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NHL season preview: Power rankings, best- and worst-case scenarios and bold predictions
The 2021-22 NHL season is being called a return to normalcy. Last season was an unprecedented one for the NHL due to the COVID-19 pandemic: Four geographically realigned divisions, including one solely comprising Canadian teams; teams playing only opponents within those divisions; and a new playoff format that eschewed wild-card teams. But it ended just […]
Continue readingFantasy hockey draft prep: Single category specialists
All of three players collected 40 or more goals back in the dark scoring ages of 2016-17. Only four the previous season, followed by eight in 2017-18. No small wonder we all scrambled to jam Alex Ovechkin onto our fantasy squads back then. Thankfully, today’s NHL boasts significantly louder scoring fireworks. Not only did 17 […]
Continue readingLingering questions for all 32 NHL teams heading into training camp: Goaltending, lineup, injuries, more
But now that fall is officially set to begin on Thursday, it’s also time for training camps around the NHL to open, as we look ahead to opening night of the season on Oct. 11. To help get you ready for the next few weeks — as teams decide on which players make the roster, […]
Continue readingBouncebacks: Can Chychrun, Pastrnak, Hamilton find their past scoring?
While expectations are one thing, I wanted to quantify exactly what we are looking for here. Taking the fantasy production put up by all NHLers over the past three years, I took the average fantasy points per game (FPPG) and per 60 minutes (FPP60) from the first two years and looked at the difference compared […]
Continue readingHow to play, and win, your fantasy hockey league like a pro!
As the old fantasy adage goes, regardless of sport, it’s considerably easier to lose a season-long league on draft day than it is to win one. A few ill-advised choices can sink your chances of fantasy victory right from the start, making for a long, slog of a season. Which renders that three-hour window on […]
Continue readingAnswering some of the biggest lingering offseason questions
While this next month unfurls toward the start of the 2022-23 campaign, there’s a few notable questions that remain unanswered and topics to keep an eye on. How those play out could still have a serious impact on teams entering the season. Nazem Kadri entered this offseason as one of the NHL’s top unrestricted free […]
Continue reading2022-23 ESPN Fantasy Hockey rankings
While many line combinations and goalie splits around the NHL landscape are still to be decided, next season’s top picks won’t look that different from the last. Want Hart Trophy winner Auston Matthews or Vezina Trophy winner Igor Shesterkin? Well, you’re going need a top pick or pay up in a salary cap draft. So […]
Continue readingFantasy hockey dynasty ranks: What will the NHL look like in 2027
Well, we know their age. We also know what kind of production they have put up in the past. But beyond those two criteria, we don’t really know a whole lot. We can certainly guess a lot. In January 2018, ESPN asked me to do the first one of these dynasty rankings. While I didn’t […]
Continue readingBoston Bruins bring back veteran centers Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci on 1-year deals
BOSTON — The Bruins are getting the gang back together, signing captain Patrice Bergeron and center David Krejci — both members of their 2011 Stanley Cup championship team — to one-year deals Monday. Almost three months after he left the ice without any certainty that he would return, Bergeron signed a one-year deal with the […]
Continue readingFantasy hockey reaction to 2022 NHL free agency signings, trades and more
Will the big defenseman Brent Burns continue to be a top fantasy option in Carolina? What effect will Claude Giroux and Andre Burakovsky have on their new linemates? ESPN Fantasy Hockey analysts Victoria Matiash and Sean Allen sort through the biggest free agent deals to help fantasy managers prepare for the 2022-23 season. NHL free […]
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