Every Sunday, we’ll share 21 Fantasy Rambles from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s 'Daily Ramblings'.

Writers/Editors: Ian Gooding, Michael Clifford, Alexander MacLean, and Dobber

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1. My opinion on what Adam Fox can do continues to rise. Entering the league I felt like he was capped at the high-50s. That’s still great, but it didn’t take me too long to think he could one day get to the mid-60s.

On the season, he has 31 points in 35 games. Going back to last year he has 42 in his last 44. That’s enough for me to push that upside upwards again. On this team, if he stays healthy I feel like he can hit 75. I had recently rambled about how only a few special defensemen have the talent to reach 80, specifically singling out Fox as one who probably couldn’t. My, how much has changed in two months. I definitely stand corrected. (mar29)

2. I am not sure exactly what Eeli Tolvanen will be at the NHL level but one thing that is drawing me to him is his finishing ability. Not that it’s a huge surprise – our own Dobber Prospects profile illuminates his shot and his release as two of his top qualities. However, there is always a difference between doing well at lower levels and having it translate to the NHL.

Tolvanen has 11 goals in 37 career contests, but he’s taking just 1.6 shots per game this season. That is not near enough. I do think that’s something that climbs as he ages, though. He has more goals than assists in his AHL career (36 to 35) and landed over three shots per game in the AHL last year.

You are probably going to see Nashville be very patient with him and maybe even Philip Tomasino. This is a franchise that just got burned on the Kevin Fiala/Mikael Granlund trade and probably won’t be quick to pull the trigger on another trade with a good young player who struggles briefly. I am excited for Tolvanen’s future, but that future is entwined with potential Filip Forsberg/Viktor Arvidsson trades. He may not have much talent around him for long, particularly among forwards.  (mar30)

3. Gabriel Landeskog recorded two assists on Friday, which gives him 19 points (7 G, 12 A) over his last 11 games. That gives Landeskog a 1.73 PTS/GP average over that span. Only Connor McDavid (24 PTS in last 13 GP) has a higher points-per-game average (1.85 PTS/GP) than Landeskog over at least as many games. The Avalanche are cruising right now, which is aided by having a healthy captain.

4. With another win on Friday, Jack Campbell‘s season numbers now sit at 8-0-0 with a 1.35 GAA and .951 SV%. No wonder Leafs fans want him to appoint him as the starter, even when Frederik Andersen returns. As it stands, the Leafs have no reason to rush Andersen back. The general rule has been that players shouldn’t lose their starting jobs because of an injury. But in this case Campbell’s season numbers are much, much better than Andersen’s. Campbell could easily be the starter during the playoffs and even next season after Andersen has potentially moved on as a UFA.

When Dallas drafted Campbell with the 11^th overall pick in 2010, it seemed as if it would only be a matter of time before he became their starting goalie. Eleven years and two teams later, Campbell might finally have that opportunity. With a career .920 save percentage, it looks like he’s earned it. And I’m saying this as an Andersen owner who is hoping for a few more starts from him before the season ends.

5. The Hurricanes have officially recalled Petr Mrazek after an impressive AHL conditioning start (43 saves on 45 shots). That means they are potentially going into three-headed goalie monster mode. Fantasy owners will of course want to know what to do with Alex Nedeljkovic, the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for March. My answer: I’m going to try to hang onto him as long as possible (I own him in one league). Especially since the Hurricanes are now a top-5 team in the league.

If Ned bumps anyone, it would likely have to be James Reimer, whose ratios, quality start numbers, and goals-saved above averages are not as strong as those of Nedeljkovic or Mrazek (in limited starts). For nearly the past two months, Ned and Reimer have for the most part been on a goalie rotation. From this area of surplus, the Canes could consider trading Reimer to load up further for a playoff run. Or else, carrying three goalies wouldn’t be unprecedented given how teams are playing a highly condensed schedule. Just ask the Avalanche about how disastrous it can be to lose two goalies during the playoffs.

6. Right now I’d say Andrei Vasilevskiy and Philipp Grubauer are in a league of their own as untouchable every-game starters because of their win totals and sub-2.00 GAAs that have a lot to do with the dominant teams they play for. If you’re talking about any other goalies, do what you have to do. Play the matchups if you’re in doubt. After this week, there’s only five weeks left in the entire season.  (apr2)

7. Cam Talbot stopped 35 of 37 shots to earn a shootout win over Vegas on Thursday. That gives him eight quality starts in a row. Meanwhile, Kaapo Kahkonen has started just one of the past six games for the Wild, while he hasn’t recorded a quality start in his last two games. Not long ago, he seemed unstoppable. That’s how quickly the tides can turn when it comes to goalies.

I’m telling anyone who will ask that any goaltending advice that I give about who to add and who to drop is VERY short term. For example, I’d say hang onto Kahkonen if you can, but that depends on who is available and what your team needs are. I could say go ahead and drop someone, then a week later they could go on an amazing run. If you ask me the same question a week later, I could easily change my mind.  (apr2)

8. Now that Tristan Jarry is sidelined with an upper-body injury, Casey DeSmith is the guy between the pipes for the Pens. He was already a good streaming option when it was his turn to start, and his season numbers (2.13 GAA, .922 SV%) are outstanding (despite a 6-1 loss to the Bruins on Saturday).  (apr2)

9. Ryan Strome  is building on a career-season last season (0.84 PTS/GP) with an even better season this season (34 PTS in 367GP, 0.92 PTS/GP), and he’s not necessarily riding Artemi Panarin‘s coattails, as he has eight points in the six games that Panarin missed during his leave of absence. Strome reached 0.5 PTS/GP in only one of his previous six seasons.  (apr2)

10. The Canucks signed Thatcher Demko to a five-year extension carrying an AAV of $5M. This locks up their goaltending for the foreseeable future.

This is a gamble. Maybe a necessary one, because five more weeks of excellent play may have driven the price up even more and this GM wants a goalie for the core. The problem is a cap-strapped team just tied up one goaltender for $5M a season, and that goaltender has 62 career starts. That is barely a season's worth of games.

If Demko ends up not being as elite as he seems this year, well, that's one more albatross contract to add to Jim Benning's mantle. It could work out excellently for them, however, and provide the security necessary as this team keeps building towards a contender. He may have priced himself out of being a great value in cap leagues, though. (apr1)

11. Jack Dugan has been on the fantasy radar for a while and scoring a point-per-game in the AHL should surprise no one. The Vegas Golden Knights have no room for Dugan at the moment, though, and even less when you consider that Peyton Krebs is likely to beat him out for the nest open spot in the top nine.

All in all, he would be a tasty piece for Vegas to dangle at the deadline for immediate help, or during the Seattle expansion draft to take advantage of a team with too many players to protect. He would be an excellent fit in Florida, Minnesota, or Nashville, and all three of those teams have keeper issues stemming from too many defensemen worth protecting. With Alec Martinez a free agent at the end of the year, that’s likely what the Golden Knights need most. Don’t sleep on him just because of the roadblocks. (mar31)

12. I’m sure you all heard that the Habs signed Cole Caufield. I can’t help but think Johnny Gaudreau here, for obvious reasons, though Caufield is more of a sniper. Will his impact be immediate? I tend to lean ‘no’ because he’s a smaller player, but his skill level is through the roof. Gaudreau showed that he wouldn’t be delayed and he had 64 points as a rookie. I can see Caufield doing something close to that – I just wouldn’t put big money on it. (mar29)

13. Says Michael Clifford about Caufield: The caveat with Caufield is that he’s going to a Habs team that spreads out their ice time. That started under Claude Julien and has continued under the new coaching regime, as no forward was averaging 19 minutes a game in the month of March (at time of writing), and only one guy (Nick Suzuki) was over 18 minutes a game. Were Caufield to be in the lineup sometime soon, it’s hard to see him getting more than 14-15 minutes. At the best, I think something like what Oliver Wahlstrom is doing this year – 9 goals and 16 points – isn’t a bad comparison.

I am a big Caufield fan and think he will help the Habs, I just wouldn’t hold my breath that he ever gets 20+ minutes a night. Not until there’s a whole new coaching staff in place. (mar30)

14. The Preds signed college star defenseman David Farrance to an ELC. Farrance, who was their third-round pick in 2017, tallied 59 points in his last 45 NCAA games for Boston University. We got his fantasy scouting profile here. How much he plays for the Preds this year obviously depends on the success of the team and whether or not they move Mattias Ekholm. But his long-term potential is very good. (mar29)

15. I won’t show you the Aaron Ekblad injury because it’s too horrible to watch. I don’t like seeing those, honestly can’t watch and haven’t watched a single replay. But he’s out “longer term” and honestly I think Florida just needs to hope that he can make it for the end of the first round of the playoffs.

So what does this mean in fantasy hockey? Well, Mackenzie Weegar was having a hell of a season. And so was Ekblad. They were partners. After Ekblad left the game, Weegar was shuffled around between Riley Stillman, Gustav Forsling and Markus Nutivaara! Not exactly household names in fantasy hockey. I think Weegar’s production for this year is toast. As for Keith Yandle – while his ice time didn’t jump after the injury, it certainly bodes well for his not getting scratched or getting his ice time cut.

Possible Ekblad replacements that ‘may’ be on the waiver wire (likely not, but you never know): Nick Leddy, Alec Martinez, Justin Schultz. And some longer shots here, if the above are gone in your league: Noah Hanifin, Jared Spurgeon, Brandon Montour. (mar29)

16. John Gibson is day-to-day with a UBI so the Ducks started Anthony Stolarz a couple of times this past week. I’ve always liked Stolarz, in terms of talent. But injuries really decimated his chances during those key goalie years (age 23, 24, 25). Now that he’s 27, it’s probably too late for him to make his mark. But maybe he can show enough to become a future backup. (mar29)

17. T.J. Oshie is quietly on a 60-point full-season pace. The 34-year-old is bound to slow down soon, but looks like it won’t be this year. In fact, he’s been very consistent with his production for three seasons now, with points-per-game averages of 0.78, 0.71 and 0.72. After his poor playoffs and weak final month of last season, I had him pegged for a down year and the beginning of his career decline. (mar29)

18. Phil Kessel is one of the league’s hottest players at the moment. With a goal and an assist on Friday, Kessel has six goals and 10 points over his last seven games. Kessel’s 15 goals surpasses his total (14) from all of last season, so this has been a nice rebound season for him.

In my Experts League draft, he went 271^st overall. I distinctly remember round after round passing and no one wanting to touch him with a 10-foot pole. A 20.8 SH% suggests that this pace won’t be sustainable, as he is taking just under two shots per game. The current success is nice to see, though. (apr3)

19. Is it time to stop calling Bryan Rust‘s 2019-20 season a fluke and start considering him a legit fantasy option? It seemed like a given that Rust wouldn’t repeat his 27 goals and 56 points in 55 games last season, even as a winger for Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. If a point per game isn’t possible, then how about 0.75 PTS/GP this season (28 PTS in 38 GP)?

Early last week, Rust’s 0.93 PTS/GP between this season and last ranked him 31^st in the league among players who have played at least 60 games. That put him in the same ballpark as players considered stars like Brayden Point, Elias Pettersson, and John Tavares. Interesting. (mar28)

20. Kirby Dach returned to the Chicago lineup. Remember that when he broke his wrist at the end of December, it was a 4- to 5-month timeline we were initially given. Five months from the end of December would have kept him out for the season, barring a deep playoff run, while four months would put him back sometime near the end of the regular season. He has returned a full month earlier than even the optimistic timelines, which is great news all around.

We probably need to give him time to get up to speed. Him being ahead of schedule is great, but I also want to temper expectations a bit here. Dach has not been a big shooter at any point of his career: 1.6 shots/game last year, 1.8 shots per game in the playoffs, and two shots per game so far this year. It is not to say he won’t be able to develop into a scorer at some point, but I just don’t think it’ll be right now.

Beyond that, he doesn’t hit and doesn’t bring much for peripherals, especially considering his typically-bad faceoff percentage. Dach is one of those guys who is considerably better as a real-world player than he is in fantasy, at least right now, provided you don’t play in a league that has corsi-relative ratings as a category. (mar30)

21. The Rangers traded Brendan Lemieux to the Kings for a fourth-round pick. Lemieux is not a big-time scorer, as he has two goals and seven points in 31 games. However, he has some value in bangers leagues with 59 penalty minutes and 65 hits, as well as double-digit penalty minutes and hits over the past two seasons. Because of the Lemieux trade, Vitali Kravtsov could find a spot in the Rangers lineup sooner rather than later. (mar28)

Have a good week, folks – be safe!!

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