Michael McLeod – McKeen's Hockey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DADOUN: THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (December 25th to 31st) – Senators make a coaching change – Ducks, Sabres, Avalanche, Stars, Oilers, Devils, Islander and Leafs look good in short week

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 23 Dec 2023 17:24:26 +0000

Ottawa Senators Defenceman Jake Sanderson (85). (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)

We’ve seen examples of coaching changes this year led to immediate improvement in Edmonton, Minnesota and St. Louis, but firing your bench boss isn’t a magic bullet that guarantees a turnaround, as the Ottawa Senators are learning.

Since replacing coach D.J. Smith with Jacques Martin, the Senators have lost two contests to Arizona and Colorado, dropping their season record to 11-17-0. There’s still time to dig out of that hole, but it seems unlikely. To put it into context, if we assume it’ll take 92 points to make the playoffs this year, which was the case in 2022-23 and is a reasonable expectation in general, then Ottawa would need to go 35-19-0 the rest of the way to make the playoffs, which amounts to a .648 winning percentage. Not impossible, but highly improbable given what we’ve seen of this team.

The defense just isn’t there. Ottawa ranks 28th in xGA/60 at 3.51, and goaltenders Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg haven’t been nearly good enough to make up for the sloppy play in front of them. The Senators do have a solid forward core, but it’s not enough to make up for that defense either.

The silver lining is Tim Stutzle, Brady Tkachuk, Joshua Norris, Drake Batherson and Jake Sanderson are all still young and locked to multi-year contracts. Jakob Chychrun is fairly young too at 25 and signed through 2024-25. All isn’t lost if the Senators miss the playoffs this year, though after falling short of a postseason berth in every campaign since 2017, I’m sure there is some eagerness in Ottawa to move past the rebuilding phase.

Anaheim Ducks – WED VS VGK, FRI VS ARI, SUN VS EDM

There are no games scheduled on Monday or Tuesday due to the Christmas break, and consequently, no team plays more than three games this week. Anaheim is among those that have a full three-game set, hosting the Golden Knights on Wednesday, the Coyotes on Friday and the Oilers on Sunday. Vegas will be a tough match, but the Coyotes are middling while Edmonton’s been inconsistent, especially when it comes to the Oilers’ goaltending.

I highlighted Anaheim last week too and mentioned at that time that Trevor Zegras (lower body) was getting close to returning. He didn’t end up returning in the time between columns, but Zegras did participate in Thursday’s optional skate, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see him make his return next week. When he does return, he could go on a tear. Zegras has just two points in 12 contests this season, but he was playing hurt before being shut down due to the injury, so when he comes back, he’ll hopefully be 100 percent.

In the meantime, Adam Henrique has been red hot, scoring six goals and seven points over his last six contests. He’s averaging 16:34 of ice time, including 2:24 with the man advantage, and might be leaned on even more next week, depending on the status of Leo Carlsson, who sustained a lower-body injury during Thursday’s game.

Rookie Pavel Mintyukov has also done well recently, scoring a goal and four points over his last five outings, bringing him up to two goals and 17 points in 32 contests this season. Taken with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft, Mintyukov is a fantastic prospect who could realistically maintain his rookie point-per-game pace, to finish the campaign in the 40-45 point range.

Buffalo Sabres – WED VS BOS, SAT VS CBJ, SUN @ OTT (BTB)

The Sabres will start the week at home with contests against Boston on Wednesday and Columbus on Saturday before heading to Ottawa for a game Sunday. The Bruins are one of the league’s best teams, but the Blue Jackets and Senators sit at the bottom of the Eastern Conference

This might be a good week to pick up Kyle Okposo. At the age of 35, he’s not quite as effective as he used to be, but Okposo still has something left, providing eight goals and 14 points in 34 outings. He’s been great recently too, netting three markers over his last two contests.

Rookie Zach Benson is hot too with two goals and six points over his last five outings. He’s averaging a healthy 15:25 of ice time this year, and that’s gone up even further to 17:43 over his past five games, so rather than just being a nice short-term pickup, the 19-year-old might be someone you want to hold indefinitely.

Colorado Avalanche – WED @ ARI, FRI @STL, SUN @ DAL

The Avalanche will begin the week with road games in Arizona on Wednesday and St. Louis on Friday before hosting the Sharks on Sunday. None of those adversaries are particularly impressive with Arizona holding the best record among them at 17-13-2.

When a team is 20-11-2 like the Avalanche are, the issues it’s facing can become background noise, but make no mistake, there are points of concern for Colorado, chief among them is how much this team relies on its star players.

Nathan MacKinnon is having an unreal campaign with 18 goals and 53 points in 33 contests. He’s on a 17-game scoring streak and had another superb contest Thursday, scoring four goals and five points to earn a 6-4 victory over Ottawa. Mikko Rantanen (17 goals, 42 points), Cale Makar (eight goals, 39 points) and Valeri Nichushkin (15 goals, 32 points) have done their part to back up MacKinnon this campaign, but outside of those four, the rest of the team isn’t particularly impressive.

No other player has even 20 points while starting goaltender Alexandar Georgiev has left plenty to be desired with his 3.01 GAA and .898 save percentage through 26 starts. You could argue at this point that even Edmonton is less reliant on Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl than Colorado has become on MacKinnon and Rantanen. It’s really become that severe of a house of cards for the Avalanche.

Perhaps that’s changing a little, though. Jonathan Drouin was one of the players the Avalanche added over the summer to try to bolster the team’s offensive depth. He had a rough start to the campaign, scoring three goals and eight points through 26 contests but has rebounded recently with a goal and six points over his last five appearances. Drouin is currently serving on the top power-play unit, which has been the source of four of those six points. If he’s available in your league, he’s worth taking a chance on right now.

Dallas Stars – WED @ STL, FRI VS CHI, SUN VS CHI

Dallas will play in St. Louis on Wednesday before hosting the Blackhawks twice, on Friday and Sunday, respectively. Given Chicago’s 10-20-1 record, including a 4-12-0 record on the road, this should be a good week for the Stars.

The Stars have a roughly equivalent offense to Colorado (3.52 goals per game compared to the Avalanche’s 3.64), but while the Avalanche achieve that success through a couple of superstars, Dallas’ top-end talent hasn’t been nearly as productive, but it compensates through its depth. Dallas has nine players with at least 20 points in contrast to Colorado’s four.

Thomas Harley isn’t among those who have hit 20 points, but he’s made great strides towards that milestone recently, contributing three goals and five points over his last four outings. Especially with Dallas’ relatively easy schedule next week, Harley has a good shot of extending that hot streak.

His success pales in comparison to Matt Duchene’s though, who has five goals and nine points in his past five outings. That brings him up to 11 goals and 29 points in 30 contests this season. He might not maintain that pace, but it wouldn’t be surprising if he at least surpasses the 60-point milestone before the end of the season, making him amazing value for his $3 million cap hit.

Edmonton Oilers – THU @ SJS, SAT @ LAK, SUN @ ANA (BTB)

Edmonton will get a week-long break before playing in San Jose on Thursday. After that, they’ll travel to LA for a contest Saturday and then play in Anaheim on Sunday. It’s not a particularly easy schedule, but with less to choose from this week, I felt it was worth highlighting the Oilers.

Connor McDavid continues to be dominant, supplying 10 goals and 33 points over his last 17 contests and his success should continue going forward. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is likely to stay productive too after contributing three goals and 12 points over his last seven outings. Then there’s also Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and defenseman Evan Bouchard, who have the potential to step up on any given night.

The one high-end player who hasn’t been living up to his potential recently is Evander Kane. The 32-year-old has been fine this year with 12 goals and 22 points in 30 contests, but he’s on a five-game scoring drought and has just two points over his last nine outings. Kane tends to be a somewhat streaky player though, so don’t be surprised if he starts playing like a superstar for a little while after breaking out of his present slump.

Keep an eye on Sam Gagner as well. He registered two assists in Thursday’s 6-3 win over New Jersey, bringing him up to a goal and five points over his last six contests. He’s only averaging 10:56 of ice time this year but has seen some time on the second power-play unit and will occasionally share the ice with some combination of Nugent-Hopkins, Kane and McDavid at even strength.

New Jersey Devils – WED @CBJ, FRI @ OTT, SAT @ BOS

The Devils will host the Blue Jackets on Wednesday before playing in Ottawa on Friday and Boston on Saturday. As noted above, the Blue Jackets and Senators have the two worst records in the Eastern Conference, so those are games the Devils need to win to avoid falling behind in the tight Wild Card race.

The Devils have already hurt their cause by dropping their last three games. They’ve scored just six goals in that span, which isn’t nearly good enough for a team that averages 3.61 goals allowed per game.

Vitek Vanecek (3.35 GAA, .883 save percentage) and Akira Schmid (3.25 GAA, .893 save percentage) haven’t been good enough, especially compared to the Devils’ defense in front of them, which has been average thus far with an XGA/60 of 3.2 -- putting New Jersey 18th in the league in that regard.

It’s worth keeping an eye on New Jersey’s goaltending situation, though, because if Schmid or Vanecek rebound, then they’ll be positioned to secure the No. 1 job on a team averaging an impressive 3.42 worth of goal support per game.

Here’s one interesting scenario to keep in the back of your mind: Joseph Woll (ankle) going on the injured reserve list led to the Maple Leafs calling up Martin Jones, who hasn’t been great, but has had his moments, including a 38-save shutout over Pittsburgh last Saturday. When Woll returns, Jones will likely be put on waivers to send to the AHL. If neither of the Devils’ goaltenders has rebounded by that point, is it possible that they’d put in a waiver claim for Jones? There might be other opportunities for New Jersey to claim a goaltender too -- Montreal is carrying three healthy netminders, for example -- and whatever netminder the Devils potentially add would be entering a favorable situation.

Goalies aside, you might want to consider Michael McLeod as a short-term pickup. He’s on a three-game scoring streak, collecting two goals and four points in that span.

New York Islanders – WED VS PIT, FRI VS WSH, SUN @ PIT

The Islanders will open the week at home with contests against the Penguins on Wednesday and the Capitals on Friday. The Islanders will then travel to Pittsburgh for a game Sunday. For much of the salary cap era, a week full of matches against Pittsburgh and Washington would have been a nightmare, but with those two teams aging cores, it’s not nearly as bad of a schedule nowadays.

The Islanders typically rotate between Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, but Varlamov has allowed at least three goals in each of his last nine contests, so you have to wonder if Sorokin will start in all three games next week given how spread out the upcoming schedule is. Sorokin has had his struggles too this campaign, but he’s 3-0-1 with a 2.44 GAA and a .929 save percentage over his last four outings, so he has been the better option recently.

Traditionally goaltending has been at the heart of the Islanders’ success, but dating back to Nov. 18, the Islanders rank second offensively, averaging 3.69 goals per game. Brock Nelson has been a huge part of that, especially this month with him supplying five goals and 12 points in 10 contests. Meanwhile, Bo Horvat has eight goals and 17 points over his last 12 contests and Mathew Barzal’s contributed five goals and 17 points over his past 11 appearances.

Anders Lee hasn’t been nearly as impressive, scoring nine goals and 12 points in 32 outings this year, but he might be heating up after finding the back of the net in each of his last two contests.

Toronto Maple Leafs – WED VS OTT, FRI @ CBJ, SAT VS CAR

The Maple Leafs have a home contest against the Senators on Wednesday, then they’ll play in Columbus on Friday and finish the week by hosting the Hurricanes on Saturday.

As noted above, Joseph Woll is out with an ankle injury. He’s not likely to return next week, which leaves the Maple Leafs with Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones. You’d think Samsonov would be leaned on under those circumstances, but the 26-year-old goaltender has a 5-2-5 record, 3.79 GAA and .871 save percentage in 14 contests this campaign. He’s been particularly bad lately, allowing 15 goals on 83 shots (.819 save percentage) over his last three contests. Under those circumstances, Jones might start in two of Toronto’s three games next week, making him an okay pickup if you need starts.

While the Maple Leafs have some goaltending issues, they’ve found success at the other end of the ice. Auston Matthews is leading that charge with an unreal 12 goals over his last eight contests. I floated the possibility of Matthews having a 50-in-50 run back in mid-October. The 26-year-old had a stretch from Nov. 8-30 in which he had just one goal in nine contests, which likely killed his chances of becoming the first player since Brett Hull in 1991-92 to accomplish that tremendous feat, but even still, Matthews isn’t fully out of the running after scoring 26 goals over Toronto’s first 30 games.

Lost a little in the noise is Max Domi being productive in limited time. He has three goals and seven points in nine contests despite averaging just 12:22 of ice time. It’s impressive and makes him worthy of utilizing in the short-term, but the Maple Leafs are likely to be buyers at the deadline, so eventually Domi’s already small role might diminish further.

FANTASY: THE WEEK AHEAD – November 20th – 26th – Carolina and Colorado with favourable weeks – Goaltending issues rampant

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 13:41:29 +0000

OTTAWA, ON - JANUARY 27: Carolina Hurricanes Center Jesperi Kotkaniemi (82) skates during the second period of the NHL game between the Ottawa Senators and the Carolina Hurricanes on January 27, 2022 at the Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Steven Kingsman/Icon Sportswire)

The 2022-23 campaign was amazing for offensive defensemen, but this year might be even better. That’s not a statement that should be made lightly. Erik Karlsson had 101 points last year, the most for a blueliner since Brian Leetch in 1991-92, and seven other defensemen exceeded the 70-point milestone. How could 2023-24 end up being even better?

It starts with Quinn Hughes, who is tied for the overall scoring lead with seven goals and 28 points through 18 contests, but it doesn’t end with him. Cale Makar is also in the top 10 with 24 points in 16 outings and an additional four defensemen (Victor Hedman, Evan Bouchard, Filip Hronek and Karlsson) are averaging at least a point per game while logging 16 or more contests. A total of 12 blueliners have PPGs of at least 0.88 (72-point pace over 82 contests) while making at least 16 appearances.

So, while it’s still early, we are on track to set an even higher bar than last year in terms of offensive defenseman.

Overall scoring is up too, though just slightly. Through Saturday’s action, the league was averaging 3.20 goals per team per game. If sustained, that would make this the highest-scoring season since 1993-94, though it’d represent just a small upgrade from 2022-23 (3.18). Still, scoring has been on an overall upward slope for years and has risen significantly compared to 2015-16 (2.71). It’s a fun time to be a hockey fan.

Carolina Hurricanes

Carolina has a trio of home games ahead of them, hosting Edmonton on Wednesday, Tampa Bay on Friday and Columbus on Sunday. The Blue Jackets are one of the worst teams in the league, the Lightning have been mediocre without Andrei Vasilevskiy (back) and Edmonton did go on a three-game winning streak, but it’s over now and even after that, the Oilers have a lowly 5-10-1 record. In other words, the Hurricanes have a real chance to win all three games.

Goaltending Frederik Andersen remains out indefinitely with a blood clotting issue. Last year, that would have led to Antti Raanta becoming the clear No. 1 goaltender, but Raanta has struggled in 2023-24 with a 4-2-0 record, 3.02 GAA and .877 save percentage in seven contests. Even with Andersen gone, Raanta has warmed the bench for Carolina’s last two games due to his poor play. Instead, Pyotr Kochetkov started in those games, but with a 1-4-0 record, 3.10 GAA and .876 save percentage in five outings, he might not be the solution either.

Keep an eye on Jaroslav Halak. He’s been with the team on a tryout basis, and with the Hurricanes’ goaltending being this shaky, he might end up being signed and get some starts. Alternatively, the No. 1 job is wide open, so either Kochetkov or Raanta could snatch it with a single hot streak.

Up front, Sebastian Aho is riding high with three goals and seven points over his last five games. With the weak goaltending the Hurricanes are set to face this week, Aho and Carolina’s forwards in general could be in for a fun time. That might help Jesperi Kotkaniemi rebound. He has a solid six goals and 13 points in 17 contests but has been held off the scoresheet over the last three contests -- his longest drought so far this campaign.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche will play in Nashville on Monday, host the Canucks on Wednesday, play in Minnesota on Friday, and wrap up with week with a home contest versus Calgary. Vancouver should be a challenge, but the rest of that competition has PTS% below .500.

Colorado endured a rough patch from Oct. 26-Nov. 11, winning just two of seven games, but they’ve bounced back in a huge way, not just winning their last three contests but outscoring the competition a stunning 19-6 over that span.

Cale Makar has been the biggest benefactor of the Avalanche’s offense catching fire, collecting a goal and eight points over the last three contests. Valeri Nichushkin is on fire too, supplying four markers and five points during the same stretch.

Alexandar Georgiev has held his own too, but his save percentage over the last three contests is a merely okay .906. It’s fair to say he’s stabilized after posting a 4.73 GAA and an .842 save percentage over seven outings from Oct. 21-Nov. 11, but there is still some level of concern with him. Still, Pavel Francouz (groin) is not going to play this campaign and Ivan Prosvetov lacks experience, so Georgiev has one of the safest jobs in the league, and the Avalanche offense means he’ll rack up plenty of wins even if he ends up having a subpar campaign.

Nashville Predators

The Predators have a busy week ahead of them. They have home games versus Colorado and Calgary on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. After that, they’ll play in St. Louis on Friday before returning to Nashville to host the Jets on Sunday. The Avalanche and Jets are tough opponents, but the Blues are middling, and Calgary is near the bottom of the pack.

Thomas Novak was off to a great start, providing six goals and 12 points in 14 contests, but he hasn’t played since Nov. 11 because of an upper-body injury and isn’t expected to return until mid-December. Meanwhile, Cody Glass returned Nov. 11 from a lower-body injury. He has no points in seven contests this campaign, but he’s still worth regarding as a short-term pickup. The 24-year-old is averaging 3:46 of power-play ice time, including 5:16 over Nashville’s last two outings.

Cole Smith is another forward who might be good to pick up for a brief period. He’s typically not much of a significant offensive threat, but he did score two goals Saturday, so that could be the start of a hot streak. Even if it’s not, Smith should at least help you in terms of PIM and hits -- he has 24 and 42, respectively, over 16 contests.

New Jersey Devils

The Devils are set to play on the road against the Red Wings on Wednesday before hosting the Blue Jackets on Friday and Sabres on Saturday. Buffalo is playing without Tage Thompson, Detroit has dropped four of its last five and Columbus is Columbus, so New Jersey appears to be in a favorable position.

New Jersey also got Jack Hughes back Saturday, and he picked up right where he left off, providing a goal and an assist versus the Rangers to bring him up to six goals and 22 points through 11 outings this year. However, the Devils are still missing Nico Hischier (upper body) and Timo Meier (lower body), plus Tomas Nosek exited Saturday’s contest with a lower-body injury, so New Jersey’s forward core has some holes.

Michael McLeod has been leaned on heavily, averaging 17:27 of ice time over his last six contests in contrast to 12:09 over his first five. Even with that extra playing time, though, he’s just a mildly okay option in fantasy circles for now, and he doesn’t do enough offensively to make him worth hanging onto long term -- once Hischier returns, McLeod should be dropped in everything but the deepest of leagues.

If you’re looking for someone to grab from New Jersey, Ondrej Palat would be a better option. He’s unlikely to get more than 40 points this season, but he’s factored on the scoresheet for three straight games and four of his last five outings.

New York Islanders

The Islanders are slated to host the Flyers on Wednesday, play in Ottawa on Friday and then return home to face Philadelphia for a rematch Saturday. The Flyers and Senators are decent, but not amazing teams this year, so these should be competitive contests.

That said, the Islanders have also been middling this campaign, and their lackluster 6-6-5 record is largely a symptom of their poor offense -- they're tied for 29th with 2.53 goals per game. However, their offense has shown life recently with the Islanders scoring 11 goals (not including the shootout) over their last three outings.

Mathew Barzal is finally heating up, providing a goal and five points in that three-game stretch, bringing him up to four markers and 15 points through 17 contests overall. Brock Nelson has been a major contributor doing the Islanders’ last three outings too with two goals and four points. He’s unlikely to repeat his career high of 75 points from 2022-23, but a 60-point campaign it’s still reasonable for fantasy managers to hope he finishes with around 60 points. Currently, he has eight goals and 12 points in 17 appearances this year.

Even with the offense starting to do better though, New York is still in a lot of trouble. The Islanders rely on goaltender Ilya Sorokin to be the backbone of the team, and traditionally he’s fulfilled that role admirably. However, through 11 appearances this year, he has a 4-3-4 record, 3.32 GAA and .906 save percentage. He’s also allowed at least three goals in each of his last six outings to further frustrate fantasy managers. He’s an interesting buy-low candidate though. While the team in front of him isn’t amazing, Sorokin is still likely to rebound.

Seattle Kraken (Mon vs. Cal, Wed vs. SJS, Fri vs. Van)

Seattle has won its last two games and will attempt to build off that with home games against Calgary, San Jose and Vancouver on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, respectively. The Canucks should be a tough matchup, but the Flames and Sharks are vulnerable teams.

Like the Islanders, Seattle’s offense has underwhelmed this year -- it ranks 28th with 2.63 goals per game -- and has similarly shown life recently with 10 non-shootout goals over the last three contests. In the Kraken’s case, it’s been Jordan Eberle leading the charge. He had a rough start to the campaign, supplying just a goal and three points over his first 12 games, but that seems to be behind him after scoring a goal and six points over his past four outings. Despite his initial slump, he’s still a vital part of the Kraken, averaging 17:14 of ice time, including 2:29 with the man advantage, and is likely to finish the campaign with 50-60 points.

Matthew Beniers seems to have turned a corner too. He had just three assists in 11 contests to start the campaign, but since then he went on a three-game scoring streak from Nov. 4-9 (one goal, four points) and has collected two goals and three points over his last two contests. The 21-year-old’s pace of three goals and 10 points through 19 contests is still down compared to his 2022-23 Calder Trophy-winning 57-point campaign, but there’s potential here.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues will play in Arizona on Wednesday, return home to play the Predators on Friday and finally travel to Chicago to face the Blackhawks on Sunday. The Coyotes have done alright with an 8-7-2 start to the campaign, but Nashville and Chicago have a combined 11-21-0 record, so getting at least four of six points this week should be the goal for St. Louis.

That said, the Blues have been awfully inconsistent. Five of their nine wins have been by three or more goals, but at the same time, St. Louis has also lost by three or more goals six times. To put that into context, they’re the only team with at least five in each of those categories. You consequently never really know what you’re going to get with the Blues.

If you’re looking for a St. Louis player to consider taking for the week though, Brandon Saad is likely available. After all, he has just three goals and five points through 16 contests this season, so he hasn’t given fantasy managers a lot to be excited about. That said, he still has a top-six role and gets deployed on the second power-play unit, so with the schedule being favorable, he might do well in the short term.

If you already have Jordan Binnington, this should be a good week for him. Joel Hofer gave him a breather Sunday, so Binnington is likely to start in all three of the Blues’ upcoming contests. The starting goaltender is off to a strong start this season with a 2.47 GAA and a .922 save percentage in 12 games. The competition also ranges from middling to poor offensively, with the Coyotes being the best of them with 3.24 goals per game, which puts them in a tie for 16th in the league.

Vancouver Canucks

The Canucks get to play against the 3-13-1 Sharks twice this week, first at home Monday and then in San Jose on Saturday. Between then, the Canucks will also play in Colorado on Wednesday and Seattle on Friday.

Vancouver has dropped its last two contests, but it’s still an impressive 12-5-1. Incredibly, three of the Canucks players already have 28 points (J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes). Brock Boeser isn’t too far behind with seven goals and 21 points while defenseman Filip Hronek has a goal and 18 points through 18 contests. That’s right: Vancouver has two defensemen averaging at least a point per game.

The Canucks’ current offensive output isn’t likely to be sustained, but it might last at least another week given Seattle ranks 24th defensively, allowing 3.47 goals per game, and San Jose is in the basement with an average of 4.24 goals allowed.

Beyond the usual suspects, that might be good news for Nils Hoglander. He’s averaging just 10:32 of ice time this season, so not a lot should be expected of him long term, but he’s going into the week on a bit of a roll after scoring a goal in back-to-back games. Defenseman Tyler Myers is hot too with four helpers over his last four contests, bringing him up to two goals and nine points in 18 appearances this year.

FANTASY: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Farabee stepping up for Flyers – Injuries open door to opportunity – Goalies bouncing back – Early-season underachievers that might offer potential buy-low value + much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 17 Nov 2023 19:43:45 +0000

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 10: Philadelphia Flyers left wing Joel Farabee (86) with the puck during an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks played on November 10, 2023 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA. (Photo by John Cordes/Icon Sportswire)

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

This week, Joel Farabee is stepping up for the Flyers, injuries open the door for opportunities, goalies bouncing back, and early-season underachievers that might offer potential buy-low value.

#1 Although Philadelphia Flyers winger Joel Farabee hit a career high with 39 points (15 G, 24 A) last season, it was widely regarded as a disappointing campaign. He was recovering from disc replacement surgery in his neck and both his shot rate and shooting percentage declined. This season, however, Farabee is a vital part of the Flyers’ ability to exceed expectations. He has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in 16 games and all 12 points have come during five-on-five play; his 3.52 points per 60 ranks ninth in the league and while his lack of power play production does put a ceiling on Farabee’s potential production, he has already taken steps forward from last season.

#2 Buffalo Sabres star centre Tage Thompson has been lost for “less than a couple of months” with a wrist injury. His absence will require Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt to anchor the top two centre spots on the Sabres depth chart. Cozens has one assist in his past six games and is averaging less ice time per game than he did last season, so this will provide ample opportunity for him to get back on track. Mittelstadt has 13 points (3 G, 10 A) in 16 games, though with just 21 shots, he does have room to increase his offensive impact.

#3 The Anaheim Ducks placed centre Trevor Zegras on the injured list with a groin injury and he had just two points (1 G, 1 A) in 12 games when they decided that he needed a break. That theoretically could open the door for more ice time for rookie centre Leo Carlsson, who has eight points (6 G, 2 A) in 11 games, but he’s already averaging 18:18 of ice time per game when he plays, so it is difficult to expect and 18-year-old to get much more ice time. Maybe it’s more reasonable to expect Mason McTavish to take on a little more, as the 20-year-old has 16 points (7 G, 9 A) in 16 games while logging 17:32 of ice time per game.

#4 A neck injury has put Avalanche left winger Artturi Lehkonen on the shelf, creating an opportunity for Valeri Nichushkin to skate with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen on Colorado’s top line. MacKinnon has been Nichushkin’s most common linemate this season already, but adding Rantanen does spice things up a bit. Nichushkin has produced five points (4 G, 1 A) and 18 shots on goal in the past five games.

#5 Florida Panthers defencemen Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad are both nearing returns to action, on the precipice of making their seasons debuts for last season’s Stanley Cup finalists. The most intriguing effect will likely fall on Oliver Ekman-Larsson, the 32-year-old defender whose play has been in decline for several seasons. Given a new lease on life in Florida, he has 10 points (4 G, 6 A) in 16 games, but half of those points have come on the power play and Montour’s return could take away Ekman-Larsson’s top unit power play role.

#6 An upper-body injury has landed Nashville Predators centre Tommy Novak on injured reserve for the next four-to-six weeks. With 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in 14 games, he is ranked third in scoring on the Predators and half of those points have come on the power play. Cody Glass gets first crack at Novak’s ice time, but he had better pick up the pace as he has yet to record a point in seven games this season.

#7 New Jersey Devils centre Jack Hughes appears to be on the verge of returning from his upper-body injury. The Devils’ playmaking centre has 20 points (5 G, 15 A) in 10 games, outrageous production and, given the landscape among the league’s top scorers, Hughes has a legitimate case to at least be in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. Michael McLeod, who has three points (1 G, 2 A) in the past five games, is likely to slide back down the depth chart when Hughes is ready to return.

#8 It seems that nearly every week there is some example of how unpredictable goaltending can be from one season to the next, never mind smaller samples like one week to the next or one game to the next. Consider the case of St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, who had a .897 save percentage in 98 games over the previous two seasons. This season, his save percentage is up to XXXX and, at least before the Blues were blown out by the San Jose Sharks Thursday night (in a game started by Joel Hofer), goaltending had been helping the Blues get back to a more competitive level.

#9 Anaheim Ducks netminder John Gibson was an elite performer early in his career, posting a .921 save percentage from 2013-2014 through 2018-2019, but then the burden of playing behind a suspect Ducks defence started to catch up to him and from 2019-2020 through 2022-2023, his save percentage had fallen to .902. This season, however, Gibson has a .927 save percentage in nine starts. With the Ducks more competitive than expected, Gibson is once again a valuable commodity for fantasy managers.

#10 In the previous two seasons, with the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks, Petr Mrazek had a .893 save percentage. In eight games this season, he is rocking a .921 save percentage. The wins don’t come easily in the Windy City, but if Mrazek is going to play at this above-average level, he is going to be fantasy relevant, which was not a widely held expectation for him at the start of the season.

#11 Edmonton Oilers left winger Evander Kane erupted for a hat trick in Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime win against Seattle. Following a slow start, Kane has produced 14 points (7 G, 7 A) and 34 shots on goal in the past 10 games, which puts him up among the top wingers because when the scoring is there, he also generates shots and provides a physical presence (56 hits in 15 games).

#12 Matt Duchene did not record a point in his first four games for the Dallas Stars, which saw him get waived in many fantasy hockey leagues, but the trend has reversed in a hurry. In 10 games since, Duchene has produced 13 points (6 G, 7 A) and 25 shots on goal, thriving on a line with Tyler Seguin and Mason Marchment.

#13 Part of Winnipeg’s return in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, Alex Iafallo has been a quality supporting winger for the Jets. He could stand to shoot the puck more, but Iafallo has nine points (1 G, 8 A) in his past six games, and he is riding shotgun with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele on the Jets’ top line as well as holding down a spot on Winnipeg’s top power play unit.

#14 After a brilliant performance at the World Championships, 21-year-old Buffalo Sabres winger J.J. Peterka entered this season with some expectations. He started slowly, but has now delivered nine points (4 G, 5 A) in the past nine games, a sign that he could be ready to make a leap in only his second NHL campaign.

#15 A couple of early AHL call-ups have made an instant impact in the NHL. Calgary’s Connor Zary, a first-round pick in 2020, has six points (3 G, 3 A) in seven games, though he has just one shot on goal in the past three, leaving him with 11 shots on goal in those seven games. That needs to bounce back up for his production to have a higher likelihood of sustainability. Zary and fellow rookie Martin Pospisil have been flanking Nazem Kadri on the Flames’ second line. Toronto’s Nick Robertson is no longer Calder Trophy eligible after various stints with the Maple Leafs in the past three seasons, but the 22-year-old does have four points (2 G, 2 A) in four games since getting promoted from the AHL, where he had 11 points (5 G, 6 A) in nine games. Robertson is skating with Max Domi and Calle Jarnkrok in a third line that suddenly has some offensive pop to it.

#16 The leader in expected goals per 60 minutes (minimum 50 minutes of ice time) during the month of November is Bruins left winger Brad Marchand (2.09), ahead of Alex Tuch (2.06), Timo Meier (2.04), Connor McMichael (2.02), and Kevin Fiala (2.00). McMichael stands out of that group as he is not nearly as established as an offensive force. With Nicklas Backstrom stepping away from the Capitals, McMichael is looking at a bigger role and has four points (2 G, 2 A) with 12 shots on goal in the past four games and could be a buy-low option in deep leagues. At the other end of the spectrum, there are some forwards who have not been generating chances and it is no surprise if fourth liners have a low rate of expected goals, but Alex Newhook (0.19), Kaapo Kakko (0.21), Matthew Poitras (0.33), and Pavel Zacha (0.36) – all of whom have some expectation of offensive production - are among the forwards in the bottom 20 when it comes to individual expected goals in November.

#17 Looking specifically at five-on-four power play situations, which players are being put in position to score with the man advantage? The leader in individual expected goals per 60 minutes (minimum 40 five-on-four minutes this season) is Florida’s Sam Reinhart (4.05), ahead of Joe Pavelski (3.67), Sidney Crosby (3.53), Drake Batherson (3.35), Vincent Trocheck (3.31), and Tommy Novak (3.28).

#18 While there are some players scoring on a ridiculously high percentage of shots, that likely won’t be sustainable – looking at you, Alexis Lafreniere (29.2%) and Brock Boeser (27.1%) – there are players at the other end who are generating shots on goal and not finding the net. Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell has zero goals on 40 shots. He has had some seasons in which his shooting percentages are terrible, but zero for forty is a real struggle, especially for a player who is skating on a line with Reilly Smith and Evgeni Malkin, two skilled linemates. Others that might be buy-low considerations with zero goals: Josh Anderson (38 shots) and T.J. Oshie (28 shots).

#19 Spinning this to the players that have underachieved the most relative to their expected goals thus far, Oshie (-5.54) and Anderson (-5.31) have fallen shortest of their expected goals totals, followed by Matthew Tkachuk (-5.00), Anders Lee (-4.64), and Rakell (-4.31). These guys are getting chances but can’t finish. On the other hand, the players exceeding their expected goals by the widest margin thus far are: Kyle Connor (6.29), Alex DeBrincat (6.07), Frank Vatrano (5.96), Teuvo Teravainen (5.48), and Chris Kreider (5.08). These are players off to great starts, but sustainability could be a challenge.

#20 One of the bigger tests of any buy-low theory is Columbus Blue Jackets left winger Johnny Gaudreau. He and Patrick Laine were benched in Thursday’s 3-2 loss to Arizona, and Gaudreau has a paltry six points (1 G, 5 A) and 40 shots on goal through 17 games. Gaudreau’s shot rate is down to 2.35 per game and if he can’t make it work with a shooter like Laine, then the Blue Jackets need to make some changes because it makes no sense to invest so much in Gaudreau, only to let him wither on the vine with a line that isn’t working. Gaudreau and Laine have controlled the flow of play to some degree at five-on-five, with 57.3% Corsi, but they are pulling just 40.9% of expected goals and that isn’t going to cut it. It’s notable that Gaudreau has had more success with his most common linemate, Boone Jenner, with a 58.5% Corsi and 58.0% of expected goals. Somehow, some way, the Blue Jackets need to find the right fit for Gaudreau and fantasy managers can lurk and wait for the answer because Gaudreau’s value right now is about as low as it could get.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Devils dealing with injuries at centre – the Sharks finally add a puck-moving defenceman, Hronek, Schwartz, and E. Kane are among the players heating up + much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 10 Nov 2023 19:08:09 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 12: New Jersey Devils center Dawson Mercer (91) looks on during a game between the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils on October 12, 2023 at Prudential Center in the Newark, New Jersey.(Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

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

This week, the Devils dealing with injuries at centre, the Sharks finally add a puck-moving defenceman, an injury to Jordan Eberle, while Filip Hronek, Jaden Schwartz, and Evander Kane are among the players heating up.

#1 One of the main reasons to like the chances of the New Jersey Devils is their 1-2 combination down the middle of the ice. Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier provide the Devils with top-end talent at important positions and, at the moment, both are out of the lineup. Hughes got off to a phenomenal start, with 20 points (5 G, 15 A) in 10 games before suffering an upper-body injury. Hischier struggled early, managing two goals in seven games then suffering his own upper-body injury. With Hughes and Hischier out, Dawson Mercer has moved back to the middle of the ice and Michael McLeod is taking on a bigger role. Mercer has one goal and zero assists in a dozen games. McLeod has three points (1 G, 2 A) while averaging more than 16 minutes of ice time per game in the past four games.

#2 The San Jose Sharks are off to a miserable start, posting a 2-10-1 record, but they are taking a worthwhile shot on a young defenceman, acquiring Calen Addison from the Minnesota Wild for winger Adam Raska and a fifth-round pick in 2026. Addison is a puck-moving defenceman and power play quarterback who is suspect defensively, but his ability to work the power play fills a glaring hole on the Sharks’ roster. Since the start of last season, Addison has 34 points (3 G, 31 A) in 76 games, with 21 of those 34 points coming with the man advantage. In San Jose, he ought to be the first unit power play quarterback very soon, if not immediately.

#3 Seattle Kraken right winger Jordan Eberle suffered a leg injury when he was gashed by a skate in practice. The 33-year-old Eberle has four points (1 G, 3 A) in 13 games and is replaced on the top line, with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann, by Kailer Yamamoto, who has four points (2 G, 2 A) in 14 games.

#4 While the hype has been following Vancouver Canucks defenceman Quinn Hughes – and deservedly so – his partner, Filip Hronek is having a great start to the season. An assist in Thursday’s 5-2 win at Ottawa ran Hronek’s scoring streak to eight games, during which he has recorded 11 assists. The 26-year-old blueliner has recorded 39 points and 38 points, respectively, in the past two seasons, but has 14 assists in 13 games to open this season.

#5 Staying healthy can be a challenge for Seattle Kraken left winger Jaden Schwartz, but he is healthy and thriving right now. With a goal and an assist at Colorado on Thursday, Schwartz picked up a goal and an assist, running his point streak to eight games, during which Schwartz has produced 11 points (5 G, 6 A).

#6 The Edmonton Oilers have stumbled out of the gate and winger Evander Kane had just one assist and 11 shots on goal in the first five games. Since then, however, Kane’s production is much more typical. He has eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 23 shots on goal in his past seven games.

#7 Calgary Flames centre Nazem Kadri was terrible to start the season, recording one assist through his first eight games, and he was even shifted to the wing as the Flames were left looking for answers. They are still looking but Kadri has returned to centre and has a four-game point streak during which he has tallied six points (2 G, 4 A) and 18 shots on goal.

#8 A reliable, if unheralded, forward Calle Jarnkrok has been doing his part to help the Maple Leafs emerge from their early-season doldrums. He is riding a four-game point streak, during which he has five points (2 G, 3 A) and nine shots on goal. He has been skating on a line with Max Domi and Nick Robertson, the latter recently promoted from the American Hockey League.

#9 After battling injuries in recent seasons, Montreal Canadiens centre Sean Monahan is healthy and in prime form this season. He recorded an assist in Thursday’s 3-2 overtime win at Detroit, running his point streak to seven games. Monahan has seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 20 shots on goal in those seven games, and he is anchoring a veteran line with Tanner Pearson and Brendan Gallagher on the wings.

#10 It seems like every week the unpredictability of goaltending raises its ugly head but sometimes, that unpredictability can work in a positive fashion. Take the case of Los Angeles Kings goaltender Cam Talbot, a 36-year-old coming off a season in which he had a .898 save percentage in 36 games for Ottawa but in his first 10 starts for the Kings, he has delivered a .930 save percentage. With Pheonix Copley struggling (he has a .792 save percentage through four games), there could be a temptation for the Kings to lean heavily on Talbot, but that might not be ideal for his long-term performance.

#11 More teams are getting into the plan of having three goaltenders available and the Carolina Hurricanes seem to be at the forefront of that plan. It makes sense because their veteran goaltenders are not especially durable and with Frederik Andersen landing on the injured list, the Hurricanes can bring in Pyotr Kochetkov and not miss a beat. At least that is the theory. Kochetkov will see more action with Andersen injured, but has a .836 save percentage in his first three starts for the Hurricanes.

#12 Injuries are also forcing some teams to turn to their third goaltenders. For the Rangers, Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick are dealing with lingering injuries, prompting the recall of Louis Domingue from the American Hockey League. He stopped 25 of 26 shots in Thursday’s win against Minnesota. The 31-year-old has a .905 save percentage in 143 career NHL games, so he is capable of providing competent goaltending in a pinch and it appears that the Rangers need that right now. Pittsburgh is in a similar situation with Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic out, leading to Magnus Hellberg getting recalled. Hellberg does not have the same track record – a .890 save percentage in 26 games – but the 32-year-old netminder might be in line to see more action than expected.

#13 There may be no team facing a more difficult goaltending situation than the Edmonton Oilers. They have waived Jack Campbell to the AHL, recalling Chet Pickard, leaving Stuart Skinner as the No. 1 option for now. Skinner was the runner-up in voting for the Calder Trophy last season but has a .854 save percentage in eight appearances this season. For an Oilers team that had plans on contending to start the year, that isn’t going to cut it, and Edmonton might have to explore the trade market if they can’t get more saves.

#14 Talk about the nick of time, there are three productive Nicks that are widely available in fantasy. Start with Arizona’s Nick Bjugstad, the towering veteran centre who has seven points (1 G, 6 A) in his past eight games, playing more than 17 minutes per game over that stretch. His teammate, Nick Schmaltz, comes with more of an offensive pedigree. Not only does Schmaltz have 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in 13 games, but he is playing more than 20 minutes per game and is averaging a career-high 2.46 shots on goal per game. The third Nick for consideration is Nick Paul in Tampa Bay. Paul has scored seven goals in 14 games, including four goals on the power play, which increases the fantasy relevance of a player who is normally known for his work in a checking role.

#15 Earlier in the season, the Seattle Kraken weren’t getting production from their centres but as that has changed, a few more wins are finding their way to the Kraken. Yanni Gourde, who had one goal and zero assists in the first eight games, has bounced back with six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past six games. Matty Beniers, who had just three assists in his first 11 games, has four points (1 G, 3 A) during a three-game point streak.

#16 Another slow starter, Arizona winger Lawson Crouse had zero points in the first five games of the season but has put up eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 17 shots on goal in the seven games since. Because of his physical play, Crouse has value in banger leagues, but when he’s cooking, he scores enough to have value in deeper standard leagues, too.

#17 While Connor Bedard is deservedly drawing the most interest among the rookie class, especially after a four-point game against Tampa Bay on Thursday, there are some other freshman forwards making a mark, too. Philadelphia’s Bobby Brink, a second-round pick in 2019, has been held off the scoresheet in four of the past five games, but also has three multi-point games this season on his way to eight points (3 G, 5 A) in 12 games. Minnesota’s Marco Rossi had just one assist in 19 games for the Wild last season but has started to find his range. Rossi has six points (4 G, 2 A) while averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time in the past eight games. Nashville’s Luke Evangelista remains Calder Trophy eligible after playing 24 games, and scoring 15 points (7 G, 8 A) last season. He started slowly, but has eight points (1 G, 7 A) in the past nine games and is getting first unit power play time. Calgary’s Connor Zary was called up after scoring 10 points (1 G, 9 A) in six AHL games. Zary is skating on Nazem Kadri’s wing and has produced three points (1 G, 2 A) in his first three games for the Flames.

#18 A few sophomores of note, too: Arizona’s Matias Maccelli has 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in his past 10 games, building on a rookie season that saw him finish fourth in Calder Trophy voting. Winnipeg’s Cole Perfetti had his rookie season shortened by injury but is asserting himself in his second season. He has six points (2 G, 4 A) during a five-game point streak. Buffalo’s JJ Peterka is heating up, with six points (3 G, 3 A) and 16 shots on goal in his past six games. Peterka was named best forward at the World Championships, and could be primed for a breakout season.

#19 Tampa Bay’s Alex Barré-Boulet has been hovering on the fringes of the NHL for a while, managing eight points (6 G, 2 A) in 32 games over the previous three seasons, but the 26-year-old might be finally ready to hold a regular spot. He has seven points (4 G, 3 A) in his past nine games and while his ice time remains inconsistent, continued production could help solve that issue, and he is getting a chance on a line with Nick Paul and Steven Stamkos.

#20 One of the most puzzling players early in the season has to be the Islanders’ Anders Lee. His ice time is down to 15:49 per game, his lowest since 2016-2017, and he has just two points (1 G, 1 A) in 12 games. He has 26 shots on goal and, as a net-front force, he is among the leaders in individual expected goals during five-on-five play. That might suggest he is a buy-low option because it’s hard to imagine him continuing at this pace.

FANTASY HOCKEY: The Week Ahead – October 23rd to 29th

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 23 Oct 2023 17:18:40 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - OCTOBER 12: Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat (93) celebrates his goal during a game between the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils on October 12, 2023 at Prudential Center in the Newark, New Jersey.(Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

After adding forwards Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher, backup goaltender James Reimer and defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere over the summer, Detroit was positioned to take a step forward from its 35-37-10 finish in 2022-23. Few would have anticipated the Red Wings’ early dominance though.

With a 6-2 victory over Calgary on Sunday, Detroit is now 5-1-0 and its summer acquisitions have played a huge part in that. DeBrincat has eight (!) goals and 12 points in six contests, Compher has a goal and four points, Gostisbehere has two markers and six points and Reimer has a 1.00 GAA and a .963 save percentage to win his first two starts with Detroit. Of course, they haven’t been the only factors, most notably Dylan Larkin has 11 points in six contests, but it’s rare to see a team not only get so hot out of the gate, but to achieve that primarily through the strength of new additions.

Naturally, this isn’t going to last. DeBrincat isn’t going to maintain his current pace and finish with 109 goals (though besting his career high of 41 is certainly possible). Still, Detroit figures to be a serious contender for a playoff spot this year, and when you remember that the Atlantic Division also features Boston, Ottawa, Toronto, Tampa Bay, Florida and Buffalo, it becomes clear that this is going to be a very tough fight.

Edmonton has a tough fight on its hands too. The Oilers are off to a disappointing 1-3-1 record, due in part to them scoring a underwhelming 2.60 goals per game, and now Connor McDavid is expected to miss the next week or two with an upper-body injury. Others have to step up in his absence with one forward in particular to keep an eye on being Warren Foegele. He’s typically not a major offensive force and has averaged just 11:44 of ice time this season, but with McDavid out, Foegele might be elevated to a top-six spot. Mattias Janmark, who has averaged 12:05 through five contests, might also see his playing time noticeably increase during McDavid’s absence.

Boston Bruins

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	BOS	CHI
Thu	10/26/2023	ANA	BOS
Sat	10/28/2023	DET	BOS

Watching Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retire over the summer hasn’t stopped the Bruins from going 5-0-0 to open the season, though that’s thanks to goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark allowing just seven goals thus far rather than any forward stepping up to fill the void left by Boston’s former centers.

Regardless, Boston has a chance to keep that winning streak when they play in Chicago on Tuesday. The Bruins will face another rebuilding squad Thursday when they host Anaheim, though Saturday will feature a tougher home contest versus Detroit. The Red Wings with their red hot offense might prove to be the first major test for the Bruins’ goaltending.

As it is, the Bruins have already beaten each of Chicago and Anaheim once this season, so they’ll look for more of the same in those contests. Boston has been using its starters evenly so far, so if it continues its present rotation, Ullmark will likely play against Chicago and Swayman will get Anaheim. Both should be good options in daily leagues.

Boston’s offense has been a lot less impressive and what production there has been is primarily thanks to David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand, who have combined for nine goals and 15 points. Rookie Matthew Poitras did have his first big night Sunday though, providing two goals. He’s playing on the second line and getting some power-play ice time, so if you’re looking for a lower profile player to go after in Boston, he’s not a bad option.

Carolina Hurricanes

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	CAR	TBL
Thu	10/26/2023	SEA	CAR
Fri	10/27/2023	SJS	CAR

Last year, facing the Lightning followed by the Kraken would have been a rough combo, but so far in 2023-24, those are two winnable games, especially for a team like Carolina. When the Hurricanes play in Tampa Bay on Tuesday, they’ll be up against a lackluster 2-2-2 team due in no small part to goaltender Jonas Johansson posting a 3.58 GAA and a .902 save percentage through five contests. Andrei Vasilevskiy (back) is still unavailable, though, so the Lightning are likely to once again put him in net.

Seattle, which will play in Carolina on Thursday, has fared even worse, getting off to a 1-4-1 start. The Kraken were one of the league’s top teams offensively last season, but they’ve averaged just 1.83 goals per game this year. The Hurricanes will round out the week with a home game against the rebuilding Sharks on Friday.

Seth Jarvis and Jesperi Kotkaniemi have been fantastic over Carolina’s first six contests, each providing seven points. They’re two young forwards who entered the campaign with plenty of untapped offensive upside, so this might just be the start of their respective breakout seasons.

Stefan Noesen is far less likely to put up big numbers this season, but after scoring a goal and six points over the last three contests, he’s worthy of a short-term pickup to take advantage of his hot streak mixed with the Hurricanes’ favorable schedule.

Columbus Blue Jackets

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	ANA	CBJ
Thu	10/26/2023	CBJ	MTL
Sat	10/28/2023	NYI	CBJ

The Blue Jackets aren’t expected to do particularly well this season, but they are hot at the moment, winning three of their last four games. To make matters better, they have two very winnable contests ahead of them, first hosting Anaheim on Tuesday then facing Montreal on Thursday. Columbus will conclude the week with a home game versus the Islanders, which are projected to be a good, but not great, squad.

One of the keys to Columbus’ recent success has been Justin Danforth, who has three goals and four points in his last four contests. The 30-year-old is a bottom-six forward, so don’t expect him to finish the campaign with significant offensive numbers, but with him hot and the Blue Jackets’ first two opponents this week featuring questionable defenses, Danforth is worthy of consideration as a short-term grab.

With Patrik Laine (upper body) potentially out for one or more games this week, which might result in Columbus leaning more on Kirill Marchenko. In the Blue Jackets’ first contest without Laine on Saturday, Marchenko logged 19:04 of ice time, including 3:27 on the power play -- up from an average of 16:02 over his first four outings this season. Marchenko had 21 goals and 25 points in 59 contests as a rookie last season and three assists in five appearances in 2023-24, but he has the potential to do better and is in a position to succeed.

Detroit Red Wings

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	SEA	DET
Thu	10/26/2023	WPG	DET
Sat	10/28/2023	DET	BOS

As noted above, the Red Wings are off to a fantastic start and they’ll look to keep that going with games at home versus Seattle and Winnipeg on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively, before facing a big test in Saturday’s road contest versus Boston.

Detroit’s incredible offensive output to begin the campaign has allowed some strong performances to fly under the radar. In particular, Joe Veleno has three goals over his last two contests, which might be one of the biggest stories if he was playing on a different team. Veleno is a former first-round pick (30th overall in 2018), so he does have upside, but his position on the Red Wings’ third line and lack of a power-play role makes it hard to recommend him as anything more than a short-term pickup.

Speaking of which, I think grabbing Daniel Sprong would be an interesting choice ahead of the Seattle game. Sprong spent the previous two campaigns with the Kraken and like Detroit’s other summer additions, he’s off to a strong start this season with two goals and four points in six contests. I think there’s a solid chance he’ll be a factor against his former team.

Montreal Canadiens

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Mon	10/23/2023	MTL	BUF
Tue	10/24/2023	NJD	MTL
Thu	10/26/2023	CBJ	MTL
Sat	10/28/2023	WPG	MTL

The Canadiens have a full schedule this week with a road game in Buffalo on Monday before heading home to host New Jersey on Tuesday, Columbus on Thursday and Winnipeg on Saturday. That’s solid competition throughout, but I’m still going to highlight the Canadiens by virtue of them getting a four-game set, including three at home, this week.

Sean Monahan has gotten off to a strong start with two goals and four points in four contests. The 2022-23 campaign might have been known as his comeback season had he stayed healthy, but that could happen this season instead. Although his tenure with Calgary ended poorly, he might finish 2023-24 with 50-60 points.

One Canadiens player who unfortunately will not have a good season is Kirby Dach. His campaign ended when he suffered torn right ACL and MCL on Oct. 14. His absence might lead to Michael Pezzetta playing regularly this season after spending the first two contests as a healthy scratch. Pezzetta won’t provide much offensively, but he should be a good source of PIM and hits.

If you’re looking for points, Tanner Pearson is a better bet. The middle-six winger isn’t worth more than a short-term pickup, but he is going into the week on a three-game scoring streak, contributing two goals and an assist over that span.

New Jersey Devils

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	NJD	MTL
Wed	10/25/2023	WSH	NJD
Fri	10/27/2023	BUF	NJD
Sun	10/29/2023	MIN	NJD
Fri	11/10/2023	WSH	NJD

In addition to their road game against Montreal on Tuesday, the Devils will have a home stretch versus Washington, Buffalo and Minnesota on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday, respectively. The Capitals and Sabres have plenty of major offensive weapons, but Buffalo has averaged just 2.40 goals per game while Washington has somehow managed 1.25.

That’s good news for Vitek Vanecek and Akira Schmid. The Devils goaltending duo has struggled out of the gate, posting a combined 3.45 GAA and .892 save percentage while splitting the workload evenly, but they’re capable of better and perhaps those matchups will serve as an opportunity for them to turn things around.

On offense, things have been going far better for the Devils with Jack Hughes being especially effective, scoring four goals and 10 points in just four contests. Injuries are becoming an issue though with Erik Haula (upper body), Nico Hischier (upper body) and Tomas Nosek (lower body) all day-to-day. We’ve already seen Michael McLeod jump from averaging 10:17 over New Jersey’s first two games to 15:00 in the last two, and he might get top-six minutes until one or more of those forwards return.

Vegas Golden Knights

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	PHI	VGK
Fri	10/27/2023	CHI	VGK
Sat	10/28/2023	VGK	LAK

Winning the Stanley Cup didn’t satiate the Golden Knights or leave them tired. They’ve opened the season with a 6-0-0 record and have a solid chance of continuing that streak at home Tuesday versus Philadelphia. Vegas is also set to host Chicago on Friday and play in Los Angeles on Saturday.

The Golden Knights’ early success has been due to their deep offense. Nicolas Roy, Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault have each provided three goals while Chandler Stephenson and William Karlsson have each found the back of the net twice. Defenseman Shea Theodore is also off to a great start, contributing a goal and six points.

Even their replacements have come through. With defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (upper body) unavailable, rookie Kaedan Korczak has entered the lineup and provided a goal and three points over three contests. The 22-year-old isn’t expected to be a significant offensive producer this season, but with him being hot, he’s a short-term selection option, provided Pietrangelo isn’t ready to return Tuesday.

Paul Cotter is also red hot, scoring a goal and four points over the last four contests. He’s another player who is presently producing above his ability, but Cotter got ample power-play time Saturday, which led to him contributing two points with the man advantage, so he’s an interesting option right now.

Washington Capitals

DAY	DATE	AWAY	HOME
Tue	10/24/2023	TOR	WSH
Wed	10/25/2023	WSH	NJD
Fri	10/27/2023	MIN	WSH
Sun	10/29/2023	SJS	WSH

The Capitals don’t have an easy schedule, but they are at least set to play four games. They’ll host Toronto on Tuesday, play on the road versus the Devils on Wednesday, then return to Washington to host the Wild and Sharks on Friday and Sunday, respectively.

The big question is if Washington can get its offense going after scoring just five goals over its first four contests. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Tom Wilson still don’t have a goal yet.

At the very least, you have to figure Ovechkin is going to breakthrough sooner rather than later, but what’s concerning is that not only has he failed to score, but he also hasn’t shot the puck much. Ovechkin is known for firing a crazy amount of shots -- an average of 4.71 per game over his career and over 4.00 in each of his last six years. The one time he dipped below that was 2016-17 when he averaged 3.82 shots per game and was limited to 33 goals in 82 contests -- the worst output he’s ever had in terms of goals per game. So the fact that he’s averaged just 2.25 shots in 2023-24 is a potential red flag. That said, it’s early, and those who doubted Ovechkin in the past have consistently been proven wrong.

Washington’s lone pleasant surprise thus far has been Matthew Phillips. The 25-year-old rookie has a goal and three points in four contests this year. He was dominant in the AHL over the previous two campaigns, contributing a combined 67 goals and 144 points in 131 appearances, so perhaps Phillips will find a way to continue to be a factor this season.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Early Standouts – Significant early injuries – Who benefits from opportunity

Scott Cullen — Fri, 20 Oct 2023 22:14:31 +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)

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

This week, a look at a new Panthers winger plus lots of early injuries including to significant players like Sebastian Aho, Gabriel Vilardi, Kirby Dach, Viktor Arvidsson, Matthew Boldy, Pavel Buchnevich, and more. That means new opportunities for others looking for a bigger role.

#1 In the past couple of seasons, Evan Rodrigues has proven to be a premier shot generator who could thrive in a supporting offensive role. In those two seasons – one with Pittsburgh and one with Colorado – he put up 82 points (35 G, 47 A) in 151 games while generating 2.85 shots on goal per game. That was something of a late breakthrough for the now 30-year-old forward who is looking at an even better opportunity this season in Florida. Rodrigues has opened the season skating on Aleksander Barkov’s wing and is averaging 18:54 time on ice per game, which would be a career high, on the way to producing five points (2 G, 3 A) and 17 shots on goal in his first four games. It is obviously a very small sample, but Rodrigues has the underlying numbers to make his production more sustainable. For a player that has never had 20 goals and 50 points in an NHL season, Rodrigues should be looking to exceed those numbers this season.

#2 Entering the season, there did not seem to be a lot of buzz surrounding new Ottawa Senators right winger Vladimir Tarasenko, a six-time 30-goal scorer who signed with the club as a free agent. The veteran winger has opened his Sens tenure with six points (2 G, 4 A) in four games, but that doesn’t alleviate the concerns about him entirely, either. He is averaging just 13:38 of ice time per game, which would be his lowest since his rookie season in 2012-2013, and he only has six shots on goal through four games. Although Tarasenko has been skating with rookie Ridly Greig at center, with Josh Norris returning to the Senators lineup, that could eventually help Tarasenko get more offensive opportunities, but the ice time and shot rate bear watching.

#3 It is not easy for Ottawa Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson to get power play time on a team with Thomas Chabot and Jakob Chychrun already, which is not to say that it never happens, only that he ranks second among Sens defencemen in five-on-four ice time behind Chabot. Even so, Sanderson is off to a stellar start, producing five points (2 G, 3 A) in four games. He only has five shots on goal, which is not encouraging, but Sanderson is going to get quality ice time, even if he is not always going to be quarterbacking Ottawa’s top power play unit.

#4 A lot was made of the decline in performance last season from Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Victor Hedman, but it might be premature to start the 32-year-old blueliner into a heavy decline phase of his career. Hedman has contributed five points (1 G, 4 A) and 13 shots on goal through five games, which is a promising start, but the Lightning have been getting outshot with Hedman on the ice (46.2 CF%), too, and that hasn’t happened for more than a decade.

#5 Carolina Hurricanes centre Sebastian Aho has been out for a couple of games and while his injury is thought to be a day-to-day thing, his absence is still felt. Through a couple of games, the Hurricanes were getting 79.1% of expected goals with Aho on the ice during five-on-five play, In Aho’s absence, Teuvo Teravainen has moved into the first line centre role and Teravainen has scored four goals in five games to start the season. Additionally, the Hurricanes have better depth down the middle as Jesperi Kotkaniemi continues to develop. The 23-year-old has started his sixth NHL season with five points (2 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal in five games, averaging a career-high 15:51 of ice time per game.

#6 In a move that didn’t make a huge offseason splash, the Detroit Red Wings brought in puck-moving defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere. While he does not have a huge role, averaging 18:53 of ice time per game, Gostisbehere is getting first unit power play time alongside Moritz Seider and Gostisbehere already has four points (1 G, 3 A) in four games with the Red Wings controlling play (53.2 CF%) in Gostisbehere’s five-on-five minutes.

#7 Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews is the early leader in all-situations expected goals (3.76), ahead of Matthew Tkachuk (3.23), Connor Bedard (3.10), Artturi Lehkonen (2.85), Filip Forsberg (2.74), and Jack Eichel (2.64). Bedard is obviously playing a lot for Chicago and creating chances, but they have yet to materialize into goals. For a player who enters the league with a legendary release, Bedard’s ability to generate high-quality shots bodes well for his future production. It’s also encouraging to see Eichel playing at such a high level. He had an outstanding playoff, but it appears in the early going that Eichel is going to continue at an elite level. He leads the NHL with 28 shots on goal in five games, though Nathan MacKinnon (27) and Auston Matthews (26) are close behind while playing just four games.

#8 Winnipeg Jets RW Gabriel Vilardi is out for four-to-six weeks with a sprained MCL, which is a tough situation for a player who was averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game through two games. Vilardi was also rocking a 73.3 CF%, but now the Jets will need to find someone to fill those minutes. It looks like Mason Appleton will get first crack alongside Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele and that is a big opportunity for a 27-year-old who scored a career-high 25 points (12 G, 13 A) in 56 games in 2020-2021.

#9 Montreal lost centre Kirby Dach to a torn ACL, ending the 22-year-old’s season prematurely. He had two assists and 70.4 CF% in two games before getting hurt. Alex Newhook will slide into the middle of the ice to fill the hole created by Dach’s absence, while Tanner Pearson will move up the depth chart to take Newhook’s spot on left wing. Pearson, who played just 14 games last season, has two goals in three games to start his Habs career.

#10 On the Florida Panthers’ run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Sam Bennett was an impact player at centre, between Carter Verhaeghe and Matthew Tkachuk. Bennett has yet to play this season because of a lower-body injury, so Eetu Luostarinen is getting that opportunity. Unfortunately, he has yet to record a point and has just one shot on goal in four games. That is not making the most of the situation.

#11 Los Angeles Kings winger Viktor Arvidsson has been an excellent and sometimes underrated contributor, but he is out long term after undergoing back surgery, which means new opportunities on the right side in Los Angeles. Arthur Kaliyev is skating in Arvidsson’s typical spot, alongside Phillip Danault and Trevor Moore, while rookie Alexis Laferriere has landed a prime spot on the wing with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Kevin Fiala. Kaliyev may have the higher upside as a scorer, as he has shown a strong ability to generate shots, even in limited ice time. Arvidsson’s injury should help ensure that Kaliyev sees a good jump in ice time this season, opening the door for a breakout season.

#12 Injuries have hit the Minnesota Wild hard early in the season. Rising star winger Matthew Boldy and defencemen Jared Spurgeon and Alex Goligoski are all out of action for Minnesota and they are not easily replaced. Taking Boldy’s spot is Samuel Walker, a 24-year-old who has two points (1 G, 1 A) in 10 career NHL games and did not have any points in two AHL games this season, but he did produce 48 points (27 G, 21 A) in 56 AHL games last season, so this is a real chance to Walker to show his stuff at the NHL level. Spurgeon’s absence also gives Calen Addison the role of first unit power play quarterback, which is an area in which the young defenceman has excelled, with 18 of his 29 points last season coming with the man advantage.

#13 While fourth lines are not going to bring big fantasy appeal, it’s worth noting what is happening in Detroit, where Christian Fischer (83.7 xGF%) and Klim Kostin (80.2 xGF%) are dominating play to a ridiculous degree. Austin Czarnik has played only two games, but Detroit has controlled 86.3% of expected goals during five-on-five play with Czarnik on the ice.

#14 Staying in Detroit, veteran winger Robby Fabbri made it through one game before suffering another injury and Fabbri’s injury presents an opportunity for Michael Rasmussen to climb up the depth chart. Rasmussen had a career-high 29 points (10 G, 19 A) in 56 games last season, but his average ice time has increased by more than a minute per game in the early going this season and he has a couple of points (1 G, 1 A) in four games.

#15 Although he can get overshadowed by the top two centres on the Devils roster, Erik Haula’s upper body injury is notable for a team that thrives on its depth. With Haula out, Michael McLeod moves from the fourth line centre to third line centre and while McLeod has established that he is a solid fourth liner, his offensive production has kept him in that role. He has just 10 goals in 157 games over the past two seasons, so if McLeod is ever going to shake his fourth-line label, he will need to take advantage when he gets the chance to play in the top nine.

#16 Expectations were already very low for the San Jose Sharks coming into the season, but it has been made even more difficult with veteran centres Mikael Granlund and Logan Couture out of the lineup. Rookie Thomas Bordeleau and veteran Luke Kunin are handling the middle six centre roles for the Sharks. Bordeleau has managed one goal and five shots on goal through four games while he has been caved in when it comes to puck possession (31.1 CF%). Kunin has yet to record a point and is not much better at driving play (33.0 CF%). This should come as little surprise, but it reveals how much of an uphill fight it is for San Jose right now.

#17 St. Louis Blues winger Pavel Buchnevich suffered an upper-body injury when crushed into the boards by Seattle Kraken defenceman Jamie Oleksiak, and while Buchnevich has been out, the opportunity has fallen to 21-year-old Jake Neighbours, who has managed zero points and two shots on goal in three games this season. A chance to play in St. Louis’ top six is not bad, but it is up to Neighbours to show that he deserves to stay in a significant role over the long term.

#18 It is still super early, but there are some forwards raising red flags with their early struggles. Timo Meier was benched for the third period against Florida and has zero points and four shots on goal in three games. Meier has always been able to generate shots, so that is a notable concern with his game in New Jersey, but he really should be able to figure it out.

#19 When he returned to action last season following hip resurfacing surgery, Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom struggled, to a degree that he never really had in the NHL before. With a fresh start this season, 35-year-old Backstrom is still struggling to find his way. He has zero points in three games and is averaging 15:45 of ice time per game, which would be the lowest rate of his career. Backstrom is still getting top unit power play time but is skating between Sonny Milano and Tom Wilson at even strength, so he is not nearly the dangerous scoring threat that he was during his prime.

#20 After getting bought out by the Winnipeg Jets, 37-year-old right winger Blake Wheeler landed with the New York Rangers. Through four games with the Blueshirts, not only does Wheeler not have any points, but he is playing just 12:26 per game, which would be the lowest time on ice of his career. He is skating on a line with centre Vincent Trocheck and rookie left winger Will Cuylle. While Wheeler’s all-around game has declined in recent seasons, he still produced 55 points (16 G, 39 A) last season and early returns suggest that he will not be continuing at that level this season.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW JERSEY DEVILS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Sat, 07 Oct 2023 18:33:53 +0000

SAINT PAUL, MN - FEBRUARY 11: New Jersey Devils defenseman Dougie Hamilton (7) skates with the puck during the NHL game between the New Jersey Devils and the Minnesota Wild, on February 11th, 2023, at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire)

Review: After years of hardship, the Devils’ ship has been righted. New Jersey grew from the draft with home grown forwards Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer combining for 133 markers to help the Devils tie for fourth in the league with 3.52 goals per game. The successful rebuild wasn’t just about developing prospects though. They’ve been proactive, snagging defenseman Dougie Hamilton as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2021, who then came up big for the Devils last season with 22 goals and 74 points in 82 outings. New Jersey also acquired Timo Meier from San Jose on Feb. 26, adding to an already stacked offense. The one big potential issue the Devils still have is goaltending. Mackenzie Blackwood struggled while Vitek Vanecek started hot but slowed as the campaign dragged on. Rookie Akira Schmid emerged as the potential solution though. After the Devils earned a 52-22-8 record in the regular season, Schmid outplayed Vanecek in the playoffs, though neither goalie could stop Carolina from ousting New Jersey in five games in the second round.

What’s Changed? New Jersey lost some scoring depth when Tomas Tatar walked as a free agent, but having Meier for a full campaign should more than make up for that. The Devils further enhanced their already strong offense by acquiring Tyler Toffoli, coming off his career-high 73-point performance, from Calgary in exchange for Yegor Sharangovich.

What would success look like? The good news for the Devils is last year’s success was largely thanks to a young core that’s not only talented, but deep. Even if one or two key forwards struggle or are hurt for stretches, there are enough alternative scoring threats on the team to power through it. New Jersey didn’t tweak its goaltending, but Vanek has shown he can be solid at times, and if Schmid, who is still just 23, is able to build off his strong 2022-23 campaign, then the Devils will be set for a deep playoff run.

What could go wrong? With so much promise though, it’s a little concerning how heavily their fate is tied to two relatively unproven goaltenders. Schmid still has just 33 games worth of NHL experience, even after including the playoffs. Vanecek at least has 141 regular season and playoff contests under his belt, but he hasn’t shown he can be a sustained presence, and worryingly, he’s fallen apart in the postseason with a career 4.52 GAA and .834 save percentage.

Top Breakout Candidate: The promise of the Devils’ forward group has been realized, but New Jersey has a lot of untapped potential remaining on the blue line, especially with regards to Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. Hughes in particular seems primed for a breakout campaign. This will be his first full NHL season after getting a taste last year, recording a goal and an assist in two regular-season games followed by two helpers in three playoff outings. He was also amazing with the University of Michigan, contributing 10 goals and 48 points in 39 outings. Although Hughes is still just 20 years old, he has the potential to serve in a top-four capacity this year while also receiving some power-play ice time.

Forwards

Jack Hughes

After erupting for 99 points in 78 games in his fourth NHL season, the 22-year-old playmaking center is ready to join the ranks of the elite. Hughes has great awareness of where everyone else is on the ice and has the confidence to create chances even when it looks like there is nothing available. Hughes scored a career high 43 goals even though his shooting percentage dropped from 15.8% the previous season to 12.8% last season, but he generated nearly an extra shot per game, going from 3.37 shots per game to 4.31 shots per game. That ability to generate shots and scoring chances at an elite level is why Hughes should be expected to keep scoring at such a high level. In his first 50 games of the season, Hughes recorded 67 points (35 G, 32 A), with 229 shots on goal, but then he suffered an upper-body injury which kept him out less than two weeks, but his production was not the same after that, as he put up 32 points (8 G, 24 A) in 28 games to finish the regular season. For all of his wonderful attributes, Hughes is laughably poor on faceoffs, winning 35.4% for his career, and he has shown no improvement, winning 35.3% of his draws last season. Maybe the biggest challenge when it comes to projecting Hughes’ scoring this season is related to his durability, or lack thereof. He has played an average of 61 games in four NHL seasons. While some of those seasons were shortened by the league, Hughes has still missed significant playing time. Healthy for a full season, Hughes has the upside to be a 120-point player, and there are not many of those, but taking injuries into account, it might be more reasonable to count on something closer to 90 points.

Nico Hischier

With Patrice Bergeron retiring, there may be an opening for someone new to take home the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward and Hischier is right at the top of the list of contenders after he finished as runner-up in 2022-2023. He also produced career highs of 31 goals and 80 points, increasing his shot output from 2.19 per game to 3.16 per game year over year. He started the season with 22 points (9 G, 13 A) in his first 18 games and finished the season with 19 points (3 G, 16 A) in his last 16 games. Hischier’s ability to take on more defensive responsibility helps free up Hughes to unleash his offensive game, so they really work well as a tandem down the middle of the ice for New Jersey. Hischier’s emergence offensively should only be enhanced by New Jersey keeping Meier and adding Tyler Toffoli because it gives the Devils more weapons up front. Considering his increased shot rate and significant role in the Devils lineup, Hischier should be in line for at least 75 points, with a chance to challenge or even exceed last season’s career-best output.

Timo Meier

A shot generating monster in San Jose, Meier was not as productive in New Jersey, with his shot rate dropping by more than one per game, and even though Meier struggled in the postseason, the Devils committed to signing him to a long-term contract extension. That seems more of a show of faith based on Meier’s previous performance in San Jose rather than what he did for New Jersey, when he contributed 14 points (9 G, 5 A) in 21 games, but he is a play-driving winger who is not afraid to use his size to create room in the offensive zone. Starting last season in San Jose, Meier did not score a goal in his first nine games, then tallied 27 goals in his next 38 games. Such is the power of shot generation – keep getting those shots and, eventually, they start to go in the net. Over the past two seasons, Meier has generated 1.20 expected goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, ranking second behind only Toronto’s Auston Matthews. When trying to project Meier’s production, consider that he will probably play less for a strong New Jersey team than he did in San Jose, and his teammates should still allow him to generate a high rate of shots. That would make 35 goals and 65 points a reasonable target for Meier, but he has a higher ceiling, too. If everything goes well, a point per game is not out of the question.

Jesper Bratt

The 25-year-old winger scored a career high 32 goals and tied his career high with 73 points last season and he is one of 27 forwards league-wide to have recorded at least 70 points in each of the past two seasons. Bratt has explosive speed and excellent puck protection skills. He has become increasingly comfortable as a finisher, which makes him a more serious threat overall. His defensive impact has been slipping in recent seasons. Not enough to be a major problem, because Bratt led the Devils with a Corsi percentage of 58.4%, but if his defensive play gets tidied up, he would be an even stronger all-around player. Bratt opened last season with 24 points (8 G, 16 A) in 19 games and it’s not like he collapsed after that, but it was tough to maintain that level. Even so, after back-to-back 73-point seasons, that remains a reasonable ballpark for this season, too.

Tyler Toffoli

A veteran who has excelled at every stop, Toffoli was a brilliant addition by the Devils. The 31-year-old right winger tallied career highs of 34 goals and 73 points for the Flames last season, with Calgary dominating play when Toffoli was on the ice, outscoring, out-shooting, and out-chancing the opposition. He is not the most graceful skater but has learned enough positional play over the years that he does not have to rely on speed to be in the right place to make things happen. Controlling play has been routine for Toffoli throughout his career, and moving to a Devils team that tends to push the puck in the right direction should allow him to thrive on a Stanley Cup contender. With the Flames striving, unsuccessfully, to reach the postseason, Toffoli finished the year with 17 points (8 G, 9 A) and 54 shots on goal in the last 14 games. Joining a Devils squad that controls play will not be an adjustment for Toffoli, who almost always has the puck moving in the right direction, but it should give him plenty of chances to score. He may not match his career-best numbers, set in Calgary last season, but it would not be a surprise to see 65 points from Toffoli. Last season’s 73 points was easily his career high, but as recently as 2020-2021, he tallied 28 goals and 44 points in just 52 games for Montreal. With high-end centers in New Jersey, Toffoli is again in position to be a very productive scoring winger.

Dawson Mercer

After starting his NHL career as a center who could not win faceoffs, Mercer spent most of his second season on the wing and turned into a strong finisher. There is some risk that his goal scoring will not be sustainable, because his shooting percentage jumped to 16.8% last season, but he had a phenomenal run starting in mid-February when he scored 11 goals and 20 points with 43 shots on goal in a 12-game span. Suddenly, he was a game-breaking offensive threat and while that was not going to last, it helped secure Mercer a spot in a scoring role with the Devils. Since he is still just 21, that offensive development offers a glimpse of what Mercer might be able to accomplish in the future. When it comes to projections, then, Mercer ought to keep making progress, but with last season’s goal-scoring surge lifting his shooting percentage to 16.8%, it’s fair to expect some regression. A 25-goal, 50-point season is well within Mercer’s grasp, with room to climb higher if, for example, he ended up on Hughes’ wing on a regular basis.

Ondrej Palat

Although his first season in New Jersey was marred by injury, missing 33 games due to groin surgery, Palat remained an excellent defensive presence. While he is well compensated relative to his limited offensive output, Palat also brings 150 games of playoff experience, including having played an integral role on two Stanley Cup winners in Tampa Bay. In the past four seasons, Palat has skated in 83 playoff games to lead the National Hockey League. His 30 playoff goals in that time ranks third, behind Nathan MacKinnon and Brayden Point. For a Devils team that has rising young stars in the middle of the ice, bringing in veterans like Toffoli and Palat in recent seasons adds a measure of stability that can help this team reach the next level. Palat’s only 20-goal season was as a rookie, in 2013-2014, and he probably won’t get there in 2023-2024, but he could score 15 goals and 45 points in a full season.

Erik Haula

Acquired in a trade for Pavel Zacha, Haula had bounced around quite a bit before landing in New Jersey with his seventh NHL team. Following a strong season, in which he surpassed 40 points for the third time in his career, Haula earned a three-year contract with the Devils, which might offer a dose of stability. The 32-year-old has versatility in that he plays mostly at center but can shift to the wing as well and he can be used in a checking role or can contribute secondary scoring. He is not a star, but a quality complementary piece for a contending team. Haula started last season with one goal in the first 30 games, which was not sustainable, given the chances he was getting. He finished the season on a high, however. In 20 games after the trade deadline, Haula contributed nine goals and 14 points. That early-season slump contributed to Haula finishing with an 8.5% shooting percentage, notably below his career mark of 11.8%, which should limit any potential regression, so a 15-goal, 40-point season should still be within Haula’s range in 2023-2024.

Michael McLeod

While he is offensively limited for a player who was drafted 12^th overall in 2016, McLeod is establishing himself as a fast and physical checking center. He has scored just 10 goals in 157 games over the past two seasons but has delivered 272 hits while winning 58.9% of his faceoffs. If he could finish at a higher rate, then maybe he would have a chance to climb in the lineup but until then the 25-year-old is a reliable depth option. Although McLeod did score a couple of goals and had six points in the playoffs, his last regular season goal was on January 4th, and after the trade deadline, he had no goals and three assists in 20 games. Given his spot in the lineup, expectations are modest, but surely McLeod can give the Devils more than that. It would be hard for him to score on just 4.4% of his shots again, so some positive regression could be coming in McLeod’s direction. A few more goals and a point total in the 25-30 range is a fair expectation.

Nathan Bastian

A 25-year-old depth winger who has never had 20 points in an NHL season, Bastian could possibly offer more than what he has provided to this point in his career. He has the size of a legitimate power forward and plays a sound defensive game while also showing some capability in the offensive zone. He has played more than 50 games once in his career and has mostly been used in a limited fourth-line role, but there are some intriguing signs related to goal-scoring and physical play. With his physical presence, Bastian could carve out a more significant role. If he does that, maybe double-digit goals and 200-plus hits could be part of his contribution.

Defense

Dougie Hamilton

A rare talent on the blueline, Hamilton has finished in the top seven in Norris Trophy voting in three of the past four seasons, and he burst through for career highs of 22 goals and 74 points last season. A smooth skater at 6’ 6”, Hamilton covers so much space on the ice that he frequently jumps into the attack to give his team an advantage. His play away from the puck has slipped in recent seasons but not to the degree that it overshadows his significant offensive contributions. Since 2015-2016, Hamilton has scored 115 goals, ranking third among defensemen, behind Brent Burns and Roman Josi. While Hamilton was fine early in the season, in his last 57 games, he tallied 58 points (16 G, 42 A) with 188 shots on goal. He can be a difference maker, and even though Hamilton had never scored more than 50 points in a season prior to 2022-2023, he should have a reasonable shot at exceeding 60 points this season. The Devils have a lot of talent and Hamilton has found his groove in terms of style, being able to attack and take advantage of his considerable offensive gifts.

John Marino

Even though he managed a modest 18 points (4 G, 14 A) in 64 games during his first season with the Devils, after being acquired from Pittsburgh, Marino established himself as an excellent top-four right-shot defender. A graceful skater, Marino might have more offensive upside, but is not likely to get significant offensive opportunities on a Devils blueline that boasts Hamilton and top prospects Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. As excellent as Marino was defensively last season, he was a liability offensively, which is fine. Not everybody has to be a scorer. But that means that Marino might contribute 20-25 points in a full season and that is not going to move the needle very much.

Jonas Siegenthaler

The Devils invested in Siegenthaler when they acquired him from Washington, and he has rewarded them by filling a top-four role on defense. He produced a career high 21 points last season, logging more than 20 minutes per game while recording more than 100 hits and 100 blocked shots. While Marino is more about finesse, Siegenthaler brings a sturdy presence, and his no-frills game has value even if it can get overlooked in the presence of flashier teammates. Like Marino, Siegenthaler’s value is more tied to his defensive contributions. Not only did Siegenthaler have an expected goals percentage of 55.2%, but the Devils outscored opponents by 20 goals (78-58) with Siegenthaler on the ice during five-on-five play. With his track record showing minimal offensive output and a relatively high on-ice shooting percentage (10.0 OiSH%) last season, it would be a little surprising if Siegenthaler even matched last season’s total of 21 points.

Goaltending

Vitek Vanecek

The New Jersey Devils have finally parted ways with MacKenzie Blackwood, with the relationship between Blackwood’s rookie performances and the remainder of his time between the pipes never quite lining up. But while Devils fans have become a bit gun-shy about jumping headfirst into their enthusiasm for goaltenders, Blackwood’s departure leaves the team with a goaltender in Vitek Vanecek that should soothe at least some skittish supporters for the coming year.

Vanecek had arrived in New Jersey as one-half of the prospect pairing that the Washington Capitals moved on from wholesale last summer, heading in-division following two years of inconsistent performances and battles for the number one gig with fellow prospect Ilya Samsonov. Vanecek, who had been the ‘spare’ to Samsonov’s heir apparent role in Washington, proved almost immediately that Devils fans are in good hands moving forward – so he’ll kick off the upcoming season as the consensus starter, likely shouldering the majority of the workload with Akira Schmid serving as his number two. Vanecek’s game had previously been characterized by concerns over his game reads and depth management, but he adopted a more conservative approach for the Devils that helped the Metro Division club make their triumphant return to the postseason. The incremental positioning errors he seemed to make in Washington looked to be all cleaned up last year – and if he can prove that wasn’t a fluke, he’ll be a valuable piece for the Devils in the coming years as they attempt to hold their championship window open.

Projected starts: 55-60

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW JERSEY DEVILS – NHL Player Profiles

Scott Cullen – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 20:15:27 +0000

VANCOUVER, BC - MARCH 15: New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) looks up ice during their NHL game against the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena on March 15, 2022 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. (Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire)

FORWARDS

Jack Hughes

A rising star, the first pick in the 2019 Draft, has been rapidly improving and busted out for 56 points in 49 games last season. Hughes had started generating chances but could not finish early in his career and as his shot improved, the point production followed. Extraordinary confidence is part of what makes Hughes special and is what should drive him to greater heights, but he also needs to get more durable as he matures. A dislocated shoulder and a knee injury contributed to Hughes missing 33 games last season, but the 21-year-old came out of the Christmas break and produced 48 points in his last 36 games. If the Devils are going to be a competitive team, some of that will come from riding Hughes’ development to stardom. A point-per-game over a full season is an entirely reasonable expectation and Hughes if one of the rare players who has 100-point upside.

Jesper Bratt

A 24-year-old who has provided phenomenal value as a sixth-round pick, busting out offensively last season for 73 points in 76 games. Bratt is a consistent offensive threat, and his results last season were outstanding – his 2.90 points per 60 minutes ranked 17^th and his 1.22 goals per 60 minutes ranked 39^th. This production does not come by accident. Bratt has excellent anticipation and is strong on the puck in the offensive zone, equally adept at setting up plays or burying the puck in the back of the net. Bratt’s shooting percentage has varied significantly (13.0%, 8.8.%, 15.8%, 6.9%, 13.2% in his five NHL seasons) so that will play a role in setting expectations for his 2022-2023 season. The trend would be for it to fall this season so 60 points would be a reasonable low-end but a point per game over a full season is not out of range, either.

Nico Hischier

The Devils’ 23-year-old captain broke through for a career high 60 points last season, but he is known as much for his strong two-way play and that reliability makes him a strong complement to Hughes down the middle of the ice. Hischier could be more aggressive as a shooter, but his overall skill and defensive conscience makes him more valuable than might be widely known and his confidence with the puck is growing, which allows him to control the puck more effectively in traffic. That defensive conscience means that Hischier will get more difficult checking assignments and start more shifts in the defensive zone, so he is not deployed as favorably as Hughes, but that makes sense. Hughes has the higher offensive ceiling and Hischier can play the 200-foot game. Staying healthy has been an issue for Hischier, as he has missed at least a dozen games in each of the past four seasons. He might be able to match or surpass last season’s 60 points but that will be dependent on whether he can stay in the lineup.

Ondrej Palat

Consistent and dependable throughout his career with the Tampa Bay Lightning, which included playing a prominent role on two Stanley Cup champions, the 31-year-old winger has finished with at least 40 points in seven of his nine NHL seasons. As a proven performer who has played tough minutes, Palat will be a big help to the Devils’ young forward core. He won’t be fazed by any high-pressure situations and if he plays with Hughes, a 50-point season would be within Palat’s grasp, maybe a little lower if he skates on Hischier’s wing. While Palat was overshadowed at times by the stars in Tampa Bay, he also rose to the occasion in the playoffs, scoring 27 goals in 71 playoff games over the past three seasons. If the Devils can get to the postseason, it would be nice to have someone like Palat, who knows what to do when they get there.

Dawson Mercer

A promising rookie season ended with Mercer tallying 42 points in 82 games, though he managed just one goal in the last 11 games of the season. Mercer played a good portion of his rookie season at center, and won just 35.4% of his faceoffs, but moved to the wing and, despite his late-season slump, that should allow him more offensive freedom because he has good vision and should thrive with skilled linemates. If that means skating on Jack Hughes’ wing, that’s a pretty good place for a second year forward looking to break out offensively. As a young player, Mercer offers a higher degree of potential variance when forecasting his point totals for this season. Some improvement on his rookie season, maybe to around 50 points, would be a quality step forward, but if he is a really good fit in that spot, maybe he could score even more.

Yegor Sharangovich

After a strong finish to his rookie season and a quality sophomore campaign, the 23-year-old winger has put up 31 goals in his past 90 games, and his 1.11 goals per 60 minutes of even-strength ice time last season had him scoring at the same rate as Evgeni Malkin and Tomas Hertl. Sharangovich has a quick release and goes hard to the net, so his opportunities to score are based on positioning, anticipation, and then linemates that do a good job feeding him the puck in scoring position. Sharangovich deserves credit for putting himself in good positions to score and the 24-year-old should be expected to contribute 25 goals and 45-50 points.

Tomas Tatar

A heady veteran winger, Tatar struggled in his first season with the Devils, producing 30 points in 76 games, the lowest per-game scoring rate of his career, thanks in part to an 11-game scoreless drought in the middle of the season. The 31-year-old is still a solid play driving winger, and that can’t be ignored, but for a Devils team that sorely needed contributions from skilled wingers, Tatar’s performance was disappointing. He can still fill a complementary role and the opportunity should still be there for him to produce, maybe not like his best years in Montreal, but better than last season. Taking into account that Tatar has recorded three seasons with more than 55 points, counting on more than 40 points this season would appear to be entirely reasonable.

Erik Haula

Getting traded to New Jersey lands Haula with the seventh team of his career and comes after he scored 18 goals and 44 points for the Bruins last season, both the second highest totals of his career. He had a strong finish to the season, with 10 goals and 19 points in his last 19 games. Haula also recorded a career-high 129 hits, and the ability to provide secondary scoring as well as play with a bit of an edge makes him a nice fit in a third-line center role for the Devils. Last season was one of Haula’s best seasons so it would be optimistic to count on that production again. If he stays healthy, though, 35 points would be an achievable target for the veteran forward.

Andreas Johnsson

Although the 27-year-old winger contributed 35 points last season and it seems like he is still going to be battling for ice tme, Johnsson has enough speed and skill to play a complementary role on a scoring line. His instincts are decent but his play without the puck needs improvement and that could prevent him from handling a bigger role, especially now that the Devils have improved forward depth. That uncertainty over Johnsson’s role on the team tempers any expectations for his production, so a total around the 35 points that he produced last season should be a fair baseline for expectations, with room for variance in either direction.

DEFENSE

Dougie Hamilton

A prized free agent signing a year ago, Hamilton is a rare talent, a smooth skating 6-foot-6 right shot defenseman. Although he had just nine goals last season, Hamilton averaged more than three shots on goal per game for the fifth straight season. He gets hammered by accusations of being soft and it doesn’t help matters if his defensive performance slips, as it did in his first season with the Devils, but Hamilton is typically an elite offensive defenseman whose puck-moving ability tends to offset anything that he gives back on the defensive end. Injuries have caught up to Hamilton in two of the past three seasons, but he was very durable before that, so if he is relatively healthy this season, he should be relied upon to score at least a dozen goals and 45-50 points, with potential to go significantly higher. In his last two seasons with Carolina, for example, Hamilton put up 82 points in 102 games.

Damon Severson

A 28-year-old right shot defenseman who just put up a career-high 46 points last season, Severson is a potential free agent in the summer of 2023. The Devils typically get better results with Severson on the ice, at least in terms of shots, but he has yet to have a season in the NHL in which his team outscores the opposition during 5-on-5 play. Severson has been very durable, and in a contract year should be poised for significant production, in the range of 40 points, maybe a little more.

Ryan Graves

Even though Graves is 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds, he is not an especially physical option on the blueline, but he is a steady top-four defenseman and that matters a lot for a team that is seeking a path to credibility. His ice time has climbed steadily since he arrived in the league, reaching a career-high 20:43 time on ice per game last season. Graves recorded a career-high 28 points last season and with 135 hits, he did fill the stat sheet a little bit. Scoring is not necessarily going to drive Graves’ value, but he ought to be capable of 25 points and then add to that with hits and blocked shots to make him worth considering in deep leagues.

John Marino

Acquired in a trade that sent Ty Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Marino is a strong skater and capable puck handler who gets the breakout started with a quality first pass but is not much of a factor in terms of physical play. At the same time, he is particularly adept at defending the blueline, and that reliability should make him a valuable contributor in New Jersey. Unless he seizes a bigger role than anticipated, Marino will likely produce 25-30 points this season and without significant peripheral stats, that will serve to limit his fantasy appeal.

GOALTENDING

Mackenzie Blackwood

The New Jersey Devils are growing dangerously close to turning Mackenzie Blackwood into the next John Gibson; after debuting at the NHL level with an impressive game and an admirable confidence level, he’s struggled more and more behind the lottery-dwelling New Jersey lineup each season. This past year was perhaps the worst of all; plagued by a lingering heel injury that left him ginger in the crease and slow to move, Blackwood was limited to just 25 games all year and spent months at a stretch on the team’s long-term injured reserve list.

The club gave very little information regarding what exactly was nagging at Blackwood, so it’s hard to get a read on just what kind of a timetable he’ll need to return to full form. With everything from calcaneal fractures to achilles damage and plantar fasciitis up for grabs as possible problems the goaltender could have faced, the Devils could have Blackwood back at his best as soon as the year begins, or they could be looking at a lengthy return-to-form timeline for the formerly-established number one. The good news is that the team brought Vitek Vanecek in to ease the workload, offering both a younger source of reinforcement (therefore one less likely to get hampered by wear and tear issues) and a goaltender who has more promise to remain a legitimate tandem option than some of the major-minor tweeners the team has tried to deploy in the last few years. There’s less pressure for Blackwood to play through health-related troubles with Vanecek sitting on the bench than there was with backups like Keith Kinkaid and Jon Gillies, which should hopefully ease some of the pressure he faced and allow him to perform at peak capacity. That’s good news for fans – because when he was at full strength, Blackwood’s game forced shooters to show their hands and come to him in a way that made him hard to trick and overthrow.

Projected starts: 55-60

Vitek Vanecek

Washington fans likely hadn’t predicted that they’d spend their 2021-22 season hotly debating whether the team was in better hands with heir apparent Ilya Samsonov or fellow draft-and-developee Vitek Vanecek. And worse, they likely hadn’t predicted that they’d be debating it so hotly not because both goaltenders were doing so well, but because both were continuing to struggle so consistently.

The lukewarm outcome of their year left the Capitals opting to cut ties with both of their starters this summer, though, and New Jersey was one of the two teams that decided to step in and offer their services to attempt a reclamation project. They’ll enter their 2022-23 campaign hoping that Vanecek, who fell shy of recording quality starts in over half his games last year, can bounce back and offer some consistent support behind MacKenzie Blackwood. There’s a hope that the addition of some experience in Blackwood will give Vanecek some direction, and that taking some of the pressure off should enable him to take a step back and tighten back up some of his game moving forward. But it’s hard to really figure out just how much of Vanecek’s game was growing pains, and how much was struggles to read the plays happening in front of him; while he didn’t get quite as goaded into oversliding and shifting out of the net as Samsonov did behind the Washington defense, his issues in coverage had more to do with missed positioning and inconsistent work with his hands. His missed goals came in inches, which make it harder to discern how many were mistakes and how many were simply the result of getting set and positioned off-angle from where he really needed to be.

Projected starts: 25-30

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: New Jersey Devils Top 20 Prospects

Sat, 05 Dec 2020 15:37:00 +0000

McKeen's Top 20 New Jersey Devils prospects for the 2020-21 season. You can read an organizational assessment prior to the draft in Ryan Wagman's article found here. Following the draft we provided a review on each teams performance based on our rankings found here.

Alexander Holtz, RW (7^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

The prized tool in Holtz’ scouting report is his shot. His wrist shot is incredibly powerful and accurate and comes with a quick trigger. He can additionally make you play with a slap shot, or a tip. He also has high end puck skills and can pull off daring maneuvers at his best. He can make skilled zone entries using speed and quick touches. He doesn’t force plays but utilizes his linemates to drive scoring chances. Holtz is well-built, with a mature, muscular frame. He gives a good effort across all three zones and can play angry, using his strength and aggression to keep defenders at bay while he works the puck. Holtz has very good top speed, without overly exerting himself to get to full throttle, as he seems to glide. He is agile with four-directional mobility and good balance. It should also be noted that Holtz is able to tie all of those physical skills and characteristics together with through a refined hockey brain and doesn’t take his skills for granted. He is very close to being NHL ready and he has the makings of a high-end first line winger who can pot 35-40 goals a season regularly. – RW

Ty Smith, D (17^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Smith has all the intangibles that you want in a player beyond his talent. His skating stride is high end, and he is incredibly comfortable with the puck on his stick. He drives the play a lot for a defender and is a constant threat to jump into the rush. He is able to generate so much offense because of how quick he makes reads and moves the puck. His movement without the puck make him difficult to track and he can quarterback from the blue line very efficiently. His passing from the top of the blue line is lethal, with excellent vision to see plays and gaps as they develop. He finds open ice very well and makes himself available to receive the puck. He is a boss on zone exits where his puck carrying and vision enable him to keep teams guessing. In his own zone, Smith is improving and his strength is becoming less of an issue as he matures physically. He engages and uses his quickness and elusiveness to strip pucks and avoid forecheckers. With a little work on his defensive game, he will be an effective player on the Devils’ blue line for many years. – VG

Dawson Mercer, RW (18^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

While his game is polished and mature, Mercer’s physical tools are still raw and improving as he has only recently begun to focus on conditioning and strength. He is such a versatile player because of his high IQ. He excels in any role asked of him, wing or center, offensive driver, or shutdown backchecker. He brings energy and tenaciousness in puck pursuit, always in the right place at the right time. He excels physically, especially on the forecheck and in retrievals. He has the lower-body strength to win puck battles consistently and knows how to maintain possession. Offensively, Mercer plays a simple game, making quick decisions, with the hands to go through defenders. His shot is also an asset, with a quick release. Mercer’s skating still needs work before he reaches the NHL. His lateral mobility and edges are fine, but he lacks explosiveness. A quality two-way workhorse whose offensive game still has more room for growth as his physical tools mature, Mercer’s ceiling is lower than some other first rounders, but his floor is higher, making him an ideal complementary player on a scoring line. – BO

Nolan Foote, D (27^th overall, 2019 [Tampa Bay]. Previous ranking: 2)

Foote’s shot has long been elite in terms of power, accuracy and quickness of release. Since being drafted, he has added multiple levels to his game. His playmaking isn’t ever going his main strength, but he is becoming a very effective passer, helping him make better decisions when his shot is taken away. His foot speed remains a knock, but he is fine for the type of game he plays. Foote is a big body that can get in on the forecheck and disrupt opponents leaving the zone. He can be a net front guy but really excels cycling the puck and coming off the wall, shooting from around the circle. He also has a good one timer. Foote is a complementary player, and when matched with the right center, (which the Devils have a nice collection of these days) should be a top six winger with 25-30 goal potential. – VG

Shakir Mukhamadullin, D (20^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Mukhamadullin was chosen to represent his country as an underager at last year’s WU18 and again this year at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup as well as the WJAC. Playing against his peers, he flashed first rounder tools and ability. His time in the Russian junior league (MHL) was even more impressive, making up for his scant ice time in the KHL. He can display agile, four-way skating, with plus acceleration for a player of his size. Playing with the puck, he shows a good set of hands and the ability to set up teammates for chances in the offensive zone. Even his shot is strong, if unrefined. The challenge to scouting Mukhamadullin was that in the KHL, anything that could be linked to confidence was gone. He played a very passive, tentative game, and that absence of fluidity led to more mistakes than one can easily excuse due to youth. He has the raw ingredients to be cooked up into a tasty player down the road, and his early play this season is a hint of that, but patience will be required. – RW

Janne Kuokkanen, LW (43^rd overall, 2016 [Carolina]. Previous ranking: 3)

Kuokkanen is a rare fully adaptable players, gifted with a simple playing style as both a grinder and power forward, driven enough to carry the top powerplay unit, and reliable enough to kill penalties as well. A master of simplicity, he finds space by either staying high or carrying the puck deep. His skill set is strong and his hands and individual play help to distinguish him from other forwards. Not that he is a selfish player, but he is a skilled one at doing the individual things he needs to do to get the job done. Kuokkanen will have to improve his consistency at the next level regarding the amount of effort he puts in throughout the entirety of a game as there are periods where he seems unnoticeable, in addition to question about his ability to win board battles. He is a highly skilled player capable of executing under pressure, and with top six upside. - SC

Kevin Bahl, D (55^th overall, 2018 [Arizona]. Previous ranking: 4)

Acquired in the Taylor Hall trade Bahl is a mountainous presence in the defensive end. Throughout his OHL career, he has improved his mobility, decision making, and offensive confidence considerably. He has also learned to manage the puck better in his own end, improving his breakout pass and his confidence in handling the puck in the face of forecheckers. Of course, his bread and butter is his ability to shut down the opposition’s best by smothering them with his size, reach, and physicality. He hits to hurt and is an intimidating presence who makes skilled players wary of bringing the fight to the middle of the ice. He is also very intelligent in his own end. He does a good job using his long reach to break up passes, anticipating the play around him. He will not quarterback a powerplay or be a high point producer who leads the rush; however his puck skills are good enough to play top four minutes. I would expect him to move quickly through New Jersey’s system, after adjusting to the processing speed required of him at the pro level. - BO

Reilly Walsh, D (81^st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 6)

Walsh was drafted in the third round after spending four years in prep school at Proctor Academy in New Hampshire. As a senior, he was an alternate captain and averaged over two points per game. He also spent time during his senior year with Chicago of the USHL, where his dynamic elements convinced scouts that he wasn’t simply beating up on high schoolers. Upon concluding his career at Proctor, he went straight to Harvard as a true freshman, where he was named to the ECAC All-Rookie team thanks to his immediate impact. Walsh is a high-scoring offensive defenseman who netted 31 points and 12 goals as a sophomore. He plays on the power play, puts power behind his passes and moves skillfully in the offensive zone. Defensively, Walsh still has to improve. He has soft hands to cleanly take the puck from opponents and he uses his long reach well. He is patient but sometimes too patient in the defensive zone, which allows opponents to beat him. Walsh projects as a middle-pairing defender at maturity. - JS

Arseni Gritsyuk, LW (129^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

A smallish winger with a lot of quickness in his game. Gritsyuk moves both his hands and feet quickly. He is electrifying to watch and scores beautiful goals. He has explosive speed and can separate himself impressively from opponents. He is also very slick with the puck in the offensive zone. He has a quick released wrist shot as a weapon to use as well. Most of his goals come from near range, though. He is effective on breakaways and it is dangerous to leave him any room in the offensive zone. That said, he will also battle to lose pucks in front of the net. Gritsyuk is offensively smart and is a strong zone entry player with his speed. I would say he is more of a transition player that needs to play at high speed to be successful rather than a playmaker that controls the play at varying pace. His defensive awareness is good, and he works hard without the puck. He has top six forward potential but will play at least one more year in Russia. - JH

Tyce Thompson, RW (96^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 8)

After playing prep hockey at Salisbury School in Connecticut, Thompson spent a season in the USHL. He netted a modest number of points, but it wasn’t until college that Thompson broke out as a prospect of note. Specifically, not until his sophomore season, when he was tied for third in scoring nationally and ranked second on the team behind only Jack Dugan, who led the country. Thompson isn’t exactly small at 6-0”, but he is only 165 pounds. He uses his size to his advantage with a long reach, but he lacks physicality in his game. He may be lean, but he can outskate his opponents. He excels as a two-way forward with his calm demeanor. Thompson, who played on both the penalty kill and the power play for Providence, also skates well employing sharp turns. As a fourth-round draft pick, Thompson is turning out to be a steal and projects as a potential second-line forward if his recent gains can be maintained. - JS

Michael McLeod, C (12^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 9)

Time is getting tight for McLeod, whose first-round status may not be enough to save him from slipping through the cracks of New Jersey’s system. He still has the skill, size and talent to play at the NHL level, but it is just up in the air as to whether or not he will be playing for the Devils in the future or for another club. To start, McLeod is a strong forechecker and good at keeping the puck on his stick. He makes plays, passes and gets it deep. A downside however comes when he holds onto the puck too long or fails to finish which causes turnovers, especially in the neutral zone, which then leads to him taking a few too many penalties. It will be McLeod’s last chance at staying up as a call up this season with hopes of ending his time in the AHL, but he will have to prove to New Jersey that he really wants to be there, and will do what it takes as a bottom six forward to start. - SC

Michael Vukojevic, D (82^nd overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

An assistant captain with the Kitchener Rangers, Vukojevic is a hard-nosed stay at home defender with great size at 6-3”, 215lbs. He is one of the more difficult defenders to match up against in the OHL because not only is he highly intelligent, but he is aggressive and assertive when it comes to taking away space. His lateral and backwards mobility are also good for a player of his ilk. As Vukojevic returns to the OHL next year, the expectation is that he can round out his game by becoming a more confident offensive player. As is, he probably projects as a quality third pairing defender who can help anchor a team’s penalty kill. However, if he can improve his play with the puck and his forward skating stride, it is possible that he could play higher up in the lineup. - BO

Nikita Okhotyuk, D (61^st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 11)

If there is one market that the New Jersey Devils have cornered, it is elite stay-at-home defenders from the OHL. Okhotyuk may not have the elite size that Bahl and Vukojevic possess, but he is the best skater of the bunch, while being just as physically assertive. He had a tough year battling a gruesome finger injury but was extremely effective for the first place 67’s playing as Kevin Bahl’s usual defensive partner later in the year. While the underlying offensive numbers are not eye popping, Okhotyuk is actually a confident player with the puck who will jump up in the play occasionally. He will turn pro this year and could also move quickly as long as he can stay healthy (something he had had a difficult time doing in his three years in the OHL). He projects as a third pairing shutdown defender, similar to Vukojevic. – BO

Nico Daws, G (84^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

In his third year of draft eligibility, Daws’ improvements could not be ignored. He got in better shape and his results were astounding. From start to finish, Daws was the best goaltender in the OHL, with a .924 save percentage was tops in the league. He has the size that NHL scouts covet in the position, and with the weight loss, his movement in the crease had greatly improved, allowing him to be more aggressive in challenging shooters. His ability to read the play is also a major asset, as he shows good anticipation and play tracking, especially noteworthy on the penalty kill. His ability to cover his posts and find point shots through traffic is very impressive. He also excels as a puckhandler, acting as a third defenseman at times. While projecting goaltenders can be a difficult endeavor, Daws’ progression and development is encouraging and suggests that he has the ability to be an NHL netminder. – BO

Jaromir Pytlik, C (99^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Pytlik is a mature two-way forward who plays a very heavy, pro-style game. He excels playing through traffic, prolonging possession along the wall, and finishing off plays tight to the crease. He competes hard at both ends and shows high end anticipation as a defensive forward and penalty killer. He has also proven to be versatile with the ability to play center and wing for the Soo Greyhounds. Although he had been seen as a potential first rounder heading into last season, his game has unfortunately proven to lack dynamic qualities, lowering his projection. His offensive skill set is average in almost every way and that likely limits his upside at the NHL level. Additionally concerning is that he plays a rather perimeter-centric game, despite carrying a bigger frame than most in his age group, to the extent that he was called on to play against men in his native Czech Republic as a 17 year old. With an additional gear to his stride and more assertiveness, he might have a higher ceiling than he has yet let on. – BO

Nikola Pasic, RW (189^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 12)

Pasic is a strong skater who plays a good two-way game and can play both center and wing. He is a strong puck carrier, has nice hands and works intensely. Last season he stepped up from junior hockey to the senior level in Allsvenskan as an 18-going-on-19-year-old. He scored an impressive 35 points in 45 games in his first senior season. That said, he played on a high scoring team and had six players ahead of him in team scoring, but he showed that his game translated well from junior to senior hockey. He almost exclusively played wing and could have created more shots and goals. He scored only seven goals but didn’t have that many shots on goals either. He has a good wrist shot and should use it more. He is a decent middle six prospect and will play in the SHL next season. - JH

Daniil Misyul, D (70^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 13)

A tall and strong defensive defenseman. Misyul is a good skater who gets to the corners fast and is strong in winning puck battles, even at the KHL level as a junior-aged defenseman. He plays physical and is strong one-on-one in the defensive zone and is a strong defenseman in front of his own net. His skating is not perfect though and with better lower body balance he would be able to use more of his reach. His offensive game is limited, and he rarely gets involved in the offensive zone. He is a good puck mover, though, and has good puck control and a solid first pass. He plays a smart and simplistic game and is effective defensively. He did not get a ton of ice time with Yaroslav but played a third pairing role well and was effective for his team when called upon. His NHL projection is probably in that same role and I would say he is ready to step over soon and compete for a spot, but he has three more years left on his contract with Yaroslav. - JH

Eetu Pakkila, LW (203^rd overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 14)

Pakkila split the 2019-20 season between the Liiga and Mestis, Finland's second-highest league. He played a very good two-way game in Mestis. He also played well for Ilves in the Liiga and showed that he can hold his own against tougher competition. He is a hard-working, purposeful winger with great skating ability. He has a quick first few strides and can reach top speed in a hurry. He was a proficient point producer in the junior level. With his good scoring touch, potent shot and skating speed, he has the potential to score goals at the pro level, too. His versatility is another asset. He can play up and down the lineup and in a number of roles. His checking game is effective, and he does many things that do not show on the scoresheet. He has progressed well and become a more complete player since being drafted two years ago. He could break out in the upcoming Liiga season. - MB

Patrick Moynihan, RW/C (158^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 15)

Moynihan lately a teammate of fellow Devils’ prospect Tyce Thompson, was drafted in the same season, albeit two rounds later than his older teammate. Unlike Thompson, Moynihan spent his pre-Providence College time with the USNTDP. Moynihan also won gold at the U17 World Hockey Championship. That said, the program was stacked in his class, and he didn’t get the ice time his skills may have otherwise deserved. Last year he was part of a solid group of underclassmen who propelled Providence’s offense while Moynihan netted his own fair share of goals as well. He is a good skater with speed. Moynihan isn’t physical or big – he is only 5-11” - but he carries more weight on his frame than it looks. He also makes up for his lack of size with his speed, shot, skills, and smarts. He has power on his shot and quick hands. Moynihan also has good hockey sense. He is a skill forward, but time will tell whether the skill set is dynamic enough to play top six minutes at the highest level. – JS

Graeme Clarke, RW (80^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 16)

Although injuries cut into his draft year, and almost ended his post draft season before it had really begun, Clarke returned late and produced like he never had in the OHL before. One would like to see him actuate all of his occasionally stellar offensive tools at once, and for a more prolonged period, but what he has flashed makes him a hidden gem in this system. He is still physically immature, which may be part of the cause for his lack of staying power, but at his best he shows a high-end sniper’s shot and scintillating puck skills. His reads and vision are even more scattershot, although it is fairer to attribute that to the injuries that have kept him off the ice for so long. More than most, Clarke needs a full season of health to find his true level and ensure that the Devils extend an ELC before they lose his rights. - RW

Michael McLeod – McKeen's Hockey

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DADOUN: THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (December 25th to 31st) – Senators make a coaching change – Ducks, Sabres, Avalanche, Stars, Oilers, Devils, Islander and Leafs look good in short week

Anaheim Ducks – WED VS VGK, FRI VS ARI, SUN VS EDM

Buffalo Sabres – WED VS BOS, SAT VS CBJ, SUN @ OTT (BTB)

Colorado Avalanche – WED @ ARI, FRI @STL, SUN @ DAL

Dallas Stars – WED @ STL, FRI VS CHI, SUN VS CHI

Edmonton Oilers – THU @ SJS, SAT @ LAK, SUN @ ANA (BTB)

New Jersey Devils – WED @CBJ, FRI @ OTT, SAT @ BOS

New York Islanders – WED VS PIT, FRI VS WSH, SUN @ PIT

Toronto Maple Leafs – WED VS OTT, FRI @ CBJ, SAT VS CAR

FANTASY: THE WEEK AHEAD – November 20th – 26th – Carolina and Colorado with favourable weeks – Goaltending issues rampant

Carolina Hurricanes

Colorado Avalanche

Nashville Predators

New Jersey Devils

New York Islanders

St. Louis Blues

Vancouver Canucks

FANTASY: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Farabee stepping up for Flyers – Injuries open door to opportunity – Goalies bouncing back – Early-season underachievers that might offer potential buy-low value + much more

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Devils dealing with injuries at centre – the Sharks finally add a puck-moving defenceman, Hronek, Schwartz, and E. Kane are among the players heating up + much more

FANTASY HOCKEY: The Week Ahead – October 23rd to 29th

Boston Bruins

Carolina Hurricanes

Columbus Blue Jackets

Detroit Red Wings

Montreal Canadiens

New Jersey Devils

Vegas Golden Knights

Washington Capitals

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Early Standouts – Significant early injuries – Who benefits from opportunity

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW JERSEY DEVILS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Forwards

Jack Hughes

Nico Hischier

Timo Meier

Jesper Bratt

Tyler Toffoli

Dawson Mercer

Ondrej Palat

Erik Haula

Michael McLeod

Nathan Bastian

Defense

Dougie Hamilton

John Marino

Jonas Siegenthaler

Goaltending

Vitek Vanecek

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – NEW JERSEY DEVILS – NHL Player Profiles

McKeen’s 2020-21 Hockey Yearbook: New Jersey Devils Top 20 Prospects

Alexander Holtz, RW (7th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Ty Smith, D (17th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Dawson Mercer, RW (18th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Nolan Foote, D (27th overall, 2019 [Tampa Bay]. Previous ranking: 2)

Shakir Mukhamadullin, D (20th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Janne Kuokkanen, LW (43rd overall, 2016 [Carolina]. Previous ranking: 3)

Kevin Bahl, D (55th overall, 2018 [Arizona]. Previous ranking: 4)

Reilly Walsh, D (81st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 6)

Arseni Gritsyuk, LW (129th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Tyce Thompson, RW (96th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 8)

Michael McLeod, C (12th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 9)

Michael Vukojevic, D (82nd overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Nikita Okhotyuk, D (61st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 11)

Nico Daws, G (84th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Jaromir Pytlik, C (99th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Nikola Pasic, RW (189th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 12)

Daniil Misyul, D (70th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 13)

Eetu Pakkila, LW (203rd overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 14)

Patrick Moynihan, RW/C (158th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 15)

Graeme Clarke, RW (80th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 16)

Alexander Holtz, RW (7^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Ty Smith, D (17^th overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 1)

Dawson Mercer, RW (18^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Nolan Foote, D (27^th overall, 2019 [Tampa Bay]. Previous ranking: 2)

Shakir Mukhamadullin, D (20^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Janne Kuokkanen, LW (43^rd overall, 2016 [Carolina]. Previous ranking: 3)

Kevin Bahl, D (55^th overall, 2018 [Arizona]. Previous ranking: 4)

Reilly Walsh, D (81^st overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 6)

Arseni Gritsyuk, LW (129^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 7)

Tyce Thompson, RW (96^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 8)

Michael McLeod, C (12^th overall, 2016. Previous ranking: 9)

Michael Vukojevic, D (82^nd overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 10)

Nikita Okhotyuk, D (61^st overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 11)

Nico Daws, G (84^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Jaromir Pytlik, C (99^th overall, 2020. Previous ranking: NA)

Nikola Pasic, RW (189^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 12)

Daniil Misyul, D (70^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 13)

Eetu Pakkila, LW (203^rd overall, 2018. Previous ranking: 14)

Patrick Moynihan, RW/C (158^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 15)

Graeme Clarke, RW (80^th overall, 2019. Previous ranking: 16)