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, Brennan Des, and Dobber

—

1. Move over, Wayne Gretzky. You’ve got company. Alex Ovechkin scored career goals 893 and 894 on Friday, tying Gretzky for the all-time goal lead.

I have to admit that when a Capitals fan presented the idea to me about five years ago that Ovechkin could break the goal record, I didn’t think it was possible. After all, Gretzky’s major records seemed untouchable! Ovechkin continues to defy age at nearly 40 years of age, with only Leon Draisaitl and William Nylander ahead in total goals this season in spite of Ovechkin missing over a month with a fractured fibula. Ovechkin now has 41 goals this season.

What’s more remarkable is that at age 39, Ovechkin is the second-oldest player to score 40 goals in a season. Gordie Howe scored 44 goals in 1968-69 as a 40-year-old. This is another example of why Ovechkin will be one of hockey’s all-time greats once he decides to call it a career.

As for the Ovechkin watch, the Capitals’ next game is today (Sunday) against the Islanders at 12:30 pm Eastern time (bright and early at 9:30 am Pacific time, where I live). Fun fact: Ilya Sorokin has never allowed a goal to Ovechkin. Could his first goal allowed to Ovie become the answer to a trivia question? (apr5)

2. As I was watching the end of that Capitals/Blackhawks game (above), attention turned to whether Ovechkin’s record-setting goal would be an empty-netter (with the belief that he does not want the record-setting goal to be into an empty net – that seems honest). Instead, it was Ryan Leonard scoring his first NHL goal (and point) with the empty-net insurance goal in his third NHL game. Leonard finished the game with four shots and two hits in 13:01 of icetime, playing on a line with Pierre-Luc Dubois and Aliaksei Protas. (apr5)

3. So, now’s the time of year where we see some of the stars from the NCAA signing their entry level deals to turn pro. With Ryan Leonard and Gabe Perreault signed already, keep an eye out for others moving on from the NCAA.

The players jumping straight to a couple NHL games are usually the cream of the crop, and will have both upside, adrenaline, and some opportunity to showcase their talent in NHL lineups over the last few games of the season. There could be some decent depth scoring available in these players over the last two weeks of the season. These players usually become available in Yahoo within a day or two of signing their contracts. 

Leonard started Tuesday on a line with Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas. He didn't end up recording a point, but the third goal only happened because of him keeping a puck alive. He's already looking the part of a top-nine NHL forward. 

Jimmy Snuggerud made his debut as well, lining up on a slightly less inspiring line with Oskar Sundqvist and Zach Bolduc. A couple of shots in 10 minutes of ice time isn’t terrible. Add in the secondary power play time and there’s some hope here. (apr2)

And a day after signing their entry level deals out of college, defenseman Sam Rinzel and forward Oliver Moore made their NHL debuts with the Blackhawks last Monday. Rinzel looked great, racking up four shots and two hits through 20 minutes of action, including some secondary PP time. Moore also had some good moments through 15 minutes of play, primarily on a line with Nick Foligno and Joe Veleno, but will likely need to spend next year in the AHL to prepare for big league action. (mar31)

4. Gabriel Landeskog hasn’t played in so long that the potential for a return might fall under the “have to see it to believe it” category. Landeskog is/was expected to practice with Colorado’s AHL affiliate before joining the Avalanche’s practice on Monday. Landeskog has reportedly been taking contact at Avalanche practice earlier this week, so a return is a very real possibility. Landeskog last played in 2021-22, so he hasn’t played in nearly three whole seasons. Regardless of whether he can still score at a fantasy-relevant level, Landeskog will be a very interesting player to watch if and when he returns. (apr5)

As you are probably aware as you set your fantasy lineup, there are many more injuries to key players at the moment. You can find the latest list over at the Frozen Tools Player News feed, or you can search for a player at Frozen Tools and click the Info/Analysis link on their player profile.

5. Nick Suzuki has reached the 80-point mark for the first time in his career. He is also the first Montreal player to reach 80 points since Alexei Kovalev in 2007-08 (a long time for a franchise as storied as the Canadiens). Suzuki had an ADP of 114 in Yahoo leagues this season, so expect that number to be higher for 2025-26 drafts. (apr4)

6. Hopefully you are not relying on Jeremy Swayman in your fantasy playoffs. Entering Saturday, the Boston starter had a seven-game losing streak on the go, posting an abysmal 4.66 GAA and .850 SV% over that span (since March 13). Unless the Bruins can perform a quick retool in the offseason, Swayman’s draft-day value should fall compared to last season. For now, leave him on your bench. Dropping him outright in single-season leagues is also an option. (apr4)  

7. Who knew that Swayman’s former goaltending partner Linus Ullmark would be having a better season than Swayman? Entering Saturday, Ullmark had four wins and four quality starts over his last five games. Ullmark was tied for the league lead with  Sam Montembeault and Lukas Dostal in steals (9), a new Frozen Tools stat where goals saved above expected exceeds the margin of victory. (apr4)

8. Cale Makar became the first defenseman to score 30 goals in a season since Mike Green (remember him?) in 2008-09. Makar has also reached 90 points for the second consecutive season. Entering Saturday, Makar had only five games left to make a run for 100 points, although the 96-point season that he was on pace for at time of writing isn’t bad. Meanwhile, Makar's partner, Devon Toews, has reached the 40-point mark for the fourth consecutive season. Pretty good for a defenseman who has reached double-digit power-play points just once in his career. (apr4)

9. Lane Hutson is up to 51 points in 55 games since earning PP1 duties in late November. Not only does that lead all rookies, it ranked fourth among blueliners across the league (at time of writing). Incredible stuff from a young man that just turned 21 last month. I know there are a few rookies with compelling cases for the Calder this year, but after watching Hutson deftly find open space before dishing the perfect pass, night after night, he has to be my pick right now. (mar31)

10. Dylan Holloway left Thursday’s game with a lower-body injury after taking a hit into the boards and is considered week-to-week. In his first season with the Blues, Holloway has exploded for 63 points while seeing his icetime increase over five minutes per game compared to last season in Edmonton. The offer sheets for Holloway and Philip Broberg have had a significant positive impact on the Blues and definitely factor into why they are where they are. (apr4)

11. After a slow start, Wyatt Johnston has reached 30 goals and 65 points for the second consecutive season. With Dallas looking strong, Johnston seems like a player to target in playoff pools. However, the Stars might have a tough matchup in the first round against Colorado. (apr4)

This is a good time to mention Dobber’s 2025 Interactive Playoff Draft List, which is now available.

12. According to coach Kris Knoblauch, Leon Draisaitl is out short-term with a lower-body injury. Draisaitl missed yesterday's (Saturday) game against Los Angeles, although he is expected to return to the lineup before the playoffs. (apr5)

The Oilers have also been without Connor McDavid for their last seven games, and McDavid isn’t expected to return until at least next week. Uneasy times in Edmonton. (apr4)

12. Is Darcy Kuemper‘s season being discussed enough? Entering Saturday action, Kuemper had eight wins and 11 quality starts over his last 12 games. Over that span, Kuemper also had a 1.16 GAA and .949 SV%. Among goalies with at least 20 games played, only Connor Hellebuyck had a better goals-against average than Kuemper (2.03 GAA). Every season, a few goalies drafted outside of the top 100 shine, and Kuemper (ADP 110 in Yahoo) definitely falls into that category. (apr4)

14. On top of a bunch of college signings making their debuts this week, Oliver Kapanen joined the Montreal Canadiens as the team enters the final couple weeks of the regular season. Kapanen started the season with the Habs but was sent back to the Swedish Hockey League after a dozen games. He posted 35 points in 36 games in the Swedish league, leading all players age-21 or younger. (apr3)

15. Some very positive news on injured Minnesota Wild forwards Kirill Kaprizov and Joel Eriksson Ek:

@RussoHockey: Kirill Kaprizov had a positive checkup with his surgeon yesterday and will go into the next phase of his attempted comeback: contact. Date of return still up in the air but John Hynes doesn't anticipate Sunday's game vs. Dallas

While we have to wait for progressions, avoid setbacks, and get on official timeline, it certainly appears as if both players may be ready for the postseason. (apr3)

16. In these Ramblings a couple of days ago, we looked at teams that either stumbled or thrived down the stretch of recent regular seasons on their way to the playoffs.  Today, let’s do something similar and dig through specific players from this 2024-25 campaign. We will look at their performance until the Four Nations break, what they’ve done since, and what it might tell us about their upside for the playoffs. As usual, data from Natural Stat Trick or Frozen Tools unless otherwise indicated, and is as of the afternoon of Wednesday, April 2^nd.

We will start with play-driving at 5-on-5. Using splits of players with at least 400 minutes up until the break and 150 minutes since, which ones have improved or declined the most relative to their team?

Improvements

The largest improvement among forwards by shot attempt share relative to their teammates belongs to a winger on the Montreal Canadiens’ top line. The second-largest improvement belongs to one of many breakout performers for the Columbus Blue Jackets this season… (apr3)

[Follow the link for more…]

17. It’s always a fine line in these last two weeks of fantasy playoffs, owning players that don’t get scratched for rest on the playoff bound teams, or shut down for the year on the teams heading for the bottom. If you’re looking to stream some safer options who you can feel comfortable will play, grab the guys from Montreal, Minnesota, Detroit, and Columbus, all of whom have great remaining schedules in addition to those teams fighting for their playoff lives. 

On that note, with two weeks remaining, if you need games then look no further than Carolina and Columbus who have nine games each. The Devils, Flyers, and Blues each only have six games left, so look hard at those guys and whether you can replace them for a similar player with two or three more games. (apr2)

18. Rasmus Ristolainen is done for the year and that isn’t great news for the Flyers goalies. It also made me take a quick look at which Flyers Dmen were producing since John Tortorella was let go, and the answer is not really any of them. Jamie Drysdale is the one soaking up the power play time, and does have a goal from last Monday night as a result of a broken play that popped right onto his stick at the side of the slot. I don’t have a ton of faith in anything related to the Flyers right now (other than Matvei Michkov), but Drysdale is the one to look at on defense if you need one. (apr2)

19. San Jose sent defenceman Luca Cagnoni back to the AHL. It was good for him to get a bit of NHL experience but things hadn’t really gone to plan and there’s no need for him to get run over night after night for the final couple weeks. It will be interesting to see what his role is in September. (apr1)

20. Anthony Duclair has stepped away from the Islanders for personal reasons. Duclair was publicly criticized by coach Patrick Roy following Tuesday’s game. Duclair is without a point in his last six games and has just one point in his last 12 games. He is in the first year on a four-year contract with the Islanders, although I wonder if he could be moved in the offseason if he and Roy are not on the same page. (apr4)

21. Rogers and the NHL have agreed to a 12-year, $7.7 billion deal for exclusive Canadian TV rights. There are many issues with Rogers, blackouts, and other impracticalities of this, but on the fantasy side of things all that matters is the influx of money into the system, which in turn will continue to balloon the cap upwards. If you’re not planning in your cap leagues by acquiring players who are locked into long-term deals, then you’ll be falling behind fast. (apr2)

—

Have a good week, folks!

Thanks for continuing to support the website and if you’re bored and need a fantasy hockey fix – visit the gang in the forum here.