Bubble Keeper Week has begun at Dobber Hockey! If you're not familiar, our writers will be discussing keeper decision for players who are on the "bubble." Who might be on the bubble depends on league size and league rules. For example, a keep four format could involve cutting universally rostered players. On the other hand, an unlimited keep format could involve decisions on truly fringe players or even prospects. Either way, keeper/dynasty leagues in all shapes and sizes allow for some interesting choices.

For my next three Ramblings, I'll go through a long list of players that I have to decide whether I will be keeping in one of my leagues. Along the way, I will make my observations on each player, which you can hopefully use if you're deciding on the same player.

Relevant League Rules

This is an auction league — a format far more common in fantasy baseball than fantasy hockey. Teams can retain players who finished below a specific point threshold last season. A player's new salary is determined by whichever is higher: a calculation based on last season's salary or a calculation based on last season's league point total.

The keeper rules are set up so that managers can easily keep players who finished below a specified league point total. This can include prospects, non-star players, and even star players who miss significant time due to injury. Because I traded away most of my prospect capital while pushing for a championship (successfully), my farm system is thin. As a result, I only have one player I'm genuinely interested in keeping among the following group. There is no maximum or minimum number of players I can keep among this group.

Brad Marchand

The player I'm planning to retain is Marchand. The new salary is a bit steep, and his recent announcement of requiring hernia surgery could force him to miss some games at the start of the regular season. However, these issues won't significantly impact my roster, and he's unlikely to be a long‑term hold anyway given his age (38).

Marchand was one of the players I acquired to help with a win‑now push, but he landed on season‑ending IR shortly after the trade I made. Although it looks like I'll be carrying an injured player even longer (could be 6-10 games if he underwent the surgery right before he announced his last-minute surgery via a video), the strength of this team is currently on the wings, so Marchand is more of a supporting piece than a core player to this team anyway.

Despite being limited to 52 games last season due to a lower‑body injury, he still produced at a point‑per‑game pace (54 points). The concern this year is deployment: he may lose PP1 time and slide to the third line with Brady Tkachuk arriving and several injured Panthers also returning. His CF% fell just below 50% for the third consecutive year, which may hurt his cause on a deep Panthers squad. Even so, he should remain on PP2 and in a deep top‑nine, and injuries always shuffle lines.

There's some uncertainty due to his age, role, and injury risk. But on a Cup‑contending Panthers team, Marchand is still a worthwhile dice roll due to his upside.

Chandler Stephenson

Stephenson was an in‑season waiver pickup after injuries left me thin down the middle. Losing Aleksander Barkov for the year and dealing with absences from Jared McCann and Connor Bedard forced my hand.

Stephenson has been reliably consistent over the past three seasons (two with Seattle), posting 13–16 goals and 49–51 points each year. In real life, the issue isn't his production so much as his contract: Dom at The Athletic listed Stephenson's deal as one of the ten worst in the NHL. He has five years remaining at a $6.25M cap hit, largely because Seattle has tried to deploy him as a shutdown center — a role he hasn't excelled in. That's not directly fantasy‑relevant, but it does matter for how he's used.

His offensive‑zone start percentage was an extremely low 31.8% last season, down from 44.8% in his first year with the Kraken. If Seattle ever shifts him into a more offensive role, his scoring could tick up. The problem is structural: the Kraken lack enough high‑end scorers to elevate his numbers, and they don't have another true shutdown center to take over his current responsibilities. That makes it unlikely his usage or his production will meaningfully improve.

Given his role and the limited upside, Stephenson isn't worth keeping at his current price in this league.

Chris Kreider

Kreider's first season in Anaheim was a genuine rebound. After an ugly final year in New York, he matched his goal total and boosted his assist count by 20, showing he still has meaningful offensive touch.

He's now 35 and entering the final year of his contract, and it's unclear whether he fits into the Ducks' long‑term plans. If Anaheim takes a step back and falls out of the playoff race, he's a logical trade candidate rather than a piece of their young core. On top of that, Anaheim still needs to fit Cutter Gauthier's new contract into the salary cap. Trading Kreider soon could be one option toward making that happen.

Last season Kreider held a spot on the top power play, producing eight PPG and 17 PPP, but that role is far from guaranteed. The Ducks continue to prioritize reps for their younger players, and his 51.5% PPIPP doesn't scream irreplaceable.

The encouraging angle is his chemistry with Leo Carlsson, as Kreider was Carlsson's regular linemate in 2025‑26. If Carlsson takes another leap, Kreider could ride that wave. But like Marchand, he's a high‑ceiling/high‑risk profile: he could thrive, or he could be the odd man out. I'm less convinced he's headed for a big season.

Mason Marchment

Marchment in Seattle and Marchment in Columbus were essentially two different players.

Seattle: 29 GP, 4 G, 9 A, 13 PTS (0.45 P/GP)

Columbus: 39 GP, 15 G, 17 A, 32 PTS (0.82 P/GP).

Over a full season with the Blue Jackets, that Columbus pace translates to 67 points — enough to make him look like a legitimate top‑six fit. With prices rising for forwards in that tier, Marchment parlayed that surge into a five‑year deal with the Sharks at a $6.75M AAV.

A deeper look suggests some of that Columbus production was inflated by luck. He shot 20.5% with the Jackets, compared to just 8.7% during his Seattle stretch in 2025‑26. His 5‑on‑5 shooting percentage was also unusually high at 11.1%, one of only two Blue Jackets forwards to hit that mark.

There's still a path to success in San Jose, especially if he lands on Macklin Celebrini's wing — and given his contract, he should get every chance to stick there as the Sharks' highest‑paid forward. The concern is durability: Marchment has played fewer than 70 games in four of his last five seasons.

There's upside if everything breaks right, but the cost to keep him is steeper than I'm comfortable with.

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Now it's time for some keeper questions.

Raddysh or Fox in a banger/cats

— BagelsBagels 🇨🇦 🇺🇦 🏒 (@BagelsBagels15) August 19, 2026

Close call. Both players finished with 0.96 PTS/GP last season, although Adam Fox appeared in 18 fewer games. The peripherals seem to be a wash. Darren Raddysh has had one great season, while Fox has been a consistent point producer dating back several seasons. Fox is also two years younger. Give me Fox, even though the Top 100 Roto Rankings say otherwise. They will be updated next month, although I can't say how Raddysh or Fox will be affected.   

Quick question :) keep forever dyno

Need to make a cut who is the safest drop?

Alexander Wennberg
Collin Graf
Mackie Samoskevich
Travis Sanheim
Olen Zellweger
Konsta Helenius

Thanks :)

— J J G (@slimgallant85) August 19, 2026

My initial thought is that Alexander Wennberg is the cut here. He is over 30, while all other players except for one are under 25 and may not have reached their upside. Age isn't necessarily the deciding factor, but it seems more likely that we have already seen Wennberg's best season while the younger players may have some untapped potential. However, if you are stacked with defensemen, it makes sense to move on from Travis Sanheim for the same reason.

@Ian_Gooding 16 team league. Standard STATS( no hits, shots, etc…). Keep 4 plus we get to keep one 21 years or younger (have none) and one 35 years or older (keeping Karlsson). Was thinking Vasi, Boldy, Suzuki, & Tkachuk. Would love your input!

— Shawn G (@gru_41) August 19, 2026

Those are five solid keepers. I would assume that the fact you are in a 16-team league means you probably don't have much else in that tier. The four under-35 players (Andrei Vasilevskiy, Matt Boldy, Nick Suzuki, and one of Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk) are all top-50 players – maybe even top 30. Erik Karlsson should also continue to be productive.

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