I relaunched DobberProspects.com on Friday! Now go on and enjoy a cleaner, slicker site in time for the upcoming 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Still a few tweaks to go, and a couple of cool widgets I want to ad, but much of it is done. And please turn off your ad blocker. Any popup issues I may have had in the past are either gone, or easily squashed if any return. The player pages are pretty sweet (see Nick Robertson here), and we'll have the team pages looking just as sweet very soon.

The Fantasy Prospects Report was re-released on Tuesday. Updates, new profiles, the Mock Draft – it's all there, check it out!

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So the offseason is always a bit of a chore trying to come up with good fantasy content for the Ramblings, but at least we have a few days to prepare. I'm always jotting down notes, I have sources I check for topics, and each week I have something nice for you. But Cliffy had a last minute issue crop up and I was asked to pinch-hit late Wednesday, no preparation. As usual, I turn to you for help. Over to you, Twitter!

Fantasy impact of Klefbom injury if he misses substantial time with it? Do internal players get the minutes/chance or does EDM look externally via free agency or trade?

— Billy Wilson (@scdakotart) September 30, 2020

To land anyone of substance it's going to be very costly. I love Oliver Ekman-Larsson as much as the next guy, but the price I've heard for him makes me shudder. But if they make the deal happen, then OEL and the rest of the team benefit huge. But I tend to believe that these deals have better odds of not happening than happening. So if they don't land OEL and they can't sign a Torey Krug or an Alex Pietrangelo, then I hope they don't 'settle' for someone worse like a Justin Schultz or Sami Vatanen (who I respect, but gets hurt so much he'd be useless in helping a team like the Oilers). External help, to me, is limited to those first three names I noted. After that, just look internally. Ethan Bear was awesome last year. Darnell Nurse is awesome every time Klefbom is on the shelf! Is Evan Bouchard ready to step into that No.4 or No.5 slot? I think he is. Most likely scenario to me is Nurse and Bear adding 10 or 15 points each to their numbers from last year, Bouchard sliding in and managing 25 or 30 points, and the Oilers adding a steady-eddie via free agency such as a Justin Braun or Brenden Dillon.

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Best bet to be a valuable fantasy G next year between Lundqvist, Fleury, Holtby, Crawford, Anderson, Howard

— danno (@drack55) September 30, 2020

The aging vets! Well, tops is obviously the youngster in the group Brayden Holtby. I'm not overly confident in how strong his results will be on a new team, but more confident then I am with the other candidates here. Wherever he signs, he's going to get the Bobrovsky treatment (given start after start no matter how poorly he performs). And I tend to put my money on the goalie who gets the most opportunity.

Fleury right now is the starter for Vegas. That makes him No.2 on this list. If he gets traded, as is speculated (and maybe that's what Vegas is waiting for before announcing a Robin Lehner signing), I feel that he is the next best option to put forth a good year. Third on my list here is Corey Crawford. He had a fantastic playoffs and was also very good once Chicago traded away Lehner. Fourth is Henrik Lundqvist, but I don't have a whole lot of faith in how well he can perform based on the declining stats.

I wouldn't recommend Craig Anderson or Jimmy Howard in any fantasy league.

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How likely are the TBL to repeat? Which of this playoffs final 8 are most likely to retool and/challenge?

— earthumbrella (@earthumbrella) September 30, 2020

They are my favorites. They've been a Top 3 Cup contender for several years and now they've done it. To me, they have the best odds to win the Cup next year.

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Thoughts on DeBrincat next season? Bounce back? Or should I lower my expectations?

— JLD (@jldtwo) September 30, 2020

Very bullish. He is a definite 'buy'. I have a lot of confidence in his upside and what he will do in the year ahead.

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Does loaning prospects overseas affect their development if left over there instead of returning?

— Billy Wilson (@scdakotart) September 30, 2020

I don't think so. And those who come to NHL training camps get an edge.

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Will Mikael Backlund maintain his current cushy 2C spot and current production or you see him regressing with age? And do I make a decent offer for Matt Murray or keep Corey Crawford as my 2nd keeper goalie in a deep league

— Steven M (@SteveLMcE) September 30, 2020

Despite the injury issues and declining stats, Matt Murray is still young enough that I have some confidence in a rebound. Crawford may slightly outperform Murray in the coming season, but giving this a three-year outlook I much prefer Murray.

Mikael Backlund – Steady production for seven consecutive years, and I think he's good to keep rolling at that steady pace for two more seasons. He's clicking well with Matt Tkachuk and Andrew Mangiapane.

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How truly far apart are Dawson Mercer and Dylan Holloway talent wise for fantasy purposes? I have the 12th overall pick in my dynasty league's FYPD and I expect both those guys to be there at 12 to select one of them.

— DTsports (@drivetimepix) September 30, 2020

I don't think they are far apart at all when it comes to fantasy value, wait time and upside. If you're torn, and you're fine with either one, see if you can trade down a slot or two and pick whoever is left.

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Any ideas how upcoming Free Agency might play out in terms of goalie spots? Will we see any additional goalie trades?

— pahlsson26 (@pahlsson26) September 30, 2020

This is the biggest story. I have never seen this kind of market for starting goalies. Holtby, Lehner, Jacob Markstrom, Thomas Greiss and Cam Talbot are each legitimate options. Markstrom, to me, is the top guy followed closely by Lehner. As far as the best deal – I like Talbot. I think a team will get him cheap and I think he'll give that team two surprisingly good years. And besides those five options, there is Crawford, Mike Smith and Lundqvist, and a couple of teams may feel either could be a starter for them. And then besides those seven options, there is the rumored trades of Fleury, Ben Bishop, Frederik Andersen and Petr Mrazek! That makes 12 different goalies who could be a starter or a 1A/1B split starter on a new team!

I think we'll end up with seven to nine teams with a new starting goalie for next year. To speculate on which goalie goes where would be throwing darts. Detroit needs a stopgap if they draft Askarov, and they need a long-term signing if they do. They are the best fit for Markstrom or Lehner. Buffalo is the other best fit for one of those two. Vegas reportedly has Lehner signed, though. Here's my darts:

Detroit – Markstrom

Vegas – Lehner

Buffalo – Holtby

Colorado – Fleury

Edmonton – Greiss

Calgary – Bishop

Ottawa – Talbot

I gave it a shot. Let's see if I can nail three of these. What do you think?

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Do you think Fiala and Kaprizov play together next season? And if so that do you think we should be looking at for points for them

— Churnley Townsend (@ChurnleyT) September 30, 2020

Absolutely. I can see maybe 20% of their shifts together, especially in the second half. But those two will form an elite line for years to come.

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Is Keller a 65+ point player or a 45 point player? I'm in a keeper cap league and $7M is way too much for 45 points

— danno (@drack55) September 30, 2020

I think he's a 65-point player. I do get your frustration. I think he gets back there soon, and will be well into the 70s in about three years.

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Do you think this year we'll see multiple offer sheets? If so, who are the prime candidates?

— Mason Black (@NHLRankKing) September 30, 2020

No, I'm still a skeptic on offer sheets. To me, the top candidates are probably defensemen. I'd look at Ryan Pulock, Anthony DeAngelo, and Mikhail Sergachev.

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Who from the 2020 draft would you draft before Kaprizov in a points only keeper league??

— tdubbswpg (@tdubbswpg) September 30, 2020

Only Alexis Lafreniere.

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What is Justin Faulk's upside if Petro signs elsewhere?

— Jgj (@Jgj31929196) October 1, 2020

I think Petro, Dunn and Parayko could all go to a new team and it still won't make Justin Faulk become a legit fantasy hockey player again. I think he's a one-hit wonder. Sorry Faulk owners.

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Which 3 to keep? Need equal numbers of C, LW, RW. G-5 pts, A-3 pts, PPP-1 pt, SOG-0.4 pts, PIM-0.5 pts. Laine, Fiala, Wheeler, Bjorkstrand, Keller, Kubalik.

— Kyle Snell (@KyleSnell81) October 1, 2020

Laine, Wheeler and Fiala. If it was points-only I would say Bjorkstrand instead of Laine. But the goal-heavy, shot-heavy categories make Laine a no-brainer.

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Bob? Is he a lost cause or is the best yet to come?

— Trent Nichols (@DTrent_Nichols) October 1, 2020

Sergei Bobrovsky – I think he'll bounce back. Confidence: 80%.

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Is it too early to give up on Athanasiou? Will Nedelkovic be the backup in Carolina next season?

— Blake Perkins (@bperkins21) September 30, 2020

My confidence in Andreas Athanasiou is on life support. He could bounce back, but my confidence in that is 5%.

Alex Nedeljkovic has to clear waivers and is on a one-way contract. But the Hurricanes have two goalies already and with so many goalies available I can see Ned clearing waivers. I don't think he'll be the backup this year.

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See you next Monday.