Former Avalanche and Sharks forward Nikolai Kovalenko has signed a two-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the KHL. Just before free agency, Kovalenko wasn't given a qualifying offer by the Sharks, even though he was acquired as part of the package for Mackenzie Blackwood. In his only NHL season, the 25-year-old Kovalenko finished with 20 points in 57 games split between Colorado and San Jose, including 12 points in 29 games with the Sharks.

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Here are the top Frozen Tools searches for the past week. As expected, a lot of players who recently changed teams are on this list.

Among the top 5, I had already discussed Roslovic here and Lacombe here. Roslovic remains unsigned, with the Leafs rumored to be one team that is interested in signing him.

Let's discuss why the other three top 5 searches are players of interest to fantasy leaguers.

Nikolaj Ehlers

As you probably know by now, the Hurricanes were the winner of the Ehlers sweepstakes, signing him for a six-year contract with an $8.5 million AAV.

Fantasy Take: Carolina Snags Nikolaj Ehlers on Six-Year Deal

If you were hoping for a place where Ehlers could be the guy with guaranteed top-line icetime instead of simply being a cog in the Carolina machine, many players would prefer to chase a Stanley Cup than cash in and pad individual stats. Ehlers averaged around 15-16 minutes per game in Winnipeg, but that icetime could increase to around 17-18 minutes per game in Carolina. A modest increase, so I don't think Carolina is a bad destination for Ehlers.

The way I see it, the Sebastian Aho – Seth Jarvis combo will probably stick together. Whether that top line includes Andrei Svechnikov or Ehlers remains to be seen. Svechnikov has played down the lineup in the past due to his versatility as a physical two-way forward, although Ehlers wasn't known for playing on the top line with the Jets either. Svechnikov has also missed a minimum of 10 games in each of the last three seasons, although Ehlers has failed to reach 70 games in three of his past four seasons. My guess is that the two will take turns on the Aho-Jarvis unit. The Canes didn't sign Ehlers to bury him down the lineup.

A Canes' top power play will probably include Aho, Jarvis, Svechnikov, and Ehlers as the four forwards. That isn't a huge boost to Ehlers' value, as Carolina has a weak power play (18.7 PP%, 25^th) for a contending team. Ehlers scored a career-high 22 power-play points last season while finally being used on Winnipeg's top power play, so he could help improve Carolina's top power play. Jackson Blake was used on the top power play at times last season, but he would likely drop to the second unit unless there's an injury.

Mason McTavish

The trade rumors surrounding McTavish seem to be more smoke than fire at the moment. According to one league source, McTavish would prefer to stay in Anaheim (Lyle Richardson). On top of that, the Ducks are very well prepared to match any offer sheet with nearly $30 million in cap space. (On a side note, it has been a slow offseason for players changing teams because of the rising cap, very few teams in a pure rebuild state, and teams not wanting to cough up first-round picks in what should be a deeper 2026 draft.)

Where McTavish fits into Anaheim's lineup in the coming season is anyone's guess. Do the Ducks play McTavish over Leo Carlsson on the top line? Does new acquisition Mikael Granlund start above both of them as the first-line center, or does he flip to the wing? What about Ryan Strome? McTavish could be penciled in anywhere from the first line to the third line, which is a good problem for the Ducks to have as they become a deeper team ready to emerge from their rebuild.

McTavish could find some reliable linemates with the group that Anaheim has assembled, but it's not safe to assume he will receive ideal deployment. Last season, the Ducks gave the 7-8 forwards that received any power-play time between 40-60% of the minutes. New coach Joel Quenneville could try something different, which could include more imbalanced icetime between the first and second unit. Anaheim had the league's worst power play last season at 11.8%, so changes are probably coming anyway.

If McTavish thinks he is stuck and could take on a more prominent role with another team, then perhaps he would prefer a trade. We'll see.

Matias Maccelli

Could the Leafs' top pickup of the offseason be Maccelli? The Leafs aren't used to having even a little bit of cap space and no one to spend it on, but such is the situation with a rising cap. That meant that they were able to take a chance on Maccelli, who had a down year with just 18 points in 55 games and numerous healthy scratches following a productive 57-point season. Maccelli is only 24 years of age, so is it too early to call him a reclamation project?

Fantasy Take: Leafs Land Maccelli

Maccelli will never be a complete replacement for Mitch Marner, but he could take on a Marner-like role as a passer alongside Auston Matthews. Before his disastrous 2024-25 season, Maccelli posted season totals of 38 and 40 assists. Or he could slot in beside John Tavares and William Nylander. Regardless, a bottom-6 role wouldn't be ideal for him, which is where he was stuck at times with Utah last season. Maccelli would probably be on the second power-play unit, as Matthew Knies will probably replace Marner on the top unit. Unless the Leafs go five forwards again, in which case there's a chance.

Overall, this is a positive move for Maccelli. It's also not a risky bet for the Leafs, as Maccelli is under contract for only one more season. Yet another similar season to 2024-25 could mean that Maccelli is scrambling for a PTO or playing outside of the NHL next season.

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In addition to writing the Ramblings, I'm working away on my portion of the Fantasy Guide, which will be available later this month. You can secure yours at the Dobber Shop. Better yet, get it as part of the Keeper League Fantasy Pack or the Ultimate Fantasy Pack, which both include the Prospects Report (which is available now!)

I will also be updating the Top 100 Roto Rankings in a few days. In the meantime, I'd like to hear from you. Please tell me if you think I have ranked any players too high or too low, any players that could be ranked in the top 100 but aren't, or any players that should be out of the top 100. As I adjust the rankings, I'm going to be paying attention to players that are injury risks, as well as changes that might have occurred from offseason player transactions.

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