The Hellebuyck saga has finally come to an end, and while the fit makes a lot of sense, it's a team that was on the outside of the inner circle of discussed teams that swooped in and got him. The Devils acquired Connor Hellebuyck from the Jets on Friday for forwards Dawson Mercer and Nick Bjugstad, goalie Nico Daws, the rights to forward Alexander Command, New Jersey’s second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft and its seventh-round selection in the 2027 NHL Draft. The Devils have started off the season extremely well, and the cost wasn't prohibitive, so good for Mehta to swoop in and get the superstar. Hellebuyck should be back in the lineup this week and goes right back to being a top five fantasy goalie. Mercer played on the third line on Sunday, and looks to remain a middling streamer in 12'ers. Bjugstad is a cap dump who is injured, and Daws is just depth for the Jets. Command was the 12th pick in last draft, and projects to be a middle sixer. This trade doesn't affect his value. The biggest impact of this trade comes to Jake Allen and the goalies on teams that didn't acquire Hellebuyck. Allen isn't worth holding anymore outside of deeper leagues, although I'd stream him in almost all matchups. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen remains the Buffalo starter, at least until Lyon returns. It's been a dreadful start for UPL, but I would still hold for now. Karel Vejmelka has been even worse than UPL, but the wins are better, so for now, we hold there too. I wouldn't be surprised if Cossa eventually works his way into a platoon though. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s double duty for your guy, MarmosDad, this week!
After writing just under 4000 words on this past weekend’s NHL action, I’m back again for our Tuesday night roundup!
I managed to squeeze in a quick snooze before the 7:00 games started up, but I guess I didn’t tune in early enough as the Leafs were already down 1-0 when I turned the game on 5 minutes after puck drop.
But don’t worry, fans. The Blue Jackets Fam door was wide open, and the torrential downpour that followed soon after soaked everyone in Leaf showers.
Sure, Columbus got the chickens and pigs in before it got too muddy. But they couldn’t get the Cowan.
Most of Buffalo's forwards have started slowly, but their second line has been fantastic. That continued on Thursday, with the majority of the second line out there for four goals, leading the Sabres to a 5-4 OT victory over their rivals in Toronto. For fantasy purposes, it certainly starts with Jack Quinn. Quinn stuffed the stat sheet, scoring two goals, dishing two assists, put four shots on goal, was +4, and got in a fight! That brings him to 4+4 in eight games while pushing close to three shots per game. It's clear how much Ruff trusts this line right now, with Quinn playing over 18 minutes, while Noah Ostlund and Zach Benson each had two assists while playing over 21 minutes. I've been holding Quinn in a 10 man league since the draft, which goes to show you that I think he's a hold in 12'ers. Ostlund has been unbelievable in real life, but I see more middling to solid streamer. Benson falls into the elite streamer category right now. The schedule is pretty light for the Sabres next week with only two games, so I wouldn't prioritize Benson or Ostlund right now, but despite the schedule easing up for a bit, Quinn is standing out enough on a regular basis that I'd be holding him. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
Well, the time is finally here. After three weeks of running through aggregate rankings of forwards, defensemen, and goalies, we’re now just SIX SLEEPS away from Opening Night!
If you want to check out the preseason aggregate rankings, I’ll attach those links here…
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s one final Wednesday write-up from your guy, MarmosDad, and things are starting to get interesting in the first round. Sens and Kings fans are ready to watch a lot more baseball, and a few other teams are headed in the same direction.
Today, there will be more updates on the leading scorers from each series, along with notes on some of the names I outlined in the 2026 Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool Review.
That means updates for all the Must Have skaters and any of the Worth the Gamble or Under the Radar guys who need them.
Will we get a clearer picture of who we’ll be seeing in Round Two? Did the Bruins copy the Penguins by staving off elimination and forcing a Game 6?
Let’s have a look!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
We’re blade deep in the first round of the NHL Playoffs, and hopefully your pool rosters and brackets are slotted neatly into the “so far so good” territory.
The timing of the start of Round One was a bit unfortunate, as some pairings weren’t finalized until after I wrote up our 2026 Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool Review (try saying that one 5 times fast with a mouthful of ginger ale).
But guess what?! It’ll be a full report of the postseason dance partners today!
I’ll have each First Round matchup with updates and check-ins on our players I mentioned in the guide.
That means updates for all the Must Have skaters, and any of the Worth the Gamble or Under the Radar guys who need it.
Let’s go!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
Are you ready for a Fantasy Hockey Playoff Pool preview? Do you need a primer for drafting your playoff pool roster?
Well, I have some good news for you!
Welcome to the first annual (maybe) MarmosDad NHL Playoff Preview!
I’ll go through some notes on how to strategize when making your picks for the playoff pool, then do a rundown of each playoff team, with names to look out for during your drafts.
Let’s get to it!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
As Viz said on Sunday, we’re officially 1.5 weeks from the end of the regular season!
Hopefully, you finished up your head-to-head playoffs on a strong note, or you have enough of a lead in your roto-points leagues that you can enjoy the final 3-4 games without feverishly refreshing your league app.
If you have the luxury of being able to relax, enjoy it! More than a few NHL teams are facing a tough road ahead for the next 9 days.
Why? Well, it's time for the playoff push!
We've got three teams tied for first place in the Atlantic division.
One point separates three teams at the top of the Pacific Division.
And our wild card spots could be filled by any of a half dozen teams in either conference.
Quite a few teams were jockeying for playoff position Tues
I started the opening paragraph before the Blues game ended and got punished for it. I was already writing about Dylan Holloway, but his night got a lot better late improving his stat line. Holloway was playing his first game since January 18th, and only his second since December 12th, and he delivered the best game of his career. Holloway had a hat trick and an assist with five shots in the 5-1 win over the Kraken. Holloway broke out last season with 26-37 in his first year with the Blues, but this season has been a huge disappointment both for him and the team. The Blues are out of the playoff picture, so it's hard to say who will be traded and who will stay. Holloway is one of the few players that I'd be surprised if they moved. The 24 year old has the upside of a bottom end hold in 12'ers, as he showed last season. The Blues play a bunch of poor defenses in the short term, so for now, Holloway is an elite stremer. Let's take a look at what else happened in the first two nights back from the Olympic break:
The first Winter Classic between the Sabres and Penguins in 2008 will always be the top outdoor game for me. Everything about the game was perfection. Sunday's Stadium Series game in Tampa moved to #2 on my list. After Hagel scored 11 seconds into the game, Boston scored five in a row before Tampa mounted a huge comeback, winning 6-5 in a shootout. There was even a goalie fight! Boston's problem was that they couldn't stay out of the penalty box, and that's a death sentence against Tampa. Unsurprisingly, it started with Nikita Kucherov, who had a goal and three assists with eight shots in the victory. It might sound blasphemous, but Kucherov has a real chance to be the best European forward ever. He'll certainly be in the discussion. He's currently the #3 overall forward for fantasy behind MacKinnon and McDavid. I had him ranked 4th going into the season in a tier with Draisaitl, who is currently 4th overall. Very chalky season at the top besides the Celebrini big breakout. Anyways, Kucherov is a top 5 player until further notice. He's showing no signs of slowing down at 32. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It was a night to remember for the Sabres and their franchise defenseman on Tuesday night.
Rasmus Dahlin scored one in the first, one in the second, and then finished off the hat trick with an empty-netter in the third. The 3 goals and 2 assists were a career high single-game output for the 25-year-old Swede, and brought his point total up to a robust 42 PTS in 48 GP.
It wasn’t all Dahlin, though, as the rest of the Sabres brought their scoring sticks with them on their trip North of the border. Tage Thompson (1G, 1 A), Alex Tuch, Jack Quinn, and newly extended Josh Doan all tickled the twine for the Sabres, and helped to extend their newest win streak to 4 games.
Like most of the Rangers, Mika Zibanejad has been extremely frustrating this season. Before Friday's outdoor game in Miami, he had one shot on goal in the previous five games combined! So naturally, he had one of the games of the season so far, scoring a hat trick on six shots and adding two assists in the 5-1 win over the Panthers. The top line for the Rangers was dangerous throughout, and just like that, Zibanejad is ahead of last season's points pace. He's just shy of a 30+40 pace now and the shot rate is back up towards three per game. It's not exciting, and it's definitely close to the fringe, but I lean towards bottom end hold still. The minutes are through the roof at the moment and with their lack of depth, I can't imagine that changing any time soon. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
