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

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1. After weeks of an exhilarating record chase, the inevitable happened: the Great Eight passed the Great One. Last Sunday, April 7, Alex Ovechkin scored his 42^nd goal of the campaign and the 895^th goal of his career, taking sole possession of the NHL’s all-time goal-scoring record. You’ve probably consumed tons of content contextualizing this historic feat by now, so we'll leave it at that. Congrats, Ovi!

2. Alexander Nikishin is coming to the NHL, mutually terminating his KHL contract with SKA St. Petersburg and then signing a two-year, entry-level deal with Carolina. Due to a lengthy process that could involve obtaining a Canadian visa as well as a US visa, Nikishin’s debut is expected to be in the first round of the playoffs, where the Hurricanes are confirmed to face the New Jersey Devils. The Canes’ last two regular-season games are in Montreal on Wednesday and at Ottawa on Thursday, and the Canes would like him to play in at least one game in North America (NHL or AHL) before the playoffs.

At this point, Nikishin should simply be an add in keeper leagues (38% Fantrax), as he may not be able to contribute to the leagues that are still in action until the bitter end this season. Nikishin has led KHL defensemen in scoring over the past three seasons with 157 points in 193 games. Couple that with the fact that he has posted these totals in his early 20s and you can see that he possesses very high upside. So high that he is currently he is the top-ranked defenseman on the Top 50 Fantasy Prospect Defensemen – March 2025.

The Canes currently have Dmitry Orlov, Jaccob Slavin, and Shayne Gostisbehere on the left side, so Nikishin might not have an easy time breaking into the lineup this season. Orlov is set to become a UFA after the season, which could create that full-time role for Nikishin, whose skills extend beyond just offense. (apr12)

3. Gabriel Landeskog suited up for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles on Friday, playing his first game since the Stanley Cup-clinching game for the Avalanche in 2022. Landeskog did not register a point in the Eagles’ 2-0 win over the Henderson Silver Knights, but he took a two-minute hooking penalty in the first period. After the game, Landeskog said that his knee felt great. He did not appear to be bubble-wrapped in this game, even getting involved in the extracurricular.

Landeskog was a point-per-game player (59 points in 51 games) in his last NHL season back in 2021-22, but he has not played in a game for nearly three full years. Expect that he will need some time to return to the fast pace of the NHL. In addition, he will need to be injury-free and pain-free before he can be considered for next season’s fantasy drafts. This doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a story of perseverance, as simply getting back to the NHL after this long of a layoff is a victory in itself. In addition, Landeskog could provide an emotional boost that the Avalanche will need in the playoffs, which will probably start with a tough first-round showdown with Dallas. (apr12)

4. Nathan MacKinnon did not play on Thursday night and, entering Sunday, rumblings had him not returning before the end of the regular season. One player that was officially shut down for the season was Boston’s Charlie McAvoy. This isn’t a big surprise, given how much time he has missed, but it does put a cap to a season that started slowly production-wise and finished with 50 total games played with none coming from late-February onward. The hope now is that he can have a full-ish offseason of training and be ready for September. (apr11)

5. After Friday's game against San Jose, coach Kris Knoblauch said that one of Mattias Ekholm or Zach Hyman could possibly not be ready for the playoffs, although he did not identify which one. The Oilers were already without Leon Draisaitl, so they could be entering the playoffs a little banged up. It may have taken longer than expected, but the Oilers clinched a playoff spot with that 4-2 win over the Sharks. That means that after playing over 1000 NHL games, Jeff Skinner will finally appear in an NHL playoff game! (apr12)

6. David Pastrnak's assist last Thursday gave him 60 on the year, which in turn gave him his second straight 40-goal, 60-assist campaign. At time of writing, he also had 66 points at 5-on-5 this season, eight more than the next-closest player (Nikita Kucherov) and 11 more than the third-closest. An astounding season on a very bad team. (apr11)

7. It's now back-to-back seasons with at least 25 goals for JJ Peterka, and it feels he’s right on the cusp of pushing towards a point-per-game status as soon as next season. (apr11)

8. Connor Hellebuyck went into Dallas and came out with a 4-0 win on Thursday. That was Hellebuyck’s eighth shutout of the season, extending his career-high and his lead in the league. It was also his 45^th win, setting a new career-high mark. The Vezina Trophy is his, now it’s just a matter as to whether he wins the Hart Trophy. (apr11)

9. Anze Kopitar Kopitar scored his 20th goal of the year on Thursday, his third straight such season. Here is a neat tidbit: At time of writing, Josh Norris (21 goals on 96 shots), Simon Holmstrom (20 goals on 89 shots), and Kopitar (20 goals on 92 shots) all had a reasonably good chance of finishing the season with at least 20 goals on fewer than 100 shots. Prior to this season, it was done once in three years (Marcus Foligno in 2021-22) and just four times this century. (apr11)

10. Matt Grzelcyk has a career-high 38 points and 15 power-play points this season. He is set to become a UFA at the end of the season, so his career season should result in a raise from his current $2.75 million salary. A departure from Pittsburgh could also free up the top power play (where Grzelcyk has been toiling lately) for Erik Karlsson or Kris Letang again. (apr12)

11. After having Joel Eriksson Ek played just one game in the last two months, and none since late February, as well as Kirill Kaprizov not being in the lineup since late January, the Minnesota Wild got great news on Wednesday as both returned to the lineup against the San Jose Sharks. 

To say that Eriksson Ek and Kaprizov had an immediate impact on the Wild would be a massive understatement. Minnesota escaped with an 8-7 win in a home matchup against San Jose thanks to a Kaprizov overtime game-winning goal, Kaprizov’s second goal (one PP) and third point of the night. He finished with nine shots and a block, too.

Eriksson Ek was the star of the game, though, as he potted a four-goal night (two PP), totaling eight shots and four hits along the way. It was Eriksson Ek’s first four-goal game of his career, and pushed him and Kaprizov to six goals and seven points on eight goals.

On the San Jose side, Macklin Celebrini posted his first career hat trick and added a pair of assists for his first career five-point game. The points pushed him to 62 in 66 games. Will Smith had a goal and three assists of his own, giving him his first four-point game of his career. Smith had 29 points in his last 30 games. (apr10)

12. Tyson Foerster has now managed back-to-back 20-goal seasons to start his career. He certainly looks as if he’s part of the long-term solution in Philadelphia. (apr10)

13. These Ramblings have seen posts, dating back to the preseason, covering players I was specifically high or low on, their draft positions, how they’ve fared this season, and so on. We will get back to that once the season finishes.

There are also players that I was largely ambivalent about. They are players that I wasn’t specifically targeting or avoiding. The next couple of Ramblings will cover these specific skaters, starting today with the forwards, and what has stood out to me this season. Data from Natural Stat Trick or Frozen Tools and as of the afternoon of Monday, April 7.

Mason McTavish (Anaheim Ducks)

McTavish has already registered his first 20-goal season and needs one more assist for his first 30-assist season, which would also give him his first 50-point effort. Add 2.4 shots and nearly 1.0 hits per game, and there has been solid across-the-board value here from the young Ducks forward.

What has stood out to me about McTavish is how productive his line has been offensively no matter the players next to him. McTavish’s most-common line mate this season has been Cutter Gauthier. In their 448 minutes together at 5-on-5, they are creating 14% more expected goals and 70% more actual goals than when they’re off the ice.

Those two skated a lot with Robby Fabbri, but McTavish’s third-most common line mate is Trevor Zegras. In their 245 minutes together at 5-on-5, McTavish and Zegras are creating 30% more expected goals and 54% more actual goals per 60 minutes than when they’re off the ice.

Sometimes, players just find some chemistry with the right line mates and have a good season. The fact that McTavish has found a lot of offensive success with completely different sets of line mates is a great sign for his offensive future. (apr8)

14. William Eklund (San Jose Sharks)

This is a weird one because I’m high on Eklund long-term, but didn’t think much of him for the 2024-25 season given how bad the Sharks would be (and they are). All the same, he has exceeded last year’s totals (outside of blocks) in nine fewer games and could realistically crack the 60-point mark (he needs five points in the final six games).

Eklund’s passing and vision have always been his calling card, and this season is no different. His assist rate at 5-on-5 has increased by 46% compared to last season and tracking data from AllThreeZones shows him in elite company by rate of scoring chance assists (helpers on teammate chances) and high-danger passes (across the slot or from behind the net). These measures were good for Eklund last year and are even better this year. The Sharks still have a lot of holes in their lineup, but they have their elite play-making winger. (apr8)

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15. In Tuesday’s Ramblings, we looked at forwards that were not on my preseason target/avoid lists, and what has stood out about them this season. Today, we’ll do the same for defencemen. As usual, data will be from Natural Stat Trick or Frozen Tools, unless otherwise indicated, and as of the afternoon of Wednesday, April 9^th.

Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Out of 18 teams I drafted this season, two of them had Hedman, so it wasn’t as if I was avoiding him. However, once the first 4-5 defencemen were off the board, I was often waiting several rounds for another defencemen and getting someone like Zach Werenski, Mikhail Sergachev, or Shea Theodore. It largely worked out.

It also overlooks just how good Hedman has been this season. He is 1 of 7 defencemen with at least 60 points, has a reasonable chance of a 15-goal, 50-assist campaign, and is averaging 2.3 shots and 1.6 blocks per game. The hit totals are down again, but overall, it’s hard to complain.

That across-the-board coverage is what made him a great fantasy option this year as Hedman is 1 of 8 defencemen with at least 10 total goals/40 total assists while exceeding 4.0 shots+hits+blocks per game.

Hedman turns 35 years old late in 2025, has just 90 hits in his last 152 games, and is averaging 23:14 per game in ice time this season, a six-year-low. Eventually, father time and a diminished role will keep him from being a top-10 fantasy defenceman. This season is not that season. (apr10)

16. Thomas Harley (Dallas Stars)

In those Tuesday’s Ramblings, it was mentioned that William Eklund is a player I am very high on long-term, but was not for 2024-25. The same is true of Thomas Harley, who has turned into a genuine number-1 defenceman. He went into this season stuck on the second power-play unit, which is why I wasn’t very high on him, though was largely ambivalent.

The injury to Miro Heiskanen pushed Harley to permanent top PP minutes and he has 12 PP points in 28 games since that injury. However, it is his 5-on-5 play that has really stood out to me. This season, here is the list of defencemen who are responsible for above-average rates of zone exits and entries, carry the puck into the offensive zone at least 50% of the time, and carry the puck out of the defensive zone at least 66% of the time.

We are now at two deep playoff runs and two full regular seasons of Thomas Harley being nothing short of an elite offensive defenceman. The only thing standing between him and being a perennial top-10 fantasy blue liner is a consistent top power-play role. Given his performance since Heiskanen went down, he should have earned those minutes, but it may also be a Victor Hedman–Mikhail Sergachev situation. He absolutely can be a 70-point blue liner next year if he has a top PP role. (apr10)

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17. The big news from Tuesday was that Ivan Demidov was freed from his Russian contract to sign with the Canadiens. What a coup by the Canadiens to jump up into a playoff spot and then suddenly add a top-six scoring winger into their midst. They will really want to get him in for a game or two before the end of the season to see how he fits and get him up to speed. If you’re chasing points, then he’s an excellent dart throw at this stage. (apr9)

18. Elsewhere, Zayne Parekh was recalled by the Flames on Tuesday. After putting up 107 points in 61 OHL games this year, putting him as the top drafted prospect outside of the NHL by Mason Black’s PNHLe mark, we have to take his offensive ceiling seriously. I’ve speculatively added him in one Roto league where I’m trying to make up a couple slots in the scoring categories. Between him and Demidov you now have some options for offence at the end of the year. (apr9)

19. With the regular season coming to a close, we’re getting into the prime time for playoff pools and drafts. The first game of the playoffs will likely be on Saturday April 19th, which means we have about a week to get those playoff drafts, selections, and brackets done.

Rick actually has a part of his Mailbag article on Wednesday where he discusses playoff pool drafting strategies and tips, so I won’t bother duplicating any effort there. Instead, I’ll look at teams this year, and talk about who I’m targeting, and what opportunities I see this year to try and gain an edge.

Looking at the matchups (at time of writing), we’re just about locked in with CAR/NJ, WSH/MTL, COL/DAL, and LA/EDM. The Atlantic in the East and the Wildcards in the West still have some jockeying left to do before we have matchups set. It looks like the 16 playoff teams should stick as they are today, which is nice for those of us starting slow drafts early.

COL @ DAL is the most interesting series of the set, with the Avs having a long break before game one (often leading to a slow start) while both teams are dealing with injuries, between Miro Heiskanen out for at least one round, Martin Necas, Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Seguin, and others having various levels of concern at the moment as well. The pick I think is going to be Colorado, as Heiskanen’s absence is going to loom large, when the team is running Cody Ceci as a top-pair defenseman. Colorado has some concerns, and may lose game one, if not the first two games being away from home, but I think in the end their star power wins out. I’m likely not going to end up loading up on either team though, as they have some red flags, and a tough road through to the Final. (apr9)

20. EDM @ LA is going to be fascinating, as this will be year four of the Oilers and Kings meeting in round one, with Edmonton taking the previous three series. However, this time the Kings have home ice, and if their home record this season transfers to the playoffs in any capacity, then that could be the difference in flipping the script this time around. Connor McDavid (assuming he’s healthy) and the Oilers may still be the favorites despite the placement in the standings, but I’m picking the Kings with some confidence, as they have more depth than previous years, and Edmonton’s injury situation between McDavid and starting goalie Stuart Skinner causes some concern. You should be able to grab a few top players from another team or two before needing to move to the Kings in drafts as well, as they don’t have the top star players that you need to draft early to get. Andrei Kuzmenko being hot lately with seven points in his last five games and playing on the top power play would make him a great late sleeper target too. (apr9)

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21. A not-so-good update on San Jose defenceman Shakir Mukhamadullin, who is done for the year. Mukhamadullin had been having a solid stretch for the Sharks since being called up, especially considering the circumstances of the team. He is a player to keep an eye on in drafts because the multi-cat value will be there with more ice time next season. (apr8)

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Have a good week, folks!

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