Friday was Day 2 of the draft, and it was also salary dump day, so to speak.   

The Islanders traded Josh Bailey and a 2026 second-round pick to Chicago for good ol' future considerations. The rationale for this trade is pretty simple: The Islanders, like many other teams, are trying to shed salary. The Blackhawks need players for next season to reach the salary cap floor… oh wait, I'm being told they have placed Bailey on waivers for the purposes of a buyout. Things happen quickly at this time of year. So for them, it's about collecting another draft pick.

Bailey managed just 25 points in 64 games in 2022-23, he has mainly been assist-heavy throughout his career, and he is extremely light on peripherals (2 PIM, 1.1 SOG/GP, 11 HITS, 3 PPP). The 33-year-old Bailey, who had spent his entire 15-year career with the Islanders, will likely clear waivers because he has a $5 million cap hit. Might as well add him to the list of July 1 free agents.

Corey Perry might better fit the profile of a player that the Blackhawks are interested in. Shortly after the Bailey trade, they acquired him from the Lightning for a seventh-round pick. At this stage in his career, the 38-year-old Perry can provide experience, nastiness, and the occasional timely goal. Yet he's only a reasonable fantasy option in the deepest of bangers leagues. He was scheduled to be UFA on July 1, but he will sign with the Hawks according to Elliotte Friedman.

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Continuing on the theme of cap dumps, the Oilers traded Kailer Yamamoto and Klim Kostin to Detroit for… you guessed it, future considerations. Yamamoto being moved isn't a huge shocker, as he's been rumored to be on the trade block for a while. However, Kostin was a pleasant surprise in his lone season in Edmonton by providing some much-needed grit, but it seemed like the Oilers simply weren't able to fit him into their salary cap.  For more, check out the Fantasy Take.

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Onetime Oiler Jesse Puljujarvi will become an unrestricted free agent on Saturday, as the Hurricanes won't make him a qualifying offer. He's also undergone double hip surgery and is out indefinitely. Split between Edmonton and Carolina in 2022-23, Pool Party managed just 16 points in 75 games last season, which in itself is a serious setback for his NHL future. He has yet to play 400 NHL games (334 to be exact) needed for the Breakout Threshold for larger forwards, so he might still be worth one last chance to an NHL team. Edmonton rushing him into the league as an 18-year-old in 2016-17 certainly didn't help his development.

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The vibes have been good for the Sabres, who were able to draft high-upside Zach Benson at #13 to add to an already well-stocked cupboard. Yet they've been hit with a bit of bad news, as Jack Quinn is expected to miss the start of the season with an Achilles tendon injury. The timeline from now for recovery is about 4-6 months, which would place an estimated return at around late November. Quinn finished his rookie season with 37 points in 75 games, which was good for seventh in rookie scoring.

In terms of fantasy implications, Victor Olofsson has been rumored to be on the trade block, but perhaps now the Sabres will decide to retain him instead. Olofsson had a decent total of 28 goals in 75 games in 2022-23, but for some reason he was a healthy scratch for a few games late in the season. The Sabres have a bunch of other prospects who could make the team on opening night, including Jiri Kulich, Matt Savoie, Isak Rosen, and Lukas Rousek. Whoever it would be would need to stand out in training camp.

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Day 2 of the NHL Draft went down with less fanfare in the first day. Although the likelihood decreases that a player makes it to the NHL the lower they are drafted, the odds aren't zero as many star players have been drafted after the first round. I'll use this opportunity to highlight five players drafted after the first round that could be worth targeting in very deep fantasy leagues. This might be useful for those of you who need to look beyond the obvious names.

I'm going to try to refrain from making judgment calls on whether the player will be an NHLer and making comparisons with other players picked before. These are 18-year-old kids, so I don't like to make matter-of-fact blanket statements about what their entire career will be like. The emphasis here is on fantasy leagues, and there's obviously no guarantees they will be NHL stars.

The Prospects Report has been a great help to me with this. Purchase a copy of if you haven't already.

Andrew Cristall (40^th overall, Washington)

Cristall seemed destined to fall, but out of the first round? Injuries may have played a factor in his draft-eligible season, but he's viewed as the very definition of a high risk/high reward player. In other words, it seems like he'll either be a high-end NHL playmaker or an long-term AHLer who won't cut it in the NHL. His Dobber Prospects fantasy upside of 9.5 but NHL certainty of 7.5 reflects that. If at least 30 draft-eligible players are getting picked in your league, I'd be willing to bet that Cristall is in that top 30. Maybe even the top 15. Although his lack of consistency might frustrate fantasy leaguers when (if) he makes it to the NHL, the overall product might not. A total of 95 points in 54 games in a draft-eligible season is impressive, no matter how you slice it. Then there's this.

Andrew Cristall remains one of the more divisive prospects in this class.

What's not up for debate are his hands. The mitts, they be slick. pic.twitter.com/YudUXIPgOB

📢 advertisement:

— /Cam Robinson/ (@Hockey_Robinson) June 22, 2023

The Capitals are a team that have been committed to offense as long as Alex Ovechkin has been there, so they might be a good match for Cristall's skill set.

Jayden Perron (94^th overall, Carolina)

Perron is the type of post-first-round pick that you should be rolling the dice on if you're near the end of a deep draft. He profiles similar to Cristall in that he's a smaller forward with a significantly higher fantasy upside (9.5) than NHL certainty (7.0). The Canadian forward played the past two seasons over in the USHL, most recently scoring 72 points in 61 games for the Chicago Steel. He seems to possess tremendous skill as a playmaking two-way winger, but the main concern is that he won't be physically strong enough for the NHL. He fits into the Canes' system of up-tempo hockey, and at this point, this pick seems like another smart decision for their organization.

Riley Heidt (64^th overall, Minnesota)

Heidt was also projected to be picked in the first round. His fantasy upside (9.0) is also higher than his NHL certainty (7.5). He's also on the smaller side (5-9, 179 lbs). Sensing a pattern here with the three forwards so far? Heidt scored 97 points in 68 games with the Prince George Cougars of the WHL. Although he's slightly bigger than Cristall or Perron, he doesn't have quite the scoring ceiling and is more likely to end up as a checking forward than the other two. The Wild have been good at mining talent in the draft the last few years, and it seems that they have unearthed another solid prospect here.

Gavin Brindley (34^th overall, Columbus)

Another smaller forward, although his fantasy upside (8.5) matches up with his NHL certainty (8.5). His higher NHL certainty is likely due to the fact that he is also a strong defensive forward. In his freshman season, Brindley finished fifth on a stacked University of Michigan squad with 38 points in 41 games, including 28 points in 21 games after returning from the World Juniors. With Luke Hughes leaving for the NHL and Adam Fantilli a strong possibility to be there as well, Brindley could take on a starring role for the Wolverines and should at least build on that total. As well, Brindley could eventually reunite with Michigan teammate Fantilli with the Jackets.

Luca Cagnoni (123^rd overall, San Jose)

The last player on my list is also a smaller player… but he's a defenseman. Cagnoni's fantasy upside (8.5) exceeds his NHL certainty (7.5), but you like to see the point total in your fantasy d-men. Cagnoni recorded 64 points in 67 games for the Portland Winterhawks of the WHL. His downsides are that he isn't the fastest skater nor the most physical forward. However, there are more and more defensemen that fit that profile today than there have been in the past. He could project to be a power-play specialist in the NHL one day for the rebuilding Sharks, but probably long after Erik Karlsson is traded.

There you have it. Smaller players whose games maybe aren't as well-rounded enough for teams to invest first-round picks in. That doesn't mean they can't be meaningful fantasy assets one day. These might be the types of players that are ideal to sit on for a few years (if you can) so that you can reap the rewards later. For more prospects talk, you can check out DobberProspects or our prospects article here at DobberHockey – The Journey.

View full draft results here.

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