Every Sunday, we share 21 Fantasy Rambles from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week’s 'Daily Ramblings'.

Writers/Editors: Ian Gooding, Michael Clifford, Alexander MacLean and Dobber

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1. Is Jonathan Huberdeau the bust of the 2022-23 season? He went from a career-high 115-point season in 2021-22 to 55 points in 2022-23. That’s a 60-point drop, which has to be the biggest one-season point loss of any player not injury-related. In other words, his point total was sliced in half.

It did have something to do with a trade, though. Huberdeau didn’t seem to be on the trade block for a Panthers team that had won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2021-22. Yet the opportunity to acquire Matthew Tkachuk and sign him to a long-term extension was too tempting to pass up. As a result, Huberdeau was off to the colder climate of Calgary.

It seemed as if Huberdeau could never gain any traction with his new team, though. His slow start seemed to last all season, although some parts of the season were better than others. When it looked like he was ready to shake the doldrums for an improved second half, he started the third quarter with another slump. In the end, he didn't finish at the point-per-game mark in any single quarter. [More on Huberdeau by following the link…] (may6)

2. During the regular season, Shayne Gostisbehere scored just 10 points in 23 games after the trade to Carolina compared to 31 points in 52 games before the trade. He will experience more team success in Carolina than he did with Arizona, but that has come at the expense of his individual numbers. He logged around 22 minutes per game for the Coyotes this season, but that number is down to under 17 minutes with the Hurricanes.

The good news for those who have Gostisbehere in a keeper is that he is a UFA at the end of the season, which means he could find a more suitable landing spot for his fantasy value. (may6)

3. Many are talking about Jake Oettinger being the best goalie remaining in the playoffs. Frederik Andersen, who was held to 34 games this season due to injury, could enter that discussion if the Canes can finish the job against the Devils. Assuming he remains injury-free. (may6)

4. The Lightning have signed Michael Eyssimont to a two-year, one-way contract worth $800,000. Eyssimont played for the Jets, Sharks, and Lightning in 2022-23, finishing with 15 points in 54 games. Tampa Bay acquired him from San Jose for Vladislav Namestnikov in a one-for-one trade near the trade deadline. He mainly skated with Nicholas Paul and Ross Colton during the playoffs, so expect him to continue as a bottom-6 forward who could offer fantasy upside if he moves up the lineup. (may6)

5. Tye Kartye has been a highly-searched player on Frozen Tools recently, as he has been recalled to the Kraken during the playoffs. Kartye scored a goal in his NHL debut in Game 5 of the first-round series against Colorado, then he followed up with a short-side snipe in Game 2 against Dallas. Yet who is he?

Kartye has been so off the radar and that might have to do with the fact that he was never drafted, having being signed as a free agent by the Kraken last season. This season, Kartye scored 28 goals and 57 points in 72 games for the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL. In fact, he finished third on the team in scoring as a 22-year-old. Prior to that, he finished his final OHL season as a point-per-game player (79 points in 63 games) with the Soo Greyhounds.

Entering Sunday, Kartye was averaging just under 11 minutes per game with little power-play time so far. Yet he has been on a top-6 line with Matty Beniers and Jordan Eberle, which provides some scoring upside for him. He’s a potential add in deeper playoff pools, but I’d also be interested in next season’s fantasy leagues if this deployment can continue. A strong playoff run could even springboard him into next season’s long list of Calder Trophy candidates.

Even if Kartye is moved down the lineup, Seattle has as balanced a scoring attack as any team, so a demotion shouldn’t be a big deal. After all, Daniel Sprong scored 21 goals and 46 points in spite of averaging just 11:25 while playing 66 games (with a few healthy scratches in there). (may6)

6. Sergei Bobrovsky, whose four seasons in Florida can be best described as inconsistent, has delivered during the Panthers' current win streak. Throw out the Game 6 pond hockey game against Boston (final score 7-5) and he’s posted quality starts in four of those five games. In the two games in Toronto, Bob has stopped 68 of 72 shots he has faced for a .944 SV% in the series. The Panthers could have found a similar goalie for half the cap hit, but that doesn’t seem to matter right now. (may5)

7. Joe Pavelski is now at 69 career playoff goals, only behind Alex Ovechkin (72) and Sidney Crosby (71) among active players, so he has a chance to become the leader this season with a decent Stars playoff run. It’s something that he’s scored this many goals without winning a Stanley Cup, but at least he’s entered the Hall of Fame discussion with some strong seasons in his 30s. The 38-year-old Pavelski is defying that aging curve model that is used here. No player his age or older had as many goals (28) or points (77) during the regular season. (may5)

8. Linus Ullmark‘s transformation from mid- to late-round sleeper to fantasy MVP and potential Vezina Trophy winner has been amazing, and it was something I was able to benefit from this season. Ullmark had an ADP of 146 in Yahoo, so he fit the Zero G criteria of a stud goalie that you didn’t have to spend high draft capital on. Although whether he is the actual fantasy MVP is certainly up for debate (Connor McDavid and Erik Karlsson, to name two, might want to have a word), but on two of my fantasy teams Ullmark was the clear MVP.

Give credit to the Dobber Fantasy Guide projections on this one, if you looked closely enough. Although the projections had Ullmark playing 40 games and posting just 20 wins, they also forecasted Ullmark for a 2.45 GAA – the same as Andrei Vasilevskiy and Ilya Sorokin and slightly better than Juuse Saros and Jake Oettinger. When I set up my Fantasy Hockey Geek projections for my league, Ullmark was ranked #71 among all players. That was good enough for me to draft him at 153 in one of my leagues. I was lucky enough to inherit him on another team I added to my portfolio last offseason, and I even sent out a trade offer for him in a third league.

The basis of those projections were likely some solid under-the-radar ratios. Ullmark’s goals-against average had consistently ranged between 2.45 and 2.69 over his previous three seasons, while his save percentage had never wavered between .915 and .917 over that same range. He also had a positive GSAA (goals saved above average) for all of those seasons, a predictor that he had been an above-average goalie. What makes these numbers even more impressive was the fact that Ullmark was stopping pucks for the Buffalo Sabres at perhaps their lowest point for two of those three seasons. [More on Ullmark by following the link…] (may5)

9. Of all the stories coming to the forefront this postseason, the injuries players are pushing themselves through is near, or at, the top. We had Joel Eriksson Ek trying to play on a broken leg, we had Patrice Bergeron playing through a herniated disc in his back, and Kevin Weekes reported that Boston goalie Linus Ullmark was playing through an injury that limited his movement (something Ullmark has since downplayed). Eriksson Ek didn’t even make it 20 seconds in his only game before leaving, Bergeron’s expected goal share relative to his team at 5-on-5 was the worst it has been in six seasons (regular or playoffs) and was outscored 4-0 when he was on the ice in his three games, and Ullmark’s six-game struggle was very obvious. (may4)

10. While there is a discussion to be had here about playing through injury and how it can hurt a team, that isn’t the point. The point is to lead into this piece on Andrei Vasilevskiy and his struggles in the postseason, as written by Erik Erlendsson. Vasy mentions how he felt his body let him down around Game 35 and he couldn’t regain his form after. Changes in offseason training is also discussed.

Vasilevskiy’s 36^th game of the season came just before the All-Star break. He had managed a .918 save percentage in those 36 games. After the ASG, that dropped to .911. It isn’t horrific, but it was also buoyed by four shutouts. He had zero shutouts in those first 36 games, so he was having really good games, but his performance varied wildly.

It just makes me wonder about rest, training, playing through injury, and everything else that goes into an issue of this sort. Do changes need to be made somewhere, somehow? Vasilevskiy seems to think he needs them, personally. Maybe he’s not the only one? (may4)

11. Finalists for the Calder Trophy, all of Matty Beniers, Owen Power, and Stuart Skinner had tremendous debut campaigns. Two of them are still in the postseason, a testament to the significant contributions to their team. Let us not forget Power’s contributions to pushing the Sabres to the brink of a playoff spot, either.

This wasn’t a season where we had a dominant rookie like Auston Matthews or Connor McDavid, or a high-level signee like Kirill Kaprizov or Artemi Panarin. It was still a season where there were high-level rookie performances, and this includes Wyatt Johnston, Matias Maccelli, Jake Sanderson, Cole Perfetti, Mason McTavish, Jack Quinn, Noah Cates, and on the list goes. It was a very good season for a new crop of players and there was a dozen guys that look to be future top-half-of-the-league players at the least. (may4)

12. The Rangers had their locker clean-out day and I didn't see much from the players worth sharing. Patrick Kane and Vlad Tarasenko enjoyed their time and perhaps would like to return – which deadline rental ever says otherwise? – while Kappo Kakko wants a bigger role. There really isn't a whole lot here as it's all about the offseason, but the Kid Line, wherever they are in the lineup in October, need to step up even more if this franchise wants to make a Cup run with their veteran core. (may4)

13. The offseason reviews of the non-playoff teams continues and today we move back to the East for the Detroit Red Wings. We have already covered a number of the franchises that got to the offseason early, and those are all linked at the end of this Ramblings.  

As usual, today’s discussion will all be through a fantasy lens, and we’re going to cover successes/failures of players, improvements/declines of the team, and where Detroit is going from here. With these kinds of teams, there is no shortage of talking points. (may4)

Previous Offseason Reviews:

Buffalo
Calgary
Pittsburgh
Nashville
Ottawa
Vancouver

14. Unfortunately for Canada, only two of their three playoff teams made it to the second round, with Winnipeg being the odd team out. Aside from the rooting interest in Toronto, the series I most look forward to this round is the EDM/VGK matchup. It’s a heavy matchup between two very good and skilled teams, with both high-end talent and lots of depth.

Our DobberHockey Panel has their round two predictions out here.

Stick tap to Chris Kane for going 7/8 in the first round. Him and I were the only two to correctly pick the Kraken, but he managed to nearly sweep the rest too. My Cup pick in New York got toppled by Akira Schmid, who I do own in my main cap league, so I’m not too upset about it. At this point, it’s a wide-open field. The Leafs may be the model favourites, but I just don’t trust them yet to be able to finish the job. (may3)

15. Of all the big stories from the regular season, the failure of the Calgary Flames to reach the postseason was a big one. Despite a lot of offseason overhaul, the introductions of Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri, and Mackenzie Weegar, among others, was supposed to keep this team at the top of the West. Six months of sub-Buffalo-Sabres-level goaltending later, and the team missed the postseason, and the future was very up in the air. A bit of clarity was provided on Monday, as Darryl Sutter was let go by the organization.

Sutter finishes his three-year stint as Flames coach with a record of 114-75-31 record, good for 13^th in the league. That isn’t awful, but this isn’t a team aiming to just make the playoffs, either.

There isn’t a whole lot more to say here until we see who the replacement is. I am a believer in Sutter as a coach, I just don’t think this was the right roster for him. Outside of the bad goaltending, the big problem was the lack of offensive creativity from the whole team. Perhaps a new coach can give them the offensive jolt the team desperately needs. (may2)

16. If you’re looking for some good and happy news from Calgary, Oliver Kylington appears set to make his return for next season, as he has returned to the team, and all reports are that he is upbeat about getting back out there. He finally got regular minutes in 2021-22, and was able to turn that into a career year and a $2.5 million AAV contract extension. His numbers on the whole for the year look better than they should though based on a torrid pace in the first half. In his final 40 games, he only notched 12 points (a 25-point-pace). If he is back and healthy, the rust may hold him closer to that 25-point-pace than the 47-point-pace he had going in the first-half. That, and the presence of Rasmus Andersson on the top power play unit.

The Flames should be a team in the playoff hunt next year, and they will be hugely helped from a fantasy standpoint if the coach brought in is willing to play the skilled rookies like Matthew Coronato and Jakob Pelletier. Having them as regulars would lengthen the lineup and lend some extra fantasy value to the middle of the defence core as well. (may3)

17. Not that I ever draft goalies early, but if I was going to next year, Igor Shesterkin, Ilya Sorokin, Jake Oettinger, and maybe Juuse Saros would be the goalies I would draft ahead of Andrei Vasilevskiy. To round out my top-10 for completeness sake: Alexandar Georgiev, Linus Ullmark, Connor Hellebuyck, Filip Gustavsson, and Vitek Vanecek. (may3)

18. Rick Roos’ annual Fearless Forecasts column is a must-read, and his end-of-the-season recap is also very interesting. I’ll take a quick second to brag that the only three votes I cast in the poll were for three of his best predictions. He had some exceptional insight this year, so check that out. You can read it here. (may3)

19. The end of the NHL regular season brings a lot of news regarding signings of college free agents, players already drafted, and overseas professionals. Most of these deals end up being nothing of import, but as we just saw with Andrei Kuzmenko in Vancouver, there are some that end up being fantasy diamonds.

Washington’s first-round pick from 2022, Ivan Miroshnichenko, has terminated his KHL contract and is free to join the Capitals whenever he chooses. He just turned 19 back in February and had three goals in 23 games with Omsk. His Dobber Profile can be found here. (may2)

20. Let’s take a moment to dig into Brandon Montour‘s year. His 25 points in his last 20 games to end the season – to me, that helped him leapfrog Josh Morrissey as the season’s most surprising player. I mean…his career high was 37 points and he ended with 73! He’s 29 years old and had never before seen 38 points in a campaign. This season he saw that by Game 45. Was it a fluke?

When a defenseman does all this, then his ticket for future success is punched. If a defenseman tops 70 points and continues to roll like that through the playoffs, then in the ensuing years he’s going to get all the ice time, PP time and top partners that he needs to succeed. If there is one thing we know about coaches, it’s that they love a proven track record. They take that over everything. Montour now has it. So he stands to have all he needs to repeat. (may1)

21. The Lightning was probably the better team in their series against the Maple Leafs, but only slightly. But… the Leafs were the better team a year ago in that series. Consider them even? The most impressive player for the Lightning to me was Brandon Hagel. He didn’t lead the team in scoring (Nikita Kucherov and Anthony Cirelli had six points each), but he had five points and seemed to create something every time he was out there. Coming off a 64-point season, I think Hagel has a 70-point one in him. (may1)

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