When discussing literary classics, some might bring up The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, or 1984. However, true intellectuals know that the greatest collection of words can be found in one book and one book only – Dobber's Annual Fantasy Guide. I'm honoured to post our Daily Ramblings on the same day that we're releasing a piece of history to the public.

Seriously though, the guide has tons of incredible information like point projections, line combinations, player outlooks and statistical analyses. It's something I reference frequently during the season when evaluating trades and deciding which players to pick up and drop from my roster. If you're looking for a recipe to cook up some fantasy hockey success this year, secure your copy of Dobber's 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Guide here!

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On Sunday, shortly before Wednesday’s scheduled arbitration hearing – when a third party would have determined a fair contract based on cases made by both team and player – the Blue Jackets and Kirill Marchenko agreed on a three-year deal. Among forwards in the organization, Marchenko's  $3.85 million AAV (Average Annual Value) currently ranks fourth, behind Johnny Gaudreau, Patrik Laine and Sean Monahan. Given the magnitude of this investment, it's fair to assume that Marchenko will be placed in a high-profile role during the upcoming campaign – likely beside Gaudreau and Monahan on the first line. Considering Marchenko led the team in power-play goals last season, I imagine he'll also skate on Columbus' top PP unit. The 24-year-old forward is a great sleeper candidate that you should be able to steal in the late rounds of fantasy drafts.

In more Blue Jackets news, Alex Nylander – who racked up 11 goals through 23 games with Columbus last year – signed a one-year AHL contract with the Toronto Marlies on Sunday. Based on my understanding, he'd still need an NHL/two-way contract to be called up to the big league this year, but will have a chance to earn that deal if he plays well with the Marlies.

Elias Pettersson

After the Canucks were eliminated in round two of the 2024 playoffs, we learned that Pettersson had suffered a knee injury in January, which he played through for another four to five months despite increasing pain. This would explain why Pettersson went from 1.36 points in the first half to 0.80 points in the second half. While Canucks' fans and keen fantasy managers were probably aware of this information already, it was easy to miss because the announcement came during playoff action, when most fantasy leagues had already concluded. A healthy Pettersson is capable of breaking the 100-point mark, as he showed during the 2022-23 campaign and the first half of last season. Don't put too much stock into his overall numbers from last year now that we have an explanation for his late season struggles. Pettersson said his knee just needed rest and time to heal, which is exactly what the offseason brings. In other words, it doesn't sound like this is something that will hinder him during the upcoming season.

Jake DeBrusk

Many are understandably optimistic about DeBrusk's outlook with the Canucks. He finally has a chance at a fresh start after a turbulent tenure in Boston that featured multiple trade requests.

In Vancouver, DeBrusk will be exposed to an incredibly talented top-six group, likely slotting in beside Elias Pettersson. Although that appears to be an upgrade over 36-year-old Brad Marchand and Charlie Coyle – who DeBrusk spent most of his minutes beside last season, I think it's important to acknowledge that DeBrusk also shared the ice with superstar David Pastrnak last year, and he spent significant stretches beside Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron years ago while they were still playing at an elite level. Despite exposure to these top talents, DeBrusk never really turned heads with his offensive output.

The one season he did capture our attention was in 2022-23, when he scored at a 64-point pace. However, that career-best output was fuelled by prominent power-play time and a career-high 0.22 power-play points per game. I'm wary because DeBrusk is joining a team that finished with a top-10 power play last year, boasting a success rate of 22.7%. You know what they say, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". Now he has an in here because Andrei Kuzmenko, who was part of that top unit for most of last year, is now with Calgary. However, Conor Garland, who stepped up to the top unit after Kuzmenko was traded, is still with the team. Although DeBrusk has the talent to eventually work his way onto PP1, my concern is that Garland starts the year there.

Then there's also the idea that new players tend to take some time to adjust to new surroundings. Let's say DeBrusk takes 15-20 games to build chemistry with his teammates and earn a top-unit power-play role. In other words, let's say he's a 50-point player for the first quarter, and a 65 to 70-point player for the final three. I think that's still a fairly optimistic view considering he posted a 41-point pace last year, but at least it's grounded in some realism as it accounts for an early adjustment period. Looking at it this way, DeBrusk might be a 60–65-point player next year.

My problem is that during fantasy drafts, it seems he'll be treated as if he's already a proven 70-point asset. On some draft lists, I've seen him in the same ballpark as guys like Lucas Raymond and Jordan Kyrou – players who have recently hit the 70 point mark and have a good chance of doing so again because their circumstances haven't changed drastically.

DeBrusk's highest point total thus far is 50 and he's entering a situation with many more unknowns. While it's not outlandish to paint him as a 70-point player, my concern is that we're valuing him as if he's already achieved his potential and is a proven asset, when in reality his potential is still very much theoretical until we see his deployment and how he fits in. Hopefully I don't sound like a broken record because this is a caution I've issued frequently when discussing newly signed free agents.

Considering how much I've rained on the parade thus far, I feel responsible to supply some sunshine and end on an optimistic note. While I'm personally avoiding DeBrusk in upcoming fantasy drafts because his power-play role isn't set in stone just yet, I can see arguments for targeting him. Considering he skated less than 17 minutes a night last season, there's potential for his ice time to increase by a minute or two with the Canucks. Being on the ice more would give him more opportunity to contribute to a variety of fantasy hockey categories.

There's also the crazy coincidence that like his projected linemate Pettersson, DeBrusk also played through an injury that he suffered in January. As such, some believe he'll be more productive now that he's no longer injured. While I agree to an extent, I think it's worth noting that DeBrusk posted 0.53 points per game before breaking his hand in late January, and 0.45 points per game afterwards. So, although the injury may have had an impact, the effect wasn't as large as it was with Pettersson. As a result, I'm not sure if a clean bill of health is as important in this case. You might point to DeBrusk's impressive 11 points in 13 playoff games after his hand healed. However, I'm more focused on the larger 47-game sample before he broke his hand (and when he was presumably healthy), when he posted an underwhelming 0.53 points per game. Also, considering most fantasy leagues only span the regular season, I'm hesitant to put too much stock into playoff action where players are more motivated.

Overall, I see potential for DeBrusk to have an excellent debut season with the Canucks. However, if you pay a high price to draft him in your fantasy league, it becomes a lot harder to get a strong return on your investment.

Noah Hanifin

At this point, most fantasy mangers and news outlets see Shea Theodore as the top fantasy blueliner in Vegas. However, I would personally rank Noah Hanifin ahead of Theodore for the upcoming campaign.

For starters, there's the idea of contract commitment. A few months ago, Hanifin signed an eight-year extension with the Golden Knights at an AAV of $7.35 million. In contrast, Theodore has just one year left on his deal at $5.2 million. Theodore has certainly earned a raise based on his play in recent years, but Vegas doesn't really have the cap space to make that happen. There's a chance he gets dealt at the deadline this season, but even if he finishes the year with Vegas, favourable deployment isn't guaranteed because the team isn't invested in him long term.

Now, most will look at overall production from last season as they evaluate both players. Such a strategy paints Theodore as the more valuable asset because he paced for 73 points last year while Hanifin posted a 48-point pace. While this is an easy check to do, it isn't the most informative. It fails to capture the fact that Hanifin spent most of last season on a Flames' team that struggled offensively, where he didn't get a lot of power-play action. A closer look reveals that after taking some time to settle in with the Golden Knights, Hanifin actually stole power-play time away from Theodore down the stretch. In Vegas' final seven games of the regular season, Hanifin enjoyed 72% of the team's total power-play time while Theodore was all the way down at 33.7%. Hanifin posted seven points in those seven games, including five PPPs. He maintained his spot on PP1 through Vegas' seven postseason contests, where he continued to outproduce Theodore.

I understand why you'd be reluctant to put a lot of weight into a 14-game sample, but since this is how the team was operating most recently, is it not fair to assume a similar setup for the upcoming campaign – especially when you add in the context of contracts? What makes me even more excited about Hanifin is the fact that most draft lists have him behind Theodore right now, creating more potential for him to provide value. This makes him a low-risk, high-reward option as you should be able to grab him later on in your fantasy drafts. That way you've struck gold if he ends up being Vegas' PP QB again, or you haven't lost too much if he ends up on the second unit and posts around 40-45 points as he has in recent years.

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Thanks for reading! If you ever have any fantasy hockey questions, follow me on Twitter @BrennanDeSouza and shoot me a message!