Hendrix Lapierre was one of the big stories of the preseason. While the injury to Nicklas Backstrom likely helped matters, Lapierre went into camp basically as an extra and played his way onto the team. Not a lot of rookies do that in the NHL, maybe a handful every year. He even had to beat out fellow prospect Connor McMichael to do so. His reward was lining up on the third line and second PP unit.

I am interested to see what he and a bevy of other rookies can do with their chance. We had another guy play on this slate – Cole Perfetti – who is just getting his feet wet in the NHL. We had other rookies across the night like Jamie Drysdale, Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield, and Jack Rathbone. While none of these players are top-3 picks from their respective drafts, they've all played their way onto their team not long after being drafted, Rathbone excepted. It just goes to show that teams don't need the first overall pick to kickstart a rebuild. Just ask the Los Angeles Kings.

And, right on cue, his first NHL goal:

OMG LAPPY GOAL! pic.twitter.com/8JVyK2By2Y

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 14, 2021

It was hard to tell who was more excited, T.J. Oshie or Lapierre.

Washington kind of rolled New York in that game, and Ovi had a huge night with two goals and two assists while Evgeny Kuznetsov had a trio of helpers. Not a great start for the Rangers, who’ll turn to Shesterkin on Thursday night, having started Georgiev in the opener.

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Mason McTavish was also in the lineup in Anaheim, where his debut was less certain. He lined up on the third line with Lundestrom and Slifverberg, so at least he’s not just being thrown on the fourth line and being asked to swim. He also scored his first NHL goal, adding to Lapierre and Bowen Byram over in Colorado. It was quite the opening night for a lot of first NHL tallies.

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An update on Oliver Bjorkstrand:

#CBJ Oliver Bjorkstrand taking part in a full practice, appears to be full go for Thursday's opener.

— Aaron Portzline (@Aportzline) October 13, 2021

This is very good news for Bjorkstrand, the Jackets, and their fans. As fantasy owners, we have to be a bit excited as well. He had a very good year last year despite the Jackets being a bad team themselves. Hopefully this is the start of the turnaround, and with Bjorkstrand front and centre. I would love a 30-goal, 100-hit season from him and I think he can do it. I am looking for a big season here.

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Carolina has some lines:

Lines today at practice: Aho with Kotkaniemi, Necas; Staal with Nino, Fast; Trocheck with Turbo, Svech; Stepan with Lorentz, Martinook, (and Jarvis). D pairs: Slavin-Bear, Skjei-Pesce, Cole-DeAngelo.

— Chip Alexander (@ice_chip) October 13, 2021

They've been running these for a couple days, but by my count, this is the third iteration of their full lineup we've seen in three weeks. If they're doing this much jumbling in preseason, it probably gives a window into the regular season.

This can be frustrating for fantasy owners. We like to rely on pairs of players or line mates, and it doesn't seem like we'll get the chance here.

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Mitch Marner was in question for opening night given his spill in practice, but he was in the lineup, on the top line with John Tavares and Nick Ritchie.

With Matthews out, there's a lot of pressure on the wingers to pick up some scoring slack. That starts with Marner, but flows down to guys like Nylander, Bunting, and Kase. Jason Spezza is going to get a top PP role for now, and he'll need to chip in as well. No one replaces Matthews's scoring by themselves, but a group effort can make a dent.

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In one of the early feel-good moments of the season, Jonathan Drouin opened the scoring in the Montreal/Toronto game on Wednesday night. Drouin, who has been very open about stepping away from the team last year for mental health reasons, hasn't played since late April. He missed Montreal's entire Cup run, so you know he was champing at the bit to get on the ice this season. You could see how much it meant to him:

WELCOME BACK, @Jodrouin27! 🤩🚨#NHLonSN | #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/Ap1nscWH9A

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 13, 2021

Kudos to Drouin for not only his resilience, but for encouraging others to seek help as well. A positive image for youth to emulate.

It was the team’s only goal, though, and they lost 2-1 to Toronto. Montreal had their chances but the Leafs controlled the play fairly well. Ondrej Kase looked like he did in his early days in Anaheim, which is always a good sign. He just needs to stay healthy, which is always the question.

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Evgeny Svechnikov signed with the Winnipeg Jets, a one-year deal that is for the league minimum. He had to earn his way to the contract and should be commended for working his tail off to get to where he is.

He is an interesting addition here. It doesn't really look like there's room for him in the top-6, but he could definitely play his way to the third line. I think he still has some offensive talent to be exploited but if he's playing on the fourth line, it'll be tough for him to flourish. Hopefully, Paul Maurice moves him up eventually. The one sticking point would be Cole Perfetti playing his way to a consistent third-line role, which is very possible. Either way, for the Jets, it's nice to actually have legitimate options. It's been a while since they've been able to do that. They could be sneaky this year.

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Alex Chiasson has gotten a premium role with the Vancouver Canucks, at least temporarily. He was skating on the top line with Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller. That includes top power-play slotting. It is somewhat reminiscent of how he was used in Edmonton, though I can scarcely remember them using Chiasson alongside Connor McDavid.

This is likely a short-term thing until Brock Boeser returns, and that could be very soon. All the same, Chiasson earned a contract with the team and he is coming from the team that has the best power play in the league. It wouldn't be the craziest thing a coach has done to give Chiasson some PP1 time down the road.

We'll see how this all works out, but it just seems to be another kink in the fantasy value for the Vancouver Canucks. Chiasson playing PP1 but 12 minutes a night helps no one fantasy-wise outside of leagues with 500+ players drafted.

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Adam Gaudette and Dylan Strome were both healthy scratches for the Chicago Blackhawks on opening night. It is worth mentioning the two of them because in very recent memory, both players were looked at as future top-9 centres in the league, be it first, second, or third line. It doesn't take long for fortunes to change in the NHL.

This isn't a permanent state of affairs. Both players will get into the lineup, and it may not take long. Both could also play their way into a role for the rest of the year. And both players might not combine for 50 games. One problem is if they want to use them at centre, the top-9 is full. If they don't, there is, at most, one spot in the top-6. In other words, even if these guys crack the lineup, it'll be hard to accrue the TOI necessary to be valuable in most leagues.

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Just wanted to give my thoughts on Seattle's first game from Tuesday night.

This is just one game – and they did make a great comeback – but it seemed like the problem we thought might happen reared their heads: a lack of top-end talent. They have a good top line that should be able to score, but there's just not a lot beyond that. Yanni Gourde returning will help, but there's just a lack of offence here.

It doesn't mean they'll be a poor offensive team. Someone has to score goals in that forsaken division, and Seattle might be at least middle of the pack here. Just don't forget about them for fantasy if they get off to a tough start on this five-game road trip to start the year.

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I know it's easy to be pessimistic about Detroit with Jakub Vrana's injury, but there is lots of good here to be excited over. Lucas Raymond (not Mason!) and Moritz Seider are both in the lineup, Michael Rasmussen is the 3C, and Alex Nedeljkovic is set to make his Wings debut. All the pieces aren't here yet, but some of them are, and that's something to be excited over.

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Just theoretically spit-balling: what would the return look like on a Brady Tkachuk trade? Teams would know he only wants a bridge deal (unless he'd sign long-term elsewhere). Without indication otherwise, teams may only get him for two years. But they could be a relatively cheap two years, especially considering what he could bring.

Since we just brought him up: what if Detroit took a swing? Flip Vrana plus some pieces again for Tkachuk. The Sens get cost certainty and a great player for the future, the Wings get big help now and a potential long-term piece. No? Yeah that sounds far-fetched.

Anaheim? That franchise could use a big shot in the arm right now. Pastujov and some pieces for Tkachuk? I wouldn't mind seeing the bruising winger alongside Trevor Zegras for any amount of time. A couple seasons? Sign me up.

Alright, last one. How about Columbus? Cole Sillinger making the team is a nice story, but if Patrik Laine doesn't right himself, they could be in short supply of elite prospects. Would they be able to swing another deal to land a disgruntled winger, and add to the rebuild? It would certainly get things moving in the right direction.

What do you guys think? What would it take to pry Tkachuk from Ottawa?