Welcome back to Forum Buzz, where I peruse the DobberHockey Forums and weigh in on active, heavily debated, or otherwise relevant recent threads, reminding folks just how great a resource the Forums are. Nearly anything might be covered here, other than trades and signings, which usually get their own separate write-ups on the main site and are also normally covered in the next day’s Ramblings, or questions that are specific to salary cap issues, which is the domain of the weekly Capped column. To access the specific forum thread on which a question is based, click on the “Topic” for that question.

As is now becoming tradition, I'll start the column with a nod to the sadly now dormant "Who am I?" thread in the Forums where someone thought of a real life hockey player or persona, who can be from the past or present, male or female, in the NHL or not, and they give clues to help people guess who it is. You get to enter one guess per clue, and if you guess correctly you think of the next player, so it just keeps going indefinitely. For your enjoyment, here is a "Who am I?" sample. See how many clues it takes for you to guess who I am.

CLUE #1 – I'm a Canadian born forward

CLUE #2 – I played junior hockey in the QMJHL

CLUE #3 – I debuted in the NHL at age 21

CLUE #4 – By the time I was 30 I had only one season where I averaged better than a point per every other game

CLUE #5 – But later, in a two season stretch I scored at a cumulative 61-point pace

CLUE #6 – What makes that two season scoring rate even more impressive is I had only four combined points on the power play

CLUE #7 – I never averaged more than 18:00 of TOI per game in any season

CLUE #8 – I won at least one Stanley Cup as a player

CLUE #9 – I never represented my country in international play

CLUE #10 – I was undrafted

CLUE #11 – I played only 73 games combined in my last three seasons

CLUE #12 – I am employed by an NHL team, but not as a coach and not by a team a played for

CLUE #13 – The teams I played on, in order, were Minnesota, Rangers, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh

CLUE #14 – My initials are P.D.

Who am I? Hopefully you figured it out. Check the end of the column to confirm, or, if not, to find out who I am. Now onto regularly scheduled Forum Buzz programming. 

Topic #1 –A GM owns Cale Makar in a points only cap league, and, given how things are trending in terms of salaries, is very worried about Makar's cap hit starting in 2027-28. Should they trade Makar for Lane Hutson plus one or more good draft picks?

I think that looking back, many will point to this summer as when there became such a thing as an elite player being too expensive to own in some if not all cap leagues. What we know is Hutson is inked for $8.85M for the next eight seasons, and he showed in 2025-26 that he is the real deal by not only avoiding a sophomore slump but rising to nearly a point per game. Plus, Hutson is at his best in points only given his lack of goals, SOG and other peripherals. And the GM suggesting Makar is likely to be paid $18M per season might not be off base, in which case the once unthinkable of trading Makar becomes not just thinkable, but advisable, especially since the other GM is willing to throw in at least one draft pick as a sweetener.

One caveat though is I suspect the NHL itself, or cap leagues, might adjust things to reflect this new reality of much higher salaries than anticipated. If so, Makar's raise might be less tough of a pill to swallow. Even still though, having Hutson instead not only would give the team 80-90% of what Makar provides in terms of points, but at likely half the price. That is production, plus all important cap flexibility to use to help build the rest of the team.

I saw in the thread that someone suggested for the GM who owns Makar to shop him to all the teams in the league, to get the very best return. And in almost all cases I believe that is indeed the right thing to do. But this might be the rare instance where I'd advise against it. I think this deal is amazing; and not only is it almost impossible to foresee another team beating it, but if the GM lets other teams weigh in, they risk the team offering Hutson and the pick(s) to rethink their offer. I'd just take the deal as is without trying to get an even better return, given how unlikely it is that a better deal would be offered, plus the risk of the other GM reneging.

Topic #2 – In a points only keeper, who's the better own, Zeeb Buium or Zayne Parekh?

I feel like this was a question which arose quite often last offseason, when it became apparent each was poised to be an NHL regular. It was a tough one to answer then; but fast forward to now and I think it's less difficult, with Buium being the choice from where I sit.

It's difficult to criticize the play of a teen in today's NHL; however, Parekh's 2025-26 was nothing short of a disaster. He played 37 games, managing only nine points. Yes, six came on the PP, and his IPP on the PP was 66.7%, meaning he had a point on six of the nine PPGs scored while he was on the ice. The issue is only nine PPGs being scored is not a lot; so although he found a way to factor into the scoring when there were PPGs, his presence seemingly did not lead to many being scored. Also, that meant he had a mere three points at ES, this despite starting a truly jaw dropping 76.1% of his shifts in the offensive zone. Despite playing such sheltered minutes, the team shot a woeful 6.5% at 5×5 with him on the ice. That is abysmal, as proven by the fact that of 212 defensemen who played 35+ games last season, a mere six had a lower percentage; and other than teammate Joel Hanley, the lowest 5×5 team SH% of any defenseman who started over 60% of their shifts in the offensive zone was 8.2% by journeyman Mike Rielly, and the next lowest after that was 9.1%. Of course Calgary being a weak team overall did him no favors, and, as noted, this occurred while Parekh was still a teen; however, it took the shine of his golden boy status. Also, the picture of him becoming a top defenseman and running PP1 became cloudier not only by Calgary trading for Simon Nemec but also drafting Carson Carels.

As for Buium, he looked great early for Minnesota, with eight points in his first ten games, five coming on the PP. But he slowed quite a bit after that. Nevertheless, he was the centerpiece of the trade that brought Quinn Hughes to the Wild. And although Buium did not thrive upon his arrival in Vancouver, and the team's 5×5 team SH% for Buium was a nearly as awful 6.9%, unlike Parekh Buium's OZ% was a far less stratospheric 58.0%. What's also key for Buium is Vancouver has no one, ala Nemec or Carels, who figures to impede Buium's ascent to becoming his team's top option for blueline offense. They had the third overall pick in the draft, yet chose to select a forward despite every top defenseman being available. Them not drafting a d-man is, to me, a major vote of confidence in Buium. There's also the fact they gave up so much, in the form of Hughes, to get him. Those weigh heavily in Buium's favor.

Although both are still very young and their futures far from certain, if I had to pick one of them to own it'd be Buium for sure. Parekh's performance was worse; and unlike Buium, there are challengers to Parekh becoming a top option for blueline offense for his team.

Topic #3 – With his strong playoffs and the Sabres extending him, what should be expected of Zach Benson? Will he be a point per game player within the next 3-5 years?

Making predictions about Buffalo wingers is complicated by the fact there are so many, at least for the time being. That having been said, the Sabres committed to Benson by inking him to a seven-year deal paying him $7.5M per season. Yet they did virtually the same thing with Josh Doan (more on him to follow), plus for the time being the likes of Jack Quinn, Jiri Kulich, Peyton Krebs, and even Jason Zucker are all in the mix. Zucker likely will be gone after his deal ends; however, that is still too many wingers to all be on PP1 and in the top six. Also, we can point to the likes of JJ Peterka in Utah and Mason McTavish in Anaheim as examples of players where, even after they signed $7M+ extensions, it didn't guarantee top deployment.

Of all its wingers though, Benson is the youngest; so for him to have achieved what he has, and be rewarded like he was, even though he just turned 21, seems to be a major vote of confidence on the part of Buffalo. But for all the hype surrounding his playoff performance, he scored at essentially the same rate as in the regular season, and remained on the outside looking in when it came to PP1. Still, Benson did end the season with 16 points in his final 20 games, and as it just so happened, those 20 games coincided with his 200-game breakout threshold; so better things could indeed be in store.

Looking at Bensons's metrics though, a straightforward picture is not painted. His 11.7% team SH% at 5×5 is amazing, but perhaps too much so, as his PDO was an unsustainably high 1042, plus he did this despite an OZ% of 47.6%, and of the 91 other forwards who played 41+ games and had a higher 5×5 team SH% none had as high a PDO and as low an OZ%. Also, his 59.7% overall IPP is not very good, as a merely average forward should be at 60%. Plus, if Benson was trying to build a case for a spot on PP1 his 38.5% IPP on the PP won't help his cause, since if anything it should be high due to being on PP2 with lesser talented forwards.

Benson also is not a high-volume shooter, although his rate has increased slightly with each passing season and given his TOI there is room for it to get even better in the normal course. Although his team SH% was perhaps too high, his personal SH% was neither high nor low.

Also, when deciding whether Benson will be a point per game player, one also has to factor in Buffalo looking to be a team poised to get even better. What that means is Benson could be a success not just on his own, but also due to a rising tide lifting his boat.

I think that if Benson was going to be an elite player, and even though he is still so young, he has played 200+ games so there'd have been more even signs by now, and fewer areas of concern. Still, he does appear to factor into Buffalo's plans, and they are a team likely to get even better. All things considered, Benson should be able to reach 70+ point production, but I'm unsure if he'll get to point per game levels, and instead might turn out to be Buffalo's version of Troy Terry or Nikolaj Ehlers, meaning a solid performer but not someone truly elite.

Topic #4 – How does Josh Doan project to produce in the next few seasons? Can he rise to point per game levels?

Interestingly the same question that was asked about Benson was essentially asked at around the same time from about Doan, but from different people. Since I did a deep dive on Benson, I may as well do one on Doan.

Doan is three years older than Benson, yet 2025-26 was his first full season after playing 11 and 51 games in parts of two campaigns with Arizona/Utah. But he acclimated very well to Buffalo, as he found a spot in the top six and on PP1. He was consistent, scoring 11-15 points in each quarter of the season. His best quarters, not surprisingly, were those where he saw more PPTOI which translated to more PPPts, six in each quarter versus two and three in the other two. But unlike his scoring, his SOG rate shrank from 99 in his first 40 games to 71 in his final 42. Even though his rate in those quarters was lower, his goal total in the second half was 13, or one more than the first half, which explains – not in a good way – his 14.7% SH%. He then produced well in the playoffs, this despite being off PP1 more so than on it and having a 9.3% SH%.

Like Benson, Doan's metrics are a mixed bag. His OZ% was 50.2%, thus neither high nor low, and with that came a 10.5% team SH%, which is very solid. His secondary assist rate was a miniscule 25.9%, meaning of his 52 points last season, 45 were either goals or primary assists. While in some cases a player having a low secondary assist rate is a good sign, there is such a thing as it being too low, and that appears to be the case here, especially when considering neither his overall IPP nor his IPP on the PP were even 60%, with the former being 56.5% and the latter being 53.1%. Those are poor percentages, and that, plus his secondary assist rate, paint the picture of Doan perhaps being a passenger, meaning a guy who is great to put out there with top players and who helps drive offense, but doesn't find a way to factor into scoring unless he scores a goal or dishes to someone who themselves scores one. The good news is passengers can become solid fantasy contributors like Morgan Geekie and Gabe Vilardi, and that might be Doan's trajectory, as despite the fact he's not yet even reached his 200 game breakout, him being 24 years old, and given his metrics, paint the picture of a player who at best will be like those two, and for that to happen he will need to be on a line with very strong players.

In all, I'd take Benson over Doan without much hesitation, especially given the age difference. If things fall into place for Doan, he could be a 60-70 point player. The concern though is as other young Sabres forwards develop, he could be pushed aside despite his salary, and in that case he might struggle to produce better than in the 50s.

Topic #5 – Is there realistic hope that Patrik Laine can rebound, even if not to early levels then to at least be a solid player again? Or given the number and frequency of injuries, are his days of fantasy relevance over?

It is quite amazing to look back at what Laine did early in his career, and how far he's fallen. The big issue is unlike Jack Hughes, who has been oft-injured but still been able to produce superbly when he does play, either Laine's injuries have taken their toll or his effort level has dropped, or a little of both. Things are different now in that he cannot sit back and collect a big salary, as he remains unsigned weeks after free agency signing began. But was he unsigned because he hasn't received offers, or in waiting for a team to give him more than a "prove yourself" deal?

Either way, what might his deal ultimately look like (assuming it is not signed between the time I write this column and it goes live)? There are two possible measuring sticks in that Anthony Mantha, who admittedly had never been as elite as Laine once was but at least had solid numbers last season, got only a two year deal for $4.8M per season, and Andrei Kuzmenko, who has shown flashes of very good play but wore out his welcome on several teams plus is actually two years older than Laine yet has not had injury issues, got a one year deal for $5M. Most likely that means Laine will be inked for no more than two years, nor will he be paid more than $5M guaranteed. Instead, he will likely need to settle for a one year deal with a lower base, but many incentives that could raise his salary to $5M or even more.

Also, let's not forget that although Laine had only 33 points in 52 games in 2024-25, 19 of those points came on the PP. In fact, despite ranking 141st in PPTOI among forwards, his 19 PPPts put him tied for 63rd. That is impressive. Also, Laine's IPPs that season were 70.2% overall and 76.0% on the PP. Those are really solid as well. Less so was his 5×5 team SH% of 8.6%, suggesting he is now most effective on the PP.

But make no mistake – there are teams who could stand to benefit from a PP stud, plus be able to surround Laine with talent that hopefully would elevate him at ES. Colorado comes to mind, as they actually ranked sixth worst in PP% for 2025-26, and Laine likely would be an upgrade over either Nazem Kadri or Brock Nelson as a fourth forward on the PP with Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, and Martin Necas. The Blackhawks could make sense too, as they struggled majorly on the PP and Laine being inserted into the top six and onto PP1 would be a good placeholder, like Patrick Kane, while their youngsters round into form. A third team I could see bringing Laine into the fold is the Islanders, who have aging players less talented than Laine.

In sum, given his strong IPPs, and likely desire to earn himself another long-term deal, I think if Laine signs with a team where there is a PP1 spot awaiting him, plus a real chance to earn a spot in the top six, he could produce at a 60+ point rate, with a risk of much worse, but also a chance at home run potential, plus of course major concern of him missing extended time due to injury.

************

THE ANSWER TO WHO THE PLAYER IS……….Pascal Dupuis!

************

Questions for Mailbag column needed

Until next season starts I'll be running mailbags as often as a I get enough questions. To get yours to me, either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums, or email [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.