jeff skinner – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – SAN JOSE SHARKS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Mon, 13 Oct 2025 17:51:28 +0000

CALGARY, AB - FEBRUARY 23: San Jose Sharks Center William Smith (2) skates with the puck during the first period of an NHL game between the Calgary Flames and the San Jose Sharks on February 23, 2025, at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, AB. (Photo by Brett Holmes/Icon Sportswire)

The Sharks missed the playoffs for a sixth consecutive season in 2024-2025. They improved by five points over the previous season, but that still left them with 52 points (20-50-12), the lowest total in the league by nine points. The Sharks finished 31st in Corsi percentage (45.6) and 31st in expected goals percentage (just under 44 percent), so it’s no surprise that they were at the bottom of the standings, but it also shows that they are still trying to climb out of a big hole. The Sharks power play struggled, too, ranking 28th with 5.15 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play. Same for the penalty killing, which ranked 28th with 9.10 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play. On top of all of those struggles, the Sharks’ goaltending was subpar, too, especially once they traded Mackenzie Blackwood to Colorado. Alexandar Georgiev and Vitek Vanecek struggled. Yaroslav Askarov was the best of the remaining options, but he battled injuries and played in just 13 games, so this all combined to form the worst team in the NHL last season.

What’s Changed?

Desperate to add more talent to the supporting cast around 2024 No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini, the Sharks signed free agent forwards Jeff Skinner from the Edmonton Oilers and Adam Gaudette from the Ottawa Senators while also trading to acquire Philipp Kurashev from the Chicago Blackhawks and enforcer Ryan Reaves from the Toronto Maple Leafs. On the blueline, the Sharks bought out Marc-Edouard Vlasic, so this will be the first time since 2005-2006 that he has not been part of the mix on the San Jose blueline. The Sharks traded for Nick Leddy from the St. Louis Blues, Vincent Desharnais from the Pittsburgh Penguins and signed free agents Dmitry Orlov from the Carolina Hurricanes and John Klingberg from the Edmonton Oilers. San Jose also aimed to shore up its goaltending by acquiring Alex Nedeljkovic from the Penguins to share the crease with Askarov.

What would success look like?

While the Sharks should be better than they were last season, it is such a long climb to get to the playoffs that it is not a reasonable expectation for this season. The main focus is to have the young core – Celebrini, Will Smith, William Eklund, Askarov – continue to develop into frontline NHL players. The Sharks have 10 established NHLers that will be unrestricted free agents next summer, so a main objective should be making them as productive as possible so that they can net the best possible return before the trade deadline. The Sharks can improve in virtually every facet of the game, so that should absolutely be an objective and if it means that the team finishes with 70 points and is still miles away from a playoff spot, but has improved by nearly 20 points, that would have to be considered a successful season.

What could go wrong?

Given their current position, it’s hard for anything to go too wrong for the Sharks. Of course, keeping Celebrini, Smith, Eklund, and Askarov healthy is important, but the team not improving in the standings would still lead to another high draft pick and if they were to land likely No. 1 pick Gavin McKenna, that’s not really a problem. If the Sharks are going to miss the playoffs, and that is the most likely outcome, then they should at least continue to build towards a more promising future and that includes having veterans that they can deal for more assets at the trade deadline.

Top Breakout Candidate

While there are some teams that have very few young players in position to have breakout seasons, the Sharks are in the opposite position. Smith, Eklund, and Askarov are all outstanding candidates to further their development this season, but Macklin Celebrini has to be the top breakout candidate because he was so impressive as an 18-year-old rookie, with a well-rounded game, that he has the potential to be a star and maybe as soon as this season.

FORWARDS

Macklin Celebrini

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	28	46	74	0.96

The first pick in the 2024 Draft did not disappoint in his rookie season. That’s not to suggest that there isn’t room to improve, but he was 18 years old and finished the season with 31 points (12 G, 19 A) and 114 shots on goal in his last 33 games. On a team like the Sharks, that finished nine points behind the 31st place Chicago Blackhawks, with a goal differential that was 35 worse than Chicago, Celebrini had relatively strong possession numbers. The Sharks controlled 48.7 percent of shot attempts and 47.1 percent of expected goals with Celebrini on the ice during five-on-five play. Finishing with 63 points (28 G, 35 A) in 70 games, Celebrini’s 0.90 points per game ranked ninth and his 3.37 shots on goal per game ranked fourth among rookies since 2000-2001. Celebrini plays such a solid and reliable game already, that it’s easy to get excited about his potential. If the Sharks can build up the talent around him, he could turn into an elite player soon. His high shot rate is an encouraging sign that his offensive production is sustainable and, as he grows, he will likely improve the quality of his chances and the rate at which he finishes. For his second season, it’s reasonable to expect 25-30 goals and 70-75 points from the Sharks’ franchise player.

Tyler Toffoli

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	28	27	55	0.70

A two-time Stanley Cup winner who was brought in to be a good influence on the young Sharks, Toffoli showed that he can still play at a high level, hitting the 30-goal plateau for the third straight season. Over the past three seasons, Toffoli has accumulated 70 goals at even strength, which ranks 30th in the league in that time. His quick release allows him to score from distance and can sometimes take a relatively harmless situation and turn it into a goal with a snap of his wrists. He’s not particularly fleet afoot but has excellent instincts that help to get him where he needs to be on time. He’s also a reliable two-way player and that sets a good example for his teammates. That all-around game has helped Toffoli be a consistently strong play driver throughout his career and, even on a Sharks team that was getting buried last season, the Sharks were outshooting opponents when Toffoli was on the ice. The Sharks attempted to improve their roster in the offseason, which should ensure that Toffoli remains productive during the 2025-2026 season. Toffoli’s most common linemates last season were Macklin Celebrini and William Eklund, and it seems likely that trio will ride together again this season. Toffoli should be expected to score 25-30 goals on the way to 55 points.

Will Smith

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	25	34	59	0.73

The fourth pick in the 2023 Draft, Smith was brought along slowly at the start of last season, playing limited minutes and getting healthy scratched as part of a plan to ease him into the National Hockey League. He managed a modest four points (2 G, 2 A) while playing in 18 of San Jose’s first 23 games. Smith started to show some flashes that kept him in the lineup and increased his ice time. Down the stretch, he produced 30 points (12 G, 18 A) in his last 34 games. Smith is a creative player, and once his confidence started to pick up, he was a consistently dangerous player. When Smith started to find his stride, he displayed a quick release on his shot, that allowed him to score off the rush, as well as terrific vision when it came to setting up his linemates. He had a fluidity in his movement and creativity to his game that suggested he was only scratching the surface last season. The question for the Sharks is whether they will move Smith to center, which was his position coming up, but he spent more of his rookie season skating on right wing. Smith only won 36.5 percent of his faceoffs as a rookie, so there is obviously room for improvement, but as he gets more comfortable in the NHL, the Sharks are probably a more dangerous team with Celebrini and Smith running in the top two center spots. Expect continued progress from Smith in his second season, with 20-25 goals and 50-55 points.

William Eklund

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	20	41	61	0.77

The seventh pick in the 2021 Draft, Eklund has made steady progress in his first couple of NHL seasons. After scoring 45 points (16 G, 29 A) in his first full season in 2023-2024, Eklund jumped to 58 points (17 G, 41 A) in his second season. He has good instincts and puts himself in good positions to attack, particularly in transition. Eklund thrives in open space and even though he is not physically imposing, he’s not shy about going to the net when the game slows to a more grinding style. Eklund has a quick release on his shot that he could still use more often, and he does like to unleash one-timers on the power play, but he is also a creator for his linemates, using his speed to put pressure on the defence. When he plays with the likes of Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli, his most common linemates last season, that makes Eklund a valuable contributor because those guys make the most of the opportunities that he creates. Eklund’s two-way game has also proven to be quite solid early in his NHL career. Among Sharks forwards, he had the second-lowest Corsi against and expected goals against per 60 minutes during five-on-five play. That gives him a solid foundation and Eklund should continue to progress in his third full NHL season, with 20 goals and 60 points looking like fair benchmarks in 2025-2026.

Alexander Wennberg

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	11	23	34	0.44

An excellent defensive center, Wennberg shows, every once in a while, that he has high-end puck skills that could make one wonder if he could fit higher on the depth chart. He’s probably not enough of a shooter to make that happen over the long haul, as he only had 82 shots on goal in 77 games last season, but Wennberg held his own while averaging a career-high 18:51 of ice time for a frequently overmatched Sharks team in 2024-2025. His most common linemates were Tyler Toffoli and William Eklund, but Luke Kunin, Fabian Zetterlund, and Will Smith each played more than 200 five-on-five minutes with Wennberg, too. For a player who ends up handling checking center responsibilities, Wennberg is not great on faceoffs. He won 47.5 percent of his draws in 2024-2025, his best mark since 2020-2021. His reluctance to shoot the puck puts a limit on how much Wennberg can produce offensively, but his puck skills and ability to distribute at least make him a solid complementary player and in San Jose, he’s possibly a player who gets more ice time because he has an established level of NHL competence that not every forward on the Sharks roster can claim. In addition to providing sound defensive play, Wennberg ought to contribute around a dozen goals and 35 points during the 2025-2026 season.

Jeff Skinner

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	21	21	42	0.54

The 33-year-old winger finally got a taste of playoff action with the Edmonton Oilers last season after skating in 1,078 regular season games, though he was hardly a major factor, only dressing for a handful of postseason contests. Skinner’s role diminished relatively early in the season, and he did pick up the pace a bit in the final month but, overall, he was not what the Oilers were looking for. Skinner is a finesse winger who consistently drives play, but he’s not exactly Bob Gainey or Jere Lehtinen when he doesn’t have the puck and that lack of defensive commitment can threaten his spot in the lineup if he’s not scoring at a high level. To be fair to Skinner, even though he had the highest expected goals against per 60 minutes among Oilers forwards that played at least 200 five-on-five minutes, the Oilers did outscore opponents 33-3 2 with Skinner on the ice in those situations. There’s probably some good fortune at work there. In San Jose, Skinner should be a reliable veteran presence who brings legitimate skill to the table. Signed to a one-year deal, Skinner is also a prime candidate to be traded if the Sharks are, as expected, not in the playoff hunt. It would seem highly unlikely that he would surpass 30 goals again, something that he has done six times in his career, but 20-25 goals and 45 points seems like a fair expectation for him during the 2025-2026 season.

Philipp Kurashev

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	12	18	30	0.39

After a breakout season in 2023-2024, when he scored 54 points (18 G, 36 A) for the Chicago Blackhawks, Kurashev plummeted to just 14 points (7 G, 7 A) last season. He did miss 31 games, but his ice time was also cut drastically, from more than 19 minutes per game to 13:43 per game. He struggled right from the start last season, scoring five points (3 G, 2 A) in his first 30 games, and his ice time was cut significantly in the second half of the season. Kurashev performed a little better, but it was too little, too late to try and salvage the season. Kurashev seems like a worthwhile risk for the Sharks to take, in the hopes that he can recapture his 2023-2024 form, but he is also going to depend on his linemates to lift his play to a certain level because while he has good hockey sense and knows where to be on the ice, he’s not an especially dynamic player who creates a lot on his own. If he can maintain a spot in San Jose’s middle six. Kurashev should bounce back to some degree from last season, scoring double digit goals and maybe 30 points.

Carl Grundstrom

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
66	10	10	20	0.30

Being a low-end fantasy forward on the Sharks likely means that you’re not going to be involved in too many fantasy leagues, and that may well be the case with Grundstrom, who managed nine points (3 G, 6 A) in 56 games last season while scoring on just 3.4 percent of his shots on goal. At the same time, there is an argument to be made that Grundstrom should play more than he did last season. Among Sharks forwards to play at least 200 minutes at five-on-five, Grundstrom had the best expected goals percentage at just under 50 percent. That occurred while his four most common linemates were Ty Dellandrea, Nico Sturm, Barclay Goodrow, and Luke Kunin, so there is the possibility that if Grundstrom were to find a regular spot with more quality linemates, he just might have a greater impact. Grundstrom has never played more than 57 games in an NHL season, so just staying healthy and in the lineup should be the first priority, but if he manages to play even 65 games, 10 goals and 20 points should be within his grasp. Grundstrom could have more value for leagues that reward hits because he had 172 in 56 games while playing less than 10 minutes per game last season, so 200-plus hits over a full season should not be out of the question.

Adam Gaudette

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	14	11	25	0.31

After spending most of the 2023-2024 season in the American Hockey League, where he scored 44 goals in 67 games for Springfield, Gaudette returned to the NHL last season with the Ottawa Senators, and he made his mark by scoring 19 goals in 81 games. Among players that played at least 200 five-on-five minutes, Gaudette ranked fifth in the entire league with 1.34 goals per 60 minutes, trailing only Tage Thompson, Alex Ovechkin, Morgan Geekie, and Cole Caufield. While it’s encouraging that Gaudette could contribute offensively despite his limited role in Ottawa, it needs to be noted that he scored on 21.1 percent of his shots on goal and, prior to last season, he had a shooting percentage of 9.0 percent in 220 NHL games so, in all likelihood, regression is coming. Gaudette won more than 50 percent of his faceoffs last season and his ability to play center and wing does give him a better chance to secure regular playing time with the Sharks. He’s probably not going to climb too high on the depth chart for any sustained period of time, but he can probably move around the bottom six a little bit. A fair expectation for Gaudette would see him scoring double digit goals and 20-25 points, which is generally not going to get fantasy managers excited, but in short bursts he might generate some interest.

DEFENCE

John Klingberg

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	6	24	30	0.42

When Klingberg left for hip surgery after playing just 14 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2023-2024, it looked like his NHL career may be finished. His mobility was obviously compromised. His defensive play had declined rather precipitously from his best days in Dallas and a 32-year-old defenceman coming off hip surgery was hardly the most appealing option. To Klingberg’s credit, he made it back to the NHL with the Edmonton Oilers and played in 11 games down the stretch. He was better than in his Toronto stint but was still shaky defensively. What made Klingberg more appealing is that during Edmonton’s playoff run, Klingberg ranked third in Corsi percentage (49.7) and fourth in expected goals percentage (48.8). That hardly looks like a standout defender, but it might be an indication that he can be competent defensively and that would be enough because, one of Klingberg’s more appealing traits is that he can run the point on a power play and the Sharks sorely need someone who can do that for them. During his time with the Dallas Stars, Klingberg recorded 148 power play points out of his 374 total points (71 G, 303 A) in 552 games. In the three years since, he has bounced around and not really had a consistent power play role, but that opportunity should be there for Klingberg in San Jose. If he plays 67 games in 2025-2026, Klingberg should be able to contribute 30 points. There’s a chance that it works out even better than that, with more of an impact on the power play, but for a player who has played 25 regular-season games in the past two seasons, it’s still worth exercising some caution when it comes to forecasting his point projection.

Mario Ferraro

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	4	16	20	0.25

With the Sharks moving on from Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Ferraro is now the longest tenured Sharks defender, having completed six seasons in teal. He has averaged more than 21 minutes of ice time in the past five seasons and has surpassed 120 hits and 120 blocked shots in each of the past four seasons. While he plays a significant role in San Jose, Ferraro is not much of an offensive contributor. He finished last season with a modest 17 points (5 G, 12 A), a total that he has exceeded only once in his six NHL seasons, and he has five career power play points, four of which came in his second season, 2020-2021. Ferraro partnered primarily with Timothy Liljegren last season and they were relatively successful, with the Sharks controlling 49.6 percent of the expected goals share during five-on-five play with that tandem on the ice, but neither one is particularly adept at creating offensive chances, so that puts a damper on any expectations for Ferraro to suddenly emerge as a point producer on the San Jose blueline. His blocked shots and hit totals can make Ferraro more appealing for fantasy purposes, but his lack of scoring does make that more challenging. The most reasonable expectation is that Ferraro will chip in 15-20 points while going to battle defensively, which is not overly appealing for fantasy hockey managers.

Dmitry Orlov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	6	24	30	0.38

A veteran defenceman who is solid at both ends of the rink, Orlov has typically not played a lot on the power play, but that might change in San Jose. His first priority is going to be providing defensive stability at even strength. Across the past three seasons, there are 128 defencemen that have played at least 3,000 five-on-five minutes, and Orlov ranked sixth in Corsi percentage (57.6) and seventh in expected goals percentage (55.6), so he is used to the puck moving in the right direction when he is on the ice. That will be harder in San Jose, but Orlov’s reliability should help in that regard. He has exceeded 30 points four times in his NHL career, peaking at 36 points when he split the 2022-2023 season between the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. There is some offensive upside that comes with being able to move the puck, even if he is not usually logging big power play minutes. Orlov has also recorded more than 100 hits in nine of the past 10 seasons, with the only exception being the shortened 2020-2021 season. In San Jose, Orlov should play more than 20 minutes per game and that should allow him to contribute half a dozen goals and 25-30 points, which makes him rather fringy in terms of standard fantasy value.

Timothy Liljegren

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	6	17	23

Often shoved to the background when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Liljegren stepped into a regular role with the Sharks, playing more than 19 minutes per game, and delivered solid two-way play, finishing with the best expected goals percentage (49.4) among Sharks defenders to play at least 200 five-on-five minutes. Liljegren is a strong skater who has decent puck skills, so there could be some offensive upside, but he’s also 26 years old and it’s getting a little late to suddenly develop a more productive scoring game. Even if that’s the case, if Liljegren can maintain a steady top four role on San Jose’s blueline, his point production should improve as the quality of the Sharks lineup improves. Liljegren does not play an especially physical game, and he finished with 64 hits in 67 games last season, but he does block shots. In the past two seasons, Liljegren has 227 blocked shots in 123 games, so for that one particular category, he does offer some value for fantasy managers. If Liljegren can stay in the lineup more regularly than he did in Toronto, it would be reasonable to expect him to contribute half a dozen goals and 20-25 points during the 2025-2026 season. If he adds 140 blocked shots, that might give him some value in deeper leagues.

GOAL

Yaroslav Askarov

Hockey fans everywhere were absolutely stunned when the Nashville Predators took their most prized prospect - first round pick goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, who looked ready to hit the NHL full-time - and dealt him to the San Jose Sharks last offseason. Fueled by rumors that the top prospect was uninterested in spending any more time developing in the AHL, Nashville attempted to recoup their loss with a first-round pick demand and sent Askarov to the league's most obviously rebuilding franchise for a fun year of trial by fire.

Where most prospects would have absolutely tanked in that kind of environment, though, Askarov managed to make the most of an abysmal situation - and while he didn't exactly pull the Sharks out of their nosedive, he did manage to string together one of the most impressively passable seasons any rookie goaltender has put up on a team that came dangerously close to missing out on the twenty-win mark by season's end. In his thirteen NHL appearances, he put up seven quality starts and hit almost exactly league average metrics in goals saved above average; for perspective, team starter Alexandar Georgiev only managed to scrape together eleven quality starts, and he had 31 chances to do so. Now, with both his quietly impressive survival skills at the NHL level and truly excellent AHL numbers during his minor league stints, Askarov will almost certainly be handed more control of the crease this year. He'll tandem with former Penguins backup Alex Nedeljkovic, getting more NHL reps as the Sharks try to prevent their rebuild from entering the dreaded Bermuda Triangle that teams like Buffalo and Utah (formerly Arizona) have gotten stuck in for years at a time. It's somewhat risky to hinge a top prospect's development in net on a team very obviously still in retool mode, but Askarov has proven during his appearances in the last few years that he's got some adaptability to his game style and a bit of a goldfish mentality that makes it hard to pinpoint the moment his game will disintegrate during a tough matchup. He makes for an optimistic future in the Bay Area, so long as he doesn't regress this year.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – A trip around the league and the numbers to help with your fantasy hockey decisions – Season starts with bad news in Florida

Scott Cullen — Sat, 27 Sep 2025 16:43:12 +0000

LOS ANGELES, CA - APRIL 17: Calgary Flames Defenseman Zayne Parekh (89) takes his “Rookie Lap” before his first NHL game between the Los Angeles Kings versus the Calgary Flames on April 17th, 2025, at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Rob Curtis/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. With training camps underway, here are some points to consider when drafting your teams for the 2025-2026 season, starting with some bad news out of Florida.

#1 The Florida Panthers are going to be looking to win a third straight Stanley Cup, but it could be an uphill fight from the outset, as captain Aleksander Barkov was injured in practice and required knee surgery that could be season ending. With Matthew Tkachuk already expected to miss at least a couple of months of action while he recovers from surgery for a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle. Since the 2017-2018 season, Barkov has produced 611 points (213 G, 398 A) in 552 games and has won three Selke Trophies as the league’s best defensive forward. If he is indeed out for the season, that will be an enormous hole to fill.

#2 To the Panthers’ credit, they at least have options. Sam Bennett may not handle a much bigger role than what he has already taken on as Florida’s No. 2 centre, but Anton Lundell could be thrust into a bigger role in his fifth NHL season. Lundell played at least 18 minutes in 22 games last season, delivering 17 points (7 G, 10 A) in those games. That contrasts with 28 points (10 G, 18 A) in 55 games when he played fewer than 18 minutes in a game. Fourth-line centre Tomas Nosek is also injured, so the Barkov injury could really test Florida’s centre depth, to the point that they might need to try Sam Reinhart or Evan Rodrigues down the middle. Both veterans have played centre but have spent more time on the wing in recent seasons.

#3 The Montreal Canadiens head into this season with expectations. They are not looking to be in the playoff hunt but instead be a surefire playoff team. A lot could depend on how their second line turns out and, at the moment, it looks like a boom-or-bust situation for the trio of Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, and Ivan Demidov. Laine scored 12 goals in his first 18 games for the Habs last season, but managed eight in his next 37 games, and was injured after minimal playing time in the first two games of the playoffs. Dach has flashed potential but has also torn his ACL twice which has not helped in his development path. Demidov had 49 points (19 G, 30 A) in 65 games for St. Petersburg in the KHL last season and has electrifying skill which makes him the preseason favourite to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie. If everything clicks, this trio could be potent, but the worst-case scenario for them could be pretty bleak, too, given the ups and downs that Laine and Dach have experienced in their careers.

#4 The Calgary Flames are giving rookie Zayne Parekh a shot on their blueline and the 19-year-old has a high offensive ceiling that would play well for fantasy managers. Parekh scored in his NHL debut with the Flames late last season and scored 66 goals and 203 points in 127 games for Saginaw of the Ontario Hockey League in the past two seasons. The ninth pick in the 2024 Draft, Parekh still has junior eligibility, but Calgary could decide that his offensive upside is too great to turn down, especially on a team that only had two defencemen, Mackenzie Weegar and Rasmus Andersson, with more than 20 points last season and one of them (Andersson) is rumoured to be on the move.

#5 Can Dylan Cozens get his game back in Ottawa? After scoring 68 points (31 G, 37 A) in 81 games for the Buffalo Sabres during the 2022-2023 season, when he was 21, Cozens saw is production tail off. He had back-to-back 47-point seasons and had 31 points (11 G, 20 A) in 61 games last season before getting traded to the Senators. In Ottawa, Cozens had 16 points (5 G, 11 A) with 49 shots on goal in 21 games, despite playing 36 fewer seconds per game than he had in Buffalo. With skilled players in Ottawa and a chance to play on PP1, maybe Cozens will find his way back to 60-plus points.

#6 The Edmonton Oilers have some exciting rookies pushing for forward spots, including highly-touted youngsters Isaac Howard and Matt Savoie, but a 29-year-old Czech winger could be worth watching, too. David Tomasek spent a couple of seasons with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League more than a decade ago before returning to Europe. Last season, he put up 57 points (24 G, 33 A) in 47 games for Farjestad of the Swedish Hockey League and that kind of production could make him a viable candidate to play in Edmonton’s top six. Far too soon to start predicting success for him but at least see how his training camp unfolds and monitor to see if he could actually make the team.

#7 Stars left winger Jamie Benn is out with a collapsed lung, to be re-evaluated in four weeks. Benn is typically very durable, but this does not seem like something that the 36-year-old captain will be able to play through. Benn’s absence could create a bigger opportunity for Sam Steel, who could move up the depth chart, and possibly an opening for rookie Justin Hryckowian to start the season with the Stars. Hryckowian had 60 points (22 G, 38 A) in 67 AHL games for the Iowa Stars last season before adding 18 points (9 G, 9 A) in 14 playoff games.

#8 The goaltending market is due for some movement as the season approaches. The Utah Mammoth have placed Conor Ingram on waivers, after another stint in the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program last season. When he’s on his game, Ingram can be a starting calibre goaltender but, at the very least, could be a solid addition for many teams. Toronto is also going to be missing Joseph Woll for an indefinite period, while he deals with a family issue. With Woll out, the Maple Leafs have inked veteran James Reimer to a PTO and he could fulfill the role while Woll is absent. The thing for the Maple Leafs is that Anthony Stolarz has played great for them but also played a career-high 34 games last season, so he isn’t exactly Glenn Hall in terms of durability, which means that his partner in the tandem will not have an insignificant role.

#9 There will be a team that signs Carter Hart, who is lurking for any team that is willing to deal with the blowback from fans after his involvement in the Hockey Canada trial this summer. The former Flyers netminder has a .906 save percentage in 227 career games and has typically been slightly better than league average but Hart being a competent goaltender is not the hurdle that will need to be overcome. It will be similar for teams that sign Michael McLeod or Dillon Dube, who will be eligible to sign on October 15 and can return to action on December 1, but a starting goaltender is in the spotlight much more than a middle six forward. In any case, none of these players are strong enough to warrant drafting in fantasy, unless you have a massive reserve list, so just monitor the situations for these players in the first six weeks of the season.

#10 With Mitch Marner gone to Las Vegas, it appears that Morgan Rielly will be back at quarterback on PP1 for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rielly struggled at times last season and his 41 points (7 G, 34 A) in 82 games represented his lowest points per game since 2016-2017, but a refreshed Rielly in a prime role has a chance to exceed expectations in a way that he hasn’t in recent seasons because his previous production had been so reliable.

#11 Anaheim Ducks centre Mason McTavish is one of the more high-profile restricted free agents still without contract and if he does not start the season in Anaheim, the Ducks are a little better prepared to handle his absence after acquiring veterans like Mikael Granlund and Chris Kreider, who offer some insurance. If there is an extra opening in the lineup, then prospect Sam Colangelo could squeeze into a regular role if McTavish actually misses game time. Usually, these things get worked out in time for the start of the season, but every once in a while, it can drag on, so be cautious with McTavish, Nashville’s Luke Evangelista, and New Jersey’s Luke Hughes.

#12 After scoring 39 goals in the American Hockey League last season, Matej Blumel is getting a long look in Bruins camp. The Bruins are desperate for more sources of offence behind David Pastrnak, and if Blumel can provide it, then he could stick in a middle six role for Boston. The 25-year-old winger has two goals in 13 career NHL games, so expectations should not get out of hand, but he’s worth tracking as the season approaches.

#13 On a Chicago Blackhawks team desperately seeking more skill, Andre Burakovsky may have a chance at some quality ice time, including first-line action alongside Connor Bedard. Burakovsky has managed 53 points (17 G, 36 A) in 128 games across the past two seasons with the Seattle Kraken, but he also scored on just 8.2 percent of his shots in those two seasons after scoring on 14.4 percent in his career up to that point. If he plays with a finisher like Bedard, Burakovsky’s playmaking skills could deliver much better results than he has offered recently.

#14 An underrated fantasy performer because he is not a huge scorer, and injuries have been catching up to him, but Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner had 19 points (7 G, 12 A) with 70 shots on goal and 43 hits in 26 games last season. On a per-game basis, Jenner is still productive enough to have fantasy value when he’s healthy enough to play, in part because he has a spot on Columbus’ top power play unit and that should not be ignored.

#15 Russian winger Maxim Shabanov is an intriguing addition for the New York Islanders. Shabanov is 5-foot-8 but put up 67 points (23 G, 44 A) in 65 games for Traktor Chelyabinsk in the KHL last season, adding 20 points (10 G, 10 A) in 21 playoff games, and on an Islanders team that has not exactly been overrun by skilled forwards, Shabanov is looking like he could have a shot to play alongside Bo Horvat on the top line.

#16 While most teams are aspiring to big things this year, playing for the Stanley Cup, reaching the playoffs, it does not necessarily seem like the same is true for the Pittsburgh Penguins, who may be in the position to deal some quality veterans this season. As the Penguins cobbled together a roster in the offseason, they took a couple of chances on big wingers with offensive upside. Anthony Mantha tore his ACL after producing seven points (4 G, 3 A) in 13 games for Calgary last season, but he is a three-time 20-goal scorer who maybe hasn’t reached expectations in his career but is a capable member of the supporting cast on an NHL team. Justin Brazeau is not as accomplished but does have 29 points (16 G, 13 A) in 95 career games despite playing fewer than 12 minutes per game. If he can find his way to more ice time, Brazeau could contribute more.

#17 Staying in Pittsburgh, winger Ville Koivunen has a shot to be a breakthrough player for the Penguins after he had seven assists in eight games for the Penguins last season. The 22-year-old, who was acquired from Carolina as part of the package for Jake Guentzel, had 56 points (21 G, 35 A) in 63 AHL games for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre last season, so it’s time to find out if he can produce in a full-time role in the NHL. It looks like he should have a chance to start in Pittsburgh’s top six, and from there it’s going to be up to him.

#18 While the San Jose Sharks are still not likely to be a particularly strong hockey team this season, they are getting more talented and that could reap rewards for fantasy managers. Second overall draft pick Michael Misa is worth considering because he has such offensive upside. He ripped up the OHL last season with 134 points (62 G, 72 A) in 63 games and it’s conceivable that he starts the season as the Sharks’ No. 2 centre behind Macklin Celebrini.

#19 Also in San Jose, veteran winger Jeff Skinner might be worth considering as a late-round flier after he managed just 29 points (16 G, 13 A) in 72 games for the Edmonton Oilers last season. He also played just 13 minutes per game, so if Skinner plays 16-17 minutes per game, which is more standard for his career, then his numbers will improve, and if he is skating alongside the Sharks’ skilled young forwards, there will be a chance for Skinner to enjoy a bounce-back season. He is a 10-time 20-goal scorer who is just to years removed from a 35-goal campaign.

#20 Seattle Kraken right winger Kappo Kakko suffered an upper-body injury in preseason action and if it keeps him out for the start of the season, that could mean a better opportunity for Jani Nyman, who had six points (3 G, 3 A) with 22 shots on goal and 13 hits in 12 games for Seattle last season. Expectations are high for Kakko, who had 30 points (10 G, 20 A) in 49 games for the Kraken after he was acquired from the Rangers last season.

NHL: DADOUN – FINAL FANTASY STRETCH – Playoff teams and their schedules to close out the regular season – What to watch for

Ryan Dadoun — Sun, 06 Apr 2025 14:34:50 +0000

WASHINGTON, DC - APRIL 04: Capitals left wing Alexander Ovechkin (8) celebrates with Jakob Chychrun (6) and Andrew Mangiapane (88) after scoring his 894th career NHL goal to tie Wayne Gretzky for most NHL career goals with 894 during the Chicago Blackhawks versus Washington Capitals National Hockey League game on April 4, 2025 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.. (Photo by Randy Litzinger/Icon Sportswire)

I’m not going to retread my discussion about St. Louis’ success after featuring it last week, but after earning an 11th straight victory Thursday, the Blues have basically secured their playoff berth with a 42-28-7 record (91 points). At the same time, Minnesota, which holds the second wild-card spot, is looking pretty safe with its 41-29-7 record (89 points). Sure, Calgary still has an outside chance at 36-27-12, but the fight for the last two spots in the Western Conference playoffs seems all-but decided.

The battle for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference is still wide open, though, so with the season winding down, I’m going to feature Montreal, the Rangers, Columbus, Detroit and the Islanders in that order to do a deep dive into what remains on each team’s schedule and what needs to happen for any of those squads to squeak into the postseason. So as not to make this final edition of the Look Ahead too skewed towards the east, I’ll also feature Vegas, Los Angeles and Edmonton. All three of those teams are extremely likely to make the playoffs, but there is still meaningful room for movement there in terms of who will end up in what seed.

While those are some of the most interesting teams to watch over the final week and a half of the campaign, there are a few more storylines worth covering before we dive into them, starting, of course, with Alexander Ovechkin. He found the back of the net twice Friday to tie Wayne Gretzky for the all-time goal-scoring record. He’s just one marker away from breaking the record.

When you compare him to Gretzky, the two have had extraordinarily different careers. Gretzky surpassed the 70-goal mark on four occasions and still holds the record for most goals in a single season with 92. With the caveat that we are measuring players from different eras, Ovechkin never came close to enjoying a height equal to Gretzky’s. However, Ovechkin’s longevity has been unreal. At the age of 39, he’s at 41 goals in 60 games this season, putting him third in the NHL’s goal-scoring race this season behind only William Nylander (42) and Leon Draisaitl (52) despite the time Ovechkin has missed due to injury.

Gretzky’s goal-scoring diminished dramatically in the back half of his career. The final time he reached the 40-goal mark was his age-30 season (1990-91), and the last time he collected at least 30 goals was his age-33 campaign (1993-94). We might never see a player who ages as well as Ovechkin has.

At the time of writing, Washington still has six games left on its schedule. Of note, the Capitals’ remaining home games are Thursday vs. Carolina and Sunday vs. Columbus. Ovechkin’s next chance to break the record will come against the Islanders on Sunday. Wherever he breaks it will be special, but it would be particularly remarkable if he does so at home.

Given Ovechkin’s scoring pace, the record probably isn’t going to come down to the final game of the season, but it is worth adding that the Capitals are set to conclude the campaign in Pittsburgh on April 17. To have it happen there with Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby would give the event some extra flavor, given that trio’s long and storied history.

That’s by far the biggest event to watch out for, but we might also see some players reach the 400-goal mark soon. Draisaitl and Jamie Benn are both one marker away (Note: Draisaitl is injured. More on that during Edmonton’s section), while Auston Matthews is three shy.

I’m also interested to see how rookie Lane Hutson does over Montreal’s final seven regular-season games. He’s already at 63 points, which is the seventh most ever by a rookie defenseman. He’s just two away from surpassing Chris Chelios and establishing a new rookie record by a Canadiens defenseman. Also within striking range are Ray Bourque (ranked fifth, 65 points), Phil Housley (fourth, 66 points) and maybe even Gary Suter (third, 68). That’s extraordinary company that Hutson has found himself in.

Finally, it’s worth keeping an eye on the Hart Trophy race. Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon (32 goals, 115 points), Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (33 goals, 112 points) and Draisaitl (52 goals, 106 points) are all making a strong case, and who actually gets the award could be decided based on how these final days go. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to say that Connor Hellebuyck is the heavy favorite for the Vezina Trophy, but he’s also just two wins away from becoming just the eighth goaltender ever to hit 45 wins.

In other words, there are plenty of interesting events to monitor without even getting into the battle for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, but speaking about it…

Montreal Canadiens

The Canadiens earned their fourth straight victory Thursday and currently hold the second wild-card spot with a 37-30-9 record. Still, there is plenty of competition to dethrone them, as we’ll examine soon, so Montreal needs to do well down the stretch. Looking ahead to the final week-and-a-half, the Canadiens have three home games (April 8 versus Detroit, April 14 versus Chicago, April 16 versus Carolina) and two road contests (April 11 in Ottawa, April 12 in Toronto).

That game against Detroit is the only remaining match against a team battling for the second wild-card spot with the Canadiens. Ottawa has a five-point edge on Montreal in the battle for the first wild-card position, with each club still set to play seven games as of Friday. That’s probably too big a gap for Montreal to overcome, but a victory over the Senators would make the leap far more feasible.

As noted above, Hutson has been a major part of the Canadiens’ resurgence into contention this campaign, and he’s continued to perform well down the stretch, supplying eight helpers over his past five appearances. It wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue to succeed in the final games, especially on the power play, where he’s already collected 25 points.

A recent hero for the Canadiens who is more surprising is Brendan Gallagher. The 32-year-old hasn’t reached the 40-point mark since 2019-20, but that might change this season. He’s just four points shy of the milestone and seems to be racing towards it after collecting five goals and six assists over his past ten outings. He’s one of the oldest members of the young club and has 71 games worth of playoff experience, so his experience is an important asset at this stage of the year.

Though, what might be even more helpful than Gallagher’s experience would be a Patrik Laine hot streak. When Laine starts scoring, it can be near impossible for goaltenders to contain him, but the 26-year-old’s extreme highs tend to be offset by prolonged cold spells. Lately, though, he’s kind of been in between with two goals across his past seven games -- far from his best, but not a disaster either. He’ll be one to monitor, though, to see if he catches fire at this crucial juncture. Keep a particular eye on him during power plays: 15 of Laine’s 19 goals this campaign have been tallied with the man advantage.

If Gallagher and Laine are the X-factors going forward, then Nick Suzuki is the steady hand. He has 27 goals and 83 points through 76 games, and Suzuki will probably continue to contribute over the final stretch. He certainly hasn’t shown any signs of slowing across his past 17 appearances in which he’s supplied eight goals and 31 points, including five goals and nine points in his last four games.

New York Rangers

Where will the Rangers’ roller coaster end? They got off to a 12-4-1 start, followed by a 4-15-0 descent. After numerous ups and downs, not to mention a flurry of trades, New York finds itself two points behind Montreal for the second wild-card spot with a 36-32-7 record. The Rangers will enter the final week-and-a-half with six games remaining, split evenly between three home games (April 7 versus Tampa Bay, April 9 versus Philadelphia, April 17 versus Tampa Bay) and three road matches (April 10 against the Islanders, April 12 in Carolina, April 14 in Florida).

That’s four games against top-tier teams (Tampa Bay x2, Carolina, Florida), one against a team competing with them for a wild-card spot (the Islanders) and one against a team that’s faded out of the playoff picture (Philadelphia). That’s a tough way to finish the campaign, but if you’re fishing for silver linings, Carolina and Florida might be more concerned about resting stars than winning games by the time they play the Rangers, so perhaps the situation isn’t as difficult as it initially seems.

Either way, the ideal for the Rangers would be if they’re able to make life a little easier for Igor Shesterkin. On the surface, it’s looked like he’s been a mixed bag this campaign with a 25-26-5 record, 2.86 GAA and .905 save percentage in 56 appearances. He’s also allowed nine goals over his past two starts against two teams that have underwhelmed offensively this season -- Minnesota and Anaheim. However, the Rangers rank 28th in xGA/60 (3.32), per Moneypuck, which suggests that the defense has made life miserable for Shesterkin. In fact, his goals saved above expected is 21.3, which is the fourth best in the league and suggests he’s been basically as good as Andrei Vasilevskiy (36-20-3, 2.16 GAA, .921 save percentage), with the key difference being the play in front of the respective netminders.

Unfortunately, New York isn’t likely to fix its leaky defense this late into the campaign, so Shesterkin is going to probably continue to give up more goals than commonly associated with an elite netminder, even if he continues to play at a high level. If the Rangers are to squeak into the playoffs, the difference will have to be made up by the team’s offense. The silver lining for the Rangers is that scoring seems to come far more naturally to them than defense.

That’s been especially true since a trade with Vancouver brought J.T. Miller back to New York. Miller has 10 goals and 26 points in 25 outings with the Rangers this season and is doing everything in his power to push the Rangers into the playoffs by contributing three goals and eight points over his past five outings.

New York also has Adam Fox back. The offensive defenseman missed eight straight games due to an upper-body injury, but since returning March 15, he’s provided four goals and eight points in nine outings, giving him nine goals and 56 points across 67 appearances this campaign.

One player they could use more from, though, is Alexis Lafreniere. After breaking out last season with 28 goals and 57 points in 82 appearances, the 23-year-old has suffered a mild regression with 16 goals and 43 points through 75 outings. That’s despite starting 2024-25 with an impressive eight goals and 16 points in 19 games. Lafreniere has been a mixed bag recently, with a goal and five points over his past eight appearances, so he certainly has room for improvement.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets went through a rough 1-7-1 stretch from March 4-21, which severely hindered their playoff chances. They’ve since stabilized by winning three of six from March 24-April 3, but that still leaves them six points behind Montreal in the wild-card race with a 34-31-9 record.. The silver lining is that Columbus has a game in hand against Montreal at the time of writing. The other good news is Columbus will play four of its final six games at home (April 8 versus Ottawa, April 10 versus Buffalo, April 12 versus Washington, April 17 versus the Islanders) over the final week-and-a-half. The Blue Jackets’ other two outings during that stretch will be on the road against Washington on April 13 and Philadelphia on April 15.

The two games against Washington might be of particular difficulty. However, if Ovechkin has established a new all-time goal record by that point -- which seems likely after he scored twice to tie the record Friday -- then the Capitals won’t have anything of consequence left to fight for until the postseason, which might lead to them taking their pedal off the gas a bit.

Columbus also has the benefit of getting healthy at the right time. Sean Monahan has three goals and eight points across six outings since returning from a wrist injury. Meanwhile, Boone Jenner has six goals and nine points in his past seven games as he finds his rhythm after not making his season debut until Feb. 22 due to shoulder surgery.

Add in forwards Kirill Marchenko, who has six goals and eight points over his past six outings, and Dante Fabbro, who has two goals and seven points across his last five appearances, then mix Zach Werenski, who has established a new career high with 74 points in 73 games, and Columbus has an offense that can match up with most teams in the league.

Unfortunately, the goaltending might end up costing them a playoff berth. Elvis Merzlikins has a 25-21-5 record, 3.24 GAA and .890 save percentage in 51 outings this season. He’s also been trending in the wrong direction, allowing 25 goals on 159 shots (.843 save percentage) over his past five appearances. This isn’t a Shesterkin situation either: Columbus actually has an underrated defense, ranking 11th in xGA/60 (2.96). It really is just that Merzlikins hasn’t been holding up his end of the bargain with his minus-8.2 goals saved above expected.

Perhaps he’ll get hot down the stretch. That would give Columbus the final piece of the puzzle.

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit earned a 5-3 victory over Carolina on Friday to improve to 35-33-7 on the season. That puts the Red Wings six points behind Montreal, with one game in hand. Of course, Detroit is competing with more than just the Canadiens, so their margin of error is extremely low going into the final week-and-a-half. To further complicate things, five of Detroit’s final six games are on the road (April 8 in Montreal, April 10 in Florida, April 11 in Tampa Bay, April 16 in New Jersey, April 17 in Toronto) with just one game at home (April 14 versus the Stars).

Detroit has an underwhelming 15-17-4 road record, so the Red Wings are in a tricky position. Perhaps Patrick Kane can guide them to the playoffs regardless. He scored a goal Friday, bringing him up to three goals and seven points across his past seven appearances. Given the 36-year-old’s long history of success in high-stakes situations, it seems appropriate that he’s stepped up when Detroit has needed him the most.

His linemate, Alex DeBrincat, went through a bit of a quiet stretch in which he was limited to one assist across four outings from March 25-April 1, but he broke out of that with a goal and an assist versus Carolina, so perhaps he’s starting a new run. DeBrincat is a crucial part of the offense with 34 goals and 64 points in 75 appearances, so having him at his best in the final stretch is naturally important.

Like Columbus, goaltending might be what holds Detroit back, especially because Petr Mrazek (head) hasn’t played since March 24. To be fair, though, Cam Talbot has looked fine recently, allowing six goals on 91 shots (.934 save percentage) over his past three contests. He still has an underwhelming 2.89 GAA and .903 save percentage through 42 games this year, but a strong stint from Talbot now keeps Detroit’s hope alive.

New York Islanders

The Islanders secured a 3-1 win over Minnesota on Friday, raising to 33-32-10 on the season. That still puts them five points behind Montreal, and the Islanders would also have to climb above the Rangers, Columbus and Detroit, so their chances of actually making the playoffs are slim. Still, they have reason to cling to hope going into the final week-and-a-half. The Islanders are set to play two of their final six games at home (April 10 versus the Rangers, April 15 versus Washington), and four on the road (April 8 in Nashville, April 12 in Philadelphia, April 13 in New Jersey, April 17 in Columbus).

The Islanders’ win over Minnesota ended a six-game skid (0-4-2), so to say the Islanders have been slipping lately would be an understatement. Ilya Sorokin stopped 27 of 28 shots against the Wild, but he had allowed at least three goals in each of his previous five appearances. He’s also had a rough campaign overall with a 28-23-6 record, 2.76 GAA and .905 save percentage in 56 outings. The Islanders have been middling defensively, ranking 19th in xGA/60 (3.10), and Sorokin has done his best to make up the difference with a plus-12.1 goals saved above expected. In other words, he hasn’t been quite as good as Shesterkin, but he also hasn’t been part of the problem like Merzlikins.

Rather than Sorokin, or even the defense, the Islanders’ issue has been scoring. New York ranks 25th in goals per game with 2.72. Anticipating that this wouldn’t be their year, the Islanders further hurt their offense by trading Brock Nelson, who had 20 goals and 43 points in 61 appearances with the Islanders this campaign, to Colorado on March 6.

As a consequence, the Islanders’ forward corps has been underwhelming. Bo Horvat has been their leading scorer among forwards since the Nelson trade, providing just nine points (five goals) across his past 14 appearances. However, there are some silver linings there.

While no forward is carrying the team, there at least has been a decent spread of offense. Six different forwards have provided at least three goals over that 14-game span (Horvat, Anders Lee, Pierre Engvall, Simon Holmstrom, Kyle Palmieri and Marc Gatcomb). The other silver lining is that the defensive duo of Anthony DeAngelo and Noah Dobson have been outperforming the forwards, supplying 11 and 12 points, respectively, over that stretch. Each defenseman has also contributed three goals in that span, bringing the number of Islanders in that category up to eight.

At the end of the day, it might be those defensemen leading the offense rather than any of the forwards, which isn’t optimal, but at this point, the Islanders need to take what they can get.

Vegas Golden Knights

Moving on from the Eastern Conference wild-card race, let’s examine the battle for the top spot in the Pacific Division, which is still up in the air. Vegas does lead the pack with a 46-22-8 record, but the Golden Knights have allowed others to catch up a bit after dropping games to Edmonton and Winnipeg on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The Golden Knights will play five games over the final week-and-a-half split between two home matches (April 10 versus Seattle, April 12 versus Nashville) and three on the road (April 8 in Colorado, April 15 in Calgary, April 16 in Vancouver).

If Vegas is to secure the first seed, it might need to do so without Tomas Hertl. He’s missed the past five games due to a shoulder injury and still wasn’t taking contact as of Thursday. Hertl hasn’t been ruled out for the remainder of the season, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him return at some point before the playoffs, but I imagine the Golden Knights will be erring on the side of caution when it comes to his return since being healthy at this stage is arguably even more valuable than a good seed.

Ilya Samsonov (upper body) is working his way through an injury too. The timing is particularly unfortunate there because Adin Hill has now appeared in five straight games and seven of Vegas’ last eight, so the Golden Knights probably want to give him some time to rest before the playoffs. If Samsonov isn’t able to return soon, then Akira Schmid will probably get some action in his place.

Even with all this talk of being especially careful with injuries and resting their starter, it needs to be emphasized that these games still have value for the Golden Knights. Seeding might not be the most critical thing in the world, especially when your reward for winning the division might be a first-round matchup against the red-hot Blues, but winning the division does hold value. The Golden Knights are 27-9-3 in Vegas versus 18-13-5 on the road, so that’ll be on their mind as they fight to secure the home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds.

Jack Eichel will be an important part of that fight for the division title. He’s been Vegas’ best player this campaign, with 27 goals and 93 points in 74 appearances. Eichel also has a chance to do something he hasn’t done since 2015-16: Finish ahead of the player who was taken ahead of him in the 2015 NHL Draft, Connor McDavid, in the scoring race. McDavid is three points shy of Eichel and dealing with a lower-body injury. It might seem like a hollow victory given McDavid’s injury issues, but keep in mind, injuries have held Eichel back substantially for large stretches of his career. So, Eichel staying relatively healthy this campaign is an accomplishment in itself.

Los Angeles Kings

Vegas going through a touch of a slow patch has made its position vulnerable, but only because the Kings (43-23-9) have been keeping the pressure on them. Los Angeles has won 12 of its past 15 games, making the Kings one of the hottest squads in the league. We’ll see if they can continue that during the final stretch, which includes four home games (April 7 versus Seattle, April 10 versus Anaheim, April 12 versus Colorado, April 17 versus Calgary) and two road matches (April 14 in Edmonton, April 15 in Seattle).

Darcy Kuemper has been such a big part of the Kings’ recent success, posting a 10-2-0 record, 1.08 GAA and .953 save percentage across his past 12 appearances, shutting out their potential first round matchup in Edmonton last night. If the difference in the playoffs is which team’s goaltender gets hot at the right time, then Los Angeles is looking like a team to be feared. It doesn’t hurt that Kuemper was the starting goaltender during the Avalanche’s championship run in 2022, so he has experience to fall back on as the stakes get higher.

Los Angeles’ offense shouldn’t be overlooked either. The Kings have averaged 3.56 goals per game over their past 16 showings, which is good enough to rank fifth in that category dating back to March 8. They’ve accomplished that through a balanced attack rather than any one player sticking out. No player has averaged a point per game over that stretch, though Anze Kopitar has come close with 14 points. At the same time, they do have six different players (Adrian Kempe, Quinton Byfield, Trevor Moore, Kopitar, Kevin Fiala and Warren Foegele) who have collected at least five goals in that span, which is impressive.

Andrei Kuzmenko has also fit in nicely with the Kings, providing four goals and 10 points across his past 15 appearances. That’s still a far cry from his 39-goal, 74-point showing in 2022-23, but that was a pretty lucky season for him, as evidenced by his unreal 27.3 shooting percentage, and it seems unproductive to expect him to ever hit those highs again. He still has value, though, and Los Angeles deserves credit for finding a way to extract it after Kuzmenko failed to click in Calgary.

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton is weird. At the time of writing, the Oilers are missing superstar forwards Connor McDavid (lower body) and Leon Draisaitl (lower body), top defenseman Mattias Ekholm (undisclosed) and starting goaltender Stuart Skinner (head). That’s in addition to a number of other injuries, including those to Trent Frederic (lower body), John Klingberg (lower body) and the continued absence of Evander Kane (knee).

So, Edmonton’s naturally going through a rough stretch. Except, no, the Oilers have won their past three of their last four games and are 7-3-1 dating back to March 14. That’s kept the Oilers in the running for the top spot in the Pacific Division, though they’re still five points back of Vegas, so it will take a strong finish for them to close the gap. The Oilers are set to play six games in the final week-and-a-half, split between three home showings (April 9 versus the Blues, April 11 versus the Sharks, April 14 versus the Kings) and three road games (April 7 in Anaheim, April 13 in Winnipeg, April 16 in San Jose).

Let’s start with the injury situation because that’s what’s bound to concern Oilers fans even more than the team’s place in the standings. Draisaitl missed four games from March 20-27 because of an undisclosed injury, and while he made his return Saturday, the star forward exited the lineup again Thursday and missed Saturday’s game against the Kings. The good news is Draisaitl’s injury is regarded as short term, and he’s expected to be back before the playoffs, coach Kris Knoblauch told the media Friday. It’s also not a case of him reaggravating his previous injury, this is a new issue, which can be taken as good news depending on how you want to look at it.

McDavid missed his sixth straight game Thursday, but he was on the ice for Friday’s practice, so there seems to be some progress being made. Ideally, this is also an opportunity for him to rest up for the playoffs, which might make this a bit of a blessing in disguise, given that he’s played a ton of hockey recently -- after all, Edmonton did make it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final in 2024.

In the case of Ekholm, there hasn’t been much news recently. He’s missed four straight games and 10 of Edmonton’s past 14 contests, and he’s not expected to return before the end of the Oilers’ current road trip, which will conclude Monday in Anaheim. We also haven’t heard much about Stuart Skinner lately, who isn’t expected to return before Monday either.

As noted above, missing all those players hasn’t resulted in Edmonton’s collapse, and part of the reason is that others have stepped up. Jeff Skinner has been a disappointment this campaign with 15 goals and 27 points in 66 outings, but injuries have resulted in him averaging 16:07 of ice time over his past seven games compared to his season average of 12:47, and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity, scoring four goals and six points over that eight-game stretch.

Viktor Arvidsson has similarly underwhelmed this campaign with 13 goals and 25 points across 60 appearances. However, he found the back of the net Thursday to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games. If these absences have been what it’s taken to get Skinner and Arvidsson going right before the playoffs, then perhaps this will actually benefit Edmonton in the long run.

Calvin Pickard has also been solid, posting a 5-1-1 record, 2.32 GAA and .918 save percentage over his previous eight appearances prior to last nights loss to the Kings, despite a solid .929 save percentage. What makes his success particularly interesting is that Stuart Skinner hasn’t done that well this season, posting a 24-18-4 record, 2.91 GAA and .894 save percentage in 49 outings. Skinner is probably still going to be the Oilers’ Game 1 starter in the playoffs so long as he’s healthy, but he might be on a short leash if Pickard continues to impress over the final games of the regular season.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – EDMONTON OILERS – Team Preview

Sat, 14 Sep 2024 16:00:38 +0000

_{EDMONTON, AB - MAY 01: Edmonton Oilers Defenceman Evan Bouchard (2) boxes out a player in the second period of game five of the Western Conference First Round Edmonton Oilers game versus the Los Angeles Kings on May 01, 2024 at Rogers Place in Edmonton, AB. (Photo by Curtis Comeau/Icon Sportswire)}

From a 5-12-1 start to one win away from a Stanley Cup championship, Edmonton’s 2023-24 campaign was certainly remarkable. Powered by the elite duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, a surprising 54-goal campaign from Zach Hyman, a breakout showing from defenceman Evan Bouchard, and some capable goaltending out of Stuart Skinner despite his slow start, the Oilers endured, bouncing back after each misstep. Even in the end, Edmonton showed its resilience by fighting back from a 3-0 series deficit in the Stanley Cup Finals, though the Oilers narrowly lost in Game 7 to the Panthers.

WHAT’S CHANGED? Edmonton bought out the final three seasons of Jack Campbell’s five-year, $25 million contract. Although it gives the Oilers dead cap space through 2029-30, it saved the team a much needed $3.9 million for the upcoming campaign. Edmonton also traded bottom-six forward Ryan McLeod to Buffalo, saving a further $2.1 million. With those savings the Oilers signed unrestricted free agents Viktor Arvidsson and Jeff Skinner while retaining trade deadline acquisition Adam Henrique to bolster their middle six. Calvin Pickard was inked to a two-year deal to be Skinner’s understudy.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Edmonton is in Cup-or-bust mode. Even assuming Draisaitl (UFA in 2025), McDavid (UFA in 2026) and Bouchard (RFA in 2025) can all be locked up, each of those three will be due for raises that will strain Edmonton’s already tricky cap situation, so 2024-25 might be the best chance the Oilers get at a championship. Fortunately, they’re ready for it. Skinner and Arvidsson will bolster Edmonton’s wings while Henrique should be an ideal third-line center in his first full season with the club. This is as deep an offence as Edmonton has enjoyed in the McDavid/Draisaitl era.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? But what of the goaltending? Credit where it’s due, Skinner proved that he was capable of thriving under pressure during the 2024 playoffs and his ability to rebound from a disastrous start to 2023-24 is commendable. Still, his extreme highs and lows last season make him somewhat risky. There are also some potential health concerns, most notably with Evander Kane, who is questionable going into 2024-25 due to a hip injury. Certainly, there’s a lot to like about this roster, but the bar is set high and so much has to go right for Edmonton’s championship dreams to become a reality.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Edmonton is going all-in on the 2024-25 campaign and consequently feature an almost exclusively veteran roster. Philip Broberg would have been a notable exception to that, but he was taken by St. Louis via an offer sheet. However, the Blues’ move coincided with Edmonton trading with San Jose for 24-year-old defenseman Ty Emberson, who might get solid minutes with the Oilers now that Broberg as well as Cody Ceci are gone. Although Emberson isn’t a high-end prospect, he did alright with the rebuilding Sharks across 30 games last year, and it helps that he’s a right-hand shot. Under ideal circumstances, he could get 20-30 points this season. Keep in mind, though, that Edmonton will likely be in the market for defensemen in the lead-up to the trade deadline, which might result in Emberson dropping in the depth charts.

Forwards

Connor McDavid

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	42	95	137	1.73

Last year was the closest McDavid has gotten to lifting Lord Stanley, and it hopefully won’t be his last chance. It’s easy to forget that he is only 27 years old, even though this will be his 10th year in the NHL, so there is plenty of time for him to reach the mountain top. It feels silly to say that about a player who has accomplished so much already, multiple MVP trophies and a rare Conn Smythe in a losing effort. He has produced during some down seasons for the Oilers and the difference now is he can drag the rest of the team into the fight. It didn’t feel that way last November with the team in last place, but a coaching change, and McDavid going on a torrid pace of 65 points in his last 33 games to close the year, skyrocketed the Oilers out of the basement and into the post-season. Just missing back-to-back Hart Trophies, this was one of McDavid’s stranger seasons from a statistical standpoint. His goal total was the lowest it’s been in a full-82 game season and it was also one of his worst from a shooting percentage standpoint (12.2 vs a career 15.2 percent). His shot rate dropped from 4.3 in 2022-23 to 3.5 last year. He made up for it by recording a career high 100 assists, setting up linemate Zach Hyman for most of his points, including 54 goals, while seeing his left wing be a bit of a revolving door throughout the year. He also played through most of the first half of the season with an upper-body injury, so he managed to do this while not playing at 100%. Greatness always finds a way and the Oilers are finally starting to see some tangible results in addition to their star player setting individual records.

Leon Draisaitl

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	50	64	114	1.43

Leon Draisaitl has to answer a lot of questions for a player with five 100+ point seasons in his last six. It always seems like he has so much to prove even though he’s also considered among the league’s elite. Although the shine has started to wear off, as he might be the first player in history to not receive any Hart votes with his gaudy stat line. He’s also a complicated player when breaking down the details. His skillset is incredibly unique, he’s a choppy skater with a massive upper body and is usually in some awkward, hunched over position with his back turned to the play. Yet, he makes magic happen on a regular basis. He is maybe the best player in the league at threading the puck through traffic and making blind passes from the wall. He also might be the only player in the league who scores a good chunk of his goals from the coffin corner of the rink from zero angle. He has mastered so many complicated skills that the basics can get away with him at times, and it’s why he usually finds himself back on McDavid’s wing instead of centering his own line. Draisaitl also regularly scores at least 40% of his goals on the power play and his five-on-five production is a sore topic whenever it’s brought up. Edmonton is happy to have him regardless but has a tough decision with this being the final year of his contract and due for a major raise.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	20	52	72	0.88

The former first overall pick has been through it all with the Oilers and last year he might have had the lowest expectations for someone coming off a 104-point season. If only because everyone knew it was heavily buoyed by a historically efficient Oilers power play and the 55-65-point territory is where his average usually lies. Points are usually a secondary feature with him anyway, especially with him under such a team-friendly contract for the next few years. RNH’s time has been split between being McDavid’s left winger and centering the Oilers third line in more of a checking role. He logs a lot of minutes for a forward and plays more of an off-puck role. You aren’t going to get a lot of puck touches with McDavid on your line and Hyman as the primary shooter, so his willingness to check and strength in the defensive zone makes him a great complement to the Oilers star. The power play is where he really shines, acting as the quarterback from the left circle and shifting to the netfront where he’s sneaky at getting deflections. The potential to have a major point-producing season is always there for that reason, but his five-on-five production will always be somewhat limited. Draft for no more than 15 goals and 60 – 65 points and any upside will be a bonus.

Jeff Skinner

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	22	25	47	0.59

Always looking for pure shooters, Edmonton added one of the best on the open market in Jeff Skinner. He’s on the wrong side of 30, but he’s somewhat rejuvenated his career in Buffalo, scoring 92 goals over the past three seasons after only tallying 21 over 112 games in the first two years of his deal. He fits like a glove whether he is playing with McDavid or Draisaitl because all he has to do is get himself open and they will probably find him. Skinner’s never been the type who needs an elite setup man to produce, but it’s never hurt him and it’s something he’s rarely had in his career, always playing on lower, sheltered lines to cover his defensive weaknesses. The one perplexing thing about him is that he’s never had great results on the power play, only scoring more than 10 goals with the man advantage in one season, which was all the way back in 2013 with the Hurricanes. This has the potential to be a great investment for the Oilers with how much of an issue wing depth has been for them in the McDavid era. Skinner gives them the most potential from a boom-or-bust standpoint. Much will depend on his deployment on the top two lines. He might yet be sheltered on the third line with Adam Henrique to add depth scoring. He will not be featured on the first power play unless there is an injury, so proceed with some caution. Last years result of 20 – 25 goals and a similar number of assists is as likely a scenario as an offensive burst.

Viktor Arvidsson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	21	34	55	0.76

While Skinner is the guy who gives you all offence, all the time, Arvidsson is someone who can score and calm the waters at even strength. At least when he is healthy, which was the problem last year. Missing over 50 games with a back injury, there’s some risk in adding the undersized winger because that is the type of injury that lingers and shortens careers. When healthy, he solves a lot of problems for the Oilers. He can work higher in the lineup as a quick, water bug type of player who will pitch in some goals here and there or he can be excellent on a shutdown line. He’s not the most effective defensive player, but he’s very annoying to play against and could be a great complement to Nugent-Hopkins if they want to use that line in a shutdown role. Arvidsson also emerged as a power play threat in LA, but he has a lot of names to outplay to crack the Oilers top unit. Still, he can fill a couple different holes for the Oilers if his back is healthy and there’s no long-term effects. Also like Skinner, his deployment on the top two lines will be key to any offensive breakthrough. If you target him for 25 goals and 55 – 60 points that should be a safe bet, health allowing.

Zach Hyman

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	46	30	76	0.94

Hyman is easily one of the best unrestricted free agent signings of the modern era. Since joining the Oilers, he has scored at a 40-goal pace over three seasons, which is unprecedented territory for a winger in his early 30’s, especially one that plays the tough, net front game that he does. He is the master at “catching” pucks right by the side of the crease, making his whole body a target at the post so he can easily corral the puck and tap it in before the defenders can react. The ice time bump has served him well in Edmonton, spending most of his minutes attached at the hip to McDavid but that alone doesn’t explain his jump to becoming a 50+ goal-scorer last year. It’s actually a case of someone making their game one-dimensional and predictable in a good way. Hyman’s a good passer, but he embraced being the shooter for McDavid, seeing his shot rate go up to over 10 attempts per 60 minutes since moving to his line. He saw his shooting percentage jump to 18.6 percent from a career average of 13.7. He doesn’t look to pass that much anymore, and he knows where his bread is buttered, especially on the power play where he scored 15 goals in each of the last two seasons. His presence on the forecheck and complementary skillset to McDavid make him an invaluable part of the Oilers lineup.

Evander Kane

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	14	10	24	0.46

The Oilers gamble with Evander Kane and his subsequent contract has yielded mixed results. In some ways they’ve gotten what they’ve asked for. He’s given them at least a 20-goal pace in each of the three seasons he’s been there and that’s without power play time. His “get anything and everything at the net” approach is welcomed at times and frustrating at others, as he will take a lot of low percentage opportunities for every decent chance he creates and is not really pay attention to where his linemates are. It’s made him an inconsistent player when it comes to keeping play in the offensive zone and his play in the neutral and defensive zone can be an adventure at times. He also hasn’t been available or healthy the past two seasons, missing a lot of 2022-23 with a broken hand and playing most of last season with a sports hernia. He struggled to find a home on any line despite producing at a decent rate and was even scratched in the Stanley Cup Final because the injury limited him so much. With the Oilers investing in some new wingers, Kane might have to fight for his ice time more next season, particularly for power play time. His physical play and the fact that he ends up with 20 goals regardless of what’s going on around him might be what gives him an edge if push comes to shove, but not a given by any means. Proceed with caution.

Adam Henrique

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	17	27	44	0.55

A true Swiss Army Knife, Henrique’s versatility and decent scoring upside was much needed in the Oilers lineup down the stretch. He’s a guy who can calm the waters at even strength and he is low-key one of the better finishers in the league. Edmonton saw that firsthand last year when he shot over 20% during their run to the Finals. The downside is that Henrique himself doesn’t produce much offence himself, so his game is about making the most of the limited chances he gets. He’s always been more about letting the speedy puck-carriers do their thing while he looks for the open space. With Arvidsson and Skinner in the fold now, there’s a potential for Edmonton to run a nice third line around him. Henrique’s posted solid defensive numbers on some bottom-feeding Anaheim teams, so he should be able to slot into a lower line role with the Oilers without much issue. He is 34 years old, so we will see how long he can sustain this pace. A return to similar point totals to what he achieved in Anaheim is unlikely given his role here.

Corey Perry

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	11	12	23	0.33

Four out of the last five Stanley Cup Finals have featured a team with Corey Perry, unfortunately for him they were all on the losing side. It feels weird to say that a former Cup and Hart Trophy winner could ever be on a run of bad luck, but it is reaching unprecedented territory for the long-time Anaheim Duck. He has defied Father Time to a point, posting decent numbers in Tampa Bay in his late 30’s and having his moments in the playoffs with both Montreal and Dallas. You can tell the speed of the game has gone by him in some aspects, as he’s easily the most noticeable player on the ice for the wrong reasons when the pace picks up. His strengths, however, are timeless. He was one of the NHL’s premier pests in his prime years and still has no problem being a nuisance in front of the goaltender. He also has decent hands around the net, which adds a wrinkle to his game. Playing in more of specialist role now, Perry can’t keep up with top line minutes anymore and is only used on the top power play unit as a spark. It’s uncertain if he still has the legs to keep up with a full-time checking role at the age of 39. Although the Oilers certainly have faith in him, giving him a second chance after the Blackhawks terminated his contract due to unprofessional conduct and adding another year onto his contract.

DEFENCE

Darnell Nurse

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	8	24	32	0.40

Having a career season during the summer when every team was locking up their top defencemen for big money has been more of a burden for Darnell Nurse than anything. For years, he was expected to carry the workload of an elite, number one defenceman and while he has the cardio to do it, his erratic defensive play and decision making turned most Oilers games into a track meet. Last year was the first time some of that was lifted. With Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm emerging as the top pair, Nurse could move down to the second pair in a shutdown role where he is more properly slotted. Still, the expectations of that contract are tough to swallow, and Nurse had his struggles during the playoffs where he was on the ice for a goal-against every single game. The reality is he is somewhere in the middle ground between the high-end offensive defenceman we saw in 2021, and the defensive liability fans make him out to be because of his tendency to get caught on the wrong side of the highlight reel. He is no longer expected to produce offence as was once hoped but should still be good for 10 goals and 30 points with loads of peripheral fantasy stats.

Evan Bouchard

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	17	62	79	0.96

Bouchard was the most obvious breakout pick last year, solely for the fact that he has an atom bomb of a shot and was getting placed on the Oilers historically great power play. Blocked by Tyson Barrie his first two years, Bouchard was unleashed last year and also earned his way onto the Oilers lethal five-man unit at even strength. His shot, passing and brilliant offensive instincts made him a natural fit there and it made the Oilers offence impossible to stop once they got rolling. A shooter who can score from distance is hard to come by in today’s NHL. Bouchard brings the lethal combo of velocity, accuracy and deception at time when he’s shooting for the deflection or winding up the big slapshot. His puck-moving is also a plus skill, although sometimes he tries to make too much happen and turnovers remain an issue with him. It’s something you can live with because the positives he brings outweigh them and are impossible to replace. His defensive game is also a work in progress, particularly with finding the right route on outlets and who to cover, but that’s why Ekholm is paired with him. Look for him to have another big season.

Mattias Ekholm

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	10	30	40	0.50

The bedrock of the Edmonton defence, Ekholm fits the model of the modern shutdown defenceman. He skates well, takes away space without chasing hits, has one of the best defensive sticks in the league and can skate his way out of problems, which makes life easier for everyone else. The changing of the guard from Nurse and Ceci to him and Bouchard changed the entire makeup of the Oilers, allowing their top five-man unit to be more creative in the offensive zone with two blue liners who can move and cover their own tracks if things go off-script. Ekholm’s always had the skills to be a solid offensive contributor, even if that’s not his strength, and we saw that last year as he set a career high in points with 45. Part of that comes with the territory when you’re on the ice with elite talent. But taking advantage of the open space and reading the play is part of what makes you someone who helps keep the engine going instead of just being a passenger. Ekholm definitely fits into the former category, both as a shutdown defenceman and a contributor on offence. The only concern is how long he can keep it up as he enters his mid-30’s.

Brett Kulak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	4	19	23	0.28

The number four spot on the Oilers defence was a bit of an open competition. The long holdover, Cody Ceci, had a tough end to his playoffs and was dealt prior to the season. The Oilers chose not to match the offer sheet for Philip Broberg, who would have been pressing for promotion, but is now out of the picture. They lost Vincent Desharnais to free agency. A stable option to fill that spot is veteran Brett Kulak, who gives them most steady presence among the potential candidates. He skates well and his specialty of killing plays at the blue line would be a great complement to Nurse. Not a burner, but reliable enough with the puck to contribute, he has a lot of skills that translate well when you move up in the lineup, as he’s never been one to rely on his partner or have his skills inflated by playing against weaker competition. The only question is if he can handle the increase in minutes workload, as he’s been in the league a long time and has been locked into a third pair role with heavy penalty killing duty for most of it.

GOAL

Stuart Skinner

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
62	39	17	6	3	0.909	2.58

It's now or never for the Edmonton Oilers, and Stuart Skinner has to be feeling the pressure. You'd never know it from looking at his performances in his first two full NHL seasons, though; where some goaltenders might flounder in the face of mounting pressure, Skinner seems to take on each additional added responsibility the Oilers put at his feet with increasing enthusiasm. He improved his stat lines last season in almost every measurable area despite a higher workload, and it paid off when he took Edmonton so deep into the postseason, they could almost feel the Stanley Cup in their grasp.

Of course, that means that Skinner - and tandem partner Calvin Pickard, who will return for another year of Alberta hockey - have yet more pressure they'll face this year. Just one game shy of winning it all, Edmonton fans are ravenous to taste victory for the first time in 35 years. And although the Oilers have been recipients of stellar singular seasons from goaltenders in recent years, they have yet to find a starter with any kind of staying power; from Ben Scrivens to Jack Campbell and a couple dozen in-between, every goaltender the Oilers seem to put their faith in has faltered a few years into their tenure. Skinner will have to prove he isn't destined for Edmonton's growing goalie graveyard - and now that he's put up a 100-plus game sample size for teams to pore over, that will become more difficult. He'll need to clean up his game in the low slot and his ability to box out opponents looking for dirty scoring areas to keep his numbers up where they currently sit - and Edmonton will need to get another good year of backup performances from Pickard to avoid overworking him in the process.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Lafreniere, Doan, Garland, Joshua, Zellweger, Cirelli, Mantha plus much, much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 05 Apr 2024 16:10:31 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - FEBRUARY 22: New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafreniere (13) skates with the puck during a game between the against the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils on February 22, 2024 at Prudential Center in the Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dive into the numbers to help make decisions when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

This week, with the NHL season winding down and fantasy titles on the line, a look at Alexis Lafreniere, Josh Doan, Conor Garland, Olen Zellweger, Anthony Cirelli and much, much more!

#1 There are challenges that come with being the first overall pick in the Draft and one of those is that if a player is not immediately successful, like Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid, there is a rush to describe the player as a bust and worry about what that player could possibly become. Throughout his first three seasons, Rangers winger Alexis Lafreniere was a middle six winger who could score a bit, but not nearly enough to warrant being the first pick overall in 2020. In his fourth season, the 22-year-old has emerged as the kind of player who may not be Matthews or McDavid, but at least has the production to warrant a first-line role. He has 15 points (8 G, 7 A) and 31 shots on goal in his past 11 games and Lafreniere has scored 24 of his 26 goals at even strength. His 24 even-strength goals is tied with Dallas Stars centre Wyatt Johnston for 17th and puts Lafreniere ahead of the likes of Kirill Kaprizov, Sebastian Aho, J.T. Miller, Elias Petttersson, Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, and McDavid.

#2 It is something out of a fairytale – maybe an obscure fairytale, but a fairytale nonetheless – for the son of a franchise legend to grow up in Arizona, play college hockey at Arizona State and then land in the NHL with the Coyotes. Josh Doan has also contributed five points (2 G, 3 A) and 12 shots on goal in his first four games, which might make him worth a flier if you need instant offence at this late stage of the season. His shot rate is intriguing and while Doan does not have the same physical presence as his father Shane, the younger Doan did have 46 points (26 G, 20 A) in 62 AHL games to earn his late season promotion to The Show.

#3 Vancouver Canucks winger Conor Garland has been a quality contributor in a supporting role, especially late in the season. In his past dozen games, Garland has chipped in 11 points (4 G, 7 A) with 34 shots on goal. He has hit 40 points for a third consecutive season in Vancouver, though his ice time has dropped to 14:19 per game, his lowest average time on ice since 2019-2020. In addition to his place on Vancouver’s top power play unit, Garland is skating on the Canucks’ second line, with J.T. Miller and Dakota Joshua. While Miller has obvious fantasy appeal, after years of high-level production, Joshua is showing that he can be more than a depth forward. He has missed time due to injury, but Joshua does have five points (3 G, 2 A) while playing more than 16 minutes per game in his past five games.

#4 The Anaheim Ducks have a strong crop of young defencemen in the organization and they are giving 20-year-old Olen Zellweger a good look down the stretch. He has contributed five points (1 G, 4 A) in his past six games, scoring his first NHL goal in the process. This is the start of what should be a productive career. Zellweger had 37 points (12 G, 25 A) in 44 AHL games, a monster of a first pro season, to earn his shot with the Ducks.

#5 Although he is known more for his defensive acumen, Tampa Bay Lightning centre Anthony Cirelli can contribute offensively, too. It certainly helps that he has Steven Stamkos and Brandon Hagel on his wings. Cirelli has seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 12 shots on goal in his past six games, giving him 43 points on the season, one off his career high, set in 2019-2020.

#6 After he was acquired from the Washington Capitals, towering winger Anthony Mantha managed a single point, a goal, with eight shots on goal in his first seven games for the Vegas Golden Knights. He has found his footing since that slow start, however, putting up seven points (1 G, 6 A) with 11 shots on goal in the past six games. Mantha fulfills a supporting role in Vegas, skating on a line with William Karlsson and Pavel Dorofeyev.

#7 When the Calgary Flames acquired winger Andrei Kuzmenko from the Vancouver Canucks earlier in the season, the hope was that the Flames could get Kuzmenko back to the form that saw him score 39 goals as a rookie last season. It has not been the smoothest process. He had eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his first 12 games for the Flames, followed by a six-game drought with zero points. He has seen his ice time tick up recently, skating on a line with Nazem Kadri and rookie Martin Pospisil, and has six points (2 G, 4 A) in his past three games.

#8 A valuable piayer in Vegas’ Stanley Cup run last season, Ivan Barbashev has had some ups and downs during this regular season. He does seem to be heating up, though, with six points (4 G, 2 A) in his past six games. He is one of 21 forwards to record at least 160 hits in each of the past two seasons and, of those 21, is one of just four to have produced more than 40 points in each of the past two seasons. Along with Barashev, that group includes Brady Tkachuk, J.T. Miller, and Vincent Trocheck.

#9 It has been a tale of two seasons for New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier, who had just 18 points (9 G, 9 A) with 98 shots on goal in 34 games going into the All-Star break. Since then, Meier has racked up 30 points (16 G, 14 A) with 90 shots on goal in 29 games. Despite his slow start it is the third straight season in which Meier has tallied at least 25 goals.

#10 Injuries have limited Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Frederik Andersen to just 14 starts this season, but he has 11 wins and a .927 save percentage in those games. Among goaltenders to appear in at least 10 games, the only one with a higher save percentage is Colorado’s Justus Annunen (.930).

#11 The assists may be few and far between, but in his past 16 games, Anaheim Ducks left winger Alex Killorn has buried nine goals (with one assist). This has not been a banner season for Killorn, who has 33 points (17 G, 16 A) in 57 games in his first campaign with the Ducks. He is skating with rookie Leo Carlsson and veteran winger Troy Terry, giving him a good chance to finish the season on the right note.

#12 Arizona Coyotes rookie Logan Cooley has had a strong rookie season, albeit in relative obscurity. With nine points (6 G, 3 A) and 17 shots on goal in his past nine games, including his first hat trick, Cooley now ranks second among rookie forwards with 39 points (17 G, 22 A), leaving him behind only Connor Bedard. Cooley is skating on a line with Lawson Crouse and Dylan Guenther.

#13 While Cooley is the second highest scoring rookie forward, the second highest scoring rookie overall is New Jersey Devils defenceman Luke Hughes. He has 10 points (1 G, 9 A) and 26 shots on goal in his past eight games to give him 43 points (9 G, 34 A) in 76 games. In the past decade, the list of rookie defencemen to have more than 43 points is: Moritz Seider, Quinn Hughes, Cale Makar, Rasmus Dahlin, Will Butcher, Zach Werenski, and Shayne Gostisbehere. Aside from Butcher, that is rather strong company that Hughes is keeping.

#14 There may be a correlation between Fabian Zetterlund playing more than 18 minutes per game and the San Jose Sharks getting buried on a nightly basis, but the 24-year-old winger is establishing his credentials as an NHL player. Over the past month, he has 13 points (6 G, 7 A) with 42 shots on goal in 15 games. He is skating on San Jose’s top line with Klim Kostin and Mikael Granlund. Zetterlund isn’t the only Sharks player getting plenty of reps for his development this season. William Eklund, the seventh pick in the 2021 Draft, has similarly averaged more than 18 minutes per game and is finishing with a flourish, contributing seven points (2 G, 5 A) in his past seven games.

#15 If fantasy managers need a late scoring boost, perhaps Winnipeg Jets right winger Gabriel Vilardi is a player to target. He didn’t produce any points in his first two games back in the lineup following a month-long absence due to an upper-body injury then an enlarged spleen, but then he erupted for a hat trick, with nine shots on goal, in Thursday’s win over Calgary. The 24-year-old has produced 33 points (19 G, 14 A) in 41 games in his first season for the Jets and while the injuries seem to be part of the package, there is no denying his ability to contribute when he is in the lineup.

#16 Buffalo Sabres left winger Jeff Skinner reached the 1,000-game milestone for his career, a tremendous accomplishment. He is also fading late in the season. Since scoring a hat trick in Seattle on March 18, Skinner has zero points and 15 shots on goal in seven games. He is playing 13 minutes per game and is currently skating on a line with Peyton Krebs and Lukas Rousek, which is not exactly the same as riding shotgun with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. This is the tenth season in which Skinner has scored at least 20 goals, and he has 357 goals in his career, but he may be one to avoid in the final few weeks of this campaign.

#17 While there has been plenty of focus in Philadelphia on the declining production, and healthy scratches, of captain Sean Couturier, who has just one assist and 18 shots on goal in his past 15 games, he is not the only Flyers forward whose offensive well has run dry. Joel Farabee has a career-high 21 goals and 49 points this season but has zero points in his past six games and has been dropped to the fourth line.

#18 Since the March 8 trade deadline, the leading scorer in terms of points per 60 minutes of five-on-five play is Mark Jankowski of the Nashville Predators, who has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) with 21 shots on goal in his past 11 games. Jankowski spent most of the season in the American Hockey League, where the 29-year-old put up 47 points (15 G, 32 A) in 40 games for Milwaukee, earning another look in the NHL. Jankowski’s 14 points in 26 games for the Predators is his most in an NHL season since 2018-2019. The rest of the five-on-five points per 60 leaders since the trade deadline (minimum 50 minutes): Josh Doan (4.52), Pavel Zacha (4.47), Auston Matthews (4.41), David Pastrnak (4.33), Connor McDavid (4.18), Artemi Panarin (4.07), John Tavares (3.91), Mattias Ekholm (3.91), and Nikita Kucherov (3.88). That is a fascinating mix of Hart Trophy candidates along with a rookie, Doan, and complementary players like Zacha, Ekholm, and Tavares.

#19 The most productive lines during five-on-five play this season (minimum 100 minutes), per Evolving Hockey: Owen Tippett-Morgan Frost-Travis Konecny (7.36 GF/60), Alex DeBrincat-Dylan Larkin-Patrick Kane (6.14), Danton Heinen-Pavel Zacha-David Pastrnak (6.06), J.T. Miller-Elias Pettersson-Brock Boeser (5.72), Zach Hyman-Connor McDavid-Leon Draisaitl (5.50), Warren Foegele-Leon Draisaitil-Ryan McLeod (5.27), Nikolaj Ehlers-Mark Scheifele-Gabriel Vilardi (5.04), Jason Robertson-Roope Hintz-Wyatt Johnston (4.95), J.J. Peterka-Dylan Cozens-Jack Quinn (4.91), and Jonathan Marchessault-Nicolas Roy-Ivan Barbashev (4.89). While there are some names that one might expect in that group, there are plenty of others there that are not exactly prime fantasy hockey draft picks, so offense can come from many places, especially in short spurts if a line is only together for a few weeks.

#20 Also per Evolving Hockey, here are the leaders in individual expected goals during five-on-four play (minimum 50 minutes), essentially, who is being put in position to score on the power play? Joel Eriksson Ek (4.35), Zach Hyman (4.10), John Tavares (3.97), Kyle Palmieri (3.76), Chris Kreider (3.69), Barrett Hayton (3.67), Gabriel Vilardi (3.46), Matthew Tkachuk (3.42), Sam Reinhart (3.38), and Shine Pinto (3.30). Columbus’ Alexander Nylander has only played 36 minutes at five-on-four, but has 4.50 ixG in that time, so he is getting great opportunities to score and while he has 10 goals in 18 games for Columbus, only two of those goals have been on the power play.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – A look at the playoff race – Teams with favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 23 Mar 2024 14:07:22 +0000

Last week I touched on Detroit’s losing streak, but the Red Wings’ situation has since stabilized. The Red Wings have won three of their past four games and earned a 6-3 victory in a key contest against the Islanders on Thursday. The Red Wings (36-28-6) now have a three-point edge over Washington (33-26-9) in the battle for the second wild-card spot, though Washington has two games in hand, so Detroit still has no margin for error.

At this stage, it looks like the fight for the final playoff seed in the East will come down to Detroit and Washington, but the Islanders (29-25-15), New Jersey (34-32-5), Buffalo (33-33-5) and even Pittsburgh (30-29-9) all have an outside chance of squeaking into the playoffs. Would it be shocking if, say, the Penguins earned a postseason berth? Absolutely, but it’s at least a mathematic possibility at the time of writing.

The final wild-card slot in the Western Conference is slightly more secure. Vegas (37-25-7) has a four-point edge over St. Louis (37-30-3) and a five-point lead over Minnesota (34-28-8) despite playing in one game less than either team. The Golden Knights likely still need to be solid down the stretch to secure their playoff berth, but at least they have a bit of breathing room.

The Blues and Wild are Vegas’ only real competition, but there is still an outside chance of a Cinderella story involving Calgary (33-30-5) or Seattle (28-28-12).

The Golden Knights still also have a path to earn the third seed in the Pacific Division over Los Angeles (36-22-11), though I’d almost say it doesn’t matter. Getting the third seed would put the Golden Knights on track to face Edmonton in the first round instead of Winnipeg, Colorado, Dallas or Vancouver. All five of those potential adversaries are great, so Vegas will have a tough first round either as a wild-card team or as the third seed in the Pacific Division.

Either way, the battle for the last playoff spots should be fun.

BOSTON, MA - JANUARY 24: Anaheim Ducks goalie Lukas Dostal (1) in warm up before a game between the Boston Bruins and the Anaheim Ducks on January 24, 2022, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

Anaheim Ducks - TUE @ SEA, THU @ SEA, SAT @ EDM, SUN @ VAN (BTB)

Anaheim is set to play on the road all of next week. They have back-to-back contests against Seattle on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by games in Edmonton on Saturday and Vancouver on Sunday. It’s certainly not an easy schedule, especially on the back half, but the Ducks are one of the few teams scheduled to play four games, so they’re still worthy of mention.

Trevor Zegras hasn’t been in the lineup since Jan. 9 because of an ankle injury, but he has been able to resume practicing without restriction, which suggests that he’s close to returning. After exceeding the 60-point milestone in each of his previous two campaigns, he has just four goals and seven points in 20 outings this year. There’s a good chance he’ll at least be able to finish the year on a positive note, but regardless of what happens, it’s important you remember him for next season’s fantasy drafts. The 23-year-old forward should enjoy a comeback campaign, provided he gets better luck on the injury front.

The 2024-25 campaign should also be one of progress for Leo Carlsson, who has recorded nine goals and 24 points in 43 games as a rookie this season. In the meantime, though, he suffered a lower-body injury Thursday, so his status for next week’s contests is undetermined. If he can’t play then Isac Lundestrom might serve in a top-six capacity, but honestly rather than that be an opportunity for Lundestrom, it would just highlight the sorry state of the Ducks. The 24-year-old has just six points (four goals) in 34 contests this year and likely won’t do much offensively even if he moves up to the second line.

At least they have goaltender Lukas Dostal, who has done alright lately, posting a 2.69 GAA and a .916 save percentage over his past eight games. That’s worlds better than John Gibson’s 5.80 GAA (yes, really) and .833 save percentage in his past four outings. Given the disparity in their play, Dostal should get the majority of the remaining starts.

Buffalo Sabres – WED VS OTT, FRI VS NJD, SAT VS TOR (BTB)

The Sabres are likely to miss the playoffs for the 13th consecutive campaign, extending their record for the longest postseason drought in NHL history. However, they still have an outside shot of squeaking into the playoffs. In order to keep that hope alive, they’ll likely need to win all three of their contests against Ottawa on Wednesday, New Jersey on Friday and Toronto on Saturday. It’s a tall order, but at least the Sabres will have the home-ice advantage in all those games.

With Buffalo’s postseason hopes all but dashed, Jeff Skinner will likely have to wait even longer to make his first playoff appearance. The 31-year-old is approaching 1,000 career regular-season contests. This hasn’t been his best campaign, but Skinner has been alright with 24 goals and 45 points in 63 outings. He also earned his seventh career hat trick Monday when he led Buffalo in its 6-2 victory over Seattle.

Tage Thompson is surely hoping he won’t have to wait nearly as long as Skinner to get into the playoffs. However, if Thompson had played like he did in 2022-23 (47 goals, 94 points), perhaps the Sabres’ fortunes would have been different this campaign. Instead, he’s been alright, but not great with 21 goals and 43 points through 60 outings. The 27-year-old might end the season on a positive note, though. He’s on a four-game scoring streak in which Thompson has provided a goal and six points.

Meanwhile, Bowen Byram is just 22, but his name is already on the Cup thanks to his time with the Avalanche. Now a member of the Sabres, Byram is playing a prominent role and has taken advantage of that opportunity. He’s recorded three goals, six points, 17 blocks and 17 hits in eight contests while averaging 23:53 of ice time. Byram has even averaged a healthy 2:39 with the man advantage as a member of the Sabres, though the presence of Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power means the fight for power-play ice time will always be fierce among Buffalo defensemen.

Columbus Blue Jackets – TUE @ ARI, THU @ PIT, SAT VS PIT

This will mark the Blue Jackets’ fourth straight season without a playoff berth. Nothing they do now will alter the fact that it’s been a rough campaign, but they can at least end things on a positive note. It helps that they’ll be facing other non-playoff teams next week – they’ll play in Arizona on Tuesday, in Pittsburgh on Thursday and then host the Penguins on Saturday.

Johnny Gaudreau isn’t the reason Columbus will be missing the playoffs, though it is true he hasn’t lived up to expectations. His 55 points (11 goals) through 69 outings, would mark the lowest point-per-game pace of his career if the season ended now. However, Gaudreau has contributed a goal and six points in his past four contests, so the stage is set for him to finish the campaign on a positive note.

The same might be true of Alexander Nylander, who has eight goals and 11 points in 13 contests since being acquired by Columbus from Pittsburgh. The 26-year-old forward was held off the scoresheet in his previous two games, and it’s reasonable for fantasy managers to wonder if this is the right time to jump ship, especially because he doesn’t have a track record of success beyond his recent stretch. Personally, I recommend waiting a little longer though to see if his production picks up again. Keep in mind, Nylander is being utilized on the Blue Jackets’ top line and first power-play unit, which are roles that he hasn’t enjoyed for any noteworthy stretch until now, so there might be more to his production than a mere hot streak. I’m not saying that his new role has transformed him into a superstar, but he might still do well enough to be fantasy relevant the rest of the way.

Daniil Tarasov might have value going forward too. The 24-year-old has been subpar in 2023-24 with a 7-9-3 record, 3.20 GAA and .903 save percentage across 20 appearances, but he’s been far better dating back to Feb. 21, posting a 2.30 GAA and .934 save percentage over nine games. His strong play has led to the Blue Jackets increasingly using him over Elvis Merzlikins.

Ottawa Senators – WED @ BUF, THU VS CHI, SAT @ WPG

Ottawa will begin next week with a breather before playing in Buffalo on Wednesday. The Senators will then host Chicago on Thursday and play in Winnipeg on Saturday. Like Ottawa, the Sabres and Blackhawks are having campaigns and aren’t expected to make the playoffs (Chicago has been mathematically eliminated while Buffalo has just a fringe chance of a wild-card spot), so those are two winnable games.

Ottawa is in a four-way tie for 28th defensively with 3.59 goals per game despite having an xGA/60 of 2.94, which ties the Senators for 11th overall. Those two stats in combination suggest is Ottawa’s defense is underrated and has been made to look bad this year due to poor goaltending. A case could be made that Joonas Korpisalo has been this year’s worst starter, ranking last in Goals Saved Above Expected at minus-19.4. In terms of his base stats line, he has a 15-21-4 record, 3.37 GAA and .887 save percentage in 44 contests. While it would be an oversimplification to say that Ottawa isn’t making the playoffs because of Korpisalo, it is fair to say that his terrible play has been a key factor.

Unfortunately, it seems the Senators overvalued his strong 2022-23 campaign when they inked Korpisalo to a five-year contract. While he had a Goals Saved Above Expected of 12.7 last season, he finished in the negatives in each campaign from 2017-18 through 2021-22, so performing below average relative to the team in front of him appears to be the norm for Korpisalo rather than the exception. This is all to say that if you’re looking for the 29-year-old goaltender to rebound in 2024-25, you’re making a risky bet that likely won’t pay off.

Not that Anton Forsberg, who has a 12-12-0 record, 3.42 GAA and .885 save percentage in 25 outings in 2023-24, is good either. Forsberg is signed through 2024-25 at a cap hit of $2.75 million, so Ottawa might have this unfortunate duo again next year. If that’s the case, it’s hard to see them making the playoffs in 2024-25 either.

That’s unfortunate for Claude Giroux, who is 36 years old and consequently running out of chances to make another run at the Cup. If the direction of the Senators has been weighing on him, though, he hasn’t let that bleed into his game. He’s still provided a goal and five points over his past six contests, giving him 19 goals and 58 points through 68 outings overall. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the veteran finish the season on a high note. That should also be true of Brady Tkachuk, who has provided four goals and five points over his past four contests.

The goaltending clearly needs work, but with players like Giroux and Tkachuk leading the forward corps, at least that aspect of the Senators is strong.

Philadelphia Flyers – TUE @ NYR, THU @ MTL, SAT VS CHI

The Flyers are set to play on the road against the Rangers on Tuesday and the Canadiens on Thursday before hosting the Blackhawks on Saturday. While the Rangers are a tough adversary, Philadelphia has a golden chance to collect four points against Montreal and Chicago as it looks to secure its playoff spot.

The biggest story in Philadelphia is coach John Tortorella scratching Sean Couturier for the Flyers’ 4-3 win over Toronto on Tuesday and 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina on Thursday. This comes after a stretch in which Couturier registered just three assists and had a minus-13 rating over 14 games from Feb. 15-March 19. He also has only six points (one goal) in his last 23 contests, undoing his solid start to the campaign -- 30 points (10 markers) through his first 41 appearances.

Maybe this time off will allow him to reset and come back stronger. He’ll certainly be a player to watch closely next week because when Couturier’s at his best, he’s a strong top-line option.

In the meantime, Owen Tippett has been leading the Flyers’ attack. He has three goals and eight points over his past five games, bringing him up to 25 goals and 46 points through 66 outings this year. The 25-year-old is just two goals and three points shy of his career highs.

Morgan Frost is also on a five-game scoring streak, totaling three goals and seven points in that span. He hasn’t had an amazing campaign overall (12 goals and 38 points in 59 games), but the 24-year-old has been centering the top line and serving on the first power-play unit during Couturier’s absence. Given how well he’s done in that role, Frost might continue to feature prominently even after Couturier slides back into the lineup.

Pittsburgh Penguins – TUE VS CAR, THU VS CBJ, SAT @ CBJ

The Penguins have faded out of the playoff picture at this point and things aren’t going to get any easier when they host the Hurricanes on Tuesday. The silver lining is Pittsburgh does have a home-and-away series against the lowly Blue Jackets, which will take place Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Michael Bunting, who Pittsburgh acquired from Carolina in the Jake Guentzel trade, seems to be settling in with his new team. He’s on a three-game scoring streak and has recorded a point in four of his last five contests, totaling two goals and two assists in that span. He’s seeing time on the top power-play unit and alongside Evgeni Malkin at even strength, so Bunting seems set to have a solid finish to the campaign.

Bryan Rust is looking to finish on a high note too. He’s been limited to 48 games this season due to injury, but he has been effective when healthy with 21 goals and 41 points. The 31-year-old has done particularly well recently, providing three goals and five points across his last four contests.

Lastly, while it doesn’t have fantasy relevance, you might want to pay attention to Jeff Carter. The 39-year-old is dealing with an upper-body issue, but when he returns, he’ll likely be playing out the last games of his career. While it’s possible he’ll pursue a new contract once his present one expires this summer, he likely won’t find any takers. He’s been held to nine goals and 12 points in 61 outings this campaign. Still, Carter has had a storied career, scoring 440 goals in 1,310 career games and playing a significant role in Los Angeles’ Stanley Cup victories in 2012 and 2014.

Seattle Kraken – TUE VS ANA, THU VS ANA, SAT VS DAL

Seattle will start the week with a pair of favorable home matchups against the lowly Ducks on Tuesday and Thursday. After that two-game series, the Kraken will host the Stars on Saturday.

Vince Dunn hasn’t played since March 4 due to an upper-body injury, and he doesn’t appear to be close to returning. He’s been a key offensive defenseman for the Kraken this campaign, providing 11 goals and 45 points in 57 games. Due to Dunn’s absence, Brian Dumoulin has seen an uptick in even-strength minutes, while Ryker Evans was summoned from AHL Coachella Valley and has received a power-play role.

Evans has done decently during Dunn’s absence, recording three assists -- all with the man advantage -- in the last seven games. He’s also played with a physical edge, accumulating eight PIM and 16 hits in the same span. Once Dunn returns, Evans might lose his spot in the lineup, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him continue to make those kinds of contributions until Dunn’s back.

Seattle’s forward corps hasn’t done great this campaign and Seattle’s attack has been particularly lackluster recently, totaling just five goals in four games from March 14-21. Still, Oliver Bjorkstrand has been a rare bright spot with a goal and three points during that stretch. He also has five goals and eight points over his last 11 contests to put his cold spell from Jan. 30-Feb. 24 (one assist in eight outings) well behind him.

As poor as the Kraken’s offense has been, Anaheim has done even worse, ranking 30th offensively with just 2.49 goals per game. It wouldn’t be surprising to see goaltenders Philipp Grubauer and Joey Daccord split the two-game set against the Ducks, and both netminders would be a good play versus Anaheim.

Vegas Golden Knights – MON @ STL, TUE @ NAS, (BTB), THU @ WPG, SAT @ MIN

The Golden Knights are one of the few teams set to play four games next week, though they’ll be on the road for that stretch. They’ll play in St. Louis on Monday, Nashville on Tuesday, Winnipeg on Thursday and Minnesota on Saturday. It’s not the easiest schedule, but the Golden Knights’ hold on the second wild-card spot is loose, so they’ll need to find a way to win a good chunk of those contests.

Their pursuit of a playoff berth has been complicated by Adin Hill, who has struggled mightily with a 3.90 GAA and an .872 save percentage over his last seven games. By contrast, Logan Thompson has saved 41 of 43 shots (.953 save percentage) over his last two contests, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vegas pivot to Thompson, at least in the short term. Earlier in the campaign, the Golden Knights might have been more open to riding out Hill’s cold spell in the hopes that he’d rebound, but they don’t really have that luxury at this stage.

In terms of offense, it’s been defenseman Shea Theodore who has led the charge. The 28-year-old has collected 15 assists in 14 outings since returning from an upper-body injury. That’s propelled him to four goals and 33 points across 34 outings in 2023-24. Theodore has missed significant portions of the last two campaigns due to injury, but he would likely breach the 50-point milestone for the second time in his career if he manages to stay healthy next season.

Meanwhile, blueliner Noah Hanifin seems to be settling in fine with Vegas. He has four assists, a plus-3 rating, 10 blocks and 10 hits in seven contests since being acquired from the Flames. Hanifin’s also averaging 22:09 of ice time with Vegas, though he’s only on the second power-play unit, which limits his offensive potential a bit.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (January 15th – January 21st) – Bedard injury impact – Teams and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 15 Jan 2024 15:26:50 +0000

Florida Panthers center Sam Reinhart (13 (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

It would have been an exaggeration to say Connor Bedard was running away with the Calder Trophy before he suffered a fractured jaw last Friday -- after all defenseman Brock Faber is having an amazing season in Minnesota -- but it was at least fair to think of him as the frontrunner. Chicago is undergoing a classic rebuild, which began with a fire sale that even saw the Blackhawks trade the still-young Alex DeBrincat in 2022 with an eye toward starting fresh through the draft.

Phase One of that was a success -- the Blackhawks got their man in Bedard, who has been the subject of intense hype that he’s largely lived up to with 15 goals and 33 points in 39 outings. The fact that he’s set to miss the next six-to-eight weeks after undergoing surgery will cost him a chance to play in his first All-Star Game, it might rob him of the Calder Trophy and of course on top of that, you just never want to see someone get hurt. However, underneath all that lies another truth: For as great as Bedard has been, his absence won’t change much in Chicago.

The Blackhawks are just frankly too bad to make any use of Bedard. Sure, they’re even worse without him, but Chicago was so close to the bottom as it was, that there isn’t much further to fall.

Injuries have certainly played a role in that. On top of Bedard, Chicago was also without Andreas Athanasiou (groin), Anthony Beauvillier (wrist), Nick Foligno (finger), Taylor Hall (knee), Tyler Johnson (foot) and Seth Jones (shoulder) when it faced Winnipeg on Thursday. It would have been interesting to see what the Blackhawks might have been had they stayed healthy, but the reality is they were unlikely to contend either way.

You might even argue that this is in some ways better for the team’s future. Rather than end up with, say the 10th overall pick had the Blackhawks stayed healthy, they might receive another No. 1 selection. That would certainly help their rebuild.

At the same time, there are dangers to that mentality. Building a winning culture is tough and the clock to do that started the moment they drafted Bedard. The Blackhawks have two more seasons with him at an entry-level deal and after that, if his first 39 games were any indication, he’s likely to get a massive payday. Connor McDavid jumped straight from his entry-level contract to a $12.5 million cap hit, Jack Eichel went to $10 million while Matthews ascended to roughly $11.6 million. Bedard still has a lot to prove, but he has the potential to be that caliber of player, and if he continues to grow as Chicago hopes, then he will not be at a discounted salary for long.

Of course, Bedard getting a big payday isn’t the end of the world. Chicago can still build around him at that point, albeit with some more difficulty, but these things can sneak up on you and a slow burn rebuild runs the risk of ending with a failure to launch, as the Sabres experienced with Eichel and Ottawa is now in danger of with its core of Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk and Jakob Chychrun. The Blackhawks can write off this year and just hope for another win in the draft lottery, but as early as next season, they’ll want to start showing some progress.

Anaheim Ducks – MON @ FLA, TUE @ WAS (BTB), SAT @ SJS, SUN VS NYR (BTB)

The Ducks will begin the week on the road with games against the Panthers on Monday, the Capitals on Tuesday and the Sharks on Saturday. They’ll then return to Anaheim to host the Rangers on Sunday. It’s not an easy schedule overall, but the Sharks are one of the worst teams in the NHL while Washington has been something of a mixed bag.

The Ducks made waves by acquiring Cutter Gauthier from Philadelphia on Monday in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a 2025 second-round pick. Gauthier has tremendous potential and is having a great campaign with Boston College, scoring 13 goals and 23 points through 17 NCAA contests as a sophomore, and he was named the best forward of the 2024 World Juniors, helping Team USA win gold by supplying two goals and a team-high 12 points in seven games. Ducks’ fans should be happy with that trade, but in the short term, Gauthier will remain with Boston, and the Ducks’ current roster is worse off without Drysdale.

Anaheim’s defense was stretched even thinner when Pavel Mintyukov suffered a separated shoulder Tuesday that’s projected to shelve him for six weeks. With Drysdale gone and Mintyukov unavailable, Urho Vaakanainen has suddenly found himself in a top-four role. The 25-year-old has averaged just 16:17 of ice time this season, but he logged 22:26 in Tuesday’s 5-3 win over Nashville. Vaakanainen hasn’t been a great fantasy option this campaign with seven assists, 13 hits and 31 blocks in 33 outings, but if you’re in a deeper league, you should take note of his dramatically increased role.

Cam Fowler is averaging 25:12 with Anaheim this year, so he can’t be leaned on much more than he already is, but the Ducks might deploy him even more on the power play -- he's currently logging 2:30 per game in that regard -- and Jackson LaCombe might become a regular with the man advantage as well after getting 4:27 of power-play ice time Tuesday. LaCombe has just six assists in 37 contests in 2023-24, but the 23-year-old did excel with the University of Minnesota, contributing 12 goals and 65 points in 76 games over his final two NCAA seasons, so he’s worth keeping an eye on to see what he does with this opportunity.

Buffalo Sabres – MON VS SJS, WED VS CHI, SAT VS TBL

Buffalo will stay at home next week, hosting the Sharks on Monday, the Blackhawks on Wednesday and the Lightning on Saturday. I’m highlighting Buffalo over some teams with four games because it’s facing the two worst squads in the NHL in San Jose and Chicago, which creates some juicy opportunities, especially for the Sabres’ forward corps.

Unfortunately, Jeff Skinner (upper body) isn’t going to be around to take advantage of those upcoming contests. Tage Thompson (undisclosed) is also in doubt after exiting Thursday’s 5-3 win over Ottawa, though coach Don Granato told Matthew Fairburn of The Athletic after the contest that he thinks Thompson will be okay, so perhaps the elite forward will still be an option next week.

Regardless, this might be a good week for Jack Quinn. After scoring 14 goals and 37 points in 75 contests as a rookie last season, he missed the first two months of the 2023-24 campaign while recovering from Achilles surgery. Quinn returned Dec. 19 and while his four goals and six points through 10 outings isn’t amazing, it’s a solid start. He’s also averaging 16:20 of ice time this year, up from 13:51 as a rookie, and given his potential, the 22-year-old should take advantage of the increased responsibilities, especially given the quality of Buffalo’s upcoming adversaries.

This might also be a good week to grab Devon Levi or Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen if either is available. While neither is having a great season, you don’t have to be an elite goaltender to beat Chicago (2.29 goals per game) or San Jose (2.00). The duo is likely to split the two starts.

Colorado Avalanche – MON @ MTL, TUE @ OTT, THU @ BOS, SAT @ PHI

The Avalanche have a full four-game set ahead of them, though they will spend the full week on the road, playing in Montreal on Monday, Ottawa on Tuesday, Boston on Thursday and Philadelphia on Saturday. While an extended road trip is far from ideal, it does help that neither of the first two opponents -- the Canadiens and Senators -- is in a playoff position.

If you’ve been holding onto Ryan Johansen in the hopes he’ll eventually rebound, it’s likely time to drop him. While Johansen has had his moments with Colorado, he has 11 goals and just 16 points through 42 games and his playing time is trending in the wrong direction. The 31-year-old logged a season-low 9:34 against Vegas on Wednesday, making it his fourth straight contest with under 14 minutes logged. He’s averaged 13:58 in 2023-24 and just 12:42 over his last 10 appearances.

One of Colorado’s other free agent gambles from the summer of 2023 is paying off, though. Jonathan Drouin is red hot with six goals and 14 points in his past 14 games. In contrast to Johansen, Drouin’s responsibilities with the Avalanche have grown to the point where he’s on the first line and top power-play unit. As long as Drouin maintains a spot alongside Mikko Rantanen and Nathan MacKinnon, he should continue to be a steady offensive presence.

Dallas Stars – TUE VS LAK, THU @ PHI, SAT @ NJD, SUN @ NYI (BTB)

Dallas will open the week by hosting the Kings before visiting Philadelphia on Thursday, New Jersey on Saturday and the Islanders on Sunday. None of those are easy games, so this is a bit of a borderline team to highlight, but the 24-11-5 Stars can contend against any adversary.

The Stars are also on the brink of getting a huge boost with the return of Jake Oettinger (lower body), who might even return before next week’s set. Scott Wedgewood has been a mixed bag, but ultimately his 3.03 GAA and .887 save percentage in 12 outings since Oettinger suffered the injury Dec. 15 is simply not good enough to alter how Dallas will handle how it handles the goaltending situation once Oettinger returns. In other words, Oettinger will be leaned heavily on, and if you picked up Wedgewood to collect extra starts, it will soon be time to replace him.

In contrast, Mason Marchment has a great chance to remain effective next week. He’s been outstanding recently, providing three goals and 11 points over his last six games to bring him up to 13 goals and 32 points through 40 appearances in 2023-24. The 28-year-old has been somewhat streaky this campaign, so you’ll need to exercise some caution with him, but he should remain an effective forward overall.

His linemate Tyler Seguin is on a roll as well, scoring six goals and nine points over his last six contests. If you have him, though, it might be time to start exploring the possibility of selling high if you can find a taker. He’s having a strong campaign with 16 goals and 32 points in 40 outings, but of course, those numbers have been pumped up by his recent hot streak and his 18.6 shooting percentage this season is unlikely to be sustained -- his career average is 11.0.

Florida Panthers – MON VS ANA, WED VS DET, FRI VS MIN

The Panthers will play just three games next week, but all those contests will be at home. They’ll face the Ducks on Monday, the Red Wings on Wednesday and the Wild on Friday. Detroit is a tough opponent, but the Wild are in a freefall, losing six of their last seven games while being outscored 11-2 over their last two contests and Anaheim is near the league’s basement.

Sam Reinhart has never scored more than 33 goals in a single season, but at this rate, the 28-year-old might set a new career high before the All-Star break. He’s contributed at least one goal in five straight games and eight of his last nine outings, totaling 12 markers in that span. Reinhart’s goal in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win over LA was his 30th of the campaign, putting him behind just Auston Matthews’ 33 in the goal-scoring race.

It remains to be seen if Reinhart can sustain this, though. His shooting percentage of 27.5 is by far the highest of any player with at least 100 shots -- next is Brock Boeser at 23.3 -- and more than double his 2022-23 finish of 13.7. Digging a little deeper, Reinhart is selective with when he shoots, firing 40.4 percent in high-danger areas. By contrast, Nikita Kucherov has nearly the same number of goals (28) while firing nearly double the shots (amounting to a 15.4 shooting percentage), but just 18.1 percent of his shots are in high-danger locations, so by that measure, Reinhart’s higher shooting percentage makes some sense.

Reinhart’s shooting percentage, if maintained, would go down as the highest of the salary cap era (min. 100 shots) and the best since Rob Brown and Craig Simpson in 1988-89, so some regression has to be expected, but given how the Panthers forward plays, that shooting percentage isn’t as big a red flag as it might otherwise be.

Meanwhile, Florida’s other Sam, Bennett, isn’t having nearly as good of a year with seven goals and 14 points across 28 outings, but he’s been effective recently with three goals and five points in six games, so he’s worthy of a short-term pickup if he’s available.

New Jersey Devils – MON @ BOS, WED VS MTL, FRI @ CBJ, SAT VS DAL

New Jersey will open the week in Boston on Monday before traveling back home to host the Canadiens on Wednesday. The Devils will then play in Columbus on Friday and host the Stars on Saturday. Boston and Dallas are tough adversaries, but that’s counterbalanced by the games against Montreal and Columbus -- neither of which is in a playoff position.

Injuries have become the story of the Devils’ 2023-24 campaign with Ondrej Palat (lower body) and Jack Hughes (upper body) becoming the latest victims. Neither is likely to return next week, and Timo Meier (abdomen) might not factor into the upcoming contests either.

Michael McLeod is getting an increased role due to the injuries. Although he’s averaged 14:42 of ice time this year, McLeod logged 18:14 on Saturday and followed that up with 17:46 on Thursday. The 25-year-old also has three goals and four points over his past four contests, so he’s hot at an opportune time.

Erik Haula has also seen his playing time jump, and he’s even seeing time with the man advantage, which hasn’t been a role the 32-year-old has held with any regularity this year. Haula has a goal and five points over his last four games while averaging 20:12 of ice time (his season average is 16:02), so he’s not a bad pickup while the Devils are missing some key forwards.

New York Islanders – MON @ MIN, TUE @ WPG, FRI @ CHI, SUN VS DAL

The Islanders will begin the week on the road with contests in Minnesota on Monday, Winnipeg on Tuesday and Chicago on Friday. They’ll then host the Stars on Sunday. Given the Wild’s recent struggles and the sorry state of the Blackhawks, this is a decent schedule, even after factoring in the tougher matches versus Winnipeg and Dallas.

If Semyon Varlamov (lower body) isn’t able to return before Tuesday’s contest against Winnipeg, then Ken Appleby might make his Islanders debut. The 28-year-old goaltender has a 2.88 GAA and an .897 save percentage in 11 contests with AHL Bridgeport this year, so he’s not an ideal option, but the Jets are vulnerable without Kyle Connor (knee) and might also be without Mark Scheifele, who left Thursday’s outing versus Chicago because of a lower-body injury. If Scheifele ends up missing that game too and Appleby is poised to start, then the goaltender might be a decent situational pickup.

It also helps that Appleby would likely receive solid goal support from Mathew Barzal. The Islanders forward is on fire, collecting two goals and nine points over his last five appearances. As long as he can stay healthy, Barzal could surpass his career high of 85 points, which was established in his rookie campaign.

Ottawa Senators – TUE VS COL, THU VS MTL, SAT VS WPD, SUN @ PHI (BTB)

The Senators get to spend most of the week in Ottawa, hosting the Avalanche on Tuesday, the Canadiens on Thursday and the Jets on Saturday. They’ll then finish the week with a game in Philadelphia on Sunday. The three home games are what help make the Senators’ schedule worth mentioning. Ottawa has a 4-13-0 record on the road but is an okay 10-10-0 at home.

I mentioned at the top of the article that the Senators have had a failure to launch. Despite a talented young core, Ottawa is on track to miss the playoffs for the seventh straight year. Replacing bench boss D.J. Smith with Jacques Martin has done nothing -- the squad is 3-8-0 since the coaching change. However, Martin has mostly coached the Senators on the road and as noted above, the team does tend to be at least decent at home.

Brady Tkachuk is one of the most dramatic examples of that shift. He has 11 goals and 19 points in 20 home contests compared to six markers and 10 points in 17 away games, so look for Tkachuk in particular to have a strong week. Josh Norris missed Thursday’s game versus Buffalo due to an upper-body injury, but if he’s healthy next week, then he might also be effective. He has eight goals and 14 points in 18 outings in Ottawa versus just four goals and six points in 15 road appearances.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – BUFFALO SABRES – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Fri, 22 Sep 2023 21:37:53 +0000

ST. PAUL, MN - JANUARY 28: Buffalo Sabres Defenceman Rasmus Dahlin (26) follows the play during a game between the Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres on January 28, 2023, at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, MN.(Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)

Review: In 2022-23, the Buffalo Sabres missed the playoffs, extending their NHL-record postseason drought to 12th consecutive campaigns. As hard as it is for a fanbase to feel good after that much pain, the latest iteration of the Sabres were fun to watch and showed plenty of promise. Tage Thompson led the offense with 47 goals and 94 points in 78 contests, making GM Kevyn Adams look like a genius for locking him up in the summer of 2022 to a seven-year, $50 million contract that will begin in 2023-24. Thompson was far from their only weapon though. Jeff Skinner, Alex Tuch and Dylan Cozen each provided over 30 goals and 65 points while Rasmus Dahlin was one of the league’s top offensive defensemen, contributing 15 goals and 73 points. With that core, Buffalo ranked third offensively (3.57 goals per game), but the squad was ultimately held back by poor defense and mediocre goaltending.

What’s Changed? While it’s not technically a change, the single biggest difference from 2022-23 to 2023-24 is that Buffalo will now get a full campaign of Devon Levi after the goaltending prospect appeared in seven NHL contests last year. The 21-year-old has a lot to prove, but he has the potential to be the solution in net Buffalo sorely needs. The Sabres also inked defensemen Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton in the hopes of making life a little easier on their goaltenders.

What would success look like? At this point if the Sabres make the playoffs, that’s a win. It’s not going to be easy in the immensely competitive Atlantic Division, but it’s certainly an obtainable goal for Buffalo. That talented offense that carried them last year is still there and many of their key forwards are just now entering their prime. If Clifton and Johnson help stabilize their defense while Owen Power takes another step forward in his march towards being an elite two-way blueliner, then Buffalo will be a far more well-rounded team. Levi is by far the biggest X-Factor, but even a decent year out of him might be all the Sabres need to get over the hump.

What could go wrong? It’s just as possible that Levi might not be ready. Even with an encouraging seven-game stint with the Sabres last campaign, he’s still largely inexperienced and has yet to be tested against the grind of an 82-game season. If he’s not up to the task then that leaves Buffalo with Eric Comrie and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but both left plenty to be desired last season. The Sabres offense should be at least fine even in a worst-case scenario, but Skinner has had a rollercoaster career, so there’s no guarantee he’ll come even close to his 35-goal and 82-point 2022-23 performance.

Top Breakout Candidate: It’s got to be Levi. As much of a risk as he is, the talent and opportunity are there. If he proves that he’s capable now of holding that starting gig – and yes that’s a significant if – then he’ll have the benefit of the Sabres’ immense offensive support, making it possible for him to reach the 30-win mark as a rookie.

Forwards

Tage Thompson - C

Hard to believe there was a question about how Tage Thompson would do as a follow-up to his breakout 38-goal season in 2021-2022, but he showed it was not a one-season-wonder. Thompson piled up career-highs in goals (47), assists (47), and points (94) and led the Sabres in goals and points. It’s incredible to see his growth in production at the center spot and how he’s become one of the elite players in the NHL and a couple years after there was doubt as to whether he’d be an NHL player at all. Thompson’s explosion has spurred the Sabres out of the doldrums of a seemingly never-ending rebuild into a team that’s on the brink of making the playoffs for the first time since 2011 and possibly becoming a Stanley Cup contender. Understandably, Thompson’s shot output increased in 2022-2023 and his shot percentage improved by nearly one percent (15 to 15.9). That’s the kind of repeatable output the Sabres love to see because they’ll want him to continue ripping the puck. What’s more impressive is he doubled his goal output on the power play from 10 to 20 goals. He has an elite shot and one of the most potent one-timers in the game and it makes him someone opposing penalty kills must cover at all costs. With 53 of his 94 points coming on the power play last season, Thompson alone makes committing penalties against Buffalo a recipe for losing games.

Jeff Skinner - LW

The turnaround Jeff Skinner’s career has had under coach Don Granato continued in 2022-2023. Skinner was second on the Sabres in points with 82 and was third on the team in goals with 35. It was the first time he had 30-plus goals in consecutive seasons and his 82 points broke his previous career-high of 63 (which he’d done four times, twice each with Buffalo and Carolina). After his 40-goal season in 2018-2019, he scored 21 goals the next two seasons combined playing for Ralph Krueger and Granato. Skinner continued his career-long trait of being an outstanding even strength scorer with 27 of his 35 coming at evens and 25 at 5-on-5. While Skinner has never been a strong power play scorer, his 21 power play points last season set a new career high. While Skinner was a top-line scorer for Buffalo in his first season with the Sabres, his resurgence under Granato has had him there again playing on a line with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch. Although Granato tried to see what other line combinations would work last training camp, the experimentation didn’t last long and the trio was reunited quickly. Expect them to stay together this season and be one of the NHL’s top scoring lines again.

Alex Tuch - RW

Alex Tuch continued to be the power forward the Sabres always dreamed of again last season. Tuch had a career year with 36 goals and 79 points with 27 goals coming on even strength (21 of them at 5-on-5). At 6’4” 219 pounds, Tuch’s work around the net complements the high-end skill of Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner with the ability to boss his way to and around the net. Coupling that with a deceptive wrist shot and he’s proved to be an all-around offensive threat for the Sabres. On top of his offensive production, Tuch also plays a strong two-way game again incorporating his size and reach to disrupt puck carriers and ability to be physical when needed. Although Buffalo’s penalty kill hasn’t been a high point in recent years, Tuch had a shorthanded goal for the second straight season. But it’s the offensive ability that sets Tuch apart and that he scored at more than a point per game pace for the first time in his career last season at age 26 shows he’s hitting his prime at the right time for the Sabres. Although Buffalo has a load of offensive options, Tuch’s power forward play makes him unique and a necessary change-up compared to the speedy snipers and skill players elsewhere on the roster.

Dylan Cozens - C

It was only a matter of time before Dylan Cozens had a true breakout season and 2022-2023 was it. Cozens set career highs with 31 goals and 68 points in just his third season. The 22-year-old from Yukon took the lessons learned from his first two NHL seasons as well as from playing wing for Canada at the 2022 World Championships to become more of a shooter and lean into that part of his game. It paid off in a big way as his shot output jumped dramatically (160 to 211) and his shooting percentage with it (8.1 to 14.7). Cozens was a threat in all situations and scored 24 goals at even strength to go with five on the power play and two shorthanded. His tenacious forechecking and eagerness to play the body helps him stand out from the likes of Thompson, Peyton Krebs, and Casey Mittelstadt up the middle. Even though his new scoring marks set a tricky bar to meet or exceed, the growth in his game and how players like Thompson have elevated over the years indicate that being able to do just that is very possible. Cozens slots in automatically as the Sabres’ No. 2 center as well as leading their second power play unit. As he’s gotten stronger, his physical play has grown but it’s the offensive end of the ice where he’s most dangerous and he was the de facto leader on a line with rookies J.J. Peterka and Jack Quinn last season despite the three of them all being roughly the same age. It’s right to expect a bit more from Cozens this season because we’re just starting to see the best of him now.

Jack Quinn - RW

Quinn’s rookie season didn’t have the kinds of numbers that knock your hair back when compared to some of the other outstanding first-year players around the league, but a deeper look at what he accomplished shows there’s reason to believe he’d be due for a big season. Quinn had 14 goals and 37 points over 75 games in 2022-2023. That put him seventh among NHL rookies in scoring and tied for eighth in goals with Montreal’s Raphael Harvey-Pinard. Quinn’s output was similar to what Dylan Cozens had in his second NHL season but Quinn’s skill with his shot and stick handling ability indicates he’s a player that will be able to fill the net in years to come. What’s difficult for him this season is how he’ll come back from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon he sustained during offseason workouts in June. That injury will keep him out of action until December or January at the latest and will certainly affect his total offensive output. The Sabres depth at forward will prevent Quinn’s absence from being a major blow, but how it affects his further development is worth paying attention to. It’s the second time Quinn has had an injury affect his offseason. In April 2021, he needed sports hernia surgery that ended his season in the AHL, but his performance in 2021-2022 showed he had no lingering ill effects. Buffalo hopes that will repeat itself when he returns in winter.

J.J. Peterka - LW

Peterka’s first NHL season saw him ride the typical rookie roller coaster in learning what he can and can’t get away with against the best players in the world. He had 12 goals and 32 helpers for the Sabres and showed the speed and creativity in his game that has everyone in Buffalo excited to see what more he’s capable of doing. Although he’s working on improving his two-way game, it’s the offensive play that will set him apart from his peers. His ability to get in behind defenders with his speed helps him get free for chances but how he finishes plays will be something to keep an eye on going forward. He’s able to create opportunities out of nowhere and what he’s capable of doing sets him apart from his usual linemates in Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. He and Quinn have chemistry from their year together in AHL Rochester and that helped them both during last season in Buffalo, although they would occasionally struggle while learning the ropes. But that’s nothing out of the ordinary when bringing along two 21-year-old players into their first NHL seasons. More will be expected of Peterka, of course, and with Quinn’s absence to start the season the hope is all steps he’s taken in the offseason will pay off instantly. He was outstanding for Germany during the 2023 World Championships. He tied for second in the tournament in scoring with 12 points in 10 games and was named the best forward in the tournament. Germany won silver, their first medal at Worlds since 1953.

Casey Mittelstadt - C

Patience is proving to be Casey Mittelstadt’s best quality during his time with Buffalo. The 2017 No. 8 overall pick in the NHL Draft had a career year for the Sabres last season. He had 16 goals and 59 points in a year that was a borderline make-it-or-break-it season for him. His point total was more than twice his previous career-high of 25 points back in 2018-2019 and his 15 goals were three better than his previous best also set that season. Aside from good health, what allowed Mittelstadt to break out was his versatility. He played both at center and on the wing and showed he could lift his linemates in any given situation. He also showed he can be an effective scorer on the power play and provide help shorthanded as well. As a 5-on-5 player he was above-average in shot generation and suppression and broke even in goals scored and allowed when he was on the ice. Although the light that shined on Mittlestadt in previous seasons seemed to focus on his negative outcomes, there’s no doubt he was able to turn that around last season by consistently being involved offensively and creating shots and scoring opportunities for his teammates. A devoted teammate, Mittelstadt always strives to improve his game and to do what he can to better himself for the rest of the group. That he was able to post a breakout season and still be under the radar compared to his teammates speaks volumes to the value he does have. He’s become a vital cog for the rest of the lineup and gives the Sabres depth scoring beyond the first line for sure and takes the heat off some of his younger teammates as well. That said, it was such a standout year from him that it stands to wonder what he can do to follow that up this season.

Peyton Krebs - LW

While the majority of the attention among the Sabres youngest players went to the likes of Jack Quinn, Dylan Cozens, and JJ Peterka, Peyton Krebs did a lot of the dirty work that doesn’t always get noticed, least of all in the stat columns. Krebs was an anchor up the middle on a line with Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo. While that line gets referred to as the “fourth line” often, the truth is it functioned as the Sabres’ shut down/energy line used to change the tempo of the game in their favor and regain steady puck possession. Krebs was able to do this by transforming into an irritator and a tenacious forechecker. Although he doesn’t stand out physically, he was able to use his body and his strength to his advantage to throw opponents off their games. Krebs even went so far as to get in a few fights last season, a rarity among the Sabres in general. All that said, Krebs still set career highs with nine goals and 26 points. What makes him different than a lot of forwards that play that kind of role is Krebs still has strong offensive instincts and abilities. He has an uncanny ability to read plays and to make difficult passes that would normally not come from other third-or-fourth-line forwards. Although Krebs thrives in the shutdown role, he is more than capable of sliding up the lineup to add more offense when called upon. At 22 years old, there’s a lot more to come from Krebs, the question is how much more offense will come or how much more of a shutdown forward he will turn out to be.

Victor Olofsson - RW

Every team in the league has a pariah when it comes to the fan base and unfortunately for Victor Olofsson, he was it last year. What’s wild is Olofsson had a career-high 28 goals last season, fifth most on the team, seven of which came on the power play. Of his 40 points, 12 came on the power play and his 17 goals at 5-on-5 were the most he’s had in a season in his career. The raw box car numbers seem great, assists aside, and they scream out that he’s a player who is doing what’s asked of him and is capable of more. So, what’s got fans upset with him? It’s his 5-on-5 play in general that stood out in the worst way. The majority of Olofsson’s teammates had better possession numbers away from him than with him (according to Natural Stat Trick) and at 5-on-5 he was 10th on the team in scoring but the Sabres were outscored 52-34 when he was on the ice. And while Tage Thompson’s numbers exploded on the power play, Olofsson’s have plateaued with seven power play goals in three straight seasons. There’s an opportunity for redemption this season, however. With Quinn out until December or January, it opens the chance for Olofsson to reclaim his role in the lineup by becoming a stronger 5-on-5 player and to not just rely on ripping shots from the circle to score goals and generate chances. He enters the season in the final year of his contract so there’s an abundance of motivation for him to turn it around with Buffalo and if not ultimately with them then another team to acquire him.

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin - D

Of the many players whose careers have blossomed in Buffalo under coach Don Granato, Rasmus Dahlin’s growth into one of the top point-producing defensemen in the NHL is perhaps the sweetest redemption. When he arrived as a rookie in 2018, scoring was never a problem but playing a solid all-around game was a bit difficult. For a couple of seasons, the offense waned and the worry about whether he’d live up to being a No. 1 overall draft pick began, but over the past two seasons, and especially after 2022-2023, he’s shown to be exactly who many thought he would become. He was fourth on the Sabres in scoring last season with 73 points including 15 goals, both of which set new career highs. He was fifth among NHL defensemen in scoring and had 32 points on the power play which was fourth best among blue liners. His possession and shot metrics at 5-on-5 were tops among Sabres defensemen as well and showed that it wasn’t just the points that carried his game, something noticed by the PHWA voters as he finished eighth in Norris Trophy voting. He’s Buffalo’s No. 1 defenseman by far and one of the best in the NHL and just 23 years old.

Owen Power - D

Power’s rookie season showed a lot of why he was the No. 1 overall pick in 2021. His 35 points made him the leading scorer among rookie defensemen and 26 of those points came at even strength. He was entrusted with power play duty on the second unit thanks to Rasmus Dahlin running the show most of the time, but he was apt to distribute there with eight power play points. Even though Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson made up most of the time on the first pairing, Power was tasked with vital ice time and averaged 23:48 per game, second only to Dahlin. At 20 years old, Power was a major contributor and a vital cog to the Sabres defense corps and the maturity in his game earned him the coaching staff’s trust. What helped that out was his unflappable ability to work out of tough situations and his ice-cold demeanor to get the job done. His advanced numbers did not stand out as strongly as the anecdotes and standard statistics (his 5-on-5 expected goals percentage was under 49 percent) and his defense partners seemed to take a lot of that blame. With the additions of Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson, we’ll get to see how well Power adjusts with one of them by his side for much of the season. If nothing else, Power has shown early in his career he’s not only up to such challenges but also ready to exceed expectations as well.

Mattias Samuelsson - D

When Mattias Samuelsson signed a seven-year, $30 million extension last October, there was a lot of head-scratching going on around the league because he’s a guy who hadn’t played a lot of NHL games and wasn’t known for producing points. Then he paired up with Rasmus Dahlin and the young Swede put up career numbers and became a much better defensive player as well. Coincidence? Not according to Dahlin and the Sabres coaching staff. Samuelsson’s dogged defensive and physical play, to them, allows Dahlin to have more freedom in the offensive zone to create as well as carry the puck all over the ice. If a $4 million-plus cap hit allows for that, you can argue that it’s money very well spent. But Samuelsson does enough of his own work to justify the deal. His big size causes opponents to be weary of going into corners against him for pucks as well as dread being around the front of the net. He’s also capable enough with the puck to make a good first pass out of the zone to start a breakout. Samuelsson is a modern-day throwback defensive defenseman where 20 years ago he’d have spent a lot of time scrapping with foes, but now he’ll settle disputes during the flow of play instead. Intangibles don’t generally have a price tag, but for Samuelsson there’s a solid approximation of the value.

Connor Clifton - D

The Sabres had a few areas of weakness last season that didn’t have to do with goaltending. They weren’t very good on the penalty kill (fifth worst in the NHL) and they weren’t a physical team (last in the NHL in hits by a substantial margin). To address those needs, the Sabres signed former Boston Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton to a three-year, $10 million contract. Clifton arrives in Buffalo with a history of playing for Don Granato during his junior hockey days and a reputation for delivering physically punishing hits all over the ice while also capable of playing up-tempo hockey. Clifton had 208 hits last season, 23rd most in the league, which was 101 more hits than the Sabres leader Mattias Samuelsson (who played in 23 fewer games). The hits stand out, but Clifton also had 23 points and only had 60 PIM last season. With his style of hockey, he provides an arguably necessary change on the Sabres blue line and a player who can draw attention away from their more skilled players when the temperature rises throughout a game. He’s not there to be a goon, of course, but instead he’ll be counted on to use his solid speed to help move the puck as well as adding some physical explosiveness to the blue line group. The Sabres haven’t had a player who made opponents keep their heads on a swivel in many years and they’re expecting Clifton to change that for them and give them an element they’ll need if they’re to make the playoffs and have success therein.

Goaltending

Devon Levi - G

It might seem premature to bank on Devon Levi as an NHL starter this upcoming season for the Buffalo Sabres. But even if he only splits the net with one of the more established options the team has under contract, it’s hard to argue that he’s the most talented piece they have on the roster by a wide margin.

Buffalo finally seemed to admit defeat on the Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen experiment this past season when they signed Levi to an entry-level deal at the culmination of his second collegiate season. Luukkonen, while the starter for Buffalo over the largest volume of games, once again struggled to put up league-average numbers and lost out on nearly a third of the starts on the year to a 41-year-old Craig Anderson. And while Eric Comrie always seemed just a step away from being ready to take the reins at the NHL level, his abbreviated performance at the NHL level last year also looked like nothing more than a tweener backup option to be used as a stopgap. Buffalo desperately needs to finally take a step forward, and Levi seems like their best chance to do that. The good news, though, is that he’s got all the makings of being the next franchise number one. He’s taken top-tier tracking and fluid lower-body movements and added in cleaner transitions than initially displayed his draft year. Perhaps the best part of his game, though, is that he’s got lightning-quick hands and a willingness to stop the puck to halt play; he’s perfectly confident setting up the face-off in his own end, and he holds his depth long enough to control incoming approaches from the offense. For Buffalo, the structure he has in his game should help balance out a defensive lineup that has struggled to establish consistency over the last decade-plus, especially with young names poised to revamp the blue line in the team’s incoming era. A Sabres lineup with Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power pairing up with Devon Levi could become a team to watch for in the East. The question, ultimately, isn’t whether or not Levi is ready – it’s how many games he’ll have to play in rotation with Comrie and Luukkonen.

Projected starts: 35-40