The Fantasy Guide is out SATURDAY, August 14!

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As I write these Ramblings I have worked my way up to San Jose in the Fantasy Guide. Some rosters were harder to put together than others. I found a few interesting things when putting them together and I figured I would share them here.

Anaheim

The only comment I have with this roster is that I really like Anthony Stolarz as a dark horse goaltender. In my one dynasty I would consider taking him because with goalies – you never know.

John Gibson 0.906 SV% in his last 125 games played, with -12.515 Goals Saved Above Average.

Anthony Stolarz, 27 and 6'5", former 45th overall draft pick, coming off two huge AHL seasons and 4-3-0, 0.926 last year with the #Ducks.

A situation to watch.#FantasyHockey

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) August 1, 2021

Arizona

Last season Jakob Chychrun played the entire season for the first time in his career. I really think Shayne Gostisbehere is a better player (keep in mind the bar here is low) since his knee surgery, he just needs a chance to show it. Last year he was cannibalized by Erik Gustafsson early on, and was never really trusted with ice time to get any rhythm going. I also think Conor Timmins is ready to show what he can do as a puck-moving defenseman. If Chychrun gets hurt again – and historically that happens a lot – then Ghost and Timmins will surprise. If not, then Ghost and Timmins just have "okay" seasons.

Boston

The goaltending situation here is interesting, but to be honest I think the hotdog vendor would flourish there with this team so I'll comment on another thing of interest: Jake DeBrusk.

No big surprise here, but in analyzing the #Bruins roster, it is set up as if Jake DeBrusk will not be a part of it. With him set aside, the pieces all fit. So yeah, a trade is likely to happen in the next 6 weeks.

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) August 2, 2021

Take DeBrusk out and the pieces fit into line combinations like a neat puzzle. Leave him in and Tomas Nosek and Trent Frederic get misused.

I won't leave you hanging with the goalies. I always follow the contract, so Linus Ullmark will be the No.1 goalie. This works out great for Jeremy Swayman because the pressure is off. And because Ullmark is a Band-Aid Boy, Swayman will end up having nearly as many starts as Ullmark anyway. But without the added pressure of being "they guy".

Buffalo

I had to put this roster together with Jack Eichel in it. Which sucks, because I know it won't end up that way. And not only that – but who comes back the other way will impact the roster as well. Will it be a top center back? A good winger? Two? Prospects who are NHL-ready? Will another player be packaged in the deal too? It changes everything. Most effected are the fantasy outlooks for Arttu Ruotsalainen, Vinnie Hinostroza, Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens.

Calgary

This roster was pretty straightforward to put together and I did not wrestle with any tough decisions there. It's worth noting that both Daniel Vladar and Matthew Phillips have to go through waivers in order to be sent down. That pretty much hands the backup goalie job to Vladar and it gives Phillips a real crack at winning a spot.

Carolina

Well, duh. Tony DeAngelo.

Yes! He keeps his mouth shut, buckles down and plays hockey. And only hockey. He sticks for the full season and turns his career around. Offensively, his numbers will almost seamlessly replace what Dougie Hamilton had offered. Ethan Bear doesn't improve his numbers by very much, Jake Gardiner gets a lot of press box time and Joey Keane doesn't get into many games.

OR

No! DeAngelo blows it. He opens his yapper and preaches his opinion to his teammates, gets into a scrap in practice and/or says the wrong thing to a journalist – and you just know that journalists will be pushing all his buttons in order to be the one that makes him snap. DeAngelo gets sent home by Game 20. Bear's numbers go up by 50%, Gardiner gets into over 70 games and does pretty well, and Keane plays half a season.

And I have to flip a coin on which scenario… and how accurate I am will be completely reliant on DeAngelo's attitude.

Chicago

I have Philipp Kurashev fighting for his job. With Jonathan Toews and Alex Nylander back, Henrik Borgstrom signed and Tyler Johnson added, the forwards are now crowded. And Kurashev is waivers exempt. As last season wore on, Brandon Hagel got better while Kurashev got worse – both offensively and in terms of possession. This is how I constructed the roster, but if he comes to camp fit and plays his ass off while Borgstrom arrives and is terrible this all changes.

Colorado

A pretty straightforward roster. It would be nice if there was a way for Valeri Nichushkin to get into the top six there, but those spots are pretty firm with Alex Newhook in place now.

Columbus

There are a couple of interesting late-blooming prospects trying out who played in Europe: Gregory Hofmann and Justin Danforth. The latter is a small, skilled player who fits the Dobber Darling mold. But there is little chance that both players make this team and Hofmann I think has a real strong chance at a third-line spot.

Dallas

The goaltending situation is messy. Even if Ben Bishop is out for the season, they didn't need Braden Holtby. This should be Jake Oettinger's team, and even if they want to give Anton Khudobin a crack at it again, they would be fine with the two as a tandem. Just an odd signing.

Although Ryan Suter was a really good signing, his addition hurts Thomas Harley's chances of making the squad. Harley is close though, and should see a few games.

Detroit

A fun team to put together and I wish there was room to put both Jonatan Berggren and Lucas Raymond on it immediately. But it's constructed so that neither one happens. Both should see NHL action this season, but I have just one of them playing from midseason onward.

There is, however, a spot waiting for Moritz Seider.

I really like this team's goaltending set up. Alex Nedeljkovic is set up to succeed. If he stumbles, Thomas Greiss is there. Zero pressure on Ned to shoulder the starter's job. The Wings can ease him in and re-evaluate next year, when Greiss's contract is up.

Edmonton

I'm assuming Miko Koskinen will be bought out or traded, but until that happens I have to put him in for some starts. I think the delay is the Oilers trying to avoid keeping his cap hit from a buyout and instead looking into a trade.

It is a shame that Warren Foegele will be left out of the top six. Playing with one of those centers would obviously be huge. And frankly, I think he's a cheaper Zach Hyman. He's a hardworking two-way player who has untapped offense.

Florida

Another mess here. Tons of players signed, but only a few spots up for grabs at forward. How long can you keep Grigori Denisenko off this roster? Anton Lundell? Both are quite clearly ready. So if those two are on the team and 10 other players are obviously on the team – 11 if you add Mason Marchment, that makes 13 in total. So where does it leave Ryan Lomberg, Eetu Luostarinen, Aleksi Heponiemi, Juho Lammikko and Maxim Mamin? Lomberg and Mamin recently signed a contract. Why would Mamin do this, knowing the roster situation? And what about Aleksi Saarela? He had a great year overseas and wants to come back now that he's won the championship over in Finland (UPDATE: Saarela has just signed to play next year in the Swiss League – he must see what I’m seeing!). Luostarinen and Lammikko each played 44 games for the Panthers last season, they are 22 and 25 years old respectively and both were drafted in the first three rounds.

Make sure you pick up the Guide to find out how I shuffled all this around and made it work! But I can see the organization trading Saarela to another destination with more room. So far, this was the most difficult roster to do. But then…I haven't gotten to the Leafs yet.

Los Angeles

Does Viktor Arvidsson take Dustin Brown's spot on the Anze Kopitar line? Or Alex Iafallo's? Whoever loses his spot obviously sees a huge dip in production.

The way the roster is constructed, there is no room for Quinton Byfield or Alex Turcotte to play more than a couple dozen games.

And poor Vladimir Tkachyov. A promising free agent prospect signed out of the KHL only to not make the team.

Minnesota

This is a straightforward lineup. Marco Rossi has to make this team and take on that first-line forward spot for it to work. That being said, he may be eased into it. And with the lack of depth at center, I am intrigued by what Frederick Gaudreau can do. Think about it – Joel Eriksson Ek's line is set. Those three click better than most lines we've seen. Ryan Hartman and Victor Rask are both, well…I'm not a fan of either. Though to me Hartman has earned a spot as a checking-line player. So who plays with Kirill Kaprizov and who plays with Kevin Fiala? Or with both? Well, that leaves Gaudreau. Not much upside there, but some. The 28-year-old had 10 points in 19 games last year with Pittsburgh as a part-timer. Could end up being good waiver fodder early on.

Montreal

The only way I could get this roster to work was to put Jonathan Drouin back at center. The last time that they did this was his first year with Montreal when he was 22 and still a kid. Now that he's 26, try it again?

Nashville

Lots of big names at center, but shadows of their former self. On defense, with Ryan Ellis gone I see Mattias Ekholm getting more PP time and seeing an uptick in production.

New Jersey

A straightforward, well-constructed roster with three clear lines that can score. I really like what they did in the net. They tried to do this last year when they signed Corey Crawford, but he retired suddenly and they were left hanging. We saw what happened to Mackenzie Blackwood when he had all the pressure. Now, splitting the starts with Jonathan Bernier, I think he becomes better for it.

NY Islanders

I had to assume (and I made use of the asterisk) that the Isles will be signing Zach Parise, Kyle Palmieri and Casey Cizikas. Unfortunately, the roster is again setup so that Kieffer Bellows will have trouble cracking the lineup. Both he and Otto Koivula have to clear waivers in order to be sent down and I'm not sure if they will. They are probably looking at some press box time this season.

I discuss in there the battle on defense to make the team between Robin Salo and Samuel Bolduc. I declare a winner and project accordingly. Both players should be of fantasy interest in dynasty leagues.

NY Rangers

The new roster seems to be constructed to make Kaapo Kakko a star this year. Moving Pavel Buchnevich really opens the door for him. But the signing of Barclay Goodrow shoves the promising Julien Gauthier down the depth chart and almost into irrelevance.

On defense it's pretty tight in terms of finding a spot for the newcomers, but I definitely favor Nils Lundkvist over Zachary Jones and Tarmo Reunanen.

Ottawa

The roster isn't fully constructed yet – I think the Sens still have a couple of free agent signings to make. They can't force Logan Brown and Alex Formenton onto the team when they're not yet ready. I wonder if this is a good destination for Nikita Gusev? They could give him optimal minutes, build him into a huge asset and flip him at the deadline.

Philadelphia

The only thing with this roster is – Morgan Frost is in tough to make this team. He can't be a fourth-line center. Current centermen are Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, Scott Laughton and Nate Thompson – and assume Claude Giroux plays wing. And the only wing spot Frost could take is on the third line.

What if Carter Hart implodes again? The Martin Jones show?

Pittsburgh

A straightforward roster, but with Evgeni Malkin injured to start the season there could be a bit of chaos early on. I was impressed with Teddy Blueger and Evan Rodrigues in terms of how well they produced given their ice time and the way they were utilized. Line combos:

Jake Guentzel                    Sidney Crosby                    Bryan Rust         

Jason Zucker                       Evgeni Malkin                    Kasperi Kapanen              

Danton Heinen                 Jeff Carter                           Brock McGinn   

Zach Aston-Reese            Teddy Blueger                   Sam Lafferty     

With Lafferty as the 13^th forward (even though I have him on a line above, I have him for just 40 games), Rodrigues is the 12^th forward who can bounce from center to wing as needed. After that I have Dominik Simon, Radim Zohorna, Kasperi Bjorkqvist, Valtteri Puustinen, Drew O'Connor and Sam Poulin getting in some games.

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Okay, I'm diving back into the Guide now. Onto San Jose!

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See you next Monday.