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. I look at Vincent Trocheck and I wonder how I ever gave up on him. I rarely give up on players after two bad seasons, especially if an injury is involved. So, why was I so convinced that he was done? He returned in 2018-19 from that leg injury and was ineffective. Then in 2019-20 he was bad again. Traded to Carolina he was terrible in his brief look at the end of the season. That doesn’t seem like enough time to write him off, so why did I? Looking back at what I say and do, sometimes I don’t understand my thinking. My M.O is always patience.

Anyway, that’s my long-winded way of saying that Trocheck is most certainly back: 34 points in 31 games. Ten points in seven games with 20 SOG since returning from injury. (apr5)

2. It is probably worth noting that Samuel Girard‘s point/game mark has climbed every season of his career. He won’t be a near-70-point defenceman, as is his pace this year, but rather this shows he can easily be a 40-point guy, even without power-play time. Peripherals are going to remain an issue for him until he shows otherwise but just the fact that he has put up the points he has bodes well for future fantasy value. (apr6)

3. Alex MacLean wrote about the trade between the Islanders and Devils that sent Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac to New York. All I will add is that I think this finally gives the Islanders three complete lines again, something they haven't had since the Anders Lee injury. Adding two players that can play top-9 roles, particularly one that is a proven 25-goal scorer, is a great get for the Isles. I will also note that because they're local players, there is no quarantine. They are eligible to suit up right away. (apr8)

For details on the Brett Connolly trade click here:
One thing I didn’t mention there because it’s not really fantasy relevant is how steep a price that is to get rid of Connolly. Effectively, both Lucas Carlsson and Lucas Wallmark are borderline NHLers; bodies for depth. They are contracts to make the contract swap work. The Blackhawks basically got Henrik Borgstrom and Riley Stillman for the price of adding $3.5M to the cap in each of the next two seasons. This could be a real good deadline for teams out of the playoffs with cap space. 

For David Savard to Tampa Bay, go here.
For Brandon Montour to Florida, it's here.
And for Devan Dubnyk to Colorado, click here.

REMINDER: As is the case every year, be sure to visit us throughout tomorrow's Trade Deadline day for the best fantasy hockey analysis of all deals going down!!

4. If the Jackets were to make a late-season run, they would have to do it without Zach Werenski. He will miss the rest of the regular season because he will undergo surgery for an inguinal/sports hernia. Werenski finishes the season with 20 points in 35 games, including six points over his last six games. Although he had reportedly been trying to play through the injury, it didn’t appear to slow him that much.

With Werenski out of the lineup, expect Seth Jones to log a ton of minutes on the Columbus blueline in addition to all the first-unit power-play minutes. Mikko Lehtonen, who was acquired from the Leafs earlier this season, might also benefit from some leftover power-play time. (apr10)

5. Entering Friday action, Chris Kreider had the lowest 5-on-5 shot rate of his career, or at least since his rookie year when he played 23 games. His incredibly high shooting percentage (over 22 percent) is a big reason why he’s been able to retain his fantasy value, even as his shots and assist rates have cratered.

This is one of those cases where I’m not sure it’s entirely related to Kreider. We have talked extensively about how Mika Zibanejad struggled through the first six weeks of the season and we can’t forget just how bad this defence was early in the year (remember pairing Jack Johnson and Tony DeAngelo together?!). Things have righted themselves and there’s still another month left. I want to see how Kreider finishes up the year, because I don’t think the downturn in some of his metrics are really all his fault. The final month of the season could show us that. (apr9)

6. Sheldon Keefe on Frederik Andersen: “No update. He had another follow up but I haven’t gotten the update yet.” Any concern he’s done for the season? “No concern.” 

There are a couple factors at play here. First, the Leafs can probably walk to a division title for the balance of the season, so there’s no rush to get any injured player back. Also, Jack Campbell has been great in his tenure this year. Giving Andersen all the time he needs makes sense, and he’s probably not even the starter anymore.

Meanwhile, in Montreal, it doesn’t appear as though Brendan Gallagher will require surgery on his fractured thumb, which is good news, but he is on LTIR and will be out at least six weeks. He may be fine for playoffs but that will be pushing the timeline depending when the North Division can fit in all their games. (apr8)

7. Timo Meier may never be a regular point-per-game scorer, but his value in multi-category leagues could be a poor-man’s Brady Tkachuk. Averaging three shots per game over the last three years, when he starts getting over 18 minutes of ice time per game, watch out! His hits have dropped back down below two-per game this year, but part of that can also be blamed on the ice time as he’s seeing over a minute less per game than last year. This might be the best time to buy in on Meier, while you still can. (apr7)

8. The strong showings of Dan Vladar and Jeremy Swayman are making the Bruins’ current duo expendable. The money saved by letting Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak walk in free agency would allow the Bruins to bring in some more secondary scoring propping the contention window open a little longer. (apr7)

9. News out of Vancouver that isn't COVID-related: 3 years. $3.25 mil aav for Tanner Pearson and the Canucks.

This seems like a standard Canucks contract. Too much money and term for a replaceable player. Not that Pearson is bad, but there's a flat cap and Pettersson/Hughes to sign. They also have some good prospects coming. Anyway, as long as he gets top-6 minutes he could have fantasy value, though at this point we're probably looking at 2021-22. (apr9)

10. Patrice Bergeron man, what a stud. Will he ever age? Does he play until he’s 70? The consistency of his stats across the board (both fantasy-wise and underlying numbers) are incredible. There’s no large red flags that he’s going to tail off anytime soon except for his age.

At 35 (36 by the start of next season), does Bergeron finally start to tail off? Some may point to linemates Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak as reasons that Bergeron should be able to keep up his usual 70+ point pace, but I think it’s another player that will play a bigger role in his future production. That man would be the Bruins’ second line centre David Krejci.

Krejci is also turning 35 in a few weeks, and hasn’t tailed off much at all either. However, he is also a free agent this summer, and is able to sign wherever he pleases. Not really needing to chase a cup, the Czech native may decide to stay with Boston, and his support down the lineup is likely the insulation that Bergeron needs to be able to succeed for another couple of years. If Krejci leaves and isn’t replaced with someone equal or better, then look for Bergeron’s offensive zone time to crater, as well as likely breaking up the perfection line. Splitting up the trio for any length of time would knock a few points off of all of their totals, but it would especially hurt Bergeron. (apr7)

11. The Penguins’ duo of Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith will likely be close to splitting the workload for the rest of the season, so if you own one then if you can spare the roster spot, acquiring the other is probably a mandatory move. Both have been solid, but DeSmith has actually edged Jarry in production. It makes sense for the team to want to split them to ensure that both are rested and ready for the playoffs. (apr7)

12. Fantasy owners didn’t seem enamored with Justin Schultz (3-18-21 in 37 games) signing in Washington because of his recent injury history and drop-off in production. Yet he’s producing at a better rate than Zach Werenski, Mikhail Sergachev, Torey Krug, and Miro Heiskanen – all blueliners that would have been picked before him in fantasy drafts. Just saying. (apr10)

13. Who is Michael Bunting, you ask? With another goal on Friday, Bunting now has five goals in six games this season. That includes a hat trick against the Kings on Monday. Prior to this season, Bunting had played five career NHL games, which were two seasons ago in 2018-19. Yet he’s riding shotgun on a scoring line with Conor Garland and Nick Schmaltz, which suggests to me that there might continue to be something there in the short term.

Bunting’s Dobber Prospects profile hardly sells me on him as a must-add to your keeper team, but he did finish last season 12^th in AHL scoring. The profile does compare him with Brad Marchand, who if I remember correctly didn’t arrive in the NHL with a ton of fanfare but built up a reputation as a pest first. So who knows, maybe Bunting “Marchands” his way onto the Coyotes roster for more than a cup of coffee since Marchand is one of those players you hate but would love to have on your team. He also delivered four hits on Friday, so there appears to be a physical component to his game. (apr10)

14. Something I’ve been thinking about periodically this season is Dougie Hamilton‘s future contract. He is UFA at the end of the season and I suspect he’ll re-sign with Carolina. The question is for how long and for how much.

It is the ‘how much’ that interests me here because Hamilton is a unique player. He is top-15 in points per 60 minutes at all strengths over the last three years, in the neighbourhood of guys like Brent Burns, Kris Letang, Mark Giordano, and Erik Karlsson. That would indicate a contract closer to $10M a season than $5M. But in that span, he’s played borderline second-pair minutes and the guys in that ice time range are players like Torey Krug, Jake Muzzin, and Nick Leddy. In other words, players with contracts in the $4M-$7M range.  

Hamilton won’t come in around the $5M range. If the Hurricanes are lucky, they’ll be able to lock him up for the $7M-$8M range. But I do think this is an interesting negotiation because he’s clearly an elite defenceman, but he doesn’t play 25 minutes a night and his season-high is 50 points (yes his last two years in aggregate have been much higher than that pace). An interesting contract yet to come. (apr6)

15. Whatever extra training the Leafs gave Alex Galchenyuk with the Marlies really worked. Sure, he was effective there with eight points in six games. But I read that he was getting personal one-on-one coaching with some psychological stuff involved, too. Whatever it was, he has this new attitude that is very tangible. He’s working hard on the ice and the Leafs are dying to have a top-six winger added. I think, so far, he’s fitting that bill. He has six points in 11 games, which isn’t great, but those are all at even strength which isn’t so bad. (apr5)

16. At 33 career NHL games, Chris Driedger is starting to sell me that there is something real here. He is an unrestricted free agent in the summer, as he turns 27 in May. Will he be the next Carter Hutton? Or is there something to this guy? Sergei Bobrovsky makes $10 million per year for the next five seasons. And that’s a contract you can’t just bury or buy out (or even trade). But would Driedger sign with Florida when other teams have more of a need? Can Florida give $13M to their goaltending alone? (apr5)

17. So, is Mackenzie Weegar doing better without his usual partner, Aaron Ekblad? I’m not sold, in terms of his offense. His PP time isn’t seeing any kind of uptick, and I find it hard to believe that he can flourish for long with Gustav Forsling by his side. If this pairing continues to work, it would have to be considered one of the biggest surprise pairings in history. Both players were fringe NHLers before Joel Quenneville came around. Now, together, they can be fantasy relevant? (apr5)

18. The Capitals scratched Jakub Vrana for consecutive games last week. If this doesn’t wake him up (and although I admit I don’t see many Washington games, I didn’t know he was sleeping) then what are the odds he is traded in the offseason? He’s an RFA this summer and I don't see him signing anything with the Caps logo at the top if he keeps getting scratched. (apr5)

19. Anthony Cirelli and Alex Killorn each have just a point in their last 10 games. Both were racing towards career years but have slowed considerably. The two of them have seen ice time alongside Steven Stamkos lately, and the latter has just four points in his last 10 games before missing yesterday's matchup with a lower body injury. (apr5)

20. With Jonathan Bernier sidelined, Thomas Greiss has turned his game around. Sometimes…well, okay often… a goalie just needs to be the de facto starter with nobody breathing down his neck and stealing starts, to get things rolling Since March 20, Greiss has six Quality Starts in eight outings. (apr5)

21. After finishing his KHL season and serving his time in quarantine, Vitali Kravtsov finally made his NHL debut last week. He was held without a point with three shots in 10:45 (no power-play time) while playing on a line with Filip Chytil and Alexis Lafreniere. Kravtsov is a must-own in keeper leagues, but he’s probably going to need some time to get his feet wet in the NHL before he starts paying dividends for fantasy owners. (apr4)

Have a good week, folks – be safe!!

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