Saturday is going to be a busy. It's an exciting time for us, so make sure to keep stop by and check out the analysis of all the signings.

Join in the discussion in the comments and forum.

 

In the meantime, here's a look at some of the latest happenings, news, etc. etc.

 

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The Marc Methot deal came in late Monday evening after I finished my ramblings and had them scheduled to go live. It isn't really a noteworthy fantasy signing, but there are always ripples to consider.

Luke had a solid take in the comments of Tuesday's ramblings:

 

Thanks, Luke.

I'd just like to add to the simplicity of Methot's game. He plays tough minutes and is considered difficult to play against while being an excellent defender in his own zone. Methot doesn't drive possession or move the offensive needle, though.

When the Kings were at their best, they typically paired a stay-at-home defenseman with a more mobile rearguard that was capable of moving the puck up ice himself or with a pass. It seems like a lock that Methot will help Klingberg, and it should also help Ben Bishop.

 

With all that said, Methot has gone from underrated to overrated, in my opinion. He's on the wrong side of his prime and is neither mobile nor smooth with the puck. Sometimes things look good on paper, but they don't jibe on the ice. I'm not sold that this particular addition is going to make a huge difference. Bringing Trevor Daley back might have been a better move, for example. 

Methot is definitely not going to hurt, though, and the price wasn't steep.

 

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Quickly sticking with the Stars, they're in line to be one of the biggest movers and shakers Saturday. Dallas currently has just north of $18 million of cap space and potentially a spot for three top-six forwards.

With Tyler Seguin and Jason Spezza two years away from being unrestricted free agents, the time is now for Dallas to make a splash.

 

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The Blues are going to be without Patrik Berglund until December because of an offseason shoulder surgery. Brayden Schenn has already been penciled in as a center on the depth chart, but head coach Mike Yeo also noted Robby Fabbri as an option,

“We’re going to try Robby in the middle for a little bit of training camp,” Yeo said. “I think that as a staff we’re committed to giving him a look at training camp. My conversation with Robby was I wanted to see how it went, but I don’t want to mess up his season by taking too long in training camp, where it doesn’t work and then all of a sudden he doesn’t have time to feel good about his game going into the season.

"In the early part of camp, that’s what we’ll be doing. We may bounce back and forth a little bit, but it’s obviously something that intrigues us. I love his speed, the possibility of having somebody through the middle of the ice that can generate off the rush because of their speed, because of their ability to break away from people. Obviously, that’s very intriguing.”

 

Centering Vladimir Tarasenko is the coveted fantasy gig, but the Blues have a sneaky top-six mix already with Paul Stastny, Alexander Steen, Jaden Schwartz, Fabbri and Schenn in place. It's expected St. Louis will also look for reinforcements in free agency.

There is currently enough offensive jam to support two scoring lines, so where the pieces fit isn't as important as it was last season when Jori Lehtera, David Perron or Berglund were weighing down a trio.

With that being said, at this point in his career, Steen is probably best utilized in a third-line role while matching up against the opponent's best players. Once healthy, a Berglund-Steen-Vladimir Sobotka shut-down line would be a force and potentially give the Blues three lines of offense. Depending on the pieces, the St. Louis fourth line isn't going to be a pushover, either.

 

Before leaving the Blues, here's a worthwhile read on Tage Thompson, and here's his DobberProspects profile.

With Oskar Sundqvist, Dmitrij Jaskin, Kyle Brodziak, Magnus Paajarvi and Ivan Barbashev all likely fourth-line options, St. Louis probably will allow Thompson more time in the AHL this season. Looking at the St. Louis depth chart, that's also an excellent bottom-six group.

 

St. Louis has approximately $10.8 million to beef up and already impressive roster, too. They're contenders and a potential flier at 26-1 to win the Stanley Cup.

 

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The Ilya Kovalchuk situation remains murky, but whispers have grown over the last 48 hours that he'll likely return to the KHL next season.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) June 29, 2017

It still makes much more sense for Ilya Kovalchuk to return next season when he doesn't need New Jersey to facilitate/negotiate a trade to the team he wants to play with.

 

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#Oilers buying out Benoit Pouliot saves the club $2.66M against their cap this season, giving them roughly $18.953M in projected cap space.

📢 advertisement:

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 29, 2017

Things went south quickly in 2016-17 for Pouliot, and now he's likely to become an unrestricted free agent. Through his first two seasons with Edmonton, Pouliot posted a respectable 33 goals and 70 points with a 50.7 Corsi For percentage and rock-solid 1.99 points per 60 minutes. He's probably not a top-six forward anymore, but the 30-year-old winger is a competent player that can slide up the depth chart sporadically and contribute. Expect Pouliot to have a couple fleeting runs of fantasy relevance in a new uniform in 2017-18.    

#BlueJackets buying out Scott Hartnell saves the club $3.25M on their cap this season, giving them roughly $12.887M in projected cap space.

— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) June 29, 2017

Entering his age-35 campaign, Hartnell has now declined statistically in consecutive seasons. However, he also logged just 12:04 of ice time per game, which included only 1:24 with the man advantage. Through three years with Columbus he posted 64 goals, 146 points, 458 shots and 275 PIM with a 51.1 Corsi For percentage.

The veteran can still play a middle-six role and should provide his new team with excellent leadership, character and experience. He could take a discounted salary to sign with a contender, too. For our interests, another serviceable fantasy season isn’t out of the question, either.

 

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Brendan Smith re-signed a four-year, $4.35 million contract with the Rangers on Thursday. He didn't make a huge fantasy splash with New York down the stretch or during the playoffs, but there were flashes. Smith had just eight points through 30 games, but he did post a plus-10 rating with 49 PIM.

His new salary should also cement him into a top-four role going forward, which wasn't the case last season. Smith is probably still off the fantasy grid in most settings, but he's rounded out his game and should provide a stabilizing presence on the New York blue line. If given power-play looks with the second unit, he could flirt with a 25- to 30-point campaign.

 

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The Penguins will be pursuing a backup goalie to allow Tristan Jarry another year of development in the AHL. That's a sneaky fantasy gig behind Matt Murray, and something I discussed when analyzing the fantasy impact of the Eastern Conference teams following the expansion draft:

 

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Kris Versteeg re-signed a one-year, $1.75 million contract with Calgary on Thursday. The veteran was particularly effective up a man with eight goals and 16 points on the power play while averaging 2:33 of ice time per game with the man advantage.

Interestingly, his Corsi For percentage was just 47.8, but he has posted a 53.1 career mark, so last season might have been an outlier. Additionally, Versteeg's ability to jump up and down the lineup is a real positive for the Flames.

He's probably not a post-to-post fantasy asset in most settings, but he'll move the needle for a handful of stretches. It's definitely worth noting that he finished off the season strong, including the playoffs.

 

 

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Cory Conacher re-signed a two-year contract with Tampa Bay. It's an interesting pact because the first year is a one-way deal, and the second year is a two-way deal.

Regardless, the fantasy angle is that Conacher and Yanni Gourde were dominant for Syracuse during the AHL playoffs, and Conacher paced the entire league with 12 goals and 28 points. Gourde posted nine goals and 27 points.

It'll be interesting to see where they fit with the Lightning this fall.

 

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Jordan Weal returning to Philadelphia was a bit surprising, but it's probably going to be a good fit. He finished the past season strong with 11 points — seven goals — through 16 games, and a top-six job is his for the taking.

Additionally, there is an opening on the No. 1 power-play unit, however unlike Brayden Schenn, Weal is a right-handed shooter. Still, if Weal can seize those top-unit minutes with the man advantage, his fantasy value skyrockets.

He's going to have an excellent season and should be targeted aggressively in the late middle rounds of drafts.

 

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The only real ripple from the Hurricanes-Flames deal that broke late Thursday night is that Eddie Lack will now backup Mike Smith. Ryan Murphy is expected to be bought out by the Flames, and Keegan Kanzig has played just nine AHL games over the past two seasons.

Lack should be able to have a mini-rebound campaign behind an impressive top-four defense corps, though. The 6-foot-4 netminder only has one solid season on his resume, but posting a .921 save percentage behind the Canucks in 2014-15 was impressive.

It isn't out of the question that Lack pushes Smith for close to an even timeshare, either. 

 

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Get rested up for Saturday, Dobberheads.