The last of the big-name RFAs has officially signed on the dotted line. Brady Tkachuk has agreed to a seven-year contract worth $57.5 million, which means Senators fans and fantasy managers won't be subjected to a lengthy holdout. The signing should also dispel rumors that he only wanted a bridge deal because he doesn't want to stay in Ottawa long-term, and with that of course any immediate possibilities that he would be traded.

Tkachuk wasn't in the lineup on Thursday, but you won't have to wait much longer to put him back into your starting lineup. He'll fill your SOG and Hits buckets in multicategory leagues, while improved scoring will affirm his elite status in those leagues.

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After a solid multicategory performance (1 G, 1 A, +3, 4 SOG, 3 HIT) in Colorado's season debut, Gabriel Landeskog was suspended two games for this hit on Kirby Dach. Fortunately, Dach did not leave the game.

Landeskog hit on Dach. Yeep pic.twitter.com/WJTfnZf6yq

— 🌬Joel Henderson💨 (@dathockeydoe) October 14, 2021

Landeskog will miss Saturday's game against St. Louis as well as Tuesday's game in Washington. That will limit him to two games next week, if you need to plan ahead in a weekly league.

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The Top 100 Roto Rankings for October will be released later today. Feel free to review the rankings and leave feedback. If you are looking for a different kind of rankings, keep in mind that the Rankings page has plenty of them.

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You may have ignored Tyler Bertuzzi in your draft because he is expected to miss a handful of road games in Canada due to not being vaccinated. Or maybe even due to the principle of not getting a vaccine when the world is trying to end this pandemic. Yet the signs were there that Bertuzzi would break out, such as improved production season by season, and success with top-line center Dylan Larkin. Yet no one would have expected a four-goal game against Tampa, which included this highlight-reel goal:

The first @Enterprise hat trick of the season goes to @tylerbertuzzi!!! 🎩🎩🎩 #NHLFaceOff pic.twitter.com/LoKdKHfSQ6

— NHL (@NHL) October 15, 2021

Confession: Four-goal games are much more enjoyable when the player is in your starting lineup and not your bench. But that happens to every experienced fantasy player.

Obviously Bertuzzi isn't going to shoot the lights out every game like this. But because we often think success in the first game is a sign of things to come, Bertuzzi will become a very-hot waiver-wire grab. I stated back in Bubble Keeper Week that I like Bertuzzi this season, but that was before the news about his unvaccinated status and how he couldn't cross the border. Unless he changes his mind about the vaccine, you will be forced to sit him for a few games. But he's also proving that you can't ignore him simply for that reason.

This game was an absolute roller-coaster ride. A 6-3 lead midway through the third period should be safe, given the way teams can lock it down defensively? Nah. Detroit coughed up that lead because they're the rebuilding Red Wings and they were playing the Stanley Cup champions. The Bolts scored three late third-period goals, then took this game in overtime. Three of Victor Hedman's four assists came during crunch time – either in the final five minutes or overtime.

Nikita Kucherov also scored a goal and three assists with eight shots, while Steven Stamkos scored two goals and an assist with five shots. Imagine facing a team in head-to-head that has both Kucherov and Stamkos? Yep, that was also me. And somehow I'm still winning the week so far.

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Detroit may not have been able to pull out a win against a stronger team, but their two other non-playoff Atlantic rivals managed to surprise the hockey world.

Did anyone think the Buffalo Sabres would go 0-82 this season? It sure seemed that way. Obviously they won't, which means they'll get to win a few games. One of those wins came on Thursday, a 5-1 shocker over the Canadiens.

Craig Anderson is rostered in 2 percent of Yahoo leagues and 6% of Fantrax leagues, meaning only the truly desperate decided to add him. So the 40-year-old was helping almost no one on Thursday, stopping 30 of 31 shots and earning a W. In spite of the victory, Anderson is still high-risk because of the state of the Sabres and (dare I say) his age. Yet the Sabres' next game is against fellow bottom-feeder Arizona on Saturday. Could whoever starts for Buffalo that day (either Anderson or Dustin Tokarski) be a possible safe add for a goalie start? If you're really going to roll the dice on a Sabres goalie, now would be the time.

Who were the Sabres' scoring stars on Thursday? Victor Olofsson scored a goal and added an assist while taking five shots. One-time all-star Zemgus Girgensons, who missed all of last season with a hamstring injury, also scored a goal with an assist. Yet the leader in icetime among forwards was none other than Jeff Skinner. Yes, that Jeff Skinner. He recorded two assists and received first-unit power-play time. The Sabres' cupboard is almost bare, so why not give your $9 million per season player those prime minutes? And why on earth didn't Ralph Krueger do that before? Maybe Don Granato is on to something.

It wasn't all sunshine for the Sabres, as number one center Casey Mittelstadt left the game with an upper-body injury.

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Perhaps motivated by the Tkachuk signing, the Senators exploded to a 3-0 first-period lead before hanging on with a 3-2 win over the Leafs. With Matt Murray still under the weather (reportedly not COVID), Anton Forsberg stood on his head in the opening-night start, stopping 46 of 48 shots he faced. Forsberg is rostered in about the same percentage of leagues as Anderson, so this was another standout goaltending performance that almost no one banked on. Even though Murray is considered the unquestioned starter, he's hardly a stable option. Forsberg or even Filip Gustavsson (recalled for this game) both have an opportunity to make things interesting.  

It's only the first game, but Petr Mrazek already has another injury. This time a groin injury forced him to leave Thursday's game. Sheldon Keefe did not have an update after this game; however, groin injuries are the type of injuries that tend to linger. Mrazek played just 12 games last season due to various injuries. I didn't see him on the latest Band-Aid Boys list, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's on there next year.

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Opening night, when everyone feels like a million bucks or like taking over the world.

tfw you picked patrik laine in your pool pic.twitter.com/IEyxTL4g6l

📢 advertisement:

— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) October 14, 2021

Based on that picture alone, you were probably curious about how Patrik Laine fared. The player picked by many Dobber experts as either a player to rebound or disappoint recorded two assists, but it was the Blue Jackets who exploded for eight goals on a hapless Coyotes team.

Oliver Bjorkstrand led the way with two goals and two assists. Now that John Tortorella is out of the picture, maybe Bjorkstrand is in for his best season yet?

I thought Max Domi would miss the start of the season because of shoulder surgery. Yet not only was he ready to go for opening night, he exploded for a goal and two assists. Between the early return and no more Torts, maybe he's worth an add because he's widely available.

By the way, first-round pick Cole Sillinger assisted on Domi's goal, giving him his first NHL point in his first NHL game. He and Mason McTavish are the only two 18-year-olds currently on NHL rosters. We'll have to wait and see whether Sillinger sticks around for the entire season, but he appears to have a bright future.

Nick Schmaltz wins the award for worst plus/minus of the day, getting tagged with a minus-5. Don't expect the desert to be a whole lot of fun this season.

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Jake Guentzel returned to the Penguins lineup on Thursday, scoring a goal while firing nine (!) shots. The Penguins are of course without Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, so getting Guentzel back is key. Of course, the Penguins continue to be snakebitten in the injury department, as Bryan Rust left the game in the third period with a possible leg injury after taking an open-ice hit.

By the way, Jeff Carter fired eight shots, while Evan Rodrigues took seven shots. Both scored a goal, while Carter recorded an assist. Both players should see improved value while the Penguins' top two centers are out of the lineup. As has Danton Heinen, who scored a power-play goal on Thursday and now has two goals in two games.

In his first game since the gruesome leg injury that ended his season, Aaron Ekblad had a fabulous statline: Two third-period goals to tie the game, along with a plus-2, six shots, three hits, and three blocked shots.

Continuing where he left off last season on Aleksander Barkov's line, Carter Verhaeghe scored two goals, including the overtime winner. Not surprisingly, Barkov assisted on both goals.

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Injuries also hit the Stars on Thursday. John Klingberg's leg appeared to bend awkwardly after taking a hit. He returned to the game after the hit, but then missed the third period. Also, Braden Holtby (who I didn't expect to be the Stars' starter) left the game after taking a stick to the head.

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In their second NHL game, the Seattle Kraken have earned their first-ever win, a 4-3 win over the Predators in the Music City. Brandon Tanev scored twice, while Jared McCann and Alex Wennberg each scored a goal and added an assist.

Alex Barre-Boulet, who was claimed off waivers earlier this week from Tampa Bay, made his Kraken debut. He recorded an assist in nine minutes of icetime on a line with Wennberg and Joonas Donskoi. He'd been a point-per-game player for the Syracuse Crunch of the AHL for the past three seasons as well as a 100+ point scorer in the QMJHL, so he was ready to get a longer look in the NHL whether that be in Tampa or elsewhere. Even with numerous offseason departures, Tampa just didn't seem to have the room. Keep an eye on Barre-Boulet.

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Vegas had an awful game in more ways than one. A 6-2 loss to the Kings was probably not what a team with Stanley Cup hopes had. They also lost captain Mark Stone with what appeared to be a lower-body injury, as he needed to be helped off the ice. Since this seems to be a rather innocuous play, I wonder if this was just something that was bothering him for a while, or (being super optimistic) simply cramps.

Mark Stone is helped to the locker room with what appears to be a lower-body injury. pic.twitter.com/5FZtqRxCGA

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) October 15, 2021

Evgenii Dadonov moved into Stone's spot on the scoring line with Max Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson.

The Kings might be best known for their prospect riches at this moment, but their veterans reminded us that their time isn't quite over yet. Anze Kopitar, who I thought fell further in drafts than he should have, scored a hat trick while posting two assists to go with a plus-3 and seven shots. Perhaps due to age, Kopitar's ADP was 86 in Yahoo leagues, so I gladly scooped him up in one league. He helped me win a championship in that same league last year, so I'm not prepared to write him off because he's 34 and the Kings aren't loaded with offensive talent (yet).

Drew Doughty also had a game, scoring a goal while adding three assists with a plus-2. At age 31, Doughty probably has a lot of wear and tear. Yet I still like what he brings to the table in multicategory leagues. Even if his ADP was just outside the top 100, I still like Doughty as a top 100 roto option.

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For more fantasy hockey discussion, or to reach out to me, you can follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding