Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
With today’s post, we’ve officially come to the end of our Divisional Previews for the 2025-2026 season!
If you’re looking for the other Divisions, you can click here to check them out.
As for today, it’s a trip out west to the land of salmon, mountains, warm climate, mountains, surfing, and mountains.
Did I mention mountains? Because there’s a lot of those out there too.
All jokes aside, the Pacific is home to some hungry sharks with some new teeth, a few flickering flames, and a whole lot of dangerous Knights in shining armor.
Can Vegas’s newest superstar lead his team to another 100+ point season? Will LA’s young princes be able to take over for the old Kings as they skate off into the sunset? Does McJesus have enough Oil left in the system to keep the Edmonton machine running smoothly on a trip back to the finals?
These are all tough questions to answer after just a half a dozen NHL games, but that doesn’t mean we won’t take some time to check out…
The Pacific Division
Anaheim Ducks – 35-37-10. 80 PTS. 6th in the division.
IN: Chris Kreider, Ryan Poehling, Mikael Granlund, Petr Mrazek
OUT: John Gibson, Robby Fabbri, Tyler Zegras, Brett Leason, Oliver Kylington, Isac Lundestrom, Brock McGinn, Josh Lopina
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Chris Kreider | Leo Carlsson | Troy Terry |
| Cutter Gauthier | Mason McTavish | Mikael Granlund |
| Frank Vatrano | Ryan Strome | Beckett Sennecke |
| Ross Johnston | Ryan Poehling | Alex Killorn |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Jackson Lacombe | Radko Gudas |
| Olen Zellweger | Jacob Trouba |
| Pavel Mintyukov | Drew Helleson |
| GOALIES |
|---|
| Lukas Dostal |
| Petr Mrazek |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Sam Colangelo, Nikita Nesterenko, Jansen Harkins, Tristan Luneau, Ville Husso
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Leo Carlsson – If people had told me that “Not-so-Little” Leo (6’3”, 203 lbs) would be centering the top line and leading the Ducks with 6 pts after their first four games, I would have snorted derisively. But here we are. The 20-year-old first-rounder (2nd overall in 2023) scored 29 points in his rookie year, then followed up with 45 points last seaon. If he keeps this up, he should take yet another step forward and could hit 70+ points in Year 3.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Ryan Strome – There’s a running joke on the baseball side of things that an old outfielder, Khris Davis, was the easiest batting average to predict. He hit .247 every year from 2018-2021 before disappointing the prognosticators in that 5th year with a paltry .244 average. Cool story, hey? But wtf does that have to do with Ryan Strome, you might ask?
Strome had 41 points last year. And 41 points the year before that. And I’m going to go out on a limb and say that you can likely guess how many points he recorded in the 2022-2023 season, too.
Give up? It was 41.
Strome is injured right now, but even if he were at full health, I still wouldn’t be drafting him, thinking we’re getting anything but a Kris Davis-esque 41 points again.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Jackson Lacombe – This happened a few times in the other divisional write-ups where we had a “Rookie/Youngster” pick to click who was older than our Marmo Magic one. The good news here is that it means Anaheim has a solid infusion of youth to help the Ducks build up the core for the future. Two weeks ago, Anaheim signed its 24-year-old rearguard to a team record 8-year extension worth $72 million. That’s a good indication that he’ll get every opportunity to lead the team in ice time at regular strength and on the power play.
Calgary Flames – 41-27-14. 96 PTS. 4th in the division.
IN: Ivan Prosvetov, Nick Cicek
OUT: Tyson Barrie, Dan Vladar, Kevin Rooney, Anthony Mantha, Jarred Tinordi
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Jonathan Huberdeau | Nazem Kadri | Matt Coronato |
| Yegor Sharangovich | Mikael Backlund | Joel Farabee |
| Connor Zary | Morgan Frost | Blake Coleman |
| Ryan Lomberg | Martin Pospisil | Adam Klapka |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Kevin Bahl | Rasmus Andersson |
| Jake Bean | MacKenzie Weegar |
| Joel Hanley | Zayne Parekh |
|
GOALIES |
|---|
| Dustin Wolf |
| Devin Cooley |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Ivan Prosvetov, Samuel Honzek, Justin Kirkland, Brayden Pachal, Daniil Miromanov
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Dustin Wolf – This one is a “take it for what it’s worth” pick, as I don’t see the Flames coming anywhere near their 96-point finish from last year. Even if they struggle to make a playoff run, Dustin Wolf will be getting the bulk of the minutes in the crease in Cowtown, and should give us numbers worthy of a #1 starter. Wolf should give us a good shot at 30 wins and a handful of shutouts, which plays in leagues that prioritize these categories. I don’t trust that defense in front of him, though, so he might have a tough time repeating the .910 SV% from last year, too.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Nazem Kadri – If this guy is your 1C, it’s no wonder that your team had one of the fewest goals scored in the league last year. Kadri would be a serviceable middle-6 forward, but to expect anything more than 65 points from the 34-year-old is wishful thinking. If your league tracks +/- as a category, too, I’d knock him down a draft board even further.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Zayne Parekh – One of the good parts of rolling these divisional previews out after the season starts is getting to see some of the kids play in NHL games that matter. I had to kill some time between my kid’s friend’s birthday party and our late-night plans, so I ended up going next door to the trampoline park for a 12-oz beverage. They had the afternoon Flames game on, and Calgary had Parekh patrolling the power play. To say Parekh looked comfortable might be an understatement. He was smooth under pressure and walked the blue line like a seasoned veteran. Some fantasy players might be panicking about the zero points in four games this year, but I’d want to lock in a young defenseman who scored 33 goals and had 107 points in 61 games in the OHL last year if I had a keeper league roster spot open.
Edmonton Oilers – 48-29-5. 101 PTS. 3rd in the division.
IN: Curtis Lazar, Andrew Mangiapane, Isaac Howard, David Tomasek, Matt Tomkins, Atro Leppanen, Riley Stillman
OUT: Connor Brown, Corey Perry, Evander Kane, Travis Dermott, John Klingberg, Jeff Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, Derek Ryan, Connor Carrick, Drake Caggiula
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Ryan Nugent Hopkins | Connor McDavid | Trent Frederic |
| Vasily Podkolzin | Leon Draisaitl | Andrew Mangiapane |
| Matt Savoie | Adam Henrique | Jack Roslovic |
| Isaac Howard | Curtis Lazar | Kasperi Kapanen |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Mattias Ekholm | Evan Bouchard |
| Darnell Nurse | Troy Stecher |
| Brett Kulak | Ty Emberson |
| GOALIES |
|---|
| Stuart Skinner |
| Calvin Pickard |
Other notable names on the depth chart: David Tomasek, Mattias Janmark, Max Jones, Zach Hyman (IR), Jake Walman, Joshua Brown
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Evan Bouchard – The auto-temptation was to go with Trent Frederic here just to see if the magic of riding alongside RNH and McJesus for a full year would make him a modern-day Gino Odjick (there’s a throwback for you oldies!). But, alas, the easier and more logical choice for our magician here is Evan Bouchard. Bouche is as talented as they get, is coming off of a 67-point season (a year after posting 82 in 81 games), and skates on PP1 like a fifth forward. As long as he’s surrounded by Uber-talented forwards like McDavid, Draisaitl, and Hopkins, he’s going to put up the points.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Adam Henrique – Henrique put up some solid point totals in his years in New Jersey and Anaheim when there weren’t many other options to turn to for scoring. Now, at age 35, and surrounded by a wealth of talented forwards, Henrique will be relegated to bottom 6 minutes and the short end of the PP stick, if he gets any time with the man advantage at all. Pass.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Matt Savoie – I’m sure this is no news to the hometown fans, but it’s tough to figure out what the Buffalo Sabres are doing at any given moment in time. That’s the same feeling I had when I saw that they dealt Savoie to Edmonton in the summer of 2024 for Ryan McLeod and Tyler Tullio. I don’t know how you select a kid 2nd overall in the NHL Entry Draft (2022), then trade him away for a less than stellar haul just two years later. I’m guessing Oilers fans don’t care about figuring out why or how that trade happens, as long as Savoie can blossom into the NHL star that he was projected to be a little over 3 years ago. This kid is keeper league gold who should learn on the job this year from some of the best in the business.
Los Angeles Kings – 48-25-5. 105 PTS. 2nd in the division.
IN: Joel Armia, Corey Perry, Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Kirill Kirsanov
OUT: Trevor Lewis, David Rittich, Tanner Jeannott, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jordan Spence, Jack Studnicka
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Andrei Kuzmenko | Anze Kopitar | Adrian Kempe |
| Kevin Fiala | Quinton Byfield | Joel Armia |
| Warren Foegele | Phillip Danault | Alex Laferriere |
| Corey Perry | Samuel Helenius | Trevor Moore |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Mikey Anderson | Drew Doughty |
| Joel Edmundson | Brandt Clarke |
| Brian Dumoulin | Cody Ceci |
| GOALIES |
|---|
| Darcy Kuemper |
| Anton Forsberg |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Alex Turcotte, Jeff Malott, Andre Lee, Akil Thomas, Kyle Burroughs, Samuel Bolduc
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Quinton Byfield – I used to keep thinking that Byfield might still have rookie status because of the hype that surrounded him in Junior. Then I checked his career numbers and realized he came into this season already with 260 NHL games played. The 23-year-old played nearly every game the last two seasons and produced mid-50s in the points column. It’s sad for Kings fans that Anze Kopitar is on his way out, but they can rest assured that the 1C spot will be in good hands for quite a while as the 6’5”, 225 lb. Byfield continues to grow into a superstar.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Darcy Kuemper – It’s easy to fade Kuemper right now, as he’s injured with a “lower body injury”. He should be fine to start near the end of this week, but I’m still not buying that Kuemper is going to repeat the Vezina-finalist season that he had last year. 31-11-7 with a 2.02 GAA and a .922 SV% in 50 GP would be a tough enough act to follow for a young goalie heading into his prime. At 35, Kuemper is due for some regression from last year’s career year (that was just a smidge better than his 2021-2022 year in Colorado).
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Brandt Clarke – I took a flier on this kid a couple of years ago in a keeper league and was more than happy with the results. He scored a modest 33 pts in 78 GP last year, but will get more time with the man advantage this season to help boost those PP numbers. You could take what I said about Byfield being lucky to have a mentor in Kopitar and apply the same thing to Clarke and Drew Doughty. When you have one of the best in the business sitting on the bench beside you, it’s tough not to learn how to up your game.
San Jose Sharks – 20-50-12. 52 PTS. 8th in the division.
IN: Jeff Skinner, Dmitry Orlov, Alex Nedeljkovic, Adam Gaudette, Phillip Kurashev, Ryan Reaves, John Klingberg, Nick Leddy, Jakub Skarek
OUT: Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Alexandar Georgiev, Georgi Romanov, Danil Gushchin, Nikolai Kovalenko, Jan Rutta
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Jeff Skinner | Macklin Celebrini | Adam Gaudette |
| William Eklund | Alex Wennberg | Tyler Toffoli |
| Phillip Kurashev | Michael Misa | Will Smith |
| Barclay Goodrow | Ty Dellandrea | Cam Lund |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Mario Ferraro | Timothy Liljegren |
| Dmitry Orlov | John Klingberg |
| Sam Dickinson | Nick Leddy |
|
GOALIES |
|---|
| Yaroslav Askarov |
| Alex Nedeljkovic |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Collin Graf, Zack Ostapchuk, Colin White, Ryan Reaves, Luca Cagnoni, Vincent Iorio, Vincent Desharnais, Jack Thompson, Shakir Mukhamadullin
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Jeff Skinner – There’s a warning label here that says something about older players and writers who are hypocrites. I’ll just rip that off, stuff it behind this couch cushion, and tell you that I expect the 33-year old Jeff Skinner to bounce back from a rough 29-point year (72 GP). But first, some steamed clams.
Or… steamed Skinner burgers.
Sure, he’s now two years removed from back-to-back 30+ goal seasons, and he’s on the wrong side of 30 as far as the birth certificate is concerned. BUT San Jose has no LW who can say they have a better shot than this guy.
We know that SKinner’s principal calling card is his goal scoring ability. If he stays healthy, he should get the lion’s share of time riding shotgun to Macklin Celebrini all year. Health + Opportunity + Time + Skilled linemates = 30+ goals and 65 points.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
John Klingberg – We could put these next two side by side and write out some comparisons and contrasts, but the bottom line is Klingberg is far too volatile a defenseman to draft as anything more than a deep bench stash. The offensive production is there when he’s playing, but he’s skated in 65+ games just once since 2017-2018. No thanks.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Sam Dickinson – The mixture of underwhelming and under-conditioned blueliners in San Jose meant Sam Dickinson was going to get a good shot at sticking with the big club out of training camp. The kid is just 19 years old, but he was one of the best players in the OHL last year for a stacked London Knights team who, arguably, had just as much talent as the Sharks do this year. 29 goals and 91 points in 55 games won’t be happening in the NHL anytime soon, but to say that Dickinson could finish in the Top 3 in Calder voting this year isn’t a bold prediction at all.
Seattle Kraken – 35-41-6. 76 PTS. 7th in the division.
IN: Mason Marchment, Frederick Gaudreau, Matt Murray, Ryan Lindgren
OUT: Michael Eyssimont, Andre Burakovsky
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Jared McCann | Matty Beniers | Jordan Eberle |
| Jaden Schwartz | Chandler Stephenson | Eeli Tolvanen |
| Mason Marchment | Shane Wright | Ryan Winterton |
| Jani Nyman | Frederick Gaudreau | Kaapo Kakko (IR) |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Vince Dunn | Adam Larsson |
| Ryan Lindgren | Jamie Oleksiak |
| Ryker Evans | Brandon Montour |
| GOALIES |
|---|
| Joey Daccord |
| Philipp Grubauer |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Tye Kartye, John Hayden, Ben Meyers, Mitchell Stephens, Josh Mahua, Cale Fleury, Matt Murray
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Vince Dunn – Full disclosure here, I love Vince Dunn as a player. Way back when I was writing up DFS on the hockey side here, I used to have Dunn as a go-to defenseman and he rewarded us with a career high 64 points (2022-2023). His point totals have dipped the last two years, but that’s simply because Dunn hasn’t played more than 62 games since that career year. If he can stay healthy, look for the 28-year-old veteran to put up career highs in both regular strength and power-play points. He’s off to a good start with 5 points in his first 5 games.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Jordan Eberle – There’s a large portion of hockey fans who remember Eberle from his heroics in the World Juniors days. Maybe those same folks recall how good of a goal scorer Eberle was during his time spent in Edmonton.
Well, those junior years were 16 years ago. And the RW’s best season in Edmonton was when he scored 34 goals and recorded 76 points in 78 games…in 2011. Since then, he hasn’t come particularly close to 30 goals or 70 points again, and I’m sure there are more than a few who might forget that he spent a quiet 4 years with the New York Islanders before heading to Seattle in the 2021 expansion draft. Eberle is a great leader, but the last time I checked, that isn’t a category in your head-to-head leagues.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Shane Wright – It’s a bit late to call Wright my sophomore pick to click for the year, especially now that he’s off to a hot start (4 points in his last 5 games). A lot of people panicked when Wright struggled a bit last year. 44 pts in 81 GP isn’t exactly a poor showing, but fantasy managers expected much more, especially the ones who drafted him in those early rounds. If you’ve got the checklist out, you can cross off the following boxes.
Prospect pedigree. Top 6 minutes. Skilled wingers. Powerplay time. Shot volume and percentage. Sounds like a keeper league gem to me!
Vancouver Canucks – 38-30-14. 90 PTS. 5th in the division.
IN: Evander Kane, P.O. Joseph
OUT: Phillip Di Giuseppe, Pius Suter, Dakota Johshua, Arturs Silvos, Noah Juulsen
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Jake Debrusk | Elias Pettersson | Brock Boeser |
| Evander Kane | Filip Chytil | Conor Garland |
| Drew O’Connor | Teddy Blueger | Jonathan Lekkerimaki |
| Vitali Kravtsov | Max Sasson | Kiefer Sherwood |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Quinn Hughes | Filip Hronek |
| Marcus Pettersson | Tyler Myers |
| Elias Pettersson | Derek Forbort |
|
GOALIES |
|---|
| Thatcher Demko |
|
Kevin Lankinen |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Arshdeep Bains, Linus Karlsson, Aatu Raty, Nils Aman, Nils Hoglander, Victor Mancini, P.O. Joseph
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Quinn Hughes – There’s not much to say here other than this guy might be the most obvious pick to click in the whole league outside of maybe Connor McDavid in Edmonton, or Nathan MacKinnon in Colorado. Hughes is one of the best in the league, and is one of maybe three defensemen that I’d consider drafting in the first round of a 12-team hockey draft. He took a run at 100 points two years ago (92), and didn’t have a chance at repeating it last year because injuries limited him to just 68 games. If he plays a full year this year, I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes another run at 100 points. The only worry for Vancouver fans here is if he bolts for New Jersey when his current contract expires after next season.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Jake DeBrusk – DeBunk. DeBust. DeBooty. DeBaffling, DeBrutal, DeBooooo. The Beantown faithful probably have even more insults for Louie Junior. These are just some of the names a buddy and I came up with (Hi, Rob). The anti-DeBrusk bias is still strong with Bruin fans who remember the most infamous draft in NHL history. Then GM Peter Chiarelli made the now notorious consecutive selections of Jakub Zboril, DeBrusk, and Zach Senyshyn. I remember turning to another friend and just shaking my head. “Everything happens for a reason” is the easy mantra to mutter when Boston fans think of Matt Barzal, Kyle Connor, and Thomas Chabot (the three picks that followed), but the bottom line is DeBrusk did not live up to the hype.
Will he give you a handful of goals and take a ton of shots each game if he keeps getting Top 6 minutes? Of course he will. But if things go South and Adam Foote moves him down the depth chart, don’t be surprised if DeBrusk disappears. I hope his Dad doesn’t read this and come looking to punch me in the mouth, but either way, I’m not taking that risk again.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Max Sasson – It was between this guy and Jonathan Lekkerimaki, but I knew that I made the right choice when I typed his name up and immediately heard the broadcast mention his name in Sunday’s game in Washington. Sasson won a Calder Cup last year in Abbotsford and scored two goals there this year before the Canucks came calling. He’s got 2 goals in the NHL now, too, and will need to keep producing to fend off the other hungry young forwards looking for a lineup spot.
Vegas Golden Knights – 50-22-10. 110 PTS. 1st in the division.
IN: Mitch Marner, Colton Sissons, Cole Reinhardt, Jeremy Lauzon, Jaycob Megna, Dylan Coghlan
OUT: Tanner Pearson, Nicolas Hague, Nicolas Roy, Callahan Burke, Robert Hagg, Ilya Samsonov, Victor Olofsson
DEPTH CHART
| LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING |
|---|---|---|
| Ivan Barbashev | Jack Eichel | Mitch Marner |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | Tomas Hertl | Mark Stone |
| Brandon Saad | William Karlsson | Reilly Smith |
| Brett Howden | Colton Sissons | Keegan Kolesar |
| LEFT DEFENSE | RIGHT DEFENSE |
|---|---|
| Brayden McNabb | Shea Theodore |
| Ben Hutton | Noah Hanifin |
| Jeremy Lauzon | Zach Whitecloud |
| GOALIES |
|---|
| Adin Hill |
| Akira Schmid |
Other notable names on the depth chart: Alexander Holtz, Cole Reinhardt, Raphael Lavoie, Alex Pietrangelo, Kaedan Korczak, Jaycob Megna, Dylan Coghlan, Carl Lindbom
Marmo Magic – One name to expect good things from this year
Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev – The easy dunk here is Eichel, and I think he blows away his career high of 36 goals (with Buffalo in 2018) with the elite playmaking of Mitch Marner on his wing for the full year. But let’s not ignore the other side on line one. Ivan Barbashev has the speed and talent to keep up with the other two superstars here, and he should benefit from a full season with these guys, too. I’d add 10 goals and 20 points to his total from last year (23 and 53, respectively) and still call that a conservative projection.
Marmo Meh – A player I’d avoid drafting or adding to my roster (for now)
Noah Hanifin – This guy is a perfect example of someone I’d love to have on my real-life favorite team, but hate to roster in a regular fantasy hockey league. He’s a 10-year veteran who has broken the 40-point mark just twice. When 10 goals and 30 assists are the absolute ceiling for a D-man who has to fight through a bunch of forwards and skilled blueliners to even sniff PP time? Ya, that’s not for me.
Marmo Marvel – A Rookie/Youngster who has the potential to impress. Add these guys to your Dynasty rosters right now
Pavel Dorofeyev – Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A slick skating Russian winger with a lethal shot who’s bound to get Top 6 minutes and powerplay time. Um. Ya. That sounds a lot like Ivan Barbashev. To tell you the truth, if Dorofeyev was penciled in on that top line with Eichel and Marner, he’d probably produce even more than what I’m calling for Barbashev, but for now, the 24-year-old sniper is going to have to settle for finishing Tomas Hertl’s setups, at least at even strength. With 6 goals in 6 games and a 35.8 SHT% (on 17 shots), I’d be seeing if I could send out a trade offer to try to get this guy on my roster before the noise from his breakout gets even louder.
That’s all, folks! I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to drop any questions or comments below, and be sure to come back to visit when I start to break down the Tuesday night games every Wednesday in our daily round-ups!
Follow me @marmosdad on Twitter/X and Bluesky @marmosdad.bsky.social
