Twenty-two games. One regulation loss. That's what the Colorado Avalanche have done so far, cementing themselves as the best team in the the league. In fact, the teams tied for second place as closer to 25th in the standings than they are to Colorado. They're in the midst of a nine game winning streak, with two wins over the weekend, both by shutout. It started with a MacKenzie Blackwood masterpiece on Saturday, making 35 saves in the 3-0 win over Nashville, before Scott Wedgewood had an easier 22 save shutout in the 1-0 win over Chicago. Wedgewood has been the #1 overall player so far because why not? Yay goalies. Blackwood is back now from injury and getting his fair share of starts. Yes, right now Wedgewood is the #1, but it should only be a matter of time until it flips back. Regardless, both of them are clearly must own for the time being, and barring injury, both should be for the rest of the season. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Brad Marchand was trending in the wrong direction last season, but a trade to Florida rejuvenated his career. Now, he's on a massive tear and reached a career milestone earlier than expected. Marchand dished two assists on Thursday night, extending his point streak to nine games and more importantly, reached 1,000 points for his career. That brings him to a whopping 11+9 in 16 games with almost three shots per game. Am I going to bet against Marchand falling off? No. I think even when Tkachuk returns, Marchand keeps his spot on the first power play unit, and we see Marchand push towards his first point per game season in four years. Let's take a look at what else happened on Thursday night:
Not since Bell and Barksdale were running the streets of Baltimore have we seen a group of B's dominate like the current top line for the Blackhawks. Bedard, Burakovsky, and Bertuzzi have recently been put together, and they have been destroying everyone in their path. In the Chicago 4-0 win over the Flames on Friday, Connor Bedard had a goal and three assists, Andre Burakovsky had a goal and an assist, and Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice. They followed that up with a 5-1 beatdown of the Red Wings, with Bedard having a goal and two assists, while the other two each had a goal and an assist. Bedard is leading the league in points now, so it's safe to say that sophomore slump is a thing of the past. Bertuzzi is doing enough to be held right now, having six goals in his last three games. Burakovsky is on the fringe while he's a hot schmotato. His shot rate is going to determine how much he can sustain this fantasy value. For the first time in years, things are looking up for the Blackhawks. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Here is the list of teams that have 0 or 1 loss so far (overtime included): Colorado, Winnipeg, Carolina, New Jersey, and Detroit. None of the first four come as a surprise at all. However, Detroit reeling off five in a row after a dreadful opener is a huge surprise. They've been better defensively than expected, but the big thing so far is Dylan Larkin carrying the top line. No Raymond for a couple games, no Kane today, no problem. Larkin had a goal and an assist on Friday, including the overtime winner against Tampa, before scoring two goals and two assists in the 4-2 win over Edmonton Sunday. That brings Larkin to a whopping 5+6 in six games to go along with 20 shots and a +9 rating. Despite playing with a recent seventh round pick and a bottom six guy in Appleton while Raymond was out, Larkin has at least one point in every game so far. It's early to predict career highs from Larkin, but I'm not ruling out his first point per game season. With his elite shot rate, we could see his first top 50 season in three years. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
Hello again, Razzball faithful!
I’m very excited to be back on the hockey side of things for the 2025 season! When Viz sent out the ‘puck-beacon’ into the night sky, asking if anyone was down to help write some words about our beloved frozen fandom, I got that Flame in the belly again.
After I realized it was not indigestion, or Jarome Iginla, all it took was a quick message from Grey asking if I’d be interested in jumping back in on the word-Zamboni, and I was in.
Some of you might remember me from a few years ago when I wrote up some DFS for Viz here. Since then, I’ve been hammering out words on the baseball side most recently as our Top 100 Starting Pitchers writer for the last two years. You can check that stuff out here if you have a lot of time on your hands and/or have read through the divisional preview 25 times already.
As for me, I told Viz that I would be happy to preview the divisions and bring you names and some notes to help you get your squad up to snuff for the 2025-2026 season. After that, I’ll be coming back each Wednesday to do the Tuesday night recaps.
This post is going to be a long one, so I'm going to cut right to the chase. Today, we're going to look at the Top 40 forwards. The top 16 were covered in my Top 20, which you can read here. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please leave them below. Let's get to it!
It's been an incredible start for the Jets, and a big part of it is that the Jets coaching staff is finally playing their elite winger on the top unit. Nikolaj Ehlers had a hat trick and an assist with five shots in the 6-2 win over Columbus, before a goal and an assist with three shots in the 7-4 win over the Lightning. Ehlers has a whopping 8-9 in 12 games, dominating at even strength with solid PPP. This is while playing with a second line center who is clearly below average. What is Winnipeg makes an upgrade on Namesnikov eventually? I don't think Ehlers needs it, but it couldn't hurt. Regardless, career highs across the board are a near-certainty, and he could even beat the paces from his 28+27 in 62 games from three seasons ago. Let's take a look at what else happened over the weekend:
It's not every day that we see a hat trick from a defenseman, but we got one on Tuesday night. The Kraken destroyed the Canadiens from the get go, and Brandon Montour really dug their grave. Seattle's big free agent acquisition had a natural hat trick on four shots, adding an assist and two PIM in the 8-2 beatdown. I was fairly bullish on Montour going into the season, and he's delivered nine points in ten games so far, with over three shots per game. The main reason I wasn't all in on Montour, as you can see in my preseason rankings, is that I was unsure on how Disco Dan would set everything up for Seattle. Well, Dunn ended up getting hurt right away and ended up on LTIR, alleviating any concerns. Montour should be an elite #2 in 12'ers for the time being, with the upside of being a #1. Let's take a look at what else happened over the two nights:
No Barkov, no Tkachuk, no problem for Florida on Monday and Tuesday. They posted two consecutive 4-3 wins over Boston and Columbus respectively, with Sam Reinhart leading the way. Reinhart scored two goals on Monday against the Bruins before scoring a goal and two assists against the Blue Jackets. It's an excellent start to the season for Reino despite missing his most common linemate. I was still aggressive in my Reinhart ranking despite the regression that was coming because I've always believed in his ability. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a career high in assists to counter the drop off in goals. He played over 21 minutes on Tuesday and as long as the other two are out, I expect Maurice to lean on Reinhart heavily. Let's take a look at what else happened over the last two nights:
Opening night in Salt Lake City couldn't have gone any better for Utah HC. Dylan Guenther will go down in history after their first goal scorer, and he also sealed the game with an empty netter. Guenther picked up right where he left off last season with those two goals on five shots, playing over 16 minutes. To say I'm all in on Guenther is an understatement. Guenther's ADP was outside of the Top 200 while I had him ranked 96th overall. I'm a huge believer in his talent, and with Logan Cooley (2A, 3 SOG) as his centerman, I think we see fantastic seasons that elevate Utah into the playoffs. Let's take a look at what happened over the last three nights:
We wrap things up in these parts with my forward rankings. If you're looking solely for a draft board, then you can use my Top 200 here. If you want to know why guys are ranked where, and whether I like them or not based on where they get drafted, then this is the post for you. Let's get right to it!
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:
