Seth Jones – McKeen's Hockey

NHL: CULLEN – 20 FANTASY POINTS – A Kings defenceman and Ducks winger are elevating their production, veterans Vladimir Tarasenko, Brent Burns, and Vincent Trocheck are producing, Josh Doan earns a contract extension, and so much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 18:20:39 +0000

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 21: Josh Doan #91 of the Buffalo Sabres skates during a game between the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on December 21, 2025 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire)

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, a Kings defenceman and Ducks winger are elevating their production, veterans Vladimir Tarasenko, Brent Burns, and Vincent Trocheck are producing, Josh Doan earns a contract extension, and so much more!

#1 Los Angeles Kings defenceman Brandt Clarke has earned a bigger role as the season has progressed, and especially with Drew Doughty nursing an injury. In his past six games, Clarke has five points (1 G, 4 A) and 12 shots on goal, while averaging 21:49 of ice time per game. Clarke is generating 3.53 points per 60 during 5-on-4 play, which is clearly best among Kings defencemen, so he should have some security in the role as power play quarterback.

#2 Staying in Southern California, Anaheim Ducks rookie right winger Beckett Sennecke is similarly growing into a bigger role during his rookie season. In his past 11 games, Sennecke is averaging 19:52 of ice time per game, putting up nine points (4 G, 5 A) and 35 shots on goal. He is skating with veterans Mikael Granlund and Alex Killorn at even strength while also getting first unit power play time, and the rookie is making the most of his opportunities.

#3 There have been ups and downs this season for Minnesota Wild right winger Vladimir Tarasenko but when he’s cooking, the Wild benefit from his scoring. He may not be delivering like he did during his peak seasons, but the 34-year-old winger does have eight points (5 G, 3 A) and 18 shots on goal in his past five games. He is on a veteran line alongside centre Joel Eriksson Ek and Marcus Johansson, both returning from injuries for Thursday’s home game against Detroit.

#4 While he can get overlooked in Colorado, considering all the star power on the roster, Avalanche defenceman Brent Burns continues to be an effective contributor from the blueline. The 40-year-old defender has produced five points (3 G, 2 A) and 22 shots on goal in his past six games, and it’s a good reminder that, when he was at his best, Burns was an elite shot generator from the point, and he’s firing pucks again while the Avalanche tend to consistently dominate play.

#5 New York Rangers centre Vincent Trocheck is reportedly finding his way into trade rumours as the season appears to be getting away from the Blueshirts. The veteran pivot has three more years after this one remaining on his contract, but it’s at a reasonable price - $5.625 million cap hit – and he remains productive. In his past 13 games, Trocheck has 15 points (5 G, 10 A) and 28 shots on goal. What sets Trocheck apart, especially for fantasy managers, is that he also has 11 blocked shots and 29 hits in those 13 games, filling even peripheral statistical categories. Trocheck is on a line with Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere and it’s working right now, but Panarin is also in trade rumours, so who knows where these Rangers stars could be playing by the time the trade deadline arrives.

#6 Buffalo Sabres winger Josh Doan signed a seven-year, $49 million contract extension and the young winger has really taken advantage of the opportunities available in Buffalo this season after arriving in the offseason as part of the trade package from the Utah Mammoth for JJ Peterka. In his past 11 games, Doan has just 14 shots on goal but has still put up 11 points (5 G, 6 A) while averaging 17:31 of ice time per game. He has proven his ability as a scoring winger and is getting ice time with Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch on the Sabres’ top line in addition to first unit power play time.

#7 The Calgary Flames traded defenceman Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights and there is some fallout for fantasy managers. In Vegas, Andersson is not likely to supplant Shea Theodore or Noah Hanifin on the power play, so that could limit Andersson’s offensive output. In Calgary, MacKenzie Weegar should return to the top power play unit and he’s a good buy-low option right now, as Weegar has zero points in his past eight games.

#8 Injuries have hindered Seattle Kraken left winger Jared McCann this season, but he is still a threat when he is in the lineup. In his past 13 games, McCann has 13 points (6 G, 7 A) with 32 shots on goal. He is scoring on 18.0 percent of his shots on goal this season, which is well above his career mark of 12.4 percent, so regression could be coming, but McCann is skating on the Kraken’s top line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle in addition to getting first unit power play time, so he is getting ample opportunity to live up to his scoring role.

#9 After a slow start to the season, Nashville Predators sniper Steven Stamkos started to find his way into trade rumours, which made sense given where the Predators were in the standings. However, once Stamkos started filling the net, the Preds suddenly turned into playoff contenders. They are right in the hunt now and in his past 21 games, Stamkos has scored 16 goals and 25 points, with 61 shots on goal. While he may not continue to score on 26.2 percent of his shots, as he has during this stretch, but he has scored on 16.7 percent of his shots throughout his career so it’s not like his shooting percentage should collapse.

#10 Every so often, New Jersey Devils centre Cody Glass can heat up for a short burst, showing why he was the sixth overall pick in the 2017 Draft. It tends not to last very long, but Glass does have six points (4 G, 2 A) and 15 shots on goal in his past six games. He is up to 11 goals on the season, which ties him for fourth on the Devils with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes, though Glass is more of a short-term pickup for fantasy managers.

#11 A 27-year-old winger for the Washington Capitals, Ethen Frank has battled to secure a regular spot in the lineup and is now starting to show some of the scoring ability that he displayed in the American Hockey League in previous seasons to earn his look with the Capitals. Frank tallied 82 goals and 127 points in 164 AHL games after his college career at Western Michigan. In his past seven games, Frank has six points (5 G, 1 A) and 18 shots on goal, while averaging 16:41 of ice time per game, a notable jump from the 12:03 per game he had been playing before that. Frank is skating with Nic Dowd and Alex Ovechkin at even strength while also getting second unit power play time, which is enough to put him on the radar of deep league fantasy managers.

#12 Detroit Red Wings centre Andrew Copp has emerged as a solid complementary scorer, holding the second-line centre spot between Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane. As the Wings have gone 7-1-1 in their past nine games, Copp has eight points (3 G, 5 A) with 16 shots on goal. He is up to 30 points (8 G, 22 A) in 52 games, giving him a chance to surpass 40 points for the third time in his career.

#13 Buffalo Sabres right winger Jack Quinn seems to drift in an out of fantasy relevance but when he’s going good, he is a quality source of secondary offence for the Sabres. In his past eight games, Quinn has seven points (4 G, 3 A) with 21 shots on goal and seems to have a good thing going with linemates Ryan McLeod and Jason Zucker at even strength along with some second unit power play time.

#14 As the Calgary Flames have become sellers before the NHL Trade Deadline, some of their younger players figure to get good opportunities for the rest of this season. Left winger Connor Zary is one of those players. The 2020 first-round pick has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 19 shots on goal and he is getting a look on Calgary’s top line, skating with Nazem Kadri and rookie Matvei Gridin, who has just been recalled from the American Hockey League, where Gridin had 28 points (10 G, 18 A) in 32 games for the Calgary Wranglers.

#15 It would be bold to recommend Colorado Avalanche forward Ross Colton, who has not scored a goal since November 26, but from the files of “rising tides lift all boats” it’s worth keeping an eye on him anyway. In the month of January, Colton has five assists in nine games, but he also has 33 shots on goal. He has 17.41 shots on goal per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play this month which is the highest shot rate in the entire league. He gets third line and second unit power play ice time, so there is a limit to Colton’s offensive upside, but his shot generation does suggest that he’s going to bust out and start scoring some goals soon.

#16 One of the best players in the league this season, Minnesota Wild left winger Matt Boldy has landed on the injured list with an undisclosed injury. Boldy is tied for fourth in the league with 27 goals in 48 games and he has been a play driving force with the Wild outshooting opponents and outscoring the opposition 38 to 21 during 5-on-5 play with Boldy on the ice. With Boldy out, Marcus Johansson secures a spot in Minnesota’s top six and while that is a drop off, Johansson has 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 27 shots on goal in his past 18 games. That shot rate isn’t ideal, but Johansson is a reliable source of secondary offence.

#17 Florida Panthers defenceman Seth Jones has landed on LTIR due to an upper-body injury which will also prevent him from playing for Team USA in the Olympics, as he has been replaced on the roster by Anaheim Ducks defenceman Jackson LaCombe. In Florida, Jones’ absence means a bigger role for Aaron Ekblad, and the veteran blueliner does have four assists and 13 shots on goal in his past seven games. Also look to Uvis Balinskis, who is getting time on the top power play unit and has three points (2 G, 1 A) with seven shots on goal while averaging 21 minutes of ice time per game in his past five games.

#18 The logjam that was appearing on the New Jersey Devils blueline, which resulted in Dougie Hamilton being a healthy scratch, seems to be alleviated for the time being now that Luke Hughes is injured. Hughes’ shoulder injury will keep him out for at least a month, and he did have seven points (2 G, 5 A) and 15 shots on goal in his last 10 games prior to getting injured, with three of those seven points coming on the power play. With Hughes out, Hamilton resumes his spot as the quarterback of the Devils power play. He has seven assists and 12 shots on goal in his past six games.

#19 With Ottawa Senators veteran winger David Perron needing surgery for a sports hernia which will keep him out of the lineup for 5-7 weeks, look to Sens winger Ridly Greig, who is starting to heat up. Greig has seven points (2 G, 5 A) in his past five games and while he only has five shots on goal in that time, he is averaging more than 17 minutes of ice time per game and is skating on a line with Brady Tkachuk and Dylan Cozens, while also getting second-unit power play time, so Greig could build on this hot streak.

#20 Anaheim Ducks centre Leo Carlsson has landed on the injured list with a thigh injury that will keep him out 3-5 weeks following surgery. He has broken though offensively this season, tallying 44 points (18 G, 26 A) in 44 games but this injury is likely going to cost him his spot on Sweden’s Olympic Team. The Ducks’ forward lines have been depleted by injuries, with Carlsson, Troy Terry, Frank Vatrano, and Mason McTavish all dealing with various issues, so it’s an opportunity for a veteran like Ryan Strome to step up. Jansen Harkins has seen his ice time increase, but has not recorded a point in 2026, so maybe consider more proven scoring options for the Ducks.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2025-26 NHL YEARBOOK – FLORIDA PANTHERS – Team Preview

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 17:44:55 +0000

SUNRISE, FL - JUNE 17: Florida Panthers Center Sam Bennett (9) celebrates with the Stanley Cup at the end of the Stanley Cup Final game six between the Edmonton Oilers and the Florida Panthers on June 17, 2025 at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire)

It’s an incredible thing to watch a dynasty happen in front of your eyes. The Panthers won their second straight Stanley Cup after knocking off the Edmonton Oilers in six games. The road to the Final was a bit more difficult for Florida as they were a goal away from being down 3-0 to Toronto in the second round before Brad Marchand’s overtime winner in Game 3 changed the momentum. What’s amazing about their run last season is they finished third in the Atlantic Division with 98 points behind Toronto and Tampa Bay and finished one point ahead of Ottawa. They limped into the playoffs, going 4-6-1 in the last 11 games but found their gear right away beating the Lightning in five games. They knocked out Toronto in seven games, winning Game 7 on the road 6-1 and knocked out Carolina in the Eastern Conference Final in five games as well. They were a dominant five-on-five team finishing second in the league at CorsiFor percentage and expected goals for percentage behind Carolina. They also allowed the seventh fewest goals in the league. Being an elite team can take many forms, but the Panthers do it with a ruthless forecheck, nastiness all over the ice, and skill that takes many forms.

What’s Changed?

All the big-name players the Panthers could’ve lost in free agency stayed. Sam Bennett (eight years, $64 million), Aaron Ekblad (eight years, $48.8 million) and Brad Marchand (six years, $31.5 million at age 37) each locked in long-term and role player Tomas Nosek also re-signed for one year, $775,000. While they lost Nate Schmidt to Utah in free agency, they brought in Jeff Petry as a veteran defenceman to replace him on a one-year deal for $775,000. Backup goalie Vitek Vanecek also headed to Utah, but Florida acquired Daniil Tarasov from Columbus to compete with free agent signing from Boston, Brandon Bussi, for that role. Running it back with a back-to-back championship roster makes GM Bill Zito’s job a lot easier.

What Would Success Look Like?

If the Panthers win a third straight Stanley Cup, they would be the first team to do that since the New York Islanders won four in a row from 1980 to 1983. That we’re even talking about this being their goal is incredible, especially in the salary cap era. We saw the Pittsburgh Penguins win back-to-back Cups in 2016 and 2017, and the Tampa Bay Lightning did it again in 2020 and 2021 under very different circumstances, but call it recency bias if you want, this Panthers team feels different than those. Aleksander Barkov is an elite two-way forward. Sam Reinhart is as well and is capable of scoring 50 goals. They have an agitating set of role players in Bennett and Marchand, a leader like Matthew Tkachuk who thrives when games get tougher and scorers who can backfill like Carter Verhaeghe, Anton Lundell and Evan Rodrigues. With high-end defencemen like Ekblad, Seth Jones and Gustav Forsling along with Sergei Bobrovsky in goal, there aren’t many weaknesses, especially with a coach like Paul Maurice at the helm.

What Could Go Wrong?

Making it to three straight Stanley Cup Finals and winning it two years in a row can take its toll when it comes to exhaustion, right? Tkachuk opted for surgery from injuries he sustained during Four Nations Face-Off in February and played through in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He is expected to be out until January. Everyone on the roster has played a ton of games and had short offseasons for three straight years and that kind of physical toll is tough. If they were to slip up and bow out of the playoffs before the Cup Final this year, as surprising as it would be it would be just as unsurprising given all that. It happened with the Lightning. It could happen to the Panthers, too. It’s just hard to see it while they’ve been busy celebrating.

Top Breakout Candidate

It’s tough to make your way into a lineup like the Panthers, but young forward Mackie Samoskevich has been building towards a breakout season the past two years. When he came out of the University of Michigan, he spent most of his first full professional season in the AHL. Last year, however, he got an extended look in Florida and had 15 goals and 16 assists in 72 games while averaging 13:19 time on-ice. It’ll be difficult for him to move up lines in Florida, but on special teams he should get a chance to cash in. If Tkachuk has to miss any extended time, you’d have to think that opportunity to move up into that spot will be his.

Forwards

Matthew Tkachuk

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
40	16	27	43	1.08

It’s hard to imagine the kind of gumption it takes for Matthew Tkachuk to play the way he does. It’s even harder to imagine how he does it when he’s playing hurt and it’s even more incredible to think of the way he’d play if he was at 100 percent all the time. Tkachuk toughed out a hard regular season in which he came off their first Stanley Cup victory playing through a broken sternum but was ready and recovered for the start of the season. During the year, he sustained a torn adductor and a sports hernia while playing for the United States at the Four Nations Face-Off that ended his regular season and held him to 52 games. Even still, he finished third on the Panthers in scoring with 57 points and scored 22 goals. When Tkachuk returned for action in Game 1 of the playoffs, he scored two goals and an assist against Tampa Bay to set the tone for the rest of the postseason that he was back and better than ever. In the postseason, he had eight goals and 15 assists and played in all 23 games as the Panthers won their second straight Stanley Cup. He had seven points in the Final against Edmonton alone, but the start of his new season may be delayed by two to three months if he has surgery on the injuries from February that he ultimately played through. Although you wonder how he’ll look upon returning from that, seeing how he’s done it repeatedly through his career should leave no doubt that he’ll be as dangerous as ever when he does.

Aleksander Barkov

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
68	18	49	67	0.99

Being the captain of the newest dynasty in the NHL is not something anyone would’ve expected out of Aleksander Barkov five years ago, but after leading the Panthers to three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances and two consecutive championships and being arguably the most important player on the roster in doing so, we’re watching an all-time great appearing before our eyes. Barkov won his second consecutive Selke Trophy, and third of his career, as the league’s best defensive forward and finished second on the team in scoring with 71 points, 10 behind Sam Reinhart. With 20 goals and 51 assists, he was the main distributor on a line with Reinhart and Carter Verhaeghe or Evan Rodrigues. While Reinhart topped out with 39 goals to lead the team, having him and Barkov together on a line also gave them two of the three Selke Award finalists on the ice at the same time. By hitting 20 goals, Barkov had his 10th consecutive season scoring 20-or-more goals in a season and it was his fourth straight year with 70-or-more points. Having one of the best two-way players in recent league history able to shut down opposing teams’ top centers while piling up points like that gives the Panthers the kind of advantage that’s allowed them to be so dominant in recent years. If there’s a next step for him it’s to win a Hart or Conn Smythe Trophy to help better fill his growing cabinet of awards.

Sam Reinhart

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	37	40	77	0.99

The Florida Panthers top goal scorer followed his career high 57-goal season two years ago with a 39-goal campaign last year and earned his first ever top three finish in the voting for the Selke Trophy during a season that was capped with his second straight Stanley Cup. Reinart came in second to Barkov for the honor as fans and writers alike at last took notice of his outstanding skills in the defensive end to go with his incredible ability to fill the net at even strength and the power play. It’s quite the turn of events for the smart and savvy forward from his time with the Buffalo Sabres to say the least but playing on a line with fellow defensive maven Aleksander Barkov gives Florida a line that can smother opponents at one end of the ice while breaking their spirits at the other by filling the net. Reinhart’s ability to find open areas around the net and tip pucks past goalies and take away their eyes has made him an even more dangerous player to zero in on. While it may look like he’s not actively doing something to make a play happen, his ability to read the action and calculate the best areas to be and where his teammates are headed or where they’re at in the moment. There’s no reason to expect coach Paul Maurice to fix what isn’t broken with the lineup and having Reinhart with Barkov once again should be expected.

Sam Bennett

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	30	29	59	0.77

If ever there was a player who actively made their free agent price go up exponentially right in front of our eyes in the biggest moments, Sam Bennett did so in master class fashion. Bennett won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP as he led the Panthers and all goal scorers in the postseason with 15. Stunningly enough, only one of those proved to be a game-winning goal but the way Bennett found ways to score goals in key moments throughout the playoffs for Florida helped them secure their second straight Stanley Cup and a massive new contract worth $64 million over eight years. Although he was due to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, Bennett helping the Panthers the way he did and the bond he formed playing on a line with Brad Marchand made it impossible for Florida’s management to let either one of them go. His ability to deliver huge hits that occasionally toed the legal line as well as a suffocating forecheck made him a valuable player for the Panthers as is. After Bennett piled up goals throughout the playoffs, many of which broke opposing spirits, it made it impossible to let him walk to a potential rival team. Although that deal may be painful down the road, for right now it’s one that keeps a Stanley Cup-winning group together to go for more glory.

Brad Marchand

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	25	32	57	0.77

In what was one of the most shocking trades of the 2025 trade deadline, the Panthers added Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand to help them go for another Stanley Cup. What they didn’t realize was they added the absolute perfect player to cement their hold on the title. Marchand’s aggressive and confident style of play fit seamlessly into the way the Panthers play and his ability to get under the skin of opposing players only allowed him to double up with Sam Bennett to drive other teams mad. Although Florida acquired him as he was returning from injury, he used the 10 regular season games he played with them to get acclimated. His two goals and two assists in those 10 games weren’t much, but once the playoffs started, the real Brad Marchand appeared. Marchand had 10 goals and 10 assists in 23 playoff games and led the playoffs with 48 penalty minutes. He also had a plus-17 plus-minus rating in the postseason and while that’s not always an accurate way to assess a player’s value, that kind of mark in the playoffs is noteworthy and was second only to teammate Anton Lundell’s plus-19. Marchand’s performance earned him a five-year contract from the Panthers worth $31.5 million that will pay him out until he turns 42. Not a bad gig for a 37-year-old that some in Boston wondered how much more he had left in the tank.

Carter Verhaeghe

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	25	35	60	0.76

It’s kind of wild that a player as good as Carter Verhaeghe can sort of blend into the attack that the Florida Panthers roll with. Three seasons ago, Verhaeghe scored 42 goals and helped lead the Panthers to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996 and had the first of two back-to-back 70-plus point seasons. Last season, however, he posted 20 goals and finished with 53 points, fourth most on the team, with 16 of those points on the power play. Like so many others on the Florida roster, accomplishments in the regular season are one thing, but what really mattered was the playoffs. In the postseason, Verhaeghe had 23 points in 23 games including seven goals, three of which were game winners. The 23 points tied him with Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk for the team lead in the postseason and his four power play goals were second to Tkachuk’s five for most on the Panthers. Even though “clutch” isn’t a tangible skill to be measured, it’s hard to say that in the face of what Verhaeghe has done throughout his playoff career. He has 13 game-winning goals in the playoffs over the past four seasons and led the 2023 postseason with four. Now 30 years old, the eight-year extension he signed with Florida a year ago kicks in with a $7 million cap hit. It bears watching to see if he can return to his 70-point form or if 50 points a year and a monster playoff performance to follow can be the norm.

Anton Lundell

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	19	33	52	0.65

When you look at the way the Panthers are built and you see a player like Anton Lundell on their third line, it starts to hit you why they’ve been so good over the past few years. At 23 years old, the Finnish two-way forward has established himself as a capable defender up front and as a player who can make opponents pay for their mistakes in the offensive end. Lundell set a new career-high with 45 points and his 17 goals were one shy of his personal best for a season. Lundell’s importance to the Panthers is three-fold. He excels at five-on-five, contributes to the power play, and is one of their top penalty killers as well. In the playoffs, his line with fellow Finn Eetu Luostarinen and Brad Marchand suffocated opponents with their forechecking and ability to force turnovers. If teams were able to survive getting past the top two lines, trying to get through that trio was often too much to bear. What’s most impressive about Lundell’s abilities is how he can do it seemingly under the radar. His game doesn’t have a lot of flash to it and that kind of cold efficiency helps make games against the Panthers that are much more difficult to get through. What’s more is Lundell has become excellent at faceoffs the past two seasons after struggling with it earlier in his career. Two years ago, he won nearly 55 percent of his draws and last season he won 53 percent of them.

Evan Rodrigues

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	14	22	36	0.45

There’s no such thing as a “utility position” in hockey the way there is in baseball, but with the way Evan Rodrigues approaches and plays the game, it makes you want to reconsider the idea. Whether Rodrigues is slotted in on the first, second or third line, he finds ways to contribute and hold his own in any situation. If the Panthers need a boost in offense, he can do it. He had 15 goals and 17 assists last season and had his fourth straight season with 30-or-more points and double-digit goals. Although his offensive numbers were down slightly compared to the previous three seasons, it’s his versatility and adaptability in how he plays that can have a big effect on his output. The majority of his minutes at five-on-five last season were with Sam Bennett and it’s likely we’ll see them back together again on the team’s second line this season. There’s no reason for the Panthers to tinker around with things too much considering their success, but regardless of how it shakes out, Rodrigues will be an effective player wherever he slots in. With the way he’s able to also contribute on the power play, it helps add to his value to the team in those deeper roles outside of their star players.

Eetu Luostarinen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
80	15	25	40	0.50

Being a checking line or energy line player doesn’t always come with a lot of adulation and in the regular season, that was certainly the case for Eetu Luostarinen. He finished last season with nine goals and 15 assists in 80 games as he played his role as a forechecker and penalty killer to the hilt to make life miserable for opponents. Fortunately for Luostarinen, that regular season role was amplified in the postseason as coach Paul Maurice rolled him out on a line with fellow Finland native Anton Lundell and newly acquired star veteran Brad Marchand. That trio went on to make foes' playoff nights miserable, wearing them out with their seemingly unending pressure, good use of sticks and ability to make any turnover a game-changer in a heartbeat. Luostarinen’s $3 million cap hit may seem a bit juicy for a player with his kind of role, but good luck finding others around the league that can do it as effectively and efficiently as he can. That he teams up with Lundell and Marchand helps add more of a counterattacking threat that opposing teams must respect. Even though physical play may not come to mind right away with Luostarinen, he was credited with 183 hits last season, a career high and third most on the team. There’s no reason to think his game plan will change next season.

DEFENCE

Aaron Ekblad

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
60	7	31	38	0.63

It was quite an adventurous season for Aaron Ekblad. Going into a contract year and coming off helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup, he was poised to have a monster year once he returned from offseason shoulder surgery for injuries he sustained during their playoff run. Like his teammate Matthew Tkachuk who also had offseason surgery, Ekblad was back and ready for the start of the regular season. Ekblad had three goals and 30 assists in the regular season in 56 games and led Panthers blue liners in scoring. Although a slight upper-body injury caused him to miss a few games in January, it was a 20-game suspension for violating the league’s performance enhancing substance program in March that caused him to miss the rest of the regular season and the first two games of their opening playoff series against Tampa Bay. Despite missing four games in the playoffs, Ekblad proved to still be brilliant with four goals and nine assists in 19 games while paired with Gustav Forsling on the team’s top defensive duo. Even with all of the drama, Ekblad helped the Panthers roll to their second straight Cup and even though the temptation of signing a monster free agent contract was there, he re-signed with Florida on a team-friendly deal for eight years, $48.8 million ($6.1 million per season).

Seth Jones

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
70	10	26	36	0.51

To show that the Panthers are serious about winning now, GM Bill Zito acquired Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks in early March for goalie Spencer Knight and a 2026 first-round pick. Jones’ addition proved to be timely when Aaron Ekblad received a 20-game suspension in late March and helped steady the Panthers blue line as the team dragged themselves across the finish line to end the season. With Florida, Jones flourished after escaping a downtrodden situation with Chicago. He had nine points in 21 games to close the regular season including two goals. But in the playoffs, Jones solidified Florida’s ranks the exact way they envisioned. His four goals and five assists in 23 playoff games, his first postseason in five years, helped guide the Panthers to the Stanley Cup. Jones paired with Niko Mikkola in the postseason and that gave Florida a good mix of puck handling and skill with Jones and physical play and nastiness with Mikkola. Being able to create that balance on their second pairing while Gustav Forsling and Aaron Ekblad did a lot of heavy lifting on the top pair created advantages for Florida against opponents’ other lines. If it seems unfair to have that kind of depth, you might be right.

Gustav Forsling

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	9	22	31	0.39

Watching Gustav Forsling’s evolution as a defenseman who was bounced around on waivers to become one of the best in the NHL is almost as breathtaking as his ability to make the right play in every situation. Forsling led Panthers defensemen with 11 goals, and his 31 total points were second most among the team’s blue liners. Although he was held to five points in the playoffs, he paired with Aaron Ekblad to guide Florida to the Stanley Cup for the second straight year by taking on all comers in all situations. The ability Forsling has to move the puck effortlessly through all three zones and make great first passes to start the attack makes him one of the best in the league, but it’s also his mindfulness defensively that sets him apart. He doesn’t have to throw body checks to make the right play, but rather he works his gap control to ensure he’s not out of position or can get taken out of a play easily. On a team as strong as the Panthers, Forsling’s advanced stats would be very good to begin with, but his are among the best on the team regardless when it comes to shot attempts and scoring chance quality. It’s hard to call him underrated at this point, but underappreciated? Certainly.

Niko Mikkola

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	4	14	18	0.23

Although the Panthers are known for having more than a few players up front that happily take the body and thrive on dishing out physical punishment, it’s not the same on the blue line. Niko Mikkola, however, relishes the chance to do it. Mikkola found a home on the second pairing with Seth Jones and while Jones is known for his smooth skating and ability to set up plays, Mikkola’s dogged work along the walls and in corners as well as being physical around the net make him someone other teams loathe to deal with. He was fifth on the team in hits delivered but he had the most among defensemen with 137. It would be anecdotal to say that his hits were more memorable given the context they’ve come in, but while other Panther defensemen are able to defend better with body positioning and stick use, Mikkola’s use of the body helps keep opposing teams honest and worn-down dealing with him. He’s also able to be physical in his own end of the ice without it leading to sustained zone time against them as well. His advanced stats for shot attempts and scoring chance quality are positive and while that’s somewhat of a team effect, if he struggled at suppressing opportunities while on the ice it would show. Having a defender to do some of the dirty work the way he does only helps Florida be that much more difficult to play against.

GOAL

Sergei Bobrovsky

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
57	34	16	4	6	0.905	2.42

Even if the Florida Panthers hadn’t managed to pull off a repeat in Sunrise this summer, the Sergei Bobrovsky deal - once risky-looking at seven years and $70 million - would have likely been forgiven just based on the 2024 championship he brought home. Now, though, the team will enter their final year of Bobrovsky’s contract with two cups in two years, clear evidence that the 37-year-old is still capable of making the split-second lateral changes and lunging saves that have marked his most eye-catching games over the last 15 years.

As with last season, though, the Panthers will enter the upcoming year with just as many questions in net as they have answers. The team's surprising move away from Spencer Knight signaled that the former first round pick wasn't shaping up to be the definitive future starter they hoped he would be. Instead, Florida will likely be banking on one of either Brandon Bussi or Daniil Tarasov to step up and become a reliable number two for Bobrovsky. Both were once highly rated goaltending prospects in the Boston Bruins and Columbus Blue Jackets systems, respectively, but have struggled to live up to expectations. Expect Tarasov to be the number two as the season starts, looking to bond with Bob over a system shift from Columbus to Florida in an attempt to bring his stats back from their free fall last season. If he struggles to find his footing, though, Bussi - who has never put up poor numbers in the AHL but never got a chance to show Boston what he could do at the top level - will likely be next up to help Bobrovsky weather the 82-game grind.

NHL: DADOUN – TRADE DEADLINE ROUND UP – What we can expect from some of the bigger players now?

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 08 Mar 2025 18:58:23 +0000

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 27: Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) during a game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders on February 27, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

Friday’s trade deadline has to stand out as one of the best in recent memory. Over the last week, 45 trades occurred with almost $170 million worth of cap hit changing hands, per PuckPedia. More than just the quantity, though, was the quality.

Brock Nelson, a man who has breached the 30-goal milestone in each of the previous three campaigns was added by Colorado, while Seth Jones, a top four defenseman signed through 2029-30, was acquired by Florida in the leadup to deadline day, and yet neither of them ended up being the headline additions of this trade season. Jones didn’t even end up being the biggest name to join the Panthers.

Instead, Florida shocked the hockey world with its last-minute addition of Brad Marchand. Granted, Marchand is 36, in the final season of his contract and dealing with an upper-body injury, so there are some big caveats to consider when assessing his impact, but still, it’s Brad Marchand. There aren’t many active players out there who are so heavily linked to the team they play for than he is. To see him with the Panthers will be weird, to say the least.

Of course, he might just be a rental, so we’ll see what happens this summer. One star player who opted not to go to free agency, though, is Mikko Rantanen. The Hurricanes were clearly hoping to lock him up long term -- it's fair to say they wouldn’t have acquired him from Colorado if they didn’t think they had a shot -- but in the end, terms weren’t agreed upon, so Carolina cut its losses by sending Rantanen to Dallas, which promptly signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract.

It's a huge payout, but a justified one with the cap going up. Rantanen recorded over 40 goals and 100 points in each of the previous two seasons and has 27 goals and 70 points in 62 appearances this campaign. Dallas has now set itself up to enjoy a duo of Rantanen and Jason Robertson for years to come, which should make the Stars one of hockey’s best teams in the medium term.

That’s just scratching the surface of what happened today, so let’s start digging deeper. Typically, I highlight teams based on what their upcoming schedule is like with a bias towards teams that will be playing a lot or facing favorable opponents in the week to come. This week, I’ll be highlighting the squads I feel had the most interesting trade deadline -- including the days leading up to it -- so that I can discuss what’s changed and how this might impact various players for the remainder of the campaign.

Boston Bruins

It’s not overly dramatic to suggest that trading Marchand to Florida marked the end of an era for the Bruins. Sure, they still have David Pastrnak, but if you look back at the 2018 Bruins who made it to the Stanley Cup Final, Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy are the only ones remaining.

No more Marchand. No more Patrice Bergeron. No more David Krejci. Torey Krug is gone. So are Zdeno Chara and Tuukka Rask. Brandon Carlo and Charlie Coyle were members of the Bruins’ 2018-19 squad, but they were traded to Toronto and Colorado, respectively, on Friday.

Of course, the Bruins of old have been fading away for a while. Boston was able to maneuver with a series of trades and signings to extend their dominance for a long time, but if you look at the Bruins’ recent drafting history, you can see why this decline happened. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman, despite his struggles this campaign (18-21-6 record, 3.00 GAA and .896 save percentage in 45 appearances) has proven to be a steal for a fourth-round pick, but he was taken back in 2017. From 2018 to the present, no Bruins draft pick has logged 150 or more games, and the only players over the past four drafts to even make it to the NHL among Boston’s picks are Matthew Poitras and Fabian Lysell -- the latter of which has played in just one game.

Of course, part of that was the Bruins suffering from success, which led to late draft picks, but it is nevertheless at the heart of why Boston couldn’t replenish fast enough as its old guard left.

Still, the Bruins’ moves suggest they’re looking to retool rather than rebuild. While Boston did stock up on draft picks, including a conditional first-round pick from Toronto and a conditional second rounder from Florida, the Bruins also picked up Fraser Minten, who is a 20-year-old prospect who might factor into Boston’s roster on a regular basis next year, and Casey Mittelstadt, who is in the first season of a three-year, $17.25 million contract and is a solid option up the middle.

Boston also has to keep in mind that it’ll get Hampus Lindholm (kneecap) back next season after the top four blueliner was limited to just 17 appearances in 2024-25, and there’s also the likelihood that Swayman will do better next campaign. In other words, Boston fans might not have to go long between playoff appearances.

In the meantime, though, Cole Koepke and Mark Kastelic might get top six minutes, even though neither is particularly suited for the role. We also might see them get ice time on the second power-play unit, and Nikita Zadorov could feature there as well. Boston still has one strong line in Morgan Geekie, Pavel Zacha and Pastrnak, but the team’s offense overall figures to be dreary, and as a result, Boston might slip even further than its current 28th rank in goals per game (2.69).

Carolina Hurricanes

Losing Rantanen hurts, especially after Carolina gave up a package that included Martin Necas to pry him from Colorado. At least the return from Dallas was strong: The Hurricanes got Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks and two third-round selections. It’ll be years before we know how good or bad those draft picks are for the Hurricanes, but Stankoven is an interesting piece to get in the meantime.

The 22-year-old is playing in his sophomore campaign and had 29 points (nine goals) in 59 appearances with Dallas before the trade. He didn’t have consistent linemates, which might have made the task of adapting to the NHL a little more challenging. Stankoven did show a ton of potential in the minors, though, supplying 24 goals and 57 points in 47 outings with AHL Texas in 2023-24.

Stankoven figures to get a top six role with Carolina as well as power-play time. The tricky thing is that the Hurricanes don’t have any high-end forwards outside of Sebastian Aho, Seth Jarvis and Andrei Svechnikov, who might end up spending a fair amount of time together on the top line. When Carolina opts to take that path, that would leave Stankoven on a rather barren second unit. It’s a similar situation to the one Taylor Hall finds himself in. Since joining the Hurricanes from Chicago, Hall has just a goal and three points in 13 outings while averaging 14:32 of ice time. Part of that’s because the 33-year-old Hall has declined in recent years, but he’s also finding himself alongside Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Jackson Blake, neither of whom have reached the 15-goal or 30-point marks this season.

With that in mind, Stankoven might not be much of an offensive force for the remainder of the season.

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado has been extremely busy on the trade front all year -- in addition to the Rantanen trade back in January that got the Avalanche Necas, Colorado also has an entirely different goaltending duo than the one it began the campaign with -- and the Avalanche didn’t slow down as the trade deadline approached.

Colorado added Brock Nelson from the Islanders, Coyle from the Bruins and Erik Johnson from Philadelphia this week. It did cost the Avalanche -- in addition to draft picks and prospects, Colorado also parted ways with Mittelstadt – but Colorado looks like a major Cup contender.

Nelson and Coyle make the Avalanche extremely talented up the middle. We’ll probably see Nelson assume the second-line center spot. Although that would keep him out of the enviable position of skating alongside Nathan MacKinnon or Necas, Nelson would still have plenty to work with alongside Jonathan Drouin and Valeri Nichushkin. It wouldn’t be surprising if Nelson largely maintained his scoring pace in Colorado after contributing 20 goals and 43 points across 61 appearances with the Islanders in 2024-25 before the trade.

That would leave Coyle on the third line. He’d see a meaningful decline in his workload compared to his average of 17:38 of ice time, including 1:55 with the man advantage, with Boston this season, but he kind of deserves that dip after collecting just 15 goals and 22 points in 64 outings. He did exceed the 40-point mark in three consecutive seasons from 2021-22 through 2023-24, so having him on the third line is a nice luxury to have, but he’s unlikely to challenge Nelson for the top-six spot, and it’s also not a given that Coyle will get regular time on the power play.

Jack Drury will probably center the fourth line. He doesn’t bring much offensively to the table anyway (seven goals, 13 points in 53 outings this season), but he is effective on the draw (57.1 conversion rate) and helps kill penalties, so Drury still has a clear role. The biggest loser in this will probably be Parker Kelly, who might spend a fair amount of time in the press box after dressing in the Avalanche’s first 63 games.

Speaking of the press box, I don’t expect Johnson to play much. It’s nice to see him back in Colorado, but unlike his first stint with the team, there isn’t really a clear role for him. Maybe if the Avalanche are forced to deal with injuries, the 36-year-old will get some work, but that’s about it.

Dallas Stars

Dallas made only one trade this month, but it was a huge one. As already noted above, the Stars acquired Rantanen in exchange for picks and Logan Stankoven. Dallas also signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract extension.

Rantanen didn’t look great in Carolina, recording just two goals and six points in 13 appearances, but he still has 70 points (27 goals) in 62 outings this campaign, and his resume is fantastic. He should do great in Dallas, likely on the first line alongside Jason Robertson and Roope Hintz.

Hintz and Robertson have typically played together this campaign, but the third member of that trio hasn’t been consistent. Wyatt Johnston has gotten a fair amount of work in that role, though, and that’s likely at an end. Johnston might not be on the second unit either given that Mason Marchment, Matt Duchene and Mikael Granlund have done well together. Instead, Johnston might primarily center the third unit. That’s an odd position for a player with 23 goals and 59 points in 62 outings, but Dallas isn’t a typical team, and that would still leave him to play with Jamie Benn, who remains a solid contributor at the age of 35 (15 goals, 39 points).

Johnston may see a bit of a decline in his production down the stretch, but Dallas should remain happy given that it will be rolling out three very effective lines. The Stars’ embarrassment of offensive riches will get even better if Tyler Seguin (hip) is available for the playoffs. He was fantastic early in the campaign with nine goals and 20 points in 19 appearances. Maybe he’ll end up alongside Benn and Johnston.

Florida Panthers

The Marchand trade was jaw-dropping, especially given that the price was just a conditional second-round pick, which will turn into a first-round selection only if Florida wins at least two rounds and Marchand participates in a minimum of 50 percent of those playoff games. The latter condition speaks to Marchand’s health -- before the trade, he missed Boston’s past three games. Florida GM Bill Zito thinks Marchand will be out for a couple more weeks, but he also added that the team doctors will look at him, per Florida Hockey Now, so we’ll see.

Presuming that Marchand returns before the end of the regular season, it will be very interesting to see how he fits into the lineup. Will he play alongside another talented troublemaker in Sam Bennett? They did see some work together on Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off. Matthew Tkachuk (groin) is done for the remainder of the regular season, but should he return for the playoffs, he might join that duo to form a line that no one would want to play against.

Perhaps Florida will attempt to balance out the grit by separating the trio of Carter Verhaeghe, Aleksander Barkov and Sam Reinhart. Maybe we’ll have something like Bennett-Verhaeghe-Tkachuk and then Marchand-Barkov-Reinhart. Whatever they decide to do, that will be a strong top six. While Tkachuk and Marchand are out, Mackie Samoskevich and Evan Rodrigues will see increased roles, but that duo is likely to serve strictly in the bottom six when everyone is healthy. Samoskevich in particular might see a drop in usage once Marchand is back, but for now, he’s enjoying the extra work -- Samoskevich has three goals and four points across his past six appearances while averaging 15:30 compared to eight goals and 17 points in his first 48 outings with an average of 11:41.

On the back end, Jones logged 20:40 of ice time over his first two appearances with the Panthers. Aaron Ekblad seems to have maintained his spot on the top power-play unit and has cashed in with a power-play assist in each of his past two outings. If Jones’ role with the man advantage has been diminished by the move to Florida from Chicago -- and that seems to be the case -- then his fantasy value will take a significant hit. Of his 27 points in 2024-25, 15 have been recorded on the power play.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Tampa Bay loves first-round picks, and sometimes when you love something, you have to let it go. The Lightning have drafted in the first round just once dating back to 2020 -- Isaac Howard (31st overall) in 2022 -- and it seems they’ll be waiting a while before doing so again. The Lightning gave their 2026 and 2027 first-round picks to Seattle in a three-team trade that brought Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde to Tampa Bay. The Lightning were already missing their 2025 first-round pick as part of the Tanner Jeannot trade back in 2023.

While that’s a significant cost, the Lightning are looking like a well-rounded team going into the playoffs. Obviously, they already had the trio of Jake Guentzel, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov as their headline unit -- Guentzel has two hat tricks this season and still might be the worst player on that line, which is wild -- and that’s complemented by a strong second line in Brandon Hagel, Anthony Cirelli and Nick Paul.

Now Bjorkstrand and Gourde can man the third line, perhaps alongside 24-year-old rookie Gage Goncalves. Bjorkstrand has 17 goals and 38 points in 62 outings while Gourde has done worse this season (six goals, 18 points in 37 appearances) but has recorded over 30 points in each of his previous seven seasons. That doesn’t give the Lightning the same level of forward depth that Dallas is rocking, but that’s still really good.

These moves also probably cost Mitchell Chaffee his spot on the power play. That’s not a huge deal, but four of his 12 goals in 2024-25 have been scored with the man advantage.

Toronto Maple Leafs

There was an arms race in the Atlantic Division. Florida and Tampa Bay both made significant additions leading up to the deadline, and Toronto made some maneuvers too. The Maple Leafs acquired Brandon Carlo from Boston and Scott Laughton from Philadelphia, though in the process, Toronto surrendered, among other things, two first-round picks as well as prospects Nikita Grebenkin and Fraser Minten.

At a glance, those sacrifices would suggest Toronto is going all in, and while it’s undeniable that the farm system has taken a hit, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Carlo is signed through 2026-27 and Laughton is under contract through 2025-26, so these aren’t just rentals.

In terms of what they bring to the table, it’s nothing headline-grabbing, but it is important. Laughton is a solid third-line center, which will allow Max Domi to shift to the wing. His presence might also push Nicholas Robertson out of the top nine, though Pontus Holmberg and Bobby McMann might also occasionally shift down in the depth charts, especially when Max Pacioretty (undisclosed) is able to return.

Carlo might end up being a good shutdown partner for the offensive-minded Morgan Rielly. He might even enable Rielly to take more chances and bolster his scoring pace down the stretch. The 30-year-old Rielly has seven goals and 32 points in 62 appearances in 2024-25, which is down from 58 points in 72 outings last year.

Philippe Myers, who has gotten some looks alongside Rielly lately, probably won’t be a consideration for that role going forward. Instead, Myers will probably shift to the third pairing, and once Chris Tanev (upper body) is back, Myers might find himself competing with Simon Benoit to stay in the lineup.

Toronto’s xGA/60 in 2024-25 has been 3.19, which ranks 23rd in the league. That suggests the Maple Leafs have made life somewhat hard on their goaltenders this season with their defensive play. Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll have mostly been able to make up the difference, but their work should be easier after Toronto’s recent moves.

Vegas Golden Knights

It’s weird for Vegas not to be the one making a blockbuster trade. In fact, the Golden Knights didn’t make any move Friday, but they did pick up Reilly Smith from the Rangers on Thursday in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick.

It’s not earth-shattering, but it’s a nice bit of business. Although Smith has underwhelmed this campaign with 10 goals and 29 points in 58 appearances in 2024-25, he had some amazing campaigns with Vegas. In particular, Smith provided 26 goals and 56 points in 78 regular-season games in 2022-23 and went on to supply another four goals and 14 points across 24 playoff outings to help Vegas win the Cup in 2023.

This change of scenery might be what Smith needs to rebound. He’s not too old at 33, so he still should have something left in the tank. However, the Golden Knights are a deep team. Even with William Karlsson (lower body) and Victor Olofsson (lower body) out, Smith might still find himself in a bottom-six role, and when everyone is healthy, it’s inevitable that Vegas will have to make a healthy scratch out of someone who would play regularly on most teams. Perhaps that will be Brandon Saad on occasion, but Nicolas Roy and Smith are also on that bubble.

For that reason, I recommend tempering your expectations when it comes to Smith’s reunion tour.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

NHL: THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – 4 Nations Wrap – Trade Deadline speculation edition – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Mon, 24 Feb 2025 17:20:17 +0000

BOSTON, MA - FEBRUARY 20: Team Canada forward Connor McDavid (97) drills a shot during the Championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off between Team United States and Team Canada on February 20, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire)

I have to give the league credit. I did not go into this season with a lot of confidence or excitement about the 4 Nations Face-Off. Sure, it’s always fun to see best-on-best play, but with the tournament being limited to just four countries and without any pre-existing prestige/history behind the tournament name, I was among those worried that it might end up looking like a series of glorified All-Star games and not attract any non-hockey fans. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

ESPN saw an average viewership of 9.252 million for the Final between Canada and the United States, making it the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game on record in US viewership history. Including Canadians, that rating increased to 16.1 million viewers (6.9 million between Sportsnet, Sportsnet+ and TVA Sports), which was on par for a Game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final (16.3 million), per Braylon Breeze of Sports Media Watch.

The Final even took a political angle. I won’t stress people looking for an escape with the details, but the current climate between the United States and Canada was an undercurrent throughout this tournament and in the Final especially, only adding to the enthusiasm for this match.

When all that noise ended, and the puck dropped, the players didn’t disappoint. This was not a glorified All-Star Game. The players took the opportunity to represent their country seriously, and after the United States earned a 3-1 victory over Canada during the round robin, the Canadians got their revenge Thursday in a 3-2 overtime win over the States.

The winning goal was appropriately scored by Connor McDavid, who was left wide open due to a defensive breakdown by the Americans, took advantage of a nice pass from Mitch Marner to fire a wrist shot past Connor Hellebuyck.

Marner getting the primary assist on that marker and Sam Bennett’s game-tying goal at 14:00 of the second period -- the last goal before McDavid found the back of the net -- was a bit of a redemption story for the 27-year-old winger. Marner and McDavid didn’t seem to gel earlier in the tournament, resulting in the duo being separated for Canada’s 5-3 win over Finland on Monday and Marner logging just 12:46 of ice time. Had that been the end of the story, it would have been about Marner vanishing when things got tough, a story that would have added to the frustrations of Maple Leafs fans, who have seen Toronto flounder in the playoffs throughout Marner’s tenure. Instead, he added another chapter to the tale.

It was also a great showing for Jordan Binnington. Goaltending was the main question mark for Canada going into this tournament, and while Binnington certainly had some bad moments, in the end, he did step up for Canada, turning side 31 of 33 shots in the Final.

Of course, Nathan MacKinnon was also deserving of his MVP title. He scored a tournament-best four goals, including the overtime winner against Team Sweden and two markers versus Finland. Without MacKinnon’s efforts, Canada might not have made it to the final match. He also got Canada on the board first against Team USA on Thursday with his marker at 4:48 of the first period.

It needs to be acknowledged how well America played in this tournament. Both games between these two countries were intense, and not much would have had to change for Team USA to have emerged as the winner. In particular, Zach Werenski (six assists), Jake Guentzel (three goals, four points) and the Tkachuk brothers were fantastic in this tournament. Connor Hellebuyck also did his part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, largely proving his status as the league’s best goaltender, even if his team finished just shy of the title.

Canada can celebrate today, but they have every reason to be concerned about Team USA going into the Olympics. What a fun tournament that should be.

Boston Bruins

Boston will start next week at home, hosting the Maple Leafs on Tuesday and the Islanders on Thursday. The Bruins will then travel to Pittsburgh on Saturday and Minnesota on Sunday.

It seems unbelievable to even suggest it, but those games might be among Brad Marchand’s last in a Bruins jersey. Boston is 27-24-7, which puts the Bruins a point behind the Senators for the final wild-card spot despite having played in one extra game. To be clear, Boston still very much has a chance of making the playoffs, but the fact that it's now a borderline team is cause for retrospection.

There were tempered expectations for the Bruins going into 2023-24 after losing David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. The squad managed to prove the rumors of their death were exaggerated with a 47-20-15 showing, but that success was led by elite goaltending, something the Bruins haven’t enjoyed this season. Linus Ullmark is gone and -- perhaps due to the pressures of his new contract, missing training camp or some combination of the two -- has underwhelmed with an 18-18-4 record, 2.98 GAA and .898 save percentage. Couple that with free-agent signing Elias Lindholm putting up mild numbers (11 goals, 30 points) as well as Charlie McAvoy (shoulder) getting hurt in the 4 Nations Face-Off, and it’s looking more and more like this isn’t a squad setup for a playoff run even if it does squeak in.

With all that considered, maybe it really is time to move on from Marchand. He’s 36 and in the final campaign of what’s proven to be an extremely team-friendly eight-year, $49 million deal. He is allowed to submit a list of up to eight teams he’d veto a trade from, so he does have some influence over his situation, but the return the Bruins could potentially get from him would still be significant. There are a lot of teams out there who would be happy to take a former Stanley Cup winner with a reputation for getting under opponents' skin. Especially given that Marchand is still performing at a high level offensively with 20 goals and 45 points through 58 appearances in 2024-25. His cap hit ($6.125 million) is also reasonable enough to make it feasible for most contenders to maneuver him below the ceiling, especially if Boston retains part of what’s left of his salary.

There’s a certain logic to trading Marchand while his value is still high and at the end of that contract, but there’s also a strong argument against it. He’s the Bruins captain and a fan favorite. Trading him away, especially after a summer that didn’t go Boston’s way, would likely result in strong pushback against GM Don Sweeney and president Cam Neely, even if the return is significant. It’d be one thing if Marchand wanted to go for the sake of chasing the Cup, but in his own words, his “goal is to play here forever,” per NBC Sports Boston. True, players will usually speak highly of whoever their current employer is, but in the case of Marchand, who has dedicated his entire NHL career to Boston, it seems reasonable to believe him and assume he wants to re-sign with the team.

Plus, even if he is getting up there in age, Boston might still enjoy another serious run with him. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Jeremy Swayman rebound next season. Hampus Lindholm (lower body) might have better luck on the injury front in 2025-26, which would go a long way towards stabilizing the blue line. The team would still have secondary scoring concerns that would need to be addressed over the summer, but this is far from a franchise that’s without hope in the mid-term.

In the end, I expect Marchand rumors to persist up until the trade deadline but for him to ultimately remain with Boston.

Los Angeles Kings

Los Angeles will open the week by hosting Vegas on Monday followed by Vancouver on Wednesday. The Kings will then hit the road with games in Dallas and St. Louis on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

The Kings hold a 30-17-7 record going, which gives them a decent cushion in the battle for a playoff spot, though they’ll have a difficult time catching up to Edmonton (34-19-4) or Vegas (34-17-6), which would be necessary in order to secure home-ice advantage in the first round.

Still, with the trade deadline approaching, the Kings are likely to be buyers if they do anything. They have all their draft picks over the next three years with the exception of their 2025 second-round selection (surrendered in the Tanner Jeannot trade) and a decent amount of cap flexibility (PuckPedia puts the squad’s deadline space at just under $4.5 million), so there is room here to get something done.

Los Angeles is rumored to be targeting Buffalo’s Alex Tuch, according to Russell Morgan of Hockey Royalty. Even if that doesn’t specifically happen, it does suggest that LA is in the market for a top six winger, which would make some sense.

Los Angeles is fine up the middle. Anze Kopitar is still performing well at 37 (13 goals, 46 points). Neither Phillip Danault (five goals, 230 points) and Quinton Byfield (11 goals, 29 points) has done enough offensively to be an ideal second-line center, but either one is serviceable in the middle six. Besides, with the Pierre-Luc Dubois experiment still fresh in the Kings’ mind, Los Angeles might be reluctant to take another swing at filling that role. Instead, the hope is probably for Byfield to grow into that job and push Danault to the third unit.

The defense looks solid now that Drew Doughty is back from his ankle injury. We haven’t seen much from him offensively yet -- just one assist in six appearances with the Kings and one helper in four outings with Canada -- but he’s averaged 26:57 of ice time with Los Angeles since returning, so he’s helped stabilize the blue line.

In goal, Darcy Kuemper has been a pleasant surprise, providing a 17-6-6 record, 2.22 GAA and .918 save percentage in 30 appearances, firmly putting his 2023-24 showing with Washington -- a 13-14-3 record with a 3.31 GAA and an .890 save percentage in 33 outings -- behind him. Maybe the Kings will seek an alternate to David Rittich, who has a 12-11-1 record, 2.59 GAA and .890 save percentage in 25 appearances, but that seems unlikely.

That mostly just leaves help on the wings, especially from someone who can find the back of the net. Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala are the only Kings players with at least 15 markers -- 25 and 21, respectively -- while 3.7 players per team have hit the 15-goal milestone, so it’s fair to say that’s an area of need for the Kings.

Los Angeles is also an underwhelming 20th in goals per game with 2.83 and has instead relied on its fifth-ranked 2.53 goals allowed per game for its success.

If the Kings do add a top six forward, then Trevor Moore could see his playing time meaningfully diminish. Moore was great in 2023-24 with 31 goals and 57 points in 82 regular-season games, but he’s dropped to eight goals and 23 points in 45 appearances this season, making his average ice time of 17:05 less than ideal. Any addition up front might also push Moore off the power play entirely. As it is, he’s averaging just 1:11 with the man advantage, which has resulted in only one assist for the 29-year-old this season.

Minnesota Wild

The Wild have a full week, starting at home against Detroit on Tuesday before a back-to-back in Utah and Colorado on Thursday and Friday, respectively. The squad will then return to Minnesota to host the Bruins on Sunday.

Minnesota has a strong 34-19-4 record (72 points), but with the Jets’ dominance (39-14-3), finishing first in the Central Division still looks like a longshot. Instead, the Wild are battling with Dallas (37-18-2) and Colorado (33-24-2) for the second and third seeds in the division with the bottom of the three likely entering the playoffs as a wild-card club.

The big question for the Wild is when Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) will be back. When he underwent surgery in late January, we were told that he’d miss a minimum of four weeks, so while a return this week seems unlikely, seeing Kaprizov by mid-March isn’t out of the question. Minnesota deserves credit for managing a 4-2-0 record since Kaprizov was put on the shelf, but that stretch also included back-to-back shutout losses and an underwhelming 2.50 goals per game, so the Wild have shown some vulnerability.

Getting strong performances out of Matt Boldy, Marco Rossi and Mats Zuccarello during Kaprizov’s absence will be critical. Boldy had a poorly timed five-game scoring drought from Jan. 29-Feb. 6, but he bounced back with two goals and three points in the Wild’s final game before the break and held his own during the 4 Nations Face-Off, supplying a goal and three points in four outings with Team USA, so he might hit the ground running for Minnesota when play resumes.

Rossi has two goals and seven points across his past 10 appearances with the Wild, but he’s also been inconsistent during that stretch, going without a point in five of those outings. Meanwhile, Zuccarello hadn’t scored a point in five straight games before the break. Maybe the break -- Zuccarello wasn’t involved in the tournament -- has allowed him to reset and put that slump behind him.

That trio is likely to play together while Kaprizov remains out, though once Kaprizov returns, Boldy might shift off that unit to make room for the Wild’s star forward.

Nashville Predators

Nashville will open the week with a pair of difficult opponents at home, hosting Florida and Winnipeg on Tuesday and Thursday, respectively. The Predators will then travel to New York to face the Islanders on Saturday and the Rangers on Sunday.

Nashville showed some hope from Jan. 3-23, winning seven of nine games, but the Predators followed that with a six-game losing streak they couldn’t afford. Nashville now has a 20-29-7 record, putting the team 15 points out of a playoff spot. The team isn’t mathematically eliminated, but there is no longer a realistic path to the postseason for Nashville. To hit 94 points, Nashville would need to go 23-4-1 the rest of the way. That’s simply not happening.

That makes the Predators obvious sellers going into the deadline. Filip Forsberg, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, Roman Josi and Brady Skjei all have no-movement clauses and significant term left on their contracts, so I wouldn’t expect any kind of blockbuster involving any of them.

Interestingly, Juuse Saros’ new contract, and thus his no-movement clause, doesn’t begin until the 2025-26 campaign, so technically the Predators could trade the goaltender, but I doubt they will. Saros’ eight-year, $61.92 million deal looked good when he inked it, but the 29-year-old has struggled this campaign with an 11-23-6 record, 2.95 GAA and .898 save percentage in 41 appearances prior to the tournament. He had a minus-3.5 goals saved above expected, per Moneypuck, which suggests he’s been below average even after considering the poor play in front of him. Teams might be hesitant to take on that big contract given his recent performance, and Nashville might be equally reluctant to trade him at a time when his value is down.

Still, Nashville should be active at the deadline. Gustav Nyquist, who is playing the final season of his two-year, $6.37 million contract, is likely gone. His 20 points in 55 appearances this campaign is a far cry from his 75-point showing in 2023-24, but the 35-year-old should still be a capable middle-six forward for a contender and, frankly, a move away from the Predators’ struggles should do him some good.

Perhaps Ryan O'Reilly will be moved as well. He’s signed through 2026-27, but his $4.5 million cap hit is fair for the two-way center who has 14 goals, 34 points and a 56.6 faceoff percentage in 53 outings this season. The 34-year-old is a former Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe winner, which is sure to appeal to contenders, and the fact that he’s got term left on his deal means that he would command more than a rental price. He also lacks a no-trade clause, making a potential move that much easier. That said, it really depends on how bad the Predators see their situation. Nashville still has a veteran core, and with so many players locked to NMCs, the franchise is unlikely to embrace a rebuild at this time. If that’s the case, then Nashville might prefer to keep O’Reilly under the belief that the team will bounce back over the next two years. At the least, the Predators likely aren’t motivated sellers when it comes to him, so they would need to be offered a very appealing return.

It'd be much cheaper for teams to pry Luke Schenn from the Predators. He’s in the middle season of a three-year, $8.25 million contract, so he’s not a rental either, but the 35-year-old defenseman is presumably not as big of a part of Nashville’s plans. For a team looking to win now, though, Schenn provides some value. He is a physical force with 41 PIM and 207 hits through 56 outings and would be a solid third-pairing option on a playoff squad. His cap hit might be a touch high for what he brings to the table, but at $2.75 million, it’s workable.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Moving from one seller to another, the Penguins aren’t quite out of the playoff race, but they probably won’t make it. At the least, Pittsburgh needs to be great down the stretch to close the gap, which means the Penguins need a big week. They’ll play in Philadelphia on Tuesday before returning home to host the Flyers, the Bruins and the Maple Leafs on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

Sidney Crosby looked great in the 4 Nations Face-Off, contributing a goal and five points across four games for Team Canada. The 37-year-old should be expected to continue to perform for the Penguins down the stretch after supplying 17 goals and 58 points across 55 appearances with Pittsburgh leading up to the tournament. Unfortunately, it’s already well established that the current Penguins can lose even with Crosby keeping up his end of the bargain.

Even if the Penguins are sellers, Crosby is unsurprisingly going nowhere. He has a no-movement clause, and it’s doubtful that either Pittsburgh or Crosby have interest in parting ways. He is the face of the franchise and will likely remain in that position until he hangs up his skates.

The same goes for Evgeni Malkin. The Russian star made his intentions clear in an interview with The Athletic’s Rob Rossi: “I not retire. I know what some people say -- like, I go back to Russia and play for my home team. But I never say it, you know? I retire with Pittsburgh. The Penguins are my team. I love this team. When I retire it’s here.”

So yeah, take him off the list, especially because his no-movement clause gives him final say over his status.

Still, the Penguins are likely to make some moves. Perhaps Matt Grzelcyk, who is playing on a one-year, $2.75 million contract, will be traded. He has a goal and 28 points in 59 appearances while averaging 20:18 of ice time, though he might see his power-play role decline with a new team, which would hurt his fantasy value. He has 10 power-play assists and has logged 2:11 per game with the man advantage this season.

Cody Glass might also be shipped to a team looking for forward depth, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see the same happen to Anthony Beauvillier. Neither has term left on his contract, though Glass has one season remaining of RFA eligibility.

If Pittsburgh is in the mood for something bigger, the team could take a hard look at moving Rickard Rakell. He’s having a strong campaign with 25 goals and 49 points in 58 appearances. He’s signed through 2027-28 with a $5 million cap hit, so I don’t think the Penguins will move him, but his trade value is good, so it would be a way to shake things up without touching the core. However, the Penguins aren’t expected to enter a full rebuild until after Crosby retires, so rather than move Rakell for picks or long-term prospects, Pittsburgh would presumably want at least one player who is NHL-ready in any Rakell trade.

St. Louis Blues

The Blues will alternate between home and away games next week. They’ll start by hosting Seattle on Tuesday before playing in Washington on Thursday, returning home to face the Kings on Saturday and finally traveling to Dallas for a clash Sunday.

St. Louis is in a similar position to Pittsburgh. It’d be wrong to say all hope for a playoff berth is lost, but with a 26-26-6 (58 points) record, squeaking into the playoffs seems improbable. Perhaps Jordan Binnington can ride the high of backstopping Team Canada to victory in the 4 Nations Face-Off to lead the Blues on a run after the break. It’s certainly something to keep an eye on because he’s a great netminder when he’s at his best, but the problem is that the 31-year-old can end up all over the place. Not to take away from what he just accomplished, but that inconsistency makes it hard for me to count on him to continue at that high level of performance for a sustained period of time.

If he can’t lead St. Louis on a run in the near term, then the Blues are likely to be another seller at the trade deadline. Radek Faksa, who is in the final season of his five-year, $16.25 million contract, would be the most likely player to be dealt under those circumstances. He has three goals, 10 points, 83 hits and 31 blocks in 46 appearances in 2024-25. Those aren’t standout numbers, but Faksa would likely have a market among contenders looking to add to their bottom six.

Maybe trade offers involving Cam Fowler or Nick Leddy will be entertained too. Leddy has a full no-trade clause, while Fowler can limit his options to a four-team trade list, so the two blueliners have considerable control over their respective situations, but they’re also 33 years old and might be interested in the opportunity to play for a contender. Fowler and Leddy are signed through 2025-26, so each of them would come with a bit of term, which adds to their value, especially given that they also come with a reasonable cap hit of roughly $4 million (in Fowler’s case, that’s excluding the $2.5 million Anaheim has retained).

Fowler and Leddy are each capable of serving in a top four capacity. Fowler was already involved in a trade from Anaheim to St. Louis in December, so moving him again is a bit awkward, but given the Blues’ situation, it would make some sense to flip him to a team doing better. As for Leddy, he’s healthy after missing most of the campaign due to a lower-body injury. There seems to be a bit of load management going on given that he averaged just 17:21 of ice time over his first three games back -- his 2023-24 average was 22:22 -- but as he puts some distance between him and his time on the shelf, his workload should increase.

Ryan Suter will also probably get traded if there is interest in him. The 40-year-old isn’t the defenseman he once was, but he would be a nice veteran presence for a contender. Just don’t expect him to average anywhere close to his 20:29 in 2024-25 if he moves away from St. Louis.

If one or more of those blueliners do get traded, then Tyler Tucker will likely see an increase in playing time. We might also see Samuel Johannesson get called up from AHL Springfield to make his NHL debut. The 24-year-old has shown some offensive potential in the minors, providing three goals and 23 points in 46 appearances, so maybe he’d get a trial on the second power-play unit depending on who St. Louis parts with.

If the Blues make some moves up front, then Dalibor Dvorsky would likely get summoned from Springfield. The 19-year-old has looked good with 15 goals and 35 points in 44 AHL outings. It’s also worth keeping Jimmy Snuggerud in the back of your mind. He has 20 goals and 42 points in 32 games with the University of Minnesota as a junior. If he opts to go pro after the NCAA season, it’s feasible that he’ll immediately jump into a middle-six spot with the Blues.

So even if St. Louis misses the playoffs, there are some young players who might make those final weeks worth watching.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals will be at home next week and won’t have to deal with a back-to-back set. Washington will host Calgary on Tuesday, St. Louis on Thursday and Tampa Bay on Saturday.

Washington went into the break with a dominant lead in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals had 80 points (36-11-8) through 55 appearances, putting them nine points ahead of the second-rank Panthers despite Florida having played in two extra games. Although it’s too early for Washington’s spot atop the conference standings to be assured, we’re quickly approaching a point where the Capitals will have to resist the temptation to go onto cruise control until the playoffs.

While there are obvious benefits to the Capitals’ position, resting on your laurels down the stretch can make it hard to get serious again once the playoffs start. Fortunately, even if Washington soon finds itself in a position where wins feel optional, there will still be something to play for: Alex Ovechkin. The 39-year-old entered the 4 Nations break just 15 goals behind Wayne Gretzky and delivered a hat trick in his second game upon return to close the gap to 12 goals in the remaining 25 games. He’s scored at a pace of 0.67 goals per game this campaign, so becoming the all-time goal scorer by the end of the campaign looks attainable, should he stay healthy.

However, it has to be said that using that as the team’s motivation might be a double-edged sword. Getting the puck to Ovechkin is usually the right call -- he's converting on 18.4 percent of his shots after all -- but if the team puts all its focus into securing the record for Ovechkin, even at the cost of the fundamentals, then it might create bad habits. That’s potentially especially dangerous should the act of winning or losing become secondary.

Either way, he’s the best offensive weapon the Capitals have and should be well-rested after the break. He’s not the only one either -- no Washington player was included in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

Although Jordan Binnington got the job done, Logan Thompson would have also been a fantastic option for Team Canada after posting a 24-2-5 record, 2.23 GAA and .921 save percentage through 31 appearances with Washington this season, but he wasn’t included on the roster. The silver lining is that the time off should have given him a chance to reset -- he was working through a slump right before the break, posting a 1-0-2 record, 3.88 GAA and .867 save percentage across three outings.

That’s in contrast to Tom Wilson, who had four goals and six points across his final four outings before the break and has added three points in two games since returning. The 30-year-old has already suprassed his career high in goals with 26 and is on course to surpass his personal best of 52 points -- he has 45 through 57 contests this campaign.

Winnipeg Jets

The Jets will open the week by hosting the Sharks, and they’ll follow that up with a two-game road trip to Ottawa and Nashville on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively. The Jets will conclude the week back home with a clash against the Flyers on Saturday.

Like the Capitals, Winnipeg’s biggest challenge going forward might be finding ways to stay motivated down the stretch as games potentially mean progressively less. The Jets already have 81 points (39-14-3) after just 56 appearances, so their playoff position is fairly secure. They’ve even opened up a nine-point lead in the battle for the Western Conference’s top seed thanks to their active eight-game winning streak.

One benefit of that time off will be the ability to manage Connor Hellebuyck’s workload down the stretch. The 31-year-old netminder should still be counted on to play regularly, but we might see Eric Comrie move up to playing once every third game to make sure Hellebuyck isn’t burnt out by the time the playoffs start. It’s a situation worth monitoring closely if you have Hellebuyck on your fantasy team. Adding Comrie would be a good hedge, especially given that he’s been a fine backup with a 2.57 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 13 appearances.

On the trade front, Winnipeg is projected to have $11.2 million worth of deadline cap space, per Puckpedia, but the Jets are missing their 2025 second and fourth-round selections due to trades before this season, so Winnipeg has a little less to work with when it comes to acquiring players.

Another tricky thing is that…they play in Winnipeg. That’s not me trying to throw shade at the city, that’s me acknowledging a genuine challenge that the franchise has to constantly overcome because of player perceptions. The Athletic recently polled 111 players and granted them anonymity so that they could speak freely. When asked what the first team on their hypothetical no-trade list would be, 48.78 percent picked Winnipeg.

As one player put it: “There’s not much to do out there. It’s (censored) cold. I haven’t heard a guy go to Winnipeg and be like, 'This is going to be my forever home.’”

The second-place Sabres weren’t even close at 19.51 percent despite the Jets being a dominant club while Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs since 2011. It’s not fair, but if a player has a partial no-trade list, then you have to consider the probability that Winnipeg is on it. Even still, Winnipeg might be able to bolster its blue line or add a middle-six forward before the deadline.

Seth Jones has interest in leaving Chicago, and Winnipeg was mentioned as a potential destination by The Athletic. He’d help solidify the Jets’ top four and maybe serve on the second power-play unit. His $9.5 million cap hit is a bit rich, but the cap is going up, and the Blackhawks might be willing to retain part of that salary. However, Jones has a no-movement clause, and given what we’ve already discussed when it comes to players' feelings for Winnipeg, he might not be willing to waive it for the Jets.

Getting Ryan Donato from Chicago might be more viable. It’s a far less splashy move, but Donato would be a nice third-line option. He has 19 goals and 38 points in 55 appearances this season. Connor Murphy would also be a solid add for Winnipeg in a trade with the Blackhawks. After supplying a goal, 13 points, 38 PIM, 72 hits and 100 blocks in 44 appearances with Chicago this campaign, he’d look nice on Winnipeg’s third pairing. Like Jones, though, Winnipeg would have to overcome the NTC problem -- Murphy has a 10-team no-trade list.

NHL: DADOUN – THE FANTASY WEEK AHEAD – What about the Maple Leafs is not working? – Favourable schedules and players to target

Ryan Dadoun — Sat, 01 Feb 2025 16:05:37 +0000

TORONTO, ON - JANUARY 24: Toronto Maple Leafs Winger William Nylander (88) skates with the puck during the NHL regular season game between the Winnipeg Jets and the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 24, 2024, at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto, ON, Canada. (Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire)

The Maple Leafs are going through a bit of a rough patch, losing their past three games and six of their last nine. Even after factoring in that slump, though, they have an impressive 30-19-2 record. This downturn is also coming at a time when they’re missing one of their top forwards in John Tavares (lower body) as well as the continued absence of Anthony Stolarz (knee).

Toronto seems to be a city of anxiety when it comes to the Leafs, brought on by years of playoff disappointments, so success seems to be treated with an asterisk whereas slumps come with an “Oh boy, here we go again” attitude, but given the overall success of this team thus far in 2024-25 and the recent injuries, would it be best to dismiss the recent struggles as just the type of stretch that every good team goes through, or is there really an underlining issue being exposed?

Certainly, this is still a good team, but when people express those doubts about Toronto, they’re not disputing that. Instead, they’re saying this team isn’t good enough to be regarded as a serious Stanley Cup contender, and by that standard, I do think this stretch highlights an area of real concern. Toronto has managed just one goal in each of its past three games and ranks 13th in goals per game this campaign with 3.04. For a team that’s built around four elite forwards, to have a lack of offense is rather discouraging.

In fact, 74.5 percent of Toronto’s cap is eaten by forwards compared to 54.3 percent for Winnipeg (3.58 goals per game) and 56.5 percent for Tampa Bay (3.48 goals per game). In fact, the only other team close to the Maple Leafs in terms of the percentage of their cap spent on forwards is Washington, but while the Capitals are at 74.7 percent, their situation is weird because Nicklas Backstrom ($9.2 million against the cap) and TJ Oshie ($5.75 million against the cap) are on LTIR. Even if we were talking apples to apples, though, at least Washington is getting value at 3.49 goals per game.

So, what is it about Toronto that isn’t working? You’ve probably already guessed because it is the common argument against the Maple Leafs’ way of doing things: If you spend $46.65 million on four forwards (Auston Matthews, William Nylander, Tavares and Mitch Marner), then you don’t have much left over for the rest of your forward corps.

On another team, that could be supplemented by young players on entry-level contracts or players locked to team-friendly contracts. Toronto doesn’t have much of either on the forward side of things. Part of that is because for years now, Toronto has been trading futures for playoff runs that didn’t materialize.

The notable exception is Matthew Knies, who has 18 goals and 31 points in 47 appearances this campaign, but even that is about to go away given that this is the last season of his entry-level contract. Outside of him and the Big Four, no Maple Leafs player has reached the 15-goal or 25-point mark.

That also makes them particularly vulnerable to absences, such as the current one by Tavares. It does have to be said that Toronto did fairly well without Matthews during stretches of the campaign, but that was due to strong goaltending rather than other forwards filling the void. In Toronto’s first stint without Matthews from Nov. 5-27, the team went 7-2-0 despite averaging just 2.89 goals per game. Toronto was a mixed 3-3-0 during Matthews second absence from Dec. 21-Jan. 2 and once again managed just 2.83 goals per game.

That strong goaltending has been the backbone of the Maple Leafs this campaign, but we’ve seen vulnerability there since Dec. 14 with Toronto allowing 3.32 goals per game. It’s not coincidental that the Maple Leafs’ dip in goaltending is what’s made Toronto’s underwhelming offense -- something that’s nothing new this campaign -- gain attention. A lot can be forgiven or ignored as long as the team collectively is winning. It’s also not coincidental that Dec. 14 to present covers Toronto’s span without Stolarz, who had been terrific before getting hurt with a 9-5-2 record, 2.15 GAA and .927 save percentage in 17 appearances.

When Stolarz comes back, perhaps he’ll resume his dominant play, and Toronto’s mediocre scoring will once again seem acceptable. Once thing this stretch has highlighted, though: The Maple Leafs need him. Unlike some older versions of the Maple Leafs who were driven by offense, this team hasn’t consistently shown an ability to impress when not backed up by great goaltending.

Calgary Flames (Tue vs TOR, Thu vs COL, Sat vs SEA)

The Flames will wrap up their schedule before the 4 Nations Face-Off with a trio of home games. They’ll host Toronto on Tuesday, Colorado on Thursday and Seattle on Saturday. It’s fairly tough competition, but I wanted to highlight them anyway to discuss the trade that sent Andrei Kuzmenko, Jakob Pelletier and two draft picks (2025 second rounder, 2028 seventh rounder) in exchange for Morgan Frost and Joel Farabee.

In terms of what Calgary gave up, the 23-year-old Pelletier is a former first-round pick, but hasn’t developed into a top six forward yet, supplying four goals and 11 points in 24 outings this season before the trade. Meanwhile, Kuzmenko is a former 39-goal scorer, but he’s struggled to do much of anything with the Flames in 2024-25, collecting four goals and 15 points in 37 outings. In other words, the Flyers got some interesting pieces in this trade, but Calgary isn’t losing assets that were likely to help the squad in the short term.

The best piece Calgary got in exchange for that was Frost, who has 11 goals and 25 points in 49 appearances in 2024-25 after recording 41 and 46 points in 2023-24 and 2022-23, respectively. He’s a solid third-line center who looks fine on the draw with a 51.6 winning percentage this year. Nazem Kadri and Mikael Backlund will probably play ahead of Frost up the middle, and when Connor Zary (knee) comes back, Zary might shift to the wing to play alongside the newly acquired Flyers center.

Frost isn’t likely to turn heads, but he should be a nice secondary scorer for a team struggling to find the back of the net (2.68 goals per game). The only potential sticking point is Frost couldn’t complete Wednesday’s 5-0 loss to New Jersey, which might indicate he’s dealing with an injury. It’s probably nothing serious if the Flames pulled the trigger on this trade, but perhaps it will delay his debut with the Flames.

When it comes to Farabee, he’s another middle-six forward. The 24-year-old did look like he was on track to become more than that last campaign when he supplied 22 goals and 50 points in 82 games, but he’s regressed this year with eight goals and 19 points in 50 outings. Perhaps a fresh start with Calgary will do him some good, but he’ll probably begin his stint with Calgary on the third line with Frost (assuming Frost is healthy).

For the 25-18-7 Flames, the question is if these moves are enough to win them a playoff spot. The team is still very dependent on Dustin Wolf to be stellar in goal -- his 19-8-2 record, 2.51 GAA and .917 save percentage in 29 appearances is a big part of the reason Calgary’s in this position -- but this should at least give him a bit more goal support.

Chicago Blackhawks (Wed vs EDM, Fri vs NSH, Sat @ STL)

The Blackhawks will get to rest up early this week before hosting the Oilers on Wednesday and Predators on Friday. Chicago will then travel to St. Louis for a clash Saturday.

In most cases, I’d label the 18-24-7 Predators and 23-24-4 Blues are favorable matchups, but we’re talking about Chicago…so that doesn’t really work. Chicago is 16-30-5, giving the franchise good odds of getting a top two pick for the third straight campaign. The silver lining is that sets the stage for the Blackhawks to have an amazing core to build around, but in the meantime, Connor Bedard is burning the second year of his entry-level contract on a team that’s not giving him much to work with.

Not that Bedard is putting up Connor McDavid-like numbers, but the Blackhawks sophomore is doing his part with 14 goals and 44 points in 50 games. There’s only so much he can do when only one other player on the team, Teuvo Teravainen, has more than 30 points. Chicago also recently dealt Taylor Hall to Carolina, and while he wasn’t living up to expectations with the Blackhawks, his nine goals and 24 points in 46 outings was still good enough to rank fifth among forwards in Chicago’s scoring race before the trade.

Ryan Donato, who ranks third with 29 points (15 goals) in 49 outings, might be gone soon too. The 28-year-old is in the final season of his two-year, $4 million contract, so it’s fair to believe Chicago will jump at the opportunity to move him for a pick or prospect.

Seth Jones, who is only in the third season of his eight-year, $76 million contract, is likely to stay, though. That contract hasn’t looked great for Chicago and with the benefit of hindsight, the timing was awkward given the Blackhawks’ performance over the life of it. However, Jones has his moments, and he’s going through one of them. The 30-year-old blueliner has recorded at least a point in each of his past seven appearances, giving him two goals and 10 points in that span. If you’re looking for someone who will provide value this week in Chicago outside of Bedard, Jones is your best bet.

Los Angeles Kings (Wed vs MTL, Fri vs DAL, Sat vs ANA)

The Kings will spend the week at home, facing Montreal, Dallas and Anaheim on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, respectively. They’ll try to enter the break on a positive note after going 2-7-1 from Jan. 11-30.

Los Angeles’ recent slump is due in large part to a lack of scoring. The Kings have managed three or more goals just once in that 10-game span. Anze Kopitar has been noticeably quiet. The 37-year-old is having a great campaign overall with 12 goals and 43 points through 49 appearances, but he’s supplied just four assists over his past 13 outings. It should just be a matter of time before the veteran gets going again, but perhaps fantasy managers should consider benching him until that time comes.

Phillip Danault has left plenty to be desired too after collecting only two points (one goal) across his last 11 games. He’s now on pace to record just 38 points this season, which would make it the first time he’s ever finished below the 40-point mark in a season where he’s logged at least 70 games.

Obviously, the slump has skewed the scoring pace downward, but there are areas of concern beyond that. Perhaps the most discouraging aspect of his game is his complete lack of power-play production. He had nine points with the man advantage last season and a career-high 20 in 2022-23, but he still hasn’t found the scoresheet on the power play this campaign. To make matters worse for him, with Drew Doughty back, Danault might find himself shifting out of the power-play makeup entirely.

Speaking of Doughty, he made his season debut following a knee injury without any sort of time management to ease him back in. He logged 23:51 of ice time Wednesday and another 27:43 the very next day. He didn’t get any points over his first two contests, but the Kings were shutout of back-to-back games, so that’s less of a Doughty thing and more of a byproduct of the team’s overall slump.

Los Angeles is a good enough team to overcome its recent struggles, and Doughty should be an effective defender the rest of the way. It wouldn’t be shocking to see him collect 15-20 points over what’s left of the campaign.

Montreal Canadiens (Tue @ SJS, Wed @ LAK, Sat vs NJD, Sun vs TBL)

The Canadiens are one of just a handful of squads set to play four games next week. They’ll start on the road with contests in San Jose on Tuesday and Los Angeles on Wednesday. Afterward, Montreal will host the Devils on Saturday and the Lightning on Sunday.

The Canadiens battled their way back in the playoff conversation by going 13-3-1 from Dec. 17-Jan. 21, but some of that momentum has been lost after dropping their past four games (0-3-1). Unfortunately, Jakub Dobes has lost some of his initial magic. He burst onto the scene by stopping 103 of 107 shots (.963 save percentage) across his first four starts -- all wins -- but he’s allowed at least three goals in each of his past three outings.

The 23-year-old is a promising netminder who has a 2.44 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 14 AHL appearances this season, but he’s not presently one of the best goaltenders in the world. A drop off from his hot start isn’t shocking and you similarly shouldn’t be surprised if he’s able to work his way back from it. He should average out to be a pretty decent rookie for the Canadiens in the second half of the campaign, but it would be too much to hope for Dobes to drag Montreal into the playoffs.

If the Canadiens are going to feature in the postseason, it will probably need to be the offense leading the charge. Patrik Laine has slumped recently too, though, being held off the scoresheet in each of his past three outings. Laine tends to be a very streaky scorer who sometimes seems unstoppable and on other occasions is a nonfactor. If he’s on your team, you have to work around these cold patches. Benching him wouldn’t be the worst idea in the short term but put him right back into the mix the second he finds the back of the net because one goal from him often kicks off a new hot streak.

When Laine starts going again, it should also help Lane Hutson, who is on a four-game scoring drought. Hutson isn’t solely dependent on Laine for offense, but it’s fair to say that the two have found chemistry, especially with the man advantage, so what’s good for one is often good for the other.

Hutson is also just one point shy of 40. The last time the Canadiens had a rookie defenseman hit that milestone was 1984-85 when Chris Chelios and Tom Kurvers surpassed that mark. The only other rookie blueliner to ever reach that milestone in franchise history was Guy Lapointe in 1970-71.

Ottawa Senators (Mon @ NSH, Tue @ TBL, Thu @ TBL, Sat @ FLA)

During a busier week, I wouldn’t be highlighting the Senators because they have a rather tough schedule, but because they’re one of the rare squads set to play in four games, I’ll feature them anyway. The Senators will be on the road all week, starting in Nashville on Monday before playing two games in Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Thursday. Ottawa will then conclude the week in Florida on Saturday.

In contrast to the Canadiens, Ottawa has won its last three games, bringing the Senators up to an 8-2-1 record dating back to Jan. 11. That’s propelled Ottawa to the third spot in the Atlantic Division, just four points behind Toronto and five shy of Florida.

If you had suggested at the beginning of the campaign that this would be the Senators’ position, many would have assumed that it was a sign that Linus Ullmark had worked out superbly, and while the goaltender does have an impressive 2.38 GAA and .915 save percentage, he’s been limited to 23 outings due to injury and hasn’t played since Dec. 22.

Even with him gone, though, goaltending hasn’t been an issue. Leevi Merilainen has looked fantastic, posting a 7-3-1 record, 2.19 GAA and .921 save percentage in 11 appearances. Although Anton Forsberg hasn’t been nearly as effective overall, he’s done his part recently too with a 3-1-0 record, 2.19 GAA and a .922 save percentage over his last five outings.

Ullmark is close to returning, so it will be interesting to see what Ottawa does next. The path of least resistance would be to send Merilainen back to the minors because he’s waiver-exempt. It feels wrong to demote a goaltender who has been doing this good, but you also need to keep in mind that he’s 22 years old. He might not get many starts in a scenario where all three goaltenders are healthy, so it’s probably better for his development if he’s with AHL Belleville and playing regularly.

That scenario assumes Forsberg can at least do adequately as the backup. He’s done well lately but still hasn’t been great overall, posting a 2.87 GAA and an .893 save percentage across 19 outings in 2024-25. If he starts struggling again, then Ottawa could push him to the side. At the very least, Forsberg has less job security now than he had at the beginning of the campaign.

Perhaps the Senators will consider seeing if there is a taker for Forsberg on the trade market. There might not be much demand for him, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that’s an avenue they’ve explored. Whatever consideration they gave to the possibility of trading Claude Giroux is probably over, though. The 37-year-old is in the final year of his contract, so it would have made sense to move him before the Senators got hot, but now that a playoff berth is looking realistic, there’s little reason to move one of their top six forwards, so fans of other contenders can likely cross him off their wish list.

Tampa Bay Lightning (Tue vs OTT, Thu vs OTT, Sat @ DET, Sun @ MTL)

Ottawa has surpassed Tampa Bay in the standing, but the Lightning will have an opportunity to reclaim their spot. As noted above, Tampa Bay is set to host the Senators on Tuesday and Thursday. After those two key games, Tampa Bay will hit the road, playing in Detroit on Saturday and Montreal on Sunday.

It might be a bit much to say Tampa Bay is slumping -- the Lightning earned a 3-0 win over LA on Thursday -- but at the least, the results have been mild recently. Dating back to Dec. 29, Tampa Bay has a record of 7-9-1.

The Lightning have scored just 2.47 goals per game during that 17-game stretch, so it’s fair to say offense has been at the heart of the problem. That’s despite Nikita Kucherov providing an impressive seven goals and 22 points in that span.

However, a lot of other players are a step below what they’re capable of producing. Kucherov’s typical linemates, Jake Guentzel and Brayden Point aren’t enduring a full-blown drought, but they’re usually better than the 13 and 10 points, respectively, they’ve collected over the past 17 games. Brandon Hagel (six goals, 14 points) and Victor Hedman (three goals, 12 points) have largely held their own over that stretch too, but their overall scoring pace has declined relative to what it was before Dec. 29.

Taken on their own, the dip of any of those four high-end producers wouldn’t be a big deal, but to have all four of them drop at the same time is noteworthy. That’s compounded by the more significant decline Anthony Cirelli has suffered. After averaging a point-per-game through his first 32 outings (14 goals, 18 assists), he’s managed just two goals and seven points across his past 17 appearances.

Let’s look at this another way: Of Tampa Bay’s top nine scorers through Dec. 28, only one, Darren Raddysh, has seen his point-per-game pace increase over Tampa Bay’s last 17 games. Meanwhile, seven of the nine have a point-per-game pace from Dec. 29-Jan. 30 that’s at least 26 basis points less than it was from the start of the campaign through Dec. 28. Even Kucherov, who as seen a significant decline between those two stretches -- 1.71 PPG compared to 1.29 PPG.

So, it’s not a one player problem. The team collectively has cooled, and there aren’t players outside of that core who have stepped up to fill the void.

Utah HC (Tue vs PHI, Thu @ CBJ, Sat @ CAR, Sun @ WSH)

Utah has a busy week ahead of it. The Hockey Club will host the Flyers on Tuesday before hitting the road with clashes in Columbus on Thursday, Carolina on Saturday and Washington on Sunday.

This has nothing to do with fantasy hockey, but I got to note that Utah will apparently not be able to use the nickname Yeti or Yetis, per The Salt Lake Tribune. That leaves the finalists as the Utah Mammoth, Utah Outlaws or sticking with Utah Hockey Club. I’ll be honest, I don’t like any of those options, but a good logo and time can cause branding to grow on people.

I just hope they don’t stick with Hockey Club. As a placeholder, I get it, and I understand it’s a perfectly common name in other sports -- as someone from Toronto, Toronto FC immediately jumps to mind, and that’s one of many MLS teams using FC. However, to me, Hockey Club feels like the absence of identity rather than an identity in and of itself. At the end of the day, though, it’s not for me to decide. The fans of the team are what matter here, but if I was picking, that would be last on my list.

Clayton Keller jerseys should sell regardless. He certainly is playing well enough to deserve it. He has 18 goals and 54 points in 49 appearances, and Keller’s been consistent too, not being held off the scoresheet for more than two games in a row this campaign.

Logan Cooley is sure to help define the Utah franchise too. The 20-year-old sophomore is enjoying a breakout campaign with 15 goals and 43 points in 50 appearances. However, Utah will have to get along without him for a while because he suffered a lower-body injury Wednesday and is regarded as being out indefinitely. That’s on top of the absence of Dylan Guenther (lower body), who has 16 goals and 34 points in 40 outings, but hasn’t played since Jan. 8.

With both of them gone, Josh Doan seems set to serve in a top six capacity and the first power-play unit. He hasn’t done much with his opportunities so far this campaign, collecting just two goals and five points in 19 outings, but he does still have upside and is worth keeping an eye on.

We might also see Matias Maccelli get a fresh opportunity. Maccelli has averaged just 13:58 of ice time this campaign and was even a healthy scratch Wednesday, but with Cooley out, Maccelli could find himself on the second unit. Maccelli has just 17 points (eight goals) in 48 outings this campaign, but he had 49 points in 2022-23 and 57 points last season, so a comeback isn’t out of the question.

Vegas Golden Knights (Tue @ NYI, Thu @ NJD, Sat 2 BOS)

Vegas will be on the road next week, playing against the Islanders on Tuesday, New Jersey on Thursday and Boston on Saturday. All of those adversaries are in the mix for a playoff spot, but only the Devils are a safe bet to make the postseason at this time.

Vegas seems all-but certain to make the playoffs too given its 31-15-6 record, but the Golden Knights have faltered recently, going 3-6-3 over their past 12 games. Vegas, which had been doing fairly well on the injury front, also got some bad news there. William Karlsson (lower body) has missed the past five games and isn’t close to returning. Cole Schwindt (lower body) will probably be out for a while too.

The Golden Knights attempted to help fill that void by inking Brandon Saad to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Saad was an unrestricted free agent because he and the Blues mutually agreed to terminate what was left on his remaining on his five-year, $22.5 million contract, which would have run through 2025-26. Even after signing that deal with Vegas, Saad has cost himself millions of dollars by agreeing to walk away from his old deal, but that also highlights how much value he puts on playing in the NHL.

The Blues waived him Tuesday and he cleared because no team wanted his old $4.5 million cap hit. Saad could have simply reported to the minors and collected his paycheck, but the 32-year-old instead took this path, which led him to a fresh opportunity with Vegas.

Although he hasn’t been terribly productive this campaign, recording seven goals and 16 points in 43 outings with St. Louis, he can be an effective middle-six winger. Vegas will likely give him an opportunity to play on the third unit, perhaps alongside Raphael Lavoie and Nicolas Roy. Saad might also get a look on the second power-play unit, but that’s far from certain.

I wouldn’t expect big things from Saad, but I also wouldn’t be surprised if he proves to be serviceable with his new team. He also might end up doing a little better when Karlsson returns -- it's entirely feasible Saad and Karlsson will end up playing together when that happens with Roy shifting to the fourth line.

One player Saad is less likely to play with is Tomas Hertl, which is a shame for Saad because Hertl is red hot. The 31-year-old is on an 11-game scoring streak in which he’s provided nine goals and 15 points. Funny enough, he has a neutral plus/minus, even during that terrific stretch, keeping him at a team-worst minus-10 overall. Hertl looks more appealing in terms of possession stats -- his 5v5 relative Corsi and Fenwick are plus-1.8 and plus-4.0, respectively, which suggests the team performs better when he’s on the ice -- but it seems plus/minus is destined to be the one area where he underperforms.

NHL: CULLEN – Laine making the most of his power play time, Schmaltz, Hertl and Nelson are hot, Jones thriving since returning to lineup, and much more!

Scott Cullen — Fri, 24 Jan 2025 23:24:57 +0000

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

Each week, I dig into the stats to find information that can help you make better fantasy hockey decisions. This week, Patrik Laine has made the most of his power play time in Montreal, Nick Schmaltz, Tomas Hertl and Brock Nelson are hot, Seth Jones is thriving since returning to the Chicago lineup, and much more!

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

#1 It is not like the hockey world forgot what Patrik Laine could do when the puck hit his stick, but he has been playing sporadically in recent seasons, so the evidence wasn’t quite so evident. After joining the Montreal Canadiens, however, Laine has shown that he is still a lethal shooter. In 20 games with the Habs, Laine has 18 points (12 G, 6 A) with 54 shots on goal. He is scoring on 22.2 percent of his shots, which is a higher rate than he has finished in any previous season, but he is also quite specifically a power play threat, with 10 of his 12 goals coming with the man advantage. Laine has 10.35 goals per 60 minutes of power play time, which ranks first among players that have played at least 30 minutes on the power play this season. Victor Olofsson (6.48), Pavel Dorofeyev (5.76), Michael Bunting (5.22), and Brayden Point (4.82) round out the top five in power play goal-scoring efficiency.

#2 Veteran Utah Hockey Club right winger Nick Schmaltz has established his credentials as a quality point producing forward but had been off to a relatively slow start prior to embarking on what is now a seven-game point streak, during which he has nine points (3 G, 6 A). Schmaltz has consistently played alongside Clayton Keller, but the duo has recently added second-year centre Logan Cooley to the top line and Cooley has been cooking, putting up 30 points (12 G. 18 A) in his past 28 games.

#3 Barrett Hayton, who has played quite a bit with Schmaltz and Keller in recent seasons, has moved to a line with Matias Maccelli and Josh Doan and continues to have success, tallying seven points (3 G, 4 A) in his past four games. Hayton’s ice time is down this season to 15:24 per game after playing more than 17 minutes per game in the previous two seasons, but he has also improved his work in the face-off circle, winning 54.2 percent of his draws. Given Cooley’s offensive upside, it probably makes more sense for Hayton to slot in as the No. 2 centre in Utah.

#4 Vegas Golden Knights centre Tomas Hertl had been relatively inconsistent early in the season, but he might be turning the corner. He is riding a seven-game point streak, putting up 11 points (6 G, 5 A) with 25 shots on goal in those seven games. That elevated shot rate is an important factor because Hertl was averaging 2.24 shots per game through the first 41 games of the season. Taking that up to 3.57 shots per game is a strong indicator for a player sustaining is production.

#5 New York Islanders centre Brock Nelson is finding his name in trade rumours as the Isles are sitting in last place in the Metropolitan Division. He is helping to keep his value high, scoring seven points (3 G, 4 A) with 18 shots on goal while playing more than 20 minutes per game in his past six games. A 6-foot-4 centre who has scored more than 30 goals in three straight seasons, Nelson is obviously appealing for a team looking to boost its offense.

#6 Chicago Blackhawks defenceman Seth Jones is starting to heat up. He had missed five weeks with a foot injury, but has delivered 10 points (2 G, 8 A) in 14 games since getting back into the lineup. Jones has recorded 10 of his 20 points on the power play, and with 7.87 points per 60 minutes on the power play, he ranks third among defencemen, behind only Zach Werenski (8.11) and Neal Pionk (7.91).

#7 Seattle Kraken centre Chandler Stephenson had been on a good run before getting injured Thursday night. In his past 11 games, including Thursday, Stephenson has contributed 10 points (5 G, 5 A) but there is a bona fide concern with his low shot rate. He has 46 shots on goal in 48 games, which is a shockingly low amount for a player who logs more than 19 minutes of ice time per game. With Yanni Gourde also injured, Stephenson’s absence could create more playing time for Shane Wright, who is making progress. In his first 23 games of the season, Wright had seven points (4 G, 11 A), but in the next 23 games, he has contributed 15 points (4 G, 11 A).

#8 Looking for a buy-low winger? Consider Kevin Fiala of the Los Angeles Kings. In 11 games since the holiday break, Fiala has a modest five points (2 G, 3 A) but he also has 40 shots on goal. That shot rate is encouraging, but there is also the matter of Fiala’s low on-ice shooting percentage this season. During five-on-five play, the Kings are scoring on just 5.8 percent of their shots when Fiala is on the ice, which is his lowest since his rookie season in 2016-2017.

#9 Calgary Flames winger Blake Coleman can fly under the radar a bit but when he is contributing offensively, that makes his fantasy contribution quite strong. In his past 17 games, Coleman has 15 points (5 G, 10 A) but he also has 36 hits and that combination makes him quite appealing for fantasy managers. Coleman is unlikely to match last season’s career highs of 30 goals and 54 points, but already has 92 hits in 46 games, so if the point production continues, Coleman’s all-around contribution is solid.

#10 On a similar level, Boston Bruins forward Morgan Geekie has picked up his production a bit, with eight points (5 G, 3 A) in his past 10 games, but he also has 25 hits in those 10 games. Be a little wary, though, since Geekie only has 16 shots on goal in those 10 games, his goal-scoring has been dependent on a high shooting percentage (31.3 percent in the past 10 games).

#11 Carolina Hurricanes rookie right winger Jackson Blake has found his way to the top line, skating with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov. Blake has played 15:27 per game over the past four, chipping in three points (1 G, 2 A) with nine shots on goal. It is probably too soon to jump on Blake in most fantasy leagues, but if he remains on that top line there is obvious scoring upside for a player who ranks third among rookies with 11 goals despite very limited ice time (12:02 ATOI). (Editors note – The Rantanen trade followed the publication of this article – the coach may want to spread the scoring around, but it is more likely Rantanen takes that spot on the top line)

#12 Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares is out of the lineup due to a lower-body injury and for all of the criticism that Tavares takes, he remains a high-end point producer, with 42 points (20 G, 22 A) in 44 games before getting hurt. The challenge for the Maple Leafs is to get contributions down the middle of the ice behind Auston Matthews because, with Tavares out, the second line centre is Pontus Holmberg and the third line centre is rookie Fraser Minten. Holmberg has zero goals and one assist in his past 11 games while Minten has zero points in his past eight NHL games after starting with four points in his first five games.

#13 With the New York Islanders’ season teetering on the brink, they got bad news that standout defenceman Noah Dobson is considered week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Dobson’s production has fallen off the pace he set last season, when he had a career-high 70 points (10 G, 60 A) in 79 games, as he has 24 points (6 G, 18 A) in 46 games this season, but the Islanders don’t have great options to replace him on the power play. Ryan Pulock has handled the role before and is noted for his heavy shot from the point, but has one power play point this season.

#14 New Jersey Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom has suffered a sprained MCL, which will keep him out of the lineup for 4-6 weeks. Markstrom has been exactly what the Devils needed between the pipes, with a .912 save percentage and 10.0 goals saved above expectations in 36 games. With Markstrom out, Jake Allen will need to handle the starter’s role. Allen has a .901 save percentage and 4.04 goals saved above expected in 15 games this season, so he is a capable starting goaltender for the next month plus.

#15 The Boston Bruins are in a tough battle for a playoff spot, for the first time in a while, but that is made even more challenging when goaltender Jeremy Swayman and No. 1 defenceman Charlie McAvoy are sidelined with injuries. Defenceman Hampus Lindholm was already injured, so the current version of the Bruins is without its top two defencemen and top goaltender, and that is going to make it even more difficult. Swayman’s injury does not seem serious, so Joonas Korpisalo may only have short term value, but McAvoy has landed on injured reserve, which will keep him out for at least a week. This defensive weakening does make the Bruins more vulnerable, potentially worth targeting as opposition while the Bruins are missing Lindholm and McAvoy.

#16 Bruins defenceman Mason Lohrei has been making the most of his opportunity to quarterback the power play. He has six points (1 G, 5 A) in the past seven games and is up to 10 power play points. With 6.85 points per 60 minutes on the power play, Lohrei is tied for 15th (with Chicago’s Alex Vlasic) among NHL defencemen.

#17 Colorado Avalanche winger Valeri Nichushkin is considered week to week with a lower-body injury, and that leaves a large hole for the Avalanche. In 21 games, Nichushkin has 17 points (11 G, 6 A). His absence keeps Ross Colton in Colorado’s top six and while Colton has been held scoreless in his past four games, he is worth keeping tabs on as a player with potential upside because he thrived earlier in the season when given a big opportunity due to injuries.

#18 Ottawa Senators centre Josh Norris is out with an upper-body injury. Given his history with shoulder woes, Norris’ health is an area of concern, yet the thing is that he can still produce when healthy. In 47 games this season, Norris has produced 17 goals and 27 points. The Sens do get David Perron back in the lineup, so that should theoretically help alleviate Norris’ absence, but Perron has failed to record a point in 10 games this season, so expectations should be kept in check. Senators defenceman Jake Sanderson is out of the lineup with a lower-body injury, which elevates Thomas Chabot to the first power play unit.

#19 Norris’ absence from the Senators’ lineup should also open the door for Shane Pinto to step up. While Pinto has six points (2 G, 4 A) and 18 shots on goal in the past eight games, he is also averaging more than 20 minutes of ice time per game in that time, so it would be a prime opportunity for Pinto to lift his offensive production because with 16 points (8 G, 8 A) in 40 games, he has underachieved offensively.

#20 Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Darren Raddysh has elevated his game recently, producing six points (2 G, 4 A) with 13 shots on goal in the past five games, averaging 21:50 time on ice per game. With J.J. Moser and Erik Cernak injured, the Lightning certainly need Raddysh to take on more responsibility. In his first 18 games this season, Raddysh averaged 15:30 time on ice per game and in 20 games since then, has averaged 20:04 per game.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick

MCKEEN’S 2024-25 NHL YEARBOOK – CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS – Team Preview

Wed, 25 Sep 2024 16:00:10 +0000

_{CHICAGO, IL - OCTOBER 21: Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (98) looks on during a game between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Chicago Blackhawks on October 21, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)}

After posting a 26-49-7 record in 2022-23, expectations were low for Chicago in 2023-24, but there were still some reasons to believe that the Blackhawks might at least be fun. Connor Bedard was set to play in his first season and was projected to play alongside Taylor Hall. Plus, Chicago had some promising youngsters on the roster outside of Bedard, like Lukas Reichel. In the end, though, not much went right for the Blackhawks last season. Connor Bedard did win the Calder Trophy with 22 goals and 61 points in 68 contests and Philipp Kurashev made strides (18 goals, 54 points), but no one else even reached the 40-point mark. Hall missed almost the entire campaign, contributing to Chicago scoring a league-worst 2.17 goals per game en route to an even worse 23-53-6 record.

WHAT’S CHANGED? Tyler Johnson left as an unrestricted free agent, but that was the Blackhawks’ only major loss. Meanwhile, they signed forwards Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen along with defencemen Alec Martinez and TJ Brodie and goaltender Laurent Brossoit. The Blackhawks also had the No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 draft, which they used to take blueliner Artyom Levshunov.

WHAT WOULD SUCCESS LOOK LIKE? Between Bedard, Kurashev, a healthy Hall, and newcomers Bertuzzi and Teravainen, Chicago’s offence is starting to look serviceable. If Reichel, who was limited to 16 points in 65 contests last year, can take a meaningful step forward this year, then the Blackhawks’ offence might even start looking like an asset. With the Blackhawks upgrades to defence, Chicago’s rebuild might go a lot quicker than some suspect.

WHAT COULD GO WRONG? No one is expecting the Blackhawks to make the playoffs, but they do need to start making some strides towards competitiveness. Goaltending might hold them back from achieving even that modest goal. Chicago will be looking for Petr Mrazek to repeat his largely solid performance from 2023-24, but Mrazek hasn’t shown a lot of season-over-season consistency during his career. Although Brossoit is a potential hedge against that, the 31-year-old netminder’s career high in games is just 24, so it’s unclear if he’d perform as the starter if Mrazek falters. Outside of that, although the Blackhawks have plenty of youngsters with upside, there’s always a risk that inexperienced NHLers will experience growing pains.

TOP BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Reichel knows a thing or two about growing pains -- as mentioned above, he didn’t do much offensively with Chicago last season. Still, Reichel has looked fantastic at the AHL level, and after a rough campaign, he ended 2023-24 on a high note by scoring three goals and seven points with Germany in the World Championship. Still just 22 years old, the No. 17 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft might hit his stride this campaign.

FORWARD

Connor Bedard

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	42	44	86	1.10

Building a good supporting cast around their superstar was the priority for the Hawks this off-season. At 18-years old, he shouldn’t be expected to turn the franchise around on his own and last year was clear proof of that. The elite skillset showed through most of the time, but there were limitations on how much one guy can carry the load. That was especially true on the power play where he scored only four goals all season. Bedard can create his own shot and score from distance, but even the elites need help getting setup and creating space. His first year wasn’t without his struggles, but he excelled in a lot of things that are hard to do for even seasoned veterans. He was one of the top players in the league at generating controlled zone entries and creating passes from the middle of the ice. His offence and chance production were also very good, but it was heavily based on him setting up Nick Foligno and Phillip Kurashev to score any goals. A better supporting cast around him this year, including additions Tyler Bertuzzi and Teuvo Teravainen, should yield better all-around play for Bedard and star-level production on the scoresheet. He can threaten 30 goals and 90 points if everything breaks right but point per game production is a more realistic expectation.

Taylor Hall

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
60	18	24	42	0.70

After getting him for essentially nothing last summer, Hall spent almost the entire season on the shelf with both a shoulder injury and a knee injury which required surgery. The former first overall pick is a great complement to Bedard when healthy. Still an excellent puck-carrier, he can take some attention away from their star player and he has enough speed to make the Hawks top line a nightmare to deal with if everyone is on their game. His game has been slightly more one-dimensional as a playmaker as he has gotten older. Hall has never been the best finisher and thrives with setting guys up from along the wall and creating space for them off the rush. There is a lot of potential there for him and Bedard to have great chemistry, with Bedard’s shot and Hall’s strong possession game, it’s just a matter of Hall staying healthy. He’s had plenty of experience playing alongside top picks, so adapting to Bedard’s skillset shouldn’t be a problem. You will have to expect some downtime. He has only surpassed 20 goals once in the last six seasons, so temper your expectations accordingly and draft for 10 -15 goals at most and twice as many assists.

Philipp Kurashev

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	19	28	47	0.60

Now one of the team’s veterans, it might surprise you that Kurashev is the Hawks longest-tenured forward. He was the player who got the “Bedard bump” last season, as life was much easier for him alongside the Hawks star forward and his overall numbers got a major boost. Much of those points were assists where he was around the play rather than setting Bedard up, but his motor and attention to detail is what made him a mainstay on the Hawks top line. Scoring a lot off rebounds and loose pucks early in the season, his confidence grew as time went on and Kurashev became more of a guy other teams had to pay attention to because of how good he was at getting himself open and taking advantage of the space Bedard creates. Still, he is best when he’s doing the simple things and it's tough to say if he can repeat this type of year with the Hawks adding so many other options on the wing. Still, he has taken himself from a tweener to someone who could potentially have a nice career in the NHL. A step back offensively is likely if not on the first line but should still line up on what should be an improved first power play, on which he finished second on the team with 19 points last season. An expectation of producing points in the mid 40’s with 30 assists is within his reach.

Tyler Bertuzzi

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	28	24	82	0.69

Bertuzzi was one of the main forwards brought in in free agency to mesh with Bedard and he brings a skillset all teams covet. He’s feisty and loves going to the net to get his chances. Finishing them has been the struggle in the past with last season in Toronto being one of his stronger outputs. He has spent most of his career stapled to a top line or a star player, whether that’s Dylan Larkin or Auston Matthews, so you can likely pencil him in on Bedard’s line along with the top power play unit. His willingness to fight for position in the blue paint and get himself open will make him a popular choice for that role and so will his track record of being a good playmaker. The only downside is that he is prone to scoring slumps because he doesn’t have the best hands around the net, jamming at loose pucks instead of controlling it to finish chances. Might not be the guy driving the bus on his line but can be more than just a passenger even if he’s not riding shotgun with an elite talent. His style of play has contributed to some injury time over the years that should be accounted for when drafting. He should receive increased power play time over his usage in Toronto and should be able to deliver 20 – 25 goals again and push for 50 points as a result.

Teuvo Teravainen

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
78	24	34	58	0.74

Returning to where his NHL career began, Teravainen is one of the best pieces the Hawks added this off-season. He is arguably the most one of the most underappreciated forwards in the league for his defensive play, although that rarely went unnoticed by his coaches in Carolina. He played heavy minutes on the penalty kill while going up-and-down the lineup as both Sebastian Aho’s wingman and a steady presence on a shutdown line with Jordan Staal. As much as the Hawks need scoring, a guy who can calm the waters at five-on-five is just as important, which is where Teravainen should play a key role, whether that’s on a scoring line or a defensive role. He doesn’t need the puck to be effective, although he is coming off a career high in goals, and he’s usually better as the trailer in the play rather than the primary puck-carrier. His boxcar stats got a boost last year thanks to nine power play goals, after catching a lot of penalty killers off-guard in the right circle. His versatility will be a welcomed addition to this Chicago team. His defensive game will carry his value. Offensively he has scored more than 20 goals four times in his career, including 25 last season. He might be hard pressed to hit that number in this environment, but over the last seven seasons he has scored consistently, outside of a slump in 2022-23. He has scored 373 points in 474 games in that time, which represents a 64-point average pace over 82 games, and he is only 29-years old.

Andreas Athanasiou

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
60	9	15	24	0.40

Signed for two years after a 20-goal season in 2022-23, Athanasiou missed all but 23 games with a groin and hip issue last season. He was expected to be more of a roster placeholder while the team’s prospects are still developing, and the Hawks are hoping they can salvage something out of the final year of his contract. His calling card is the same as always, speed, blazing speed. He could challenge for the throne as the fastest player in the NHL if he’s ever lucky enough to be invited to the All-Star Game. Unfortunately, that ship has mostly sailed but he still has something to offer as a depth piece. His skating is always going to make teams interested in what he brings, and he is good enough to go on a hot streak that can give your third or fourth lines some pop. Not too many guys can say they’ve scored 30 goals in the NHL after all. His streakiness and play away from the puck have kept him from finding a long-term home and it will take a major bounce-back season for that to happen in Chicago. Draft accordingly.

Jason Dickinson

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
82	15	18	33	0.40

Dickison was one of the few Hawks players who didn’t take a beating on the stat sheet last year, which is saying a lot on a team with a five-on-five goal differential below 40%. In fact, he was one of two regular players on the team who had an on-ice goal differential above 50%. It might not look like much, but it was enough to earn him some love in the Selke race. He did this while playing the tough matchups along with heavy penalty kill minutes and taking lots of faceoffs in the defensive zone. Oh, and he was also tied for the team lead in goals with 22. Impressive if somewhat inflated by a 17.2 shooting percentage versus a 10.6 career percentage. Adapting to the environment is how you stay in the league, even as an ex-first round pick, and that’s been the story of Dickinson’s career. He carved out a role for himself as a worker bee forward with the Stars and has become one of Hawks most relied upon forwards since arriving in the Windy City. Last year was a borderline impossible task for him with the team still in the rebuild stage and seeing massive injuries on top of that. He should have a little more help next year as he continues to provide a reliable defensive presence in the middle of their lineup. Repeating a 20-goal season will be a challenge. At 29-years old, an offensive breakthrough is not likely.

Nick Foligno

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	13	15	28	0.37

What you get from Foligno is very predictable. Even his counting stats have been all over the place as he plays through his late 30’s. He’s had somewhat of a resurgence after a dismal two goals in 64 games campaign with the Bruins in 2021 and his 37 points last season was his highest total since 2017. Getting the prime spot on Bedard’s wing played a major role in that, but the Hawks got a lot of miles out of the veteran. Playing more minutes per game than he has since his days as Columbus’ captain, Foligno’s heart-and-soul playing style fit with what the Hawks were trying to accomplish last year. They wanted a team that worked hard on the tough nights and Foligno is a guy who will always do that and give you some good defensive results at the very least. The Hawks were impressed enough to keep him around for another two years, likely in a de facto captain type of role. Foligno will slot back into a checking role, where he is more suited, and his offensive results will reflect that. You may expect some downtime as well at his age and style, so expect between 20 and 30 points at most.

Lukas Reichel

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
77	10	16	26	0.34

To say Reichel had a tough go of it in his first NHL season would be an understatement. The Hawks were patient with bringing him along and allowed him to play himself out of a prolonged scoring slump that lasted until mid-November. His goal-scoring prowess from the AHL hasn’t translated to the big leagues just yet, as he showed that he has the wheels to create his own shot but didn’t have the touch to beat NHL goaltenders. Rushing a lot of his better chances or not challenging the goaltender enough if he got in alone. Quick-strike offence was also his only calling card, as his lines always struggled mightily to drive play when he was on the ice, and it didn’t matter if they had him in the middle or on the wing. With two very strong years in the AHL, the 2020 first rounder doesn’t have much left to prove in the minors, but he hasn’t shown that he is ready to be an everyday NHL player either. He’s also used to being “the guy” on his line, whereas he will need more help around him to succeed in the NHL. With the addition of veteran wingers to fill the top six slots, it will be another year of development and any offensive breakout is down the road.

Ryan Donato

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
74	12	15	27	0.36

With 14 forwards currently under NHL contracts, the only thing keeping Donato in Chicago’s current mix is that he plays center on a wing-heavy team. He also offers some versatility that you can use up-and-down the lineup, although it’s uncertain if he will get that this year now that the team’s depth has improved. Donato was a nice fit with Bedard early on in the season as a shoot-first type of player, but his one-dimensional game and need for centers lower in the lineup kept him from being a long-term solution there. More of a stabilizer rather than someone who will carry the mail. Still has a soft set of hands that make him a threat around the net, but creating those chances has been the issue for most of his career. It’s the main reason why he’s topped out as a 15-goal guy rather than someone who could get you 20+. Still, what he brings to the table isn’t nothing, especially in the shootout. Seattle had a nice setup for him as a sheltered fourth liner who you could take in-and-out of the lineup when you needed a skill boost. The Hawks didn’t have that luxury last year, but this year might be a different story.

Ilya Mikheyev

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	9	17	26	0.34

Mikheyev’s reputation as a poor finisher is a little unfair because he has a couple of strong shooting seasons under his belt. However, this year might have been rock bottom. Playing mostly with Elias Pettersson, he scored only 11 goals and scored only once since December 17^th. You would have to be the best defensive player or penalty killer in the world for fans to not be frustrated with that, especially on a top line. Hence why he was traded to the Hawks in a cap dump deal in the summer. If Mikheyev finds some scoring touch again, he’s a great piece for Chicago. Adds a lot of speed to their wings and is a nuisance while playing shorthanded. Disrupting a lot of plays and always a threat to break shorthanded. The Hawks have a logjam on their wings, but Mikheyev’s speed and strong work ethic gives him an edge over some of the other roster hopefuls. He has also only taken three penalties over the last two seasons, so he will rarely put you on the penalty kill.

DEFENCE

Seth Jones

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
75	10	27	37	0.49

Taking some of the burden off Seth Jones was one of the Hawks priorities when making the coaching switch before last year. His workload in terms of minutes wasn’t going to change, but there was more of an effort to give him support and keep him away from situations where he’s on an island defending. A consistent partner was a major part of this, and Jones got that last year with Alex Vlasic bursting onto the scene and shining as a guy who could complement Jones’ mobility while having some size. The other was mitigating Jones’ weakness, which is entry defence. This used to be one of his strengths, but he can’t skate guys into the corner to kill plays as well as he used to. An ankle injury in Columbus and forward talent around the league getting faster and more deceptive are the main reasons for that. He also can’t be the workhorse with the puck that he used to be, even though he still has the cardio to log 25-26 minutes a night. He doesn’t have to challenge at the line as often and relies on his partner to move the puck instead of being a one-man breakout like he used to. It’s taken away some of the dynamic aspects of his game, but his defensive game is night and day from where it was when he first arrived in Chicago.

Kevin Korchinski

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
79	8	21	29	0.37

Thrown into the fire as a rookie, the 19-year-old had no shortage of “welcome to the NHL” moments. The Hawks were content to let one of their first-round picks play through his struggles and Korchinski took his lumps on the scoresheet. No defenceman on the Hawks was on the ice for more five-on-five goals against than him and while some of that is out of his control, most of his time on the ice was spent stuck in his own zone. He showed flashes of what made him such a high pick, especially as a passer and while running the power play. He was a case of how much rookies have to adjust to the speed of the NHL in terms of decision making rather than skating, as he didn’t have an issue skating guys down, but the puck would go through him a lot and he was rarely on the same page as his forwards. Korchinski is the type of player who will benefit from the team around him getting better. So many of his strengths are reliant on forwards making the next play and the Hawks controlling more segments of the game where they can reset and attack. He might benefit the most from the Hawks improved depth.

Alec Martinez

Predicted Stats
GP	G	A	PTS	PPG
65	2	12	14	0.22

The gamble with Chicago adding Alec Martinez is if his body can still hold up at 37 years old and if the team around his good enough for his skillset to matter. Primarily a shot-blocking defenceman, Martinez has more pop than your typical shutdown defender and can be a complement to a strong puck-mover like he was in Vegas with Alex Pietrangelo. He is one of those players that is very good at “taking damage” without giving up a goal, which comes with the territory when blocking shots and spending a lot of time in your own zone. It’s why having a good team around him is important, because Martinez can do a lot to hold the fort down in the defensive zone and that only means so much if his teammates can’t get the puck out of the zone or the guys on the next shift spend more time in their own zone. If anything, he should take some of the load off Connor Murphy with the defensive zone workload.

GOAL

Petr Mrazek

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
48	16	27	5	1	0.906	3.02

Laurent Brossoit

Predicted Stats
GP	W	L	OT	SO	SV%	GAA
34	12	19	3	0	0.908	3.08

No one expects the Chicago Blackhawks to be contenders this year, so their goaltending strategy seems to be similar to the one they opted for last season - get through the year with a consistent veteran voice, avoid rushing prospects too early, and establish good habits for the young skaters in front of the crease to build upon in the years to come. That makes the return of Petr Mrazek a perfect option, even if the sting of Corey Crawford's absence is still lingering at the United Center. Mrazek was a surprising bright spot during a heavy rebuild year for Chicago in 2023, putting up his best complete season since 2019 and serving as one of the few constants on a young, inexperienced roster. He put up roughly league average numbers on a firmly below-average team, and his technical consistency - something not always a given for Mrazek - made it easier to feel confident in his performances night over night in Chicago.

He'll get a new tandem partner for the upcoming season to avoid rushing prospect Drew Commesso, as well, in a move that should make Blackhawks fans everywhere give a round of applause. Laurent Brossoit will depart from Winnipeg with stellar backup numbers behind Connor Hellebuyck, arriving in Chicago as one of the league's most reliable 1B-tandem options heading into the 2024-25 season.

MCKEEN’S 2023-24 NHL YEARBOOK – CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS – Team Preview – Player Profiles

Tue, 26 Sep 2023 21:30:46 +0000

CHICAGO, IL - APRIL 13: Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones (4) controls the puck during overtime during a game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks on April 13, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, IL. (Photo by Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire)

Review: Going into the 2022-23 campaign, the big question surrounding the Blackhawks wasn’t if they’d make the playoffs, it was if they’d win the draft lottery, securing the rights to draft Connor Bedard. That might sound harsh, but it would be hard to make the argument that Chicago was making any effort to compete in 2022-23 after they even traded Alex DeBrincat, who was coming off a 41-goal campaign and still just 24 years old, for nothing more than draft picks. That’s the kind of trade you only make if your goal is to start almost completely from scratch. With that in mind, it’s no surprise that Chicago ranked last offensively – they traded Max Domi and Patrick Kane before the deadline, preventing the team from finishing with even a 50-point player – and near the bottom of the pack defensively. The Blackhawks’ 29-49-7 record was just shy of the worst in the league, but they did end up winning the draft lottery.

What’s Changed? As expected, Chicago used the first overall pick to get Bedard, giving them a new headline player as the Blackhawks move past the Kane/Jonathan Toews era. To give Bedard a mentor and potential linemate, Chicago acquired Taylor Hall from Boston. Another veteran leader joining the Blackhawks is Corey Perry, who inked a one-year, $4 million contract.

What would success look like? A good season for Bedard by itself would be a win this year. He’s not the only Chicago prospect who could have a big season though. Lukas Reichel should serve in a top-six capacity and has a lot of potential. Philipp Kurashev doesn’t have the same level of upside as Reichel or Bedard, but Kurashev has 191 career NHL games under his belt now and might get a chance to play on the second line while surpassing his current career-high of 25 points. On defense, rookie Wyatt Kaiser could prove to be a solid top-four option down the road. Make no mistake though: This is a rebuilding season and Chicago is in no way expected to make the playoffs.

What could go wrong? So much depends on Bedard and if he’ll live up to the unreal levels of hype that have been thrust upon him. Early struggles aren’t the end of the world and even a poor rookie campaign from him wouldn’t necessarily be an indication that he’s a bust. After all, 2019 first overall pick Jack Hughes recorded just 21 points as a rookie but broke out in his fourth campaign with 43 goals and 99 points in 78 contests. However, so much of the Blackhawks hopes are resting on the idea that Bedard will be the next Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid, so it will be hard to navigate through Chicago’s anxiety if any warning signs crop up.

Top Breakout Candidate: Bedard is the obvious choice, but Reichel shouldn’t be slept on either. Reichel showed a lot of promise last season with 20 goals and 51 points in 55 AHL contests along with seven goals and 15 points in 23 games with Chicago. Reichel should be given every opportunity this year and might even play on the same line as Bedard on both even strength and the power play, further tying their fates together.

Forwards

Taylor Hall - RW

The Blackhawks needed a running mate for Connor Bedard and one fell into their laps with the Bruins trading them Taylor Hall for pennies on the dollar, the only expense for the Hawks being his $6 million AAV cap hit for the next two seasons. Hall is a great player to complement the young star because he can take a lot of pressure off him to “do everything” on his line. He loves carrying the puck and having the play go through him on the wing, which should open up some scoring opportunities for Bedard. Hall’s lines are usually a net positive when it comes to how many shots and goals they create and give up. Hall, himself, however, has been on a bit of the downswing in terms of how many goals he scores himself. His shooting has been on the decline, and he plays at a slower, methodical pace than he used to. This was perfect for the Bruins, as he injected some life into their middle-six and was one of their best forwards in the playoffs. Hall is probably a second liner now, so it will be interesting to see how he does going back to being “the guy” on another team, at least until Bedard emerges. He certainly has plenty of experience playing with first overall picks.

Tyler Johnson - C

The former “Tampa Triplet” had somewhat of a bounce-back season, scoring at his highest rate since the 2020 season, albeit with only 32 points in 56 games. Johnson’s career has been constantly interrupted by injuries over the past four years, so getting 50-something games out of him was nice to see. A good chunk of that production came on the power play, as Johnson can still be dangerous if someone sets him up. He just struggles to create on his own with only six of his goals coming at five-on-five and not having that same finish around the net he used to have. There comes a point where the rigors of the NHL do a number on even the most skilled players, and this appears to be the case for Johnson. His saving grace might be that he could thrive as a forechecker or in a defensive role, but the Hawks needed all the offense they could get and he played most of his minutes on scoring lines. With the roster in dire straits, Johnson will likely be in the Hawks top-six and power play units next season, although there is some help on the way with Bedard and Reichel.

Andreas Athanasiou - LW

Athanasiou’s speed is his one tool and it’s not a bad one to have. Still one of the fastest players in the league and coming off one of his best seasons in a while in terms of boxscore stats. Staying healthy and getting lots of opportunities for offense were the biggest factors, playing a full season after missing almost all of 2022 and potting 20 goals for the first time since he was a Detroit Red Wing. His speed is always going to make him a weapon because he can make space for himself and create quick-strike offense out of nothing plays, which is always going to play its part. Playing on a bad team helps you get more opportunities, but the Hawks need skill to work with their top picks and he formed some decent chemistry with their future star Lukas Reichel down the stretch last year. The downside is offense is pretty much all Athansiou has to offer. His value will be married to his point total and if he isn’t scoring, you’ll often ask yourself “what else is he doing?” This, along with his spotty injury history are the risks he brings.

Taylor Raddysh - RW

How many would guess that the Hawks co-leading goal-scorer was Taylor Raddysh? Granted, that’s only 20 goals but still impressive for a player who was unproven heading into the year. Raddysh was a guy the Hawks liked since they acquired him, giving him minutes with Toews and playing him on the top power play regularly. If you watch him, it’s easy to see why because he loves to shoot the puck and has a great release. Does a lot of the little things you need to do when you’re with great playmakers, always being in motion to get yourself open and recognizing where the play is going. Considering he almost never played on the Patrick Kane line, it’s impressive that he got 12 goals while primarily relying on teammates setting him up. He is an intriguing option to play with Bedard, as he has shown that he won’t get killed defensively in the top-six and the great shot is hard to ignore. Raddysh is also in that awkward spot of being in his mid-20’s on an expiring contract, so it will be interesting to see if he’s part of the Hawks plans going forward.

Nick Foligno - LW

It’s no secret that intangibles were a key factor in Chicago signing Nick Foligno, although his $4 million AAV cap hit to reach the floor also helps. Moving on from most of their leadership core in recent years, the Hawks invested in some older players to help bring some of their prospects along as they navigate their way through the rebuild. The ex-Blue Jacket captain is coming off a nice rebound campaign after a disastrous first year in Boston. He got back to double-digit goals and is always a reliable defensive player. Plays a straight-line game and plays more off the puck than he used to, as he doesn’t have that same burst he once did. Still very effective at getting to the net and capitalize on scoring chances and could see some power play time depending on how the Hawks roster looks come October. He could also play more minutes with the Hawks, as Boston had the luxury to play him in the 12-13 minute range on the deepest forward corps in the league.

Corey Perry - RW

Another veteran signed to a one-year deal, Corey Perry is coming off a couple strong years in Tampa and is still a master at getting under other players’ skin. His body can’t handle the full wear-and-tear of a normal top-sixer, but he’s made the most out of limited minutes in his last two years with the Lightning, going to the net to create chances and being a general menace to play against. This is a different situation than what he’s used to though, as he is usually brought in as a supplementary piece to a contending team. The Hawks aren’t contending this year, so Perry is there to be more of a leader and absorb some of the tougher parts of the game. Tampa rejuvenated his career a little, posting 40 points a couple years ago while giving them solid minutes on their fourth line dubbed “The School Bus Line.” Last year he was more of a power play specialist, scoring 12 of his 25 points with the man advantage and creating most of his five-on-five offense off rebounds.

Ryan Donato - RW

Skilled goal-scorers who don’t fit in the top-six sometimes get lost in the shuffle. Fortunately for Ryan Donato, he played on a Seattle team that played their skilled guys lower in the lineup and formed one of the more efficient scoring lines in the league alongside Daniel Sprong. The Harvard grad scored two points per 60 minutes at five-on-five with the Kraken, comparable with the likes of Trevor Zegras and Alex Iafallo. Possessing a fantastic set of hands, Donato can score some very creative goals out of nothing plays and made Seattle one of the deepest teams in the league last year. Whether it’s off the rush or around the net, he is great at settling down loose pucks and putting defenders in a tough spot if he gets the puck with some speed. The reason why he doesn’t play high in the lineup is that his game is pretty one-dimensional. He is not the best passer in the world and has tunnel-vision to the net most times. He is also a streaky scorer, finding the back of the net only one time in the final two months of the season (including no goals in the playoffs). Gives the Hawks another utility player to work with as they enter the year with a blank canvas.

Philipp Kurashev - LW

Out of all the Hawks forward prospects, nobody was given more of a chance to produce more than Kurashev. Playing almost 18 minutes a night in the Hawks top-six, Kurashev the Hawks wanted to see everything they had in the 23-year-old winger. He has good skills individually; great hands, uses his edges well, decent speed and plays with a high motor. In a game situation, he struggled to put it together, often throwing puck away on cycles and dumping the puck in on most of his entries unless it was off a turnover. There would be moments of greatness once every few games, but that’s just what they were, moments. That said, the Hawks liked him enough to retain him for two years, likely having him play lower in the lineup. He has the skills to be a good checking line player with some pop, as he usually takes smart routes to exit the zone and is effective at skating through traffic. Skills that make him a better fit for a counter-attack offense as opposed to a cycle game that you need from your top line. Last year was probably a good year for him and the Hawks as they know what they have in him and how they can use him better going forward.

Boris Katchouk - LW

The trade deadline opens the door for some players to step up and this was the case for Boris Katchouk. Toiling away as a healthy scratch for most of the year, Katchouk finally got some consistent playing time and linemates once some roster spots opened up. He had a nice month in March alongside Joey Anderson and Jujhar Khaira on what ended up as the Hawks first line on some nights. A high scorer both in junior and the AHL, he could translate that to the pros at times. Katchouk can use his size well to play a more skilled game, as he’s a good puck-handler and is very good at stealing pucks to setup plays from behind the net. He didn’t get much of a chance to do so while playing on the Hawks fourth line and struggled to score even when he got a bump in ice time. At 24, he’s still looking to find his role in the NHL but finds himself in a similar situation to last year where he might get lost in the shuffle.

Defense

Seth Jones - D

One year into his seven-year contract with Chicago, it took some time for Seth Jones to get acclimated to his new team. His point total took a hit, but things were a little calmer when he was on the ice. Having his skillset, it’s easy to think that you need to be the guy that does everything, especially on a bad team, and his workload was scaled back. He still logged more minutes than almost anyone else in the NHL but wasn’t pinching at every opportunity and stepped back more often when defending entries instead of meeting forwards at the red line. Ankle injuries have limited his ability to pivot and skate backwards, so Jones has to pay more attention to where the play is going rather than assuming he can shut it down on his own. It’s a new approach, but it should lead to better results once the players around Jones improve. He is showing that he can reinvent his game and still be a top-pair caliber defenseman, although not the game-breaker the Hawks were hoping for. The return of his shot being a threat was nice to see, mostly because he was likely the team’s best option more times than not. Still very good at getting pucks through traffic and was more opportunistic with creating chances than trying to score from long-distance.

Connor Murphy - D

While his game is mostly in the defensive zone, Murphy (who is now the Hawks longest-tenured player) set a career high in goals last year. He will surprise fans with the times he does jump in because it’s rare to see him outside of the defensive zone. Murphy has the mobility to be more active offensively, but he is mostly about cleaning up messes in his own end. He had his minutes reduced last year but still had big responsibilities on the penalty kill. Also played with a rotating cast of partners, sometimes he would be paired with a rookie, other times he was with Jarred Tinordi, a strictly physical defenseman. Very good at blocking shots without sacrificing his body. Takes a lot of abuse with retrieving pucks and struggles to make the first pass out of the zone, although most of that is from being under constant forecheck pressure. Needs a more mobile partner to succeed and will likely have his hands full this coming year with the Hawks blue line lacking experienced puck movers.

Nikita Zaitsev - D

Zaitsev spent most of last season as a part-time player in Ottawa before being placed on waivers and ultimately getting traded to Chicago in a deal that sent the Blackhawks a draft pick for eating the final year of his contract. Used to playing in the 20–22-minute range in his prime, Zaitsev’s game struggles to translate to the quicker pace of the league now. He plays a thankless role as a shot-blocker and a physical defenseman, but there is a limitation on how effective you can be when your puck skills are as limited as his. He is also a little redundant in Chicago’s lineup with a similar player in Murphy in the top-four and another comparable player in Jarred Tinordi also on the roster. He did score his lone goal of the season after being traded to Chicago but was only used in a depth role with a rotating cast of partners. The influx of younger players could force him out of the Hawks lineup, but it’s tough to say with so many unproven options on Chicago’s blue line.

Jarred Tinordi - D

enseman and Maryland native was claimed off waivers from the Rangers at the start of the year and was a regular in the Hawks lineup. The team likes both his size and the physical brand of hockey he plays. He proved to be effective in certain situations, most notably defending zone entries and limiting chances off the rush. Sometimes you need guys who will just play the system and do the little things to get by and this is exactly what Tinordi did. He won’t complete a lot of passes out of the zone, but he can stop the puck along the wall to free it for his partner or be in position to receive a pass to skate it out. When you’re playing 15-17 minutes a night, that’s all you need to do, and the Hawks were happy with what they got out of him. Eventually they’ll need to upgrade, but Tinordi could be a regular next year if none of the prospects from Rockford impress in training camp. It helps that he set career highs in goals and points, as modest as those totals were.

Goaltending

Petr Mrazek - G

There are few teams as obviously hitting the reset button as the Chicago Blackhawks, and there are few goaltenders entering the 2023-24 season who are as obviously cast as parts of a rebuild as Petr Mrazek. With Chicago GM Kyle Davidson openly stating that the team won’t be chasing additional goaltending depth, it’s likely that Blackhawks fans will see more Mrazek than anything for the upcoming year – whether for better or for worse.

Mrazek came to Chicago as a once-highly-touted veteran who dazzled in his league debut, then never quite lived up to the hype. He has the ability to showcase quick hands and fast skating, sliding out of screens and recovering to make last-second desperation saves when things look dire in front of him. But despite his elite-tier athleticism, his consistency has always been a sticking point – and in Chicago, with a smattering of groin issues and a very clearly deconstructed roster skating out in front of him, the Czech netminder had one of the league’s worst performances last year. The fact that he’s the team’s returnee, and not the surprisingly resilient Alex Stalock, is a testament to just how willing the team is to move away from assets that could prevent them from creating a new empire from the ground up; he’ll tandem with Arvid Söderblom in hopes that Mrazek will remain healthy and Söderblom will be able to hold down the fort when needed. It’s not all doom and gloom in Chicago’s crease, since prospect Drew Commesso is under contract and hopefully going to be ready to take over as the team’s heir apparent in a few years time. But for now, Chicago just has to hope that Mrazek is able to come back fully healthy and able to put up his best performance in nearly three years – if they want to show an ability to take a step forward this upcoming year, he’ll have to be better than he was in 2022-23.

Projected starts: 60-65

NHL: 20 FANTASY POINTS – Avalanche Getting Major Contributions from Unexpected Sources – Krejci, Laughton, Dach, Zucker and more

Scott Cullen — Fri, 20 Jan 2023 19:46:39 +0000

SAINT PAUL, MN - OCTOBER 17: Colorado Avalanche Center J.T. Compher (37) skates with the puck during the NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and Minnesota Wild on October 17th, 2022, at Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul, MN. (Photo by Bailey Hillesheim/Icon Sportswire)

Each week I dive into the numbers and offer some insights that should help when it comes time to make fantasy hockey decisions.

This week, the Avalanche getting major contributions from unexpected sources, plus David Krejci, Scott Laughton, Kirby Dach, Jason Zucker and many more players picking up the offensive pace.

#1 One of the great bargain free agent signings of last summer, Colorado Avalanche forward Evan Rodrigues has been such a versatile addition. He can play wing or center and moves up and down the lineup as needed. Given Colorado’s injuries, Rodrigues has been needed higher on the depth chart and he is averaging 19:24 of ice time per game. His previous career high was 15:50 per game for Pittsburgh last season. Rodrigues was held off the scoresheet in Calgary Wednesday, snapping a nine-game point streak, during which he produced 12 points (3 G, 9 A) and 26 shots on goal.

#2 Rodrigues isn’t the only Avalanche forward that is playing a whole lot more than expected. Since the beginning of December, J.T. Compher has averaged 22:30 of ice time per game, scoring 20 points (8 G, 12 A) with 61 shots on goal in 23 games. Compher scored a career high 33 points last season but already has 28 points (9 G, 19 A) in 43 games this season.

#3 It is hard to figure how the No. 2 center on the best team in the league is flying under the radar, but that seems to be the case with Bruins pivot David Krejci. The 36-year-old spent last season in Czechia, and it took him a little time to round back into form, but since mid-November he has delivered 28 points (9 G, 19 A) and 48 shots on goal in 27 games. He has always been a sharp playmaker and throughout his career, Krejci has tended to make his linemates better, giving them more opportunities to score with his creative passing.

#4 Flyers center Scott Laughton has been a major factor in Philadelphia’s resurgence. In the past 12 games, he has produced 14 points (5 G, 9 A) and 24 shots on goal. When Laughton is scoring at this rate, he becomes a valuable fantasy commodity, especially in banger leagues, because he is a prolific hitter. There are only two centers, Sam Bennett and Vincent Trocheck, with more points (27) and hits (98) than Laughton.

#5 In his first season with the Montreal Canadiens, center Kirby Dach has had some ups and downs, but the 21-year-old does seem to be discovering his offensive game. He has spent time playing on the wing of Montreal’s No. 1 line, but now is settling into the second line center role. Dach has contributed six points (3 G, 3 A) and 14 shots on goal while playing more than 18 minutes per game in the past seven games and for a rebuilding Habs team that has a ton of injuries, Dach ought to play a lot in the second half of the season.

#6 It has been a long season in Chicago, and there is still a long way to go, and defenseman Seth Jones contributed very little for a long time, but he is finally starting to make his mark offensively. After recording an assist in Thursday’s win at Philadelphia, Jones has scored 10 points (3 G, 7 A) with 19 shots on goal in his past seven games. This surge probably makes it worthwhile to add Jones off the fantasy waiver wire, but beware, Chicago is surely going to be selling before the trade deadline, so Jones may have even more of a skeleton crew as his supporting cast later in the season.

#7 Although he is known more for his defensive play, Carolina Hurricanes blueliner Brett Pesce can be a factor offensively, too. In the past 12 games, Pesce has 10 points (2 G, 8 A) along with 30 shots on goal. He is really a consideration in deep leagues, as Pesce has yet to record 30 points in a season, but his increased offensive contributions do make him fantasy relevant.

#8 Injuries have hindered Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jason Zucker in recent seasons, but he has managed to stay healthy this year and is scoring again. Since the holiday break, Zucker has eight points (6 G, 2 A) in 11 games. What really sets Zucker’s contributions apart this season is a major spike in his hit rate. While it might be a suspect counting stat, Zucker has already recorded a career high 121 hits in 40 games. His previous career high was 87 hits in 2018-2019.

#9 After finishing fourth in the Calder Trophy voting last season, Detroit Red Wings right winger Lucas Raymond is heating up in his sophomore campaign. In his past 12 games, Raymond has delivered 13 points (6 G, 7 A) and the 20-year-old is up to 14 goals on the season, putting him one behind Dylan Larkin for the team lead.

#10 Seattle Kraken right winger Jordan Eberle has found an offensive resurgence, thanks to picking up more assists. In the past nine games, Eberle has eight points (2 G, 6 A) and he has 35 points (10 G, 25 A) in 45 games. He has 0.78 points per game and the last time Eberle finished a season with a higher points per game was the 2014-2015 season.

#11 Florida Panthers left winger Carter Verhaeghe continues to produce even though he has moved off of the top line. He has 13 points (6 G, 7 A) and 45 shots on goal in the past 17 games, which is pretty standard scoring production for him since arriving in Florida, but he is shooting the puck more this season, a career high 2.98 shots on goal per game.

#12 Replacing Verhaeghe on Aleskander Barkov’s wing in Florida is second year forward Anton Lundell. That change in circumstances makes Lundell suddenly appealing. In the past six games, he has four points (2 G, 2 A) and 21 shots on goal. His scoring is down this season, as he has just 18 points (6 G, 12 A) in 38 games, but considering his change in role, Lundell offers upside for the second half of the season.

#13 In recent seasons, Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell has been known as a reliable shot generator who could not finish. From 2018-2019 through 2021-2022, he scored on just 8.8% of his shots on goal. His recent surge of six points (3 G, 3 A) and 18 shots on goal in the past five games gives him a shooting percentage of 11.9%, which would be his highest since the 2017-2018 season.

#14 Anaheim Ducks veteran forward Adam Henrique continues to produce, even for a Ducks squad that is lingering around the bottom of the standings. In his past 11 games, Henrique has 10 points (7 G, 3 A) and 20 shots on goal. As a steady veteran on an unsteady team, Henrique is playing first line left wing and getting first unit power play time, which gives him the chance to produce at this level. If he were to get traded before the deadline, there would be some give-and-take when it comes to his future value. Henrique would surely have better teammates elsewhere but would likely not get the prime ice time that he is receiving in Anaheim.

#15 There was a time early in the season, when Aaron Ekblad was injured, that Panther’s defenseman Brandon Montour was enjoying a surge of production and it seemed all predicated on the opportunities presented by Ekblad’s absence. Turns out that even with Ekblad in the lineup, Montour can be a very productive blueliner. In the past 18 games, for example, he has 16 points (3 G, 13 A) and 43 shots on goal. That lifts his season total to 38 points in just 45 games, which is already a career high, surpassing the 37 that Montour scored in 81 games last season.

#16 Signed to a new four-year-, $19 million contract extension, Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha has been nice fit in a supporting role on the league’s best team. He can move around the lineup and play in a scoring or checking role. Right now, the points are going his way. In the past 13 games, Zacha has produced 11 points (5 G, 6 A), which is outstanding, considering that all of those points have come at even strength, but a note of caution: Zacha only has 16 shots on goal in those 13 games, and low shot rates tend to concern me when it comes to projecting future production.

#17 One of my favorite unheralded forwards is Arizona Coyotes left winger Lawson Crouse. He is day-to-day with an upper-body injury right now but leads the Coyotes with 16 goals and he is heating up (or was before getting hurt). In 12 games since the holiday break, Crouse has 10 points (3 G, 7 A) and 23 shots on goal. He also adds banger value, delivering 33 hits in those 12 games. He may never live up to the hype that was building around him leading up to getting picked ninth overall in 2015, but the 25-year-old is well on his way to a second straight 20-goal season. His 29 even strength goals over the past two seasons leaves Crouse tied for 65^th. It is the same number of even strength goals as scored by Travis Konecny, Nazem Kadri, and John Tavares.

#18 Another player who is facing challenges as he tries to live up to prospect hype, Buffalo Sabres forward Casey Mittelstadt is finding his niche as a playmaker in a supporting role. In his past 18 games, Mittelstadt has 14 points (2 G, 12 A) with 27 shots on goal. He does not shoot enough but Mittelstadt’s puck skills provide him the chance to play on the power play. Of his 27 points this season, 12 have come with the man advantage.

#19 Since the holiday break, these are the leaders in expected goals during five-on-five play: Timo Meier, Carter Verhaeghe, Connor McDavid, Jack Hughes, Brayden Point, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Anders Lee, Tyler Seguin, Zach Hyman, and Tanner Jeannot. It is an interesting list with mostly premier first-line forwards. It includes some crease crashers like Lee and Hyman, and Seguin is likely benefitting from his recent stint on Dallas’ top line while Roope Hintz is injured. The most interesting name on the list, though, is Nashville Predators winger Tanner Jeannot, who scored 24 goals as a rookie last season but has been snakebit as a sophomore. Jeannot has just three goals on 71 shots in 45 games. He is a massive hitter, with more than 300 last season and 164 in 45 games this season, so if he ever starts converting his chances, Jeannot will have fantasy value, especially in banger leagues.

#20 Not that Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky was a major factor in fantasy leagues this season, but the No. 1 pick in the 2022 Draft was rushed into the league and the results were underwhelming. He scored 10 points (4 G, 6 A) with 42 shots on goal in 39 games and while he had some moments in which he showed his talent, there were plenty of moments when he was overmatched and, sometimes, caught unaware by a big hit. He is only 18 years old, so there is time for him to develop into the premier power forward that was expected on draft day, but expectations should also be kept in check after seeing the results of his first half season in the NHL. As it is, Slafkovsky has suffered a lower-body injury that will keep him out for the next three months, ending his season.

*Advanced stats via Natural Stat Trick.