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It's time!  Today, we start our journey through my rankings for this upcoming season.  To remind you of how I'll proceed, I start with doing the top 10 and then top 20 players, before moving into specific position groups and an overall Top 200 list.  It will take a couple weeks to get everything written up and posted.  Let's get to it!
It wouldn't be the first time that a Sabres trade acquisition got off to a hot start before flaming out, but this one looks different.  Bowen Byram was a monster again on Tuesday, scoring two goals on four shots finishing +4 in the 7-3 win over the Red Wings.  They'll have to win their next two games against the Islanders and Red Wings again, but the Sabres are creeping back onto the fringe of the playoff race.  Byram's workload in his three games as a Sabre are that of a #1 defenseman, even if that honor goes to Dahlin.  There's no doubting Byram's ability, and he's looking like a guy who can be a huge difference maker down the stretch this season and beyond.  He's clear must own everywhere.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Oh, the irony of the timing.  Right as Ryan Smith, owner of the Utah Jazz, puts out a release saying that he's ready to bring a hockey team to Utah, the Arizona Coyotes go on a 14 game losing streak.  Over the weekend, they managed to right the ship.  The Coyotes snapped their skid on Friday, beating Ottawa 5-3, before defeating the Capitals 5-2 on Sunday.  The featured performance was their former 9th overall pick Dylan Guenther.  Guenther had a goal and an assist with two shots on Friday before scoring a goal and two assists with five shots and two PIM against the Capitals.  Guenther playing over 18 minutes on Sunday was extremely encouraging.  With Clayton Keller out, Guenther moved to the point on the first power play unit, and delivered three PPP over the two games.  I've been a fan of Guenther's as a prospect and it looks like he's finding his game in the NHL.  He's an elite streamer for the time being who you can hold for this week if you'd like.  Arizona has four games, including two against the Blackhawks.  In dynasties, I see a guy that eventually becomes a hold in all formats.  I think he'll be a guy who gets three shots on goal per game on average, resulting in 25ish goals with upside for more with a good shooting percentage.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
There was a lot of craziness around the NHL on President's Day, but nothing topped the game in Minnesota.  At one point late in the second period, the Canucks looked in complete control up 5-2.  Two minutes and seventeen seconds of game time later, Minnesota was up 6-5.  And if that wasn't enough, there were still six more goals!  The Wild beat the Canucks 10-7, and to wash it down, they played a paltry 6-3 game on Tuesday, a loss to the Jets.  Nothing like 13-13 aggregate over two nights.  On Monday, it was all of the stars for the Wild, as those four goals in a 2:17 span were all on the power play, three of which were 5 on 3.  Joel Eriksson Ek and Kirill Kaprizov had three goals and three assists... each!  Mats Zuccarello and Matt Boldy had a goal and three assists... each!  On Tuesday, Kaprizov had a goal and an assist, while Marco Rossi had two goals on five shots.  Both goalies were shelled, and right now, it's hard to trust either of them.  For the moment, the Wild look like a four star team, Faber is a clear hold, and Brodin is on the fringe.  Rossi is a solid streamer, and gamble if you'd like on their goalies.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's been a long road to recovery for Artturi Lehkonen.  With Big Val in the player assistance program, it couldn't have happened at a better time.  After being eased back into the lineup, Lehkonen moved onto the top line the game before Tuesday night.  While he went to the second line to open the game, Lehkonen blew up against the Capitals, scoring two goals and adding two assists putting five shots on goal in the 6-3 win.  There's a few encouraging things here.  One, Lehkonen was on the first power play unit.  That alone is massive for his value.  Additionally, it was Lehkonen, not Drouin, closing the game for the Avs, as Lehkonen scored an empty netter with a minute left from MacKinnon and Rantanen.  Even in this role, Lehkonen received 18 minutes, which is plenty to succeed.  This puts him right back on the fringe.  Gun to head, I lean towards holding, but his schedule in the near term is heavy on busy days, so I see the case for leaving him as an elite streamer.  Let's take a look at what else happened the last two nights:
Last season, Alex Lyon saved Florida by getting them into the playoffs until Bob returned from injury.  While I'm not predicting a Stanley Cup run from the Red Wings, Lyon has saved somebody for the second straight season.  The Red Wings were in a massive downward spiral, and Lyon has stepped in to get them back into the playoff picture.  Lyon had a 30 save shutout in the 3-0 win over the Flyers on Thursday.  He's won 12 of his 19 starts, and is currently sitting at a .920 save percentage.  So why is he available in 70% of leagues?  He's clearly a #2 goalie in 12'ers at the very least, and I'd argue that he's near the top end of #2's right now.  If you need goaltending help and Lyon is available, consider it your lucky day and pick him up.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's hard to imagine the first half of the season going any worse for the Devils.  In terms of points percentage, they're in the second wild card spot in a season that many expected them to push for the Metro Division title and to be one of the Cup favorites.  They've been brutalized by injuries, but their main offseason acquisition rescued them on Monday.  After giving up four straight goals turning a 3-1 lead into a 5-3 deficit, Tyler Toffoli scored with 16 seconds left in the second period, and eventually completed a hat trick in overtime to beat the Golden Knights 6-5.  That brings Toffoli to 20 goals on the season, ahead of last season's 34 goal pace.  The loss of Hamilton for the regular season has been massive, and J. Hughes being out is too much for them to stomach.  The good news for the Devils is they only have two more games before they have 10 days off.  There's a chance that Hughes will be back at that point.  As for Toffoli, he's a bit behind the pace that I hoped for, but overall, it's hard to complain when he's on pace for 37 goals.  Here's to hoping he keeps the shot rate up, as getting back to last season's rate would give him a good chance of maintaining his current level of play.  It's the difference between being a potential top 50 player and a bottom end hold.  Let's take a look at what else happened the last couple of nights:
It's not too often that an NHL record that's stood for over one hundred years gets broken.  That happened on Wednesday night.  Despite his role shrinking, Kris Letang had the period of a lifetime.  Letang dished five assists in the second period in a seven minute span, becoming the first defenseman in NHL history to record five assists in a period.  He finished the game with six assists, all at even strength to give him a +6 rating in the 7-0 win over the Islanders.  Even with this game, Letang is far from the defenseman he used to be, partially due to age, and partially due to the arrival of Karlsson.  He's under two shots per game, and has only three goals as a result.  However, the assists are still very good, the hits and blocks are solid, and the PIM are much higher than they've been.  He's the perfect #3/4 defenseman on most teams since he's hitting most of the categories and piling up assists.
It wouldn't be this Buffalo Sabres season if they didn't blow out an elite team after getting buried by a bottom feeder.  The Sabres beat Toronto 9-3 on Thursday, becoming the first team in 40 years to score 9 goals in a game after conceding 9 in their previous game.  Does this change my opinion on anyone on the Sabres?  No, not really, they're just going to be an up and down team.  The one notable thing is that Jack Quinn scored a goal on three shots with four PIM in his second game of the season.  Quinn had a solid rookie season but suffered an Achilles injury in the offseason, setting back his sophomore season.  It's encouraging that even with a fully healthy lineup, Quinn's line was getting plenty of usage.  He's a middling streamer for now, but there's upside to an elite streamer this season, while Quinn has clear potential to be a permanent hold for years in dynasties.  Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
It's been a painful 13 years as a Sabres fan, but Tuesday's game might have been the worst.  There were tanking years, there were disappointing years, but for as bad as it's been, there can't be a worse loss than giving up nine goals at home to one of the worst teams in the league missing two of their best players.  "Kirill Marchenko is a lone bright spot lately.  I’m not holding, but the minutes are going up, the goals and shots are decent enough, and he currently is a key figure on their PP.  He’s a solid streamer."  And that's me quoting me from yesterday!  Well, it's time to give Marchenko a boost.  Marchenko had a natural hat trick in this game.  One of his goals was on the power play, he put four shots on goal, and he played 15 minutes despite the game being a blow out.  Marchenko is now an elite streamer.  Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night: