In this week's Eastern Edge, we'll look at early storylines to follow for teams in the Eastern Conference.

Boston Bruins – Hall on PP1   

While the goalie battle between Jeremy Swayman and Linus Ullmark will be important to follow, it'll take some time before we can properly evaluate that situation. Instead, I think we should watch how Taylor Hall fares as a new fixture on Boston's top power-play unit. Early indications suggest he'll be stationed near the net, tasked with retrieving pucks and creating plays in tight. I think some will overestimate Hall's fantasy value because of his presence on PP1. The way I see it, most of the offense will still flow through your usual suspects: Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak. As such, the idea of Hall being on the first power-play unit may end up being more valuable than his actual production on the top unit. If someone in your league is willing to pay top-dollar for Hall right now because of his lofty potential on the top unit, you may be wise to sell high.

Buffalo Sabres – Youth Movement in the Middle  

With Eichel sidelined and unlikely to continue his career in Buffalo, the door is wide open for the team's young centers to play big minutes this year. It'll be interesting to see what kind of ice time Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt get, as well as what they do with the increased opportunity. Since there isn't any pressure on the Sabres to win games this year, the young guns should get more freedom to showcase their talent as the organization continues to evaluate what pieces they want to move forward with. Having a long leash may help the kids produce more, since they don't have to be overly focused on making the right play to avoid being benched.  

Carolina Hurricanes – Hurricane Kotkaniemi

The Montreal Canadiens have been criticized in their development of Jesperi Kotkaniemi because they rushed him into the NHL and didn't always place him in a position to succeed. During his time in Montreal, he didn't see many minutes beside high-end players and wasn't given much of an opportunity to develop chemistry with consistent line mates. It looks like he'll get a chance to play with top talent in Carolina as he's pencilled in beside Sebastian Aho and Martin Necas to start the year. Now, the Hurricanes are a deep team and Kotkaniemi could quickly fall out of the top-six if he doesn't meet expectations. Keep an eye on the young Finnish forward during these first few weeks to get a sense of what kind of year he has ahead of him. 

Columbus Blue Jackets – Lessons from Larsen

It's especially important to pay attention to player deployment when a new coach takes over. With Brad Larsen entering his first season as Columbus' head coach, it'll be interesting to see how he distributes ice time throughout the lineup, as well as what kind of situations certain players are trusted in. Based on his discussion of Patrik Laine during the offseason, I expect he'll place the Finnish sniper in position to succeed – skating a high-volume of offensive minutes. It'll also be interesting to see how he uses Max Domi, who fast tracked his recovery from shoulder surgery, and Cole Sillinger, an 18-year-old forward who had a great training camp and earned a spot in Columbus' lineup for opening night. These first few weeks could tell us a lot about how Larsen plans on coaching this season.

Detroit Red Wings – Good Goalie on a Bad Team

While the Red Wings won't be good this season, there are a number of interesting fantasy storylines to monitor in Detroit. Will Dylan Larkin bounce back after last year's disappointing 43-point pace? What kind of opportunity will rookies Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider see? Will Nick Leddy or Filip Hronek be the team's top power-play defenseman? While those are all compelling stories, I'm most interested to see how Alex Nedeljkovic follows up last year's incredible showing. I personally think he'll struggle this season now that he's playing behind a much weaker team. However, a strong performance from him during these first couple weeks may give me the confidence to snag him from the waiver wire and trust him long term.

Florida Panthers – In Bob we trust?

Given the Panthers' deep forward corps, there's a long list of fantasy storylines to watch in Florida. Will young Owen Tippett see a significant increase in ice time? Can Carter Verhaeghe replicate the magic from last year's breakout campaign? Will Sam Reinhart's success in Buffalo translate to the Sunshine State? Can Sam Bennett continue producing over a larger sample? While all those questions are worth answering, I'm most interested in the team's goaltending situation. After a couple of awful seasons, Sergei Bobrovsky's fantasy value is at an all-time low. It's quite remarkable that the starting netminder on one of the league's strongest teams can be held in such low regard across fantasy leagues. Given his massive contract, Bobrovsky is expected to maintain his starting role as the season gets underway. However, if he plays poorly during the first few weeks of the season, Spencer Knight may be forced into a bigger role as the Panthers don't have much room for error in a talented Atlantic Division. I think we'll get a good sense of the team's goaltending situation within these first few weeks of the 2021-2022 campaign.

Montreal Canadiens – Petry's Partner

I'm optimistic about Petry's fantasy value this season because he'll be manning Montreal's 'top' power-play unit – a dangerous group that features the dynamic duo of Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield. However, I'm concerned that Petry many not be firing on all cylinders as the season gets underway, since his usual partner Joel Edmundson is currently sidelined with an injury. Edmundson provides an element of safety and predictability that I think allows Petry to be confident and take the right chances offensively. If Petry gets off to a slow start in these first few weeks while Edmundson is out, I'd be looking to buy low if the opportunity presents itself.