As mentioned on Wednesday, I’m going to start this year’s posts by recapping the offseason for all of the teams, before I move into season rankings. Today, I’ll cover the Eastern Conference before I move to the Western Conference next week. Let’s get right to it!
BOSTON BRUINS
Boston took a few big swings this offseason, with the biggest one being Elias Lindholm. Lindholm was struggling last season until he clicked towards the end. The good news is that he should get to play with Pastrnak and the first power play unit, which gives Lindholm as good of a chance as any to rebuild his fantasy value. He’s a middle round pick. Nikita Zadorov will retain his usual value in banger leagues, while Joonas Korpisalo will also look to get his career back on track. I wouldn’t draft him as it should be Swayman’s show, but Korpisalo should be worth streaming every time he starts.
BUFFALO SABRES
The Sabres are going to be one of the teams that have little to talk about. None of their additions are expected to be significant fantasy contributors. Typical of this team after not making the playoffs for 13 straight seasons. Skinner’s buyout opens up more opportunity for the younger guys, and they’re banking on a bounce back from their core. We’ll have to see preseason to know what the lines and more importantly, the power play units are going to be.
CAROLINA HURRICANES
Carolina is in a similar position to Buffalo. Teravainen is gone, but they’ve mostly brought in depth pieces. Perhaps Jack Roslovic gets back to being a streamer, while Sean Walker‘s role is yet to be determined. I’d be more excited about Bradly Nadeau, but Rod usually doesn’t give youngsters much playing time.
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
First of all, my condolences to the Gaudreau family, first and foremost. Words cannot describe the sadness of the deaths of Johnny and his brother. Their big offseason moves were signing Sean Monahan and shipping out Laine. I’m skeptical that Monahan will do much. This team looks to have another year of growing pains. That means a huge role for Adam Fantilli and the guys behind him like Sillinger and Johnson.
DETROIT RED WINGS
Finally, some significant player movement, although the one that I believe has the most fantasy impact will surprise you. Getting Patrick Kane to return is a big win for the franchise, and Vladimir Tarasenko should provide plenty of offense despite his flaws. If those two play together, whoever their center is gets a big boost in fantasy (Compher)? The move I’m bullish on is Erik Gustafsson. He’s always been a fantastic power play asset, and Seider is not that, so he should get first crack on PP1. That will make Gustafsson a must draft in the later rounds. Look at what he did last season when Fox was out to see what he’s capable of.
FLORIDA PANTHERS
The Champions lost some players like Montour, but only brought in some depth pieces. Perhaps Adam Boqvist or Nate Schmidt can get their career’s back on track and force their way into power play roles, but that’s the only thing to monitor here.
MONTREAL CANADIENS
Patrik Laine is the big arrival in Montreal, where he presumably will go on the second line and first power play unit. There’s no denying the talent that Laine has. A 40 goal season is realistic if he can stay on the ice. However, that’s a big if right now. I like him, but don’t reach for him in drafts because of the downside risk. Lane Hutson, who made his NHL debut at the end of last season, should at least get PP2 time, if not on the top unit. There’s a lot of upside for dynasties, and there’s a chance he can force his way into being on the fringe of 12’ers as a rookie.
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Jacob Markstrom was the big move for the Devils. He should form a solid duo with Allen, with Markstrom taking on 55-60 starts. I haven’t dug through goalies yet, but I assume he’ll be a bottom end #1 in my rankings. Their other big add was Brett Pesce, but he provides a lot more in real life than fantasy. Hamilton and Hughes have the power play units locked down, so Pesce is a deep league only guy.
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
The Isles didn’t do much, with the only notable addition being Anthony Duclair. The Duke should be able to provide some offense to a team that desperately needs it. My assumption is that Palmieri keeps his spot on PP1, keeping Duclair on PP2, which would make him a solid streamer. If he does play first line and first unit, I suspect Duclair can do enough to be a bottom end hold.
NEW YORK RANGERS
Out goes Roslovic, in comes Reilly Smith. Smith had a dreadful year in Pittsburgh last season, but he should get a crack on the first line to start his Rangers tenure. The problem is that he certainly won’t be on PP1, and PP2 barely gets ice time for the Rangers. That keeps Smith as a middling streamer, although I suspect he’ll have some hot streaks where he’s a hot schmotato hold.
OTTAWA SENATORS
Ottawa continues to push in order to break their playoff drought, and they took advantage of a division rival’s cap situation to acquire Linus Ullmark. It would be wrong to expect Ullmark to repeat his Boston numbers on a much worse defensive team, but Ullmark should get back to getting significant volume. He’ll be on the fringe between bottom end #1 and top end #2. Otherwise, Ottawa mostly added depth pieces. The one guy who has a chance to be a quality streamer is David Perron, who should step right into Tarasenko’s spot. The departure of Chychrun should boost both Sanderson and Chabot as well.
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
The big chance to the Philly lineup will come in their prized prospect, Matvei Michkov, leaving Russia earlier than anticipated. Michkov’s offensive ability is off the charts. He has a chance to become a superstar, especially in fantasy hockey. In dynasties, he’s an elite asset. In redrafts, he’s a fine late round dart throw to see if he clicks in the NHL right away. There’s no reason why Michkov wouldn’t get a top workload right away.
PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
There was a lot of depth rearranging by Pittsburgh, but Dubas’ big move was to get Rutger McGroarty from Winnipeg. I hate that college players have the right to hamstring the teams that draft them, but that’s a discussion for another day. McGroarty is NHL ready, and should go onto the second line with Malkin, mostly because who else would? McGroarty is a power forward through and through, which makes him a top asset in bangers leagues. I don’t expect a big fantasy impact this year, but he’s a big value in dynasties.
TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
One thing’s for sure, you can’t call the Lightning boring. They effectively swap out Stamkos for Jake Guentzel, while also shipping out Sergachev for cap space. Guentzel has been a fantasy superstar in Pittsburgh for years, but there’s reason to expect career highs this year. Getting to play with Kucherov and their first power play unit is an upgrade, and with Tampa’s depth getting worse and worse, Guentzel should maintain a big workload. There’s a chance Guentzel sneaks into my Top 10, and if not, he’ll be very close. I think we’re going to see career highs across the board. Otherwise, Darren Raddysh gets a boost as he should get PP2 now.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS
The big moves for Toronto were on the blue line, both of which provide little fantasy value. Anthony Stolarz is the new backup, and with Woll’s inability to stay healthy, Stolarz could be thrusted into a big role. He’s always performed well in limited sample sizes, so in deep leagues, he’s one of my favorite backups to take as a dart throw.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS
We saved one of the craziest summers for last (thanks alphabet!). The Capitals were far from complacent after being one of the flukiest playoff teams ever. There were plenty of big moves, but the most stunning move was acquiring Pierre-Luc Dubois in a bad contract swap. Dubois was absolutely awful in Los Angeles, but we’ve seen him be very good in Winnipeg. What’s his motivation level going to be? He’s clearly going to get every opportunity in the top six, so I can see taking him late in drafts to see how it shakes out. Andrew Mangiapane was an excellent add for cheap. There’s a chance Mangiapane gets the most ice time of his career, so I’ll mark him as an elite streamer for now. Jacob Chychrun struggled in Ottawa, and he won’t get PP1 time because of Carlson. However, the minutes should be there for him to be a #3 in fantasy, with upside from there. I’m a huge Matt Roy fan, but that’s more for real life than fantasy. Logan Thompson rounds things up, as the Capitals bought low on him from Vegas. Lindgren is the presumed starter, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all if Thompson is the better goalie. I need to see what Carberry says during preseason to get a better feel on their goaltending rotation, but I’m still buying Thompson long term.
That’s all for now guys. I’ll be back early next week recapping the Western Conference offseasons. As always, feel free to ask any questions, leave any comments, or give any suggestions below. Thanks for reading, take care!
