ESPN is bringing you quick-hitting team previews ahead of the 2016-17 fantasy
season, with a spin through each division.
Columbus Blue
Jackets Jersey . Well look at whats new, upward and downward
trending players, and the goaltending situation for all 30 teams.The goaltender
index is a rating from one to 10, with one being your workhorse starters that
face no threat whatsoever to their expected workload of 60-plus games, and 10
being a situation that is already a full-blown timeshare between two
goalies.Anaheim DucksWhats new: Welcome back, Randy Carlyle! Previously with the
Ducks from 2005 to 2011, Carlyle guided the team to the playoffs in five of his
six full seasons, capturing one Stanley Cup along the way. Ryan Getzlaf and
Corey Perry had some of the more productive seasons in their careers with
Carlyle at the helm, and should have little trouble recapturing that magic.After
Getzlaf and Perry, however, the team is mostly bit players for fantasy purposes.
Ryan Kesler still stuffs most categories, while Rickard Rakell has the inside
track to build on his chemistry with Getzlaf and Perry from last season. The
defense is led by Sami Vatanen, but Hampus Lindholm (once he signs a contract)
will also be a factor. Jakub Silfverberg remains a sleeper for untapped
offensive potential, too.Trending up: Rickard Rakell, W: Settling in as the
third member of the Ducks top line last season, both on and off the power play,
Rakell turned in a 20-goal campaign. It would have been better had the Ducks not
tinkered with their lines early in the campaign during a slow start. Hes coming
off abdominal surgery this offseason, but the thought is that hell still be
there for opening night.Trending down: Antoine Vermette, C: With Getzlaf and
Kesler down the middle, Vermette will start the season as a third-line center
for the first time in a few seasons. That should bring a run of fringe fantasy
relevance to a close, especially given his lack of power-play time, as the Ducks
are quite loaded with other options.Goaltender index: 2. This would be a 1 if
John Gibson had a full season under his belt already, but it doesnt appear hes
at risk of losing his starting job early. The main concern is the heavier
workload the young goaltender is expected to shoulder as the workhorse
netminder. Gibson had sparkling ratios in his 40 games last season, and should
get pushed toward starting 60-plus this season.With his ratios and a winning
formula in front of him, Gibsons a lock for No. 1 fantasy goaltender numbers,
with the upside for a top-five finish if the extra work doesnt slow him down,
especially later in the season. Jonathan Bernier doesnt need to be drafted if
you take Gibson, but he is expected to thrive if called upon, now that he is out
of Toronto and not trying to win games by himself anymore.Arizona CoyotesWhats
new: The near-lock addition of Dylan Strome and possible addition of Christian
Dvorak gives the Coyotes two more young offensive dynamos to add to the pile
with Anthony Duclair and Max Domi. Strome is clearly the teams No. 1 center for
2017-18, but whether he ascends to that role this season is not clear.Aside from
the addition of more bodies from their elite prospect pool, the Coyotes added
veterans Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata and Alex Goligoski as possible fantasy role
players.Trending up: Anthony Duclair, W: With a big rookie season in the books,
Duclair will look to translate more ice time and responsibility into even better
numbers. A drop in goals in the second half was just his shooting percentage
coming back down to Earth (although he still finished a bit high, at 19
percent). Duclair had success with Martin Hanzal, and will continue to work
there until Strome shows hes ready to take over the top line.Trending down:
Martin Hanzal, C: In the same way Auston Matthews is coming into the Toronto
Maple Leafs fold, Strome is joining the Coyotes with the knowledge that its only
a matter of time before hes the teams No. 1 pivot. Does he play there out of the
gate? Does it take two months? Is it when (not if) Hanzal is hurt for the first
time this season? Its going to be one of those, and Strome will finish at the
top of the teams depth chart this season. Drafting Hanzal, who has been a
fantasy-relevant player when healthy, is essentially putting blinders on to the
inevitable.Goaltender index: 4. Mike Smith continued his trend of a
quality-ratios season following one of utter disaster. His numbers were OK
again, as he put together a great late-season run to finish with more wins in
just 32 games than he won in 2014-15 while playing 62. Smith is the incumbent,
but if the every other season trend continues, hes due for another bad one.
Louis Domingue was good enough last season that hell start getting more work at
the first sign of Smiths struggles.All of this said, the Coyotes are due for
another date in the draft lottery, and neither goaltender will offer much to
season-long fantasy players.Calgary FlamesWhats new: While there is a new coach
in town, and that will have a big impact, the headline here is the arrival of
Brian Elliott. In one of the most obvious moves of the offseason, the team with
the worst save percentage in the NHL stole the starting goaltender from the team
with the best save percentage in the NHL. At the very least, that means a
middle-of-the-road finish for the Flames when it comes to keeping the puck out
of the net. At best, Elliott will prove it wasnt just the system in St. Louis
that bred his success.The arrival of coach Glen Gulutzan also signals a sweeping
change in the way the Flames will play hockey. Former coach Bob Hartley sent out
a run-and-gun offense that played into the wheelhouses of the teams talented
studs like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Gulutzan will bring a more
possession-based approach that could mean we just saw Gaudreaus career high for
points last season. Dont get us wrong, hes still close to a point-per-game
player and overall improvement should stabilize his elite fantasy value. We are
just not projecting Gaudreau into the top 10 for fantasy forwards without
Hartleys reckless abandon for the attack behind him.But note that the Flames
finished in the bottom 10 for goals allowed and the top 10 in goals, and were
are anticipating both of those numbers to draw toward the mean with the
additions in net and behind the bench.Trending up: Troy Brouwer, W: A punishing
power forward projected to skate with Gaudreau and Monahan on a regular basis,
Brouwer has big potential for multi-category fantasy impact this season with the
Flames. Hes done it before, dominating on the power play with Alexander Ovechkin
and Nicklas Backstrom in 2013-14 and kicking butt on a line with Patrick Kane
and Jonathan Toews in 2009-10. Brouwer knows how to work with stud forwards, and
should push toward another season of 20-plus goals and 40-plus points.Trending
down: T.J. Brodie, D: Unfortunately for Brodie, Dougie Hamilton has stolen the
second chair for fantasy defensemen on the Flames going forward. Following a
2014-15 with 11 goals and 133 shots, Brodie took a step back offensively, with
just six goals and 79 shots last season. Hamilton and Mark Giordano patrolled
full-time on the power play together. Even though his point total was higher
last season, the difference in how Brodie got those points was the difference
between being a No. 2 fantasy defenseman and being a back-end No. 4 fantasy
defenseman.Goaltender index: 2. The starting job is Elliotts to run with in
Calgary, with the only note of caution being that he hasnt had a full workload,
like, ever. Hes started more than 40 games twice in a nine-season career, and
never started more than 50.However, his potential to carry over elite ratios for
a team with a strong offense could push Elliott into the top-five for fantasy
goaltenders. Weve got him just outside the top 10 based on concerns with
workload, and whether it was the goalie or system that earned Elliott the best
goals-against average in the NHL for the past five seasons combined.Edmonton
OilersWhats new: Wed say whats new with the Oilers was the injection of another
top-three talent from the NHL draft (yes, Jesse Puljujarvi should have gone
third) and renewed optimism to break a 10-year playoff drought. But, you know,
thats the story line every year here!There is otherworldly talent mixed in as
deep as three lines for the Oilers, leaving fantasy owners with nine names to
know, but only supreme confidence in one of them. Connor McDavid is a rockstar,
and it doesnt matter how the lines are deployed; hell be among the leagues
scoring leaders. Everyone else will be situationally dependent on the lines and
how their linemates are playing, but within that, there are some fantasy stars
in waiting. Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle are the most obvious, as both are
expected to play with McDavid out of the gate. But Ryan Nugent-Hopkins,
Puljujarvi, Leon Draisaitl, Benoit Pouliot, Nail Yakupov and maybe even Kris
Versteeg are all names to remember later in your draft.Trading Taylor Hall for
Adam Larsson was much criticized, but it addressed a need for the club. Just
dont go around thinking this defensive group is on par with the forwards. Oscar
Klefbom might have some fantasy value, and Larsson has an outside shot at
improving, but probably still not enough to warrant attention.Trending up: Milan
Lucic, LW: While we admit the plus-26 rating is not repeatable for Lucic on this
Oilers team, its still important to note that his numbers last season with the
Kings landed him as the 55th-best fantasy player in the ESPN standard game. He
may give up that lofty plus/minus, but playing with McDavid will bring an influx
of other stats to counter that. Lucic does it all in fantasy, and could be on
his way to his best overall season if he finds a home next to McDavid for the
long haul.Trending down: Leon Draisaitl, C: Something has to give with this
Oilers team down the middle. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins comes into this season on his
last chance to produce consistently and, given his pedigree and talent, we think
he can finally come through. That scenario would leave Draisaitl, although
talented in his own rights, with the scraps of the third line. There will be
some flip-flopping through the season between these two, but RNH has tenure and
should come out on top if he stays healthy. One other possibility: Draisaitl
moves to the wing. In other words, this is one situation well have to
consistently monitor.Goaltender index: 2. After a shaky start, Cam Talbot
certainly held his own in his first season as a full-time starter, especially
considering how often he was thrown to the wolves by the team in front of him.
The crease is his again this season. Jonas Gustavsson wasnt brought in to
challenge him, but rather spell him when the need arises. That said, you can do
better than a fantasy goalie from a rebuilding franchise with a suspect
defense.Los Angeles KingsWhats new: Lucics departure leaves a gaping hole in the
top six, where Lucic played on the Kings best line last season with Jeff Carter
and Tyler Toffoli. Can Toffoli replicate that success with new linemates? Does
he stay with Carter or move to the wing with Anze Kopitar? How does the prodigal
Teddy Purcell fit into the picture now that hes more experienced as a
scoring-line winger?Kopitar is a top-20 forward, Drew Doughty a top-10
defenseman and Jonathan Quick a top-five goaltender. Those are the facts we
know, and the rest of the answers will be sorted out through the early part of
the campaign. Just be aware that there are several moving pieces at play here in
the early going.Trending up: Tyler Toffoli, W: The Kings only 30-goal scorer
last season built on each of his previous two NHL campaigns to finish with 31
goals and 58 points in 2015-16. The question with Toffoli is whether he can get
it done without Lucic, as he rarely set foot on the ice without him last season.
Luckily the Kings have a fellow named Kopitar whos pretty adept at running an
offense, and only spent a portion of Toffolis ice time with him. Increased
minutes with Kopitar, chemistry with Carter, more power-play time -- the list of
positive possible variables for Toffoli is a long one headed into this season.
While we cant yet nail down how he will get the job done, rest assured we know
he wont disappoint.Trending down: Marian Gaborik, W: Hurt before the season even
starts? Yes, thats Gaborik for you. But its not just the injuries that are the
concern. If Gaborik still got us 30 goals in 54 games or so, we could take the
injuries in stride. But last season, Gaborik only managed 12 goals and 22 points
in 54 games. Thats nowhere near the kind of elite production were used to do
from Gaborik, even in his injury-shortened campaigns. Its been four full seasons
since he was a 30-year-old, 40-goal scorer. Dont even worry about stashing him
early on this season, as hes out until sometime in November anyway.Goaltender
index: 1. Of the 16 goalies who have played in more than 100 games during the
past two seasons, Quick is an uninspiring 11th in save percentage, but fifth in
goals-against average and second in wins. What does that tell you? Quick plays
in a good system, but might struggle outside of it.Luckily that doesnt matter,
as the Kings arent looking to supplant Quick anytime soon. Hell once again be
aces in two of the three categories that matter, while not killing you in the
third. That makes for a No. 1 fantasy goaltender. Remember the note about the
system, as an injury to Quick would allow whoever replaces him to thrive -- as
weve seen in the recent past for Jhonas Enroth and Martin Jones. For this
season, Jeff Zatkoff becomes immediately interesting if Quick gets hurt.San Jose
SharksWhats new: There was no reason to reinvent the wheel after pushing into
the Stanley Cup finals last season, so the Sharks brought in a couple of bit
pieces and will look for another run of success from their aging core.You know
the score here: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Martin Jones are elite at their
respective positions, with Burns and Pavelski both reasonable takes in the first
round of your fantasy draft. Logan Couture and Joe Thornton are also in the mix
for top-50 value, though wed feel safer betting on Couture.The new faces will
mix in with the established players. David Schlemko probably wont get a chance
to be a fantasy factor, but Mikkel Boedker could easily be a sleeper on the
right line. The speedy winger will be playing with the best linemates of his
career if he makes the Sharks top six in some capacity.Trending up: Logan
Couture, C: Missing a good chunk of last season following a broken leg really
suppresses Coutures apparent value, especially because fantasy owners can
sometimes forget to take a peek at the playoff scoring leaders. Couture led them
all with 10 goals and 30 points in 24 games. He should finally shatter the
70-point barrier this season.Trending down: Patrick Marleau, W: Its not as if
Marleau didnt get his chances last season. He played 19 minutes per game and was
a mainstay on the Sharks deadly power play. But outside of his specialization as
a power-play wizard, Marleaus stats were pretty weak, considering the situation.
He was a minus-22 on the season, for starters. He managed that while the top
line finished at plus-25. Even though he had 25 power-play points, Marleau still
finished 171st on the ESPN Player Rater, as testament to just how harmful that
terrible plus/minus was. On the right fantasy team, Marleau can have value, but
dont take him where his name pedigree might suggest.Goaltender index: 1. Jones
proved he could handle the rigors of an NHL starting job in his first chance,
finishing tied for fifth in games played and third in wins. The goals-against
average was terrific thanks to the Sharks defense, but the save percentage was
only OK, at .918. If you are being aggressive on goaltending, Jones and a guy
like Cory Schneider -- who will have a high save percentage, but fewer wins --
would be perfect. It might be tough to get them both, though, so a sleeper like
Robin Lehner might suffice. Aaron Dell and Troy Grosenick are competing to back
up Jones, but we dont need to worry about who they are unless there is an
injury.Vancouver CanucksWhats new: The Canucks appear to be stuck in fantasy
limbo, with little to get excited about beyond the first line. The only new
addition of substance is Loui Eriksson, who gets a chance to return to his
first-line production levels which were last truly on display when he was a
member of the Dallas Stars. Hell join Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin on the top
line, and get a chance to replicate their chemistry from international
competition.There are a few other players on whom fantasy owners can take
fliers, but not until the end of drafts. Specifically, a rebounding Alexander
Edler, potential-realizing Nikita Tryamkin or breakout Sven Baertschi might be
worth stashing late.Trending up: Bo Horvat, C: Another such dark horse will be
Horvat, who had a spike in both ice time and production in his second season.
Given that his offensive upside easily trumps that of Brandon Sutter, Horvat is
the guy we want winning the job of second-line center for the Canucks. If he
does, we can expect a modest increase to roster-worthy levels of production. But
that doesnt happen if the Canucks dont let him leapfrog Sutter.Trending down:
Henrik Sedin, C: While Daniel has maintained his fantasy value as the goal
scorer of the duo, the downward trend in the Sedins production has all but
sapped Henrik of any fantasy relevance. Daniel finished 48th in the ESPN Player
Rater last season; Henrik finished 149th.Goaltender index: 8. Ryan Miller and
Jacob Markstrom were a wash last season for reliability, with neither of any
interest to fantasy owners. If you are in a deep league and have to pick one,
you go with Markstrom because he has upside, but ideally you are getting your
goaltending elsewhere. The Canucks appear likely to finish 29th in shots allowed
and 23rd in goals allowed again this season.
Cam Atkinson Jersey . In Europe, top teams
seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in
the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in
January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with
new strikers.
Alexander Wennberg Blue Jackets Jersey . --
Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix
3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
http://www.bluejacketshockeystore.us/Sergei-Bobrovsky-Jersey/
. The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41
tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he
played last season. DETROIT -- Justin Abdelkader of the Detroit Red Wings is
expected to miss two to four weeks with what the team describes as a slight MCL
strain.The 29-year-old forward left Detroits loss to Florida on Thursday night
in the first period.Abdelkader hass four goals and four assists in 22 games this
season.
William Karlsson Jersey. The Red Wings play
at Pittsburgh on Saturday night.
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