Pavel Buchnevich – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Immediate reaction to the Artemi Panarin trade, Charlie Coyle leads the surging Blue Jackets, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich producing for the Blues, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 16:10:00 +0000

New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin (10) (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, immediate reaction to the Artemi Panarin trade, Charlie Coyle leads the surging Blue Jackets, Jordan Kyrou and Pavel Buchnevich producing for the Blues, and so much more!

#1 Moving to Los Angeles should be an interesting situation for Artemi Panarin, who has been one of the most productive forwards in the league. Since 2019-2020, he has 607 points in 482 games which ranks sixth in the league. That suggests that he should be able to keep scoring, even on a team that has its own troubles generating offense. It remains to be seen which Kings players Panarin will play with, but it would seem to be a possibility that Panarin could skate on a line with Quentin Byfield, who is a strong player but has been struggling to score this season.

#2 The prospect going to the Rangers in the Panarin trade is Liam Greentree, the 26th pick in the 2024 Draft. He is a 6-foot-3 winger who should have a chance to compete for a spot in the near future with the rebuilding Rangers, though his production has dropped – from 119 points in 64 games last season to 45 points in 35 games in the OHL this season. Gabriel Perreault and Brennan Othmann are the top forward prospects getting looks with the Rangers now so, depending on how the Rangers rebuild is handled, Greentree could have a chance to play in the NHL relatively soon.

#3 When the Blue Jackets replaced Dean Evason as head coach with Rick Bowness, it turned the season around. The new coach bounce has lifted the Blue Jackets to 10 wins in the past 11 games, and centre Charlie Coyle has been one of several Blue Jackets to elevate his play. In those 11 games, Coyle has 16 points (8 G, 8 A) and 31 shots on goal. He is skating on a line with Cole Sillinger and Mathieu Olivier at even strength, but Coyle is getting first unit power play time, and he has scored three power play goals in the past 11 games.

#4 Surrounding an injury that kept him out of action for three weeks, Blues right winger Jordan Kyrou was held without a goal in 13 straight games, dropping his value for fantasy managers. In his past eight games, however, Kyrou has started to heat up, producing 12 points (5 G, 7 A) with 29 shots on goal. He has scored more than 30 goals in each of the past three seasons and while that’s not as likely this season (he has 13 goals in 47 games), Kyrou is a proven scorer who could have real value down the stretch.

#5 With Robert Thomas injured, the Blues have shifted Pavel Buchnevich to the middle of the ice, and in his past seven games, Buchnevich has nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 22 shots on goal. He has played some centre for the Blues, despite being terrible on faceoffs (winning 35.5 percent of his draws with St. Louis), but, as a skilled playmaker, he does seem to be connecting with Kyrou, improving the fantasy value for both of them.

#6 An upper-body injury kept Dallas Stars centre Matt Duchene out of action for nearly a couple of months, and it took him some time to get up to speed after returning. Duchene had just 11 points (4 G, 7 A) through his first 26 games, but since then he has recorded nine points (6 G, 3 A) with 13 shots on goal during a six-game point streak. He is starting to click on the power play, with three power play goals in those six games after he had one power play point in his previous 26 contests.

#7 There have been many times during this season that we have pointed out the value of Pittsburgh Penguins winger Anthony Mantha, yet he’s still available in a significant percentage of leagues. In his past nine games, Mantha has 12 points (6 G, 6 A) with 17 shots on goal. He has hit 20 goals for the fourth time in his career, and with 42 points, he is six points away from tying his career high, which was set in 2017-2018 and matched in 2018-2019. The towering winger has moved up the depth chart and is skating on Sidney Crosby’s wing and getting first unit power play time for the Penguins.

#8 Toronto Maple Leafs winger Bobby McMann has landed in trade rumours recently, as the Maple Leafs are on the outside looking in at the playoffs and he has an expiring contract. He is certainly not hurting his trade value with his play, putting up seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 20 shots on goal in his past seven games, making the most of his chance to skate with Auston Matthews and Max Domi on the Leafs’ top line. If McMann is traded, he may not have such a prime scoring role, but he has proven that he can put the puck in the net, generate shots on goal, and add some hits for good measure.

#9 After spending most of last season in the American Hockey League, Kailer Yamamoto is back in the NHL this season with the Utah Mammoth. That hasn’t been particularly relevant for fantasy managers for most of the season, but he does have eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 12 shots on goal in his past seven games, which makes him worth considering even if it’s as a short-term pick up. Yamamoto is skating with Barrett Hayton and JJ Peterka on Utah’s second line, which does help to make him at least a little bit interesting.

#10 As the Seattle Kraken seek more consistent scoring, they are getting quality production from their captain, Jordan Eberle. The veteran right winger has seven points (3 G, 4 A) and 13 shots on goal in his past seven games and his 38 points (20 G, 18 A) lead the Kraken. Eberle has exceeded 25 goals in a season twice in his career, most recently in 2013-2014, so he’s on pace for one of his best goal-scoring campaigns. He is skating on the Kraken’s top line with Matty Beniers and Jared McCann and they are having success, but it also highlights how the Kraken could use more game-breaking offensive talent.

#11 Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn is 36 now, so not the player that he was during his peak years, but he can still bring it in short bursts. Following a 12-game point drought, Benn has erupted for eight points (2 G, 6 A) in his past four games. The trouble is that he only has five shots on goal in those four games – and only had a dozen in the previous 12 – so it’s very difficult to trust that his production is sustainable.

#12 A fresh start in Pittsburgh has paid off for winger Yegor Chinakhov, who was acquired from Columbus earlier in the season. Chinakhov has eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 21 shots on goal in his past eight games, with his ice time going up over 15 minutes per game in that stretch, as he skates on Pittsburgh’s second line with Tommy Novak and Evgeni Malkin. Chinakhov’s 1.31 goals per 60 minutes ranks 13th among skaters to play at least 500 five-on-five minutes.

#13 With the Vancouver Canucks lacking options down the middle of the ice, especially in an offensive role, Teddy Blueger is stepping into a more offensive role. Blueger played two games in October before getting injured and recently returned to the lineup, putting up seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 17 shots on goal in eight games. He has also played 16:23 per game which is a couple of minutes more per game than his typical average, and he’s having some success skating with wingers Conor Garland and Liam Ohgren.

#14 Utah Mammoth defenceman Sean Durzi can get overlooked because he’s not running the top power play, but he’s always been a quality puck-moving defender so there are times that his offensive production starts to take off. In his past seven games, Durzi has produced six points (2 G, 4 A) with nine shots on goal and 12 blocked shots – those blocked shots providing real value for fantasy managers as a complement to his increased scoring.

#15 With injuries sidelining Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish, the Anaheim Ducks have needed other centres to fill the void. Enter Ryan Poehling, a checking centre who has moved between veteran wingers Chris Kreider and Troy Terry. Poehling has six points (2 G, 4 A) and seven shots on goal in his past six games and while that shot rate is low, he is playing more than 17 minutes per game which is up by more than a couple of minutes per game over his previous average time on ice. Once the Ducks are healthy, Poehling will fill more of a defensive role, but it’s encouraging to see a player successfully handle a bigger role when given the chance.

#16 One of the statistical areas to consider for possible positive regression is to find players that have struggled with low on-ice shooting percentages. This isn’t a blanket issue because players who tend to skate on fourth lines, for example, are likely to have lower on-ice shooting percentages, but if a player is playing in a scoring role and still running low on-ice shooting percentages, that might be a player due for better puck luck. Some notables with low five-on-five on-ice shooting percentages this season include Marco Kasper (5.8%), Jonathan Drouin (6.0%), Jesper Bratt (6.1%), Dougie Hamilton (6.2%), Conor Garland (6.3%), Nico Hischier (6.4%), Kevin Fiala (6.5%), and Quinton Byfield (6.6%).

#17 Of course, it works the other way too, so when players have benefited from high on-ice shooting percentages, the odds are greater that they will run into some regression towards the mean. Some of the more notable players with high, and possibly unsustainable, five-on-five on-ice shooting percentages entering the Olympic break include Ivan Demidov (16.1%), William Nylander (16.0%), Oliver Kapanen (16.3%), Brayden Point (15.0%), Macklin Celebrini (14.8%), Mark Scheifele (14.3%), Jamie Benn (14.1%), Kyle Connor (14.0%), Gabriel Vilardi (13.9%), Nikita Kucherov (13.7%), and Cole Hutson (13.7%).

#18 This doesn’t mean that these players can’t remain productive, only that it’s very difficult to maintain this kind of lofty on-ice shooting percentage over the long haul. In the past three seasons, among players with at least 1500 minutes of five-on-five ice time, the leaders in on-ice shooting percentage are Kucherov (12.3%), Vilardi (12.2%), Points (12.1%), David Pastrnak (12.0%), and Hutson (11.8%).

#19 With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen injured, Alex Lyon becomes even more important between the pipes for the Buffalo Sabres. Lyon has been excellent, posting a .912 save percentage this season, but if Luukkonen is going to miss time beyond the Olympic break, then Lyon and Colten Ellis will have to fill the void for a Sabres team that now expects to reach the playoffs.

#20 Calgary Flames left winger Jonathan Huberdeau is going to miss the rest of the season due to hip surgery. The veteran winger did have four points (2 G, 2 A) and 12 shots on goal in his last five games, but that followed a stretch of zero points in nine games. It has been a difficult season overall, with Huberdeau producing 25 points (10 G, 15 A) in 50 games and with the Flames looking like they will have an eye towards next season, Huberdeau’s absence will create more opportunities for others. Yegor Sharangovich and Connor Zary are likely to see expanded roles, which could make them viable fantasy contributors down the stretch.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – ST. LOUIS BLUES – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Sat, 04 Oct 2025 16:21:05 +0000

ST. LOUIS, MO -APRIL 03: St. Louis Blues center Dylan Holloway (81) as seen during a NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the St. Louis Blues on April 03, 2025, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)

The Blues replaced head coach Drew Banniser with Jim Montgomery, who had been fired by the Boston Bruins, and the team improved dramatically, going 35-18-7 under Montgomery on the way to finishing the season with 96 points (44-30-8). It was enough to qualify for the playoffs and then they pushed the Winnipeg Jets to seven games before ultimately falling short in the first round series. The Blues were on the wrong side of the possession game, ranking 21st in Corsi percentage (48.6) and 20th in expected goals percentage (49.5). Their power play ranked 17th with 7.45 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play but their penalty killing was a problem, allowing 9.45 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play, which ranked 29th. The Blues’ goaltending tandem of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer was better than average and all of this combines to make a team that was very much middle of the pack and managed to squeak into the postseason but a bounce or two in the wrong direction could have been enough to keep them out.

What’s Changed?

Although scoring right winger Jordan Kyrou has popped up in trade rumours this summer, the Blues maintained some continuity in their forward core but signed free agents Pius Suter from the Vancouver Canucks and Nick Bjugstad from the Utah Mammoth to improve the team’s top nine. Jimmy Snuggerud, who jumped from college hockey to the Blues lineup at the end of last season will have a significant role right from the start of the season. On defence, the Blues acquired defenceman Logan Mailloux, a quality right-shot defence prospect who will have an opportunity to play regularly with the Blues, but it cost the Blues forward Zach Bolduc, who had shown promise as a rookie, tying for the team lead with seven power play goals on his way to producing 36 points (19 G, 17 A) in 72 games. The Blues are getting younger on defence, it appears, as they traded Nick Leddy to the San Jose Sharks and 40-year-old Ryan Suter is without a contract after logging 19:28 of ice time per game for the Blues in 2024-2025, so that creates potential room for Mailloux, Tyler Tucker, and Matthew Kessel on the blueline.

What would success look like?

Returning to the playoffs is the first level of success. As noted, the Blues just squeaked into the last spot in the Western Conference, but they played to a 105-point pace under Montgomery. However, there is room to improve if they are going to move up to the tier with more serious Stanley Cup contenders. This team doesn’t look like a Stanley Cup contender but winning a round or two in the playoffs should not be out of the question.

What could go wrong?

Improvement is necessary if the Blues are going to get off the playoff bubble. They have young players who could all develop and help raise the bar, but if there isn’t enough improvement there, and the goaltending slips a little, that could be all it takes for a team on the wrong side of the possession ledger to miss the postseason.

Top Breakout Candidate

After scoring 51 points (24 G, 27 A) in 40 games as a junior at the University of Minnesota last season, Snuggerud joined the Blues and chipped in four points (1 G, 3 A) in seven regular-season games before adding four points (2 G, 2 A) against the Jets in the playoffs. The 2022 first-round pick is poised to have a big role as a rookie this season, possibly even skating on the Blues’ top line. If so, he may have a chance to score enough that he can contend for the Calder Trophy.

FORWARDS

Robert Thomas

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	28	67	95	1.16

There is a class of players who are rarely classified in that elite tier even if they have all of the qualifications. Robert Thomas definitely fits that description. He is coming off his best season from a points-per-game perspective and would have shattered his career highs if he didn’t miss 12 games with an injury. He was sixth in the league in assists at five-on-five and in the top 20 for overall points. Combine that with him recording another 20+ goal season and Thomas is running out of things to prove to be considered among the league’s best. Those who follow St. Louis know all about this, as he is the engine of that team. His small form doesn’t prevent him from winning pucks in all three zone sand his deadeye-like accuracy with hitting teammates in stride is almost a cheat code for offence. There are few players better right now at breaking down coverage and moving the puck east-west to setup dangerous chances and it’s a big part of the Blues DNA. While those are nice, Thomas’ ability to draw defenders in and hit teammates in stride is his best asset, setting up numerous breakaways and chances with space. The Blues usually have an automatic zone entry whenever he is on the ice because of how quickly he gets through the defence and how accurate he is with feeding teammates into the zone. There isn’t much more for him to prove except to keep up this high level of play and he is a major reason why the Blues made a run to the playoffs.

Jordan Kyrou

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	39	35	74	0.90

Kyrou still finds himself playing second-line minutes despite posting his third 30+ goal season in a row. There was a desire to spread the wealth among the Blues top six and that left Kyrou playing alongside Brayden Schenn instead of his usual running mate in Robert Thomas. While his defensive play has improved leaps and bounds from a few years ago, his reputation as a liability away from the puck has left coaches reluctant to play Kyrou like he is a game-breaking forward. His performance last year suggests that it’s time to take the training wheels off because he did just about everything you can ask from a first line winger except play the minutes. He gives the Blues a dimension they don’t have much of in their forward corps as a volume shooter and someone who can finish his chances at a high rate. He’s versatile with how he creates his chances, although last season was all about the rush game for him, leading the Blues in zone entries leading to scoring chances and overall controlled entries. This has always been his calling card, as he’s naturally gifted with the puck and blessed with great skating. He had a tendency to be a little too patient with creating his offence, but there has been a more direct nature to his game the past couple of years, taking more shots and making more of a beeline to the net instead of waiting for another play to develop. It’s made him one of the Blues best goal-scorers and a driver of their success.

Dylan Holloway

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	32	42	74	0.95

The first half of Dylan Holloway’s season was all about letting him play and figuring out where he fits. Even after acquiring him through an offer sheet, there was a lot that wasn’t known about him as an NHL-er playing only sparingly in Edmonton. St. Louis immediately fed him minutes and let him play through his struggles in the first couple months of the year, reaping the benefits around December where Holloway scored at nearly a point-per-game pace for the rest of the year. He was an excellent swiss army knife type player on the Blues second line, doing a little of everything to give some stability there. Taking over center duties for Brayden Schenn and providing a complement to Kyrou’s speed and puck-handling. He is an ideal player for the middle of your roster, mastering the art of being a contributor while not needing to be “the guy” on his line. He will make the simple play more times than not, mastering the art of making the simple 5–10-foot pass to keep the pace going rather than trying to thread the needle or try to skate through traffic. His chemistry was lethal with Kyrou, as there was a lot of open ice for Holloway to explore and his heavy shot became more of a weapon, especially off the rush. A late season injury unfortunately kept him out of the playoffs and the “what if” factor is looming there with how close their first round loss to Winnipeg was. The offer sheet was a coup, and we will see after next year if the Blues plan to make Holloway a long-term piece.

Pavel Buchnevich

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	24	35	59	0.79

The Blues decision not to trade Buchnevich at the 2024 deadline and instead re-sign him for six years was a little surprising. He is 30 years old, and the Blues appeared to be entering a re-tool type of situation missing the playoffs for two years in a row. He is an excellent player, but this was a risky contract with his age and the number of cross-checks he eats every game from driving to the middle of the ice. If you only look at point production, last season looks like the beginning of a decline for Buchnevich, scoring at his lowest point-per-game pace since 2020 and this is while getting fed prime minutes on the top line. There is always more than meets the eye in these situations and Buchnevich did a lot that didn’t show up on the scoresheet. Thomas brings the game-breaking skill, but Buchnevich is why they stay a positive line territorially. He fights hard for pucks to get second and third chance opportunities and is very strong on the wall in the defensive zone to kill plays. He might not be the one scoring on the initial chances, but he helps create rebounds and space for everyone else on his line. The one area that has been declining for the last few years is Buchnevich’s individual scoring chance rate, which is something worth keeping the eye on as he goes through his 30’s. His poor finishing season should correct itself, but there might be a cap on how many goals to expect from him going forward if his chance creation continues to decline.

Jake Neighbours

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	20	24	44	0.56

Some players do two or three things at a high level and do enough to get by with everything else. In the case of Neighbours, his hands in tight situations and his shot cover up a lot of his flaws and make him an excellent third wheel on the top line. The Blues like to pair him with Thomas, which makes his struggles to skate with the puck not as much of a factor and his ability to corral loose pucks and find the soft spot in the defence more of a weapon. He has ridden this role to back-to-back 20+ goal seasons and last year we got to see more of the playmaking that got him drafted in the first round. He has slowly climbed the ladder in the Blues depth chart, and he seemed to earn more of a solid trust in the coaching staff with how he is regularly deployed on the top line. When Neighbours is playing away from Thomas is when the issues start to creep in, although the emergence of Dylan Holloway gives St. Louis more options if they want a puck-carrier to pair him with. He isn’t someone who can drive his own line, but his goal-scoring and skillset around the net make him one of the better secondary scoring options in the league.

Brayden Schenn

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	16	30	46	0.56

It was another year at the office for Schenn, scoring 50 points for the eighth time in his career and maintaining his regular spot as the Blues 2C. The road to get there wasn’t smooth, though as Schenn struggled mightily to start the season. Still getting on the scoresheet, but his lines were on the wrong side of both the goal and scoring chance battle for the first three months of the season. It wasn’t until they put Dylan Holloway on his line that Schenn began to play like a top sixer again and it gave the veteran a second wind. Holloway moved Schenn over to the wing and the game became somewhat easier, as he didn’t have to cover as much ground as he would playing center and the Blues could conserve his energy by playing him less on the penalty kill. The question with Schenn is how much longer he can keep this up now that he’s 34. The Blues still play him like he’s one of their best offensive players, which includes time on the power play and while Schenn is still smart and skilled enough to contribute, the legs to keep up might not be there anymore. Holloway’s emergence was a lifeline for him staying a positive player in the top six and we will see how this setup works for a full year.

Nick Bjugstad

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	9	11	20	0.27

The trip from Arizona to Utah changed a lot of things for Nick Bjugstad. He posted some of the best numbers of his career with the Coyotes while playing in the top six and followed it up with a 19-point season struggling to get more than 13 minutes a night. Part of this was the youth influx in Utah, with the likes of Logan Cooley and Dylan Guenther becoming more regular players and others like Jack McBain and Josh Doan getting regular minutes. It became a situation where you can only play so many guys and Bjugstad became more of a depth player. It’s a role he’s accustomed to, and some coaches think suit him best because of his size and dog-on-a-bone mentality when going after pucks. He can still give you something if you play him in offensive minutes, though. He loves shooting the puck and can weave away from defenders to create his own shot, not being too reliant on his linemates. Skilled enough to play on a scoring line, although probably not a game-breaker. St. Louis was an interesting landing spot for him because their top six is pretty set with rookie Jimmy Snuggerud likely taking one of the top wing spots. This puts Bjugstad at the 4C spot, which he can play but limits what he can do, especially with the Blues preferring to play physical forecheckers on the wings there. You shouldn’t expect much offence from Bjugstad if that’s the role he gets, but he is someone that could get power play time on the second unit and maybe spell in a top line winger spot in the event of injuries.

Pius Suter

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	20	22	42	0.53

Players like Suter are a testament to how you don’t always need the puck on your stick to be effective. He doesn’t take a lot of shots, but when he does, they’re from right in front of the goaltender because of how good he is at getting to rebounds. If he’s not shooting for a rebound, he’s shooting into an open net because of how good he is at breaking down coverages and getting to where the defence isn’t. He’s very responsible defensively and it makes a guy you can use all over the lineup. If your top line is struggling to keep the puck out of their own end, Suter is a guy you can put there for a few games to calm things down and get everyone playing a simpler game. He’s also someone who meshes with elite skill because of his strong off-puck play and how he prefers to play that way rather than being the quarterback. He also doesn’t need to play with elite linemates to produce, as we saw in Vancouver where he formed a great line with Conor Garland and Dakota Joshua, Garland doing most of the puck-handling on that unit. He’s someone every team should have, and the Blues are a nice spot for him as at least they don’t have to worry about their 3C spot while Suter is on the roster. They also have a lot of decent to strong puck-handlers that complement his offensive game well and he will make everyone around him better defensively.

Alex Texier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	12	16	28	0.43

It’s hard to believe Texier is only 25 years old considering he made his debut for the Blue Jackets in their historic playoff sweep over Tampa all the way back in 2019. The young Frenchman has traveled a lot of miles in his career and his first season outside of Columbus was a bit of rocky tenure. He only played 33 games, and they struggled to find a spot for him. He got a brief run alongside Pavel Buchnevich early in the season and became more of a part-time player shortly afterwards. Even as one of the more expensive depth players, Texier is somewhat of an awkward fit on the lower lines. He might provide more of a spark than Oskar Sundqvist, but the Blues prefer his size, he doesn’t have the same level of speed as Mathieu Joseph, and he doesn’t play with the same motor as a Nathan Walker or Alexey Toropchenko. Therefore, he got pigeonholed into the “top six or nothing” mindset and it was tough for the Blues to fit him in the lineup. He did see the ice in the playoffs, though and he showed he can fit into the checking style game even if scoring off the rush is his calling card. Still on the roster with a $2.1 million cap hit, the Blues will have to find a way to work him into a crowded roster or find him a home elsewhere. Texier has shown enough potential to be worth keeping around on the depth lines.

DEFENCE

Cam Fowler

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	10	36	46	0.58

The mid-season trade for Cam Fowler was a perfect marriage of a player looking for a change of scenery and a team needing a player like him. The longtime workhorse of the Anaheim blue line still has the cardio to play 25+ minutes a night, but the Ducks were looking to shift some of his responsibilities to their younger players and Fowler himself probably welcomed the reduced penalty killing duties and getting to play alongside a veteran in Colton Parayko. It was always hard to gauge his numbers in Anaheim, as they were one of the worst teams in the league for the past decade and they regularly bled chances and goals against while he was on the ice. This is despite Fowler being one of their most reliable breakout options, but his strength on zone exits would often lead to empty calorie plays, as they came at the end of long shifts. With the Blues, his on-ice stats did a complete 180 degree turn, as St. Louis owned over 60% of the five-on-five goals with him on the ice and his skillset proved to be complementary to their forward corps that looked to push the pace forward. You saw bits of the old Cam Fowler with him leading the rush, jumping into the play and hitting long stretch passes. The slight reduction in minutes combined with a better supporting cast helped out both parties. The question now is if this is the new normal or just the honeymoon phase after the trade.

Colton Parayko

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	12	29	41	0.51

Four years after lingering back issues had some questioning his career, Parayko has stayed mostly healthy since then. This year’s knee procedure being the first case of him missing time due to an injury. His size and mobility make him a favorite among coaches and scouts, a main reason why he is always on Team Canada’s tournament rosters. It wasn’t that long ago when you could consider him one of the league’s top defenceman, but that isn’t so much the case now that he’s 32. He’s still a heavy minute player for the Blues and holds his own in the defensive zone. Quick enough to keep up with top line forwards and he’s excellent at disrupting chances. Uses his stick well on the puck and keeps the front of the net clear incredibly well. Last season was somewhat of a turning point for him changing his defending style, no longer playing aggressive in the neutral zone and waiting for the puck carrier to come to him so he can kill the play along the wall rather than go for the big hit at the blue line. Getting Cam Fowler as his defence partner helped matters here, as Parayko had a more reliable option with getting the puck out of the zone and he could focus more on sealing plays along the wall with the breakout being taken care of. The one thing that could be considered a drawback to Parayko’s game is he likes to do everything, which includes carrying the puck and taking all the shots when he’s on the ice. He might not have the skillset to do the former, but he did get the results he wanted as a shooter, scoring a career high 16 goals, all but two of them coming at even strength. Repeating that will obviously be a challenge, but it’s also not what he’s primarily relied on for.

Philip Broberg

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	9	26	35	0.45

Broberg was the riskier of the two players St. Louis acquired from Edmonton via a double offer sheet. His first three years in Edmonton were spent with training wheels latched on whenever he got NHL action. You saw glimpses of what he could do in the Oilers first playoff run, but it was only a brief period, and he was still unproven as an NHLer. The bet St. Louis made paid off, as they immediately put Broberg in the top four and he didn’t look out of place all season. Where he shined the most was in the breakout game, excellent at using his skating to avoid pressure to get easy breakouts for the Blues to move the play forward. They let him play through his mistakes and he became the player they needed to become a staple in their top four. He also offered a bit of game-breaking skill with his ability to go coast-to-coast and while he’s not expected to score much, it’s a huge relief to their forwards who do most of the work in transition. It’s almost a perfect setup for the Blues offence because they’re a team that wants the forward taking most of the shots from close-range, so Broberg only has to be the guy to get them the puck in some way rather than taking 40-foot shots with no traffic in front. He doesn’t miss the net much either, generating a rebound or a scramble in front when he gets a shot through. The next step for him is seeing if he can break into the top pair, but the Blues have gotten plus value out of Broberg as it is.

Justin Faulk

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	6	26	32	0.42

Faulk is one of those players who sees his role change seemingly every year. Sometimes he’s your power play quarterback, other times he’s a defensive specialist who eats all the penalty kill minutes. You can argue that he’s miscast in this role because he also eats a lot of chances and goals against while he’s on the ice. He is one of those players who can play 20+ minutes without getting tired, but how effective they are in the role is up for debate. With Faulk it’s a quandary because he has a bomb of a shot from the point and he fills that rover role of a defenceman well with how he likes to creep in to get chances. His passing and erratic play with the puck, however, makes him an awkward fit there and it’s made the Blues second defence pair a revolving door forever. He found somewhat of a niche as Broberg’s partner, as a guy who can take hits and get the puck to his more skilled partner, but even that had shelf life as teams started zeroing in on him to throw the puck up the wall for turnovers. Teaming with Broberg did help somewhat clean up Faulk’s defensive play, as the two were able to keep their heads above water territorially when they were paired together. There isn’t a real challenger for Faulk’s spot yet, so he will remain in the top four until that changes.

GOAL

Joel Hofer

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
42	19	18	4	2	.902	2.72

It felt like old times to look at the St. Louis Blues depth chart and see the statistical similarities boasted last season by Joel Hofer and Jordan Binnington. As one of the league's early adopters of the true tandem, St. Louis has always seemed to thrive when they have two clear-cut options that give them a similar chance of winning night after night. And perhaps best of all, Hofer - one of the team's slightly overbaked success stories in their goaltending prospect history - was the slightly more reliable of the two, boding well for the team's future success when Binnington's current deal expires in 2027.

Hofer was the bright, shiny new addition during the 2023-24 season, when he and Binnington first burst onto the scene as the league's most 'Perfectly Serviceable Tandem' during a heartbreaking postseason miss for the Blues. It felt like a relief, then, to see him maintain his good performance this past year as well, particularly when the Blues managed to convert what he and Binnington had to offer into a surprise last-second playoff berth; it didn't yield a particularly deep postseason appearance, but it implies there's optimism to be had in the Midwest. Expect to see Hofer take on a little more responsibility this season, but don't expect him to take over completely; the Blues love a good partnership, and he and Binnington seem to complement one another perfectly.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – ST. LOUIS BLUES – Team Preview

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 16:00:50 +0000

_{ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL10: St. Louis Blues left wing Pavel Buchnevich (89) as seen during a NHL game on April 10, 2024, between the Chicago Blackhawks and the St. Louis Blues in Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire)}

Even though the Blues performed better under head coach Drew Bannister than they did under his predecessor Craig Berube, the Blues finished with 92 points (43-33-6), which left them six points behind Vegas for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference. Unfortunately, the Blues did not even deserve that much success and were saved by goaltending more than anything else. They ranked 29th in Corsi percentage (45.2%) and 30th in expected goals percentage (44.1%), so this was a team that was getting outshot and out-chanced on a routine basis. With 6.43 goals per 60 minutes on the power play, the Blues were tied for 25th. They ranked 16th with 7.57 goals against per 60 minutes of penalty killing. For all of those rankings which were mediocre or much worse, the Blues’ goaltending tandem of Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer combined for a .906 save percentage, which ranked sixth.

WHAT’S CHANGED? The Blues started the offseason by nibbling around with smaller deals, trading Kevin Hayes to Pittsburgh and adding the likes of Alexandre Texier, Radek Faksa, Mathieu Joseph, Pierre-Olivier Joseph, and veteran blueliner Ryan Suter. None of those players is going to make a huge impact on their own, but that is a significant roster overhaul that can change the mix. The Blues weren’t finished, though, because then they took a run at two restricted free agents from the Edmonton Oilers, signing defenceman Philip Broberg and winger Dylan Holloway to offer sheets, which were ultimately not matched. Broberg was the eighth pick in the 2019 Draft, and Holloway was the 14th pick in 2020. Neither of them could get regular playing time in Edmonton, so a fresh start could do them some good. Veteran defenceman Torey Krug has an arthritic ankle which could potentially keep him out all season and explains at least partly why the Blues were looking to add on defence.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Having missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons, the Blues appear to be in rebuilding mode, though more like they are trying to rebuild on the fly rather than take it down to the studs and build from scratch. Thus, if they somehow squeaked into the playoffs, that would count as an on-ice victory for a roster that does not look like it will warrant a playoff spot. On the other hand, if the Blues fall out of the playoffs, they would be better off missing substantially so that they improve their lottery position, and that could mean making substantial trades because the team still has a lot of established vets in key roles.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? Expectations already seem to be suitably low for the Blues, so this almost seems like a free season. If they miss the playoffs, by a lot, but maximize the trade value when dealing some of their veteran players, that would be a positive outcome in the long run. Where it could go wrong is if the team ends up finishing just outside the playoffs, just like they did in 2023-24, because it minimizes draft pick value and doesn’t give the team a real chance to trade away some of its more established players. Basically, a repeat of last season would be the wrong result for the Blues.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: This category is primed for left winger Jake Neighbours, a 22-year-old who scored 27 goals and 38 points last season, his first full season in the NHL. Neighbours has plenty of room to improve and while he might not score on 18.6% of his shots on goal again, he is also looking at the possibility of playing with Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou on the Blues’ top line as well as on the first power play unit. With Thomas setting up plays, Neighbours should be able to increase his shot rate and become a more sustainable offensive force.

FORWARD

Robert Thomas

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	30	62	92	1.12

The play of Robert Thomas was a bright spot in what was a chaotic season for the Blues, as he recorded career highs across the board. Most are familiar with his game at this point, he’s a high-end play-making center who is going to outscore a lot of his problems away from the puck. Some of those issues began to shore up this year, as his lines were a little more consistent with driving play and his new-found chemistry with Jake Neighbours was a nice development for the team. His minutes have skyrocketed the past couple of years, eclipsing the 20-minute mark which includes some penalty kill time now. Thomas is still a selective shooter, but his finishing has become more dangerous the past couple of years, looking to shoot more off the rush and poaching for breakaway opportunities more often now. He’s very creative with the routes he takes in the neutral zone, changing directions quickly and he’s one of the best at keeping defenders guessing. He is also one of the best in the league at getting the puck through the middle of the ice, delivering passes with a high level of velocity but also a lot of control so they can be one-timed easily. He can generate passing plays you typically only see on the power play at even strength. Look for him to post big numbers again this year with all his regular linemates coming back.

Jordan Kyrou

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	34	41	75	0.91

Facing heavy criticism from both fans and the coaching staff, Jordan Kyrou was someone who needed to round out his all-around game and last year was a good step forward in that regard. His boxcar stats weren’t as gaudy due to a small dip in power play production, but his lines usually won the five-on-five battle when he was on the ice. Kyrou’s own defensive game hadn’t changed much, but he was a little more conservative when handling the puck in the neutral zone, not always trying to dangle through traffic and deferring to his linemates when he needed to. He also got better at creating offence outside of just the fast break plays off the rush, doing a better job of winning pucks back in the offensive zone and becoming more than just a shooter for Thomas to setup. His season was the best example of how playing better defence sometimes means playing less defence in general. The question is whether it’s worth the trade-off if he’s creating less dangerous chances in transition. With his five-on-five scoring numbers staying pretty consistent, it’s hard to argue with the results. Kyrou still has the talent to be whatever player he wants, so it depends on which direction the new coaching staff leans and who they play him with. Berube gave him the freedom to be that lethal, free-wheeling player that made him such a special talent for the Blues. Last year, he was just as effective but in a completely different way. Finding the middle ground is what next year is all about.

Pavel Buchnevich

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	30	48	78	0.95

Maybe the most popular trade target at the deadline who ended up staying put, Buchnevich is back in St. Louis for six more years after signing a new deal in the off-season. It’s pretty obvious why so many teams were interested in him. He gives you size, skill and can excel as the driver of his line or as the third wheel in support. He was the calming presence on the Thomas’ line, often the middle man with connecting the dots to Kyrou or making a short pass to help setup a zone entry. His release and ability to get a lot of velocity on his shot without much room makes him borderline lethal. You can throw a puck in his general direction and there’s a good chance he will make something out of it. He is also one of the best “power kill” specialists in the league, playing heavy minutes on the Blues penalty kill and always looking to poach for offence. He is also coming off somewhat of a down season production-wise after riding a high shooting percentage in 2022-23, but he does so much outside of scoring it was an afterthought. Granted, it’s hard to believe a player like Buchnevich could ever fall into a shooting slump when you watch him play, but it’s just proof that it happens to everybody. Still the Blues best forward when it comes to all-around play and the one they rely on to calm the waters whenever he’s out there.

Brandon Saad

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	19	15	34	0.52

Somewhat flipping the paradigm of the player he was earlier in his career, Saad’s not the strong two-way player he once was. Last year, he was a pure goal-scorer. His 26 tallies were the most he scored since his 2016 season in Columbus, and he got them in a variety of different ways. The sneaky shot off the rush is still there at times, but Saad’s had to adapt as his speed and power have started to decline. Last year, it was all about getting to rebounds, finding sneaky ways to get himself open for one-timers and being the bumper guy in the slot on the power play. He was one of the Blues’ top forwards at producing scoring chances and a good chunk of them came off deflections or rebounds. His all-around game struggled, as the Blues were pushing the puck up-ice most of the time when Saad was out there, but he still managed to have a productive season with a revolving door of linemates. The goal-scoring might not be sustainable, but a year with more stability in who he plays with could give St. Louis some better results overall. The question for the Blues is how much Saad contributed to those play-driving results as opposed to his linemates, which is a tough riddle to crack given how many question marks they have on the roster.

Brayden Schenn

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	21	22	43	0.52

Reaching the 20-goal mark for the third year in a row was a modest feat for Brayden Schenn. The veteran pivot had his least productive season as a Blue and has been on a steady decline for a few years now. He’s never been one to carry the mail on his line, as he’s not the best at navigating through the neutral zone or retrieving pucks, so the revolving door of linemates didn’t do him any favors. Schenn scored on a high percentage of a limited number of shots by poaching for odd-man rushes or following up on plays to create most of his offence. Which the team can get by with but the Blues lack of a consistent second or third line made it more of a burden when taking Schenn’s play-driving struggles into account. It’s the type of offence you’re stuck with when your line is buried in your own zone. Schenn wasn’t the only cause of it, but five-on-five play-driving has never been his forte and the Blues didn’t have the horses to help him with it. A new glut of middle-six forwards have been brought in and the Blues will experiment to see who works best with Schenn. Which has been the story with him since Jaden Schwartz left.

Jake Neighbours

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	29	23	52	0.66

Jake Neighbours breakout season was a little surprising, mostly because of how it happened. Primarily a playmaker in juniors, the 22-year-old found his niche in the NHL as a goal-scorer and a net-front presence. His 27 goals were more than he scored at any level in his career, which includes his pre-WHL days. St. Louis is a team with no shortage of puck-carriers, so Neighbours had to adapt his game away from the puck to be a contributor. He proved to be a fast learner, doing an excellent job at getting to the net, following up his linemates and being a passing option for the Thomas’, Kapanens and Kyrous of the team. He did a fantastic job of following the play, getting himself open and finding soft spots around the net to score some lay-up goals. Repeating this will be tough, as his game was pretty one-dimensional. If he wasn’t scoring goals, he wasn’t getting on the scoresheet and the only other times he touched the puck were when he was helping on exits. That said, Neighbours has only scratched the surface of what he can do. He didn’t get a chance to show off the playmaking skill that got him drafted so high and was never trusted to be the driver of his line. There’s an opportunity for him to do more this coming year.

Kasperi Kapanen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
64	11	15	26	0.41

Most know what they’re getting with Kasperi Kapanen by now. A winger with blazing speed who isn’t going to score as many goals as you’d expect and not give you much else aside from that. Still, he’s a useful guy to have on the penalty kill to keep attackers on their toes, as he’s always a threat to go the other way shorthanded. He’s also a better playmaker than he gets credit for, as the high number of breakaways he gets makes you think he’s a shoot-first type of guy. He showed some decent chemistry setting up rookie Jake Neighbours in his breakout season and it was enough for the Blues to retain him for another year at a modest $1 million AAV. You always want more with Kapanen when you see his raw skills, but a lower-line guy with some offensive pop might be his ceiling. Finding more of a niche in a defensive or possession flipping game could be his ticket to staying in the league long-term. His skating is always going to make teams interested in what he can do and we’ve seen other fast players who struggled to become game-breakers mold themselves into solid checking line players to stay in the league. It’s hard to say if it’s too late for Kapanen to do this, but he has another chance with the Blues this year.

Mathieu Joseph

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	12	20	32	0.41

Acquired from Ottawa in a cost-cutting move, Joseph put up modest results in his first real chance in a consistent top six role. He only scored six goals and 35 points while flanking Claude Giroux and Tim Stutzle. For years, he showed a lot of skills that could have translated well in a bigger role. He showed excellent skills in transition in a bottom six role with Tampa Bay and carried that over during his time in Ottawa while struggling to produce with lesser linemates. Last year, he played a noticeably more conservative game, forechecking more and letting Ottawa’s more talented players do the puck-carrying. It led to Joseph having his best season to date boxcar wise, but he struggled to produce offence consistently, both in terms of goals and tilting the ice. Some of that was becoming more reliant on assists via puck touches rather than setting guys up or being directly involved in the play. Regardless, Ottawa elected to move on, and he has a chance to break into a similar role with the Blues. It’s a good chance for him, but also similar to where he was in Ottawa because the team has a gluttony of second/third liners and Joseph will need to do a lot to stand out from the pack. He has the speed and flashes of high-end skill going for him, but you can say the same about a few other players on the Blues roster. He does have the chance to play alongside his brother, though.

Alex Texier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	11	14	25	0.31

The former Blue Jacket’s had a strange career. Brought in right before the team’s historic sweep of Tampa Bay in 2019, he is one of those players who has been around forever but doesn’t have a ton of NHL experience at the same time. Last year was his first real season, as he’s had stops on the injured list and played the 2022-23 season in Switzerland before returning to Columbus last year. He’s from France, but he fits the Swiss-Army Knife description, where he does a pretty good job if you need a guy who can shoot, pass, skate or forecheck at a decent level. He just doesn’t bring much high-end skill to the table and is a solid guy to fill out the middle of the roster if anything. Fits the Blues up-tempo style of play as a guy that loves to carry the puck and has decent enough speed to be a rush threat. Shooting has been wildly inconsistent over his career and will look to pass to keep a cycle going rather than look for a play to setup a goal. Should be a steady guy in the middle of the roster, although it’s very crowded in St. Louis.

DEFENCE

Colton Parayko

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	9	24	33	0.40

The last few years have been a journey for Parayko after recovering from back surgery and becoming “the guy” on a St. Louis blue line still looking for an Alex Pietrangelo replacement. Last year was the first time Parayko looked like a reliable placeholder for that spot, recording monster minutes again (23:52 a game) and giving them reliable results in that role. He played a strong game in his own zone alongside Nick Leddy and is still the Blues most stabilizing presence there. He’s someone you can count on to calm the water at even strength, as he does an excellent job of using his long reach to kill cycles and keep loose pucks away from the front of the net. Mobile enough to play man-to-man and cover for blown assignments if he needs to. The downside is that their game was pretty one-dimensional, as Parayko’s offence was limited to just breakouts and the occasional jump-in off the rush. This will likely be the case going forward on a St. Louis defence corps that is heavy on puck-movers and short on steadier players like Parayko. Sometimes being a great player is filling the role you need to instead of being the game-breaker, which is the situation Parayko is in now. With so many high-end defencemen across the league now, it’s easy to forget about him but his role in St. Louis does not go unappreciated.

Scott Perunovich

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	7	27	34	0.52

The NHL has been a tough learning curve for the Hobey Baker winner. Losing almost two seasons to shoulder and wrist injuries that required surgery, last year was his first real pro season at 25 years old. He struggled to get consistent playing time, both due to injury and trips to the press box while the Blues auditioned some of their other young defencemen instead. It’s been tough for him to make his mark as an offensive defencemen on a blue line that has a few of those already, but there is an opportunity for him to stick this year with Torey Krug possibly out for the season. He’s a similar player in terms of style, doing most of his work with the puck in the offensive zone and he’s probably the passer among the Blues current group of defencemen. Adapting to the NHL game is going to take some consistent playing time and practice, as he’s someone who will put up points given the opportunity. Learning how to deal with forecheck pressure and the speed of the game is the key to landing a full-time role.

Justin Faulk

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	10	35	45	0.61

Next year will be an adjustment for the veteran defenceman, as he will be without longtime partner Torey Krug. A minute-eater and all-situations player for his entire career, some of the miles started to show on Faulk last year, missing most of the latter half of the season with an injury. Inching closer to the 1000 game mark, his own playing style hasn’t changed much. He’s a stocky, bulky defenceman who is going to jump into the play when he gets the chance and give you a decent mobile option in a top four spot. His defensive game’s always been more of the high-risk variety, playing the man instead of the puck and attacking forwards directly, both on entries and in the defensive zone. While the high-risk nature of his game brings a lot of give-and-take, last year was a bit of an anomaly for him offensively. He scored only two goals despite regular power play time and he’s one of the better shooting defencemen in the league, regularly hitting the 10-goal mark. Expect that part of his game to bounce back. As for his five-on-five game, it will be interesting to see how he does with a new partner. Being matched with Krug was a different look for him, as he was often paired with a stay-at-home guy in Carolina and Krug was the first time in a while he was paired with another puck-mover. They could give him a similar look in Perunovich or have him shepherd another young player like Matthew Kessel. He is in a good position to be a mentor type as the second-pair guy on the right side.

Nick Leddy

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	2	19	21	0.27

For years, Nick Leddy always looked like an offensive defenceman cast as a shutdown guy. His smooth skating, one-man breakout ability and endless cardio strength make him a perfect fit in the top four on paper, but the results have been all over the place everywhere he’s been in that role. Despite his raw skillset and how much coaches love him, teams bleed shots and scoring chances against when he is on the ice regardless of who he’s paired with or where he plays. Last year was no different. He puts up a similar stat line every year, isn’t going to give you much physically, but he’ll play his role and eat up minutes for you. Whether that changes with the Blues this year remains to be seen. He was Parayko’s running mate last year until the end of the season when Perunovich received an audition, and it could signal a potential changing of the guard. Still, Leddy is one of their proven options and the Blues know what they’re getting for better or worse.

GOAL

Joel Hofer

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
36	17	15	4	1	0.908	3.08

Jordan Binnington

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
46	21	19	6	3	0.909	2.91

The St. Louis Blues certainly can't fault veteran starter Jordan Binnington for their postseason absence this year, but he's not their main story heading into the 2024-25 season nonetheless. His impressive numbers last year, which saw him sit in the top half of the league's starters despite mediocre play up front, take a backseat when faced with the real story for the new season; Joel Hofer, the 23-year old prospect who served as the team's most recent 'next man up', dazzled with enough prominence that he's likely going to be the piece the Blues build around in the next couple of years.

Binnington and Hofer wrapped up the year with matching 0.913 raw save percentages, posting nearly identical stats when it came to performances relative to their expected goals metrics, quality starts, and relativE performances when up against the rest of the league. That kind of consistency in a tandem is impressive enough, but it looks even more stellar when considering just how little support the pair got from the defence in front of them - and just how little experience Hofer had to build upon throughout the year. You'd never be able to guess just how young he is from watching him play, though. Hofer's ability to avoid getting goaded into telegraphing his movements by opponents left them guessing even when trying to seize on defensive breakdowns. One season as a backup doesn't necessarily provide enough evidence for Hofer to take over from Binnington - and he doesn't necessarily need to, so long as Binnington continues to look good - but a more even split between the pair is likely in the cards moving forward to help with load management. And the changing of the guard likely won't happen this season, but it could be coming in the next few years.

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 – ST LOUIS BLUES – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Mon, 09 Oct 2023 14:35:05 +0000

REVIEW: A year after posting a dominant 49-22-11 record, St. Louis dipped to 37-38-7 in 2022-23, bringing its run of four straight playoff berths to an end. Although the Blues still had a solid offensive core with Jordan Kyrou, Pavel Buchnevich, Brayden Schenn and Robert Thomas each recording at least 65 points, St. Louis went from finishing third in goals per game in 2021-22 (3.77) to 17th last season (3.17) due to a lack of depth. Seattle had an amazing nine players with at least 20 goals in 2021-22 but just three last year (Thomas finished with 18) due primarily to a swath of forwards regressing. On top of that, they didn’t have Ville Husso anymore after he played a key role in pushing them to the playoffs in 2021-22 with his 25-7-6 record, 2.56 GAA and .919 save percentage in that campaign. With Husso gone, St. Louis deployed Jordan Binnington in 61 games, but he wasn’t up for the task, posting a 3.31 GAA and an .894 save percentage. Backup Thomas Greiss was just as bad, finishing with a 3.58 GAA and an .896 save percentage. With the season lost, St. Louis was a major seller at the deadline, moving Ivan Barbashev, Ryan O’Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko in a series of trades that arguably marked the end of an era.

What’s Changed? Greiss retired, opening the door for Joel Hofer to slide into the backup role. The Blues also leveraged some of their freed cap space to acquire Kevin Hayes from Philadelphia for just a sixth-round pick and even got the Flyers to retain half his $7,142,857 annual cap hit for the next three seasons. Hayes proved to be a poor signing for Philadelphia, but he might give the Blues back some of their lost offensive depth. Outside of that, St. Louis didn’t make significant additions as it instead starts to shift its focus towards the future.

What would success look like? Although the Blues have seen plenty of turnover since their 2019 Stanley Cup championship, this team isn’t without bounce back potential. The offensive core of Thomas, Brandon Saad, Buchnevich, Jordan Kyrou, Hayes, Schenn and Jakub Vrana is loaded with question marks, but when they’re all clicking at the same time, they make for a dangerous combination.

What could go wrong? Even that wouldn’t solve the goaltending issue though. Binnington was a huge part of the Blues’ 2019 championship, but since then his career has been on a consistent downward slope. At the age of 30, a rebound isn’t impossible, but after setting a new career low in save percentage for the fourth straight year (excluding his one-game stint in 2015-16), it seems improbable.

Top Breakout Candidate: Maybe Hofer will be the solution in St. Louis instead of Binnington? The 23-year-old goaltender did post an encouraging 2.50 GAA and .921 save percentage in 47 AHL contests last season. Granted, Hofer also had a 3.22 GAA and .905 save percentage in six starts with St. Louis in 2022-23, but that’s a small sample size and even then, it was an improvement over Binnington. Given the veteran goaltender’s struggles, Hofer has an opportunity here that he might take advantage of.

Forwards

Jordan Kyrou

Even though he scored a career high in goals, the Blues coaching staff and front office had a lot of criticism for Kyrou’s play this year. In some ways it was more of the same, he is still one of the most lethal players in the league off the rush and he is very tough to stop when he reaches his second gear. He doesn’t need to get a lot of power on his shot to score and offense comes easy for him. The Blues were more concerned with his habits after plays were broken up or when he didn’t have the puck. Perhaps his -38 set off some red flags with the coaching staff. It’s something that isn’t entirely in his control, but his tendency to push for offense and carry the puck through traffic can lead to some headaches for the coaching staff. Firewagon hockey moments are going to happen with talented players, but a majority of Kyrou’s offense came in transition last year. Some players can get by with this, it just becomes tougher when your team loses a couple of Jenga pieces like the Blues did with Perron and eventually O’Reilly at the trade deadline. The Blues might have expected more out of Kyrou, but they can certainly do worse than him if he is just a scoring winger.

Pavel Buchnevich

A mid-round sleeper in fantasy hockey almost every year, Buchnevich picked up where he left off with the Blues last year. He was the one player on the team that is hard to critique because he excelled in just about every area last year. Buchnevich was their only top player who could score without living and dying off rush chances and provided a much needed forechecking element to their top lines. He doesn’t have a huge frame, but he reads exits well and he can get a lot of torque on his shot without much time or space. It’s surprising how accurate he is because he uses a sweeping motion to shoot the puck and creates a launching pad type of effect instead of settling it down or dusting it off. Catches goaltenders off-guard and he was even better as a passer, ranking second behind Thomas in scoring chance setups. He doesn’t need to be the primary puck carrier or distributor to be effective and masters the details of the game when it comes to scoring. The only thing you can criticize him for, is that he could have shot the puck more and injuries limited him to only 63 games. St. Louis’ best all-around player entering this season.

Robert Thomas

Thomas proved that his 2022 season wasn’t a fluke at the very least, remaining one of the league’s premier playmakers. He is someone who can excel in both phases of the game, having the speed to keep up with St. Louis’ powerful rush offense and capable of slowing the game down when the Blues start cycling. He is at his best when he can pull up in the offensive zone and wait for a lane to open up along the wall, almost like he is setting up a power play at five-on-five. That part of his game didn’t change much, it's just hard to make these plays at the same rate as he did the previous season, which is why he went from sixth in the league in 5-on-5 primary assists to 33^rd. Still in the upper echelon of the league, there shouldn’t be any concerns about Thomas’ ability as a playmaker. He is also a very selective shooter, firing the puck at an incredibly low rate and makes up for it by being a strong finisher. Also made progress with helping out the defense on zone exits instead of cherry-picking for entries. Likely the Blues centerpiece going forward and has big shoes to fill with O’Reilly now in Nashville.

Brayden Schenn

You can usually count on Brayden Schenn to hit the 20-goal mark in a full season, and it doesn’t matter how good or bad the rest of his stats are. His deceptive release is always going to make him a viable option on the power play, as he can beat goaltenders on some awkward looking shots, and he is very good at not telegraphing where the puck is going. Even strength play is a different story. Schenn is a deliberate player with the puck, so it can be tougher for his skill to translate here. Most of his goals come off breakaways or a passing play that somebody else started. He was a tough stylistic fit at times because he is a slower player on a team with a lot of speed on the wings and had to play all over the lineup last year. Still showed some decent chemistry with Kyrou at times, creating some quick-strike offense with breaking up plays high in the zone and catching defenses off guard. Also coming off one of his strongest seasons as a playmaker and was third on the Blues in scoring chance setups at 5-on-5. The main concerns with Schenn are his defensive play and the five years left on his contract going forward.

Kevin Hayes

Even with Hayes having a rebound season where he was injury free, it was all but a certainty that he was getting traded. He was healthy scratched in December despite leading the team in points and moved from center to wing in favor of rookie Noah Cates. Despite any progress he was making, it was clear that he wasn’t going to be a long-term fit in Philadelphia, this is even before mentioning his contract which carries a cap hit over $7 million AAV for the next three years. Thus, he was sent to St. Louis with the Flyers retaining half of his cap hit. Few players had a tougher time both on and off the ice than Kevin Hayes over the past couple of years, so it was encouraging to see show signs of the player he was in his prime. The fit with St. Louis is intriguing, because they’re at their best off the rush and Hayes is the type of center who loves to regroup in the neutral zone and attack from there. The Blues have some good speed on the wings to complement him, so it’s really just a matter of whether he can hold his own defensively, which is where some of the friction with the Flyers coaching staff started. The Blues have him for three more years, but at under $4 million AAV he is a nice placeholder to have.

Jakub Vrana

The story around Jakub Vrana is that he could easily be the biggest steal in the league if he gets the playing time. The “if’ part just never happens. Since 2020, only Auston Matthews has scored more goals per 60 minutes, which sounds impressive except that Matthews has played almost 100 more games during that time. Playing only two games with Detroit last year before entering the Player’s Assistance Program, Vrana eventually passed through waivers and spent two stints in the AHL before St. Louis decided to take a chance on him with the only risk being his $5.25 million AAV cap hit. His short stint with the Blues was business as usual for him, he scored 10 goals while playing a third line role and showed flashes of being the game-breaker he was at times in Washington and Detroit. His speed and shot are something a lot of teams dream they could have, so this is a potential coup for St. Louis if they can get regular playing time out of him. Of course, this is exactly what the Red Wings were saying a year ago.

Kasperi Kapanen

Claimed off waivers by St. Louis after three frustrating years in Pittsburgh, the winger made a good first impression in first few games with the Blues, scoring twice in his first three games and tallying 14 points in only 23 games to end the year. Possessing blazing fast speed, a decent shot and puck skills, it’s easy to see why the Blues wanted to take a gamble on him even with one year left on his contract. The Blues seem to be putting a focus on team speed and Kapanen is a guy who can certainly help that. It didn’t work in Pittsburgh, as he ended up being a one-dimensional player who fought to get the puck out of his own zone more than he created off the rush. He could break the game open at times but was usually a drag on any line he was on, and he gave back most of the offense he created. This is something you live with if a player is finishing his chances, but with only seven goals in 43 games, Pittsburgh opted to move on. His shooting slump immediately turned around in St. Louis, so he at least enters next season on a positive note and a fresh start.

Brandon Saad

Now one of the oldest forwards on the team, Saad is in an interesting situation going forward. He is one of the only wingers in the top-nine who brings some level of defensive play, which balances out some of the one-way players the Blues brought in like Kapanen and Vrana. He’s also signed for three more years on a non-cheap contract and is coming off one of the lowest-scoring seasons of his career. Most of that is due to him having only four points on the power play despite getting consistent minutes on the second unit. Saad was a consistent driver of offense and scoring chances for years and this part of his game started to hit a decline last year. The saving grace is he can still finish at a decent rate and the Blues were a positive territorial team with him on the ice. Some of that is a by-product of being attached at the hip to Ryan O’Reilly for most of his minutes, but Saad is a smart player who still has decent wheels to help drive the play north. Saad’s skillset always paired best with a strong, play-driving center (ROR, Kadri, Toews), so he could be thrusted into a different role this year with the Blues having a void there.

Sammy Blais

Sammy Blais’ career with the Rangers might as well be a write-off. His first season was cut short with a knee injury and did not play much beyond the fourth line this past year. He did not score a goal with the Blueshirts over 54 total games. Returning to St. Louis as part of the Tarasenko deal rejuvenated his career. He was playing more and got back to being the skilled agitator that he was during the team’s Cup run. He actually set a career high in goals and points in his 31 games with the Blues, which probably tells you more about how happy he was to be back on a team where he’s comfortable. He might not get the same minutes or linemates he did in the second half of last year as the Blues brought in some reinforcements around the trade deadline, but he is the type of player who can move up and down the lineup if he needs to. The hot streak he had to end the year probably helps his case. That said, Blais has yet to play a full NHL season because he plays like a bowling ball and will miss a lot of games with prolonged wear and tear.

Jake Neighbours

There were reasons to be optimistic about Jake Neighbours’ going into his rookie year. The Blues liked him enough to keep him around for a full nine-game audition the previous season & he fits the mold to be a good complementary piece on almost any line. He has great hands and can play the intense, forechecking game most coaches want from their energy line players. Things didn’t go as well as they hoped. Neighbours scored only 10 points, seven of which came during the month of January and struggled to find his niche at the NHL level. Injuries and demotions soon derailed his season. The NHL game doesn’t come easy to everyone and Neighbours is a good example of that. He was never projected to have a high offensive ceiling, but he never got a chance to show what he could do either, as his offense was limited to breakaways and turnovers. He showed some ability to play the checking game, but never really established himself as an impact player. He and the Blues are hoping next year goes better.

Defense

Justin Faulk

The nice thing about a defenseman like Justin Faulk is he can play whatever role you put him in at an adequate level. He wore a lot of hats in his early days with Carolina and has done the same with the Blues. Focusing on offense and helping the Blues transition game the last, Faulk has set career highs in points. His great wrister helps with that, as it’s common to see him score double-digit goals like he did last year. He has also been playing big minutes in the NHL since he was 19 years old and has gotten better with not making careless plays out of his own zone. Probably gets lost in the shuffle as one of the NHL’s better puck-moving defensemen. Can play the shutdown role and kill penalties but doesn’t defend entries well. He carries a lot of weight around and has a short reach, so he tends to get burned when going for the big hit or when he needs to turn. It’s something the Blues have worked around before, but it’s tougher to hide when the majority of their games are played off the rush. The Blues score a lot of goals when Faulk is on the ice, but they give up a lot as well.

Torey Krug

Nobody is ever going to confuse Torey Krug with a shutdown defenseman, but you can at least bank on his teams to score more goals than they give up. Last year was only the second time in his career where that didn’t happen, as the Blues owned only 45% of the 5-on-5 goals when Krug was on the ice. Every defenseman has a year like this and it’s a little more concerning when it happens after they turn 30, as that is the time most hit a wall. With Krug, it’s a little complicated. He was still a great puck-mover and the Blues best defenseman at producing scoring chances. The main thing that changed for him was he struggled mightily to retrieve pucks and handle forecheck pressure. This could just be age and injuries piling up, but Krug is usually a reliable player here and could not get to loose pucks with the same level of efficiency last year. Some players can work around this, but it is tough to adapt when this part of the game has been so easy for Krug his entire career. He also missed almost 20 games with injuries and saw a reduction in ice-time to the 18–19-minute range, his lowest since his early days in Boston.

Colton Parayko

Now two years removed from back surgery, the Blues don’t have any concerns about the durability of their cornerstone defenseman. The version of Parayko they’ll get for the next seven years, however, is something they might be worried about. In some cases, you can deal with a low-event defenseman who plays the minutes Parayko does, especially on a team as chaotic as last year’s Blues. It becomes more of a problem when that guy makes $6.5 million AAV until the year 2030. Parayko’s size and puck-handling will always make him a useful player. He just isn’t the same guy who could rush the puck out of the zone and be a threat to break the game open anymore. It’s an interesting development because the tougher parts of his game are the one thing that has held up post-surgery, while his offense and the more dynamic aspects have suffered. That and the Blues lacked a real shutdown guy all of last year and Parayko is the one guy who can fill that role by default. Things could be worse. The defensive strengths are still there, and the offense is at times, but the Blues are lacking a dominant top defenseman if this is the new normal for Parayko.

Nick Leddy

Looking at his profile, it might surprise some folks that Leddy has never been a great play-driver or someone who creates a lot of offense in volume. An effortless skater, Leddy is usually one of the top defensemen in the league at leading zone entries, translating this to tangible results has been a problem for most of his career. Part of it is because he isn’t the best at starting exits and needs a partner who can dig the puck out so he can skate it out of the zone after the first forechecker. He was able to put this to use with the Blues last year, as St. Louis scored at a decent clip with him on the ice. His skills as a passer definitely help a little. You might not create many chances with him on the ice, but the ones you get will be good. His issues as a defender, however, can be tougher to work around. He will often give forwards the blue line when they enter the zone and plays more of a shot-blocking role and someone who absorbs damage rather than kills plays. Leddy’s always been an interesting player to watch for this reason. Some defensemen can be best described as “minute eaters” and it’s a fitting description for the long-time Islander.

Goaltending

Jordan Binnington

There might not be another goaltender in the NHL that has the same track record of inconsistency that Jordan Binnington does. While his St. Louis predecessor Jake Allen has struggled throughout his career with up-and-down weeks during each season, Binnington’s rises and falls seem to follow entire seasons as he goes; he’s either an unstoppable force or an easy-to-goad replacement-level netminder with a hot head and a trigger-esque temper that throws his game into a tailspin. That makes it hard to tell just what St. Louis is gambling on this year; he’ll either be the underdog capable of playing to prove his doubters wrong, or he’ll be the former Stanley Cup Champion who insisted he had an unflappable personality but was all too easy to coax into costly mistakes after just a bad goal or two.

From a technical standpoint, Binnington has the ability to play a game that preaches crisp edgework and an almost bored-looking depth management style designed to rattle his opponents and prevent him from overcommitting to bad shots. But over the last two seasons, he’s also shown a side to his game that exaggerates his technique and pushes him out of position, allowing baffling goals that seem to rattle him more than they should. His game doesn’t rely on a smooth rhythm nearly as much as Allen’s does, so it’s a different problem in St. Louis right now – but as yet another year approaches, it’s hard not to wonder just why the Central Division club’s starters seem to be so easy to throw off their games.

Projected starts: 60-65

CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Klingberg getting a big shot, players due for regression from high percentages last season, rising young players like J.J. Peterka, Seth Jarvis, Oliver Wahlstrom, and more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 29 Sep 2023 16:24:40 +0000

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 10: Buffalo Sabres Left Wing JJ Peterka (77) celebrates a goal during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the Buffalo Sabres and the New York Rangers on April 10, 2023/ at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire)

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

This week, John Klingberg getting a big shot, players due for regression from high percentages last season, plus rising young players like J.J. Peterka, Seth Jarvis, Oliver Wahlstrom, and more.

#1 Early returns from Maple Leafs training camp have John Klingberg working the point on Toronto’s top power play unit. This is not a huge surprise, as Klingberg has recorded 146 power play points since 2015-2016, which ranks 11th among defensemen in that time. If Klingberg stays in that spot, Morgan Rielly is the one to lose out and he has scored 48 of his 109 points in the past two seasons on the power play.

#2 Acquired from the Los Angeles Kings as part of the return in the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade, Gabe Vilardi is getting a look on Winnipeg’s top line with Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele. Vilardi ranked 20^th in the league last season with 1.33 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-five play, and if he is going to get reps with Winnipeg’s top playmakers, he could be primed for a big season.

#3 There may not be a player getting targeted for shooting percentage regression like Vancouver’s Andrei Kuzmenko who scored 39 goals in his first NHL season, finishing on a league-high 27.3% of his shots. From 2000-2001 through 2021-2022, there were 50 seasons in which a player scored at least 20 goals and had a shooting percentage of at least 20%. What happened the following season? Just two of those players had a higher shooting percentage the following season. The average decline in shooting percentage was 6.5 percent. If Kuzmenko’s season is the same as his rookie campaign, but he has a shooting percentage that is 6.5 percent lower, he would drop from 39 to 30 goals.

#4 In addition to Kuzmenko, Brayden Point, Pavel Buchnevich, Leon Draisaitl, Mark Scheifele, and Roope Hintz all scored at least 20 goals while scoring on more than 20 percent of their shots in 2022-2023. While they are likely to experience regression in 2023-2024, Draisaitl might be the least likely to experience a drop off – he has scored on 20.2 percent of his shots over the past five seasons.

#5 While we’re raining on parades before the season even begins, there are players that are likely to see some regression in scoring because last season’s numbers were inflated by a high on-ice shooting percentage. Kuzmenko was at 13.1 percent, slightly lower than Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn, who was also at 13.1 percent. Seattle’s Jared McCann (12.7 percent) and Vince Dunn (12.4 percent), St. Louis’ Pavel Buchnevich (12.4 percent), and Boston’s Pavel Zacha (12.2 percent) were among the full-time players with the highest on-ice shooting percentages. Players that played partial seasons like Ilya Mikheyev (13.8 percent), Alex Belzile (13.8 percent), Rafael Harvey-Pinard (13.6 percent), and Luke Evangelista (12.5 percent) also had inflated percentages in their smaller samples.

#6 On a more optimistic slant, there are also going to be players that are due for an uptick in the percentages, players with low on-ice shooting percentages last season. That group includes Montreal’s Juraj Slafkovsky (5.5 percent), Los Angeles’ Trevor Moore (5.7 percent) and Phillip Danault (6.4 percent), Washington’s Nicklas Backstrom (6.2 percent), Florida’s Sam Reinhart (6.6 percent), and Ottawa’s Drake Batherson (6.6 percent).

#7 Goaltenders are unpredictable, and this should not be overlooked or forgotten when it comes time to make fantasy picks. Sure, it would be great to secure the most reliable netminders in the league for your team, but it’s so hard to know who that will be from one season to the next. Two seasons ago, when Igor Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy, Jacob Markstrom was the runner up and Frederik Andersen finished fourth. Thatcher Demko, Ville Husso, and Tristan Jarry received votes. All of this is to say that there are not many sure things between the pipes.

#8 Having noted that, these goaltenders have been the most reliable options in net over the past three seasons, based on Goals Saved Above Expected per 60 Minutes (minimum 2000 minutes): Ilya Sorokin (0.49), Igor Shesterkin (0.47), Juuse Saros (0.33), Linus Ullmark (0.30), and Connor Hellebuyck (0.29). Four of them have roles as clearcut No. 1 starters on their teams while Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner, has more of a challenge for playing time from his backup, Jeremy Swayman.

#9 Obviously Connor Bedard is the headliner of the rookie class, and he is the one that is most reliably ready to contribute in standard fantasy leagues. The others are more suited for deep or dynasty leagues. Logan Cooley and Adam Fantilli look like they will have good opportunities to play prominent roles with Arizona and Columbus, respectively, but it is asking a lot for a player to jump from the NCAA after one season and immediately become a productive scorer in the NHL. Beyond them, Nashville’s Luke Evangelista is still Calder eligible after tallying 15 points (7 G, 8 A) in 24 games last season. Ottawa’s Ridly Greig picked up nine points (2 G, 7 A) in 20 games last season. There are defensemen who could have an immediate impact, though they may not score enough for standard fantasy leagues. New Jersey’s Luke Hughes did not look out of place in his late season and playoff audition with the Devils last season and could get second unit power play time this season. Hughes’ teammate, Simon Nemec was the second pick in the 2022 Draft and is probably NHL ready, too, if the Devils can find room for him. Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke got a taste of NHL action last season but should play a more significant role this time around. As intriguing as any of these rookies might be, odds are that they will not have an immediate fantasy impact.

#10 Over the past three seasons, the players that consistently generate scoring chances during five-on-five play are those with the highest ixG/60 (minimum 2000 minutes): Auston Matthews (1.27), Timo Meier (1.12), Brady Tkachuk (1.09), Anders Lee (1.08), Zach Hyman (1.07), Jeff Skinner (1.06), Michael Bunting (1.05), John Tavares (1.04), Patrice Bergeron (1.02), and then three tied at 1.00 – Matthew Tkachuk, Tage Thompson, and Sam Bennett. Not huge surprises there, but Bunting and Bennett are a couple of gritty forwards hanging in nice company.

#11 With Jack Quinn injured, there may be a little more opportunity for Buffalo Sabres sophomore winger J.J. Peterka, who finished last season with 11 points (4 G, 7 A) in his last 18 games. He then went to the World Championships, where he put up 12 points (6 G, 6 A) in 10 games for Germany, earning the award as the tournament’s top forward. There is a chance for Peterka to skate with Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt on Buffalo’s second line and that is a young skilled trio, a line that could help to elevate Peterka’s production as he begins his career ascent.

#12 While his 2022-2023 season might have been somewhat disappointing, scoring one less point in much more ice time than he had as a rookie the year before, Carolina Hurricanes right winger Seth Jarvis also saw his on-ice shooting percentage dip from 10.1 percent to 7.1 percent, so there is good reason to expect that number to bounce back in his favor. If he skates with Sebastian Aho and Michael Bunting on Carolina’s top line, there is a good chance for Jarvis’ percentages to bounce back and his scoring output can take off.

#13 As the Chicago Blackhawks attempt to provide sufficient support for Connor Bedard on their top line, it looks like Taylor Hall will be on one wing and, after Chicago returned Lukas Reichel to center, veteran Tyler Johnson could get his shot on the Blackhawks’ top line. Johnson had 32 points (12 G, 20 A) in 56 games last season when his most common linemates were Taylor Raddysh and Jason Dickinson, so there is certainly room to upgrade the quality of scoring options skating with Johnson.

#14 He was just coming into form last season, scoring 12 points in his last 17 games, when 6-foot-6 Detroit Red Wings forward Michael Rasmussen suffered a season-ending knee injury. He delivered 119 hits to go with a career-high 29 points (10 G, 19 A) in 56 games last season and while his offensive upside is going to put a limit on his fantasy appeal, 24-year-old Rasmussen is now contributing enough that he does warrant consideration in deep leagues. Keep an eye on where he is playing in Detroit, because he can move around that lineup, either in checking roles or in a supporting offensive role and obviously the latter would be more appealing for fantasy managers.

#15 With Brandon Montour and Aaron Ekblad recovering from surgeries, it appears that Oliver Ekman-Larsson is going to get a chance to quarterback the Florida Panthers power play. The 32-year-old blueliner has seen his play decline in recent seasons, but he has run many power plays in his career. From 2013-2014 through 2018-2019, while playing for the Coyotes, he tallied 122 of his 267 points on the power play. Ekman-Larsson’s declining performance should help lower his draft day value and he almost certainly will get replaced by Montour when he is healthy, but as a short-term option, Ekman-Larsson just might have a shot at a rebound season.

#16 Injuries have hampered Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan in the past three seasons, but he performed well before getting shut down last season, putting up 17 points (6 G, 11 A) in 25 games for the Habs. On a team with few established scoring threats, Monahan could have a chance to skate on the wing with Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki on Montreal’s top line and while the injuries are a concern, the opportunity that could be out there for Monahan would make him worth a late-round flier.

#17 A knee injury sidelined Islanders winger Oliver Wahlstrom for more than half of last season but he is an intriguing option entering this season because the 23-year-old could get a legitimate shot to play in a scoring role. Although he has 61 points (32 G, 29 A) in 161 career games, Wahlstrom has been playing just 12 minutes per game, so there is untapped offensive upside. Over the past three seasons, among players to skate in at least 1000 five-on-five minutes, Wahlstrom leads the Islanders in shots per 60 minutes (8.95) and ranks fourth in both goals (0.83) and expected goals (0.83).

#18 While scoring is a driving feature for fantasy performance, there are peripheral stats that can make a difference, too. Depending on the league, hit totals can add serious value for a player and one place to find them will be on Tampa Bay’s third line, where Tanner Jeannot and Michael Eyssimont bring a physical presence to the wings. Eyssimont bounced around to three NHL teams last season, but he had 34 hits in 15 games with Tampa Bay, while playing just 11:25 per game. Goals were hard for Jeannot to come by last season, as he scored just six times on 107 shots, but he has 608 hits in the past two seasons, most among all forwards.

#19 After trading reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson in the offseason, the San Jose Sharks may be entering the season with one of the worst defense groups ever. As a result, journeyman blueliner Jacob MacDonald could very well find his way to power play time in San Jose. MacDonald is a 30-year-old who played a career-high 58 games last season and has skated in a total of 101 career games, producing just one power play point in the NHL. However, in his past four American Hockey League seasons he has produced 60 goals and 165 points in 236 games, with 30 of those goals coming via the power play, so maybe gets a shot with the Sharks. Another consideration for the Sharks might be rookie Henry Thrun, a 22-year-old who played eight games for the Sharks last season and had produced 63 points (14 G, 49 A) in 68 games during his sophomore and junior seasons at Harvard.

#20 It is unusual for a rookie goaltender to make a major impact, but that possibility exists for Devon Levi of the Buffalo Sabres, who figures to be the No. 1 netminder right out of the gate. Other rookie goalies like Pyotr Kochetkov in Carolina, Dustin Wolf in Calgary, and Joel Hofer in St. Louis could all find their way to significant roles this season. New Jersey’s Akira Schmid is not Calder eligible, but it another up-and-coming goaltender with a shot of playing a big role in 2023-2024.

MCKEEN’S 2022-23 NHL YEARBOOK – ST. LOUIS BLUES – NHL Player Profiles

Corey Sznajder – Forwards and Defense, Catherine Silverman - Goaltending — Fri, 16 Sep 2022 21:19:49 +0000

ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 09: St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas (18) with the puck during a NHL game between the New York Islanders and the St. Louis Blues on April 09, 2022, at Enterprise Center, St. Louis, MO. (Photo by Keith Gillett/Icon Sportswire),

FORWARDS

Robert Thomas

A new offensive approach from the Blues and a wonderful connection with Vladimir Tarasenko paved the way for Robert Thomas emerging as one of the league’s top playmakers. Only Johnny Gaudreau produced more assists at five-on-five than him and being the new focus of the Blues offense along with Jordan Kyrou. It’s a not a new development, as he’s been a good playmaker for most of his career and he’s been especially good at finding lanes that most players wouldn’t notice. He also moves the puck with such velocity, almost like he’s shooting it, that he can make those tough plays through the slot or from behind the net. Linking up with Buchnevich and Tarasenko took his game to another level, giving him linemates to work the give-and-go game, Tarasenko being an elite shooter to boot. Their tendency to play catch in the slot or off the rush also made Thomas a better goal-scorer, giving him plenty of lay-up scoring chances where he just had to tap the puck across the line. He’s also a unique player because he can make such accurate plays from awkward positions or when he’s looking in the opposite direction. Linemates don’t necessarily need to be “open” for him to make a play because of how hard he passes the puck. He doesn’t have a blazing speed either, so defenses will usually converge on him before he gets rid of the puck to the guy they just left open. He injected some life into a stagnating Blues offense last year and will be their focal point going forward.

Jordan Kyrou

Sometimes it takes a couple of years for a player to harness a gifted skillset into something that works in game situations. This was the case for Jordan Kyrou, who was first called up in 2018 and didn’t establish himself as an NHLer until 2021. His speed combined with a more direct approach with the puck made him a lethal player off the rush and injected some new life into the Blues forward corps. Last year was just another step in that development, playing consistent second line minutes and always a threat to when the puck started going north. The biggest development with Kyrou is that he doesn’t always need to be the one leading the rush to be effective. While he still made those beautiful coast-to-coast rushes, you saw more goals where he was trailing the play or finding creative ways to get himself open. His shot is just as good of a weapon as his skating, and he was most effective as a shooter when he put the brakes on to get a better shot instead of flying downhill with the puck. It made linemates sort of irrelevant because he created so much quick-strike offense and just needed someone to get him the puck. His skill would take over after that and his speed gave him a lot of space to make the final play for a scoring chance. St. Louis also utilized him as a shooting option more on the power play, becoming the triggerman from the left circle. The non-scoring side of the game is still a work in progress for him and where the inconsistent linemates. He’s a very smart player with the puck, but his lines struggled defensively and had to outscore most of their problems. He is skilled enough to get away with it, but it is one area of the game that can be cleaned up.

Ryan O’Reilly

The Blues will remain a good team for as long as Ryan O’Reilly can lace up a pair of skates. He is the foundation of their entire structure and allows the Thomas’ and Kyrous to create with so much freedom. He has the least desirable role on the team as the top matchup and defensive center, his workload being more than other with how deep he plays in the defensive zone to cover up some of the weaknesses on their blue line. O’Reilly often acts like a third defenseman with how much space he takes up below the faceoff dots and retrieves the puck to help with breakouts. He could have a 20-point season and still bring value to St. Louis with the shutdown game he brings. Fortunately, he can still produce offensively even though he’s more of a power play specialist now. His combo of strength and working so much on his backhand made his line a threat for goal-line plays. On the power play he does a great job of directing traffic from the bumper position, not expending much energy while still making himself an option for quick plays. He will often get himself open without having to move. Thomas’ emergence also took some pressure off him to play 22-24 minutes a night, playing in the 17–19-minute range instead. It’s an encouraging development as O’Reilly enters his 30’s and possibly slides into more of a pure shutdown role with David Perron going out the door.

Pavel Buchnevich

Coming to the right team at the right time, Buchnevich had the type of season the Rangers always knew he had in him, scoring a career-high 76 points. He played a Swiss Army type of role on the Blues top line, reading off what Robert Thomas was doing with the puck and quickly making the next play. His instincts on offense were always on another level and it makes up for not having burning speed or a lethal wrist shot. He takes smart routes to pucks, reads his linemates well and has a deceptively good release on his shot, especially off-one-timers. He has an awkward, “sweeping” motion on his shot and it’s very tough for goalies to track where the puck is going. It was a perfect combination with the skill the Blues paired him with. Thomas and Tarasenko drew much attention from the defense that Buchnevich ended up being left open in coverage and let his skill take over from there. It was a little different than the role he played in New York with two goal-scorers (Kreider and Zibanejad) but similar in that he just needed to read off his linemates and be more of a shooting option when necessary. This could make him a good replacement for Perron on the O’Reilly line, although he would be tough to mess with the chemistry he had with Thomas.

Vladimir Tarasenko

It was common thought that Tarasenko would start the 2021-22 season on another team. He spent the previous two years injured and frustrated with where he was at in St. Louis and the writing was on the wall that he was likely getting traded. Nothing materialized and Tarasenko ended up having the best season of his career statistically. The 30-year-old was one of the most productive forwards in the league with only four players scoring more points per 60 minutes at even strength. He went about it a little differently than years past. Tarasenko was a “power forward” in his prime, using his strength to beat defenders and muscle his way to the front of the net. Last year, he was more of an opportunistic player, staying high in the zone and reading off his linemates and focused on making himself a passing option instead of attacking the puck. It was a huge part of Robert Thomas’ breakout year. There needs to be a great shooter to go with a great playmaker, a void Tarasenko filled wonderfully, and the Blues needed to put their former star in a position to succeed while he was still on the team. It turned what looked like an ugly situation into one of the most dangerous lines in hockey.

Brayden Schenn

Spending most of the year stapled to Jordan Kyrou, the former fifth overall pick added another 20 goal/50+ point season to his resume. He is one of the longest tenure players on the Blues and has had a knack for goal-scoring since entering the league, possessing one of the more unorthodox looking wrist shots you’ll see. Schenn’s concerns lie away from the puck, as his line struggled to keep the puck in the offensive zone when he was on the ice. The Blues hoped that pairing him with Kyrou could help them outscore their problems, namely on counterattacks. It worked to an extent, as Schenn created most of his offense off the rush and had one of his best seasons in terms of finishing at even strength. It worked to a point, but Schenn didn’t create the offense in volume like he could in past years, so he was prone to some scoring droughts which caused the Blues to switch up their lines. A trip to Ryan O’Reilly’s wing didn’t help and they eventually reverted to the feast-or-famine approach with hoping Schenn’s line could finish most of their shifts with a faceoff at center ice. Oblique and knee injuries limit how much physical play he can take, but next year should be another decent-scoring year for him if his puck skills don’t drop off.

Brandon Saad

It says something about a team’s forward depth when a guy with 49 points is 9^th on the entire team, but it was just another year at the office for Brandon Saad. The veteran forward is known for consistency, always getting himself to at least 20 goals and having a positive impact when he’s on the ice. Last year was a little different. Whether it was the ankle injury or the return to a top-line role, Saad wasn’t the same play-driver he was in years past. Part of that comes with the territory when you’re Ryan O’Reilly’s winger, but he seemed to struggle with some of the added defensive responsibility, especially with getting pucks out of the zone smoothly. His offense was also a little more one-and-done, looking for more of a perfect shot than playing a straight-line game like in his heyday with the Blackhawks. Ankle injuries are tough when you’re a player that relies on speed for so many years, so a clean bill of healthy could be what he needs to get back on track in 2022. That or he might be more suited for a scoring line role because the quick-strike offense is still there, but the all-around game isn’t what it was before.

Ivan Barbashev

The most surprising member of the Blues 20+ goal scorer club, Barbashev saw a huge reward for the Blues newfound love for playing off the rush. Stuck in depth forward purgatory for a few years, he was a guy who had obvious skill but had trouble making an impact on a consistent basis. If he wasn’t scoring, he was invisible and while he still has some issues away from the puck, his points explosion this year glossed over it a little. He would take a lot of risks with flying the zone and being puck vulture off turnovers to strike in transition. With how well the Blues moved the puck around last year, it worked and Barbashev was a nice utility piece they could move around on every line. It also made him a threat to go the other way shorthanded. Repeating this will be a tall task. The 26 goals he scored was over half of his previous career goal total and his tendency to fly the zone made it tough for him to stick on one line because he played such a one-man game. He summarized the Blues boom-or-bust offense approach and while it was great when it worked, it’s a style that’s not exactly repeatable. He is a very tough player to project for the Blues with his previous career numbers being so low and him likely playing a utility role next year.

Logan Brown

Acquired in a preseason trade for Zach Sanford, the former Ottawa first round pick played sparingly with the Blues. He got the “leftovers” as far as linemates are concerned, with the top-nine already established. Possessing a frame like an NFL Linebacker, Brown uses his size well to protect the puck down low and keep cycles going, His hands and vision are his best skills and while some of the finesse plays he made in the AHL aren’t open at this level, he does well at making the simple plays with getting the puck up high to relieve pressure or making plays from behind the net. It might not lead to a lot of goals, but it got the job done in a fourth line role with newcomer Alexei Toropchenko on his wing. That said, he was a healthy scratch for the entire playoffs in favor of veteran Tyler Bozak. Brown should have the inside track for a roster spot with the 4C job up for grabs and St. Louis having some familiarity with him. Newcomer Noel Acciari and rookies Zachary Buldoc and Jake Neighbours could have something to say about that, though.

Klim Kostin

With Perron leaving having a trickle-down effect on the rest of the lineup, the door could be open for Klim Kostin to get a chance to stick in the lineup. Bouncing between the minors and the NHL for most of his career, the 23-year-old has yet to leave much of a mark at either level. He spent most of last season with the Blues, posting only 9 points looking like a shoot-first type of player in his 40-game stint. He struggled to keep up with the pace the Blues were playing at, always needing to survey the rink before he moved the puck and having a lot of plays die on his stick because of it. That could just be part of never having a consistent role or the trust of the coaching staff, but this year figures to be his last chance with the Blues. A former first round pick, the Blues will likely give him a chance to find a role, especially with Toropchenko on the shelf for six months, but he might need to find a niche as a forechecker or a grinder instead of the player he was drafted to be.

DEFENSE

Torey Krug

It isn’t a coincidence that the Blues went to more of a run-and-gun style after signing Torey Krug. He is the best playmaker on the St. Louis blue line, both in transition and with making east-west plays in the offensive zone. It’s a skillset that has meshed well with the Blues recent youth movement, giving guys like Kyrou and Thomas the puck in space. Krug is also still one of the better power play quarterbacks in the league, very deceptive with how he runs the top of the umbrella and a master of the fake-shot pass. You can always count on him to put up decent numbers as long as the Blues power play is clicking. The downside to Krug’s game is the level of give-and-take. He has to play aggressive and stay up in the play to be effective and sometimes it burns against tougher matchups. While still agile, Krug doesn’t recover after getting beat at the line as smoothly as he used to, which leads to a lot of back-and-forth play while he is on the ice. It’s why the Blues rotated a safer option like Nikko Miikola or Marco Scandella in on the top pair with Faulk late in games. Krug’s skill is hard to find anywhere else, but his overall game is much more feast-famine than it used to be.

Justin Faulk

Justin Faulk’s three years in St. Louis is proof of how random player development can be because they’ve gotten a different version of Faulk in all three years. His first year was frustrating, as he was stuck in a depth role on his offside on a crowded blue line. The following year he was cast in a shutdown role and had maybe his best season defensively, giving them a Kirkland version of Alex Pietrangelo. Last year, he was more of the high-risk defenseman we remember from Carolina. Playing the puck retriever role alongside Krug, Faulk was a steadying presence on the Blues top pair. He would pick his spots more than the other defensemen instead of going for the home run play on every shift and he could pitch in offensively when needed. He never looks like the type who will join the rush because of his stocky bodytype, but he covers a lot of ground in his first couple of strides. He also has a great wrist shot, scoring 16 goals with minimal power play time. Faulk is a nice player to have because he has the tools to slide into any role you need and give you at least adequate minutes. The only concern is that his play seems to vary year-to-year, but the Blues are hoping a third year with the same defense partner can give the team some level of consistency.

Colton Parayko

The Blues were thrilled to get 80 games from Parayko last year. He played almost all of the previous year with an injured back and a bulging disc, ailments that are known to shorten careers and especially bad news for a defenseman. He played in almost every game for the Blues, averaging almost 24 minutes a night with heavy penalty killing duty. He plays more of a pure shutdown role than he used to, not relied on much for offense and focusing more on patrolling the front of the net instead of trying to lead the rush. He adapted well to this new conservative style, even if it’s a bit of a styles clash with the rest of the Blues team. Parayko used to be very aggressive at defending his blue line and now he’s a little more conservative, using his size and reach to skate forwards into a corner instead of standing them up when they enter the zone. The offense is still there, as he could create off the rush when he needed to but more in splash plays than in volume. Part of that is because his line wasn’t deployed much in the offensive zone, and he was on the ice to stop plays rather than start them. It’s hard to say what he is now and if this is the “new normal” for Parayko. He still has the motor to play the big minutes, but if he can’t help tilt the ice like he used to, his new eight-year contract might be a problem for St. Louis in a couple of seasons. We will see how a full year with a clean bill of health goes for him and if he can get some of that explosiveness back.

Nick Leddy

Nick Leddy has been the same player for his entire career with varying degrees of results. He can play a lot of minutes, be a one-man breakout and bring a mobile option to your top-four. His play away from the puck also hasn’t change much, as he doesn’t always have the best feel for where the puck is going and will chase often. He also has trouble making plays under pressure if he can’t just skate it out, which leads to a lot of prolonged shifts in the defensive zone and his strengths as a skater are kind of a moot point in those situations. What is nice about Leddy, though is he is the type who recovers well and doesn’t let one mistake affect the rest of his game. He doesn’t “chase” a lot of mistakes and will go to protect the house if he turns the puck over and he plays a very even-keel game even if his last shift was a disaster. We saw a lot of this in the Colorado series where he had a very tough Game 5 against the Avs and still had the composure to make a great play to keep the puck win on St. Louis’ overtime winning goal. On a team that trades chances like the Blues, it’s a quality that might be overlooked even if he doesn’t post the best numbers. If anything, he adds some mobility to the Blues backend and secondary powerplay option.

GOALTENDING

Jordan Binnington

Projected starts: 60-65

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS 4/8/21 – Rangers have turned into a scoring machine plus Vincent Trocheck, Andrew Copp, Brendan Gallagher, Dougie Hamilton, and more ..

Scott Cullen — Thu, 08 Apr 2021 16:58:56 +0000

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

This week, the Rangers have turned into a scoring machine plus Vincent Trocheck, Andrew Copp, Brendan Gallagher, Dougie Hamilton, and more.

#1 Let’s start with some context. Since St. Patrick’s Day, the Colorado Avalanche have scored 4.46 goals per 60 minutes in all situations and even after getting stunned by Minnesota Wednesday the Avs are outscoring opponents by 1.98 goals per 60 minutes but I already wrote about the brilliance of the Avalanche a few weeks ago so no need to repeat that refrain right now.

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 04: New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox (23) skates during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on March 4, 2021 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire)

#2 The New York Rangers have scored 4.39 goals per 60 minutes which ranks second behind the Avalanche, in that time and the Rangers are outscoring opponents by a league-best 2.06 goals per 60 minutes. The Pittsburgh Penguins (3.58) and Arizona Coyotes (3.51) are the only other teams scoring more than 3.50 goals per 60 minutes in that span so the Avalanche and Rangers are far ahead of the field. Some of the Rangers’ offensive prowess is due to their scoring eruptions against the Philadelphia Flyers, winning 9-0 and 8-3 against Philadelphia before winning 8-4 against the Pittsburgh Penguins Tuesday but it is unseemly to complain about how they have suddenly become the most explosive offense in the league.

#3 In those 11 games, the Rangers’ leading scorer is defenseman Adam Fox, who has 21 points (3 G, 18 A), ahead of Mika Zibanejad (10 G, 9 A), Artemi Panarin (6 G, 12 A), Ryan Strome (2 G, 14 A), and Pavel Buchnevich (7 G, 5 A). The Rangers as a team have scored on 15.2% of their shots in this span, which is a ridiculous and unsustainable rate.

#4 The good news for the Blueshirts is that they have some support in their own end of the rink. Since the start of last season, among goaltenders to play at least 25 games, the Ranges’ Igor Shesterkin ranks second with a .927 save percentage. Florida’s Chris Driedger ranks first, at .934. Third through fifth are: Jake Allen (.925), Darcy Kuemper (.923), and Tuukka Rask (.923).

#5 The bottom five for active goaltender save percentage since the start of last season, minimum 25 games: Matt Murray (.892), Devan Dubnyk (.893), Marcus Hogberg (.894), Carter Hutton (.894), and Malcolm Subban (.895).

SUNRISE, FL - FEBRUARY 27: Vincent Trocheck #16 of the Carolina Hurricanes prepares for a face-off against the Florida Panthers at the BB&T Center on February 27, 2021 in Sunrise, Florida. (Photo by Joel Auerbach/Icon Sportswire)

#6 He missed three weeks in the middle so he does not get official credit for a point streak, but Carolina Hurricanes center Vincent Trocheck has points in 11 straight games, accumulating 15 points (6 G, 9 A). On a per-game basis, the only skaters offering more fantasy value this season are a who’s who of the elite players in the game: Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, and Aleksander Barkov. That’s it, the whole list of skaters delivering more per-game fantasy value than Trocheck this season.

#7 Nashville Predators right winger Luke Kunin took a puck in the ear Tuesday against Detroit, which may leave his immediate status in doubt, but since returning from his last injury, Kunin has six points (2 G, 4 A) in six games and brings additional value with his physical play, recording 20 hits in his past six games.

#8 There was a time very early in the season when Winnipeg Jets forward Andrew Copp was one of the most popular additions in fantasy hockey. He had nine points in seven games and was skating on the Jets’ top line. But then Copp moved down the lineup and settled into a third-line role and, for a while, he was not scoring as much. But he has found a way to make it work and has 15 points (8 G, 7 A) in the past 15 games, including six points on the power play.

#9 For whatever flaws may be involved in the Montreal Canadiens roster construction, they sure made the most of the offseason, acquiring wingers Tyler Toffoli, Josh Anderson, and Corey Perry. The new trio of Habs forwards has scored 42 goals, more than any new threesome in the league this season. There is only one other contender that’s even close and that is Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe, Patric Hornqvist, and Alexander Wennberg, who have combined to score 40 goals.

#10 The injury to Brendan Gallagher is huge for the Canadiens. Among players to play at least 100 5-on-5 minutes this season, no one is on the ice for a higher rate of shot attempts than Gallagher’s 72.4 per 60 minutes.

#11 There have been just two lines to get a better share of shot attempts than Montreal’s line of Tomas Tatar, Phillip Danault, and Brendan Gallagher, a trio that has controlled 63.0% of shot attempts during 5-on-5 play. The top two? Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mikko Rantanen (67.2%), and Boston’s Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak (63.8%). Montreal’s top line is also good for more than 69.0% of expected goals, according to Evolving Hockey, which ranks second behind only Florida’s top line of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov, and Anthony Duclair.

#12 Last season, Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton was on his way to a Norris Trophy contending campaign before he suffered a broken leg and one of the features of Hamilton’s game was his elite ability to generate shots on goal – 3.6 per game in 2019-2020. In his first 27 games this season, Hamilton was not generating shots in the same way, down to 2.9 per game, which is still very good but not exceptional. The past three weeks have been different, though. Hamilton has 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in in the past 11 games and has put 50 shots on goal in those 11 games (4.6 per game) and that includes games with 11 and nine shots on goal.

#13 Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has one assist in five games since returning from injury but he does have 20 shots on goal and 15 blocked shots, numbers that make it easier to wait for his point production to return.

#14 Buffalo Sabres right winger Kyle Okposo had one assist in his first 18 games this season, which made it pretty easy to ignore him for fantasy purposes. But as the attrition on the Sabres roster knocks out players with injuries and, presumably, with trades before the deadline, there is a chance for Okposo to continue his recent surge in production which includes 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in his past 12 games.

#15 The New York Islanders acquired veteran center Travis Zajac and right winger Kyle Palmieri from the New Jersey Devils Wednesday. Zajac is a 35-year-old who has played more than 1,000 games in the National Hockey League and his 5-on-5 production this season, 2.44 points per 60, has been the best of his career and ranks 38^th among skaters to play at least 200 5-on-5 minutes this season.

#16 Kyle Palmieri might be the more appealing trade acquisition, because he has scored 24 or more goals in five straight seasons, but this season has been a challenge for him. He has 1.20 points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play, the lowest rate of his career, save for his first 10-game audition in the 2010-2011 season. But, he also has not recorded a primary assist during 5-on-5 play this season, and his on-ice shooting percentage of 6.1% is a career-low. Those numbers could very easily bounce back and if Palmieri gets a prime scoring role with the Islanders, could still have a big finish to the season.

#17 Beware Ducks left winger Maxime Comtois, a young power forward who has shown some promise this season but his shot rates have also dried up and when the shots stop, quite often so will the points. In his past 13 games, Comtois has four points (2 G, 2 A) and 11 shots on goal. This after producing 19 points (9 G, 10 A) and 48 shots on goal in his first 26 games.

#18 A similar story goes with Washington Capitals left winger Jakub Vrana, who scored 10 goals in the first 24 games of the season but has now gone a dozen games without a goal. In those first 24 games, Vrana had more than 2.3 shots per game. In the past dozen games, he has managed 0.8 shots per game. Tough to score when you can’t even get pucks to the net.

#19 At this stage of the season, the big names on the blueline are long gone but there is still value to be found. The following vets are available in the majority of leagues: Chicago’s Connor Murphy, who has five assists, 29 hits and 29 blocked shots in the past eight games. Those peripheral stats matter, too. Veteran Arizona Coyotes defenseman Alex Goligoski has eight points (1 G, 7 A) and 15 blocked shots in the past seven games. Jared Spurgeon has doubled his season point totals, putting up six points (3 G, 3 A), in the past eight games.

#20 In the past month, the top scorers per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play (minimum 100 minutes) are not huge surprises: Aleksander Barkov (4.87), Artemi Panarin (4.68), and Connor McDavid (3.91). The next three, though, are a little more interesting: Ross Colton (3.88), Joonas Donskoi (3.69), and Pat Maroon (3.56). Sometimes there is value to be found in the supporting cast on powerhouse teams.

Advanced stats via Evolving Hockey and Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2019-20 YEARBOOK: Breakouts and Hidden Gems

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 07 Sep 2019 11:21:34 +0000

McKeen’s Breakout and Hidden Gems are developed following our exhaustive prediction research for the coming season. They highlight some picks that we think will exceed expectations and help you win your pool. We look at points and point per game differentials, league and team trends, and then trim the list to players that will not be obvious to your opponents.

Player	AGE	P	GP	G	A	PTS
Anthony Cirelli, TB	22	C	82	21	34	55
Emerged a possession driver on Tampa's third line - & saw some top-line duties in the playoffs
Shea Theodore, VGK	24	D	81	14	35	49
Blossomed playing his off-wing side (right) alongside Brayden McNabb - and can reach higher ground
Rudolfs Balcers, Ott	22	LW	66	15	17	32
Acquired in the Erik Karlsson deal, swift-skating Latvian winger impressed in NHL trial last season
Casey Mittelstadt, Buf	20	C	74	16	23	39
Sabres hope new coach Krueger can stimulate a breakthrough after overwhelming pro debut
Tanner Pearson, Van	27	RW	82	25	20	45
Clicked playing right wing with Bo Horvat after being acquired at the trade deadline
Pavel Buchnevich, NYR	24	RW	80	28	33	61
Big breakout numbers projected spurred by arrival of fellow Russian countryman Artemi Panarin
Filip Hronek, Det	21	D	76	7	32	39
Czech defender handled significant workload in NHL debut (19:58 ATOI) - contributing 23 points in just 46 games
Nikita Gusev, NJ	27	LW	76	11	37	48
KHL scoring champ arrives to New Jersey and the NHL via Vegas and Tampa
Nazem Kadri, Col	28	C	82	30	35	65
Could eclipse career numbers playing behind MacKinnon's after arriving in summer deal for Tyson Barrie
Jack Roslovic, Wpg	22	C	82	14	26	40
Playmaking pivot enters fourth pro season ready to take on a larger role with Jets
Henrik Borgstrom, Fla	22	C	78	14	23	37
Expect progress from talented sophomore pivot en route to doubling his rookie totals
Charlie Coyle, Bos	27	RW	82	22	28	50
B's valuable trade-deadline acquisition could see move over/up to second-line wing spot
Kyle Palmieri, NJ	28	RW	78	38	28	66
Will soar to career high in goals as major beneficiary of surrounding playmaking talent
Anthony Mantha, Det	24	RW	77	32	35	67
Soared down the stretch on top line with Larkin & Bertuzzi - a precursor to fourth year breakout
Andreas Johnsson, Tor	24	LW	77	26	29	55
Opportunity knocks for Swedish winger to flourish on top line with Matthews and Nylander
Troy Terry, Ana	22	RW	66	9	20	29
Key part of Ducks' youth wave rebounding from broken leg sustained at end of solid pro debut
Filip Chytil, NYR	20	C	79	15	26	41
Expect leap in sophomore totals with opportunity as second-line center between Kreider and Buchnevich
Nick Schmaltz, Ari	23	C	82	22	33	55
Meshed well with Clayton Keller prior to suffering a season-ending knee injury
Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Mtl	19	C	81	20	31	51
Displayed remarkable poise and maturity as NHL's youngest player last season
Tyson Jost, Col	21	LW	81	16	28	44
Moves to wing alongside incoming Nazem Kadri and likely breakout totals in third pro term
Ondrej Kase, Ana	23	RW	81	26	24	50
Larger role ahead for creative Czech winger after injury cut short 2018-19 season
Joakim Nygard, Edm	26	LW	68	14	19	33
Oilers add speedy 26-year0old winger who has steadily improved through six SEL seasons
Roope Hintz, Dal	22	C	78	20	24	44
Earned spot alongside newcomer Joe Pavelski after crashing postseason with team-high five goals (tied)
Goaltender	AGE	P	GP	W	G	W
MacKenzie Blackwood, G, NJ	22	G	56	27	23	10
Seized opportunity with Schneider injury to make solid NHL debut - and could thrive on improved Devils
Elvis Merzlikins, G, CBJ	25	G	40	19	NA	NA
Charismatic Latvian and Lugano star jumps to the NHL - in wake of Bobrovsky mutiny