Marco Kasper – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Ryan O’Reilly is having himself a season, Mattias Ekholm is chipping in offensively, Marco Kasper is breaking out of a season-long slump, the Artemi Panarin situation, Mikael Granlund, Mats Zuccarello, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:41:19 +0000

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Ryan O’Reilly is having himself a season, Mattias Ekholm is chipping in offensively, Marco Kasper is breaking out of a season-long slump, the Artemi Panarin situation, Mikael Granlund, Mats Zuccarello, and so much more!

#1 A veteran centre who is highly regarded for his two-way play, Nashville Predators pivot Ryan O’Reilly is having one of the most productive seasons of his career at age 34. O’Reilly has erupted for 38 points (12 G, 26 A) in his past 31 games and is up to 51 points (18 G, 33 A) in 53 games. For a player that has never scored a point per game over an NHL season, this is outstanding production. Right now, O’Reilly is skating on Nashville’s top line with Filip Forsberg and Luke Evangelista, but there is the possibility that if the Predators are sellers at the trade deadline that O’Reilly could be one of the most appealing players on the market.

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 14: Detroit Red Wings center Marco Kasper (92) during the game between the Detroit Red Wings and the San Jose Sharks Tuesday January 14, 2025 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI. (Photo by Steven King/Icon Sportswire)

#2 Veteran Edmonton Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm recorded the first hat trick of his career in Monday’s 7-4 win over Anaheim and while he’s known for his two-way play rather than his offensive prowess, Ekholm does have eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 10 shots on goal in his past six games. There are benefits to partnering with Evan Bouchard on the Oilers’ top defence pairing and Ekholm is getting second-unit power play time.

#3 Detroit Red Wings forward Marco Kasper had a strong finish to his rookie season in 2024-2025, producing 14 points (9 G, 5 A) in his last 18 games, so there was some reason to be optimistic about his chances this season, but that was not materializing for him. Through his first 47 games, Kasper managed just six points (3 G, 3 A) with 67 shots on goal. He has recently been moved to Detroit’s top line, skating with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, and suddenly Kasper has put up six points (2 G, 4 A) with 17 shots on goal in his past seven games, with his ice time spiking by more than three minutes per game compared to his first 47 games of the season.

#4 The New York Rangers appear to have decided that they are going to trade left winger Artemi Panarin and they are keeping him out of the lineup so that he does not get injured while the Rangers seek a trade for their leading scorer. Panarin’s absence will have a ripple effect throughout the Rangers lineup. Rookie Gabe Perreault is joining J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad on the Rangers’ top line, and Perreault has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 21 games for the Rangers this season. The 2023 first-round pick had 17 points (10 G, 7 A) in 20 AHL games, so he’s probably ready for a good look in Manhattan and, at least in the short term, he’s got a good situation. Once Panarin gets moved, the lines could be due for another shuffle, depending on what the Rangers get in return.

#5 Anaheim Ducks veteran Mikael Granlund recorded the fourth hat trick of his career during Monday’s loss at Edmonton and with the Ducks’ forward lines getting depleted by injuries, they need Granlund to play a big offensive role. Leo Carlsson, Mason McTavish, Troy Terry, and Frank Vatrano are all out due to injuries and Granlund has recorded 10 points (5 G, 5 A) with 28 shots on goal in his past 11 games. That shot rate is an encouraging sign because Granlund does have a tendency to focus on distributing the puck, sometimes to the detriment of his shot generation.

#6 Injuries have impacted Minnesota Wild veteran right winger Mats Zuccarello but he’s heating up. Since Christmas, Zuccarello has played 17 games and delivered 16 points (6 G, 10 A) with 35 shots on goal. He does have the benefit of playing with Kirill Kaprizov on Minnesota’s top line. Right now, Ryan Hartman is centering the duo, but there has been plenty of movement in that spot, especially since Marco Rossi was injured then traded.

#7 One of the bigger surprises this season is the offensive emergence of Buffalo Sabres defenceman Mattias Samuelsson. Last season, he scored a career high of 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in 62 games. The Sabres fired GM Kevyn Adams in December, replacing him with Jarmo Kekalainen, and there is no reason to believe that a GM change suddenly caused the Sabres to play better, but there’s no denying the results and it applies to Samuelsson. In 21 games since Kekalainen took over, Samuelsson has 20 points (4 G, 16 A) with 27 shots on goal. He is up to 32 points for the season, with zero points on the power play, which is the most points for any skater that has not recorded at least one point on the power play.

#8 An undrafted 27-year-old goaltender who had never played in the NHL before this season, Carolina’s Brandon Bussi is having an amazing impact in his first NHL season. Even though he did not have his best performance Thursday, allowing four goals on 25 shots against Utah, Bussi still got the win, and he has a record of 20-3-1, to go with a .908 save percentage in 24 starts. With Pyotr Kochetkov out for the season and Frederik Andersen struggling, Bussi is making the most of his chance in the National Hockey League.

#9 When the Edmonton Oilers came up short in the Stanley Cup Finals, followed by a slow start to this season, a lot of the blame got pinned on goaltender Stuart Skinner. To be fair, some of that was earned, but it paved the way for the Oilers to trade Skinner to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a deal to acquire Tristan Jarry. Jarry has not been great in Edmonton, posting a .884 save percentage in nine games, though he does have a 6-2-1 record. On the other hand, Skinner has a .906 save percentage in 11 starts for Pittsburgh, posting a 7-4 record as the Penguins have been one of the bigger surprise teams in the NHL this season. All of this is to say that there may be some value in Stuart Skinner after it looked like his career was in purgatory.

#10 With the Buffalo Sabres one of the hottest teams in the NHL, the results have improved for individual Sabres, too. Veteran winger Jason Zucker has battled through some injuries this season, but he has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 16 shots on goal in his past eight games, a solid source of secondary scoring for the surging Sabres while skating on a line with Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn. While his 197 hits in 2022-2023 stands out as an aberration for his career, Zucker does add about a hit per game, sitting on exactly that number with 34 hits in 34 games this season.

#11 The return of Evgeni Malkin to the Penguins lineup is having a positive impact on Tommy Novak, who is still holding the second line centre spot with Malkin skating on right wing. Novak is no prize in the faceoff dot, winning 40 percent of his draws, but in his past seven games, Novak has seven points (1 G, 6 A) and 12 shots on goal for a Penguins team that is surprisingly in the playoff mix.

#12 While Brayden Point is injured, the Tampa Bay Lightning have moved Anthony Cirelli up the depth chart to skate at centre on the top line between Brandon Hagel and Nikita Kucherov. In 13 games this month, Cirelli has 13 points (5 G, 8 A) with 21 shots on goal. Cirelli does not have a major impact on the power play, with only four of his 35 points this season coming with the man advantage, but as a short-term fix, he has value because of his outstanding linemates.

#13 Since the Columbus Blue Jackets made a change behind the bench, replacing Dean Evason with Rick Bowness, they are starting to see better results from centre Adam Fantilli, who was underperforming under Evason. Through 45 games before Evason was let go, Fantilli managed 28 points (12 G, 16 A) with 120 shots on goal. In seven games under Bowness, Fantilli has six points (1 G, 5 A) with 34 shots on goal, improving both his per game point and shot rates. It’s a small sample, but an encouraging sign for a player that the Blue Jackets tend to lean on for offensive production.

#14 Veteran Montreal Canadiens defenceman Mike Matheson can get overshadowed by Lane Hutson and Noah Dobson, who get the power play time on the Montreal blueline, but there’s plenty to like about a defenceman who is riding a six-game point streak, during which he has six assists and 14 shots on goal. With 27 points (5 G, 22 A) in 51 games, Matheson is primed to have the second-best offensive output of his career this season, and he already has 106 blocked shots which makes him worthwhile for fantasy managers, especially those in deeper leagues.

#15 Second-year San Jose Sharks winger Will Smith has been on a tear since returning to the lineup after missing more than a month of action. In six games since returning, Smith has eight points (3 G, 5 A) with 13 shots on goal and now that he’s back on the top line with Macklin Celebrini and Collin Graf, the Sharks are looking more and more like viable playoff contenders.

#16 It’s looking rather bleak for the Toronto Maple Leafs lately, as the team is winless in six, but veteran forward Max Domi is making the most of his opportunity to skate on the top line with Auston Matthews. In his past seven games, Domi has nine points (3 G, 6 A) with 14 shots on goal while averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time per game. That’s significantly more ice time than Domi has typically received in Toronto and while he is delivering offensive production, it’s also notable that the team isn’t winning even with his uptick in scoring.

#17 One of the more underrated players in the league this season is Nashville Predators right winger Luke Evangelista, who has exceptional play-driving numbers (59.8 CF%, +10.6 CFRel%) thanks to strong performance at both ends of the rink. He only has seven goals, which is part of the reason that he might be overlooked, but in his past 16 games, Evangelista has 13 points (2 G, 11 A) with 29 shots on goal and the Preds outscored opponents 13-8 at 5-on-5 with Evangelista on the ice during that stretch.

#18 Second year Carolina Hurricanes right winger Jackson Blake continues to provide secondary offence, producing six points (2 G, 4 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past six games. Blake is skating on a line with Taylor Hall and Logan Stankoven and when that trio is together, the Hurricanes are outscoring opponents 15-10 during 5-on-5 play. It’s even better when Blake and Stankoven are without Hall, as they are outscoring opponents 12-5.

#19 Boston Bruins rookie centre Fraser Minten continues to get better and he’s taking advantage of the opportunities presented on a Bruins team with a need for more offense down the middle of the ice. In his past 15 games, Minten has put up 16 points (8 G, 8 A) with 26 shots on goal. He’s not going to continue scoring on more than 30 percent of his shots over the long haul, but Minten is giving the Bruins options. With Elias Lindholm out, Minten is centering an effective line with Casey Mittelstadt and Viktor Arvidsson on his wings and if Minten continues to score, he’s going to force his way into more ice time. That’s usually how it works.

#20 There are a few backup goaltenders who could be threatening to earn more playing time with their strong play this month. Calgary’s Devin Cooley has a 2-2-1 record with a .937 save percentage in January. The Kings’ Anton Forsberg is 3-0-1 with a .941 save percentage, and San Jose’s Alex Nedeljkovic is 5-1 with a .913 save percentage in January and Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo is 4-0-1 with a .931 save percentage, so there are some goalies out there trying to earn more playing time. The challenge for most of them is that their starters are well entrenched in their positions, but for fantasy managers that can make daily moves, knowing which backups are delivering results can help make lineup decisions.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – DETROIT RED WINGS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 19:51:57 +0000

DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 09: Detroit Red Wings Right Wing Lucas Raymond (23) in action during the game between Calgary Flames and Detroit Red Wings on February 9, 2023 at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, MI (Photo by Allan Dranberg/Icon Sportswire)

For the ninth straight season, the Detroit Red Wings came up short of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their 86 points put them five points out of the wild card a year after they lost the tiebreaker to the Washington Capitals for the final wild card spot. They’ve been close to getting back, but close isn’t good enough and a midseason slump last year cost Derek Lalonde his job as head coach and ushered in Todd McLellan who helped turn things around for a spell. While Detroit was painfully average at five-on-five, they again had one of the top power plays in the league. They had the fourth best team at the man advantage scoring 27 percent of the time. However, they had the league’s worst penalty kill at 70.1 percent. What McLellan can do with a full offseason and training camp will be curious to see because the team performed much better under him in the second half of the year, but as we’ve seen in his last few stops around the league recently, his demanding nature can wear teams down.

What’s Changed?

Goaltending has been a problem in Detroit for the past few years, and they made sure to address it this summer by adding John Gibson from the Anaheim Ducks. The longtime Ducks No. 1 will look to be Detroit’s saviour in net and, when healthy, he’s proven to be a top-flight netminder. He ceded the No. 1 job in Anaheim last year to Lukas Dostal, but in 29 games he went 11-11-2 with a .912 save percentage. In his career he’s 204-217-63 with a .910 save percentage and 24 shutouts. The Red Wings haven’t had a goalie this accomplished since Jimmy Howard was their No. 1. In free agency, they added veteran depth with James van Riemsdyk up front and Travis Hamonic on defence for one year each. Mason Appleton signed for two years, $5.8 million. Vladimir Tarasenko was sent to Minnesota for future considerations after he struggled and wasn’t happy in Detroit last season.

What Would Success Look Like?

If the Red Wings can mimic what division rivals Ottawa and Montreal did last year and took a rocket ride on the backs of their young stars to make the playoffs, that would have everyone in Detroit doing cartwheels. Led by Dylan Larkin and with emerging stars like Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider, it feels like the Red Wings are right there to be a playoff team. Having Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane helping Detroit’s power play fill the net is huge, and the addition of Gibson ideally quiets everything else down in goal. Detroit’s defence stands out as a weak point, however, as Seider must be and do everything for them. So far, he’s been able to shoulder that load and will need to keep it up for them to crack through to the playoffs.

What Could Go Wrong?

Slumps crushed non-playoff teams in the Eastern Conference last year (just ask Buffalo and Columbus) and any prolonged period of losing means giving up points and ground to the competition. Detroit has a lot of young parts but is a very veteran group. That age can come with the hazards of injuries and dips in performance. For as much as Gibson is a savior for them in goal, his injury history is something that looms over what they can do. Having Cam Talbot as an experienced backup is a huge bonus, but when he was given a heavier workload last season, injuries and performance got in the way. General Manager Steve Yzerman needs all of his moves to come up as hits or else.

Top Breakout Candidate

If there’s a player to keep an eye out for it in Detroit, forward Marco Kasper is the one. The Red Wings’ first-round pick from 2022 had an outstanding rookie season with 19 goals and 18 assists in 77 games. He may not have been expected to carry that kind of load for them when camp opened last year, but his play forced the issue. Now Kasper is slated to be the No. 2 center behind Dylan Larkin and that added depth up the middle suddenly has Detroit feeling very good about the position and for good reason. Kasper’s skill set is outstanding and his creativity with the puck makes him dangerous in the offensive zone.

FORWARDS

Lucas Raymond

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	28	56	84	1.02

After a stereotypically down sophomore season, Lucas Raymond rebounded from it in a massive way the past two seasons and took things to an even higher-level last year. Raymond led the Red Wings in scoring with 80 points including 27 goals. His playmaking was outstanding both at even strength and on the power play. He led the team with 53 assists including 29 with the man advantage. Although Raymond had 31 goals two seasons ago, it’s helping his teammates score goals where he’s able to do even more damage. Whether it means he’s feeding Dylan Larkin or finding Alex DeBrincat or Patrick Kane to score, that he can finish plays himself as well adds to the danger he provides. It's been impressive to see Raymond’s game take steps forward since his tough second season in 2022-2023. Given some of the struggles the Red Wings had in general, it would’ve been easy enough for a young player to continue to struggle with them. Instead, we’ve seen Raymond develop a bit of an edge to his game and not allow others to push him around. That added confidence has allowed his game to further flourish and grow alongside his veteran teammates.

Dylan Larkin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	32	44	76	0.93

It’s a shame the Detroit Red Wings haven’t made the playoffs since 2016 because watching Dylan Larkin play and perform with the kind of consistency he does only makes us wonder how good he’d be with the stakes being higher. We got a taste of that in the Four Nations Face-Off when he played for the United States, but with the heart and soul he puts into his play for Detroit, it’s tough to see his efforts not extend to the postseason. The Red Wings captain had 30 goals for the fourth straight season and finished with 70 points, tied for second with Alex DeBrincat behind Lucas Raymond for the team lead. Incredibly, the 29-year-old center is headed into his 11th season with Detroit and with the kind of consistent production he’s provided them over the years, having him help bring Raymond into stardom on his wing does wonders for their success. Whether he has DeBrincat or Patrick Kane on the right side works well for them to provide a top line that can do damage against every team in the league. Larkin was a big-time player on the power play as he tied with DeBrincat for the team lead with 13 power play goals. Oddly enough, he was fourth in power play points behind his linemates on the first unit Raymond, Kane, and DeBrincat and just ahead of Moritz Seider. He’s doing his part to lead them, but management just needs to give them more depth to get them back to the playoffs.

Alex DeBrincat

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	40	37	77	0.94

In the two seasons since being acquired from Ottawa, Alex DeBrincat has made the Red Wings’ investment in him look like a very smart one. DeBrincat led the Red Wings in goals with 39 last season and came within two of tying his career-high of 41, something he did twice while with the Chicago Blackhawks. He had 70 points and finished tied for second on Detroit in scoring with Dylan Larkin behind sometimes linemate Lucas Raymond. Where DeBrincat proved to be dangerous was part of the Red Wings’ wicked power play attack in which he tied with Dylan Larkin with 13 goals. Whether it’s acting as a sniper or a goal mouth threat, success was easy enough to be found for the diminutive offensive dynamo. Over his two seasons with Detroit. DeBrincat has 66 goals and 137 points. Bringing him back home to Michigan has been a great move for GM Steve Yzerman and the way he fits in with their top attackers has made it a home run move. It’s difficult to ask for more from DeBrincat in the years to come, especially after how well he performed last season, but Detroit does need a little extra from everyone. That said, if he repeats what he did last season it sets the Red Wings up well by having a virtual 40-goal scorer built right in.

Patrick Kane

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	20	35	55	0.79

It might be the norm for fans online to highlight the defensive shortcomings in Patrick Kane’s game but looking past that to what he’s still accomplishing offensively as he turns 36 years old is reason enough to be appreciative of his play. Kane had 59 points for Detroit last season, 29 of which came on the power play. His 59 points and 21 goals were fourth most on the Red Wings last season and he was part of a top power play unit there that was fourth best in the NHL. Kane’s 12 power play goals put him one behind both Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat who each had 13. In two seasons with Detroit, Kane’s scored 41 goals in 122 games and put up 106 points. For Kane in his prime, those were single-season-type numbers, but now, after having hip surgery two years ago and being north of 35, he’s been a solid performer, especially on the power play. He’ll begin this season just eight goals shy of 500 for his career, a mark only 48 players in league history have accomplished. With Toronto’s John Tavares two goals ahead of him, it’ll be a race between them to see who can hit the mark first. In the long run, Kane hopes to get Detroit back to the postseason for the first time since 2016. Kane himself has only been to the playoffs twice in the past eight seasons.

Marco Kasper

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	28	30	58	0.72

When the Red Wings drafted Marco Kasper eighth overall in 2022, their excitement in doing so had to be immense. He came with a sky-high skill set, tremendous offensive instincts and outstanding skating ability. Upon his arrival into the NHL full-time last season, it became apparent as the season rolled on that they landed a player that could be a fixture there for some time. Kasper put up 19 goals and 18 assists (37 points) in 77 games last season and ascended the lineup after he was eased into action early in the season. When he eventually found his way into the top half of the forward group, it proved to be a fortuitous decision because of the creativity he injected into any line he played with. Even with his somewhat tempered usage, he had the opportunity to work on lines with all of the Red Wings’ top players. Call it on-the-job learning if you’d like, but what it did was help the team figure out what types of players he blended best. As he heads into his sophomore season, the hope is he can avoid the struggles usually associated with that. Whoever Kasper lines up with this season, he’ll have the benefit of having a strong first season to show him the way and, ideally, prior experience playing alongside his wingers to hit the ground running.

Jonatan Berggren

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	15	17	32	0.42

Hopes have been high in Detroit for Jonatan Berggren. When they selected him in the second round of the 2018 draft, they knew they were getting a player out of Sweden who could fill the net there. While he’s been able to do the same whenever he’s been in the AHL, doing so at the NHL level has been a bit more difficult. Last season with Detroit, Berggren had 12 goals and 12 assists in 75 games. What stood out more about Berggren’s run last season was his role, as he averaged just under 13 minutes of ice time per game. Playing on the third or fourth line doesn’t exactly lend itself to producing big numbers or being asked to play a role in which offense will be stressed. That wasn’t quite the case last season as he played a bit less than half of his five-on-five minutes with Vladimir Tarasenko and J.T. Compher. While Compher matches up well defensively, Tarasenko is much more capable offensively. Berggren possesses a lot of skill and ability and after he put up 15 goals in his rookie season in 2022-2023, the thought was he was poised to breakout as their next big offensive weapon. But his second season did not go well, and he spent most of that year scoring in the AHL. If he’s going to be a bigger part of this team, he’ll need to fight his way into a top six or nine role to do so or become a stronger defensive forward and the time to do it is right now.

Andrew Copp

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	9	15	24	0.32

No one’s seen their role change more the past few seasons in Detroit than Andrew Copp. When the Red Wings signed him as a free agent in 2022 after he had a 21-goal, 53-point season split between the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers, the idea was he’d slot in as their defensive-minded but offensively capable number two center, and they’d roll from there. When Copp posted nine goals and 33 assists in his first season with Detroit, however, it was clear their confidence things would work out was shaken because J.T. Compher was signed after that season and took over that role. Since then, he’s been steady in a slightly lesser position down in the lineup, although a pectoral injury ended his season in late February and he was held to 56 games. With Marco Kasper’s rise and hopeful improvement as well as Compher’s established role on the team, the likelihood of Copp anchoring the fourth line would seem high. Detroit is deeper on the wings with the additions of James van Riemsdyk and Mason Appleton and if Copp is holding down a line lower in the lineup that should benefit them well in matchups because he should ideally be better than other teams’ third- or fourth-line centers.

J.T. Compher

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	13	19	32	0.41

Two years ago, when Detroit signed J.T. Compher to a five-year, $25.5 million deal, the idea for him was to lock-in as their number two center behind Dylan Larkin. Compher could score and defend well enough to provide a bit of a change-up in how to handle matchups and when it came to blending lines. After all, he just came off a career-high 52-point season. He followed it up with 48 points in his first season with the Red Wings and it seemed like things would work out appropriately. Last season, however, Compher’s stats fell more in line with what we’ve seen from him before in Colorado. He had 11 goals and finished with 32 points and averaged 16:41 time on-ice per game. Even though his ice time was down, he still played a vital all-around role for Detroit and was part of their power play and penalty kill units. For most of the season, Compher centered a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Jonatan Berggren but also worked a fair bit with Patrick Kane on the wing as well. It’s a compliment to him that he plays up in the lineup with offensively talented guys like Tarasenko and Kane but also can hold his own on the penalty kill as well. That said, if he’s lining up with Kane you’d like to see better offensive numbers. Now with young rising star Marco Kasper becoming more of an offensive threat, there’s a possibility we see Compher playing a role that leans more towards defending than attacking under coach Todd McLellan.

James van Riemsdyk

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
68	15	22	37	0.54

The Red Wings needed veteran help down in the lineup and landed 36-year-old James van Riemsdyk to do just that. As a big player with good hands and positioning around the net, he’s able cause issues around the net cleaning up loose pucks and taking away goaltenders’ eyes. Last season with Columbus, van Riemsdyk had 16 goals and 20 assists (36 points) and helped balance out the latter part of the Blue Jackets lineup. Throughout his career, he’s been known for his ability to score around the goal and in the slot when given quality looks. With how good he is handling the puck down low, he provides a ton of value in his own zone and very well may play on the Red Wings’ second power play unit. Van Riemsdyk teamed up often with younger players like Kent Johnson and Adam Fantilli in Columbus and did so in Boston the year before with Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie to give them a veteran to lean on and learn from. That kind of role might be recreated with Detroit with guys like Marco Kasper and Jonatan Berggren. Overall, the past five or six years have seen van Riemsdyk become a steady 35-to-40 point player with anywhere from 15-to-20 goals a year. The Red Wings hope that trend continues, and he can help guide their younger players.

DEFENCE

Moritz Seider

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	12	44	56	0.68

Defensemen are traditionally the workhorses of every NHL team, but in Moritz Seider’s case he was that and then some. Seider was Detroit’s No. 1 defenseman in every way last season. He played the most minutes, had the most goals, assists and points, and was their exclusive power play quarterback. Red Wings defensemen had 26 points on the power play and Seider was responsible for 24 of them. He had four out of five goals from blue liners with the man advantage as well. Simply put, he was brilliant. Because of his heavy all-around usage, Seider’s advanced stats were basically break-even when it came to shot attempts and scoring chances but considering what he generated for Detroit in all situations, it’s hard to argue with his value to them. What would do the Red Wings a lot of good is to have someone, anyone, to do some of the things that Seider can do reasonably well. As a No. 1 defenseman he’s going to shoulder most of the responsibilities to begin with, but a lot is demanded of him the way things are. Fortunately, he’s been able to handle it with aplomb. Seider played more than half of his minutes at five-on-five with defensive defenseman Ben Chiarot which allowed Seider to have more freedom to join the attack in the offensive zone, but overall, that pairing struggled preventing attempts. Most of the rest of his ice time was spent with Simon Edvinsson and that pairing saw shot numbers improve greatly. If that pairing is reunited it could be beneficial to both.

Simon Edvinsson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	8	28	36	0.44

Last season was Simon Edvinsson’s first full one in the NHL and he was able to make enough of an impression to earn a larger role moving ahead into this season. Edvinsson had seven goals and 24 assists in 78 games with the Red Wings and averaged 21:07 time on-ice. The sizable uptick in his playing time is due in part to being paired with No. 1 defender Moritz Seider for roughly half of his minutes played at five-on-five. The other half of his playing time was spent with rookie Albert Johansson where those two played more or less as Detroit’s number two pairing. Edvinsson, the sixth overall pick in the 2021 draft, stands at 6-foot-6, 210 pounds and while he casts an imposing figure, his game is better built around his ability to move the puck, and he has surprising elusiveness while carrying it. A defender his size makes many believe he’ll throw his body around to make plays, but that’s not exactly the case. While he gets in the way of shots in the defensive zone, playing physically is not his main objective. The points he generated last season show that he could be effective in being part of a second wave of attack from the blue line and give Seider proper backup in handling that role.

Erik Gustafsson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
68	1	17	18	0.26

Entering his second season with the Red Wings, Erik Gustafsson looks to continue in his role supplying puck support in helping the team escape their own end and generating more of an attack up the ice. Last season, Gustafsson posted two goals and 16 assists in 60 games while averaging 16:19 in ice time. That kind of usage put him solidly in a third pairing role and he played more than 80 percent of his five-on-five ice time with Justin Holl. A broken foot ended his season in late March. Known always more for being an offensive defenseman, Gustafsson handled that role well and was a positive influence in generating more shot attempts than allowed while he was on the ice and the Red Wings scoring chance quality was greater than they gave up when he was out there as well. In his kind of position on the third pairing, that’s all you can ask for along with limiting goals allowed. Unfortunately, Gustafsson’s minus-19 plus-minus rating was the lowest on the team. He’ll be expected to play a similar role again this season and whether he reunites with Holl or teams up with summer signee Jacob Bernard-Docker, the third pair would seem to be squared away.

Ben Chiarot

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	4	12	16	0.21

There may be no more fascinating player in Detroit than Ben Chiarot and it’s for a host of reasons. Chiarot is a straightforward defensive defenseman. He plays physical all over the ice, ties up pucks in the corners, battles in front of the net and blocks shots. Relying on him for big offense isn’t something that will work out, but if there’s a guy you need to do the dirty work in the defensive end of the ice, that’s what he’ll do. Last season, Chiarot had four goals and nine assists in 81 games. The numbers that matter more for him, however, were the 142 blocked shots and 127 hits delivered while averaging 21:14 in ice time. He spent most of last season partnered with Moritz Seider on the Red Wings’ top pairing with more than 800 minutes together at five-on-five. When he wasn’t with Seider he worked with Jeff Petry and that duo struggled to prevent shot attempts and scoring chances greatly. Whether Chiarot returns next to Seider or not could be a big factor in how well (or not) the Red Wings can have more success. Chiarot is entering the final year of his contract in Detroit and while he’s been a good soldier throughout his time there, the reliance they’ve had on him to play big minutes and key situations was controversial in its own way. That said, Detroit has had many needs as they’ve attempted to emerge from their rebuild and return to the postseason.

GOAL

John Gibson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
49	22	19	5	3	.905	2.68

Maybe John Gibson isn't a star starter capable of 60-70 games a season any longer, but the 31-year-old former Anaheim backstop proved last season - when his heir apparent Lukas Dostal embraced the bulk of the starts for the year - that he's still capable of putting together some great performances when he's not being asked to do too much too often. That makes him a potentially great fit for the still-retooling Detroit Red Wings, who were just a few wins shy of being a Wild Card last year. He'll join a returning Cam Talbot, who made it clear when he joined Detroit that he was looking for the opportunity to stay in one place for a bit - and with a perfectly acceptable year under his belt, he should make a strong pairing with Gibson to challenge in a tumultuous Atlantic.

Gibson obviously isn't a long-term answer for the Red Wings, but he's a great asset for the next few years - particularly given that his preferred style of play, which emphasizes a more conservative approach that forces shooters to show their hand before he makes a move, shares a number of traits with prospect Sebastian Cossa's own brand of goaltending. This provides a stylistic mentor for Cossa, a tandem partner for Talbot, and some security for Gibson as he finishes out his contract and considers his next move.

McKeen’s 2025-26 All-Star Fantasy Team

Scott Cullen — Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:19:05 +0000

LOS ANGELES, CA - JANUARY 04: Los Angeles Kings right wing Quinton Byfield (55) skates during an NHL hockey game against the Detroit Red Wings on January 4, 2024 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Ric Tapia/Icon Sportswire)

Value is the name of the game when drafting or auctioning your fantasy hockey roster.

At the top end of the draft, the familiar names will go because every team needs the foundation that can be provided by superstars – Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, David Pastrnak, Cale Makar, Connor Hellebuyck etc. – but after a few rounds, there is more often a determination to be made about whether the juice is worth the squeeze when picking some players.

Finding players who can exceed their expected value is a great way to thrive in fantasy hockey, so finding players who have a higher ceiling can be worthwhile. It might mean missing on a few picks, because there is risk involved, so it’s unlikely that you will hit on every value selection but hitting on Martin Necas when his scoring jumped by 30 points last season was great value if you got it.

The objective is to find players who will surpass expectations and sometimes that process can be assisted by expectations being lowered for whatever reason.

Where does one look to find players that have the value of fantasy all-stars?

Good Health

Injuries have an element of bad luck to them and there is no way to know who is and isn’t going to be injured. However, if a player has a track record of having injury problems, that must be taken into account when evaluating their range of outcomes for the upcoming season. The Devils’ Jack Hughes is a prime example. He is good for more than a point-per-game when he plays but has a tendency to get hurt. If you’re picking a player who gets hurt frequently, you have added an extra element of risk where it did not need to exist. There will come a point, however, at which the risk is worth the reward.

New Opportunities

Fantasy hockey value can be found when production meets opportunity and one of the ways for a player to make a big leap forward in his production is to land somewhere with more ice time available to them. It could still be on their same team, or maybe they need to move to another club, but 2-3 more minutes of ice time per game is a good launching pad for more production.

Elevated Play

Progress is not linear, so it can’t be assumed that every young player will continue to score more and more all the way throughout their careers. At the same time, it tends to be players in their second, third, and fourth years in the league that are the prime candidates to elevate their play and become straight-up better than they were the year before.

Track Record

When seeking players who will provide more value, don’t shy away from players who have proven their level of play, but maybe ran into a down season. Maybe it was a low shooting percentage or low on-ice shooting percentage, or injuries or the wrong linemates or a bad coach to blame for whatever went wrong last season. If the player has been productive in the past, it’s easier to give them the benefit of the doubt when faced with some statistical complications.

Last season’s best hits on the Fantasy All-Stars included Tomas Hertl, Logan Cooley, Tom Wilson, Matthew Knies, Marco Rossi and Mikhail Sergachev, all of whom increased their scoring by at least 20 points compared to the previous season. Here is the 2025-2026 edition of McKeen’s Fantasy All-Stars.

FORWARDS

Quinton Byfield, C, Los Angeles

After breaking through with 55 points (20 G, 35 A) primarily as a winger during the 2023-2024 season, Byfield saw his ice time climb more than two minutes per game primarily at center last season, but he finished with 54 points (23 G, 31 A). That might be seen as a little disappointing, but it provides a prime opportunity for the 23-year-old to bust out this season. He offers a rare combination of size, speed, and skill, and Byfield should be ready to take his game to a new level in his third full NHL season.

Matias Maccelli, RW, Toronto

The skilled winger had a career-high 57 points (17 G, 40 A) in 2023-2024 before completely falling out of favour in Utah last season. His ice time dropped 2:30 per game and he managed just 18 points (8 G, 10 A) in 55 games before getting traded to Toronto this summer. This presents a fantastic opportunity for Maccelli, because with Mitch Marner leaving for Las Vegas, there is a spot available for Maccelli to step in and fill the vacated first-line right wing role. Maccelli is a quality playmaker and if he gets the chance to skate regularly with Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, Maccelli’s production could soar.

Andrei Svechnikov, LW, Carolina

A talented power forward, Svechnikov suffered with a low (7.5 percent) on-ice shooting percentage on his way to scoring 48 points (20 G, 28 A) in 72 games last season. That was his lowest points per game since his rookie season in 2018-2019. It was undeniably a down season for Svechnikov, but that’s what makes him more readily available for fantasy managers this season and it is still entirely reasonable to expect 60-plus points and at least 140 hits out of Svechnikov, which makes him quite valuable.

Nikolaj Ehlers, RW, Carolina

There has been little dispute about whether Ehlers was a good player in Winnipeg. He was an excellent player who drove play consistently and has had four seasons with at least 60 points, including last season, when he had 63 points (24 G, 39 A) in 69 games. The more difficult part is that he has played fewer than 16 minutes per game for each of the past three seasons and the opportunity could be there for Ehlers to play on Carolina’s first line and first power play, which could boost his ice time, raising the bar for his potential production.

Marco Kasper, C, Detroit

After a strong finish to his rookie season, which included 14 points (9 G, 5 A) and 44 shots on goal in his last 18 games, Kasper is looking to play a much bigger role in his second campaign. Kasper averaged 17:43 of ice time per game in that 18-game stretch, which is a couple of minutes more than he did before that, so if he maintains that kind of role, playing 17-18 minutes per game, then Kasper is likely set to increase his production this year. Making the jump to 50-plus points is a fair expectation and Kasper had 156 hits last season, so he offers well-rounded fantasy value.

Mathew Barzal, C, N.Y. Islanders

An injury-plagued 2024-2025 season saw Barzal manage just 20 points (6 G, 14 A) in 30 games, one season after putting up 80 points (23 G, 57 A) in 80 games for the Islanders. Barzal’s underlying numbers were still excellent, with the Islanders controlling 61.6 percent of expected goals with Barzal on the ice during five-on-five play. What undermined his production last season was the Islanders’ terrible power play, so if Barzal can stay reasonably healthy, there should be some regression on the power play, and his point totals could push a point-per-game once again.

Will Cuylle, LW, N.Y. Rangers

Cuylle saw his point total jump from 21 points in 2023-2024 to 45 points (20 G, 256 A) last season, with his ice time climbing by nearly four minutes per game. He is a hard-working physical winger who delivered 301 hits last season and, even if he might not have the highest offensive ceiling, it appears that he should have a shot to play in the Rangers’ top six right from the start of this season. That is an opportunity to play with skilled players who can complement Cuylle’s gritty game. If he continues to improve, and keeps playing the body, Cuylle has a chance to be very valuable for fantasy managers.

Cole Perfetti, RW, Winnipeg

A 23-year-old winger who put up a career-high 50 points (18 G, 32 A) last season, his third season in the National Hockey League, Perfetti has been showing steady improvement in his career, and the arrow appears to be moving up in all areas. His ice time was up, his point production was up, his hits climbed from 26 to 71, and that should all indicate a greater level of trust under head coach Scott Arniel. Let that continue and a smart competitive player like Perfetti will find a way to produce even more.

Ville Koivunen, RW, Pittsburgh

A second-round pick of the Carolina Panthers, Koivunen was acquired as part of the trade for Jake Guentzel in 2024 and Koivunen responded with 56 points (21 G, 35 A) in 63 AHL games last season, earning a promotion to Pittsburgh, where he added seven assists in eight games. While those are encouraging numbers, it’s even more positive that Koivunen looks like he will be in Pittsburgh’s top six and that’s even with Rickard Rakell and Bryant Rust on the roster, and both veterans have been on the trade block for quite some time. If they get moved, that could mean even more playing time for Koivunen.

Boone Jenner, LW, Columbus

A veteran winger who plays hard and fills a lot of categories, Jenner has had some injury issues in recent seasons, including 2024-2025 when he was recovering from shoulder surgery. But, with more time between that surgery and the new season, Jenner should fill a strong complementary role in Columbus, playing in the top six and on the Blue Jacket’s No. 1 power play unit. He had 19 points (7 G, 12 A) with 70 shots on goal in 26 games last season, an effective performance when returning from injury, and he contributes hits and blocked shots, too, so Jenner is a well-rounded contributor when he’s in the lineup.

Connor Zary, RW, Calgary

A first-round pick in 2020, Zary produced 27 points (13 G, 14 A) in 54 games last season, his second season in the NHL, but he has potential for much more. Nine of Zary’s points came on the power play, so he does have a role with the man advantage and that raises his offensive potential, The first reason to be more optimistic about Zary is that he has a chance to play in a prominent role, potentially on a line with veterans Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau. Another reason to like Zary to score more this season is that, like many Flames players, he had a low on-ice shooting percentage (6.0 percent) last season and that is a number that is ripe for regression.

Jiri Kulich, C, Buffalo

A 21-year-old who has already played two AHL seasons, Kulich contributed 24 points (15 G, 9 A) in 62 games for the Sabres last season. He is a talented player with strong puck skills, which is fine, there are lots of young players who can claim that, but Kulich is looking at an opportunity to possibly play with Tage Thompson on the Sabres’ top line and Thompson is a two-time 40-goal scorer, so if Kulich gets that spot, and finds a place on Buffalo’s top power play unit, then there is a chance for his numbers to jump significantly this season.

DEFENSE

Sam Rinzel, D, Chicago

A 2022 first-round pick, Rinzel is a 6-foot-4, puck-moving defenceman who is set to take on a huge role for the Blackhawks. In two seasons at the University of Minnesota, he had 60 points (12 G, 48 A) in 79 games and when his sophomore season ended, he jumped straight into the Blackhawks lineup. He contributed five assists and 22 shots on goal with 12 hits in nine games for Chicago, with three of those points coming on the power play and, going into the 2025-2026 season, Rinzel would be the leading candidate to quarterback the Blackhawks’ power play this season.

Rasmus Andersson, D, Calgary

A steady veteran blueliner who is heading for unrestricted free agency next summer, Andersson will be highly motivated to perform, and he was another Flames player undermined by a low on-ice shooting percentage last season. There were 138 defencemen that played at least 1,000 five-on-five minutes last season and none of them had a lower on-ice shooting percentage than Andersson’s 5.7 percent. Not only that, but the player ranked 137, Ottawa’s Jake Sanderson, was at 6.2 percent, so it wasn’t close. Anyway, regression should work in Andersson’s favour and he should soar past last season’s 31 points (11 G, 20 A).

Olen Zellweger, D, Anaheim

A nimble puck-moving defenceman, Zellweger has great instincts and the confidence to make plays, which could make him the primary quarterback on the Ducks’ power play this season. He has 29 points (9 G, 20 A) in 88 games for the Ducks across the past two seasons, but his track record, from dominating in the Western Hockey League to putting up 37 points (12 G, 25 A) in 44 AHL games for San Diego in 2023-2024, there is a path to him being a quality point producer in the NHL.

Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh

It’s not often that a 38-year-old defenceman might be a valuable fantasy pick, but Letang has a chance, in part because he’s one of the few proven performers on the Penguins blueline and if Erik Karlsson gets moved, as has been rumoured for a while, then Letang could return to Pittsburgh’s top power play unit. Even without that hypothetical, he has recorded at least 100 hits and 100 blocked shots in each of the past four seasons, so he offers well-rounded value, especially if he puts up more than last season’s total of 30 points, his lowest since 2013-2014.

John Klingberg, D, San Jose

Having played a total of 25 regular-season games over the past two seasons, it looked like Klingberg’s days of being a productive NHL defencemen were coming to an end, but he had a good opportunity to play for the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs and secured a contract with the San Jose Sharks. It’s a good landing spot for Klingberg because he’s the best option on the blueline in San Jose to run the power play and with skilled young players up front, it might even be a productive unit.

Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia

A veteran blueliner who played a career-high 24:30 per game last season and earned a spot on Team Canada at the Four Nations Face-Off, Sanheim is the most reliable defender on the Flyers blueline and that includes being able to stay in the lineup, as he has missed five games in the past five seasons. This is relevant because Sanheim is slated to quarterback Philadelphia’s second power play unit, with Jamie Drysdale running the No. 1 unit for the Flyers. Drysdale has had more trouble staying healthy, and Sanheim could step into that PP1 role at some point.

GOAL

Jeremy Swayman, G, Boston

The Bruins may not have a great squad in front of him this season, but Swayman had a down season in 2024-2025, arriving in camp late after an extended contract negotiation, but the Bruins also lost defencemen Hampus Lindholm and Charlie McAvoy, their two best defenders by a healthy margin, to significant injuries. If the defence is healthy in front of him, and Swayman bounces back to his previous level of play, he can be a valuable starting netminder.

Karel Vejmelka, G, Utah

With turmoil in Utah’s crease last season, Vejmelka stepped up and played at a high level while appearing in a career-high 58 games. If he can merely duplicate that season, he should be very valuable because the Mammoth have a strong enough team that they should be in the playoff mix, which means that Vejmelka will have the chance to put up quality fantasy numbers.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – San Jose rebuild on track – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 22 Mar 2025 12:54:26 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 11: San Jose Sharks left wing William Eklund (72) (Photo by David Kirouac/Icon Sportswire)

There are a number of teams that have effectively lost all hope of making the playoffs, but at the time of writing, only one team has been mathematically eliminated from postseason contention: The San Jose Sharks.

It’s the sixth straight year without a playoff berth for San Jose, which is by far the largest stretch of failure in the franchise’s history -- from the inaugural season in 1991-92 through 2018-19, the Sharks had missed the playoffs just six times in total -- and yet there’s a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

Macklin Celebrini has lived up to the hype in his rookie campaign with 21 goals and 50 points through 57 appearances, and the 22-year-old William Eklund is shaping up to be another strong member of the Sharks’ future with 15 goals and 50 points in 64 outings. They’re also seeing some preliminary success from 19-year-old Will Smith, who has provided 13 goals and 35 points in 61 appearances. We should also soon see Cameron Lund make his NHL debut after signing an entry-level contract with the Sharks on Friday. Perhaps the Sharks will try pairing Lund up with Eklund after the 20-year-old Lund supplied 18 goals and 40 points in 37 outings with Northeastern University this year.

In the long run, that young core of forwards might be backed up by 22-year-old netminder Yaroslav Askarov, who has struggled with the rebuilding Sharks (3.10 GAA, .896 save percentage in 13 outings), but has looked solid at the AHL level this campaign (2.52 GAA, .922 save percentage in 19 games).

If some of their other top prospects like Quentin Musty and Sam Dickinson work out, and the Sharks get value out of their four picks in the top two rounds of the 2025 and 2026 drafts, then San Jose could start moving in an upward trajectory quickly.

The only issue is that they have a lot of ground to gain. There’s a good chance the Sharks will finish with 60 or lower points for a third straight campaign. On the one hand, it’s a stretch that’s allowed them to put their full force into rebuilding, but there’s always the danger of falling into the Buffalo Sabres trap, where success always seems to be just around the corner.

An eventful summer might be the key for the Sharks, especially because the Sharks are currently swimming in cap space. They do need to be mindful of the big raises that Eklund, Celebrini and Smith will be due if all goes as hoped, but Celebrini and Smith won’t test the market for the first time until the summer of 2027, while Eklund will remain on his entry-level contract for the 2025-26 campaign, so there is a window here for the Sharks to spend. Their cap flexibility is also made a little easier by the fact that Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s $7 million contract comes off the books in the summer of 2026 and Couture’s $8 million cap hit ends after 2026-27, which will help offset some of those raises.

That will allow them to be aggressive on the UFA market, and it also opens the door for San Jose to potentially leverage some of its picks for veteran players. So, while the Sharks have some largely meaningless games ahead of them, this might end up being the summer of GM Mike Grier.

Buffalo Sabres (Tue vs OTT, Thu vs PIT, Sat @ PHI, Sun @ WAS)

It seems cruel to cite the Sabres as a cautionary tale whenever teams like the Sharks are in the midst of a rebuild, but that’s what they are. With a 27-34-6 record through Thursday’s action, Buffalo sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and is on course to miss the playoffs for a 14th straight season. That’s the longest postseason drought in the history of the league.

The Sabres will at least attempt to finish the season on a somewhat positive note. They’ll host Ottawa and Pittsburgh on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before heading on the road to visit Philadelphia on Saturday and Washington on Sunday.

Buffalo’s single biggest issue this campaign has been an inability to keep the puck out of the net. The Sabres rank 29th in goals allowed per game with 3.52. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who managed a solid 2.57 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 54 appearances in 2023-24, hasn’t looked nearly as impressive this campaign, going 23-21-4 with a 3.16 GAA and an .888 save percentage.

It's tempting to say that the team in front of him has been the source of Luukkonen’s woes, and there’s certainly some backing for that assumption. The Sabres rank 29th in xGA/60 at 3.35, per Moneypuck, which implies that the defense has been making life miserable for the goaltenders. However, Luukkonen can’t completely escape blame. He also has a minus-4.6 goals saved above expected, which suggests that he’s been putting forth below average performances, and that’s compounded Buffalo’s already significant defensive issues. That’s also in contrast to 2023-24 when Luukkonen finished with a plus-9.4 goals saved above expected.

Buffalo has already made a long-term commitment to Luukkonen, albeit with a $4.75 million cap hit through 2028-29, which is on the low end for a veteran starter and is expected to get even more reasonable as the cap goes up. If he ends up needing to slide into a backup role, that contract will look like an overpay, but not to the point where it’s an anchor on Buffalo’s cap situation.

The ideal would be if Devon Levi lives up to the promise he showed in the NCAA, but so far the 23-year-old has left plenty to be desired in the NHL, posting a 3.29 GAA and an .894 save percentage through 39 appearances. Goaltenders tend to take longer to develop than any other NHL position, so it would be premature to write him off, but Buffalo assuming that a Luukkonen-Levi duo will eventually lead the franchise to the playoffs might be dangerous -- the potential is there, but it’s far from a sure thing.

That’s a long-term concern for Buffalo. In the short run, the Sabres can at least enjoy Ryan McLeod’s hot streak. He’s recorded a point in five straight games and has been held off the scoresheet just once over his last seven appearances, giving him two goals and seven points in that span. He’s set career highs in goals (16) and points (38) in his first campaign with Buffalo after being acquired from Edmonton, and the 25-year-old should be a solid presence for years to come while primarily centering the third line under ideal circumstances.

Detroit Red Wings (Mon @ UTA, Tue @ COL, Thu vs OTT, Sat vs BOS)

Detroit has won just two of its past 10 games, putting the Red Wings playoff hopes in serious jeopardy. They’ll need to do well next week to avoid slipping out of the postseason picture. The Red Wings will start on the road, facing Utah on Monday and Colorado on Tuesday. Detroit will then return home to host the Senators on Thursday and the Bruins on Saturday.

Buffalo’s postseason drought is the one that get the most attention, but Detroit hasn’t been to the postseason since 2016, so there are significant stakes to the Red Wings’ playoff run, especially because they’re not exactly a rebuilding squad anymore. Lucas Raymond (23 goals, 69 points) is still just 22 years old, while Dylan Larkin (28, 60) and Alex DeBrincat (31, 58) are in their late 20s, so Detroit’s core forwards aren’t old, but they’re not emerging prospects either. Two of Detroit’s top four defensemen (Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson) are under 25, but they are supplemented by aging veterans (Ben Chiarot, Jeff Petry).

Detroit does still have players that will get better with time. I’m very interested to see what the future holds for 20-year-old rookie Marco Kasper, who has 13 goals, 27 points, 30 PIM and 123 hits in 63 appearances this campaign, but Detroit is beyond the point where it can just shrug and say that short-term losing is a byproduct of the process.

Patrick Kane should be in no mood to be patient at the age of 36. He exploded with a five-point effort March 12 to lead Detroit past Buffalo. Kane also had a three-point showing March 1 versus Columbus, but he’s been inconsistent recently, so don’t look at his 11 points (three goals) in nine games this month and assume he’s red hot. The truth is more nuanced. Unfortunately, Detroit has lacked a steady hand on offense recently, which is a reflection of the team’s recent struggles overall.

Petr Mrazek, who was acquired from Chicago, has been given the opportunity to take over as Detroit’s starter. He’s got the nod in each of Detroit’s past four games, but the results have been mixed. He did post an 18-save shutout over Vegas on Sunday, but he also allowed at least three goals in each of the other three starts. Overall, he has a 2-2-0 record, 2.51 GAA and .901 save percentage in four appearances since joining Detroit. Still, Cam Talbot (2.96 GAA, .900 save percentage) and Alex Lyon (2.77 GAA, .900 save percentage) haven’t given Detroit much to be happy about this campaign, so Mrazek might continue to act as the Red Wings’ primary choice going forward.

Los Angeles Kings (Tue vs NYR, Thu @ COL, Sat vs TOR, Sun vs SJS)

The Kings sit third in the Pacific Division with a 37-21-9 record, but they still have a shot at catching Edmonton (40-24-5) and maybe even Vegas (40-20-8). The Kings will need a solid week to keep those prospects healthy. They’ll start by hosting the Rangers on Tuesday before playing in Colorado on Thursday. Afterward, the Kings will return home to face the Maple Leafs on Saturday and the Sharks on Sunday.

The Kings managed just four goals across eight games from March 13-20, so they don’t have any hot forwards. Kevin Fiala is about as close as you can find with a goal and three points over that four-game stretch, but he’s also been held off the scoresheet in seven of his past 12 contests, so his recent play is nothing to get excited over.

Meanwhile, Phillip Danault has just a goal and four points across his past 13. This is shaping up to be a disappointing campaign for him overall. He has just six goals in 66 games with a shooting percentage of 5.5, which is on course to be his lowest ever, excluding the two games he played in 2014-15. He also has no power-play points after recording 20 in 2022-23 and nine in 2023-24. On the one hand, he’s averaging 1:20 with the man advantage, the lowest of his four seasons with LA, which limits his chances, but Danault also hasn’t given the Kings much reason to use him more on the power play, so it’s a bit of a chicken and the egg issue. Either way, this campaign is looking like it’ll go down as a wash for Danault, and he certainly has been part of the issue for the Kings’ recent offensive drought, recording no points over the past four games.

This would be a bad stretch for the Kings, except Darcy Kuemper stopped 81 of 84 shots (.964 save percentage) while starting in those four games, and LA won three of those outings as a result. The 34-year-old goaltender is now 23-9-7 with a 2.13 GAA and a .918 save percentage in 40 appearances. In terms of GAA, this could be the best campaign of his career, excluding 2012-13 when he appeared in just six games. That’s quite a turnaround from 2023-24 (3.31 GAA, .890 save percentage), and it has to be said that Kuemper has a plus-15 goals saved above expected, which ranks 13th in the league, so this isn’t exclusively a case of him benefiting from strong defensively play in front of him -- though, the Kings do have a league-best 2.61 xGA/60, so the defense has been doing its part too.

Minnesota Wild (Mon @ DAL, Tue vs VGK, Thu vs WAS, Sat vs NJD)

Minnesota has a healthy edge in the battle for a wild-card spot, especially after winning its past two games. The Wild will look to build on their recent momentum when they play in Dallas on Monday. Minnesota will also host Vegas, Washington and New Jersey on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, respectively.

Although Minnesota is likely to make the playoffs, the extended absence of Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) has been felt. He’s appeared in just three games dating back to Dec. 27, and Minnesota is a mediocre 18-15-1 over that span while averaging just 2.50 goals per game. By contrast, the Wild went 21-10-4 while averaging 2.94 goals per game over their first 35 contests, which is a stretch when Kaprizov provided 23 goals and 50 points in 34 appearances (missing one game).

To make matters worse, Joel Eriksson Ek hasn’t played since Feb. 22 due to a lower-body injury. Coach John Hynes said Monday that Kaprizov and Eriksson Ek were progressing off ice, per Dylan Loucks of The Hockey News, which is mixed news. Any progress is good progress, but if they’re not skating yet, then they’re probably not close to returning. With so little time left in the campaign, I have to wonder if Minnesota is now simply looking ahead to the playoffs when it comes to Kaprizov. Maybe he’ll get into a few games toward the end of the regular season just to shake off the rust, but that might be all we can hope for.

At least Ryan Hartman is back from his eight-game suspension. He’s recorded three goals and six points in eight appearances since returning from his punishment. He also averaged 16:31 of ice time in that span, up from 15:00, as the Wild deal with injuries.

Minnesota also attempted to get help by acquiring Gustav Nyquist from Nashville on March 1, but that hasn’t moved the needle. Nyquist has registered just two assists in nine outings with Minnesota despite averaging 16:02 since the trade. He might see his role reduced once Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov are ready to return, especially if Nyquist doesn’t start heating up.

To wrap up on a somber note, we’re likely watching the final games of Marc-Andre Fleury. He hasn’t played much recently -- his last start was March 9 -- but the Wild do have a back-to-back coming Monday and Tuesday, so he’ll likely make his 885th career start and 1,048th appearance on one of those two nights. Fleury has solid backup at the age of 40, posting a 12-8-1 record, 2.73 GAA and .904 save percentage in 22 outings this campaign.

New Jersey Devils (Mon vs VAN, Wed @ CHI, Thu @ WPG, Sat @ MIN)

The Devils have been treading water lately, winning four of their past nine games. At this point, they’re unlikely to catch Carolina for the second seed in the Metropolitan Division, but the Devils are still likely to secure the third seed. In the meantime, they’ll start next week at home against Vancouver. The Devils will then hit the road, playing in Chicago on Wednesday, Winnipeg on Friday and Minnesota on Saturday.

Like Minnesota, New Jersey is dealing with some major injuries. Dougie Hamilton (lower body) hasn’t played since March 4 (he logged just 5:15 before exiting that March 4th game), and Jack Hughes (shoulder) was last in the lineup March 2.

New Jersey has gone 4-4-0 without Hamilton and Hughes, including the contest Hamilton was only briefly a part of in contrast to the Devils’ 33-23-6 record across their first 62 games. It’d be natural to assume their middling play lately has been as a result of a drop in offense, similar to what Minnesota has experienced, but the Devils have managed 2.88 goals per game over their last eight games, which isn’t much of a decline from their 2.98 before Hughes’ injury.

Instead, the problem has been at their own end. Jacob Markstrom has a 4.67 GAA and an .817 save percentage across his past five appearances. That leaky play has taken some of the shine out of the heroics from Jesper Bratt (three goals, 10 points in his past five games) and Luke Hughes (one goal, seven points in his past eight appearances).

Jake Allen has looked good, though, winning his past three starts while saving 99 of 103 shots (.961 save percentage). That contrast between New Jersey’s two goaltenders has resulted in Markstrom shifting from being the clear starter to serving in a rotation. I don’t expect that arrangement to persist for the remainder of the campaign, but it’ll probably last until Markstrom finds his footing again.

The Devils certainly have to hope Markstrom comes out of this cold patch sooner rather than later. While there is light at the end of the tunnel for Minnesota on the injury front -- albeit a distance light -- Jack Hughes isn’t expected back until training camp, and Hamilton probably won’t return until the second round at the earliest, provided the Devils make it that far. What they have now is all they can count on. Fortunately for New Jersey, Bratt, Nico Hischier and Timo Meier is still a solid forward core, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see that trio do well down the stretch, and Luke Hughes is a great alternative to Hamilton on the top power-play unit, which should result in Luke having a strong finish offensively.

New York Islanders (Mon vs CBJ, Wed vs VAN, Sat @ TBL, Sun @ CAR)

The Islanders have won their past three games, pushing them within striking distance of a wild-card spot. New York needs to stay hot next week to close the gap. They’ll start with a home game against Columbus, which is another team in the hunt for an Eastern Conference wild-card position. The Blue Jackets will also play at home against Vancouver on Wednesday before traveling to Tampa Bay on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday.

New York squeaking into the playoffs would be particularly impressive after they traded Brock Nelson to Colorado on March 6 in a where the key pieces back were prospect Calum Ritchie and a first-round pick. It’s not like the Islanders had offense to spare…or so you’d assume, but they’ve been getting help from unexpected sources lately.

Jean-Gabriel Pageau has a goal and six points while Simon Holmstrom has three goals and five points across the Islanders’ seven games since the trade. Both players are usually more complementary pieces when it comes to offense, but they do get on these kinds of hot streaks, making them nice situational pickups during times such as this.

Defensemen Noah Dobson and Anthony DeAngelo have also been major contributors during the same stretch, recording seven and six points, respectively. It’s been interesting that Dobson’s return from injury Feb. 27 hasn’t marginalized DeAngelo’s contributions. Rather than shift DeAngelo to the second power-play unit to make room for Dobson, the Islanders seem comfortable having two defensemen on their top group with the man advantage. DeAngelo has also continued to be used at even strength, averaging 22:18 of ice time in all situations since the return of Dobson.

DeAngelo’s always been a lightning rod for controversy, but it seems he’s found a good spot with the Islanders, and he should continue to be a meaningful contributor for the remainder of the campaign.

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

The Senators put themselves in a good spot by winning six straight from March 5-15, but they’ve hit a rough patch with back-to-back losses. The Senators still hold the first wild-card spot, but they can’t afford to relax. They have an opportunity to collect some key points next week against teams not currently in a playoff position. Ottawa will play in Buffalo on Tuesday, Detroit on Thursday and Pittsburgh on Sunday. The Senators will also host the Blue Jackets on Saturday.

Dylan Cozens has worked out pretty nicely in Ottawa since being acquired from Buffalo on March 7. He has three goals and six points in seven appearances with the Senators despite seeing his average playing time drop from 17:13 before the trade to 15:23 since joining the Ottawa. Cozens seems to be settling into a second-line center role with Ottawa, which isn’t surprising. He should get most of his minutes alongside Drake Batherson and David Perron for the remainder of the campaign, though Cozens is also getting work on the top power-play unit and has already provided two goals with the man advantage for Ottawa.

Batherson has been a good player to skate alongside recently. He enjoyed a four-game scoring streak from March 11-18 in which he supplied three goals and six points, but that run was snapped Thursday. The 26-year-old is up to 19 goals and 55 points in 68 outings overall, making it very likely that he’ll reach the 20-goal and 60-point marks for the third straight campaign. In fact, he still has a solid chance of besting his career high of 66 points, which he set last year.

Perron also has been solid recently with four goals and seven points in his past 10 appearances. The 36-year-old missed significant chunks of the campaign, so it’s not too surprising that he was limited to a goal and four points in 11 outings from Jan. 11 (when he returned from a 27-game absence due to back problem) through Feb. 26. Now that the veteran has been able to string together a significant number of games for the first time all season, we’re seeing steady production out of him, and there’s a good chance that’ll continue for the rest of the season, barring another exit from the lineup.

Ottawa’s top line, headlined by Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, will be the main drivers of the Senators’ offense, but don’t underestimate that second unit of Perron, Cozens and Batherson.

Toronto Maple Leafs (Tue vs PHI, Thu @ SJS, Sat @ NYR, Sun @ LAK)

Toronto has won its past three games, putting behind a rough stretch in which the Maple Leafs won just one of six contests. The Maple Leafs are competing with Florida for the Atlantic Division title. Toronto will look for an edge in that battle next week, beginning with a home game against the Flyers on Tuesday. Toronto will then go on the road, playing in San Jose on Thursday, Los Angeles on Saturday and Anaheim on Sunday.

Even after a run of four goals from March 15-19, Auston Matthews is still on course for career lows with his goal total of 27 and his shooting percentage of 12.4. He’s been limited to 54 games this campaign, and it seems probable he’s playing through something even now, but even Matthews at less than 100 percent is still a high-end option. It helps that he’s pivoted to setting up his teammates a little more to make up for the reduced goal scoring -- he has 34 assists, so in terms of points per 60 minutes, his 3.3 this year is a touch low by his standards, but still well within the range of what’d you’d expect from him.

There’s a good chance he’ll come back strong next season with another 40-plus campaign, and he might even hit 60 for the third time in his career in 2025-26. However, the 27-year-old has run into more injuries problems than one would like over the first half of his career, which makes projecting him somewhat difficult.

Mitch Marner has been the steadier hand in Toronto in terms of season-by-season production. This will be his fourth straight campaign with over 20 goals and 80 points. One thing he’s never managed is reaching the 100-point mark, though he came close in 2021-22 (97) and 2022-23 (99). He might be able to just barely hit it this season after supplying 21 goals and 83 points through 68 appearances.

Marner needs to get hot again to hit the century mark, but right now, he’s not the hottest member of the Leafs. Neither is Matthews, for that matter. That distinction belongs to William Nylander, who has five goals and 15 points in his last 11 appearances. That brings him up to 38 markers and 73 points in 69 outings overall.

Nylander also reached the 600-point career milestone Thursday when he assisted on a goal by John Tavares. That was career point 1,098 for Tavares, and the 34-year-old center went on to collect two more points, making it a milestone night for him as well. Tavares has 29 goals and 60 points in 62 appearances in 2024-25, bringing him up to 213 goals and 479 points in 502 games. If you had told someone immediately after Tavares signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with Toronto that he would decline over the final couple of years, they would have likely believed you. However, while Tavares did show his age somewhat in 2023-24, he’s continuing to produce at a high level even in the final campaign of that deal. It’ll be very interesting to see what kind of contract he commands over the summer, because he still seems to have good hockey left in him.

Toronto’s offense revolves around that core, and unfortunately no one outside of it steps up for more than brief periods. Matthew Knies is Toronto’s next best producer with 25 goals and 45 points, but he’s going through a mediocre stretch in which he’s supplied a goal and four points over his past eight games. Max Domi and Bobby McMann have been similarly meh lately, each contributing two goals and four points over the same eight-game span. All three are worth monitoring as pickup options during hot streaks, but they can’t be counted on to put up strong numbers over a longer period.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Avalanche and Hurricanes make blockbuster deal, Flames and Flyers swing four-player swap, the Islanders renovate their blueline, McTavish, Smith, and Slafkovsky are some young forwards picking up steam and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 31 Jan 2025 13:30:21 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 28: Carolina Hurricanes Right Wing Mikko Rantanen (96) in action prior to the National Hockey League game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the New York Rangers on January 28, 2025 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the Avalanche and Hurricanes made a blockbuster deal, the Flames and Flyers swing a four-player swap, the Islanders renovate their blueline, and Mason McTavish, Will Smith, and Juraj Slafkovsky are some young forwards picking up steam and much more!

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

#1 The Carolina Hurricanes and Colorado Avalanche made a massive trade last week, a rare in-season move involving star players. The Hurricanes landed Mikko Rantanen from the Avalanche and Taylor Hall from the Blackhawks in the three-team deal. Rantanen is one of the league’s premier forwards and since the 2020-2021 season, he has averaged 1.27 points per game, ranking seventh in the league. In his first three games with Carolina, Rantanen has a goal and an assist, but also has 13 shots on goal despite seeing his average time on ice drop to 19:06 per game after averaging 22:30 per game in Colorado. Hall’s ice time was reduced in Chicago this season but his 1.88 points per 60 minutes ranked second on the Blackhawks among forwards to play at least 500 five-on-five minutes (behind Ryan Donato). So, while Rantanen might play less after joining a team with Carolina’s depth of talent, Hall might actually find his way to more ice time with the Hurricanes.

#2 Colorado acquired right winger Martin Necas and centre Jack Drury from Carolina. Necas had 55 points in 49 games with Carolina before getting traded and he has put up four assists in three games. The Avalanche have also taken to giving Necas the same kind of role that Rantanen held, so Necas has averaged 23:08 of ice time per game in his first three games for the Avs after playing 18:05 per game in Carolina. Drury is more of a depth option, though he has scored two goals in his first three games for Colorado.

#3 The Calgary Flames and Philadelphia Flyers are both in the hunt for playoff spots and the teams swapped players Thursday. Calgary acquired winger Joel Farabee and centre Morgan Frost, sending wingers Andrei Kuzmenko and Jakob Pelletier, along with a couple of draft picks, to Philadelphia. Farabee is a solid complementary winger who scored a career-high 50 points (22 G, 28 A) last season, but has just 19 points (8 G, 11 A) through 50 games this season. He could use the fresh start. Frost has had a bit of a tumultuous run in Philadelphia, especially with John Tortorella as head coach. Frost is a talented player but had one assist and seven shots on goal in his last seven games with the Flyers.

#4 Kuzmenko is a 28-year-old winger who tallied 39 goals and 74 points for Vancouver in 2022-2023, his first season in the NHL, but he has just four goals and 15 points in 37 games this season. He did cross paths with Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov back in the KHL, as Kuzmenko was the leading scorer for SKA St. Petersburg in 2022-2023 when Michkov was just getting his feet wet with that team in the KHL. Perhaps Kuzmenko can help shake Michkov from the slump that has seen him produce just seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past 24 games. Pelletier was a first-round pick in 2019, but it has taken a while for him to show that he belongs in the NHL. He did have six points (3 G, 3 A) in his last nine games for the Flames and the small skilled winger can hope to secure more consistent playing time in Philadelphia.

#5 Injuries have forced the New York Islanders to address their blueline and they have signed Tony DeAngelo, who was playing in the KHL, and acquired Scott Perunovich in a trade with the St. Louis Blues. DeAngelo had 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 34 games for St. Petersburg in the KHL but still fell out of favor. He has one assist in three games for the Islanders but has averaged more than 25 minutes of ice time per game and is quarterbacking the Islanders top power play unit. Perunovich has recorded an assist in both of his first two games for the Islanders.

#6 Anahiem Ducks centre Mason McTavish started relatively slowly this season, with 19 points (6 G, 13 A) through 40 games. He does have seven points (6 G, 1 A) and 14 shots on goal in his past five games, however, so it’s worth keeping tabs on the 22-year-old. He is skating with Cutter Gauthier and Robby Fabbri at even strength, but McTavish is also getting first-unit power play time.

#7 San Jose Sharks rookie Will Smith has taken some time to find his groove during his first NHL campaign, but it looks like the fourth pick in the 2023 Draft is getting comfortable. He is riding a six-game point streak, during which he has amassed seven points (2 G, 5 A) and is skating on a line with veteran Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund. Granlund has eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his past six games, and with 46 points on the season, he looks like a good bet to hit the 60-point plateau for the fifth time in his career.

#8 There have been some uneven moments in the development path for Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky, the first pick in the 2022 Draft. Despite enjoying great success with Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield last season, Slafkovsky has been moved down the depth chart at times this season and he scored four goals (plus 19 assists) in the first 40 games of the season. Since then, Slafkovsky has six points (4 G, 2 A) in eight games and looks a lot more like the power forward who finished last season with 35 points (16 G, 19 A) in his last 40 games.

#9 When the Nashville Predators struggled early in the season, there was concern that centre Tommy Novak wasn’t up to the task of providing much-needed secondary scoring, and he managed just nine points (5 G, 4 A) in his first 35 games. After that inauspicious start to the season, Novak has contributed seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past five games, and is having some success skating with rookies Fedor Svechkov and Zachary L’Heureux.

#10 Buffalo Sabres left winger JJ Peterka enjoyed a terrific start to the season and then went through a slump in late November and early December, but he has rebounded with 21 points (6 G, 15 A) in his past 20 games, highlighted by his three-goal, one-assist performance in Tuesday’s win over Buffalo. More recently, the Sabres have been running Peterka on a line with rookie Jiri Kulich at centre and Tage Thompson on right wing. Kulich has nine points (5 G, 4 A) in his past 12 games. Thompson, who is more widely rostered than his linemates, has 26 points (14 G, 12 A) in his past 26 games.

#11 Marco Kasper was the eighth pick in the 2022 Draft by the Detroit Red Wings and he was offering an unremarkable rookie season, with seven points (2 G, 5 A) in his first 35 games. Moving up the depth chart has done wonders for the young skilled winger, and he has put up 12 points (7 G, 5 A) and 24 shots on goal in his past 11 games. With Patrick Kane injured, Kasper is skating on the Red Wings’ top line, with Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, as well as playing on Detroit’s first power play unit. Given their success, the trio might need to stay together even when Kane returns.

#12 The Toronto Maple Leafs do not get great production out of their defencemen, as Morgan Rielly is Toronto’s highest scoring blueliner with 22 points (3 G, 19 A) in 51 games. Just behind him, though, is veteran Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who has six points (1 G, 5 A) in his past five games, giving him 21 points for the season. Just as importantly, Ekman-Larsson is averaging more than 23 minutes of ice time per game in that stretch. The Maple Leafs run five forwards on their top power play unit, with Rielly and Ekman-Larsson on the second unit.

#13 Chicago Blackhawks rookie Frank Nazar was the 13th pick in the 2022 Draft and was tearing up the AHL this season with 24 points (11 G, 13 A) in 21 games and when the Blackhawks made a coaching change, they promoted Nazar shortly thereafter. While he did not have immediate success, there have been signs of progress. He has five points (2 G, 3 A) in his past eight games and is now skating on Connor Bedard’s wing on Chicago’s top line.

#14 Seattle Kraken winger Jared McCann has been one their most productive players since the expansion draft, scoring 110 goals and 221 points to lead the franchise. While McCann has been more of a goal scorer as he has emerged as a legitimate offensive threat, he has turned playmaker lately. In his past 13 games, McCann has 12 points (1 G, 11 A) and 17 shots on goal. That low shot total needs to improve because while McCann is not usually a high-volume shooter, 1.3 shots on goal per game is not the stuff of consistent top line scorers.

#15 As the Carolina Hurricanes appear to have pushed their chips all in for this season, there is an opportunity for centre Jesperi Kotkaniemi to fulfill a supporting role. Carolina’s addition of Taylor Hall offers the possibility that Kotkaniemi could have more skill on his wings and Kotkaniemi has produced six points (4 G, 2 A) in his past six games. After scoring 27 points in 79 games last season, Kotkaniemi has already chipped in 25 points (10 G, 15 A) in 52 games this season, so he is developing, even if it might be at a slower pace than the ‘Canes might have initially hoped.

#16 Mammoth Washington Capitals winger Aliaksei Protas is enjoying a breakthrough season and is thriving with a six-game point streak, during which he has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 11 shots on goal. Protas has not been a huge shot generator, so he has been dependent on a shooting percentage of 23.3 percent to score 21 goals in 51 games. His 20 even-strength goals is tied for fifth in the league, behind only Leon Draisaitl (26), Mark Scheifele (22), William Nylander (22), and Tage Thompson (21).

#17 Los Angeles Kings netminder Darcy Kuemper has enjoyed some excellent seasons in his career but he had injury problems when he was with Washington last season, and it was hard to know whether he would be able to bounce back as a 34-year-old goaltender. Saskatoon native Kuemper has been excellent for the Kings, and since the calendar turned to 2025, he has a .938 save percentage in 10 games. Kuemper has 9.65 goals saved above expected this season, which ranks 10th in the NHL, a level of play that the Kings did not have much right to expect.

#18 The Washington Capitals started the season with a goaltending tandem of Charles Lindgren and Logan Thompson and that duo has helped the Capitals to the league’s best record. While there was an even split in the crease for a good portion of the season, Lindgren missed some time with injury, and it allowed Thompson to emerge as the No. 1 option between the pipes for Washington. In his past dozen starts, Thompson has a record of 11-0-1 while posting a .949 save percentage. He earned a six-year, $35.1 million contract extension, nice work for the former USports goaltender.

#19 Veteran Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson is getting a steady diet of starts in the Anaheim net, perhaps showcasing him for a potential trade. Lukas Dostal has played well, establishing himself as the Ducks’ goaltender of the future, and possibly the present, but in his past 11 appearances, Gibson has a .922 save percentage. That kind of performance should help to make Gibson more appealing to a playoff contender that is looking for an upgrade in goal and a move to a team that is more likely to win would certainly improve Gibson’s fantasy value.

#20 Dallas Stars standout defenceman Miro Heiskanen is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury, suffered following an unusual hit from Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone. Heiskanen will miss the 4 Nations Face-Off, and his absence from the Stars lineup will be every bit as challenging as it will be for Team Finland to be without the rock steady blueliner. With Heiskanen out, Thomas Harley should see more time on the power play. Only three of Harley’s 23 points this season have come via the man advantage.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Werenski pushing Norris Trophy candidacy, Stamkos heating up, Cirelli more than a checking centre, Dorofeyev is a finisher, Kakko making most of fresh start, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 17 Jan 2025 19:51:37 +0000

VANCOUVER, BC - JANUARY 27: Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zach Werenski (8) skates with the puck during an NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday, January 27, 2024 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, B.C. (Photo by Ethan Cairns/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski is pushing his Norris Trophy candidacy, Steven Stamkos is heating up, Anthony Cirelli is more than a checking centre, Pavel Dorofeyev is a finisher, Kaapo Kakko is making the most of his fresh start, and much more!

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

#1 Many of the players that get addressed in 20 Fantasy Points are players that are available in most leagues, but sometimes players who are rostered are doing noteworthy things. Enter Blue Jackets defenceman Zach Werenski, who had a career-high 57 points last season, but has taken his game to a new level in 2024-2025. Werenski had an assist in Thursday’s 4-1 win over San Jose, giving him 51 points (15 G, 36 A) in 45 games to lead NHL defencemen in scoring. Since 2021-2022, Werenski has 40 goals in 196 games, his 0.20 goals per game ranking third among defencemen, behind only Cale Makar and Roman Josi. Werenski has always been a strong shot generator, but this season he has taken it to a new level, leading all defencemen with 3.96 shots on goal per game. He has 19 points on the power play, one behind Makar who leads all defencemen. All of this is to say that 27-year-old Werenski is performing at the peak of his abilities, and he probably warrants Norris Trophy consideration. He may not be easy to acquire in fantasy leagues, but if you have him, understand that his underlying numbers suggest that his production isn’t likely to go away, so he is a sell-high commodity, if he is going to be sold at all.

#2 After a shockingly slow start to the season, the Nashville Predators have started to turn the corner, though it may be too late to salvage the season. Nevertheless, Steven Stamkos has started to find his range and after scoring a goal against Chicago on Thursday, he has 16 points (8 G, 8 A) in his past 16 games. Only three of those 16 points have come via the power play, so Stamkos is making hay at even strength, centering a line with Filip Forsberg and Jonathan Marchessault on his wings.

#3 A former teammate of Stamkos, Tampa Bay’s Anthony Cirelli is enjoying his best offensive season. He scored his 18th goal of the season Thursday, which puts him only two behind the career-high 20 goals that he scored in 79 games last season. Cirelli is skating with Brandon Hagel and Nick Paul on his wings and getting power play time, leading to Cirelli playing a career-high 18:41 per game.

#4 Vegas Golden Knights winger Pavel Dorofeyev has sniped five goals in his past two games, vaulting into the team lead with 19 goals. Since the holiday break, Dorofeyev has scored seven goals on 32 shots while averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time per game in 10 games. He may not continue at the same goal-scoring rate, but if he can continue to produce at least three shots per game and hold down his spot on the Vegas power play, Dorofeyev should continue to be a legitimate offensive threat.

#5 Getting a fresh start in Seattle, right winger Kaapo Kakko is thriving with the Kraken, even while the team has been delivering uneven performances. In his past nine games, Kakko has nine points (3 G, 6 A) and is averaging 17:22 of ice time per game. Sometimes all it takes is an opportunity and Kakko was playing 13:17 per game with the Rangers this season so getting a boost in ice time while skating on a line with Matty Beniers and Jaden Schwartz seems to be working for him.

#6 Detroit Red Wings rookie winger Marco Kasper picked up a goal and an assist in Thursday’s win at Florida, giving him six points (3 G, 3 A) in his past four games. He had seven points in 35 games before this scoring surge and he’s making the most of his opportunity to play on Detroit’s top line, alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond. It might be too soon to give a strong recommendation for Kasper, but if he is going to keep playing on the first line, he might offer some short-term value for as long as that continues.

#7 Chicago Blackhawks winger Teuvo Teravainen had a slow start to the season, producing 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 30 games, but he has taken on more offensive responsibility since then, contributing 18 points (4 G, 14 A) in 15 games. His shot rates are low, so he is more dependent on assists to maintain his production, but he is also on the Blackhawks’ top power play unit, so chances are there for him to make the most of his playmaking ability.

#8 San Jose Sharks left winger William Eklund saw his production slow down in December, but he has bounced back recently. He has eight points (4 G, 4 A) and 19 shots on goal in his past seven games. Eklund is in a quality situation with the Sharks, playing on a line with sensational rookie Macklin Celebrini and veteran right winger Tyler Toffoli.

#9 Minnesota Wild winger Mats Zuccarello obviously benefits from playing on a line with Kirill Kaprizov, but with Kaprizov injured, Zuccarello has continued to produce. In 10 games since Kaprizov was injured, Zuccarello has 13 points (4 G, 9 A) with 23 shots on goal, playing nearly 21 minutes per game. Skating with Matt Boldy and Marco Rossi is still a pretty good place to be, it seems. Zuccarello’s Wild teammate Ryan Hartman has emerged from a long offensive slump to deliver seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past eight games. That followed a stretch of 18 games without a point, which pretty much eliminated his fantasy appeal, so maybe he is rediscovering some value.

#10 Healthy and scoring, veteran Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust has tallied 26 points (12 G, 14 A) in his past 23 games, adding 66 shots on goal while playing more than 20 minutes per game. While the Penguins continue to stumble along, Rust’s production is still high level and since he and Rickard Rakell are holding the wing positions on Sidney Crosby’s line, Rust is likely to continue his high level of productivity.

#11 He seems to move in and out of the doghouse in Philadelphia, but Flyers centre Morgan Frost is cooking lately. He is riding a five-game point streak, during which he has six points (2 G, 4 A) with 18 shots on goal. There is no question that Frost is skilled enough to be a productive scorer in the NHL, but he is constantly in a battle to prove his all-around game to head coach John Tortorella. With his current spot skating between Owen Tippett and Travis Konecny, Frost is being put in a position to succeed and seems to be making the most of it.

#12 Injuries have taken their toll on Edmonton Oilers winger Viktor Arvidsson, making it difficult for him to transition to his new team this season, but he does seem to be finding his spot now. In his past dozen games, Arvidsson has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 31 shots on goal. He is only averaging 14:24 of ice time in that span, but he is getting reps with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin at even strength, so there is good opportunity for Arvidsson to score like he has in the past as a five-time 20-goal scorer.

#13 There have been so many positive stories out of Columbus when it comes to player production. Even veteran winger James van Riemsdyk is providing secondary scoring. Across his past seven games, van Riemsdyk has contributed eight points (4 G, 4 A) and the 35-year-old with soft hands and a big frame is fitting nicely alongside Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson. At the other end of the experience spectrum for the Blue Jackets, they have called up Luca Del Bel Belluz, a second-round pick from 2022 and he has chipped in three points (1 G, 2 A) in his four NHL games this season after scoring in his NHL debut last season. Del Bel Belluz had 37 points (17 G, 20 A) in 34 AHL games to earn his promotion and it looks like he has no intention of going back.

#14 As the Ottawa Senators try to remain in the playoff hunt while starting goaltender Linus Ullmark is injured, the bulk of the goaltending responsibility has fallen to 22-year-old netminder Leevi Merilainen. He was a third-round pick in 2020 and played for the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHL in 2021-2022 before returning to Finland. He split last season between the AHL and ECHL and had a .901 save percentage in 13 games for Belleville of the AHL. That might not seem like a player ready to solve the goaltending problems of an NHL club, but Merilainen has been stellar since getting called up, going 5-2-1 with a .930 save percentage in eight games for Ottawa.

#15 Since the holiday break, Detroit Red Wings centre Dylan Larkin is the leader in individual expected goals in all-situations, with 8.00. What makes that even more impressive is how much better it is than the rest of the league. The rest of the top ten is: Zach Hyman (6.15), Mikko Rantanen (6.01), Dmitri Voronkov (5.51), Brandon Hagel (5.44), Nico Hischier (5.28), Tom Wilson (5.16), Alex Ovechkin (5.14), Leon Draisaitl (5.11), and Tomas Hertl (4.93).

#16 New York Islanders captain Anders Lee has moved back up the depth chart and is producing at a high level once again. Last season, he had 37 points (20 G, 17 A) in 81 games for the Isles, but he has 36 points (20 G, 16 A) through 44 games this season. The 34-year-old left winger is still difficult to contain in front of the net and in his past 11 games, Lee has 11 points (7 G, 4 A) and 31 shots on goal. He is playing with Brock Nelson and Mathew Barzal, which is a good combination for Lee, who is not going to carry the puck a lot, but he’s good at getting body position in the offensive zone.

#17 Not everything is working for the Islanders, however. Veteran right winger Kyle Palmieri has two assists and just eight shots on goal in his past eight games, which is not nearly enough for a player who is averaging 17:28 of ice time per game. Palmieri is currently on a line with Bo Horvat and Maxim Tsyplakov, but they need to get more from a player who tied his career high with 30 goals last season and surely can be expected to generate more than a single shot per game.

#18 Veteran St. Louis Blues centre Brayden Schenn did not have a great start to this season, but he has been picking up the pace under new head coach Jim Montgomery. Schenn managed just nine points (3 G, 6 A) in 22 games before the Blues fired head coach Drew Bannister, but has produced 18 points (7 G, 11 A) in 24 games under Montgomery. Centering a line with Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou, Schenn is productive once again and could challenge for the ninth 20-goal season of his career.

#19 Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk tends to have an impact on the game whether he is scoring or not, thanks to his physical style of play. That doesn’t mean that the Sens are cool with him not providing offensive contributions and he has failed to register a point in five straight games. Tkachuk has 15 shots on goal and 15 hits in those five games, so it’s not like he is invisible out there, but this is the first stretch of the season that he has gone longer than two games without a point. That probably means that he will find the scoresheet again soon.

#20 Although he continues to be a dominant possession player, with a Corsi better than 55 percent, Vegas Golden Knights centre William Karlsson has hit an offensive slump. In his past nine games, Karlsson has no goals, one assist, and 15 shots on goal. For a player averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time per game over that time. At even strength, Karlsson is skating between Brett Howden and Alexander Holtz, which could play a part in his lack of recent production.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – DETROIT RED WINGS – Top 15 Prospect Profiles – Organizational Rank #3

Introduction - Dave Hall, Profiles - Josh Bell — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 18:00:11 +0000

_{CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 03: Detroit Red Wings center Nate Danielson (29) controls the puck during warm-ups before a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks on October 3, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)}

Prospect System Ranking – 3rd (Previous Rank - 1st)
GM: Steve Yzerman Hired: April 2019
COACH: Derek Lalonde Hired: June 2022

The Detroit Red Wings find themselves at a critical juncture in their rebuild under GM Steve Yzerman. Over the past five years, the team has been meticulously collecting top-end talent, with hopes of positioning themselves to become a future playoff contender. Since Yzerman's hiring in 2019, the Red Wings have amassed 21 picks in the first two rounds of the draft, including four top 10 selections. Out of those first round picks, Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider have already cemented themselves as vital pieces of the team’s current core. Both Simon Edvinsson (ranked 18th) and Marco Kasper (44th) sit on the cusp of making an impact, while Sebastian Cossa (60th), Axel Sandin-Pellikka (41st), Nate Danielson (43rd), and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (70th) continue to develop and perform strongly in their respective leagues.

The Red Wings’ affiliates are stacked with young talent, eagerly awaiting their NHL opportunities. Prospects such as William Wallinder (148th), Amadeus Lombardi (274th), Cross Hanas, Shai Buium (176th), Carter Mazur (120th), Elmer Söderblom and Albert Johansson are all part of the team's impressive pool of U23 players that will likely compete for NHL roster spots over the next couple of seasons.

One of the most promising areas of Detroit’s system is goaltending. Sebastian Cossa recently completed his first season in the AHL, posting a solid 22-9-9 record. Meanwhile, Trey Augustine (113th) has emerged as one of the top collegiate goaltenders, winning both a Big Ten Championship with Michigan State University and a Gold Medal with Team USA at the World Juniors. Cossa will likely need at least another year of development, while Augustine is on a similar path to reach the NHL in the next two-to-three years.

The Red Wings’ prospect pool strikes a perfect balance between quality and quantity, with numerous players nearly guaranteed to see NHL action and several others with the potential to develop into future contributors. It may not be long before Detroit makes a serious push for postseason contention, bringing their rebuild to fruition.

Detroit Red Wings Top-15 Prospects

1. Simon Edvinsson

While he had a brief stint with the Red Wings (2 points in 16 games), Simon Edvinsson spent most of 2023-24 honing his skills in the AHL with Grand Rapids. The disappointment of not sticking with the big club initially was evident, but Edvinsson responded like a pro. He dominated the AHL, leading Griffins defencemen in goals (8) and points (30). His offensive potential, a hallmark of his scouting report, shone brightly. However, the biggest takeaway might be his improved defensive awareness. While questions lingered about his consistency on that end, Edvinsson showed a stronger commitment to his own zone. His 2023-24 season was a masterclass in development. Edvinsson didn't force the issue in the NHL and thrived in the AHL. The Red Wings have a potential top-pairing defenceman in the making, and his recent campaign suggests he's closer than ever.

2. Axel Sandin Pellikka

Red Wings first-rounder Axel Sandin-Pellikka spent another year developing in Sweden's SHL with Skellefteå AIK. The 6-foot-11, 176 pound defenceman didn't light up the scoresheet (18 points in 39 games), but he did take a big step forward from his previous season total (five points). Red Wings brass preached patience, prioritizing defensive responsibility and overall awareness. While reports suggest Sandin-Pellikka improved defensively, offensive production remains a work in progress. His skating and puck-handling skills are undeniable, but translating those into consistent offensive contributions is the next hurdle. Another year in the SHL seems likely, allowing him to refine his game against familiar competition. However, a strong showing at the upcoming World Juniors could alter those plans. Regardless, Sandin-Pellikka remains a work in progress with a high ceiling – the key will be the Red Wings unlocking his offensive potential.

3. Nate Danielson

Drafted ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, Nate Danielson's season started strong. He tore up the WHL (Western Hockey League) with the Brandon Wheat Kings, amassing a point-per-game pace through 26 games. His two-way play, size (6-foot-2), and scoring touch impressed. A mid-season trade to the Portland Winterhawks added a new wrinkle. While the production dipped (eight points in his first 12 games), he adjusted well, showcasing his adaptability and willingness to learn. He is a fantastic skater with long, crisp strides who can cover a ton of ice in a hurry without requiring a lot of energy. Questions remain about his offensive consistency translating to the pro game. However, his strong showing, particularly early on, solidified his status as a top prospect in the Red Wings' system. Detroit will be watching closely to see if Danielson can replicate his early-season dominance in training camp next year.

4. Marco Kasper

After a single NHL game with the Red Wings in 2022-23, Marco Kasper spent his entire 2023-24 season with their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The 19-year-old Austrian center wasn't a point-per-game machine (35 points in 71 games), but his underlying numbers suggest strong offensive potential. His blend of size, strength, and surprising skating ability makes him a force along the walls and a threat in transition. He already plays like a pro, highlighted by his calm demeanour and patience under pressure. He has a strong two-way presence already, playing hard in both ends of the ice even when the puck isn’t on his stick. He showed flashes of NHL-caliber playmaking, but consistency remains a question mark. While some nights he dominated possession, others saw him disappear. The Red Wings have a high ceiling in mind here. Another year in the AHL could iron out his inconsistencies, but a late-season NHL call-up wouldn't be a surprise. Kasper's development will be a storyline to watch for Detroit fans.

5. Sebastian Cossa

Sebastian Cossa, the Red Wings' prized goalie prospect (15th overall in 2021), took a step forward in his development this past season. After splitting time between the ECHL and AHL in his first year as a pro, he spent the entirety of 2023-24 with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Early struggles marked the first half, with his numbers hovering around average. However, whispers of a more focused and consistent Cossa emerged after the All-Star break. His 0.913 save percentage over the entire season suggests a goalie finding his groove. While not a lights-out performance, the improvement is a positive sign for the Red Wings. His size (6-foot-6) and athleticism remain his calling cards. The question remains: can he translate that raw talent into consistent NHL-caliber goaltending? Another year in the AHL seems likely, but a late season call up to test the waters wouldn't be a surprise. Like Kasper, Cossa's development is a storyline to watch.

6. Michael Brandsegg-Nygard

Michael Brandsegg-Nygård stoods out as a top prospect from Norway heading into the draft, despite not being in the top 10. After a challenging start to his season with Mora IK and a modest showing at the U20 WJC, he excelled in 2024, setting a record for points by a Norwegian in the HockeyAllsvenskan playoffs and finishing strong at the World Championship. MBN is defined by hard work and physicality. His relentless energy, strong off-puck positioning, and speed make him effective in quick counterattacks and creating scoring chances. He’s a powerful player who initiates contact effectively and drives hard to the net. While his offensive upside is a question mark, his quick shot and effective wrister are strong assets. His puck handling and creativity in tight spaces need improvement, but he’s likely to be a valuable, modern power forward in the NHL, providing energy and physicality with refined two-way instincts. Coaches and fans will appreciate his diligent and impactful play.

7. Trey Augustine

Fresh off a gold medal at the World Juniors, Trey Augustine's freshman year at Michigan State was a star turn. Drafted 41st overall by Detroit in 2023, he quickly established himself as the Spartans' go-to netminder. He racked up impressive stats: a 0.915 save percentage and 23 wins, and his athleticism and calmness under pressure were on full display. Augustine plays a very technically sound game. He challenges well, taking away as much of the net from shooters as he can. He’s extremely strong positionally, moving quickly and accurately to where he needs to be. However, questions remain about his size (listed at 6-foot-1). While he compensates with positioning and reflexes, some wonder if it will translate to the NHL level. Regardless, Augustine silenced doubters in 2023-24. He's firmly on the NHL path and his development will be closely watched.

8. Carter Mazur

After a brief stint with the Red Wings at the tail end of the 2022-23 season, Carter Mazur spent the entirety of 2023-24 honing his skills with the AHL's Grand Rapids Griffins. His season wasn't without its bumps – a mid-season injury slowed him down. However, he finished strong, with 37 points in 60 games. While not a gaudy total, it represents a step forward for the 22-year-old. A blend of physicality and offensive creativity remains his calling card. He's not afraid to mix it up in the corners, a trait that endears him to coaches, but his ability to create scoring chances for himself and his linemates is what truly excites. The knock on him is consistency. There are stretches where his high motor translates into impactful plays but lapses still occur. Refining his decision-making will be crucial as he pushes for an NHL call-up. Still, the progress in the AHL suggests he's on the right track. A strong showing this year could put him on the cusp of a permanent promotion.

9. Dmitri Buchelnikov

Dmitri Buchelnikov is proof that the Red Wings will always bet on skill and upside. The Russian winger may stand at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but the offensive game he possesses makes him seem that he stands at least three feet taller. He made the jump to the KHL last season and didn’t look out of place. He uses his impressive edges and quick hands to gain position and then boasts a surprising toolbox of shots. He’s fearless in his game. The big questions are around his size and how he’ll translate to the NHL, but so far against men, he’s put those concerns to bed. He’s signed with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg through 2024-25, so he’ll also have at least one more year to develop in Russia before he makes the jump to North America. Red Wings fans will be anxiously awaiting his North American debut.

10. William Wallinder

The Red Wings' second-round pick from 2020, took a big step towards the NHL in 2023-24. He spent the bulk of the season with the Grand Rapids Griffins. While his offensive production wasn't overwhelming (15 points in 65 games), Wallinder impressed with his defensive awareness and smooth skating. His ability to shut down opposing rushes and transition the puck efficiently was a highlight. However, the Red Wings will need him to show more offensive creativity going forward. While he possesses a heavy shot, consistency in utilizing it is a work in progress. Overall, Wallinder's first season in North America was a success. He solidified his defensive game and adjusted to the smaller ice surface. The next step will be translating his flashes of offensive brilliance into a more consistent scoring threat. If he can do that, he could be a key piece of the Red Wings' future blue line.

11. Shai Buium

Shai Buium’s 2023-24 season was both a triumph and a breakthrough. After aiding the Denver Pioneers to their second NCAA title in three years, he signed with the Red Wings and impressed in the AHL with a career-high seven goals and 29 assists in 43 games. His strong skating and improved decision-making highlight his offensive growth. While starting the 2024-25 season in Grand Rapids is likely, his development into a well-rounded defenceman bodes well for the Red Wings’ future.

12. Amadeus Lombardi

Amadeus Lombardi is a dynamic forward with impressive offensive skills and creativity. His quick skating and sharp playmaking ability allow him to create scoring opportunities effectively. Lombardi’s vision and agility make him a constant threat in the offensive zone. While he could work on his defensive game, his offensive upside and potential as a top-line contributor are evident.

13. Albert Johansson

Albert Johansson is a smooth-skating defenceman with excellent puck-moving skills and a sharp hockey sense. His ability to transition play quickly and make precise passes stands out. While he needs to enhance his physical play and defensive zone coverage, Johansson’s offensive instincts and skating ability position him as a promising NHL prospect with significant upside.

14. Elmer Soderblom

Elmer Söderblom is a towering forward with impressive size and strength, using his physicality to dominate in the offensive zone. His powerful shot and ability to shield the puck make him a consistent scoring threat. While his skating needs refinement, Söderblom’s offensive instincts and presence in front of the net suggest significant NHL potential as a top six power forward.

15. Jesse Kiiskinen

Jesse Kiiskinen is a skilled forward with strong offensive instincts and creativity. His vision and puck-handling ability enable him to generate scoring opportunities and make plays in tight spaces. While his defensive game and consistency need refinement, Kiiskinen’s offensive potential and playmaking skills make him a promising prospect with the potential for NHL impact.

MCKEEN’S 2024 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – #1 Detroit Red Wings – Organization Overview – Top 15 Prospects

Josh Bell — Mon, 10 Jun 2024 14:55:49 +0000

CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 03: Detroit Red Wings center Nate Danielson (29) controls the puck during warm-ups before a game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks on October 3, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

The Yzerplan now enters its sixth year, but this time doesn’t have a high pick to show for it. Instead, they made a push for the playoffs - just falling short. Steve Yzerman took over in April 2019 and has overseen five drafts to date. He has had five top-ten picks in that time, delivering Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider who are fixtures (and stars) in the line-up and Simon Edvinsson, who looks close to being a full-time NHLer. He also added Marco Kasper in 2022 at eighth overall and Nate Danielson in 2023 at ninth overall. Both have signed their entry-level contract and have the intelligence and two-way game that should translate to a spot in the line-up before too long. They are joined by the fifth-ranked goaltending prospect Sebastien Cossa, a massive goaltender who shows tremendous potential. The system is not only strong at the top, but it is deep with 11 prospects in McKeen’s top 200.
This is a team that is about to turn the corner to become a competitive, playoff threat. The core of Dylan Larkin, Raymond, Seider, and Alex DeBrincat look poised to help turn this around. They will be helped by some of the young up-and-comers such as Edvinsson, Kasper, Danielson, and Cossa, as well as 2023 first-rounder Axel Sandin Pellikka, Carter Mazur, William Wallinder, Shai Buium, and Dmitri Buchelnikov. While Yzerman has spent the majority of his time in Detroit stockpiling draft picks and prospects, it looks like it’s now time for him to look to move some of these pieces to add and move up the standings. What might be the biggest story of the summer though will be re-signing Raymond and Seider - both RFAs. It looks like it might be an expensive summer for Yzerman and the Wings.

RNK	PLAYER	POS	AGE	HT/WT	TM	Acquired	GP	G(W)	A(L)	PTS(GAA)	PIM(SPCT)
1	Simon Edvinsson	D	21	6-6/215	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`21(6th)	54	8	22	30	51
					Detroit (NHL)	`21(6th)	16	1	1	2	4
2	Nate Danielson	C	19	6-2/185	Bdn-Por (WHL)	`23(9th)	54	24	43	67	42
3	Marco Kasper	C	20	6-1/185	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`22(8th)	71	14	21	35	30
4	Axel Sandin Pellikka	D	19	5-11/180	Skelleftea (SHL)	`23(17th)	39	10	8	18	17
5	Sebastian Cossa	G	21	6-6/229	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`21(15th)	40	22	9	2.41	0.913
6	Trey Augustine	G	19	6-1/185	Michigan State (B1G)	`23(41st)	35	23	9	2.96	0.915
7	Carter Mazur	LW	22	6-0/170	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`21(70th)	60	17	20	37	48
8	William Wallinder	D	21	6-4/190	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`20(32nd)	65	3	12	15	10
9	Shai Buium	D	21	6-3/210	Denver (NCHC)	`21(36th)	43	7	29	36	14
10	Jonatan Berggren	LW	23	5-11/195	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`18(33rd)	53	24	32	56	58
					Detroit (NHL)	`18(33rd)	12	2	4	6	2
11	Dmitri Buchelnikov	LW	20	5-10/165	Admiral Vladivostok (KHL)	`22(52nd)	55	13	16	29	8
12	Andrew Gibson	D	19	6-3/195	Soo Greyhounds (OHL)	`23(42nd)	68	12	32	44	58
13	Amadeus Lombardi	C	20	5-10/165	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`22(113th)	70	5	21	26	14
14	Elmer Soderblom	RW	22	6-8/245	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`19(159th)	61	13	16	29	8
15	Albert Johansson	D	23	6-0/170	Grand Rapids (AHL)	`19(60th)	66	6	15	21	46

1. Simon Edvinsson, D, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)

While he had a brief stint with the Red Wings (2 points in 16 games), Simon Edvinsson spent most of 2023-24 honing his skills in the AHL with Grand Rapids. The disappointment of not sticking with the big club initially was evident, but Edvinsson responded like a pro. He dominated the AHL, leading Griffins defensemen in goals (8) and points (30). His offensive potential, a hallmark of his scouting report, shone brightly. However, the biggest takeaway might be his improved defensive awareness. While questions lingered about his consistency on that end, Edvinsson showed a stronger commitment to his own zone. This season was a masterclass in development. Edvinsson didn't force the issue in the NHL and thrived in the AHL. The Red Wings have a potential top-pairing defenseman in the making, and his 2023-24 campaign suggests he's closer than ever.

2. Nate Danielson, C, Portland Winterhawks (AHL)

Drafted ninth overall by Detroit in 2023, Nate Danielson's season started strong. He tore up the WHL (Western Hockey League) with the Brandon Wheat Kings, amassing a point-per-game pace through 26 games. His two-way play, size (6’ 2”), and scoring touch impressed. A mid-season trade to the Portland Winterhawks added a new wrinkle. While the production dipped (8 points in his first 12 games), he adjusted well, showcasing his adaptability and willingness to learn. He is a fantastic skater with long, crisp strides who can cover a ton of ice in a hurry without requiring a lot of energy. Questions remain about his offensive consistency translating to the pro game. However, his strong showing, particularly early on, solidified his status as a top prospect in the Red Wings' system. Detroit will be watching closely to see if Danielson can replicate his early-season dominance in training camp next year.

3. Marco Kasper, C, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)

After a single NHL game with the Red Wings in 2022-23, Marco Kasper spent his entire 2023-24 season with their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. The 19-year-old Austrian center wasn't a point-per-game machine (35 points in 71 games), but his underlying numbers suggest strong offensive potential. His blend of size, strength, and surprising skating ability makes him a force along the walls and a threat in transition. He already plays like a pro, highlighted by his calm demeanor and patience under pressure. He has a strong two-way presence already, playing hard in both ends of the ice even when the puck isn’t on his stick. He showed flashes of NHL-caliber playmaking, but consistency remains a question mark. While some nights he dominated possession, others saw him disappear. The Red Wings have a high ceiling in mind here. Another year in the AHL could iron out his inconsistencies, but a late-season NHL call-up wouldn't be a surprise. Kasper's development will be a storyline to watch for Detroit fans.

4. Axel Sandin Pellikka, D, Skelleftea AIK (SHL)

Red Wings first-rounder Axel Sandin-Pellikka spent another year developing in Sweden's SHL with Skellefteå AIK. The 6’ 11”, 176-pound defenseman didn't light up the scoresheet (18 points in 39 games), but he did take a big step forward from his previous season total (five points). Red Wings brass preached patience, prioritizing defensive responsibility and overall awareness. While reports suggest Sandin-Pellikka improved defensively, offensive production remains a work in progress. His skating and puck-handling skills are undeniable, but translating those into consistent offensive contributions is the next hurdle. Another year in the SHL seems likely, allowing him to refine his game against familiar competition. However, a strong showing at the upcoming World Juniors could alter those plans. Regardless, Sandin-Pellikka remains a work in progress with a high ceiling – the key will be unlocking his offensive potential.

5. Sebastian Cossa, G, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)

Sebastian Cossa, the Red Wings' prized goalie prospect (15th overall in 2021), took a step forward in his development this season. After splitting time between the ECHL and AHL in his first-year pro, he spent the entirety of 2023-24 with the Grand Rapids Griffins. Early struggles marked the first half, with his numbers hovering around average. However, whispers of a more focused and consistent Cossa emerged after the All-Star break. His .913 save percentage over the entire season suggests a goalie finding his groove. While not a lights-out performance, the improvement is a positive sign for the Red Wings. His size (6’, 6”) and athleticism remain his calling cards. The question remains: can he translate that raw talent into consistent NHL-caliber goaltending? Another year in the AHL seems likely, but a late-season call-up to test the waters wouldn't be a surprise. Like Kasper, Cossa's development is a storyline to watch.

6. Trey Augustine, G, Michigan State University (NCAA)

Fresh off a gold medal at the World Juniors, Trey Augustine's freshman year at Michigan State was a star turn. Drafted 41st overall by Detroit in 2023, he quickly established himself as the Spartans' go-to netminder. He racked up impressive stats: a .915 save percentage and 23 wins, and. His athleticism and calmness under pressure were on full display. Augustine plays a very technically-sound game. He challenges well, taking away as much of the net from shooters as he can. He’s extremely strong positionally, moving quickly and accurately to where he needs to be. However, questions remain about his size (listed at 6’ 1”). While he compensates with positioning and reflexes, some wonder if it will translate to the NHL level. Regardless, Augustine silenced doubters in 2023-24. He's firmly on the NHL path and his development will be closely watched.

7. Carter Mazur, LW, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)

8. William Wallinder, D, Grand Rapids Griffins (AHL)

9. Shai Buium, D, University of Denver (NCAA)

Shai Buium's 2023-24 season was a victory lap and a coming-out party rolled into one. After helping the Denver Pioneers capture their second NCAA title in three years, he signed with the Detroit Red Wings and joined their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins, on an amateur tryout. While his college career saw him primarily deployed in a defensive role, he surprised with his offensive output in the AHL. He notched a career-high seven goals and 29 assists in just 43 games, showcasing a newfound offensive dimension. His strong skating and improved decision-making made him a force on both ends of the ice. Buium's impressive AHL stint solidified his status as a legitimate NHL prospect. While he'll likely start the 2024-25 season in Grand Rapids, a call-up isn't out of the question. His development into a well-rounded, two-way defenseman is a major positive sign for the Red Wings' future.

10. Dmitri Buchelnikov, LW, Admiral Vladivostok (KHL)

Dmitri Buchelnikov is proof that the Red Wings will always bet on skill and upside. The Russian winger may stand at 5’ 10”, 170 lbs, but the offensive game he possesses makes him stand at least three feet taller. He made the jump to the KHL this season and didn’t look out of place. He uses his impressive edges and quick hands to gain position and then boasts a surprising toolbox of shots. He’s fearless in his game. The big questions are around his size and how he’ll translate to the NHL, but so far against men, he’s put those concerns to bed. He’s signed with SKA-1946 St. Petersburg through 2024-25, so he’ll also have at least one more year to develop in Russia before he makes the jump to North America.

PROSPECT CRITERIA: Players under 26 years of age as of 9/15/2024 who have appeared in less than 60 games (30 for goalies) and less than 25 in one season (25 for goalies).

2024 NHL Prospect Pool Rankings: Detroit Red Wings Take No. 1 Spot – The Yzerplan takes root

Josh Bell — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 11:36:04 +0000

When Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman was hired as the general manager for his former team back in 2019, Red Wings’ fans placed their faith in the ‘Yzerplan’. Five years later, the new general manager has the Original Six team on the upswing, and the prospect cupboard is extremely full of future talent. It does seem safe to say that the Yzerplan is coming together.

Yzerman was brought in after the club saw their remarkable 25-year playoff run come to an end, followed by three consecutive seasons of failing to make the playoffs under the previous regime. While Yzerman and company have yet to crack the playoffs themselves, although came close this season, it’s hard not to have hope for this young group.

Before diving into the prospects that carried Detroit to the No. 1 spot on McKeen’s Hockey farm system rankings, let’s consider the two young pieces that have been drafted by Yzerman and have already made the jump and thus don’t even factor into this ranking. In 2019, with his first selection at the helm, Yzerman drafted German defender Moritz Seider - now a Calder Trophy winner and the team’s No. 1 defender. He followed that up in 2020 with Swedish forward Lucas Raymond - already a top-line winger.

From Yzerman’s first five drafts, those are the only two graduates at this point. Patience is a key aspect of the Yzerplan, and that patience looks like it’s about to pay off as a number of these pieces on the outside look poised to make the jump in the very near future.

This farm system is about to take a big hit though as top prospect Simon Edvinsson already looks to have solidified his spot with the big club, suiting up for 16 games this season including playing a big role for the Red Wings down the stretch as they pushed for a playoff spot. The Swedish defender has seen steady growth since Detroit called his name sixth overall in 2021, moving to the SHL and then the AHL. The No. 11-ranked prospect on McKeen’s Hockey’s prospect ranking, Edvinsson’s confidence with the puck on his stick stands out, thanks to his remarkable puck handling ability.

A knock on Edvinsson in the past has been his defensive game and his decision-making, but both have taken significant strides. He can be relied upon in his own end and can be put out in any situation that the coach needs him. He’s figured out how to use his 6-foot-6, 216-pound frame to his advantage, both with his body to rub people off the puck or to create separation, or utilizing his reach to disrupt opposition plays. He’s very much on his way to becoming a top-four, two-way defender for the Wings.

The Red Wings have shown that they have a type in recent years, targeting Swedish defenders. Since 2019, other than Edvinsson, the organization has drafted Albert Johansson (60th overall in 2019 - ranked 15th for the Wings by McKeen’s), Gustav Berglund (177th in 2019 - not ranked), William Wallinder (32nd overall in 2020 - ranked eighth), Anton Johansson (105th in 2022 - not ranked), and Axel Sandin Pellikka (17th in 2023 - ranked fourth).

The highlight of that group is one of the newest additions, Axel Sandin Pellikka. Ranked 33rd overall in McKeen’s prospect ranking, the Swede is an impressive offensive threat, thanks to his ability to read the ice, his strong four-way mobility, and his excellent straight-line speed. He can dictate the pace of play and while he’s on the smaller side based on NHL standards, he’s not afraid to get physical. It’s not hard to imagine him next to Seider or Edvinsson and quarterbacking a power play in Motor City.

The other ‘big’ name to pay attention to is William Wallinder. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound defender just played his first full season in the AHL with the Grand Rapids Griffins, and while it looks like he’ll need at least one more season there to continue his development, there’s a ton of promise to his game. He has the confidence, mobility, playmaking and the processing ability to be an impact player in a bottom-four role. He’s still a bit raw and needs to continue to improve his decision-making, but he’s on his way.

Another to mention is Albert Johansson - yet another Swede who fits the mould. He’s big (6-foot-4, 196 pounds), he’s physical, and he moves well for a d-man of his size. He could be on his way to a bottom-pairing, penalty-killing role with the Wings.

Outside of the Swedes but staying with defenders, Shai Buium is another promising piece that’s working his way up the ranks. After three years and a national title with the University of Denver, Buium has signed with the Red Wings and has already dressed for his first AHL game. The 2021 36th overall pick looks to be a stable, intelligent player who could play up and down the defensive lineup. He moves the puck well, has the skill to make an impact offensively, and defends very well with his gap control and stick work.

The last defenseman worth a call-out is Andrew Gibson. A lesser-known prospect compared to the rest of the names on this list, Gibson was taken 42nd overall in the 2023 NHL Draft from the OHL’s Soo Greyhounds, where he’s spent the past two seasons working his way to becoming one of the most impressive two-way defenders in the league. He uses his 6-foot-3 frame well, plays physically, and could be utilized in a shut-down role if called upon. There’s potential for him to become a No. 6-7 guy.

Detroit Red Wings Goalie Sebastian Cossa (33) (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

While the defence looks extremely promising, the Red Wings future looks even better in the crease. Headlined by one of the best goaltending prospects in the world, Sebastien Cossa, the goaltending crop is extremely enviable. Cossa, drafted 15th overall in 2021, has the makings of a future No. 1. The 6-foot-6 netminder is confident, athletic, and technically sounds. His reflexes are excellent, and the power he commands in the net is clear. He’s looked very comfortable in his AHL rookie season, and the NHL doesn’t seem too far away.

But Cossa’s not the only potential No. 1 in the system. The Red Wings drafted a safety net in 2023, 41st overall, by selecting Trey Augustine from the USNTDP. One of the most patient, poised goalies out there, the young goaltender is a reliable, focused player who tracks well, controls the puck well, and moves quickly. He likely develops into a strong backup, but there’s the possibility he becomes a very strong 1B.

Before moving on to the forward group, keep an eye on Czech netminder Jan Bednar, drafted 107th overall in 2020. He just wrapped up a very strong rookie season in the ECHL and looks poised to continue to rise.

Looking at the Red Wings’ pool, the defence is big and mobile and the goaltenders are confident and athletic. Both are likely the top positional prospect groups of any team in the NHL right now. The forwards in the system may not be ranked at the very top of the league overall right now, but there’s a ton of skill and a variety of player types knocking on the door.

CLEVELAND, OH - FEBRUARY 13: Grand Rapids Griffins center Marco Kasper (92) shoots the puck during the third period of the American Hockey League game between the Grand Rapids Griffins and Cleveland Monsters on February 13, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland, OH. (Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire)

You can really take your pick at the top, with centremen Nate Danielson or Marco Kasper. Danielson, taken ninth overall in 2023 and McKeen’s No. 2 prospect in the Detroit system, brings a highly competitive edge, leadership, and consistency. His game looks like it should translate so easily to the pro level despite lacking a specific high-level trait or dynamic ability. He looks like he should become a very strong 2 or 3C.

While McKeen’s placed Kasper just behind Danielson, it’s definitely not for a lack of skill. The Austrian forward, drafted eighth overall in 2022, looks like he’s on his way to becoming an impact player. He plays a very mature game, is patient with the puck, isn’t afraid to dive into puck battles, and brings strong two-way ability. Any coach should feel confident to throw him on the ice in any situation. Like Danielson, Kasper looks like he’s on his way to a role as a middle-six pivot.

There’s a bit of a drop in skill after these two forwards, but there are a handful of pieces who look like they could fit into bottom-six, role-player types. Just like the defenders, the forwards seem to fit a mould - they are hard-working, competitive, and reliable. Carter Mazur headlines this group, as he continues to outperform his 70th-overall selection in 2021 and could even slide into a middle-six position.

The lone Russian drafted under Yzerman, Dmitri Buchelnikov was selected 52nd overall in 2022 and might just be a sneaky selection soon. He doesn’t fit the typical pick from the Red Wings as he’s undersized at 5-foot-10, 170 pounds, but does he ever have skill. He’s a goal scorer who can put the puck in the net in so many different ways. He’s so good at creating separation and finding the open ice. Don’t be surprised if he comes over in 2025-26 and impresses at the NHL level immediately.

The Red Wings' future is extremely bright. With the team already heading in the right direction, some of these players mentioned, and others including Elmer Soderblom, Noah Dower-Nilsson, Amadeus Lombardi, Dylan James, Red Savage, and Cross Hanas, should continue to build on this momentum as they graduate to the NHL. The Red Wings are very much a team to look out for - and soon.