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. Vladimir Tarasenko needed very little time to make an impact with the Rangers, scoring a goal just 2:49 into his Rangers debut. Tarasenko finished with two shots in just under 13 minutes of ice time, but more importantly he seemed to click on a new loaded top line with Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad. This seems like an exciting opportunity for all three players, and it’s hard not to like the Rangers’ offense for the remainder of the season. (feb11)

[Cliffy has a full breakdown of the Tarasenko trade here]

2. Tarasenko was mainly used on the second-unit power play in that first game, however. Given the Rangers’ wealth of forwards, the second unit isn’t such a bad place to be. The red-hot Filip Chytil was moved up to the first unit, which might be a reward for his recent production. Chytil’s value continues to skyrocket, as he recorded an assist to extend his point streak to six games. Chytil entered this game with goals in five consecutive games. There aren’t many good reasons not to be starting Chytil right now, though.

Here are the Rangers’ lines from Friday’s game:

Even strength:

Filip Chytil – Kaapo Kakko – Alexis Lafreniere
Mika Zibanejad – Vladimir Tarasenko – Artemi Panarin
Chris Kreider – Vincent Trocheck – Vitali Kravtsov
Jimmy Vesey – Barclay Goodrow – Julien Gauthier

Power play:

Mika Zibanejad – Chris Kreider – Artemi Panarin – Filip Chytil
Vladimir Tarasenko – Vincent Trocheck – Kaapo Kakko – Alexis Lafreniere

Also acquired in the trade with the Blues, Niko Mikkola also played in his first game with the Rangers. He was held without a point and added six penalty minutes and four hits in 14 minutes of ice time. (feb11)

3. It sounds like Patrick Kane was interested in a trade to the Rangers. On the Vlad Tarsenko trade to the Rangers: “It’s not like the happiest I’ve been to hear about a trade. I think the Rangers are a team that you definitely pay attention to and definitely are intrigued by, for obvious reasons,” said Kane. 

Since we like to play the “what if” game here, there’s no doubt that Kane’s value would receive a much-needed boost with the potential to play alongside Zibanejad and former teammate Panarin. There are obviously opportunities on other teams, but Kane’s $10.5 million cap hit won’t make a trade easy to orchestrate. In addition, Kane is reportedly dealing with a hip issue, which might at least partially explain the noticeable dip in his production. The tank in Chicago likely also factors in, as does luck, as Chris Kane explains in this week’s Frozen Tools Forensics. (feb11)

4. Matty Beniers has hit the rookie wall. He is now without a point in eight consecutive games (interrupted by injury). To put it another way, Beniers has gone without a point for nearly a month (January 14). Despite the drought, he still leads all rookies in both goals (17) and points (36). He’ll break out of this eventually, but your bench might be the best place for him right now. (feb11)

5. Still with the Kraken, Martin Jones has turned back into Martin Jones, allowing at least four goals for the third consecutive game. He’s also allowed at least three goals in six of his last seven starts. Philipp Grubauer hasn’t been reliable this season either, with both goalies showing a sub-.900 SV% and negative GSAA (goals saved above average). Goaltending might present a problem for the Kraken in securing a playoff spot, so I’d be hesitant about starting any Kraken goalie at the moment in spite of the team’s success this season. (feb11)

6. Does Pheonix Copley have a future with the Kings beyond this season? Copley was signed to a one-year, $1.5 million extension. If you’re surprised that Copley has a future with the Kings beyond this season, keep in mind that Jonathan Quick‘s long-term contract is on its final season. Since Cal Petersen is signed for two more seasons after this one, this signing could spell the end of the 37-year-old Quick in LA after this season while allowing Petersen to make his way back to the NHL next season.

If you’re waiting for Petersen to be recalled this season, I’m going to bet that Copley sticks around for the rest of the season. The extension signals the Kings’ intention to keep him around. Copley hasn’t taken the world by storm, but the Kings just needed better goaltending than they were receiving from Quick and Petersen. (feb11)

7. Matt Murray was placed on injured reserve (ankle) on Thursday, which is nothing new for Band-Aid Boy Murray. That means that the Leafs, who seem locked into another first-round series with Tampa Bay, will need to continue to lean on Ilya Samsonov, who delivered with a 30-save shutout of the Blue Jackets, Friday, giving him six wins in his last nine games. Joseph Woll, who was recently recalled from the AHL had his first start of the season on Saturday against those same Blue Jackets. (feb11)

8. Brock Boeser has seven points in his last five games and 18 points in his last 20 games (since the holiday break). That’s a solid run for a player who has had his struggles this season. Boeser’s upside has dipped since his rookie season, which I think is due to the hand and wrist injuries that he’s had. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for the Canucks to move on from his $6.65 million cap hit. Yet if the Canucks are trying to sell Boeser, it makes more sense for them to play him on Elias Pettersson‘s line instead of Sheldon Dries‘s line. (feb11)

9. New Jersey center Jack Hughes was battling an upper-body injury and the Devils announced on Thursday that he is week-to-week. There are two ways to look at this:

It is better, from a winning perspective, for a player to sustain an injury two months out from the playoffs than two weeks. It gives Hughes time to recover and get back up to speed in time for the postseason.

On the downside, this takes an MVP candidate out of the lineup and New Jersey’s hopes of a division title, or even home ice in the first round, are now very much in question. (feb10)

10. I could not believe there was no discipline sent Jeff Carter‘s way for the hit on Cale Makar. It was very reminiscent of the David Steckel hit that nearly ended Sidney Crosby‘s career. Carter even gave him a bit of a chicken wing on the way by. If that is how the NHL is going to protect its players, it is little wonder the fists start flying after every big hit. Even if players are reacting emotionally at that moment, if they were thinking rationally, how could they possibly rely on the NHL to properly discipline players for clearly dangerous plays? (feb10)

11. Dominik Kubalik was back in uniform on Saturday, but scratched on Thursday night in favour of the returning Filip Zadina. For Kubalik to go from 25 points in 25 games to start the season to a healthy scratch in February is a bit puzzling. He isn’t having a great year by other metrics but there are some Red Wings players who’ve been much worse (has anyone had a real look at Lucas Raymond‘s season yet?). Regardless, it seems Detroit wants to make sure they get their young players ice time for next season so here we are. (feb10)

12. Thursday’s Ramblings discussed some of my preseason predictions including breakout players, season-long predictions for players and teams, as well as longshot futures. Those covered successes, near-successes, or potential successes. For example:

• Johnny Gaudreau Fails To Reach 80 Points: This is another prediction that could come down to the wire. As of Wednesday afternoon, Gaudreau had 49 points in 51 games. That works to a 79-point pace so, yes, this will be close. The obvious concern with Gaudreau leaving Calgary was getting away from what was arguably the best line in the NHL last year to go to a non-playoff team that was still in its rebuild. The lack of top-end centers, particularly whenever Boone Jenner is injured, has hurt Gaudreau’s upside. Combine that with a downturn in shots on goal and shooting percentage, and we have what he’s done this season. We will check back in April. 

And…

• Adam Fox Reaches 90 Points (Longshot): It will require a sustained hot streak to get there as he’s on pace for 80 points right now, but it’s not hard to imagine a world where Fox gets to 90 points. Also as of Wednesday, the Rangers are scoring 8.2 goals per 60 minutes at 5-on-4 with Fox on the ice this year. His previous two seasons saw him with an on-ice goal rate at 5-on-4 of 10.6 per 60 minutes. If the team were doing that this year, over the course of a full 82-game season, he adds an extra six points, putting him on an 86-point pace. It doesn’t seem like he’ll get to 90 points but it’s within reach, and some better fortune would have had him in position to do it. (feb9)

13. Meanwhile, Friday's Ramblings covered the sure-fire misses, and there are some fantastically wrong prognostications here. For example:

• Alexander Holtz: The hopes were that he would be in the running for the Calder Trophy and could finish around a 25-goal season. The reality turned out to be dressing fewer than half the games to date, spending time in the AHL, and averaging two minutes less per game this season than the tryout last season. Perhaps this injury to Jack Hughes will finally get Holtz in the lineup for an extended period, but the Devils also lost an elite offensive force, and there’s no guarantee Holtz gets top minutes. I still have a lot of belief in him long-term, but this season is not looking good from a fantasy perspective. (feb10)

14. There isn’t much to celebrate in Chicago these days, but Taylor Raddysh does have 14 goals on the season. That is tied for the league among Blackhawks skaters and makes him a threat to push for 25 markers. There aren’t many assists to go along with those goals (10) because this team is horrific from top to bottom, but double-digit power-play points and pacing for over 90 hits have made him useful in deeper banger leagues. Not sure we’re seeing a breakout in terms of “he’ll be very productive for years to come” but he’s made the best of an awful situation this season. (feb9)

15. The big news on Tuesday was Dylan Cozens signing a big new contract: A seven-year, $49.7 million extension (7.1 AAV).

The Sabres are right at the precipice of their contention window starting to open, and signing your core and foundational players to deals they can outplay in the back-half is a lot more important than pinching pennies in the short term. The gamble is already paying off with Tage Thompson, and I am sure they are already wishing they went longer with Rasmus Dahlin (though it could be that Dahlin wanted to bet on himself).

The bottom line is that this might not be a bargain as quickly as it was for Thompson, but by the end of the contract it should be, and that is without even taking into account a rising salary cap, which could see some exponential growth in the coming years now that the Covid deficit is nearly paid off.

Looking at Cozens’ numbers, he is set to hit his 200-game breakout threshold right at the end of the year, so he should enter next fall ready to explode onto the scene. He’s already taken a big jump from last year to this year, so even though we may not see the 20% increase off of his previous best season (which would put him at a 100-point-pace for next year), he could very realistically jump into the point-per-game territory.

His most common linemates are Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka, who are also both very young, and can grow with him over the next number of years. This will also be the line that likely continues to get the optimal offensive deployment, while the Thompson line takes all of the tougher matchups. All that to say, it’s a good time to be a Cozens owner. (feb8)

16. We got word that Gabriel Landeskog is still on track to start skating very soon. There is no timeline for him but if they can get him back in April so he can get a half-dozen games in before the playoffs start? This team is starting to get healthy at the right time and they still might make a splash at the trade deadline. The East might be deeper, but the West looks like it’s getting its top contender back into shape and that should scare every team in the league. (feb7)

17. The Flames are going to be a fascinating team to monitor over the next three weeks leading to the trade deadline. They clearly aren’t getting what they want out of Jonathan Huberdeau, Elias Lindholm is on pace to score 16 fewer goals than last year, and Andrew Mangiapane‘s goals per game has fallen 60% from his three-year average.

This team needs their under-performers to start average-performing, needs younger players like Adam Ruzicka and Jakob Pelletier to pick up a lot of slack, or they need to look to the trade market for more help on the wing. 

If Pelletier can really cement himself on the second line, it could change what Calgary does at the deadline. This is absolutely a situation to monitor not only for Pelletier’s performance in a vacuum. Pelletier had 16 goals and 36 points in 33 AHL games this season, and 98 points in 99 career AHL contests. (feb7)

18. It seems we sometimes get excited about a prospect and then forget about them if they’re not an immediate superstar. Quinton Byfield has had injury issues, but he’s been skating on the top line in Los Angeles for a few weeks now, and he does have six points in his last 10 games. It isn’t a massive number, but he’s not getting a lot of ice time, and it was much worse production earlier this season. He has been seeing 15-16 minutes at times, which is nice to see, and the line itself is playing well. All is good for now.

This is still a very young player. He doesn’t turn 21 until August. The Kings are in the thick of the playoff race and Byfield asserting himself offensively would be an immense dimension for this team. It would allow them to permanently leave Kevin Fiala on the third line with Gabriel Vilardi, giving them three scoring lines. It would also go a long way in easing the minds of dynasty players the world over. Let’s see how the rest of this season goes for the second overall pick. (feb7)

19. At time of writing early last week: Among 152 defenseman with at least 900 minutes skated in the 2021-22 season, again from Evolving Hockey, Timothy Liljegren was fourth in expected goal impact, trailing only Charlie McAvoy, Jaccob Slavin, and Miro Heiskanen. His actual goal impact was lower, but still inside the 75^th percentile of these 152 defenseman. Liljegren also finished inside the 90^th percentile in points per minute at 5-on-5. It was an excellent season, but it was just 61 games. More was needed.

This season, his expected goals impact is less but still inside the 80^th percentile. His actual goals impact rose, however, all the way to the 93^rd percentile. It was basically a reversal from a year ago, but it is another 41 games of excellent hockey from Liljegren. His points per minute have suffered but gaining over two minutes per game in overall ice time (so far) has helped mitigate that impact.

For Toronto, it is all about the postseason. A year ago, we saw Bowen Byram really assert himself as a future (or current, really) top-pair blue liner. I think Liljegren is capable of showing the same. Let’s see if he does it. (feb7)

20. There were no games last Sunday, so no better time for Dobber than to take your #FantasyHockey questions. About 20 of them. Below are a couple:

From @guiltyafternoon: What's the new normal for huberdeau?

"In the latest dynasty rankings, Jonathan Huberdeau finally took a big fall as I (finally) made adjustments to his upside and 3YP. I had been giving him time to adjust to the new coaching system and teammates, but time hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference. I think he finishes at a 70-point pace going forward (season-to-date pace is a 58-point pace), and then next year I see him at a point-per-game. Unfortunately, barring a coaching change, I think his 100-point days are behind him. Then again, if Calgary misses the playoffs, will said coaching change happen?" (feb6)

21. From @MartinCormier15: 1. Does Lafrenière still have top line potential with the Rangers in the coming years? 2. Will Josh Norris be no 1 center ahead of Stutzle next year?

"Yes he does, and if his keeper-league owner is wavering on this – swoop in. It’s worth noting that Alexis Lafrenière‘s first two seasons were fairly close to what Jack Hughes did in his first two seasons. Hughes, of course, then dominated in Year 3 and we’re still waiting for that from Alexis. But then again, Lafreniere has a ton of talent ahead of him, allowing the Rangers to be patient with him. Whereas the Devils had no such depth last year, thus forcing them to push Hughes to reach his potential right away.

As for Josh Norris – regardless of what number you put on the line, I think he still gets one of Drake Batherson or Brady Tkachuk, or both, to play with. So it really doesn’t matter. But Tim Stutzle‘s upside is higher. Think of it this way: with Norris, you wonder who he gets to have on his line. With Stutzle, you wonder who gets to play with him. Stutzle is the driver." (feb6)

[Follow the link for the rest]

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