Missing one game looks to be the perfect reset for Adrian Kempe. After missing Saturday's game against the Sabres, Kempe came back with a vengeance on Wednesday, scoring a hat trick and an assist with four shots and two PIM in the 7-2 blowout against the Sharks. This was on the back of three pointless games and no goals in his previous five. Life for Kempe has been great with Panarin, as he has 6+6 in 13 games. He's also well over three shots per game. Kempe looks to be a guy who should settle in the bottom part of the top 50. I wouldn't be surprised at all if we see career highs this season because of Panarin's presence. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Elliotte Friedman dropped a bomb on Friday, reporting that Nikita Kucherov requested a trade from Tampa Bay, telling them that he won't sign an extension. The Tampa Bay GM said that they will not be trading him, but this is still massive news. The reports are that Tampa offered him four years at 15 million per year, which is an absurd lowball given the current market. This is playing out very similarly to Stamkos' end in Tampa, although Kucherov is a much better player right now than Stammer was at that point. That was evident on Saturday, as Kucherov had three assists and a shot against the Predators. For now, this doesn't change anything in fantasy, as Kucherov's agent is adamant that it won't turn into a holdout. That said, this could have a massive impact on the Tampa franchise in the next year, if not sooner. Could they pivot into a quick rebuild, as they have a ton of players who could return them a ton of value? Do they stay on their current track and hope to stay in contention? Time will tell, but it could end up hurting a bunch of Tampa guys in dynasties if one of the best playmakers of all time ends up leaving. There's not a dull day in the NHL right now. Let's take a look at what happened on the ice over the weekend:
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:
Tuesday marked the return of The Frozen Frenzy, where every team in the league plays in a stand alone time slot. It's a cool concept, but I can't understand for the life of me why this doesn't happen on a Saturday instead? I digress. The second game of the night was Florida against the Blue Jackets, and the Florida superstars destroyed Columbus 7-3. They were led by the Tkachuk brothers, with Brady Tkachuk scoring a hat trick, his first goals as a Panther, while Matthew Tkachuk dished five assists. Matthew was off to a very good start, while Brady started woefully. I haven't seen anything to think the switch to Florida is going to bring a drastic change to Brady's fantasy value. He does seem to be shooting the puck a bit less, mostly cutting up the hopeless, bad angle shots. His spot on the top power play unit is locked in as long as Barkov is out, so for now, enjoy the production that you're getting. Let's take a look at what else happened on Tuesday night:
It was a very difficult start to open the season for the Ducks, opening at Vegas before hosting the Panthers. Here we are on Sunday night with the Ducks winning both games. They stormed out to a 4-0 lead against Vegas, holding on to win 4-3, before beatong the Panthers 3-2 in overtime. Leading the charge? The man who broke the NHL pay scale this offseason, Leo Carlsson. Carlsson had a goal and an assist against the Golden Knights before dishing three assists against Florida. Last season, Carlsson started the year with 34 points in his first 25 games before injury derailed him. If he can stay healthy and play to his potential, the 21 year old has a chance to reach 100 points. I had him ranked just outside the top 50 overall because we saw that he could be a fringe top 100 guy for an extended period, but I'd bet on him being inside the top 50 come the end of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
We move onto blueliners now, starting with the top 20 defenseman for fantasy hockey. I'd argue this is the best overall group of defensemen since I've been writing for Razzball over a decade ago. This is surely going to be a long post, so let's get to it!
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It’s your guy, MarmosDad, back for another preseason rundown of aggregate rankings and additional information for 2026-2027 Fantasy Hockey.
Last week I shared that the tentative plan was running an aggregate of rankings from various sources around the internet, and giving some input as to which ones made sense to me or, more likely, which players were going to be underdrafted in your fantasy drafts this year.
Last week, I wrote up The Top 50(ish) Forwards. You can click there to peek at that one if you missed it.
This week, we’re headed to my personal favorite position, and the one where I spent most of my games when I was playing.
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!
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!
There are a couple teams making surprising runs to get back into the playoff race. The most surprising to me, by far, is the Flyers. In a huge showdown with Detroit on Saturday, the Flyers stomped them early and held on for the win. Owen Tippett stole the show with a hat trick and an assist with seven shots. He had two shots in the 2-1 OT win over the Stars, putting Philly two points out of the playoffs, albeit losing the tiebreaker to every team in front of them. Philly has a bunch of games this week against their direct competition, so expect Tocchet to lean on their studs. There are only two games on Friday, so Tippett has a real case to be held. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
I can say that I’m glad I didn’t take a sick day last Friday to watch the “excitement-challenged” trade deadline unfold the way that it did. I suppose for something to unfold, it would have needed to be packaged up neatly to begin with.
All that means is the asking prices were far too high on the “sellers” pieces, and the buyers were not willing to pay them.
Nicolas Roy for a conditional first-round pick? No thanks.
Corey Perry for a second-rounder? Wow.
Is there ANY Perry worth that kind of premium?
Happy Wednesday, Razzball faithful!
It was an 8-game schedule, so a bit lighter than usual, to peek in on Tuesday night.
But that didn’t stop Wyatt Johnston (1 G [26], 3 SOG, his league-leading 16th PPG) and the rest of the Stars from feasting on a steady diet of bear paws on home ice.
Jeremy Swayman (19-12-1-1) faced 32 shots on goal…before the third period started. Oh boy. The B’s defense corps looked like they were late to the opening faceoff in this one, then spent the rest of the game spinning in circles trying to figure out which way was up.
The 6-2 Dallas win snapped a 3-game losing streak for the Stars and pushed Dallas’ record to 3-5-2 in its last 10 games.
