Michael Bunting – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – The aftermath of the trade deadline, including deals for John Carlson, Brayden Schenn, Conor Garland, Bobby Brink, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 07 Mar 2026 15:44:59 +0000

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, the aftermath of the trade deadline, including deals for John Carlson, Brayden Schenn, Conor Garland, Bobby Brink, and so much more!

#1 After playing more than 1,100 regular-season games for the Washington Capitals, defenceman John Carlson was traded to the Anaheim Ducks. The 36-year-old blueliner remains highly productive, ranking 11th among defencemen with 46 points (10 G, 36 A) in 55 games this season. He’s been a prolific force on the power play throughout his career but has been doing more damage at even strength this season, with just nine assists on the power play and 37 points at even strength, which ranks fifth among NHL defencemen. In Anaheim, Carlson should get power play time ahead of Jacob Trouba but maybe not ahead of Jackson LaCombe.

#2 The New York Islanders made a big commitment to acquire St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn, who has a relatively modest 28 points (12 G, 16A) in 61 games. He may do a little better with an Islanders team that is having more success, but the value for the Islanders could come from Schenn’s ability to play centre which could help to free up Mathew Barzal, who can move to right wing. Meanwhile, in St. Louis, Schenn’s departure could open up ice time down the middle of the ice, so rookie Dalibor Dvorsky might be worth keeping tabs on in deeper leagues.

#3 Ever since the Columbus Blue Jackets hired Rick Bowness as head coach, they have been making a concerted push for the playoffs, going 13-2-1 in 16 games under Bowness. Because of that surge, the Blue Jackets were buyers at the deadline and acquired right winger Conor Garland from the Vancouver Canucks. Garland has been a reliable secondary scorer throughout his career and has been a solid defensive contributor, too, though he had been struggling in the midst of the Canucks’ awful season, managing 26 points (7 G, 19 A) in 50 games. He should be a second-line winger in Columbus and with Garland moving on, the Canucks can give ice time to players in need of the experience, including Nils Hoglander, Liam Ohgren, and Linus Karlsson. Karlsson is probably the most appealing of those three.

#4 Veteran winger Michael Bunting was traded from the Nashville Predators to the Dallas Stars, and it should be a good opportunity for him to fill a middle six role on a strong Stars squad. Bunting has scored at least 19 goals in each of the past four seasons and had 31 points (13 G, 18 A) in 61 games for Nashville this season. With Bunting gone, perhaps look to Joakim Kemell in Nashville. The 2022 first-round pick had 29 points (10 G, 19 A) in 46 AHL games though he has failed to record a point in five career NHL games.

#5 The Minnesota Wild brought Minnesota native Bobby Brink home via a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers. Brink, 24, had 26 points (13 G, 13 A) in 55 games for the Flyers this season and should fit into Minnesota’s middle six with some second unit power play time. If he lands on Minnesota’s second line, with Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek, that would be an outstanding opportunity for Brink to elevate his production.

#6 Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has been in fine form since returning from the Olympics, putting up six points (2 G, 4 A) and 15 shots on goal in five games. With Artturi Lehkonen considered week-to-week with an upper-body injury, Landeskog is even more important for the Avs and is skating on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas.

#7 It took some time for Dallas Stars forward Matt Duchene to get back up to speed after he missed more than six weeks with an upper-body injury, but he has been cooking lately. In his past 10 games, Duchene has accumulated 17 points (8 G, 9 A) with 19 shots on goal. He is skating with Jamie Benn and Sam Steel on the Stars’ second line but is also getting first unit power play time, which gives him a better shot at sustaining this offensive surge. Steel has elevated his play, too, putting up 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and 18 shots on goal in his past nine games. He is up to a career-high 29 points (10 G, 19 A) in 61 games.

#8 Columbus Blue Jackets centre Charlie Coyle has been on a tear ever since the Blue Jackets hired Bowness. In 16 games under the new bench boss, Coyle has delivered 21 points (9 G, 12 A) with 48 shots on goal. He’s been dominating at even strength, scoring 17 of those 21 points at evens. While he is getting first unit power play time, Coyle’s current linemates are Cole Sillinger and enforcer Mathieu Olivier.

#9 It has not been an easy season in Winnipeg, so the Jets need to take the good news where they can get it. Winger Cole Perfetti is starting to heat up as he takes on a bigger role. In his past eight games, Perfetti has seven points (3 G, 4 A) with 29 shots on goal while averaging 18:32 of ice time per game. That shot rate is very encouraging and he’s not only playing first unit power play time, but Perfetti is skating on a line with Adam Lowry and Gabriel Vilardi at even strength.

#10 Carolina Hurricanes left winger Taylor Hall has been a solid secondary scorer for the ‘Canes this season and he has six points (2 G, 4 A) in his past four games, but he is also consistently generating shots. In his past seven games, Hall has 19 shots on goal and seems to have a good thing going on a line with younger players Logan Stankoven and Jackson Blake.

#11 New York Islanders captain Anders Lee plays more of a supporting role for the team than he did in his prime years, but he can still be a force in front of the net. In his past five games, Lee has scored four goals with 16 shots on goal. He is skating on a line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Simon Holmstrom at even strength and he’s a second unit power play guy, with only six of his 35 points this season coming via the man advantage.

#12 The Winnipeg Jets have activated defenceman Josh Morrissey so he should be available for Saturday’s game against Vancouver. It isn’t a moment too soon, either, after the Jets traded Logan Stanley and Luke Schenn to Buffalo, the Jets were looking rather lean on the blueline. Morrissey has 42 points (10 G, 32 A) in 56 games this season, despite being held off the scoresheet in seven straight games prior to the Olympic break.

#13 The San Jose Sharks have been very prudent in their deployment of rookie centre Michael Misa this season, perhaps even conservative, but it’s starting to look like the freshman pivot is ready to play a bigger role down the stretch as the Sharks push for a playoff spot. In four games since the Olympic break, Misa has contributed five points (2 G, 3 A) with seven shots on goal. He is in a good situation with the Sharks now, skating on a line between William Eklund and Tyler Toffoli, so it should come as no surprise if Misa, the second pick in last summer’s draft, continues to ascend late in the season.

#14 It is practically impossible to trust that Buffalo Sabres centre Josh Norris will stay healthy – he has played more than 56 games in a season once in his career – but when he’s in the lineup, he can make a difference. Norris has five points (3 G, 2 A) and 10 shots on goal in five games since the Olympic break and has 22 points (9 G, 13 A) in 24 games this season. On a strong Sabres team, Norris is getting first unit power play time and skating between Noah Ostlund and Josh Doan at even strength.

#15 It is probably too soon to give out a recommendation for St. Louis Blues rookie defenceman Logan Mailloux, but he’s worth keeping an eye on, especially after Justin Faulk was traded to the Detroit Red wings. Mailloux only has five points (3 G, 2 A) in 46 games this season, but he has goals in back-to-back games and has 13 shots on goal. He has gone over 20 minutes of ice time in each of the past three games, the first times that he has crossed that threshold with the Blues. Faulk figures to be a solid addition in Detroit. The veteran blueliner had nine assists and 20 shots on goal in his last 10 games for St. Louis. In Detroit, he should continue to play 20+ minutes per game and have a role on the second power play.

#16 It shouldn’t move the needle that much when a 40-year-old right winger is traded, but Corey Perry had been having a strong season when the Los Angeles Kings traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Perry had zero points and 12 shots on goal in his last eight games for the Kings, but he still has 28 points (11 G, 17 A) in 50 games. If he can continue at that rate, it would be his best points per game since 2017-2018. Perry is likely to have a fourth line role in Tampa Bay, with some second unit power play time sprinkled in for good measure.

#17 This year’s trade deadline was decidedly underwhelming, with few big names moving, there were a bunch of veteran forwards on the move. Nick Foligno joining his brother in Minnesota, David Perron back to Detroit, Warren Foegele to Ottawa, Nicolas Roy to Colorado, Nic Dowd to Vegas, Andrew Mangiapane to Chicago with Colton Dach and Jason Dickinson going to Edmonton. It’s entirely possible that none of those players will have fantasy value for the rest of this season.

#18 It has been a difficult season for defenceman Mackenzie Weegar, who had been one of the league’s most reliable blueliners over the previous five years. The Utah Mammoth acquired Weegar from the Calgary Flames, where he had 21 points (3 g, 18 A) in 60 games, but he had 99 points (28 G, 71 A) in 163 games across the previous two seasons, so he does have more offensive potential than he has shown this year. He’s not a sure thing for power play time in Utah, especially if Mikhail Sergachev and Sean Durzi are healthy, but it will be worth monitoring Weegar in his new home.

#19 One of the more surprising stories of the season is that of Calgary Flames goaltender Devin Cooley. The 28-year-old netminder had played a total of six NHL games prior to this season and it was a couple of years ago when he had a .870 save percentage for the San Jose Sharks, so expectations for Cooley were not high coming into the season. In 22 games, however, Cooley has a sparkling .923 save percentage, and he’s earning more action in the Flames crease. There may not be a lot of wins for Flames goalies over the rest of this season, but Cooley is changing the trajectory of his career and could have some value late in the season, at least when the Flames have more favorable matchups.

#20 As the New York Rangers’ season circles the drain, captain J.T. Miller has landed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury. With Vincent Trocheck also out, the Rangers have Mika Zibanejad followed by journeyman Jonny Brodzinski, rookie Noah Laba, and Juuso Parssinen, who was just called up from the AHL. That’s an uphill fight down the middle of the ice every night so the Blueshirts might be in full tank mode. Just something to keep in mind for a rebuilding team that may not be offering a whole lot of support to its best players down the stretch.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – NASHVILLE PREDATORS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 19:15:20 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - FEBRUARY 22: Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi (59) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Colorado Avalanche, held on February 22, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

After last summer's spend frenzy, the expectation for Nashville was they were going to build upon their first-round playoff exit and go a little deeper into the playoffs. Signing Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei were supposed to make them a tougher team to stop offensively and more difficult to get through defensively. Instead, everything that could’ve gone wrong did and they finished with 68 points, an incredible 31-point departure from the previous year when they had 99 points. At five-on-five, the Predators were middle of the pack when it came to shot attempts and scoring chance quality, but they had the fewest goals in the league at five-on-five with 130 and had second fewest overall with 212. Defensively, they allowed 190 goals at five-on-five (fifth most) and 274 in all situations (sixth most). For Juuse Saros, it was his worst season in the NHL with a .896 save percentage, the first in his career under .900 and his previous career-low was .906 the year before. The Predators also had the worst shooting luck in the league with an 8.82 shooting percentage (they shot 10.07 the previous year). Not being able to score and being unable to prevent others from scoring is how bad seasons come out of nowhere. Now GM Barry Trotz is trying to figure out where to go from here.

What’s Changed?

After splashing the cash last summer, the Predators laid low this time around. They acquired Erik Haula from New Jersey and went big for defensive help acquiring Nicolas Hague from Vegas for Jeremy Lauzon and Colton Sissons. They extended Hague, who was an RFA, with a four-year, $22 million. They further added to their defence by signing Nick Perbix to a two-year, $5.5 million contract. The subtractions they made at the deadline last season help make this a somewhat different team than a year ago, but at the top of the lineup this group is very similar with Filip Fosberg and Roman Josi leading the way with Ryan O’Reilly, Michael Bunting, and Luke Evangelista in support.

What Would Success Look Like?

If the Predators can get a return to form from goalie Juuse Saros that would go a long way to fixing things up. It’s hard to believe they’ll have the same kind of terrible shooting luck two years in a row which means goals will return naturally, but if Saros struggles again and it falls on Justus Annunen to bail them out, it’s asking a lot. For years, Saros was a Vezina Trophy candidate and with this being an Olympic year, he’s going to want to be in top form to play for Finland. If he fails to meet that standard, we’re talking about the Predators being more of a contender for Gavin McKenna than the postseason. Nashville is thin at forward and needs a lot of role players to get hot to better support Forsberg and company.

What Could Go Wrong?

Another difficult year from Saros will have the Predators looking long and hard at his eight-year, $61.92 million extension that kicks in this season at 30 years old. If Nashville struggles to score again and their veterans can’t get things going, we’re very easily going to be looking at a team that can repeat what they did last season points-wise. If that happens, talk about trading guys like O’Reilly and Marchessault will pick back up again. Even though finishing at the bottom of the standings could lead to drafting McKenna, there’s always the chance the ping pong balls won’t bounce your way either and a long season in Nashville would be tough to see after all the growth the franchise made over the years.

Top Breakout Candidate

Although Nashville could have a few young candidates to make big impressions this season, the one to keep an eye on is Fedor Svechkov. He was Nashville’s first-round pick in 2021, 19th overall, and after spending 2023-2024 in the AHL and part of last season there, he hopped into the Predators lineup and stayed. In 52 games he had eight goals and nine assists and averaged 12:53 time on-ice. After that experience last season, he could be looking at a larger role on the second line this season. If that puts him on a line with more offensively capable players, his numbers will jump.

FORWARDS

Filip Forsberg

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	38	48	86	1.05

For years, Forsberg was one of those players where you waited for the production to line up with his raw talent because when you watch him, he can do everything. He’s big, shoots the puck like a missile, controls it like a yo-yo when he’s skating through traffic and can create his chances without needing to bulldoze his way to the net or wait for a pass. It’s common for him to be the best player on the ice for both teams. His last season was a departure from the usual peaks and valleys in his career, following up a career season with one riddled by injuries and sub-par production. Wading his way through a dismal year in Nashville, Forsberg kept a high level of play. He took over most of the puck handling duties on his line and most of the offence either went through him or Roman Josi. The result was 31-goal season with Forsberg just missing the point-per-game clip, but far off from the usual valleys he’s had to deal with in his career. The best news for Nashville is that it was his second year in a row playing a full season, which has been very rare for him. The one concern with Forsberg is slow starts. Goal scorers are streaky by nature, but it’s always to an extreme degree with Forsberg, who had only nine goals at the start of January before rattling off 22 in his next 44 games to finish the year strong. There is a higher standard for Forsberg these days and it is good news for Nashville that they’re getting a healthier and more productive version as he enters his 30’s.

Steven Stamkos

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	30	28	58	0.73

In some ways, Stamkos’ first year in Nashville went as most expected. He’s a 35-year-old who had a few seasons riddled by injuries and spotty production before a brilliant three-year run to close his career in Tampa Bay. He isn’t surrounded by the lethal playmaking talent he had with the Lightning now so there was going to be an adjustment period. This is especially true for a player like Stamkos who relies so much on scoring through the one-timer, which requires chemistry, precision and timing from his linemates. This proved to be true in his first year with Nashville. While still finishing at a high rate, Stamkos struggled to create the same quality of chances he did regularly in Tampa, having to find ways to create his own shot and adapt to a revolving door of linemates. He had his moments, especially on the power play, but he faded into the background in most of Nashville’s games, chasing the play, deferring to linemates who couldn’t get the puck back to him and he had one of his worst seasons from a point production standpoint. He adapted in some ways, becoming a nice complementary piece on Nashville’s second line, but he became a piece that fit in with the group rather than one who raised the bar. There’s some hope that his second year can go better, as Nashville isn’t a wasteland for playmaking talent but right now, Stamkos looks like just another piece in a forward corps populated with slow, second line players.

Jonathan Marchessault

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	24	34	58	0.75

Marchessault’s first season outside of the Vegas security blanket was seen as a disappointment. It might be somewhat unfair because his production last year was more in line with his career totals as a solid middle six player rather than the 42-goal scorer he entered free agency as. How Marchessault got to that point total clouds some of that perspective. Outside of December where he exploded for 10 goals in 13 games, Marchessault struggled to score most of the season and some of the warning signs in Vegas came home to roost. He has become less of a volume shooter and one who relies more on finishing now and he is a different type of complementary player now than he used to be. He no longer has the wheels to get to every puck and zoom past defenders like he used to and has to rely more on his finesse rather than trying to get everything at the net. The silver lining for the Preds is he showed some versatility in the middle of the season and became a weapon on their power play, but as a setup guy. They used him in a variety of shooting positions and Marchessault still showed the good hands and offensive instincts that made him such a lethal player in Vegas for years. While he still got on the scoresheet, the disappointment with Marchessault was that he didn’t exactly provide much of an impact for the Preds, adding another solid middle six player to a roster that needed more.

Ryan O’Reilly

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	20	34	54	0.68

To the naked eye, you might notice the things Ryan O’Reilly can’t do anymore. You might see the slow skating stride and the lack of puck touches and think that he’s on the decline, but there is always more under the surface with him. He makes up for not being able to carry the mail out of the defensive zone by always being in the right place, or simply winning pucks down low, to make life easier for his defencemen. As a former Selke winner, O’Reilly has mastered the art of being an effective player with minimal puck touches and he still has the tank to play the top-line minutes. O’Reilly should continue to be an important piece in the Preds retool, as his ability to be a rink general in all three zones will help some of their young forwards get acclimated to the NHL game. He got a preview of this towards the end of last season, centering youngster Luke Evangelista instead of Filip Forsberg. Making the most out of your limited puck touches is what the game is about when you get slower and O’Reilly has the tools to still do that. He’s deceptively good at scoring from close range, using that low center of gravity to get more of a “swooping” one-timer that fools goalies (enroute to another 20+ goal season) and he is still one of the best in the league on his backhand, getting the puck from the wall to the middle regularly. The issue then becomes finding a replacement as O’Reilly’s production is more of a 2C and Nashville is going to continue to play him heavy minutes until they find someone else who can take the burden off their workhorse.

Michael Bunting

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	18	18	36	0.48

Unable to stick with Carolina and Pittsburgh, the former Calder Trophy finalist could be on the trade market again this year. He is a complementary piece that brings a lot of what playoff teams are looking for, being willing to get to the front of the net and act as the third wheel on a line with elite talent. He made a living doing this alongside Toronto’s Core Four and had brief success as Evgeni Malkin’s wingman after the 2024 trade deadline. His first full season in Pittsburgh didn’t go as well. He was on pace for 41 points before being dealt to Nashville where he seemingly had as many linemates as he did games played (18). Bunting didn’t get to establish much chemistry with the Preds core, but he produced well relative to his ice-time at 2.98 points per 60 minutes. Bunting is at his best when he’s being a nuisance. He spins off defenders well to get inside positioning and has the keen sense to find teammates for tap-in chances in front of the net. Away from elite linemates, Bunting is skilled enough with the puck to make the one-touch passing plays to help in transition even if he’s not leading the charge. His production just might take a hit because he gets most of his points from close range when he can set up shop in front of the net. He is an interesting piece in what looks like a do-over year for Nashville.

Luke Evangelista

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	18	33	51	0.64

Entering the year as somewhat of a breakout pick, Evangelista’s season can be viewed as a disappointment. Some of it was out of his control, as he was stuck on the third line to start the year with Marchessault and Stamkos entering the fold. Still, a sheltered third line role alongside a fellow young skilled player in Tommy Novak wasn’t the worst setup for him. Like the rest of Nashville, he stumbled out of the gate. If he puts this tough year behind him, Evangelista has a lot to offer. He was one of the few Preds forwards effective in the transition game, leading the team in five-on-five shots off the rush and he second on the team in zone entries leading to scoring chances. He is at his best when the puck is moving north, as he’s a shifty player who can get up the ice quickly and he’s very good at reading off his teammates to get himself open. He also does well in limited space, getting the puck through traffic. Learning how to use his linemates better is his next step. Playmaking is his calling card, and he was more of a volume shooter last year, which could be the result of poor line chemistry, but it played away from his strengths. Nashville still gave him a run on the top line to finish the year, and he rewarded them with a decent seven points in 10 games. His quick-strike ability makes him welcome on any line, so he could be a dark horse pick for a rebound season.

Erik Haula

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	14	16	30	0.40

The common theme with Erik Haula is nobody is sure what the right role for him is. He is probably your ideal third line player, but he has been bounced all over the map in his career from centering the top line to playing on the wing next to star players, manning the net-front on top power play units or being relied heavily in a secondary scoring role. It’s why teams are always interested in signing him but also why teams have moved on from him, this being his second go-around in Nashville. There are some traits that make Haula a good fit to play alongside skilled wingers, as he’s willing to go to the dirty areas and fight for positioning in front of the net. He does well when the game slows down or when he can make a quick one-touch play but struggles when the pace picks up. He has a heavy shot but doesn’t control the puck well when moving in space and it’s resulted in Haula being a stop-gap player in the top six when needed rather than someone who can stick full-time. Last year was one of his toughest seasons, which included a stretch from December into February where he didn’t score a goal. Currently occupying the vacant 3C spot in Nashville, he is properly slotted on the depth chart but might face some pressure from some of the Preds younger forwards to keep that spot.

Fyodor Svechkov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	16	26	42	0.51

Perhaps the one bright spot in a dreary season for the Predators, although the point totals might not tell you that. Svechkov didn’t look out of place after the Preds called him up, immediately taking a center spot and doing an excellent job with stripping pucks and doing small things to kill plays down low. He didn’t get on the scoresheet much but when he did, it was usually a highlight reel type of play, whether it was a great backhand pass through traffic or a bullet of a one-timer. He was usually one of Nashville’s standout players. Part of that is from how unimpressive the rest of the roster was, but the rookie played beyond his years in adapting to the NHL game. The heavy shot and his willingness to get to every puck in the offensive zone made him jump off the page if you were watching the odd Nashville game. Carving out a role outside of the fourth line will be the challenge for him. He can fill the defensive void that Colton Sissons left, but getting better offensive minutes with power play time shouldn’t be out of the question.

Michael McCarron

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	7	11	18	0.24

You never know when a minor trade can lead to a second chance in your NHL career, but that’s what happened with Michael McCarron. A former first round pick of Montreal, the towering forward was drafted in the first round during the era where teams were looking for the next power forward. McCarron didn’t quite pan out that way for the Canadiens and he was traded to Nashville in early 2020. Five years later, McCarron is still a regular on the Predators and last year was a career high for him in terms of ice time per game. It was also a career worst in terms of point production, but offence is typically secondary when it comes to him. He’s mainly out there for physical play and establishing a presence on the checking line. Nashville typically likes to fill out their fourth line with players like this and there was a void to fill the last couple of years with Tanner Jeannot and Yakov Trenin gone. McCarron and Cole Smith have done that for Nashville and they play more than your typical fourth line too. McCarron uses his frame well to be an effective forechecker and a guy who can win pucks in the defensive zone, but his offensive game is very one-dimensional with most of his goals coming from grabbing loose pucks around the net. You see flashes of the first-round skill there, but the fourth line is likely where his NHL niche is.

DEFENCE

Roman Josi

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	16	46	62	0.82

A concussion ended Roman Josi’s season early, but he is expected to be ready for training camp despite the scary news of him being diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome. Every update regarding his condition and progression this off-season has been positive, which is great news as the future Hall of Famer should reach the 1000 game mark this year. It was only a few years ago where Josi was the ultimate “rover” defenceman in the league, always up in the play joining the rush and roaming all around the offensive zone like a dragonfly. Since then, we’ve seen more high-level defencemen come into the league playing a similar style and Josi doesn’t seem like as much of a unicorn anymore. Still, the Preds rely on him for everything and while last year wasn’t one of his more productive years, most of it was from the forwards struggling to finish. Last year was also somewhat of an adjustment for Josi, as he lost a few of his safety valves in Mattias Ekholm, Alex Carrier and Dante Fabbro, leaving him to be the main guy retrieving pucks out of the defensive zone again. This meant he took more hits, and he couldn’t join the rush or have the same level of energy in the offensive zone as he did when someone else was doing the grunt work for him. It’s a role he can play, but his best offensive seasons have been alongside a designated “retrieval player.” We will see if Nic Hague or Nick Perbix takes on that spot.

Brady Skjei

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	8	22	30	0.37

The Preds were hoping to get their Ekholm replacement in Brady Skjei and in some ways, they got it. The blue-liner scored double-digit goals for the third time in his career and gave the Preds another mobile defenceman who could join the rush and be a complementary piece to the forwards. Skjei’s an aggressive player by nature and the exodus of veteran blue liner put Skjei in somewhat of an awkward spot as the safety valve alongside Nick Blankenburg, a smaller puck-moving defenceman who ended up a regular in Nashville’s top four by the end of the year. This put Skjei as the last man back for a lot of rushes against and this is usually a feast-or-famine situation for him because he likes to defend with his hands and his body rather than his stick, so he gets beat just as often as he breaks the play up. Skjei does best when he has one read to worry about and the chaotic structure in Nashville put a lot on his plate, as he would often be left covering two or three players or caught on an island whenever he got to a loose puck. The injury to Roman Josi also compounded this, making Skjei Nashville’s top defenceman by default while they were testing out some younger players from Milwaukee. He was still able to do his thing offensively and had stretches where he was a steady presence on Nashville’s blue line, the Preds are just hoping for more stability out of him and Skjei is probably thinking the same.

Nicolas Hague

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	4	10	14	0.19

While trading longtime defensive stalwart Colton Sissons to Vegas for towering defenceman Nicolas Hague wasn’t a shocking move, the subsequent four-year, $22 million contract left a lot hockey fans scratching their heads. Teams adding bigger defencemen was a theme this off-season and the Preds had one of the smaller blue-lines in the league so it’s understandable why they would target a player like Hague. The fit on the roster is the question, because Hague can be a great depth defenceman on a contending team. On a team finding their way like Nashville, it’s tough to see if they can cover up his weaknesses and play to his strengths as well as Vegas did. He’s good at using his long reach to kill plays off the rush and stopping cycles in transition, but he needs a lot of help with advancing the play after that. He formed an excellent third pair alongside Zach Whitecloud in Vegas’ Cup run three years ago, but they also had the forwards who could scoop up the loose pucks and turn the shot blocks into offence the other way instead of prolonged shifts. Can the Preds employ something like this with Hague on their roster? He could feasibly take some heat off Josi by being the guy eating the hits and retrieving pucks, but a strategy like this is always easier to talk about than to take into action.

Nick Perbix

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	6	16	22	0.27

The plight of the third-pair defenceman looking to climb the roster ladder is always a tricky one. You could have a guy look like a star in the making playing 14-15 minutes a night only for him to look like a different player once the minutes get higher and matchups get tougher. Perbix is in a good position to prove himself on a Nashville blue line looking for some stability on the right side. He was a great fit behind Tampa Bay’s more skilled players, as he’s an excellent puck-mover with good offensive instincts and can act as the fourth forward on the rush when he needs to. They gave him brief stints of playing higher in the lineup, supplementing Victor Hedman on the top pair and playing alongside Sergachev in his rookie season. He also fits the mold of what Nashville typically looks for in their defencemen as a mobile player who acts as a complement to the forwards, and he also brings more size than some of their in-house options on the right side. The issue with Perbix is he is prone to the odd turnover and defending one-on-one plays. He uses his stick frequently and tries to skate guys into a corner rather than engage them physically, which isn’t how some coaches want their defencemen to play. Regardless, he’s an intriguing option for the Preds as they continue to rebuild their blue-line. Possibly the biggest low-risk/high-reward signing of the off-season if he can carve out time on the power play or top pair.

GOAL

Juuse Saros

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
60	26	24	8	4	.905	2.84

Just a few seasons ago, the Nashville Predators boasted one of the NHL's most enviable tandems in net. But while they're still rolling out an all-Finnish tandem - at least, presumably - to start next season, things are looking far more bleak in the Music City at the moment.

Juuse Saros, one of the most efficient and economical movers in the NHL, is finally starting to show the wear and tear one would expect from the number of starts he's shouldered behind an aging team the last handful of seasons. He put up one of his worst statistical seasons since hitting the NHL, and not by an insignificant margin. His tandem partner, fellow Finn Justus Annunen, somehow fared even worse; whether he's struggling to reclaim his game after a tough stint in Colorado or simply failing to live up to his draft year expectations, Annunen's form looked timid, and his reads looked uncertain as he tried to find his footing and help stem the bleeding for Nashville. It felt all the more baffling when looking at former first round pick Yaroslav Askarov, who was mysteriously dealt to the San Jose Sharks at the eleventh hour last off-season, and who managed to outperform both Saros *and* Annunen on the clearly-also-rebuilding San Jose roster. Perhaps the most baffling of all, though, is that the Predators didn't bring in anyone else to help; outside of Matt Murray (the other one) and Magnus Chrona, there's little in the pipeline to help Saros should Annunen continue to flounder. The entire situation plays like a team waiting for a chance to hard reset and change the guard - but with another seven years left on Saros' contract, that's hardly the case. Hopefully, Saros and Annunen were able to utilize the offseason to work together and shake off their troubling years.

NHL: 20 FANTASY POINTS – TRADE DEADLINE EDITION – Rantanen, Marchand, Nelson, Cozens, Jones, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 16:14:05 +0000

RALEIGH, NC - FEBRUARY 27: Carolina Hurricanes right wing Mikko Rantanen (96) talks to a Buffalo Sabres player during the NHL game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Carolina Hurricanes on February 27, 2025 at Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. (Photo by Katherine Gawlik/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, a look at the movers and shakers from the NHL trade deadline, including Mikko Rantanen, Brad Marchand, Brock Nelson, Dylan Cozens, Seth Jones, and much more!

#1 The biggest blockbuster of deadline day saw the Carolina Hurricanes trade Mikko Rantanen to the Dallas Stars for Logan Stankoven and a couple of first-round picks. Rantanen has been massively productive, ranking eighth in the league with 649 points in 548 games since the start of the 2017-2018 season, but he did struggle in his short stint with Carolina, managing just six points (2 G, 4 A) in 13 games. Rantanen certainly should be a premier scorer in Dallas, where he could skate with fellow Finn Roope Hintz on the Stars’ top line, and Hintz is cooking, with 16 points (3 G, 13 A) in his past seven games. If he does recapture the form he showed in Colorado, Rantanen will raise the Stars’ offensive ceiling. Going the other way, Stankoven is officially a rookie and has 43 points (14 G, 29 A) in 83 career NHL games. He ought to have a regular spot in Carolina’s top six and it would not be a stretch to imagine an extra minute or two of ice time per game for the new Hurricanes winger.

#2 It is the end of an era in Boston, as the Bruins have traded captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers. He is out of the lineup for three-to-four weeks with an upper-body injury, so that time frame means Marchand is likely of little value to fantasy managers. When he is healthy, Marchand could join Sam Bennett and Matthew Tkachuk on a line that could wreak havoc in the postseason.

#3 The Colorado Avalanche made a big push to upgrade their roster, acquiring Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders and Charlie Coyle from the Boston Bruins. Nelson has 43 points (20 G, 23 A) in 61 games, marking the ninth season of his career in which he has recorded at least 20 goals. He is playing a career high 19:21 of ice time per game and that ice time could fall a little in Colorado, but Nelson should have better linemates with the Avalanche, so he may have a little more upside with his new team.

#4 In addition to Nelson, the Avs added Charlie Coyle, sending Casey Mittelstadt to Boston. After scoring a career high 60 points for the Bruins last season, Coyle has stumbled to 22 points (15 G, 7 A) through 64 games this season. He is likely going to fill the third-line centre role for the Avalanche, which doesn’t make him that appealing in most fantasy leagues. Mittelstadt is looking for a fresh start after putting up just 34 points (11 G, 23 A) as Colorado’s second line centre this season. Given the situation in Boston, where the Bruins are clearly rebuilding, it’s not the ideal scenario for Mittelstadt to enjoy a big finish to the season.

#5 The Buffalo Sabres dealt centre Dylan Cozens to the Ottawa Senators, bringing back centre Josh Norris as part of the return. Cozens had career highs of 31 goals and 68 points in 2022-2023 but he has not approached those numbers since and has a modest 31 points (11 G, 20 A) in 61 games this season. He is likely to see some improvement in shooting percentage, as his current rate of 7.9 percent is below his career mark of 10.0 percent, but moving to Ottawa does not suddenly mean an offensive breakout is coming. That’s the challenge for the Senators, to figure out if they can get Cozens back to his level of production from a couple of years ago. Norris has shown that he can put the puck in the net, scoring 77 goals in 173 games across the past four seasons. His biggest issue has been recurring shoulder injuries that have cost him playing time. The opportunity in Buffalo isn’t necessarily going to be that different for Norris, and the Sabres have enough quality to surround him with skilled wingers, but his fantasy appeal will be tied largely to how consistently he stays in the lineup.

#6 Defenceman Seth Jones had made it clear that he was ready to move on from the Chicago Blackhawks, so they traded him to the Florida Panthers. While Jones will probably not be required to play as much in Florida as he did in Chicago, where he averaged more than 25 minutes of playing time over the past four seasons, there will be a clear upgrade in talent around him. At least initially, it’s possible that Jones could have less appeal as a scorer in Florida, because he is on the Panthers’ second power play unit and 15 of his 27 points (7 G, 20 A) this season have come via the power play.

#7 Going the other way in that deal was goaltender Spencer Knight, the 13th pick in the 2019 Draft who missed all of last season, but has rebounded nicely in 2024-2025. Knight had a .907 save percentage in 23 games for the Panthers and has stopped 77 of 81 shots in his first two starts for Chicago. Knight is just 23 years old and should be Chicago’s goaltender of the future and even the goaltender of the present after the club dealt Petr Mrazek to Detroit. While the Blackhawks aren’t winning enough to make Knight especially valuable this season, he could grow into a star goaltender as the team in front of him improves.

#8 Dealing with some injuries in their forward group, the Minnesota Wild added wingers Gustav Nyquist and Justin Brazeau in separate trades with the Nashville Predators and Boston Bruins, respectively. Nyquist returns to Minnesota, where he had a solid stint late in the 2022-2023 season, contributing 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in nine regular-season-plus-playoff-games after he was acquired from Columbus. The veteran winger had a career-high of 75 points (21 G, 54 A) last season, but had managed just 21 points (12 G, 9 A) in 57 games for the Predators before the trade. Brazeau is a late bloomer who is playing his first full NHL season at age 27. The 6-foot-6 winger has 20 points (10 G, 10 A) in 57 games and while that does not scream offensive production, both Nyquist and Brazeau are capable of playing in Minnesota’s top nine and contributing secondary offense.

#9 The Tampa Bay Lightning turned to Seattle to add right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand and centre Yanni Gourde, bolstering a Lightning lineup that was already starting to make a strong push towards the postseason. Bjorkstrand is a five-time 20-goal scorer who had a career high of 59 points last season. He had 37 points (16 G, 21 A) in 61 games for Seattle and scored a goal in his first game for the Lightning. Gourde returns to Tampa Bay, where he was an integral part of their 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup teams. He is feisty and can contribute offensively, though he has just 18 points (6 G, 12 A) in 37 games after recording an assist in his return to the Tampa Bay lineup. Winger Michael Eyssimont was part of the deal going to Seattle and while he has struggled this season, he showed some potential last season and there could be a more consistent role for him in Seattle for the rest of the season.

#10 The Pittsburgh Penguins were busy shedding forwards to stockpile draft picks. They sent Michael Bunting to Nashville, and he has scored 79 goals across the past four seasons, making him a useful secondary scorer, in addition to his ability to agitate the opposition. In the short term, he is recovering from an appendectomy, so his contributions will have to wait. The Penguins also sent Anthony Beauvillier to Washington, and he has bounced around a lot since leaving the Islanders in 2022-2023. Beauvillier has 20 points (13 G, 7 A) in 63 games this season and it’s not likely that he will see much of an increase in playing time upon arriving in D.C. to join his new team, so his fantasy appeal will be limited. Cody Glass was traded to New Jersey, and he will give the Devils some additional help up front in the wake of Jack Hughes’ season-ending injury, but it’s not like Glass is going to fill the void created by Hughes’ absence. The sixth pick in the 2017 Draft, Glass had career highs of 14 goals and 35 points for Nashville in 2022-2023, but had just 15 points (4 G, 11 A) in 51 games for the Penguins at the time of the trade.

#11 It wasn’t all sending players away from Pittsburgh, as the Penguins brought in Tommy Novak from Nashville in the Bunting deal. After back-to-back seasons with more than 40 points, Novak looked like he could be on his way to holding down a second line centre spot, but this has been a challenging season and he had just 22 points (13 G, 9 A) in 52 games. Novak is one of the players who moved at the deadline who should see an uptick in ice time. He averaged 13:14 per game for Nashville, but it would be entirely reasonable for the Penguins to bump Novak up to 16 minutes per game to see if he can fulfill the role of the bona fide second line centre.

#12 Looking to add some depth to their roster, the Edmonton Oilers traded for Boston Bruins forward Trent Frederic and San Jose Sharks defenceman Jake Walman. Frederic hit career highs with 18 goals and 40 points last season but has just 15 points (8 G, 7 A) in 57 games this season. He is a big physical presence and could have some sneaky appeal in the playoffs, but his injury makes it seem likely that Frederic is not going to make a major difference during this regular season. Walman is an unheralded blueliner, yet one who produced a career high of 32 points (6 G, 26 A) in 50 games for the Sharks. He is a quality puck mover who has had some strong defensive numbers in the past when he played for Detroit. It's more difficult to put up strong defensive numbers in San Jose. Walman may see his ice time dip a little from the 23 minutes per game that he is averaging, but he should still hold a top four role and get second-unit power play time.

#13 Veteran winger Reilly Smith tallied a career high 26 goals on his way to 56 points in 2022-2023 and the Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup. Smith has struggled in two seasons since then, first with Pittsburgh and, this season, with the New York Rangers. Going back to Vegas, Smith could fulfill a secondary scoring role for the Golden Knights, though it also could be more challenging for him to secure a regular spot in Vegas’ top nine.

#14 The Toronto Maple Leafs, looking to improve their centre depth, brought in Scott Laughton from the Philadelphia Flyers. Laughton has limited offensive upside, hitting a career high of 43 points (18 G, 25 A) in 2022-2023, and with two points in his past 12 games, Laughton has 27 points (11 G, 16 A) in 60 games this season. However, he does have 129 hits in 60 games, so if he is contributing even a little bit offensively, there is a chance that Laughton will provide enough value to draw fantasy appeal in deep or banger leagues.

#15 After contributing five points (2 G, 3 A) in seven games for the Philadelphia Flyers following his trade from Calgary, winger Andrei Kuzmenko is on the move again, joining the Los Angeles Kings. Kuzmenko had career highs of 39 goals and 74 points for Vancouver in 2022-2023 but has been nowhere near that level of production in two years since then. He comes at a low cost for the Kings and Kuzmenko has enough skill that he could help upgrade the Kings’ offense. It looks like he could join Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, which would certainly be a quality situation for him, and might make him a fantasy sleeper at this stage of the season, but if Kuzmenko doesn’t produce in that spot, he could quickly lose relevance.

#16 For a player with little offensive output, Luke Kunin does hit enough to put him on the radar of fantasy managers. Acquired from the San Jose Sharks by the Columbus Blue Jackets, Kunin has 18 points (11 G, 7 A) in 63 games but he also has 163 hits in 63 games, so there is at least a chance that if Kunin plays in a top nine role for Columbus, that he might be able to contribute enough to earn some deep league fantasy attention.

#17 The Ottawa Senators made another move to address their goal-scoring woes, picking up Fabian Zetterlund from the San Jose Sharks. Zetterlund had 36 points (17 G, 19 A) in 64 games for the Sharks this season, playing nearly 17 minutes per game for the team with the worst record in the NHL. If he moves to a line with, say, Cozens and Drake Batherson, that should give Zetterlund a good chance to provide secondary scoring.

#18 Although he has just five points (2 G, 3 A) in 19 games this season, Daniel Sprong has shown that he can score in limited opportunities, scoring 39 goals in his previous two seasons despite playing fewer than 12 minutes per game. The Devils are reeling, with injuries knocking out centre Jack Hughes and defencemen Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, but if Sprong gets a chance to play consistently, he could be worth tracking.

#19 Even if Fraser Minten isn’t likely to play much for the Boston Bruins down the stretch, after he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for defenceman Brandon Carlo, Minten is an intriguing long-term pickup. A second-round pick in 2022, Minten contributed four points (2 G, 2 A) in 15 games for the Maple Leafs this season and 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 26 games for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. On a Bruins team that is going through a rebuilding process, Minten could have a real shot to play in the NHL next season.

#20 The Chicago Blackhawks decided not to move veteran forward Ryan Donato, who has set career highs with 23 goals and 47 points in 61 games. The 28-year-old second generation NHLer is on a seven-game point streak and has 18 points (8 G, 10 A) in his past 12 games. Expect the Blackhawks to ink Donato to some kind of contract extension, giving him a chance to remain in a bigger role than he has typically been afforded at other stops in his NHL career.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Michkov flying high, Jenner returns, Byfield is creating, Guenther is sniping, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 28 Feb 2025 21:01:13 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 18: Philadelphia Flyers right wing Matvei Michkov (39) celebrates after scoring a goal during a NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on January 18, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Matvei Michkov is flying high, Boone Jenner returns, Quinton Byfield is creating, Dylan Guenther is sniping, and much more!

#1 Philadelphia Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov went through a midseason slump that likely will prevent him from Calder Trophy consideration. It appears to be a close race between San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini and Montreal Canadiens defenceman Lane Hutson. Nevertheless, Michkov is heating up again and has piled up 10 points (5 G, 5 A) and 24 shots on goal in his past five games. Skating on a line with Sean Couturier and Owen Tippett is working for the 20-year-old first year winger.

#2 Shoulder surgery kept Columbus Blue Jackets captain Boone Jenner on the shelf until last Saturday, but he has hit the ice with authority, recording five assists and eight shots on goal in his first three games. Jenner also has six hits and that has been a consistently valuable factor in his fantasy appeal over the years. He has been skating at left wing with Cole Sillinger and Kent Johnson, though Sillinger was injured Thursday at Detroit, so Jenner ended up taking 15 draws against the Red Wings, winning eight.

#3 Los Angeles Kings centre Quinton Byfield has gone nine games without a goal, but he also has 11 assists in his past seven contests. He has averaged 20:30 of ice time in that stretch and the 6-foot-5 pivot is establishing that he is a quality second-line centre, anchoring a line with Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere on his wings. Byfield has had these moments both last season and earlier in this season, too, but the challenge for him is maintaining consistency. He doesn’t need to score 11 points every seven games, though it would be nice, but he also can’t have stretches where he has two points in 12 games, either.

#4 It might seem obvious that Dallas Stars left winger Jason Robertson would score, but he struggled early in the season and had just 15 points (5 G, 10 A) with 60 shots on goal in his first 26 games. That tide has turned, however, and in 32 games since, he has delivered 41 points (19 G, 22 A) with 102 shots on goal. Robertson is naturally skating on Dallas’ top line with Roope Hintz and they have rookie Mavrik Bourque on the right wing. It’s obviously a great situation for Bourque, who is riding a six-game point streak, but he also has just three shots on goal in those six games – scoring on all three of them! – so it’s not the most sustainable situation, but worth keeping an eye on.

#5 Utah Hockey Club right winger Dylan Guenther missed a dozen games with a lower-body injury but upon returning to the lineup, he turned sizzling hot. In his past eight games, Guenther has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) and 33 shots on goal. Averaging more than four shots on goal per game, for a player with a shot like Guenther’s, is a great way to ensure that production will continue. He is skating on a line with Barrett Hayton and Michael Carcone at even strength as well as holding a spot on Utah’s top power play unit.

#6 Since joining the Dallas Stars, veteran forward Mikael Granlund has been reunited with Matt Duchene, with whom he had played previously in Nashville. Playing for a stronger team, Granlund is playing less in Dallas – his ice time down more than three minutes per game – and yet he has recorded six assists in seven games for the Stars. He may be deferring a little too much, though, as Granlund has just nine shots on goal in seven games for Dallas. He has never been a huge shot generator but was averaging 2.42 shots on goal per game with San Jose before the trade.

#7 The Detroit Red Wings are surging up the Eastern Conference standings and part of the reason is that winger Alex DeBrincat is finding the net. DeBrincat scored in Thursday night’s loss to Columbus, extending his point streak to eight games and he has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) and 27 shots on goal during that streak. DeBrincat has been doing his damage at even strength lately, where he is now skating with J.T. Compher and Patrick Kane, but DeBrincat is also a consistent producer on the power play. He has 46 power play goals in the past four seasons, which is tied with Connor McDavid for 13th.

#8 New York Rangers defenceman Adam Fox has been sidelined by an upper-body injury and that leaves the Blueshirts thin on the blueline, especially because K’Andre Miller left Tuesday’s game against the Islanders with an apparent lower-body injury. Miller may not miss time, but the Rangers are prepared to run a five-forward power play in Fox’s absence, with Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, and Alexis Lafreniere on the first unit. If he is healthy, Miller might have some sleeper value because he has just 14 points (4 G, 10 A) in 52 games this season, but put up 43 points in 2022-2023, with 38 of those points coming at even strength.

#9 His name is popping up in trade rumours, yet St. Louis Blues captain Brayden Schenn is producing at a high level, which is not hurting his value. He is not generating enough shots, but Schenn does have seven points (1 G, 6 A) and eight shots on goal in his past seven games. He has solid wingers with Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou on his flanks and Schenn adds fantasy appeal with his physical play as he has 150 hits in 60 games, which is tied for 26th.

#10 Although he does not have a consistent role on the Columbus power play, Blue Jackets defenceman Ivan Provorov does have six points (4 G, 2 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past seven games. He was logging huge minutes in the games leading up to the 4 Nations Face-Off break, averaging 28:55 time on ice in the previous four games and while it’s down to the 22-23 minutes per game range since the break, there is value in logging big minutes for a team that tends to play higher scoring games and the Blue Jackets rank third with 2.86 goals per 60 minutes during five-on-five play.

#11 Ottawa Senators defenceman Thomas Chabot has quietly been having an excellent season and his production is getting noisier. In his past eight games, he has seven points (2 G, 5 A) with 31 shots on goal. That shot rate is elite, and with Chabot delivering strong puck possession numbers (54.3 percent Corsi), it’s reasonable to expect that he can continue to generate offense. Maybe not at seven points in eight games pace, but enough to hold fantasy appeal.

#12 Injuries continue to wreak havoc on the Minnesota Wild and now centre Joel Eriksson Ek will be out of the lineup for weeks with a lower-body injury. Virtually by default, Frederick Gaudreau moves into the second-line centre spot and second-unit power play time virtually by default. In his past 11 games, Gaudreau has eight points (5 G, 3 A) with 19 shots on goal and in his past five games he is averaging 17:32 of ice time per game, so he is getting a chance to contribute more offensively.

#13 A slumping Michael Bunting will be out of the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup for weeks following appendix surgery. Bunting had no goals and two assists, with 20 shots on goal in his last 10 games before he was sidelined. With Bunting out, the Penguins have Anthony Beauvillier and Cody Glass skating on Evgeni Malkin’s wings. Beauvillier has four points (1 G, 3 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past seven games, which is more appealing than Glass, who has two assists and 21 shots on goal in his past 12 games.

#14 While the spotlight in Washington naturally shines on Alex Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record, the Capitals are getting quality production from their supporting cast, too. In his past 14 games, for example, Pierre-Luc Dubois has contributed 15 points (7 G, 8 A) with 26 shots on goal. He could still stand to shoot the puck more, but this scoring surge gives him 49 points (14 G, 35 A) in 59 games, a massive improvement on the 40 points that he produced in 82 games for the Kings last season. There has never been a question about his talent, but it is refreshing to see what kind of production follows when he is engaged in the right situation.

#15 Skating on Dubois’ wings, Taylor Raddysh and Connor McMichael have had different paths this season. McMichael burst out of the gate at the start of the season, scoring 12 goals in his first 16 games, but then went through some lean times in the middle of the season. He is heating up again, though, with nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 18 shots on goal in his past nine games. With Tom Wilson dealing with an illness, Raddysh received more opportunity, and he has five assists in his past six games. The challenge for Raddysh is securing regular playing time because he has played under 13 minutes in 34 of 59 games this season.

#16 Buffalo Sabres centre Dylan Cozens has landed in trade rumours quite a bit this season, in part over frustration as the young forward has not produced as much offense as expected. His 68-point season in 2022-2023 seems to have set a bar that is now difficult for him to approach again, as Cozens finished with 47 points (18 G, 29 A) in 79 games last season and now has 30 points (11 G, 19 A) in 57 games this season. More recently, Cozens does have seven points (1 G, 6 A) and 19 shots on goal in his past nine games, but it will be interesting to see if the Sabres are moved to include him in any deadline deals.

#17 The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting some contributions from unusual places lately. Nick Robertson was an efficient scorer last season but had done little this season until he contributed four points (3 G, 1 A) in his past two games. Robertson’s emergence helps provide depth scoring, as he skates on a line with Max Domi and Matthew Knies. Pontus Holmberg is another Maple Leafs player providing surprising offense, as he works on the left side with John Tavares and William Nylander. Holmberg has mostly been a depth player in his career, but does have five points (4 G, 1 A) in his past three games. With Max Pacioretty potentially returning to the lineup, there could be some shuffling that makes Holmberg less appealing, but Robertson and Holmberg are at least worth keeping tabs on in the short term.

#18 Second-year New York Rangers left winger Will Cuylle can go through some scoring droughts, but he does have three points (2 G, 1 A) in his past four games and that complements his physical game. He is a reliable hitter, ranking fourth in the league with 217 hits, and Cuylle is the only player in the NHL with at least 30 points and 200 hits this season. In banger leagues, that makes him more valuable than his mere scoring numbers would suggest.

#19 With William Karlsson injured, Vegas Golden Knights centre Brett Howden is looking at a better opportunity, centering a line with veterans Brandon Saad and Mark Stone on his wings. Howden has recorded seven assists along with 13 shots on goal during a four-game point streak and while it hinders his Cy Young case – he had 16 goals and 6 assists previously – Howden now has career highs with 16 goals and 29 points in 58 games.

#20 The season looks like it could be getting away from the Boston Bruins and they could be sellers at the trade deadline, but don’t ignore Elias Lindholm. The veteran centre has seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past nine games and, in his past four games, has 18 shots on goal while averaging more than 21 minutes of ice time per game. He’s centering Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle, and that line might not make it through the deadline, but Lindholm is getting ample opportunity, including first-unit power play time, so he could offer some late-season value.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Rossi stepping up, Kane thriving on the power play, Fantilli gets new opportunity, Knies back on track now that Mattews has returned and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 10 Jan 2025 21:06:16 +0000

Minnesota Wild Center Marco Rossi (23). (Photo by Nick Wosika/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Marco Rossi has stepped up in his second season, Patrick Kane is thriving on the power play, Adam Fantilli gets a new opportunity in Columbus, Matthew Knies is back on track now that Auston Mattews has returned and much more!

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

#1 Although his role as a top line centre in Minnesota has more value when Kirill Kaprizov is healthy, Marco Rossi is enjoying an excellent second season in the National Hockey League. Across his past 20 games, Rossi has delivered 20 points (9 G, 11 A) with 37 shots on goal and even with Kaprizov out, Rossi still has Matt Boldy and Mats Zuccarello skating on his wings, so there is sufficient skill on his flanks to keep the points coming.

#2 It’s not like Showtime Patrick Kane flies under the radar, but after a slow start to the season, the veteran right winger had tended to fall out of favour with fantasy managers. Since the Red Wings changed coaches however, going from Derek Lalonde to Todd McLellan, Kane has produced eight points (4 G, 4 A) and 17 shots on goal in six games. Five of those eight points have come on the power play, which has dramatically improved since the coaching change.

#3 Second year Blue Jackets centre Adam Fantilli has struggled to find his footing this season, making his return from a calf laceration that ended his 2023-2024 season prematurely. Fantilli does have five points (2 G, 3 A) during a four-game point streak and with Sean Monahan out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury, Fantilli is getting first crack at centering Kirill Marchenko and Dmitri Voronkov on Columbus’ top line.

#4 Toronto Maple Leafs sophomore left winger Matthew Knies had just one assist in his past eight games when Auston Matthews returned from injury. Since Matthews’ return, Knies has produced eight points (5 G, 3 A) during a four-game point streak. He has also hit extremes on the plus-minus front just in that four-game span, going +6 in a win over Boston and -5 in a loss at Carolina. With 16 goals, Knies ranks third on the Maple Leafs and his 22 even-strength points is tied for 63rd in the entire league. Skating on a line with Matthews and Mitch Marner is certainly a prime position for Knies to generate more offence

#5 Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn plays more of a supporting role at this stage of his career, but the 35-year-old left winger continues to deliver. In his past 19 games, Benn has produced 18 points (7 G, 11 A) with 43 shots on goal. With 57 hits in 40 games, Benn continues to provide value for fantasy managers. He is not the dominant force that he was during his peak years but remains a valuable commodity when he is scoring like he has over the past couple of months.

#6 Some lineup shuffling in Dallas has resulted in right winger Evgeni Dadonov moving up the depth chart to skate alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz on the Stars’ top line. In his past 10 games, Dadonov has contributed 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 20 shots on goal. He is a four-time 20-goal scorer, so Dadonov has shown that he is a legitimate scoring winger, but at 35 years old, it’s fair to wonder whether his recent uptick in production can continue over the long run. As long as he is playing with Robertson and Hintz, Dadonov should generate interest from fantasy managers.

#7 After managing just 40 points in 82 games for the Kings last season, Pierre-Luc Dubois needed a big bounce-back season and his arrival in Washington has provided him with a fresh start. In his past 18 games, Dubois has 19 points (5 G, 14 A) with 39 shots on goal. Dubois is thriving on a line between Connor McMichael and Tom Wilson, though Dubois has also had success with Aliaksei Protas in McMichael’s place, too.

#8 Injuries tend to be part of the package for Colorado Avalanche left winger Jonathan Drouin, but he is productive when healthy and had a career-high 56 points (19 G, 37 A) in 79 games last season. Since returning from injury this season, he has put up six points (1 G, 5 A) in five games, giving him 10 points in 10 games this season. Drouin has landed on the Avs’ top line, with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, which is one of the premier opportunities afforded to any point-producing forward.

#9 With a hat trick against Toronto on Thursday, Carolina Hurricanes centre Jordan Staal is up to 12 points (5 G, 7 A) and 26 shots on goal in his past 13 games. Staal is an elite checking centre, who has been criminally underrated in Selke Trophy voting, though he was runner-up last season and fourth the year before. Nevertheless, the 36-year-old pivot is on pace for more than 40 points, which would be the first time since 2017-2018 that he surpassed that threshold. He has had a couple of seasons in that time in which he scored at a higher per-game rate but missed time due to injury (2018-2019) and a shortened season (2020-2021).

#10 Staal’s teammate Eric Robinson is not really one for fantasy managers except in the deepest of leagues, but the 29-year-old winger also scored against Toronto, and he has 21 points (10 G, 11 A) in 42 games, moving him to within six points of his career high of 27 points. Robinson is lunch-box-and-hard-hat type of player who gives an honest effort and plays a physical game. He had some modest success in Columbus but could not settle into a consistent role in Buffalo last season. His move to Carolina this season has brought a fresh start and improved production. Robinson does not play a lot – about 12 minutes per game – but has recently moved up the depth chart to join Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Martin Necas on Carolina’s second line.

#11 Veteran Anaheim Ducks centre Ryan Strome has started to pick up his production after a slow start to the campaign. He has eight points (2 G, 6 A) in his past seven games, and while it’s not unusual that he has Frank Vatrano skating on his left side, the veteran duo had rookie Sam Colangelo on the right wing for Tuesday’s game against Calgary. However, that was due to Troy Terry missing the game for the birth of his child, so when Terry returns, that is an established and proven trio of forwards that can help steer the Ducks in the right direction.

#12 It would be fair to characterize Erik Karlsson’s tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins as underwhelming, but it should still be noted that he can deliver points. In his past 11 games, he has a dozen points (2 G, 10 A) and is averaging 23:43 of ice time per game. He is back on Pittsburgh’s top power play unit and, considering his pedigree, Karlsson might be a decent buy-low candidate for fantasy managers because there just aren’t that many defencemen who have 100-point seasons in their history.

#13 Penguins left winger Michael Bunting has become a reliable contributor. He has been on a point-per-game pace over his past 18 games, with 18 points (9 G, 9 A), including 10 points on the power play. Bunting has recorded 48 percent of his points on the power play this season, the same as Steven Stamkos. Among players with at least 20 points, these are the only players with a higher percentage of points on the power play: Shayne Gostisbehere (66.7 percent), Jake Sanderson (63.6 percent), Kevin Fiala (50 percent), Teuvo Teravainen (50 percent), Drake Batherson (50 percent), Gabriel Vilardi (48.7 percent), and Chandler Stephenson (48.1 percent),

#14 The Washington Capitals have been one of the great surprises in the NHL this season and part of the reason is their addition of defenceman Jakob Chychrun, who has always been a capable scorer, but injuries have prevented him from maximizing his potential. This season, though, he has stayed healthy and is piling up points. In the past 21 games, Chychrun has 20 points (6 G, 14 A). Among defencemen, since 2019-2020, only Cale Makar (99) and Roman Josi (96) have scored more goals than Chychrun’s 71 goals.

#15 With Jared Spurgeon and Brock Faber injured, Minnesota Wild defenceman Jonas Brodin has become an unexpected offensive contributor. In his past seven games, Brodin has seven points (2 G, 5 A) while playing a whopping 26:35 per game. Brodin scored a career-high 30 points in 2021-2022 but has largely been a standout defensive presence in his career. With 16 points in 31 games this season, Brodin could set a new career high for points, but the moment that Faber and Spurgeon return, Brodin will likely return to his defensive focus.

#16 An unlikely source of offence lately, Florida Panthers forward Jesper Boqvist has eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his past eight games. He has been skating at right wing on the third line with Anton Lundell and Carter Verhaeghe, which does offer some upside. He doesn’t play enough to have wide fantasy appeal, averaging 12:38 time on ice per game in the past eight, but as a short-term fix, Boqvist might have a little bit of unexpected value.

#17 When the San Jose Sharks traded for goaltender Yaroslav Askarov, acquiring him from the Nashville Predators, it was easy to view him as the Sharks’ goaltender of the future. He has played seven games for the Sharks this season, posting a .923 save percentage, and the 22-year-old has done nothing to dispel the notion that he will not only be the Sharks’ starting goaltender, but he might be a very good one, at that. In the short term, Askarov may not play enough to have huge fantasy value, but that day is coming.

#18 Ottawa Senators centre Tim Stutzle has been enjoying a bounce-back season and has 41 points in 40 games, but he has it a dry spell lately, managing one assist in his past five games. While a small sample of games like that should not hold great sway on his fantasy value but it is at least a little concerning that of the six games that Stutzle has failed to record a shot this season, three of them have come in the past five games. He is skating with Claude Giroux and Drake Batherson at evens, certainly a skilled enough line to put up some points, but it will be worth keeping an eye on the Sens’ rising star.

#19 Philadelpia Flyers rookie right winger Matvei Michkov got off to a blazing start in his first NHL season, scoring 27 points (11 G, 16 A) in his first 27 games. In the past month, though, he has just two points (1 G, 1 A) in 13 games. He does have 33 shots on goal in that time, so it’s not like he isn’t getting chances, but this slump has been carrying on for quite a while. Right now, he is skating on a line with Scott Laughton and Morgan Frost, and is on Philadelphia’s second power play unit, which isn’t exactly going to drag him back into a more productive place. He might be a buy-low target at this point.

#20 It has not been an easy season for the Boston Bruins, as they are clinging to a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, after typically battling for the best record year after year. The Bruins are winless in six straight games and team captain Brad Marchand has no goals and two assists in his past seven games. If there is reason to be hopeful about Marchand, it is that the has generated 26 shots on goal in those seven games and has been a high percentage finisher throughout his career, scoring n 15.1 percent of his shots for his whole career, but what would be a career low of 11.4 percent this season. Marchand is playing with Elias Lindholm and Charlie Coyle right now, but if the winless streak continues, there could be more line shuffling in Boston.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – PITTSBURGH PENGUINS – Team Preview

Wed, 18 Sep 2024 20:00:52 +0000

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

Even though they only lost two of their last 10 games, the Penguins still finished with just 88 points (38-32-12), which left them three points behind the Washington Capitals for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins ranked 12th with 51.4 percent of shot attempts and 14th with 51.2 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play. Pittsburgh scored just 5.52 goals per 60 minutes on the power play which ranked 30th and was inconceivable given the talent that they had available. Sure, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Erik Karlsson are getting older, but they have all had massive power play success in their careers, so to see it fall apart so completely was tough. The Penguins ranked ninth with 6.75 goals against per 60 minutes while shorthanded. Considering that the Penguins were that close to making the playoffs, the abysmal power play can take a lot of the blame for that result.

WHAT’S CHANGED? After one season in Pittsburgh, the Penguins dealt winger Reilly Smith to the Rangers and watched Jeff Carter skate into retirement. The Penguins traded for Kevin Hayes from St.Louis, and Cody Glass from Nashville, while Blake Lizotte from Los Angeles and Anthony Beauvillier from Nashville were signed as free agents. Defencemen Matt Grzelcyk, from Boston, and Sebastian Aho, from the Islanders, were also inked as free agents. This was not an offseason of dramatic change, like acquiring Erik Karlsson last year, so while the Penguins were making moves, they were more about depth additions than anything else.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? If the Penguins are going to pay Crosby, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson big money, then they might as well reach the playoffs. They have fallen just short in back-to-back seasons after making the playoffs for 16 straight seasons. With Crosby continuing to play at a very high level, it is a waste for the Penguins to struggle either to be just good enough to get in or, worse, just good enough to finish outside the playoffs. If the Penguins are going to get over the hump, they will need production from the supporting cast – Michael Bunting, Anthony Beauvillier, Kevin Hayes, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust – and they could use a big sea- son from Karlsson, who it seemed had a hard time adjusting to the Penguins in his first season with the team.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? There is certainly a world in which the Penguins embark on a proper rebuild and move out their veteran players, but if Crosby is not inclined to leave and the other veteran stars don’t want to go, the worst-case scenario is for the Penguins to do what they have done the past two seasons and just miss the playoffs. If they get in, then that is an accomplishment, but if they are not going to get into the playoffs, then they might as well be really bad, so that they have a chance to draft elite talent. The way it’s been going recently, the Penguins do not have enough prospect quality to pick up the pieces when their aging stars are finished.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: There are not a ton of young Penguins players that are in position to have break- out seasons, but Valtteri Puustinen showed some potential last season, contributing 20 points in 52 games. He has been productive in two-plus AHL seasons and in Finland before that, so in Pittsburgh it is going to be about the opportunity. If he finds a spot in the top six, along with some second unit power play time, Puustinen is capable of providing the secondary offense that the Penguins sorely need.

Forwards

Sidney Crosby

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	36	54	90	1.13

Sidney Crosby has never finished a season below a point-per-game average, and 2023-24 was no different. Seemingly immune to Father Time’s grasp, Crosby posted one more point than he did in 2022-23 while once again playing in all 82 games. When the Penguins struggled last season, it was Crosby who lifted the team up and stole points to keep their playoff hopes alive. Even with the loss of his star winger Jake Guentzel, Crosby continued to make the most of his minutes and dominated puck possession and expected goal metrics. His puck possession share was plus six percent relative to teammates and his expected goal share was plus six percent relative to teammates. While Crosby doesn’t have the same speed burst he did in his youth, his cerebral game has only gotten more threatening with time and he’s a master of controlling the pace of play and threading no-look, tape-to-tape passes between defenders. Crosby continually evolves his game to account for both opponent and his own age. Crosby was in the 100th percentile of even-strength shot-assists last season. The question for the upcoming year is how much the loss of Guentzel affects him long term and what kind of balance he strikes without him. Crosby regressed defensively last year, a result of the volatile Penguins backline and a bit of Crosby pressing to create offense as much as possible. There were long stretches of time in 2023-24 where Crosby was the Penguins entire offense.

Evgeni Malkin

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	26	42	68	0.92

For the second year in a row, Evgeni Malkin also played in a full 82 games for the Penguins. The result was 27 goals and 40 assists and a 26-point reduction from his previous year’s total. Malkin’s speed and movement have declined due to multiple lower body injuries, but he proved he’s still a tour de force with his size and shooting ability. The biggest issue last year was a lack of line identity. He never gelled with Reilly Smith, and that partnership negatively affected both players. It wasn’t until the arrival of Michael Bunting at the trade deadline that Malkin found chemistry with a fellow linemate. The transient nature of his wingers and their poor play reduced his assist totals, and the putrid Penguins power-play further affected his point totals. If that Bunting partnership continues, Malkin should continue to reap the benefit of a linemate that can retrieve loose pucks and create space while driving the net. Despite the lack of power-play production, Malkin’s even-strength goal total was good for the 82nd percentile of NHL forwards. It was also Malkin’s best defensive season of the last five years. While he wasn’t among the league leaders defensively, great leaps were taken in his work in the defensive zone. Overall, expect Malkin to return to a higher points total if he can find some consistency with his linemates.

Bryan Rust

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	31	26	57	0.88

Injuries caused Rust to miss 20 games in the regular season, but he was a productive member of the team across both of the top lines when he was healthy and in the lineup. A jack of all trades forward, Rust can contribute in a variety of fashions. He was in the 96th percentile of NHL forwards in even-strength scoring chance generation and the 94th percentile for defensive zone exists with possession. Rust is at his best when he can dictate the first step in the offensive zone by carry-in. He drives to the net with effectiveness and has a quick shot that he can release from a variety of compromising situations. Rusts’ game is such that he can easily slide in with both Crosby or Malkin in the top six and can adapt to his center accordingly. That change-ability within his game makes him a vital asset to the Penguins top six forward group. His 28 goals last season were a career high. In the absence of Guentzel, Rust will be called upon again to continue his goal scoring prowess, as the Penguins look to replace the production of one of their best wingers. Keep an eye on Rust’s carry-in metrics, his best seasons usually come when he’s doing a lot of carrying the mail himself. Expect Mike Sullivan to continue to deploy him in a variety of lines and fashions. He has been a consistent scorer and at almost a point a game last season, similar results should be achievable with opportunity on the first line and power play.

Michael Bunting

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	24	35	59	0.72

Michael Bunting was the prime centerpiece of the trade that sent Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes. This ultimately resurrected Bunting’s season, as he was not a great systematic mix with the high-flying Hurricanes offense. Bunting’s style, more predicated on a north-south forechecking game, meshed extremely well with Mike Sullivan’s system. Moreover, Bunting found instant chemistry with Evgeni Malkin and the two of them found immediate and sustained success after the trade. The expectation is that this new partnership will continue directly into next season, setting Bunting up to get back over the 20-goal plateau. Bunting is a space creator; he was in the 87th percentile of NHL forwards regarding his forecheck involvement. He ended his first run with the Penguins with 19 points in 21 games. Where Bunting struggled to establish himself in rush opportunities with the Hurricanes, he seemed to thrive in the slower-pace overload system of the Penguins, which enabled him to be active in front of the net and in the battle areas of the boards. He also outshot his traditional pace during his short time in Pittsburgh. While the Guentzel loss was hard for Penguins fans to swallow, there is some hope gained from Bunting’s presence and immediate chemistry with Malkin. With new assistant coach David Quinn set to run the power-play for Pittsburgh, it will be interesting to see if Bunting has a role on the top unit as a net-front presence. He could threaten his career best totals in this environment.

Drew O’Connor

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	24	20	44	0.54

Last year was Drew O’Connor’s first full year as an NHL winger and he set high water marks in goals (16) and assists (17). The expectation for this year is that O’Connor will have an opportunity within the Penguins top six forward group, likely alongside Sidney Crosby, to fill the absence of Jake Guentzel. Newly acquired prospect Rutger McGroarty may provide some competition but O’Connor should own the inside track. He showcased some developing skill with the puck last year in addition to a stronger speed burst that enabled him to find new scoring opportunities. O’Connor’s skating speed, tracked via NHL biometric data, put him in the 94th percentile of NHL forwards. Overall, O’Connor has an unassuming offensive skill set without any one truly standout area. He’s a presence in the battle areas of the ice, a willing participant defensively, and he was in the 88th percentile of NHL forwards regarding forecheck involvement. The ask on O’Connor offensively will be much greater than 16 goals if he is affixed to Crosby’s wing. The majority of the early portion of the season saw O’Connor floating between the second and third lines without much consistency in his role. Continuing to develop a quick-thinking approach to offense and quick reaction time will be paramount to finding success on the top line. A competent penalty-killer, O’Connor played an aggressive, physical approach on the penalty-kill that saw him garner a good amount of shorthanded scoring chances.

Rickard Rakell

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	19	24	43	0.55

The Pittsburgh Penguins struggled to find consistent goal scoring throughout their lineup last year, and Rickard Rakell was a big reason why. Spending time almost exclusively between the top two lines over a 70-game span only netted Rakell 15 goals and 37 points, well below expectation given his quality of teammates and environment. Traditionally speaking, if Rakell isn’t scoring, you can rely on him to produce a high number of supporting play peripherals that usually speak to his off-puck value. This year, those also regressed, and his forechecking, puck retrievals, and shot-assists were all in the middle-third of NHL forwards from a percentile perspective. Like Malkin, Rakell’s best work seemed to come post-deadline upon the addition of Michael Bunting. It stands to reason that we might see the same debut for the Penguins second line this year, putting Rakell in less of a position to have to manage retrievals and forechecking and focus on scoring more goals. Rakell finished 2023-24 ninth among Penguin forwards in expected-goal generation, a testament to how cold he was through the first several months of the year. If Rakell is going to be a permanent fixture within the Penguins top six, more offensive output regarding shots, chances and shot-supporting assists will be a requirement. Ideally, Rakell can get back to finding some open space and use his effective wrist shot to put chances on net. Be careful drafting for a big comeback. In the last four seasons, his 60 points in 2022-23 was the outlier and a 15 goal, 40–45-point effort may be more in line with recent seasons.

Valtteri Puustinen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	18	24	42	0.54

Puustinen graduated to the NHL this season, making the leap after two full years of AHL service. Puustinen, a shifty winger with an electric wrist shot, finished his rookie campaign with five goals and 15 assists in 50 games played. Primarily playing on the third line along defensive specialists, Puustinen was one of the only pure shooting threats in the Penguins bottom-six forward group. After some time bouncing back and forth between the third and fourth lines, Puustinen received a promotion and played some impactful minutes alongside Evgeni Malkin, where he seemed to develop some spark from time to time. Although the sample size was limited to 50 games, Puustinen ended the year with the 4th best expected-goals for share of any forward on the roster. Additionally, the Penguins defensive returns were 14% better with Puustinen on the ice as they were with him off the ice. Some of that can certainly be attributed to the defensive nature of some of his linemates, but on an individual level, Puustinen showcased the desire to be involved defensively, while simultaneously not giving up his penchant for wanting to carry the puck into the zone and shoot off the rush. He ended up in the eighth percentile of NHL forwards with regards to his finishing, highlighted by a shooting percentage of 5.6 percent after firing regularly above 10 percent in Wilkes-Barre. It is reasonable to expect that he sees that total increase next year given the volatility of his shot and his offensive toolbox. The question will be where he fits in the line-up with the veteran offseason acquisitions of Kevin Hayes, Anthony Beauvillier and Blake Lizzotte to fill out the lower half of the forward units.

Kevin Hayes

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	18	24	42	0.58

Hayes arrived in Pittsburgh via trade from St. Louis in the offseason that brought the veteran center back to the familiar landscape of the Metropolitan division. Hayes spent one year in St. Louis, and it was one that saw him struggle to find a defined role within the forward group. Hayes’ struggles were so extensive that he was moved off of the center position, a home here he had a team best 57 percent win percentage, to have a test run of time on the wing in an attempt to find him a fit for him. He enters Mike Sullivan’s system as the presumptive third line center, a position the Penguins have struggled to find a caretaker for since the departure of Nick Bonino. Hayes’ struggles can be summed up in a variety of ways, but most notably his 29 points in 79 games is his lowest output since his rookie season of 2014-15. Hayes is still an adequate passer and although his totals were reduced last season as he struggled in St. Louis, he is usually in the upper half of the league regarding in-zone shot assists. He’s still an adequate defensive player as evidenced by his even-strength defensive wins above replacement being in the 75th percentile of league forwards. Overall, it will be intriguing to see how Hayes slots in with the Penguins and how his style meshes with Sullivan’s desire to play up-tempo, high-forechecking hockey.

Anthony Beauvillier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
76	9	16	25	0.33

Beauvillier is hoping to keep an unpacked suitcase in 2024-25. In 2023-24, he appeared for Vancouver, Chicago, and Nashville. As a result, he struggled to find an identity after bouncing around from team to team. Requirements and systems changed rapidly, and it ultimately affected the results. Beauvillier played 60 games across three teams and ended the year with five goals and 12 assists. While the end results were not pleasant, the process behind them was actually quite sound. Beauvillier finished the season in the 90th-plus percentile in even-strength shot rates, rush shot rates, shots from high-danger passes. His finishing totals, however, put him in the second percentile of NHL forwards. Through his journey, he played at all three forward positions, including center, a versatility that will certainly come in handy for the Penguins. Ultimately, Beauvillier’s up-tempo game and despite to be involved in the forecheck (83rd percentile last year) should slot nicely into the Penguins overall structure. The question is whether or not last year’s shooting percentage was an aberration or not. The Penguins bottom-six forward group has struggled to find an identity and reliable presence to press the play offensively. Beauvillier certainly has the skill set to fill that role if he can re-center his game and find some long-term chemistry in Pittsburgh.

DEFENCE

Erik Karlsson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	18	56	74	0.90

It’s difficult to call Erik Karlsson’s first season in Pittsburgh a disappointment. He finished in the 100th percentile among NHL defensemen in even-strength scoring chance assists and shot contributions and was in the 99th percentile for defensemen in rush shot opportunities. That aside, his point total went from 101 in his final season with the Sharks to 56 in his first season with the Penguins. That drastic reduction hit fairly hard given the lofty expectations set for him. The Penguins offense generated expected-goals at a rate that was 26 percent higher when Karlsson was on the ice versus when he was not, a testament to his impact in carrying the puck up ice and contributing to shot totals. However, the Penguins were mostly a mess defensively and Karlsson was a contributor to that in his own way. The Penguins power-play was inexcusably bad all season long, ultimately dampening Karlsson’s point totals. With a new mind behind the helm of the man-advantage in David Quinn, the hope is that the Penguins power-play at least returns to a league average function, giving Karlsson the opportunity to expand his point totals. While not the quarterback of the top unit, the Penguins have made Karlsson the focal point of the zone entry process with the man-advantage. Overall, expect more of Karlsson controlling the rush and pressing the play up ice. The hope is the Penguins can provide him with a more stable environment moving forward and a rebound in points to among the league leaders. 100 points is not realistic but can push 70 or more if the power play shows signs of life.

Kris Letang

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	8	39	47	0.57

Kris Letang played in all 82 games for the Penguins for the first time in a long time, despite his age and wear and tear. He finished with the highest even-strength point rate of any defenseman on the team, but also regressed significantly on the defensive side. From a defensive Wins Above Replacement perspective, Letang was five percent worse in 2023-24 than he was in the previous year. One element here worth mentioning is that the Letang and Ryan Graves pairing held some disastrous results and seemed like an oil-and-water mixture from the beginning of the year. This caused a bit of shuffling between Graves and Marcus Pettersson to find the right balance in the Penguins top two pairings, but that never came, and the environment remained fairly volatile for the Penguins netminders. Letang’s peripheral statistics in terms of supporting the play are still very strong, albeit a notch down from what his peak was several years ago. He was in the 90th percentile among NHL defensemen in defensive zone exits and had one of his strongest seasons ever in defensive zone puck retrieval success rate, where he landed in the 97th percentile among defensemen. Letang was also hampered by the lack of a functional power-play. Overall, the hope is that Letang can maintain his offensive numbers while cutting down on some of the turnovers and defensive miscues.

Marcus Pettersson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	2	21	23	0.31

Pettersson has become “Mr. Reliable” for the Penguins defensive unit. An unassuming figure on the blueline, Pettersson handles most of the cleanup from having a mobile, offense-first partner on the backend alongside him. His Wins Above Replacement totals from an even-strength perspective put him in the 80th percentile of NHL defenders. Pettersson faced more volatile situations last year than any in his career, ultimately being repeatedly tested on zone entries with the help of only a forward alongside him, if that. The result knocked him back a tier defensively and saw his usually strong metrics around zone entry denials drop to the 42nd percentile of NHL defensemen. The Penguins limited expected-goals with Pettersson on the ice only two percent better than when he was off the ice, another reduction in his year over year value defensively. Despite these drops, Pettersson’s best attribute remains his strong gap control, penchant for making safe, sound plays with the puck, and being able to take a hit and make a play. The hope is that the Penguins have a much cleaner approach defensively that makes Pettersson’s life a bit easier as a result. As he enters the final year of a five-year contract, it’s fair to wonder if his name doesn’t appear in several trade conversations as Kyle Dubas looks to pivot the team mid-flight. The nature of Pettersson’s defense-first approach while still showing competency with the puck on his stick is the definition of a modern-day shutdown defenseman that will certainly be a commodity on the trade block.

Ryan Graves

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	3	13	16	0.22

There’s no question Ryan Graves’ first year in Pittsburgh was nothing short of a disappointment. He came to the Penguins with a six-year contract commitment, with an AAV of $4.5 million a season. Graves results did not deliver close to that value. His strength is carrying the puck up ice, activating offensively, and contributing to shot totals. The inherent problem in that is he’s now being paired with one of Erik Karlsson or Kris Letang, and both of those defensemen are likely headed to the Hall of Fame for their notorious puck handling abilities. The space to create simply wasn’t there and Graves, never known for his physicality or defensive prowess, was suddenly asked to employ both. He could not find that balance successfully and his ice time dwindled considerably as the year went on. Graves even-strength defensive metrics put him in the 31st percentile of NHL defenders, a far cry from where the Penguins need him operating given his presence within their top four defense corps. Graves was in the 10th percentile of NHL defensemen regarding his ability to exit the zone with possession, showing that even his bread-and-butter proved to be a problem. General Manager Kyle Dubas was very direct in calling out Graves at the end of the year, it will be interesting to see how he responds.

GOAL

Tristan Jarry

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
49	23	21	5	3	0.906	2.82

If the 2023-24 Pittsburgh Penguins were the picture of mediocrity, starter Tristan Jarry was the face of the franchise. That’s not necessarily a knock on the veteran starter, who held down the fort during a season of lackluster play from an aging roster in front of him. But in a division of teams littered with inconsistency, Jarry was just good enough to keep his team in the conversation - and not quite stellar enough to push them that extra little inch into the postseason.

That’s not necessarily his fault, but he’ll likely spend the next few years watching his leash grow increasingly shorter. Prospect Joel Blomqvist of Finland had a stellar breakout year in North America and seems poised to hit the NHL within the next season or two. That leaves very little room for error for Jarry or his tandem partner, Alex Nedeljkovic. Both goaltenders were fine last year, but any regression could open the door for Blomqvist to get his first extended taste of NHL action - and with a handful of other quality goaltending prospects waiting in the wings in Pittsburgh, every game is an audition for everyone in the blue paint.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Duclair, Drouin, Nyquist, Ekholm, Thompson plus much, much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 29 Mar 2024 18:22:15 +0000

TAMPA, FL - MARCH 14: Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Anthony Duclair (10) looks to make a pass during the NHL Hockey match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers on March 14, 2024 at Amalie Arena in Tampa, FL. (Photo by Andrew Bershaw/Icon Sportswire)

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

This week, Anthony Duclair has been a great fit in Tampa Bay, Jonathan Drouin is thriving in Colorado, Gustav Nyquist is having a career year in Nashville, Mattias Ekholm is a force in Edmonton, Logan Thompson is hugely important for the Golden Knights down the stretch, and much, much more!

#1 Tampa Bay Lightning winger Anthony Duclair has been well traveled throughout his NHL career. This stop with the Lightning is the eighth NHL team for the 28-year-old winger and Duclair has been a quality addition for Tampa Bay. In eight games for the Lightning, Duclair has put up nine points (5 G, 4 A) with 18 shots on goal. He has settled on left wing of Tampa Bay’s top line, alongside Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov, which is a great situation for just about anyone.

#2 Jonathan Drouin’s offseason move to Colorado offered him the opportunity to play with elite talent and it has helped to resurrect his career. In his past 10 games, Drouin has 12 points (4 G, 8 A) with 21 shots on goal and the shots on goal are a good indication for Drouin, who can be a reluctant shooter at times. He is still averaging a little over 1.5 shots on goal per game this season, which is not a lot, but the rate has increased during this most recent offensive surge. He is in a prime position, skating on the left wing of Colorado’s top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.

#3 The Nashville Predators finally lost in regulation time Thursday night in Arizona, snapping an 18-game point streak, but that did not prevent veteran winger Gustav Nyquist from extending his individual point streak to seven games. In the past 19 games, Nyquist has produced 25 points (9 G, 16 A) with 38 shots on goal. The 34-year-old has hit a career high with 66 points (21 G, 45 A) in 73 games. He has been an excellent fit on Nashville’s top line and first power play unit, skating with Filip Forsberg and Ryan O’Reilly.

#4 Moving to Edmonton last season helped to unlock some offensive potential in veteran blueliner Mattias Ekholm. Known as a steady and reliable defenceman, Ekholm’s ability to move the puck opens the door to quality offensive production. In his past eight games, Ekholm has delivered 10 points (3 G, 7 A) with 25 shots on goal. He is up to 36 points (7 G, 29 A) on the season, his most since he put up a career-high 44 points in 2018-2019. Incredibly, only three of Ekholm’s 36 points have come on the power play.

#5 As the Vegas Golden Knights battle to secure a playoff spot, starting goaltender Adin Hill is out of the lineup with an undisclosed injury. Logan Thompson takes over as the No. 1 for Vegas, with Pavel Patera recalled from the AHL to fill the backup role. Thompson stopped 39 of 40 shots in Thursday’s 4-1 victory at Winnipeg, giving him a .922 save percentage in his past nine games. The Golden Knights have a 21-12-5 record with Thompson between the pipes, which should help to give him good value for the stretch run.

#6 While the Ottawa Senators are making some noise when it is too late to really matter, the production still offers value for fantasy managers. Right winger Drake Batherson has been on a productive run for quite a while, tallying 18 points (9 G, 9 A) with 50 shots on goal in his past 19 games. He is riding on the Sens’ top line, skating with Brady Tkachuk and Shane Pinto, a good combination for Batherson.

#7 On one hand, it is wonderful for the Buffalo Sabres that young winger J.J. Peterka has developed to the point that he leads the team with 25 goals this season. On the other hand, it is not ideal for the Sabres to have Peterka outscoring the likes of Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and Jeff Skinner. Peterka has seven points (5 G, 2 A) with 20 shots on goal in his past eight games and he played a career-high 21:38 in Wednesday’s loss against Ottawa, skating on the Sabres’ top line with Thompson and Tuch.

#8 Hurricanes right winger Seth Jarvis is enjoying a breakout season. In his third NHL campaign, Jarvis has produced 60 points (28 G, 32 A). In his past 11 games, the 22-year-old winger has 12 points (9 G, 3 A) and 26 shots on goal. Skating on Carolina’s top line with Sebastian Aho and Jake Guentzel is obviously a great spot for Jarvis, but he is doing his part to keep that prime spot in the lineup.

#9 At the start of the season, Washington Capitals centre Connor McMichael appeared to be blocked by veterans down the middle of the ice. However, with Nicklas Backstrom unable to get healthy and Evgeny Kuznetsov shipped out to Carolina at the trade deadline, more opportunities are available for 23-year-old McMichael. To his credit, he is making the most of it, most recently skating with Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie on the Capitals’ top line, McMichael has eight points (5 G, 3 A) with 14 shots on goal in his past nine games.

#10 Even though his ice time can be inconsistent in Winnipeg, Nikolaj Ehlers continues to produce. He has eight points (2 G, 6 A) with 26 shots on goal in his past eight games and he played 18:07 in Thursday’s loss against Vegas, which was Ehlers’ highest time on ice since an overtime loss to Toronto on January 24. Without a prime role on the Jets’ power play, Ehlers has scored 48 of his 53 points this season at even strength, which is a huge credit to him as a player but does make him less appealing for fantasy managers.

#11 It is fair to say that the Los Angeles Kings expected a lot more from centre Pierre-Luc Dubois this season. He has no shot at scoring 60-plus points for a third straight season, but he does have seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past seven games. The concern for fantasy managers – to say nothing of the Kings – is that Dubois has just 11 shots on goal in those seven games, raising questions about how sustainable this production might be over the rest of the season. One reason to be encouraged about Dubois is that Viktor Arvidsson has landed on his wing and Arvidsson brings an energy that should elevate Dubois’ game.

#12 With Mitch Marner still nursing a high ankle sprain, Max Domi is getting a chance to skate on the Maple Leafs’ top line with Auston Matthews and Tyler Bertuzzi. Domi has been a solid complementary player for Toronto this season and he does have nine points (1 G, 8 A) with 19 shots on goal in nine games since the trade deadline. As a pass-first playmaker, Domi does seem to be a stylistic fit alongside Matthews, the league’s leading goal scorer. Of course, the moment that Marner is ready to return, Domi’s fantasy value will drop.

#13 When the Detroit Red Wings traded winger Klim Kostin to the San Jose Sharks at the trade deadline, it did not make big waves. After all, he had just four pints (3 G, 1 A) in 33 games for the Red Wings, but Kostin is getting a better opportunity with the Sharks. He has seven points (3 G, 4 A) in 10 games for San Jose and played a season-high 17:01 in Thursday’s loss at Minnesota, skating with Mikael Granlund and Fabian Zetterlund on San Jose’s top line. Yes, that is the Sharks’ top line.

#14 Scoring a goal in Thursday’s win over Nashville, Arizona Coyotes centre Nick Bjugstad extended his point streak to five games. The veteran pivot has landed in a plum spot, skating with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz on Arizona’s No. 1 line, and he has delivered 11 points (7 G< 4 A) with 29 shots on goal in his past 11 games. It is the first time since 2017-2018 that Bjugstad has surpassed 40 points in a season.

#15 Playing on a deep Carolina blueline, Dmitry Orlov has not been as productive as he was last season, when he produced a career-high 36 points while playing for the Washington Capitals and the Boston Bruins. While that is true, Orlov may be worthy of late season fantasy interest, as he has contributed eight points (3 G, 5 A) along with 18 shots on goal in his past nine games. Orlov is playing just over 17 minutes per game this season, down more than five minutes per game compared to last season, and he is not a big power play point producer, but being a strong puck mover on a dominant Carolina team can still deliver the goods.

#16 The Carolina Hurricanes added more talent at the trade deadline and after a couple of three-point games, it appears to have sent winger Teuvo Teravainen into a slump. He has gone six straight games without a point despite playing nearly 16 minutes per game. For fantasy managers in the playoffs, it may be worth finding a hotter hand rather than hoping that Teravainen can snap out of this slump.

#17 When he recorded an assist on March 1 against New Jersey, Anaheim Ducks centre Mason McTavish had 40 points in 52 games. He has gone nine straight games without a point since then and played just 10:35 in Thursday’s 4-2 loss at Seattle. McTavish is a promising second year centre who should be a long-term fixture in the Ducks lineup, but for fantasy managers that need production now, he is coming up short and, in most cases, is worth sending to the waiver wire in order to find more immediate help.

#18 Sometimes goaltending can be overvalued, but when a team does not have reliable goaltending, it seems like it overpowers everything else. Take the New Jersey Devils, for example. They spent most of the season struggling to get any kind of consistently reliable play between the pipes and that, combined with some significant injuries, has left them outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. At the trade deadline, however, the Devils brought in Jake Allen from Montreal and Kaapo Kahkonen from San Jose. The early returns have Allen with a .925 save percentage in six starts and Kahkonen with a .934 save percentage in three starts. The Devils have won four of their past five games and Allen might have some fantasy value for the final weeks of the season, certainly far more than he had in Montreal prior to the trade.

#19 When the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Michael Bunting from Carolina at the trade deadline, it was not very well received, in part because it meant that the Penguins were moving on from Jake Guentzel, a bitter pill to swallow for a team used to adding talent at the deadline. Nevertheless, Bunting has taken advantage of the bigger role afforded to him in Pittsburgh, producing six points (2 G, 4 A) while playing more than 17 minutes per game in his past seven games. For his part, Guentzel has been great in Carolina, scoring 14 points (2 G, 12 A) with 33 shots on goal in 10 games.

#20 The NHL leaders in expected goals (all situations, per Natural Stat Trick) for the month of March are: Sam Reinhart (8.11), Zach Hyman (8.07), Connor Bedard (7.59), Brady Tkachuk (7.58), Auston Matthews (7.53), John Tavares (7.23), Kirill Kaprizov (7.05), Andrei Svechnikov (6.59), Filip Forsberg (6.41), Nico Hischier (6.40), Chris Kreider (6.39), and Sidney Crosby (6.35). Reinhart and Hyman are the league’s newest 50-goal scorers, but Bedard and Crosby are the ones in this group that are under-performing their expected goals this month, as Bedard has four goals and Crosby has three. Svechnikov, Hischier, and Kreider also scored four goals, so they have been a few goals below expectations, too.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (March 11th to 17th) – Post-NHL Trade Deadline Impact – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 18:06:59 +0000

_{OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 14: Ottawa Senators Right Wing Vladimir Tarasenko (91) after a whistle during second period National Hockey League action between the Philadelphia Flyers and Ottawa Senators on October 14, 2023, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)}

The trade deadline is behind us and it certainly was eventful. Although we didn’t get a lot of trades in the leadup to the final week -- just four deals in all of February -- general managers made up for lost time with six trades on Wednesday, 10 on Thursday and 23 on the final day.

This isn’t a winners and losers column, but if it was, Vegas would naturally be at the top of the winners list. The rest of the league might be annoyed at the Golden Knights’ seemingly unending ability to make blockbusters, but as a fan of one of the other 31 franchises, I suspect a lot of that is just because we collectively wish that our general manager had a bit more of Kelly McCrimmon’s boldness and the ownership for the teams we rooted for were a bit more willing to green-light whatever it takes to win.

Vegas added forwards Anthony Mantha and Tomas Hertl as well as Noah Hanifin on Friday. Clearly, the Golden Knights are gearing up for a defence of their Stanley Cup championships -- despite some lacklustre play of late -- but these aren’t exclusively win-now moves. Hertl is signed through 2029-30 and with the Sharks retaining part of his contract, he comes at a reasonable $6.75 million annually for the Golden Knights over that span. Mantha and Hanifin are on expiring contracts, but it is possible Vegas will be able to retain Hanifin’s services long-term.

Carolina also had a pretty interesting trade season with the additions of Evgeny Kuznetsov and Jake Guentzel. Kuznetsov, who has just six goals and 17 points through 43 games this season, is definitely a risk, but it will be interesting to see if a fresh start does him any good. If nothing else, the addition of Guentzel should bolster what was already a pretty solid offense.

Florida also upgraded its forward corps by adding Vladimir Tarasenko. After falling just short of the Cup last year, I’d at the very least say that the Panthers are the team to beat in the East. The only reason why I hesitate to call the Panthers the outright Cup favourites is that I love Vancouver and Colorado in the west.

The Avalanche in particular are looking strong after grabbing Casey Mittelstadt, albeit at the high price of Bowen Byram. Colorado’s offense is the best in the league at 3.70 goals per game, but the Avalanche have been extremely reliant on Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar to drive that scoring. If you were to have judged the Avalanche from their second line down, then you would have found a team that was wanting. Adding Mittelstadt does a lot to address that shortcoming, though Alexandar Georgiev’s less-than-stellar play is still a concern. The Avalanche might wish they had acquired a veteran backup come playoff time.

Of course, that’s all just scratching the surface of how the trade deadline has changed things. Let’s do a deeper dive while highlighting some of the best teams to utilize this coming week.

Anaheim Ducks - TUE @ CHI, THU @ MIN, FRI @ WPG (BTB), SUN @ STL

The Ducks don’t have much left to play for, but at least their upcoming schedule isn’t too bad. They’ll be on the road next week, playing in Chicago on Tuesday, Minnesota on Thursday, Winnipeg on Friday and St. Louis on Sunday. The Jets are the only of those adversaries in a playoff position.

Anaheim dealt away forwards Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick to Edmonton on Wednesday and acquired Ben Meyers from the Avalanche on Friday.

Meyers was in the minors before the trade, but he’s likely to remain with the Ducks for the remainder of the campaign. Don’t expect too much from him, though. He had six goals in 53 career contests over parts of three seasons with Colorado and is likely to serve primarily on the third line in Anaheim.

The loss of Henrique will be felt, though. He had 18 goals and 42 points in 60 contests with the Ducks this season, which was good for third in the team’s scoring race at the time of his trade. His departure might increase how much Mason McTavish is leaned on. We’ve also started to see a significant spike in Max Jones’ playing time recently -- logging over 15 minutes in each of his past three contests compared to his average of 11:43 over his first 44 outings -- and that’s likely to persist for the remainder of the season.

With the Ducks looking toward the future, Olen Zellweger is likely to stay in the NHL for the rest of the season. Although he has just two assists through his first eight contests with Anaheim, the 20-year-old defenseman has offensive upside and is getting power-play ice time, so he’d be an interesting pickup for the upcoming week given the competition.

Columbus Blue Jackets - TUE @ MTL, THU VS OTT, SAT VS SJS, SUN VS WPG (BTB)

Like Anaheim, Columbus doesn’t have any hope of making the playoffs, but next week’s schedule is still a favourable one for the Blue Jackets. They’ll play in Montreal on Tuesday before hosting the Senators on Thursday, the Sharks on Saturday and the Jets on Sunday. While Winnipeg is having a strong campaign, those other three teams are among the worst in the league.

Columbus was somewhat quiet at the deadline, but the Blue Jackets did part ways with Jack Roslovic and Andrew Peeke.

Their biggest move came earlier when they acquired Alexander Nylander from Pittsburgh on Feb. 22 in exchange for Emil Bemstrom. That wasn’t expected to be a noteworthy move, but Nylander has provided an incredible five goals and seven points in seven contests with the Blue Jackets. Nylander is likely to remain in a top-six role for the remainder of the season, so while he’s unlikely to maintain his point-per-game pace, the 26-year-old should continue to have fantasy relevance.

Roslovic was red hot too with four goals and 13 points in his last 12 games prior to the trade. He was serving primarily on the top line with Boone Jenner and Johnny Gaudreau, but now that he’s gone, Kirill Marchenko might be put in that role. Marchenko has 17 goals and 32 points in 60 contests this season, and the 23-year-old might see his offensive pace increase if he does lockdown that first-line assignment.

One player who didn’t move is goaltender Elvis Merzlikins. There was some suggestion back in January that he would welcome a trade because he was unhappy with his workload. Maybe that issue will get resolved over the summer, but Merzlikins and Daniil Tarasov are likely to share the netminding duties fairly evenly for what’s left of the season.

Detroit Red Wings - TUE @ BUF, THU VS ARI, SAT VS BUF, SUN @ PIT (BTB)

Detroit will continue its fight for a wild-card berth next week. The Red Wings will start by playing in Buffalo on Tuesday before returning home to face the Coyotes on Thursday and the Sabres on Saturday. They’ll complete the week with a game in Pittsburgh on Sunday. None of those opponents are in a playoff position, so it’s important that the Red Wings take advantage by picking up at least six points.

The Red Wings were quiet at the deadline, though to be fair, they made their major move back in November when they signed Patrick Kane. The 35-year-old has gone on to provide 13 goals and 31 points through 31 games, so they have to be happy with that addition.

They’ll need to lean on Kane even more in the short term because Dylan Larkin suffered a lower-body injury Monday that’s expected to cost him at least one more week. While Larkin’s unavailable, Joe Veleno might see his workload increase and consequently should have more short-term value in fantasy leagues.

This could also be a good week for David Perron, who is on a roll with a goal and four points over his past four games. He’s up to 13 goals and 32 points in 56 contests in 2023-24. Defenseman Olli Maatta has looked good recently too, supplying two goals and four points across his last four outings. Maatta typically isn’t a significant offensive contributor, though, so he would be at best a short-term pickup option.

Los Angeles Kings - MON VS NYI, WED @ STL, FRI @ CHI, SAT @ DAL (BTB)

The Kings hold a playoff position, but their postseason berth is far from secure. They’ll need to play next week while hosting the Islanders on Monday and then playing on the road against St. Louis, Chicago and Dallas on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, respectively.

LA didn’t add anyone at the deadline, so if the Kings are going to get into the playoffs, it’ll have to be with basically the same group they’ve had for the entire year. However, injuries have made their task even harder. Viktor Arvidsson (lower body) has played just four games in 2023-24 while Mikey Anderson (upper body) and Adrian Kempe (upper body) also might not be available next week.

At least Kevin Fiala has been doing his part. The 27-year-old forward has a superb seven goals and 13 points over his last nine games. With his marker Thursday, Fiala reached the 20-goal milestone for the fifth consecutive campaign, but he’s also exceeded 25 tallies just once in his career (2021-22). In other words, don’t count on him providing goals at his recent rate for much longer, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he still ended up having a strong finish to the season offensively.

Drew Doughty has looked good lately too, providing three goals and 12 points over his last 11 outings. Six of those points came with the man advantage, which is noteworthy because LA’s power play has been middling this season with a 22.6 percent success rate. However, the Kings have converted on 32.0 percent of their power plays over their past 11 games, and if they can keep that up, it will do wonders for Doughty’s fantasy value.

It wouldn’t mean much to Matt Roy -- he isn’t typically used with the man advantage -- but the 29-year-old blueliner has three even-strength assists across his past three games. That has brought Roy up to 20 points (three goals) through 61 contests -- this is his third straight campaign with at least 20 points.

Ottawa Senators - TUE VS PIT, THUS @ CBJ, SAT @ NYI, SUN VS CAR (BTB)

Ottawa has a relatively easy start to the week with a home contest against the Penguins and then a road match versus Columbus on Thursday. Things do pick up after that, though. The Senators will play on the road against the Islanders on Saturday in a contest that matters for the Islanders in their pursuit of a wild-card spot. Ottawa will conclude the week by hosting the Hurricanes on Sunday.

The Senators made just one trade in the leadup to the deadline, shipping Vladimir Tarasenko to Florida in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round pick and a 2025 third-round selection. That’s a minimal return for a top-six forward, but Tarasenko’s full no-trade clause tied the Senators’ hands.

Either way, Ottawa’s offense is looking a little thinner between the loss of Tarasenko and Josh Norris potentially missing the rest of the season with a shoulder injury. The top two lines going forward will be combinations of Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto, Drake Batherson, Mathieu Joseph, Tim Stutzle and Claude Giroux. That will work fine, but the bottom six will be a collection of whatever Ottawa can cobble together.

For example, Boris Katchouk, who was claimed off waivers from Chicago on Friday, is likely to be a regular on the third unit going forward. The 25-year-old has five goals and nine points in 38 contests this season, so he’s not exactly expected to be a scoring threat in that role. Dominik Kubalik, who has averaged 12:30 of ice time this season while providing 10 goals and 14 points across 57 contests, might see his playing time increase too. Ridly Greig might round out that third unit despite recording just three goals and four points over his past 21 appearances.

For what it’s worth, Ottawa also has the option of calling up Angus Crookshank, who has 22 goals and 43 points in 47 contests with AHL Belleville this season. He was limited to a goal and an assist during a seven-game stint with Ottawa earlier in the campaign, but the 24-year-old averaged just 8:50 of ice time. He’d almost certainly get a bigger role if Ottawa promoted him now, so keep an eye out for that.

Pittsburgh Penguins - TUE @ OTT, THU VS SJS, SAT VS NYR, SUN VS DET (BTB)

Although the Penguins’ playoff hopes are all but gone, they still have an opportunity to at least make their final weeks of the campaign interesting. Pittsburgh will play in Ottawa on Tuesday before heading home to host the Sharks on Thursday, the Rangers on Saturday and the Red Wings on Sunday.

As already noted, the Penguins traded star forward Jake Guentzel on Thursday. Pittsburgh also shipped away defenseman Chad Ruhwedel, though the club did add Michael Bunting.

Bunting is an interesting option the rest of the way. He had 13 goals and 36 points in 60 games with Carolina before the trade, which is nothing special, but with Guentzel gone, Bunting might play alongside Sidney Crosby going forward. That’s an ideal assignment that should boost Bunting’s fantasy value.

John Ludvig is the other Pittsburgh player who was significantly impacted by the trade deadline. With Ruhwedel gone, there’s an opportunity for Ludvig, who was last in the lineup on Feb. 18, to play regularly for the remainder of the season. Ludvig isn’t much of an offensive threat with just a goal and an assist through 23 games, but he’s a physical force. The 23-year-old has 23 PIM and 51 hits in 2023-24, so he might have some value to certain fantasy managers now that he’s projected to remain in the lineup.

Beyond that, I’m really interested to see how Crosby performs for the remainder of the campaign. He’s been fantastic with 32 goals and 63 points in 61 outings but has supplied only one helper across his past five appearances. It’s probably just a slump that will end soon, but this is also a new position for the 36-year-old. Crosby is used to playing on a contender. Even last year when the Penguins failed to make the playoffs, they missed by just one point.

Personally, I expect Crosby to bounce back shortly and have a solid finish to the season, but we’ll have to wait and see if being out of contention impacts his motivation more than I suspect.

San Jose Sharks - TUE @ PHI, THUS @ PIT, SAT @ CBJ, SUN @ CHI (BTB)

The Sharks will play in Philadelphia on Tuesday, but that will be their only game next week against a team in a playoff position. After that, San Jose will continue its road trip with stops in Pittsburgh on Thursday, Columbus on Saturday and Chicago on Sunday.

San Jose traded away forwards Anthony Duclair and Tomas Hertl, defenseman Nikita Okhotyuk and goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen at the deadline. The Sharks did get Vitek Vanecek from New Jersey, but the goaltender might be done for the season due to a lower-body injury. Keep in mind, the Sharks were 15-40-7 even before those trades, so to say the squad is in a sad state now would be an understatement.

With Vanecek unavailable, Mackenzie Blackwood will likely be leaned on heavily for what’s left of the season…or at least he will be once he’s recovered from a groin injury. In the meantime, San Jose’s goaltending duo are Magnus Chrona and Devin Cooley. When Blackwood is healthy, Cooley might be sent to the minors. Regardless, none of them are good options in fantasy circles given the team in front of them.

Klim Kostin might have a little bit of value, though, to fantasy managers. The Sharks acquired him from the Red Wings on Friday. He was frequently a healthy scratch in Detroit and averaged just 8:43 when he did play, but in San Jose, Kostin might be a mainstay on the third line. That likely won’t lead to him getting much offense, but Kostin could be a good source of PIM and hits -- he has 38 and 60, respectively, through 33 appearances.

William Eklund might also be able to provide a bit of a silver lining. The 21-year-old hasn’t been as productive as hoped this campaign with 10 goals and 29 points through 60 contests, but he does have two goals and four points over his last four games, so perhaps he’ll end the season on a positive note. Certainly, the Sharks will give him plenty of opportunities at both even strength and on the power play.

Winnipeg Jets - MON VS WSH, WED VS NSH, FRI VS ANA, SUN @ CBJ

The Jets will start the week at home, hosting the Capitals on Monday, the Predators on Wednesday and the Ducks on Friday. They’ll conclude the week with a road game versus the lowly Blue Jackets on Sunday.

Winnipeg added Colin Miller and Tyler Toffoli in separate trades with New Jersey on Friday, which compliments the Jets’ addition of Sean Monahan on Feb. 2. The Jets have enjoyed an effective forward trio of Mark Scheifele (19 goals and 56 points in 56 contests), Kyle Connor (26 goals and 44 points in 46 outings) and Nikolaj Ehlers (19 goals and 44 points in 62 appearances), but the team’s scoring depth up front was lacking. With Monahan and Toffoli in the mix, Winnipeg can now roll two dangerous lines with ease.

This isn’t good news for everyone, though. Cole Perfetti has a respectable 14 goals and 31 points in 61 contests this season, but the 22-year-old has been cold for a while, providing just two assists over his last 21 games. With Winnipeg’s recent upgrades, Perfetti is projected to serve strictly in a bottom-six capacity without much, if any, power-play ice time. He might even be a healthy scratch in situations where everyone is healthy.

Vladislav Namestnikov has averaged 15:04 of ice time this season, but he might see work primarily on the third line going forward. He has been effective recently, though, with two goals and five points across his last five contests while seeing time with Connor and Scheifele, so perhaps the 31-year-old will be able to avoid that demotion in the short term.

Mason Appleton has done well lately too, collecting four assists over his last three contests, but the Jets’ additions will likely push him down in the depth charts too. Although he’s averaged 16:05 in 2023-24, he might play mostly in a bottom-six capacity going forward.