I'm going to focus on some players that could potentially improve their production next season and might be a bargain in some leagues and pools. I know the fourth-year breakout is a thing, but some of these players might be ahead or behind that theory. We will only look at players from Western teams and see what their ceilings might be and provide some goals for next season.

Troy Terry – Anaheim (23-years old) – Terry had his most productive season in his career last year with seven goals and 20 points in 48 games (0.42 pts/game). An encouraging sign was his second half with 13 points in 26 games (0.50) and his elevated minutes from about 12 to 16 per game. It didn't hurt that he played with Trevor Zegras a little down the stretch as well and showed some chemistry. He needs to shoot the puck more often than 1.4/game but he could see 15 goals and 40-45 points next season.

Alexander Volkov – Anaheim (23) – While Volkov might not break scoring records he seems to be getting much more ice in Anaheim than Tampa Bay (go figure). His last 20 games of the season saw him with four goals and eight points and playing over 12 minutes per game. He has the potential to get 10-15 goals and 25-35 points while getting 80-100 hits and blocks. He could be a cheap add for multi-category pools.

Dillon Dube – Calgary (22) – Dube has been a little disappointing so far in his two and a half years in the league. He did manage 11 goals and 22 points in 51 games last year (0.43) but more was expected of him. The good news is that unless the Flames add in free agency, Dube should get another shot on the second line in Calgary. He has the potential to be a 20 goal scorer next season and perhaps 40-45 points. Perhaps his value has taken a hit in some leagues and he can be acquired cheaper than usual.

Juuso Valimaki – Calgary (22) – Valimaki was the 16th overall pick in 2017 and missed all of the 2019-20 season with a knee injury. He came back and played 49 games last year while only averaging just more than 15 minutes per game while being heavily sheltered. With Rasmus Andersson struggling a little, we shouldn't forget that Valimaki was drafted with an offensive component to his game and had 14 points in 20 AHL games in 2018-19 and had 19 points in 19 games in Liiga last year before joining Calgary. He could be a very cheap addition to most rosters with the potential to be a 25-35 point defenceman.

Henrik Borgstrom – Chicago (23) – Borgstrom was the 23rd overall pick in 2016 by Florida and played 58 games over three seasons with nine goals and 19 points before playing all of last season in the Liiga and producing 21 points in 31 games with HIFK. The Blackhawks acquired his rights in the Lucas Wallmark trade and have signed him to a two-year one-way deal worth $1 million AAV. He should play next season in Chicago and whether this is an insurance policy on Jonathan Toews being back or not, he might be good value as a big center. He had 23 goals and 52 points in 40 games in his last year at the University of Denver in 2017-18 so there is some skill there. If he plays well there isn't much in front of him in Chicago after Toews and Kirby Dach. It will be interesting to see what Adam Gaudette ends up signing for this off-season in comparison to Borgstrom as Gaudette is an RFA.

Miro Heiskanen – Dallas (21) – Heiskanen should not be available in most leagues but if you can take advantage of his non-progression last season then do it. Prices will not be as low as they potentially are for him for the next five or six years (if healthy). He is a perennial 50-60 point defender over the next 5-10 years.

Kailer Yamamoto – Edmonton (22) – Yamamoto is a classic example of a player coming into the league and lighting it up with 26 points in 27 games and raising expectations to an achievable point. His season came down to eight goals and 21 points in 52 games (0.40), while he struggled in the second half with only one goal in his last 23 games. He still gets a lot of high-quality chances, but his shots on goal aren’t high enough at 1.3/game. His shooting percentage was probably more accurate at 11.6 last season than the 25.0 the year prior. If he can generate 1.6 or 1.7 shots per game at the same shooting percentage he should see 15-20 goals next year with 20-30 assists. He certainly has the potential to do more and he should be on the power play at some point.

Ryan McLeod – Edmonton (21) – McLeod got some games in for Edmonton in the last quarter ahead of other prospects like Tyler Benson and Cooper Marody. He played 10 games with only one point and just three shots on goal. He's an intriguing player to acquire because he has good size and skill and can skate like Connor McDavid (well not quite but close). He can take faceoffs and drove play in his short audition. He could have a regular or elevated role on the Oilers depending on what they do with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Viktor Arvidsson – Nashville (28) – Arvidsson has had two off years in a row after three seasons of 31, 29 and 34 goals. He only had 10 goals in 51 games this season, but the good news is that his shots on goal increased from 2.2/game to 3.0/game which is about where he was during the three productive seasons. The bad news is he only shot 6.6 percent. He's averaged around a 12 shooting percentage over his career so if he can get 220-240 SOG next season he should be good for 24-30 goals once again.

Luke Kunin – Nashville (23) – Kunin had his most productive season in the NHL on a point per game basis with 19 points in 38 games. Having said that, it still felt like a disappointing season for him as he battled some injuries and struggled in the first half. He had eight goals and 14 points in his last 21 games (0.67) for an indication of what production we could see from him. He is also going into his fourth-year breakout next season, so a 20-25 goal and 45-55 point season is not out of his range.

Tanner Jeannot – Nashville (24) – As an indication of how far the undrafted Jeannot came this past season, he started the year in the ECHL and played five games before going to the AHL and playing 13 games there where he had an impressive 10 goals and 11 assists before getting the call to Nashville. He managed 15 games with Nashville and had five goals and seven points along with 53 hits. While his goals are a little inflated due to a 21.7 shooting percentage, his net expected goals were almost 2.0 in only 15 games. He might have found a home in Nashville with Yakov Trenin and could be a very cheap value add in multi-category leagues.

Alexander Barabanov – San Jose (26) – Traded to the Sharks by the Maple Leafs at the trade deadline for Antti Suomela, Barabanov had one assist in 13 games with Toronto but then had three goals and seven points in his nine games at the end of the year with the Sharks. We always have to be a little sceptical of garbage time points on a team that is not going to the playoffs, but the Sharks have signed Barabanov to another year on a one-way $1.0 million contract. He should play next season and has the potential for elevated minutes on a Sharks team that lacks depth much more than Toronto.

Robert Thomas – St. Louis (21) – Thomas has never been much of a shooter so it's not too alarming to see his shots per game at 0.7/game down from 1.3/game the year prior. He battled injuries this past season and only managed three goals and 12 points in 33 games, a far cry from his 42 points in 66 games. It will be a challenge for Thomas to get back to his 0.64 points/game production so he is only a bargain if the expectations are that he won't and he has seen his best days at 21 years of age. He's still a short-term risk as he has Brayden Schenn and Ryan O'Reilly still ahead of him at center for ice time.

Nate Schmidt – Vancouver (29) – After three seasons in a row of production between 0.47 and 0.53 points per game, Schmidt saw his production tumble to just 0.28 in his first year with the Canucks. I was expecting a much more savvy offensive player when Schmidt first came to Vancouver, but it just wasn't there for him this season. The one glaring stat line that screams out as a possible reason is offensive zone starts was just 34.8 percent after never having a season lower than 46.9. I'm not sure he is being deployed correctly in Vancouver and this will need to change next season for him to bring any more value than he does now. This probably only changes if the Canucks bring in better defenders or Schmidt is traded.

Pierre-Luc Dubois – Winnipeg (22) – It was expected that when Dubois was traded to Winnipeg his season would turn around and we would see the burgeoning young center that had 27 goals and 61 points two years ago. He finished the season with nine goals and 21 points (0.46) in 46 games split between Columbus (5 games) and Winnipeg. The Jets and Dubois need to hope that it was just a season to throw in the trash.

I tried to avoid looking at players that were dealing with pretty big injuries like Matt Duchene, Tyler Seguin, Vladimir Tarasenko, etc. as most owners take that into account and rarely discount.

Thank you very much for reading and if you have any comments or suggestions please message me or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.