Dobber’s offseason fantasy hockey grades – Anaheim Ducks

For the last 18 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber has reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 19th annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what I take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Barclay Goodrow, Tyler Johnson, Blake Coleman, Yanni Gourde, Mitchell Stephens, Luke Schenn, David Savard, Curtis McElhinney

Incoming – Charles Hudon, Brian Elliott, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Zach Bogosian, Corey Perry

Impact of Changes – Following their second Stanley Cup in as many years, it was time for some players to move on. The Lightning have a bevy of elite, high-priced players, and that means churning depth every year or two (like Pittsburgh did five years ago). The entire third line is gone, and that's a huge hole to fill. Tampa has some elite forwards, but so do teams like Boston, Toronto, and Pittsburgh. One of their competitive advantages was having a third line that could play against anyone and could score. That is now gone, and looking at the forwards they brought in, some of those roles could be filled internally – Hudon hasn't been an NHL regular for years while Bellemare and Perry could be hard-pressed to fill 15-16 minutes a night. While the loss of the third line means roles for the new additions, it's the guys that were already there that should benefit. We are talking guys like Ross Colton, Mathieu Joseph, and Alex Barré-Boulet. Those are the names that should be the biggest beneficiaries of the departures. The question is if they're ready for the minutes, Barré-Boulet in particular. He has blown the doors off in the AHL but had a tough first stint in the NHL in 2021 with just three points in 15 games. If the Lightning want to get back to a third straight Cup Final, they need these guys not only to step into the lineup but play an effective 15-16 minutes a night immediately. It could be a lot to ask, though Colton in particular showed real well in the postseason. But they will get the opportunity, and even on the third line, those could be fantasy-relevant minutes in that lineup… Hudon is an interesting name. He seems to fit the bill of a Quad-A player in that he's too good for the AHL but can't translate his skills to the NHL. If there is any team that can turn Hudon into an effective player, it's the Lightning. He is only 27 and three years removed from an NHL season with over 300 shots+hits.

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Ready for Full Time – Whether they're ready or not, a handful of players are going to be responsible for new roles. We mentioned Colton and Barré-Boulet already, and as long as they don't fall on their faces, they should be staples of the lineup. Just remember that even with all the team's losses, there wasn't a player removed from the top PP unit. There are more minutes available, but there aren't truly elite production minutes available, a distinction that should be noted.

Though he played a little over half the season in 2021, we should see a full-ish season from defenceman Cal Foote. The team has hung onto their 2017 first rounder even as they've traded a lot of prospects over the years, likely for this moment here. With Savard and Schenn gone, Foote should now be a regular in the NHL, it's just a matter of whether he gets into the lineup every night or spends some time in the press box. There probably won't be much fantasy relevance for him, as guys like Hedman and Sergachev will hoover the important minutes. All the same, it's a step forward for Foote's dynasty owners.

Fantasy Outlook – Not a whole lot should change with Tampa's notable DFS options. They still have two good-to-great scoring lines, a great power play, and wonderful, puck-moving defencemen. The loss of the entire third line shouldn't be understated in real-world terms, and that might hurt the goaltending more than anything. It gives some depth fantasy roles to younger players, but the Kucherov/Stamkos/Hedman triumvirate should be as strong as ever. The one concern is Stamkos's health, as it's been for years. He missed 20 games last season, wasn't quite right in the playoffs, and this was an exceptionally short offseason. That, more than anything, could do in Tampa Bay here. One weird offseason followed by a compressed schedule followed by a Cup run followed by a short offseason. They should still be great on the whole, but Stamkos's injury concerns mixed with a bevy of unproven third-liners makes this roster a little shakier than the last couple years.

Fantasy Grade – A (last year was A+)

Check out the rest of our offseason grades here. There are only a handful of teams left and training camps are around the corner. Now is the time to get a head start.