Summer is quite the quagmire for fantasy hockey. It is long and boring; while at the same time, exciting and mind-bending. It is time for fantasy hockey GMs to hit reset. Struggling fantasy dynasties draft future franchise players and dream of tomorrow. It is also the home of free agency frenzy. Today that’s our focus; a breakdown of the biggest NHL free agent signings of the summer.
Unrestricted free agents change teams and throw fantasy owners for a loop. The speculation of where they will sign, who they will play with, and how this will impact their fantasy performance, fills the otherwise sleepy summer days.
This wasn’t a summer filled with elite fantasy players moving teams as seen in years past. Yet, there were several key free agent signings that provide solid fantasy impact and will help build a strong fantasy roster.
So, without further adieu, here are the best NHL free agent signings of the summer.
NHL Free Agent Signings with Fantasy Hockey Impact
Tyler Bertuzzi – LW – Toronto Maple Leafs
The pre-season will determine whether Bertuzzi lines up with John Tavares or Austin Matthews to start the year. It is a 1A/1B scenario to be envious of. Not since Zach Hyman have the Leafs had a complimentary winger as talented as Bertuzzi to help round out the top six.
At first glance, Bertuzzi seems destined for the second power-play unit. As seen in the playoffs, Sheldon Keefe is not one to follow conventional thinking or popular opinion. William Nylander often found himself on the second unit in favor of Ryan O’Reilly. Like O’Reilly, Bertuzzi offers a grittier net-front presence the Leafs desperately lack. Keefe will tinker.
Health is always at the forefront of any Bertuzzi conversation. “If” he can remain healthy, 60 to 65 points is a very reasonable expectation. There’s a 5- to 10-point bonus if he locks onto the first power-play unit versus the second unit.
One other consideration is the team he plays for. Bias is real. The Leafs are viewed as a top offensive team. Odds are, he will be drafted a round or two earlier than he should.
Vladimir Tarasenko – RW – Ottawa Senators
In recent years, Tarasenko has suffered significant shoulder injuries that resulted in not one, but two surgeries. Last year saw a ‘healthy’ Tarasenko produce an uninspiring 50 points in 69 games.
Expect a sizable bump on this performance. Players that suffer significant injuries usually see a dip in production the following season before returning closer to pre-injury form.
Tarasenko faces the enviable dilemma of lining up with Tim Stutzle and Brady Tkachuk or Josh Norris and Claude Giroux. Like Bertuzzi, the impact of which power-play unit he spends his time with will be the difference of 5 to 10 points.
A return to 65 points seems most likely with the potential for more.
Shayne Gostisbehere – D – Detroit Red Wings
All but written off as a one-trick pony in Philadelphia, Gostisbehere found his offensive form in Arizona and was on pace for back-to-back 50-point seasons, before he was traded to Carolina at the deadline.
Carolina was not the optimal landing spot for Gostisbehere. He played second fiddle to Brent Burns on the power play, a shock to no one. As a result, his offensive production dropped.
His one-year contract with Detroit carries the second-largest cap hit on defense, behind only Ben Chiarot (Seider is in the final year of his entry-level contract). Detroit isn’t paying him to defend or kill penalties. He was brought in for one reason and one reason only, the power-play.
Conventional thinking begs the question, what about Moritz Seider? Detroit, to this point, doesn’t seem convinced he’s a true power-play quarterback. Think back to Kevin Shattenkirk running the power play in St. Louis with Alex Pietrangelo running everything else.
Plug him in for 15 power-play points and 45 points with room for more. A good late-round pick.
James Van Riemsdyk – LW – Boston Bruins
It doesn’t matter who puts on this jersey, they all seem to produce.
Signing in Philadelphia did not go as planned. The team didn’t meet expectations and neither did JVR. Which has led to the dismantling of the roster and a rebuild on top of the rebuild.
He’s lost a step in Philly (admittedly, he wasn’t the most fleet of foot even in his prime in Toronto), yet Boston’s style of play will utilize his strengths and minimize his weaknesses. He should fit seamlessly into the culture that is the Bruins.
Conventional wisdom suggests the Bruins won’t enter the season with Pavel Zacha and Charlie Coyle as the top two centers. With David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron both gone, there’s also a spot on the first power-play unit up for grabs even if the rumors come true and they trade for Elias Lindholm, Mark Scheifele, or another offensive center.
JVR should find his way back to 50-plus points this year. In deeper leagues, he could be a sneaky good late-round pick. In shallower leagues, he’ll be a valuable injury replacement and waiver wire add when he gets hot.
Max Pacioretty – RW – Washington Capitals
Predicting Pacioretty is a challenge. At 34, he’s missed 120 games over the last two seasons due to a torn Achilles. His initial return was strong, as short-lived as it was. He didn’t seem to miss a beat, scoring 3 goals in five games while remaining his traditional volume shooting self (over 3 shots per game). And then the same Achilles tendon blew again.
As a Golden Knight, his final two shortened seasons saw him push a point-per-game pace; the season prior, a 75-point pace. Yet, his career-high sits at 67 points. Not having played more than 71 games in a season since 2016-17 it gets harder to nail down expectations.
The Capitals are an old team, with core pieces firmly entrenched on the top power-play unit that doesn’t really use a second unit. When they do, Alex Ovechkin is on that one too.
Perhaps the easiest prediction for Pacioretty is a .75 point-per-game pace and 3.5 shots per game for the upcoming season and we’ll see how many games he can play.
There is definitely an upside to drafting him in the late rounds. There’s also the real risk he finds himself back on injured reserve shortly after returning to the ice. Buyer beware.
John Klingberg – D – Toronto Maple Leafs
The last time the Leafs acquired an offensive, puck-moving defenseman to complement Morgan Rielly, by all appearances, it was a failure. Tyson Barrie never got comfortable.
After what can only be called a disastrous season in Anaheim, expectations of Klingberg are much lower than they were for Barrie (59 points in 78 games with Colorado, 2018-19). This speaks to the annual expectation of Klingberg, who finished the year on a 40-point pace (33 in 67).
It’s not unreasonable to expect double-digit power-play points even if he doesn’t see regular usage on the top unit. The Leafs’ second unit usually gets the last 30-45 seconds of each power-play and will likely include Max Domi, Matthew Knies, one of Tyler Bertuzzi or William Nylander, and possibly, Nicholas Robertson.
The wild card in all of this is once again, Sheldon Keefe. Does anyone juggle their lines, defensive pairs, and power-play units as much as he does? He’s tried several defensemen on the top unit in replacement of Rielly over the years, most recently Rasmus Sandin (prior to the trade). Expect Klingberg to get some early season looks with the top unit and again mid-season when the Leafs hit their annual power-play 0-for-20 slump.
Punch in 45 points with room to push past 50.
Joonas Korpisalo – G – Ottawa Senators
Had the Senators just kept Filip Gustavsson instead of trading him for Cam Talbot, they would have found their starting goaltender internally. Instead, here Korpisalo is at $4 million for five years.
The team in front of him has the opportunity to score a lot of goals. Questions abound about whether the defense can help Korpisalo enough to prevent other teams from scoring more.
Ottawa found themselves on the wrong end of too many 4-3 or 5-4 games. The addition of Jacob Chychrun and a second full season for Jake Sanderson should help bring the goals against down, if only slightly. Neither is a defensive stalwart (Sanderson fans, breathe. He’s just not there – yet).
Korpisalo had himself a strong year on a really bad, injury-riddled Blue Jackets team. He was then traded to Los Angeles where he put up strong numbers in 11 regular season games (2.13 goals against average & .921 save percentage).
A goalie that performs well when faced with lots of shots, Ottawa appears to be a great landing spot. Lots of hype, lots of shots, lots of potential.
Goalies are often voodoo. So often, that most don’t repeat from year to year as top-10 fantasy options. Korpisalo, on an upstart team that has playoff hopes for 2023-24, is the type of goalie you can draft in the late-to-middle rounds and look like a genius if he hits. If he doesn’t, well, he was a late-round swing for the fences.
Don’t expect a Vezina trophy next June but when he’s likely the 20th-ish goalie of the board on draft day and could very easily appear in the top 10 of most goalie stats, you have what’s called value.
Well, that’ll wrap up my first article with Fantrax. I hope you enjoyed it. Even more, I hope it made you pause, question your own expectations, and maybe even call ‘bullshit’ on some of my projections. Let’s have some fun.
Give me a follow on Twitter @doylelb4; where you’ll find as many hiking musings as you will fantasy hockey.