Marc-Andre Fleury has signed a PTO (professional tryout offer) with the Penguins to play at least one final game with the team that he is most associated with. Fleury is expected to be in the lineup for the Penguins' home exhibition game on September 27 against Columbus. Since teams often play both goalies during their preseason games, Fleury should see some action in this game, which the Penguins have confirmed in their press release.

Before we assume that the PTO will create a training camp battle between Fleury and Arturs Silovs for the backup goalie job behind Tristan Jarry, Josh Yohe from The Athletic has confirmed that this is more of an opportunity for Fleury to play once last time for the team that he won three Stanley Cups with. This goes one step further than the typical ceremonial "one-day" contract that great players sign with the team where they had their best years, which will allow for a proper sendoff from the fans. More teams may decide to go this route, especially with the stakes of a preseason game not being all that high.

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The five players acquitted in Hockey Canada sexual assault trial can return to NHL on December 1, following serving a league suspension. These five players will be eligible to sign with an NHL team on October 15, about a week after the start of the NHL regular season.

The most notable of these players, at least from a fantasy hockey perspective, is Carter Hart. The former Flyers goalie last played an NHL game in January 2024, so his time off from the NHL will span nearly two calendar years at minimum. Teams who aren't confident in their goaltending situation, of which there will be at least a few, may consider Hart as a potential add. How much the time off and trial situation affects Hart (and the other players) remains to be seen. On top of that, teams also need to decide whether these players are worth taking a chance on, not to mention deserving of a second chance.

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The Sabres have signed Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year, $825,000 contract. After failing to prove he was the answer in net for Colorado, Georgiev was traded to San Jose last season, finishing his time with the Sharks with a dismal 3.88 GAA and .875 SV%.

At first glance, it might seem as though Georgiev is being signed simply as goaltending depth behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Alex Lyon. However, Luukkonen reported to camp with an injury that is being described as a "tweak." That might not seem like much, but goaltenders have to be completely right in order to effectively perform. Of course the Sabres also have Devon Levi, but it appears that the plan for Levi is to marinate in the AHL in spite of a strong 2024-25 season there (42 GP, 2.20 GAA, .919 SV%).

All of this is to say that you shouldn't be rushing out to draft Buffalo goalies in single-season leagues. The future might be better with a potential UPL/Levi tandem. However, the Sabres have been in "wait until next year" mode for over a decade.

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The Top 100 Roto Rankings have been updated for September – hopefully in time for your drafts. As has been the case for the past two seasons, we have joined forces with Hockey Bangers to provide the update the September rankings.

If 100 players isn't enough for you, check out the full rankings over at Bangers Fantasy Hockey website. Once you become a subscriber and download rankings, you will be able to view rankings for 350 players, projections in each category, and an overall bangers score. 

Today I will provide observations from the rankings in terms of risers, while tomorrow will focus on fallers. Although some players' rankings have shifted dramatically, no one from last month's top 75 fell out completely. The one commonality among all of these significant risers is that they are all players are under the age of 25. I know I like my veterans in fantasy hockey, but it's important to identify top young players who have a strong breakout probability to stay ahead of the curve.

Matthew Knies

Knies was the one player that I admittedly forgot about in last month's rankings. At the end of last season, I wrote about how he could be the new member of the Leafs' core four, as well as how valuable he could be in bangers leagues because of his hits total. With a fairly certain spot on the Leafs' power play going forward, Knies might be a player on the rise – even more so in leagues that count hits. 

One potential downside for Knies, though, is his shot total. Knies seems to fall into the category of a selective shooter, as he has never averaged two shots per game in either of his two full NHL seasons. He also benefitted from a 19.1 SH% in 2024-25, which tied with John Tavares for the highest shooting percentage on the Leafs. If Knies can find a way to shoot the puck more, then he could maintain a potential 30-goal pace. That might be hard to do when lining up with frequent shooter Auston Matthews at both even strength and at 5-on-5.

If offseason acquisition Matias Maccelli is grouped alongside Matthews, Knies might be on John Tavares's line instead. Tavares is also generally a high-volume shooter, so it could be up to Knies to find a way to improve his shot total in order to take that next step. 

Macklin Celebrini

The ranking of #22 for a second-year player might seem a tad high, but Celebrini appears to be on the fast track to NHL stardom. Bangers has Mack projected for 80 points, which is a leap from his 63-point first season. However, factor in the games missed and Celebrini was on pace for a 74-point season. Now 80 points doesn't seem so high.

Another reason to like Celebrini is his shot total. No 2024-25 rookie took more shots on goal than Celebrini (236 SOG), who averaged 3.4 SOG/GP. That total was within the top 30 in the league overall, which is impressive for a 19-year-old. In his second season, Celebrini is projected to reach nearly 300 shots – a mark only reached by two players (David Pastrnak and Nathan MacKinnon) in 2024-25. Whether he reaches those lofty heights this season is up for debate, but it only seems to be a matter of time. 

Connor Bedard

It makes sense to project Bedard to reach 70 points in his third NHL season. Bedard reached 62 points in his rookie season (in just 68 games), followed by 67 points last season. His point-per-game pace dropped from 0.9 PTS/GP in his rookie season to 0.82 PTS/GP in his sophomore season, a decline that can be partially attributed to his shots-per-game total decreasing from 3.0 SOG/GP to 2.4 SOG/GP. As was well documented, Bedard did not look happy with the state of affairs in Chicago.

We all know about Bedard's upside, which means that an offensive explosion might be right around the corner. That's why estimates in the 70-80-point range might be a bit conservative. The Blackhawks did not make any significant offseason upgrades, unless you think Andre Burakovsky will help Bedard in a major way. For that reason, the cautious estimates might be the most probable estimates. The expectation for Bedard to even reach 70 points is a three-shot-per-game minimum. A fresh start under new head coach Jeff Blashill might help with that, as Bedard's offense seemed to stall under former coach Luke Richardson's system, while he didn't improve under interim coach Anders Sorensen.

Dylan Holloway

If Holloway had not signed the offer sheet with St. Louis last offseason and signed something in Edmonton instead, would he even be in this conversation? That doesn't seem likely. Holloway went from less than 12 minutes per game in his first two seasons in Edmonton to nearly 17 minutes per game in St. Louis. In fact, try to find me a non-injured, non-rookie player whose point total increased more than Holloway's in his first season with the Blues. The jump from 9 points in 2023-24 to 63 points in 2024-25 is astounding.

The question is what Holloway has for an encore. It's clear his role has changed from Edmonton to St. Louis, so in a way there's no turning back. Even if his offense regresses a bit, Holloway will be able to hold his own in bangers leagues. Amid all of the discussion about his offensive outburst, Holloway finished fifth on the Blues with 165 hits. That shouldn't be too much of a shocker, as Holloway averaged over two hits per game in his final season in Edmonton. His new ranking of #54 makes a lot more sense if you think about it that way.

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