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, Brennan Des, and Dobber

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1. How is your fantasy playoff week going? After finishing first overall in the regular season, I’m in my first-round playoff matchup. No bye, just eight of the 14 teams in the playoffs. As you probably know by now, nothing is guaranteed in the fantasy playoffs. On top of that, I’m without Kirill Kaprizov and Shea Theodore due to injury.

Has my team really been worse off since the Kaprizov injury, which happened right before Christmas? Well, remove the week where Kaprizov returned briefly, and my team is 5-1-2, with four of the wins happening in the last four weeks – four weeks that I have also been without Theodore. Maybe my team has adjusted, but truthfully I played all non-playoff teams for those last four weeks. So now I'm back to my statement about nothing being guaranteed.

I could have had a great day on Thursday, except that Linus Ullmark allowed four first-period goals to Colorado before being pulled for Anton Forsberg. I considered benching Ullmark because of the opponent, but decided to start him with the Avalanche playing the second game of back-to-backs on the road and neither of my other goalies (Thompson, Dostal) starting. If you don’t like the matchup, trust your gut and don’t be afraid to sit your goalie! Hopefully this doesn’t cost me my entire matchup, although if it does there will be more to blame than goaltending. (mar21)

2. Both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are expected to miss at least one week. McDavid was scheduled to undergo an MRI on Friday for a lower-body injury, while Draisaitl’s injury is still listed as undisclosed. Obviously this will impact both the Oilers and fantasy teams competing for a championship, so hopefully the recovery won’t be any longer than one week. As I mentioned yesterday, Jeff Skinner is worthy of consideration as a short-term replacement. These are unusual times for the Oilers, so now is the time to forget about his underwhelming results to this point and consider the situation. Adam Henrique is another player worthy of consideration if Skinner is unavailable. (mar22)

3. I know, you’ve been burned on Tristan Jarry before. Maybe it was this season. Yet what if all he needed was a mental reset at the AHL level? Just take the time to read this week’s Frozen Tools Forensics, where Chris Kane does a great job in selling Jarry compared to other waiver-wire options (which you can also read about there as well and even draw your own conclusions). If you don’t have faith in him, fine. I’m just here to tell you that sometimes you should forget about the name and look at the numbers (4 W, 4 QS in last 5 GP). A Sunday start in Florida might not be the easiest place to venture, but the Panthers are without Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand (did they really have Marchand in the first place if he hasn’t played for them yet?) Plus with your fantasy season on the line, you might just have to grab what’s available. (mar22)

For up-to-date starting goalie information, check out Goalie Post for available options this weekend.

4. In the Flames’ come-from-behind 5-3 win over New Jersey on Thursday, Jonathan Huberdeau scored the game-winning goal while adding an assist. Huberdeau has been heating up recently with six points in his last five games (at time of writing). As well, he has tied last year’s output with 52 points and is just four points shy of a Flames career best. Huberdeau is currently on pace for 63 points, which would still not come close to his Florida numbers but would represent better value recouped from his $10.5 million cap hit. Huberdeau’s 26 goals this season is just one goal shy of his combined goal output in the previous two seasons combined. (mar21)

5. Bo Horvat is doing his part in keeping the Islanders in the wild card race and for fantasy teams, taking a minimum of three shots in each of his last seven games (entering Saturday). Over that span (since March 8), no player had taken more shots than Horvat (30 SOG). (mar21)

6. Pavel Dorofeyev picked up a hat trick on Thursday night, giving him 30 goals on the season. Entering Saturday, that placed him in the top 20 among goal scorers this season. Bet you never saw that coming! Dorofeyev is also in the top 20 in power-play goals (12), so he has totally taken advantage of playing on the Vegas PP1. I could type more on Dorofeyev, but it’s getting late and I don’t feel like stealing Andrew’s thunder in this week’s Looking Ahead. (mar21)

7. Rasmus Dahlin has been coming up cold recently, but he’s had a solid season with 51 points in 59 games. Could his value improve even more with a move out of Buffalo? (mar21)

8. If you're always on the lookout for very deep league power-play additions, Luca Cagnoni made his NHL debut on the Sharks' top power play on Thursday. Cagnoni did not score a point, but he logged 23:15 in icetime, which isn't bad for a rookie. The Sharks have been auditioning defensemen on the top power play since Jake Walman was traded, with the 20-year-old fourth-round pick from 2023 getting the latest tryout. Cagnoni has posted big numbers in the WHL and in his first AHL season. As the Sharks climb out of their rebuild, the right guy here could hold significant fantasy value one day. (mar21)

9. In a bit of non-fantasy news, CBA discussions are set to start soon between the NHL and the Players’ Association. Given the sharply-rising cap, the pending Olympics, the likelihood of fiscal issues in both America and Canada over the coming years, and a lot more, these negotiations will have a lot to cover. There shouldn’t be any delays to any NHL season(s), but the NHL has taught me to never be optimistic. (mar20)

10. It appears as if a lot of injured players are close to returning to the Blue Jackets, and not a moment too soon as their losing skid over the last couple of weeks has come at the worst possible time. Sean Monahan returning and playing like he did for the first three months of the season would make a huge difference to this lineup. (mar20)

11. Entering Saturday, Valeri Nichushkin had 45 goals in his last 82 regular season games dating back to last season, and has 18 goals in 31 games this season. Having him back in the lineup regularly makes a big difference for the Avs' scoring depth. (mar20)

12. There are just four weeks remaining in the regular season – where does the time go? – and at this time of year, especially for those knocked out of their fantasy leagues, it’s easy to check out. However, this is also a crucial time of year that can give us insight into next season, and perhaps find some gems at the draft table in September that others have overlooked.

Last year, players like William Eklund, Dylan Strome, Lucas Raymond, and Dylan Samberg all had good indicators, in some fashion or other, that helped them carry over to 2024-25, leading to good/excellent seasons.

Below are some players I’m keeping an eye on down the stretch to see if there are some signs of life for next year, focusing specifically on those from non-playoff teams. Data from Natural Stat Trick or Frozen Tools, and as of the afternoon of March 19^th. (mar20)

13. Jared McCann (Seattle Kraken)

It has really, really been an uneven season for McCann. With 17 goals, 29 assists, and 164 shots, he has a decent chance to put up a 20-30 season with 200 shots on goal. It isn’t that bad, looking at it holistically. The problem is that he had 9 goals, 12 assists, and 42 shots in his first 18 games of the season. In the 51 games since, he has 8 goals, 17 assists, and 122 shots. The shots per game have been relatively consistent, but the production has collapsed, and it’s not all driven by his individual shooting percentage (though that is at 6.6% over those recent 51 games). That stretch has also seen him with a below-average rate of shot attempt share and expected goal share relative to his teammates. He hasn’t only declined; he’s been worse than a lot of teammates.

Following Wednesday night’s game, the Kraken have just 12 contests remaining, and the Schedule Planner has them with the second-hardest schedule by opponent points percentage. That mixture of a short and difficult runway makes it unlikely McCann improves much before his season ends, but it would be nice to see a turnaround. He is a prime trade candidate for the offseason and a late-year rebound would make me a lot more optimistic for next year, regardless of where (if) he’s traded. (mar20)

14. Frank Nazar (Chicago Blackhawks)

In a small sample, the tracking data from AllThreeZones has Nazar with a very high rate of carried zone entries, particularly considering the team he plays for. It isn’t enough to make a determination one way or another, but it is a sign of life.

The 2024-25 season has not been smooth sailing for Nazar. He has found himself splitting time between the AHL and NHL, but has been consistently in the big leagues since December. He was recently skating on a line with Connor Bedard and Ryan Donato, which is a good sign. He has shown some offensive chemistry with Bedard – with those two on the ice, the Blackhawks generate 25.5 shots per 60 minutes, well clear of what anyone else on the roster manages – even if the goals aren’t there. Nazar’s speed is helping create problems for the opposing defenders, whether by gaining the zone or drawing penalties. Those are good signs.

It is probably too much to ask for the Blackhawks’ top line to have a big turnaround down the stretch, but even marginal improvements in some underlying numbers would go a long way. Nazar should be a key piece of this team for years to come, it’s just a matter of whether that starts next year, or truly in years, plural. (mar20)

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15. The biggest beneficiary of the Brock Nelson trade has been Jean-Gabriel Pageau who is playing second line minutes and has five points in his first five games there. The linemate quality hasn’t really improved, as Anders Lee has been and still is his most frequent partner, while one of Simon Holmstrom or Anthony Duclair have been on the other wing. It’s a small sample size and something not to over-value, but Pageau has been a 50-point player before and can produce at least that in stretches – it’s looking like this may be one of them. (mar19)

16. There was a question on the DobberHockey forums asking which of the top-tier of four prospects from the upcoming 2025 people preferred at this point, and this was my initial response with my initial feeling of how they should be ranked for fantasy:

– Michael Misa
– James Hagens
– Matthew Schaefer
– Porter Martone

I’ll note though that Martone could jump a spot or two if it's a heavily weighted multi-cat league, defensive stats aren't worth as much, or he finishes the year a little hotter.

Misa seems like the highest upside/most dynamic guy, and that's what you have to bet on at this stage.

To provide a note on the other two, Hagens and Schaefer both have excellent claims to be picked first overall in the NHL draft in June, but Schaefer’s position and Hagens’ lack of a step forward in production this year are the cause of some uncertainty for fantasy managers. (mar19)

17. There are a few other names to note, between Victor Eklund, Anton Frondell, Jake O’Brien, Caleb Desnoyers, and others, but already it feels like this draft is getting into the top-six potential players, and that the four big names are the only real high-end players at this point. Some scouts have Frondell and/or Desnoyers as part of that top-four group as well, while the PNHLe metrics show that O’Brien and Frondell have been putting up the best numbers. The underlying metrics favour Eklund though, and scouts are fawning over Desnoyers as a complete player who will thrive as an NHL centre, so there’s lots of variables to consider with these top players. 

It does feel a little like the draft class won’t be a very impressive one, though I preface that with the fact that every draft has a few stars come out of it, even the infamous 2012 year. Now I’m not saying 2025 is going to be that low on quality, but I would say it looks like a below-average set, so if you can turn those picks into something a little more substantial, then that might be the best direction for your team. (mar19)

18. One of the more intriguing storylines all season was the health of Colorado Avalanche winer Gabriel Landeskog. He has slowly been making his way back from a knee cartilage transplant surgery, and at times it seemed as if his career may be over. There was some very good news from him and the team on Monday as he was skating at Colorado’s practice and taking part in line drills. (mar18)

On top of that, Landeskog joined the team on their three-game Eastern Conference road trip to continue skating with the roster. Of course, there is no guarantee if/when he will officially return, but that he’s traveling with the team to practice with them is clearly a very good sign. More updates as we get them, but more good news for a player that has very little of that over the last 20 months or so.

19. We haven’t heard his name much in the Vezina Trophy discussion, and I’m definitely not saying he should win it over Connor Hellebuyck (as of now, he shouldn’t), but Andrei Vasilevskiy deserves consideration to finish top-3. (mar18)

20. Seth Jones has been munching minutes since Aaron Ekblad‘s suspension, seeing 27-28 minutes a night. Jones should continue getting PP1 opportunity with Ekblad out the rest of the season, so although early results haven’t been promising, I wouldn’t give up just yet. (mar17)

21. If you need a defenseman in a deeper league, take a flyer on Dylan Samberg. He’s been a steady source of shots, blocks, and hits over the past few weeks, with a sprinkle of offense now and then. With Neal Pionk out week-to-week, Samberg could have some sneaky offensive upside for the next little while. He’s rostered in just 3% of Yahoo Leagues as I write this! (mar17)

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Have a good week, folks!

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