Every Sunday, we share 21 Fantasy Rambles from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s 'Daily Ramblings'.

Writers/Editors: Ian Gooding, Michael Clifford, Alexander MacLean and Dobber

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1. The Fantasy Guide will be ready in a few days (August 5), but in the meantime you can now download the Draft List spreadsheet! Inside you can find projections for numerous categories beyond goals and assists, giving you a head start in planning your fantasy hockey season. Download yours today if you’ve already made your Fantasy Guide purchase, or head over to the Dobber Sports store to purchase your Fantasy Guide if you haven’t already! As for the French version, Guide des Poolers, it will be released next week (August 12), but you can download the Draft List spreadsheet now.

2. John Klingberg finally found a home, although it may only be short-term. In case you missed it, Klingberg has signed a one-year contract with Anaheim for $7 million. I already broke it down in the Fantasy Take, so you can read all about it there. Now we just wait for what happens with Nazem Kadri. (july30)

3. The Flyers have signed Owen Tippett to a two-year contract with an average annual value of $1.5 million. Tippett was acquired in the Claude Giroux trade, scoring seven points in 21 games as a Flyer. He skated on the Flyers’ second power-play unit while averaging about 15 minutes per game, which was nearly three minutes more per game than he was averaging with the Panthers. Tippett likely slots in at around the third line for the Flyers, although injured players returning could cut into that icetime increase a bit. Regardless, it looks like his fantasy value has improved from before the trade. [Fantasy Take: Giroux/Tippett Trade] (july30)

4. As the Managing Editor of Dobber Hockey, I’ll take this opportunity to make a couple of announcements regarding August content. Although August is usually as slow as it gets for NHL news, you’ll have at least two more reasons to visit Dobber Hockey once the Fantasy Guide is released on August 5 (and yes, be sure to reserve your copy, if you haven’t already).

Starting August 7, Dobber’s Offseason Fantasy Grades will return. Check daily for a new article, where one of our writers will break down a team in terms of its offseason moves and grade its fantasy outlook. These articles will run for approximately one month.

From August 14 to 20, Bubble Keeper Week will take place. That week, our writers will focus on discussing their own keeper decisions and evaluating players that are “on the bubble.” The idea is to evaluate players that you might be unsure about keeping, as well as guiding you through the thought process involved in making a keeper decision. (july30)

5. In writing the Hits paragraphs for each team in the Fantasy Guide, I’ve noticed that Frozen Tools now compiles combined HIT+BKS and SOG+HIT+BKS columns, along with recording each of these stats separately. A few leagues might combine these stats into one, but you still might find these combined columns useful if your multicategory league records these stats separately. You can target players that will cover multiple peripheral categories for your team. Follow the link for the SOG+HIT+BKS leaders from 2021-22.

I mentioned in a previous Ramblings that Jacob Trouba was the leader in this category. This is why Trouba was so valuable in multicategory leagues last season. His scoring was at his highest in his three seasons with the Rangers. One point I didn’t mention earlier: His 11 goals in 2021-22 was a career high, so that total could decrease slightly. But that’s probably not why you’re adding him. (july30)

6. If you’re looking for a potential roto league sleeper, Alexander Romanov might be your guy. From many accounts, Romanov had a tough 2021-22 season with Montreal. However, he’s a high-event player who could become extremely valuable in multicategory leagues if he can improve his scoring with the Islanders. Romanov finished within the top 20 in both hits and blocked shots, which makes him at minimum a late-round pick that could effectively fill those categories for your team. The Islanders could use him in a top-4 even-strength role and on the second-unit power play, which would help build his scoring. He scored just 13 points in 79 games last season, but at 22 years of age he has played just two NHL seasons. (july30)

7. Martin Fehervary could be an effective set-and-forget option for hits and blocked shots, and he may even score a little more than expected. While Romanov finished fourth with 371 HIT+BKS, Fehervary finished sixth with 368 HIT+BKS. In addition, Fehervary led all rookie defensemen with eight goals and 251 hits. If you’re worried that Fehervary is down the depth chart because his name doesn’t jump out at you, John Carlson and Dmitry Orlov were the only Capitals defensemen to average more icetime than Fehervary (19:39 ATOI). I don’t think Fehervary has the scoring upside that Romanov has, but Fehervary also has the potential to be a deep sleeper in roto leagues. (july30)

8. Kaapo Kakko has signed a two-year extension with the Rangers with an average annual value of $2.1 million. Kakko finished the 2021-22 season with 18 points in 43 games, which would have been a 34-point pace over 82 games. He played the majority of his even-strength minutes on scoring lines last season, yet he hasn’t quite lived up to expectations as the second overall pick in 2019.

I think patience will be required for another season or two on Kakko, though. Due to COVID-shortened seasons and wrist surgery, Kakko has played fewer than 50 games over the past two seasons, giving him 157 career NHL games. On top of that, Kaako is a borderline bigger forward (6-3, 205), so he may need additional time to develop. Kaako is also only 21 years of age, even though he’s been in the NHL for three seasons. There’s potentially a buy-low opportunity if the league member rostering Kakko is growing impatient.

[Breakout Threshold (BT) – Using Career Games Played to Determine Breakout Potential] (july29)

9. The Senators have signed Mathieu Joseph to a four-year contract worth just under $3 million per season. You may recall that Joseph was picked up near the trade deadline last season from Tampa for Nick Paul. Following the trade to Ottawa, Joseph went on a tear, scoring 12 points in 11 games before he missed the final nine games because of an injury. That success might be more difficult to come by next season, as the Sens have added Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat this offseason. If the scoring is spread over three lines, Joseph might have some success in fantasy leagues.

10. Earlier this week, the Sharks hired former Rangers coach David Quinn to be their new head coach. I discussed the Sharks’ salary cap plight when I broke down the dismissal of Bob Boughner, who Quinn replaces.

Now that they have a new coach and Burns has been traded to Carolina, the Sharks are in a bit of a different place. It seemed redundant for the Sharks to have both Burns and Erik Karlsson, both right-shot defensemen. Now Karlsson has a new coach and probably all the power-play responsibility that he wants. Both Tony DeAngelo and Adam Fox thrived under Quinn, so maybe there’s hope for Karlsson. He just has to find a way to stay away from injured reserve. Karlsson has played fewer than 60 games in each of his four seasons in San Jose. Granted, he played 52 games in the 56-game 2020-21 season, so he was “mostly” healthy for one of those seasons.

As far as who replaces Burns on the first-unit power play, it’s most likely going to be a forward. Alexander Barabanov is one option, as he has played in nearly half of the Sharks’ power-play minutes already. Long-term, William Eklund will probably be there, although it would of course depend on him making the team. (july29)

11. The Flames/Panthers trade from last week will be discussed for many years on many different levels. One team being pretty well forced to trade its young star, with the other team using the opportunity to acquire said player for two other players with only a year left on their contracts. No matter what your opinion is about who came out on top, these trades take years to play out before a real winner can be determined.

In evaluating the trade, a comparison of Jonathan Huberdeau and Matthew Tkachuk is inevitable. I’ll take the opportunity to do that from a fantasy perspective. Both players are in the top 25 in both the Top 300 Skaters (keeper rankings) and the Top 100 Roto (non-keeper rankings). But do we have it right in both formats? What about after the trade? Follow the link for in-depth analysis. (july29)

12. I don’t really want to talk about Year 2 players right now. The 2021-22 rookie crop was discussed extensively all through the season and it feels redundant. What about Year 3 players? Is there a junior slump? I can’t imagine there is, but someone should look into that.

Anyway, let’s go through some guys whose rookie season was the 2021 COVID campaign. That was a weird bubble year and their follow-up campaign was a stopping-and-starting 2021-22 season. It’s been a unique way to start an NHL career and it might be worth looking at progression and how they might fare next year. Follow the link as we take closer look at Josh Norris, Yegor Sharangovich, Eeli Tolvanen and Brandon Hagel. (july28)

13. Last year, there were five goalies who started 60+ games, and four of the five racked up 30+ wins in those games (Connor Hellebuyck with 29 wins in 66 games fell just short). This year, I have seven goalies projected to pass both the 60-game and 30-win threshold:

Igor Shesterkin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck, Juuse Saros, Jacob Markstrom, Jordan Binnington, and Thatcher Demko are the short list, and should make up the majority of the top goaltending options no matter the league. There are some questions with the teams in front of Hellebuyck and Demko though, while Saros has looked overworked at times of late, and Binnington has been very streaky, and seems to tail off after game #30.

If the wins are less necessary, and a high volume of starts and/or saves is almost as valuable, you should be able to find 60+ starts out of Philipp Grubauer and Karel Vejmelka at much more of a bargain, as neither of their teams has another good option. John Gibson also finds himself at the edge of this group too. (july27)

14. If you’re looking for some goalie bargains, you might be looking instead at someone with some 50+ start potential, and some upside with their team. The New Jersey Devils have a solid team, and just needed a goalie, well now they have one in Vitek Vanecek. He should be drafted outside of the top 15 or so, and may be the best value in that range. Elvis Merzlikins and Marc-Andre Fleury are also going to be excellent value goalies going into this year as the starters on decent teams. 

Meanwhile, Alexandar Georgiev is likely going to be over-drafted as the Colorado goalie, but he has never been a starter before, and the incumbent Pavel Francouz has shown he can hold his own behind Colorado’s skaters. It wouldn’t surprise me to see them closer to a 50/50 split in year one, meaning Georgiev’s win numbers will be capped a lot lower than other goalies left on the board at the spot you would have to draft him. (july27)

15. I had a forum member recently ask me which of Marc-Andre Fleury or Jack Campbell he should move a point-per game player in his early 20s with multiple plusses for in a dynasty league – my answer was neither. Both are good goalies, but one is 37, and the other just parlayed an excellent one-third of a season into a secured starting gig on a team with a lesser defense in front of him. Sometimes your best option is to zig while others zag, and instead if goalies cost so much to acquire, sell off all your goalies and go after the top of the waiver wire crop, hoping to hit a home run there, and failing that, at least having the best (or at least deepest) core of skaters in the league.

There are always goalies that finish as very valuable fantasy assets who were initially not given the time of day. Last year it was Ville Husso, Vitek Vanecek, Anton Forsberg, Jonathan Quick, James Reimer, etc. This year, we look for something similar, with backups that have some upside, on teams that don’t have the ability to be patient if the starter is struggling. This year I’m looking at Connor Ingram (he requires waivers and won’t clear, so he will beat out Kevin Lankinen for the backup job), Charlie Lindgren, Adin Hill, Stuart Skinner, Casey DeSmith, Filip Gustavsson, and Dan Vladar. Out of those seven goalies, I expect at least two to become top-20 fantasy assets by the end of next season. (july27)

16. On a related goalie note, Scott Wheeler just published his top 10 goalie prospects list, and while it can create some fun conversation, it may not be all that useful in your fantasy leagues. Wheeler tends to slant a little towards North America where he is based, and his lists are not impacted whatsoever by timeline. If a goalie may be slightly better, but is still seven years out, he will nonetheless be ranked above a similar goalie that may start getting starts next year.

If you want to try rolling the dice with goalie prospects, your best bet is to find ones in the 23-25 age range, because the wait time will be much shorter, and you will know what you have sooner. All it takes is a few injuries and a prospect goalie can immediately become very relevant – we see it every year.

The better spot to find your goalie lists for who is the better bet to stash in your fantasy leagues will always be the DobberProspects report. (july27)

17. Jesse Puljujarvi also signed a team-friendly one-year deal worth $3 million. This does not mean he will start the season in Edmonton, and in fact makes him an even more desirable asset. He’s still very possible (likely) to get moved, which wouldn’t necessarily help his fantasy value. Now might be the time to sell, and if not now, then right after Pulj gets moved and he’s viewed as the shiny new toy that has a chance to play on the new team’s top line (but he likely won’t). (july27)

18. As I work through the Fantasy Guide, I’ve of course been fiddling with the depth charts and seeing potential line combinations. It’s great seeing an organization’s plan unfold before you, once you dive in and really look at it. But while you can see the line combinations that make sense, you have to keep in mind that it rarely works out that way. Even NHL GMs are stumped by this thing called “chemistry” – and not through any fault of their own. On paper, everything makes sense, but it does not always work as neatly in reality as it does on paper. Anyway, below are some interesting line combos that I put together, worthy of discussion:

Seattle Kraken
Andre Burakovsky – Matty Beniers – Oliver Bjorkstrand
Jaden Schwartz – Yanni Gourde – Jared McCann
Brandon Tanev – Shane Wright – Jordan Eberle

How about ‘The Killer B’s’? That top line should be put together if only for that handle. The old-school pundits and non-fantasy owners keep opining that Bjorkstrand is some kind of second liner behind the likes of Eberle and Schwartz. Sorry, no. Eberle hasn’t been a true scoring line player in years. Bjorkstrand is the best offensive player on this team (until Beniers and Wright inevitably catch and surpass him in a year or two). I’m not wrong about this. Last year I feel like I was the only one proclaiming McCann as their top offensive player. I him in last year’s Guide as Seattle’s leading scorer. He ended up being just that. I was right about that and I’m right about this. Bjorkstrand, Burakovsky, Beniers and McCann are your four leading scorers. Schwartz and Eberle won’t even get 50 points (though Yanni Gourde will). Schwartz would need to play 80 games to reach 50 points and I don’t think he will do that. (july26)

19. New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider – Mika Zibanejad – Vitali Kravtsov
Sammy Blais – Filip Chytil – Kaapo Kakko

I want to keep the Kid Line intact, but the Rangers are just so weak on the right wing. It doesn’t make sense to continue trotting Dryden Hunt or Barclay Goodrow out there on the Panarin line. Not when Lafreniere is ready to take another step. The last 40 regular season and playoff games, he was close to a point every two. So I think a healthy Blais would complement that third line nicely. Kravtsov and Kakko can be swapped – and likely will be. I don’t trust Kravtsov to produce with this opportunity, but I do expect him to actually get the opportunity. The Rangers need to add a cheap free agent right winger with upside, and perhaps are waiting on Phil Kessel to bring his price down to his true value (about $1M, if we’re being honest), or Sonny Milano, Danton Heinen or Evan Rodrigues. Jonathan Dahlen, anyone? If and when they do that, I would reunite the Kid Line and bump Blais down. That would be an effective and dangerous top nine, even assuming the newcomer only gets 40 or 45 points.

As for Trocheck – don’t forget that Panarin made Ryan Strome a 75-point player when he’s probably only a 60-point player. He’ll inject a good 15 points into Trocheck. Assuming, and here’s that word again – chemistry. (july26)

20. Buffalo Sabres
Jeff Skinner – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Victor Olofsson – Casey Mittelstadt – Kyle Okposo
Peyton Krebs – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn

By November that third line would become the second line. And frankly I would prefer Vinnie Hinostroza over Kyle Okposo, but a coach would never bump an esteemed vet coming off a decent year. But if the coach did do something like that, then I would swap Quinn into Okposo’s spot, upgrading that second line. Then I would put Hinostroza in Quinn’s spot. Hinostroza worked very well with those two kids late last season. The first line would remain intact and be very effective. Thompson’s emergence has really helped Buffalo’s outlook. A healthy Mittelstadt and Tuch gives the Sabres great offensive potential. (july26)

21. Chicago Blackhawks
Hot Dog Vendor – Jonathan Toews – Patrick Kane
Zamboni Driver – Usher in Section C – Program Salesman
50/50 Tickets Salesman – Parking Lot G Security – Beer Vendor

Beer Vendor could move up or down the lineup, depending on how much he partakes in the product he sells before game time. The Blackhawks ask that any fans with tickets in Section C get to the game early, so that the usher can have them seated and then hustle to the dressing room.

I couldn’t resist. Sorry, Hawks fans… (july26)

~ Have a good week, folks – stay safe!!

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