The New Jersey Devils traded Jacob Markstrom to the Florida Panthers before his latest extension had even kicked in. In it, Evan Rodrigues went back to the Devils, who needed depth at forward more than they needed another sub-par season from Markstrom. You can find Cliffy’s take on the deal here.

In Markstrom and recent acquisition Akira Schmid, the Panthers have revamped their goaltending to be much cheaper but also more uncertain than in previous season. This could be a season with more wins for Markstrom, but not necessarily an improvement in Gaa/Sv%. Schmid gets another chance as a full-time NHL goalie, but he could easily be replaced if he doesn't perform.

To finish the day for the Devils, they re-signed Areseni Gritsyuk to a three-year deal at $3.25 Million per season.

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The St. Louis Blues are buying out Jonathan Drouin, who was an incredible disappointment in the second half of last season.

It's a surprise to me that Jesperi Kotkaniemi was not bought out, but it seems like Carolina thinks that they can deal him for value, which would also clear the full cap hit instead. I'll believe it when I see it.

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The Vegas Golden Knights shipped Kaedan Korczak over to Pittsburgh in a cost cutting move, where they received back Parker Wotherspoon (50% retained). This saves $2.75M off of Vegas’ books for next year, with a minor downgrade on the third pairing for them. They can re-allocate that money either in a Connor Hellebuyck trade (which could fit if Adin Hill goes back to Winnipeg), or otherwise in free agency this summer. You can’t ever count Vegas out from doing something unexpected.

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Nils Hoglander was also recently traded to the Predators, and if you're looking for a very under-the-radar addition this offseason, it could be him. He has been a 25-goal, 40-point, 100-Hit threat in recent years when healthy, and after a very long offseason it's likely now or never for him with a bounce back.

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Following up on my Ramblings from last week where I had my own fantasy draft rankings for the 2026 class, I was asked by a couple of readers to expand on who saw their value rise or fall based on the draft, and who might be in a position to make a more immediate impact.

First off, the risers:

Keaton Verhoeff going to San Jose at #9 was a steal for the team, and the best-case scenario for Verhoeff. They don't need him this year, or maybe even next, and they have shown with Sam Dickinson that they can wait for the development that the player needs. Verhoeff's upside in San Jose is about as high as a fantasy owner could ask for from a Dman who is outside of the Cale Makar/Zach Werenski tier. He jumps ahead of Carels for me now.

Mathis Preston being selected by Anaheim gives him a great spot where he won't be rushed to the NHL (very important for him after the time lost to injury), but where there is still space in the top-nine with a very young, strong, and talented group moving forward. There are still question marks with him, but Anaheim is a great path that in my mind increases the likelihood of him hitting his eventual upside. He's now up in the early teens for me.

Liam and Markus Ruck ending up in any NHL system together is a boon for their value, but on a team as ready as Pittsburgh will be to enter a new chapter in the coming years feels like the perfect opportunity for both players to come up to the league together at that point. There will be room for these two on the NHL roster as soon as they show they're ready. I would bump them up a couple spots each.

Xavier Villeneuve is an excellent addition to the Chicago blueline, which already has a ton of size, and will accommodate Villeneuve's style well. Villeneuve has one of the highest offensive upsides in the class, and while there are other puck-movers on the Chicago blueline, those players can be moved into all-around roles. If/when Villeneuve makes it, he would make it in part because he is going to be the power play specialist. An added bonus was the Blackhawks mentioning at the draft that he may not be done growing yet. Mid-to-late teens in fantasy drafts seems reasonable depending on your risk appetite and attitude towards Dmen.

I also thought the picks of Jonas Lagerberg Hoen and Jaxon Cover by Ottawa showed that the team was aiming for upside to try and fill out their sad prospect pool. For Lagerberg Hoen and Cover, it means that they could just to the top of the depth chart for players outside of the NHL very quickly, and have an easier path to playing games in the next few days.

Now, the fallers:

Ryan Lin looks to have the growth potential to be a solid #2/3 defenceman at the NHL level. However, with Dickinson and Verhoeff ahead of him on the depth chart, and likely others in the way as well by the time Lin is a regular, there just isn't much space for him to become hugely fantasy relevant with the Sharks. He drops way down my list.

For Alberts Smits, one of Seattle or Winnipeg felt like the natural spot in the draft for him to be picked, and in those locations there wasn't as much stopping him from being used in a bit more of a Mortiz Seider "do-everything" kind of role. However, in New York, Adam Fox is already established while still being reasonably young. Smits won't have the space to really produce more than as a PP2 option for the next decade, which really caps his upside. He's now somewhere in the early-to-mid teens.

Carson Carels was selected by the Flames, making it almost a homecoming for the Manitoba native. The problem is, between Simon Nemec and Zayne Parekh, the offensive time for the blueline is mostly accounted for already, and it may put Carels along a similar career path as Ryan Suter, who was always very reliable, but never the top offensive defenceman, which made him a better name value than actual fantasy asset. The high floor keeps him around 10 on my list, but the lower ceiling drops him out of the range of the top-five.

Ethan Belchetz being selected to Utah doesn't necessarily change his outlook, but it was the combo of public scouts lately being more negative about his upside and projection, being matched with slipping below his expected range in the draft that throws up a red flag for me, and pushes him into the 18-22 range on my updated list.

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Looking at players and depth charts now, we can make some educated guesses about which players may provide some value right away. Every year there are a few players that make an impact, but it's almost always fewer players than people expect, and there are always a few surprises.

The top players in Ivar Stenberg and Gavin McKenna will likely play the year in the NHL. They're of that quality to have an impact (though likely not star level right away), and they are developmentally ahead enough to stick.

After those two it gets a bit murky. Caleb Malhotra would have a big jump from the OHL to NHL, and the Canucks are going to be awful again. Viggo Bjorck has been touted as being NHL ready, but Winnipeg doesn't necessarily have a lot of extra roster space, and they also have Brayden Yager who might steal that C2 spot. Bjorck is likely best served by one more year in Europe. Smits and Carels could make the jump as well, but neither seems like a sure thing. Verhoeff, Daxon Rudolph, and Cameron Reid are best served by at least one more year of development as well. After that, the talent in the draft fell off a little, and it would be the players who could play C3 or D5 right away that would have a chance of making it. There are a couple of possibilities like Alexander Command, Malte Gustafsson, or Gleb Pugachyov could make their respective clubs in depth roles, but they likely wouldn't have much of an offensive impact in the NHL soon even if they did make it this fall.

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At this point we're heading into free agency opening today, and we'll have you covered on all the fantasy takes. If you want a refresher on some projected contracts, then you can find my top-65 here, though there are a few from that list that have already come off the board. I'll leave the write ups on those players until next week.

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See you next Wednesday, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean.