The NHL is in a golden age when it comes to young, exceptionally talented prospects proving their worth immediately. And no club has benefited from that shift as greatly as the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Of the top 15 rookie scorers in the NHL this season, six wear Leafs colours. Wind that down to just the top four, and only one isn't a member of the blue and white.
Though the Leafs' youthful dominance has been the story of the season, it looks like Toronto's young guns are on the verge of kicking it up a notch, set to establish themselves as the club's best-ever rookie class.
#Leafs rookies have combined for 206 points this season. The franchise record for points by rookies is 207, set in 1982-83.
The Leafs' 206 rookie points through 53 games have been scored by committee, though the heavy lifting has undoubtedly been done by Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, who boast 44 and 46 points, respectively.
There's no question the standout rookies will soon top the franchise benchmark. The Leafs have just under 30 games remaining on the season, with Matthews and Marner both on pace to rack up roughly 25 points apiece over that span.
But the total points mark likely isn't the only franchise record the first-year phenoms will be claiming in 2016-17.
Peter Ihnacak's rookie record-setting mark of 66 points - posted during that 207-point, 1982-83 season - is in danger, with both Marner and Matthews on pace to outscore him at some point over the next couple months.
They're coming for Wendel too.
Leafs great Wendel Clark set the franchise record for rookie goals with 34 back in 1985-86. Matthews already has 25 tallies in the bag, and should be flirting with the 40-goal plateau by this season's end if he continues on his current trajectory.
Suffice to say, Toronto's rebuild isn't just going swimmingly - the Leafs have in fact put together arguably the best rookie class in team history. Bad news for their former rookie record-holders, but fantastic news for the club's promising future.
The Buffalo Sabres shared the heartwarming story of a family that created its own hockey tradition - building the Eichel Tower - with the player and broadcaster who inspired it.
Ericsson fractured his wrist when he crashed into the boards due to a shove from behind by Washington Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom on Thursday night.
Backstrom was penalized on the play, but it will not come under scrutiny from the NHL.
Ericsson averaged the third-most minutes among Red Wings defensemen this season, trailing Mike Green and Danny DeKeyser. He's contributed a goal and nine points, and leads the club with 63 penalty minutes.
Six points behind the Boston Bruins for the second of two wild-card slots, the Buffalo Sabres are technically as close as they've been to a postseason berth at this point in a season in quite some time.
Such is existence in the bunched bottom tier inside the Eastern Conference, where fans and executives, if not careful, can be easily deceived by the false parity tied to more and more games distributing three points.
But the reality is this: the Sabres need to outperform eight teams in the final two months just to earn the right to run into the Washington Capitals' buzz saw in the first round.
Instead, the Sabres should look to unload in this season's sellers' market. But what can they realistically accomplish?
Projected cap space: $1.46 million Current cap space: $4.5 million Number of contracts: 43/50 Number of pending free agents: 11 (7 unrestricted)
Evander Kane
Since the start of December, when he discovered his form after his return from broken ribs suffered on opening night, only five players have more goals than Kane. It's a bit of an arbitrary point of reference, sure, and his environment is certainly contributing to his performance. But regardless, Kane's value hasn't been as high as it is right now.
Unfortunately, that increase is also affected, in large part, by the fact that he's inching closer to the end of his long-term contract. Kane's known clashes with teammates and problems outside the rink are risks that a would-be buyer is more likely to consider accepting on a short-term basis.
With another season remaining on a contract that pays him a little more than $5 million annually, the Sabres should entertain the discussion, but not shove Kane out the door.
Dmitry Kulikov
The decision to deal Mark Pysyk for the veteran Kulikov hasn't worked out for Buffalo. Pysyk's given the Florida Panthers strong shot-suppressing minutes at the bottom of the rotation, while Kulikov, a pending unrestricted free agent, has been driven back into his own end in his 28 games.
It won't be a good look if Tim Murray accepts a lesser asset than Pysyk at the trade deadline, but it would likely save the club from investing big money in a player trending in the wrong direction.
If there's interest - and there will be - Kulikov should move along.
Brian Gionta
The Sabres' captain is another pending unrestricted free agent, but one less likely to move. Gionta has no-move agreement in his contract, isn't believed to be interested in fleeting affiliation, and simply cannot provide the same value as other potential acquisitions in the same $4-million-plus salary bracket.
Gionta's on track to have his best offensive season since joining the Sabres, and, incredibly, leads the team in production rate. But the ice remains tilted against him more often than not.
If his intangibles interest another executive, the Sabres should present Gionta with the option, gleefully retain salary, and, if they so choose, welcome him back in the summer. But it's a long shot.
Marcus Foligno
Foligno's an interesting case. He has one goal and zero assists in the last 10 games while primarily being deployed with Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart.
He's a player commonly put in situations to produce, but ultimately has failed to boost his value leading into a restricted free-agent summer. In the end, this could be a beneficial situation for the Sabres, who, if the season ended now, would maintain leverage in negotiations this summer.
But if there's a reluctance to award him a raise on his $2.25-million salary, and something of value is served up in return, the Sabres may decide to let another team - one less interested in a strict rental - establish his price moving forward.
That's why it would appear a handful of NHL general managers are reaching out to the management team of the Vegas Golden Knights, in an attempt to gather as much of it as they can.
At least six teams have made contact with Vegas' brass to try and gain as much information as possible, intelligence that can help determine how a team might approach the trade deadline, according to ESPN's Craig Custance.
Custance explains why such information can be so important for a team:
It's smart, really. If a team thinks they're going to lose a player to Vegas, maybe there's more motivation to make a move now. And what better way to get a sense of the Golden Knights' strategy than to call the Golden Knights?
One GM, who remained anonymous, explained what kind of information teams might be eager to get their hands on.
"Everyone is trying to find the tipping point to dealing assets to protect players," said one GM. "What's it going to cost to have (Vegas GM) George (McPhee) leave a player alone versus trading an unprotected player for assets now?"
As another general manager explains, you could see teams try to - for a lack of a better word - bribe the Golden Knights with assets in order to cover themselves and their own players.
"It all depends on the player," said another GM. "There are going to be teams that go to George and say, 'Don't pick this guy, take this guy, we'll give you a second(-round pick).' Or, 'here's a first, go away.' It's not supposed to be a great draft. He may end up with five first-round picks."
Vegas can start making trades once the final sale of the team is complete, which is expected to be on or around the trade deadline - March 1. After that, things could get very interesting in the Sin City.
It's no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs need to upgrade their blueline, ideally adding a right-shot defenseman to play the top pairing alongside Morgan Rielly.
At their disposal, the Maple Leafs have a prime winger in James van Riemsdyk to offer up for that much-needed piece. With that in mind, here are three teams who boast the defensive depth but could use a boost to their scoring ranks to make such a move possible:
The 25-year-old Fowler is in the midst of career year, already with 11 tallies on the season, while Lindholm remains the team's top defender on the left side. At the same time, young and affordable blue-liners like Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour are pushing for more minutes, and moving out another defender like Vatanen could create that space.
With just 147 goals on the season, ranking 19th league-wide, the Ducks lack secondary scoring, and could cash in on offense if the team is willing to strip a piece from its blueline. Adding van Riemsdyk could reinvigorate Anaheim's scoring punch, as his 19 tallies would be the best on the Ducks behind only Rickard Rakell.
Minnesota Wild
The Wild are too good for their own good. That's because the team faces a crunch ahead of the summer expansion draft, when the Vegas Golden Knights will get to pick off a piece of the Wild roster.
Teams can protect either three defensemen and seven forwards from the expansion, or a combination of eight skaters, the latter option being likely for Minnesota, given that the Wild have at least four blue-liners they will want to keep in the fold. Ryan Suter is an automatic, plus he has a no-movement clause, while the likes of Jared Spurgeon, Jonas Brodin, and Marco Scandella are also worth keeping around. That means the odd man out could be young defenseman Matt Dumba.
Up front, Minnesota has three more no-move deals, but could the team approach a veteran winger like Jason Pominville to waive his clause ahead of the expansion to give the team some more flexibility? Doing so would give the Wild another two protection slots, one it will need for Finnish forward Mikael Granlund, while the other could go to van Riemsdyk, should he be acquired from Toronto.
New York Islanders
It's been a turnaround season for the Islanders, where after months of sub-par play the team has found its game under new bench boss Doug Weight.
While early season losses displayed some of the Islanders' weaknesses, one area where the team is strong is its blueline, featuring a depth of talent including Johnny Boychuk, Nick Leddy, and Travis Hamonic. A season ago, Hamonic asked for a trade to be closer to his Manitoba home, and while that request has since been rescinded, the Islanders may still be open to a move.
While the team's blueline is strong, New York's forward ranks aren't nearly as deep, where the club has shuffled through a host of players to skate alongside captain John Tavares, a free agent after next season. In recent weeks, the captain has paired with Anders Lee and Josh Bailey, though neither player is on the same level as van Riemsdyk. This season, the Maple Leafs winger sits just one point shy of Tavares, who has 44 points on the year.
What may have cost Ken Hitchcock his job is now making Mike Yeo look like a genius.
After a tailspin down the standings that forced general manager Doug Armstrong to take action, the St. Louis Blues' goaltenders have pulled the chutes and helped the club go 4-1-0 in five games since Hitchcock was dismissed.
The Blues' offense has also awoken after a stretch of five games that saw the team average 2.6 goals per game while going 1-4-0 prior to Yeo's promotion. Since then, the team has put an average of 3.2 goals past opposing netminders.
The biggest change in the team's play, though, has clearly been on the other side of the puck, where - compared to the five games that preceded Hitchcock's firing, which saw the Blues give up 4.4 goals per game - the goalies have allowed just 1.2 per game.
The stretch of strong play has helped the Blue not only pump the breaks on their previous skid, but also edge out the Nashville Predators for third spot in the Central Division.
Of course, it shouldn't go without mentioning that on the day Yeo took over as bench boss, future Hall of Fame netminder Martin Brodeur extended his duties beyond assistant general manager, taking over as a goalie coach alongside former 'tender Ty Conklin.
Not a bad voice to have in one's ear.
Allen holds a 2.69 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage, while Hutton has posted 2.65 and .902 marks, which both need to improve going forward. But if the goalies can continue to kick out pucks at a similar clip, the Blues, who give up the fifth-fewest shots against per game and boast a top-10 offense, might not be in trouble after all.
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Statistics as of Thursday, Feb. 9. All advanced stats courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations.
Get Sebastian Aho on your team
Carolina's 19-year-old Finnish phenom has really come on in the second half, recording 12 goals and six assists in his last 24 games. He is averaging nearly three shots on goal per game during this stretch.
He is still available in many leagues. If this is the case, add him immediately. If not, try and pry him from his current owner. Carolina plays 13 games during fantasy playoffs, the most of any team, including five during championship week.
Look to Paul Stastny for assists
If you're in need of some assists, or a center, turn to St. Louis Blues C Paul Stastny as a temporary fix. The veteran is currently playing on a line with RW Vladimir Tarasenko and LW Alexander Steen. Tarasenko had previously been stuck on a line with offensively challenged C Jori Lehtera.
St. Louis doesn't play a bunch of games over the next week, so consider Stastny as a streaming option or a strong value play in daily fantasy.
Add Chris Kunitz in banger leagues
Kunitz has been reunited on a line with C Sidney Crosby, thanks to several injuries to Pittsburgh Penguins forwards. Kunitz and Crosby have chemistry dating back to 2008-09 and it has been on display.
The 37-year-old doesn't have the pep in his step he used to, but he has picked up five points in his last five games while averaging over 16 minutes of ice time. He has 145 hits on the season, making him a very valuable commodity in banger leagues, especially when you factor in Pittsburgh playing four games this coming week.
Take what you can get for Mikko Koivu
Koivu is having a superb season with 38 points in 52 games. However, if you can acquire a semi-valuable asset for him, do so now. Koivu may be drop-worthy in a few weeks.
He has 16 goals, despite a career high of just 22. His shooting percentage of 18.4 is highly unsustainable, considering his career mark is just 9.4.
In regard to his assist totals, they are also flawed. Of his 22 helpers, 16 of them have been secondary assists. Regression is on the way, and it could be coming fast.
Hold onto Mikael Granlund
On the other hand, Koivu's linemate Granlund is the real deal. The 24-year-old has already set a career high with 15 goals and 48 points.
Sure, his shooting percentage is slightly higher than his career average, but he is also taking more shots than he ever has before. He is also second in the NHL behind Edmonton Oilers C Connor McDavid with 25 primary assists.
Granlund has always been a highly skilled player, but he has bloomed a bit later than most expected. A big part of the reason for his ascension this season has been his move to the wing, where can spend more time focusing on offense and less about defense. Head coach Bruce Boudreau is great at putting players in situations geared for success.
Sell Taylor Hall
Hall is having a stellar season with his new club, but now may be the time to ship him away. He has four points in his last four games and has plenty of name value.
The reasoning for trading him away is because as much as Hall can help you get to a fantasy finals, he can't really help you once you get there. New Jersey will play just two games during the week of the fantasy championship.
With Hall, the injury risk always needs to be factored in. You should have no problem getting good value in return for the former first-overall pick.
Give Connor Hellebuyck another chance
Hellebuyck has started just one game since Jan. 9. His ownership has plummeted because of it. If you're in need of some goaltending help or simply have an open roster spot and want some potential trade bait, scoop him up immediately.
Ondrej Pavelec has started eight of Winnipeg's last nine games, but will now miss at least a week with a concussion. Pavelec didn't play well at all during his brief sting as the club's starter.
If Hellebuyck can find his confidence and play solid between the pipes during this coming week, he could find himself as the Jets' guy once again. Winnipeg has seven games in the next 12 days, so he will have plenty of chances to prove himself.
Buy-low on Erik Karlsson
By his standards, Karlsson is having a down season. He has 44 points in 51 games, but just eight goals. He is taking far fewer shots than in the past, largely due to reduced ice time. He averaged nearly 29 minutes per game last season, but just 26 minutes this season.
As Ottawa tries to hold onto a playoff spot, head coach Guy Boucher could begin to ramp up Karlsson's playing time down the stretch, therefore increasing his fantasy value.
Sell high on Viktor Arvidsson
Arvidsson has been one of the biggest surprises of the entire season. He has 14 goals and 34 points, including four points in his last three games. The 23-year-old has even greater trade value in keeper leagues.
Not often named among Stanley Cup contenders, Anaheim has been one of the most consistent clubs this season.
With a 29-17-10 showing through 56 games, the Ducks sit second in the Pacific and just two points back of the division-leading San Jose Sharks. They also rank among the best in nearly all statistical categories.
It starts on the blue line, where Anaheim boasts one of the league's most impressive units. Veteran Kevin Bieksa is the lone rearguard older than 25, with a young core of Hampus Lindholm, Cam Fowler, and Sami Vatanen leading the way. The next wave, including Shea Theodore and Brandon Montour, has also made critical contributions.
The team's commitment to a strong defensive game has been key to its success this season, and it's paid off for netminders John Gibson and Jonathan Bernier, who have allowed just 141 goals - sixth-lowest league-wide.
That dominance extends to special teams. The St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames are the only teams in the West firing better on the man advantage than Anaheim, which is converting at a 20.8 percent clip. It also sits seventh on the penalty kill, negating 84 percent of its calls against.
Anaheim's only true weakness is its trouble finding the back of the net. Seven skaters have double-digit goal totals, but the trio of Rickard Rakell, Ryan Kesler, and Jakob Silfverberg have combined for more than one-third of the tallies. With just 147 goals this year, Anaheim sits 19th league-wide, but still sports a plus-six goal differential, thanks to its strong defensive game.
With the trade deadline less than three weeks out, it may be worthwhile for the Ducks to dip into their depth of riches on the blue line to build up their scoring arsenal. Boosting the offensive touch of a team that sits third-best since the turn of the calendar could set them up for a return to the winner's circle.
