Best-ball leagues are something I have talked a lot about here, especially before this season started. Basically, they are leagues where there is no trading, waivers, or injured reserve. You draft a team of, say, 20 players, and the 10 best players count towards final standings. Most points win.

These are popular in football and I'm wondering how popular they are in fantasy hockey. I played in a few this year and loved them. Did any of you? Hit me up on Twitter @SlimCliffy and let me know what you thought about it. It does not matter which site you played on, I just want to gauge some interest from our Dobber community.

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An update on Kasperi Kapanen

Sullivan: Kapanen is participating in the morning skate. He'll be a game-time decision. #Pens

— Wes Crosby (@OtherNHLCrosby) April 22, 2021

He ended up playing, coming in on the fourth line.

I am going to be honest here and say when I got excited about the return of Evgeni Malkin, seeing what Pittsburgh's new second line is doing, I completely forgot that Kapanen was even on the roster. In that case, it's probably a good idea to remind everyone that before Malkin's injury, he and Kapanen were really starting to take off, scoring 4.5 goals per 60 minutes in nine March games before Malkin's injury. The Penguins already look like a good team as it is. What do they look like if they can effectively add another second scoring line via healthy players returning? It is a scary thought. Maybe the Pens really will have another kick at the Stanley Cup can.

For fantasy, though, I wonder what this means for all their values. Having three scoring lines is great for Pittsburgh, but if that dilutes minutes for everyone involved, does it help us? Only if they get more efficient with their scoring, which is not a guarantee in any sample, let alone a small one. I have concerns about Malkin's fantasy value, and Kapanen's, when they both return.

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Ryan Hartman re-signed with the Wild for three years at $1.7M per season, according to Michael Russo. He is playing a career-high 14:48 a night this year and is on a 37-point/82-game pace, which would be the highest of his career.

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An update on Verhaege

More injury updates from Coach Q:

Acciari will probably play on the upcoming road trip (April 26 – May 1).

Verhaeghe will probably return for the next homestand (May 3-10).

— Jameson Olive (@JamesonCoop) April 22, 2021

This is a big development because he and Aleksander Barkov have looked excellent together basically all season. With the arrival of Nikita Gusev, they can now put together a Verhaege-Barkov-Gusev line will probably look as every bit as dangerous as it sounds. Maybe it's just wishful thinking on my part. Either way, reinforcements coming for Florida.

On the topic of reinforcements, both Weegar/Hornqvist were back in the lineup on Thursday night. Hornqvist didn't take his usual second-line role, however, as he was launched to the top line with Gusev/Barkov. That really threw my whole "I hope Verhaege-Barkov-Gusev is a thing" idea in the garbage. Of course, they could just move Hornqvist back to his second-line role for now, but if they wanted to do that, they probably would have done it in the first place.

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Dylan Larkin has some injury issues as well:

Dylan Larkin is out tonight, will undergo further evaluation tomorrow. Was injured (upper body) late in Tuesday's game

— Max Bultman (@m_bultman) April 22, 2021

It hasn't been a very good year for Larkin, but I don't think it's really his fault. The team refused to play Mantha with him, at any strength, and that just sank both of their top lines.

This team should, hopefully, be considerably better next year. They should have both Joe Veleno and Lucas Raymond, and Moritz Seider on the way as well. That should be three impact players, on top of just having a healthy Larkin/Fabbri/Bertuzzi all year long. There are better days ahead, they just won't be in the next three weeks.

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It looks as if Robert Thomas will be back this weekend, according to coach Berube. He has been out ofr a couple weeks and would be a welcome addition to this team that currently has Brayden Schenn as the 3C for some reason.

Just don't get excited about potential fantasy value for Thomas. Before his injury, he was 11-13 minutes a night, and that won't increase upon his return. This is a team in a playoff race for their lives. They will be fighting tooth-and-nail for every point, and that likely means no more 15-minute games for Mr. Thomas like he was getting earlier in the season.

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Some news on Buffalo's most recent first-round pick, Jack Quinn

Jack Quinn's season is over. The Sabres' most recent first-round draft pick is undergoing surgery on a lower-body injury.

Decision was made now so Quinn can have a productive offseason of training:https://t.co/a2KErLo8JS

— Lance Lysowski (@LLysowski) April 22, 2021

A hernia surgery isn't anything considerably serious, especially for someone his age. And by serious, I mean I don't think this is something that should drag out into next season. He should be good to go for training camp in September.

I do wonder how quickly they want to get him into the lineup. It is clear they're still a ways away from anything approaching a contender, so wasting a year of ELC doesn't seem worth it. On the other hand, that this team is still a ways away from contending means there are lots of roster spots open for Quinn.

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Conor Garland is apparently week to week:

INJURY UPDATE: #Yotes forward Conor Garland is listed as week to week with a lower body injury

— Arizona Coyotes PR (@AZCoyotesPR) April 22, 2021

This is very bad news for the Yotes. They are in the heat of a playoff race with the Blues and he's one of their best wingers. Michael Bunting got to the top line in their last game and got some PP time as well, so he's likely the replacement for Garland owners, but I wouldn't expect Bunting to straight replace that production. It is a lot to ask.

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Toronto had a nice bounce-back game against Winnipeg, taking a 5-3 win. Nick Foligno debuted, skating on the top line, and assisting on Mitch Marner's empty-net goal. Marner had two goals and an assist with Auston Matthews grabbing 1+2 as well.

Connor Hellebuyck was pulled halfway through the first, allowing three goals on six shots. He has been largely exceptional this year so he's allowed an off-game every once in a while.

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Carolina took a crucial win over Florida 4-2 as the Hurricanes continue to extend their lead in their division. Martin Necas had three assists in this game, giving him 37 points in 43 games on the year, while Sebastian Aho scored short-handed and with the empty net.

Patric Hornqvist got loads of ice time in his first game back, skating on the top line and postin an assists with five shots, two PIMs, and five hits in nearly 22 minutes of ice time.

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Washington won 1-0 in a shootout. I think that's the first time that's happened this year.

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The Rangers's chances were probably dashed for good as both Boston and Pittsburgh won, the Isles took a point, and New York fell 3-2 in regulation to the Flyers. James van Riemsdyk scored a pair of goals while Provorov had a pair of assists and five shots. JvR’s rebound year continues as he needs just two more goals to equal last year’s output, and three more points to equal the same.

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Jakub Vrana scored four goals in Detroit’s 7-3 win over Dallas. I cannot wait to see what he does when this team really starts pulling it together. This guy has so much talent.

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One thing I wanted to note about Colorado is that with Byram on the shelf, as well as their other D problems, they are effectively playing with four defencemen. They are using guys like MacDonald and Timmins in a minimal role, while all of Toews/Makar/Girard/Graves are playing 22+ regularly. Or at least over their last few games.

I bring this up because I imagine a lot of people have dropped Graves at some point this year. He only played 19:13 a night through the end of March, posting zero goals and 11 assists. Well, so far in April, he's over 21 minutes a game and has just one night under 20 minutes. In those eight games, he has 14 blocks and eight hits, reminiscent of the peripherals he put up last year.

Colorado only has three games next week, so he might not be right for your team. But he has a four-game week after that, and in the 11 days from April 30^th through May 10^th, the team has seven games. Graves may have some use this year yet. (He also plays Friday/Sunday this week against Los Angeles, so he might not be a bad addition for the weekend, either.)

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He doesn't have the résumé for the Hall of Fame, but I just want to give a shout out Jeff Carter. In an era where it seems players fall apart after the age of 30, Carter is still getting it done. Even as his point totals have fallen off the last few years, he's still finding ways to score: since the start of the 2019-20 season, he's top-50 in the league in goals/60 at 5-on-5, sandwiched between Logan Couture and Evgeni Malkin. He has even seen an improvement defensively this year, a year where he's still scoring at a rate of a low-end first liner. The guy turned 36 years old in January and he found a way to improve this year. Just incredible, really.

All I want is a 5000-word article on what Carter did, in specifics, to get ready for the season. Whatever he did, it seems to have worked, and a lot of players could probably benefit from something similar.