Joey Daccord – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Veterans who are elevating their play, including Zach Hyman, Steven Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, Ryan Hartman, Claude Giroux, David Perron, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 27 Dec 2025 16:22:00 +0000

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, veterans who are elevating their play, including Zach Hyman, Steven Stamkos, Ryan O’Reilly, Ryan Hartman, Claude Giroux, David Perron, and so much more!

#1 Edmonton Oilers winger Zach Hyman was not ready to start the season, as he recovered from wrist surgery, so he didn’t get into the lineup until mid-November and even then it took him some time to get up to speed. It does appear that he’s starting to cook. In his past 11 games, Hyman has 15 points (9 G, 6 A) and 34 shots on goal. He’s getting first unit power play time and skating on the Oilers’ top line with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, so Hyman should be in a prime position for the rest of the season.

#2 In his first 29 games this season, Nashville Predators right winger Steven Stamkos had 11 points (8 G, 3 A) and when that happens to a player in his mid-30s, it can look like the end is near. He has turned back the clock recently, however, putting up 11 points (7 G, 4 A) with 29 shots on goal in his past seven games. He’s skating on a veteran line with Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg and the key is that Stamkos is generating shots on goal. In his first 29 games, he had just 58 shots on goal, so to go from two shots per game to more than four shots per game in this recent uptick in his performance shows that he can still be a legitimate offensive threat.

#3 Ryan O’Reilly has been a huge part of the Predators’ resurgence. In the past 14 games, the Preds are 10-4 and O’Reilly has 19 points (5 G, 14 A) in those 14 games. He has just 23 shots on goal, and a low shot rate is a concern for offensive sustainability, but O’Reilly is a consistent play driver year after year and that has continued this season in Nashville, with a 55.8 CF%, which would represent the best Corsi percentage of his career.

#4 Although he moves around the Minnesota Wild lineup quite a bit, there is usually reason to like when Ryan Hartman gets his turn playing on the top line. With Marco Rossi dealt to Vancouver in the Quinn Hughes trade, Hartman has moved in between Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, with Hartman putting up seven points (5 G, 2 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past seven games, after he had eight points (4 G, 4 A) through his first 29 games this season.

#5 The Ottawa Senators are getting quality production from veteran wingers Claude Giroux and David Perron. Giroux has eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 11 shots on goal in his past seven games while Perron has seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past seven games. They are getting second unit power play time and, for a pair of 37-year-olds, they are still providing reliable secondary scoring for the Sens. As with many of the veterans in this week’s article, they are not producing at the level of their best career performance but in their mid-30s that’s not a reasonable expectation and it is part of the reason that these players are more widely available.

#6 When he was acquired by the Ottawa Senators from the San Jose Sharks last season, Fabian Zetterlund responded with a meagre five points (3 G, 2 A) and 40 shots on goal in 20 games. He followed that up by starting this season with four points (1 G, 3 A) and 28 shots on goal in his first 20 games, but he has turned the corner and is now a solid offensive contributor on a talented Senators squad. In his past 16 games, Zetterlund has 12 points (8 G, 4 A) and 38 shots on goal, and appears to have secured a regular spot on the top line alongside Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk.

#7 With injuries decimating the Tampa Bay Lightning blueline, Darren Raddysh has been the primary beneficiary from an offensive standpoint, as he is quarterbacking the top power play unit and producing at an elite level. His partner, J.J. Moser, has been making inroads recently, with five points and 16 shots on goal while averaging 23:32 of ice time in his past six games. Moser only had seven points (1 G, 6 A) and 34 shots on goal in his previous 28 games, but he does seem equipped to provide more offense than that.

#8 Although he is getting surpassed by his younger teammates in San Jose, Sharks right winger Tyler Toffoli has put up 13 points (5 G, 8 A) and 38 shots on goal in his past 13 games, recording two four-point games in the process. Toffoli is skating on San Jose’s second line, alongside William Eklund and Alexander Wennberg, while also getting time with the top power play unit.

#9 At this stage of his career, 40-year-old Colorado Avalanche defenceman Brent Burns is not the focal point for offense on the blueline, but he hasn’t abandoned those parts of his game, either. In his past 12 games, he has delivered eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 26 shots on goal, while averaging 19:44 of ice time per game. Only one of Burns’ 19 points this season have come on the power play, so there is a limit to his offensive contribution, but he remains a contributor for an Avalanche team that is steamrolling the rest of the league.

#10 Staying on the Colorado blueline, Samuel Girard has suddenly started to provide offense. In his past six games, Girard has six points (2 G, 4 A) and eight shots on goal, but he had just two assists in the 15 games that he played before that. Like Burns, Girard is not getting power play time in Colorado, but the Avs are so good that it could be worth considering these guys in deeper leagues.

#11 Winnipeg Jets forward Morgan Barron has never scored more than 21 points in an NHL season, but that could change this season. He has found a role on Winnipeg’s third line, alongside Adam Lowry and Alex Iafallo, and in his past six games, Barron has five points (4 G, 1 A) and a dozen shots on goal. He is up to 12 points (7 G, 5 A) in 29 games this season, so he has a real chance to set a career high in point production. For fantasy managers, his appeal is mostly in very deep leagues, though his offensive surge coupled with 67 hits in 29 games does give him some added fantasy value.

#12 It seems as though Oliver Bjorkstrand has been underutilized in Tampa Bay, as he is playing just 14:23 per game, which would be his lowest average time on ice since 2018-2019. However, in his past seven games, Bjorkstrand does have seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 12 shots on goal while playing 15:32 per game. He is currently on the Lightning’s second line, with Nick Paul and Jake Guentzel.

#13 Buffalo Sabres left winger Zach Benson was having a hard time finding the back of the net, going without a goal in his first 17 games of this season, but he has started to put it together recently. In his past six games, Benson has five points (3 g, 2 A) and 12 shots on goal, As the Sabres are making a concerted effort to turn their season around, Benson is getting first unit power play time while skating on a line with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn at even strength.

#14 After a slow start to the season that saw him demoted to the fourth line, Carolina Hurricanes left winger Andrei Svechnikov does seem to be back on track. In his past nine games, Svechnikov has 10 points (2 G, 8 A) and 20 shots on goal. He’s now skating on a line with Jordan Staal and Jackson Blake, which is more of a two-way line than usual, but Svechnikov is delivering results.

#15 The Columbus Blue Jackets acquired left winger Mason Marchment from the Seattle Kraken after the consensus was that Marchment’s time in Seattle was just not a good fit. After he had 13 points (4 G, 9 A) with 46 shots on goal in 29 games, which was not the kind of production that he was providing in his previous seasons with Dallas. Early returns in Columbus are more promising, as he has been playing with Adam Fantilli and Kirill Marchenko and Marchment has three goals and seven shots on goal in his first two games with Columbus. He is still more of a deep league option for fantasy managers, but he has a chance to provide value.

#16 The Buffalo Sabres are turning around their season and goaltender Alex Lyon is putting up great results. He has won each of his past six starts, posting a .922 save percentage. When the Sabres’ season looked like it was getting away from them, it was looking more likely that Lyon or Ukka-Pekka Luukkonen could get traded, but now that the Sabres have moved to within two points of a Wild Card playoff spot, they are more likely to stick with their tandem.

#17 While the Seattle Kraken are battling to stay in the playoff hunt, currently three points back of the second Wild Card spot, they are getting quality play from goaltender Joey Daccord. In his past five starts, Daccord has won three while posting a .934 save percentage. On the season, Daccord has 4.14 Goals Saved Above Expected, which is the kind of goaltending that can keep a team in the playoff race and it might make him a viable fantasy option.

#18 When looking for players who might be ready to bust out offensively, consider those that have not been living up to their underlying numbers. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, for example, has just one goal in 11 games this month, despite having 5.70 individual expected goals in all situations. Some other players whose goal numbers have been below expected goals in December: William Eklund (-4.25), Anthony Cirelli (-4.04), Chris Kreider (-3.88), John Tavares (-3.61), Rickard Rakell (-3.36), Logan Stankoven (-3.21), Jake DeBrusk (-3.20), Nico Hischier (-3.12), Tom Wilson (-3.11), and Jake Guentzel (-2.83).

#19 With Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar injured, the Chicago Blackhawks have veterans Jason Dickinson and Ryan Donato holding down their top two centre spots. Donato played a season-high 21:35 in the last game before the break and does have a goal and an assist in his past two games, so he may have some short-term appeal while the Blackhawks are in the tough situation of missing their top two centres.

#20 Newly acquired Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry suffered a lower-body injury that should keep him out for a couple of weeks and that has opened the door for Connor Ingram, who has won his first couple of starts with Edmonton, stopping 92.0 percent of the shots that he faced in the first two games. He had a .856 save percentage in 11 AHL appearances, so it’s not like he was forcing his way back into the NHL with his play, but the Oilers are playing better and if it means that Ingram can get comfortable in the NHL again, he could at least have short term appeal for fantasy managers.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – SEATTLE KRAKEN – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 19:53:44 +0000

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 12: Seattle Kraken C Chandler Stephenson (9) during the game between Seattle Kraken and Detroit Red Wings on January 12, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire)

For the third time in four seasons, the Kraken missed the playoffs in 2024-2025, finishing with 76 points (35-41-6). The Kraken earned that placement, ranking 25th in Corsi percentage (47.9) and 29th in expected goals percentage (46.2). Overcoming that possession deficit is asking a lot on the rest of the things that the team can control. Seattle’s power play ranked 27th with 5.56 goals per 60 minutes during five-on-four play. It only got slightly better when the Kraken were shorthanded, as they ranked 23rd with 8.68 goals against per 60 minutes during four-on-five play. In goal, Joey Daccord had another strong season while Philipp Grubauer struggled yet again. When all of these components are added together, it wasn’t just one thing leading the Seattle’s struggles, but the combination of these things practically made it inevitable.

What’s Changed?

That disappointing finish resulted in the Kraken firing head coach Dan Bylsma, replacing him with Lane Lambert, who had been an associate coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has previous head coaching experience with the New York Islanders. The Kraken also moved Ron Francis from General Manager to President, with Jason Botterill taking over as GM. That means the team has new voices and decision makers, but they made some changes to the roster as well, trading for Dallas Stars winger Mason Marchment and Minnesota Wild checking forward Frederick Gaudreau. On defence, they signed Ryan Lindgren, who finished last season with the Colorado Avalanche after starting his career with the New York Rangers. The Kraken traded winger Andre Burakovsky to the Chicago Blackhawks and winger Michael Eyssimont signed with the Boston Bruins as a free agent.

What would success look like?

It would be great if the Kraken could get back to the playoffs, but that would likely require a 20-point improvement, so it’s probably not the most realistic outcome. The objective should at least be to close the gap, and that includes improving possession numbers at five-on-five, getting better on the power play and penalty kill, and finding a reliable No. 2 goaltender, whether it’s Grubauer or someone else. If all of those objectives are met and the Kraken still fall short of the playoffs, but are a competitive team pushing, say, 90 points, then that’s a relatively and achievably successful season.

What could go wrong?

Considering the Kraken’s track record, expectations have to be modest already, going into the 2025-2026 season, so if the team is truly bad and has a shot at winning the draft lottery, then it’s really not the worst long-term scenario. But, if the expectation is for the Kraken to be competitive, that can get undone if Daccord doesn’t bail them out with strong goaltending. If the Kraken do fall off the pace early, they have a handful of proven veterans who will be unrestricted free agents at season’s end, so they will likely become active sellers in the marketplace. In the short term, that could make the Kraken even worse, but it might be best for the franchise in the long run.

Top Breakout Candidate

Shane Wright scored 44 points (19 G, 25 A) in 79 games in his first full NHL season in 2024-2025 and did that while playing just over 14 minutes per game. Considering that the Kraken have Matty Beniers and Chandler Stephenson ahead of Wright on the depth chart at centre, there is a possibility that Wright could beat them out for a bigger offensive role and if he does that, his point total could jump quite a bit if, for example, he is suddenly playing an extra three minutes per game.

FORWARDS

Jared McCann

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	25	35	60	0.73

McCann is the Kraken’s lone star forward and last year was his lowest goal-scoring season with the team, mostly due his power play production declining. Still possessing a heavy wrist shot, defenders put more of a focus on shutting down McCann and he didn’t have much space to work with. He had the lowest Controlled Zone Entry percent of his Seattle career, so he had to rely on his linemates more to both enter the zone and play off him. McCann adjusted to this well by thriving in more of a playmaking role, helping rookie Shane Wright find the back of the net a few times. McCann’s shot is his calling card, but there’s also a lot of deception to his game, which he showed with his playmaking. He passed from areas that he usually shoots from, giving his linemates plenty of looks off one-timers and into open nets. He had to make do with the space he was given from the outside and he usually finishes at a higher rate than he did last season, whether this was an off year or a sign of things to come remains to be seen. His all-around game covered up some of his decline in scoring, as McCann is one of the only forwards the Kraken can rely on for providing instant offence along with great play driving.

Matty Beniers

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

The Kraken were quick to make Beniers as part of their core, signing him for seven years before the start of last season. Hoping his $7.14 million cap hit will be a bargain when he breaks out, the offence still hasn’t come out for the former Michigan star. He has a unique profile for a younger player, excelling at carrying the puck out of the defensive zone and acting as a third defenceman to help spring the breakout. There aren’t a lot of young forwards who play this way, but Beniers uses his long reach and frame well to protect the puck and get it out of harms way. It’s made him a reliable defensive forward at a young age. The offence is still a work in progress, as he is one of the least productive first line centers in the league right now. His goal scoring improved a little last season, the addition of Kaapo Kaako being the biggest help to that. Beniers is more dangerous when shooting off one-timers rather than trying to beat goaltenders on his own off the rush, so adding a playmaker to his line was a big help. There weren’t a lot of opportunities for one-timers in previous seasons with Beniers having to quarterback everything in the offensive zone. His overall offence, however, took a step back with his line only creating off the rush without much shot volume. Time will tell if this will ever come around or if Beniers just fills a niche as a defensive workhorse.

Chandler Stephenson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	14	36	50	0.63

Seattle is no stranger to going the free agent route to fill their needs and last summer’s addition of Chandler Stephenson was one of their riskier moves. The speedy center spent his best seasons on deep Vegas teams and Stephenson himself had an elite linemate in Mark Stone for most of his run there. Going from that to playing as the de facto top line center on a weaker Seattle team was asking a lot out of him. In some ways he performed to expectations, posting similar scoring numbers to his final year in Vegas with more of his assist production coming on the power play compared to even strength. Everything outside of that is where the major problems lie. Seattle was heavily outshot and outchanced with Stephenson on the ice. His best tool is his speed, and they couldn’t set him up to get rush chances like he did with Vegas. He’s also not the best traditional center in terms of knowing where to be on the ice. He is all over the place when defending in his own zone, sometimes cheating for a breakaway, chasing the puck instead of sticking to his assignment and not doing much to break the play up. Sometimes you have to accept the risks if you have a game-breaking player and while Stephenson’s straightaway speed fits the bill there, the Kraken haven’t figured out how to best utilize it at even strength. They played him as their top center, and it might be better for the team’s future if someone else assumes that role next season.

Kaapo Kakko

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	16	36	52	0.63

One of the Kraken’s highest scoring players on a point-per-game basis, Kakko found his niche as a playmaker in Seattle. His development with the Rangers was full of roadblocks, both by the coaching staff and his own play not being at the level of a top three pick. His linemates would change frequently, bouncing around from the top six to the fourth line and never establishing a role there. It changed with a mid-season trade to Seattle where the talented Finn decided to go all in on being a playmaker. He was first on the team in shot assists per 60 minutes and was only behind Jordan Ebelre in terms of setting up scoring chances, all while scoring 10 goals despite posting one of the lowest shot rates on the team. Kakko used his big body to position himself along the wall to create easy zone entries for Matty Beniers. This took a lot of pressure off Beniers to not play as a one-man show and become more of a shooting threat, as Kakko could protect the puck and draw defenders in from behind the goal line to create space. While he didn’t produce like a star and his defensive game is not quite there yet, this is the most high-level skill the former second overall pick has shown in the NHL thus far. Finding a niche is tough even for the most talented player and Kakko finally carved out a role for himself on a Kraken team desperate for elite talent.

Shane Wright

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	24	28	52	0.64

One of the centerpieces of Seattle’s core, Shane Wright showed enough to keep the team hopeful about his future but maybe not as the guy to build around. The encouraging thing from Wright’s rookie season is that he could score, shooting at over 20% and showing some high-level finishing off the rush. The downside is that he didn’t create a lot of chances and it’s tough for most players to sustain that kind of shooting percentage. Wright was somewhat protected with the Kraken deploying him mainly with sheltered third line minutes and power play time. They paired him with stronger puck-carries like Burakovsky and McCann so Wright could focus more on getting open playing away from the puck, not putting too much of a workload on the youngster early on. The results were a mixed bag. He showed a decent level of skill but didn’t show signs of being a potential game-breaker. Most of his goals came from reaping the benefits of his linemates or jumping on a loose puck. There’s a place for that, but the Kraken are hoping Wright can become their top center at some point. There were signs of him having more to offer, though. He likes to carry the puck and play off the rush, he just had a low number of zone entries per game, so he didn’t get to show this skill much. It’s not out of the ordinary for a player his age, but it’s something the Kraken will want to see more of as he ascends in the lineup.

Jordan Eberle

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	16	27	43	0.56

One of the few forwards on the team who could produce scoring chances consistently, Eberle sustaining a pelvis injury that required surgery, was a major blow to the Kraken. He was the team’s hottest scorer out of the gate with six goals in the first month of the season and he struggled to regain his form after returning to the lineup in February, scoring only three goals the rest of the season. Depending on how he recovers in the off-season, Eberle is one of Seattle’s most valuable players. He knows the tools of the trade when it comes to creating offence and has always been great at weaving through defenders to get to the net. He doesn’t have the same speed he used to, but he makes up for it by always being in the right spot and reading off some of his quicker linemates like Beniers or Stephenson. His skillset is more complementary in nature now, but it’s also integral in helping unlock some of the more skilled players on the Kraken. His chemistry with Beniers and McCann being a great example. When Beniers has control of the puck on the cycle, Eberle always does a good job of slyly getting lost in coverage for a one-time opportunity. The roles can also be reversed because Eberle is terrific at making passes around the net and McCann’s shot is one of Seattle’s best offensive weapons. The same goes for Beniers’ one-timer, which is why his absence was felt throughout the lineup. Now 35 years old, it’s uncertain if Eberle will stay this effective after surgery, but he’s always been a versatile offensive player who can make his linemates lives easier.

Tye Kartye

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	9	9	18	0.26

Kartye made some waves when he was called up during the Kraken’s inaugural playoff run, showing some of his goal-scoring prowess that made him one of Coachella Valley’s top players. As a slower skater, the NHL was going to be an adjustment for him, and he showed enough in his rookie season with 11 goals in a bottom six role. Last season was more of a struggle, as Kartye didn’t do much to standout and saw his scoring chance rate plummet to below replacement level. Losing his regular linemates in Yanni Gourde and Brandon Tanev at the trade deadline made things tougher on him and he eventually found himself in the press box for a few games. The Kraken still chose to extend him with a raise, so he gets a chance at fresh start with a new coaching staff. The intriguing part of Kartye’s game are his hands and his shooting. He showed in his rookie season that he can be a consistent scoring chance generator; Seattle just has a plethora of players with one or two tools and not enough with a complete skillset.

Jaden Schwartz

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	24	22	46	0.58

Schwartz is the definition of a jack-of-all-trades player, he can play all three forward positions on any line and adapt to whatever role he’s tasked with. The Kraken needed him to carry more of the offence last season, and he posted his highest goal total in 10 years. A great skater, Schwartz is very slick at getting away from coverage to extend shifts in the offensive zone. It was more of a weapon off the rush last season, where he scored a handful of goals off one-timers as the second or trailing forward into the zone. In addition to the goal scoring, Schwartz was also the Kraken’s best forward at leading zone exits, excelling at making long, breakout passes to kickstart the rush. This is also where his slick skating came into play, as he could dodge and dangle around forecheckers to both create passing lanes and allow the other forwards to fly the zone. He mastered the balance of contributing to the team’s transition game without needing to carry the puck in himself much, as that’s never been a major strength of his. Schwartz has been one of Seattle’s best players since their inception and while he is coming off an excellent season, it does raise some questions about the team’s ceiling if he is still one of their top forwards when they’re trying to make the playoffs.

Mason Marchment

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	21	26	47	0.63

Trying to bolster the middle of their roster, Marchment was acquired by Seattle early in the offseason for a couple of mid-round picks. He brings some elements the Kraken are lacking in the middle of their roster with his size, offensive upside and physical play. His propensity to take penalties and his sloppy play with the puck in the defensive zone are Marchment’s main drawbacks, but the positives outweigh the negatives if he scores like he did in Dallas the last couple of seasons. The Seattle middle-six has been somewhat of a mess in the last couple of seasons and Marchment brings a different look to the table than Burakovsky or even some of their better players like Schwartz. He plays like a torpedo on the forecheck, always looking to take the body and can create some high-quality chances out of nothing off loose pucks and scrambles. While Marchment raises the bar for Seattle, he isn’t going to have the same level of talent he had to work with in Dallas, so this will be a test of if he can drive the bus on his own. With how many of his chances came off one-timer and high-danger passes, Marchment might need some support to reach the offensive numbers he posted with the Stars, but the Kraken have some intriguing options to pair him with.

Eeli Tolvanen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	23	17	40	0.50

One team’s waiver wire fodder is another team’s treasure, as Tolvanen has improved every year he’s been in Seattle. Not developing into the goal scorer Nashville hoped he would be, Tolvanen was claimed for free by the Kraken and has done nothing but set career highs, all while primarily asked to play a checking role. Last year his goal scoring talent finally started to show. He’s always had a great wrist shot but needs the time and space to get it off, and he had to make do with limited opportunities. Last year was a change of pace, with Tolvanen becoming more of a shooting threat alongside Shane Wright. He’s quicker with releasing the puck now, scoring most of his goals off one-timers from plays from behind the net, taking some chances by playing deeper in the offensive zone instead of always being the first forechecker or staying in a defensive posture. It didn’t come at the cost of his defensive play, as the Kraken didn’t give up much when he was on the ice. He’s proven himself to be a versatile player and will look to build on that as he enters unrestricted free agency after this upcoming season.

DEFENCE

Vince Dunn

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	13	42	55	0.71

Dunn is one of the best-case scenarios letting a young defenceman play through his struggles when breaking into the top pair. They immediately used him in this role and while he had his initial struggles, Dunn blossomed into an undisputed number one defenceman the next season. His smooth passing and skating make him a key fixture in Seattle’s offence rather than a complementary piece, as he’s usually the one leading most of the entries and running the offence from up high. Dunn dominates the perimeter game by being patient with waiting for the defence to breakdown, deceptively looking off defenders and dissecting the coverage from up high. Also, he is very good at making the first forechecker miss to create chances closer to the net. Dunn is one of Seattle’s jenga pieces, with the defence usually falling apart when he’s not in the lineup. The transition game is where he’s most valuable, starting entries from both taking a beating to retrieve pucks and resetting the play in the neutral zone. The latter is where Dunn is the most impactful at starting the Kraken’s offence, picking off zone exits and turning them into quick-strike offence. This has made his injury concerns particularly devastating, missing most of the first half of last season with a mid-body injury and ending the previous season on injured reserve with a concussion. He is the catalyst for most of the Kraken’s offence and it exciting to think about what he could do with better forwards around him.

Brandon Montour

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	16	28	44	0.55

Montour has never been the easiest player to fit into your lineup as an attack-minded defenceman who needs to be insulated with great forward talent and a strong defence partner. He proved a lot of people wrong in Florida as a key part in back-to-back Cup wins while playing 24-25 minutes a night, but there was a lot that the Panthers did to protect him. Montour was never the first to go back to retrieve pucks, playing higher in the zone and letting his partner or the forwards do the work in the corners. This allowed him to get up in the play quicker, sprinting out of the zone and playing most of his shifts going north. With the Kraken, he had to do more of the grunt work in the defensive zone, and it didn’t keep him from playing his game. Montour set a career high in goals and was still the high-level offensive defenceman that he was in Florida. While a lot of defencemen like this have more complementary skillsets, Montour likes to be the center of the play. He takes a lot of shots, moves all around the offensive zone to look for one-timers and loves joining the rush. It’s why he’s a tough player to fit into your system, but with his defensive game improving, it was a little more seamless for the Kraken last year. They took a huge risk signing him to a high-dollar contract for seven years and so far, he’s been worth it.

Adam Larsson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	6	19	25	0.31

One of the early breeds of the modern shutdown defenceman, Larsson has been a model of consistency for the Kraken. He was one of their first picks in the expansion draft and one of the first players they made part of their core, signing him to a four-year deal almost immediately after. He plays a key role as the more defensive presence next to Vince Dunn and anchoring their top penalty kill unit. Mostly out there to play safety valve, Larsson can still be active in the play, he’s a very fluid skater and likes to join the cycle when the opportunity is open. He is a sizable defenceman but defends more with his legs, having the mobility to keep up with top forwards and skating them into a corner to kill the play. This has made up for some of the decline in his rush defence the past few seasons. He’s not as efficient with killing plays using his stick as he used to and teams have started attacking his side of the ice instead of Dunn’s. His strong cycle defence makes up for this, as Larsson still does a good job disrupting plays after the puck is in the zone. In the first year of a four-year deal, Larsson’s provides a steadying presence on Seattle’s blue line. Not a game-breaker by any means, but someone who can hold the fort down in the top four and give you solid results.

GOAL

Joey Daccord

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
55	21	25	6	3	.905	2.82

Seattle keeps hoping that Philipp Grubauer, who emerged as a surprising starting goaltending darling with the Colorado Avalanche just prior to the team's expansion, will finally find his footing and help the team challenge for contention. But Grubauer is coming off of one of the worst seasons of not just his career but the entire league, and it's about time to consider that his contract - which won't be up until the end of not this season, but the next one - was a mistake. Now, Seattle is desperately trying to scrounge up a goaltending depth chart that they can cycle through for a full season without offloading Grubauer, which has left them with an equally expensive Joey Daccord, a bizarre reclamation project (fresh off of his second 'second chance' team in Toronto) in Matt Murray, and the Coachella Valley Firebirds' most promising prospect in Niklas Kokko.

Daccord is, statistically, Seattle's best goaltender at the moment. He returned at the start of the 2023-24 season looking like a new, crisper goaltender, and he carried that new technical precision into this past season. From a financial standpoint, though, the Kraken seem intent on at least giving Grubauer 1B backup appearances, which leaves Seattle in a position where they look like they won't be competing for at least another two years. Unless Grubauer mysteriously finds his form again, they'll need to make some tough choices if they want to take a step forward.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Hot Russian scoring wingers Ovechkin, Kuzmenko to Michkov, plus Jackson LaCombe, Matthew Knies, Nazem Kadri and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 04 Apr 2025 19:56:10 +0000

LOS ANGELES, CA - MARCH 11: Los Angeles Kings Left Wing Andrei Kuzmenko (96) exchanges words with a Referee during a Los Angeles Kings game versus the New York Islanders on March 11th, 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. This week, Russian scoring wingers from Alex Ovechkin to Andrei Kuzmenko to Matvei Michkov, plus Jackson LaCombe, Matthew Knies, Nazem Kadri and much more!

#1 While he is obviously rostered in every fantasy league, it’s worth paying respect to Washington Capitals superstar Alex Ovechkin as he is on the cusp of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record. It’s well worth noting that Ovechkin scored 31 goals in 79 games last season and considering he would be 39 years old this season, it was reasonable to wonder if he might finally be slowing down. Despite averaging a career-low 17:46 of ice time per game, Ovechkin has scored 39 goals in just 59 games. He is scoring on a career-high 18.0 percent of his shots, which plays a big part, but he has also increased his per game shot rate despite his ice time going down by 87 seconds per game. He is skating on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Tom Wilson at even strength and holds down the same spot in the left-wing faceoff circle on the power play that he has forever. Can he get the three goals he needs in the final seven regular season games? It seems likely.

#2 The Philadelphia Flyers have only played three games under interim head coach Brad Shaw, but it does appear that the change behind the bench has been beneficial for star rookie Matvei Michkov, who has put up seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 13 shots on goal in those three games. He now has 11 points (4 G, 7 A) with 21 shots on goal during a six-game point streak. Michkov’s ice time per game has jumped to 19:10 per game under Shaw, after averaging 16:18 per game under John Tortorella. It’s a small sample, but the early returns are positive.

#3 Sticking with the theme of high-scoring Russian wingers, it looks like the Los Angeles Kings have unlocked the talents of Andrei Kuzmenko, who has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) in his past eight games, thriving on the top line with Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe. Kuzmenko is also getting first unit power play time in Los Angeles, and he scored 39 goals in his first NHL season in 2022-2023, so he has shown that he has the skill, but now it looks like he’s getting a prime opportunity in Los Angeles.

#4 Anaheim Ducks defenceman Jackson LaCombe has emerged as a star this season. It might get overlooked because he is doing it for a young Ducks team that is on the outside looking in at the postseason, but LaCombe has taken on big minutes on the Ducks’ blueline and had eight points (3 G, 5 A) during a six-game point streak that was snapped in Thursday’s 4-1 loss at Calgary. LaCombe has 43 points (14 G, 29 A) in 68 games while averaging nearly 22 minutes of ice time per game. It has been a massive leap forward from his rookie season and the 24-year-old blueliner from the University of Minnesota is going to be a fixture on Anaheim’s defence for years to come.

#5 Second year Toronto Maple Leafs left winger Matthew Knies continues to improve and he makes the most of his excellent opportunity to skate on a line with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Knies has seven points (2 G, 5 A) and 18 shots on goal in his past seven games. The sweetener for fantasy managers is that Knies has recognized the impact that he can bring with his physical play, and he has 23 hits in those seven games and 174 hits for the season, which adds to his appeal.

#6 As the Calgary Flames try to stay in the playoff hunt, veteran centre Nazem Kadri is leading the charge. In his past nine games, Kadri has 11 points (8 G, 3 A) with 35 shots on goal. He is skating on a line with Yegor Sharangovich and Martin Pospisil at even strength, but Kadri is a power play threat, producing 20 of his 59 points with the man advantage.

#7 Maple Leafs defenceman Jake McCabe is not known as an offensive defenceman, having scored a career-high 28 points last season, but he has been playing with more confidence recently, and it has led him to record six assists in his past seven games. For a player who has 135 blocked shots and 118 hits, that bit of offensive production suddenly makes McCabe worth considering for fantasy managers.

#8 This has not been a banner season for the Nashville Predators in general, and for right winger Luke Evangelista, specifically. However, he is getting a decent shot to produce late in the season and has eight points (3 G, 5 A) with 13 shots on goal in his past eight games. He is playing on Nashville’s top line with Ryan O’Reilly and Michael Bunting, which is a good position with more ice time for him but also reflects the kind of lineup that the Predators are rolling out down the stretch.

#9 Although this has been yet another disappointing season for the Buffalo Sabres, they have been able to give Ryan McLeod a chance to handle more responsibility, and he has proven that he can handle it. In his past 14 games, McLeod has 17 points (5 G, 12 A) with 25 shots on goal. He has been averaging fewer than 16 minutes per game before seeing his ice time increase to over 20 minutes per game over that 14-game span. His linemates, Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka, are sufficiently skilled to bring out the best in McLeod and Quinn is finding his footing after an otherwise forgettable season. Quinn has nine points (4 G, 5 A) during a five-game point streak. Peterka has 19 points (8 G, 11 A) and 38 shots on goal in 17 games since the break for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

#10 Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann has not scored quite as much this season, tallying 18 goals for the Kraken after producing 96 goals in his first three seasons with Seattle, but he is picking up points down the stretch. In his past six games, McCann has delivered nine points (1 G, 8 A) with 20 shots on goal. McCann has helped to snap Andre Burakovsky out of a season-long slump. In his past eight games, Burakovsky has nine points (3 G, 6 A), which is a far cry from the 24 points (8 G, 16 A) in 65 games that he had before that point.

#11 When the Carolina Hurricanes traded Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars, it was somewhat forgotten that the ‘Canes had also acquired veteran winger Taylor Hall, and he would remain in Carolina. In 11 games since the trade deadline, Hall has contributed 12 points (7 G, 5 A) with 24 shots on goal and Hall has been in the position to shoot more on the power play and four of those seven goals have come on the PP. Staying in Carolina, but at the other end of the experience spectrum, rookie right winger Jackson Blake has taken on a bigger role and has eight points (3 G, 8 A) with 21 shots on goal in his past eight games. Blake has landed a spot on Carolina’s top line, skating with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, a real chance for Blake to finish the season strong.

#12 After missing much of the season, Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner has long been a productive player, contributing enough to have fantasy appeal even without elite scoring numbers. He had missed more than half of this season while recovering from shoulder surgery, but since returning to action, he has contributed 18 points (6 G, 12 A) with 47 shots on goal in 18 games. He also has 33 hits and 13 blocked shots, providing the peripheral statistical value that goes above and beyond point production.

#13 The story of this season for the Chicago Blackhawks is naturally one of disappointment, as they have 52 points in 75 games, putting them in 31st place. But there have been some silver linings, most notably the breakthrough season for veteran forward Ryan Donato. In his past 30 games, Donato has piled up 35 points (16 G, 19 A). For a player with a previous career high of 31 points, Donato has taken his game to a new level and some of that can be attributed to receiving extra ice time on a team that is lacking skilled forwards, but Donato’s 59-point season (so far) should change expectations for him moving forward.

#14 Veteran Philadelphia Flyers centre Ryan Poehling has established himself as a capable checking centre, but one with relatively low offensive output. He scored a career-high 28 points last season and after missing some time with injuries this year, it did not look like he would surpass that, but suddenly Poehling has 10 points (7 G, 3 A) in his past 10 games, which has lifted him to 25 points (11 G, 14 A) in 62 games. He does not have a significant power-play role but is getting more than 15 minutes of ice time per game now, so he may find his way to a new career high in points.

#15 With J.T. Miller traded and Elias Pettersson injured, the Vancouver Canucks have turned to Pius Suter as their No. 1 centre and even if that seems above and beyond his profile, Suter has stepped into that responsibility. In his past eight games, Suter has averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time per game, producing 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 16 shots on goal. He has set career highs with 22 goals and 42 points, which shows that he can be a useful source of complementary offense.

#16 Another player making the most of his opportunities in what is otherwise a disappointing season for his team is Boston Bruins winger Morgan Geekie, who has 10 points (5 G, 5 A) while averaging more than 19 minutes of ice time per game in his past eight games. He is playing on the Bruins’ top line, with Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak, as well as getting first unit power play time and has set career highs with 27 goals and 46 points.

#17 As a late-season addition, there might be value in Columbus Blue Jackets defenceman Dante Fabbro. He does not have a significant power-play role but is paired with Zach Werenski on the Blue Jackets’ top pair. In his past four games, Fabbro has contributed seven points (2 G, 5 A) with eight shots on goal while playing more than 20 minutes per game. With 23 points (7 G, 16 A), Fabbro is one point away from matching his career high, set in 2021-2022 when he was with Nashville. The move to Columbus this season does seem to have rejuvenated his career.

#18 Every season, there is an influx of players coming out of college hockey and while they obviously provide great hope for the future, some might have an immediate impact down the stretch and into the playoffs. For example, Ryan Leonard has joined the Washington Capitals after accruing 49 points (30 G, 19 A) in 37 games for Boston College. He is starting on the Capitals’ second line with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas and has averaged 15 minutes of ice time per game in his first two NHL contests. Some others to keep an eye on: Gabriel Perreault with the New York Rangers, Jimmy Snuggerud with the St. Louis Blues, and Oliver Moore of the Chicago Blackhawks.

#19 The Pittsburgh Penguins have recently called up Rutger McGroarty from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, where he had 39 points (14 G, 25 A) in 60 games. The best part for McGroarty is that he has been slotted in at left wing alongside Sidney Crosby on Pittsburgh’s top line, so it’s hard to ask for a better situation as a 21-year-old winger trying to establish that he can play in a top six role in the NHL. In his first two games since rejoining the Penguins, McGroarty has picked up a couple of points with six shots on goal and six hits all while playing more than 17 minutes per game.

#20 Seattle Kraken goaltender Joey Daccord is coming off a 24-save shutout against Vancouver earlier this week, but he has hit a rough patch since the 4 Nations Face-Off. Prior to Wednesdays’ shutout against the Canucks, Daccord had started 13 games since the break, winning five while managing a save percentage of .882, which does not compare too favourably to the .915 save percentage that he had in his first 38 starts of the season. From the files of too little, too late: Philipp Grubauer does have a .925 save percentage for the Kraken in four starts since getting recalled from the AHL.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Nashville Resurgence, Rantanen traded to Carolina, plus much more – Favourable schedules and players to target

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 15:16:30 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault (81) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, held on January 16, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

The best stories in sports are the comebacks that happen after a team has been written off. Two examples that spring to mind from recent history are the 2014-15 Ottawa Senators, who were 22-23-10 after a loss Feb. 16, putting them 10 points behind in the playoff race, only to go 21-3-3 the rest of the way to narrowly secure a postseason berth. Another is the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues, who were 16-19-4 on Jan. 5, which placed them last in the Western Conference, before going 29-9-5 the rest of the way to not only make the playoffs but win the Stanley Cup.

Is it possible we’ll have another one of those stories this year? Those stories are memorable because they’re rare, and you only need to look at the absurd records they needed down the stretch to illustrate why. Due in no small part to the consolation point for overtime/shootout losses, the standings tend to look closer than they truly are because closing even a small point gap is difficult.

That said, I can’t help but look at the Nashville Predators and wonder if there is still some hope. It’s probably a foolish thing to think and a take that will age like milk, but after a 7-16-6 start, Nashville began to stabilize and now the team seems to have hit its stride with its current five-game winning streak. The Predators are still just 18-22-7, so they’d have basically have to go the rest of the season without any more noteworthy slumps, but part of the reason that such a feat even seems remotely possible is because the veteran leadership that seemed lost in the early part of the season has settled in.

Steven Stamkos has 10 goals and 19 points across his past 19 appearances while Jonathan Marchessault has 10 goals and 26 points over the same 19-game span. They were signed over the summer to provide that kind of offense but were initially written off as poor decisions by GM Barry Trotz due to their extremely poor start to the campaign. Now it seems they were judged too harshly.

When you couple their success with Filip Forsberg (18 goals, 47 points), elite defenseman Roman Josi (nine goals, 35 points) and veteran center Ryan O'Reilly (13 goals, 27 points), you have a fairly strong offense, especially if any of Gustav Nyquist, Tommy Novak or Luke Evangelista (lower body) start to hit their stride. As it is, Nashville has ranked second in goals per game (3.47) dating back to Dec. 10. That’s in stark contrast to the Predators’ first 28 games where they were last in the league in that scoring category (2.18).

You could call this just a hot streak for the offense, and there’s probably an element of that, but given that we’re talking about players of this caliber, it might be something at least somewhat sustainable.

It’s not all rosy, though. The X-Factor is surprisingly goaltending. Ottawa’s run involved journeyman goaltender Andrew Hammond standing on his head, and the Blues got a similar story out of rookie Jordan Binnington.

Nashville shouldn’t need someone to come out of nowhere to shut down the opposing offense. The Predators already have Juuse Saros, who not that long ago was seen as one of the best goaltenders of this generation. This campaign, though, he’s struggled with an 11-18-6 record, 2.81 GAA and .901 save percentage in 36 appearances. Unlike the offense, Saros hasn’t stepped up -- he's 2-2-0 with a 3.42 GAA and an .860 save percentage across his past five outings.

That’s led to Justus Annunen starting a bit more often lately, but while the backup netminder has won his past four starts, he’s been inconsistent, allowing 10 goals on 105 shots (.905 save percentage) over that span.

Let’s assume Nashville needs a 95-point season to make the playoffs. That wouldn’t have been good enough last year, but for the sake of argument, let’s just pretend that’s what’s needed. Nashville would need another 52 points across its final 35 games, so for example, 26-9-0, or say, 23-6-6. Even a top-tier offense is unlikely to get them that kind of record down the stretch. Some of that’s going to have to come from the goalies stealing games, so until Saros or Annunen start heating up, it’s hard to imagine the comeback happening.

That said, if Stamkos and Marchessault could find their way back from unflattering starts, perhaps Saros can too?

Calgary Flames (Tue vs WAS, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs DET, Sun @ SEA)

Calgary wasn’t seen as a major contender going into the campaign. In fact, there was an argument to be made that the Flames would regress from their 38-39-5 record last season after trading away goaltender Jacob Markstrom over the summer. However, we’re clear past the halfway point of 2024-25 now, and the Flames are very much in the playoff race. The weakness for the Flames is they’ve struggled on the road (8-10-4), but they won’t have to concern themselves with that in the upcoming week. They’ll host the Capitals, Ducks, Red Wings and Kraken on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

A big part of the reason why the Flames’ rebuild is ahead of schedule is 23-year-old goaltender Dustin Wolf. He got a taste of the NHL last year and was mixed at best, posting a 7-7-1 record, 3.16 GAA and .893 save percentage in 17 games. However, he’s filled the void left by Markstrom and then some in 2024-25 with his 17-7-2 record, 2.49 GAA and .918 save percentage in 26 starts. To put that into context, Wolf has already saved 13.3 goals above expected this season, per Moneypuck, which has almost caught up to the 13.7 goals saved above expected Markstrom provided for the Flames last campaign. Wolf also ranks eighth among goaltenders in that metric this season.

Wolf’s contributions are extra important because the rest of the team has underwhelmed. Calgary ranks 29th in goals per game (2.65) and 21st in xGA/60 (3.09). So, the team’s not generating much offense and the defense hasn’t been responsible enough to make an average goaltender look good -- just ask backup Dan Vladar, who is only slightly below average at minus-2.8 goals saved above expected, but due to the Flames’ defense has some rather unflattering numbers: a 3.03 GAA and an .889 save percentage.

Still, even if Wolf is the team’s clear MVP, it would be inaccurate to suggest that he’s the only player of value in Calgary. Jonathan Huberdeau might not be living up to his contract, but his 19 goals and 35 points through 46 outings make him the team’s offensive leader. Since a quiet stretch from Oct. 19-Nov. 29 in which Huberdeau had four goals and six points in 20 outings, the 31-year-old has been tremendous, supplying 12 goals and 23 points across 22 outings. If he can maintain anything close to that down the stretch, then there’s a decent chance he’ll be playing playoff hockey this year.

The 23-year-old Jakob Pelletier is also hot with three goals and six points across his past five appearances. It took him a while to get going -- he recorded a goal and five points over his first 15 games with Calgary this season -- but we’re getting a flash of what he’s capable of. He was selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has been dominant offensively at the AHL level, including three goals and 19 points in 20 contests this season.

Maybe Rory Kerins will also help them down the stretch. He’s 23 as well and has provided an incredible 21 goals and 34 points in 34 AHL games in 2024-25. Unlike Pelletier, Kerins was a late-round pick and even logged 38 games with ECHL Rapid City back in 2022-23. Kerins has risen, making his NHL debut Jan. 13 and recording four assists in five outings with the Flames so far. That said, he’s averaging just 12:14 of ice time, including a mere 6:57 on Thursday, so his role with Calgary is far from secure despite those early results. Monitor him, but don’t get too excited yet.

Colorado Avalanche (Tue @ NYI, Fri vs STL, Sun vs PHI)

The Avalanche has a solid 28-19-2 record, but they’ve merely treaded water lately, going 5-4-1 across their past 10 games. They’ll see if they can do better next week with a favorable schedule. The Avalanche will visit the Islanders on Tuesday before returning home to host St. Louis on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday. Those adversaries are well behind the Avalanche in terms of points percentage.

I wrote this whole thing about Colorado’s situation with regard to Mikko Rantanen’s contract, and then the Avalanche traded him to Carolina in a three-team deal that also involved Chicago, which was shocking, to say the least. To be fair, there is logic to be found here. My now outdated discussion of the topic still serves as a decent overview of the challenge the Avalanche were facing pre-trade, so I’ll show it here for that purpose:

“Like Edmonton with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Colorado also has the luxury of an elite one-two punch up front. The Avalanche version is headlined by Nathan MacKinnon, and the other half of the Avalanche’s duo is Mikko Rantanen, who has 25 goals and 64 points through 49 outings in 2024-25. Colorado has an issue that Edmonton recently went through, though: Rantanen is on the final season of his six-year, $55.5 million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Rantanen has a real shot of reaching the 40-goal and 100-point milestones for the third consecutive year, so to say he’s due a big payday would be an understatement.

Finding a comparable is a little difficult. Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy in 2019-20, has collected at least 50 goals on three occasions and has also gotten at least 110 points three times, but Rantanen has never been a Hart finalist, has reached the 50-goal mark just once and he’s career high in points is 105, so it’s clear which one of them has a better resume. Still, if Draisaitl could ink an eight-year, $112 million ($14 million cap hit) contract back in September, perhaps Rantanen is thinking at least $12 million annually? Maybe even more? It might be awkward to give Rantanen something at or above Nathan MacKinnon’s eight-year, $100.8 million ($12.6 million cap hit) contract, but MacKinnon inked that back in 2022, and with the cap going up, so too will the payouts for top talent.”

So, you can see why the Avalanche might have opted to move Rantanen rather than lock him up, and there might even be more to this story that we’re not yet aware of. Perhaps the Avalanche presented Rantanen with a competitive offer, and he rejected that. To be clear, that’s purely just hypothetical, and I have no inside knowledge of the situation, so please take my wild speculation as fact, but in that scenario, this trade would make more sense from the Avalanche’s perspective.

That said, I don’t love the return from the Avalanche’s perspective. Colorado is getting Martin Necas and Jack Drury from the Avalanche, as well as some picks. Necas has never reached the 30-goal or 80-point marks, so he doesn’t have the same kind of resume as Rantanen, but Necas is younger at 26 and has done well this campaign with 16 goals and 55 points in 49 appearances. He’ll look good alongside Nathan MacKinnon. My problem with Necas as the return is his two-year, $13 million contract expires in 2026, and then Necas will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. So, if he performs over the next year and a half as the Avalanche hope, then to some extent they just kicked the problem down the road by a year. Granted, Necas probably won’t command what Rantanen did…but that’s only because he’s a downgrade. No offense to Necas -- 99.9 percent of the league is a downgrade to Rantanen -- but the Avalanche are in a win-now mode, so unless retaining Rantanen was completely off the table, this trade feels a little weird to me.

Perhaps I’m undervaluing Jack Drury, though. He has just nine points (three goals) in 39 appearances in 2024-25, but the 24-year-old probably has upside left in him, and the Avalanche will certainly benefit from the center depth. It would not be surprising to see Drury tried out on the third line behind MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt.

The Avalanche also got two picks out of the trade. Not a first-rounder, but maybe in five years or so, we’ll look at one of those draft picks as an underrated benefit of this deal.

Carolina Hurricanes (Tue @ NYR, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs. LAK)

The teams I highlight are based on a combination of how busy their schedule is for the upcoming week and how favorable those matchups are. Additionally, I will typically present the teams I’ve included in alphabetical order. I’m breaking both of those to include the Hurricanes. I think it’s worth discussing the fallout of the Rantanen trade from the Hurricanes’ perceptive, and it’s better to have that discussion after outlining what this deal means for Colorado. A little bit of housekeeping before we get into the trade talks: The Hurricanes will start next week with a road tilt against the Rangers on Tuesday before hosting the Blackhawks on Thursday and the Kings on Saturday. It’s not a bad schedule, it’s just not special either.

Now to the trade: In addition to Rantanen, the Hurricanes also acquired Taylor Hall from Chicago for the cost of Necas, Drury and draft picks. There was also retained salary in the deal to make the cap situation work.

It’ll be really interesting to see how this plays out for Carolina. Rantanen has never really been “the guy” before. He’s spent basically his entire NHL career to this point in MacKinnon’s shadow, but now Rantanen will be expected to drive the offense in Carolina. Not that he’ll have to do it alone. In fact, Rantanen is likely to get some great linemates in Sebastian Aho (15 goals, 49 points) and Andrei Svechnikov (15 goals, 34 points). There’s every reason to believe that trio will mesh together.

There’s also reason to be optimistic about Carolina retaining Rantanen beyond this campaign. Sure, the Hurricanes’ attempt to lock down Jake Guentzel after acquiring him from Pittsburgh during the 2023-24 campaign ultimately failed, leading to Guentzel instead signing with Tampa Bay over the summer, but Carolina is set to be in a fantastic cap position for 2025-26. Dmitry Orlov ($7.75 million cap hit) and Brent Burns ($5.28 million) are both set to come off the books. Orlov will likely take a big pay cut if he stays at all. It’s not clear if Burns will play beyond this season, but if he does, it’ll likely be at a reduced salary too.

Carolina also doesn’t have any expiring players due for big paydays beyond Rantanen himself. Meanwhile, Puck Pedia is projecting them with $31.2 million in cap space for next season, albeit with just 13 roster spots filled. There is reason to believe the Hurricanes can meet Rantanen’s demands, even if he’s eyeing something close to what Draisaitl got.

What happens with Rantanen will go a long way towards defining how this trade is viewed, but adding Hall as well in the trade is interesting. He’s been middling this campaign with nine goals and 24 points in 46 appearances with the Blackhawks while averaging a modest 14:59 of ice time. It’s a far cry from what the 33-year-old did in his prime, but he might do better now that he’s on a contender. Hall will probably end up serving on the second line alongside some combination of Seth Jarvis (18 goals, 38 points), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (10 goals, 23 points) and Jackson Blake (11 goals, 16 points).

The Hurricanes’ overall offense has been good -- they rank fifth with 3.37 goals per game – but their scoring depth does leave something to be desired, especially if Carolina does go with that stacked top line of Svechnikov-Aho-Rantanen, so even a decent showing out of Hall would be a big boost.

Carolina likely doesn’t have any room left to make anymore notable additions before the trade deadline, but as it is, the Hurricanes do look like serious contenders.

New York Islanders (Tue vs COL, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ TBL, Sun @ FLA)

It might be premature to assume that the Islanders will miss the playoffs in 2024-25 for just the second time in seven years, but the team certainly has a hole to dig out of. They’ll attempt to better their situation next week, which will start with a home game against the Avalanche on Tuesday. The Islanders will then hit the road to play in Philadelphia on Thursday, Tampa Bay on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. It’s a tough schedule to be sure, but the Islanders are running out of margin for error, so they need to find a way to win difficult matches.

The Islanders inked Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract Friday, which is…a choice. He’s been bought out twice at the NHL level, which led to him joining the KHL, but DeAngelo only served in 34 games with St. Petersburg SKA before his contract was mutually terminated. He’s questionable in his own end and seems to be a lightning rod for controversy. Still, for as much as there’s a reason why teams keep souring on him, there is also a cause for the infinite number of “second” chances he’s gotten.

DeAngelo, under the right circumstances, can be very effective when the puck is on his stick. He has surpassed the 40-point mark three times at the NHL level and had six goals and 32 points in 34 KHL outings before parting ways with SKA. So, for all the negatives he comes with, at least the 29-year-old has that going for him.

A team in a good spot probably wouldn’t bother with DeAngelo given the baggage, but the Islanders are 28th in goals per game with 2.66 and have lost Noah Dobson to a lower-body injury. Dobson is week-to-week after sustaining the injury Monday. He’s a vital part of the Islanders, and while DeAngelo isn’t a good enough blueliner to fully replace Dobson, one part of that void that DeAngelo likely can fill is the offensive loss. DeAngelo might only serve on the third pairing, but he will likely feature on the top power-play unit and could have fantasy value if that’s his role. His fantasy value will be even higher in leagues that include PIM as a category because he tends to end up in the sin bin a fair amount.

Under ideal circumstances, DeAngelo’s inclusion might even offer a boost to Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, who will presumably share the ice with him on the power play. The Islanders are dead last in power-play conversions at just 12.2 percent, which has been a drag on the overall offensive output of the Islanders’ top forwards. If DeAngelo can help make the Islanders’ power play even remotely close to average, then that would add up meaningfully for all involved.

Of course, all this is assuming a favorable outcome, which is always a risky thing to believe in when it comes to DeAngelo. At the time of writing, his inclusion on the Islanders isn’t guaranteed. Though the contract has been signed, he needs to clear waivers before he can play for the Islanders. I wouldn’t bet on another team claiming him, but then again, I didn’t anticipate this move from New York, and yet, here we are.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs NJD, Wed @ NJD, Thu vs NYI, Sun @ COL)

The Flyers missed out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, but at least they managed to stay in contention for most of the campaign. They’d like to do one better this year and secure a Wild Card spot, but there’s a lot of competition for those two seeds, so every game is that much more important. The Flyers will start the week with a home-and-away series against the Devils on Monday and Wednesday before hosting the Islanders on Thursday. Philadelphia will conclude its weekly schedule in Colorado on Sunday.

Goaltending has been a recurring issue for Philadelphia this season. Samuel Ersson is just too inconsistent, leading to a 14-8-2 record, 2.80 GAA and .891 save percentage in 26 appearances. Ivan Fedotov is no better, though, at 4-6-3 with a 3.25 GAA and an .880 save percentage in 14 starts.

The tragedy is that the Flyers are actually a really good defensive team, locked in a four-way tie for sixth in xGA/60 (2.85). The problem is purely the goaltenders. Ersson ranks 83rd among all netminders in goals allowed above expected at minus-8.8, per Moneypuck. The only netminders worse in that category with at least 20 games played are Petr Mrazek, Tristan Jarry, Alexandar Georgiev and Philipp Grubauer. One of those (Jarry) was sent to the minors due to his play while Mrazek and Georgiev are playing for rebuilding squads in Chicago and San Jose. In other words, it’s unflattering company for Ersson.

The Flyers offense isn’t great, but it’s decent. Travis Konecny (21 goals, 56 points) is doing his best to push the team into contention. He’s also been particularly productive recently, supplying five goals and 15 points across his past 13 appearances.

Owen Tippett is benefiting from playing alongside Konecny. The 25-year-old Tippett has three goals and six points over his last eight games, giving him 14 goals and 30 points in 50 outings overall. That duo doesn’t combine to create a top line that will turn heads, but it does the job well enough.

The Flyers are hoping that Matvei Michkov might eventually headline a unit of his own, but the rookie has been streaky. That’s pretty common for a young forward. You just need to keep an eye out and bench him during the down patches. We might be entering one right now -- he has been held off the scoresheet in each of his past two games after supplying two goals and five points across six outings from Jan. 11-21.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon @ SJS, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs NSH)

Like the Islanders and Flyers, Pittsburgh is on the outside looking in on the Wild Card race but is still in the running. The Penguins will play in San Jose on Monday and Utah on Wednesday before returning home to host the Predators on Saturday. The Sharks and Predators own two of the worst records in the league, so Pittsburgh needs to pick up points during that stretch if the Penguins are going to convince GM Kyle Dubas that this team can make a serious playoff push this year.

And make no mistake: Dubas likely needs some convincing. RG.org claims to have a source that Pittsburgh is willing to trade anyone other than Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino and Owen Pickering. The source was also asked about Kris Letang, and they weren’t sure about him.

Erik Karlsson stands out as the biggest player not ruled out. The Penguins would likely need to retain salary -- his cap hit is $11.5 million annually through 2026-27, but the Sharks are already retaining $1.5 million, bringing the current hit to Pittsburgh down to $10 million -- but as long as Pittsburgh is willing to do that, the return could be fairly nice. Although he’s 34 years old, he’s been effective this campaign with four goals and 32 points in 50 outings.

One potential sticking point is that he has a no-movement clause. He already waived it once to move from San Jose to Pittsburgh, but presumably, there would only be certain teams he’d be willing to play for. The fun destination from a fan perspective would be a return to the Senators, but that would be difficult to make work from a cap perspective. Maybe Calgary or Columbus? The Flames and Blue Jackets are teams trending in the right direction who also have plenty of cap space. Perhaps they’d value his veteran leadership in addition to what he brings to the table on the ice. Columbus’ defense already looks fairly solid and is led by a phenomenal offensive defenseman in Zach Werenski, so I don’t know that the Blue Jackets are a great fit. Karlsson would likely provide a meaningful boost to the Flames, though.

Of course, if you're Crosby or Malkin, you’re still going to be clinging onto the hope of making the playoffs this year, so these upcoming games are extremely high stakes for them. Rust is dealing with a lower-body injury, which does complicate things, but if Rust ends up missing time, then you’ll probably see Anthony Beauvillier play with one of those highly motivated superstars.

Seattle Kraken (Mon @ EDM, Tue vs ANA, Thu vs SJS, Sun vs CGY)

Seattle will begin its weekly schedule with what’s likely to be a difficult matchup in Edmonton on Monday. However, the Kraken will then return home to host Anaheim on Tuesday, San Jose on Thursday and Calgary on Sunday. The Ducks and Sharks have struggled this campaign, so those are favorable matchups for the Kraken.

I briefly touched on Philip Grubauer above in the context of how bad he’s been this campaign -- and really for a while now. He has a 3.09 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 150 games since joining Seattle. His six-year, $35.4 million deal, which started in 2021-22, has been such a waste for the Kraken.

On the plus side, the Kraken have Joey Daccord, who has a 16-11-2 record, 2.47 GAA and .915 save percentage in 31 appearances in 2024-25. He could certainly use more offensive support, though.

Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 14 goals and 36 points in 49 appearances this season. That puts him outside of the NHL’s top 75 in the scoring race. Seattle also doesn’t employ any of the 32 players who have reached the 20-goal milestone. Jaden Schwartz is the closest at 16. A lack of big-name talent up front is really hurting this team.

Maybe Matty Beniers will still fill that void, but he’s been a mixed bag. He was Seattle’s first-ever draft pick -- the No. 2 overall selection in 2021 -- and he seemed to be on the fast track after supplying three goals and nine points in 10 NHL outings in 2021-22 followed by 24 goals and 57 points in 80 appearances last season. However, he took a big step back last year, dipping to 37 points, and he hasn’t rebounded much this campaign with 10 goals and 26 points in 49 appearances. He’s still just 22 years old, so there’s plenty of time for him to find his way, but it’s looking less and less likely that this year will be a positive for him.

Another former No. 2 pick seems to have found his way with Seattle, though. Since being acquired from the Rangers on Feb. 18, Kaapo Kakko has four goals and 13 points in 16 outings, giving the Kraken some of that offensive prowess they’ve desperately needed. He’s been averaging 16:50 of ice time in Seattle, which is up from 13:17 with the Rangers -- he had four goals and 14 points in 30 contests before the trade -- which goes a long way toward explaining his production jump.

There never seemed to be much of a role for Kakko in New York, so this change of scenery is probably exactly what he needed. Although his scoring pace might dip somewhat, he should continue to do well with Seattle.

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ STL, Wed @ NSH, Fri @ DAL, Sun @ DET)

The Canucks have been a mess on and off the ice lately. Will things get any better for them or will the descent continue next week? They’ll start on the road with games in St. Louis on Monday, Nashville on Wednesday and Dallas on Friday. Vancouver will then host the Red Wings on Sunday.

There’s been plenty of speculation about the Canucks potentially moving one of Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller for off-ice reasons. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Hurricanes were considering acquiring one of those star forwards before opting to instead get Rantanen from Colorado, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650. Carolina is likely out as a destination now, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vancouver still trade one of Miller or Pettersson. The Rangers have been brought up before as a potential destination, so maybe there’s still something to be had there.

Perhaps because this has been distracting them, Vancouver has been in free fall, going 6-10-6 since Dec. 8. Miller had a five-game scoring drought from Jan. 8-16, but he’s otherwise remained effective, collecting eight goals and 33 points in 37 outings this campaign. It’s still far behind his regular-season production from 2023-24 (37 goals, 103 points), but at least he’s providing close to a point-per-game.

Pettersson hasn’t given anything close to that lately. He has just three goals and four points across his past 14 appearances. That slump has undermined a strong start to the campaign, leaving him with 11 goals and 30 points in 41 outings overall. He’ll probably bounce back eventually, but his slump is certainly part of the reason for the Canucks’ decline.

Thatcher Demko isn’t helping either, though. Since making his season debut Dec. 10 after returning from a knee injury, he has a 3-5-3 record, 3.47 GAA and .867 save percentage in 12 games. Some rust is to be expected after missing the opening months of the season, but he’s showing no signs of improvement, going 1-3-0 with a 4.03 GAA and an .833 save percentage across his past four outings. Kevin Lankinen is far from a sure thing either, but he’s been the better option with his 16-8-6 record, 2.63 GAA and .903 save percentage in 30 appearances.

It's unfortunate because Demko has shown in the past that he can be an elite netminder, and Vancouver could certainly use the help right now. As it is, though, about the only positive in Vancouver is that Quinn Hughes is still Quinn Hughes with 12 goals and 52 points in 43 appearances, including four goals and 10 points across his past nine outings.

Hughes just needs other stars to go back to living up to their names as well.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Vilardi heating up, Kakko on the move, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 21 Dec 2024 00:53:01 +0000

_{LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 13: Winnipeg Jets center Gabriel Vilardi (13) celebrates his goal during an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings on December 13, 2023 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire)}

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Gabriel Vilardi is hot, Pavel Buchnevich is thriving on the wing, Kirill Marchenko leads the surprising Blue Jackets, a fresh start for Kaapo Kakko, and much more!

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

#1 Winnipeg Jets right-winger Gabriel Vilardi is heating up. The 25-year-old forward has tallied 11 points (5 G, 6 A) with 16 shots on goal while averaging 19:26 of ice time per game in his past eight games. He is in a great spot, skating on the Jets’ top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, as well as playing on the top power-play unit. Injuries have been a significant factor in Vilardi’s career, and he has never played more than 63 games in a season, so it is surprising that he has played in all 34 games for the Jets thus far. Vilardi has 28 points already, so if he remains healthy, he should surpass his career high of 41 points set in 2022-2023.

#2 The St. Louis Blues tried to shift Pavel Buchnevich to centre at the start of the season, confident that his all-around game would fit in that role, and it did not bring out the best in the veteran forward. He has been returned to the wing and in 10 games since Jim Montgomery took over behind the Blues bench, Buchnevich has contributed nine points (4 G, 5 A) with 27 shots on goal and has most recently found himself skating on a line with Jake Neighbours and Robert Thomas.

#3 The leading scorer for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season, with 33 points (11 G, 22 A) in 33 games, is third-year right winger Kirill Marchenko. In his past 15 games, he has 17 points (5 G, 12 A) and 46 shots on goal. He plays 18 minutes per game, consistently generates shots and has a good thing going on Columbus’ top line with Dmitri Voronkov and Sean Monahan.

#4 With just 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in 30 games for the New York Rangers, right winger Kaapo Kakko was traded to the Seattle Kraken, an opportunity for a fresh start for the second pick in the 2019 Draft. Kakko, 23, had career highs of 18 goals and 40 points during the 2022-2023 season but has not been able to generate enough offense to meet expectations. While Kakko’s puck possession numbers aren’t great this season, it has typically been a strength of his, so he should be able to hold a regular spot in the Kraken lineup. In his first game for Seattle, Kakko skated on a line with Jared McCann and Matty Beniers, which would be a decent spot for him to find his offensive game.

#5 With the Edmonton Oilers scoring at a high rate, ranking second in the league over the past month, there are secondary sources of offense available on this squad. One worth considering is defenceman Darnell Nurse, who has five assists and 14 shots on goal in his past six games. Nurse has 15 points (3 G, 12 A) in 29 games, with just one point on the power play, but he has been this productive despite an on-ice shooting percentage of 7.1 percent during five-on-five play. That mark should go up, so it would be a reasonable expectation for Nurse to score at least a half-point per game for the rest of the season. For a player who delivers hits and blocked shots as well, Nurse has value in most fantasy formats.

#6 Colorado Avalanche left winger Artturi Lehkonen has thrived with the Avs, where his hard-working industrious style of play complements Colorado’s highly skilled top players. In his past 11 games, Lehkonen has nine points (7 G, 2 A) and 25 shots on goal while averaging more than 22 minutes of ice time per game. He skates on Colorado’s top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, which is obviously a prime position for Lehkonen to continue delivering offensive production.

#7 After a slow start to the season, veteran Utah Hockey Club right winger Nick Schmaltz has started to break out of his slump, scoring at a more typical rate. Through his first 19 games of the season, Schmaltz had zero goals and 13 assists with 38 shots on goal. In a dozen games since then, he has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) with 30 shots on goal. As a key player on Utah’s top line and first power play unit, Schmaltz tends to be a reliable scoring threat and appears to be back on track.

#8 As the Buffalo Sabres are watching their season go down the drain, defenceman Owen Power has quietly been very productive. While Power has 20 points (4 G, 16 A) in 32 games, it’s notable that all 20 points have come at even strength, which puts him third in even-strength scoring among defencemen, behind only Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar. Power’s offensive ceiling would seem to be limited in Buffalo, where Rasmus Dahlin (currently injured) and Bowen Byram have power play priority, but the towering defender is already productive at 22 years old.

#9 Anaheim Ducks right winger Troy Terry has become a consistently productive scorer in recent seasons, even if it sometimes gets overlooked because of where he plays. In his past 11 games, Terry has put up 13 points (3 G, 10 A) with 37 shots on goal while averaging 19:53 of ice time per game. On a Ducks team trying to build around young players, Terry is skating on a line with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome on Anaheim’s No. 1 line.

#10 The Anaheim Ducks shuffled the deck on their blueline, dealing veteran defenceman Cam Fowler to the St. Louis Blues and part of the reason for the change was to give younger defencemen the opportunity to step into bigger roles. Second-year blueliner Jackson LaCombe is making the most of his chances and, in December, has suddenly produced seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 19 shots on goal in seven games. He is playing nearly 20 minutes per game in that time and is getting first-unit power play time, which makes him a legitimate option for fantasy managers.

#11 Nashville Predators defenceman Roman Josi has been battling a lower-body injury and has landed on the injured list. With Josi out, Brady Skjei takes over as the quarterback on the Nashville power play. Skjei has failed to record a point in each of his past nine games, despite playing nearly 23 minutes per game, leaving him with nine points (2 G, 7 A) in 32 games. That is a long way off the pace that Skjei set in Carolina over the previous three seasons when he produced 124 points (40 G, 84 A) in 243 games for the Hurricanes.

#12 Another former Hurricane, winger Teuvo Teravainen started slowly upon his return to Chicago, managing eight points (4 G, 4 A) in his first 18 games, with half of those goals and points coming in the third game of the season. Since then, Teravainen has 13 points (3 G, 10 A) in 15 games and he is skating on Chicago’s third line, alongside Jason Dickinson and Ilya Mikheyev.

#13 It would be too soon to recommend Oilers right winger Connor Brown in anything but the deepest of leagues, but he is worth keeping an eye on because the Oilers are not getting consistent production from their wingers and Brown did contribute more offensively before joining the Oilers last season. Brown managed just a dozen points (4 G, 8 A) in 71 games for Edmonton last season, but is up to 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 32 games this season after producing eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his past 11 games.

#14 Red Winger centre J.T. Compher has contributed a point per game (1 G, 8 A) in his past nine games, a sudden increase in his offensive output. While his ice time is down by 2:33 per game compared to last season, Compher is still getting first-unit power play time in addition to his time at centre on Detroit’s third line. As a player who had 48 and 52 points, respectively, in the previous two seasons, Compher is behind his previous scoring pace, but if he remains productive, his ice time will likely climb.

#15 Seattle Kraken right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand has been a consistent contributor but has elevated his level of play in the past month. In 14 games, he has 15 points (7 G, 8 A) and 30 shots on goal. Bjorkstrand gets first unit power play time for the Kraken, but only five of his 23 points this season have come with the man advantage. The recent uptick in his production has come at even strength, where he has more recently been playing with Shane Wright and Eeli Tolvanen. Bjorkstrand tallied a career-high 59 points (20 G, 39 A) last season, with 25 points on the power play, so that would seem to be an area that still has room for further improvement.

#16 Vegas Golden Knights winger Ivan Barbashev has been sidelined with an upper-body injury and it’s worth pointing out what a big hole that leaves in the lineup. Barbarshev has 26 points during five-on-five play and Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov is the only player in the league with more points during five-on-five play. Certainly, playing with Jack Eichel is a big part of Barbashev’s success, and Pavel Dorofeyev has joined Eichel and Stone on Vegas’ top line with Barbashev out of the lineup. Dorofeyev played 19:31 in Thursday’s win against Vancouver, the second-highest ice time of his career.

#17 As the Pittsburgh Penguins may be turning around a season that looked hopelessly lost, defenceman Matt Grzelcyk has turned into a solid contributor, putting up nine points (1 G, 8 A) in his past nine games. Eight of Grzelcyk’s 17 points this season have come on the power play and the Penguins are running a rare power play with two defencemen on the top unit and it’s been Grzelcyk and Kris Letang in those roles, with Erik Karlsson on PP2.

#18 There are ups and downs along the path for Montreal Canadiens goaltender Samuel Montembeault, who has had nine games this season in which he has allowed at least four goals, but he has a .914 save percentage to go along with a 4-3 record in seven starts this month. He has 7.73 Goals Saved Above Expected this season, which ranks eighth in the league, ahead of Igor Shesterkin, Jake Oettinger, and Jacob Markstrom. Wins might not come so easily for the Canadiens goaltender, but his performance thus far makes him a legitimate fantasy option and it backs up Team Canada’s choice to include him on the roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off.

#19 Sticking with all situations Goals Saved Above Expected but looking at the low end of the spectrum, the goaltenders with the fewest Goals Saved Above Expected this season: Boston’s Jeremy Swayman (-14.53), San Jose’s Alexandar Georgiev (-13.56), Columbus’ Daniil Tarasov (-11.39), Utah’s Connor Ingram (-9.61), and Carolina’s Spencer Martin (-9.56). From that group, Swayman obviously stands out, given the strong track record that he had prior to this season, but Ingram had an excellent season in 2023-2024, so his decline before getting hurt is notable, too. The goaltenders at the top of the list might be surprising, too, at least after Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck (+22.84). The rest of the top five are: Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal (+17.51), Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz (+13.46), Seattle’s Joey Daccord (+11.39), and Utah’s Karel Vejmelka (+10.94).

#20 There are some popular players with fantasy managers who are running ice cold lately, including New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton, Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson, the Rangers’ Chris Kreider, and Buffalo’s Alex Tuch, among others. Hamilton has gone seven games without a point and his ice time has dropped below 18 minutes in three of his past four games. In his past five games, Pettersson has zero points and eight shots on goal, while averaging 16:50 of ice time per game. Kreider recorded his first (and only) assist of the season on December 6th and has since gone six straight games without a point, though he does have 17 shots on goal in that span. Tuch has one point (1 G, 0 A) and 10 shots on goal in his past six games and played a season-low 14:34 against Montreal on Tuesday.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: DADOUN – FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – What to make of the Buffalo Sabres – Teams and players to target this week

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 14 Dec 2024 16:41:42 +0000

_{ST. LOUIS, MO - FEBRUARY 25: Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) during a NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the St. Louis Blues on February 25, 2022, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire),}

How should we define the 2024-25 Buffalo Sabres? On paper, they’re not a terrible team. Tage Thompson is an elite goal scorer, and Alex Tuch is a good first-line forward and well suited to being Thompson’s accomplish. Rasmus Dahlin, though currently out with a back injury, is a high-end offensive blueliner, and the Sabres also have two promising young defensemen on the rise in Owen Power and Bowen Byram. In net, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has shown that he can be a solid option.

This isn’t a good team either, though. The Sabres do have some offensive depth, especially with Jason Zucker enjoying a comeback campaign (seven goals and 20 points through 29 appearances), but their overall scoring still isn’t anything special. The blueliners do have a mixture of talent and promise, but as a squad, the Sabres have struggled on defense, as evidenced by the team ranking 22nd in xGA/60 (3.13) per Moneypuck. Those shortcomings have trickled down to Luukkonen, who has an 8-8-3 record, 2.79 GAA and .903 save percentage in 20 starts despite a passable plus-2.6 goals saved above expected.

More than anything, Buffalo is inconsistent. Sometimes this group can click, which led to Buffalo looking like a potential contender for a playoff spot earlier in the campaign, but other times they fall apart. Buffalo has lost its last eight games, dropping its record to 11-14-4.

That kind of inconsistency would be more forgivable if Buffalo was a rebuilding team, but is that still an appropriate definition for the Sabres? They certainly do still have younger players like defensemen Power and Byram, forwards Dylan Cozens and Zach Benson as well as goaltender Devon Levi honing his game in the minors. None of those five have celebrated their 24th birthday yet, so it’s reasonable to believe their game will continue to grow.

At the same time, Tuch and Thompson are already in their prime, albeit in the early stages at 28 and 27 years old, respectively. Dahlin is still young but also in his seventh campaign, so ideally this is a foundation that should have started to get results by now.

But those results never come. You could easily make an argument that this is a rebuilding team even with those three either in or approaching their prime, but you could have made the argument that basically every Sabres team over the last decade has been a rebuilding squad. At some point, you need to transition from rebuild.

It’s been nine years since Jack Eichel was selected as the No. 2 overall pick to be the Sabres’ future. It’s been six years since Dahlin was selected as the No. 1 overall pick to headline Buffalo’s defense. It’s been four years since Power was taken with the top pick, giving the Sabres a potentially amazing blue-line duo. It’s been three years since that relationship soured to the point where Buffalo traded him to Vegas.

Buffalo hasn’t participated in a single playoff game over that span. That’d be bad enough, but the drought dates back even further. When Buffalo was last a playoff team in 2011, Tomas Vanek was the Sabres’ leading scorer and Thompson’s age. Tyler Ennis was among the team’s promising young forwards while Tyler Myers was a sophomore coming off a Calder Trophy-winning campaign. Ryan Miller was in his prime, having won the Vezina Trophy the previous year. Lindy Ruff was the bench boss… well, actually, that’s true now too… but there were six bench bosses for Buffalo between Ruff’s tenure with the team that ended during the 2012-13 campaign and his current assignment with the team.

The Sabres’ playoff appearance drought is the longest in NHL history. That’s got to way on the team, and you have to wonder if it will eventually lead to talented players getting frustrated in Buffalo as it has for others in the past. Still, it’s not as if this is a doomed team.

As stated at the top, there are positives to be found in this roster, and the place we’re judging the Sabres from now might be at or near their low point. There’s still season enough for them to turn this thing around. If they don’t, there is still hope for the future with this young group…even if that promise feels a little hollow after so many other failed rebuild attempts.

Calgary Flames (Tue vs. BOS, Thu vs. OTT, Sat vs. CHI)

The Flames have just three games scheduled for next week, but all those contests are at home, and it’s a pretty favorable schedule. Boston, which the Flames will host Tuesday, did have a 7-2-0 stretch from Nov. 21-Dec. 7, but the Bruins’ have fallen back after big losses to Winnipeg and Seattle over their past two games. After facing the Bruins, Calgary will host Ottawa and Chicago on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. Neither of those adversaries are in a playoff position.

Jonathan Huberdeau’s eight-year, $84 million contract is looking like it might go down as one of the worst contracts in recent memory, but he’s at least hot at the moment, providing four goals and nine points across his past six appearances. Will he keep that up? It’s possible, but it’s hard to get too excited. His 11 goals and 21 points through 30 outings overall still puts him on pace to get 57 points, which isn’t bad, but it’s well below the type of numbers he put up in Florida. Additionally, he has a 21.6 shooting percentage compared to his career average of 12.5, so if anything, Huberdeau’s benefited from some good puck luck and is more likely to slow as the campaign progresses than maintain that overall scoring pace.

If Huberdeau has potentially overperformed, would Andrei Kuzmenko be at the other end of the spectrum? No one expects him to repeat his 39-goal, 74-point performance from 2022-23, but is his goal and 10 points through 28 outings in 2024-25 simply the result of bad luck? His 3.3 shooting percentage is unusually low, but I’m more concerned about his decline in shots. He’s averaging just 4.1 shots/60, down from 6.8 last year.

Of his 30 shots this campaign, 19 have been fired from high-danger locations, which does put him ahead of the league average for forwards of 12.8, so that is a little bit of a silver lining. He’s on track for 52 high-danger shots this campaign, which would be down from 60 last year, a drop of 13.3 percent, whereas his overall shot total is on track to finish at 82, compared to 121 in 2023-24, a decline of 32.2 percent. So a deeper dive suggests things might not be quite as bad as they seem -- at least in terms of shot quality -- but it’s still not good, just less bad.

It's fair to believe that Kuzmenko’s shooting percentage will climb as the campaign progresses, but unless he starts getting a bit more aggressive with the puck, I wouldn’t count on him putting up numbers sufficient to give him relevance in the majority of fantasy leagues.

We might see better from Nazem Kadri, though, at least relative to his current point pace. He has 10 goals and 19 points in 30 appearances this campaign, which is a far cry from his 75-point showing in 2023-24. Kadri has been a steady contributor recently, though, supplying five goals and 11 points through his past 13 outings. He’s not a safe bet to reach the 70-point milestone again, but he was getting significantly fewer assists than is normal early in the campaign, and that seems to be balancing out and is likely to continue to do so. There’s a good chance he’ll finish the season as Calgary’s scoring leader.

Colorado Avalanche (Mon @ VAN, Thu @ SJS, FRI @ ANA, Sun vs. SEA)

The Avalanche will start next week on the road, playing in Vancouver on Monday, San Jose on Thursday and Anaheim on Friday. Colorado will then conclude the week by hosting the Kraken.

Colorado acquired Mackenzie Blackwood along with Givani Smith and a 2027 fifth-round pick from San Jose in exchange for Alexandar Georgiev, Nikolai Kovalenko, a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2026 second-round selection.

With Blackwood on side, the Avalanche have now completely changed their goaltending tandem. They started with Georgiev and Justus Annunen, and now have Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. The 32-year-old Wedgewood started the campaign with Nashville, posting a 1-2-1 record, 3.69 GAA and .878 save percentage through five appearances, but he’s done far better since joining the Avalanche, going 3-2-0 with a 1.92 GAA and a .931 save percentage across five outings. Of course, that’s a small sample size, and Wedgewood typically hasn’t been more than an acceptable backup goaltender, so Blackwood will be needed too.

For his part, Blackwood had a 6-9-3 record, 3.00 GAA and .909 save percentage in 19 appearances with the Sharks before the trade. He has a plus-3.9 goals saved above expected this campaign, per Moneypuck, so he’s been solid when factoring out the Sharks’ defense. Speaking of that defense, San Jose ranks 29th in xGA/60 (3.36) while Colorado is 13th (2.95). That should lead to Blackwood putting up meaningfully better numbers post-trade, and naturally, his winning percentage should improve too now that he has the likes of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar providing him with goal support.

Having Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen naturally helps too. That duo wasn’t available at the start of the campaign, but they’re in the lineup now, providing some critical secondary scoring. Nichushkin and Lehkonen have each supplied four goals through six games in December. They won’t match MacKinnon and Rantanen in terms of points, but they’re fantastic for Colorado to have on the top six.

Edmonton Oilers (Mon vs. FLA, Thu vs. BOS, Sat vs. SJS, Sun vs. OTT)

The Oilers will be at home next week, hosting the Panthers on Monday, the Bruins on Thursday, the Sharks on Saturday and the Senators on Sunday. Edmonton has been fantastic recently, winning seven of its past eight games to improve to 17-10-2 on the campaign, so the Oilers will be looking to stay hot.

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have unsurprisingly been a major factor in Edmonton’s recent success, providing 15 points (five goals) and 14 points (six), respectively, over their past eight games. Vasily Podkolzin (three goals, five points) and Connor Brown (one goal, five points) have been less expected contributors. Podkolzin has benefited from playing in a top-six role, but he still might lose that job once Viktor Arvidsson (undisclosed) is available. It would be a little surprising if Arvidsson, who has been out since Nov. 12, returned next week, but he has resumed skating and might attend a team practice soon.

As for Brown, while there was some hope of him playing alongside his old OHL teammate, McDavid, when he first joined the Oilers, that’s never panned out. The 30-year-old has been playing strictly in a bottom-six capacity and has received almost no power-play time this campaign, so while his four goals and 10 points through 29 appearances aren’t bad under the circumstances, Brown isn’t in a position to increase that scoring pace.

In goal, Stuart Skinner has stabilized after a rough start to the campaign, posting a 4-1-0 record, 1.41 GAA and .947 save percentage across his past five starts. He had a similar track in 2023-24 with a rocky opening to the season followed by mostly strong play beyond that, so perhaps history is repeating.

Florida Panthers (Mon @ EDM, Wed @ MIN, Fri vs. STL, Sun vs. TBL)

Florida will open next week with road games against Edmonton and Minnesota on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. The Panthers will then host the Blues on Friday and play in Tampa Bay on Sunday.

Matthew Tkachuk was one of the hottest forwards in the league from Nov. 19-Dec. 7, supplying six goals and 19 points across 10 appearances. However, he’s been held off the scoresheet in each of his last two outings, so while he’s a fantastic forward regardless, his latest hot streak might be over.

To be fair, though, Florida as a squad has managed just one goal (excluding the shootout) over its past two games, so it’s not just Tkachuk who has cooled off. That’s just a mini-slump on the Panthers’ end, but Anton Lundell has been cold for longer. He hasn’t recorded a point across his past five appearances, leaving him at eight goals and 19 points through 29 outings in 2024-25.

Most of Lundell’s success came from an amazing start to the campaign in which he recorded six goals and 14 points in 14 appearances, but he was also averaging 18:49 of ice time. By contrast, he’s dropped to two goals and five points over his past 15 games and his average during that stretch is 15:39. The 23-year-old is capable, but when everyone is healthy, he typically serves on the third line, which limits his fantasy impact. If injuries result in him moving up to the top six, then he could be a great short-term play.

Los Angeles Kings (Tue @ PIT, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ NSH, Sun @ WSH)

The Kings have a full schedule with four games on the docket next week and just one of their upcoming opponents (the Capitals) occupy a playoff spot. The downside is the Kings will be on the road for the entire week. They’ll play in Pittsburgh on Tuesday, Philadelphia on Thursday, Nashville on Saturday and Washington on Sunday.

When looking at the Kings’ campaign thus far, the player who has most impressed me is Anze Kopitar with his eight goals and 32 points through 29 appearances. We’re currently in a time where several forwards have excelled well past their prime -- Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby being the most obvious examples -- so Kopitar’s longevity has flown under the radar somewhat. The fact that he remains an effective playmaker at the age of 37, is still impressive, though. It wouldn’t be surprising at this point to see him reach the 70-point mark for the 10th time in his career.

Alex Laferriere was nearing his sixth birthday when Kopitar made his NHL debut, but the two are in their second campaign together and the sophomore Laferriere has been coming into his own with 12 goals and 22 points in 29 contests this season. Laferriere has continued to be a steady contributor lately, collecting three goals and seven points across his past seven games.

However, I am a little worried about Laferriere’s 20.0 shooting percentage. That seems rather high and his PDO of 1033 is a touch up there too, which suggests he has been getting a bit of puck luck. I don’t expect a crash, but his goal-scoring pace will likely decline somewhat.

Adrian Kempe’s shooting percentage of 17.9 is on the higher side too. Kempe did have a 16.4 shooting percentage in 2022-23 when he finished with 41 markers, so he’s not too far above his career high, but it’s still a notable step above his career average of 12.7. Like Laferriere, I don’t expect Kempe to collapse, but a small decline might be in his future. Kempe does have 14 goals and 28 points in 29 outings overall.

New Jersey Devils (Tue @ STL, Thu @ CBJ, Sat vs. PIT)

The Devils are set to play just three games next week, but the competition is favorable, so I decided to highlight them. New Jersey will play in St. Louis on Tuesday and Columbus on Thursday before hosting the Penguins on Saturday.

The Devils have a commanding 19-10-3 record compared to their mediocre 38-39-5 finish to 2023-24 and the difference is almost entirely at their end of the ice. New Jersey is allowing just 2.66 goals per game, which is a huge drop from 3.43 last year. But how much of that is thanks to Jacob Markstrom?

The Devils had an xGA/60 of 3.26 last campaign, which suggests that they were a poor defensive team independent of their goaltending. Kaapo Kahkonen and Jake Allen largely held their own with a plus-1.4 and minus-1.9 goals saved above expected, but when the defense is that bad, merely being okay leads to bad results. The Devils also employed Nico Daws, Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek, who did even worse by that metric.

Markstrom was brought in over the summer to stabilize the situation, but much like Kahkonen before him, he’s been acceptable, but not brilliant, posting a plus-1.5 goals saved above expected through 22 appearances. The difference is the Devils have burdened their goaltenders far less in 2024-25, as evidenced by their 2.70 xGA/60.

So, while Markstrom certainly hasn’t been a problem, he hasn’t necessarily been their savior. Either way, fantasy managers have can reap the benefits of Markstrom playing in a favorable situation, which has resulted in him posting a 14-6-2 record, 2.41 GAA and .906 save percentage. He’s also hot going into this week with a 3-0-1 record, 1.48 GAA and .933 save percentage over his past four outings.

Allen has been dealing with an upper-body injury, and the Devils’ schedule is spread out enough to allow Markstrom to start in all three games next week. Isaac Poulter will be with New Jersey for the duration of Allen’s injury, but Poulter is unlikely to get a start. The 23-year-old Poulter has struggled in the AHL this campaign with a 3.32 GAA and an .871 save percentage across nine appearances.

Poulter not getting playing time isn’t surprising, but it was a bit eyebrow-raising to see Tomas Tatar out of the lineup Thursday. Perhaps it shouldn’t be, though. Tatar has averaged just 10:41 of ice time this campaign, which is a far cry from even two seasons ago when he logged 15:07 per game. The Devils are a deep team, and it seems like there’s not much of a role for him. I’d be interested to see what would happen if the Devils traded the 34-year-old. He’s on a one-year, $1.8 million contract, so he’s movable, but New Jersey might ultimately decide that they’d rather have him on board as an insurance policy against injuries. If Tatar does find himself in a middle-six role, he might do enough offensively to have some fantasy relevance. As it is, he’s a non-factor in most leagues.

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs. OTT, Thu @ CHI, Sat @ VGK, Sun @ COL)

Seattle will host Ottawa on Tuesday, but the Kraken will spend the remainder of next week on the road, playing in Chicago on Thursday, Vegas on Saturday and Colorado on Sunday.

The Kraken have largely held their own this campaign without being anything special, posting a 15-14-2 record. Joey Daccord has been a major highlight with a 12-6-2 record, 2.42 GAA and .916 save percentage through 20 appearances. We just talked about how Markstrom is benefiting from plenty of support, but Daccord has had to do much more to keep the Kraken afloat. They are tied for 24th in xGA/60 (3.14) and are tied for 16th in goals per game (3.03). For his part, Daccord’s plus-9.2 in goals saved above expected ranks seventh in the league.

Seattle’s offense is mediocre in part because it lacks star power. Through Friday’s action, 48 players have scored at least 12 goals and none of them play for the Kraken. Seattle’s points leader, Jared McCann, (11 goals, 15 assists), is also outside of the top 47 in that category. The Kraken have nine players who have recorded at least five goals, which is respectable -- the league average is 7.7 per team -- but without a star leading the charge, the offense is still just okay.

Maybe Shane Wright will eventually fill that role. Taken with the No. 4 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Wright had just a goal and an assist through his first 18 appearances in 2024-25. Then he spent three games as a healthy scratch from Nov. 17-23, and that seemed to do him plenty of good. He’s managed six goals and 11 points across 10 outings since that stint in the press box.

The 22-year-old Matty Beniers has promise too. He had 24 goals and 57 points as a rookie in 2022-23 but took a step back in 2023-24 with 15 goals and 37 points. The 2024-25 campaign has been a mixed bag -- he has four goals and 17 points in 31 games -- but he’s done well recently with seven assists across his past seven appearances.

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ COL, Wed @ UTA, Thu @ VGK, Say vs. OTT)

The Canucks will split next week between two games at home (Monday vs. the Avalanche and Saturday vs. the Senators) and two road tilts (Wednesday in Utah and Thursday in Vegas). The Canucks are 15-8-5, which is pretty good, but in a tough Pacific Division, that’s only good for fourth place.

Going into the campaign, it wasn’t clear if Vancouver would be able to hold its own without starting goaltender Thatcher Demko, who was dealing with a knee injury. Fortunately for the Canucks, Kevin Lankinen stepped up and now has a 14-4-3 record, 2.52 GAA and .912 save percentage across 21 outings.

Lankinen became the clear starter during Demko’s absence, but his role is less clear after Demko made his return. The 29-year-old Demko made his season debut Tuesday, though he left something to be desired, stopping 21 of 25 shots en route to a 4-3 overtime loss to St. Louis. That was followed by Lankinen posting a 27-save shutout Thursday.

We shouldn’t judge Demko based on only one start, but it might take him some time to shake off the rust. With Vancouver’s upcoming schedule relatively full, the Canucks will probably split the workload between Lankinen and Demko, which will give the latter more time to get eased in. If Lankinen keeps playing like he has been, and Demko eventually finds his rhythm, then Vancouver would have a great 1A/1B situation on its hands.

The Canucks also got J.T. Miller back, who was absent for 10 games due to personal reasons. He looked good in his return Thursday, providing two assists, including one on the power play. Now that he’s back, Pius Suter is likely to serve in a reduced capacity. During Miller’s 10-game absence, Suter had five goals and nine points while averaging 18:14 of ice time, but Suter dropped to 15:15 on Thursday and wasn’t used at all with the man advantage for the first time since Nov. 14. If you’ve been enjoying Suter’s recent success, now might be the time to explore your alternatives.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Marner and Tavares Leading Maple Leafs, Ducks Battling and More

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 23 Nov 2024 15:51:24 +0000

_{TAMPA, FL - DECEMBER 03: Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner (16) skates with the puck during the NHL Hockey match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs on December 3rd, 2022 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire)}

In fantasy play, we try to look for any advantage we can, so it’s always helpful if there are reliable factors that we can consider that might impact a game's outcome. For example, all else being equal, a rested team should have an advantage over a tired one, right? That’s an easy assumption to make, but I wondered how reliable a factor that was, so I looked into it.

Teams on the second half of a back-to-back have a 31-40-6 record this season, but that’s a fairly small sample size for this kind of thing, so let’s take the results of every game dating back to the 2005-06 campaign. Looking at that, the record for teams playing on no rest is 3,560-3,394-943. If you count overtime/shootout losses among the defeats, that’s a .451 winning percentage, which is statistically relevant, but not dramatic.

What about playing on the road? That’s another obvious disadvantage, but how serious of a burden is it? Dating back to 2005-06, the road team has a 10,460-9,834-2,698 record, which is a .455 winning percentage. In other words, playing on the road is only a slightly smaller burden than playing on no rest. While we’re at it, let’s combine the two: A road team playing on no rest has a winning percentage of just .425 (2,298-2,464-640). So if you really want to bank on a team underperforming relative to their average, then taking a team on the second half of a back-to-back on the road is the way to go.

In the reverse, is there an ideal amount of rest for a team? Teams that had one day off between games have a winning percentage of .508 (12,265-9,101-2,759), two days is .521 (4,368-3,051-962), three days is .501 (1,106-845-255) and four or more days is .493 (1,034-822-242), so two days rest between games is the sweet spot, but difference in those winning percentages isn’t significant.

Ultimately, believing a team on the road or a tired squad will underperform is going to prove to be a fair assessment often, but it’s not a magic bullet. By the same token, key injuries don’t always lead to the results we might anticipate. The Avalanche certainly struggled early in the campaign when they had far more than their fair share of players on the shelf, but recently, the Maple Leafs have been defying expectations.

At the time of writing, Toronto is now 6-1-0 without Auston Matthews this season. On Wednesday, Toronto was missing Max Domi (lower body), Calle Jarnkrok (groin), David Kampf (lower body), Max Pacioretty (lower body) and Ryan Reaves (suspension) in addition to Matthews (upper body), and Toronto still managed to beat Vegas 3-0. To be fair, the Golden Knights had injuries of their own at the time of the contest, most notably to Mark Stone (lower body), but they were the healthier team and a top-tier contender, so the Maple Leafs continuing to excel under those circumstances is impressive.

Mitch Marner has been a major factor in Toronto’s continued success, providing six goals and 26 points through 20 appearances, and the Vegas victory was his third straight multi-point showing. He’s never reached the 100-point milestone before, but he’s come close and might finally hit that mark this campaign. John Tavares has also stepped up recently, supplying four goals and eight points across six appearances, giving him nine goals and 19 points through 19 outings.

Both are also playing on an expiring contract, and there are questions about their future with the team. The lack of playoff success has led to frustration regarding Toronto’s model of building the squad around four extremely expensive forwards. Going into the campaign, there was an assumption that at the least, the 34-year-old Tavares would take a significant pay cut from his current $11 million cap hit in his next contract given his declining production. That might still happen, but his play so far this season suggests that talk of his decline might have been overstated, and, especially with the cap rising, he might still be able to command a sizable payday. Then there’s Marner, who presumably expects a raise from his $10.903 million cap hit and will likely get it with Toronto or elsewhere.

The Maple Leafs certainly have some big front office questions to answer, in the coming months, but at least on the ice, things seem to be going well for now despite the challenges.

Anaheim Ducks

Mon vs SEA, Wed @ SEA, Fri vs LAK, Sun vs OTT

The NHL schedule next week contains some very heavy dates: There will be 11 games Monday, 15 on Wednesday, 14 on Friday and 12 on Saturday. Due to that, a lot of teams are playing four times despite the league taking Thursday off for American Thanksgiving.

Every team featured will be playing in four games, starting with the Ducks, who will host Seattle on Monday, play in Seattle on Wednesday and then return to Anaheim for contests against the Kings on Friday and Senators on Sunday.

The Ducks were also a team I highlighted last week and noted the squad’s underwhelming offense, but going into Friday’s action, Anaheim is on a three-game winning streak in which it’s tallied a combined 13 goals.

Trevor Zegras has gotten in on the action, supplying a goal and three points over that span, which doubles his season point total to six. We discussed last week that he had been dealing with some bad puck luck and has been playing a more complete game despite his offensive woes, so perhaps everything is starting to come together for him. He’s an intriguing buy-low candidate, especially because Zegras continues to serve in a top-six capacity.

If you’re looking for the hottest forward on the Ducks, though, then Brett Leason is your man. He didn’t start the campaign was much of a role, even being a healthy scratch in five of six games from Oct. 27-Nov. 8, but he’s taken off with two goals and seven points across his last five outings. Leason has also averaged 15:00 of ice time, including 1:28 with the man advantage, across his past four appearances, so he’s finally getting a solid opportunity. The 25-year-old still isn’t likely to be a major offensive force for long -- you'd have to go back to his junior days to find the last time he was a major scorer -- but he’s providing some solid short-term value.

On the blueliner, Olen Zellweger has two goals and four points over his last three appearances, bringing him up to four goals and eight points across 17 outings in 2024-25. The 21-year-old is serving on the top power-play unit, but the Ducks rank 27th with the man advantage, converting just 15.3 percent of the time, so it’s not as good of a role as it could be. Still, Zellweger should at least breach the 30-point mark this year as long as he stays healthy.

Boston Bruins

Tue vs. VAN, Wed @ NYI, Fri vs. PIT, Sun vs. MTL

After three straight losses to drop their record to 8-9-3, the Bruins fired head coach Jim Montgomery and named Joe Sacco as the interim bench boss. Boston’s first game under Sacco saw the Bruins outshoot Utah 31-21 en route to a 1-0 victory. Joonas Korpisalo was in net for the shutout, improving to 4-2-1 with a 2.38 GAA and .911 save percentage in eight appearances. Given Jeremy Swayman’s struggles -- he has a 5-7-2 record, 3.47 GAA and .884 save percentage in 14 outings -- it'll be interesting to see if Sacco leans on Korpisalo more than his predecessor.

Next week, though, both goaltenders will likely see use given the packed schedule. The Bruins will host the Canucks on Tuesday, play on the road against the Islanders on Wednesday and conclude the week with home tilts versus the Penguins and Canadiens on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

Swayman has been part of the problem in Boston, but the Bruins also rank 31st offensively with just 2.33 goals per game. David Pastrnak continues to lead the charge with eight goals and 18 points through 21 outings, but he’s the only player with at least 15 points. Meanwhile, Brad Marchand (five goals, 14 points) and Elias Lindholm (three goals, 10 points) are the only other two Bruins who have hit the double-digit mark. To put that into context, 200 players have at least 10 points through Thursday’s action, which averages out to 6.25 players per team, so Boston is far behind the curve in terms of its scoring depth.

He's probably not the answer, but I am interested to see if Sacco tries to get Tyler Johnson into games. The 34-year-old forward has appeared in just five contests in 2024-25, averaging 13:31 of ice time in those outings. Although he hasn’t recorded a point this year, Johnson has proved in the past to be a decent secondary scorer, so maybe he could do some damage from the third line if given a chance to get into a rhythm by playing regularly.

Outside of that, though, the Bruins just really need more out of players who were already getting opportunities. The issue for Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha isn’t a lack of ice time, it’s just that they haven’t put up points with any regularity. Coyle has just four goals and an assist through 21 outings after recording 60 points in 2023-24. Zacha has three goals and seven points, but after showing some life from Nov. 7-12 (two goals and four points in three games), he’s on a four-game point drought.

Maybe the answer is simply to just some forward groupings and stick with it for a while. Coyle’s most common linemates this campaign are Marchand and Morgan Geekie, but that trio has only shared the ice for 11.9 percent of Coyle’s even-strength minutes. That’s a lot of line mixing, which might lead to an inability to develop chemistry. It’s something to monitor as we see what Sacco’s plans are to reverse the Bruins’ fortunes.

Los Angeles Kings

Mon @ SJS, Wed vs. WPG, Fri @ ANA, Sat vs. OTT

The Kings will start the week on the road against San Jose on Monday but return home to host the Jets on Wednesday. LA will then play in Anaheim on Friday and host the Senators on Saturday.

The Kings have seen modest success with their 10-7-3 record, but they have dropped three of their past four games, recording just seven goals over that stretch.

Quinton Byfield is among the cold forwards with only an assist across his past five outings. He has two goals and nine points through 20 appearances overall. Interestingly, he hasn’t recorded a single point on the power play in 2024-25 despite averaging a solid 2:07 of ice time with the man advantage. LA does rank 29th in power-play conversions at 14.3 percent, so that is an obvious factor, but you’d still expect at least some production there. Byfield’s 5.3 shooting percent is also a sharp drop from his 12.4 percent in 2023-24 -- he finished that campaign with 20 goals and 55 points -- so the young forward might have been somewhat unlucky through the first quarter of the season. Don’t be surprised if his production ticks up as the campaign progresses.

Philip Danault also has struggled to find the back of the net, tallying a single goal through 20 appearances, though he does have nine assists. His 3.2 shooting percentage is far below his 12.3 average from 2021-22 through 2023-24, so Danault is another LA forward who could enjoy an increase in production.

At the other end of the spectrum, Adrian Kempe is red hot, supplying four goals over his past three games (LA has totaled just six total goals in that span), bringing him up to nine markers and 18 points through 20 appearances. Even there, though, Kempe has just three power-play points. LA did far better with the man advantage in 2023-24, ranking 12th with a 22.6 success rate, so these players could see an increase in special-teams points.

Minnesota Wild

Mon vs. WPG, Wed @ BUF, Fri vs. CHI, Sat vs. NSH

One team that’s had no offensive issues -- or any issues, really -- is Minnesota. The Wild have won three of their past four games, improving to 13-3-3. They’ll look to keep the good times rolling when they host another high-end squad in Winnipeg on Monday. From there, Minnesota will play in Buffalo on Wednesday before returning home to play the Blackhawks on Friday and the Predators on Saturday.

Filip Gustavsson continues to be a key part of the Wild’s success with his 9-3-2 record, 2.07 GAA and .926 save percentage through 14 appearances. He’s allowed two or fewer goals in each of his past five starts. Marc-Andre Fleury, by contrast, isn’t turning heads with his play, but the 39-year-old has been a capable backup with a 4-0-1 record, 2.76 GAA and .904 save percentage in five starts.

Up front, Kirill Kaprizov is on a seven-game scoring streak with six goals and 13 points in that span, bringing him up to 13 goals and 34 points through 19 appearances in 2024-25. Even with his $9 million annual cap hit, he’s providing tremendous value. Kaprizov’s contract runs through 2025-26, but by the time it expires, the Wild will be in a far better cap position because Zach Parise and Ryan Suter’s buyouts will be far smaller factors. The Wild have roughly $14.7 million in dead cap space this year, but Suter and Parise will generate a combined $1,666,666 in dead cap space annually from 2025-26 through 2028-29 before coming off the books entirely.

Paying Kaprizov top dollar when the time comes makes sense given his reliability as a top offensive threat. Someone who doesn’t factor onto the scoresheet nearly as regularly is Frederick Gaudreau, but the 31-year-old has been playing like an elite recently, providing four goals and 12 points across his past 11 appearances. Gaudreau is worth having in your lineup while he’s this hot, but don’t expect it to last, and keep in mind that even with his recent rise in production, he’s still serving in just a third-line capacity. He is also on the second power-play unit instead of the top one and hasn’t gotten a point yet with the man advantage.

New Jersey Devils

Mon vs. NSH, Wed vs. STL, Fri @ DET, Sat vs. WSH

We’ve already touched on a lot of players who haven’t put up noteworthy power-play numbers, so let’s shift to New Jersey, which ranks second with the man advantage with a 31.8 percent success rate.

The Devils will host the Predators on Monday and the Blues on Wednesday. They’ll then play in Detroit on Friday before returning home to face the Capitals on Saturday.

New Jersey’s power play and offense in general is certainly part of the reason the squad is 13-7-2. Defenseman Dougie Hamilton has played a significant role in that, providing two goals and 16 points, including seven with the man advantage, through 22 appearances. He was held off the scoresheet for the first six games of 2024-25 but has since recorded at least a point in 13 of 16 appearances.

Hamilton wasn’t much of a factor in 2023-24 due to injury, which led to Luke Hughes serving on the top power-play unit last year. Hamilton’s return to health means Hughes is averaging just 1:04 with the man advantage in 2024-25 and that’s eaten into the young blueliner’s production. The 21-year-old Hughes also missed New Jersey’s first nine outings because of a shoulder problem, which likely put him behind the curve. All this has led to him recording just two assists through 13 outings. Hughes might start to do better as he gets into a rhythm, but this is shaping up to be a sophomore slump campaign.

His elder brother, Jack Hughes, is doing just fine, though. He already has eight goals and 25 points through 22 appearances. The older Hughes is also red hot with six helpers across his past three outings, including five on the power play.

Of course, the Devils did just fine last season too and still missed the playoffs. The difference this year has been improved goaltending. Jacob Markstrom isn’t in Vezina Trophy contention, but he’s holding his own nicely with a 9-5-1 record, 2.54 GAA and .907 save percentage through 15 appearances. Jake Allen is also playing an arguably underrated role as the backup, providing a 4-2-1 record, 2.30 GAA and .916 save percentage in seven starts. Especially in a busy week, like the one upcoming, having two solid goaltenders is a huge luxury.

New York Islanders

Mon vs. DET, Wed vs. BOS, Fri @ WSH, Sat vs. BUF

The Islanders have two solid goaltenders too, though it hasn’t always felt that way this season. Ilya Sorokin has more-or-less fulfilled his end of the bargain with a 2.64 GAA and a .914 save percentage through 12 appearances, but Semyon Varlamov struggled early in the campaign. He has stabilized since, but that early damage has left him with a .903 save percentage, although his GAA has improved to a respectable 2.60.

Either way, it’s the offense that’s really the problem with the Islanders, and that’s what they’ll need more of next week. New York will host the Red Wings on Monday and the Bruins on Wednesday. They’ll then play in Washington on Friday and conclude the week with a home game versus the Sabres.

The Islanders have managed just four goals over their past three games and weirdly, Pierre Engvall scored two of them. Engvall had a three-game goal-scoring streak from Nov. 14-19, but the 28-year-old finished with just 10 goals and 28 points in 74 outings last season and has just five points through 12 outings in 2024-25 even after accounting for his recent hot streak, so don’t expect much from him going forward.

The player the Islanders really need to step up is Bo Horvat, but he’s been held off the scoresheet in five of his past six appearances, leaving him with five goals and 14 points through 20 outings. Those are abysmal numbers given his $8.5 million cap hit, but to be far, he’d usually get to play alongside Mathew Barzal, who hasn’t been in the lineup since Oct. 30 due to an upper-body injury. However, Barzal’s original timetable was 4-6 weeks, and there hasn’t been much in the way of updates, so you shouldn’t count on Horvat getting help from Barzal in the upcoming week.

Anders Lee is sometimes a great linemate. He has seven goals and 13 points in 20 outings in 2024-25, but he’s also streaky and is presently cold, having been held off the scoresheet in each of the Islanders’ past three games.

Then there’s Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who highlights the Islanders’ lack of depth. The 32-year-old forward is a fine forward, but he’s never recorded more than 43 points in a single campaign, so the fact that he’s on the top line and first power-play unit is far less than ideal. He has five goals and nine points through 20 appearances in 2024-25.

Horvat and Lee might heat up again, but the Islanders’ overall offensive situation isn’t likely to get a lot better until Barzal comes back.

New York Rangers

Mon vs. STL, Wed @ CAR, Fri @ PHI, Sat vs. MTL

The Islanders’ rivals, the Rangers, appear to be in a far better position. They have a 12-5-1 record and will look to build on that next week. The Rangers will host the Blues on Monday, play in Carolina on Wednesday and Philadelphia on Friday and finish the week by hosting the Canadiens on Saturday.

Artemi Panarin continues to be the Rangers’ top forward with 10 goals and 24 points in 18 appearances in 2024-25, but offensive depth has been a big part of the Rangers’ formula. They have eight players who have hit double digits in points: Panarin, Adam Fox, Alexis Lafreniere, Will Cuylle, Mika Zibanejad, Reilly Smith, Kaapo Kakko and Vincent Trocheck. As noted before, the average team has 6.25 players who have hit that milestone. On top of that, New York has two players -- Chris Kreider and Filip Chytil -- who are sitting at nine points.

Among those who have been at the forefront of the Rangers’ attack, Cuylle is arguably the biggest pleasant surprise. The 22-year-old has seven goals and 15 points through 18 appearances. He established himself as a regular with the team last campaign but was in the lineup primarily because of his gritty play, finishing the 2023-24 regular season with 13 goals, 21 points, 56 PIM and 249 hits. Cuylle has continued to utilize his size, dishing out 75 hits this season (he ranks fifth in that category), but he’s adding an offensive element to his game.

What makes it even more impressive is that he’s averaging a modest 13:50 of ice time and is rarely used with the man advantage -- although that might be changing as he has spent the past two games on the second unit. Among those averaging under 14 minutes, Cuylle leads the league in points, ahead of Carolina’s Eric Robinson (five goals, 13 points).

One word of caution, though: Cuylle’s 21.9 shooting percentage is likely unsustainable.

Seattle Kraken

Mon @ ANA, Wed vs. ANA, Fri @ SJS, Sat vs. SJS

The Kraken has a fairly easy schedule next week. They have a set of games against Anaheim on Monday and Wednesday followed by one against the Sharks on Friday and Saturday. In both cases, Seattle is on the road for the first half of the set and at home for the second.

Defenseman Vince Dunn (upper body) might end up returning at some point during those four games, but the status of forward Jordan Eberle (lower body) is less clear. By the time you read this, though, that might change. Kraken coach Dan Bylsma told Scott Malone on Friday that there would be an update later in the day, but at the time of writing, that update hadn’t arrived yet.

Dunn is likely to serve on the top four and first power-play unit when healthy, which might eat into Brandon Montour’s power-play time and result in Ryker Evans losing his spot on the second unit. However, just three of Montour’s 13 points and two of Evans’ 11 have come with the man advantage anyway, so that change shouldn’t have a dramatic impact on either blueliner’s production. Dunn’s return might help Seattle’s overall power play a bit, which sits at 23rd with a 16.4 conversion rate, which would modestly boost the value of Seattle’s top forwards.

Either way, Joey Daccord is likely to continue to be the key to Seattle’s success. He has a 9-3-1 record, 2.31 GAA and .923 save percentage in 13 appearances in 2024-25, putting him in the very early conversation for the Vezina Trophy. Daccord did rank fourth in save percentage (.916) and fifth in GAA (2.46) among goaltenders who logged at least 30 games last season, but his 19-18-11 record kept him well outside of the award conversation. If Seattle continues to provide him with at least some support this year -- the Kraken’s 2.85 goals per game isn’t magical, but it is a step up from 2.61 in 2023-24 -- then Daccord’s a fair bet to get over 30 wins this campaign, especially with Philipp Grubauer not exactly demanding a bigger share of the workload with his 1-6-0 record, 3.11 GAA and .881 save percentage through seven outings in 2024-25.

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – SEATTLE KRAKEN – Team Preview

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 20:00:07 +0000

_{SEATTLE, WA - MARCH 28: Seattle Kraken center Matty Beniers (10) looks on before a face-off during a NHL game between the Seattle Kraken and the Anaheim Ducks on March 28, 2024 at Climate Pledge Arena in Seattle, WA. (Photo by Jeff Halstead/Icon Sportswire)}

After reaching the playoffs in their second season in 2022-2023, the Kraken came back to Earth in a big way last season, finishing with 81 points (34-35-13). The Kraken were a middling team at five-on-five, controlling 51.3% of shot attempts, which ranked 13th, and 50.7% of expected goals, which ranked 17th. That is not the mark of a surefire playoff team, but it’s also not the mark of an also-ran with no shot at the playoffs. The Kraken ranked 20th with 7.25 goals per 60 minutes on the power play, and 20th with 7.68 goals against per 60 minutes. Their goaltending gave them a .903 save percentage, which ranked ninth, so the problem really came down to Seattle’s inability to score. They scored on 9.1% of their shots, which ranked 29th and the only teams below them were Chicago, Philadelphia, and San Jose.

WHAT’S CHANGED? Dan Bylsma takes over behind the bench after Dave Hakstol was fired. Tomas Tatar returned to New Jersey as a free agent while the Kraken have moved on from Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Justin Schultz. They also did not give a qualifying offer to winger Kailer Yamamoto. This helped set up two big free agent additions for the Kraken, as they signed defenceman Brandon Montour, fresh off a Stanley Cup win with Florida, and centre Chandler Stephenson, who had won the year before with Vegas. Can Montour and Stephenson add enough juice to this attack so that the Kraken have a fighting chance to get back to the postseason? Seattle had better hope so.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? For a team that has a lot of veteran players, the Kraken are not looking to keep rebuilding into perpetuity, so success looks like returning to the playoffs. If they could do some damage once they get there, even better. The most obvious player that needs to improve for the Kraken is centre Matty Beniers, who went from 57 points as a rookie to 37 points last season and that’s not nearly good enough, so one of the things that will look like success in Seattle is if, while improving their competitive play, they also get Beniers back on track to being a frontline player in the NHL.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? For a team going into its fourth season, it is hard to say that missing the playoffs would be a sign of going wrong, but with so many veteran players, the Kraken either need those veterans to produce to get them into the playoffs, or they have to figure out what comes next and if it means a player like Shane Wright gets buried on the fourth line while the veteran pros are just good enough to get the Kraken 80 points to miss the playoffs again, that would seem like things are going wrong.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: On a team with very few young players, oddly enough, a 20-year-old who is no longer Calder eligible is worthy of breakout status. Shane Wright surprisingly dropped to the fourth pick in the 2020 Draft, and has been on a rocky road since. Last season, he put up 47 points in 59 AHL games during the regular season before adding 13 points in 12 playoff games, impressive numbers for a 20-year-old first-year pro. Wright was excellent in eight games with the Kraken scoring four goals and adding an assist while driving play effectively. It would seem a waste to bury him on the fourth line, so if Wright gets into the top nine, he would have a chance provide decent production on a team that should be tripping over itself to add scoring to the lineup.

FORWARD

Matty Beniers

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	25	38	63	0.77

Matty Beniers isn’t the first player to fall victim to the sophomore slump, although it was disappointing for someone Seattle expected to be an undisputed No. 1 center. Most of his struggles were related to offence, as he played well beyond his years in other aspects of the game. He is heavily relied upon in the Kraken’s transition game, starting most of their exits and having most of their zone entries go through him. It wasn’t too different from his rookie season, but the difference was the Kraken weren’t creating any offence with him on the ice. He could still create off the rush, but he struggled to get anything to the net on the follow-up opportunities. His shot rate declined from his rookie season, not taking command of the offence or getting himself open for teammates. There is nothing wrong with being a pass-first player, but Beniers playmaking skills weren’t high enough to make up for the lack of offence in other areas. Seattle still fed him top minutes, mostly because he’s one of their more reliable players in the defensive zone even at his age and the threat to score off the rush was still there. Players who show the talent he did as a puck-carrier usually see the point production follow them as they get older, so brighter days are ahead for the former Michigan Wolverine. A return to 25 goals and 60 points is possible as a fixture on the top line and power play.

Jared McCann

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	28	35	63	0.78

Jared McCann has been the Kraken’s go-to guy for offence since the team’s inception, leading the team in goals in all three years. The fact that he still did it last year while scoring 11 fewer than he did in 2022-23 says more about how the team around him played than McCann himself having a bad year. He’s still one of the best finishers in the league and does a little of everything for Seattle including kill penalties. He has a heavy shot that is borderline automatic when he gets the time and space to pick a corner. He functions better as a goal-scorer who can strike from distance rather than crashing the net for his offence, the area between the faceoff circles being his sweet spot. Effective both off the rush and the forecheck, although he’s more effective as the guy trailing the play rather than the one leading it. McCann had wonderful chemistry with Matty Beniers for this reason, although they struggled to repeat the magic they created in 2022 last year. He is very good at creating his own time and space to get shots through and can navigate his way through traffic well. He is usually involved in helping keep the cycle going in the offensive zone instead of lurking in the weeds for an open shot. He’s “instant offence” personified and arguably the Kraken’s MVP. Expect 30 – 35 goals and 65 – 70 points as he and Beniers bounce back this season.

Jaden Schwartz

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	14	20	34	0.52

Staying healthy is half the battle for Schwartz at this point in his career and last year was somewhat of a struggle, missing 20 games with an upper-body injury. He never got back to full speed upon returning to the lineup, scoring only five goals in his last 39 games and seeing his minutes cut from where they were last year. Schwartz is a good player even when he’s not getting on the scoresheet, but a lot of what makes him effective is his forechecking, always playing the body to jar pucks loose and being one of the few guys on Seattle who can get inside position in front of the net. Defensively he was dependable, but he couldn’t play with the same level of physicality in the offensive zone, and it made his game somewhat vanilla. His shot rate dipped from eight shots a game to only six per game and he was below average in most offensive categories relating to shot generation. Still a good passer and a smart player, Schwartz can be a solid player on any line in your middle-six, injuries are just forcing him into more of a tertiary role where his linemates have to carry more of the slack now. Health is just the biggest x-factor with him.

Andre Burakovsky

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
60	15	19	34	0.57

It’s been a tale of two completely different seasons for Burakovsky in Seattle although they’re both frustrating for similar reasons. He was only available for 49 games both years and while he produced at a decent clip in his first year, last season he didn’t score his second goal until the 29^th game of the season, which didn’t come until early March. Figured to be one of their top scorers when they signed him, the Kraken have gotten maybe 40% of what they expected out of the talented winger. He’s somewhat of a frustrating player in general because he’s a high-percentage shooter who doesn’t take a lot of shots, thus his career high in goals is only 22 and while great forward depth locked him out of the top six in Washington and Colorado, in Seattle he just hasn’t earned a spot consistently. In fairness, last season he was uncharacteristically snake-bit, shooting under 10% for the first time and he didn’t see much of a drop in his scoring chance or shot rate. His play-driving, however, was a bit of a mess, as Seattle gave up a lot when he was on the ice, and he couldn’t score to make up for it. Burakovsky is still a great player at creating quick-strike chances off the rush and setting guys up, so the potential for him to right the ship is there. He will likely get his chance to do so on a Kraken team that needs offence. The potential for 20 goals and 50 points is entirely possible at 29-years-old. He had scored at a pro-rated 65-point pace in the prior four seasons preceding last year’s dismal results.

Oliver Bjorkstrand

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	20	35	55	0.67

Known in Seattle as “The Maestro,” Bjorkstrand is the Kraken’s most reliable forward in terms of consistent impact. Even if he’s not on the scoresheet, he’s a positive in terms of play-driving and does a little of everything on the checking line with Yanni Gourde. Last year was his best season as a playmaker with his career best 39 assists. Those results were boosted from getting time on the top power play unit and doing an excellent job of helping set things up from the right wall. His play in the neutral and defensive zones are what gives him the most value, he’s an excellent puck-carrier and is very hard to check off the puck when he gets moving. He’s also a great support valve for the defence, once he gets the puck it’s usually going out of the zone and he’s very good at going the full length of the rink to either create offence or flip possession. Finishing is the one part of his game that hasn’t come around with the Kraken, despite hitting the 20-goal mark twice. He has the look and posture of a shooter, but acted as more of a playmaker last year, seeing his shots per game go down but still facilitating a lot of offence through entries and passing. He’s an ideal fit for the Kraken’s offensive zone game of always having player in motion with how good he is at cycling the puck below the goal line and he’s sneaky good at making the extra pass in front of the net to setup tap-in chances. Should remain one of the Kraken’s most trusted players even with the new coaching staff. He has had consistent results and should be able to repeat last year’s offensive numbers.

Yanni Gourde

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	12	24	36	0.48

Some years Gourde’s boxcar stats and high cap hit for a third line center is an afterthought when factoring in everything else he brings to the table. He’s an excellent forechecker and a tenacious player on the puck. He keeps possession in the offensive zone through physical play and through strong puck protection skills along the wall. He looks like the most skilled player on the team at times with how much he loves to skate with the puck and weave through checkers. He is the perfect guy to anchor a penalty kill unit and always a threat to score shorthanded. Negative parts of his game all relate to finishing, which has run hot-and-cold over his career with his most recent season being one of his worst in terms point production. Crashes the net well but doesn’t have the hands to capitalize on these chances, scoring most of his goals off deflections now. Still a good playmaker behind and around the net, partially due to his tenacity and ability to fight off checks to get the puck to the front. In the final year of his contract and in his mid-30’s now, it will be interesting to see how much his body holds up and if the Kraken depend on him for the same 17-18 minutes a game they usually do.

Jordan Eberle

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	17	33	50	0.64

The elder stateman on the Kraken now, Eberle was one of the team’s best players at even strength last year. In some way not much has changed from when he first arrived on the Kraken, but he isn’t expected to carry the team’s offence like he once was, playing as the third wheel alongside McCann and Beniers for most of the season. He’s not getting the same number of puck touches he used to, but he did an excellent job of giving his linemates easy passes and creating space for them to get through the neutral zone. Thriving at the five-to-ten-foot pass game to start give-and-gos, Eberle’s adapted his game well over his career to stay in the top six despite whatever his scoring line is. He still skates well and can drive the net with great hands to finish plays off when he gets in alone. One of the few Kraken forwards whose offensive production wasn’t heavily skewed towards rush play, which made him a valuable piece on that top line. The power play was the only sore spot with him, only scoring six goals and 12 points with the man advantage, which makes his overall statline misleading because he was one of their top scorers at even strength. Now 34, it’s just a matter of whether he can sustain this level of play over the next two years where he’s under contract.

Eeli Tolvanen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	17	25	42	0.51

Drafted as a goal-scorer and molded into a checking forward by the Kraken, Tolvanen is a case of finding your lane to stay in the league. Seattle made it clear what their expectations were of him when they claimed him off waivers from Nashville and he’s rewarded them with back-to-back solid seasons. Last year being his first full year in the league with a defined role on the Yanni Gourde line. Tolvanen’s simplified his game to be an effective forechecker, taking the role as the first forward into the zone to retrieve pucks and disrupt exits. The first-round skill is still there even if he doesn’t get as many opportunities to show it. He gets open enough to be dangerous on that third line and finishes at a decent clip. Combine that with his solid defensive play and Tolvanen has carved a nice path for himself to stay in the NHL for a while. The question with a player like him is what happens if or when you try him higher in the lineup. Is there more skill there or what he is doing now the best you’ll see? Seattle has some time to find this out, as they opted to bridge him for two years at $3.475 million AAV rather than making him a long-term piece of the puzzle. There is upside and a potential break out, but draft for similar results.

Chandler Stephenson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	15	37	52	0.63

Seattle wanted more offence, and they spent a lot of long-term money to get it by signing Chandler Stephenson. It was a shocking contract for a player who has only hit the 20-goal mark once in his career and known mostly as Mark Stone’s sidekick in Vegas. He isn’t the first guy in a thin free agent poll to get a big payday, but the fit in Seattle is a little suspect. Stephenson is one of the fastest players in the NHL, but functions as the secondary piece on his line rather than someone who stirs the drink. He excels in the give-and-go game, shooting only when he has a lot of time and space open to pick a corner. It’s questionable if the Kraken have the pieces to set him up for success because they’re a team with a lot of similar secondary pieces and few players who can drive results. Stylistically he fits because of his speed and love of creating cycles high in the zone, which the Kraken love to do. It’s just a matter of whether or not he will have the same impact he did in Vegas when he doesn’t have the same level of talent around him. His success could depend on how Matt Beniers performs in the first line center hole in front of him. Be cautious in drafting and do not expect him to produce more than last year with better talent. 15 goals and twice as many assists might be a realistic result.

DEFENCE

Vince Dunn

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	13	47	60	0.77

The Kraken received the closest thing they’ll get to a franchise defenceman when they took Vince Dunn in the expansion draft. He drives a lot of what makes the team go, both through his vision, passing and controlling the play at the blue line. Seattle loves to create off the rush when they can slow the play down in the neutral zone and Dunn is excellent at making those frozen rope passes off regroups. He’s also their best defender at giving them a dynamic element on the blue line, always looking to pinch and contribute to the cycle instead of immediately looking for the big point shot. He also does this while playing 23-24 minutes a night on a Seattle top pair that gets some of the toughest matchups in the league. It’s not a coincidence that the Kraken’s season fell apart when a high hit against Calgary took him out of the lineup for the final 20 games. Seattle won only seven of the games he missed. It took Dunn a couple of years to get used to life as a top pair defenceman and Seattle didn’t have anyone who could slide into that role without a significant drop-off. Sometimes you never know if a player is going to sink or swim when they have to play higher in the lineup and Dunn is a case of patience paying off. He has two years of excellent results under his belt now. Expect more of the same.

Brandon Montour

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	12	38	50	0.61

Set to make bank after rediscovering his game as a pure offensive defenceman in Florida, the Kraken decided to be the team to pay the bill for it. His skillset is needed there, as the Kraken like to involve their defence and didn’t have a lot of attack-minded players on their blue line to make it effective. Montour was the most boom-or-bust player they could have added to fill this void. He fits the riverboat gambler moniker better than most because retrieving pucks and making stretch passes out of his own zone isn’t his strength, but rather someone who can fly the zone when a lane is open and act as an extra forward on the attack. Expectations for him are a little tough because he has one monster 73-point season heavily influenced by power play production sandwiched in between two decently productive seasons that would put him in the middle of the pack for most defencemen. Montour needs a sturdy partner who can retrieve pucks and matched up behind a scoring line to get the most out of his offensive skillset. He can move and has fantastic scoring instincts for a defenceman, keeping the puck in the offensive zone as much as possible is the key to unlocking what Florida got out of him. It’s uncertain if the Kraken have the same setup. Do not overpay as he is 30 years old and profiles more at the 40-point level than 60 over his recent career.

Adam Larsson

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

Affectionally known as “The Big Cat,” Larsson’s been a fixture in the Kraken lineup for awhile now, stapled next to Vince Dunn on their top pair. He is the less dangerous of the two offensively, as he will usually stay back while Dunn roams to be the safety valve. Larsson isn’t without skill, though. He skates well for a big man and will look to push the pace if given the opportunity. He activates from the blue line to create offence from closer range rather than go for the big slapshot form distance. His defensive play was more spotty than usual last year, as the Kraken gave up more chances with him on the ice. His own game was also a little more conservative than usual, focused mainly on avoiding turnovers and not making mistakes while deferring to Dunn for most of the exits and puck play. Was hurt the most by Dunn’s absence as some of his flaws were exposed without a puck-mover alongside him, especially with defending entries. This is normally one of Larsson’s stronger skills, but he struggled here. Opposing teams could attack his side more and the workload was overwhelming. When the two are healthy, they’re an underrated top pair with Larsson pitching in offensively a little more than he did last year.

Jamie Oleksiak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	3	17	20	0.24

The towering defenceman might have had one of his worst seasons offensively, but he performed well in just about every other aspect of the game. His own offensive contributions also weren’t bad, they just didn’t result in points. He brings an unmatched combination of size and mobility, as most defencemen built like him aren’t nearly as good with the puck or can skate their way out of danger like he can. He held the fort down well on that second pair and made life easier for Will Borgen to transition into a top four role. Still not the best breakout passer, Oleksiak makes up for it with his skating and penchant for making the simple plays to help his teammates kickstart the breakout. His own story is a great case of patience with player development, stuck in a third pair role for most of his career and dominating those minutes until the Stars were ready to promote him into the top four. This was around the time the Kraken claimed him in the expansion draft and he’s been a regular part of their defence corps and penalty kill since then.

GOAL

Philipp Grubauer

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
34	15	15	4	1	0.902	3.02

Joey Daccord

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
48	20	22	6	3	0.911	2.54

Perhaps the brightest surprise to pop up in net last season was Seattle Kraken backup Joey Daccord's rise to prominence. After former Colorado star Philipp Grubauer made the shocking move to ink with Seattle (only to see his numbers take a nosedive), it seemed like the Kraken became collectors of goaltenders without a ton of high upside to their games. Daccord was no exception, putting up stellar numbers in college for Arizona State but boasting a playing style that looked unlikely to translate well to the NHL. Whatever work he put into his development post-grad, though, seems to have paid off in spades. The version of Joey Daccord Seattle iced last season looked like a whole new goaltender, boasting elevated instincts and faster, crisper movements within the blue paint.

Now, he'll get a chance to prove last season wasn't just an adrenaline-fueled fluke. The Kraken will return this season with both Grubauer and Daccord, but it's likely Daccord will kick off the season as the presumed number one. Barring a surprising coaching decision in the Pacific Northwest, it appears as if the starting gig is Daccord's to lose. The biggest test will be to prove just how much of his instinctual improvements can stick around over the long, grueling seasons; he's made it clear that he's willing to put in the work, but Seattle will need him to prove he's got staying power as well if they hope to push back into playoff contention.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (April 8th – April 14th) – Eastern playoff race tightens with Penguins back in the hunt – Favourable matchups and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 06 Apr 2024 21:27:00 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - APRIL 02: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates after scoring a goal during a game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and New Jersey Devils on April 2, 2024 at Prudential Center in the Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

The battle for the second seed in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, along with the third seed in the Metropolitan Division could go down to the wire.

The third spot in the Metro is held by Philadelphia (36-29-11, 83 points), which has seemed destined to make the playoffs for a while. However, the Flyers have fallen on tough times, going 2-5-3 over their last 10 games, which has put them in a vulnerable position. To make matters worse, the Flyers have a 17-13-7 away record, and their next four contests are on the road. That might make it tough for Philadelphia to maintain its playoff hold.

Meanwhile, the Islanders (34-27-15, 83 points) occupy the second wild-card spot. It’s been a weird journey for New York, which seemed to end its playoff push with a six-game losing streak from March 11-21, only to rebound with a 5-2-0 run since. The Islanders do have a somewhat tough schedule for the remainder of the season, including two remaining games against the Rangers, but they’re at least in charge of their destiny.

Washington (36-29-10, 82 points) and Detroit (37-30-8, 82 points) have lost ground to the Islanders, but are still very much in the hunt. The Red Wings have won just four of their last 16 games, but Detroit got a badly needed two points on the road against Tampa Bay on Monday, so that’s something the Red Wings can potentially build off. Kane is doing his best to guide Detroit forward with five goals and 11 points across his past 10 games. It wouldn’t be surprising to see the veteran continue to come up clutch down the final stretch.

Speaking of aging stars trying to push their team into the playoffs, Sidney Crosby has supplied an unreal seven goals and 20 points over his past 12 contests. Pittsburgh (35-10-11, 81 points) was written out of the playoff race a while ago, but after a 5-0-2 stretch, the Penguins are back in the conversation. Importantly, the Penguins have two potential paths between the third Metropolitan Division seed and the second wild-card spot.

Pittsburgh still has an uphill battle, in part due to its difficult schedule. Its remaining games are against Tampa Bay, Toronto, Detroit, Boston, Nashville and the Islanders -- all teams either in a playoff spot or in the postseason hunt. Still, what a story it would be if Crosby led the Penguins into the playoffs even after they dealt Jake Guentzel to Carolina at the deadline.

Arizona Coyotes – TUE @ SEA, WED @ VAN (BTB), FRI @ EDM, SUN @ CGY

The Coyotes will be on the road this week, playing in Seattle on Tuesday, Vancouver on Wednesday, Edmonton on Friday and Calgary on Sunday. It’s a difficult schedule, but there aren’t a lot of teams featuring in four contests this week, so Arizona is still worthy of highlighting.

Although Arizona will miss the playoffs for the fourth straight season, some of the Coyotes’ younger players are giving the fans reason to be optimistic about the future. Josh Doan, son of former Coyotes captain Shane Doan, made his NHL debut March 26 and has already accumulated two goals and five points across four contests. The 22-year-old Doan also looked good in AHL Tucson this year, providing 26 goals and 46 points in 62 outings. He’ll be a rookie worth watching next season, though, despite his hot start, I wouldn’t peg him as one of the early favorites to compete for the Calder Trophy.

If he ends up having a rookie campaign like Logan Cooley has, I think the Coyotes would be pleased with that. Cooley hasn’t made headlines in his first season, but the 19-year-old has had his moments, providing 17 goals and 39 points through 75 outings. The highlight so far has been his hat trick against Nashville, which he recorded on March 28. He also has six goals and nine points over his past nine appearances.

Matias Maccelli is also part of the Coyotes’ long-term plans. The 23-year-old has 14 goals and 51 points in 75 outings in 2023-24. Not a bad output for a player who will come with a $3,425,000 annual cap hit through 2025-26, especially given that he still has room to grow. Maccelli has looked especially good recently, supplying three goals and five points over his past four outings.

Calgary Flames – TUE @SJS, THU @ LAK, FRI @ ANA (BTB), SUN VS ARI

The Flames will start the week with a game in San Jose on Thursday before visiting Los Angeles on Thursday and Anaheim on Friday. They’ll conclude the week with a home contest versus the Coyotes. Among those adversaries, the Kings are the only ones in a playoff position.

It’s still too early to pass final judgment on the trade that sent Elias Lindholm from Calgary to Vancouver, but so far it’s looking like a potential steal for the Flames. Not only did the Flames get pieces that might help them in the future, including a 2024 first-round pick, but while Lindholm, who presently has a wrist injury, has underwhelmed with Vancouver when healthy, Andrei Kuzmenko has settled in nicely with the Flames.

Kuzmenko’s provided four goals and seven points in his past four outings. He still has just 17 goals and 36 points in 65 outings between Vancouver and Calgary in 2023-24, which is a steep departure from his 74-point showing last season, but clearly, he still has offensive abilities. He’ll make for an interesting late-round gamble in fantasy drafts next season given his high-risk, high-reward status.

Kuzmenko’s not the only Flames player who is red hot. There’s also defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, who has an incredible three goals and eight points in his past five appearances. That brings him up to 19 goals and 48 points along with 47 PIM, 179 hits and 189 blocks in 75 appearances in 2023-24. Calgary traded away defensemen Noah Hanifin and Chris Tanev before the deadline, but Weegar will remain with the Flames as their headline blueliner after inking an eight-year, $50 million contract back in October of 2022. That deal runs through 2030-31.

Calgary also made a long-term commitment to Nazem Kadri, who is signed through 2028-29 at a $7 million annual cap hit. That contract is questionable, especially because Kadri is already 33 years old, but to his credit, he’s been productive this campaign with 24 goals and 65 points in 75 outings. Based on his recent play -- Kadri has a goal and six points over his last five games -- it wouldn’t be surprising to see him reach the 70-point mark for the second time in his career.

Florida Panthers – TUE VS OTT, THU VS CBJ, SAT VS BUF

The Panthers have just three games scheduled next week, but they’re all home contests and none of their adversaries will be making the playoffs. Florida will host the Senators on Tuesday, the Blue Jackets on Thursday and the Sabres on Saturday.

Florida has an eye toward the playoffs, but in the meantime, the squad will move forward without Aaron Ekblad (undisclosed) and Carter Verhaeghe (upper body), who both might be done for what’s left of the regular season.

Ekblad’s injury resulted in Josh Mahura drawing back into the lineup Thursday. Mahura registered an assist in 15:28 of ice time in that contest, bringing him up to nine assists in 27 outings this season. Mahura will probably play regularly for the remainder of the season. He doesn’t do enough offensively to make him worth using in standard fantasy leagues, but he does have some utility in formats that value PIM, hits and blocks -- the 25-year-old has 18, 36 and 24, respectively, in those categories.

Carter Verhaeghe’s absence has opened the door for Nick Cousins to play alongside Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk. Although Cousins isn’t a major offensive contributor -- he has just six goals and 12 points across 64 contests this season -- those are pretty much ideal linemates. Cousins contributed a goal and an assist versus Ottawa on Thursday with Tkachuk and Bennett providing the assists on his marker.

The loss of offense caused by Verhaeghe’s injury might also be partially mitigated by Aleksander Barkov’s amazing play of late. The 28-year-old Barkov dealt with his own health issues recently, missing three straight contests from March 21-24, but he’s supplied four goals and nine points in six outings since returning from that undisclosed injury.

Los Angeles Kings – TUE @ ANA THU VS CGY SAT VS ANA

Like the Panthers, LA has just three games scheduled next week, but the competition is favorable. The Kings will play in Anaheim on Tuesday before hosting the Flames on Thursday and the Ducks on Saturday.

Danault has missed the Kings’ past four games, but the injury doesn’t sound major. Coach Jim Hiller described Danault’s chances of returning last Monday as “50/50,” per Zach Dooley of LA Kings Insider. He didn’t end up playing in that contest, but perhaps he’ll be available at some point next week. The only X-Factor is that LA has pretty much secured its playoff berth at this point, and while the Kings are still battling for playoff positioning, it might still make more sense to allow Danault to rest and be as close to 100 percent as possible during the playoffs rather than risk rushing him back.

In the meantime, Blake Lizotte is playing a bigger role than normal. He’s averaged 16:31 of ice time during Danault’s absence, compared to just 11:35 overall in 2023-24. Look for Lizotte to shift back to his typical supporting role once Danault does return. The injury has also created an opening for Akil Thomas to get his first taste of NHL action. The 24-year-old has averaged just 6:18 over his first two contests, but he still has managed to record a goal and four points in that span. Thomas has been solid this campaign with AHL Ontario, providing 22 goals and 43 points in 61 outings, and it would be interesting to see what he could do at the NHL level if given a bigger role. If nothing else, Thomas will be someone to keep an eye on during training camp.

The two upcoming games against the Ducks, who rank 30th offensively with 2.45 goals per game, should be a great opportunity to start goaltender Cam Talbot or David Rittich, depending on who is deployed. Talbot, who has a 24-18-6 record, 2.47 GAA and .915 save percentage across 49 contests, seems set to serve as the Kings’ starter in the playoffs. However, Rittich has done well this campaign with a 12-6-3 record, 2.21 GAA and .919 save percentage in 23 games, and both goaltenders are likely to be utilized in the final days of the season as LA looks to keep both of them fresh.

Seattle Kraken – TUE VS ARI, THU VS SJS, SAT @ DAL, SUN @ STL

Seattle will begin the week at home with contests against the Coyotes on Tuesday and the Sharks on Thursday. The Kraken will then visit Dallas on Saturday and St. Louis on Sunday. Dallas is the only team on that list in a playoff position.

The Kraken will miss the postseason, but if there’s a silver lining, it’s that Joey Daccord has proven to be a strong goaltender for them. He’s posted an 18-16-11 record, 2.42 GAA and .918 save percentage in 47 outings in 2023-24. Daccord will remain with the Kraken next year with an affordable $1.2 million cap hit, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he proves to be the clear starter in 2024-25 ahead of Philipp Grubauer, who is in danger of finishing with a save percentage below .900 for the third straight campaign -- he's 12-14-2 with a 2.97 GAA and an .895 save percentage in 32 appearances.

Rather than goaltending, offense has been Seattle’s failing this year. The Kraken rank 29th with 2.61 goals per game. Jared McCann has arguably been part of the problem. Sure, he does lead the team with 28 goals and 60 points in 74 outings, but that still marks a significant decline from his 40-goal showing in 2022-23. For what it’s worth, though, he’s finishing the campaign strong, providing a goal and six points in his last five appearances.

Matty Beniers has seen a much steeper decline. He had 24 goals and 57 points in 80 outings as a rookie but has gone through a sophomore slump, contributing 13 goals and 33 points across 70 appearances. Beniers is partially salvaging the campaign late, collecting three goals and five points across his past five outings.

Tampa Bay Lightning – TUE VS CBJ, THU VS OTT, SAT @ WAS

The Lightning will open the week by hosting the Blue Jackets on Tuesday and the Senators on Thursday. Those are two favorable matchups against teams near the bottom of the league’s standings. Tampa Bay’s road contest against Washington on Saturday might be difficult, though, especially as the Capitals fight to earn a wild-card spot.

Of course, when it comes to the Lightning, the biggest question is if Nikita Kucherov will win the Art Ross Trophy and thus bolster his bid for the Hart. Kucherov has 43 goals and 133 points in 75 outings, giving him a three-point edge over Nathan MacKinnon (48 goals, 82 assists) and a six-point lead over Connor McDavid (29 goals, 97 assists). Kucherov has built that advantage by accumulating an incredible nine points (one goal) over his past four appearances. He’ll likely need a strong finish to maintain his edge over MacKinnon and McDavid, but that’s certainly within his power.

That spectacle might mask a growing injury problem for Tampa Bay. The squad was already missing defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (leg) along with forwards Tanner Jeannot (upper body) and Logan Brown (undisclosed) going into Thursday’s contest against Montreal, and Brandon Hagel (undisclosed) as well as Anthony Cirelli (undisclosed) were hurt during the Lightning’s 7-4 victory. It’s not clear yet how long Hagel or Cirelli will be out for, but we might see Conor Sheary draw back into the lineup.

Although Sheary has just three goals and 13 points in 52 games this season, those numbers should be taken with a pinch of salt because he’s averaged just 10:54 of ice time. With mounting injuries, Sheary might be utilized in a top-nine role, which should lead to a meaningful uptick in offensive production. Although Sheary has never been able to replicate his 53-point showing with Pittsburgh in 2016-17, he can at least be a decent middle-six forward when given the chance.

The Lightning might also lean on Nick Paul more going down the stretch. The 29-year-old has provided three goals over his past two games, elevating him to 22 markers and 42 points in 76 outings in 2023-24.

Toronto Maple Leafs – MON VS PIT, TUE @ NJD (BTB), THU VS NJD, SAT VS DET

Toronto has a packed schedule next week, starting with a home contest against Pittsburgh on Monday. The Maple Leafs will then play in New Jersey on Tuesday before hosting the Devils on Thursday and will conclude the week with a home tilt versus the Red Wings.

As is the case with Tampa Bay, a single player’s pursuit of the Hart Trophy, not to mention tremendous milestones, is the center of attention in Toronto. Auston Matthews has managed eight goals and 15 points over his past eight outings, bringing him up to 63 markers and 99 points in 74 contests this season. His 63 goals are tied for 27th on the all-time single-season list, and Matthews has an outside chance of becoming just the 10th player in NHL history and the first since 1992-93 to reach the 70-goal milestone. As it is, Matthews is the first player of the salary cap era to score at least 60 goals on two occasions.

Matthews’ recent success is all the more impressive because he hasn’t had Mitchell Marner (ankle) to work off. Marner hasn’t been in the lineup since March 7, but he might make his return this Saturday versus Montreal. Interestingly, rather than plug Marner back into his typical role alongside Matthews, he’s instead projected to serve alongside Bobby McMann and John Tavares in his return. Matthews would then play alongside Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi while William Nylander would work with Matthew Knies and Pontus Holmberg. There’s some logic in spreading out their talent like that, especially ahead of the playoffs. Teams that can roll out three effective scoring lines tend to go far, but at the same time, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Marner end up back with Matthews before long.

Outside of Matthews, the Leafs’ hottest forward recently has arguably been Knies. While the rookie has left something to be desired with his 13 goals and 33 points in 73 contests this season, he has supplied a goal and five points over his last five outings. Bertuzzi has also been a standout performer lately, scoring four goals over his past five appearances.

Vegas Golden Knights – MON @ VAN, WED @ EDM, FRI VS MIN, SUN VS COL

The Golden Knights will open the week on the road with contests in Vancouver on Monday and Edmonton on Wednesday. The Golden Knights will then return home to host the Wild on Friday and the Avalanche on Sunday. It’s not an easy schedule, but Vegas is getting highlighted anyway because there weren’t that many teams with four games on the docket.

Tomas Hertl (knee) hasn’t made his Golden Knights debut yet, but he seems to be drawing close to it, so perhaps Vegas will get its first game with the 30-year-old this coming week. He had 15 goals and 34 points in 48 games with the lowly Sharks before being dealt to Vegas on March 8. Hertl’s likely to see his playing time go down somewhat with Vegas -- he averaged 20:54 of ice time in San Jose -- but he’ll be working with much better players, so his production might still rise. Keep an eye on how Vegas utilizes him during the final games of the season because he has the potential to do very well in playoff leagues.

While Vegas hasn’t reaped the rewards of acquiring Hertl yet, Anthony Mantha is already having an impact. Acquired from Washington on March 5, Mantha got off to a slow start with just a goal over his first seven Vegas contests, but he’s hit his stride while providing seven points (one marker) over his past six appearances. The 29-year-old is serving in a middle-six capacity and has seen time recently alongside William Karlsson.

Sticking with Karlsson, who has 26 goals and 53 points in 63 games, would be advantageous for Mantha. The 31-year-old Karlsson has also been red hot recently, collecting two tallies and seven points over his last five outings.

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.