Friday Fantasy Notebook - Oct. 23, 2026

The weekend is coming. Who’s hot, who’s not, and who’s ready to make noise? The Friday Fantasy Notebook recaps the week’s biggest developments and sets the stage for the weekend’s must-watch players, matchups and storylines.

Edmonton Oilers

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (49% rostered) had a very strong season debut, scoring a power-play goal in Vasily Podkolzin’s spot on PP1 and scored the shootout winner while centering the second line. I highlighted Podkolzin’s fantasy value while playing L1/PP1 a few weeks ago and noted Nugent-Hopkins’ return this season should be tracked if you have Podkolzin on your roster because there’s a chance Nugent-Hopkins’ return bumps Podkolzin to PP2.

That definitely happened, though admittedly I didn’t think it would be so soon considering how well Podkolzin’s played on PP1. Regardless, this unfortunately puts a significant dent in Podkolzin’s fantasy value, though he’s still worth rostering for his L1 spot at even strength. The time to sell high on Podkolzin might have passed.

Nugent-Hopkins has never been strong in the dot in his career so I also wonder if he’ll be 2C all season. His return gives the Oilers some flexibility to potentially split up McDavid and Draisaitl for a more balanced lineup, moving Nugent-Hopkins back to the wing.

The truth is that as long as the Oilers power play runs through Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard, it really doesn’t matter who the other two players are – it’s going to be an elite unit and whoever gets to play with that trio will get a significant bump in fantasy value.

Florida Panthers

Jacob Markstrom got hit by a puck and was placed on IR. I swear, it’s a true story. Anyway, it’s another instance where Markstrom can’t stay healthy, and the Panthers were forced to turn to rookie Cooper Black against the Pens, who made just 17 saves in a 4-0 loss.

You’ll have heard by now that Black is really tall – 6-foot-9, the tallest goalie in history – but it also tells us nothing about his ability to stop the puck. With no back-to-backs until Nov. 7-8, I suspect Akira Schmid (24% rostered) will get the bulk of the starts, if not all of them. The Panthers have been outscored 9-1 in their past two games, but they’re still an elite team. Schmid has fantasy value while Markstrom is out as their main starter, but his fantasy value will be more about volume than quality of starts.

Montreal Canadiens

Big blow to the Habs with captain Nick Suzuki out for 2-4 weeks due to an upper-body injury, leaving an even bigger hole in the weakest part of the Habs lineup. Their play has been really uneven this season – just one regulation win, their season opener – and I suspect Martin St-Louis will try some different combos to find what works.

In the meantime, Oliver Kapanen (3% rostered) gets first crack and his fantasy value increases with his new role. He’s played just two games this season, registered five shots averaging 11 minutes per game. It’s not ideal, but he’s likely the Habs’ best option at the moment; Phillip Danault and Jake Evans are better in matchup checking roles, Alex Newhook may never realize his offensive potential, and Kirby Dach is just far too inconsistent. Kapanen is worth stashing on the bench while Suzuki is on the shelf in case Kapanen manages to do something.

Ottawa Senators

Terrible time for Linus Ullmark to get injured, who seemed to get hurt while making a routine save Wednesday against the Panthers and was placed on IR. Travis Green said he’ll miss a week or two, and Samuel Ersson (8% rostered) ended up getting the start last night against the Sharks.

I don’t know how many chances Ersson will get, but he’s been horrendous this season (0-3-0, .835 SP, 4.59 GAA) and the Sens lost despite outplaying the Sharks by a considerable margin. I’d caution against streaming Ersson against any opponent, especially with the Sens going on a five-game road trip across the country soon. Backup Jonas Johansson (career .888 SP, 3.30 GAA) likely won’t fare much better, so the Sens will have to grit their teeth and hope Ullmark comes back sooner than later.

San Jose Sharks

Top-line left winger Ivan Chernyshov was hurt Thursday in Ottawa and will likely miss Saturday’s game in Boston and perhaps more beyond that. That means a coveted spot on Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith’s line has opened up, and we could see either the red-hot rookie Ivar Stenberg (48% rostered) or veteran Mason Marchment (18% rostered) in that spot. Whoever gets it will get a boost in fantasy value as long as they can stay in that spot.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The big storyline this season has been the Lightning power play with Charle-Edouard D’Astous (8 GP. 1-2-3, minus-3) on PP1 even after signing John Carlson (9 GP. 3-2-5) over the summer. This story is eerily similar to Darren Raddysh’s journey; both D’Astous and Raddysh were very good scorers in major junior, both went undrafted, and both had to ply their craft in other pro leagues before getting their shot in the NHL. (I think Raddysh’s ceiling is way higher, of course).

D’Astous (1% rostered) has scored an assist in consecutive games, including one on the power play, and given his role should be rostered in more fantasy leagues. The potential for power-play points is all that D’Astous can provide in fantasy; he ranks sixth in even-strength ice time per game among Lightning defensemen, and with an 11-7 lineup most nights – no coach is better at handling that than Jon Cooper – D’Astous’ ice time will be limited.

There’s definitely some short-term fantasy value for D’Astous, though I’m still unconvinced he’ll be their season-long PP1 QB. On Tuesday in Vegas, D’Astous had some tough shifts where he had trouble with the puck or made poor plays, including a disastrous turnover and took a penalty on the power play. The sample size isn’t big, but per naturalstattrick.com, the Lightning power play generates 7.49 goals per 60 minutes when Carlson is on the ice compared 6.83 with D’Astous. I’d still hold onto Carlson and see D’Astous more as a short-term hold unless Cooper remains stubborn using D’Astous on PP1. 

Winnipeg Jets

This Sunday is the Heritage Classic in Winnipeg and, understandably, the team and the league wants to focus on its annual outdoor event. Connor Hellebuyck’s suspension ends today, and fresh off the press this morning, it sounds like a trade to the Devils will be completed at some point today. 

No other details have been announced (or leaked), but I imagine there will be some salary retention and perhaps another team may come in to help with that. Remember, the Devils still need ample cap room next season to accommodate Quinn Hughes. With this trade, it certainly seems like a big part of Team USA's gold-medal-winning core at the 2026 Olympics will join forces in New Jersey. 

(Interesting to note Tom Fitzgerald, who up until last April was the Devils GM before being replaced by Sunny Mehta, was the assistant GM for Team USA at the Olympics).

The Devils don't have centers to give up to the Jets -- one of their biggest needs -- and I don't imagine Nico Hischier is going anywhere. That makes me think one or both of Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer may be headed to the Jets. 

It's worth noting, however, that the Jets aren't good at generating offense outside of Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor's line, though a player like Meier could benefit with a change of scenery. He'll likely remain a high-volume shooter and hitter.

Fantasy managers who drafted and/or rostered Hellebuyck can breathe a big sign of relief. This also means that the Nico Daws experiment is likely over, leaving Jake Allen to back up. Hellebuyck is a workhorse, and I don't imagine either Daws or Allen will see much playing time. Both can be left on the waiver wire now. 

Hellebuyck should be motivated and get a lot of wins. He's coming off a down year but there was a three-year stretch where he was the best goalie in the world. If he can come anywhere close to that, the Devils just became much, much closer to being a contender. 

As an aside, the Devils will be in Winnipeg on Nov. 10. If the reception Brady Tkachuk received in Ottawa was any indication, Hellebuyck is going to receive a venomous welcome. It will make for good theater.  

Stuart Skinner (3 wins, .912 SP, 2.67 GAA), meanwhile, continues to be surprisingly good and still rostered in just 63 percent of Yahoo leagues. He's at least earned the right to start the Heritage Classic.

Unless the Jets get another goalie in return, assume Skinner will be their No. 1 for the rest of the season. There’s some fantasy value in the volume of starts Skinner will get, though Jets need to really improve their goal support if they want to win games.

UPDATE:

Here's the full trade. No salary was retained, which means the Devils need to make a minor move to clear cap space to if they want to add Hellebuyck to the roster right away.

The quick skinny:

- Hellebuyck's fantasy value is not back to where it was but it's definitely not zero because he will be the No. 1 starter. Fantasy managers can now breathe a sigh of relief. The question is how rusty he'll be; remember when Jeremy Swayman missed training camp he ended up having a poor season, and there are plenty of examples of that. Hellebuyck has missed camp and basically the first month of the season. Once he gets up to speed, I imagine the Devils will use him as a workhorse. 

- Daws joins the Jets' goalie rotation with Skinner and Stevenson, though Skinner will likely remain the No. 1. He's earned it. The backup job is now a competition, and based on their body of work so far, Daws is likely No. 3 and will get a chance to battle for playing time. Again. A talented goalie set back by numerous injuries, Daws has never really gotten an extended look in the NHL. 

- Mercer doesn't move the needle in fantasy. He'll probably get more ice time with the Jets but he's a complementary player who quietly scores 20 goals a season. Analytics like him, but the raw production just isn't there and the Devils have been reportedly trying to move him for multiple seasons. Maybe Mercer will score more than 20 goals with more top-six opportunities for the Jets, but he's not the play-driving playmaker the Jets need, not a center they need, and the Jets already don't generate much offense.

Weekend Games

Saturday

Ducks (4-6-0) at Flyers (3-6-3), 1 p.m. EDT

This has become a bit of a rivalry game given the front-office drama that has conspired since the Cutter Gauthier trade and Leo Carlsson offer sheet. The Flyers are suddenly on a winning streak while the Ducks have lost five in a row and in danger of losing all four of their games on the road. The key to watch here is if Lukas Dostal can put in a strong performance now that Ville Husso has suddenly forced a timeshare, and if Oliver Bonk can keep his hot streak going. The young Flyers defenseman is playing on the top pair and scored four assists in six games this season.

Sabres (4-4-2) at Capitals (5-4-0), 7 p.m. EDT

If Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has another bad game, does this push the Sabres to up their trade offer for Hellebuyck? Their goaltending has been a sore point all season. Don’t be surprised, either, if Colten Ellis draws this start. There’s potential short-term fantasy value for Ellis if he plays well and earns a second straight start to start forcing a timeshare.

Canadiens (4-3-2) at Jets (4-3-3), 7 p.m. EDT

It’s the Heritage Classic and even if the Jets try to downplay it, the Hellebuyck situation will be a topic, especially if the goaltending is poor.

Wild (6-2-2-) at Canucks (2-8-1), 10 p.m. EDT

The Ottawa crowd was brutal and relentless when Brady Tkachuk returned; will the Canucks do the same for their former captain? It’ll be Quinn Hughes’ first game in Vancouver since getting traded last season and he, too, left town rather acrimoniously.

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