The 2026-27 Fantasy Guide is now available! If you have already purchased it, you'll receive the following documents with your purchase:

• PDF Guide, which includes both articles and team-by-team projections
• Excel Draft List, which includes sortable projections

Both documents are updated as needed until the start of the regular season. To take advantage of the updates, go back to the Downloads folder and download a new copy.

Purchase yours if you haven't already. You won't be disappointed! I won't blame you if you take a long read through it before checking out today's Ramblings. But the Ramblings are here as promised every day.

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The Offseason Fantasy Grades articles will be back again this season, starting on Tuesday August 4. We will cover them in reverse alphabetical order this season, so Winnipeg Jets fans will not have to wait until the end like they have in past seasons. You can find last season's Offseason Fantasy Grades here if you would like a trip down memory lane to see what the teams looked like at this time last year.

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A rumor is currently making the rounds that Kirill Marchenko is about to be traded, possibly to the Montreal Canadiens. I don’t know how legitimate the source is, but there have been rumblings that Marchenko does not want to stay in Columbus long-term. Stay tuned.

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In today's top Frozen Tools searches, I found a few interesting names with a few thoughts to share on them.

Connor Bedard

Bedard should benefit enormously from the Blackhawks' decision to reunite with Patrick Kane, who signed a two‑year, $16 million contract on Thursday. Not many players can help Bedard more than Kane, especially given how little high‑end support Bedard has had during his first three NHL seasons.

To give you an idea, Bedard's even‑strength linemates have consistently been below top‑line caliber.

• In 2023‑24, Bedard rode shotgun with Philipp Kurashev, who strung together a 54‑point outlier while never topping 25 points in any other season. Kurashev is now an unrestricted free agent after San Jose decided not to qualify him this offseason.
• In 2024‑25, Bedard played mostly with Tyler Bertuzzi, yet only 14 of Bedard's 38 even‑strength points came with Bertuzzi on the ice. Ryan Donato was also a frequent linemate of Bedard's during his first two seasons. Donato's production has also been inconsistent, as he posted 62 points that season but has never reached 35 points in any other season.
• In 2025‑26, Bedard was paired with rookie Ryan Greene (another top Frozen Tools search), who is a projected bottom‑six, two‑way center who managed 29 points in 81 games; and Andre Burakovsky, whose production cratered to five points in his final 38 games, prompting Chicago to ship him to Ottawa for a sixth‑round pick during the offseason.

Kane, now 37, is no longer an 80‑plus‑point force, but he remains a strong bet for 50–60 points even if injuries crop up. His playmaking instincts and championship pedigree should give Bedard the kind of support he's never had as he pushes toward true NHL superstardom. Kane's arrival should also boost Bowen Byram, particularly on the power play. Chicago hopes Byram can deliver a breakout season after the organization invested heavily in him, trading away the fourth overall pick in this year's draft and signing him to a six‑year deal carrying a $12.5 million cap hit.

Jason Robertson

Robertson signed a one‑year, $12 million contract with the Stars on Tuesday, avoiding arbitration and positioning himself to hit unrestricted free agency next summer. The short term of the deal raises questions about Dallas's ability to keep him long‑term, especially with rising salaries across the league. However, I think there's still a realistic path for him to remain a Star—which would be ideal for his fantasy value.

Dallas will have Tyler Seguin's $9.85 million cap hit coming off the books at the end of the season. As well, the league's salary cap is projected to rise from $104 million in 2026‑27 to $113.5 million in 2027‑28, giving the team more flexibility. Money isn't the only factor for Robertson, who reportedly declined an eight‑year, $15‑million‑per‑season sign‑and‑trade offer from Seattle, a move that suggests he values fit and role as much as salary. Robertson's production would likely dip on a team like the Kraken.

Regardless of where he plays, Robertson will receive top‑line minutes and power‑play usage. Few teams can match the level of talent surrounding him in Dallas. His ADP on Fantrax is currently 12.4, so it seems like you will need a late first-round or early second-round pick to draft him in what will be an important contract season for him.

Among all current UFAs-to-be, Robertson has the highest cap hit at $12 million. He will be able to sign an extension on January 1, so things could potentially get interesting if he closes in on July 1 without a contract.

Shea Theodore

Theodore was kind of a bust last season due to deployment. Vegas spent much of last season running a five‑forward top power‑play unit, which pushed Theodore to the second power-play unit and dragged down both his power‑play production and overall scoring. He finished with just 39 points in 70 games—his lowest output since 2018‑19—and only five power‑play points, the fewest he has recorded in nine seasons with the Golden Knights.

Theodore is an easy name to circle if you're hunting for bounce‑back candidates, though. The Pavel Dorofeyev trade to New York should reopen a path for Theodore to reclaim meaningful power‑play usage. Historically, he's lived in the 12–20 power‑play‑point range over a full season, and adding that back into his totals makes a rebound into the 50–60‑point tier highly realistic.

Theodore's playoff performance reinforces that optimism: 18 points in 22 games, even if only three came on the man advantage, showing he hasn't lost his offensive touch. The one caveat is durability—Theodore has long been a Band‑Aid Boy, never reaching 80 games in a season and hitting 70 games only once in the past four years.

Conor Garland

The Blue Jackets' acquisition of Garland from the Canucks for two draft picks remains puzzling, especially with a major Adam Fantilli contract looming and Garland carrying a six‑year contract with a $6 million cap hit. Perhaps the Blue Jackets wanted some added edge with Boone Jenner approaching unrestricted free agency, but the move still raises eyebrows.

Garland's production dipped to 33 points in 71 games—his lowest output since his 2018‑19 rookie season—and his brief stint in Columbus was even more concerning. After arriving from Vancouver, he managed only seven points in 21 games while seeing just 13:01 of ice time per night – down from the 17-20 minutes per game he averaged with the Canucks. His power‑play usage declined as well, dropping from three minutes per game with the Canucks to just one minute per game with the Jackets.

Garland profiles as a potential waiver‑wire option during the season, but he'll need far more favorable deployment than he received down the stretch. Maybe additional time to adjust to Columbus's system will help, though that's the optimistic read on a situation that currently looks shaky.

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Follow me on X @Ian_Gooding and Bluesky @goodsfantasyhockey.bsky.social