Fantasy Hockey - news, rumors and more on all 30 NHL teams
Fantasy 30: Updates on Bergeron, Hossa, Rantanen and more
While you may be an avid fan of a particular NHL team -- and keep up to date on all the news and rumors regarding that franchise -- there are 29 others playing in 2016-17.
As a fantasy owner, it can be a bit daunting to keep tabs on everything.
That's where the Fantasy 30 comes in -- a rundown of the most fantasy-relevant updates on every team. Here's what's happening around around the NHL in week two of the young season.
Anaheim Ducks: Although finally armed with a new six-year, $22.8 million deal, Rickard Rakell isn't expected back in Anaheim's lineup for another week or so. While securing a work visa tops the to-do list, the 23-year-old forward is also in line for some warm-up practice sessions after missing training camp (and recovering from an appendectomy). But once ready and able, Rakell is expected to muscle his way into a top-six role for the Ducks up front.
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Arizona Coyotes: Coach Dave Tippett is quickly adopting the practice of shifting his top rookies in and out of the lineup in this season's early stages. First, young center Dylan Strome sat out the opener, then Christian Dvorak was booted to the press box for Strome's debut a game later. Teen defenseman Jacob Chychrun has been made a healthy scratch as well. Serves fair warning to fantasy owners with these promising young guns on their own respective rosters.
Boston Bruins: Recovering from a lower-body issue, Patrice Bergeron is a good bet to make his season debut against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. If so, look for Bergeron to reclaim his gig as top-line center between Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak, bumping David Backes to the second-line wing.
Buffalo Sabres: Three broken ribs means forward Evander Kane will miss "weeks" for the Sabres. Without Kane and Jack Eichel -- out a few weeks himself with an ankle injury -- Buffalo's top line of Ryan O'Reilly, Sam Reinhart and Kyle Okposo stands alone as a top permanent trio and reliable source of production for fantasy owners.
Calgary Flames: After fumbling his first two starts, Brian Elliott seems up for another shot with his new club in Calgary. But a third-straight substandard effort against the Carolina Hurricanes Thursday ensures Chad Johnson, who has been solid in his two appearances, will be back between the pipes to face the St. Louis Blues Saturday.
Carolina Hurricanes: By far Carolina's most effective forward line early on, the top unit of Victor Rask, Jeff Skinner and Lee Stempniak, is in little danger of being broken up. Owned in about a fifth of ESPN.com fantasy leagues, Stempniak -- an "underrated guy" in coach Bill Peters' eyes -- actually leads the team with three goals and two assists in three games. Get on it.
Chicago Blackhawks: Veteran Marian Hossa is considered 'iffy' for Friday's contest in Columbus. After scoring his 500th NHL goal, Hossa suffered a lower-body injury in blocking a shot against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. Guessing coach Joel Quenneville would rather play it safe with his 37-year-old asset, forward Marcus Kruger is a solid candidate to take over Hossa's spot with the man advantage.
Colorado Avalanche: On a conditioning assignment with the San Antonio Rampage, Mikko Rantanen (ankle injury) is pegged to rejoin the Avalanche in about a week. Collecting 60 points in 52 AHL games last season, the 19-year-old winger has been considered a threat to crack the Avs' top six in 2016-17. Keep an eye on this kid.
Columbus Blue Jackets: Although already frustrated with his team on large (quelle surprise), coach John Tortorella seems reasonably pleased with the play of rookie blueliner Zach Werenski. Owned in only 18 percent of ESPN.com leagues, the 19-year-old top-pair defenseman already has a goal and an assist (nine shots) in his first two NHL games. Selected eighth overall in 2015, Werenski is also skating on the Blue Jackets' top power play.
Dallas Stars: Battling illness, Jiri Hudler is expected to miss Thursday's tilt with the Los Angeles Kings in Dallas. However, a return for Saturday's game against the Blue Jackets isn't out of the question. Fellow forward Ales Hemsky (groin) is also eyeing his season debut in the coming week or two. Beyond the No. 1 line of Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn and Patrick Eaves, the Stars' corps of forwards will be in for a significant shuffling once both are able to compete.
Detroit Red Wings: Not all NHL backups are weighed equal. Some are limited to seeing exceptionally restricted action behind a healthy and dominant No. 1. Others -- like Detroit's Jimmy Howard behind Petr Mrazek -- are more likely to enjoy a higher percentage of starts; particularly if the Red Wings' No. 2 continues to stifle the competition like he did in Wednesday's 32-save, 2-1 victory over the Rangers. One game, sure, but Howard was terrific. And the Wings are scheduled to play back-to-back home games this Friday and Saturday.
Edmonton Oilers: While Jesse Puljujarvi has already sat as a healthy scratch, Todd McLellan appears reluctant to send the 18-year-old to the AHL anytime soon. Instead, the Oilers head coach believes a consistent environment will help the young Finn adjust to the game on this side of the Atlantic. Of course, that isn't to suggest Puljujarvi is utterly immune from demotion to the minors this season either.
Florida Panthers: Generally off the fantasy radar, Denis Malgin merits some attention in dynasty and deep re-draft leagues. With Jonathan Huberdeau and Nick Bjugstad on the injured shelf, the diminutive forward is filling in as third-line center and competing on a Panthers'' top power play. Not bad for a 19-year-old with about a season's worth of elite Swiss league games to his credit.
Los Angeles Kings: Hello there. Peter Budaj! Showing up fellow understudy Jeff Zatkoff, who has floundered in relief of No. 1 Jonathan Quick early on, Budaj stopped all nine shots faced in Tuesday's 6-3 loss to the Wild. That should earn the experienced netminder a subsequent start Thursday against the Stars. And if the veteran can hold his own against Dallas' potent offense, the winless Kings are likely to run with Budaj until the wheels falls off. And/or until they trade for someone better (perhaps a demoted Ondrej Pavelec in Winnipeg?). Meanwhile, Quick (groin injury) has opted to skip major surgery and remains out until his loosely projected return in early January.
Montreal Canadiens: Barring some sudden setback, Carey Price is in line to start against the Coyotes Thursday. Down about 7 pounds after fighting the flu, the Canadiens' elite netminder says he feels good and is ready to go. Utilize him as you usually would.
Minnesota Wild: Perhaps we should start paying greater attention to the Wild's third forward line. According to Michael Russo of the Star-Tribune, center Eric Haula was at his best in Tuesday's 6-3 victory over the Kings, alongside Jason Pominville and Nino Niederreiter. Coach Bruce Boudreau seems to be demanding more than the usual scoring support from his third unit, and perhaps fantasy owners should, too. Also, all three forwards are valid candidates to move up the lineup -- especially Pominville -- if necessary.
Nashville Predators: Fantasy owners hoping for a fruitful Sophomore season from Miikka Salomaki will have to wait a while; the 23-year-old forward is out six to eight weeks with a broken hand. Salomaki could still be modest fantasy factor down the road, if/when more prominent members of the Predators' offense fall injured.
New Jersey Devils: In a gut-punch to fantasy owners who targeted Adam Henrique this offseason, veteran Travis Zajac has instead emerged as the Devils' centerman of choice alongside new star winger Taylor Hall (and P.A. Parenteau). Considering such, Zajac should be owned in more than six percent of ESPN.com leagues.
New York Islanders: We're only a couple weeks in, but forward Josh Bailey appears to be succeeding where P.A. Parenteau (now with the Devils) and Jason Chimera fell short in making it work on a No. 1 forward line with John Tavares and Andrew Ladd. Remember when Bailey was picked ninth overall at the 2008 Entry Draft? If this top trio remains intact, that selection might finally flush out for the Islanders eight years later. An inexpensive DFS asset worth consideration, the 27-year-old is also largely available in ESPN.com leagues.
New York Rangers: Badgered by a 'hip flexor' (read: groin) injury, Daniel Girardi is eyeing a return for the Rangers in the next few days. A modest commodity in only the deepest fantasy leagues, the veteran defenseman won't be hurried in his return, meaning a comeback Saturday in Washington feels improbable.
Ottawa Senators: This isn't to propose he's playing next week, next month, next year, or even ever again, but with concussion specialists at the helm, forward Clarke MacArthur is reportedly "feeling much better." Not just "better" but "much better." However, since it's a fool's act to prognosticate recovery from any head injury, we'll just leave it at that.
Philadelphia Flyers: Injuries are never welcome, but this here is somewhat fortuitous timing for the Flyers. With his three-game suspension complete, Brayden Schenn is set to return to Philly's lineup just as Michael Raffl is ruled out for the next two weeks with an upper-body injury. This allows coach Dave Hakstol the luxury of plugging Schenn in Raffl's place on the top line with Claude Giroux and Wayne Simmonds, no fuss or muss. Charged up after sitting out over a week, Schenn presents as a particularly appealing DFS play against the Ducks on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Penguins: Defenseman Kris Letang is hurt again. This time, the Penguins' elite blueliner is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Look for Justin Schultz or Trevor Daley to anchor Pittsburgh's top power play in Letang's stead.
San Jose Sharks: Netminder Aaron Dell was impressive in his NHL coming out party, stopping 20 of 23 shots in Tuesday's 3-2 win over the Islanders. Unfortunately for Dell -- and fantasy owners desperate for any and all goaltending help -- the Sharks aren't scheduled to play back-to-back games again until late November. which means it's Martin Jones' show between now and then.
St. Louis Blues: Recovering ahead of schedule from an elbow injury, Jaden Schwartz is tapped to make his 2016-17 debut on a top line with Alexander Steen and Vladimir Tarasenko, booting David Perron to the third unit with Patrik Berglund. Meanwhile, the cobbled-together second forward line including Paul Stastny, Nail Yakupov and Robby Fabbri should remain intact following Jori Lehtera's placement on IR. The Blues are in Edmonton to face Cam Talbot (3.92 GAA/.886 SV%) and the Oilers Thursday.
Tampa Bay Lightning: As it stands, forward Ryan Callahan appears on pace to return from offseason hip surgery in early November. But with the Lightning's top-six humming along nicely, a third-line role is likely in store for the 31-year-old veteran, diluting his fantasy potential -- at least until the injury bug bites.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Four games in, netminder Jhonas Enroth is tapped to make his Maple Leafs' debut on Thursday in Minnesota. A strong performance by Enroth, who was better than good in limited play as the Kings' backup last season, could give Leafs coach Mike Babcock pause, with view to the 11 goals allowed by Frederik Andersen through the first three games. Never mind that Andersen is the perceived No. 1 in Toronto -- Babcock wants to win. Keep an eye.
Vancouver Canucks: Not yet feeling up to snuff (click the link for a personalized and detailed accounting) Ryan Miller is pegged to dress as backup to Jakob Markstrom in Thursday's tilt with the Sabres. Markstrom has been solid to begin this campaign (2-0, 1.97 goals-against average, .913 save-percentage) and could provide value in a spot start across the ice from a banged-up Buffalo squad.
Washington Capitals:Don't count on 65-plus games from Braden Holtby this season. In light of the condensed schedule, Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post reports backup Philipp Grubauer is in line for a greater share of starts. "What you're seeing with the schedule is that there are some more back-to-backs, but also, you're playing every second day," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said earlier this week. "... I said to the goaltenders, if I could go Grubi one game and then Holts three, that type of situation, that would be in the perfect world what I'd like to do. How we're playing and when we're playing and our travel and all of that sort of messes with that." Additionally, Grubauer's first career shutout Tuesday won't dissuade his head coach from giving Holtby another break, sooner rather than later.
Winnipeg Jets: With No. 1 Jonathan Quick nursing a serious groin injury, there's been talk of potential interest on behalf of the Kings in demoted Jets netminder Ondrej Pavelec. However, now that we're learning Quick is choosing to forego major surgery, with a return loosely projected for early January, that chatter might subside. (ESPN Insiders can check out why Rob Vollman believes the Kings will manage just fine without Quick here.) This means Pavelec is destined to compete in the AHL for a while yet, assuming Connor Hellebuyck and/or Michael Hutchinson stay healthy and sufficiently competent.
Source: www.espn.com
