With no games slated for Friday -- sad face -- I thought this would be a good time to open up my fantasy notebook and share some stats and musings. They range from potentially significant, such as Shea Theodore losing his spot on Vegas PP1, to maybe a nothingburger, such as Brady Martin opening the season as the Preds 1C. 

 I've divided the fantasy notebook by position, so be sure to check out the forwards, defencemen and goalies. 

Shea Theodore, D, VGK (98% rostered)

The Knights decided to go with a five-forward PP1, and given how effective they were with Pavel Dorofeyev (hat trick, 2 PPG) in the season opener against the Kings, it's hard to disagree with their decision. He scored another PPG last night. Mitch Marner has taken Theodore's position at the point, and Dorofeyev is one of their best shooters. As long as their current PP unit holds, there's little reason to think they will break it up.

As a result, Theodore's fantasy value has taken a significant hit and it is unlikely his fantasy value will match or exceed whatever draft capital you used to roster him. He scored 19 of his 57 points last season on the power play, and that number will certainly drop without PP1 minutes.

This is bad news for fantasy managers, but maybe we should’ve seen this coming; without Alex Pietrangelo, they needed someone to take some of the heavy 5-on-5 minutes, and Theodore led the way with 22:38, followed by Noah Hanifin with 20:48. By signing Marner, the Knights added an elite two-way scorer, freed up Theodore for more matchup roles and didn’t sacrifice their effectiveness on the power play.

Thomas Harley, D, DAL (98% rostered)
Miro Heiskanen, D, DAL (97% rostered)

I’m starting to despise the fact the Stars insist on using Heiskanen on the power play, who played 6:05 to Harley’s 2:00 in a 5-0 win against the Blues. I still think Harley is the better option long term, so I’m still stubbornly giving him more fantasy value. Heiskanen finished the game with four shots but a minus-2 rating while Harley had two helpers and five blocks. Heiskanen obviously has more fantasy value than usual playing PP1; recall his 73-point season with 32 power-play assists in 2022-23.

Dougie Hamilton, D, NJ (97% rostered)
Luke Hughes, D, NJ (94% rostered)

In the ceaseless Luke vs. Dougie debate, Luke has the upper hand right now as the PP1 QB. Sheldon Keefe gave his two units pretty similar ice time but there’s no doubt Hughes is in the better situation with a unit that includes brother Jack and Jesper Bratt.

Both Hamilton and Hughes are still worth rostering, but by sharing the PP TOI, they’re not going to put up elite numbers. The Devils didn’t get much PP opportunity, so we shall see if this is an even split. There is some scuttlebutt the Devils might move someone on their crowded blue line, and Hamilton is surely a candidate given his hefty contract; trading him also means they don’t have to think and just commit only to Hughes as their PP QB.

Hamilton had 15 points to Hughes’ 16 on the power play last season, but Hamilton scored five PPG and he will always have the edge in that department because he’s a shooter and Hughes is a passer. Is there a scenario where both Hughes and Hamilton play PP1? I doubt it, because no Devils coach seems to want to try it, but I’d be curious to see it.

Sam Rinzel, D, CHI (40% rostered)

There was little doubt in my mind Rinzel would enter the season as the Blackhawks’ PP QB. As their best defenceman, though? Definitely didn’t have that on my bingo card. He played 25:18 in the season opener, nearly seven more minutes than every other Hawks defenceman, and finished with six shot attempts.

There was a scary moment against the Bruins when Rinzel turned into the boards with the puck and was crushed by Nikita Zadorov, forcing him to leave the ice. He returned soon afterwards – whew – and finished the game again as the Hawks’ top option. He has yet to score a point but it will surely come soon, as he had plenty of chances to score points, especially in overtime. I think Rinzel can be a top-50 to top-75 defenseman by the end of the season for multi-category production and PP1 upside.

Matthew Schaefer, D, NYI (53% rostered)

Schaefer notched an assist in his NHL debut, played 17:15 and added a shot and a hit. It was a solid debut and only Scott Mayfield play fewer minutes, and it’s clear the Isles will bring Schaefer along slowly over the course of the entire season. I doubt they’ll send him back to junior, but in terms of fantasy value, managers might have to be really patient.

For now, Tony DeAngelo remains the Isles’ top option, skating 23:35 – one of two defencemen to skate at least 20 minutes, alongside Alexander Romanov – including 5:15 on the power play. In keeper leagues, Schaefer might be their top option as soon as the following season but I think we’ve gotten ahead of ourselves in redraft leagues with so many defencemen still available who will play more minutes.

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