If you need offensive production from your defenders in a fantasy league, you're targeting blueliners skating on the top power-play unit. The problem is that most power-play quarterbacks across the league are established. Everyone knows about them, so you have to pay a premium to get them on your team. The exception here is with rookie blueliners, who tend to be available in the later rounds of one-year drafts because their roles aren't fully established and we haven't seen much of them at the NHL level, so outcomes can be a mystery box. To help you capitalize on these late-round steals, here are a few blueliners with solid potential for power-play offense this year. To be clear, these rankings are based on potential power-play production in one-year leagues, not who is the best overall asset in a multicategory or keeper league.

1. Zeev Buium

The 19-year-old's offensive skill is undeniable, and I'm optimistic about his fantasy outlook as he has the inside track to a star-studded PP1 in Minnesota. In recent years, it's been Jared Spurgeon or Brock Faber holding that power-play quarterback role, but Spurgeon is 35 with a troubling injury history and Faber is better known for his defense than his offense. Spurgeon and Faber aren't really barriers to PP1 for Buium, as we saw in these past playoffs. where Buium played on PP1 in his NHL debut even though Spurgeon and Faber were also available. The only thing holding Buium back is his own readiness and maturity. He eventually became a healthy scratch in the postseason as the moment might have been a little too big for him. However, that's less of a concern with a full training camp to prepare and the more gradual buildup of regular season play instead of being thrown to the wolves in the playoffs. Sharing power-play ice with Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy should help Buium post strong offensive numbers in year one. 

2. Sam Rinzel

While other players on this list must steal the PP1 quarterback role from their team's incumbent, Rinzel is in the unique position of being the incumbent himself. Sure, he only ran Chicago's top unit for six games at the end of last season, but he tallied three points with the man advantage during that stretch and looked quite comfortable in the spotlight. While he may face competition from Alex Vlasic, Artyom Levshunov, and Kevin Korchinski, being the incumbent means he'll have a longer leash, and one of those guys will have to do something significant to replace him. He'll benefit from playing on a Chicago power play that performed surprisingly well last year – however, beware of regression as the Hawks scored on a league-leading and lofty 20.61% of their shots with the man advantage, which they'll be hard pressed to replicate this season. While the teenagers on this list may have more raw skill, Rinzel's a little bit older and already looks comfortable in the NHL, so his role is a little more concrete. 

3. Zayne Parekh

My placement of Parekh below Buium is because of team circumstances, not individual talent. While Minnesota implements more of a 75/25 split between their two power-play units, Calgary's is closer to 60/40, so skating on PP1 with the Flames means less offensive opportunity than PP1 with the Wild. Calgary's lineup also features less offensive firepower than Minnesota, which means Parekh would have to work harder to produce points and wouldn't be able to rely on teammates the same way Buium might. It shouldn't be too tough for Parekh to oust Mackenzie Weegar, who ran the Flames' top unit last year. However, it's worth noting that unlike Rinzel and Buium, who have already seen reps on PP1, Parekh was on the second unit for both power-play opportunities he saw in his one and only NHL game last year. 

4. Alexander Nikishin

At 23, with three years of strong offensive production in the KHL, Nikishin is probably the most NHL-ready youngster on this list. However, he also has the most difficult path to PP1, blocked by bona fide power-play quarterback Shayne Gostisbehere. While Nikishin's shot and goal-scoring ability may be better than Gostisbehere's, Ghost has flirted with a 30-PPP pace these past two seasons and will probably stay on PP1 unless that unit experiences a really long stretch of struggle this year. Regardless, Nikishin's high-end individual ability, combined with an above-average PP2 cast in Carolina, should lead to a productive rookie campaign.

5. Luca Cagnoni

I'm picking Cagnoni over Sam Dickinson here because Cagnoni is a year and a half older, plus he's already produced offense at the professional level, racking up 52 points in 64 games with the Barracuda last season. Since the focus here is one-year leagues and not keeper formats, Cagnoni seems to have more fantasy potential than Dickinson next season. Although Cagnoni saw reps on PP1 with the Sharks late last year, San Jose signed John Klingberg and Dmitry Orlov this summer, which likely pushes Cagnoni down the power-play depth chart. While I think Klingberg is primed for a bounceback campaign now that he's free from hip injuries, it's been a long time since he successfully quarterbacked a top PP unit, and his defensive deficiencies may cause him to fall out of favour, potentially opening the door for Cagnoni on PP1. 

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On the topic of power plays, here are some thoughts about shifting power-play dynamics in Vegas and Toronto…

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas had the league's second-best power play last year, clicking at an impressive 28.3%. Take an excellent power play and add a world-class player like Mitch Marner, things can only get better right? Well, not quite. My concern with Vegas' power play this year is that there may be some growing pains as they figure out how to integrate Marner into the top unit. The Golden Knights have a lot of options when it comes to PP1 configurations, making it hard to pinpoint the fantasy value for some of the team's skaters. If we're going based on seniority, Marner might replace 24-year-old Pavel Dorofeyev – who scored 35 goals last year, 13 of which came with the man advantage. If we're going based on skillset, Marner's two-way playmaking style might be most similar to Mark Stone, so that swap might make sense in order to recreate the dynamic Vegas had last year. There's also a world where Marner takes on the role of blueliner as he did in Toronto, sending Shea Theodore to PP2. With so many possible PP1 configurations, Vegas' power-play personnel will have highly variable fantasy outlooks depending on where they end up. Even someone like Jack Eichel, who's virtually guaranteed a spot on PP1, might need time to adjust to the new dynamic of a different power-play cast. Even a short adjustment period can hinder overall totals, which is something to keep in mind as you evaluate a Golden Knight's fantasy outlook this year.

Toronto Maple Leafs

From the team Marner joined, back to the one he left. Toronto's power play has been consistently strong in recent years, posting a success rate of 24% or better in each of the last four seasons. However, Marner's departure puts them down an elite forward. His replacement Matias Maccelli, while underrated, won't be able to provide as much as he did, and probably won't even play on PP1. The Leafs saw promising results with a five-forward PP1 last year, but that luxury was afforded to them because Marner had the defensive instincts to man the blueline. I'm not sure any of team's remaining forwards will be able to fill that role as well as he did. Sure, Auston Matthews is also a strong two-way player, but he has a lethal release and needs to be in a position where he can shoot at will without having to think too much about defense. As a result, I think the most logical option for Toronto is to bring Morgan Rielly back to PP1, letting him skate with John Tavares, William Nylander, Matthew Knies, and Matthews. In the section about Vegas above, I mentioned an adjustment period where the PP might underperform while everyone gets familiar and builds chemistry. That shouldn't be as pertinent here as it was with Vegas, because Rielly has actually seen success alongside Tavares, Nylander and Matthews on PP1 before. That being said, Toronto's power play may still take a step back because they've lost a top-tier talent. All four of Toronto's PP forwards have high acquisition costs in fantasy leagues since their roles on PP1 are firm. So, if you were to pay that high acquisition cost and they underperform, you've lost out on a lot of value. Rielly, however, isn't even ranked as a top 50 fantasy defenseman by NHL.com, which shows how he's flying under the radar in fantasy formats. Sure, his spot on PP1 isn't as concrete, but given his discounted price there's much more room for him to outperform expectations, so I'd add him to your watchlist ahead of this season's fantasy drafts.

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Thanks for reading! Hope you have a great week ahead :)