Jordan Greenway – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Quinton Byfield is making his presence felt, a surprising source of offense for the Maple Leafs, Columbus’ All-Star is scoring, and much, much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 23 Feb 2024 16:42:21 +0000

PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 30: Los Angeles Kings Center Quinton Byfield (55) looks on during the second period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Los Angeles Kings on January 30, 2022, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

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

This week, Quinton Byfield is making his presence felt, a surprising source of offense for the Maple Leafs, Columbus’ All-Star is scoring, and much, much more!

#1 Drafted second overall by the Los Angeles Kings in 2020, Quinton Byfield took some time to get up to speed in the National Hockey League. Coming into this season, he had 8 goals and 33 points in 99 games, so he was not exactly busting down the door to stardom. He did start to show potential last season, though, and the Kings gave him a lot of ice time on the top line to start this season, skating on a line with Adrian Kempe and Anze Kopitar. More recently, Byfield has moved down the depth chart to join Pierre-Luc Dubois and Byfield continues to produce. In his past 10 games, Byfield has tallied 12 points (6 G, 6 A) with 25 shots on goal.

#2 Throwing Byfield with Pierre-Luc Dubois offers a chance for Dubois to shake out of his season-long slump. Since the Kings replaced Todd McLellan with Jim Hiller as head coach, Dubois has six points (3 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal in seven games. That improved production comes on the heels of Dubois managing just one point (1 G, 0 A) in the previous eight games.

#3 A 27-year-old winger who had played all of 10 games in the NHL prior to this season, Bobby McMann has become an unlikely contributor for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his first 26 games for the Maple Leafs this season, McMann had just seven points (2 G, 5 A) but it was understandable, he played less than 10 minutes in 18 of those 26 games. McMann broke through on February 13, recording a hat trick in a 4-1 win against St. Louis and that earned him a bump up the depth chart. He has most recently found himself on a line with John Tavares and Nick Robertson and has 10 points (7 G, 3 A) and 17 shots on goal in the past six games. Suddenly, McMann is changing the perception of what he might be able to offer as an NHL player, from fringe NHLer to possible top-six winger.

#4 Getting Connor Bedard back in the lineup has helped Chicago Blackhawks forward Philipp Kurashev who has eight points (1 G, 7 A) in seven games since the All-Star break, which includes four points (1 G, 3 A) in four games since Bedard returned from his broken jaw. Prior to the break, Kurashev had just two points (1 G, 1 A) during a 14-game stretch, and yet he is still second on the Blackhawks in scoring with 32 points (9 G, 23 A) in 50 games.

#5 Columbus’ All-Star representative this season, centre Boone Jenner has emerged from the break on a five-game point streak, during which he has accrued eight points (5 G, 3 A) with 22 shots on goal. Jenner juices up his fantasy appeal with physical play, too, and has 17 hits in those five games. He is skating between Johnny Gaudreau and Jack Roslovic, both of whom are also picking up the pace offensively. Gaudreau is in full set-up mode lately, with 15 points (1 G, 14 A) and 33 shots on goal in his past 13 games. Roslovic has upped his production more recently, with five points (1 G, 4 A) and 14 shots on goal during a four-game point streak which started when he joined Jenner and Gaudreau on Columbus’ top line.

#6 Winnipeg Jets right winger Gabriel Vilardi got off to a strong start with his new club, contributing 20 points (11 G, 9 A) in 25 games, but he did miss some time due to injury and went through a six-game scoreless drought around the All-Star break. He’s making up for it, though, with eight points (4 G, 4 A) and 12 shots on goal during a three-game point streak. Vilardi is skating on the Jets’ top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele, which is a pretty great opportunity for a young player looking to become a more consistent scoring threat.

#7 Although he was held off the scoresheet in Thursday’s 1-0 win against Florida, it was only the third time in the past 16 games that Carolina Hurricanes right winger Seth Jarvis did not record a point. He has 18 points (4 G, 14 A) and 34 shots on goal in that span, giving him a career-high 46 points in 56 games. Jarvis isn’t the only Hurricanes winger who has picked up his scoring pace. Martin Necas has 15 points (8 G, 7 A) and 50 shots on goal in his past 14 games.

#8 The third pick in the 2021 Draft, Anaheim Ducks centre Mason McTavish has had some ups and downs in his second NHL season, but his talent is undeniable, and he does have seven points in his past four games. While fantasy managers, especially those in banger leagues, might love that McTavish has 30 penalty minutes in his past 10 games, those frequent trips to the penalty box could start to cost him ice time.

#9 Florida Panthers centre Anton Lundell tallied 44 points as a rookie in 2021-2022 and has not been able to match that pace since, in part because his shooting percentage has fallen off, from 14.4 percent two seasons ago to 7.2 percent this season. Nevertheless, Lundell has shown some signs of life offensively, producing six points (4 G, 2 A) and nine shots on goal in his past five games. The Panthers have been excellent this season, and they have not received a huge contribution from Lundell, so if he can pick up the pace down the stretch, that would go a long way for a team that is a Stanley Cup contender.

#10 Minnesota Wild rookie centre Marco Rossi has moved into a tie with teammate Brock Faber as the second leading rookie scorer in the league behind Chicago’s Connor Bedard, who has 39 points (17 G, 22 A) in 43 games. Rossi has five points (4 G, 1 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past five games, which gets him to 33 points (17 G, 16 A) in 56 games. Rossi’s ice time is down, so tread carefully about adding him now. His improved scoring pace does offer hope that Rossi will have a bigger role both in the near and more distant future.

#11 New York Rangers right winger Kaapo Kakko missed nearly two months of action but is starting to get back into the groove. In his past six games, the 23-year-old forward has put up five points (2 G, 3 A) along with 12 shots on goal. It may be too soon to offer a full-throated recommendation for Kakko, but it’s worth keeping an eye on him. Progress has been gradual, and he is already in his fifth NHL season, but he has flashed potential.

#12 Consistent offensive production does not come easily for Buffalo Sabres winger Jordan Greenway, who scored a career high 32 points (9 G, 23 A) in 56 games for the Minnesota Wild during the 2020-2021 season. However, every now and then, he heats up and suddenly becomes an intriguing fantasy option, even if it is for short-term purposes. Over the past month, Greenway has eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 16 shots on goal in 10 games. Injuries have opened the door for Greenway to get more ice time in Buffalo and he has landed on the second line, alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Dylan Cozens, two skilled players who can help extend Greenway’s offensive good fortune.

#13 At this stage of his career, 38-year-old Corey Perry tends to not offer a lot of fantasy value during the regular season. He plays on the lower half of the depth chart and while he contributes some, it is usually only enough for consideration in the deepest of leagues. While all of that may be true, Perry does have four points (3 G, 1 A) with eight shots on goal and 16 penalty minutes in the past four games and that might warrant a little bit more attention. He is getting second unit power play time and is skating with Dylan Holloway and Mattias Janmark at evens.

#14 Goaltending has been a question mark for many teams this season and those questions have lingered in Carolina for much of the season. The answer may be found within the Hurricanes’ own dressing room, as Pyotr Kochetkov has hit a hot streak and that might be enough to solidify the play in Carolina’s crease, at least for the time being. After a sparkling 44-save shutout Thursday against Florida, Kochetkov has a .969 save percentage across his past four starts. Of course, in his previous four appearances, Kochetkov’s save percentage was a ghastly .851, so he has been offering quite the thrill ride with plenty of ups and downs.

#15 One of the primary challenges when seeking fantasy hockey answers in goal is finding goaltenders that play enough. St. Louis Blues backup goaltender Joel Hofer, for example, has been excellent lately with a .928 save percentage across his past nine starts, but that goes back to before Christmas, so Hofer still offers value in deeper leagues. If something were to happen that would give him a greater share of the starts in St. Louis, the 23-year-old could see his value soar.

#16 After lighting up the Vancouver Canucks for four points (1 G, 3 A) in Thursday’s victory, Seattle Kraken centre Jared McCann has a six-game point streak and has put up 22 points (11 G, 11 A) with 44 shots on goal in his past 15 games. McCann is coming off a career-best season in which he scored 40 goals and 70 points, but his recent production is getting him back into that stratosphere again.

#17 In his past seven games, Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar has zero points. This stretch is the first time – in his career! – that he has gone more than three consecutive games without recording a point. It’s not like this is no reason to trade Makar. He has 20 shots on goal in those seven games and has 60 points (13 G, 47 A) in 53 games this season, but an unprecedented slump from the most prolific scoring defenceman in the league at least bears watching.

#18 Since the All-Star break, the leaders in all situations expected goals: Nico Hischier (5.57), Nathan MacKinnon (5.54), Auston Matthews (5.21), Chris Kreider (4.91), J.T. Miller (4.88), Kirill Kaprizov (4.66), Zach Hyman (4.55), Jack Hughes (4.45), Brady Tkachuk (4.37), Joel Eriksson Ek (4.32), Boone Jenner (4.25), Kyle Palmieri (4.25), Evander Kane (4.23), Nazem Kadri (4.22), and Cole Caufield (4.18). While these are a lot of expected names, it’s interesting to see Hischier at the top of the list, and players like Jenner, Palmieri, and Kane are likely higher than their overall production might suggest.

#19 There are 36 players that have recorded at least seven power-play points since January 1. That list includes Juraj Slafkovsky (9), Jonathan Huberdeau (7), Frank Vatrano (7), Morgan Frost (7), and Jake Neighbours (7). Again, a lot of the names at the top of the list are to be expected – Matthew Tkachuk leads with 14 five-on-four points in 2024 – but some less established players are starting to make a difference with the man advantage, too.

#20 With Mark Stone injured, joining Jack Eichel on the shelf, the Vegas Golden Knights are getting rather thin up front, so maybe consider Michael Amadio as a short-term fix. The 27-year-old forward has scored a goal in four of the past five games, putting a dozen shots on goal while averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time per game. Amadio finished with a career-high 27 points (16 G, 11 A) in 67 games last season and has 21 points (11 G, 10 A) in 50 games this season, so he is not necessarily a long-term answer but, right now, he has an opportunity to play a more significant role.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Forwards

Tage Thompson - C

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

Jeff Skinner - LW

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

Alex Tuch - RW

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

Dylan Cozens - C

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

Jack Quinn - RW

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

J.J. Peterka - LW

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

Casey Mittelstadt - C

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

Peyton Krebs - LW

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

Victor Olofsson - RW

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

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin - D

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

Owen Power - D

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

Mattias Samuelsson - D

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

Connor Clifton - D

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

Goaltending

Devon Levi - G

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

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

Projected starts: 35-40

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick and Evolving Hockey.

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – MINNESOTA WILD – NHL Player Profiles

Joe Yerdon – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 18:58:24 +0000

ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 16: Minnesota Wild left wing Matt Boldy (12) starts to turn up ice during a game between the Minnesota Wild and the St. Louis Blues on April 16, 2022, at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis MO (Photo by Rick Ulreich/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Kirill Kaprizov

A lot of players after a monster rookie season will have the infamous “sophomore slump” but then again, most players aren’t Kirill Kaprizov. The 25-year-old Russian built upon his Calder-winning season by scoring 47 goals and 108 points. That point total made him fifth in the NHL and his goal total tied him with Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor for fifth best. Kaprizov set Wild team records for goals, assists (61), and points in a season and set the team record for most even strength goals (33) along with Ryan Hartman. Kaprizov was also the best forward when it comes to possession with a 53.6 CF% at 5-on-5, as only defenseman Jared Spurgeon (55.4) was better. Unsurprisingly, Kaprizov was the most dangerous player on the power play leading the team with 14 goals and 31 points. To call him a difference-maker since joining the Wild would be a vast understatement. He’s a legit top-10 player in the NHL and one of its elite scorers. The questions now are how long he can perform at this level, and can he exceed what he accomplished last season. He’s already a challenger for both the Rocket Richard and Art Ross trophies and gunning for the Hart Trophy comes naturally with those. Expect him to be in all those conversations this season.

Mats Zuccarello

It’s rare to see a player have the best season of their career after turning 30, but at 34 that’s precisely what Mats Zuccarello did. He was third on the Wild with 79 points including 24 goals. Zuccarello teamed up with Kaprizov and Hartman to have, perhaps, one of the most unexpected offensive explosions by a line in the NHL. Early in his career with the New York Rangers, Zuccarello was a steady offensive player capable of scoring 45-60 points per season. His first season with Minnesota was disappointing comparably, but the past two seasons has seen him produce at the best rates of his career (0.83 and 1.13 points per game). Teaming him up with Kaprizov likely has a lot to do with that jump, if not everything, but it’s still better than almost every other season he’s played in the NHL. That doesn’t generally happen for players past age 30, never mind their mid-30s. What benefits him most is he’s a naturally smart player on offense and has tremendous vision for passing as well as a sky-high hockey IQ. His size was something always used as a reason why he wouldn’t have success, but at 5-foot-8, 184 pounds he’s proved that size doesn’t always mean results.

Joel Eriksson Ek

The 25-year-old from Sweden has become one of the better defensive forwards in the league. Eriksson Ek was the Wild’s first round pick (20th) in 2015 and the improvement in his game over the past five seasons has been as impressive as it is noticeable. He set career-highs in goals (26), assists (23), and points (49) and was the smallest player on his line with Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway. Mind you, Eriksson Ek is 6-foot-1 and 208 pounds. He was third on the team in key advanced statistics with a 53.2 CF% and 56.9 xG%. Eriksson Ek fits in well with his linemates because, like them, he’s unafraid to throw his body around. He was fourth in hits with 138 behind Foligno (238), Brandon Duhaime (201), and Greenway (155) respectively. Physicality is contagious, but to have it come from what’s essentially the No. 2 scoring line makes them a rare team the way the NHL is played these days. Most teams will have fast-skating or overly agile lines with finishing ability, the Wild instead have a line that will punish opponents physically and drop the gloves if needed and it’s Eriksson Ek who drives the line in all those facets.

Ryan Hartman

In the seven seasons prior to last season, Ryan Hartman never scored more than 20 goals or had more than 31 points in a single season. To say that his 34-goal, 65-point season came out of nowhere is beyond true. Even in his two years previous with the Wild there was never any kind of hint this kind of outburst was possible, never mind likely. What stands out about it is that it’s the first time he played center in a full-time basis meaning, like Buffalo’s Tage Thompson, an unexpected position change turned Hartman into a goal-scoring dynamo. What helped Hartman’s scoring explode was how he shot 14.2 percent on 239 shots, career-highs in both categories as well. Is regression likely to hit hard? Probably. In his other seasons, the highest shot percentage he posted was 11.2 percent in his first full NHL season with Chicago. Normally he’s been between 8-10 percent. That said, in no other season did he play with offense drivers like Kaprizov and Zuccarello. That Hartman is a dogged forechecker with a willingness to hit, it gives him an element to his game that his linemates Kaprizov and Zuccarello lack and plenty of reasons to watch and see if he can continue to be an offensive factor.

Matthew Boldy

The anticipation that surrounded the eventual arrival of Matthew Boldy to the NHL was at a high level in the Twin Cities and when he made it to the Wild, the wait was worth it. In 47 games, Boldy posted 15 goals and 39 points and is poised to become a serious point producer from here out. The 21-year-old was the 12th overall pick in the 2019 Draft and signed with the Wild after he finished his sophomore season at Boston College in 2021. After 24 total games in the AHL in the past two seasons, his move to the NHL happened at a rapid pace, but sometimes players just need to be where they’ll flourish best. At 6-foot-2, 201 pounds, Boldy has an NHL build. He also has the kind of vision and play-making ability to improve everyone around him. He also excels at helping creating scoring chances. Boldy posted a 57 percent expected goals rate, behind only Foligno. What will be curious to watch is where Boldy factors into the lineup. It would appear their top two lines from last season are back, and Kevin Fiala–who was traded to Los Angeles–was the other winger on Boldy’s line with Frederick Gaudreau. That will put the onus on coach Dean Evason to find ways to get Boldy more involved.

Marcus Foligno

In his first 10 NHL seasons, Marcus Foligno never broke the 20-goal mark, nor had he scored 30 points in a season. Last season he was able to check off both accomplishments with a 23-goal, 42-point campaign. He also never had a season with more than 100 penalty minutes either until he had 112 last year. Through his career with Buffalo and Minnesota, 30-year-old Foligno has always been a physical player who thrives on throwing the body and wearing down opponents in the process, but he’s never been the kind of offense driver he was last season. Foligno isn’t a prolific shooter. He’s never had more than 100 shots in a season, although he came close last year with 98. All this does is make it impossible to predict how he’ll score by examining his shooting percentage. Where Foligno does a lot of damage is in close to the net cleaning up rebounds and pouncing on pucks down low. His 23.5 percent shooting last season was highest in the NHL and was down four percent from the previous season. Even with all those physical numbers, his possession numbers were still strong with a 52.5 CF%, He also led the team with a 57.8 xG% which exemplifies how he's getting scoring chances in quality areas consistently while also not being on the ice for many against him. With his play style and willingness to stand up for teammates, he’s very much the heart and soul of the Wild.

Frederick Gaudreau

The Wild were a team that thrived on players having productive seasons out of the blue. Another such player was center Frederick Gaudreau. The 29-year-old from Quebec earned a spot on the Wild out of training camp and took full advantage of it and posted a career-year with 14 goals and

44 points. It was Gaudreau’s first season playing entirely in the NHL, and he earned his way onto the third line where he teamed up with Kevin Fiala and Matthew Boldy to give the Wild a third line with equal parts skill and speed. At 6-feet tall and 179 pounds, Gaudreau is a deft skater who uses forechecking to get the puck back when his line doesn’t have it. He also carved out a consistent role with the team by being solid on special teams. Gaudreau had three points on the power play and was one of their regular players on the penalty kill. Although special teams were not one of their strongest areas, Gaudreau’s penalty kill numbers, respectively, were good. If he can build on his solid play from last year, chances are strong he’ll be able to improve his stats as well.

Jordan Greenway

As part of one of the biggest, most physical lines in the NHL that can also fill the net, Jordan Greenway casts an imposing shadow. At 6-foot-6 and 227 pounds, he’s the definition of what a power forward is built like and is a tenacious forechecker as well as a physically punishing player. He hits a lot, and he hits hard. His 155 hits last season was third-best on the Wild behind Foligno and Duhaime who each had more than 200 apiece. Greenway averaged 14:34 in ice time last season and his numbers differ from his linemates Foligno and Eriksson Ek because he doesn’t get much, if any, time on special teams. Greenway is out there to wear teams down at even strength and to intimidate opponents to keep them from winning too many puck battles in corners and along the boards. Even though descriptions like that don’t sound flattering to his offensive abilities, he can add points too. He had 27 points last season, five off his career high, and his 10 goals were two shy of his career-high 12. With the way his line plays and the fact Foligno has made a living crashing the net in Minnesota, it stands to reason Greenway could scrum his way into more goals.

Tyson Jost

The 24-year-old forward and No. 10 pick from the 2016 NHL Draft was a late-season acquisition from the Colorado Avalanche which sent Nico Sturm to Denver. As a one-for-one deal it was a means of getting two players a new setting to turn things around. In 21 games with Minnesota, Jost’s first impressions were OK with two goals and four assists. In all 80 games with the Wild and Avalanche he totaled eight goals and 12 assists. His 20 points are in line with how he’s performed in his previous four-plus seasons. Unfortunately, his average ice time per game has dipped slowly since then. His 12:51 per game with the Wild wasn’t great but was nearly a minute-and-a-half more than Sturm played and two-plus minutes more than others who were regular players like Duhaime and Nick Bjugstad. With a fresh training camp with Minnesota there’s an opportunity for Jost to grab a spot on the third or fourth line and perhaps be the latest Wild player to break out. With Kevin Fiala gone to L.A., there’s a spot up for grabs next to Gaudreau and Boldy, presumably, and Jost’s junior and college career showed he has skill to fill the net. If he can reclaim that ability the Wild would be even more dangerous in the Western Conference.

DEFENSE

Jared Spurgeon

The Minnesota Wild captain thrived last season. Known best for his puck handling ability, and he used that to become their best all-around threat from the blue line. He had 40 points, with 10 of those goals, to be the top scorer on defense. He also led defensemen in key advanced statistical measures with a 55.4 CF% and a 56.4 xG% at 5-on-5. To be a player that unites both old-school and new-school types means doing a lot of everything right. Spurgeon’s 40-point season was his best since 2018-2019 when he had a career-high 43 points and by reaching 10 goals it marked the fifth time he hit double figures in the category. Spurgeon split time among two different partners on the blue line in Alex Goligoski and Jacob Middleton. With Goligoski he had a CF% of nearly 59 percent. But after Middleton was acquired from San Jose at the trade deadline the two were paired up quite often and his possession numbers were below 48 percent. Of course, Middleton’s main strength isn’t exactly puck carrying. It’s tough to believe those two would remain a pairing with those results, but the Wild offense scored almost twice as many goals as allowed at 5-on-5 (15-8) when they were together. Maintaining production and giving Spurgeon a partner that doubles as a bodyguard can be appealing.

Jonas Brodin

All Jonas Brodin does game in, and game out is play superb defense. That’s a big undersell for one of the most under-appreciated blue liners in the NHL. Brodin led the Wild in average ice time per game clocking in at 23:26 per game. He piles on the minutes because he’s their No. 1 defenseman at 5-on-5, their top defender on the penalty kill, and worked the second power play unit. It resulted in him having a career-high in points with 30, seven on the power play. At 29 years old, Brodin is as steady as can be but at a very high level. He paired up with Matt Dumba almost exclusively last season, but also had Dmitry Kulikov when Dumba missed time. His possession numbers were slightly higher with Kulikov than Dumba, but Brodin and Dumba were excellent in keeping scoring chances reduced. In general, Brodin was solid in advanced numbers. At 5-on-5 he had a 52.5 CF% (third-best among Wild defensemen) and his 55.5 xG% was second only to Jared Spurgeon on defense. A big reason for that is how well Brodin handles the puck in general as well as under pressure. Expect him to again be the rock upon which the Wild defense is built.

Matt Dumba

This will be a season to watch Matt Dumba closely because he can become an unrestricted free agent in July. Jared Spurgeon and Jonas Brodin are already locked in long-term and the Wild have the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts causing them cap pain for the next few seasons. The Wild added defense prospect Brock Faber in the Fiala trade and Calen Addison is knocking on the door. The Wild love Dumba but it’s fair to ask if this will be his final season in Minnesota or if he’ll even finish the season there. As one of the Wild’s jack-of-all-trades defenders, the one thing that got in Matt Dumba’s way last season was injury. A trio of injuries, two upper-body and one lower, caused him to miss 23 games, but during the 59 he did suit up he did well. He put up seven goals and 20 assists for 27 points with five coming on the power play. Since he spent nearly 90 percent of his 5-on-5 time with Brodin, there was plenty of ice time and Dumba averaged 23:06 per game. It was the sixth straight season Dumba averaged 20 or more minutes a game. Dumba plays in all situations and shows consistently how his steady game can cool down excited situations in the defensive zone. His heavy shot from the point can provide an option on offense as well. If this is it for him in Minnesota, the Wild know they’d be losing someone important.

Jacob Middleton

The allure of a tough player in the NHL will always attract fans, GMs, and coaches alike and that’s what makes Jacob Middleton so popular. Standing 6-foot-3 and 219 pounds, Middleton is a certified big guy and his penchant for using it to wear opponents down and give a bit of protection for his defense partners makes him an attractive player. Minnesota acquired him at the trade deadline last season from San Jose in exchange for goalie Kaapo Kahkonen and put him right to work with Jared Spurgeon. While their skill sets and sizes couldn’t be more different, he was brought in almost specifically with Spurgeon in mind.At nearly 27 years old, it took Middleton a few seasons to crack through to the NHL being stuck in what was a loaded Sharks system. But there he saw plenty of time providing a physical balance on a pairing with Erik Karlsson. Middleton isn’t a point-getter. In the AHL he maxed out at 28 points in 67 games with AHL San Jose back in 2017-2018. He’s also not even a tough guy in the classic sense because he’s never eclipsed 100 PIM in a season going back to his junior hockey days. But his strength comes in being smart about throwing hits (he had 118 between the Sharks and Wild last season) and not backing down from a fight (11 career fighting majors through 80 NHL games). Expect to hear more about Middleton as the season goes on.

GOALTENDING

Marc-Andre Fleury

It’s hard to say just what Minnesota is going to get this year – and it might be even harder, if possible, to root against them. They’ll enter the 2022-23 season with veteran Marc-Andre Fleury – who, with Mike Smith out in Edmonton, will be the second-oldest goaltender in the league – as their clear starter, fresh off a bizarre whirlwind year that saw him dealt to the rebuilding Chicago Blackhawks and forced to make his case on the ice in order to earn a move to the playoff-bound Wild mid-season.

Fleury will be 38-years old by the time the season is over, and the story remains the same as it has been for the last four years. As one of the NHL’s most high-octane and reflex-driven goaltenders, his game will only thrive if he’s able to continue playing at the level he’s been at for the last eighteen years. He’s only as good as his most dynamic saves, and he can only post those when he’s able to perform at an elite level for a full sixty minutes. With every passing season, the wear and tear he’s sustained – his 939 career regular season NHL games are seventh among goaltenders all-time – make it riskier to bet on him continuing to achieve that goal from a technical standpoint. But despite that, he’s managed to defy the odds each and every passing season; he likely can’t pull off a 70-game season without hitting a lull, but he managed to even post quality numbers behind the free-falling Blackhawks until they dealt him to the Wild within the Division. He continues to have some magical level of youth that keeps him pushing smoothly through his crease and out into the slot, although he’s managed to rein in some of his tendencies to over-slide and get set out near the hashmarks. And ultimately, eighteen years in the NHL – behind lottery-worthy teams and Stanley Cup contenders alike – have gifted Fleury with incredible instincts. He knows his limitations at this point enough to know when to pull out all the stops and when to make the simpler save, and that seems to have left him capable of preserving his energy enough to keep his teams in games even when everyone expects him to finally bow out. The real question, it seems, isn’t if he’s still got life left – it’s simply if he has enough life left to get the Wild through a deep playoff run this year.

Projected starts: 60-65

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Big forwards that are elevating their production, including Anders Lee, Lawson Crouse, Jordan Greenway and more, plus a few trades getting done before Monday’s deadline with Calle Jarnkrok, Ben Chiarot, and Josh Manson already on the move.

Scott Cullen — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 17:49:28 +0000

20 FANTASY POINTS

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

In this week’s edition of 20 Fantasy Points, big forwards that are elevating their production, including Anders Lee, Lawson Crouse, Jordan Greenway and more, plus a few trades getting done before Monday’s deadline with Calle Jarnkrok, Ben Chiarot, and Josh Manson already on the move.

#1 Coming off a torn ACL last season, New York Islanders captain Anders Lee had a rough start to this season, managing four goals and no assists through his first 15 games. His performance since then has been uneven – some good, some bad – but Lee is now on a six-game goal-scoring streak, during which he has 10 points (9 G, 1 A).and 19 shots on goal. Since 2017-2018, Lee has scored 123 goals in 311 games to rank 28^th in the league over that time.

#2 In deep leagues, Arizona Coyotes left winger Lawson Crouse has had value from time to time because he provides hits in addition to modest offensive contributions but what happens when the scoring contributions are more than modest? In his past six games, Crouse has put up eight points (5 G, 3 A), 11 shots and 19 hits. Crouse is up to a career-high 19 goals in 59 games.

#3 Sticking with the trend of big wingers making a mark, Minnesota Wild left winger Jordan Greenway has not had a terribly productive season, but Greenway recently missed a couple of weeks with an injury and since returning to action has contributed three points (2 G, 1 A), 13 shots on goal, and 12 hits in five games.

#4 With Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog on the shelf with a knee injury, opportunity is knocking for Valeri Nichushkin, a powerful winger that I have recommended at various times this season already, but he’s now skating on Colorado’s top line and getting first-unit power play time. In his past 21 games, Nichushkin has 16 points (5 G, 11 A) and 59 shots on goal, but the chance to play with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is even more appealing than Nichushkin’s recent level of production.

#5 Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot has suffered a broken hand which could keep him out for the rest of the season, and for fantasy purposes, it opens the door for someone else to quarterback the Ottawa power play. Enter Erik Brannstrom, a 22-year-old puck-mover who has just five assists in 31 games. Brannstrom played a career-high 27:53 in the Senators’ last game, so he may be looking at an opportunity to play a big role down the stretch for Ottawa.

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 16: Ottawa Senators Center Josh Norris (9) skates during the second period of the NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 16, 2021 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire)

#6 Senators center Josh Norris missed five weeks with a shoulder injury, but he has been excellent since returning to the lineup, tallying eight points (6 G, 2 A) along with 19 shots on goal in eight games. Norris has played 100 NHL games over the past two seasons, scoring 41 goals. His 0.41 goals per game across the past two seasons is tied with the likes of Mitch Marner, Mika Zibanejad, Andrew Mangiapane, and Matt Duchene.

#7 Moved to the Edmonton Oilers top line with Connor McDavid and Evander Kane, Kailer Yamamoto is starting to produce after what has been a mostly mediocre season. He started the year with just six points (5 G, 1 A) in his first 28 games but has started to come around. During his current four-game goal-scoring streak, Yamamoto has seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 11 shots on goal.

#8 Industrious Toronto Maple Leafs right winger Ondrej Kase has been a welcome source of secondary scoring for the Leafs. In his past six games, Kase has six points (4 G, 2 a) and 14 shots on goal. In the past couple of games, he has been skating on the second line, with Alex Kerfoot and William Nylander, which offers a little more offensive upside than when he skates on the wing of David Kampf’s line.

#9 With Bruins center Patrice Bergeron injured, Boston is dependent on the rest of their centers to fill the void. This is an opportunity for Charlie Coyle to step up and Coyle has been more productive recently, delivering 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in his past 16 games. Coyle has 33 points in 61 games this season and that 0.54 points per game is his highest since 2017-2018.

#10 The Calgary Flames made another savvy move before the trade deadline, acquiring versatile forward Calle Jarnkrok from the Seattle Kraken. Jarnkrok has been playing 16:48 per game this season, tying his average time on ice last season for the highest of his career, and there is a decent chance that he will not be required to play that much in Calgary. Jarnkrok has 26 points (12 G, 14 A) in 49 games, the fourth time in the past five seasons that he has averaged better than 0.50 points per game. That should fit comfortably in the Flames’ middle six up front.

#11 The other big trade from Wednesday was the Florida Panthers paying a big price to get defenseman Ben Chiarot from the Montreal Canadiens. Chiarot has deep league fantasy appeal, particularly after a recent scoring surge saw him put up nine points (2 G, 7 A) in his last nine games for the Habs. With Chiarot departing, the most obvious candidate to fill that ice time on the Canadiens blueline is Joel Edmundson, the veteran blueliner who has just returned to the lineup, playing his first two games of the season.

#12 Earlier in the week, the Colorado Avalanche made a big acquisition with their deal for veteran right-shot defenseman Josh Manson from the Anaheim Ducks. Manson only has nine points (4 G, 5 A) in 45 games this season, but he did have three points in his last three games with the Ducks before the trade. While the scoring numbers may not make much of a difference in Colorado, Manson had 10 hits in his first game for the Avs, so there might be some peripheral stats value for fantasy managers.

#13 With Boone Jenner sidelined, Jack Roslovic has moved up the depth chart for the Columbus Blue Jackets and sometimes all that is needed is a better opportunity. In his past 12 games, Roslovic has contributed nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 19 shots on goal. Roslovic had a breakthrough season last year, scoring 34 points in 48 games, but his ice time is way down this season, from 16:54 per game last season to 12:38 per game this season.

#14 21-year-old Arizona Coyotes center Barrett Hayton has taken some time to make his mark since he was the fifth overall pick in the 2018 Draft, but he should be looking at a consistent role for the rest of the season as Arizona tries to find players that can be part of the long-term plan in the desert. In Hayton’s case, he has put up eight points (3 G, 5 A) in the past eight games and that might give him some sleeper value late in the season.

#15 Florida Panthers rookie goaltender Spencer Knight was a potential Calder Trophy candidate coming into the season, but his performance was underwhelming enough that he ended getting sent to the AHL where he had a .905 save percentage in 11 games, hardly an assurance that he would be able to handle his return to the NHL, but Knight has been excellent since returning to the Panthers, posting a .928 save percentage in four starts.

#16 Carolina Hurricanes backup goaltender Antti Raanta has had trouble staying healthy for long enough to secure a starting job, but he has performed well enough to have value when he is healthy. In his past six starts for the ‘Canes, Raanta has a .930 save percentage, lifting his save percentage for the season to .917. For fantasy spots starts, Raanta is worth considering.

#17 Since the All-Star break, the NHL leaders in primary points (goals plus first assists) per game (minimum 10 games): Patrick Kane, J.T. Miller, Auston Matthews, Elias Lindholm, Nick Schmaltz, Jonathan Huberdeau, Connor McDavid, Clayton Keller, Jack Hughes, and Kirill Kaprizov. Miller is playing as well as he ever has while Schmaltz and Keller are driving Arizona’s sudden offensive explosion. Hughes has been playing at a star level since returning from injury.

#18 Nashville defenseman Roman Josi has produced a whopping 28 points in his last 15 games, surging into the scoring lead among defensemen with 72 points in 59 games, ahead of Colorado’s Cale Makar, who has 66 points in 57 games.

#19 Since the All-Star break, the players with the highest rate of individual shot attempts per 60 minutes (minimum 100 5v5 minutes): Viktor Arvidsson, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, Victor Olofsson, Arthur Kaliyev, David Pastrnak, Nic Hague, and Jake Walman. Some of those names are familiar and expected but Kings rookie winger Kaliyev along with Golden Knights defenseman Hague and Blues defenseman Walman are more surprising.

#20 Skaters with the highest on-ice xGF/60 since the All-Star break (minimum 100 5v5 minutes): Mitch Marner, Patrice Bergeron, Auston Matthews, Timothy Liljegren, Michael Bunting, Connor McDavid, Thomas Harley, Mikko Rantanen, Evan Bouchard, and Trevor Moore. Toronto’s top line is dominating and Bergeron, McDavid, and Rantanen are entirely expected to create quality scoring chances, but young defensemen Liljegren, Harley, and Bouchard are driving positive results when they are on the ice.

#21 The players that have been most snakebit since the All-Star break, with the greatest difference between their all-situations expected goals and their actual goals: Brendan Gallagher, Anthony Beauvillier, Andrew Copp, Rasmus Asplund, Alex Iafallo, Roope Hintz, Nazem Kadri, Joe Pavelski, John Tavares, and Mikko Rantanen. From that group, I would expect Hintz, Tavares, and Rantanen to be the most likely to see their goal-scoring numbers improve down the stretch.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – A Look Back at the 2020-21 Season

Scott Cullen — Thu, 20 May 2021 19:33:41 +0000

Each week, Scott Cullen will dive into the numbers to unearth some analytical insights to help your fantasy team.

This week, a look back at the 2021 season and some of the underlying and sometimes just odd numbers for players during the 56-game season.

#1 Boston Bruins left winger Brad Marchand finished third in scoring with 69 points. He was a long way from first but, following offseason sports hernia surgery, Marchand’s longest streak without registering a point was two games, which happened twice. Since 2016-2017, Marchand ranks third in the NHL with 426 points, behind the two players that he was behind in this year’s scoring race, the Edmonton Oilers duo of Connor McDavid (526) and Leon Draisaitl (469). (Yes, that means that McDavid has 100 points more than any non-teammate over the past five seasons.)

#2 Although he had to take a leave of absence from the New York Rangers during the season, left winger Artemi Panarin ended up with 58 points in 42 games this season. Over the past two seasons, his first two with the Blueshirts, Panarin is averaging 1.38 points per game, which ranks third behind Connor McDavid (1.68) and Leon Draisaitl (1.53).

DENVER, CO - FEBRUARY 22: Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) skates during a game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado on February 22, 2021. The Colorado Avalanche wore retro-themed uniforms with logos of the Quebec Nordiques. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire)

#3 Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone tallied 61 points, the sixth time in the past seven seasons that he has scored at least 60 points, and it was not a standard path to get there. In a shortened season, Stone needed a career-high 1.11 points per game to cross that threshold and he did it with a career-low 1.78 shots on goal per game. He scored on a career-high 21.4% of his shots and had a career-high on-ice shooting percentage of 12.1%.

#4 One of the biggest bounce-back seasons was authored by Chicago Blackhawks winger Alex DeBrincat, who tallied 32 goals and 56 points in 52 games after scoring 18 goals and 45 points in 70 games in 2019-2020. Hockey can be fickle, though. Last season, DeBrincat had 2.96 shots on goal per game and it improved this season to 2.98 shots on goal per game. Okay, that minor nudge does not explain the increase in goal scoring. Last season, DeBrincat scored on 8.7% of his shots. This season, he scored on 20.6%. He also played almost three minutes more per game compared to last season but it’s worth noting that DeBrincat had a higher shot and expected goal rate in all situations in the 2019-2020 season than he did in 2021 but sometimes the puck won’t go in the net. Other times, a sniper like DeBrincat can’t miss.

#5 Minnesota Wild rookie sensations Kirill Kaprizov had an outstanding rookie season, but it was a tale of two rookie seasons in one. Coming out of a KHL season in which he tallied 62 points in 57 games, a standard NHL equivalency would have pegged Kaprizov for approximately 45 points in a 56-game season. He exceeded those numbers, finishing with 51 points (27 G, 24 A) in 55 games. The rookie was putting up points immediately but was not generating shots. In his first 17 NHL games, Kaprizov contributed 16 points and 28 shots on goal (1.65 shots per game). In the next 38 games, he scored 35 points, including 22 goals, and generated 129 shots on goal (3.39 per game), more than doubling his shot rate.

#6 32-year-old St. Louis Blues winger David Perron had the first point-per-game season of career, scoring 58 points in 56 games. He averaged 18:33 of ice time per game, the second highest per-game average of his career.

#7 Looking to re-establish his value after a down season in Toronto, Edmonton’s Tyson Barrie decided that signing in Edmonton would work for him, and he was right. Barrie paced all defensemen with 48 points. Keep in mind that Barrie is going to be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason and that Connor McDavid recorded a point on 34 of the 48 goals (70.8%) which Barrie had a point. In Barrie’s 2017-2018 season, when he tallied a career-high 57 points for Colorado, Nathan MacKinnon had a point on 30 of those 57 goals (52.6%).

#8 36-year-old Dallas Stars center Joe Pavelski had a bounce-back campaign after a tough start in Dallas in 2019-2020. He finished with 51 points (25 G, 26 A), scoring 13 of his 25 goals on the power play. Since 2013-2014, Pavelski has 25 goals scored via deflections. Winnipeg Jets captain Blake Wheeler has the second most goals on deflections in that time with 16.

#9 There were five defensemen that had at least 15 points this season that recorded more than half of their points on the power play. Florida’s Keith Yandle (66.7%), Arizona’s Oliver Ekman-Larsson (58.3%), Montreal’s Shea Weber (57.9%), Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman (53.3%), and Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty (52.9%).

#10 On the other end of the spectrum, there were 60 defensemen to put up at least 20 points this season. Those with the lowest percentage of power play points were Toronto’s Justin Holl (0.0%), Toronto’s Jake Muzzin (7.4%), Florida’s MacKenzie Weegar (8.3%), and Nashville’s Mattias Ekholm along with Minnesota’s Jonas Brodin (both 8.7%).

#11 Minnesota Wild left winger Marcus Foligno had a career season, scoring a career-high 26 points in 39 games. Foligno had zero power play points. The other top even-strength scorers without any power play points: Winnipeg’s Mason Appleton (24), Montreal’s Phillip Danault (23), as well as the Rangers’ Filip Chytil (22) and Alexis Lafreniere (21). Minnesota’s Jordan Greenway had 31 even-strength points with one power-play point and Vancouver rookie Nils Hoglander had 26 even-strength points with one power-play point.

#12 There were 389 forwards that played at least 300 5-on-5 minutes this season. The leaders in individual expected goals per 60 minutes were Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher (1.30), Toronto’s Auston Matthews (1.14), Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk (1.02), Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek (1.02), the Islanders’ Anders Lee (1.01), and Carolina’s Nino Niederreiter (1.01). Familiar names for this category but it also shows the difference between an elite finisher like Matthews and others who generate the shots and chances but don’t come close to Matthews’ goal totals.

#13 The forwards with the lowest individual expected goals per 60 minutes were Columbus’ Patrik Laine (0.26), Minnesota’s Victor Rask (0.26), Toronto’s Joe Thornton (0.27), St. Louis’ Tyler Bozak (0.30), and Winnipeg’s Nate Thompson (0.30). Seeing Laine at the very bottom of the list shows just what a disaster this season was for him. A fresh start, with a new coach, can’t come soon enough.

#14 Surprisingly, the most productive player from that early-season trade was Jack Roslovic, who scored a career-high 34 points (12 G, 22 A) in 48 games for Columbus. His ice time went up a couple of minutes per game compared to the 2019-2020 season in Winnipeg. His shot rate (1.77 per game) was a bit of a concern, too, but that appears to be virtually a team-wide issue for the Blue Jackets.

#15 Arizona Coyotes right winger Phil Kessel finished with a flourish and ended up with 20 goals and 43 points; it was the 12^th time in the past 13 seasons that Kessel scored at least 20 goals. He scored on a career-high 17.4% of his shots but he did improve his shot rates as the season progressed. In his first 32 games, Kessel had 20 points and 54 shots on goal (1.69 shots per game) and then scored 23 points with 61 shots on goal (2.54 shots per game) in his last 24 games.

#16 Anaheim Ducks winger Rickard Rakell scored nine goals in 52 goals, finishing with a career-low 6.3% shooting percentage. Over the past three seasons, there are 120 forwards that have recorded at least 400 shots on goal. The forwards from that group with the lowest shooting percentage: Boston’s Taylor Hall (7.7%), Rakell (8.0%), Columbus’ Boone Jenner (8.2%), Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk (8.7%), Dallas’ Tyler Seguin (8.9%), and Arizona’s Clayton Keller (8.9%).

#17 The forwards from that group that have the highest shooting percentages: Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl (20.1%), Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point (19.2%), Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos (18.2%), Winnipeg’s Mark Scheifele (17.8%), and San Jose’s Tomas Hertl (17.3%).

#18 Florida Panthers left winger Jonathan Huberdeau scored 19 points in the last 13 games to finish the season with 61 points, good for 12^th in league scoring. In the past three seasons Huberdeau ranks seventh among all scorers with 231 points.

#19 Pittsburgh Penguins center Jared McCann rose to the occasion when Evgeni Malkin was injured. McCann returned to the lineup a few days after Malkin was hurt and from March 20 through the end of the regular season, McCann scored 22 points (9 G, 13 A) in 26 games, giving him 32 points in 43 games. Just something to consider if the Penguins consider moving Malkin in the offseason.

#20 Finally, the Detroit Red Wings’ leading scorer this season was defenseman Filip Hronek, who had a modest 26 points in 56 games. Even more remarkable is that 17 of his 26 points were second assists. He had 11 more secondary assists than any other Red Wings player.

Advanced stats via Evolving Hockey and Natural Stat Trick

WESTERN DIVISION PREVIEW: VEGAS vs MINNESOTA, COLORADO vs ST. LOUIS – Two Cup Favourites – Is there an Upset in the Cards?

Shayna Goldman — Sat, 15 May 2021 15:12:36 +0000

ST. PAUL, MN - APRIL 05: Colorado Avalanche Center Nathan MacKinnon (29) powers his way in front of the net of Minnesota Wild Goalie Cam Talbot (33) during the first period of an NHL game between the Minnesota Wild and Colorado Avalanche on April 5, 2021, at Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, MN. (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)

The Western Conference matchups came down the final days of the regular season. Colorado and Vegas jostled for positioning and the Presidents’ Trophy, and the Avalanche winning their final game of the season was the deciding factor for these two series. That win locked them into a Round 1 tilt against the St. Louis Blues, and set Vegas for a meeting against the Minnesota Wild.

The Avalanche and Golden Knights are the obvious favorites after finishing the regular season in the top two seeds. But hockey’s a chaotic game with so many factors to consider with any matchup. So, let’s breakdown what makes these favorites such strong teams and the keys for a Round 1 upset from one of these underdogs.

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild

This is a really intriguing matchup, because on paper, the Golden Knights have quite a few advantages. They’re a fast-paced team, and a top offensive generator in the league. At 5-on-5, they boast the second-best shot rate for (61.45 attempts over 60), and leading expected goal rate (2.78 expected goals for per 60). Their forward corps is highlighted by the dangerous trio of Mark Stone, Chandler Stephenson, and Max Pacioretty (if he’s healthy). Right behind them is the Golden Knights’ former first line in Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith. Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore lead their defense. And behind them, they’ve relied on the tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury and Robin Lehner. Fleury, in particular, has been the difference maker. No goaltender saved more goals than expected than him (19.22) through 36 games.

The Wild, on the other hand, rank 25th in their shots for at just 49.36 attempts per 60, although they’re about league-average in expected goal generation (2.25 per 60). While they’re one of the better teams at limiting quality chances against, their goaltending has trended in the wrong direction as of late.

Vegas, the higher ranked seed, has quite a few advantages. But, there are ways for Minnesota to exploit their opponent and push them out of the first round.

The Golden Knights are still a good defensive team, but they’re not as solid in their own zone as last year. Last season, they were seven percent stronger than league average in their expected goal rate against, and really suppressed attempts in the slot area. This year, they’re still better than average (two percent stronger) as a whole and protect the slot (although to a slightly lesser degree from last season). However, they concede more net-front shots. That’s exactly where the Wild generate a higher percentage of their chances.

The HockeyViz heat maps below help reflect that. On both offensive and defensive zone maps, blue areas show were fewer shots are taken while red represents more offense. The left shows the Golden Knights’ defensive zone, while the right is Minnesota’s offensive end.

Here’s what benefits the Wild: The Golden Knights have allowed the second highest number of rebound shots against at 5-on-5 with 121 according to MoneyPuck.com. Minnesota, on the other hand, are fifth in the league with 115 rebound shots (behind Vegas with 118). So, that rebound control is going to be essential for the Golden Knights because the Wild are quick to jump on those second chance opportunities.

That’s where a player like Joel Eriksson Ek can thrive. At 5-on-5, his quality shots have combined for the highest individual expected goal rate, and a major chunk of those attempts are from rebound shots. Eriksson Ek, along with Marcus Foligno and Jordan Greenway should be able to create problems for Vegas because of the chaos they can create in an area of weakness for their opponent.

PREDICTION: MINNESOTA IN SEVEN

That Eriksson Ek line gives the Golden Knights another matchup to focus in on, in addition to Kirill Kaprizov’s line which will rightfully be at the forefront of the Wild’s offense.

Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues

The series between the Avalanche is one of the more uneven matchups in Round 1. Yes, the Blues have trended in the right direction on their way to this playoff matchup, and yes, they did win recently and much of that team’s core is still intact. But the Avalanche are one of the best teams in the league for a reason.

At 5-on-5, no one controls play better than Colorado. Their 60.7 percent expected goals rate is about five percent better than the next best team. Up front, they’re led by one of the top players in the league in Nathan MacKinnon, who is one third of an elite first line combination with Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog. In 500-plus 5-on-5 minutes this year, the Avalanche have controlled almost 68 percent of the shot share with them on the ice and have a 66 percent expected goals rate. That’s among the league’s best once again this season.

Normally, St. Louis could just rely on Ryan O’Reilly and their top line to lead the way. In this series, that line likely goes up against MacKinnon as much as possible, and it’s not easy to drive play away from that trio. So, if most of O’Reilly’s time is absorbed by that, instead of creating offense, they’re going to need their depth to step up. Colorado, unsurprisingly, has the edge; they once were a top-heavy team but have addressed that with depth additions to round out their forward group.

Getting past MacKinnon and the Avalanche’s offense is one task. Then there’s their blue line with three Norris-caliber defenders in Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Sam Girard. Any players attempting to breakthrough will have to fight a defense that’s 27 percent stronger than league-average in limiting expected goal against, and don’t allow much offense to be created at all in the home plate area in front of the crease.

Even when Colorado predictably takes the lead at points in this series, they’re still dangerous. Score effects generally show that a team in the lead can sit back on their heels, lessening their offense in an attempt to go into a defensive ‘shell.’ And on the other side, those trailing can often pick up their offensive attack. But the Avalanche often don’t let up even when they’re ahead in games. They’re defensively sharp and pile on offense.

For the Blues to have a legitimate shot, it could come down to goaltending which can be the biggest difference maker in a series. For St. Louis, that means relying on Jordan Binnington to be their x-factor.

Through 42 games this season, Binnington saved 2.38 goals more than expected and and about 90.96 percent of the shots he faced in all situations. What’s pushed him more than years past is that he’s playing behind a Blues team that’s allowed their highest rate of shots and expected goals against at 5-on-5 since he’s taken over as the starter. But, he’s a key reason why the Blues are even in this position right now. Through April and May, he elevated his game to save 92 percent of the shots he faced and save 7.28 more goals than expected. To maintain that level of play, he can’t get rattled if and when the team falls behind, and there’s a very likely chance of that happening against this Avalanche team. And he’s still going to need support from the team in front of him because he can’t do it on his own. But the Blues’ best bet of making it to Round 1 relies on him being a sense of stability in net.

PREDICTION - COLORADO IN FIVE

Data via Evolving-Hockey.com and HockeyViz.com

AHL Calder Cup Playoff Preview – Western Conference

Tom Dorsa — Wed, 17 Apr 2019 14:07:47 +0000

The Calder Cup Playoffs are upon us again, and in the Western Conference, we are seeing a lot of changes from the picture painted last season. The defending conference champions, the Texas Stars, failed to make the playoffs to defend their 2018 West title as one of five teams that competed in last season's Western Conference bracket that couldn't repeat as postseason teams.

Those teams are the Stars, Manitoba Moose, Rockford IceHogs, Tucson Roadrunners, and Ontario Reign. But with old teams and players out, new teams and players come in, setting up to shine under the bright lights of the Calder Cup Playoffs. The Iowa Wild, Milwaukee Admirals, San Diego Gulls, and Colorado Eagles (in their first season as an AHL team) are seeking to wreak havoc on the American Hockey League after missing out on a chance last season.

And in the case of Iowa and Colorado, this is their first postseason appearance in the history of the franchise's current setup. Fans in Des Moines and Loveland will get to see enthralling playoff hockey for the first time in the AHL.

Let's take a look at the first-round matchups in the Western Conference, as well as what to expect from the two teams in action. The playoffs begin on Wednesday, April 17.

Central Division:

CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 22: Milwaukee Admirals forward Eeli Tolvanen (11) on the ice during the first period of the American Hockey League game between the Milwaukee Admirals and Cleveland Monsters on February 22, 2019, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Chicago Wolves (44-22-6-4) vs 4. Grand Rapids Griffins (38-27-7-4)

The Wolves have the identity of a prototypical postseason club: they are a physical and experienced unit with good goaltending and even better coaching. It helps when they also have speed, skill, and depth, with four players (Daniel Carr, T.J. Tynan, Brooks Macek, and Tomas Hyka) on the active roster registering more than 0.9 points per game.

They led the Western Conference in goals for (250) and were second in fewest goals against (199). Head coach Rocky Thompson has done a marvelous job for the Vegas Golden Knights' affiliate since taking the job in the summer of 2017, after leading the Windsor Spitfires to the Memorial Cup title.

While the Wolves have some size on their blueline with Nic Hague (4th-ranked Vegas prospect), Jake Bischoff (5th) and Griffin Reinhart (16th), they lost the bulk of their offensive contribution from their rearguards when Erik Brannstrom departed for the Senators organization in the Mark Stone trade.

Grand Rapids comes in with their own set of issues, the most notable of which is their freezing cold home stretch during which the Griffins lost their last nine games of the regular season (eight in regulation). There was no real reason for this besides a plain late-season struggle, as most of their two-way players are still with the club, and there is no lack of talent.

Regardless, the Griffins have proven twice during their seven-year stretch of playoff appearances that there is a potential championship run within them. The 2013 and 2017 Calder Cup champions have the experience and depth to make a run regardless of the poor final stretch.

The Griffins will have to limit penalties due to their division-worst 78.5% penalty kill percentage, while also playing well at five-on-five, on account of their power-play being mostly ineffective during the regular season (14.2%).

Prospects to Watch:

CHI: C Cody Glass (1st): Glass has perhaps the highest hockey IQ of any 2017 NHL Draft picks, and scored twice (with a game-high six shots on goal) in his professional debut on Friday, April 5.

CHI: G Oskar Dansk (14th): The netminder had a superb regular season (26-9-4, 2.47, .911) and looks to be the goalie of choice for Thompson and crew heading into the 2019 postseason.

GRG: RW, Filip Zadina (1st): The sixth-overall pick in last June's draft made an ambitious jump to the AHL this season, and at 18, performed well (59-16-19-35). His speed and shooting will be a big part of any possible turnaround for the Griffins this postseason.

GRG: D Joe Hicketts (11th): He isn't as noticeable as other prospects on the Grand Rapids blueline, but Hicketts had a solid 2018-19 campaign (64-3-24-27). The undersized defenseman packs a punch for the Griffins and is very patient with the puck.

Prediction: Wolves in four games.

Milwaukee Admirals (36-24-14-2) vs 3. Iowa Wild (37-26-8-5)

After missing the postseason last year, the Admirals are back with a vengeance and are looking for their first Calder Cup since 2004. The Nashville Predators' primary affiliate has done most of their winning this season on the back of youthful and speedy prospects, which is often times a key to success in the playoffs.

Four of their top-five regular season scorers were on a team's top 20 prospects list in our preseason farm system rankings (Adam Helewka, Anthony Richard, Alexandre Carrier, Eeli Tolvanen). The Admirals are spearheaded by youth and electric forechecking assertiveness, which can be a lethal combination in the playoff hockey atmosphere.

It helps when you come into the first round on a red hot winning streak. In a tight Central Division postseason race, Milwaukee went 11-0-2-1 to end their season, fighting from seventh in the Central to second-place and home-ice advantage in round one.

The Wild, on the other hand, have been carried by some savvy and experienced veterans like Cal O'Reilly, Gerald Mayhew, and Kyle Rau, as well as a dynamic goaltending duo of All-Star Kaapo Kahkonen and AHL Player of the Week Andrew Hammond. But they won't have to lean on goaltending and experience all postseason long.

Head coach Tim Army has emphasized speed and hard work in the neutral zone all year long, and systemically, the Wild seem ready for the test. In addition, the Minnesota Wild re-assigned forwards Ryan Donato, Jordan Greenway, and Luke Kunin down to Iowa after the NHL season ended in St. Paul. The trio will assist in generating that speed and scoring from the top lines, pushing nominal top six forwards into middle six roles and thus providing great depth to the offensive attack.

The most intriguing matchup to watch in this first-round series is special teams, specifically the Iowa power-play versus the Milwaukee penalty kill. The Wild posted the second-best power play percentage in the league (23.8%) in the regular season, but will line up against an Admirals' penalty kill unit that erased a Western Conference-high 85% of penalties. Army and fellow first-year head coach Karl Taylor will have their hands full of each other's high-end special teams groups in this one.

Prospects to Watch:

MIL: RW Eeli Tolvanen (1st): Though the Finn didn't have the year expected from the Nashville top prospect, Tolvanen was great down the stretch. His timely scoring and playmaking will no doubt be a factor in the playoffs.

MIL: D Alexandre Carrier (8th): His offensive output has always been there, but in his third full AHL year, the 5-11" playmaker evolved as a complete d-man. His gaps and stick-quickness have taken major strides, and in a top-four role, will be essential to any long playoff run in Milwaukee.

IA: G Kaapo Kahkonen (7th): Kahkonen has had himself a splendid first season in the North American pros, and depending on his role in the playoffs (keep Hammond in mind), he could be playing for a spot with the NHL club next season.

IA: LW Jordan Greenway (3rd): Coming off a full season with Minnesota, Greenway's presence post re-assignment has already been felt (5-3-3-6) down the stretch. A massive and skilled forward, the 22-year-old plays a playoff style of hockey.

Prediction: Admirals in five games.

Pacific Division:

Bakersfield Condors (42-21-3-2) vs 4. Colorado Eagles (36-27-4-1)

The Condors made history midway through the 2018-19 season when they stormed through a 17-game winning streak, the second-longest undefeated run in the history of the AHL. They were lifted to the summit of the Pacific Division after being outside of a postseason spot before the streak, which speaks to their depth and attitude.

First-year Condors Tyler Benson (4th) and Cooper Marody (5th) have carried the club for the better part of the season, and the two leading Bakersfield scorers are extremely dangerous on the power play, where 43 of their combined 130 points have come, helping the Condors' man-advantage operate at a division-best 20.5% clip.

The Condors will have to lean on the aforementioned duo, as what they have in top-end skill, they lack in scoring depth. Bakersfield's next-leading point scorer after Benson (66) and Marody (64) is Joe Gambardella, who is 16 points shy of the top two. Along with Josh Currie, these four are the only ones on the roster with more than 40 points this season.

The Eagles, on the other hand, needed final-weekend drama and help to clinch a postseason spot. They won their final regular season game over San Jose and saw division rival Tucson lose an hour later to grab the fourth spot in the Pacific by one point.

Late-season grinds like that can inspire a team, though, and Colorado has a solid mix of veterans and young guns to generate momentum with in its first year as an AHL franchise. AHL ringers like forward Andrew Agozzino and defenseman David Warsofsky have been leaders at their respective positions and have alleviated the pressure on the Martin Kaut and Nicolas Meloche types for high-stakes moments like this: the first round of the Calder Cup Playoffs.

They have an elite penalty kill (84.1%), accrued after a lot of practice, as they also accumulated a Western Conference-high 1,114 penalty minutes in the regular season. The club will have to remain disciplined to have a shot in the first round, as they can ill afford to line the Condors up with power play opportunities.

Prospects to Watch:

BAK: D Caleb Jones (14th): After a frustrating rookie season in 2017-18, Jones has established himself as a top-pair fixture with much-improved two-way reliability, and still has his offensive chops ready to go.

BAK: LW Tyler Benson (4th): Plagued by injuries for much of his young career, Benson has finally stayed healthy for an extended period of time and is showing everyone just how good he is this season.

COL: RW Martin Kaut (4th): Another 19-year-old in the AHL, Kaut is highly intelligent and is due to start scoring goals after an unsustainably unlucky 9.7 shooting percentage during the season. He has been solid in all three zones this season, but the Eagles might need him to take another step up.

COL: LW A.J. Greer (18th): The former second-round draft selection had the best year of his pro career after inconsistencies before 2018-19, and his combination of physicality and smarts are a sight to behold.

Prediction: Condors in four games.

San Jose Barracuda (39-22-3-4) vs 3. San Diego Gulls (36-27-4-1)

The Barracuda have a set of advantages and disadvantages coming into their matchup with their rivals down Interstate-5 in California. One pro is their higher place in seeding, which grants home-ice rights, but a major disadvantage is their NHL parent club, the San Jose Sharks, being tied up in a playoff race.

At any time, some of the Barracuda's most important contributors can be recalled and leave the AHL team flat, such as occurred with Monday's promotion of Dylan Gambrell, the Sharks' third-ranked prospect and the 'Cuda's fourth-leading scorer. However, this club is still very skilled, especially from the blue line going forward. Nick DeSimone is one of the finest offensive defensemen in the league, and Kyle Wood is a rock in his own zone.

Unheralded forward prospects like Alexander True and Francis Perron have jumped into the spotlight this season and can provide plus value as the team's top two scorers in the regular season.

After missing the playoffs on the last night of the 2017-18 season, the Gulls cleared the playoff bubble and secured a return appearance to the postseason this spring. The club has been led by several once-valued prospects that were given up on by their previous franchises (Sam Carrick, Chase De Leo, Justin Kloos), as well as emerging home-grown prospects like Sam Steel and Troy Terry.

Either way, this team is pretty young and just as exciting. Though Terry is done for the season (non-displaced leg fracture), Steel and other top prospects like Kalle Kossila and Max Jones will have to carry the water of a rather juvenile club.

The Gulls scored the second-most goals in the division (239), are solid on special teams (20.3 PP%, 80.9 PK%), and have solid veteran goaltending with Kevin Boyle and Jeff Glass in net. This is a team without a clear, deadly weakness. They also have the same amount of wins at home as they do away from San Diego (18) which will pay off when the series shifts to Northern California.

Prospects to Watch:

SJ: LW Francis Perron (not ranked): Packaged as part of the Erik Karlsson trade, the forward has been another reason as to why the Sharks won the September transaction. On the Barracuda top line, the 22-year-old has been better than ever in the regular season.

SJ: C/LW Jayden Halbgewachs (12th): The leading scorer in the WHL last season had a major test jumping into the pros, and it all pertained to whether he will be able to score at will in the AHL, as he did in junior. While he didn't have the best regular season on offense, a big playoff run in the San Jose top-six can help his case.

SD: C Sam Steel (1st): Though Steel has not had an ideal season after making the big-league club out of training camp, he still posted solid numbers as a 21-year-old in the AHL (53-20-21-41). He can impact the game with or without the puck with his great rink sense and beautiful shot.

SD: D Josh Mahura (6th): Mahura has made monumental leaps to his defensive game after being mostly an offensive specialist in the WHL, and should pencil into the bottom-four of the San Diego postseason lineup.

Prediction: Gulls in four games.

How the Rest of the West Playoffs Will Unfold:

Western Conference Semifinals: Milwaukee Admirals over Chicago Wolves, 4-2.

Bakersfield Condors over San Diego Gulls, 4-1.

Western Conference Finals: Bakersfield Condors over Milwaukee Admirals, 4-3

AHL West Report: Life without Brannstrom, Kahkonen living the Wild life, plus much more

Tom Dorsa — Fri, 08 Mar 2019 12:55:35 +0000

With the National Hockey League's annual trade deadline falling in late February, the teams in the American Hockey League are prone to change from the fall out. Prospects being shipped from one place to another with a flurry of deals can change the face of that star youngster's career, as well as the fate of their respective teams.

Youthful players have to prove their worth with new teams, while pre-established players in the same dressing room have to fight for an increase in ice time. All of this battling occurring while the team prepares itself to ink fresh NCAA and junior hockey graduates to late-season ATOs can make for a hectic scene for fans and scouts alike.

So, in this piece, we'll check in on the best and brightest prospects in the AHL's Central Division, one of two divisions in the Western Conference.

Chicago Wolves (Vegas Golden Knights)

CLEVELAND, OH - JANUARY 26: Chicago Wolves defenceman Nic Hague (2) plays the puck during the second period of the American Hockey League game between the Chicago Wolves and Cleveland Monsters on January 26, 2019, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

Life without Erik Brannstrom -- who was sent to Ottawa as part of the Mark Stone trade -- might be hard to adjust to for the Chicago Wolves, but luckily, the Golden Knights have stockpiled a bounty of top prospects playing in the AHL.

Especially Nic Hague (fourth in our preseason rankings of Vegas prospects), who has done yeoman's work in keeping the Wolves atop the Central Division standings, taking on heavy, all-situation minutes in the wake of the Brannstrom trade. His skating is still a big issue, and players can drive past the lefty blueliner pretty easily, but his raw, 6-6" size makes Hague (10-14-24) nearly unbeatable low in the zone, where he shuts down the cycle well and forces opposing forwards into turnovers.

Goaltender Oskar Dansk (14th) doesn't quite have the stats to show it, but the technical aspects of his game have improved in the AHL this season. He is moving well laterally and staying on his feet to challenge shots, as well as becoming a better puck-handler. At 25 years old, Dansk (17-9-1, 2.86 GAA, .896 Sv%) has little development left to do, and instead should settle into an NHL backup role eventually, when his health will cooperate.

Other defensemen of interest are Jake Bischoff (5th) and Zach Whitecloud (12th), who are now both playing up in the lineup thanks to the absence of Brannstrom. Bischoff (2-9-11) is a solid two-way guy with potential to man an NHL second-unit power-play, based on his plus foot speed and creativity, but his willingness to take hits and his improved gaps and reads have led to more defensive zone deployment this season. He has been called up by the Golden Knights a few times already but has yet to see NHL ice time.

Whitecloud (6-17-23) has a lower ceiling than Bischoff, but arguably a far higher floor. The 6-2" defenseman is seeing power play time for the Wolves as he has worked on his assertiveness offensively, and is already a very well-rounded d-man he works hard in the defensive zone and has a very active stick. The first NCAA free agent signing in Knights history is due for a recall.

Iowa Wild (Minnesota Wild)

Though the Iowa Wild have been a steady force near the summit of the Central Division standings this season, their team is led mostly by pro hockey veterans, and few top prospects are really shining for this club. Iowa's three leading scorers are Cal O'Reilly (32 years old), Gerald Mayhew (26), and Kyle Rau (26), while top-tier prospects Luke Kunin (2nd) and Jordan Greenway (3rd) have essentially graduated to the NHL.

However, goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen (7th) has been perhaps the class of AHL netminding this season, and after an All-Star Classic appearance, has continued his torrid 2018-19 season. The 22-year-old has been dynamic behind a relatively thin defensive core, using his enhanced play-reading abilities and athleticism to carry the load for the club.

Grand Rapids Griffins (Detroit Red Wings)

Not much has gone right for the Detroit Red Wings this season, but if anything has, it is the development of their top-tier prospects. Unlike most rebuilding teams, who will have their prospects marinate in the junior leagues for years, Detroit has shown a willingness to give guys like Filip Zadina (1st), Michael Rasmussen (3rd), and Filip Hronek (7th) a chance to prove themselves in the pro ranks at a young age.

It is an admirable development strategy, one counter to their traditional practice of slow-walking prospect development, and the results have been promising to this point, with Zadina's curious 2018-19 season leading the charge. After a very slow start, the 2018 draft's sixth-overall selection started funneling shots on goal and using his plus-plus foot speed to impact games. He has been a solid power-play option and a middle-sixer whose Griffins run specific sets so as to utilize his speed and deft hands.

A guy on the opposite spectrum is fellow forward Givani Smith (18th), whose lack of top-end skill has really shown this season. A former second-round pick taken, seemingly, for his fiery physical game, which has paid off on the Grand Rapids penalty kill, Smith (4-3-7) has struggled in any role besides that shorthanded deployment. He is an alright skater, but his usage on Grand Rapids' fourth-line (when he isn't being healthy scratched), is pretty indicative of his shortcomings.

Texas Stars (Dallas Stars)

After being a black ace for the Texas Stars' run to the Calder Cup Finals last season, goaltender Philippe Desrosiers has had a memorable stretch as of late. He spent considerable time in the ECHL to start the season, as he did last season, but has enjoyed a resurgence as a split-starter with fellow netminder Landon Bow in the Texas crease.

Desrosiers (not ranked) has appeared in nine out of Texas' last 12 games, and in that stretch, has posted a 2.43 GAA and .913 Sv%. He has been noticeably better at reading plays, and comes out to the lip of the crease to challenge opposing shooters more often.

Undrafted, free-agent signing Joel L'Esperance (not ranked) has lit up the AHL this season, to the tune of 29 goals. The big-bodied, versatile centerman has earned a recall to Dallas and has appeared in six NHL contests, just a year removed from signing an ATO out of Michigan Tech. Though L'Esperance (29-15-44) likely will never be a pure scorer at the NHL level, his offensive skills are underrated, and he can fill out a second power-play unit for a long time.

Another surefire NHLer, Roope Hintz (9th) is essentially finished with AHL hockey and has graduated to Dallas. It's a well-deserved promotion for perhaps the best pure skater in the organization, as his foot speed, stride length, and top speed are all well above league-average. The former second-round draft pick (9-13-22 in the AHL) has a wicked wrist shot and also quite a bit of chemistry with Denis Gurianov, which could help accelerate the development of the Russian.

Rockford IceHogs (Chicago Blackhawks)

After being squeezed out of ice time due to a resurgent Blackhawks team making a late-season playoff push, youthful defenseman Henri Jokiharju was assigned to Rockford and immediately became an impact player in an AHL team in a tight postseason race of their own. The former WHLer (2nd) has posted 12 points (1-11-12) in 13 games since being sent down.

Though he could stand to better take a hit, his skating, shot, defensive intelligence, and transitional game are at an NHL level at just 19 years old. He is probably better suited to get increased ice time with the IceHogs than to play on the third pair in Chicago, as the Blackhawks brass want the Finn to develop into an all-around defenseman, similar to (though with not as high a ceiling as) Duncan Keith.

Though his 15-game ride in the NHL was underwhelming, centerman Luke Johnson (19th) has taken major strides in his development this season. Mostly a two-way defensive forward with some creativity, Johnson (13-13-26) has become more assertive on offense and has earned himself some time on the Rockford second power play unit. His NHL game will be more of honing in on his best qualities, the Marcus Kruger-esque fourth-line checking role.

Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville Predators)

Though the Admirals lost one of their leading scorers, Emil Pettersson, in a trade with the Coyotes, they acquired forward Adam Helewka in the same deal, and Helewka (17th in Arizona's preseason prospect rankings) has been money for the thin Milwaukee forward core. Though he can be inconsistent and now joins a more stacked organization, the Canadian forward remains very intriguing.

With 11 points (4-7-11) in 10 games since joining the club, Helewka has been driving play at 5-on-5 with his creativity and hustle, though his skating is a major issue. He has a goal-scoring package to him, and he kills penalties for the Admirals, making him a very useful AHL player, even if he has a limited NHL-caliber ceiling.

Defenseman Alexandre Carrier (8th) continues to be an assist machine, and a forward's best friend at even strength and on the power play. As an undersized defenseman with middle-pair potential, his game will have to be one of that style, and his puck-moving skills and foot quickness fall in line with that. Luckily, that's just what Nashville asks of its defensemen in the Peter Laviolette system, and his playing style can help the NHL team in that regard.

Manitoba Moose (Winnipeg Jets)

With a team that has lost some top prospects over the course of the season, such as Kristian Vesalainen (1st), Jack Roslovic (2nd), Mason Appleton (3rd), and Sami Niku (4th), Michael Spacek (9th) has been leading the way. The 2015 fourth-rounder has zeroed in on becoming a more well-rounded player this season, and has focused less on shooting and more on playmaking.

For a guy whose shot is a weapon on the power play, his commitment to improving as a passer has shown so far in 2018-19, as he is on pace for a career high in points (8-26-34) by virtue of those 26 helpers. His hockey sense plays up his average skillset, and he probably is best suited for a depth shooting role. Though he has an undersized frame, he has been solid as a checking-line forward at times.

Though the speed and energy of JC Lipon (20th) can be infectious at times, he has been stagnant as a prospect and it is hard to make anything of him. After experiencing a nine-game NHL trial three seasons ago, he has not been back to the top league since, and at 25, he really can't do any more improving.

He lacks high-end skills to compliment his speed, and has embraced the role of a fighter on his team, which can often be a death sentence for a young player's future. Once a depth forward for the Canadian World Junior Championships team, Lipon (10-14-24) looks more like a career AHLer than anything at this stage in his development.

San Antonio Rampage (St. Louis Blues)

The top-rated European prospect from the 2017 draft, Klim Kostin has taken a pretty considerable step backwards in a 2018-19 season that has been anything but good to San Antonio. Kostin (2nd) has been a quiet player offensively, has taken a ton of penalties, and is not being nearly as assertive from a physical standpoint.

There is still a lot of promise in Kostin, who is seen by the Blues as an untouchable prospect, especially considering he is only 19 years old and this is already his second full AHL season. However, Kostin (7-11-18) will need to ramp us his intensity in the offensive zone and his willingness to shoot the puck to live up to the initial hype. He will never be an elite skater, but he can be a go-to power forward.

Jordan Kyrou (3rd) has been a bright spot on an otherwise bleak Rampage team this season, leading the club with 41 points (16-25-41) in as many games, carrying with him his offseason prowess from his junior days. However, Ville Husso (7th) has been worrisome and horrid this season.

Husso is supposed to be one of the best goaltending prospects in the sport, but was surpassed on the Rampage depth chart and outperformed by Jordan Binnington and Jared Coreau. Husso (6-14-0, 3.45, .881) has the raw tools, but has lost a step in terms of play-reading and competitiveness.

No(Staal)gia – Minnesota Wild 2018-19 Season Preview

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 15 Sep 2018 18:15:40 +0000

REVIEW / STATE OF PLAY – The 2017-18 campaign represented the sixth season since the Minnesota Wild made the bold move of signing UFAs Ryan Suter and Zach Parise to matching 13-year, $98 million contract that was designed to help push them into being a serious contender. Unfortunately, it hasn’t panned out as planned.

Last season was more of the same for Minnesota. The Wild posted a 45-26-11 record in the regular season to make the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year and earn at least 100 points for the third time in four seasons. However, they were expelled in the first round by the Winnipeg Jets over just five games, making it the Wild’s third straight first round exit. Minnesota still hasn’t gotten past the second round since Suter and Parise joined the team.

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT – If 2017-18 had been an isolated incident then Minnesota’s mantra would probably be of patience, but with it being the sixth straight disappointing end in the postseason, a change at the top was warranted. With that in mind, Paul Fenton has been hired to replace Chuck Fletcher as the team’s general manager.

If you were expecting Fenton to immediately make his mark on the team though, you’ve probably felt disappointed this summer. Rather than make a big splash on the trade or free agent market, Fenton has simply made minor tweaks to the team.

A couple bottom-six forwards in Tyler Ennis and Matt Cullen are gone while new role players J.T. Brown and Matt Hendricks were brought in. The team’s defense has been largely left untouched with the exception of Greg Pateryn, who signed a three-year, $6.75 million contract and will probably end up on the third pairing. As for the team’s goaltending, Devan Dubnyk and Alex Stalock are projected to return as the starter and backup respectively. Should either get hurt, journeyman goaltender Andrew Hammond will be an option after he signed a one-year, two-way deal.

Those are the tweaks that were made and while there is still the chance that the Wild will make a significant trade either during the preseason or perhaps near the deadline, right now we’re looking at largely the same team as 2017-18, just with a different man at the top.

Ryan Suter and Zach Parise

WILL THEY BE HEALTHY? – That might actually be alright if the team has better luck on the injury front this season. After all, Zach Parise missed half of the 2017-18 campaign and then suffered a broken sternum in Game 3 of the first round. Ryan Suter was able to play 78 games last season, but fractured his right ankle and missed the Wild’s entire playoff run as a result. That’s two cornerstones of the team that the Wild lacked when they needed them the most.

On top of that, Jared Spurgeon missed the final 12 games of 2017-18 due to a hamstring injury. He did return for the playoffs, but was logging just 21:48 minutes per game, down from an average of 24:33 minutes in the regular season despite the fact that Ryan Suter, who typically eats 26:47 minutes, wasn’t available.

Those weren’t even the only noteworthy injuries. Charlie Coyle and Nino Niederreiter took big steps forward in 2016-17 and both regressed in 2017-18, in part due to injuries. Coyle dealt with a fractured fibula early in the season that likely disrupted him and then played through tears in both of his wrists. Niederreiter suffered a broken fibula that was bothering him even after he returned. So you have to wonder what Minnesota’s season might have been like if so many of its key players were both available and functioning closer to 100%.

OUTLOOK – Even without making any noteworthy additions over the summer, the Minnesota Wild remain a competitive team that should at least make the playoffs. With a little better luck than they had in 2017-18, they could even be competitive in the postseason. However, when you look at the top-tier teams in the NHL today, Minnesota does appear to be just a small step below them. The Wild are a team with many of the right pieces like a strong goaltender, a good defensive core, and offensive depth, but the Wild aren’t necessarily in the very top tier in any of those areas. For as talented as Suter and Parise are, they also don’t have those one or two superstars that set them apart to the same extent as teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, and Tampa Bay Lightning.

Jordan Greenway – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Quinton Byfield is making his presence felt, a surprising source of offense for the Maple Leafs, Columbus’ All-Star is scoring, and much, much more!

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

Tage Thompson - C

Jeff Skinner - LW

Alex Tuch - RW

Dylan Cozens - C

Jack Quinn - RW

J.J. Peterka - LW

Casey Mittelstadt - C

Peyton Krebs - LW

Victor Olofsson - RW

Defense

Rasmus Dahlin - D

Owen Power - D

Mattias Samuelsson - D

Connor Clifton - D

Goaltending

Devon Levi - G

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

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – MINNESOTA WILD – NHL Player Profiles

DEFENSE

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Big forwards that are elevating their production, including Anders Lee, Lawson Crouse, Jordan Greenway and more, plus a few trades getting done before Monday’s deadline with Calle Jarnkrok, Ben Chiarot, and Josh Manson already on the move.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – A Look Back at the 2020-21 Season

WESTERN DIVISION PREVIEW: VEGAS vs MINNESOTA, COLORADO vs ST. LOUIS – Two Cup Favourites – Is there an Upset in the Cards?

Vegas Golden Knights vs. Minnesota Wild

PREDICTION: MINNESOTA IN SEVEN

Colorado Avalanche vs. St. Louis Blues

PREDICTION - COLORADO IN FIVE

AHL Calder Cup Playoff Preview – Western Conference

Central Division:

Chicago Wolves (44-22-6-4) vs 4. Grand Rapids Griffins (38-27-7-4)

Milwaukee Admirals (36-24-14-2) vs 3. Iowa Wild (37-26-8-5)

Pacific Division:

Bakersfield Condors (42-21-3-2) vs 4. Colorado Eagles (36-27-4-1)

San Jose Barracuda (39-22-3-4) vs 3. San Diego Gulls (36-27-4-1)

AHL West Report: Life without Brannstrom, Kahkonen living the Wild life, plus much more

No(Staal)gia – Minnesota Wild 2018-19 Season Preview