2 years agoSt. Louis Blues forward Jordan Kyrou has signed an eight-year, $65 million contract with the team on Tuesday. The deal has an average annual value of $8.125 million and it will begin in 2023-24 and run through the 2030-31 NHL season, while it is the same contract teammate Robert Thomas signed earlier in the offseason. Kyrou set career-highs of 27 goals, 48 assists and 75 points through 74 games last season, including seven goals in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The 24-year-old will once again be one of the most valuable Blues forwards across all fantasy formats and deserves to be drafted in the early rounds of fantasy leagues this upcoming season. --Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoThe Montreal Canadiens have acquired center Sean Monahan and a conditional 2025 first-round pick from the Calgary Flames in exchange for future considerations. The Flames needed to make space for newly acquired Nazem Kadri, so this was the deal they had to make. Montreal nets a very nice sweetener in the trade, as they will likely hold a first-round pick in either 2025 or 2026, depending on how the conditions play out. As for Monahan, the decline has been tough to watch. The former 30-goal scorer looks like a shell of his former self, as he has just 18 goals over 105 games in the past two seasons. Perhaps Montreal can fix him, but it seems unlikely given his performance and injury history. He holds no fantasy value.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: Montreal Canadiens

2 years agoThe Calgary Flames have signed center Nazem Kadri to a seven-year, $49 million contract, with an AAV of $7 million. Kadri is the final remaining star UFA to sign a deal this offseason, and it looks like taking his time didn't end up hurting him. Kadri has always been a productive player, but he absolutely exploded last season to the tune of 28 goals and 59 assists in 71 games. It should be noted that Kadri was with the Colorado Avalanche, who are the best offense in the league. Still, Kadri should bolster the Flames' top six and give them one of the best one-two punches at center in the league along with Elias Lindholm. He is likely to decline at least a little bit from last year, so be careful not to draft him expecting the same results. He should still remain a solid fantasy asset, though.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: Elliotte Friedman

2 years agoRestricted free-agent defenseman Noah Dobson agreed to a three-year, $12 million contract with the New York Islanders, with an annual average value of $4 million. The 22-year-old will stay put on Long Island, where he had a breakout season in 2021-22, posting 13 goals and 38 assists in 80 games. Dobson was deployed on the power play 64% of the time, and he made the most of it with 22 power-play points. If Dobson holds that role, he should once again be quite valuable from the back end in fantasy. The Islanders also have a new coach in Lane Lambert, who may bring an offensive spark to the team after years of defensive play behind Barry Trotz. If that is the case, Dobson could be primed for a stellar season, at least in the points department.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: Elliotte Friedman

2 years agoBuffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson signed a seven-year, $50 million extension on Tuesday, making him a Sabre until 2030. The 24-year-old would have been an RFA after next season, and the Sabres decided to lock him up now instead of waiting around. Thompson is coming off a breakout season, where he racked up 38 goals and 30 assists over 78 games. The contract certainly carries a lot of risk, as Thompson had a total of 26 points in 104 games before last season, where he shot a career-high 15%. That being said, Thompson was given a much better opportunity with linemates that blended well with his style. Thompson can likely be grabbed as a late-round flier and is well worth the risk at that cost.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: Buffalo Sabres

2 years agoThe Dallas Stars have signed restricted free-agent goaltender Jake Oettinger to a three-year, $12 million contract with an average annual value of $4 million. Oettinger, who will remain a restricted free agent after this contract expires, put up 30 wins, a .911 save percentage and a 2.53 goals-against average in 48 games last season (46 starts). He was spectacular in the playoffs, posting a league-leading .954 SV% while carrying the Stars to a seventh game against the Calgary Flames, although they did end up losing the series. He oozes potential and should put up good numbers behind a decent Stars defense, making him a worthwhile starter on fantasy teams.--Matt Garon - RotoBallerSource: Saad Yousef

2 years agoThe Vegas Golden Knights will be without starting goaltender Robin Lehner (hip) for the whole of 2022-23, but the team has no plans to go after a new netminder. General manager Kelly McCrimmon is confident that the duo of Laurent Brossoit and Logan Thompson will do just fine between the pipes. "Laurent is a proven NHL goaltender that's enjoyed a good career. In Logan Thompson, I think we're all excited and intrigued by his talent, his upside and his competitiveness," McCrimmon said. Brossoit himself is currently rehabbing a hip injury as well and is questionable for the start of the season. The 29-year-old had a 10-9-3 record last season with a 2.90 goals-against average and a .895 save percentage. Thompson went 10-5-3 in 2021-22 with a 2.68 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. The 26-year-old has just 20 games of experience in the league, but he went an impressive 7-1-3 to close out last season and fantasy managers should definitely keep Thompson on their radar in 2022-23.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoDetroit Red Wings winger Filip Zadina has signed a new three-year deal with the team with an average annual value of $1.825 million. The 22-year-old was a restricted free agent after coming off his three-year, entry-level contract. The sixth pick of the 2018 NHL Draft has been one of Detroit's most promising prospects, but he's yet to make a big impact in the league, recording only 25 goals and 61 points in 160 appearances. The new deal shows that the Red Wings still have faith in him and Zadina definitely has the ability to be a productive scorer in the league. However, you can't score if you don't play and Zadina averaged just a little over 14 minutes of ice time during a 24-point campaign in 2021-22. Things could be very different for him in 2022-23 with a new head coach in town in Derek Lalonde.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: Sportsnet

2 years agoColumbus Blue Jackets forward Alexandre Texier will miss the whole 2022-23 NHL season because of unspecified personal problems. The Blue Jackets said in its statement that the versatile Frenchman won't be with the team "per the advice and recommendation of the NHL/NHLPA Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health Program." Texier also missed the end of last season for personal reasons and a fractured finger. The 22-year-old managed to pick up 20 points in 36 games before being forced to end his season early. He's collected 49 points in total in 123 career appearances. Texier will be free to sign a one-year deal with a team in Europe for the upcoming season and his $1,525,000 cap hit will come off the books for Columbus.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NBC Sports

2 years agoCenter Paul Stastny will suit up for the Carolina Hurricanes next season after inking a one-year, $1.5 million deal with the club. The 16-year veteran joins the fifth club of his career. He spent the last two seasons with Winnipeg, grabbing 74 points in 127 regular-season games. The best days are clearly behind Stastny, but he has his best goal-scoring campaign since 2014-15 last term, showing that there's still plenty of juice left in him even at 36. The Hurricanes have gone through quite a few changes over the summer and start the season without Max Pacioretty (Achilles), so Stastny could find himself playing a pretty big role for the team early on.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: ESPN

2 years agoVeteran winger Phil Kessel has signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. He's switching teams after spending three seasons with Arizona and Kessel will hope to produce a bounce-back campaign in 2022-23 after finishing last season with only eight goals. He was able to register 44 assists across 82 games, so he didn't fall off the rails completely, but Kessel's fantasy stock has taken a huge hit in recent years. With that said, the 34-year-old links up with a talented group of offensive players in Vegas and he should be eager to prove that he's still got some gas left in the tank. Kessel will also aim to break a league record for most consecutive regular-season games played early next season. He needs to be in the lineup for just eight more times to move past Keith Yandle and get to 990 consecutive outings.--Taavi Pailk - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoThe Ducks have signed defenseman John Klingberg to a one-year, $7 million contract on Friday. The 29-year-old spent eight seasons with the Stars organization and totaled 374 points through 552 games played. Klingberg was one of the top unrestricted free agents on the market this offseason, and he will join the Ducks blueline which features Kevin Shattenkirk, Cam Fowler and Jamie Drysdale. Klingberg will contribute offensively across standard fantasy formats, but his negative plus-minus rating over the past three seasons are an area of concern for managers heading into the upcoming season.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoThe Calgary Flames have acquired forward Jonathan Huberdeau from the Panthers in exchange for forward Matthew Tkachuk. The Flames will also receive defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward prospect Cole Schwindt, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft in the deal. Huberdeau, the former third overall draft pick in 2011, has spent his entire career with the Panthers and put up his best production with 30 goals, 85 assists and 115 points through 80 games this past season. Huberdeau will have a chance to play alongside forward Elias Lindholm in Calgary, and the 29-year-old will be motivated to put up dominant numbers once again as he can become an unrestricted free agent after the 2022-23 NHL season.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoThe Florida Panthers have acquired forward Matthew Tkachuk from the Flames in exchange for forward Jonathan Huberdeau, defenseman MacKenzie Weegar, forward prospect Cole Schwindt, and a conditional first-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. Tkachuk has agreed to terms on an eight-year contract that will take him through the 2029-30 season with the Panthers. The deal has an average annual value of $9.5 million, and Tkachuk's move to the Panthers is beneficial for fantasy purposes as he will now get an opportunity to play on one of the league's highest scoring teams after putting up an NHL career-high 42 goals and 104 points during the 2021-22 season.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: NHL.com

2 years agoWinnipeg Jets center Pierre-Luc Dubois accepted a one-year, $6 million qualifying offer from the team on Friday. Dubois, the former third overall draft pick in 2016, scored a career-high 28 goals this past season to go along with 32 assists. It was his second 60-plus point season, falling one short of the 61 points from his sophomore season in the NHL. The 24-year-old was traded from the Blue Jackets to the Jets at the beginning of the shortened season in 2021, and he will look to provide value across standard fantasy formats with his all-around production in the second full season with the Jets.--Denis Vondrus - RotoBallerSource: Sportsnet.ca