Happy New Year to everyone and welcome back to the first Lining Up of 2023! This week will take a special look at some "New Year's Resolutions" that we would like to see from players. Who do we want to see finally take that next step into better line deployment or who do we want to see maintain their current deployment through the new year?

Let's dive in.

Marco Rossi

Rossi was listed in the Dobber Prospect Report as having a near 100% certainty that he would arrive this Fall and immediately walk into a top-six role. The potential of uniting with Kirill Kaprizov was, and still is, very real and has had fantasy owners salivating at the prospect. Unfortunately, Rossi has played 16 games so far this season and only notched one point. He was predominantly deployed alongside Marcus Foligno, Matt Boldy, Connor Dewar and Mason Shaw in his brief stint and could not muster more than 9 minutes of time with Kaprizov. Needless to say, this has not been the season many were expecting or hoping for from Rossi.

Despite the start, Rossi should still be considered a high-end prospect with an upside comparable to Nathan MacKinnon. This year, our hope is to see Rossi become a permanent, top-six player and if he is not seeing the majority of his time with Kaprizov than at least to see either long looks or time on the power-play. Second line, top power-play deployment should allow for Rossi to provide solid fantasy value to his owners as he begins his young career.

Jamie Benn

Ok, hear me out. Yes, Benn has high advanced underlying numbers in his shooting percentage and points per 60 minutes. He has also been on a downward trajectory in points for the last four seasons. However, Benn has seemingly found new life in his current deployment with Dallas and fantasy owners can only hope that it will continue through the New Year. Benn has morphed into something of a power-play specialist. While he plays routinely on the third line with rookie Wyatt Johnston and predominately either Ty Dellandrea or Mason Marchment, he also has been holding a spot on the top power-play unit. Benn is the lone forward on the roster to join the top line of Joe Pavelski, Roope Hintz and superstar Jason Robertson, allowing him to produce at a level that he hasn't seen since the 2017-2018 season. He has 16 power-play points so far which is already his highest in the past five seasons. He is recently hot with nine points in his past eight games, to boot. His hit production is down approximately half a hit per game but regardless, returning to the 60–70-point range plus solid peripherals will be great return for Benn. For the New Year, let us hope he can maintain his deployment on the first power-play unit and continue to thrive in this new role.

Patrick Kane

It seems inevitable at this point that Patrick Kane will be moved out of Chicago based on the fire sale from the summer, but fantasy owners can hardly wait any longer. Kane is currently on pace for 62 points this season which would be the lowest of his career and despite some cold advanced metrics, the outlook is bleak for any semblance of a return to the production he had from the last four seasons. The main reason is likely due to this line mates, playing alongside Andreas Athanasiou, Max Domi and Tyler Johnson for more than half of the time at even strength is a far cry from Alex DeBrincat. Chicago is simply so bereft of talent that Kane has little else to choose from. In order for his season to be somewhat salvaged, he needs a change of scenery and ideally to a situation where he can line up with a more reliable producer, perhaps even a star player. There seems to be little doubt that the problem is Kane himself so Chicago's New Year's Resolution should be to immediately move him so that fantasy owners can breathe a sigh of relief.

Nikolaj Ehlers

Ehlers is reportedly close to returning to the lineup after playing only two games at the start of the season. In those two games and through the preseason, Ehlers was finally on the top power-play unit in Winnipeg before being injured. This deployment is the final key to unlocking his full potential and the moment that fantasy owners have long been clamouring for. In his last three seasons, Ehlers has averaged 77 points, and only once in his last four seasons has he ever hit double-digit power-play points. Having this deployment will cement Ehlers as a star and allow him to exceed an 82 point-pace for the first time in his career. All fantasy owners ask for in the New Year is that he continue to play on the top unit and that he stays healthy for a season as he has not played a full season since 2017-2018.

Thanks for reading and wishing everyone a safe, healthy and Happy New Year!