadline, Dobes has a .917 save percentage in five starts and his 7.86 Goals Saved Above Expected (GSAx) ranks first among goaltenders in that time, ahead of Jeremy Swayman (7.67), Logan Thompson (7.43), Sergei Bobrovsky (6.28), and Joel Hofer (5.98).

#20 At the other end of the goaltending spectrum, since the trade deadline, Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood has struggled, with a .791 save percentage in four starts and his -6.92 GSAx is worst in the league, below even Brandon Bussi (-5.05), Connor Hellebuyck (-4.76), Tristan Jarry (-4.74), and Jacob Markstrom (-4.68). It is a very difficult situation for fantasy managers to deal with a slumping goaltender at any time, but especially when it’s a goaltender for a very strong team, who can usually be relied upon to contribute wins, but when those slumps hit, the goaltending numbers can go south quickly and with fantasy playoffs coming soon, it’s tough to pin all of your season’s hopes on one guy. For this reason, having multiple options is always the best approach. If you can get away with not starting Blackwood or Bussi while they are in the midst of a slump, then it could improve potential outcomes.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – WASHINGTON CAPITALS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 19:24:01 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - NOVEMBER 30: Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun (6) scores a goal during a NHL game between the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on November 30, 2024 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

After barely sneaking into the postseason in 2023-2024, the Capitals orchestrated a magnificent improvement, finishing with 111 points (51-22-9), the best record in the Eastern Conference, all while engaged in Alex Ovechkin’s chase to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goals record. Washington cruised past the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the first round, only to be dismissed by the Carolina Hurricanes in five games in the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Capitals were a little above average in terms of puck possession, ranking 12th in both score-and-venue adjusted Corsi percentage (51.0) and expected goals percentage (51.4). The Capitals power play was slightly above average, ranking 14th with 7.95 goals scored per 60 minutes of five-on-four play. On the penalty kill, the Capitals ranked seventh with 6.05 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play.

What’s Changed?

The Capitals have done an excellent job of keeping their core together following such a strong season. They lost wingers Andrew Mangiapane and Taylor Raddysh to the Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers, respectively, in free agency and centre Lars Eller signed with the Ottawa Senators. Defenceman Alexander Alexeyev signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins. None of these players had huge roles in last year’s Capitals team, and Washington will have top prospect Ryan Leonard available from the start of the season after he joined the team following his college season ended last spring. The Capitals also traded to acquire depth forward Justin Sourdif from the Florida Panthers and brought in defenceman Declan Chisholm from the Minnesota Wild, but this offseason required far less of a roster makeover than the Capitals experienced in 2024.

What would success look like?

The main goal for the Capitals should be to prove that last season wasn’t a fluke. It doesn’t mean that they have to win the Metropolitan Division or record 111 points again, but 100-plus should be the expectation and then aim for a deeper run into the playoffs. The Capitals don’t look to be quite on the level of a Stanley Cup contender, but if Leonard is an impact player right away, that could help make a difference and if they are close, they could always add more talent to make a stronger playoff push.

What could go wrong?

The Capitals are still dependent on a couple of older players, Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson, and that brings greater risk of injury. Even if the Capitals have better depth, a significant injury to either of those players could pose a problem. The Capitals were not so dominant last season that they can just be assumed to be strong again in 2025-2026. If they lose a percent or two of possession and goaltender Logan Thompson slumps relative to his strong performance in 2024-2025, then the Capitals could find themselves scrambling for a playoff spot.

Top Breakout Candidate

The eighth pick in the 2023 Draft, Ryan Leonard produced 109 points (61 G, 48 A) in 78 games across two seasons at Boston College and jumped straight to the Capitals at the end of his sophomore season. In 17 games between regular season and playoffs, Leonard mustered just two points (1 G, 1 A), so he did not live up to the hype in that small sample, but he also had an on-ice expected goals percentage of 57.7 percent during the nine regular season games, and 56.4 percent during eight playoff games, so it’s not like he was overwhelmed. With a full training camp and an established role on the roster, Leonard has a chance to contend for the Calder Trophy.

FORWARDS

Alex Ovechkin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
73	37	28	65	0.89

The league’s all-time leading goal scorer after surpassing Wayne Gretzky last season, Ovechkin’s pursuit of the record brought out his most efficient finishing of his NHL career. He scored 44 goals, his most since 2019-2020, scoring on 18.6 percent of his shots on goal, the highest shooting percentage of his illustrious career. There is a temptation to believe that Ovechkin is ageless, and it appeared that way in 2024-2025, but he will be 40 years old by the time the puck drops on this season, and he observably does not move with the same vitality that he did earlier in his career. That’s not passing judgment, it’s merely a reflection of what happens when trying to drag 235 pounds up and down the wing while playing 1,491 regular season games plus another 161 playoff games. His ice time dropped to 17:43 per game last season, the lowest average of his career, and his hit count was down to 110 – the only season in which he finished with fewer hits was the shortened 2020-2021 season, when he had 98 hits in 45 games. This is all an indication that as great as Ovechkin has been, his all-around game is naturally not where it once was. He is obviously still a threat from the faceoff circle on the power play, scoring at least 13 power play goals in 18 of his 20 NHL seasons. Last season, Ovechkin’s most frequent linemate was center Dylan Strome, followed by Aliaksei Protas and Tom Wilson. He is likely going to have a similar role in 2025-2026, so even a diminished Ovechkin should still be expected to score 35 goals and 65 points, with at least 100 hits.

Dylan Strome

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
8228	55	83	1.01

A veteran center who took a while to find his footing in the National Hockey League, Strome found the right situation in Washington and after the most productive seasons of his career in his first two seasons with the Capitals, he leapt forward to a point-per-game season with 82 points (29 G, 53 A) in 82 games in 2024-2025. Strome is 6-foot-3 and has soft hands; he uses that size to protect the puck and create opportunities. He’s a cerebral player and when he gets extra time and space on the power play, he can make a massive difference, and he was tied for seventh in the league with 34 power play points last season. He could shoot the puck more as it is difficult to record a point per game while not generating at least two shots on goal per game. There were 35 players to average better than one point per game last season, with a minimum of 40 games played, and Strome’s 1.82 shots on goal per game ranked 35th out of that group. He did benefit from an on-ice shooting percentage of 11.1 percent during five-on-five play, the second highest of his career, so there are realistic concerns about the sustainability of Strome’s production. Strome has been durable since arriving in D.C., missing one game in three seasons with the Capitals. Going into the 2025-2026 season, Strome should be expected to contribute 25 goals and 65-70 points.

Aliaksei Protas

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	24	31	55	0.70

It is so interesting to try to forecast the production of a player who has been brimming with potential, a 6-foot-6 winger who has hands and can shoot the puck but had not put it all together until last season. In the case of Protas, he erupted for 30 goals and 66 points, but he scored on 21.1 percent of his shots on goal, and his five-on-five on-ice shooting percentage of 14.2 percent was the second highest in the league, among skaters to play at least 500 five-on-five minutes. Protas has 2.84 points per 60 minutes during five-on-five play, ranking fourth among skaters that played at least 500 five-on-five minutes, behind only David Pastrnak, Sean Monahan, and Nikita Kucherov. Even with the understanding that Protas is highly unlikely to duplicate those percentages, there are lots of positives to take from his breakthrough season, the first of which is that there are very few players of his enormous size who possess the skill to put up 30 goals in a season. When Protas uses that size to win battles and protect the puck as he goes hard to the net, he is more than a handful for opposing defenders. He also did nearly all of his damage at even strength last season, with one power play assist and two shorthanded assists to his credit. It doesn’t appear that Protas is set for a significant power play role in 2025-2026, so there is likely going to be some regression in his numbers, but he should still be able to contribute 20 goals and 50 points.

Tom Wilson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	24	24	48	0.69

One of the rarest players in the National Hockey League, Wilson has the intimidating size and physical presence to tangle with whatever heavyweights remain in the league, but he is also an excellent skater and an accomplished offensive threat and he happens to be coming off a season in which he set career highs in goals (33), assists (32), and points (65). He also averaged a career-high 18:44 of ice time per game, but that’s not a shocking development, either. He has played more than 18 minutes per game in five of his past seven seasons. Wilson recorded 233 hits last season, the ninth time in his career that he recorded at least 200 hits, and he added 100 penalty minutes, the eighth time in his career that he hit the century mark. Those last two categories make Wilson a banger league star. Last season also happened to be one of extremely favorable percentages for Wilson, who scored on a career-high 19.5 percent of his shots on goal and had an on-ice shooting percentage of 11.9 percent. He has actually exceeded that number once before but in 2023-2024 his on-ice shooting percentage was 5.5 percent, so it appears that Wilson got all of the regression going back in his favour in 2024-2025. Wilson remains a prominent part of the Capitals’ attack and should be expected to contribute 25 goals and 45 points, along with 200-plus hits and something in the neighbourhood of 100 penalty minutes this season.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	21	41	62	0.76

When the Capitals made the trade to acquire Dubois from the Los Angeles Kings last summer, it generated some measure of surprise because Dubois was coming off of a disastrous season in Los Angeles and, with a hefty long-term contract, was one of the least valuable assets in the league. Dubois responded with a career-high 66 points (26 G, 40 A) and a dominant season at five-on-five, with the Capitals outscoring opponents 73-44 with Dubois on the ice. That success did not come as a total shock because the story of Dubois’ career has been that, when he is motivated, he can be an impact player in the league, but after that season in Los Angeles, it seemed to be anyone’s guess if he could be properly motivated. Dubois is a 6-foot-4, 220-pound center who can dominate along the boards, winning battles consistently, and combining that with a skill game that includes puck protection and high-end vision to spot open teammates makes Dubois an easy player to believe in. Will he be able to duplicate that success? His shooting percentage last season was 14.1 percent, which was a little higher than his previous career mark of 12.5 percent, but that’s not a massive difference. The bigger issue is that his on-ice shooting percentage was 13.2 percent, which was the fourth highest out of the 378 forwards that played at least 500 five-on-five minutes. Expecting some regression in his output, Dubois should still be able to contribute 20 goals and 55 points this season.

Connor McMichael

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	22	28	50	0.61

The 25th pick in the 2019 Draft, McMichael was a bit of a late bloomer, especially for a first-round pick, but there is no denying that he has hit his mark as a scoring forward in the NHL. McMichael achieved career highs with 26 goals, 33 assists, and 59 points last season, but, like many Capitals forwards, was also the beneficiary of a lofty on-ice shooting percentage. In McMichael’s case it was 12.1 percent, a number that is not likely to be duplicated next season. As he was coming up, McMichael was insistent that he was a center and in 2023-2024 that was his main position, but last season he took a total of 109 faceoffs, so he played some center, but it was hardly a significant part of his deployment. Unless there is a need based on injuries, there seems little reason to move McMichael from the wing, where he found his most success. He has strong offensive instincts and knows how to find openings that put him in scoring position. Now that McMichael has established his credentials as a quality scoring winger, he should have a solid contribution to make in 2025-2026, with 20-25 goals and 45-50 points a fair expectation once statistical regression gets taken into account.

Anthony Beauvillier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	14	16	30	0.37

A veteran winger who started his career with the Islanders and has been bouncing around ever since, with stops in Vancouver, Chicago, Nashville, Pittsburgh, and now Washington, Beauvillier has talent, but has never been able to take it to the next level, thereby remaining in a middle six role at all of his stops. Although he managed just five points (2 G, 3 A) in 18 games with the Capitals after he was acquired from the Penguins at the trade deadline, Beauvillier did contribute six points (2 G, 4 A) in 10 playoff games and that made him a viable candidate to return to Washington when the Capitals could not land a bigger fish in free agency. Although he had modest offensive production in Washington, Beauvillier did have strong underlying numbers with positive possession stats despite starting just 38.3 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. The Capitals outscored opponents 9-6 at five-on-five with Beauvillier on the ice, which indicates that he is an entirely useful depth winger. He has surpassed 20 goals just once in his career, scoring 21 with the Islanders in 2017-2018, his second season in the league, and it’s not likely that he will have a significant enough role to threaten that number again. He is more likely to contribute 12-15 goals and 25-30 points during the 2025-2026 season.

Hendrix Lapierre

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
58	5	11	16	0.28

The 22nd pick in the 2020 Draft, Lapierre had had some false starts to his NHL career, but the Capitals hope that he can follow a path like McMichael, where the patience ends up paying off. He managed zero goals and eight assists in 27 games for the Capitals last season, which is not at all encouraging, but he has 31 points (9 G, 22 A) in 84 career NHL games, so there is something there to hope that Lapierre can turn into a bona fide NHL player. He also scored 32 points (7 G, 25 A) in 32 AHL games last season, the kind of production that would typically give a 23-year-old a good opportunity to stick in the NHL. That does appear to be what is happening with Lapierre, who is penciled into a third-line role with the Capitals, and he might even start at center, which would be a significant vote of confidence for a player who has won 37.4 percent of the 404 faceoffs that he has taken in the NHL. If Lapierre is indeed going to fill a top nine role in Washington, he should be able to contribute 10 goals and 30-35 points, but the main focus should be on sticking in the NHL for the entire season, proving that he belongs.

Nic Dowd

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	13	13	26	0.32

A 35-year-old checking center, Dowd hit career highs with 14 goals and 27 points last season, and he added 82 blocked shots and 128 hits, so while the scoring numbers don’t jump off the page, those peripheral stats might give Dowd a little value in very deep leagues. His 82 blocked shots last season ranked sixth among forwards, and only two forwards – Brandon Tanev and Noel Acciari – had more blocked shots and more hits than Dowd. Even as he hits his mid-thirties, Dowd is having a bigger impact on the game than he did as a younger player. He has played over 15 minutes per game in the past two seasons, and he faces a ridiculous deployment, starting 15.0 percent of his five-on-five shifts in the offensive zone last season. Dowd is a throwback-style blue-collar player who leaves it all on the ice and plays for keeps night after night. Over the course of his career, his team has outscored the opposition by two goals during five-on-five play and that is a solid result from a checking center on the third or fourth line. Dowd should be able to contribute a dozen goals and 25 points to the Capitals this season.

DEFENCE

John Carlson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	7	41	48	0.62

Perhaps age is starting to catch up to Carlson just a little bit, as the 35-year-old Capitals blueliner scored just five goals last season, the lowest total of his career since scoring one goal in 22 games as a rookie in 2009-2010. That does not mean that he’s dropped off dramatically, by any means, as Carlson also had 46 assists and his 51 points represented the seventh time in his career that he crossed the 50-point threshold. He also averaged more than 23 minutes of ice time per game for the 12th time in the past 13 seasons. Carlson had a stellar season in terms of puck possession stats, as his 53.7 Corsi percentage was the best of his career since a 53.9 mark during his 22-game stint in 2009-2010. Carlson has always been a big and physically strong defenceman, yet his game does not really take maximum advantage of that size and strength. His booming shot from the point is a factor, sure, but he’s only had more than 80 hits in a season once in his career and finished with 49 last season. For a defenceman who is 6-foot-3 and 220 pounds, he is not a banger. Carlson has always been an ace on the power play – his 264 career power play points ranks sixth among active defncemen, behind Brent Burns, Erik Karlsson, Drew Doughty, Kris Letang, and Victor Hedman. Carlson still led Capitals defencemen in power play ice time last season, but Jakob Chychrun could be knocking on the door, unless the Capitals take the rare step of having two defencemen on the No. 1 power play unit, and they could do that. For the 2025-2026 season, expect Carlson to put up 45-50 points, which keeps him right in the middle of the action for fantasy managers.

Jakob Chychrun

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	15	29	44	0.59

The Capitals’ acquisition of Chychrun last summer could not have worked out better, as he stayed healthy enough to play a career-high 74 games and finished with career highs in goal (20) and points (47). His 27 assists tied a career high, set the year before with Ottawa. Chychrun is an aggressive offensive defenceman who will join the rush and come down from the blueline in the offensive zone if it means generating a scoring chance. His 0.60 goals per 60 minutes last season ranked second out of 208 defencemen that played at least 500 five-on-five minutes. He is already a significant part of the Capitals attack and is pushing Carlson for the No. 1 role on the Capitals power play. When that time comes, that should set Chychrun on a trajectory to produce even more offensively. Throughout his career, he has tended to be a strong puck possession player, at least in relative terms, and that continued in his first season with the Capitals. As a player who has been injured quite a bit in his career, Chychrun maybe more inclined to pick his spots about when to lay his body on the line and it’s notable that for a defenceman who routinely plays more than 21 minutes per game, he has recorded more than 100 blocked shots once in his career and only exceeded 100 hits in his rookie season, 2016-2017, and hasn’t done it since. Chychrun should still be expected to fill a big role for Washington this season, which includes scoring 15 goals and 40-plus points.

Rasmus Sandin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	5	23	28	0.34

The arrival of Jakob Chychrun did not do Sandin any favors in terms of his role as an offensive-minded puck-moving defenceman, but he still ended up with a career-high 30 points (4 G, 26 A) last season. Sandin played all 82 games, but his ice time dropped nearly two minutes per game from the 2023-2024 season. While Sandin’s puck possession numbers weren’t great, sliding in under break-even with a 49.7 percent Corsi, the Capitals did outscore opponents 71-58 during five-on-five play with Sandin on the ice. He is a smooth skating defender who has strong puck skills and even though he’s on the smaller side, Sandin is not shy about engaging in physical play. Size and strength can be issues for him when it comes to battling against bigger opponents, but overall Sandin is a viable top four defenceman. He has recorded more than 100 blocked shots in back-to-back seasons and had 91 hits last season, down from his career high of 136 hits in 2022-2023. Being the No. 3 power play option on any team’s defence is a less-than-ideal situation and that is where Sandin appears to find himself, behind John Carlson and Chychrun, but if the top two both end up on the top unit, that could still provide Sandin with an opportunity with the second unit. Since that is the situation Sandin finds himself in with the Capitals, it’s reasonable to expect 25-30 points in 2025-2026.

Martin Fehervary

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	4	18	22	0.27

A solid two-way defenceman who scored a career-high 25 points (5 G, 20 A) last season, Fehervary suffered a knee injury that kept him out of the playoffs, but he had done enough to impress Capitals brass so that he was rewarded with a new seven-year, $42 million contract. That’s not a commitment for a player who will be struggling to find his way into the defensive rotation. Fehervary is an excellent skater and with his physical disposition, he can take time and space away from opposing forwards. He recorded a career-high 150 blocked shots last season, though his 139 hits were his lowest total in a full NHL season. Fehervary has had passable possession numbers despite starting more of his shifts in the defensive zone for three straight seasons. None of his statistics are eye popping, but there is always a market for a 6-foot-2 defender who is an excellent skater and will play the body and sacrifice his own body to block shots, so Fehervary should continue to play a prominent role in Washington. In 2025-2026, he should be expected to surpass 20 points, though his real fantasy appeal would come from 150-plus hits and 130-plus blocked shots.

GOAL

Charlie Lindgren

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
42	22	14	4	2	.904	2.78

Darcy Kuemper may have bounced back seamlessly from his disastrous stint in Washington last year, but Washington bounced back just as smoothly under the guidance of a nearly, perfectly deployed tandem of Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson. Washington served as the regular season poster child for why equal deployment tandems can be so effective, boasting positive performances from both Thompson and Lindgren in addition to the team's regular season President's Trophy win.

Neither Thompson nor Lindgren looked like the league's most exciting options last year, but that worked in Washington's benefit. The pair were able to quietly amass a collection of games that left the focus on Alex Ovechkin and his quest to claim the league's all-time scoring title, scooping up rebounds without doing much to drag the other team's attention away from their nearly full-time job of trying to stop the Russian Machine from firing the puck up the ice. That presents Washington with an interesting position to consider for the upcoming campaign, of course; without Ovechkin's dogged quest consuming the offence, things could start to become more balanced up and down the ice and test both Thompson and Lindgren a little bit more. Still, neither starter showed any major flaws in their game when challenged. It's hard to find much to fault them for, and they should make up a nice tandem next year once again.

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 – Examining offseason moves – Oilers thriving ex-RFA’s versus UFA signings – Teams with favourable schedules

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 16:15:29 +0000

DALLAS, TX - DECEMBER 14: St Louis Blue defenseman Philip Broberg skates with the puck down the ice during an NHL game between the St Louis Blues and the Dallas Stars on December 14, 2024, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, TX. (Photo by Steve Nurenberg/Icon Sportswire)

Going into 2024-25, it looked like the Oilers had a great summer. Sure, they lost restricted free agents Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to St. Louis, but only because the Blues overpaid for them. Meanwhile, Edmonton was crafty, snagging Jeff Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson at bargain bin prices, while also re-signing Adam Henrique to a reasonable contract. The goaltending was still in a risky state given the reliance on the streaky Stuart Skinner and the defense looked thin, but up front, Edmonton seemed deeper than it had ever been in the Connor McDavid-era.

Reality has played out differently. Edmonton has a 23-12-3 record, so they don’t have much to complain about on that front. However, Skinner hasn’t been the bargain that they thought. Instead, the six-time 30-plus goal scorer has just six markers and 13 points through 37 appearances. He’s been so underwhelming that he’s been largely relegated to the fourth line and was even a healthy scratch Sunday.

Arvidsson hasn’t been much help either. Granted, injuries have been part of the issue, but even when healthy, he’s underwhelmed with four goals and nine points through 23 outings. Meanwhile, Henrique has three goals and 10 points in 38 games after finishing the 2023-24 regular season with 51 points.

With the benefit of hindsight, Edmonton should have prioritized its restricted free agents. Broberg has three goals and 14 points in 27 outings while managing a top four role. Holloway has looked even better, collecting 14 goals and 27 points in 40 appearances.

As for Skinner and Arvidsson being bargains while Broberg and Holloway were overpaid, the former duo costs $7 million combined for 2024-25 while the latter comes in at roughly $6.9. Oops.

To be fair, this isn’t what many would have predicted going into the campaign, and there’s still time for Skinner and Arvidsson to make their marks, especially come the playoffs. However, it does highlight how plans can go awry, and with nearly half the campaign now in the books, this seems like a good time to take stock of how teams did in the offseason.

That’ll be the theme of this week’s article: For every team I highlight below, I’m going focus on the players who were brought in over the summer and reevaluate whether it’s worked out.

Carolina Hurricanes (Tue @ TBL, Thu @ TOR, Fri vs VAN, Sun vs ANA)

Carolina has been middling recently, posting a 7-8-1 record over its past 16 games, though the Hurricanes are still 23-13-2 overall thanks to their commanding start. Next week is packed for Carolina and primarily at home, though the opponents will be difficult. The Hurricanes will play in Tampa Bay on Tuesday before hosting Toronto, Vancouver and Anaheim on Thursday, Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Even after factoring in Carolina’s recent underwhelming play, the Hurricanes are still well on their way to making the playoffs for the seventh straight campaign despite significant turnover. They lost two top-four defensemen -- Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce -- and top-six forward Teuvo Teravainen. Jake Guentzel also parted ways with Carolina, but he was a midseason rental, so he was less ingrained into the team.

Carolina led the league in xGA/60 in 2023-24 (2.65), but the team has dipped to 11th (2.90) this year. That’s not bad, but it does suggest that the losses of Skjei and Pesce have been felt.

Carolina did ink Shayne Gostisbehere to a three-year, $9.6 million contract over the summer, but the 31-year-old defenseman was brought in as more of a power-play specialist than a two-way option. He has served well in that role, supplying six goals and 27 points through 35 appearances, but unfortunately, he’s out indefinitely with an upper-body injury.

Interestingly, Brent Burns appears to be staying on the second power-play unit despite Gostisbehere’s injury. Burns is hot with two goals and four points over his past four appearances, but he has just one point with the man advantage this year, and unless he moves up to the top power-play grouping, it’s hard to see him having a strong second half.

Ty Smith seems to have gotten the special-teams assignment instead of Burns. The 24-year-old has averaged just 14:02 of ice time in Carolina’s three games without Gostisbehere, but 4:05 per contest has come with the man advantage. Smith has a goal (provided on the power play) in those three appearances after supplying three goals and 10 points in 13 outings with AHL Chicago. He’s worth a short-term pickup.

Moving back to the Hurricanes’ summer acquisitions, Carolina also inked Jack Roslovic to a one-year, $2.8 million deal. He’s worked out well in Carolina, collecting 17 goals and 25 points through 38 outings, which puts the 27-year-old on track to surpass his career high of 45 points. I’m not confident he’ll get there, though. His 22.4 shooting percentage doesn’t look sustainable and his role with the team hasn’t been consistent, resulting in him averaging a modest 14:00, including 1:15 on the power play. It’s hard to trust him unless he starts getting bigger minutes consistently, so there’s a risk of him slowing meaningfully in the second half.

Detroit Red Wings (Tue vs OTT, Fri vs CHI, Sun vs SEA)

The Red Wings are showing some life under new bench boss Todd McLellan, winning each of their past three games. Still, they have a lot of ground to make up given their 16-18-4 record. Fortunately, their upcoming competition is favorable -- they'll spend next week at home, hosting Ottawa on Tuesday, Chicago on Friday and Seattle on Sunday.

Detroit lost Gostisbehere and veteran forward David Perron over the summer, which threatened to hurt the team’s scoring, but the Red Wings hoped to mitigate that by bringing in Vladimir Tarasenko on a two-year, $9.5 million contract. Tarasenko isn’t the same player he was when he provided over 30 goals on six occasions from 2014-15 through 2021-22, but he still figured to be a valuable middle-six option after providing 23 goals and 55 points over 76 outings between Ottawa and Florida in 2023-24.

It hasn’t worked out like that, though. Tarasenko has just four goals and 14 points through 37 appearances and isn’t giving Red Wings fans much hope that he’ll have a strong second half. The veteran has no goals and three assists across his past 14 games. While Detroit has won its last three games by scoring at least four goals in each contest, Tarasenko has managed a single shot on net over that stretch.

Detroit re-signed Patrick Kane to a one-year, $4 million deal over the summer. Initially, Kane’s story this season looked a lot like Tarasenko -- Kane had just three goals and 10 points over his first 24 appearances of 2024-25 -- but he’s hit his stride, providing five goals and nine points across his past nine outings.

Detroit ranks 25th in goals per game with 2.68, which is a collapse compared to the Red Wings’ 3.35 last campaign. That’s in large part due to a decline in secondary scoring. Detroit had eight players with at least 15 goals. Just five are scoring at a pace to reach that mark this campaign. If Tarasenko could get going, that would certainly help, but it would be wrong to put the blame solely on him when the team as a whole has declined that much.

Minnesota Wild (Tue vs STL, Thu vs COL, Sat @ SJS, Sun @VGK)

The Wild have won four of their past five games, bringing their record up to 24-11-4 this campaign. They’ll look to continue the good times next week, starting with a home game against the Blues on Tuesday. After that, the Wild will host Colorado on Thursday before hitting the road for contests in San Jose on Saturday and Vegas on Sunday.

In contrast to their dominance this season, the Wild missed the playoffs in 2023-24 with a 39-34-9 record, so you’d think they had a successful summer, but this is largely the same team that fell short last campaign. The big difference has been Filip Gustavsson. He struggled in 2023-24 with a 20-18-4 record, 3.06 GAA and .899 save percentage but has rebounded this time, posting a 17-6-3 record, 2.28 GAA and .924 save percentage across 26 starts.

It wouldn’t be surprising to see Gustavsson continue his dominance through the second half of the campaign. While it’s in contrast to last season, he has demonstrated this level of success before -- he was 22-9-7 with a 2.10 GAA and a .931 save percentage in 39 outings in 2022-23 -- so this isn’t coming out of nowhere.

Marco Rossi has also taken a step up. The 23-year-old finished 2023-24 with 21 goals and 40 points and is well on his way to shattering those totals this season, collecting 15 goals and 33 points through 39 outings so far. For the second straight campaign, Rossi has the distinction of getting plenty of ice time with Kirill Kaprizov, but the duo seems to be meshing better this year. Kaprizov showed up on the scoresheet for 16 of Rossi’s 40 points last season but has already featured on 21 of Rossi’s 33 points in 2024-25.

While Minnesota didn’t make any significant additions last summer, it is worth noting that the Wild signed Brock Faber to an eight-year, $68 million contract extension back in July. Faber was one of the few positives for the Wild in 2023-24, supplying eight goals, 47 points, 65 hits and 150 blocks in 82 appearances as a rookie. Locking him up long-term was a bit of a risk given his small sample size, but it’s looking like it was a great call. He has five goals, 20 points, 15 hits and 51 blocks through 39 outings in 2024-25.

Faber didn’t look ideal analytically last campaign with a relative 5v5 CF%/FF% of minus-2.8/minus-3.5, which suggests that the team performed worse from a puck possession perspective when he was on the ice, but the 22-year-old has shown some growth in that regard as a sophomore, posting a minus-1.7/minus-2.9 relative 5v5 CF%/FF%.

Ottawa Senators (Tue @ DET, Thu @ BUF, Sat @ PIT, Sun vs DAL)

Minnesota is enjoying a great campaign after a rough one, but the Senators are still floundering in mediocrity. Ottawa finished 37-41-4 in 2023-24, missing the playoffs for the seventh consecutive year. The Senators are a more respectable, but still not great 19-17-2 this year.

Ottawa does have a shot at ending its postseason drought, but every point will be critical. Next week, the Senators will play in Detroit on Tuesday, host the Sabres on Thursday, play in Pittsburgh on Saturday and then head back home to face the Stars on Sunday.

There was some reason for cautious optimism going into this campaign. Joonas Korpisalo had been a big problem for the Senators in 2023-24, posting a 21-26-4 record, 3.27 GAA and .890 save percentage in 55 outings while finishing minus-16.1 in terms of goals saved above expected. To exchange him with Linus Ullmark in a trade with Boston over the summer seemed like a huge win, and it has been.

Ullmark did initially struggle in Ottawa and is presently dealing with a back injury, but he’s still been strong overall with a 12-7-2 record, 2.38 GAA and .915 save percentage across 23 games with the Senators. Unfortunately, Ottawa’s holdover goaltender, Anton Forsberg, has continued to struggle with a 3.04 GAA and an .885 save percentage in 12 outings, so Ottawa has to hope that Ullmark returns soon.

Even when he is playing, though, Ottawa is still limited by its offense, ranking 20th in goals per game with 2.95. Trading offensive defenseman Jakob Chychrun to Washington didn’t help. The Senators did receive Nick Jensen in the trade, but Jensen is more of a defensive option, contributing two goals, 13 points, 37 hits and 44 blocks in 38 contests with Ottawa this campaign.

The Senators also attempted to boost its secondary scoring by inking David Perron to a two-year, $8 million contract. Perron had recorded at least 36 points in each of his past eight campaigns, so he seemed like a reasonable bet, but the 36-year-old has been no help. Part of that is due to injuries, but even in the nine games he’s logged with Ottawa, Perron has no points.

To make matters worse, Claude Giroux is showing his age, collecting nine goals and 24 points through 38 appearances in 2024-25, putting the 36-year-old on pace to finish well below his totals of 79 and 64 points in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.

If Ottawa is to miss the playoffs this year, a lack of scoring will likely be the reason.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Tue vs CBJ, Thu vs EDM, Sat vs OTT, Sun vs TBL)

Pittsburgh was aggressive in the summer of 2023, bringing offensive defenseman Erik Karlsson into the fold, but that proved to be not enough for the 2023-24 Penguins, who missed the playoffs due to a 38-32-12 record. The Penguins didn’t make as big a splash this summer, and the results remain mixed with the Penguins sitting at 17-17-6. They are in the mix for a playoff spot, so their upcoming homestand will be important -- Pittsburgh will host Columbus on Tuesday, Edmonton on Thursday, Ottawa on Saturday and Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Goaltending was a weakness for Pittsburgh in 2023-24, but the Penguins didn’t change its duo, so Alex Nedeljkovic and Tristan Jarry are paired together for the second straight campaign. The results have been bad, Pittsburgh ranks last in goals allowed per game (3.63), though the defense in front of them is at least partially to blame given the team’s xGA/60 of 3.34, which ranks 29th in the NHL.

At least Rickard Rakell is having a good year. He dropped from 60 points in 2022-23 to just 37 last year, but he’s bounced back to 18 goals and 32 points through 40 appearances this campaign. One factor in that is likely the loss of Jake Guentzel, who the Penguins traded during 2023-24 to avoid potentially losing for nothing as an unrestricted free agent. With Guentzel gone, Rakell has taken his old spot on the top line alongside Sidney Crosby, and that seems to have benefited Rakell quite a bit.

Of course, that’s only because Crosby is defying Father Time with 11 goals and 42 points through 40 games at the age of 37. Malkin, 38, is showing his age more, but he’s still more than holding his own with eight goals and 32 points across 40 outings.

Without much cap space, the Penguins did attempt to supplement its offense on a budget by signing Anthony Beauvillier (one-year, $1.25 million) and Blake Lizotte (two-year, $3.7 million), which has worked out okay. Beauvillier has nine goals and 12 points through 39 appearances while Lizotte has eight goals and 12 points in 24 outings. They add a bit of skill to the bottom six, which is not nothing, but it’s not a lot.

Seattle Kraken (Mon vs NJD, Thu @ CBJ, Sat @ BUF, Sun @DET)

Seattle has been a mixed bag this campaign with a 17-19-3 record, but the Kraken have a somewhat favorable schedule next week. They’ll start by hosting the Devils and then go on the road to play in Columbus on Thursday, in Buffalo on Saturday and in Detroit on Sunday. New Jersey is the only adversary in that batch currently occupying a playoff position.

Although Seattle is still a fairly new franchise, there was some significant turnover during the summer. The biggest change came behind the bench rather than on the ice: Dave Hakstol was replaced by Dan Bylsma as the new bench boss. Under Bylsma, Seattle’s scoring has ticked up somewhat, going from 2.61 goals per game in 2023-24 to 2.90 this campaign, but that’s been undermined by the goals allowed per game increasing to 3.10 compared to 2.83 last year.

Jaden Schwartz has been one of the bigger winners under Bylsma. After collecting 13 goals and 30 points in 62 appearances while averaging 16:22 of ice time last season, Schwartz already has 12 goals and 25 points in 39 games in 2024-25, and he’s seen his playing time tick up to 17:41.

Bylsma has also been making good use of newcomer Chandler Stephenson. Like the coach, Stephenson was an offseason addition, signing a seven-year, $43.75 million deal. That’s a significant commitment to the 30-year-old, but so far, he’s fulfilled his top six duties about as well as expected, supplying four goals and 24 points through 38 appearances. He also has 12 power-play assists, quadrupling that of any other Seattle player.

Brandon Montour was Seattle’s other major free-agent splash, inking a seven-year contract worth one dollar shy of $50 million. Montour missed out on that buck because he was limited to 33 points in 66 regular-season outings with Florida in 2023-24 after setting a career high with 73 points in 2022-23, but he’s done well in his new environment, supplying eight goals and 22 points across 38 outings.

He has gone through something of a cold patch recently with three points (one goal) over his last 10 contests, but it’s not to the point yet where I’m too worried. Even in his amazing 2022-23 campaign, you can find an example of a quiet stretch from Feb. 9-28 in which he had four assists in nine appearances. To be clear, I’m not suggesting that this season will parallel 2022-23, merely stating that slower stretches happen, and the 30-year-old should start picking up the pace again before too long.

Vegas Golden Knights (Tue @ SJS, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs NYR, Sun vs MIN)

While Seattle hasn’t had much playoff success yet, the NHL’s other young franchise, Vegas, has already made the playoffs six times and won the Cup in 2023. The Golden Knights had a down year in 2023-24, posting a 45-29-8 record followed by a first-round exit, but they’re back in business this campaign at 26-9-3. The Golden Knights will start next week with a road match against the rebuilding Sharks before hosting two struggling teams in the Islanders on Thursday and the Rangers on Saturday. Finally, Vegas will be up against a tough contender when they play at home against Minnesota on Sunday.

The Golden Knights more than any other franchise in the NHL is known for making bold trades and constantly having to maneuver to stay under the salary cap. The ceiling forced the Golden Knights to watch forwards Jonathan Marchessault and Chandler Stephenson walk as free agents over the summer. Vegas also traded Logan Thompson to Washington and Paul Cotter to New Jersey.

With those losses, how have the Golden Knights done so well? For starters, Vegas has an economical replacement for Thompson in Ilya Samsonov, who inked a one-year, $1.8 million deal with the Golden Knights. The 27-year-old Samsonov has been a nice backup in Vegas, providing a 10-3-1 record, 2.69 GAA and .907 save percentage in 14 outings. To some extent, he’s even outperformed starter Adin Hill, who is 16-6-2 with a 2.65 GAA and a .902 save percentage through 24 appearances.

You might look at those solid GAAs and middling save percentages and conclude that Vegas’ secret sauce is the defense in front of its netminders, but that’s not entirely the case. In terms of shots allowed per game, Vegas has been relatively good, ranking 12th with 27.9, but the team is also tied for 21st in xGA/60 (3.10) because the Golden Knights tend to give up a ton of high-danger shots, tying for eighth in that category with 142.

As a result, Vegas’ goaltenders don’t necessarily need to work a ton, but they do need to be at the top of their game, and they’ve done just that. Hill has a goals saved above expected of 8.4 and Samsonov is at 6.1, putting them in 14th and 18th, respectively, among all goaltenders, per Moneypuck.

Vegas has also received good value out of Tanner Pearson and Victor Olofsson, who each inked one-year contracts and combine for less than $2 million in cap space. Pearson has eight goals and 16 points through 38 outings, providing some nice scoring depth in a bottom-six capacity. Meanwhile, Olofsson did miss 20 straight games from Oct. 17-Nov. 29 because of a lower-body injury, but he’s been a great middle-six option when healthy, contributing eight goals and 13 points through 18 appearances.

Health in general has really been the key, though. In 2023-24, Vegas finished with just three players who logged the full 82 games while Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo were among those who endured significant absences. Vegas hasn’t been the poster child for health this year, but the situation hasn’t been nearly as bad. That’s helped Eichel especially, who leads the team with 50 points (10 goals) through 38 appearances in 2024-25.

Vegas also made midseason trades during 2023-24 that are paying off now. This is the team’s first full season with defenseman Noah Hanifin, who has six goals and 20 points in 38 outings while serving in a top-four capacity, and forward Tomas Hertl, who has 10 goals and 25 points in 38 games. The result is Vegas is a deep team both up front and on the blue line, even after watching some notable players go over the summer.

Washington Capitals (Mon @ BUF, Wed vs VAN, Fri vs MTL, Sat @ NSH)

The Capitals barely made the playoffs in 2023-24, finishing the regular season with a 40-31-11 record before being swept in the first round. They look very different this year, though, as demonstrated by their 25-10-3 record. Washington will start next week by playing in Buffalo on Monday before returning home to host the Canucks on Wednesday and the Canadiens on Friday. They’ll wrap things up with a game in Nashville on Saturday.

While some of the teams above have made major strides this campaign despite minimal changes over the summer, that doesn’t describe the Capitals. Washington was aggressive in addition pieces, acquiring Jakob Chychrun from Ottawa, Pierre-Luc Dubois from LA and Logan Thompson from Vegas in trades. Washington also made a big splash by signing Matt Roy to a six-year, $34.5 million contract.

Those additions have paid off superbly for Washington. Darcy Kuemper left plenty to be desired with the Capitals last season, posting a 3.31 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 33 starts, but Washington was able to part with him in the Dubois trade, and Thompson has been so much better, recording a 15-2-2 record, 2.30 GAA and .918 save percentage across 19 appearances this season. That upgrade in goaltending has been a critical factor in Washington’s success, especially because it has gone a long way toward counteracting the decline of Charlie Lindgren, who has a 10-8-1 record, 2.70 GAA and .898 save percentage in 19 outings in 2024-25, down from 25-16-7 with a 2.67 GAA and .911 save percentage in 50 appearances last year.

The Capitals were able to snag Dubois from LA for the low cost of Kuemper because the 26-year-old Dubois comes with an $8.5 million cap hit through 2030-31, but he had an underwhelming 16 goals, 40 points and 70 PIM in 82 regular-season outings with the Kings last season. LA had a logjam up the middle, though, contributing to Dubois averaging just 15:42 in 2024-25. By contrast, Washington had a clear second-line opening for him, which he has settled into nicely, providing five goals, 29 points and 22 PIM in 38 games. You’d still like more from a player with his contract, but there’s no question that he’s added to the team’s scoring depth.

If Dubois has worked out with an asterisk because of his price point, then Chychrun has been a clearer win. He is on the final campaign of his contract, but his $4.6 million cap hit is superb value for the 26-year-old defenseman, who has 11 goals and 25 points this campaign. Washington already had John Carlson has a high-end offensive option on the blue line, and now Chychrun is providing Washington with another big weapon to either send out with Carlson or spread out across the top two pairings.

When it comes to the signings, Matt Roy was the major splash. The defenseman has a goal, eight points, 63 hits and 45 blocks in 28 appearances while averaging 19:24 of ice time. He’s never been a major offensive threat, but Washington already has that role well covered with Chychrun and Carlson. Roy is there to help in Washington’s end, which is why 55.4 percent of his 5v5 zone starts have been defensive.

All that has played a role in the Capitals’ success, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Alex Ovechkin’s role in all this. He has an incredible 18 goals and 28 points in 22 appearances. That said, Washington was still a strong 10-5-1 during the 16-game absence of Ovechkin from Nov. 21-Dec. 23 due to a fractured fibula, so clearly this team is more than just the byproduct of its superstar.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Avalanche overhaul goaltending, Bedard heating up, Wright establishing himself, Montreal’s power play more dangerous with Hutson feeding Laine, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 13 Dec 2024 17:05:50 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - DECEMBER 07: Patrik Laine (92) of the Montreal Canadiens skates during the third period of the NHL game between the Washington Capitals and the Montreal Canadiens on Dec 07 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC(Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I’ll dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Avalanche have overhauled their goaltending, Connor Bedard is heating up, Shane Wright is establishing himself, Montreal’s power play is more dangerous with Lane Hutson feeding Patrik Laine, and much more!

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

#1 Give the Colorado Avalanche credit. They saw the direction that their goaltending was heading this season and decided that an abrupt change of course was necessary. In two separate deals, the Avs acquired Scott Wedgewood from the Nashville Predators, and then landed Mackenzie Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks. Blackwood becomes immediately more intriguing from a fantasy perspective because he will play for an Avalanche team that is more likely to win than the Sharks squad from which he departs. Blackwood had a .909 save percentage and 5.10 Goals Saved Above Expected in 19 games for San Jose. His play has been uneven since a strong rookie campaign in 2019-2020, but playing for Colorado is a prime opportunity for 28-year-old Blackwood to achieve his potential.

#2 Going to San Jose as part of the deal, in addition to slumping goaltender Alexandar Georgiev, is rookie winger Nikolai Kovalenko. The 25-year-old’s ice time was dwindling in Colorado, where he had eight points (4 G, 4 A) in 29 games but, in his Sharks debut, Kovalenko was dropped onto the left side of San Jose’s top line, with Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli, and Kovalenko contributed three assists in Thursday’s 4-3 win at St. Louis. At this point, Kovalenko would only be a consideration in deep leagues, but if he can stick with Celebrini, he could become much more appealing in a hurry.

#3 It has been a trying season for Chicago Blackhawks centre Connor Bedard, the first pick in the 2023 Draft who had a stellar rookie campaign in 2023-2024. Through 21 games, he had 15 points, but just three goals and 55 shots on goal, which is not enough for a player with his considerable offensive gifts. In the past eight games, though, Bedard has contributed nine points (3 G, 6 A) with 18 shots on goal. Perhaps this is the beginning of a turnaround for Chicago’s franchise player, though more shots would still be ideal.

#4 Seattle Kraken centre Shane Wright has not had the easiest time since he was the fourth pick in the 2022 Draft, struggling just to get into the NHL lineup. He appears to be hitting his stride now, however. In his past 10 games, Wright has delivered 11 points (6 G, 5 A), though with just 14 shots on goal. Obviously, that shot rate is not high enough to sustain that kind of production, but as the points start to accumulate, Wright’s ice time goes up. He has played more than 14 minutes in six of those 10 games after crossing that threshold twice in his first 18 games.

#5 A healthy Patrik Laine has finally joined the Montreal Canadiens, and the early returns are encouraging. His all-around game still needs plenty of work to get up to speed, but he does one very important thing very well and that is shoot the puck. In five games, Laine has scored three goals, all on the power play, and added one assist at even strength. He is one of the rare players who can score clean goals from distance, so Montreal should give him linemates that are focused on getting Laine opportunities to shoot the puck. He has 12 shots on goal in five games, which is okay, but could be better.

#6 One of the players who is doing a fine job getting Laine the puck is Canadiens rookie defenceman Lane Hutson, who has assists on all three of Laine’s goals. Hutson did not find the scoresheet in Thursday’s 9-2 loss to Pittsburgh, snapping a seven-game point streak during which he contributed eight assists. He has played an average of 22:49 per game, which puts him more than three minutes per game ahead of any other rookie defenceman (Philadelphia’s Emil Andrae is averaging 19:26 time on ice per game). In any case, Hutson is playing a lot and with some accomplished shooters on the Canadiens roster, should be in position to keep producing points from the blueline.

#7 When the St. Louis Blues signed Dylan Holloway to an offer sheet in the offseason, it was with the expectation that the former Edmonton Oilers winger would have a bigger role with his new team. While that was indeed happening, Holloway’s production has been super-charged since the Blues made a coaching change, bringing in Jim Montgomery to replace Drew Bannister. In eight games with Montgomery behind the bench, Holloway has put up 11 points (6 G, 5 A) and 26 shots on goal while averaging 16:27 of ice time per game. For a player who had averaged just 10:21 of ice time in 89 games for the Oilers, this increase in role and production has been substantial.

#8 Utah Hockey club centre Logan Cooley is building on what was a promising rookie season in 2023-2024. In his past 10 games, Cooley has produced 12 points (4 G, 8 A) with 20 shots on goal. He forms a brilliant combination with Dylan Guenther, who has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 21 shots on goal in the past 10 games. Guenther is up to 28 points (12 G, 16 A) in 29 games for the season. Both young forwards have great potential and are already at the point of providing fantasy value.

#9 Although it seems that his career has been on a straight downward trajectory since arriving in Calgary, Flames left winger Jonathan Huberdeau is currently riding a six-game point streak, during which he has nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 14 shots on goal. Huberdeau has 11 goals and 10 assists for the season, which is a highly unusual goal-to-assist ratio. Last season, for example, he scored 12 goals and had 40 assists and 2017-2018 was the last season in which he had less than twice as many assists as goals.

#10 When the Chicago Blackhawks signed 6-foot-6 defenceman Alex Vlasic to a contract extension in the offseason, it was an indication that he would play a big role on the blueline for the foreseeable future. Vlasic can already play in a shutdown role, but he is starting to contribute offensively, too. With Seth Jones injured, Vlasic is quarterbacking the Blackhawks’ top power play unit and has six points (2 G, 4 A) with 20 shots on goal while playing more than 24 minutes per game in his past seven games.

#11 After tallying three points against the Blackhawks on Thursday, New York Islanders right winger Simon Holmstrom has continued to elevate his game in his third NHL season. Since Mathew Barzal was injured at the end of October, Holmstrom has seen his ice time go up and so has his production. In the past 21 games, Holmstrom has played more than 17 minutes per game, leading to him scoring 16 points (8 G, 8 A) with 29 shots on goal. In deep leagues, that just might be worth consideration.

#12 As mediocre as the Pittsburgh Penguins have been this season, there is some value to be found with their veteran wingers. Bryan Rust has been a reliable contributor for the Penguins over the years and in his past eight games, he has 12 points (7 G, 5 A) with 28 shots on goal. Skating on Sidney Crosby’s wing does tend to bring opportunities. Rickard Rakell is skating on the other wing of Pittsburgh’s top line, and in that eight-game span, Rakell has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) with 22 shots on goal. The Penguins have also won six of those eight games, so there are some signs of progress coinciding with more reliable production from some of their top players.

#13 A big offseason signing for the Seattle Kraken, centre Chandler Stephenson did not have a great start with his new team, managing one goal and 10 points in his first 19 games. In the past 11 games, he has 11 points (2 G, 9 A) but he also has just 10 shots on goal in that time and is getting buried during five-on-five play. Stephenson does have a spot on the Kraken’s top power play unit, though, and has scored 11 of his 21 points this season with the man advantage.

#14 Washington Capitals right winger Aliaksei Protas is really coming into his own. He scored 29 points last season but managed just six goals in 78 games, so his offensive contributions weren’t fully realized, but that’s changing. He has eight points (4 G, 4 A) in his past seven games, but it’s important to note that this production has been going on all season as he has 26 points (11 G, 15 A) in 28 games. The 6-foot-6 winger is proving to be more than merely a complementary piece.

#15 The leading goal scorer among defencemen, on a per-game basis (minimum 20 games played), is the Capitals’ Jakob Chychrun, who has eight goals (and 10 assists) in 23 games. This is not entirely unusual for Chychrun. Since 2019-2020, he ranks fifth in goals per game among defensemen (minimum 200 games), behind Cale Makar, Roman Josi, Zach Werenski, and Dougie Hamilton. The issue for Chychrun, frequently, has been staying healthy, as last season was the first time in his career that he played more than 70 games in a season.

#16 Vancouver Canucks centre Pius Suter has been a valuable complementary piece, particularly while the Canucks were missing J.T. Miller recently. Since the beginning of November, Suter has 14 points (9 G, 5 A) with 39 shots on goal in 19 games. Skating on a line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua, there is the chance for consistent even strength production to continue. Suter is tied for 16th in the league with 10 even strength goals.

#17 Coming off a career-best season, during which he scored 37 goals and 60 points, Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano has had a more difficult time of it this season. He has 14 points (7 G, 7 A) in 27 games but does have 93 shots on goal and that high shot rate is a reason for hope and it is trending in the right direction. In his past nine games, Vatrano has seven points (5 G, 2 A) with 37 shots on goal and players that are putting four shots on goal per game tend to find goals and points, too.

#18 Despite playing very little (11:21 ATOI per game) Penguins centre Blake Lizotte has been surprisingly productive, with 10 points (6 G, 4 A) in 15 games. He has scored on 35.3 percent of his shots, which is unsustainable for anyone, but especially a player who typically scores on 10 percent of his shots. Among players that have appeared in at least 10 games, Lizotte ranks 11th with 1.61 goals per game during five-on-five play. Skating on Lizotte’s wing, Michael Bunting is raising his level, too, putting up seven points (3 G, 4 A) with 15 shots on goal in the past six games.

#19 Pittsburgh’s improved play is bringing better results from goaltender Tristan Jarry, who has typically been an above average goaltender in his career, but not so much this season. In his first three games, Jarry had a .836 save percentage, which is virtually unplayable for a team with playoff aspirations, so the Penguins didn’t play him for a month, and since he has returned, he has a .896 save percentage in nine games. That’s not enough to get excited, but if the Penguins keep winning, their goaltender could still offer potential value.

#20 With Connor Ingram out with an upper-body injury, the Utah Hockey Club has been fortunate enough to have Karel Vejmelka step up his game. In his past 13 games, Vejmelka has a .923 save percentage, posting a 5-5-2 record. His track record does not necessarily track with this level of play, but fantasy managers could do worse than to take a shot on a goaltender that is running hot.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: DADOUN – FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Washington powers on with Ovechkin, Chicago looks for change – Teams and players to target this week

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 07 Dec 2024 16:07:18 +0000

Washington had an incredible 13-4-1 record through Nov. 18 thanks in large part to its league-leading 4.33 goals per game. However, that offensive success was built around Alex Ovechkin, who had 15 goals and 25 points through 18 appearances, so when he suffered a fractured left fibula, it was reasonable to wonder how much his absence would impact the Capitals. Going into Friday’s action, Washington seemed to largely be managing the injury well, posting a 4-2-1 record in its first seven games without Ovechkin.

The Capitals offense has certainly taken a hit, but they’ve still managed an impressive 3.43 goals per game since Ovechkin was sidelined. Tom Wilson (three goals, six points), Dylan Strome (two goals, six points) and Connor McMichael (two goals, five points) have been of particular importance over that seven-game stretch.

However, none of those forwards are actually the Capitals’ scoring leader over the stretch without Ovechkin. That honor belongs to Jakob Chychrun, who has three goals and seven points across his past seven outings. Chychrun, who was acquired from Ottawa over the summer, has been a fantastic addition, collecting eight goals and 15 points through 20 appearances. Keep in mind, though, that his 19.0 shooting percentage is far ahead of his career average of 7.2, so we’ll probably eventually see a drop off.

Still, this stretch has shown that Washington is a team with some decent depth and might prove to be a serious contender come playoff time.

One team that almost certainly won’t be playing come the postseason is Chicago. There’s still plenty of hockey left, of course, but with an 8-16-2 record, the Blackhawks seem set to miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year.

Connor Bedard has been fine with five goals and 19 points in 26 outings, but for a player who has as much promise as him, even more is hoped for. Still, it would help if he had more support. Ryan Donato is the only other Chicago player with at least 15 points (10 goals, five assists). To put that into context, 160 players at reached the 15-point mark through Thursday’s action, so an average team should have five players who have reached that milestone.

Goaltender Petr Mrazek has been alright, but he’s not getting much support on offense or defense, which has left him with a 7-11-1 record, 2.86 GAA and .905 save percentage across 19 outings. Chicago fired head coach Luke Richardson after Chicago suffered its fourth straight loss Wednesday and appointed Anders Sorensen as the interim bench boss. Richardson finished his Blackhawks tenure with a 57-118-15 record, so by that measure his departure isn’t surprising, but given that Chicago has been in the midst of a rebuild, it’s hard to be too critical of him.

Still, perhaps Sorensen, who spent the previous seven campaigns coaching for AHL Rockford, including three years as the head coach going into 2024-25, can help accelerate the rebuild somewhat by guiding the team’s young players. He already has familiarity with many of the club’s prospects thanks to his previous role. A fresh perspective might also be good for Bedard, who is naturally critical to Chicago’s long-term goals.

It will be a while before we know if the change to Sorensen was the right move, and success, at least in the short term, won’t necessarily be measured in wins and losses, but the Blackhawks will be an interesting team to monitor.

Buffalo Sabres (Mon vs DET, Wed vs NYR, Sat @ WAS, Sun @ TOR)

The Sabres have hit a rough patch, dropping their last five games to fall to 11-12-3 on the campaign. To be fair, most of those games were against tough opponents (Minnesota, Vancouver, Colorado and Winnipeg handed out four of the five defeats), but Buffalo has more difficult matchups on the horizon. The Sabres will host the Red Wings and the Rangers on Monday and Wednesday, respectively, before taking to the road to face Washington on Saturday and Toronto on Sunday.

Rasmus Dahlin left Tuesday’s 5-4 loss to Colorado because of back spasms and missed Thursday’s 3-2 overtime defeat to the Jets because of the issue. Coach Lindy Ruff described the situation like this via Buffalo’s Twitter account, “It should be short-term, but you never know.” In other words, Dahlin might be fine to play in all four of next week’s games.

He’s a vital part of the Sabres’ blue line, so no one defenseman can fill in for him when he’s not available. That said, Henri Jokiharju should see an increase in even-strength ice time -- Jokiharju logged 20:23 of ice time Thursday, his most since Oct. 16 -- and Owen Power should serve on the first power play unit for however long Dahlin’s out.

Jokiharju doesn’t have much fantasy value regardless, but Power has three goals and 15 points in 26 appearances in 2024-25 despite recording no points with the man advantage, so if he’s given an opportunity to play on the top power-play unit for any extended stretch, that’d be rather interesting.

Regardless of which defensemen dress, Buffalo needs them to help make life easier on the goaltenders. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen could certainly have done more recently -- he posted a record of 0-2-2 with a 3.20 GAA and an .895 save percentage across his past four starts -- but he also faced at least 30 shots in three of those four games, including 41 shots in Tuesday’s tilt.

James Reimer has been used sparingly, posting a 1-1-0 record, 2.05 GAA and .923 save percentage in two starts since being claimed by Buffalo off waivers Nov. 13, but the Sabres’ busy schedule means that he should play in at least one game next week.

Carolina Hurricanes ( Tue vs SJS, Fri vs OTT, Sun vs CBJ)

The Hurricanes are playing in just three games next week, but I still wanted to feature them because those matchups are favorable. All three of the matches will be in Carolina. The Hurricanes will host San Jose on Tuesday, Ottawa on Friday and Columbus on Sunday.

None of those opponents are good defensively -- Ottawa ranks 25th in goals allowed per game (3.20), which is the best of the three -- so this should be a good stretch for the Blue Jackets’ scorers. Perhaps Martin Necas can build some breathing room in the Art Ross Trophy fight. At the time of writing, he’s in first place with 41 points (14 goals), narrowly edging out Nathan MacKinnon (40 points), Kirill Kaprizov (39), Jack Eichel (38) and Sam Reinhart (37).

Necas was held off the scoresheet in back-to-back games from Nov. 29-30 for the first time this season, but he’s responded by scoring two goals and four points across his past two outings.

One lower profile Hurricanes who’s hot is Eric Robinson. The 29-year-old has never recorded more than 27 points in a single season, but he’s well on his way to shattering that record after recording eight goals and 17 points across 26 appearances. Exercise some caution here: His shooting percentage is an unreasonably high 25.0, and he’s still averaging just 12:15 of ice time with no power-play role, so it’s hard to imagine him keeping up this pace. Still, he’s hot at the moment with three goals and four points across his past five appearances, and when coupled with the Blue Jackets’ upcoming scheduled, there’s reason to hope that the good times aren’t over yet.

We should also see continued production out of defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere. He’s fitting in nicely with Carolina, scoring five goals and 21 points in 26 outings, including a goal and seven points over his past six games. Gostisbehere’s success is largely tethered to the power play, which accounts for 15 of his points.

His presence has corresponded with Brent Burns shifting to the second power-play unit this year, which has led to Burns recording no points with the man advantage so far in 2024-25. Burns has a goal and seven points in 26 outings overall, which puts him on track to finish below the 40-point mark for just the second time in 12 seasons (the last time was the shortened 2020-21 campaign).

Columbus Blue Jackets (Tue vs PHI, Thu vs WAS, Sat vs ANA, Sun @ CAR)

The Blue Jackets are 11-11-3, which isn’t great, but they have done better than many projected going into the campaign. Columbus will see if it can maintain that level next week when it hosts Philadelphia, Washington and Anaheim on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively. The Blue Jackets will then travel to Carolina for a game Sunday.

Kirill Marchenko has played a big role in Columbus’ better than expected results. The 24-year-old has 10 goals and 24 points in 25 games this season, putting him well on his way to shattering his mark of 42 points in 2023-24. You’ll usually see him sharing the ice with Sean Monahan, who has fit in nicely with Columbus, providing eight goals and 22 points through 25 appearances.

For the last few weeks, Dmitri Voronkov has typically been the third member of that line. He missed the start of the campaign with an upper-body injury and registered just one point (a goal) across his first six games of 2024-25, but the 24-year-old sophomore has hit his stride, supplying five goals and 10 points over his past 10 outings. He’s still on just 17 percent of Yahoo rosters, so he might be a nice pickup if he’s still available in your league.

On the blue line, Zach Werenski has been a standout performer for the Blue Jackets with eight goals and 27 points through 25 appearances. He’s one of the hottest defensemen in the entire league, recording five goals and 17 points across his past 10 outings.

Minnesota Wild (Tue vs UTA, Thu vs EDM, Sat vs PHI, Sun vs VGK)

The Wild have won their past four games to improve to 17-4-4. Minnesota will try to keep the good times rolling next week, which will begin with a road game against Utah on Tuesday. After that match, Minnesota will spend the rest of the week at home, playing against Edmonton, Philadelphia and Vegas on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Joel Eriksson Ek sustained an injury Tuesday and is week-to-week, and there’s no indication that Mats Zuccarello is close to returning from the lower-body issue that’s kept him out of the lineup since Nov. 14.

If Zuccarello were healthy, he’d almost certainly be playing alongside Kirill Kaprizov and Marco Rossi. His absence led to the lines being shaken up, and Eriksson Ek did skate on the top line with Kaprizov on Tuesday before he got hurt. With Zuccarello and Eriksson Ek both out, Matt Boldy will likely play regularly alongside Kaprizov and Rossi. Boldy has 11 goals and 24 points in 25 appearances, so that’s a strong trio. The forward corps after that, though, looks thin due to the injuries.

Marcus Johansson, Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno currently comprise the second line, but none of them have even reached double digits in points. The third unit is Devin Shore, Frederick Gaudreau and Yakov Trenin, which has a combined 15 points this season -- 14 of them from Gaudreau.

Fortunately for the Wild, Filip Gustavsson hasn’t needed much offensive help this year. He’s 12-4-3 with a 2.04 GAA and a .929 save percentage in 19 appearances.

New York Islanders (Tue vs LAK, Thu vs CHI, Sun @ CHI)

The Islanders have three games on the schedule, but two of them are against the lowly Blackhawks -- New York will host them Thursday and play in Chicago on Sunday -- so the Islanders are in a good position there. New York will also host the Kings on Tuesday.

We just discussed how Minnesota’s offense looks thin due to injuries, and the Islanders are in a similar boat without Anthony Duclair (lower body) and Mathew Barzal (upper body), who have logged just five and 10 games, respective. Due to their absences, the Islanders have just two players with at least 20 points, and even then, just barely -- Anders Lee has 21 while Kyle Palmieri has 20. The result is no Islanders player is within the top 50 of the Art Ross Trophy race.

Andrew Gross of Newsday reported Friday that Duclair and Barzal are skating on their own, which is better than not skating at all, but there are several steps between that and playing, so I wouldn’t count on them returning during the upcoming week.

Lee has been one of the few recent bright spots, providing four goals and eight points across his past six games. He’s on a four-game scoring streak through Thursday’s action. Simon Holmstrom appears to have cooled, though. He had back-to-back multi-goal games from Nov. 29-30, but he hasn’t found the back of the net since. Holmstrom has done fine with seven goals and 15 points in 27 outings, but he’s not worth employing in most fantasy leagues except when he’s hot.

New York Rangers (Mon vs CHI, Wed @ BUF, Sat vs LAK, Sun @ STL)

New York is set to host Chicago on Monday, play in Buffalo on Wednesday, have a home game against the Kings on Saturday and conclude the week by playing in St. Louis on Sunday. Let’s not dwell on the schedule, though, the Rangers had an eventful Friday, and I want to dive right into it.

New York traded Jacob Trouba to Anaheim in exchange for a fourth-round pick and Urho Vaakanainen. Importantly, the Rangers didn’t retain any salary, so Trouba’s $8 million cap hit through 2025-26 is now off their books. New York then signed Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year, $92 million contract that will begin in 2025-26 after his current four-year, $22.67 million deal expires.

Let’s start with the defensive changes. Trouba had a fantastic eight goals and 50 points in 82 games with Winnipeg in 2018-19 and was then dealt to the Rangers in the summer of 2019 in exchange for a 2019 first-round selection (Ville Heinola) and Neal Pionk. The Rangers promptly signed Trouba to his current eight-year, $56 million contract.

Unfortunately for New York, the Rangers inked Trouba at the height of his offensive contributions. Over his five campaigns with the Rangers going into 2024-25, Trouba reached the 30-point mark twice, but never hit 40. To be fair, Trouba is a big body, plays a physical game and blocks a ton of shots, so he brings things to the table outside of offense. He also served as the team captain from 2022 until he was traded, highlighting his importance in the locker room. Still, his cap hit was too high for what he brought.

It's telling that the Rangers got very little in return for him, and even with that, some questioned if they won this trade simply by virtue of clearing that cap space. But what did they receive outside of that draft pick? Vaakanainen was taken with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft, but he never developed as hoped. Instead, he should be regarded as a depth defenseman who will likely bounce between the third pairing and the press box. He is also on the injured reserve list due to an upper-body injury, so it might be a bit before he makes his Rangers debut.

Rather than Vaakanainen playing regularly, we might see the Rangers utilize Victor Mancini more with Trouba out. The 22-year-old Mancini has a goal, four points, seven hits and 12 blocks in 10 appearances with New York in 2024-25, and he’s also provided two goals and five points in six AHL outings. Don’t get too excited over Mancini’s offensive numbers, though. He wasn’t much of a producer in the NCAA, recording just four goals and 10 points across 40 outings with the University of Nebraska-Omaha as a Junior in 2023-24.

As for locking up Shesterkin, the cap hit is substantial, but not surprising. He’s proven himself to be a top-tier goaltender, and we’re in a period where the cap seems to be steadily climbing, so there’s logic behind the number. Shesterkin has struggled recently with a 2-7-0 record, 3.93 GAA and .882 save percentage across nine appearances, but he should rebound.

St. Louis Blues (Tue @ VAN, Thu vs SJS, Sat @ DAL, Sun vs NYR)

St. Louis has won four of its past five games, improving to 13-12-2 this season. That still puts the Blues outside of a playoff spot, but at least they’re trending in the right direction. The Blues will play in Vancouver on Tuesday, host the Sharks on Thursday, visit Dallas on Saturday and play at home Sunday versus the Rangers.

Dylan Holloway has been a major part of the Blues’ recent success, contributing four goals and eight points across his past five outings. That brings him up to eight goals and 16 points in 27 appearances this year, but he’s been inconsistent, so enjoy the good times while they last, but be prepared for the other shoe to eventually drop if you grab the 23-year-old during his hot streak.

Jordan Binnington is another extremely inconsistent play, but he has been more hit than miss lately, providing a 4-2-1 record, 2.10 GAA and .925 save percentage across his past seven appearances. He’s 8-9-2 with a 2.87 GAA and .900 save percentage in 20 outings overall and will probably average out as a low-to-mid tier starter this season.

Robert Thomas might still have a great campaign, though. He did miss 12 games from Oct. 24-Nov. 17 because of a fractured ankle, but with that injury now well behind him, Thomas seems to be heating up, providing three goals and six points across his past four games. This might just be the beginning of a longer hot streak for Thomas, who set a career high in 2023-24 with 86 points.

Toronto Maple Leafs (Tue @ NJD, Thu vs ANA, Sat @ DET, Sun vs BUF)

Toronto is having a fantastic campaign with a 16-7-2 record, and the Maple Leafs have won seven of their past eight games. They’ll look to maintain that momentum next week, starting with a road contest against New Jersey. The Maple Leafs will then host Anaheim on Thursday, play in Detroit on Saturday and return home to play against the Sabres on Sunday.

Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies returned from injury Nov. 30, adding to Toronto’s success. Matthews has been especially good since returning, supplying three goals and five points across three appearances, bringing him up to eight goals and 16 points through 16 outings. Matthews tends to score goals in bunches, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue to tickle the twine over the upcoming week.

Max Domi (lower body) and Max Pacioretty (lower body) have also been skating with the Maple Leafs recently, so they might be nearing a return too. Once they do, we might see Nicholas Robertson fall out of the lineup. Robertson has been the main disappointment in what has otherwise been a great campaign for Toronto. He has just two points (both goals) in 22 outings in 2024-25. Robertson did find the back of the net Nov. 30, but he was held off the scoresheet in two games since, so that marker didn’t seem to help spark him.

In net, Joseph Woll and Anthony Stolarz will probably each start in two games next week. Stolarz is 8-4-2 with a 2.23 GAA and .924 save percentage in 14 outings, while Woll is 7-2-0 with a 2.11 GAA and a .922 save percentage in nine appearances, so the Maple Leafs can happily treat them as a 1A-1B tandem.

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – WASHINGTON CAPITALS – Team Preview

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 20:00:27 +0000

_{WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 07: Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) in action during the Ottawa Senators game versus the Washington Capitals on April 7, 2024 at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Mark Goldman/Icon Sportswire)}

Winning their last three games of the regular season, the Capitals won a tiebreaker with the Detroit Red Wings for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, recording 91 points (40-31-11). It was nearly scandalous to have them make the playoffs with a goal differential of -37 and they were summarily swept out of the first round by the New York Rangers. The Capitals ranked 26th in Corsi percentage (46.2%) and 25th in expected goals percentage (46.9%). The Washington power play ranked 18th with 7.37 goals per 60 minutes and the penalty killing ranked 18th with 7.60 goals against per 60 minutes. The Capitals’ underlying numbers suggested that this was not a team worthy of the playoffs, yet they managed to sneak in.

WHAT’S CHANGED? The Capitals were busy this offseason attempting to restructure their roster. They traded goaltender Darcy Kuemper to Los Angeles for centre Pierre-Luc Dubois and sent a draft pick to Calgary to acquire winger Andrew Mangiapane. Nick Jensen was sent to Ottawa in a deal for blueliner Jakob Chychrun, while a couple of draft picks were sent to Vegas in exchange for goaltender Logan Thompson. On top of the trades, the Capitals signed free agent defenceman Matt Roy from Los Angeles. Washington did not re-sign left winger Max Pacioretty, who struggled in his return from a torn Achilles, and veteran winger T.J. Oshie’s status for the 2024-25 season is uncertain as he tries to resolve a back injury. The Capitals have definitely opted to make changes with eye towards icing a more competitive team this season.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Since the Capitals are not going to rebuild, at least not while Alex Ovechkin is chasing Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record, success would probably be making the playoffs and having Ovechkin score at least 30 goals. For this team to do something above and beyond that seems so unlikely. There are other individual aspects that can be considered success, such as Washington finding a way to get Dubois back on track and seeing further development from young players like Connor McMichael and Hendrix Lapierre.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? With so much of the Capitals’ motivation geared towards Ovechkin’s pursuit of Gretzky, it would be terrible if he suffers a significant injury or struggles like he did at the start of last season, when he had five goals through 29 games. Ovechkin starts this season 41 goals behind Gretzky’s record, so at the very least, they need him to score enough goals so that he can set the record in 2025-26. If it happens this season, that’s a bonus. If this team is trying to be competitive and ends up missing the playoffs by a few points, that’s not a great scenario because it means that the Capitals will get a lesser draft pick. There is going to come a time in the not-too-distant future that the Capitals will need prospects to emerge and take over the core of this team, which will make those picks especially important.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: The Capitals have a few young forwards who should have an opportunity to play more significant roles next season. Hendrix Lapierre played 51 games for the Capitals last season but was a standout for the Hershey Bears on the run to the Calder Cup in the American Hockey League. While Lapierre might be a good candidate for a breakout, Connor McMichael might be an even better candidate because the latter is further along in his development. He scored 18 goals and 33 points last season and looks like he should have a legitimate shot to play in Washington’s top six this season.

FORWARD

Alex Ovechkin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	34	28	62	0.82

Chasing down Wayne Gretzky’s record of 894 goals, Ovechkin looked like he might be cooked early last season, scoring just five goals in his first 29 games. In a career of unprecedented goal-scoring rates, Ovechkin’s demise seemed to be arriving in a hurry. At that rate, it would take him forever to catch Gretzky, but he figured it out. In his last 50 games, he tallied 26 goals and basically got back on track to reel in the record. In his late thirties, Ovechkin has clearly lost a step, maybe two. In four playoff games against the Rangers, not only did Ovechkin not record a point, but he had just five shots on goal. At his best, Ovechkin was a high-volume shooter who would just overwhelm goalies but as it gets harder for him to get those shots off, he is suddenly prone to slumps that were never part of his game before. Ovechkin had scored 92 goals across his previous two seasons, so last season’s early-season decline was a dramatic dip, and he averaged a career-low 3.44 shots on goal per game last season, which doesn’t figure to get better. He will get the record, but if Ovechkin is 41 goals away from tying Gretzky, that seems out of reach for the 2024-2025 season and if Ovechkin stumbles like he did early last season, it could get uncomfortable. That might sound bleak for a player who has scored at least 30 goals in 18 of his 19 seasons – with the only exception being when he scored 24 goals in 45 games during the COVID-shortened 2020-2021 season – but age catches up with everyone and the greatest players, including Gretzky, were not the same at the very end. Forecasting Ovechkin at this point should come with some caution. He may still launch bombs from his familiar spot in the faceoff circle on the power play, but in 2024-2025, it’s fair to expect 25-30 goals and 60 points from Ovechkin.

Dylan Strome

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	25	41	66	0.80

Following an up-and-down start to his career in Arizona and Chicago, Strome has found a home in Washington, contributing 132 points for the Capitals in the past two seasons. Strome was the best version of himself last season, setting career highs in goals (27) and points (67), while averaging a career-high 17:57 per game and winning a career-best 52.8 percent of his faceoffs. Strome played mostly with Ovechkin and Tom Wilson and that does make him the No. 1 centre in Washington, albeit not necessarily a No.1 centre on a lot of other teams. Strome’s size and soft hands are at the core of his success, and he did shoot the puck more and had relatively strong possession numbers last season. He is, however, a decidedly not physical player, who has recorded a total of 43 hits in the past three seasons. Among the 223 forwards who played at least 200 games in that time, only four had fewer hits than Strome. That might have some impact on his appeal for fantasy managers, but when it comes to scoring, Strome is going to get quality ice time and should continue to produce in 2024-2025. It is reasonable to count on 25 goals and 60 points.

Tom Wilson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	20	24	44	0.57

Wilson is such a rare type of player, big and strong enough to play a traditional enforcer role, though that doesn’t hold as much appeal without as many dance partners. He also skates really well for a big man and has enough finishing skill to surpass 20 goals three times in his career. Last season, he scored 18 goals and 35 points, which does not look great, but his percentages played into that. Wilson scored on 10.1 percent of his shots, his lowest rate since 2016-2017, when he was still a fourth liner, and his on-ice shooting percentage of 5.5 percent was the lowest of his career. He had a two-month stretch from December 20 through February 20 during which he managed just three points in 25 games. For a player getting first-line minutes, that’s devastating. Wilson is not necessarily the one who will drive play for the Capitals, but if he plays on a scoring line, it would be extraordinarily unusual to maintain such a low on-ice shooting percentage. In addition to his scoring, Wilson is a consistent source of hits, recording 200 or more hits eight times in his career. When it comes to valuing Wilson, getting 35 points and 200-plus hits is adequate, but 50 points and 200-plus hits is a lot better, and that is still within his grasp. In 2024-2025, a reasonable expectation for Wilson is 20 goals and 45 points, plus 20 hits and 120 penalty minutes, making him a more valuable commodity in banger leagues.

Pierre-Luc Dubois

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	25	33	58	0.71

It is very rare to be an NHL player who stands out for lack of effort. Usually there is such a baseline of hustle required to play that even players who are not noted grinders are still clearly trying. Dubois has, on multiple occasions, been flagged via video as a disinterested participant, and that really stands out because when he is engaged, Dubois can be a force in the game. He is strong and skilled, a powerful centre who can win battles and create scoring chances, but that only works if Dubois is putting in the effort. There was not nearly enough of that in his one season with the Los Angeles Kings, prompting his trade to Washington. It was a good buy-low situation for the Capitals, but not without risk because Dubois still has seven years remaining on what was an eight-year, $68 million contract extension. The one thing that the Capitals can lean on is that Dubois has the talent to be a difference maker. If they can find the button to unlock that talent, and keep it unlocked, he could easily bounce back and be a quality second line centre, maybe even pushing Strome for the No. 1 spot in Washington. Considering how last season went for Dubois, it is hard to be optimistic. At the same time, he can’t be much worse, can he? Look for 20 goals and 50 points from Dubois, better than last season, but not up to the level of the best production of his career.

Andrew Mangiapane

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	21	24	45	0.55

Coming off a season in which he scored just 14 goals, Mangiapane was acquired from Calgary for a second-round pick in 2025. Mangiapane scored 35 goals in 2021-2022, burying 18.9 percent of his shots on goal, but that might have set unreasonable expectations, and he scored 31 goals across the next two seasons. An undersized winger, Mangiapane works hard, plays with some jam and is not afraid to get his nose dirty, either battling on the boards or attacking the net in the offensive zone, but his shot rate dropped significantly last season, to 1.63 per game from 2.22 the year before. It’s so difficult to be a consistent offensive threat with so few shots. His most common linemates in Calgary last season were Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman, and that line controlled 54.1 percent of expected goals, so there should have been more opportunities for Mangiapane to join the attack. In Washington, Mangiapane figures to play a complementary role, which is the only reasonable expectation given his recent production, but 20 goals and 45 points should be in range for Mangiapane. If he ends up skating on a line with Dubois, that brings a great deal of uncertainty, so Mangiapane could be a sleeper candidate due to lower expectations.

Connor McMichael

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	21	23	44	0.54

A first-round pick in 2019, it has taken some time for McMichael to find his footing in the National Hockey League, but he started to make his mark in 2023-2024, scoring 18 goals and 33 points. He still has room to improve as he was on the wrong end of the possession game and the Capitals were outscored 47-31 during five-on-five play when McMichael was on the ice. He played centre last season, winning 42.4 percent of his draws, but could get moved to wing if he is going to take a role in Washington’s top six. He has shown good instincts, with an ability to put himself in a good position to score, and he has the quick hands to finish those opportunities. The 23-year-old forward is still trying to establish that he belongs in a top six role but took steps in that direction last season. He does need to shoot the puck more and will have to keep working hard at the physical game. He McMichael is not overpowering but can still use his energy to force mistakes and create more chances. If he sticks with a scoring line, McMichael should have chance to contribute 15 goals and 35 points in 2024-2025.

Aliaksei Protas

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	10	21	31	0.39

A huge 6-foot-6 winger, Protas is from Belarus by way of the Prince Albert Raiders in the WHL. He has the puck skills to make plays, which can be unexpected given his frame. Protas could stand to use his size much more as he had 34 hits and eight penalty minutes in 78 games last season. He was one of three forwards in the NHL to play 78 games and had so few hits and penalty minutes (Matias Maccelli and Yegor Sharangovich were the others; Gustav Nyquist had two more hits). In the NHL, Protas has not yet been able to convert at a significant rate, scoring just 13 goals in 169 games, but when he uses his size to get to the net, he can control the space and be a threat to score on rebounds. He has scored on just 5.3 percent of his shots on goal which is clearly not going to cut it in an offensive role, but he is a 23-year-old and would hardly be the first monster forward who took some time to reach his full potential. Protas might be able to hold a spot in Washington’s top nine but given his peripheral stats, he probably won’t score enough to have standard fantasy value. He could put up 10 goals and 30 points, though, with potential for more if he pops a little offensively.

Sonny Milano

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	14	16	30	0.46

While he has not been a durable player who can be counted on as a fixture in the lineup, Milano continues to show the skills to be a useful offensive contributor even if it is in a limited role. In two seasons with Washington, Milano has scored 26 goals in 113 games. Among 373 forwards to play at least 1000 five-on-five minutes across those two seasons, Milano was tied for 49th with 1.00 goals per 60 minutes. Even though he only played 49 games last season, Milano scored a career-high 15 goals, thanks to a shooting percentage of 30.0. That is obviously not sustainable, but Milano’s shooting percentage across the previous six seasons was 14.2 percent, so he should be able to finish at an above average rate. Part of that is because Milano has exceptional hand-eye coordination, some of which results in on-ice tricks that are more entertaining than geared to competition, but he is also extremely comfortable with the puck on his stick. Milano has never played more than 66 games in a season, so he should be expected to miss games, but 10-15 goals and 30 points would be reasonable expectations for him. If he could manage to play a full season, Milano would have more value but, as is, he is more likely to be a short-term pickup when he’s running hot.

Hendrix Lapierre

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	14	19	33	0.42

Drafted in the first round of the 2020 Draft, Lapierre got his first extended NHL action last season and flashed potential, though it’s clear that he is still in the ascent stage of his career. He showed some flashes in the NHL, and a willingness to go to the front of the net to score, but also finished the season playing for Hershey in the American Hockey League playoffs, leading the Bears to a Calder Cup championship. Lapierre put up 22 points in 20 AHL playoff games, excellent preparation for him to play a more significant role in Washington next season. Lapierre has shown that he can handle the puck and make plays at a high level and as he matures in his pro career, more of that will be expected. On a Capitals team that is in flux, there will be ample opportunity for Lapierre in the coming seasons to establish his place as a productive scorer. As with many young centres, Lapierre has much room to improve when it comes to faceoffs. He won just 37.5 percent of his draws last season so that will need to get better. In his upcoming second NHL season, Lapierre should be able to contribute 30-35 points for the Capitals as he continues to climb in his career.

DEFENCE

John Carlson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	12	42	54	0.68

The veteran blueliner delivered a very strong season for the Capitals in 2023-2024, but there are some questions to be asked about why Carlson, now 34, played a career-high 25:54 per game last season. Carlson is an excellent player, has been for a long time, and at a stage when players are starting to lose a little ice time as acknowledgement that their play may be slipping, Carlson’s ice time jumped more than 2:30 from the previous season and two minutes per game above the two seasons before that! He also had his lowest rate of offensive zone starts since 2011-2012. New coach, new rules, apparently, but it is interesting to see a change in Carlson’s deployment at this stage of his career. He has 250 career power play points, which ranks seventh among active blueliners, and Carlson roared into the finish of the season. In the last month, he put up 14 points and 50 shots on goal in 17 games, while averaging 26:39 of ice time per game. Anyway, maybe the Capitals didn’t trust the rest of their defence corps, or at least they did not trust them enough to take ice time away from Carlson, who was still in stellar form by the end of the season. He is big and physically strong, though he does not play the kind of physical game that his strength might suggest. He does block shots, though. Carlson’s 194 blocked shots last season was his highest since 2014-2015. As players hit their mid-thirties, the production usually starts to wane and while Carlson may be making that a more gradual decline, he is not going to match his peak production when he surpassed a point per game in 2019-2020. For 2024-2025, it would be fair to project Carlson to produce 50-55 points.

Jakob Chychrun

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	15	33	48	0.59

The addition of Chychrun, via trade with Ottawa, gives the Senators a chance to have someone else handle big responsibilities on the blueline, potentially alleviating the pressure on Carlson. Chychrun played more than 22 minutes per game for the Senators last season, his fifth straight season crossing that threshold, and he put up 14 goals and 41 points, tying for the highest point total of his career. For the first time in his career, Chychrun blocked more than 100 shots, finishing with 154. He figures to partner with Carlson, giving Washington an upgrade when it comes to moving the puck, and attacking, from the blueline. The flip side of that coin is that Chychrun’s defensive play was not great in two seasons with the Senators, as he recorded a higher expected goals against per 60 minutes in his two seasons with Ottawa than he did in any of his previous seven seasons with the Coyotes. The Senators were also outscored 85-61 during five-on-five play with Chychrun on the ice so he is not joining the Capitals at a high point in his defensive value. Nevertheless, Chychrun is a 26-year-old defenceman who is used to handling responsibility and he will be an upgrade on the Washington defence. It’s entirely reasonable for the Capitals to expect another 40-point season for Chychrun, who is in his prime and ready to handle a big role on this team.

Rasmus Sandin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	4	23	27	0.36

After Sandin had a sizzling start with the Capitals late in the 2022-2023 season, finishing with 15 points in 19 games after he was acquired from Toronto, expectations were higher for him coming into the 2023-2024 campaign. A smooth puck-moving defenceman, Sandin had been buried on the Maple Leafs depth chart and it looked like there would be more opportunity with the Capitals. While he did play more, averaging a career-high 21:07 per game, Sandin only mustered 23 points, with just five on the power play. Some of that may be a function of working on the second power play unit, but the offensive production fizzled and with Chychrun arriving, Sandin could even lose his power play role altogether. Also, while playing third pair minutes in Toronto, Sandin was winning the possession battle, ranging between 50-55 percent depending on the metric, even up a few more percentage points by expected goals, but in his first two season-plus with the Capitals, Sandin Corsi and expected goals percentage have languished in the 45-46 percent range. No matter how he is deployed, Sandin is a smooth-skating and skilled defenceman who will engage physically but is also on the smaller side, so sometimes that can present matchup problems. With some uncertainty around his role, it’s probably fair to expect about 25 points from Sandin, with the possibility for more if he secures regular power play time.

Martin Fehervary

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	3	15	18	0.24

A defenceman who has yet to produce 20 points in a season is hardly the dream candidate for a spot on a fantasy roster, but Fehervary’s value is tied more to peripheral categories. He can produce 15-20 points and log about 20 minutes per game, but Fehervary has recorded more than 100 blocked shots and more than 180 hits in all three of his NHL seasons. He has good size, is not shy about using it, and skates quite well, which makes him an effective defender because he excels at closing gaps and taking away space from opposing players. Fehervary was more aggressive offensively prior to last season, when his shot and expected goal rates declined, but at this early stage of his career, Fehervary is much more about potential anyway. If he found a consistent role in the top four, which is not out of the question, he could contribute 20-25 points, to go along with 200 hits and 125 blocked shots. That is the kind of contribution that would have value for banger leagues or even deep standard leagues.

GOAL

Charlie Lindgren

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
40	20	15	5	2	0.908	2.79

Logan Thompson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
38	19	14	5	1	0.906	2.72

The Darcy Kuemper experiment is over in Washington, and it’s becoming increasingly hard to deny that the Metropolitan Division club is nearing the end of their prime window. With their role in the league somewhat up in the air next year, it appears the Capitals decided to spend a season keeping their goaltending tandem in a bit of a holding pattern; they’ll start the season with former Vegas prospect Logan Thompson joining the fray, and Charlie Lindgren will presumably get to step up and try his hand at being the veteran presence following his first full year as the team’s number one.

Lindgren was thrust into the starting role last year after Darcy Kuemper’s numbers took a tumble, but he did an admirable job dragging the team into the playoff conversation despite a middling roster around him. It’s hard to tell just how replicable his results will be - his technical game still has a few exploitable flaws and he’ll be coming off his first heavy-workload season at the NHL level to boot - but the addition of Thompson in lieu of an oft-injured Kuemper should be a welcome reprieve for Lindgren. It’s unlikely Washington is looking to challenge for the cup next year, but this tandem certainly doesn’t look like a glaring liability, either.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (April 1st to 7th) – Art Ross and Hart trophy races will come down to wire – Favourable matchups and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sun, 31 Mar 2024 17:29:42 +0000

EDMONTON, AB - MARCH 16: Edmonton Oilers Center Connor McDavid (97) celebrates his goal and 131st point in the third period of the Edmonton Oilers game versus the Dallas Stars on March 16, 2023 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB. (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire)

The battle for the Art Trophy is coming down to the wire with Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (42 goals, 126 points), Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (47, 127) and Edmonton’s Connor McDavid (29, 125) all serious contenders. The trio is naturally also three of the main players being evaluated for the Hart Trophy.

Who ends up winning the Art Ross will likely have significant influence in the Hart battle. Typically speaking, I’d assume McDavid would be the least likely of the three because he’s well behind Kucherov and MacKinnon in terms of goals, but McDavid is just five helpers away from becoming only the third player to ever record 100 assists in a season -- the other two being Wayne Gretzky (x11), Mario Lemieux (88-89) and Bobby Orr (70-71), so that might afford McDavid some special consideration.

In terms of who has been the most valuable to his team, an argument can be made for all three. Although Colorado, Tampa Bay and Edmonton all have other great players, it would have been challenging for any of them to even make the playoffs without their top forward.

Outside of that trio, Auston Matthews also might make a bid for the Hart Trophy. He’s one goal away from 60, which is the milestone that helped earn him the Hart in 2021-22 over Connor McDavid, who beat Matthews in terms of points 123 to 106. McDavid also provided 44 goals of his own that year, so he was in a similar position to Kucherov and MacKinnon today. Perhaps this year’s voters will be less impressed with 60, though -- while it’s a tremendous milestone, this marks the third straight year of at least one player hitting it and we had two surpass that mark last season in McDavid and Pastrnak, which might diminish the shine a bit.

That said, Matthews still has 10 games left, so he has an opportunity to potentially push far enough past the 60-goal mark to excite voters.

Los Angeles Kings – MON @ WPG, WED VS SEA, THU @ SJS (BTB), SAT VS VAN

The Kings are in a good position in the battle for a wild-card spot, but their ticket to the playoffs hasn’t been punched yet. They also have a shot of potentially snatching the first wild-card position from Nashville while simultaneously being in a tight race for Vegas for the third seed in the Pacific Division. In other words, LA has plenty left to fight for.

They’ll start the upcoming week on the road against Winnipeg on Monday. After that, LA will host the Kraken on Wednesday, play in San Jose on Thursday and finish with a home tilt versus the Canucks. Winnipeg and Vancouver are tough adversaries, but Seattle and the Sharks won’t be advancing to the postseason.

Anze Kopitar is doing his best to put LA into the best position possible, providing six goals and 11 points across his last seven contests. He’s up to 24 goals and 64 points in 72 outings overall. Don’t ignore him in playoff pools. Kopitar tends to do well in the playoffs -- he even had two goals and seven points in six outings last year’s postseason, so age hasn’t slowed him yet. Of course, LA might not go far enough in the playoffs for it to matter and that’s a valid concern. Keep in mind, though, that LA would be 35-15-5 if not for its horrible 3-8-6 slump from Dec. 28-Jan.28, so LA is a bigger threat than it appears at first glance.

That’s especially true of Cam Talbot, who posted a 3.86 GAA and an .881 save percentage across 10 contests during that slump, but even with that cold spell factored in, he’s having a strong campaign with a 23-17-6 record, 2.44 GAA and .916 save percentage through 47 appearances. He’s been especially strong over his past 11 games, posting a 2.11 GAA and a .923 save percentage in that span, so perhaps the veteran goaltender will stay strong in the playoffs.

It’s nice to also have Viktor Arvidsson healthy. The 30-year-old has participated in just eight contests this year, but he had 26 goals and 59 points in 77 games last season. He’s collected a goal and three points in four appearances since returning from a lower-body injury while averaging 17:26 of ice time, including 3:15 with the man advantage, in that span.

Minnesota Wild – TUE VS OTT, THU VS COL, SAT VS WPG, SUN @ CHI

The Wild still has an outside shot of making the playoffs, but they’d likely only advance if they win essentially all of their remaining games. At least they’ll be at home for most of the week with contests against the Senators on Tuesday, the Avalanche on Thursday and the Jets on Saturday. At that stretch in Minnesota, the Wild will visit the lowly Blackhawks on Sunday.

Even with the campaign all but lost, Kirill Kaprizov is continuing to excel, providing 10 goals and 18 points over 11 outings this season. He’s just four goals away from reaching the 40-goal milestone for the third straight campaign, so look for him to be aggressive with the puck over the Wild’s final games.

There’s also likely to be increased attention on Marc-Andre Fleury given that the storied goaltender might be playing out his final games. However, his retirement isn’t a certainty -- the 39-year-old even recently told NHL.com that “the door is more open today for a return than it was in September or October.”

In terms of whether there would be a market for him, Fleury has posted an underwhelming 16-12-5 record, 2.85 GAA and .899 save percentage in 36 appearances, but some of the blame for that should be placed at the feet of the Wild defenders. In terms of Goals Saved Above Expected, Fleury is minus-6.7 or minus-0.201 per 60 minutes. In other words, Fleury hasn’t been great, and given the fear that he’ll decline further at the age of 40 (he’ll celebrate that birthday Nov. 28), there might be some hesitancy to sign him.

Fleury has also suggested that he would only re-sign with Minnesota, so it becomes a question of if the Wild want to continue down that path. If he was willing to expand his options further, teams with young goaltenders like Joseph Woll in Toronto or Samuel Ersson in Philadelphia, might express interest, but Fleury and his family are happy in Minnesota, and he understandably doesn’t want to ask his three kids to move again, so don’t expect him to go anywhere else.

Minnesota will also presumably continue with Filip Gustavsson, who is finishing the first campaign of his three-year, $11.25 million deal. He’s had a rough campaign with a 19-15-4 record, 3.10 GAA and .898 save percentage in 41 contests, but at least he has a chance of ending on an upswing after saving 101 of 105 shots (.962 save percentage) over his past four games.

Nashville Predators – TUE VS BOS, THU VS STL, SAT @ NYI, SUN @NJD (BTB)

The Predators have gone on an incredible 16-1-2 run dating back to Feb. 17. Thanks to that success, Nashville occupies the first wild-card spot and has a shot to challenge Winnipeg for the third seed in the Central Division if the Predators remain hot. With that goal, Nashville will host the Bruins and Blues on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The Predators will then go on the road, playing against the Islanders on Saturday and in New Jersey on Sunday.

Nashville’s run has been fueled in part by Filip Forsberg, who has just been absolutely unreal with 15 goals and 28 points over his past 16 games. He hasn’t been slowing down either, recording at least a point in each of his last eight contests, totaling eight goals and eight assists in that span. Getting him from Washington in 2013 in exchange for Martin Erat and Michael Latta has to be one of the most one-sided trades of this generation.

It's not the only former trade that’s paid off for Nashville. Although the Predators selected Roman Josi with the No. 38 pick in 2008, that selection originally belonged to the Maple Leafs, who dealt it to Arizona. Nashville was then able to trade up to No. 38 by giving the No. 46 pick (Colby Robak) and No. 76 selection (Mathieu Brodeur) to Arizona. Given that Robak played in just 47 career NHL games and Brodeur didn’t make it to the top level, it’s easy to say that worked out immensely better for Nashville than the Coyotes. Josi has 19 goals and 76 points in 73 appearances this year, including four goals and 14 points across his active eight-game scoring streak.

Goaltender Juuse Saros was another player drafted by the Predators with someone else’s pick. Hilariously, Nashville was focused on winning now when the franchise unknowingly moved to get its future franchise goaltender, acquiring veteran Paul Gaustad from Buffalo in 2012 in exchange for what proved to be the No. 21 overall pick in that year’s draft (Mark Jankowski, who coincidentally now plays for Nashville). Buffalo threw in a 2013 fourth-round pick to balance the scales, and that selection turned out to be Saros.

Saros also had a phenomenal 11-0-2 record, 1.76 GAA and .936 save percentage in 13 appearances from Feb. 17-March 23. That said, he has struggled recently, allowing 10 goals on 62 shots (.839 save percentage) over his past two contests, so it’s fair to call an end to that hot run.

New Jersey Devils – TUE VS PIT, WED @ NYR, SAT @ OTT, SUN VS NSH

The Devils’ playoff hopes aren’t completely gone, but it’s hard to imagine them getting in unless they win all their remaining games, and even then, they would need some luck. Still, New Jersey will push forward Tuesday while hosting the Penguins. The Devils will then play on the road against the Rangers on Wednesday and in Ottawa on Saturday before hosting the Predators on Sunday.

If you’re wondering about Dougie Hamilton (pectoral), there hasn’t been any news on that front in a while. At this point, no news is extremely discouraging, and I would be somewhat surprised if he ended up playing again this season. His absence is part of why New Jersey is likely to miss the playoffs this season, but he should be in line for a great bounce-back campaign in 2024-25, so don’t forget about him.

The only question mark is if Hamilton will still have a spot on the top power-play unit. The answer is probably, but you can’t rule out the possibility that Luke Hughes’ rise will push him out of that role. The 20-year-old rookie has nine goals and 41 points in 74 contests and has been red hot down the stretch with a goal and eight points in his past six outings, including five points with the man advantage.

Also poised to end on a strong note is Timo Meier, who has five goals and 10 points in his last six games. He’s had a somewhat underwhelming campaign overall with 24 goals and 46 points in 61 outings -- down from 40 goals in 2022-23 -- but he’s picked things up dramatically since Feb. 14, supplying 14 goals and 24 points across his past 18 appearances.

New York Islanders – MON @ PHI, TUE VS CHI (BTB), THU @ CBJ, SAT VS NSH

The Islanders endured a 0-5-1 stretch from March 11-21, which severely hindered their chances of making the playoffs. They still have an outside shot of a playoff berth, but they’ll need a hot finish to the campaign. The Islanders would be in a much better position if they win their upcoming road game against Philadelphia. The Flyers hold the third seed in the Metropolitan Division, but with a 36-28-10 record, Philadelphia is arguably slightly more vulnerable than the 36-27-9 Capitals, who occupy the second wild-card position. New York will then host the Blackhawks on Tuesday, play in Columbus on Thursday and return home to face the Predators on Saturday.

A good finish from Anders Lee would certainly help the Islanders’ chances. Although the 33-year-old has reached the 25-goal mark on six occasions in his career, including in each of the previous two campaigns, Lee will likely fall short of that this year. He has just 18 tallies and 32 points in 72 outings with much of his production coming in infrequent spurts -- his most recent coming from March 21-23 in which he had a goal and three points across two contests. Perhaps he’ll have at least one more strong push this season to at least push him to the 20-goal milestone.

Bo Horvat has also left something to be desired recently with two assists in his past five games, but unlike Lee, Horvat is having a great campaign overall with 29 goals and 63 points in 71 outings. It shouldn’t be much longer before the 28-year-old picks things up again, so don’t get too worried if you have him in any of your fantasy leagues.

One Islanders player who has been clicking is Mathew Barzal. He’s supplied three goals and five points over his last four games, bringing him up to 23 markers and 74 points through 71 outings overall. The 26-year-old has already set a new career high in goals, and he still might surpass his personal best of 85 points, set back in his 2017-18 rookie campaign.

New York Rangers – MON VS PIT, WED VS NJD, FRI @ DET, SUN VS MTL

The Rangers have already punched their playoff ticket, but they still have work to do in order to secure the first seed in the Metropolitan Division as well as potentially the Presidents’ Trophy. New York will begin the week by hosting the Penguins on Monday and the Devils on Wednesday. The Rangers will then play in Detroit on Friday before returning home to face the Canadiens on Sunday.

The Rangers have been working through some defensive injuries, but Jacob Trouba (lower body) is close to playing for the first time since March 4. At the time of writing, he’s questionable for Saturday’s game against Arizona and might be available for the start of next week even if he misses that tilt. Erik Gustafsson (upper body) will be shelved for his third straight contest Saturday. He didn’t even join the Rangers on their two-game road trip, so it seems entirely plausible that the blueliner will miss additional time next week.

Trouba’s eventual return might push Zac Jones out of the lineup. Jones has done alright with a goal and eight points in 28 contests this season, including three assists in his run of 11 straight games with New York. However, when everyone is healthy, the 23-year-old Jones still has trouble finding his way into the lineup.

Chad Ruhwedel might lose his spot in the top six once Gustafsson is back. The Rangers acquired Ruhwedel from Pittsburgh on March 8 in exchange for a 2027 fourth-round pick to serve primarily as a depth option. It’s a nice luxury that the Rangers can turn to him in the event of injuries, especially with the grind of the playoffs around the corner.

Fortunately, the Rangers’ recent injury woes have not extended to Adam Fox, who did miss time early in the campaign but has still contributed 15 goals and 63 points in 63 outings in 2023-24. He’s showing no signs of slowing down either, providing five goals and 12 points across his last nine appearances.

Ottawa Senators – TUE @ MIN, THU VS FLA, SAT VS NJD, SUN @ WAS (BTB)

The Senators won’t be making the playoffs, but Ottawa has won its last four games as it tries to at least end the campaign on a positive note. The Senators will attempt to stay hot in Minnesota on Tuesday before returning home to host the Panthers on Thursday and the Devils on Saturday. Ottawa will conclude the week with a road tilt in Washington on Sunday.

Like the Rangers, Ottawa has dealt with injured defensemen. Unfortunately for the Senators, injuries are an all-too common problem where it relates to Thomas Chabot. The 27-year-old has appeared in just 44 contests, supplying eight goals and 28 points in that span, and he is presently dealing with an undisclosed issue that shelved him Thursday. If Chabot can ever have a healthy campaign, then he might be able to challenge his 2018-19 personal best of 55 points, but he hasn’t reached the 70-game mark since 2019-20 when he logged a career-high 71 contests.

On the plus side, Jakob Chychrun has stayed healthy this campaign. The 25-year-old defenseman is hot at the moment, supplying three goals and four points over his past three games, which brings him 12 goals and 36 points in 72 outings overall.

Up front, Drake Batherson is bringing what’s been a strong campaign for him to a positive conclusion with three goals and six points across his last four games. He’s already set a new career high with 26 markers and is just five points away from topping his personal best in that category, which he set last season.

Washington Capitals – TUE @ BUF, THU VS PIT, FRI @ CAR, SUN VS OTT

The Capitals control their own fate as the holders of the second seed in the wild-card race, but they still have significant competition, so it’s too early to relax. The Capitals will play in Buffalo on Tuesday, host the Penguins on Thursday, head to Carolina on Friday and finish the week with a home contest against the Senators on Sunday.

Washington has won six of its last eight games to push itself into a favorable playoff position and Alex Ovechkin deserves a good chunk of the credit for that, providing an incredible eight goals over a stretch of five games from March 16-24. That said, the superstar has been held off the scoresheet for the last two contests, which isn’t a big deal on its own, but because his goals have tended to come in bunches this campaign, one has to wonder if he’s entered a prolonged cold period.

One lower-profile Capitals player who has been chipping in lately is Connor McMichael. He’s contributed five goals and eight points over his past nine appearances, which gives him 17 goals and 32 points in 70 contests this season. The 23-year-old has averaged 17:46 of ice time in that nine-game stretch, which represents a sizable jump compared to his season average of 15:54.

From the blue line, John Carlson has collected two goals and seven points over his past seven games. That includes four points with the man advantage, bringing him up to 18 power-play points (four goals, 14 assists) overall.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – OTTAWA SENATORS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 20:32:56 +0000

OTTAWA, ON - MARCH 22: Ottawa Senators Left Wing Tim Stutzle (18) (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire)

REVIEW: When the Senators spent the summer of 2022 signing Claude Giroux, then 34 years old, and spending three picks, including the 2022 seventh overall, to acquire Alex DeBrincat, it was a clear sign that they hoped to exit the rebuilding phase. What followed though was a 39-35-8 record – a 13-point gain from a year prior, but insufficient for a postseason berth. Part of the issue was Ottawa finished a mediocre 18th in goals per game (3.16) despite adding two elite forwards. Alex DeBrincat’s 27 goals and 66 points in 82 contests was a regression compared to his 41-goal 2021-22 campaign with Chicago, but the bigger problem was a lack of offensive depth. Eight Senators players reached double digits in goals in contrast to 13 with Edmonton. Ottawa was also mediocre defensively, finishing 18th with a 5-on-5 expected goals against of 174.36, and unlike the Islanders, which squeaked into the playoffs with a worse offense and expected goals against, Ottawa didn’t have an elite goaltender masking their defensive woes. Instead, Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg were merely average, which sums up the 2022-23 Senators nicely: Not bad, but not good enough.

What’s Changed? The Senators hope they’ve bolstered their mediocre goaltending by signing Joonas Korpisalo to replace Talbot, who left as a free agent. They also failed to agree to terms with DeBrincat, who was a restricted free agent, so they dealt him to Detroit in exchange for a solid middle-six forward in Dominik Kubalik, defensive prospect Donovan Sebrango and two draft picks. In an attempt to make up for the lost offense, Ottawa inked Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year, $5 million deal.

What would success look like? Ottawa is looking to end its six-year playoff drought, but the competition in the Atlantic Division is intense. A strong year out of Joonas Korpisalo would certainly help, which is possible. He’s not an elite goaltender, but the 29-year-old is solid. A healthy season out of Joshua Norris, who scored 35 goals in 2021-22, but was limited to eight games last year due to a shoulder injury, would also provide Ottawa with a much-needed boost to its offensive depth. Between Brady Tkachuk, Tim Stutzle, Giroux and Tarasenko, it’s reasonable to believe Ottawa will have two strong lines, but they need enough weapons to fill a decent third unit.

What could go wrong? However, Norris bouncing right back might be too much to hope for. The 24-year-old’s promise is clear, but that 35-goal campaign was also the first time in his career he even reached the 20-goal mark, so he’s far from proven. Meanwhile, Ottawa might get a bit less than Giroux’s 2022-23 finish of 79 points. After all, he’ll turn 36 in January. As far as injury risks go, Ottawa has a big one in elite defenseman Thomas Chabot, who has missed 37 contests over the last two years.

Top Breakout Candidate: One possible solution to Ottawa’s third-line question is Shane Pinto. Playing in his first full campaign, he supplied 20 goals and 35 points in 82 contests last year. Still just 22 years old, Pinto has the potential to start the campaign on the third line and then work himself into a bigger role, especially if Ottawa runs into injury troubles.

Forwards

Brady Tkachuk

Of the 15 forwards who registered over 200 hits last season, no one scored more than Tkachuk’s 35 goals. His 2022-23 season put him in some exclusive company. Alex Ovechkin is the only other player in the NHL’s recorded history to blend that volume of physicality and goal production. Tkachuk’s skillset makes him a unicorn and one of the premier power forwards in the league. Thanks to his willingness to go to the dirty areas of the ice and battle for deflections and loose pucks, Tkachuk has established himself as a shot-generation machine. Of all the qualified skaters who logged over 500 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time last season per NaturalStatTrick, only David Pastrnak averaged more shots per 60 minutes than Tkachuk. Any knocks to Tkachuk’s game are rooted in his defensive contributions and the notion he does not finish as many chances as he should given his shot volume. Considering he scored 35 goals, it may sound weird to read that he does not finish enough, but Tkachuk finished fourth in the league in expected goals (min. 500 5v5 TOI) in 2022-23. His expected goal metrics are always higher than his actual output. One of these years, it feels like if everything breaks right, he has the capacity to put up a monster offensive season. Like many of Ottawa’s other young players, Tkachuk’s poor defensive metrics can partially be explained as a product of the team’s personnel and defensive system. With a vastly improved defensive corps and a greater commitment to puck support as a five-man unit, Tkachuk’s metrics should continue to improve.

Tim Stützle

When the Senators invested in Tim Stützle, signing him to an eight-year contract worth an AAV of $8.35, they gambled on the German’s pedigree and offensive upside. His transition from the wing to centre during his sophomore year helped spark his ability to impact the game on both sides of the puck. In 2022-23, he rewarded the Senators with their long-term investment. He continued to take marked steps in his development offensively and defensively. He would finish the season leading the Senators in scoring with 39 goals and 90 points in 78 games. He became the third centre in franchise history to eclipse that point threshold but holds the distinction of being the youngest to do it at just 21 years of age. The departures of Connor Brown and Alex Formenton represented a significant loss to the Senators’ penalty killing units and Stützle was one of the forwards called upon to fill the void. It speaks to D.J. Smith’s growing confidence in him. Stützle tied for the team lead in shorthanded goals with three and averaged 1:16 of shorthanded ice time per game. Besides the natural growth of a young player, the jump in production can be explained by the quality of linemates. After spending most of the previous season playing predominantly with Alex Formenton and Connor Brown, centring Brady Tkachuk and Claude Giroux represented a significant improvement. As the team continues to improve around him, the hope is that his offensive production and defensive metrics will continue to improve.

Claude Giroux

Claude Giroux has only played one season for the Senators, but he already has leapt to the top of the list as the best free agent signing in franchise history. In his return home, the 35-year-old wowed fans by recording 35 goals and 79 points while playing in every single one of the Senators’ 82 games. Amazingly, the veteran’s 35 goals established a new personal regular season high. It was the first time Giroux had cracked the 30-goal mark since the 2017-18 season. This boost in production can be chalked up to the chemistry he developed alongside Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stützle. This trio generated more than 55 percent of the goals (58.49 GF%), shots (56.82 CF%), shots on goal (55.37) and expected goals (59.82 xGF%) at five-on-five per Evolving-Hockey. Playing predominantly as the right winger on this line Giroux had one of the best isolated defensive impacts on the team per Hockeyviz. His ability to impact the game at both ends of the ice was a huge addition to the Senators’ top six. In particular, his strength in the faceoff circle allowed his line to overcome Stützle’s struggles at the dot. Of the players who took more than 300 draws last season, Stützle’s 41.6 percent success rate was the eighth-worst mark in the league. Giroux insulated Stützle’s ineffectiveness with the league’s 10th-best mark at 58.3 percent.

Vladimir Tarasenko

Following the well-publicized departure of last season’s prize acquisition, Alex DeBrincat, the Senators shored up their top six scoring by inking Vladimir Tarasenko to a one-year contract worth $5 million. The signing of the four-time All-Star and 2019 Stanley Cup champion generated headlines. Tarasenko is a recognizable talent who can still be a productive NHL player. In 69 games split between the Blues and Rangers last season, Tarasenko recorded 18 goals and 50 points. It was a step down in production for the six-time 30-goal scorer, but he represented the best available offensive talent that remained on the free agent market. There is a chance that Tarasenko’s waning production is part of an age-related decline, but the good news is that he is just one season removed from the second-best five-on-five shooting percentage of his career (14.8 per Evolving-Hockey). Last season’s (9.7) was the second-worst. A motivated Tarasenko should be extremely valuable to the Senators. If he can get back closer to his career norms, he will have a chance to cash in on the open market next summer. If his production continues to decline, the Senators will still need his offence to outweigh his defensive contributions. Tarasenko’s become a liability on the defensive side of the puck. There is also the question of fit. As a winger who prefers playing his off-side, the addition of Tarasenko to the right wing could necessitate moving one of Claude Giroux or Drake Batherson to their off-side.

Josh Norris

On the heels of a sophomore season in which he exploded for 35 goals and 55 points in 66 games, centre Josh Norris cashed in by signing an eight-year pact carrying an AAV of $7.95 million. The contract represented a significant commitment to the team’s second-line centre and set a relatively high standard for Norris to live up to. Last season, he never got the chance. A devastating shoulder injury curtailed his season and limited him to eight games. So much of Ottawa’s postseason aspirations hinge on Norris’ recovery and his ability to resemble the player that he was pre-injury. Even when healthy, it was fair to believe that Norris would experience some natural regression in his shooting percentage (20.3 in 2021-22). Fortunately, he has historically been a strong shooter throughout his career, so that regression should not be too severe - provided that Norris’ recovery does not inhibit his ability to shoot the puck. Power play usage will be another thing to monitor. Of the forwards who logged over 100 minutes of power play ice time in 2021-22 per NaturalStatTrick, only two forwards averaged a higher goals per 60 minutes of ice time rate than Norris – Chris Kreider and Leon Draisaitl. Norris should continue to play the right side on the first power play unit, but the addition of Vladimir Tarasenko, who also works from that spot, could impact those minutes.

Drake Batherson

On the surface, it is easy to look at Drake Batherson’s numbers and arrive at the conclusion that he had a down year. Scoring 22 goals and tallying 62 points in 82 games is not a terrible season by any measure, but that minus-35 was unsightly. Considering Batherson put up 17 goals in each of the two previous seasons while playing in what was essentially half a season’s worth of games, expectations for him were high. After scoring on more than 15 percent of his shots in each of his previous two campaigns, Batherson’s shooting percentage was almost halved to 8.8 percent last season. Although NaturalStatTrick’s data shows that Batherson’s goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five ice time dropped from 1.08 to 0.37 last season, there are a number of reasons to believe that he can reach another level. He shot the puck more than he ever had in his career. His average of 8.87 shots per 60 of five-on-five ice time per NaturalStatTrick represented a career-high. Last season, only Buffalo’s Tage Thompson (15) hit more posts than Batherson. Provided he can stay healthy and preserve that kind of shot volume, better luck and a regression to the mean in terms of his shooting percentage should allow Batherson to enjoy a career season in 2023-24.

Shane Pinto

For the first time since Brady Tkachuk scored 22 goals during the 2018-19 season, Shane Pinto became the eighth rooking in franchise history to score 20 or more goals in his rookie campaign – joining Tkachuk, Mark Stone, Mike Hoffman, Patrick Eaves, Daniel Alfredsson, Alexandre Daigle and Alexei Yashin. Pinto started the 2022-23 season strong, scoring six goals in his first eight games. But, when Josh Norris was felled by a shoulder injury, Pinto moved up the depth chart and no longer received the luxury of being insulated. Despite more challenging assignments and responsibilities, the Senators still outshot (51.4 CF%) and created a higher percentage of expected goals (50.7 xGF%) when Pinto was on the ice at five-on-five. With the return of Norris, Pinto will once again be relegated to the third line and potentially easier matchups. For an organization that struggled to generate offence from its third and fourth lines, a returning Pinto armed with the confidence of knowing he can pot 20 goals will be vital to this team’s push for the postseason. One of the things to keep an eye on with Pinto this season will be his work on the penalty kill. Following the departures of Austin Watson, Dylan Gambrell, and Tyler Motte, shorthanded minutes will need to be reallocated. One of the benefactors of those responsibilities should be Pinto.

Dominik Kubalik

As the lone NHL piece that was returned to the Senators in this offseason’s Alex DeBrincat trade, Dominik Kubalik is a reasonably priced player who offers the Senators affordable depth scoring. He is in the last year of a two-year deal carrying an AAV of $2.5 million. In 81 games with the Red Wings last season, he scored 20 goals and 45 points. Brady Tkachuk is entrenched as the team’s first-line left winger, but beyond that, the second line could be open. If Vladimir Tarasenko plays on his preferred off-side, it could necessitate Giroux or Batherson moving to their off-side to accommodate him. The alternative is Kubalik because of his natural left-shot handedness. If he does, there is a chance for Kubalik to flourish. He finished third on the Red Wings in individual expected goals for per 60 (0.81 ixG/60) and individual scoring chances per 60 (7.71 iSCF/60) per NaturalStatTrick. He thrived playing alongside Dylan Larkin and David Perron. Away from Detroit’s top talent, the underlying numbers cratered. Something to keep an eye on is if Kubalik winds up on a line with Tarasenko. The Senators’ forward group is not exactly renowned for its defensive aptitude and their two biggest additions in Kubalik and Tarasenko are not going to bolster that weakness. They could exacerbate it.

Mathieu Joseph

It is never ideal to be referenced in the same breath as the infamous Bill Muckalt, but Mathieu Joseph was the only Senator forward to log more than 500 minutes of ice time who failed to score a five-on-five goal in 2022-23. According to NaturalStatTrick’s data, of the 382 forwards who logged more than 500 minutes of five-on-five ice time, only two forwards failed to score one goal last season: Montreal’s Jake Evans and Joseph. It was a precipitous drop in offence. Following his trade to the Senators at last year’s trade deadline, Joseph averaged 3.89 points per 60 minutes of ice time. Being an 11-game sample, it was naive to believe that this brief stretch was truly representative of his offensive upside. Last season’s output of three goals and 15 points was incredibly disappointing for Sens management after they locked him up to a three-year contract worth a $2.9 million AAV. Without any even-strength production out of Joseph, it really hurts the Senators’ secondary scoring. Hopefully, the return of Shane Pinto to the third line will boost Joseph’s productivity. Fortunately for the Senators, while Joseph struggled to produce offensively, he is still a competent defensive forward and a valuable contributor on the penalty kill that ranked in the top half of the league last season.

Defence

Thomas Chabot

The 2022-23 season was a polarizing one that showcased the best and worst of Thomas Chabot. Often last season, he would take heat for his defensive play and lapses. The numbers backed it up. According to Evolving-Hockey’s Total Defence (DEF) metric that combines the even strength and shorthanded contributions to arrive at a single number for defensive value created, 2022-23 was tied for being the worst defensive season of his career. The good news is that the site’s Total Offence (OFF) metric, which combines even strength and power play contributions measured 2022-23 as being his best offensive year – surpassing his impressive 2018-19 season in which he scored 14 goals and 55 points. One of the things that hurt Chabot last year is that he logged more than 30 minutes of ice time with eight defensive partners last season – including 257 with an ineffective Nikita Zaitsev, one of the least valuable defencemen in the league. Even with poor defensive partners and a lack of continuity, Chabot was rated as the team’s most valuable player according to according to Evolving-Hockey’s ‘wins above replacement’ (WAR) and ‘goals above replacement’ (GAR) metrics. It speaks to his importance in Ottawa’s puck movement and transition game. A full season alongside Jakob Chychrun will inevitably make things easier for Chabot and improve his numbers, but the Senators will need him to be more reliable for the team to take a step forward.

Jakob Chychrun

It took time, but the Senators finally addressed their need for a top-four defenceman by acquiring Jakob Chychrun at the 2023 trade deadline. A lower-body injury limited Chychrun to 12 games with Ottawa, but in those games, he averaged 21 minutes of ice time scoring two goals and adding three assists. Most of his minutes were spent playing with Travis Hamonic to some underwhelming 5-on-5 shot and goal metrics. When they were on the ice together, the Senators generated 48.9 percent of the goals (GF%), 40 percent of the expected goals (xGF%), 43.8 percent of the shots (CF%) and 44.2 percent of the shots on goal per Evolving-Hockey. Fortunately, Chychrun is expected to open the season playing alongside Thomas Chabot. In a very small sample size of 35 minutes of five-on-five ice time, the duo was exceptional – generating approximately 60 percent of the shots and expected goals. A wrinkle is that Ottawa’s three most talented defencemen are all natural left shots. Chychrun has experience playing his off-side, so that mitigates most of the concern, but he has missed 152 games across his seven seasons in the league. With so much invested in Chychrun being the solution to shore the blue line, if he needs to play his natural side or continues to be plagued by injuries, it could really hamper the team’s postseason aspirations.

Jake Sanderson

When Jake Sanderson was selected with the fifth overall selection in 2020, it created some ripples and consternation. Was he the best available defenceman? Should the Senators have targeted another highly skilled forward? Sanderson’s rookie campaign erased any concerns about his selection. He contributed four goals and 32 points in 77 games last season. Only Owen Power recorded more points as a rookie defenceman than Sanderson. Where he thrived was on the defensive side of the puck. His elite skating ability, gap control and active stick made life frustrating for attacking forwards. Perhaps the most flattering thing that you can say about Sanderson’s play last season is that he helped land veteran Travis Hamonic a new two-year contract. The pair logged over 500 minutes of five-on-five ice time together and the results were average. When this pairing was on the ice, the Senators generated as many shots and expected goals as the opposition (50.5 CF%, 49.5 xGF%). They did however give up a greater percentage of actual goals (42.9 GF%), but that can be attributed in part to bad luck. Sanderson is expected to play with Artem Zub this season. In 239 five-on-five minutes together, the Senators generated more of the shots (52.7 SF%) and expected goals (53.3 xGF%). Most impressively, the team suppressed a lot more shots when this pairing was together. Put in contrast with the Sanderson/Hamonic pairing which allowed 33.6 shots per 60 minutes of five-on-five, the Sanderson/Zub pairing allowed 24.9.

Artem Zub

Since joining the Senators from SKA Saint Petersburg of the KHL in 2020, Artem Zub has developed a steadfast reputation for being the Senators’ best defensive defenceman. It is that reputation that earned the 27-year-old a four-year contract extension worth an AAV of $4.6 million. And, it is a reputation that is backed up by the data. Using HockeyViz’s data that measures a player’s isolated offensive and defensive impacts, no Senators defenceman had a more significant defensive impact than Zub. Evolving-Hockey’s total defence metric (DEF) had Zub ranked second on the team behind Erik Brannstrom, but injuries limited Zub to 53 games last season - robbing him of the chance to accrue more value. Historically, Zub has always been a player who makes those around him better and in 2023-24, he will be tasked with trying to get more performance and development out of sophomore Jake Sanderson. Considering how well Sanderson fared in his first season playing meaningful minutes carrying Travis Hamonic, the likelihood of Sanderson helping push Zub to a career year feels very real.

Goaltending

Joonas Korpisalo

The rebuilding Ottawa Senators have made it clear in the last few years – goaltenders who are moving on from old teams have a place with the Atlantic Division underdogs, and there’s plenty of time in their rebuild window to be patient with anyone needing a little extra time to get their game back on track. For former Columbus Blue Jackets tandem starter Joonas Korpisalo, it’s the perfect place – out of the public eye, and with a team that’s been slowly but surely turning things around – to prove that he still has an NHL-capable game and establish himself as a number one outside of the free-falling Blue Jackets.

Korpisalo stylistically looked like the less reliable option in Columbus, with a game that relies almost too much on flat angles and post coverage in a way that opened up holes and made him easy to predict. But while Elvis Merzlikins had the flashier game, Korpisalo was the team’s better option last year – and he showed during a brief stint post-trade deadline with the Los Angeles Kings that he might be predictable, but he’s reliable. He struggles at times with rebounds, but his tracking is effective – and for the Senators, the most important thing is that he’s both still relatively young (he’s only 29) and he has a fairly good track record of staying healthy. After multiple years of bad injury luck, the Senators should count it as a win if Korpisalo is even league average while maintaining his reputation as a goaltender who won’t go down for most of the year.

Projected starts: 45-50

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Key trade deadline moves with fantasy impact

Scott Cullen — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 23:17:52 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 02: New York Rangers Left Wing Artemi Panarin (10) and New York Rangers Right Wing Patrick Kane (88) talk during the National Hockey League game between the Ottawa Senators and the New York Rangers on March 2, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

Each week I dive into the numbers and offer some insights that should help when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

This week brought a flurry of trades even before Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline and then not so much on deadline day. Nevertheless, here is a look at the potential impact of the most significant moves, including Patrick Kane, Timo Meier, Jakob Chychrun, Shayne Gostisbehere, Tyler Bertuzzi and many more.

#1 When the New York Rangers traded for Vladimir Tarasenko, it looked like Patrick Kane might not get his wish to end up on Broadway. Kane re-ignited trade interest by putting up 10 points (7 G, 3 A) in his last four games with the Blackhawks and he should be productive in New York, where he will have a stronger supporting cast and is re-united with former Blackhawks linemate Artemi Panarin. Overall, this probably improves Kane’s value down the stretch but his strong finish in Chicago ensures that he won’t be any kind of buy-low bargain for fantasy managers.

#2 A shot generating beast, Timo Meier was acquired by the New Jersey Devils from the San Jose Sharks and while he is recovering from an upper-body injury, there is an excellent opportunity awaiting him with the Devils. Whether he ends up with either Nico Hischier or Jack Hughes as his center, Meier is going to be in position to keep producing at an elite level. He had 31 goals in 57 games with San Jose, averaging a career-high 4.47 shots on goal per game. As for the Sharks, they will offer a bigger role for Fabian Zetterlund, who had 20 points (6 G, 14 A) in 46 games for New Jersey and Andreas Johnsson, who has been stuck in the minors for most of the season and had 30 points (9 G, 21 A) in 36 AHL games, but they would only hold appeal in the deepest of leagues.

#3 The Ottawa Senators landed one of the most sought-after defensemen with the addition of Jakob Chychrun from the Arizona Coyotes. Chychrun has had trouble staying healthy throughout his career but has also been very productive when he is on the ice. Since 2018-2019, among defensemen that have played at least 200 games, Chychrun ranks sixth with 0.19 goals per game (49 goals in 256 games) and seventh with 2.73 shots on goal per game. The question is whether Chychrun has a chance to supplant Thomas Chabot on Ottawa’s top power play unit. In Arizona, Juuso Valimaki is set to take over as the full-time quarterback on the Coyotes power play. He has 10 assists, including five with the man advantage, in the past 11 games.

#4 One of the reasons that Valimaki is the new No. 1 option on the Arizona blueline is that, in addition to trading Chychrun, the Coyotes dealt puck-moving defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere to Carolina. Gostisbehere will get regular power play time with the Hurricanes and given Carolina’s five-on-five dominance, he should see an uptick in production at even strength, too. The Hurricanes also acquired right winger Jesse Puljujarvi from Edmonton. While Puljujarvi is probably more of a long-term project, who arrives with 14 points (5 G, 9 A) in 58 games, he did score 29 goals in 120 games over the previous two seasons. He has been a strong play-driving winger, which fits in Carolina, but Puljujarvi may also have some untapped offensive potential, too.

#5 With long-term injuries hitting wingers Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno, the Boston Bruins wasted no time in dealing for Tyler Bertuzzi from the Detroit Red Wings. Bertuzzi was an attractive commodity on the trade market even though he had just 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in 29 games for Detroit. He was scoring on a career-low 6.5% of his shots, with a 7.8% on-ice shooting percentage, so he is probably due for some positive regression when it comes to his percentages. With Bertuzzi departing Detroit, Dominik Kubalik moved back up to the Wings’ top line.

#6 Power forward Nino Niederreiter landed with the Winnipeg Jets after scoring 28 points (18 G, 10 A) in 56 games for the Nashville Predators. Niederreiter is a six-time 20-goal scorer and should have a good opportunity to produce down the stretch for Winnipeg. He played more than 18 minutes in his first game for the Jets, something Niederreiter did in 11 of 56 games for the Predators. While Nashville has made several changes, one of the more notable moves was to call John Leonard up from the AHL, where he had 32 points (11 G, 21 A) in 52 games for Milwaukee. Leonard scored in his first game for the Preds, skating on a line with Cody Glass and Matt Duchene.

#7 After scoring 24 goals as a rookie last season, Tanner Jeannot was snakebit for most of this season in Nashville, scoring just five goals and 14 points in 56 games. He also had 213 hits and can drop the gloves, if need be, so he can have an impact without scoring, but the Tampa Bay Lightning will try to rekindle Jeannot’s touch around the net. He is skating on the third line with Ross Colton and Nick Paul, a line that should be tough to play against. With Jeannot gone, Cole Smith has joined Colton Sissons and Yakov Trenin on Nashville’s checking line.

#8 One more deal for Nashville, as they sent Mikael Granlund to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Granlund had 36 points (9 G, 27 A) in 58 games for the Preds, and has three seasons in his career with more than 60 points, so he has the skill to be a productive contributor. At the same time, it is not like he is stepping into a big role with the Penguins. In his first game for Pittsburgh, Granlund played mostly with Jeff Carter and Danton Heinen, which is not the best spot for putting up points. Granlund’s departure from Nashville does open up room for a scoring winger and recently called up right winger Philip Tomasino has a chance to take advantage of that situation. Tomasino had 32 points (12 G, 20 A) in 38 AHL games before getting called up and has five points (1 G, 4 A) in nine games since his promotion.

#9 The Vancouver Canucks made one trade with an eye to the future and one that is more geared to the present. First, they sent checking winger William Lockwood to the New York Rangers for Vitali Kravtsov, a 23-year-old winger who had fallen out of favor with the Blueshirts after managing six points (3 G, 3 A) in 28 games. Kravtsov might have some long-term upside but is not likely to offer fantasy value this season. Vancouver’s other major deal involved the addition of Filip Hronek from the Detroit Red Wings. Hronek is a 25-year-old right shot defenseman who has already tied his career high with 38 points (9 G, 29 A) in 60 games. However, 16 of those 38 points have come on the power play and it would seem unlikely that Hronek would get first unit power play time ahead of Quinn Hughes in Vancouver. Hronek’s departure does open up more of an opportunity on the power play for Detroit’s sophomore blueliner Moritz Seider, who started slowly, but has 18 points (2 G, 16 A) in his past 23 games.

#10 The St. Louis Blues continued to sell off veteran talent, dealing versatile forward Ivan Barbashev to the Vegas Golden Knights. Barbashev had a career-high 60 points in 2021-2022 and is not likely to get to that level again, but had 29 points (10 G, 19 A) in 59 games for St. Louis before the trade. Barbashev is getting an excellent opportunity in Vegas, skating on the top line with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault, so Barbashev is worth tracking in his new location. St. Louis has overhauled a lot of their forward group, but waiver pickup Kasperi Kapanen is looking at a better role than he had in Pittsburgh. Kapanen had 20 points (7 G, 13 A) in 43 games for the Penguins, but was playing just 12 minutes per game. He will play more than that in St. Louis and is getting a look alongside Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich.

The Blues picked up a winger desperately in need of a fresh start. Jakub Vrana was traded from Detroit to St. Louis and the 27-year-old winger spent some time in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program this season. He had just two points (1 G, 1 A) in five games for the Red Wings as well as 11 points (6 G, 5 A) in 17 AHL games. However, when he was not injured or otherwise out of the lineup Vrana did score 22 goals in 42 games with Detroit, so there is obvious upside for a team like St. Louis, that is not looking for a full rebuild, but a quick turnaround instead. Tread cautiously with adding Vrana for this season but see what kind of opportunity he gets with the Blues and expect that he will have sleeper value next season.

#11 The Edmonton Oilers bolstered their roster with the additions of defenseman Mattias Ekholm from Nashville and center Nick Bjugstad from Arizona. Ekholm is a defensive standout, but is a capable puck mover, too, and has recorded more than 30 points in five different NHL seasons. Tyson Barrie went to Nashville in the Ekholm deal and going from Edmonton’s power play to Nashville’s power play is going to be a shock to the system. Edmonton has scored 12.50 goals per 60 during five-on-four play, easily the best in the league, while Nashville has scored 6.34 goals per 60, ranking 24^th. Barrie scored 28 of his 43 points with the man advantage and will be replaced on the Oilers power play by Evan Bouchard, who has been able to generate points at evens, but has 14 of his 70 career points on the power play. Since the Oilers’ power play is driven more by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Bouchard should benefit from the new role. Bjugstad had 13 goals and 23 points in 59 games for Arizona, but he is likely to fill a bottom six role with the Oilers, so should not bring much fantasy value.

#12 The Los Angeles Kings, feeling like contenders, upgraded their defense and goaltending in a trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets, acquiring blueliner Vladislav Gavrikov and netminder Joonas Korpisalo, while sending goalie Jonathan Quick to Columbus. Gavrikov tallied a career-high 33 points last season but has just 10 points (3 G, 7 A) in 52 games this season, so he does not offer much fantasy appeal. Korpisalo, however, is looking at the opportunity to start for a team that is headed to the playoffs. Over the course of his career, Korpisalo has mostly been a below average goaltender, but he had a .919 save percentage in his last 17 games for Columbus and that is good enough for him to count as an upgrade for a Kings team that needed AHL call-up Pheonix Copley to save their season. Quick was reportedly not happy about the deal to Columbus and was then flipped to the Vegas Golden Knights. With Logan Thompson and Laurent Brossoit injured, Vegas could use someone to back up behind Adin Hill. Quick had a .876 save percentage in 31 games for the Kings, which would be a career-low mark for the 37-year-old goaltender. All of this is to say that Quick does not offer much for fantasy managers at this stage of his career.

#13 The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their active ways, dealing defenseman Rasmus Sandin to the Washington Capitals for Erik Gustafsson and a first-round pick. Sandin has a chance to play a substantial role in Washington for the rest of this season and beyond. With John Carlson injured, and Gustafsson heading to Toronto, Sandin is looking at a prime situation in which he can quarterback Washington’s first power play unit. Gustafsson, who had scored 11 of his 38 points with Washington while on the man advantage, is tied for 15^th among defensemen with 27 even-strength points. However, Toronto’s blueline looks awfully crowded so, barring a sudden change, Gustafsson is likely to fall into a depth role, virtually eliminating his fantasy appeal. Toronto also added defensemen Jake McCabe and Luke Schenn, as well as center Sam Lafferty, any of whom might help Toronto’s plans to add grit for the postseason, but none of them look like fantasy contributors.

#14 The Dallas Stars acquired Evgeni Dadonov from the Montreal Canadiens, sending Denis Gurianov the other way. The Stars also brought in center Max Domi from the Chicago Blackhawks. Dadonov is a skilled veteran winger who had a shooting percentage of 5.6% and on-ice shooting percentage of 6.6% for the Habs, both of which are likely to get a natural lift – he’s due! Dadonov has three points (1 G, 2 A) and eight shots on goal in three games for the Stars, skating on a line with Jamie Benn and Wyatt Johnston. Gurianov had just two goals in 43 games for Dallas, but he scored 20 goals in 2019-2020, so there is some upside there and the Habs have the time to draw it out of him. Gurianov scored a goal in his second game for Montreal and played more than 17 minutes in his first two games for the Canadiens, a threshold he had not hit this season in Dallas. Domi wrapped up his tenure with the Blackhawks by scoring 14 points (4 G, 10 A) with 29 shots on goal in his last eight games. He has 49 points, his most in a season since scoring 72 points in 2018-2019. He will be in more of a supporting role with Dallas, so while he may contribute in Dallas, his fantasy value has probably peaked already. With Domi gone, 2020 first-round pick Lukas Reichel has been promoted from the AHL, where he had 46 points (17 G, 29 A) in 51 games for Rockford. Reichel has stepped into Domi’s spot, centering Chicago’s top line between Andreas Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev.

#15 The Minnesota Wild made some modest deals to improve their forward depth before making bigger deals at the deadine. First, they added Gustav Nyquist from the Columbus Blue Jackets and Marcus Johansson from the Washington Capitals. Nyquist is injured, but should be healthy by the time the playoffs roll around and he is a competent scoring middle six winger. Johansson could have a little fantasy sleeper value. He had 28 points (13 G, 15 A) in 60 games for Washington, but started his second stint with the Wild by playing more than 16 minutes while skating on a line with Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy.

The Wild then added defenseman John Klingberg from Anaheim, where he had 24 points (8 G, 16 A) in 50 games, and just going to a better team ought to help Klingberg’s production. Will he step into the Wild’s top power play unit? The Wild rank 10^th with 8.18 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play, but rookie defenseman Calen Addison is the top-scoring power play defenseman for the Wild and he has been a healthy scratch recently.

Minnesota also shipped winger Jordan Greenway to Buffalo, but he had just seven points (2 G, 5 A) in 45 games. Greenway produced a career-high 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 56 games in 2020-2021, but has typically not scored enough to matter for fantasy purposes. The Wild replaced Greenway on the roster with Oskar Sundqvist, who had 21 points (7 G, 14 A) in 52 games for Detroit. Of all these additions by the Wild, Klingberg is the only one with widespread fantasy appeal.

#16 Although he played just 13 minutes per game for the Toronto Maple Leafs, lanky winger Pierre Engvall could have a better situation waiting for him with the New York Islanders, at least in the short term. With injuries up front, the Isles have Engvall starting out with Anders Lee and Bo Horvat on the top line. It’s worth giving him a look. In 21 games this season in which Engvall played more than 14 minutes, he contributed seven goals and four assists.

#17 With the deals covered, there are still some players that are heating up and worth adding, starting with the Devils’ Dawson Mercer. The second year forward has scored a goal in seven straight games, putting up 14 points (9 G, 5 A) with 22 shots on goal. He has a good thing going on a line with Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar.

#18 Carolina’s second year right winger Seth Jarvis has returned to the top line, alongside Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. He has seven points (5 G, 2 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past six games and his increased shot rate makes it easier to buy him as a scoring threat down the stretch.

#19 Trying to recapture last season’s magic, when Ryan Hartman had a career high 34 goals and 65 points the Minnesota Wild have re-united Hartman with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello on the top line. Hartman has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past seven games.

#20 Scoring Buffalo’s only goal in Thursday’s 7-1 loss at Boston, Casey Mittelstadt is on a tear, with 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past 10 games. That shot rate is concerning when it comes to sustaining his offensive production, but Mittelstadt is up to a career high 38 points (10 G, 28 A) in 60 games and that warrants consideration in deeper leagues.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.