Samuel Ersson – McKeen's Hockey

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview/Player Profiles/Predictions

Fri, 03 Oct 2025 19:25:35 +0000

ELMONT, NY - JANUARY 16: Philadelphia Flyers Right Wing Travis Konecny (11) controls the puck during the first period of the National Hockey League game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the New York Islanders on January 16, 2025, at UBS Arena in Elmont, NY. (Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire)

The Flyers missed the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season in 2024-2025, managing 76 points (33-39-10). They fired head coach John Tortorella late in the season, replacing him with Brad Shaw on an interim basis. The Flyers ranked 26th with a 47.3 Corsi percentage though they fared better when it came to shot quality, capturing 51.5 percent of expected goals during five-on-five play, ranking 11th. Philadelphia’s power play was largely ineffective, generating 4.63 goals per 60 minutes of five-on-four play, which ranked 30th. They ranked 13th with 6.88 goals against per 60 minutes of four-on-five play, so penalty killing was at least solid. Goaltending was a huge problem for the Flyers, with the trio of Samuel Ersson, Ivan Fedotov, and Aleksei Kolosov combining for a save percentage of .879.

What’s Changed?

The Flyers dipped into their past and hired former Flyers winger Rick Tocchet to be their head coach. Tocchet had a .608 points percentage in three seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, but he has coached a total of 22 playoff games in his career, so he is an experienced coach without a lot of postseason success. The Flyers made a big trade to acquire Trevor Zegras, a highly skilled forward who had fallen out of favor in Anaheim but has highlight-reel puck skills and he could be a big hit in Philadelphia if he and Tocchet can connect. The Flyers also signed veteran centre Christian Dvorak to add stability down the middle, defenceman Noah Juulsen who played for Tocchet in Vancouver, and goaltender Dan Vladar, who has a chance to earn a big role between the pipes.

What would success look like?

It’s a big ask for the Flyers to get to the playoffs, since it would take a 15-to-20-point improvement, but it’s a worthy objective, especially if the Flyers can sort out their goaltending issues. The moves they made this offseason were for a team that intends to get better now, and after five years of missing the playoffs, it’s understandable that they want to get back to the postseason. On the other hand, if the Flyers don’t make the playoffs, losing enough to secure a high lottery pick would be success, too. They could always use more high-end skill players, so a finish that would help in that regard could be deemed successful, too.

What could go wrong?

The worst-case scenario for the Flyers is that they end up stuck in the middle, not quite good enough to reach the playoffs and not bad enough to secure a valuable draft pick. The Flyers certainly have incentive to push hard for a playoff spot, with a veteran-laden team and a coach who will push them to get there, but if the team falls off the pace, then it’s important that Philadelphia stock up on future assets. That includes moving veterans for picks and, ideally, landing a high first-round pick in the 2026 Draft. Just missing the playoffs and landing a pick in the teens is not where this team should want to be when the season ends.

Top Breakout Candidate

There are a few other promising young players on the Flyers, but Matvei Michkov is the most likely player to become a star. The seventh pick in the 2023 Draft, Michkov finished fourth in Calder Trophy voting after tallying 63 points in 80 games. He had an outstanding finish to the season, putting up 16 points (6 G, 10 A), and 40 shots on goal in his last 12 games, and if he remains committed to generating shots like that, his point production could take off.

FORWARDS

Travis Konecny

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	27	45	72	0.91

The only player who resembled some form of consistency for the Flyers, Konecny is in it for the long-haul as he starts the first year of an eight-year contract. He is the longest tenured Flyer behind Couturier and has maintained a high level of play despite all the chaos and instability from the organization. The simplicity of his game helps matters, as Konecny’s a straight-line player who loves to shoot and is excellent at picking corners even when he’s forced to take quicker shots off the rush. While most forwards begin to plateau when they hit their late 20’s, Konecny has posted career highs in points each of the last three seasons, bringing an elite combination of speed, tenacity and stickhandling to the table. He showed some versatility last season as a playmaker, having to pass to create most of his scoring chances and getting the results with 52 assists. This should be exciting news for Michkov, as the two could form a potentially lethal combination if they get regular minutes together, as they did down the stretch last year. The Flyers didn’t like playing this line too much because it was feast-or-famine with the chances they gave up, but the rate the two were converting at was hard to ignore. The question with him is how long he can keep this up because the Flyers have played him regularly in the 20–21-minute range the last three years. They’ll look to do that again as he remains one of the team’s only reliable forward options on the roster.

Matvei Michkov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	30	46	76	0.94

It’s only a matter of time before Michkov is the Flyers best player. He already made a strong case for that title with the torrid pace he scored at down the stretch. A point-per-game player after the Four Nations break, Michkov gave the coaching staff no choice but to give him all the leeway he needed. If there was an opportunity to create offence, Michkov was going to milk every ounce of his shift length to get it. He spent a lot of his time in the defensive zone playing above the puck, looking for loose plays and turnovers so he could strike the other way. He had the skill to capitalize on them too as he didn’t just lead the Flyers in shots off the rush, he was one of the best players in the entire league. Up there with the likes of Martin Necas, Jack Hughes and Nikita Kucherov. His game is still a work in progress when he’s on the cycle in the offensive zone. He was always looking to make plays and trying to fit pucks through traffic. He trusts his skill level to a dangerous degree because while it led to some beautiful goals, it also led to turnovers and chances the other way. This is something that doesn’t necessarily need to be reined in but controlled to a degree because you still want him to do what got him drafted so high and look for the high-percentage play. He should get better at this with more experience, as he got a lot of it last year, and had an excellent season despite some growing pains. He’s shown game-breaking ability early and it should excite the Flyers about what’s to come.

Sean Couturier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	17	31	48	0.69

The Flyers captain can only hope for more stability with the coaching change. The longtime 1C of the Flyers started last season as the fourth line left wing and even after regaining his usual spot, his ice-time was limited in the middle of the season, being taken off both power play and penalty kill units for almost a month. While the days of Couturier producing like a first line center are likely over, the last two seasons should probably come with an asterisk, as he was returning from a two-year absence the first year and last season was marred by strange deployment to say the least. Couturier also had the worst two seasons of his career in terms of finishing chances and while the volume of chances he created last year also decreased, he’s always been an above-average shooter so there is hope for a bounce-back season. His ability to drive play, however, was very strong as he kept the Flyers defensive game in check whenever he was out there. How much he can drive the offence now is a fair question, but he should get some help if he continues to develop chemistry with the emerging star Matvei Michkov. Barring a major breakout from Trevor Zegras, Couturier is still the team’s best option at center, so he will have plenty of opportunities to put the last two years behind him.

Owen Tippett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	27	25	52	0.66

It’s not often that a player scores eight fewer goals while shooting at a higher percentage than he did the previous year, but that was the case with Owen Tippett. The speedy forward is in the second year of an eight-year deal he earned after a breakout season and last year was a hard fall from grace after looking like a blossoming star for a couple years. His skillset is easy to notice to the naked eye because he’s very quick, gets a lot of puck touches per game and loves to shoot. His flaws are also easy to notice for the same reason because while the goals and his quick-strike offence will impress some, others might notice how often he misses the net or that he could use his linemates better rather than playing a one-man game all the time. The truth lies somewhere in the middle, as even in a down year Tippett will still get you solid secondary scoring and his ability to enter the zone frequently and get chances is still going to be something that other teams have to prepare for. The way he started and ended the year is concerning, though. He scored only one goal in 11 games in October and finished the season with only two goals in 22 games after February. Goal-scorers are streaky by nature and with Tippett being such a volume shooter, stretches like this get noticed more and why last year left such a sour note in Flyers fans mouths.

Trevor Zegras

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	16	37	53	0.72

Zegras spent more of the last two seasons either on injured reserve or in trade rumors than he did on the highlight reels. It was a steep decline from a player some saw as one of the future faces of the league. Some of that is valuing flash over substance with his knack for making ridiculous looking plays. Still, Zegras was someone who, at worst, was a lower-end first line player during his first couple years with the Ducks. He soon became someone they wanted to move on from and the Flyers made a good low-risk gamble to get him. There’s still a lot up in the air about the type of player he is. He’s been yo-yoed back and forth between center and wing, but the Flyers are likely to give him a run in the middle with the hole they have there. The one thing that’s stayed constant is that Zegras is an excellent playmaker. He reads plays from behind the net better than most and he’s excellent at getting the puck off the wall when playing on the cycle. The Flyers have the talent who can complement him well, with Michkov as an emerging star and a few wingers who love to shoot the puck in Tippett and Konecny. His defensive game has also come a long way from where it once was, so maintaining that while seeing if they can reignite what made him special in his rookie season will be a key factor for the Flyers this season. The question is whether that ability is still there or if Zegras is just a highly skilled middle six guy at his peak.

Christian Dvorak

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	16	25	41	0.51

Dvorak appears to be a stopgap to get the Flyers through the season, albeit an expensive one at $5.4 million. There was a premium on veteran centers in the market, so it’s understandable. He is now reunited with Rick Tocchet from his Arizona days where he played his best hockey and Dvorak always got the best results when paired with a puck-hog like a Taylor Hall or Conor Garland. The Flyers have a few players who fit that mold, but maybe not in the same role that Dvorak is slotted to play. If Zegras doesn’t work out at center, Dvorak's not a bad option in that spot to shore things up. He can do a lot of the little things like win faceoffs and kill penalties so the more skilled guy doesn’t have to absorb all the defensive minutes. His offensive production will hinge on who he plays with, although he did fairly well for his standards last year with 12 goals in a checking line role alongside Brendan Gallagher and Josh Anderson. He has great hands and can get to the net but needs someone to help him get the puck there, although the ship has likely sailed on him being a high-impact offensive player. He might be able to sneak on the Flyers second power play unit out of camp.

Tyson Foerster

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	23	20	43	0.52

One of the players sticking around from the Flyers ex-prospect core, Foerster found a niche for himself as an excellent two-way forward. He was a dark horse Calder pick his rookie year and could continue to get Selke votes as he progresses. He’s a big, powerful skater at 215 pounds and has great hands around the net. One of the few Flyers forwards who could create offence when the rush game wasn’t open, Foerster did an excellent job of working the cycle game in the offensive zone, knowing when to go to the front of the net and when to read off his teammates to keep the play going on. Watching him is a great way to learn how good defensive play can start in the offensive zone, as Foerster does an excellent job of staying above the puck at all times, making the right play and covering for pinching defencemen. He was someone the Flyers could count on to settle the play down when they needed to and provide some extra offence in their middle six. It earned him somewhat of an elevated role, playing more than your typical third liner. His playmaking could still improve, but he is set to be a mainstay on the Flyers roster for the time being.

Bobby Brink

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	14	31	45	0.57

This is somewhat of a “prove it” year for Brink with his RFA deal expiring and right now he’s somewhat in the middle of convincing the Flyers that he can be an impact player. A injury-riddled rookie season was followed up with a solid 41 points with Brink showing flashes of being a great playmaker. He’s smaller, but controls the perimeter game well, making great touch passes from the wall into traffic and excelling in the give-and-go game off the rush. He’s willing to go to the net but gets boxed out easily by bigger defencemen. An elite player in college, Brink has yet to show he can do the same in the NHL. The type of game he plays requires high-level linemates or a finisher to get the most out of hm, but you have to earn your way to those roles in the NHL and he’s on his way to at least getting a shot if he can progress. Being a dog on the forecheck, as he has shown he is willing to do, also helps. The two things working against him is the Flyers acquiring a similar player in Zegras, who could make Brink redundant if he moves to the wing (and takes his power play time) and Brink undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum, his second hip surgery in three years. Still, he showed enough in his sophomore season to make you believe.

Noah Cates

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
81	14	25	39	0.48

Cates emerged as an intriguing player a few years ago, receiving some Calder and Selke love from those who follow advanced stats, and it caught some people off-guard. Mostly because if you don’t watch the Flyers you have probably never heard of him before. While he didn’t follow it up in his sophomore season, he had saw a nice return to form last year and formed an excellent defensive line with Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. Cates starts virtually every shift in the defensive zone, so adding Brink added a nice wrinkle to this line as someone who could spark the transition game. This isn’t Cates specialty, but he does a good job of complementing it with good positioning and helping start the rush from his own zone. He had the highest successful exit percentage on the Flyers and was their best forward at not turning the puck over on breakouts. It’s made him a go-to option for their penalty kill and he should be a favourite of the new coaching staff for that alone. The offence is gravy with him but having a third liner who can get you close to 40 points is always going to be valuable. Cates’ good hands and knack for deflecting pucks also helps with that, as this line feeds the point for a lot of their offence.

DEFENCE

Travis Sanheim

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	30	40	0.49

It took a while for Sanheim to really blossom as a top-tier defenceman. He was always someone who could play the big minutes and hold his own, but the dynamic playmaking ability didn’t start to show until a couple years ago. Having somewhat of a trial by fire introduction to the NHL paved the way for him, as he had to build his game from the defensive zone out, learning when to make safe plays and when to be aggressive. He always had the skillset in him but was never in the right situation to show it. That has changed the last couple of years, as he is one of the most active defenders in the league at leading zone entries and he’s been able to use his high-level passing ability for playmaking rather than moving the play forward. The area where it’s helped the most is when he can patrol the offensive zone to look for a deflection or go cross-ice. You might not expect him to be one of the league leaders in that category, but the stats back that up. As the Flyers forward corps continues to improve, he should see more of a reward for it on the scoresheet. Even without the offence, Sanheim has the raw skills of a top-pair defenceman. He skates laterally incredibly well, can keep up with top forwards and his rush defending has gotten better with age. The new wrinkle in his game could help propel him to the next level, although some of that might depend on if he gets power play time too.

Cam York

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
48	4	17	21	0.27

York’s profile and college stats suggest that he’s an offensive, puck-moving defenceman but if you watched him last year you might think he’s a shutdown defenceman. He didn’t get to play with the puck much and spent most of his shifts chasing forwards around the defensive zone. A product of a rough environment on a struggling Philly team but even when you consider that, York did an admirable job in this role. Defencemen who can skate are how the modern shutdown game is played, and York does a lot of the little things that mesh with it. He has an annoying presence in the defensive zone with how he stays with forwards or gets a stick on a puck to deflect it out of the way. Also not afraid to use his body to defend and kill the cycle even if he’s not the biggest guy. The common problem was that a lot of these positive plays from him went to waste often because the forwards couldn’t get the puck out after that. He still formed a solid pair with Sanheim, but there is more on the bone with York that the Flyers can unlock. It’s uncertain if the offence is still part of the package for him, as they’re likely giving the power play minutes to Drysdale and York has been transitioned to more of a heavy penalty killing duty. Finding your niche is what the NHL is all about and York seems to have done this well.

Jamie Drysdale

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	8	21	29	0.37

In the final year of his contract, this is likely Drysdale’s last chance to prove that he can be a long-term piece for the Flyers. Last year wasn’t exactly encouraging because they fed him top power play minutes only to be rewarded with two goals and seven points with the man advantage. Not exactly what you want to see when you’re known for quarterbacking a power play, especially when you have the reputation as a defensive liability on top of that. There was a grace period with evaluating Drysdale, as he dealt with major injuries for two years, but he was injury free last year and didn’t do much to set himself apart from the rest of the Flyers. There was also a level of diminishing returns when looking at what he provided while others like Sanheim got less power play time and roster hopefuls like Emil Andrae had to wait their turn to play after impressing in their initial NHL stints. There’s still some hope for Drysdale, as this year brings a fresh start (with an old teammate in Zegras) and he has shown he can be an impactful offensive player in the NHL before, albeit all the way back in 2022. He has the raw skills, is an excellent skater and can walk the blue line better than most but translating it to anything outside of overtime was a challenge.

Rasmus Ristolainen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	3	16	19	0.29

One of the few players who has gotten better in a rough period of Flyers hockey, Ristolainen’s made the transition from being overplayed and unreliable to a solid middle-of-the-roster player. This started a few years ago when they had Ristolainen focus more on killing plays in the defensive zone through being less physical, acting more as a disrupter and getting pucks out instead of trying to go coast-to-coast. He adapted well, but he also saw his minutes cut back to 17-18 minutes a game while playing on the third pair. Last year, he got back into the 20–21-minute range and posted similar results which were solid, albeit nothing mind blowing. He also saw a return to being more involved in the play offensively, rating average in scoring chance creation for a defenceman and it led to him being used on the power play again, granted with only three assists to show for it. Much of the credit for his resurgence has been given to former Flyers assistant Brad Shaw, who has a reputation of getting the best results out of defencemen everywhere he’s coached. With him departing to New Jersey’s bench, it will be interesting to see if Ristolainen’s play holds up.

Goal

Samuel Ersson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
49	19	22	5	3	.900	2.98

The Philadelphia Flyers were dealt a miserable hand in net when starter Carter Hart saw his contract terminated by the team during a highly publicized sexual assault trial and prospect Ivan Fedotov saw his arrival in North America delayed by a detainment by the Russian military. Although Fedotov finally made his way to North America last season, he and fellow tandem partner Samuel Ersson held the distinction of making up the league's worst pairing statistically. Among starters, only Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alexandar Georgiev had worse years than Ersson, and Fedotov couldn't seem to find his footing well enough to stem the bleeding; he fared better than Ersson, but not by much.

The pair might get some help this upcoming season in the form of former Calgary Flames backup Dan Vladar, who left after losing the starting gig in Calgary to wunderkind Dustin Wolf. Vladar's lanky stature and smooth, speedy skating make him great for last-second desperation saves and extra reach on a defensive breakdown, something that both Fedotov and Ersson mightily struggled with last season. But from a numbers standpoint, Vladar is as much a reclamation project as he is a form of reinforcement for the other two Philadelphia could ice next season. The Flyers seem to be struggling to attract free agents to fill their goaltending depth chart, and that could make for a painful few years until they can figure out their long-term plans and develop some new options to offer.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Nashville Resurgence, Rantanen traded to Carolina, plus much more – Favourable schedules and players to target

McKeen's Hockey — Sat, 25 Jan 2025 15:16:30 +0000

NASHVILLE, TN - JANUARY 16: Nashville Predators forward Jonathan Marchessault (81) is shown during the NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks, held on January 16, 2025, at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Danny Murphy/Icon Sportswire)

The best stories in sports are the comebacks that happen after a team has been written off. Two examples that spring to mind from recent history are the 2014-15 Ottawa Senators, who were 22-23-10 after a loss Feb. 16, putting them 10 points behind in the playoff race, only to go 21-3-3 the rest of the way to narrowly secure a postseason berth. Another is the 2018-19 St. Louis Blues, who were 16-19-4 on Jan. 5, which placed them last in the Western Conference, before going 29-9-5 the rest of the way to not only make the playoffs but win the Stanley Cup.

Is it possible we’ll have another one of those stories this year? Those stories are memorable because they’re rare, and you only need to look at the absurd records they needed down the stretch to illustrate why. Due in no small part to the consolation point for overtime/shootout losses, the standings tend to look closer than they truly are because closing even a small point gap is difficult.

That said, I can’t help but look at the Nashville Predators and wonder if there is still some hope. It’s probably a foolish thing to think and a take that will age like milk, but after a 7-16-6 start, Nashville began to stabilize and now the team seems to have hit its stride with its current five-game winning streak. The Predators are still just 18-22-7, so they’d have basically have to go the rest of the season without any more noteworthy slumps, but part of the reason that such a feat even seems remotely possible is because the veteran leadership that seemed lost in the early part of the season has settled in.

Steven Stamkos has 10 goals and 19 points across his past 19 appearances while Jonathan Marchessault has 10 goals and 26 points over the same 19-game span. They were signed over the summer to provide that kind of offense but were initially written off as poor decisions by GM Barry Trotz due to their extremely poor start to the campaign. Now it seems they were judged too harshly.

When you couple their success with Filip Forsberg (18 goals, 47 points), elite defenseman Roman Josi (nine goals, 35 points) and veteran center Ryan O'Reilly (13 goals, 27 points), you have a fairly strong offense, especially if any of Gustav Nyquist, Tommy Novak or Luke Evangelista (lower body) start to hit their stride. As it is, Nashville has ranked second in goals per game (3.47) dating back to Dec. 10. That’s in stark contrast to the Predators’ first 28 games where they were last in the league in that scoring category (2.18).

You could call this just a hot streak for the offense, and there’s probably an element of that, but given that we’re talking about players of this caliber, it might be something at least somewhat sustainable.

It’s not all rosy, though. The X-Factor is surprisingly goaltending. Ottawa’s run involved journeyman goaltender Andrew Hammond standing on his head, and the Blues got a similar story out of rookie Jordan Binnington.

Nashville shouldn’t need someone to come out of nowhere to shut down the opposing offense. The Predators already have Juuse Saros, who not that long ago was seen as one of the best goaltenders of this generation. This campaign, though, he’s struggled with an 11-18-6 record, 2.81 GAA and .901 save percentage in 36 appearances. Unlike the offense, Saros hasn’t stepped up -- he's 2-2-0 with a 3.42 GAA and an .860 save percentage across his past five outings.

That’s led to Justus Annunen starting a bit more often lately, but while the backup netminder has won his past four starts, he’s been inconsistent, allowing 10 goals on 105 shots (.905 save percentage) over that span.

Let’s assume Nashville needs a 95-point season to make the playoffs. That wouldn’t have been good enough last year, but for the sake of argument, let’s just pretend that’s what’s needed. Nashville would need another 52 points across its final 35 games, so for example, 26-9-0, or say, 23-6-6. Even a top-tier offense is unlikely to get them that kind of record down the stretch. Some of that’s going to have to come from the goalies stealing games, so until Saros or Annunen start heating up, it’s hard to imagine the comeback happening.

That said, if Stamkos and Marchessault could find their way back from unflattering starts, perhaps Saros can too?

Calgary Flames (Tue vs WAS, Thu vs ANA, Sat vs DET, Sun @ SEA)

Calgary wasn’t seen as a major contender going into the campaign. In fact, there was an argument to be made that the Flames would regress from their 38-39-5 record last season after trading away goaltender Jacob Markstrom over the summer. However, we’re clear past the halfway point of 2024-25 now, and the Flames are very much in the playoff race. The weakness for the Flames is they’ve struggled on the road (8-10-4), but they won’t have to concern themselves with that in the upcoming week. They’ll host the Capitals, Ducks, Red Wings and Kraken on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

A big part of the reason why the Flames’ rebuild is ahead of schedule is 23-year-old goaltender Dustin Wolf. He got a taste of the NHL last year and was mixed at best, posting a 7-7-1 record, 3.16 GAA and .893 save percentage in 17 games. However, he’s filled the void left by Markstrom and then some in 2024-25 with his 17-7-2 record, 2.49 GAA and .918 save percentage in 26 starts. To put that into context, Wolf has already saved 13.3 goals above expected this season, per Moneypuck, which has almost caught up to the 13.7 goals saved above expected Markstrom provided for the Flames last campaign. Wolf also ranks eighth among goaltenders in that metric this season.

Wolf’s contributions are extra important because the rest of the team has underwhelmed. Calgary ranks 29th in goals per game (2.65) and 21st in xGA/60 (3.09). So, the team’s not generating much offense and the defense hasn’t been responsible enough to make an average goaltender look good -- just ask backup Dan Vladar, who is only slightly below average at minus-2.8 goals saved above expected, but due to the Flames’ defense has some rather unflattering numbers: a 3.03 GAA and an .889 save percentage.

Still, even if Wolf is the team’s clear MVP, it would be inaccurate to suggest that he’s the only player of value in Calgary. Jonathan Huberdeau might not be living up to his contract, but his 19 goals and 35 points through 46 outings make him the team’s offensive leader. Since a quiet stretch from Oct. 19-Nov. 29 in which Huberdeau had four goals and six points in 20 outings, the 31-year-old has been tremendous, supplying 12 goals and 23 points across 22 outings. If he can maintain anything close to that down the stretch, then there’s a decent chance he’ll be playing playoff hockey this year.

The 23-year-old Jakob Pelletier is also hot with three goals and six points across his past five appearances. It took him a while to get going -- he recorded a goal and five points over his first 15 games with Calgary this season -- but we’re getting a flash of what he’s capable of. He was selected with the No. 26 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and has been dominant offensively at the AHL level, including three goals and 19 points in 20 contests this season.

Maybe Rory Kerins will also help them down the stretch. He’s 23 as well and has provided an incredible 21 goals and 34 points in 34 AHL games in 2024-25. Unlike Pelletier, Kerins was a late-round pick and even logged 38 games with ECHL Rapid City back in 2022-23. Kerins has risen, making his NHL debut Jan. 13 and recording four assists in five outings with the Flames so far. That said, he’s averaging just 12:14 of ice time, including a mere 6:57 on Thursday, so his role with Calgary is far from secure despite those early results. Monitor him, but don’t get too excited yet.

Colorado Avalanche (Tue @ NYI, Fri vs STL, Sun vs PHI)

The Avalanche has a solid 28-19-2 record, but they’ve merely treaded water lately, going 5-4-1 across their past 10 games. They’ll see if they can do better next week with a favorable schedule. The Avalanche will visit the Islanders on Tuesday before returning home to host St. Louis on Friday and Philadelphia on Sunday. Those adversaries are well behind the Avalanche in terms of points percentage.

I wrote this whole thing about Colorado’s situation with regard to Mikko Rantanen’s contract, and then the Avalanche traded him to Carolina in a three-team deal that also involved Chicago, which was shocking, to say the least. To be fair, there is logic to be found here. My now outdated discussion of the topic still serves as a decent overview of the challenge the Avalanche were facing pre-trade, so I’ll show it here for that purpose:

“Like Edmonton with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, Colorado also has the luxury of an elite one-two punch up front. The Avalanche version is headlined by Nathan MacKinnon, and the other half of the Avalanche’s duo is Mikko Rantanen, who has 25 goals and 64 points through 49 outings in 2024-25. Colorado has an issue that Edmonton recently went through, though: Rantanen is on the final season of his six-year, $55.5 million contract and can become an unrestricted free agent this summer. Rantanen has a real shot of reaching the 40-goal and 100-point milestones for the third consecutive year, so to say he’s due a big payday would be an understatement.

Finding a comparable is a little difficult. Draisaitl won the Hart Trophy in 2019-20, has collected at least 50 goals on three occasions and has also gotten at least 110 points three times, but Rantanen has never been a Hart finalist, has reached the 50-goal mark just once and he’s career high in points is 105, so it’s clear which one of them has a better resume. Still, if Draisaitl could ink an eight-year, $112 million ($14 million cap hit) contract back in September, perhaps Rantanen is thinking at least $12 million annually? Maybe even more? It might be awkward to give Rantanen something at or above Nathan MacKinnon’s eight-year, $100.8 million ($12.6 million cap hit) contract, but MacKinnon inked that back in 2022, and with the cap going up, so too will the payouts for top talent.”

So, you can see why the Avalanche might have opted to move Rantanen rather than lock him up, and there might even be more to this story that we’re not yet aware of. Perhaps the Avalanche presented Rantanen with a competitive offer, and he rejected that. To be clear, that’s purely just hypothetical, and I have no inside knowledge of the situation, so please take my wild speculation as fact, but in that scenario, this trade would make more sense from the Avalanche’s perspective.

That said, I don’t love the return from the Avalanche’s perspective. Colorado is getting Martin Necas and Jack Drury from the Avalanche, as well as some picks. Necas has never reached the 30-goal or 80-point marks, so he doesn’t have the same kind of resume as Rantanen, but Necas is younger at 26 and has done well this campaign with 16 goals and 55 points in 49 appearances. He’ll look good alongside Nathan MacKinnon. My problem with Necas as the return is his two-year, $13 million contract expires in 2026, and then Necas will be eligible for unrestricted free agency. So, if he performs over the next year and a half as the Avalanche hope, then to some extent they just kicked the problem down the road by a year. Granted, Necas probably won’t command what Rantanen did…but that’s only because he’s a downgrade. No offense to Necas -- 99.9 percent of the league is a downgrade to Rantanen -- but the Avalanche are in a win-now mode, so unless retaining Rantanen was completely off the table, this trade feels a little weird to me.

Perhaps I’m undervaluing Jack Drury, though. He has just nine points (three goals) in 39 appearances in 2024-25, but the 24-year-old probably has upside left in him, and the Avalanche will certainly benefit from the center depth. It would not be surprising to see Drury tried out on the third line behind MacKinnon and Casey Mittelstadt.

The Avalanche also got two picks out of the trade. Not a first-rounder, but maybe in five years or so, we’ll look at one of those draft picks as an underrated benefit of this deal.

Carolina Hurricanes (Tue @ NYR, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs. LAK)

The teams I highlight are based on a combination of how busy their schedule is for the upcoming week and how favorable those matchups are. Additionally, I will typically present the teams I’ve included in alphabetical order. I’m breaking both of those to include the Hurricanes. I think it’s worth discussing the fallout of the Rantanen trade from the Hurricanes’ perceptive, and it’s better to have that discussion after outlining what this deal means for Colorado. A little bit of housekeeping before we get into the trade talks: The Hurricanes will start next week with a road tilt against the Rangers on Tuesday before hosting the Blackhawks on Thursday and the Kings on Saturday. It’s not a bad schedule, it’s just not special either.

Now to the trade: In addition to Rantanen, the Hurricanes also acquired Taylor Hall from Chicago for the cost of Necas, Drury and draft picks. There was also retained salary in the deal to make the cap situation work.

It’ll be really interesting to see how this plays out for Carolina. Rantanen has never really been “the guy” before. He’s spent basically his entire NHL career to this point in MacKinnon’s shadow, but now Rantanen will be expected to drive the offense in Carolina. Not that he’ll have to do it alone. In fact, Rantanen is likely to get some great linemates in Sebastian Aho (15 goals, 49 points) and Andrei Svechnikov (15 goals, 34 points). There’s every reason to believe that trio will mesh together.

There’s also reason to be optimistic about Carolina retaining Rantanen beyond this campaign. Sure, the Hurricanes’ attempt to lock down Jake Guentzel after acquiring him from Pittsburgh during the 2023-24 campaign ultimately failed, leading to Guentzel instead signing with Tampa Bay over the summer, but Carolina is set to be in a fantastic cap position for 2025-26. Dmitry Orlov ($7.75 million cap hit) and Brent Burns ($5.28 million) are both set to come off the books. Orlov will likely take a big pay cut if he stays at all. It’s not clear if Burns will play beyond this season, but if he does, it’ll likely be at a reduced salary too.

Carolina also doesn’t have any expiring players due for big paydays beyond Rantanen himself. Meanwhile, Puck Pedia is projecting them with $31.2 million in cap space for next season, albeit with just 13 roster spots filled. There is reason to believe the Hurricanes can meet Rantanen’s demands, even if he’s eyeing something close to what Draisaitl got.

What happens with Rantanen will go a long way towards defining how this trade is viewed, but adding Hall as well in the trade is interesting. He’s been middling this campaign with nine goals and 24 points in 46 appearances with the Blackhawks while averaging a modest 14:59 of ice time. It’s a far cry from what the 33-year-old did in his prime, but he might do better now that he’s on a contender. Hall will probably end up serving on the second line alongside some combination of Seth Jarvis (18 goals, 38 points), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (10 goals, 23 points) and Jackson Blake (11 goals, 16 points).

The Hurricanes’ overall offense has been good -- they rank fifth with 3.37 goals per game – but their scoring depth does leave something to be desired, especially if Carolina does go with that stacked top line of Svechnikov-Aho-Rantanen, so even a decent showing out of Hall would be a big boost.

Carolina likely doesn’t have any room left to make anymore notable additions before the trade deadline, but as it is, the Hurricanes do look like serious contenders.

New York Islanders (Tue vs COL, Thu @ PHI, Sat @ TBL, Sun @ FLA)

It might be premature to assume that the Islanders will miss the playoffs in 2024-25 for just the second time in seven years, but the team certainly has a hole to dig out of. They’ll attempt to better their situation next week, which will start with a home game against the Avalanche on Tuesday. The Islanders will then hit the road to play in Philadelphia on Thursday, Tampa Bay on Saturday and Florida on Sunday. It’s a tough schedule to be sure, but the Islanders are running out of margin for error, so they need to find a way to win difficult matches.

The Islanders inked Tony DeAngelo to a one-year contract Friday, which is…a choice. He’s been bought out twice at the NHL level, which led to him joining the KHL, but DeAngelo only served in 34 games with St. Petersburg SKA before his contract was mutually terminated. He’s questionable in his own end and seems to be a lightning rod for controversy. Still, for as much as there’s a reason why teams keep souring on him, there is also a cause for the infinite number of “second” chances he’s gotten.

DeAngelo, under the right circumstances, can be very effective when the puck is on his stick. He has surpassed the 40-point mark three times at the NHL level and had six goals and 32 points in 34 KHL outings before parting ways with SKA. So, for all the negatives he comes with, at least the 29-year-old has that going for him.

A team in a good spot probably wouldn’t bother with DeAngelo given the baggage, but the Islanders are 28th in goals per game with 2.66 and have lost Noah Dobson to a lower-body injury. Dobson is week-to-week after sustaining the injury Monday. He’s a vital part of the Islanders, and while DeAngelo isn’t a good enough blueliner to fully replace Dobson, one part of that void that DeAngelo likely can fill is the offensive loss. DeAngelo might only serve on the third pairing, but he will likely feature on the top power-play unit and could have fantasy value if that’s his role. His fantasy value will be even higher in leagues that include PIM as a category because he tends to end up in the sin bin a fair amount.

Under ideal circumstances, DeAngelo’s inclusion might even offer a boost to Anders Lee, Bo Horvat and Mathew Barzal, who will presumably share the ice with him on the power play. The Islanders are dead last in power-play conversions at just 12.2 percent, which has been a drag on the overall offensive output of the Islanders’ top forwards. If DeAngelo can help make the Islanders’ power play even remotely close to average, then that would add up meaningfully for all involved.

Of course, all this is assuming a favorable outcome, which is always a risky thing to believe in when it comes to DeAngelo. At the time of writing, his inclusion on the Islanders isn’t guaranteed. Though the contract has been signed, he needs to clear waivers before he can play for the Islanders. I wouldn’t bet on another team claiming him, but then again, I didn’t anticipate this move from New York, and yet, here we are.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs NJD, Wed @ NJD, Thu vs NYI, Sun @ COL)

The Flyers missed out on the playoffs for the fourth consecutive year in 2024, but at least they managed to stay in contention for most of the campaign. They’d like to do one better this year and secure a Wild Card spot, but there’s a lot of competition for those two seeds, so every game is that much more important. The Flyers will start the week with a home-and-away series against the Devils on Monday and Wednesday before hosting the Islanders on Thursday. Philadelphia will conclude its weekly schedule in Colorado on Sunday.

Goaltending has been a recurring issue for Philadelphia this season. Samuel Ersson is just too inconsistent, leading to a 14-8-2 record, 2.80 GAA and .891 save percentage in 26 appearances. Ivan Fedotov is no better, though, at 4-6-3 with a 3.25 GAA and an .880 save percentage in 14 starts.

The tragedy is that the Flyers are actually a really good defensive team, locked in a four-way tie for sixth in xGA/60 (2.85). The problem is purely the goaltenders. Ersson ranks 83rd among all netminders in goals allowed above expected at minus-8.8, per Moneypuck. The only netminders worse in that category with at least 20 games played are Petr Mrazek, Tristan Jarry, Alexandar Georgiev and Philipp Grubauer. One of those (Jarry) was sent to the minors due to his play while Mrazek and Georgiev are playing for rebuilding squads in Chicago and San Jose. In other words, it’s unflattering company for Ersson.

The Flyers offense isn’t great, but it’s decent. Travis Konecny (21 goals, 56 points) is doing his best to push the team into contention. He’s also been particularly productive recently, supplying five goals and 15 points across his past 13 appearances.

Owen Tippett is benefiting from playing alongside Konecny. The 25-year-old Tippett has three goals and six points over his last eight games, giving him 14 goals and 30 points in 50 outings overall. That duo doesn’t combine to create a top line that will turn heads, but it does the job well enough.

The Flyers are hoping that Matvei Michkov might eventually headline a unit of his own, but the rookie has been streaky. That’s pretty common for a young forward. You just need to keep an eye out and bench him during the down patches. We might be entering one right now -- he has been held off the scoresheet in each of his past two games after supplying two goals and five points across six outings from Jan. 11-21.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon @ SJS, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs NSH)

Like the Islanders and Flyers, Pittsburgh is on the outside looking in on the Wild Card race but is still in the running. The Penguins will play in San Jose on Monday and Utah on Wednesday before returning home to host the Predators on Saturday. The Sharks and Predators own two of the worst records in the league, so Pittsburgh needs to pick up points during that stretch if the Penguins are going to convince GM Kyle Dubas that this team can make a serious playoff push this year.

And make no mistake: Dubas likely needs some convincing. RG.org claims to have a source that Pittsburgh is willing to trade anyone other than Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, Philip Tomasino and Owen Pickering. The source was also asked about Kris Letang, and they weren’t sure about him.

Erik Karlsson stands out as the biggest player not ruled out. The Penguins would likely need to retain salary -- his cap hit is $11.5 million annually through 2026-27, but the Sharks are already retaining $1.5 million, bringing the current hit to Pittsburgh down to $10 million -- but as long as Pittsburgh is willing to do that, the return could be fairly nice. Although he’s 34 years old, he’s been effective this campaign with four goals and 32 points in 50 outings.

One potential sticking point is that he has a no-movement clause. He already waived it once to move from San Jose to Pittsburgh, but presumably, there would only be certain teams he’d be willing to play for. The fun destination from a fan perspective would be a return to the Senators, but that would be difficult to make work from a cap perspective. Maybe Calgary or Columbus? The Flames and Blue Jackets are teams trending in the right direction who also have plenty of cap space. Perhaps they’d value his veteran leadership in addition to what he brings to the table on the ice. Columbus’ defense already looks fairly solid and is led by a phenomenal offensive defenseman in Zach Werenski, so I don’t know that the Blue Jackets are a great fit. Karlsson would likely provide a meaningful boost to the Flames, though.

Of course, if you're Crosby or Malkin, you’re still going to be clinging onto the hope of making the playoffs this year, so these upcoming games are extremely high stakes for them. Rust is dealing with a lower-body injury, which does complicate things, but if Rust ends up missing time, then you’ll probably see Anthony Beauvillier play with one of those highly motivated superstars.

Seattle Kraken (Mon @ EDM, Tue vs ANA, Thu vs SJS, Sun vs CGY)

Seattle will begin its weekly schedule with what’s likely to be a difficult matchup in Edmonton on Monday. However, the Kraken will then return home to host Anaheim on Tuesday, San Jose on Thursday and Calgary on Sunday. The Ducks and Sharks have struggled this campaign, so those are favorable matchups for the Kraken.

I briefly touched on Philip Grubauer above in the context of how bad he’s been this campaign -- and really for a while now. He has a 3.09 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 150 games since joining Seattle. His six-year, $35.4 million deal, which started in 2021-22, has been such a waste for the Kraken.

On the plus side, the Kraken have Joey Daccord, who has a 16-11-2 record, 2.47 GAA and .915 save percentage in 31 appearances in 2024-25. He could certainly use more offensive support, though.

Jared McCann leads the Kraken with 14 goals and 36 points in 49 appearances this season. That puts him outside of the NHL’s top 75 in the scoring race. Seattle also doesn’t employ any of the 32 players who have reached the 20-goal milestone. Jaden Schwartz is the closest at 16. A lack of big-name talent up front is really hurting this team.

Maybe Matty Beniers will still fill that void, but he’s been a mixed bag. He was Seattle’s first-ever draft pick -- the No. 2 overall selection in 2021 -- and he seemed to be on the fast track after supplying three goals and nine points in 10 NHL outings in 2021-22 followed by 24 goals and 57 points in 80 appearances last season. However, he took a big step back last year, dipping to 37 points, and he hasn’t rebounded much this campaign with 10 goals and 26 points in 49 appearances. He’s still just 22 years old, so there’s plenty of time for him to find his way, but it’s looking less and less likely that this year will be a positive for him.

Another former No. 2 pick seems to have found his way with Seattle, though. Since being acquired from the Rangers on Feb. 18, Kaapo Kakko has four goals and 13 points in 16 outings, giving the Kraken some of that offensive prowess they’ve desperately needed. He’s been averaging 16:50 of ice time in Seattle, which is up from 13:17 with the Rangers -- he had four goals and 14 points in 30 contests before the trade -- which goes a long way toward explaining his production jump.

There never seemed to be much of a role for Kakko in New York, so this change of scenery is probably exactly what he needed. Although his scoring pace might dip somewhat, he should continue to do well with Seattle.

Vancouver Canucks (Mon @ STL, Wed @ NSH, Fri @ DAL, Sun @ DET)

The Canucks have been a mess on and off the ice lately. Will things get any better for them or will the descent continue next week? They’ll start on the road with games in St. Louis on Monday, Nashville on Wednesday and Dallas on Friday. Vancouver will then host the Red Wings on Sunday.

There’s been plenty of speculation about the Canucks potentially moving one of Elias Pettersson or J.T. Miller for off-ice reasons. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Hurricanes were considering acquiring one of those star forwards before opting to instead get Rantanen from Colorado, per Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet 650. Carolina is likely out as a destination now, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Vancouver still trade one of Miller or Pettersson. The Rangers have been brought up before as a potential destination, so maybe there’s still something to be had there.

Perhaps because this has been distracting them, Vancouver has been in free fall, going 6-10-6 since Dec. 8. Miller had a five-game scoring drought from Jan. 8-16, but he’s otherwise remained effective, collecting eight goals and 33 points in 37 outings this campaign. It’s still far behind his regular-season production from 2023-24 (37 goals, 103 points), but at least he’s providing close to a point-per-game.

Pettersson hasn’t given anything close to that lately. He has just three goals and four points across his past 14 appearances. That slump has undermined a strong start to the campaign, leaving him with 11 goals and 30 points in 41 outings overall. He’ll probably bounce back eventually, but his slump is certainly part of the reason for the Canucks’ decline.

Thatcher Demko isn’t helping either, though. Since making his season debut Dec. 10 after returning from a knee injury, he has a 3-5-3 record, 3.47 GAA and .867 save percentage in 12 games. Some rust is to be expected after missing the opening months of the season, but he’s showing no signs of improvement, going 1-3-0 with a 4.03 GAA and an .833 save percentage across his past four outings. Kevin Lankinen is far from a sure thing either, but he’s been the better option with his 16-8-6 record, 2.63 GAA and .903 save percentage in 30 appearances.

It's unfortunate because Demko has shown in the past that he can be an elite netminder, and Vancouver could certainly use the help right now. As it is, though, about the only positive in Vancouver is that Quinn Hughes is still Quinn Hughes with 12 goals and 52 points in 43 appearances, including four goals and 10 points across his past nine outings.

Hughes just needs other stars to go back to living up to their names as well.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD (November 11th to 18th, 2024) – Winnipeg and Florida dominate

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 09 Nov 2024 18:45:55 +0000

OTTAWA, ON - OCTOBER 10: Florida Panthers Right Wing Sam Reinhart (13) before a face-off during third period National Hockey League action between the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators on October 10, 2024, at Canadian Tire Centre in Ottawa, ON, Canada. (Photo by Richard A. Whittaker/Icon Sportswire)

The Colorado Avalanche have problems, as I’ve discussed in previous articles, but going into Thursday’s action those issues hadn’t extended to their core players. In fact, defenseman Cale Makar opened the campaign with a 13-game scoring streak in which he provided five goals and 23 points, and after an injury scare, he was available for Thursday’s tilt against Winnipeg and ended up logging an impressive 25:16 of ice time.

Against every other team, Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, who took his own 13-game scoring streak into Thursday’s action, would have done some damage even if they hadn’t come away with the win. Winnipeg has been in a league of its own, though, especially with Connor Hellebuyck between the pipes. The goaltender shrugged off the Avalanche’s 35 shots to earn his second consecutive shutout, bringing him up to a 10-1-0 record, 1.91 GAA and .932 save percentage through 11 starts.

Hellebuyck being an amazing goaltender is old news. There’s a reason why Winnipeg inked him to a seven-year, $59.5 million contract that began this season -- a contract that’s looking increasingly good, especially with the way the goaltender market is heading. However, the Jets under new bench boss Scott Arniel are giving him more defensive support than he’s accustomed to. The Jets have an xGA/60 of 2.49, per Moneypuck, the second-best in the league. By contrast, Winnipeg ranked 10th last year with a 2.93 xGA/60. That suggests the quality of the shots making their way to Hellebuyck has gotten significantly lower, making it easier for the netminder to do his job. That might also be why Winnipeg is also 3-0-0 on the nights that journeyman goaltender Eric Comrie has started instead.

Winnipeg’s dominance doesn’t end there, though. The Jets rank first in goals per game with 4.50, which is a feat they’ve accomplished in part through depth. Kyle Connor (nine goals, 19 points), Mark Scheifele (seven goals, 18 points) and Gabriel Vilardi (six goals, 12 points) can compromise an amazing top line, and that still leaves you with the luxury of putting Nikolaj Ehlers (eight goals, 17 points) on the second line and a red-hot Nino Niederreiter (seven goals, 12 points) on the third unit to exhaust the enemy’s defense. It is worth noting that Moneypuck ranks Winnipeg 21st in xG/60 with 2.99, so there’s an argument to be made that the Jets have enjoyed good puck luck, and they haven’t endured anything close to the same kind of injury issues that a team like Colorado has.

It's also worth remembering the cautionary tale of the 2007-08 Ottawa Senators, who started 13-1-0 but faltered after that, finishing 43-31-8 and being swept in the first round of the playoffs. That said, there isn’t a lot of sample size when it comes to 13-1-0 starts. Ottawa showed that even a start as hot as this doesn’t guarantee success, but that doesn’t mean a fall from grace is inevitable either. And sure, maybe the Jets’ offense won’t continue to perform at this level, but if the defense stays effective and Hellebuyck remains healthy, then Winnipeg won’t necessarily need that much goal production. This is a strong team, potentially far stronger than analysts rated the Jets to be going into the campaign, and they’ll certainly be one to watch going forward.

While some might still view the Jets as a team with something to prove even after starting 13-1-0, not many would question Florida’s 10-3-1 start. Back-to-back trips to the finals, including a Stanley Cup championship, affords you a great deal of faith. That’s not to say every player on the team receives that level of belief, though. Sam Reinhart is probably raising some eyebrows after scoring 11 goals and 22 points through 14 games. Sure, he had 57 goals and 94 points in 82 appearances in 2023-24, but his 24.5 shooting percentage was insanely high, so it must have been a fluke, right?

Those who read my articles from last year would know I pushed back against the assumption that his high shooting percentage was unsustainable.

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

This year tells a somewhat similar story. Of his 39 shots, 13 (33.3 percent) have been in high-danger areas while another 12 (30.8 percent) have been mid-range. By contrast, Nikita Kucherov, who has 11 goals on 54 shots has fired 12 (22.2 percent) in high-danger areas and 16 (29.6) at mid-range. In other words, while someone like Kucherov fires more shots than Reinhart, they end up with a similar number of high-quality shots, so there’s logic behind Reinhart’s high shooting percentage, making it less of a warning sign than it would be for some other players.

Carolina Hurricanes (Mon @ VGK, Wed @ UTA, Sat vs OTT, Sun vs STL)

The Hurricanes have done nearly as well as the Jets, posting a 10-2-0 record after Thursday’s 5-1 victory over Pittsburgh. Carolina will open the week with a challenging road match versus Vegas, but the schedule gets more manageable after that with a road game against Utah on Wednesday followed by home contests versus Ottawa and St. Louis on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Carolina is still without Frederik Andersen (lower body), and there’s no guarantee he’ll be an option next week, so Spencer Martin might make his season debut. The 29-year-old is far from an ideal choice, but Carolina is one of the most goaltender-friendly teams in the league, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see Martin walk away with the win if he faces the Senators or Blues.

That’ll be especially true if Martin Necas remains hot. He’s on an eight-game scoring streak in which he’s provided six goals and 18 points. Necas took a step back last season with a 53-point showing, but he’s a good bet to rebound with the second 70-plus point campaign of his career. Just don’t count on him maintaining anything close to his current point-per-game pace, which stands at 1.75 (21 points in 12 outings). Necas has been impressive, but he’s unlikely to finish 2024-25 among the league’s scoring leaders. To give you some perspective, he had seven goals and 17 points through 11 appearances in 2022-23 and finished that campaign outside the top-50 in the scoring race despite logging the full 82 games.

Moving from the Hurricanes’ top offensive performer to a physical defenseman, Riley Stillman (lower body) will likely make his Hurricanes debut soon. He had a goal, eight points, 81 hits and 44 blocks in 50 outings between Vancouver and Buffalo in 2023-24. His presence won’t dramatically alter Carolina’s blue line, but we might see Sean Walker be an infrequent healthy scratch after dressing in all of the team’s first 12 games. Maybe Jalen Chatfield will end up being a scratch at some point too if everyone is healthy, though I suspect Walker’s position in the lineup is less secure.

Nashville Predators (Mon @ COL, Thu @ EDM, Fri @ CGY, Sun @ VAN)

Not secure describes the Predators pretty well. Nashville GM Barry Trotz even recently floated the idea of beginning the team’s rebuild plan if the team doesn’t start turning around -- a move that would be awkward after signing veterans Steven Stamkos to a four-year, $32 million contract and Jonathan Marchessault to a five-year, $27.5 million deal over the summer.

All the same, you can hardly blame Trotz for thinking that way after the club’s 4-9-1 start. Perhaps next week will offer more hope, though it would have to come on the road. The Predators will play in Colorado on Monday, Edmonton on Thursday, Calgary on Friday and Vancouver on Sunday.

Stamkos is finally showing life, providing three goals and six points across his past six games after being limited to one point (a goal) over his opening eight appearances. The problem is no other Predators player has stepped up recently -- outside of Stamkos, every Nashville skater has recorded three or fewer points over the team’s past six games.

Then there’s Juuse Saros, who is leaving plenty to be desired with a 3-7-1 record, 2.85 GAA and .904 save percentage in 11 outings. You might be wondering if his mediocre numbers are a reflection of struggles on his end or just a byproduct of poor play in front of him. Nashville ranks 24th in xGA/60 at 3.27 while Saros’ goals saved above expected is plus-3.9, which suggests Saros has been doing fine, but the Predators have been letting him down. If there’s any silver lining to be had there, it suggests that if Nashville can start tightening up defensively, then Saros will reward his teammates by putting up the kind of elite numbers we know he’s capable of. Imagining that scenario, though, might just be an exercise in wishful thinking.

Philadelphia Flyers (Mon vs SJS, Thu @ OTT, Sat vs BUF)

The Flyers haven’t been much better than Nashville, though Philadelphia doesn’t have the same burden of expectations. Either way, the 5-8-1 Flyers have a favorable set of adversaries ahead of them. They’ll host the Sharks on Monday, play in Ottawa on Thursday and conclude the week with a home game versus the Sabres on Saturday.

Samuel Ersson (lower body) and Aleksei Kolosov (lower body) weren’t able to play Thursday, which left Ivan Fedotov, who had a 5.35 GAA and an .821 save percentage through his first three starts, to get the nod against Tampa Bay while Kyle Konin signed an amateur tryout to be the emergency backup. Despite those challenging circumstances, Philadelphia earned a 2-1 shootout victory over the Lightning, but I wouldn’t count on seeing continued success out of Fedotov if Ersson and Kolosov remain on the sidelines. Not that I have much confidence in any of the Flyers’ current goaltenders.

To be fair, the Flyers’ netminders get sparse goal support even when they manage to put forth a strong showing. Philadelphia ranks 27th offensively with 2.50 goals per game. Matvei Michkov has been one of the Flyers’ few scoring threats with four goals and 10 points in 13 outings, but coach John Tortorella hasn’t been thrilled with the 19-year-old forward’s five-on-five play -- note that Michkov is minus-8 and only three of his points have come at even strength -- which led to him being a healthy scratch Thursday. It’s also worth noting that his production has slowed recently, resulting in him registering just an assist over his past five outings.

Michkov is still young, so some growing pains are expected, and with Tortorella certainly not being afraid to mix some tough love into his teaching regime, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the occasional healthy scratch sprinkled in there as the campaign progresses. Taking a step back, a reasonable project for Michkov’s rookie season would be about 50 points.

Pittsburgh Penguins (Mon vs DAL, Wed vs DET, Fri @ CBJ, Sat vs SJS)

Sidney Crosby is continuing to defy his age, but it hasn’t been enough. Pittsburgh is 5-8-2, putting more pressure on the squad to start to right the ship. The Penguins are set to host Dallas and Detroit on Monday and Wednesday, respectively. They’ll then play in Columbus on Friday and round out the week by hosting the Sharks on Saturday.

Cody Glass (upper body) was put on injured reserve Friday while Bryan Rust (lower body) was activated, enabling him to return to the lineup after a five-game absence.

As I already alluded to, Crosby has continued to dominate in Rust’s absence -- Crosby has six goals and 15 points through 15 appearances in 2024-25 -- but Rust is nevertheless likely to rejoin the top line. That would probably result in Evgeni Malkin moving off the top unit to his more standard position headlining the second line. For what it’s worth, Malkin and Crosby have shown up on the scoresheet together for just two even-strength goals this season, and Malkin has been quiet lately with a goal and two points across his past five games. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh has lost its last two games, along with six of its past eight, so it’s not like there are circumstances on a team level or a line level that would compel head coach Mike Sullivan to keep Malkin and Crosby together in five-on-five play at this time.

At the other end of the ice, the goaltending situation continues to be a question mark. Alex Nedeljkovic gave the Penguins hope with strong starts against the lowly Ducks and Canadiens, but he’s faded quickly, allowing eight goals on 44 shots (.818 save percentage) over his past two losses to the Islanders and Hurricanes. Meanwhile, Tristan Jarry has been rebuilding his confidence in the minors, posting a 1.69 GAA and a .946 save percentage across four games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Perhaps Jarry will get recalled soon and get another shot? Just as the Crosby-Malkin duo hasn’t done anything to force Sullivan to keep them together, Nedeljkovic’s play isn’t great enough to secure the No. 1 job, so the possibility of a Jarry comeback remains.

Seattle Kraken (Tue vs CBJ, Thu vs CHI, Sat vs NYI, Sun vs NYR)

The Kraken will stay at home next week, hosting the Blue Jackets on Tuesday, the Blackhawks on Thursday, the Islanders on Saturday and finally the Rangers on Sunday. We’ll see if that homestand will right the ship for Seattle, which has lost four straight games and seven of its last eight contests, dropping to 5-8-1.

Seattle has managed just 2.25 goals per game across its last eight matches, but interestingly, there have been some standout performers over that stretch. Jared McCann and Matty Beniers have each managed three goals and eight points during Seattle’s slump while defenseman Brandon Montour has contributed three goals and six points in that span.

The problem is other players you’d expect to do well have fallen short. Oliver Bjorkstrand is the most notable example of that. He set a career high with 59 points last season but has just three goals and five points through 13 appearances in 2024-25 and is heading in the wrong direction with a goal and an assist across his past eight outings. Those struggles reached a possible crescendo when he was scratched Tuesday, so it will be interesting to see if he uses that time in the press box to reset.

Jordan Eberle and Eeli Tolvanen need to rebound too. They have managed just two and three points, respectively, over Seattle’s past eight games. Neither is a major offensive threat, but they are important secondary scorers for the Kraken and lately, they have failed to fulfill that role.

Some of those cold stretches would have been swept under the rug if Shane Wright was adapting to the NHL, but the No. 4 overall pick from the 2022 NHL Draft has been disappointing thus far, providing just a goal and two points through 14 games in 2024-25. I wonder if he might benefit from a stint in the press box of his own. Either way, it’s impossible to recommend him at this time in standard leagues, but I will at least say the potential remains there, so he’s worth keeping an eye on. If you want a silver lining, you could say that the Kraken’s overall offensive struggles do open the door to Wright landing a top six spot if only he could start producing.

St. Louis Blues (Tue vs BOS, Thu @ BUF, Fri @ BOS, Sun @ CAR)

The Blues have a busy week ahead of them, but the competition isn’t the easiest. They’ll host the Bruins on Tuesday before heading on the road to play in Buffalo on Thursday, Boston on Saturday and Carolina on Sunday.

We could all breathe a sigh of relief after Dylan Holloway avoided serious injury after a scary incident Tuesday when he was hit by a high puck and taken away on a stretcher. He even managed to play in St. Louis’ very next game. His former Oilers teammate who came with him to St. Louis, though, will be out for a while.

Philip Broberg suffered a lower-body injury Saturday and is expected to miss the next 4-6 weeks. Broberg had been making the most of the increased role the Blues gave him, providing two goals and nine points through 12 appearances while averaging 19:34 of ice time. St. Louis is also missing Torey Krug (ankle) for the 2024-25 campaign and Nick Leddy (lower body), though at least in Leddy’s case, he might be back in the not-too-distant future.

Absences have likely contributed to Ryan Suter playing a bigger role than initially envisioned. Although he an insanely big minutes eater in his prime, Suter dipped below 20 minutes per game in 2023-24 for the first time since his rookie campaign, averaging 18:56 of ice time with Dallas. The 39-year-old initially looked like he would have a strictly supporting role with St. Louis in 2024-25, averaging just 16:02 across the Blues’ opening four games. Then Leddy got hurt, and Suter has averaged 23:53 since. Don’t be surprised if Suter’s ice time takes a notable hit once Leddy is back, though until Broberg is healthy too, Suter will probably still see at least decent minutes.

Leddy’s eventual return might also make things a little easier on Blues goaltenders Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. Neither netminder has gotten off to a good start, though Binnington has been encouraging recently. He’s still just 4-5-0 with a 2.78 GAA and a .904 save percentage in 10 outings overall, but he’s saved 75 of 81 shots (.926 save percentage) across his past three games. Going into the season, it looked like Hofer might challenge Binnington for the starting gig, but that hasn’t happened yet to any major extent, and Binnington’s recent success helps put more distance between the two.

Vancouver Canucks (Tue vs CGY, Thu vs NYI, Sat vs CHI, Sun vs NSH)

Vancouver is on a three-game winning streak, bringing the Canucks up to 7-2-3. They’ll look to continue that success next week with home games against Calgary on Tuesday, the Islanders on Thursday, Chicago on Saturday and Nashville on Sunday.

While things are going well for the Canucks overall, the same can’t be said for Elias Pettersson. He has two goals and five points across 12 appearances in 2024-25. He did discuss his slump last week, and unfortunately, not much has changed since with Pettersson providing one point (a goal) over his past three games despite Vancouver combining for a solid 12 goals during that stretch.

One thing I didn’t bring up then is Pettersson’s shot total, which is concerning low at 22, which translates to 5.7 shots per 60 minutes, a drop from 7.7 last year. That’s despite having one six-shot game in 2024-25 -- he also has been held to a single shot on seven occasions. He also has just 52 shot attempts, which is 4.3 per game, down from 4.9 in 2023-24.

I went to dig a bit deeper, and one thing that stood out to me is that his skating metrics are down from last year, and the same can be said about his shot speed. In terms of shot location, 60 of his 207 in 2023-24 were high danger, translating to roughly 29 percent while he has nine of 22 (40.9 percent) in high-danger locations this campaign, so at least when he is shooting the location is generally good, but still, some of those other metrics are concerning.

Pettersson is still just 25, so unless he’s playing hurt, I don’t think it’s fair to believe there isn’t a physical reason for his drop in play. Instead, it’s likely to be mental, which is a theory that gains credibility when you consider former Canucks head coach Bruce Boudreau’s analysis of the situation, per the Vancouver Province. Boudreau noted that Pettersson “doesn’t look excited when he plays and gets frustrated very easily.” Perhaps the pressure of his eight-year, $92.8 million contract, which he’s in the first season of, is getting to the star forward.

Whatever the case, other members of the Canucks have been picking up the slack. Not much was expected of Conor Garland going into the campaign, but he’s been great, providing four goals and 11 points through 12 appearances. That probably won’t last, but he isn’t showing signs of slowing down yet after recording at least a point in each of his past three games. Defenseman Quinn Hughes is also red hot, supplying a goal and five points over his last two outings, bringing him up to three goals and 14 points in 12 appearances this season.

Vegas Golden Knights (Mon vs CAR, Wed @ ANA, Fri @ UTA, Sun vs WSH)

The Golden Knights will start the upcoming week by hosting the Hurricanes, but after that, they’ll have to take to the road. Vegas will play in Anaheim on Wednesday, Utah on Friday and Washington on Sunday.

The Golden Knights have won six of their past seven games, elevating their record to 9-3-1. The top line of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Ivan Barbashev continues to be a major part of that with Stone leading the way with six goals and 21 points in 13 outings. The 32-year-old Stone is on a seven-game scoring streak (four goals,12 points) and has been held off the scoresheet just once in 2024-25.

It also helps to have a player of Tomas Hertl’s caliber on the second unit, who has four goals and 12 points through 13 outings. Meanwhile, Noah Hanifin is red hot from the blue line with three goals and eight points across his past two games.

Those two really highlight the amazing sticking power Vegas has managed thanks to its aggressive trade strategy. Those are two veterans who were added during the 2023-24 campaign and are locked up to 2027-28. Other teams add rental pieces leading up to a Cup run, but the Golden Knights tend to take a longer view when making trades, so even when a postseason run doesn’t work out, as was the case in 2024, the additions they made are still around to help them moving forward.

Eventually, the bottom might fall out of this strategy. In the cap era, we haven’t seen a team that has been able to sustain itself indefinitely on trades alone without going through a rebuild. But when you look at the team’s core of Eichel, Stone, Hertl, Barbashev, William Karlsson, Alex Pietrangelo, Noah Hanifin and Shea Theodore, you’re seeing a group that’s still largely in its prime and positioned to potentially be competitive for years to come.

The one thing that the group is missing is a star goaltender. Adin Hill can be solid, but he also has his rough patches, and the 2024-25 campaign has been more miss than hit for him so far, leaving Hill with a 3.01 GAA and an .882 save percentage through eight outings. On the plus side, he’s allowed just five goals on 64 shots (.922 save percentage) across his past three starts, and the Golden Knights are strong enough offensively to put him in a position to win even when he doesn’t have a great night, so there’s still plenty of value to be had here.

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Team Preview

Fri, 20 Sep 2024 16:00:56 +0000

_{MONTREAL, QC - APRIL 09: Owen Tippett (74) of the Philadelphia Flyers looks on during the third period of the NHL game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Montreal Canadiens on April 9, 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC (Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)}

The Flyers were surprisingly competitive for the first two-thirds of the season, compiling a 29-19-7 record through 55 games. They faded down the stretch, going 9-14-4, leaving them with 87 points (38-33-11), four points behind the Washington Capitals for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. While expectations may not have been high entering the season, the Flyers deserve credit for playing a competitive game. They ranked 14th with a Corsi of 51.3% and ninth with an expected goals percentage of 52.3%. Those five-on-five numbers look solid, so what happened? The Flyers had the worst power play in the league, scoring 4.35 goals per 60 minutes. On the other hand, Philadelphia ranked fourth in penalty killing with 5.99 goals against per 60 minutes. That neutralized the special teams battle somewhat, so the determining factor was that the Flyers had a .884 save percentage, which ranked last in the league. With Carter Hart removed from the team due to legal issues, goaltender Samuel Ersson was pressed into the starter’s role, and he ended up playing in 51 games, which was a big jump in his workload. Head coach John Tortorella was still in the middle of controversy from time to time, notably when he made captain Sean Couturier a healthy scratch for several games.

WHAT’S CHANGED? The most exciting addition for the Flyers is 2023 first-round pick Matvei Michkov, who had 19 goals and 41 points in 47 KHL games last season. He is a dynamic offensive talent that the Flyers desperately need. Michkov effectively takes the place of veteran right winger Cam Atkinson, who signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent. Otherwise, there were not a lot of big moves. They kept defenceman Erik Johnson, who was added at the trade deadline last season. Russian goaltender Ivan Fedotov appeared in three games late last season but will figure to have the backup job behind Ersson.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Considering the Flyers did not make any big splash moves in the offseason, there might be some indication that they think internal improvement can be enough to get them over the hump. Just coming up with a league-average power play would make a huge difference, but it looks like the Flyers are aiming for the playoffs, and if they are going to get there, they will need a lot of young players to continue to develop. Beyond Michkov, that includes Morgan Frost, Tyson Foerster, Bobby Brink, and Joel Farabee up front, and defencemen Cam York, Jamie Drysdale, and Egor Zamula. If those players develop properly then the season is a success. If they also find their way to the playoffs, even better.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? It seems that there is always the risk of Tortorella pushing the wrong button and having his team go south on him. The Couturier situation last season sure didn’t seem to help a team that was sinking out of playoff contention, and it would surprise exactly no one if something like that happened again this season, and it doesn’t have to be Couturier. If the main point of the season is to see progress from their young players, then the sign that the season is going wrong is if Tortorella is making young players healthy scratches to make a point rather than to help the player.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: The Flyers have a bunch of young forwards who could be candidates for breakout seasons, but defenceman Cam York is an interesting option, too. He had 30 points last season, with only six on the power play, and it appears that York has a chance to play on the Flyers’ top power play unit this season. They have to be better than they were on the power play last season and if York is the one quarterbacking the power play, he should see continued growth in his point totals.

FORWARD

Owen Tippett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	32	27	59	0.72

Even though he’s already broken out with back-to-back 20+ goal seasons, it still feels like Owen Tippett has only scratched the surface of what he can do. Stuck in prospect purgatory with the Panthers, the trade to Philly was perfect for him because they had nothing to lose and a lot of roster spots to fill. Thus, they could feed him prime offensive minutes and his career has taken off since then. He is one of the best in the league at creating off the rush, both in terms of scoring chances and goals, and his speed can be a nightmare to deal with at times. His all-around offensive game has also started to turn the corner, improving as a playmaker and using his linemates more instead of always trying to be a one-man show. There is still a lot he can improve at; he still hasn’t quite figured out how to be a power play guy and his playing style is almost too north-south with how dependent it is off the rush. He is also an inconsistent play-driver despite how great he is at generating offence, although the Flyers volatile lineup played a role in that. The Flyers are banking on him breaking into that next level, making him part of their core going forward after signing him to a long-term extension.

Sean Couturier

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	13	33	46	0.59

The Flyers will often go as far as Sean Couturier takes them, which includes the nearly two full seasons he missed. Just getting him back on the ice was a feel-good story for the Flyers and it went beyond that as his play in the first half of the season was excellent. He returned to being the workhorse, tough minute centermen that he was for most of his career and being the catalyst of the team. Always in the right spot in the defensive zone and a menace on the forecheck, it’s easy for his teammates to feed off him and it makes life so much easier for the rest of the team. It’s a reason why he was named captain in the middle of the season, a no-brainer decision. Once the All-Star Break hit, things got sour. The Flyers couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net when Couturier’s lines were on the ice and his offensive production stagnated with two goals in his last 40 games. This culminated with him being a controversial healthy scratch for a game in mid-March. Couturier proved that there is still a good player in him after all the injuries, but his second half showed that there might be limitations on what to expect from him going forward. Perhaps he isn’t the 19-20 minute a night, all-situations player he was in his prime anymore.

Travis Konecny

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	32	42	74	0.96

Watching Travis Konecny and looking at the high volume of chances he creates, it might come as a surprise that his 33 goals and 68 points last year was a career high. Part of that is him missing 10-20 games a year to injury at various points and the other is the Flyers general inability to score on the power play. At even strength, he is breaking into the league’s elite and is in some pretty good company over the last two seasons in terms of goal-scoring, outscoring names such as Nikita Kucherov and Matthew Tkachuk at five-on-five. The Flyers shift to focus more on rush offence has served him well, as this has been his bread and butter for most of his career. His speed and ability to weave through traffic in the neutral zone is something a lot of players don’t have, and his playmaking has come a long way from his earlier days in the league. He was also a menace on the Flyers aggressive penalty kill, scoring more goals shorthanded than he did on the power play. An easy player to plug anywhere in the lineup because of the skill he brings combined with the high motor he plays with. He can also score while shouldering the burden of playing heavy matchups, producing with Scott Laughton centering his line early in the year before moving to Sean Couturier’s wing. Now a centerpiece for the Flyers next stage of their rebuild, signing a seven-year contract extension over the summer. 35 goals and 70 points is a safe bet but he can blow past those numbers if the power play comes to life.

Joel Farabee

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	18	24	42	0.51

Like most of the Flyers, Farabee started the season red hot and had a rough finish. He was flirting with a point-per-game pace around January, he scored only nine points in his last 32 which included a goal-scoring slump that lasted an entire month. When looking at the overall stats, he still had a pretty good year, setting career highs in most categories and he was on the positive side of things when it came to driving play despite no real consistent linemates. Slumps are expected with a player like Farabee who scores so many of his goals by capitalizing on great passes and poaching for breakaway opportunities. He’s improved when it comes to creating his opportunities and is a good passer, but he excels more as the finisher of his line rather than someone who drives the bus. Always the second one on pucks and the high forward on the forecheck, Farabee’s game is better when he’s paired with a good forecheck or elite passer, something the Flyers had in spurts but not consistently. Farabee’s strengths with generating controlled entries at a high rate give him some play-driving ability but even those usually come from him jumping on a turnover or a loose puck rather than creating from 200 feet. Still, a very useful player to have in the middle six.

Tyson Foerster

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	21	24	45	0.58

One of the hidden gems of the Flyers new wave of forward prospects. Foerster is a big body and made a name for himself as a dark horse Calder candidate. Finishing third in rookie scoring will do that, but what caught some folks’ attention was his defensive impact. The Flyers were excellent at preventing scoring chances while he was on the ice and while it’s debatable how much of a winger can influence that, he does a lot of things that helped the cause. His forechecking prowess being the main one. He was often the first player into the zone when the Flyers had to play dump-and-chase and it’s difficult to get the puck away from him when he gets it below the goal-line. He also caught teams off-guard with how good he can be off the rush. He’s got a great shot with a heavy release and showed off some slick puck-handling moves when getting a one-on-one matchup with defenders. He also wasn’t a one-trick pony when it came to goal-scoring, scoring in a variety of ways by getting to the net, following the play off the rush and getting himself open for one-timers. This earned him a spot on the top line for most of the year, although he did get lost in the shuffle late in the season when the Flyers were struggling. He could return back to his home with Konecny and Couturier at the start of the year, depending on where rookie Matvei Michkov slots. He figures to start in the top six and can build on his 20-goal season.

Noah Cates

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	9	18	27	0.35

Receiving votes for both the Calder and the Selke in his rookie season, most of the hype fell off this year for the young center. Not that there was anything wrong with his play, he is still one of the Flyers most reliable defensive forwards and took the brunt of tough draws in the second half of the year. He just missed a good chunk of the season and didn’t get the same minutes or linemates he did his rookie year. Couturier’s return was a big reason for that, as that’s where most of his tough, defensive minutes went. Cates also got a lot of minutes with Konecny the year before and going from that to Garnet Hathaway and Ryan Poehling is a bit of a downgrade in terms of scoring upside. Offence has also never been a major part of Cates game in the NHL, although he is very good at getting to the net and is one of the few Flyers forwards who creates most of his offence on the forecheck, which is part of the reason why he is such a strong play-driver even if he doesn’t have the high-end skillset. He was used on the Flyers second power play unit for his net front ability but was removed from the rotation after returning from injury and will have to fight for those minutes this year. Although will be more of a regular fixture on their penalty kill.

Morgan Frost

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	16	38	54	0.69

Every team has a “he will be special if he ever puts it together” guy. That is Morgan Frost on the Flyers. It’s been seven years since he was drafted, and he’s had only two full seasons on the team due to injuries and spending time in the AHL. What they’ve gotten out of him so far has been okay with a pair of 40+ point seasons while showing flashes of greatness in both. There’s obvious talent when watching him play. He is arguably the team’s best player at zone entries and one of the few potential weapons they have on the power play because of that. The Flyers have a few players who are strong on entries, but it’s heavily skewed on the wings with Frost being the one center who excels there. He is very shifty and deceptive with his skating in the neutral zone, which allows the likes of Tippett and Konecny to open themselves up for more shooting opportunities. Frost is also a very good passer, although sometimes he’s a little too patient when he has the puck and scoring opportunities go to waste when he waits too long for the perfect play. Still an effective player when it comes to setting the table for his linemates. This is somewhat of a “make or break” year for him even if he’s proven himself to be a solid NHL player. The Flyers just have to decide if he is part of their future or not.

Bobby Brink

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
68	14	18	32	0.47

One of the Flyers high-upside prospects, Brink had somewhat of a rocky first season in the NHL. He showed some of the offensive talent that he was drafted for, ranking among the Flyers best players in terms of setting up shots and scoring chances at even strength. He was also the subject of some fairly blunt comments from his coach about his play when he was a healthy scratch for a game in his home state and also spent some time in the AHL before returning. Brink’s offence is hard to replace, but the rest of his game is still a work in progress. Like a lot of rookies, when the game was easy and plays were open, he could capitalize. When games got tougher and he had to hold onto pucks longer, he struggled a little. The Flyers rush-focused attack made it a little easier for him to get his feet wet and show his game-breaking skillset but struggled when the game slowed down. Similarly, he showed the ability to create his own chances individually and set up teammates. It was a different story when it came to getting himself open for shots and being a passing option on breakouts. It will take some time for him to get used to the NHL pace but showed enough promise last year to be hopeful about his future.

Scott Laughton

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	15	24	39	0.51

Scott Laughton has been with the Flyers through a multitude of general managers and coaches. The former first round pick has carved out a nice career for himself as a middle-of-the-roster player where you know what you’re getting from him every night. Last year was a strange one for him, though. He was a permanent fixture in the lineup but didn’t have the same set of wingers for more than five games and had a very concerning season when it came to driving play, giving up a lot on the defensive end. On the other hand, he remained one of the Flyers top penalty killers and was a cornerstone of their “power kill” approach where they’re always looking to poach shorthanded. Laughton didn’t just become a terrible defensive player at even strength overnight, so his drop-off there could just be a fluke rather than a sign of things to come. The only concern that it might be is that Laughton’s never showed much high-end ability or be the guy who can drive a line on his own. He’s average to above average in just about every skill but has a tremendous motor and work ethic to make up for it and that is what makes him such a coveted player among the Flyers coaching staff. With the rest of the roster not changing much, it will be interesting to see if he rebounds at five-on-five next year.

DEFENCE

Travis Sanheim

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	30	40	0.49

This was Sanheim’s first season as “The Guy” on the Flyers blue line. He’s always logged a lot of minutes, but this was the first time he was undisputed in the number one role with Ivan Provorov now in Columbus. He took the ball and ran with it some aspects, having a career season in terms of boxcar stats and looking more active with the puck than he has ever been. Some of that was from necessity, as the Flyers needed someone who could handle the burden on breakouts and also control the play at the blue line. This has never been Sanheim’s forte, who is normally more of a support guy, but he had to take on more of a burden here this year. Results were mixed. Sanheim could handle the increase in puck touches and ice time. He’s a smooth-skating defenceman with great acceleration, so the puck-moving role suits him well. He even saw some major improvements with his own work on breakouts, always being more of a “glass and out” guy before last year when he started to make more plays out of the zone. The Flyers shift to more of a team that attacks in transition also plays to his strengths, as he can be very effective as the support guy joining the rush or even leading it. Sanheim could handle the extra minutes and responsibility, the burden of being the only proven veteran top four guy on the Flyers blue line is what eventually caught up to him by the end of the year. Cam York and Jamie Drysdale were given most of the power play time by the end of the season. That will keep a cap on his offensive upside.

Cam York

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	10	31	41	0.50

The Flyers wanted their young defenceman to sink or swim in what was essentially his first full season in the NHL. It made sense because they had high hopes for York and needed someone who could play alongside Sanheim on the top pair. York showed he had the endurance to do so and while they got off to a rough start, they eventually became a decent, stabilizing top-pair for the Flyers. York had his share of highlight reel plays, always looking to pinch down from that left wall to look for a seam pass or jump up in the play to start a give-and-go. He’s an effortless skater and a great complement for Sanheim on the as someone who can wheel the puck out of trouble. The offence hasn’t quite come around to where he’s a high-end player, but it’s enough to make him a threat whenever he is up in the play. His best asset on the top pair is how good he is at turning pucks over and killing other team’s rushes. It negates some of the defensive burden his pair has to take on and makes it easier for him to play his own game. He was given a very demanding, high-minute role and gave the Flyers passable results while showing signs that there is another level to his game. A role on the first power play is his to lose, and there is competition, but should be able to reach 40 points as his next step.

Rasmus Ristolainen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	2	10	12	0.17

Brad Shaw is known as one of the league’s better assistant coaches and the work he did with Ristolainen might have been his biggest accomplishment. For his entire career, Ristolainen was a player with all the tools but no toolbox. A big, powerful skating defenceman who could put up points on the power play, deliver big hits but be a liability at five-on-five. He would chase hits, play too aggressively, make careless mistakes in coverage and turned the puck over countless times. Since Tortorella’s staff arrived in Philly, Ristolainen’s game has been cleaned up. He has a more defined role in the defensive zone, and they’ve modeled his game to be someone who takes hits to make plays in the defensive zone. Sometimes that means simply clearing the puck out, but the Flyers breakouts have a lot of support for him to make a quick play without having to think much. The other big thing was reducing his minutes from the low 20’s to the 17–18-minute range, which is where he is more properly slotted. It helped Ristolainen’s game, but it has also created a hole in the Flyers top-four that they have yet to fill.

Jamie Drysdale

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
72	7	27	34	0.47

The young defenceman is still a work in progress, if only because he’s only played one full season with the other three being interrupted by major injuries. The young man has already had two shoulder surgeries and suffered another injury there shortly after getting traded to the Flyers in January. He is an exciting player to watch when he is on. A dynamic skating defenceman who loves to rush the puck up the ice and walk the tight rope along the blue line to create his chances. It hasn’t resulted in anything tangible just yet, but it’s hard to make a judgment on him right now with so much of his career spent rehabbing injuries. However, that also means he doesn’t have a lot of game reps. He has an unorthodox style of defending the rush where he prefers to attack the puck carrier from an angle rather than squaring up and it’s been somewhat of a detriment to his overall game. He’s not strong enough on his stick to disrupt rushes against NHL forwards and sometimes it takes real game reps to figure out what works at this level. With spots 3-6 being an open competition for the Flyers, Drysdale should get a chance to prove he can stick provided he stays healthy, which has been his problem more than anything else.

GOAL

Samuel Ersson

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
44	18	22	4	2	0.901	2.92

Ivan Fedotov

Fewer teams have been dealt worse hands in net than the Philadelphia Flyers. That’s why there’s a well-above-average level of hope being placed upon the shoulders of newcomer Ivan Fedotov; in the wake of former starter Carter Hart’s departure from the team, the Flyers have suffered from a gaping void of consistency in net for a team that desperately needs even league-average numbers.

Fedotov looked technically elite during his tenure in Russia, but a delayed arrival in North America - complete with a stint in detainment by the Russian government for alleged military evasion - left his North American debut looking a little lackluster this past spring. He’ll aim to regain his structure and positioning behind a Flyers lineup that has been scrambling to finally hit their stride again. It’s not exactly a pressure-free environment for the newcomer, and things might be even more strained for fellow tandem partner Samuel Ersson. Ersson’s surprise promotion to team starter last season went about as poorly as it could have; the Swedish netminder struggled to recover from bad bounces and seemed to lag on reads during cross-ice movement by his opponents, leaving exploitable holes and a fairly abysmal stat line to end the year. The good news is that things can only go up for him - but if they don’t, the Flyers might need to seek additional help outside the organization to shore up their crease moving forward.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – Looking at teams with something to play for as season comes to close

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 15 Apr 2024 14:30:02 +0000

Detroit Red Wings right wing Alex DeBrincat (93) (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Barring any postponements, the final day of the 2023-24 regular season with be Thursday. There are just 26 total games remaining before the playoffs get underway, so naturally there aren’t many teams to highlight for the final week. With that in mind, instead of picking out the teams with the most favorable schedules, I’m going to focus on the teams who have something left to play for this week. So, let’s dive into what the final days of the campaign will look like.

Please note that this week’s article is heavily skewed toward the Eastern Conference because there are still two playoff spots open while there isn’t much left to be decided in the West.

New York Islanders – MON VS NJD, WED VS PIT

The Islanders haven’t punched their playoff ticket, but they’re very likely to advance to the postseason. They have a 30-27-16 record, which is good for third in the Metropolitan Division.

They’ll play in New Jersey on Monday and host the Penguins on Wednesday. The Islanders can guarantee their playoff spot by picking up two points over those two contests. However, New York has a three-point advantage over the next closest non-playoff adversary, so there are scenarios where the Islanders can make the playoffs even if they go 0-2-0.

The Islanders’ task will be made more difficult if Noah Dobson remains out of the lineup. The defenseman has 10 goals and 70 points in 79 outings, but he missed Saturday’s 3-2 shootout loss to the Rangers due to an upper-body injury. Robert Bortuzzo dressed Saturday as a result of Dobson’s absence, but he’s not a replacement for the star blueliner -- Bortuzzo has no points through 25 appearances between St. Louis and the Islanders this season.

On the bright side for the Islanders, Brock Nelson is ending the campaign on a positive note. He scored twice Saturday to extend his point streak to three games. That gives the 32-year-old forward 32 markers and 65 points across 80 outings in 2023-24. He’ll almost certainly finish behind his 2022-23 mark of 75 points, but this is still the second-best campaign of his career in terms of total points.

If goal, Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin will likely split the final two contests. Assuming the Islanders make the playoffs, it will be interesting to see who starts in Game 1. It’ll probably be Sorokin, but Varlamov has earned consideration thanks to his 2.66 GAA and .916 save percentage in 27 games, which tops Sorokin’s 2.99 GAA and .909 save percentage. The Islanders have also used Varlamov quite a bit recently, deploying him in seven of their past 11 games.

Washington Capitals – MON VS BOS, TUE @ PHI (BTB)

The Capitals made things tough for themselves by going 0-4-2 from March 28-April 7, but Washington might still be able to salvage the situation after winning its last three contests. The Capitals have 87 points (38-31-11), which puts them in the second wild-card seed. Detroit and Philadelphia are tied with Washington in points, but the Capitals have the edge in the tiebreaker over the Red Wings and a game in hand compared to Philadelphia. Additionally, Pittsburgh is one point shy of those three squads. All that is to say, Washington’s hold on its playoff spot is by the narrowest of margins.

The Capitals will host the Bruins on Monday and play in Philadelphia on Tuesday to conclude the season. Washington will make the playoffs if it wins both games. If the Capitals lose against the Bruins, then Tuesday’s season finale becomes a must-win and even then, it’s possible for the Capitals to miss the playoffs in the scenario where they lose Monday but beat the Flyers.

Alexander Ovechkin has been a major driver of the Capitals’ playoff push, scoring 22 goals and 35 points over his past 34 outings. However, he has slowed a little recently, providing a goal and an assist across Washington’s past four appearances, so his hot run might be over. The 38-year-old star has had a season of extreme highs and lows, but he’s done well overall, contributing 30 goals and 64 points in 77 outings.

Interestingly, it was Sonny Milano who served as Washington’s hero Saturday, providing two goals en route to a 4-2 victory over Tampa Bay. He has just 15 markers and 23 points in 47 appearances this season, but the 27-year-old also had a hat trick versus Carolina on March 22 and a four-game goal-scoring streak from March 1-9, so he can on occasion be a major factor and perhaps that will hold true during Washington’s final stretch. Still, his limited playing time puts a damper on his potential. Milano logged just 10:08 of ice time Saturday and has averaged 12:34 this season.

A safer bet for production over Washington’s last two games would be offensive defenseman John Carlson. This has been a strong season for him with nine goals and 51 points across 80 contests, and looked solid recently, supplying four goals and 13 points over his past 15 appearances.

Detroit Red Wings – MON VS MTL, TUE @ MTL

The Red Wings suffered critical losses to Washington and Pittsburgh, but Detroit still has an opportunity to make the playoffs after earning a 5-4 overtime victory over Toronto on Saturday. Detroit is at 87 points (39-32-9), which puts the Red Wings in a tie with Washington for the second wild-card spot, though the Capitals control the tiebreaker, so Detroit would need to finish one point ahead of them to make the postseason. The Red Wings are narrowly ahead of Philadelphia, which has 87 points but has played in one more game than Detroit, and the Penguins, who have 86 points in 80 contests (37-31-12).

The Red Wings will finish the campaign with a home-and-away back-to-back against Montreal on Monday and Tuesday. The upside is the Canadiens are wrapping up a difficult season in which they’ve gone 30-36-14, so Detroit has a good chance of winning both contests. The downside is the Red Wings’ fate itself isn’t entirely in their hands -- Detroit can still miss the playoffs even if it wins both contests. Additionally, because Washington and Philadelphia will play each other and both teams would control the tiebreaker over Detroit, the Red Wings need to claim at least three out of four points over their final two games to have a mathematical chance of reaching the postseason.

Lucas Raymond is doing everything in his power to thrust the Red Wings into the postseason. The 22-year-old has contributed four goals and eight points over his active four-game scoring streak. His linemate Dylan Larkin has been right there with him, providing five goals and 10 points over his last seven outings. Look for that duo to continue to shine when Detroit faces Montreal.

Detroit’s bigger question is in goal. James Reimer started Saturday for the first time since March 28. The Red Wings got the win, but it was a mixed bag for the netminder, who stopped 32 of 36 shots. Meanwhile, Alex Lyon allowed six goals on 27 shots in a 6-5 overtime loss to the Penguins on Thursday and has been inconsistent recently while posting a 2-2-2 record, 2.83 GAA and .915 save percentage over his last six outings.

Ville Husso (lower body) suffered a setback while on an AHL conditioning stint, so he probably won’t be an option for the remainder of the campaign. That leaves Reimer and Lyon to split the final two starts. On the plus side, Montreal ranks 27th offensively with 2.80 goals per game, so the back-to-back set will be a favorable series for the Red Wings goaltenders.

Philadelphia Flyers – TUE VS WAS

The Flyers were primed to make the playoffs before their 0-5-2 run from March 24-April 9. Philadelphia has rebounded by winning its last two games, though, leaving them with a 38-32-11 record. Philadelphia’s 87 points are tied with Washington and Detroit for the second wild-card seed, but the Flyers have played one more contest than either of them. The Flyers have also played one more game than Pittsburgh, which is trailing the main group by a point with a 37-31-12 record.

The Flyers’ final tilt is against Washington on Tuesday. They need to win against the Capitals to have a chance to make the playoffs, but even with a victory in that contest, Philadelphia will still miss the postseason if Detroit gets at least three points over its final two games or Pittsburgh wins its last two contests. Additionally, if Washington wins against Boston on Monday and then pushes the Flyers to overtime, then the Capitals would still finish ahead in the standings even if Philadelphia wins the outing.

Samuel Ersson is perhaps the biggest X-Factor going into Philadelphia’s final contest. He had a terrible stretch from March 14-April 9, posting a 2-5-2 record, 4.51 GAA and .829 save percentage in 10 outings, but he’s rebounded by stopping 44 of 45 shots over the Flyers’ last two outings. The Capitals aren’t a great team offensively, ranking 28th with 2.65 goals per game, so it’s plausible that Ersson will be able to extend his hot streak.

The Flyers will also be looking for Travis Konecny to continue his recent success. The 27-year-old has two goals and an assist over his past two outings and has set career highs this season with 33 goals and 68 points across 75 appearances. Noah Cates has done well too, collecting three goals and five points over his last six contests. He still has just 18 points in 58 appearances, which is down from 38 points in 2022-23, but at least the 25-year-old seems to be dialed in when it matters most.

Pittsburgh Penguins – MON VS NSH, WED @ NYI

The Penguins seemed destined to miss the playoffs when they dealt Jake Guentzel to Carolina on March 7, but Pittsburgh forced itself back into the postseason conversation with a 7-0-2 stretch from March 26-April 11. However, the Penguins suffered a setback Saturday with a 6-4 loss to the Bruins.

Pittsburgh is now 37-31-12, putting the Penguins one point behind Washington, Detroit and Philadelphia in the battle for the second wild-card position. The Penguins will host Nashville on Monday and finish the campaign with a road contest against the Islanders on Wednesday. With Philadelphia and Washington set to play Tuesday, the Penguins need at least three of four points over their final two contests to have a mathematical shot, and even then, they’d need help from the tiebreaker system. Realistically, Pittsburgh will likely need to win both of its last two games to get into the postseason.

Sidney Crosby is sure to do his best to push the Penguins the rest of the way. He’s been a huge factor in their surge, supplying eight goals and 21 points over his past 11 outings. Crosby is up to 41 goals and 90 points in 80 appearances, which is extremely impressive production for a player who is 36 years old. Evgeni Malkin, who is 37, hasn’t been quite as effective this campaign with 25 goals and 64 points through 80 games, but he’s also gotten hot down the stretch with seven goals and 12 points over his past nine outings, so look for him to also show up on the scoresheet over the Penguins’ last two games.

The question is who will start in net. The Penguins have used Alex Nedeljkovic in each of their last 12 games, but he’s posted a 4.21 GAA and an .854 save percentage over his past four outings. To be fair, Tristan Jarry didn’t look good when he stepped into Saturday’s 6-4 loss to Boston in relief of Nedeljkovic -- Jarry stopped 12 of 14 shots in 26:27 of ice time -- but it might be that Nedeljkovic is running on fumes at this point, so maybe Jarry is still the better option, at least for Pittsburgh’s next contest Monday.

Dallas Stars – WED VS STL

The Stars have secured home-ice advantage through the Western Conference Championship, but Dallas can still go one further by claiming the Presidents’ Trophy. Dallas has 11 points (51-21-9), putting the Stars one point behind the Rangers (54-23-4). Carolina and Boston are tied at 109 points over 80 contests, so either team has an outside chance of winning the Presidents’ Trophy by winning each of its last two games.

Dallas’ final contest will be a home match versus St. Louis on Wednesday. Note that the Rangers control the tiebreaker over Dallas in the Presidents’ Trophy battle, so Dallas only has a chance to claim the title if it earns a victory over the Blues.

Even though the Stars still have something to play for, it wouldn’t be shocking if they rest some players Wednesday. For example, backup Scott Wedgewood might get the nod, both to keep him fresh in case he’s needed during the playoffs and to give Jake Oettinger a breather after starting in four straight and seven of Dallas’ past eight. The Blues rank 24th offensively with 2.86 goals per game, so Wednesday’s tilt would be a favorable matchup for Wedgewood.

Tyler Seguin, who didn’t play April 6 because of workload management related to his lower-body injury, might also get the game off. It wouldn’t be shocking if others were rested too, but I don’t think Ryan Suter and Joe Pavelski will be among those who get the game off. It might seem logical to give the two 39-years-olds a breather before the playoffs, but Suter and Pavelski have active iron man streaks of 452 and 313 games, respectively. Perhaps they’ll get less ice time than usual, though. We also might see Dallas give significant minutes in its finale to Logan Stankoven, who has six goals and 14 points in 23 contests, so don’t be surprised if the 21-year-old rookie has a productive game.

New York Rangers – MON @ OTT

With a 54-23-4 record, the Rangers will secure the Presidents’ Trophy with a victory against Ottawa on Monday. If New York loses the contest, the Rangers will still claim the title if Dallas loses its season finale, Boston is held to three of four points over its last two outings and Carolina is limited to two of four points over its final two games. The reason why the Bruins would need to do better than Carolina, even though both squads have 109 points through 80 contests, is because Boston is in a worse position when it comes to the tiebreaker.

Like Dallas, New York might rest players despite its final game having some relevance. Jonathan Quick will probably get the nod against the Senators. Quick has done well this campaign with an 18-6-2 record, but he has struggled recently, allowing 12 goals on 92 shots over his past three starts. Meanwhile, Ottawa has won eight of its last 12 contests, so while the Senators won’t be making the playoffs, they might still give Quick some trouble.

Outside of starting Quick, some of the Rangers’ top players, such as Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox might be scratched. Vincent Trocheck and Artemi Panarin have participated in 165 and 163 consecutive games, respectively, so both of them will probably be in the lineup. Panarin is also two goals away from hitting 50 for the first time in his career, so keep an eye out for that. Chris Kreider will also likely be in the lineup. He needs just one more goal to reach 40 and this would be his first 82-game campaign if he dresses.

Arizona Coyotes – WED VS EDM

I’m throwing the Coyotes in here even though they long since have been mathematically eliminated. Arizona did have a 23-19-3 record through Jan. 22, but a horrific 0-12-2 run from Jan. 24-Feb. 29 effectively ended any hope the Coyotes had of making the playoffs. Still, there is a grim reason to note them: When Arizona hosts Edmonton on Wednesday, it could very well be the franchise’s last game before moving to Salt Lake City (the move isn’t official as of the time of writing but seems all but certain).

To some extent, the Coyotes’ probable move felt inevitable. Since the then Phoenix Coyotes declared bankruptcy in May 2009, it’s been one saga after another with the team and never since that date, have they looked truly secure in their home in Arizona. The fact that the Coyotes have been playing in a college arena since 2022 has made the situation look particularly untenable unless a long-term solution was secured. Even still, this is a sad ending for the dedicated fanbase in Arizona. It might not be the end -- even now there’s talk that the NHL might put an expansion team in Arizona after the Coyotes move if Alex Meruelo, who will sell the Coyotes, can secure a new arena deal -- but it is the end of a chapter.

With that in mind, Wednesday’s otherwise meaningless game has taken on a new meaning. Barring one more twist in this saga that prevents the anticipated move from happening, the contest will stand as a chance for the players to say goodbye to a fanbase that has been with them through all the turmoil. I would expect the Coyotes to play with a lot of heart under the circumstances. In particular, I’m interested to see how Clayton Keller, who was drafted by Arizona in 2016 and now serves as the squad’s top forward, does. He has been held off the scoresheet for his past three games, but Keller has still contributed 33 goals and 73 points in 76 outings overall, and I think the odds are high he will make his presence felt in the finale.

Another player to watch will be Josh Doan. He’s the son of Shane Doan, who was the captain of the franchise from 2003-17 and remains the franchise’s career leader in games (1,540), goals (402), assists (570) and points (972), among other categories. The younger Doan has given Coyotes fans a taste of the future recently, scoring four goals and eight points over nine games. Given his deep family connection to this franchise, this might be an especially emotional goodbye for him. It is also worth noting the grim symmetry here. Like Josh, Shane Doan saw his franchise move, in his case from Winnipeg to Phoenix, after appearing in just one season.

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – Veterans Sean Monahan and Adam Henrique are boosting their potential trade value, Logan Couture returns to action, Olen Zellweger gets called up to Anaheim, the goalie carousel continues to turn, and much, much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 26 Jan 2024 20:46:13 +0000

MONTREAL, QC - JANUARY 15: Sean Monahan (91) of the Montreal Canadiens looks on during the second period of the NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Montreal Canadiens on January 15 2024, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, QC(Photo by Vincent Ethier/Icon Sportswire)

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

This week, veterans Sean Monahan and Adam Henrique are boosting their potential trade value, Logan Couture returns to action, Olen Zellweger gets called up to Anaheim, the goalie carousel continues to turn, and much, much more!

#1 After leading Montreal to victory, with two goals and an assist against the New York Islanders on Thursday, Habs centre Sean Monahan has produced 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in his past six games. A pending free agent, Monahan should be an attractive trade candidate if the Canadiens don’t sign him to a new deal before the deadline. Considering that he will be turning 30 early next season, it might make more sense for Montreal to bring in draft picks or prospects in exchange for Monahan, who is only increasing his value with his recent production.

#2 San Jose Sharks centre Logan Couture missed more than half of the season due to injury and has been thrust right back into a primary role with the Sharks. A player who is getting 19 minutes of ice time per game, including first unit power play time, is naturally very appealing for fantasy managers, but maybe pump the brakes a bit on Couture. In his first three games of the season, Couture has managed one assist and two shots on goal, which is understandable, given his layoff, but also does not indicate that urgency is required if you want to claim Couture on the waiver wire.

#3 When the Anaheim Ducks traded defenceman Jamie Drysdale to the Philadelphia Flyers to acquire prospect Cutter Gauthier, part of the reasoning for the Ducks was that they had quality young defencemen in their system. Enter Olen Zellweger, the Ducks’ second round pick in 2021, who had 25 points (8 G, 17 A) in 34 AHL games this season when he was called up by Anaheim. Zellweger is not being rushed into a big role with the Ducks, playing under 14 minutes in each of his first two games, but he is getting first unit power play time and has one assist with the man advantage. Long-term Zellweger could have significant fantasy appeal. Right now, he is a longshot play for those in deeper leagues.

#4 Ducks centre Adam Henrique is another veteran pivot who is on an expiring contract, making him a prime trade candidate. Henrique is heating up, too, contributing 11 points (5 G, 6 A) with 25 shots on goal in his past 10 games. That production is looking good already, but Henrique ought to spend the stretch run playing for a team with more talent than his current team in Anaheim, which should help Henrique maintain a quality level of production.

#5 Philadelphia Flyers right winger Cam Atkinson went more than two months without a goal, managing six assists in a 26-game span, but he has emerged from that lengthy slump. Atkinson has 10 points (5 G, 5 A) with 25 shots on goal in seven games since emerging from that scoring dry spell and once again looks like a viable fantasy performer.

#6 With Carter Hart taking a leave from the Flyers, rookie goaltender Samuel Ersson is going to see a much bigger role in the Philadelphia net. Ersson was lit up in his first three appearances of the season and then went on an 18-game run in which he posted a .930 save percentage. In his past three starts, Ersson has dipped again, recording a .841 save percentage in three straight losses. If he can snap out of it, Ersson has a chance to make a fantasy impact, depending on how long Hart will be absent from the Flyers.

#7 In December, Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender Ilya Samsonov suffered a crisis of confidence following a four-game stretch in which he had a .798 save percentage, allowing 21 goals on 104 shots. He was demoted to the American Hockey League and there was a portion of the Maple Leafs fan base that would have been happy to wipe their hands clean of him. However, with Joseph Woll injured and Martin Jones starting to wear down in the starter’s role, Samsonov has returned to the Maple Leafs lineup and has a .944 save percentage in three starts since rejoining the club. He is coming off a 32-save shutout against Winnipeg on Wednesday, the kind of performance that should alleviate any concerns about confidence for at least a little while.

#8 The Los Angeles Kings made a savvy move in the offseason when they signed goaltender David Rittich to be the No. 3 goalie in the organization. Once Pheonix Copley had his season ended by ACL surgery, the move looked even better. Rittich has appeared in eight games for the Kings and has a 4-1-2 record with a .930 save percentage. It is unlikely that he will maintain that level of play, but as long as he plays this well, Rittich is going to command more starts in the Los Angeles net. Fantasy managers that might be in deep leagues or just desperate for goaltending help might want to give Rittich a longer look.

#9 Veteran Washington Capitals right winger T.J. Oshie managed just one assist in his first 15 games this season. That is a troubling slump from a 37-year-old winger whose body might even feel a few years older than that because of Oshie’s rambunctious style of play throughout his career. However, Oshie has started to emerge from that funk. In his past 10 games, Oshie has put up nine points (7 G, 2 A) with 26 shots on goal. Four of those goals have come via the power play, where Oshie is still getting first unit time with the man advantage for Washington.

#10 St. Louis Blues centre Brayden Schenn endured a 16-game stretch from early December to early January in which he was held without a goal and managed a meagre two assists. In eight games since, Schenn has finally come alive, putting up eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 18 shots on goal. He is getting first unit power play time for the Blues and that has helped him escape that terrible slump.

#11 Returning to the league after a hiatus to sort out some personal issues that led to being released by the Chicago Blackhawks, right winger Corey Perry has signed with the Edmonton Oilers. The 38-year-old winger is a useful depth option who has thrived in a limited role with contenders in previous seasons before seeing an uptick of ice time in Chicago at the start of the season. In Edmonton, Perry is probably going to be in a depth role most of the time, and he has not scored more than half-a-point per game for a season since 2017-2018. That suggests that the real value for Perry when it comes to fantasy, is as something of a sleeper for the playoffs, because Perry has contributed 35 points (17 G, 18 A) in 78 games over the past four postseasons.

#12 Dallas Stars sophomore centre Wyatt Johnston had some trouble late in 2023, going through a 16-game stretch in which he failed to score a goal and added just five assists. The young forward has come out on the other side, however, putting up eight points (3 G, 5 A) with 19 shots on goal in his past eight games and he has moved up to join Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz on Dallas’ top line when they are playing five-on-five hockey.

#13 It may be too late to have an impact on the playoff race, but the Ottawa Senators are playing a more competitive brand of hockey, posting a 3-0-2 record in the past five games. The Sens are finally getting stronger down the middle of the ice. Josh Norris is healthy after missing some time and Shane Pinto has been activated since serving his gambling suspension. Pinto has two points (1 G, 1 A) and seven shots on goal in his first three games and played 19:40 in his third game of the season, Thursday against Boston.

#14 Last week, we focused on Chandler Stephenson with a bigger role down the middle of the ice for the Vegas Golden Knights in the aftermath of injuries to Jack Eichel and William Karlsson. The other Vegas centre who has seen his profile get a major boost is Nicolas Roy, the 26-year-old who has eight points (2 G, 6 A) in his past five games. Roy’s value may only last while Vegas is missing its top two centres, but short-term value is still more fantasy appeal than Roy has typically.

#15 It seems like Philadelphia Flyers centre Morgan Frost is often teetering on the edge of landing in John Tortorella’s doghouse, but Frost appears to have found the antidote, for now. If he is productive, that can keep Torts at bay, and in his past 11 games, Frost has accrued 11 points (2 G, 9 A) with 25 shots on goal. After scoring a career high 46 points (19 G, 27 A) in 81 games last season, Frost is scoring at a higher per-game rate this season, with 22 points (7 G, 15 A) in 38 games, good for 0.58 points per game.

#16 Detroit Red Wings right winger Lucas Raymond has continued to churn out points. He had a pair of assists in Thursday’s 3-0 win against Philadelphia, giving him 13 points (3 G, 10 A) in his past 13 games. He could be even more effective if he would shoot the puck more, but there is not much to complain about when the third year forward is scoring points (0.81 per game) at the highest rate of his career.

#17 Known for his defensive play and an ability to blend into the background in his firset three seasons in the league, Vancouver’s Pius Suter notched a hat trick against St. Louis on Wednesday, giving him 12 goals in 34 games. He has four goals and eight shots on goal in the past two games and is getting a look on the Canucks’ top power play unit. Given that he has never scored more than 36 points in a season, it is fair to wonder how long Suter’s offensive surge could last, but he is now among the players to consider adding in deep leagues.

#18 Boston Bruins centre Trent Frederic has emerged as an offensive contributor over the past month. Since December 31, Frederic has tallied 13 points (7 G, 6 A) with 26 shots on goal in 14 games. That shooting percentage is not going to last over the long haul, but Frederic is proving that he is more than just a banger who will drop the gloves if need be. As the 25-year-old is up to 28 points (14 G, 14 A) in 48 games, he is raising the bar for what might be expected of him for the rest of this season and beyond.

#19 While consistency remains a battle for New Jersey Devils right winger Alexander Holtz, the skilled forward has started 2024 off right, producing eight points (4 G, 4 A) with 24 shots on goal in 11 games since the calendar turned to January. His ice time is a concern, as Holtz played just 10:14 at Carolina on Thursday, but continued production does tend to have a way of bringing more ice time into the equation.

#20 When the Los Angeles Kings acquired Pierre-Luc Dubois from the Winnipeg Jets last summer, it was expected that the 25-year-old pivot would join Anze Kopitar and Phillip Danault down the middle of the ice to give the Kings strength at centre. With Dubois putting up just 12 points (6 G, 6 A) with 60 shots on goal in his past 32 games, frustration is starting to set in among coaches and even Kings players. Dubois has been moved down the depth chart and is centering young wingers Alex Laferriere and Jaret Anderson-Dolan, who will presumably put in maximum effort, even if their results are not necessarily the strongest. Under these circumstances it would be entirely reasonable for fantasy managers to drop Dubois, at least in shallower leagues where it would be easy enough to find a better replacement on the waiver wire.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Vilardi proving early returns for Jets – Nichushkin doing heavy lifting – Vets picking up pace in Anaheim – Youngs guns firing in Columbus plus much, much more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 22 Dec 2023 22:57:00 +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 dive into the numbers to help make decisions when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

This week, the Jets must like the early returns from Gabriel Vilardi, Valeri Nichushkin is doing some heavy lifting in Colorado, veteran forwards are picking up the pace in Anaheim, young guns are starting to fire in Columbus, and the Flames are finding some top line chemistry.

#1 Right winger Gabriel Vilardi was injured in his third game with the Winnipeg Jets and missed nearly six weeks with a sprained knee. He has fully recovered now, it appears, as Vilardi has put up 10 points (5 G, 5 A) and 15 shots on goal in the past four games. With Kyle Connor out, Vilardi has joined Winnipeg’s top line, alongside Nikolaj Ehlers and Mark Scheifele, and that is working out just fine. Vilardi has 13 points (6 G, 7 A) in 13 games this season, putting him ahead of Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has 12 points (5 G, 7 A) in 29 games for the Kings after Vilardi, Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and a second-round pick were sent to Winnipeg in exchange for Dubois.

#2 The Colorado Avalanche have decided that they are going to lean on winger Valeri Nichushkin, and he is thriving under the heavy workload. He is riding a six-game point streak, during which he has 11 points (5 G, 6 A) and 25 shots on goal, while averaging an astonishing 25:44 of ice time per game. Obviously, skating on a line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is a great situation for anyone to contribute offensively, but Nichushkin is a strong two-way player in his own right and is an excellent complement to Colorado’s elite offensive talent.

#3 With injuries down the middle of the ice, the Anaheim Ducks have turned to Adam Henrique and the veteran forward has been thriving in his role, skating on a line with Frank Vatrano and Ryan Strome. Henrique has not only scored seven points (6 G, 1 A) in the past six games, but he has taken 121 face-offs, winning 70 (57.9%). A 33-year-old with an expiring contract, Henrique figures to be popular leading up to the trade deadline as a proven goal-scorer who has scored at least 20 goals in six different seasons.

#4 Another veteran providing offensive production in Anaheim is Alex Killorn, the 34-year-old who was signed as a free agent in the summer after a long stay in Tampa Bay to start his career. Killorn was injured at the start of the season and struggled in his first action, managing zero goals and three assists in his first nine games with the Ducks. Since then, he has contributed nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 40 shots on goal in his past 13 games, having success alongside rookie Leo Carlsson and veteran Troy Terry. Carlsson left Thursday’s loss to Calgary with an apparent lower-body injury, which could cause further upheaval among Anaheim’s forward group.

#5 Acquired by the Flames from the Devils in the summer deal that sent Tyler Toffoli to New Jersey, Yegor Sharangovich took some time to heat up with Calgary. Sharangovich fits well alongside linemates Elias Lindholm and Andrew Mangiapane. In the past eight games, Sharangovich has tallied nine points (6 G, 3 A) and is averaging 19:51 of ice time per game. He has logged more than 20 minutes in seven of his past 12 contests.

#6 Demoted to the American Hockey League at the start of the season, 21-year-old winger Kent Johnson is showing the Columbus Blue Jackets that he belongs on the big club. In his past seven games, Johnson has accumulated eight points (3 G, 5 A) despite only registering nine shots on goal. He is skating on a line with Cole Sillinger and Emil Bemstrom and Johnson is getting opportunities on Columbus’ second power play unit.

#7 Staying in Columbus, 23-year-old Kirill Marchenko continues to boost his credentials as a finisher. Marchenko has seven points (5 G, 2 A) with 15 shots on goal in his past six games. Since the start of last season, Marchenko has recorded 34 goals and 12 assists, giving him 2.83 goals per assist, which is by far the highest rate among players that have recorded at least 30 goals in that time frame.

#8 With Barrett Hayton injured, opportunity has knocked for Arizona Coyotes centre Alexander Kerfoot, who has moved up the depth chart to skate between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz on Arizona’s top line. Kerfoot has produced 14 points (2 G, 12 A) while averaging 19:56 time on ice in his past 12 games and even for a reluctant shooter like Kerfoot, those numbers are strong enough to draw the interest of fantasy managers.

#9 One of the most snakebit players in the league at the start of the season, Montreal Canadiens right winger Josh Anderson had zero goals and two assists through 23 games. Since then, though, Anderson is heating up, putting up seven points (4 G, 3 A) and 27 shots on goal in his past nine games. On a Habs team that is thin up front, Anderson is skating with Sean Monahan and Jake Evans at evens while also taking a turn with Montreal’s second power play unit.

#10 Veteran centre Matt Duchene is enjoying a strong season in Dallas, his first season with the Stars. Centering a line with Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin on his wings, Duchene has produced 12 points (5 G, 7 A) with 22 shots on goal in his past eight games. For a Stars team that can lean so heavily on its top line, getting this kind of secondary production out of Duchene is what keeps them at the top of the Central Division.

#11 Goaltending has been a major problem for the Carolina Hurricanes this season. Starter Frederik Andersen has been injured since early November and Antti Raanta was just demoted to the American Hockey League, leaving Pyotr Kochetkov as the best option between the pipes for the Hurricanes. Since getting called up after Andersen’s injury, Kochetkov does have a .913 save percentage in 14 games. For a Hurricanes team that can still control play consistently, above average goaltending can easily bring fantasy value.

#12 Through 17 games this season, Dallas Stars defenceman Thomas Harley had a modest five points (3 G, 2 A) and 22 shots on goal while playing 17:29 per game. In 10 games since then, Harley has 10 points (6 G, 4 A) and 21 shots on goal while averaging 19:00 of ice time per game. The 22-year-old has scored on 20.9 percent of his shots, which obviously can’t continue, but increased ice time and increased shot rates can surely lead to sustainable offensive production.

#13 It has not been easy for Maple Leafs defenceman Conor Timmins, who has battled injuries throughout his career, but injuries to others in Toronto opened the door for the 25-year-old blueliner to get some regular playing time and he is making the most of it. Timmins has produced five points (1 G, 4 A) with 10 shots on goal in his past seven games. He quarterbacks the second power play unit and has generally been quite effective in his limited role. Timmins has value for those in deep leagues and is well worth watching because if he could just stay healthy for an extended period, that would be a notable development.

#14 A second-round pick by the Seattle Kraken in 2021, defenceman Ryker Evans has stepped into the Seattle lineup and looks NHL ready. He just turned 22 -years-old and has four assists in his past four games, playing more than 18 minutes in each of those four contests. Evans had 44 points (6 G, 38 A) in 71 games as an AHL rookie for Coachella Valley last season, then added 26 points (5 G, 21 A) in 26 playoff games. He started this season with eight points (2 G, 6 A) in 18 games and it was enough to earn his promotion to the big club. There is a caveat with Evans, though. He did not play in Wednesday’s win over Los Angeles and, as well as he has played, he is still competing to earn a regular spot on the Seattle blueline.

#15 Veteran St. Louis Blues defenceman Justin Faulk is not scoring like he did last season when he tallied a career high 50 points (11 G, 39 A), but he is starting to launch shots on goal at an impressive clip. While Faulk has four points (1 G, 3 A) in his past eight games, he has also put 30 shots on goal and averaging nearly four shots on goal per game is a terrific way for a defenceman to generate offensive production. Faulk’s career-high average for shots on goal per game is 3.00, set in 2016-2017 when he was with the Carolina Hurricanes.

#16 At the start of the season, as the Edmonton Oilers struggled to get on track, it sure looked like defenceman Mattias Ekholm was still battling an injury that had kept him out of action in the preseason. The veteran blueliner has steadily improved, though. In his past 21 games, Ekholm has 12 points (4 G, 8 A) and 56 shots on goal. Last season, after he was acquired from Nashville, Ekholm contributed 14 points (4 G, 10 A) and 36 shots on goal in 21 games. He has 14 shots on goal in his past three games and 19 hits in his past five games, so he has picked up the pace and as the Oilers appear to be moving in the right direction, Ekholm’s production should be enough for fantasy managers to take notice.

#17 The key for Philadelphia Flyers winger Owen Tippett is to keep generating shots. When he is putting himself in position to fire on net Tippett tends to be effective, and the goals follow. He broke through last season with a career-high 27 goals and 49 points and that has raised expectations for him this season. Although he is playing less this season, Tippett is continuing to produce. In his past six games, he has five points (3 G, 2 A) with 25 shots on goal, landing six shots on goal in each of his two most recent games. That gives him 20 points (11 G, 9 A) in 32 games and his increasing shot rate is reason to expect that the production should continue.

#18 Also in Philadelphia, goaltender Samuel Ersson has recovered from a spectacularly terrible start to the season when he allowed 14 goals on 59 shots (.763 save percentage!) in his first three appearances. Since then, the 24-year-old netminder has been more than steady, posting a 8-2-1 record and .926 save percentage in 11 starts. That is the kind of play that will give Ersson a bigger role in the Flyers crease.

#19 The Vegas Golden Knights had five different goaltenders last season, on the way to winning the Stanley Cup, so they are probably not too fazed by recent injuries to Adin Hill and Logan Thompson. Enter 24-year-old Czech netminder Jiri Patera, a sixth-round pick of the Golden Knights in 2017. Patera played one season in the USHL and two in the WHL before toiling in the minors. He has a .907 save percentage in 74 career AHL games, which does not scream NHL ready, but it’s not terrible, and he has a .909 save percentage in five career NHL appearances. If he is going to get starts behind a quality team, though, Patera might offer some short-term value for fantasy managers.

#20 What can the Toronto Maple Leafs do in goal? Ilya Samsonov and Martin Jones are struggling, and Joseph Woll is hurt. It might be too soon, but would they consider giving Dennis Hildeby a shot? The 22-year-old was a fourth-round pick of the Maple Leafs in 2022 and had a .918 save percentage in 21 games for Farjestads in the Swedish Hockey League last season. He has a .927 save percentage in a dozen AHL games for the Toronto Marlies this season and the way things are going for the Leafs with Woll injured, they might need to consider other options in net. At the very least, Hildeby should be monitored for those in dynasty leagues because the 6-foot-7 netminder has shown promise.

CULLEN: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Karlsson continues to shine in Vegas – Vatrano raising his game in Anaheim – Byfield picking up the pace in LA, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 03 Nov 2023 13:42:42 +0000

20 FANTASY POINTS

Los Angeles Kings Quinton Byfield (55) l(Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dive into the numbers to help make better fantasy hockey decisions.

This week, Willam Karlsson continues to shine in Vegas, Frank Vatrano is raising his game in Anaheim, Quinton Byfield is picking up the pace in Los Angeles, and much more!

#1 William Karlsson was a standout on Vegas’ run to the Stanley Cup last season, scoring 11 goals in 22 playoff games, and he has continued to play at a high level early in the 2023-2024 season, putting up 13 points (4 G, 9 A) in his past 10 games. Karlsson does so much of his damage at even strength, with 10 of his 13 points this season coming at evens, and his most common linemates have been rookie winger Pavel Dorofeyev and Michael Amadio, so Karlsson is the one driving those results.

#2 Anaheim Ducks winger Frank Vatrano delivered 22 goals and a career-high 41 points last season, his first in Southern California, but has stepped into a bigger role this season. Vatrano’s ice time is up nearly two minutes per game compared to last season and he has scored nine goals while launching 35 shots on goal in 10 games. Vatrano has always been a quality shot generator, but often in a limited role. Now that he is playing more than 18 minutes per game, his per-game shot rate is soaring.

#3 Progress has been gradual for Quinton Byfield, the Kings winger who was the second overall pick in the 2020 Draft who had a modest career high of 22 points (3 G, 19 A) in 53 games last season. Byfield has suddenly picked up six points (1 G, 5 A) in his past five games and with a continued role on the Kings’ top line, alongside Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe, Byfield is getting the opportunity to develop his offensive game.

#4 Coming into the season, there were relatively high expectations for Pavel Zacha, the Boston Bruins centre who appeared to be due for a bigger role with Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci retiring. He had just one assist in five games but has rebounded from that slow start, contributing six points (4 G, 2 A) with 14 shots on goal during a five-game point streak. David Pastrnak has been Zacha’s most common linemate, and that is obviously a good sign, but Zacha has also shifted to left wing, with rookie Matthew Poitras getting a look on Boston’s top line.

#5 Buffalo Sabres defenceman Owen Power, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 Draft, is starting to find his range offensively, riding a four-game point streak, during which he has produced four points (1 G, 3 A) and seven shots on goal. Power’s upside for fantasy managers runs into a ceiling because Rasmus Dahlin is the quarterback on Buffalo’s top power play unit and that doesn’t figure to change anytime soon, but Power has the offensive skills to be productive even as the No. 2 option on the Buffalo blueline.

#6 Veteran New York Islanders winger Kyle Palmieri has been a serviceable secondary scorer since he was acquired from the New Jersey Devils, but has taken on a bigger role this season, tallying eight points (3 G, 5 A) in his first nine games. He is skating with Pierre Engvall and Brock Nelson on the Islanders’ second line, but Palmieri does get first unit power play time, so there is an opportunity for him to hit 40 points for the first time since 2019-2020.

#7 Following a standout rookie season in which he tallied 24 goals, Dallas Stars centre Wyatt Johnston has continued his upward trajectory. In his past six games, Johnston has produced six points (3 G, 3 A) with a dozen shots on goal as Johnston maintains his familiar spot between Jamie Benn and Evgenii Dadonov.

#8 Seattle Kraken right winger Oliver Bjorkstrand got off to such a slow start last season, managing 14 points (3 G, 11 A) in his first 31 games and while his production got better, he was really chasing after such a poor start. The good news for Bjorkstrand and the Kraken is that it does not appear to be happening this season. With his goal Thursday night against Nashville, Bjorkstrand has eight points (3 G, 5 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past seven games. After recording 10 power play points last season, Bjorkstrand already has four power play points this season.

#9 After missing all of last season while he recovered from neck and triceps injuries, Flyers right winger Cam Atkinson has already shown that he has not forgotten how to finish. In his past seven games, Atkinson has tallied eight points (5 G, 3 A) with 21 shots on goal. Getting that kind of production from a 34-year-old who just missed an entire season certainly helps lift the Flyers to a more competitive place and he has moved to play alongside Sean Couturier, the veteran centre who also missed all of last season. While the playoffs might still be a longshot, having Atkinson and Couturier healthy does change that calculation somewhat.

#10 Seattle Kraken left winger Jaden Schwartz has had an interesting career, with quality production mixed in with some injury-plagued seasons. He is off to a fine start this year, and has put up seven points (2 G, 5 A) with 19 shots on goal during a five-game point streak. Schwartz is skating on a line with Alexander Wennberg and Jordan Eberle, but has been a power play threat, with four of his nine points this season coming with the man advantage.

#11 New York Rangers star defenseman Adam Fox suffered an apparent leg injury Thursday after a leg-on-leg hit from Carolina Hurricanes centre Sebastian Aho. A Fox injury would leave a large hole on the Rangers blueline. He has 11 points (3 G, 8 A) in 10 games this season and has finished in the top five in Norris Trophy voting in each of the past three seasons, winning in 2020-2021. If Fox is going to be out of the lineup, Erik Gustafsson would be a logical replacement as the power play quarterback but K’Andre Miller might also be an option for more power play time, too.

#12 For managers in deep or banger leagues, Arizona Coyotes centre Jack McBain is producing enough to generate interest. In his second season, McBain has six points (4 G, 2 A) in the past five games, but that is also not likely to be sustainable since he is a fourth liner playing about 12 minutes per game. Nevertheless, McBain’s fantasy appeal is tied to his physical play as he had 304 hits last season and has 28 hits through 10 games this season. If he gets his offensive production to even passable levels, there is a path to fantasy value.

#13 It appears that the Winnipeg Jets have found something in their physical third line of Nino Niederreiter, Adam Lowry, and Mason Appleton. Appleton has five points (2 G, 3 A) in the past five games and the trio has controlled 62.7% of five-on-five shot attempts and 60.3% of expected goals this season. There may be an offensive ceiling for these players but dominating five-on-five play to this degree at least indicates that they will be getting scoring chances.

#14 There are a couple of rookie defencemen forcing their way into the fantasy conversation. New Jersey’s Luke Hughes has six assists and 12 shots on goal in the past four games, and four of those assists have come on the power play as Hughes is getting a look on the Devils’ top power play unit, with Dougie Hamilton sliding to the second unit. Across the country, in Anaheim, Ducks defenceman Pavel Mintyukov has five assists in the past five games and while he is getting a chance on the Ducks’ No. 1 power play unit, Mintyukov has just one power play point this season.

#15 The Philadelphia Flyers lost goaltender Carter Hart to a “mid-body” injury this week and it seems that they will be without him for a while. Samuel Ersson is next in line and the Flyers have recalled Cal Petersen from the American Hockey League, but none of this precludes Felix Sandstrom from potentially seeing action in the Flyers net as well. Ersson has had an incredibly poor start to the season, allowing 14 goals on 59 shots (a .763 save percentage!), while Petersen has a .884 save percentage in four AHL games this season. Although the goaltending could be a major question mark, the Flyers deserve credit for playing a stronger team game this season as they have earned 54.8% of score-and-venue-adjusted expected goals during five-on-five play, which puts them in the top ten in that category.

#16 Ottawa Senators rookie centre Ridly Greig was hurt early in Thursday’s defeat against the Los Angeles Kings and that is going to test the Senators for the time that Greig is out. With Shane Pinto suspended, Greig was an important part of the lineup, contributing seven points (2 G, 5 A) in eight games prior to Thursday as Ottawa’s third line centre. As a short-term fix, Rourke Chartier could move up the depth chart, but the journeyman pivot has two points (1 G, 1 A) in 28 career games, so he may not be a viable answer if Greig is going to miss significant time.

#17 Alexander Barabanov is out 4-6 weeks with a broken finger and that creates an opening on San Jose’s top line alongside Tomas Hertl and Anthony Duclair. San Jose is hardly the source for great fantasy production, as the Sharks are getting buried on a nightly basis, but in deep leagues keep tabs on Fabian Zetterlund, who is getting that chance and is averaging nearly 16 minutes per game over the past five.

#18 While it was understood that veteran right winger Blake Wheeler had seen his better days, the 37-year-old still had 55 points (16 G, 39 A) in 72 games for the Winnipeg Jets last season. He has started a new phase with the New York Rangers in the worst way, going without a point in his first 10 games, and he is playing just 12 minutes per game, his lowest time on ice average of his career. Without a role on the Blueshirts’ power play, Wheeler is going to be hard-pressed to get his production back to fantasy relevant levels unless there is a dramatic shift in the situation.

#19 After a strong finish to last season, when he was between Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz on Arizona’s top line, Barrett Hayton was in a good spot to continue his career ascent. He is still centering that top line, and getting power play time, but has yet to record a point through 10 games this season. Hayton has 25 shots on goal and is playing a career-high 19:31 per game, so he might be a decent buy-low candidate, but his value has taken an unexpected hit due to his lack of production.

#20 Ongoing health issues have forced Washington Capitals centre Nicklas Backstrom to step away from the game and while his announcement did not have a final decision, it appears that the 35-year-old could be headed for retirement. An elite player from 2007-2008 through 2020-2021, Backstrom has been hampered by hip issues and it has been a tough road coming back. Since returning last season, Backstrom has 22 points (7 G, 15 A) in 47 games and the Capitals have been outscored 31-16 with him on the ice during five-on-five play. He just isn’t the same player who was nearly a point-per-game scorer in his first 1,000 games in the league and, at his peak, was in the Selke Trophy discussion. With Backstrom out, that does provide more opportunity for Dylan Strome, whose ice time has been climbing and has six goals in his past six games.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – PHILADELPHIA FLYERS – Top 20 Prospect Profiles – Organizational Rank #10

Brock Otten, Derek Neumeier, Chapin Landvogt and Josh Bell — Sun, 08 Oct 2023 14:13:14 +0000

Top 20 Philadelphia Flyers Prospects

1. Matvei Michkov

Move over Austin Powers, Matvei Michkov is the new International Man of Mystery. On talent alone, Michkov deserved to be selected inside the top five of this year’s draft. He had been hyped just as long as Bedard for the top of the 2023 class. However, the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, and the corresponding ban on Russia from the IIHF threw a huge wrench into that narrative. His contract situation in the KHL (another three seasons, at minimum) further complicate things. However, the Flyers decided that the risk was worth the reward. An elite offensive player, Michkov is one of the most creative and gifted young players outside of the NHL. Over the next three years in the KHL, the Flyers will be looking for improved consistency away from the puck, improved utilization of his teammates, and improvements made to his explosiveness as a skater. All signs would point to Philadelphia receiving an immediate impact player once he arrives, rewarding their patience, just as the Wild were rewarded with Kirill Kaprizov.

2. Cutter Gauthier

One of the more recent additions to the Philadelphia organization, Gauthier was selected fifth overall in 2022 out of the USNTDP. He was a standout player for the program, including a strong performance at the U18s. Post-draft, he has continued that success, helping Team USA to a bronze medal at the World Juniors and contributing over one point per game as a freshman with NCAA Boston College. He plays a fearless game, driving the net, jumping into puck battles, and playing so with speed. He's a high-volume shooter who could pick his shots better, but you have to appreciate the confidence. He plays in a style that should allow him to seamlessly adjust to the NHL. He has already confirmed that he will stick in Boston for his sophomore season, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s wearing the orange, black, and white.

3. Tyson Foerster

Selected 23rd overall in the 2020 Draft, Foerster has had some issues with a nagging shoulder injury but has always been able to find his game. He spent the pandemic with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, easily transitioning to the higher level. He spent more time in the OHL in 2021-22 but returned to the AHL last season, even seeing time in the NHL. In fact, he almost looked better in the NHL than he had at any other level. Foerster has one of the best shots not in the NHL and does extremely well at creating offense, both for himself and his teammates. He plays hard and shows promising attention to the defensive side of the puck as well. His skating was a worry in his draft year but has steadily improved since then. He looks NHL-ready and likely makes the jump in 2023-24 as a middle-six producer.

4. Bobby Brink

The Flyers have been patient with Brink, which has proven to be the correct path. He was selected 34th overall in 2019 from the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, where he had been named USHL Forward of the Year. Following the draft, he made the jump to the NCAA with the University of Denver, transitioning seamlessly with a strong rookie season, and was named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team. After a down sophomore campaign, Brink exploded in 2021-22, leading the entire NCAA in points (57) and was named the NCHC Forward and Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. He moved up to the AHL last season, continuing his upward development slope. He’s a very strong skater , who does well at getting off the wall and into the middle of the ice. He’s not far off from a middle-six role in the NHL.

5. Oliver Bonk

Bonk, the son of former Ottawa Senator standout Radek, has a game predicated on his strong positioning, anticipation, and awareness. One would probably expect nothing less from someone who grew up around the game. One of the smartest defenders available in the 2023 draft, he is a disruptive force in the defensive end. Additionally, what makes Bonk such a defensive asset is his ability to kickstart the transition game. As mentioned, his IQ is the strongest component of his game, and this is evident when he has the puck on his stick in the defensive zone. From an offensive perspective, there may be some limitations to his game. He is not a dynamic skater, either in terms of his linear quickness or his agility. He will jump up in the play and he does a great job of getting pucks through to the net, both skills based off his high intelligence level. However, he is not incredibly creative, and that lack of quickness hurts him as a carrier. There is a fairly safe road to Bonk becoming a dependable, longtime second pairing defender at the NHL level. The London Knight’s track record at developing blueliners is another factor in his favor.

6. Emil Andrae

One of the most exciting defensive prospects out there, Andrae is the picture of the modern defender. He thrives jumping up into the rush and leading the transition, using his light footwork to navigate through the opposition. Drafted 54th overall in 2020, he joined SHL HV71 during a rough season which saw the team relegated. He followed with an excellent season in the HockeyAllsvenskan, helping the team jump right back to the SHL and earning the Best Junior award, leading all rookies in points. He also starred on the Swedish WJC team, leading all defenders in goals and being named to the tournament All-Star Team. He’s a strong playmaker with excellent vision and has been improving his decision-making over the past few seasons. His size may be a concern, but he has the skill of a top four defender. He made the jump to North America at the end of last season and will look to build off a strong, yet brief cameo.

7. Helge Grans

Grans still has a lot of work left to do before he'll be ready to hack it at the NHL level. His play thus far in the AHL hasn't lived up to expectations, but the long-term upside that he possesses is undeniable. He checks off a lot of boxes that you want to see in a defenseman: athleticism, size, reach, mobility, and puck movement. Heck, he even shoots right-handed. Unfortunately, he still struggles to blend all these tools together. There are fair questions about his hockey sense and processing speed, and for a blueliner with his profile, you'd like to see more sandpaper and a stronger willingness to work hard to win positioning and pucks. Grans could be the type of prospect who blows up in his mid 20s, or he might never become much more than he is right now.

8. Carson Bjarnason

It was a tale of two seasons for Bjarnson in 2022-23, with a storybook start to his campaign but then a horror finish, as injuries derailed him during the back end of the regular season and again at the IIHF U18s. The good news for him now is that his long-term projection is still very promising. He is an impeccably well-rounded netminder, with plenty of natural net coverage, stoic mental composure, refined technique and stance, and clean movements in his crease. When he is at the top of his game, he can single-handedly steal wins for his team while making it look easy and routine. He has the right combination of traits to eventually become an NHL number one, and he'll get two more years’ worth of reps as a starter in the WHL to help prepare himself, while gaining valuable and transferable experience in that kind of role. Like almost all teenage goalies, he is still very much a project, with consistency concerns and the need to cut down on the number of weak goals he allows, but his foundation is solid.

9. Elliott Desnoyers

A later round pick selected 135th overall in 2020, Desnoyers moved to the Halifax Mooseheads from the Moncton Wildcats in 2020-21, suiting up as an alternate captain. He took a big step forward on the ice while also taking on more of a leadership role in 2021-22, wearing the ‘C’. He made the jump to the Phantoms last season and continued to show improvement as one of the more productive players on the team. He seems able to be plugged in anywhere in the lineup and succeed, playing a hard-fought game with an underrated amount of skill. Desnoyers plays a smart game, rarely making a mistake. He’s well on his way to becoming a solid bottom six contributor who could move up in the lineup in the appropriate situation. It is already safe to call him a draft success considering where he was selected and how he has since progressed.

10. Ronnie Attard

One of the older prospects not yet in the NHL, it’s been a long road for Attard. However, it seems like that road and the patience of Flyers’ brass with him has paid off. Selected 72nd overall in 2019 after a huge season with the USHL Tri-City Storm where he was named USHL Player and Defenseman of the Year, as well as USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year. He then jumped to the NCAA’s Western Michigan University where the success continued, being named a two-time NCHC Best Offensive Defenseman within his three years there. Last season, he continued his rise, joining the Phantoms and fitting right in. He’s an aggressive, offensive defender that performs very well in transition. He has all the tools to be a reliable bottom-four defender at the next level and isn’t far off from making it.

11. Egor Zamula

This is a huge year for Zamula as he is no longer exempt from waivers. The puck moving defender has a real solid shot of finally becoming a permanent fixture on the Flyers’ blueline this season, but his defensive game still needs to show growth.

12. Ethan Samson

A two-way defender out of the WHL, Samson has developed incredibly well since being drafted. He holds the offensive blueline extremely well and makes opposing players earn touches in the defensive end. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to the pro level this year.

13. Alexei Kolosov

An outstanding athlete, Kolosov was already a starter in the KHL as a 21-year-old last year, playing for hometown Minsk. He could move up the prospect rankings pretty quickly if he plays well with Lehigh Valley this year.

14. Alexis Gendron

Among the Q’s leading goal scorers last year, Gendron is deadly in open space. His speed can be deadly, but there are still concerns about his lack of size. He is likely returning to the Q for an overage year and is a contender to lead the league in scoring.

15. Olle Lycksell

While the Flyers’ depth chart looks pretty crowded right now, Lycksell has to be one of the favourites to be called up in a case of a long-term injury. He is a very creative playmaker and he was great after finally crossing the pond to play in the AHL last year.

16. Devin Kaplan

Kaplan plays such a mature, pro ready game already as a young prospect. He had a solid freshman year at Boston University, but there is a need for him to continue to become a more dynamic skater. Kaplan is a potentially elite bottom six player and penalty killer.

17. Samuel Ersson

Thrust into NHL action last year, Ersson held his own and managed to win six games for the Flyers as a rookie. The soon to be 24-year-old finds himself as part of a crowded crease, but he has NHL upside.

18. Denver Barkey

A tenacious worker, Barkey does so many things well and that’s why the Flyers used a third-round selection on him this year. He is a serious 2023-24 breakout candidate with the London Knights.

19. Samu Tuomaala

After a disastrous 2021-22 season, Tuomaala appears to have gotten himself back on track with a strong season in the Finnish second league. He still has the speed. He still has the big shot. But there are still questions about his hockey sense.

20. Zayde Wisdom

Possibly still feeling the after-effects of a wonky shoulder, Wisdom’s development has stalled in a big way. He was so good in that Covid shortened AHL season and he has yet to come close to matching that. Let’s see if he can get back on track this year as an AHL regular.

MCKEEN’S 2023 NHL PROSPECT REPORT – #14 Philadelphia Flyers

Josh Bell — Sun, 21 May 2023 12:53:44 +0000

The Cliff Fletcher era (since 2018) ended following another difficult season, with the GM stubbornly insisting the Flyers were close to contending and resisting any retooling. Even coach John Tortorella surprisingly called for a rebuild mid-season. Now, the franchise will be given the chance with newly named President of Hockey Operations Keith Jones, and new GM Danny Briere. The early signaling suggests they will be looking at investing in prospects for the next few years, and offseason talk has turned to who will move to attain future assets. Briere has a reputation for embracing analytics, and how that affects decision-making remains to be seen with Jones being more traditional in approach.

Philadelphia owns nine picks in the upcoming draft and four first rounders over the next three years. Look for them to add to that stockpile significantly in the coming months. They have the seventh overall pick in this year’s draft, which should net a quality prospect in a deep draft. They added Cutter Gauthier fifth overall last year. A confident player, who plays a fearless game, seems to fit the classic Flyers identity. He should be in the line-up very soon. They also have two NHL-ready prospects in Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink, so a youth injection next season seems inevitable. This should be a very transformed roster in a year’s time, with no veteran untouchables, with the possible exception of goalie Carter Hart. How deep the new regime will want to go remains to be seen. Whether to the foundations like Chicago, or something more in the middle. Stay tuned.

Cutter Gauthier of USA celebrates during the friendly under-20 ice hockey game between Sweden and USA on December 21, 2022 in Moncton.
Photo: Simon Hastegård / BILDBYRÅN

Cutter Gauthier

One of the more recent additions to the Philadelphia Flyers, Cutter Gauthier was selected fifth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft from the USNTDP. He was a standout player in the program, including a strong performance at the Under-18s. Post-draft, he’s continued that success forward, helping Team USA to a bronze medal at the World Juniors and playing over a point per game as a freshman with Boston College in the NCAA. He plays a fearless game, driving the net, jumping into puck battles, and he does so with speed. He's a high-volume shooter that could pick his shots better, but you have to appreciate the confidence. He plays a game that seems like it will adjust to the NHL seamlessly. He’s already confirmed that he’s sticking in Boston for his sophomore season, but it shouldn’t be long before he’s wearing the orange, black, and white.

2. Bobby Brink

The Flyers have been patient with Bobby Brink, and that’s proven to be the correct path. Selected 34th overall in the 2019 NHL Draft from the USHL’s Sioux City Musketeers, where he was named USHL Forward of the Year. Following the draft, he made the jump to the NCAA and the University of Denver, fitting right in with a strong rookie season, and was named to the NCHC All-Rookie Team. He continued that for another season and then exploded in 2021-22, leading the entire NCAA in points (57) and was named the NCHC Forward and Player of the Year and was a finalist for the Hobey Baker Award. He’s moved up to the AHL this season, continuing his upward development slope. He’s a very strong skater, who does well at getting off the wall and into the middle of the ice. He’s not far off from a middle-six role in the NHL.

3. Tyson Foerster

Selected 23rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Tyson Foerster has had some issues with a nagging shoulder injury but has always been able to find his game. He spent the pandemic with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, easily transitioning to the next level. He did spend some more time in the OHL in 2021-22 but is back in the AHL this season and has even seen time in the NHL, almost looking better in the NHL than any other level. He has one of the best shots not in the NHL and does extremely well at creating offense, either for himself or his teammates. He plays hard and shows promising attention to the defensive side of the puck as well. His skating was a worry in his draft year but has been steadily improving. He looks NHL-ready and likely makes the jump in 2023-24 as a middle-six producer.

4. Emil Andrae

One of the most exciting defensive prospects out there, Emil Andrae is the picture of the modern defender. He thrives jumping up into the rush and leading transition, using his light footwork to navigate the opposition. Drafted 54th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, Andrae joined HV71 in the SHL during a rough year where they were relegated. He had an excellent season in the HockeyAllsvenskan, helping the team jump back to the SHL and earning the Best Junior award, leading all rookies in points. He also starred on the Swedish World Junior team, leading all defenders in goals and being named to the All-Star Team. He’s a strong playmaker with excellent vision and has been improving his decision-making over the past few seasons. His size may lead to concern, but he has the skill of a top-four defender. He’s already made the jump to North America, where he’s already beginning to excel.

5. Elliot Desnoyers

A later draft pick at 135th overall in 2020, Elliot Desnoyers moved to the Halifax Mooseheads from the Moncton Wildcats in 2020-21 as the alternate captain. He took a big step forward before taking another big step as the captain in 2021-22. He made the jump to the Phantoms this season and has continued to improve as one of the more productive players on the team. He’s a player that seems to be able to be plugged in anywhere in the lineup and succeed, playing a hard-fought game with an underrated amount of skill. He plays a smart game, rarely making a mistake. He’s well on his way to becoming a solid bottom-six contributor that could move up in the lineup in the appropriate situation. Already with his development, it’s safe to call him a success considering where he was drafted and how he’s progressed.

6. Ronnie Attard

One of the older prospects not yet in the NHL, it’s been a long road for Ronnie Attard. However, it seems like that road and the patience of Flyers’ brass with him has paid off. The Flyers selected him 72nd overall in the 2019 NHL Draft after a huge season in the USHL with the Tri-City Storm where he was named USHL Player and Defenseman of the Year, and USA Hockey Junior Player of the Year. He then jumped to the NCAA’s Western Michigan University where the success continued, being named a two-time NCHC Best Offensive Defenseman within his three years there. This season, he’s continued his rise, joining the Phantoms and seeming to fit right in. He’s an aggressive, offensive defender that does very well in transition. He has all the tools to be a reliable bottom-four defender at the next level and isn’t far off.

7. Egor Zamula

After going undrafted, the Flyers signed Egor Zamula to an entry-level deal in 2018, just after his first season in North America in the WHL. He spent two more seasons with the Calgary Hitmen as a point-per-game defender. In 2020-21, he jumped to the next level and ever since has seemed on the cusp of being an NHLer. He’s seen some time with the Flyers in each season but just hasn’t made the permanent jump yet. The Russian is a two-way defender that moves very well. He can jump up into the rush or the offensive zone when he needs to but he’s just as comfortable sitting back and defending. He relies more on his active stick rather than his physical game, which shouldn’t be a problem in his translation to the NHL. He seems ready to make the jump and could be a middle-pairing asset.

8. Ethan Samson

Another late selection by the Flyers, he was drafted 174th overall in 2021 from the WHL’s Prince George Cougars. He’s been steadily improving his game after being drafted and just capped off a point-per-game season in what should be his final year in the Dub. He’s a very well-rounded prospect although he doesn’t have that one asset that will carry him to the NHL. He’s likely a two-way defender when all is said and done. He has some skill in his game, but only utilizes it in bursts. He’s shown that he can produce, thanks to a big shot and some accurate passing. He defends well, not afraid to mix things up physically. Given the averageness of his game, the NHL isn’t a guarantee, and it does seem more likely that he carves out an AHL spot for himself. He could be a call-up option as well though and lock down a depth defender role.

9. Alexis Gendron

Selected near the end of the 2022 NHL Draft, the Flyers waited until the 220th selection to call Alexis Gendron’s name. He’s had a steady progression through his three seasons in the QMJHL, seeing his production jump forward significantly each season. He has no fear in his game despite his 5-foot-9 frame, often getting into the high-danger areas and finding his way into puck battles. He has an intriguing amount of creativity on the ice and has shown that he can put the puck in the net or dish it out. He’s a bit more reactive instead of proactive, and his ceiling is quite limited. His development has been promising and he’s still young, but at this point, it seems likely that he peaks as an AHLer. Even if that is the case, that’s a good return on a seventh-round flyer.

10. Olle Lycksell

Drafted way back in the 2017 NHL Draft, 168th overall, Olle Lycksell is another prospect in the system where patience has paid off. Drafted out the J20 SuperElit, he split the following season between the J20 SuperElit and SHL before spending the next three seasons as a regularly productive forward in the SHL. This season, he’s made the move overseas to the AHL, even seeing some time in the NHL. He’s been one of the most productive forwards for the Phantoms, exceeding expectations for a sixth-round pick. The centreman has good hands, a great level of creativity, and a very accurate snapshot. It was once thought to be a stretch for him to reach the NHL, but it now looks like just a matter of time. He looks like he could be a reliable secondary scoring option in the bottom six.