Welcome back to Forum Buzz, where I peruse the DobberHockey Forums and weigh in on active, heavily debated, or otherwise relevant recent threads, reminding folks just how great a resource the Forums are. Nearly anything might be covered here, other than trades and signings, which usually get their own separate write-ups on the main site and are also normally covered in the next day’s Ramblings, or questions that are specific to salary cap issues, which is the domain of the weekly Capped column. To access the specific forum thread on which a question is based, click on the “Topic” for that question.

As is now becoming tradition, I'll start the column with a nod to the sadly now dormant "Who am I?" thread in the Forums where someone thought of a real life hockey player or persona, who can be from the past or present, male or female, in the NHL or not, and they give clues to help people guess who it is. You get to enter one guess per clue, and if you guess correctly you think of the next player, so it just keeps going indefinitely. For your enjoyment, here is a "Who am I?" sample. See how many clues it takes for you to guess who I am.

CLUE #1 – I'm a Canadian born forward

CLUE #2 – I played junior hockey in the OHL

CLUE #3 – I debuted in the NHL the same season I was drafted

CLUE #4 – I only played in the Stanley Cup playoffs twice in my career, but made it to the Cup finals both times

CLUE #5 – One of those two times, my team was victorious

CLUE #6 – I was a clutch performer, with a scoring rate in both playoff seasons that was higher than all but one of my regular season scoring rates

CLUE #7 – My NHL career ended before I turned 30

CLUE #8 – But even before my career ending condition, it was fair to say I was a Band-Aid Boy

CLUE #9 – I was a remarkably consistent scorer though, with a scoring rate of 54-62 points in more than half my seasons

CLUE #10 – I played for three teams in my career, two of which didn't exist prior to 1990

CLUE #11 – After it became clear my career was over, I was traded to another team – an original six team – for salary cap purposes

CLUE #12 – Technically I never officially retired, but my last NHL game was over a decade ago

CLUE #13 – The three teams I actually played for, in order, were Florida, Boston, and Columbus

CLUE #14 – My initials are N.H.

So, who am I? Hopefully you figured it out. Check the end of the column to confirm, or, if not, to find out who I am. Now onto regularly scheduled Forum Buzz programming. 

Topic #1 – Is Bowen Byram worth using a second waiver priority in a one-year, 15 team league with categories and weighting of G (3), A (1.5), Hat tricks(3), SOG (0.1), Hit (0.1), BLK (0.1), W (4), OTL (2), SHO (7). The team's current d-men are Cale Makar, Thomas Harley, Colton Parayko, Carter Yakemchuk, and Denton Mateyhchuk.

Many expected Byram to thrive upon arrival in Chicago; however, early returns though have been nothing short of awful. And this despite him getting more than two minutes of added TOI versus what he received in Buffalo, the bulk of which has come in the form of PP time. Yes, five of his six games were played prior to Connor Bedard's return; but is there reason to worry he won't get a big "Bedard Boost?"  I think the answer is yes.

Byram is still not shooting the puck, averaging under a SOG per game in total. A tiny silver lining is three of his five SOG have come on the PP, which doesn't sound like a lot but actually puts him, as I write this, tied for 17th despite ranking 27th in PPTOI. Despite his failure to produce on the PP, I think he will have a long leash, especially now with Bedard back in action.

Let's say he doesn't shoot the puck much more, even with the return of Bedard? His high for SOG per game on the Sabres was 1.3; and going back to 2000-01, the highest point total for a defenseman who averaged 1.3 or fewer SOG per game was 48 by Tyler Myers as a rookie, with Niklas Kronwall getting 44, and Michael Rozsival tallying 40. But that's it – those are the only three instances of a defenseman scoring 40+ points despite shooting as little as Byram this season and the past three. The return of Bedard might not help much if at all, as Vancouver had the second best offense in the entire league when Myers got those 48 points, while the Wings were tenth best and the Rangers 18th best. Although the Hawks did upgrade their offense, they finished 30th last season and even getting to 20th this season seems like a tall order. In other words, a rising tide might have raised the boats of those other players, but it's unlikely to do so for Byram.

Given this is a one-year league, is he worth grabbing though? If it wasn't a 2nd overall waiver priority I might say yes; however, I'm not sure he'd be enough of an upgrade over who you already have. If it was me, I'd pass on the opportunity, as although there is potential, the lack of SOG and the concern about Chicago overall make it too risky for me to endorse. Good luck!

Topic #2 – In a 10 Team, H2H league with W, GAA, SV, and SV% as goalie categories, a team that has Jet Greaves, Juuse Saros, and Karel Vejmelka wants to drop one of Greaves or Saros to free up a stream spot for a skater. Who's the safer drop – Greaves or Saros? The rest of the roster is:

C: Dylan Larkin, Adam Fantilli, Tomas Hertl
LW: Brady Tkachuk, Filip Forsberg, Drake Batherson
RW: David Pastrnak, Wyatt Johnston, Jesper Bratt
D: Moritz Seider, Josh Morrissey, Charlie McAvoy, Cole Hutson

My first inclination is to ask if a skater streaming spot would indeed be worth more than having three true starters on your roster. From where I sit, I'm not sure the answer is yes. Also, if you drop one of them, they'll get snatched up, likely making another team better, arguably, I'd say, "more better" than you'd be with an extra skater streaming spot. That all having been said, if there are 12 skater categories, versus just four for goalies, maybe skater streaming would be of more value. Always take into account all the moving parts, and whether indeed you stand to improve another team more so than yours. Unless there are lots more skater categories, I'd stick with the three netminders you have.

But you asked the question, so I will answer it as asked. The answer has a lot to do with the fact you also have Vejmelka, who is a proven workhorse. He will be among the league leaders in W and SV, but, if last year was an indication, less solid in SV% and GAA. As such, Greaves, poor start to the season notwithstanding, figures to be better in those categories than Saros, who is on a streak of six straight seasons of a higher GAA, and essentially the same number of seasons of lower SV%. Yes, he's started better than Greaves; but if last season was an indication, Greaves might just need to find his rhythm, which might be happening with his Saturday shutout.

As for Saros, given his trends, I can't wrap my arms around him suddenly rebounding to be as good as he was even three years ago. For sure he can find a way to be less bad; however, he was so bad that even less bad still might be too bad. Beyond those other worsening stats, his quality start percentage has been dropping too. The saving grace was not as many really bad starts, in part due to all the shots he faces. But as I said, with Vejmelka, you have a goalie who will get you all the saves you need, with far less risk of dreadful GAA and SV% numbers. So if you do decide to drop one of the two, my drop would be Saros; but I'd recommend keeping both unless the skater stream spot is really that important, plus you won't risk making whatever team who gets the goalie you drop "more better." Good luck!

Topic #3 – In a 12 team weekly H2H categories league with categories of G, A, +/-, SOG, PPG, GWG, PPA, HIT, W, GAA, SV%, SHO and where 3C, 3LW, 3RW, 4D, and 2G are kept, a team has the following roster:

C – Connor Bedard, Leo Carlsson, Robert Thomas, Berkley Catton
LW – Gavin McKenna, Juraj Slafkovsky, Trevor Zegras, Igor Chernyshov, Trevor Connelly
RW – Ivan Demidov, Matvei Michkov, Will Smith, JT Miller, Kent Johnson
D – Matthew Schaefer, Zeev Buium, Zayne Parekh, Adam Jiricek
G – Jeremy Swayman, Yaroslav Askarov
IR – Alexander Nikishin, Matt Savoie
Prospect – Jacob Fowler

They've been approached about Swayman by a GM who is in win now mode but just lost Igor Shesterkin. The trade offer is either Jason Robertson or Cutter Gauthier. Should they accept? If so, who would be the one they should get in return? Also, the other GM has Dustin Wolf, Jake Allen, and Sebastian Cossa as their other goalies. Would it tilt the scales if they could get one of them in return too?

I don't think you want to trade Swayman for either of those players, and that's even if you'd be getting Wolf in return, whom I'm guessing the other GM would resist including. The reason is not only because you need Swayman more than either of those two forwards, but also you'd be giving the other GM a second amazing goalie keeper on top of Shesterkin, resulting in the other team becoming "more better" because of the trade.

I fully realize you will likely have a future goalie keeper dilemma in choosing among Swayman, Askarov and Fowler. However, Fowler should be keepable as your prospect at least twice more, maybe even three times. By then your team will be in win now mode and you can decide which of the three to trade with a lot more known about Fowler and Askarov. If you trade Swayman now, you put all your eggs in the Askarov and Fowler basket, which I think is unwise.

Make no mistake – either Robertson or Gauthier would be very nice forwards to own, and both also would fit nicely within your window of when you figure to contend. But you have a number of forwards who are already very, very good and figure to get even better. Goalies are a much scarcer commodity, especially entrenched, tier-1 starters like Swayman. If this other GM had both Swayman and Shesterkin to keep, they would likely enter every season the favorite to sweep the goalie categories, and you certainly don't want that, especially when the benefit to you would pale in comparison.

In short, do not do this deal. It just does not help you enough in comparison to how much it will help the other GM this season but also, and more importantly to you, on a going forward basis as to be likely to interfere with your quest to win starting in a couple of seasons. Good luck!

Topic #4 – What are we to make of Victor Hedman? Many thought he'd be more of his normal self after missing more than half of last season; but he seems to be getting deemphasized. Is he even a safe bet for point per every other game numbers? What should his owners do?

Hedman owners are likely concerned at his sluggish start, and, from what I can gather, rightfully so. What we know is he had 12 points in his first 15 games last season before being injured; but his SOG rate was down, and six of those points came when he was running PP1, a gig he lost to Darren Raddysh and did not reclaim when he finally returned to the lineup. Let's just say his return was…..underwhelming, as his TOI cratered on the PP and overall, and his weak SOG stayed lousy. I figured it was deliberate by the Bolts to rest Hedman for the playoffs given his age and him having played in the Four Nations Face-Off. Sure enough, in the playoffs Hedman had three points in five games, and his TOI was right where it usually was, other than on the PP, plus he was back up to two SOG per game.

Yet here we are in a fresh season; and although it wasn't expected Hedman would reclaim PP1 given the signing of John Carlson, Hedman's minutes are still down, and his PP time nonexistent. As I write this he is averaging a mere 1.4 SOG per game. If it was a lingering injury, I'd think word would've trickled out either in the offseason or during training camp. Instead, it appears to be a case of the team seeing him as no longer worthy of the ice time he once commanded and Hedman unselfishly putting the team first.

For his metrics, the team is shooting 13.2% at ES while he is on the ice, which is too high to be sustainable. But his overall IPP is 37.5%, having been above 50% even during his disastrous 2025-26 season, and his OZ% is 56.1%, which is quite decent and shows he is not being utilized only in defensive situations, although his PK time is up. Overall, these metrics largely cancel each other out, or perhaps indicate he may be able to produce a bit better going forward.

What do player comparables tell us? Since 1990-91 there've been four other defensemen who, like Hedman, had two seasons of 75+ points between ages 30 and 33 and are retired or older than Hedman: Ray Bourque, Brent Burns, Paul Coffey, and Larry Murphy. Coffey was beset by injuries when he was Hedman's age, Murphy had two seasons of 52 points, Burns had seasons of 54 and 61 points, and Bourque had a season of 62 points. Both Bourque and Burns were still shooting the puck a lot; and whereas Muphy wasn't, he was taking the ice for upwards of 24:00 per game. What this suggests is Hedman might be able to score in the 50s or even 60s, but only if he shoots and plays more. Since neither of those things seem poised to happen, point per every other game production might be the best to hope for, and even that is far from a lock. If you own Hedman in a keeper and better options exist, I think it's safe for you to cut bait, while in one year leagues I'd drop him if you can grab a decent free agent. Good question!

Topic #5 – In a 12 team, keep 8 (plus 1 prospect, defined as having played <166 NHL games), weekly H2H Daily Line-ups league with categories and weighting of G(3), A(2), D Pts (additional 0.7), +/-(0.5), PPP (1), SOG(0.4), BLK(0.8), SHP (0.5); W(2), GA(-1.5), Saves(0.3), SO(3) and rosters of 3C, 2RW, 2LW, 4D, 2G, 5 Bench, 4IR, a GM has the following on their roster:

C – Jack Hughes(LW), Robert Thomas, Adam Fantilli, Dylan Strome
LW – Jason Robertson, Alexis Lafreniere(RW)
RW – Martin Necas, Luke Evangelista
D – Cale Makar, Adam Fox, Evan Bouchard, Vince Dunn, Hampus Lindholm
G – Logan Thompson, Sergei Bobrovsky, Anthony Stolarz, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Joel Hofer
IR – Mathew Barzal(C,RW), Zach Hyman(RW)

Cole Perfetti just got dropped, and Vasili Podkolzin is also available. Would it make sense to pick up one or both in place of Laffy and/or Evangelista?

When deciding on moves like this, it's important to consider who is available. Both Perfetti and Podkolzin have started very well, yet one was dropped and the other is still out there. Most likely it's because they're unproven; however, it shows me this is a league where if you take a chance on a free agent pick-up and it doesn't work out, you should have fallback options. As I noted in my recent 10 Mistakes to Avoid Column, I think too few GMs "swing for the fences" in terms of early season picks ups, when this is exactly the time to do so. The reason is because if you wait long enough to assure yourself a player is the real deal, chances are another GM will have already swooped in and grabbed them. But also, these "feast or famine" types of pick ups are nice in that the result usually is feast, where they pay off big time, or famine, where they are not indeed the real deal, making them easier to drop. Using pick ups this early to grab "safer" players is fine; but often you feel hesitant to drop them, and you end up missing opportunities to hit home runs, settling instead for singles or maybe doubles at best.

In this case, I like the idea of grabbing Podkolzin since you already have Hyman on your roster. Odds are high that one of them will end up thriving, and if you have both of them on your roster you've covered your bases. Perfetti has stepped in nicely to Gabe Vilardi's former spot on the top line and at ES; however, whereas this has led to Perfetti thriving and Kyle Connor is doing great as usual, Mark Scheifele is faring worse. It might be that Winnipeg, with nothing to lose, wants to do all it can to awaken the younger Perfetti; but I worry about how Winnipeg treated Nicolaj Ehlers. Prior to this season Perfetti seemed to be on a path to becoming Ehlers 2.0, so they could revert to that. Also, the Jets need Gabe Vilardi to awaken on the PP, as he had 20+ PPGs in each of the past two seasons, but has none as I write this. In short, I think Perfetti has real risks.

Not that Podkolzin doesn't. After all, this is a player who thus far had never produced at a point per every other game rate in any season. Even in the second half of 2025-26, he was doing better and not looking out of place alongside one or both of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. This season he's thriving. Granted his SH% is stratospheric; however, he's doing quite well at ES and on PP1. He's essentially been plugged in for Hyman, who makes more money and is more proven. That's not to say Podkolzin will cede his spot to Hyman; however, I like the idea of covering your bases, and this would enable that to occur.

Who'd be the drop? Why not Lindholm? He is three seasons removed from a breakout campaign that he's not come close to duplicating, plus benefitted from the temporary absence of Charlie McAvoy, who is now back. I realize that would leave you with no defensemen reserves; but if need be you can find rearguards on the waiver wire to slot in as needed.

Add Podkolzin, and drop Lindholm. To make room to activate Hyman from IR, you drop Evangelista, who has potential but is not staking up as compared to Laffy, as he seems to have finally connected the dots. Good luck!

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THE ANSWER TO WHO THE PLAYER IS……….Nathan Horton!

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Questions for Mailbag column needed

Until next season starts I'll be running mailbags as often as a I get enough questions. To get yours to me, either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums, or email [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.