For the last 20 years (12 with The Hockey News) Dobber and the team have reviewed each team from a fantasy-hockey standpoint and graded them.

The 21st annual review will appear here on DobberHockey throughout the summer. This is not a review of the likely performance on the ice or in the standings, but in the realm of fantasy hockey both for the season ahead as well as the foreseeable future. Offensively, will the team perform? Are there plenty of depth options worthy of owning in keeper leagues? What about over the next two or three years? These questions are what we take into consideration when looking at the depth chart and the player potential on that depth chart.

Enjoy!

Gone – Paul Stastny, Derek Stepan, Max Pacioretty, Jesse Puljujarvi, Ondrej Kase, Calvin De Haan, Shayne Gostisbehere

Incoming – Michael Bunting, Brendan Lemieux, Tony DeAngelo, Dmitry Orlov

Impact of changes – The Hurricanes are running back much of the same core, while Bunting adds some versatile depth and pugnacity to a lineup that dealt with injuries on the left side last year. The departures of a couple of faceoff men without really replacing them points to Martin Necas possibly shifting over to take on the second-line centre role.

The additions on defence will be a boon for the forward core, as this set of defencemen may be the best overall core in the league from top to bottom. One of Jalen Chatfield or Tony DeAngelo are going to have to ride the pine if Brett Pesce isn't traded. As for who runs the power play, it was laid out in a previous Ramblings here, but the bottom line was that you should expect the top unit to feature Brent Burns, with DeAngelo anchoring the second unit, and Dmitry Orlov mopping up any time leftover.

Ready for Full Time –

Jack Drury played half the season last year, and looks like he could slot anywhere in the bottom-six this year with some success. He is a strong defensive player, and has also shown some scoring touch both at the NCAA and AHL levels. The 23-year-old centre will have to do what he can in limited limits, but is also versatile enough to fill in up the lineup when injuries inevitably occur, as a number of those above him in the lineup are already regular band-aid-boys.

Pyotr Kochetkov has been working on his consistency, and starting the year as the go-to goalie for Carolina's AHL affiliate will be good for him to get his reps in without the pressure of taking on the NHL job right away. In small sample sizes though, Kotchetkov has done well at the NHL level, and with injury prone goalies Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta ahead of him, there will certainly be opportunities this year for him to get his feet and knees wet again.

Fantasy Outlook:

Running last year's tandem back in net is a good thing here, though as mentioned just above, Andersen and Raanta are very injury prone. Luckily for the Canes, the duo plus Kochetkov will not cost then a lot against the cap. The team should once again challenge for the Jennings trophy, and could come out ahead of where they finished last year as a result of adding Orlov to an already-stacked defence core.

The top-half (so the fantasy-relevant portion) of the skater core is basically the same one that just made it to the Eastern Conference Final (before getting swept). This team should once again finish near the top of the conference, and is an excellent spot to find some core pieces for your fantasy team. Sebastian Aho, Brent Burns, and Andrei Svechnikov will all need early picks if you want to own them, while Teuvo Teravainen, Seth Jarvis, and Jesperi Kotkaniemi should see improvements over last season as well.

If you want PIMs, then Michael Bunting is one of the only options, though his scoring may drop. Speaking of numbers dropping off, DeAngelo is a risk/reward option as always, though without the power play scoring, his numbers may drop off a little too. Martin Necas is the final name to be thrown out to approach with caution this summer, as a full-time more to centre may come with an adjustment period to the new responsibilities.

Grade – B+ (last year was B)