There will be six teams in action on opening night, highlighted by a Blackhawks-Penguins clash that pits Connor Bedard against Sidney Crosby. Here are fantasy hockey notes for all six rosters.
Chicago Blackhawks
Ryan Donato will start on the top line on Connor Bedard’s right wing, giving him a small short-term fantasy boost as a streamer. Donato’s per 60 numbers last season were very good after scoring 27 points in 71 games despite averaging 11 minutes per game with the Kraken, and perhaps like Max Domi last season, Donato could put up excellent numbers with increased playing time. Keep in mind the lineup will change when Colin Blackwell and Philipp Kurashev return to the lineup when they recover from their injuries.
This drops Tyler Johnson to the second line, but that’s good for Lukas Reichel, who gets two of the Hawks’ better wingers, the other being Taylor Raddysh, who led the Hawks with 20 goals last season. Reichel’s had a quiet preseason (1 goal in 5 games) but remains a dark horse Calder candidate due to his talent and top-six role.
Kevin Korchinski made the squad, but I wouldn’t put much fantasy stock in the seventh overall pick from 2022 since Seth Jones is expected to play most, if not all, of the power play minutes.
Nashville Predators
The glut of centers means someone has to move to the wing, and it looks like Juuso Parssinen drew the lucky straw despite a lackluster preseason (1 point in 3 games). He’ll play with Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg on the top line, instantly giving his fantasy value a big boost. He’s a late bloomer but a proven scorer in the Finnish leagues and worth watching.
Speaking of late bloomers, Tommy Novak (3 goals in 5 preseason games) was a force late last season and he’ll center a line with Luke Evangelista, who played top-six minutes last season, and 2019 first-round pick Phil Tomasino, and form their second scoring line. Novak was competing with Cody Glass, who will center Gustav Nyquist and Kiefer Sherwood on a checking line.
The Preds blueline is interesting. We know Roman Josi is a fantasy stud, but they’re offering tons of value in banger leagues. It starts with Luke Schenn (318 hits last season) and Jeremy Lauzon (250 hits), and shot blockers Ryan McDonagh (165 blocks), Dante Fabbro (129 blocks, 113 hits) and Alex Carrier (67 blocks, 57 hits in 43 games).
Pittsburgh Penguins
Well, it looks like Jake Guentzel is ready to go and will not miss any time this season despite undergoing ankle surgery. He’ll open the season in his usual spot next to Sidney Crosby, which pushes Reilly Smith down to the second line. That’s okay, though, because Smith gets to play with Evgeni Malkin now.
There was talk the Pens would play Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang together on PP1, but Guentzel’s return means that’s no longer necessary. Letang was spotted practicing with the second unit, which puts a damper on his fantasy vale. This is the beginning of the end for Letang’s fantasy value, which was elite among defensemen for the better part of a decade.
If you’re looking for a sleeper defenseman, keep an eye on Marcus Pettersson, who will play with Karlsson at even strength. Last season, Karlsson boosted Jaycob Megna’s numbers with the Sharks to career highs, and he might be able to do to the same for Pettersson, who would become incredibly valuable in banger leagues if he could score a few more points to go with his 100-plus blocks and hits.
Seattle Kraken
The Kraken are basically running it back. Shane Wright will begin the season in the AHL because there’s no room for him to play meaningful minutes and develop. The only notable changes are Tye Kartye playing on the fourth line despite his playoff heroics last season, and Joey Daccord as the backup to Philipp Grubauer. Kartye might have some streaming value depending on where he plays in the lineup; he’s shown he can be a streaky scorer.
Daccord led AHL Coachella Valley to the Calder Cup final last season, and he should be getting more attention as a potential sleeper to take over the starting job. Grubauer’s the starter only because the Kraken have no other choice. For managers who like the zero-G strategy, Daccord could have just as much value as Akira Schmid or Joseph Woll.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy is out 8-10 weeks following back surgery, and the Lightning have to hold the fort until then. As of Monday evening, the Lightning have yet to acquire another goalie, which means journeyman backup Jonas Johansson is now the starter, backed up by Matt Tomkins, a 29-year-old Canadian Olympian who played for Färjestad BK in the Swedish League last season and has never seen a minute of NHL action. Being the starter on one of the best teams in the league gives Johansson considerable fantasy value and he should be rostered now over any goalie involved in a timeshare.
Top goalie prospect Hugo Alnefelt is clearly not ready for the NHL, and he’ll share the net with Pyotr Kochetkov, who was assigned to the Lightning’s AHL affiliate since the Hurricanes do not have one of their own. Kochetkov is clearly the better goalie, and it’s an awkward situation because the Lightning may want to prioritize Alnefelt’s development instead of keeping Kochetkov warm in case of injury to either Frederik Andersen or Antti Raanta.
Vegas Golden Knights
Alec Martinez will start the season on IR, sidelining one of the most reliable sources of blocks and hits. Zach Whitecloud, another regular banger-league streamer, will join him, which means Ben Hutton and Brayden Pachal will feature on the bottom pair. That’s not a big deal since the Knights don’t have a tough schedule to start, and it will not impact the fantasy value for Logan Thompson or Adin Hill given their defensive structure.
The Knights offense is a little thin but they’ve always managed to make it work. Look for Ivan Barbashev to continue where he left off after scoring 34 points in 45 games with the Knights in the season and playoffs combined. He’s back on a line with Jack Eichel and offers really good value in banger leagues scoring at that pace along with close to 200 hits.
