Fantasy Hockey Mailbag: Which Blackhawks players will get a boost from Bedard?

Stashing players is a common practice in fantasy hockey, but Matvei Michkov will require much more patience.  

The Philadelphia Flyers draft pick had the talent to have potentially been a top-three selection, though he fell to Philly at seventh overall because he likely won’t be heading to North America for a few years.

Still, Michkov is an incredible talent and one you’d probably want on your fantasy team when he arrives. It’s going to be tough to grab him right now in standard keeper leagues, but in formats with minor league options, Michkov is definitely worth considering.  

Kirill Kaprizov is probably a good comparable to Michkov’s situation. Drafted by the Minnesota Wild in 2015, Kaprizov didn’t arrive in Minnesota for another five years. Now he’s a perennial top-10 pick in fantasy and rewarding those who got ahead of the game and secured him early.  

The Flyers can afford to be patient. They’re rebuilding and when Michkov arrives they may just be starting to hit their stride again, which will only increase his value.

You’ll have to decide if you and your fantasy squad can exercise the same patience. Michkov might just be worth the wait.   

Time for your questions: 

With Timo Meier now signed, I imagine the New Jersey Devils will go with Meier, Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier and Dougie Hamilton. If there are any injuries or anyone struggles, there’s a decent chance Dawson Mercer and Luke Hughes could see time up on the top unit as well.

The Devils figure to be one of the league’s highest-scoring teams once again, so don’t hesitate to grab any of these seven players if you get a chance in your league.

It would certainly be an interesting landing spot for Erik Karlsson, but I’m not sure how realistic he would be for the Nashville Predators. As it stands now, the Preds already have Roman Josi and Tyson Barrie on the roster, who are both offensive-minded and can quarterback a power play. Karlsson would definitely be an upgrade for the group, though I’m not sure that would be the best use of their cap space.  

Nashville probably needs more help up front and at centre specifically, so adding another defenceman with a massive cap hit might not make the most sense. Plus, the Predators just offloaded Ryan Johansen and ate a bunch of his salary, which could signal they are going to take a step back and retool somewhat. That may not be an appealing situation for Karlsson. My money says he doesn’t end up in Music City.

Unless Cam Talbot stumbles into an incredible situation in free agency, I’d take Pavel Francouz out of that group, even with his challenges staying healthy.

That said, your best bet is probably just to roll with Linus Ullmark and Darcy Kuemper out of the gate and keep your roster flexible. There will inevitably be a better option than the three you referenced that emerges on the waiver wire early in the season and you’ll be in a much better spot if you pounce on them. I don’t think it’s worth using a roster spot on Francouz, Talbot or Charlie Lindgren to start the season.

We know Bedard will score how about Hall now & whoever’s on the RW? — @sportshashhash

Whoever plays with Connor Bedard will benefit greatly and Taylor Hall seems like a good bet to start with the rookie. I’d also look at Andreas Athanasiou because he has the speed to play with Bedard and Philipp Kurashev could get a look, too. There’s also a possibility they start Bedard on the wing and maybe pair him with Lukas Reichel.  

Keep in mind, though, it’s probably going to take Bedard some time to acclimate to the NHL, so don’t expect massive production right out of the gate. Bedard and any linemates he plays with will probably prove more fruitful in the next two or three years when he really starts clicking, so his value is much higher in keeper leagues.  

Your best strategy might be to keep a close eye on the waiver wire as the season begins to see if anyone catches fire next to Bedard, as it’s likely the Chicago Blackhawks will juggle their lines quite a bit. It will be tough to predict exactly who fits best with Bedard in the pre-season. Be ready to stream anyone that starts connecting with Bedard and appears to have chemistry.

I wouldn’t overthink this one. Pierre-Luc Dubois is a talented player, which can only help Kevin Fiala. Even if the lines get jumbled, Fiala has proven in the past he can be fairly productive with anyone. He recorded 85 points in 2021-22 playing with Frederick Gaudreau and Matt Boldy on the Minnesota Wild. If you get an amazing offer for Fiala you can consider it, but don’t feel like you have to move on from him.

There’s no doubt Noah Hanifin would improve the Florida Panthers' defensive corps. It’s pretty remarkable the Panthers made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final with the likes of Marc Staal, Radko Gudas and Josh Mahura rounding out their blue-line. Hanifin would be a significant upgrade and might even see a bigger role and some power-play time in the early part of the season, as Aaron Ekblad won’t be ready to start the year because of injuries and Brandon Montour is also dealing with off-season shoulder surgery.

Montour is coming off an incredible offensive campaign and arguably an even more impressive post-season from a growth standpoint. Given Ekblad’s struggles in 2022-23 and the fact he won’t be ready to start the campaign, Montour should get every opportunity to be the team’s No. 1 offensive weapon on the back end. As long as he stays healthy, I think Montour should push for 70 points again.

It’s no secret I’m not a huge fan of keeping goalies because I believe you can find great value options late in drafts and off waivers, so I’d probably go the four forwards and two defensemen route. That would mean Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby, Karlsson and Montour would all be locks, and then it gets a bit tricky for the final forward.

I’m debating between Boldy and Zach Hyman, and leaning towards Hyman. He’s virtually assured to be playing with either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl at all times, whereas Boldy, who is still a good option, may not get enough time with Kirill Kaprizov yet to take his game to another level.

I’d go with the first four on your list. McDavid, Elias Pettersson, Fiala and Trevor Zegras should net you the most points based on your league categories. If your league had things like hits and faceoff wins, then J.T. Miller would be an interesting consideration.

Which rookies should we keep an eye on for fantasy next year? It's the later rounds of my fantasy draft, what fantasy-relevant 3rd/4th liners do you like? (points league)? — @sarumanthedark

Obviously, the players at the top of the draft like Bedard, Leo Carlsson and Adam Fantilli could make immediate impacts, but I’d also target Matthew Knies of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Knies looked good in a small sample size in the post-season, and now he’ll likely play in a potent Maple Leafs top six all season.  

As for players farther down the lineup, check out Arthur Kaliyev and Daniel Sprong. Both scored at a really good rate for the amount of ice time they received and would be good options in really deep leagues.

It hasn’t been a great off-season for the Calgary Flames, but I’m actually really intrigued by Jonathan Huberdeau. He had a 60-point dropoff in his first year with the Flames, so he’ll likely plummet down draft boards and you should be able to snag him much lower than his actual value. If you’re expecting Huberdeau to get back to 100 points, he almost certainly won’t. But even if he gets back to the 70-75 range, that’s still a steal for someone you might be able to draft outside of the top 100.

Alex Newhook matches this description for me. The Montreal Canadiens suddenly have a plethora of centres and even if he plays wing, I don’t see Newhook sticking in the top six. He had a few opportunities to play higher up in the lineup in Colorado and didn’t do much with it. He’s still young and Newhook could very turn into a more offensive threat, but for now I just see him as a third-liner destined for no more than 40 points.

It’s tough to predict at this point, though I’d put my money on Joel Hofer right now. Jordan Binnington has really regressed in recent years and was already overtaken by Ville Husso before, so Hofer should have a decent chance to do the same.

Dustin Wolf and Yaroslav Askarov are great prospects but will have tougher challenges to surpass Jacob Markstrom and Juuse Saros, respectively.  

Devon Levi also deserves some consideration, especially if the Buffalo Sabres continue to turn a corner, but I’d still give a slight edge to Hofer.  

Thoughts on Thomas Bordeleau and do you think he will have a middle 6 roll on Sharks to start season? — @RKustal

It’s a possibility with the San Jose Sharks rebuilding and Meier gone. There will be opportunities for young players to step up and grab playing time, and Thomas Bordeleau should certainly be in the mix after scoring 22 goals in the AHL last year. I definitely wouldn’t draft Bordeleau at this point but put him down on your watch list.  

Time to give up on Quentin Byfield? — @LeslieEricSimon

Definitely not. The Los Angeles Kings now have three centres in Anze Kopitar, Dubois and Phillip Danault ahead of Quinton Byfield on the depth chart, but this upcoming season could be his most productive yet. With Alex Iafallo and Gabriel Vilardi dealt to the Winnipeg Jets, the Kings will need top-six wingers and Byfield will likely get a featured role, probably on the top line. His development at centre may be slowed, but if Byfield can stick with Kopitar and Adrian Kempe all season, he’ll be worth rostering.

There are always several goalies with tremendous value that aren’t even on most people’s radar during fantasy hockey draft season. We talked a little about Hofer earlier and you can also add Joseph Woll and Akira Schmid’s names to the list of netminders to keep an eye on. Both goalies have the two things going for them you need to rise from obscurity in fantasy: a great team in front of them and an opportunity to steal starts.  

I’d also watch what the Carolina Hurricanes do in free agency as there’s a chance both Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta may not be back. Pyotr Kochetkov probably won’t sneak by many people this year, but Carolina may end up signing a veteran to partner with him that will have value. There's no more goalie-friendly team than the Hurricanes.

As you can probably gather from my previous answer, I wouldn’t be drafting a goalie until very late in this format. I’d rank Igor Shesterkin as my top goalie, though he would probably be drafted long before I’d consider taking someone between the pipes. As for a defenceman, I’d rank Cale Makar in the top spot and I think there’s an argument to make him as a late first-round pick. A defender who can score well over a point per game is a very valuable commodity when you consider there aren't that many at the position who can do so.