The 2023-24 season is well underway with another 11 teams playing their season openers. Here all the roster notes you need to know for your fantasy team.
Buffalo Sabres
It’s absolutely not shocking that Zach Benson made the team. He was arguably their best player throughout the preseason (7 points in 6 games), and he’ll begin the season on the third line with Casey Mittelstadt – overlooked 59-point producer last season – and Jordan Greenway. It remains to be seen if Benson will play all season, but that’s up to him.
The top line is fantastic, but I would also keep an eye on Dylan Cozens, who is just literal steps away from being a potential No. 1 center on his own. If you're looking for a sleeper breakout player, linemate JJ Peterka can easily score 20 goals this season.
The Sabres will carry Tyson Jost as their extra forward and Jack Quinn (worth a stash) is expected to return at some point this season. Benson’s worth rostering for now, even as a short-term hold, until we see him in action in the regular season. His preseason play, however, has put him firmly on the keeper radar.
Columbus Blue Jackets
The Patrik Laine-at-center experiment is going forward following an excellent preseason with eight points in five games. He'll be flanked by Johnny Gaudreau and Cole Sillinger, who immediately gets a boost in fantasy value despite scoring just three goals in 68 games last season.
Laine will have the vaunted triple-position eligibility (C/LW/RW) before long, but note his awful career faceoff percentages. Laine is going late in redraft leagues due to his recent injury history, but at his peak was one of the league’s most feared shooters. He might return to that status this season, making him an excellent buy low candidate.
Laine at center moves Jack Roslovic to the right wing on the fourth line – he has never been good as a center, anyway – and also allows them to use Boone Jenner in a matchup role. Jenner remains a fantastic multi-category player with his scoring, hits and faceoff wins, but his offense will dip without Laine and Gaudreau on his line.
That leaves Adam Fantilli as the No. 3 center with sniper Kirill Marchenko (5 points in 4 preseason games), who played with Laine and Gaudreau during the preseason, and personal favorite Justin Danforth, a small, speedy winger who was a top scorer in both the Liiga in Finland and the KHL. If Jenner's line is the matchup line, this is the Jackets' second scoring line that will get o-zone starts when Laine's line is tired.
This also pushes puck wizard Kent Johnson out of the lineup and Pascal Vincent indicated Johnson and Adam Boqvist will be the healthy scratches. Johnson's lack of strength and pace are worrisome, and at this point has zero fantasy value until he can play a regular role in the top six.
Their blueline is deep, which is why top prospects David Jiricek and Stanislav Svozil will start in the minors. Zach Werenski will handle the power play, with Jake Bean likely the second option. It does not look like Damon Severson or Ivan Provorov will add any fantasy value despite the change of scenery.
Dallas Stars
The Stars are running it back with no changes to their top six and top four. Matt Duchene and Tyler Seguin will split faceoff duties on the third line, and I have high hopes that both will score close to 60 points, giving them excellent value in deeper leagues since both have C/RW eligibility.
The Stars are a little banged up. Roope Hintz is nursing a day-to-day injury, and should he be unavailable, Seguin is a great play centering the top line. That's the beauty of this Stars lineup; it's deep and versatile.
On defense, look for Thomas Harley to become a regular and handle PP2 duties. He can be a good source of power play points if he gets playing time, but he’ll always be behind Miro Heiskanen.
Detroit Red Wings
We knew this was coming with so many veterans signed during the off-season. Top prospects Simon Edvinsson, Marco Kasper and Jonatan Berggren were assigned to the AHL, and Nate Danielson was returned to the WHL despite an outstanding camp. Berggren was a sleeper pick due to his power-play prowess but no longer.
Lucas Raymond was in line for a big season but there’s some doubt now since the ever-dependable David Perron will open the season with Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat instead. That’s no reason to dump Raymond in fantasy, though it does put a damper on his fantasy value. On the second line with Robby Fabbri and J.T. Compher, however, Raymond’s expected to be the main triggerman. This could be a good thing if Raymond doesn't have to fight DeBrincat to get his share of the shots.
Daniel Sprong (4 goals and plus-7 in 4 preseason games), on the third line with Andrew Copp, is a player who can move up the depth chart. Take a wait-and-see approach. I can see this being a frustrating situation where every winger alternates between hot and cold.
Not many teams run two 'D' on their top power play anymore, but maybe we're going back to that. We saw Tyson Barrie and Roman Josi on the Preds' PP1 on Tuesday and now Shayne Gostisbehere will join Moritz Seider on the Wings' PP1. This instantly gives Gostisbehere a boost in fantasy value though Seider's still way more valuable, especially in banger leagues.
The Wings will be one of the few teams to open the season with three goalies. They kept Alex Lyon around because he would’ve been claimed – the Avs claimed Ivan Prosvetov on Monday – but that’s going to be more competition for Ville Husso, who faded hard down the stretch last season. Husso will start the season opener but his fantasy value will drop significantly if he can’t get 50 or so starts; it’s about quantity, not quality, with Husso.
Florida Panthers
An injury to Sam Bennett has shaken up the Panthers’ lines a little bit, but Evan Rodrigues has remained a consistent presence on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Carter Verhaeghe. Rodrigues scored 39 points in 69 games last season playing a variety of different roles. He’s never scored more than 20 goals in a season but it’s a good bet he does so this season.
Paul Maurice has really spread out the talent and he has Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk playing on separate lines. The lineup is in flux because Anton Lundell's status is uncertain; Lundell had been paired with Reinhart, and should Lundell be unavailable, Reinhart will slide to center.
That's opened up an opportunity for Mackie Samoskevich, a 2021 first-round pick and two-year star at Michigan who turned pro late last season and scored six points in nine games in the AHL regular season and playoffs. There's a little fantasy value there, but it's hard to gauge how much time Samoskevich will get. Leave him for now since the Wild can be a stingy opponent.
Spencer Knight was surprisingly assigned to the AHL after being Sergei Bobrovsky’s backup the past two seasons. Knight left the team late last season and entered the NHL/NHLPA Assistance Program to seek help for obsessive-compulsive disorder. It looks like he won’t be usurping Bobrovsky this season even though we’ve been expecting him to ever since his rookie season. Knight maintains his fantasy value in keeper leagues but it won’t be for another season with Anthony Stolarz as the backup this season.
Minnesota Wild
Marco Rossi made the team, which is great news considering he scored just one assist in 19 games last season. Affected by complications due to COVID-19, Rossi missed nearly an entire season but got back on track with two outstanding seasons in the AHL. He’s got nothing left to prove there, but to have any fantasy value, he needs to also prove he can score in the NHL.
The biggest changes will be on the blueline with Brock Faber and Calen Addison becoming regulars with Jared Spurgeon injured to start the season. Addison definitely has more upside in fantasy as the potential QB on PP1, though Faber will likely play more minutes overall due to his more well-rounded, two-way game. Addison is prone to getting benched, which makes him a high-risk, high-reward asset in fantasy.
New Jersey Devils
Alexander Holtz made the team last year and he ended up only playing 19 games. He’s made the team again and though he skated on the second line with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier during the preseason, he will start on the third line with Erik Haula and Ondrej Palat, thus bumping up Dawson Mercer (fantastic sleeper/keeper). Holtz's preseason play was just okay, scoring three points in four games, and he just hasn’t shown enough to be worth rostering in fantasy. Take a wait-and-see approach, especially on a roster with so many other options.
The rest of the roster features no surprises, though note Luke Hughes is expected to play on the third pairing with Brendan Smith. Hughes is going to be an awesome player, but we’re jumping the gun a little bit when it comes to his fantasy value. He’s not going to get any power play time with Dougie Hamilton still there.
New York Rangers
Kaapo Kakko will open on the top line, and he’s due. I’ve been on the Kakko train forever. A switch to right wing also puts Alexis Lafrenière in the top six with Filip Chytil and Artemi Panarin, but Lafrenière’s poor camp has been duly noted. Lafrenière is rostered more than Kakko in Yahoo leagues, and I think it should be the opposite, though Lafrenière’s hits does make him more valuable in banger leagues.
Will Cuylle is the newest youngster to crack the roster, and he might be of some value in a pinch in banger leagues due to his physical play. He’ll play with Vincent Trocheck and Blake Wheeler on a big, physical line.
The rest of the roster is largely unchanged. Chytil’s promotion to the second line will see increased minutes, which will only boost his numbers (and fantasy value), but likely at the expense of Trocheck. Expect Trocheck’s numbers to dip, though his faceoff wins, hits and shots still makes him uniquely valuable in banger leagues.
Philadelphia Flyers
Bobby Brink was listed on the Flyers’ opening night roster as No. 10 instead of No. 46, which he wore last season and throughout camp, which is a sure sign he’s made the squad. Brink and Tyson Foerster were fighting for roster spots and both will make the team, though Brink is ahead and will line up on Sean Couturier's left wing. John Tortorella can be hard to predict sometimes, but he had been effusive in his praise for Brink. He's a great streaming option playing in that spot.
The Flyers offer up some really great sleeper options this season, including Owen Tippett, Morgan Frost and even veterans Couturier and Cam Atkinston, both of whom were seemingly forgotten after sitting out the entire 2022-23 season due to injury. Whatever the Flyers are pegged in the standings, I’m taking the over.
On the blueline, keep an eye on Cam York, who is lining up on the first pair with Travis Sanheim. York's numbers don’t draw attention but he’s got the skill set to be their PP QB. Rasmus Ristolainen is injured to start the season, and he was the biggest threat to York for playing time on the power play.
San Jose Sharks
Not a lot to discuss, but note rookie defenseman Henry Thrun, a three-year star at Harvard who averaged a point per game and won a gold medal at the 2021 World Juniors, made the team. Drafted by the Ducks in the fourth round of the 2019 draft, Thrun refused to sign and his rights were subsequently traded to the Sharks.
This is important because the Sharks plan on running a five-forward PP1 with Mikael Granlund as the QB. I have my doubts since no team in memory has every gone with five forwards for a full season, and it shows how dire the Sharks' blueline situation really is. Granlund is a playmaker, and no respectable PK unit will ever respect his shot from the point, and it's going to limit the effectiveness of the shooters on the half-wall, presumed to be Mike Hoffman and Anthony Duclair.
Thrun is the Sharks' best option to quarterback their PP. The only drawback at the moment is his lack of experience. Matt Benning is Thrun's only competition and, honestly, Benning's really not cut out for that role.
This puts Thrun on the fantasy radar as a potential sleeper. He can be a good choice of power-play points but little else. Thrun will be joined by fellow rookies William Eklund and Thomas Bordeleau, both of whom practiced with Thrun on PP2, on the opening night roster.
St. Louis Blues
Jakub Vrana had an outstanding preseason (5 points in 5 games) and he will start on the third line with Kevin Hayes and Sammy Blais, and will likely see minutes on PP2. When healthy, Vrana's numbers have been excellent, and he's worth streaming until otherwise. With Kasperi Kapanen on the second line, that drops prospect Jake Neighbours to the fourth line, impeding his chances of a breakout season.
Tyler Tucker, who played 26 games last season, is expected to be the sixth defenseman, pushing Scott Perunovich to the press box. Perunovich has far more upside, especially on offense (3 assists in 5 preseason games), but the Blues don’t need it with Torey Krug and Justin Faulk healthy.
No surprise that Joel Hofer will be Jordan Binnington’s backup, and that’s one goaltending battle to watch all season. If Akira Schmid is the most likely usurper this season, Hofer is right behind him.