The Fantasy Guide was released SATURDAY!

This was very labor-intensive in a smaller window of time than I have done in the past. Usually, with several days of prep work, I can put this together in about four weeks. This time, with a shorter offseason, I got this out in 15 days. It required more prep work, and late nights. But then with five days left I realized I was ahead of schedule! So what I did with that extra time was put in all the articles that I usually write two or three weeks after release: my Top 50 Calder Trophy Picks, my projected standings, unrestricted free agency notes and my projected goals-for. All of these articles are already in the Guide.

As you know, this Guide gets updated throughout the offseason. But after I sign off on the Ramblings here, I will be taking a much-needed five-day vacation! So do not expect updates this week (there are unlikely to be any big trades anyway, and all the big free agents have already signed).

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Remember Viktor Stalberg? That's a name I've not heard in years but it cropped up on my feed when he announced his retirement. A big player with speed and upside, he topped out at 22 goals and 43 points at the age of 25 and looked like he would only improve from there. But nope, wound up in Nashville and couldn't stick in the lineup, eventually petering out of the NHL altogether.

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Last week I went through the rosters that I put together in the Guide and found a few general observations with each team and I shared them here. I only got to Pittsburgh at the time, so now I will do the rest.

San Jose

I came away from putting this roster together by being very impressed with what I saw from Alexander Barabanov. I think he starts the season on the second line (no power-play time, initially) and it's his job to lose. Not the greatest upside but a decent dark horse if acquired via the waiver wire.

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Seattle

This was a very fun roster to put together. I had to look closely at the analytics and the faceoff data. I do this for every team anyway, but for this one I looked through it repeatedly. A fine-tooth comb. I left no stone unturned. And despite being the top names for proven production on the roster, I have Jaden Schwartz and Yanni Gourde on the checking line with Brandon Tanev. I think this team was built for stifling defense and tight games. So while I have those two big names on power-play units, for 5-on-5 play they are checkers getting defensive-zone starts.

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St. Louis

Not a lot to say about this team, which has remained close to the same. Not until we see where Vladimir Tarasenko gets traded and for what return.

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Tampa Bay

The Lightning have traditionally created their own (diminutive) stars. Sometimes they create and keep them. Sometimes they create and lose them. But it's a crazy trend and it seems to be continuing. Tyler Johnson, 5-8, was never drafted. But he was signed, developed and when the team had room for him they gave him ice time and utilized him well. He ended up becoming a 72-point player and at times a huge playoff performer. Would he have made another team and done so well? I have my doubts. Can you imagine if he was undrafted and trying to make the 2021 Florida Panthers?

Yanni Gourde, 5-9, was never drafted. He too was signed, developed and brought up in the right environment. He ended up becoming a 64-point player and later a top checker.

Jonathan Marchessault, 5-9, was never drafted. He was signed by Columbus but later released. Tampa signed and developed him, played him in the right spots and he had 18 points in 45 games. He became a UFA and later blossomed with Florida and then Vegas.

Next up? Alex Barre-Boulet, 5-10. Never drafted, but signed and developed. He's now 24 and joining a team that just lost Johnson, Gourde, Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow. Not only is there a roster spot for him, but a top-six spot. And his performance in limited action last year points to great success. Do not sleep on this guy. I even have him as a Top 10 Calder candidate.

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Toronto

I had my rant on the Leafs' bloated roster a couple of weeks ago already so I won't beat a dead horse. It was a similar rant to the one for Florida below. I'm just genuinely curious as to how well Denis Malgin and Brennan Menell would do as NHLers. I feel like I won't find that out. Ever. On 20 other teams? Sure, I would then find out if they can produce offense in this league. Perhaps one or both become stars. Perhaps one or both are busts. But with the way the Leafs are set up, they are both almost certainly busts now. I feel like Malgin and Menell could each score 10 goals in five preseason games and they would still not make the team. Or maybe something great like that would earn them a roster spot for Game 1, but they would still be buried on the fourth line/bottom pairing. And then Sheldon Keefe would scratch them next game because they didn't score when they were on the fourth line/bottom pairing! Set up to fail.

Crap, I did the rant again anyway. Sorry.

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Vancouver

Now this is a team that is set up nicely, with four solid lines where square pegs all fit into square holes, and round pegs into round holes. And the 13^th forward battle is between three players – as it should be. As things stand now, even Nic Petan finally gets a fair look. I don't hold a lot of hope, but at least he gets a fair look and may even crack the lineup as a depth guy to start. He had been a victim of the aforementioned Leafs situation these past two (bloated) training camps.

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Vegas

For the first time, Vegas has a very deep roster. I feel like both Peyton Krebs and Jack Dugan are NHL-ready, but now I fear they are still a year away. Both will see at least a dozen games, but will be hard-pressed to get called up for even a half-season. Especially with Alex Tuch returning in the second half. It's the center situation that was the struggle: Chandler Stephenson, William Karlsson, Nolan Patrick, Nicolas Roy, Peyton Krebs and Brett Howden. I moved Howden to the wing and Krebs to the minors. That still places Roy as a fourth-line center, which doesn't seem right. Another thought is to have Keegan Kolesar center the fourth line, bring Evgenii Dadonov to the fourth-line wing and use Roy as a third-line winger to play with Patrick and Mattias Janmark.

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Washington

Another straightforward lineup. No big battles, and enough room for Connor McMichael to get in more than a few games as he yo-yos up and down from the minors (or plays too well to be sent back down). One interesting thing I caught was that Dmitri Orlov had 18 points in his last 25 games and then three in six in the playoffs.

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Winnipeg

The Jets lost Mathieu Perreault, Trevor Lewis and Mason Appleton up front, but only added Riley Nash who I think will spend more than his fair share of time in the press box. The door is open wide for both Cole Perfetti (60%) and Kristian Vesalainen (75%). As well, Jansen Harkins should get into the lineup a lot more than he did last season.

I had nearly forgotten – Mark Scheifele still has one game left to serve in his suspension.

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While signing Joe Thornton to a minimum-wage deal seems like a low-risk move for the Panthers, I can't help but hate it. Florida is a deep team with a lot of talent. Can Thornton add to that? I submit that he actually takes away from it. As a fourth-line player who chips in on the power play, I don't know if that's an upgrade. I love Jumbo, don't get me wrong. Automatic Hall-of-Famer, great personality. Love him! But if he's out there then that probably means Anton Lundell and/or Grigori Denisenko are not. Does that make Florida better? Nope. Will it help their development? While AHL time at their age can't hurt, I can't pretend to know their personalities and how they respond to this. What if it makes it worse? Anyway, the risk here is not tangible. It cannot be measured. But it definitely exists.

Line combos I have for now in the Fantasy Guide:

Carter Verhaeghe – Aleksander Barkov – Anthony Duclair

Jonathan Huberdeau – Sam Bennett – Sam Reinhart

I think those two lines are in stone. Stone! No matter what you think of Bennett – flash in the pan or the real deal – the guy got 20 points in 15 games since joining the team. Not easy games…clutch games. And his performance at the faceoff dot ensures that he remains a center. Next:

Grigori Denisenko – Noel Acciari – Owen Tippett

Frank Vatrano – Joe Thornton – Patric Hornqvist

With Mason Marchment as the 13^th forward.

I treat these lines as more of a 3A/3B scenario. Not really a fourth line. Tippett can be sent down without waivers, however his ice time increased as the season went on and his playoff performance was very good. Denisenko can be sent down, and I have his making the team at 55% (I give all my prospects a percentage confidence of making the team – unique to my Guide).

NHL-ready Panthers who deserve to make the team but won't: Anton Lundell (45%), Juho Lammikko, Aleksi Heponiemi, Eetu Luostarinen, Maxim Mamin and Ryan Lomberg.

• Aleksi Saarela signed in the Swiss League, obviously taking one look at this depth chart and saying "screw that!"   
• Lammikko has to clear waivers to be sent down and he might not. He's a former third-round pick who is 25 years old and played for the Panthers last season in a checking role.
• Lomberg needs to clear, but that shouldn't be a problem.
• Mamin can be sent down without waivers, but he's 26 and returning to the NHL…for this? He won't like it and will probably go to the KHL next year as a result. So the Panthers lost this player, never seeing what he can do since last being in the NHL, because they wanted to sign Thornton.

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My Top 50 Calder Trophy Picks article

Player I haven't seen on many lists but is high up on mine: Jeremy Swayman (4^th)

Biggest surprise (high): Alex Barre-Boulet (7^th)

Most interesting entry: Alex Nedeljkovic (8^th) is there even though he finished third in voting last season. That's right, he's still rookie-eligible!

The caveats: Owen Power (10^th), Matty Beniers (26^th) and Kent Johnson (30^th) each get removed from the list if they commit to Michigan – but each move up the list higher if they turn pro.

Biggest surprise (low): Nicolas Robertson (39^th) – Toronto lineup too deep for him to make the team, let alone make an impact.

The 'who the hell is that' entry: Logan Thompson (49^th) – Vegas goaltender had a huge season last year and Robin Lehner gets hurt often. I don't think much of Laurent Brossoit…

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See you next Monday.