Last week I listed several bubble keeper players that I have to decide on by the end of the month. You can read more about these players here. I have the option as to whether to keep those players because they fell under a certain number of league points and were on the final year of their auction contracts. I haven't completely made up my mind on these players yet.

This particular league is an auction league, which don't seem to be as common in fantasy hockey as they are in other fantasy sports, such as baseball. This league is unique in that when we bid on a player, we have to offer term (between 1-5 years, with limits on 3-5-year contracts) as well as dollar amount. So the "final year" isn't the same as the final year of a player's real-life contract. In other words, it's not a league that uses real-life salary cap amounts.

Today, I'm going to write about five players on my team that accumulated enough points to go to free agency. Not players that were way over the number of league points, but just a little bit over. In many league formats, they might qualify as bubble keepers. My focus will be about what went right for the player and their chances for repeated success this coming season.

Tyler Toffoli

Toffoli probably didn't expect to be traded from the Canadiens, a team he signed a four-year free-agent contract with during the 2020 offseason. The Flames signed him for scoring depth, but they didn't seem to use him as much as they could. Over 37 games with Calgary, Toffoli averaged 15 minutes per game with his two most frequent centers being Mikael Backlund and Sean Monahan. Still, he managed to score 23 points in 37 games, which would work out to a 50-point pace over a full season.

The Flames' offseason moves should help Toffoli in a big way. When the Flames acquired Toffoli, they had been stacking their top line with Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk, and Elias Lindholm. Now that Gaudreau and Tkachuk are out and Jonathan Huberdeau and Nazem Kadri are in, the Flames will most likely need to spread out their scoring. Toffoli should be on the wing of either Lindholm or Kadri, both of whom reached 80 points in 2021-22. Toffoli has just one 50-point season to his name (2015-16 with Los Angeles), but a second one appears to be well within reach in 2022-23.

Oliver Kylington

Sticking with the Flames, Kylington was an early-season surprise in 2021-22, scoring 12 points over his first 20 games. This production was especially surprising considering that Kylington was often a healthy scratch the previous season, suiting up for just eight games. Kylington's production fell back to earth after that first quarter, as he scored just 19 points over his remaining 53 games (a 30-point pace). As well, his icetime had dwindled to just 17 minutes per game in the fourth quarter and 16 minutes per game in the playoffs.

The Flames have added Mackenzie Weegar to a defense that already features Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson, Chris Tanev, and Nikita Zadorov. I don't expect Kylington to be a frequent healthy scratch again, but the Flames have a deep defense that could bump Kylington to the third pairing and second-unit power-play time at best. In other words, I'm not nearly as bullish on Kylington as I am on his Flames teammate Toffoli. I'd bet the under on Kylington reaching 30 points again.  

Jared McCann

As was predicted here, McCann's fantasy value improved by being picked up by the expansion Kraken. McCann led Seattle with 27 goals and 50 points, which were both career highs. It will be interesting to see whether the offseason pickups (Oliver Bjorkstrand, Andre Burakovsky) and a full season of Matty Beniers will help or hurt McCann. In other words, will improved linemates boost McCann's numbers further, or will the newfound depth bump him down the lineup?

If we look at the contract situation, McCann was the first player in Kraken history to sign a contract extension. His five-year extension for $5 million means that he is viewed as more than a short-term piece for an expansion team trying to get by for the first few seasons. In addition, McCann has a couple of advanced stats that suggest a possible minor improvement; namely, an 8.0 5-on-5 SH% and 971 PDO. That's why I'm okay with projecting a minor point total increase for McCann.

David Perron

Perron is something of an anomaly because he's been a better player in his 30s than he has in his 20s. He was also quite hot and cold last season, scoring just one point in a 10-game stretch before he became one of the league's hottest players over a two-month stretch with 17 goals and 27 points in 33 games. Pricing himself out of the Blues' salary cap budget, Perron signed a two-year free agent contract with the Red Wings.

Fantasy Take: Detroit Adds Perron to Scoring Mix

Even though Perron finished eighth in scoring on a deep Blues roster (in only 67 games), he was their top power-play producer with 26 power-play points. The Wings were in the bottom-third of the league in power-play effectiveness (16.3 PP%), so this is one area where Perron will be counted on. Even-strength-wise, if Perron can't crack the top line with Dylan Larkin, he'll likely slot in beside fellow free agent signing Andrew Copp to provide the Wings with the best scoring depth that they've had in several seasons. He doesn't need to be downgraded considerably with the move to Detroit.  

Ryan Johansen

Many players experienced a large sudden increase in scoring last season, including veteran Predators centers Johansen and Matt Duchene. Johansen's 26 goals was his highest total in his time with the Predators, while his 63 points was his highest total in three seasons. In addition, Johansen recorded 24 power-play points on a Predators power play that was surprisingly just outside of the top 5 in the league (24.4 PP%).

There's reason to believe Johansen benefitted from some puck luck, though. Several advanced stats were a bit high, including a 22.0 SH%, 11.0 5-on-5 SH%, and 2.9 PTS/60. Those numbers suggest at least somewhat of a decline for Johansen, who isn't the only Predators player that I believe will drop in scoring (June 18 Ramblings). At the very least, expect a drop in goals, likely below 20 as which has been the case for most of his career. At a deep center position, Johansen probably isn't someone to prioritize keeping.

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Well, that does it for Bubble Keeper Week from me. Follow me on Twitter @Ian_Gooding for more fantasy hockey.