Ramblings – Dobber gives his thoughts on the Sabres' bright future, Gr8 Career, Caps/Jackets fantasy hockey post-mortem, and more

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Maybe it's just the last few years, but I've noticed more and more with each passing season that I get pretty down on my projections as November turns into December. And every year things turn around and I start nailing things – players, teams, what have you. This season seemed more extreme than usual. I had been pushing the Sabres for a couple of years – a top 3 offensive team three years ago, with high-upside players starting to come into their own. I had questioned Colorado's depth, and wondered if they would be a playoff-cusp team. I thought people were nuts to consider drafting Nathan MacKinnon over Connor McDavid. Those were some of the bigger calls. Sure enough, the Sabres were near the bottom of the NHL, Colorado had lost only one game, and MacKinnon was HAMMERING McDavid.

Then December hit, and things turned around. Buffalo became the top team in the NHL, all the Buffalo players started rolling, McDavid caught MacKinnon, and Colorado calmed down. What I didn't count on was the impact of Gabriel Landeskog. I didn't think, after so much time off, that he would be a leading guy in the top six. Or that he would even play 50 games. But he's gonna play 60, and gives the Avs the depth they need. When he's out of the lineup, sure enough, the team is barely making the playoffs. With him – this team is unbeatable.

This is pretty telling.

Colorado #Avs
– with Gabriel Landeskog in the lineup: 44-7-8
– without Landeskog in the lineup: 9-9-3

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) April 14, 2026

In one of my dynasty leagues, I have built around Buffalo the last three years, waiting for my hunch to pay off. After that start, I decided on a quick "retool", to borrow the term from the Canucks. I traded Tage Thompson for Jack Hughes in a bigger package, just backing off my hunch a little. Thankfully, I didn't keep shedding Sabres, because right after that things took off. Here is how things look:

• Peyton Krebs has 31 points in his last 50 games, turning into a likely 55-point player, and I think he can get to 65 as Thompson really likes playing with him. The caveat being that one of the up-and-coming kids don't take his spot (probably the more likely scenario).
• Jack Quinn has topped 50, and next year is his BT.
• Josh Doan didn't replace JJ Peterka's offense, but he came pretty damn close. There is no reason why he doesn't exceed 60 next season. Nobody thought his father, Shane, would become a top six scorer in the NHL and he certainly did that.
• Zach Benson has 41 points and next year is his BT.
• Rasmus Dahlin has 46 points in his last 41 games, putting him pretty close to that Quinn Hughes/Cale Makar stratosphere if he can keep that rate going for a full year.
• Mattias Samuelsson, if he can stay healthy, has proven to be an amazing fit as Dahlin's partner and has become very fantasy relevant.
• Bowen Byram is another 40-point defenseman, although the lone drawback there is that Owen Power regresses to a 30-point player playing with him.
• They have three goalies above the league average SV%, plus Devon Levi has played 50 AHL games as they work him into a potential NHL starter.
• Konsta Helenius, Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich, Radim Mrtka

So this is the bright future for Buffalo, and for my dynasty team: I still managed to hold onto Quinn, Benson, Helenius, Ostlund, Levi, Power and Mrtka.

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And Jack Hughes isn't too shabby either, even if I did give up Buffalo's top forward for him. He's been the top scorer in the NHL over the last month (29 points in 15 games, Nick Suzuki is second with 25 in 16 as of early Tuesday).

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As for Tuesday's action – the headliner is of course Alex Ovechkin, the Great 8. It was the final game of his career, though I suspect he'll come back for one more year. But just in case he doesn't, his assist on the game winning goal in the third period will stand as his final NHL point. He ends the season with 32 goals, 64 points at the age of 40.

Those newer to fantasy hockey or having just played for the last seven or eight years don't know what he brought to our fake game. There was a long run there where he was good for 350 SOG, 200+ Hits, 50 goals and 90 points and you could lock it in! He once had 528 shots (2008-09). Those were the days of goalies wearing giant oversized pads, otherwise he honestly would have had a real shot at Gretzky's record (92 goals) instead of the 56 he ended up scoring. He had 65 goals in his third NHL season, never again clearing 60. He had four 100-point seasons, nine 50-goal seasons, 14 40-goal seasons including when he was 39 years old and had missed 17 games. He was a stud, and in those early years was the best roto player to own by far.

He turned depth checker Chris Clark into a 54-point player, and vaulted Nicklas Backstrom from star to superstar. Backstrom assisted on 279 of Ovechkin's goals. Other key teammates for Ovy include Mike Green (a staple on the back end in those early years), Brooks Laich, Dylan Strome, John Carlson, Tom Wilson and many others.

If his NHL career has truly ended, he finishes with 1573-929-758-1687 numbers, plus 857 PIM and 3876 Hits.

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If Ovechkin retires, that opens up a ton of opportunities for their young forwards. Think of Ovechkin's zone starts. He was heavily sheltered with over 80% of his zone starts in the offensive zone, as well as over 90% of all available power play time. That's tons of key ES and PP opportunity for the likes of Ryan Leonard, Connor McMichael and the Protas brothers.

Cole Hutson's cameo rookie-preview season ends after 14 games. He posted an impressive 10 points. Defense is an issue, but he's new. He’ll learn. He was primarily paired with Matt Roy and will most definitely be the PP QB next year.

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On the other side of that game, Columbus, also finished their season. Kudos to Zach Werenski for his second consecutive healthy season. He's not off the Band-Aid Boy list just yet, but we can probably take him off the Certified designation.

Biggest disappointment goes to Kent Johnson, who played his way into the doghouse of TWO coaches. I believe the Charlie Coyle signing contributed to this. That's a major domino. When KJ struggled early, Coyle filled the void. And yes, Coyle did a great job, and made it so that it was tough for KJ to get the opportunity he needed to climb out of the hole he dug himself. Coyle was acquired to anchor the third line and see some secondary PP time. At 34, instead he ended up with the second most points of his career with 58. His PP time went from one minute in the first quarter to one-and-a-half in the second, to 2:23 in the third to 3:13 in the fourth quarter! He's supposed to be a third liner and Johnson was supposed to be second line! But KJ dropped the ball. This season was Johnson's BT (Breakout Threshold). It certainly didn't work out that way. Just two PPPts the entire season despite over 120 minutes on the power play.

What to do with Johnson in your dynasty? He's too good to drop, in terms of upside. His odds of still reaching it aren't any worse than a good prospect (he's still only 23). But if you can get a couple of decent picks for him, I'd probably cut my losses.

Hitting his BT about two months ago was Adam Fantilli. And right on schedule, he stepped up. Since January 24, Fantilli had 29 points in 32 games with 70 Hits. Keep that in mind going into next year.

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The Bruins also finished their season and they'll play on in the playoffs. David Pastrnak picked up an assist to get him to 100 points – the fourth straight season.

Morgan Geekie was the surprise of the campaign for me when it comes to this team. I thought he could match last year, hit 30 goals again and top out at 60 points. But 39 goals and 69 points? Amazing. And he nearly matched last year's 21.9% shot percentage, at 21.5%. I find big players get rolling later in their careers, which is why we have the BT set for all players 6-3 and bigger at 400 games (Geekie at 414 now). He saw most of his shifts alongside David Pastrnak and there is no reason to believe that won't be the case next year so I think he at least matches what he did this season.

Pavel Zacha, who is well past his BT even as a big man (6-4), broke out with 30 goals and 65 points. He really found his groove down the stretch with Viktor Arvidsson, posting 24 points in his last 20 games (Arvidsson had 22 in 20). I think they can build on this magic, but the problem is Arvidsson A) is a UFA this summer and B) is a Certified Band-Aid Boy. So if the Bruins do sign him, the caveat for a big year for both he and Zacha will depend on if he can play 70 games – something Arvidsson has only done once in the last eight years.

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The Devils are also done for the season – but they're not in the playoffs, so this is it for them. It was clear this team lived and died by Jack Hughes. No Hughesy, no winsy. The bright side for Hughes is that he didn't get injured all season long – on the ice. The first time we can say that in three years. So if he can do that again, plus avoid any kitchen mishaps, we could be in for something special next season. Since January 1, Hughes had 55 points in 39 games, seventh in the league. Since the Olympic break he is first in the NHL with 41 points in 25 games (though Kucherov and McDavid could pass him in their last games).

Biggest disappointment for the Devils has to be Luke Hughes. There are several candidates for this title, but at least when Jack returned a lot of them turned things around. But Luke managed just 35 points and was raked through the coals for his defense.

Dougie Hamilton was one of the ones to turn it around, posting nine points in his first 38 games before taking off for 29 points in 39 contests. The Devils need to do something with this situation – between Hamilton, Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec, they need to settle on a true PP QB and just ride him. Hamilton's PPTOI was cut drastically this season due to the other two cannibalizing. Were it not for that, would he have had the slow start? Would he have 55 points instead of 38?

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Petr Kochetkov was supposed to get into his first game in months. He was slated to start. But a "roster technicality" made him ineligible to play. I think it had something to do with his not being officially activated off IR in time? Not sure. But Brendan Bussi got the surprise start, catching a lot of fantasy owners off guard, and he posted 28 saves on 29 shots for the win.

Kochetkov playing, and doing well, would have thrown the team into a bigger goalie controversy. Bussi has been by far the best all season and deserves the playoff starting job. But Freddy Andersen is the experienced vet and he's had a pretty good second half. Adding Kochetkov, who is the Golden Boy of the trio, would really muddy the waters. It's great to have options and these are three capable goalies. But I think it messes with a goalie's mind when other goalies are inches away from taking your job. This is why so often we see teams trade away strong backups – they don't want their starter to get anything in their head about it.

Colorado is a Cup favorite – but I like them a lot more with Scott Wedgewood in net. But Mackenzie Blackwood is the Golden Boy. They want him to lead them to many Cups to come! So how will they navigate this? Get the surer win now with Wedgewood (10 QS in his last 12 starts)? Or Blackwood, who has been the weaker goalie – still very good, but weaker – and is getting two out of every three starts? I think they'll go with Blackwood. The lure of Golden Boys is too much to resist.

Carter Hart or Adin Hill or Akira Schmid? Hart has come back from injury and had four amazing games. Hill has a Stanley Cup, but has been absolute crap. Schmid has played the most for the Golden Knights, but it's clear to everyone he's a backup, not a starter. I'm leaning Hart.

Other goalie calls:

I think the Penguins roll with Stuart Skinner. He has playoff experience. His numbers are similar to Arturs Silovs, perhaps even slightly worse, but he'll be the guy I'm sure.

UPL will probably start for Buffalo. Alex Lyon had a much better start to the season, but UPL has had a great second half and Lyon heads into the playoffs injured (though he should be ready by then). Lyon also had three straight rocky starts.

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I'm running out of space here, overwriting. That's what happens when I take five months to return! So I'll wrap up the other two teams who have finished their season – both will see playoff action.

The Anaheim Ducks are one of my surprise teams (the other big one for me is Pittsburgh, and by coincidence – they're next!). I thought they were one more year away, but Leo Carlsson broke out, Beckett Sennecke made the team and flourished (did not see that coming), and I thought Chris Kreider's 50-point days were behind him. They kind of were, as he finished with exactly 50. But still, it was a nice surprise.

Every November I get asked about a few players who start super-slow and this year players like Jackson Lacombe and Andrei Svechnikov led the charge. Lacombe had eight points in 21 games to start, but 49 in 60 after that. He's destined for 65+ once the roster around him hit their prime.

Cutter Gauthier reached the 40-goal mark and a whopping 278 shots. He cooled off after a blazing start, but still ended up leading the team in points with 68 in his sophomore season. Lacombe actually led the Ducks in scoring since January 1 with 34 points (Sennecke/Gauthier second with 30).

John Carlson averaged 3:32 of PP time after joining the Ducks and had 12 points in 15 games. Lacombe's PP time was 2:48 in that span.

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The Pittsburgh Penguins ended their regular season with a playoff berth. Sidney Crosby gets another kick at the can. What I like about this team is it's size. Evgeni Malkin (6-5), Justin Brazeau (6-6), Anthony Mantha (6-5), Elmer Soderblom (6-8). Who else can offer that? The key, well there are a few keys, but for me the main one is Mantha. This is the star we all knew he could be, but for over a decade he was constantly hurt. Anthony Mantha playing 81 games? I would have lost $1000 betting against that happening. But signing him, keeping him healthy, to me was everything.

Ben Kindel gave them a very good player to anchor the third line straight out of the draft. Egor Chinakhov, another guy who would have lost me money by staying healthy as soon as he got to Pittsburgh, also reached that level that we all saw in him when he was drafted. He's showing that he's a legitimate 70-point player. I'm not buying that he'll stay healthy (I'm not buying that Mantha will, either), but if he does – I think he'll be a very valuable fantasy asset. He won't be cheap in your dynasty league, and the risk is obvious. But I think there's something there if you can get him without paying too much. He has 24 points in his last 25 games.

Erik Karlsson leads the Penguins in points since the Olympic break with 31 in 24. He did not play Tuesday.

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Also in that Pittsburgh – St. Louis game, Jimmy Snuggerud had four points. He has 11 points in his last six games and is up to 50 – the fourth rookie to hit the mark. In terms of points-per-game average, his 0.72 matches Matthew Schaeffer, and close to Sennecke (0.74) and Ivan Demidov (0.76).

I also found this interesting when I was setting up player values for the Dobbernomics game (playoff edition): Since January 1, Dylan Holloway is fourth in DN points. That's goals (2.5), assists (2.5), +/- (1.0), PIM (0.3), SOG (0.2), Hits (0.2), BLKS (0.2), PPG (1.0) and SHG (2.0). He's fourth behind Kucherov, McDavid and Draisaitl.

Holloway, since returning from injury on February 26, has 32 points in 24 games, is plus-24 with 81 SOG.

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On a personal note – in two months I will be going on a walk for cancer, trying to raise money for PMH and their allo-BMT department, obviously near and dear to my heart. They saved my life not once, but twice. Two stem-cell transplants. I am trying to raise $5000. If you can help out, even $5, please do. You can donate here.

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That's a wrap for me. It was good to be back at the helm for these. Until next time

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Don't forget – my Playoff Draft List is out now and fully updated!

Dobber's 20th annual Interactive Playoff Draft List is updated for today with latest injuries, playoff tree and more
Download now!#HockeyPool#Playoff Poolhttps://t.co/yNKHG0raOb pic.twitter.com/s6NXJ5tNOQ

— Dobber (@DobberHockey) April 13, 2026