It’s time to encapsulate seven months of fantasy hockey material into 20 tidy and concise thoughts.
And what a rollercoaster journey it’s been. Thanks so much for reading along.
Before you head into the off-season, here are some things to remember as well as monitor in preparation for the 2022-23 campaign.
1. When it comes to the No. 1 ranked player debate, it’s no longer Connor McDavid and then everyone else. Undoubtedly, the Oilers captain will still likely be the consensus first overall pick next season, but I do think the gap has closed considerably. Leon Draisaitl, Auston Matthews and Jonathan Huberdeau, among others, deserve to be in the conversation. Some food for thought.
2. Forty-five goals and 100 points in 77 games for Kirill Kaprizov. Unequivocally, the Minnesota Wild superstar has emerged as a sure-fire first-rounder. No debate.
3. Igor Shesterkin has overtaken Andrei Vasilevskiy as the No. 1 option between the pipes. The 26-year-old Rangers phenom (36-12-4, 2.03 GAA, 0.936 save percentage, six SO) is firmly on his way to capturing his first career Vezina Trophy. For what it’s worth, I still love him for the Hart, too.
4. Roman Josi may walk away with another Norris Trophy, but it’s Cale Makar who tops my list of fantasy blue-liners. But for the record — and mostly to appease triggered Preds fans — it’s very close. Afterall, Josi is the first 90-point defenceman in the NHL since 1994. Long story short, they’re both studs.
5. What a season for Nazem Kadri. That said, I don’t like his chances of replicating these numbers, regardless of where he ends up playing next season. Can you say, “regression candidate”?
6. Nikita Kucherov, Brayden Point, Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck are just a few names of many to target in anticipation of a bounce-back to career standards. I love the bounce-back angle, you can find so much value in your draft if you end up hitting on a couple.
7. Weirdly — because he’s been so hot for so long — I think managers will be pleasantly surprised with where they’ll be able to grab Elias Pettersson in drafts. In 52 games under Bruce Boudreau, the 23-year-old has 28 goals and 54 points. Personally, I would jump up to grab this stud. Pettersson has MVP-level talent, don’t forget that.
8. Believe it or not, I think a potential trade out of Vancouver could actually hurt J.T. Miller’s fantasy stock. He’s played his best hockey there and I love what they’ve got going around him, too. Miller’s another example of a guy who had a career year at the right time.
9. In general, there’s no shortage of fantasy-relevant names who could find themselves on new teams this summer. Patrick Kane, Johnny Gaudreau, William Nylander, Kevin Fiala and Tyler Bertuzzi are just a few players worth keeping close tabs on.
10. The goalie market should be hot too. MacKenzie Blackwood will be out there, conventional wisdom suggests John Gibson will be too. The usual suspects will be circling. Also, how about the St. Louis Blues? What happens with Ville Husso? That Jordan Binnington contract is looking worse and worse by the day.
11. Minnesota’s Matt Boldy is the rookie no one really talks about, I think he’s poised for stardom. In 43 games, the 21-year-old has posted 15 goals and 37 points. When together, that Boldy/Gaudreau/Fiala trio has been wicked.
12. Robert Thomas is a burgeoning star and should be treated as such moving forward. Honestly, it’s criminal how undervalued he was this season. Quietly, with many thanks to a 15-game point streak that ended Saturday night in Arizona, the 22-year-old Blues playmaker is up to 20 goals and 75 points in 69 games.
13. Same type of deal for Noah Dobson on Long Island. Make no mistake about it, despite the lack of publicity, the 22-year-old PP QB took a massive step this season. Since Jan. 1, Dobson has registered nine goals and 36 points in 52 contests. Prorated over 82 games, you’re looking at a 57-point clip. This dude’s trending towards elite status, get ahead of it.
14. Jack Hughes has cemented himself as a top-50 fantasy file. Over his past 82 regular season games, the Devils star has tallied 31 goals and 73 points. And still, I think Hughes has another level or two to get to.
15. Another Devils file that I’ll be targeting is Dougie Hamilton. The 28-year-old big ticket defenceman, who’s currently mired in a nasty 22-game goalless drought, can only go up from this disaster of a season. I’m confident in saying he’ll be a nice value buy come draft time, mark my words.
16. Kudos to Jason Robertson, who doubled down on his awesome rookie campaign. The 22-year-old Stars forward has tallied 121 points in 125 career NHL games, need I say more? Don’t be afraid to jump up and grab him.
17. If there’s any consolation prize for Cole Caufield with respect to his rookie season from hell, it’s that he fared much better after the coaching change. The sniper has 19 goals in 34 games under Martin St. Louis. My proclamation: Caufield will pot at least 30 next year.
18. One of the biggest questions of the fantasy off-season: What will happen to Carey Price? If I were to handicap things, I don’t think he’s going anywhere — at least not anytime soon. Stay tuned.
19. Rookie Matty Beniers has injected some late-season exuberance into an otherwise bland first year for the Seattle Kraken. Across the board, they’ll be better, I’m curious to see who they can scoop up in free agency — Nazem Kadri, maybe? Also, will the real Philipp Grubauer please stand up?
20. Lastly, no more sleeping on Buffalo. All things being equal, the return on investment — at least from a fantasy perspective — was pretty damn good. Tage Thompson has 37 goals; Jeff Skinner has 33; Alex Tuch has been an excellent fit and Rasmus Dahlin has really taken off (78 GP: 13 G, 40 A, 50 P). Oh, and don’t forget about Owen Power for next year’s Calder either.
Meantime, I’d say early returns on the Jack Eichel trade have been fairly decent too. How about those Vegas Golden Knights, eh?