Winners of the draft lottery, the New York Islanders selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer of the OHL's Erie Otters with the first overall pick. Schaefer has all of the tools to be a star NHL defenseman, including skating, scoring upside, ability to control play, defensive acumen, character, and leadership. He has also dealt with adversity, having missed significant time after breaking his collarbone at the World Juniors. Schaefer also lost his mother to breast cancer in February 2024. You have to feel happy for this young man.

An emotional moment as Matthew Schaefer dons the Islanders sweater for the first time 👏 pic.twitter.com/SfqQpwohEe

— ESPN (@espn) June 27, 2025

Schaefer's upside comparable in the Fantasy Prospects Report is Miro Heiskanen, which seems fair. Heiskanen is as effective a two-way defenseman as they come, but he is not Cale Makar or Quinn Hughes when it comes to offensive upside. With the spotlight on Schaefer as he is drafted and asked to fill the shoes of Noah Dobson, that's something to keep in mind. There is a separation between top fantasy defensemen and top overall defensemen as described by the many hockey analysts out there. That's not to suggest at all that Schaefer will be a bust – it's merely a comparison.

As the buzz had increased over the past day or two, the Islanders decided to part ways with Dobson a few hours before the start of the draft. The Canadiens acquired Dobson in a sign-and-trade, with Dobson receiving an eight-year contract extension with a $9.5 million AAV. In return, the Isles receive Emil Heineman and the 16^th and 17^th overall picks (Victor Eklund and Kashawn Aitcheson, respectively) from Friday's draft. Quite a haul of prospects for the Isles.

Dobson regressed from a 70-point season in 2023-24 to just 39 points (in 71 games) this past season, but his offensive upside is clearly there. His defensive skills are perhaps debatable, which is perhaps why the Islanders were hesitant to keep him at the extension that he wanted. One key question is how the trade affects his fantasy value, as Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson seems to have cemented himself on the top power play. Perhaps Montreal could opt for a duo here? Find out what Mike Clifford thinks will happen in the official Fantasy Take.

Trading Dobson could clear the way for Schaefer to make the roster sooner rather than later. A defenseman jumping straight to the NHL in his draft year is rare, and Schaefer will only turn 18 in early September. It’s probably easier to wait until contracts are signed to determine whether Schaefer could fit in for the coming season. As of now, Alexander Romanov and Scott Perunovich are unsigned RFAs, while Tony DeAngelo and Mike Reilly are unsigned UFAs.

I'm lumping these two stories together because they are both connected to the Islanders. Early in my Dobber career, I was told I should use the * or – break in between sections on different topics – something I had never done before. I am deliberately not using it here.

Here are the results of the first round. Most of it, anyway. Click the date/time of the X post to review the rest of it, or go to the NHL.com Draft Tracker for full results. Rounds 2-7 will take place today (Saturday).

The first round of the 2025 #NHLDraft is complete. pic.twitter.com/buGA7yOK91

— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) June 28, 2025

For more analysis on the 2025 draft, check out our current and upcoming submissions of The Journey from Puneet Sharma.

Also, don't forget to purchase your copy of the Prospects Report. You'll find plenty of 2025 NHL Draft coverage in there, including player profiles, top 64 chart, mock draft, and various top-10 lists for fantasy categories. This resource is useful because you don't want to be the person in your draft who simply defaults to the next-highest-drafted player when it's your turn. It's better to look for the players who will actually be difference-makers in fantasy leagues, according to our scouting staff. I will certainly be using this for my upcoming league entry draft, where I have the 10^th, 29^th, and 49^th picks.

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Onetime Islander John Tavares has signed a four-year extension with a $4.38 million AAV to remain in Toronto. That's a very team-friendly cap hit, although it comes as no surprise that Tavares wanted to re-sign with his hometown Maple Leafs. After all, he chose the Leafs for a seven-year contract as a free agent in 2018 (hard to believe it was that long ago), so he might remain a Leaf for the rest of his career. The Leafs, of course, are still in an incomplete state, as Mitch Marner is expected to leave via free agency, and it is unknown how the Leafs would fill that void.

John Tavares' 38 goals in 2024-25 tied his 2nd-most in a season in his career.

His 74 points in 2024-25 were the 2nd-most in the NHL among players 34 or older, trailing only Sidney Crosby (91 PTS).#LeafsForever https://t.co/oddjSrDJ6o

— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) June 27, 2025

At age 34, Tavares was able to maintain a near point-per-game pace in 2024-25 (74 points in 75 games), which is actually slightly above his career point pace of 0.94 PTS/GP. Tavares should continue to be an important part of the Leafs' top 6 and top power play through much of the deal, although a few red flags beyond age suggest possible regression in 2025-26. Those include a 19.1 SH%, an 11.4% 5-on-5 SH%, and a 1045 PDO. Despite that, I'm not concerned about the contract aging poorly for the Leafs, as many star players are continuing to make major contributions well into their 30s.

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Sam Bennett is not fricking leaving Florida. The Panthers signed the Conn Smythe Trophy winner to an eight-year extension worth $64 million – a cap hit of $8 million. There were rumblings that Bennett would earn as much as $10 million per season based on his playoff performance, but he simply does not score enough to justify that, no matter the intangibles he brings. Although Bennett's career high in goals is 28, his 15 goals led all players in the 2024-25 playoffs.

Bennett has improved from a 25-to-30-point scorer in Calgary to a 40-to-50-point range in Florida, adding more shots and hits to his toolkit while being a major impact player in the Panthers' three consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup Final. In cap leagues, he receives a substantial raise from $4.425 million to $8 million, which decreases his value in pure point salary cap leagues. In my multicategory cap league, I'm hanging on to Bennett, unless someone makes me an offer I can't refuse. Bennett is currently listed in the Top 100 Roto Rankings for his ability to contribute in many categories.

Now the plot thickens as to whether the Panthers can find a way to re-sign either Brad Marchand or Aaron Ekblad.

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The Blue Jackets and Avalanche made a swap on Friday afternoon. After reportedly losing out on Dobson, the Jackets turned their attention to Charlie Coyle and Miles Wood, acquiring them from the Avs for prospect Gavin Brindley, a 2027 second-round pick and a 2025 third-round selection.

Coyle, the main piece in the deal, fell from 60 points in 2023-24 with the Bruins to just 35 points in 83 games (!) split between the Bruins and Avalanche. Expect him to fill a middle-six role with the Jackets. Wood is a banger who was held to just eight points in 37 games after consistently averaging between 20-30 points per season. In his first AHL season, Brindley struggled a bit with just six goals and 17 points in 52 games, so he will look to get back on track with an organization that is lean on legitimate prospects.

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The Sabres signed Jack Quinn to a two-year contract with a $3.375 million AAV. The 23-year-old Quinn scored a career-high 39 points in 74 games this past season, yet there is still the feeling that Quinn can produce at a much higher level, especially since he has racked up big scoring numbers in both the OHL and AHL. Helping his cause in the NHL, Quinn been sheltered to play offensive minutes (55.52 OZ% in 2024-25), while his power-play time has gradually increased in each of his three NHL seasons. Quinn can also be streaky, as evidenced by his numbers by quarter:

Qtr         GP          G             A             PTS        

1             21           1             4             5            

2             15           7             5             12          

3             17           2             5             7            

4             21           5             10           15          

A bridge deal shows that the Sabres aren't that confident in Quinn, and perhaps his defensive play factors into that. Yet if Quinn breaks out during his two-year contract, the Sabres could be forced to pay a lot more or lose him. Dobber discussed Quinn in one of his recent video hits.

🎥 DOBBER'S TAKE: JACK QUINN 🎥
Coming off an injury-riddled season, is there still breakout potential for Jack Quinn in Buffalo?

He's got the tools. He's got the pedigree. But is this the year he puts it all together in fantasy?

👀 Watch the video to find out what Dobber… pic.twitter.com/QwOQxG52rq

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) June 19, 2025

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The Edmonton Oilers have signed forward Trent Frederic to an eight-year contract with an AAV of $3.85 million. What stands out about this contract is the term, as 1) deals this long are usually reserved for more impactful players, and 2) eight-year deals will be disappearing with the new CBA (new max will be seven years). The Oilers obviously like what they see in the 27-year-old power forward, as he will bring an element of snarl that becomes increasingly important in the playoffs.

Due to injury, Frederic played in just a single regular-season game for the Oilers after being acquired from Boston. In 22 playoff games, Frederic scored a goal and added three assists while mainly playing in the bottom six with 11 minutes of icetime. If you're looking for reasons to justify the eight-year contract, they are not that easy to find. Frederic averaged nearly four hits per game during the playoffs and nearly three hits per game during the regular season over the past two seasons. He was also a 40-point scorer in 2023-24, so he has a bit of offensive upside. Obviously, his value will be higher in bangers leagues than in pure points leagues.

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