The Finnish forward picked up an assist in the club's 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, giving him a nine-game point streak to open the 2018-19 campaign. That streak is the longest to begin a season in Hurricanes history.
In total, Aho now has four goals and 10 assists in nine games, but perhaps the most impressive part of his achievement is that's he's accomplished it all while learning a new position.
A winger throughout his first two seasons in the NHL, Aho has shifted to the much more demanding position of center, but hasn't skipped a beat offensively. He's a huge reason why the 'Canes sit first in the Metropolitan Division with 11 points.
Colorado's top line has been absolutely sensational through the first nine games, as they've scored 20 of the Avalanche's 33 goals this season (60.6 percent), including three tallies in the club's 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday.
Player
GP
G
A
P
Mikko Rantanen
9
4
12
16
Nathan MacKinnon
9
8
7
15
Gabriel Landeskog
9
8
4
12
Though it's still early in the season, there's a case to be made that Colorado's first line is the most dominant trio in the league. Perhaps even better than the Boston Bruins' top unit of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak.
The Avs are playing great team defense and have received phenomenal goaltending from both Semyon Varlamov and Philipp Grubauer, but it's clear this team will go as far as MacKinnon, Landeskog, and Rantanen take them. By the looks of it, it seems like they're gearing up for a marathon.
Bowman told The Athletic's Mark Lazerus that scoring statistics alone shouldn't determine which side wins a trade.
"You can't try to measure it just on the performance in one season," Bowman said. "You've got to remember there's the bigger picture, which is the players' status and their leverage and contract negotiations. There's not one factor."
Panarin can become an unrestricted free agent next offseason, and the Blackhawks projected that his next deal would not fit their salary cap structure.
"If it was just based on their offensive production last year, then you would have concerns," Bowman said. "But it's a different story than that. I understand why you're asking, and why people look at it that way. But I don't look at it that way."
Ultimately, those concerns may prove to be right. Despite early success in Columbus, reports indicate Panarin is not long for the Ohio capital and his sights are set on a free-agency payday come July 1.
Interestingly enough, cap concerns originally led the Blackhawks to ship Saad's rights to the Blue Jackets in the 2015 offseason. In Columbus, Saad excelled, notching a career-high 31 goals in his first campaign, while his second season saw him equal his 53-point finish from the year prior. But when Panarin, the 2016 Calder Trophy winner, became available, Saad was sent back to the Windy City.
On paper, the early results have been a clear win for the Blue Jackets, as Panarin finished his first season in Columbus with a team-leading 82 points, while Saad sank to 35 points, his worst showing since his freshman campaign.
It now appears those struggles have seeped into the new season, as Saad has picked up just two points through eight games, while head coach Joel Quenneville has already contemplated making the $6-million winger a healthy scratch.
Still, Bowman says the season is young and, while Saad may not be producing as expected, he's providing value in other areas of the ice.
"A little bit I think has been overblown. He's played, what, six games? He's probably played two games that I thought he played poorly. Other than that I think he's played fine. He's not scoring. That's the thing," Bowman said. "He's still killing penalties. When you look at other numbers, he's not on the ice for many chances against, he plays against good players and he's able to shut them down. So that's an aspect of that.
"I realize that's not the one that maybe gets a lot of attention. But no, I'm not that concerned about it. It's similar to last year - he does a lot of good things. It's just the biggest thing is the production's not there, and that's what gets people's attention."
Jones suffered an MCL sprain in a preseason game on Sept. 25 and was initially expected to miss four-to-six weeks.
The 24-year-old finished second in team scoring last season and led all Columbus defensemen with 57 points. He also averaged more than 24 minutes per game and finished fourth in Norris Trophy voting.
The Blue Jackets have posted a 4-3-0 record in Jones' absence to begin the season.
The Carolina Hurricanes netminder was activated from injured reserve Monday and then subsequently assigned to the AHL's Charlotte Checkers on a conditioning stint, general manager Don Waddell announced.
Darling is set to play in Wednesday's AHL contest against the Utica Comets. It will mark his first appearance since he suffered a lower-body injury in the Hurricanes' final preseason game on Sept. 30.
With Darling sidelined, the Hurricanes have turned to Petr Mrazek, who was signed as a free agent over the summer, and Curtis McElhinney, who was claimed off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Carolina is 4-3-1 through eight games and sits atop the Metropolitan Division with nine points.
The 29-year-old Darling's in his second season with the Hurricanes and is looking to make up for a poor showing in 2017-18. Across 43 contests last season, he came away with just 13 wins and an abysmal .888 save percentage. He's under contract through the 2020-21 campaign.
Every Monday, theScore will be rolling out a weekly fantasy hockey column: Five moves you need to make. Ownership percentages (as of Oct. 21) and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.
Pick up Juuse Saros
Team: Predators Position: G Ownership: 53 percent
It may already be too late, but Saros needs to be added in all leagues, regardless of your goaltending situation. Predators starting netminder Pekka Rinne left Friday's game after colliding with teammate Kevin Fiala and was placed on injured reserve.
It's unclear how long Rinne will be out, but Saros immediately becomes a top-10 fantasy goalie in his absence. He was already one of the league's best backups and has arguably the NHL's best defense in front of him.
If Saros shines he could earn himself a more consistent workload once Rinne returns. The 23-year-old is the club's goalie of the future, which could be as early as next year given Rinne's expiring contract.
Add Josh Morrissey
Jason Halstead / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Team: Jets Position: D Ownership: 34 percent
After recording just 20 and 26 points over his first two NHL seasons, Morrissey has jumped out to a hot start, tallying seven points through eight contests.
While his 0.88 points-per-game mark is unsustainable over the course of a full season, Morrissey could continue to steadily pile up points considering he's replaced Dustin Byfuglien as the point man on the Jets' top power-play unit. It's unclear how long he'll hang on to this role, but his spot is likely safe as long as Winnipeg continues to excel with the man advantage.
Morrissey doesn't have a booming shot like Byfuglien, but he's a superb skater with great vision and will rack up assists as long as Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, and Kyle Connor continue to work their magic on the power play.
Furthermore, the Jets are one of five teams with four games this week.
Buy low on Steven Stamkos
Team: Lightning Position: C Ownership: 100 percent
Stamkos is off to a slow start, as he has just one goal and a pair of helpers in seven games. However, the Lightning captain has 21 shots - including 13 in his last three games - giving him a shooting percentage of just 4.8 (11.9 percent lower than his career mark prior to 2018-19).
Stamkos' owner may be frustrated with his slow start and might be willing to move him on the cheap. The fact that Stamkos is playing away from Nikita Kucherov can be a selling point, but in all likelihood, the two stars will wind up on the same line sooner rather than later.
Moreover, Stamkos has been playing right wing alongside Brayden Point, so gaining RW eligibility would only add to his value.
Sell high on Nicklas Backstrom
Patrick Smith / Getty Images Sport / Getty
Team: Capitals Position: C Ownership: 96 percent
Backstrom is off to a strong start with 10 points through his first seven games, but it may be smart to trade him as soon as possible. Of his 10 points, only three have been at even strength, with the remaining seven coming with the man advantage. As good as the Capitals' power play is, it's not going to operate at 38.5 percent all season long.
To keep up his pace, Backstrom is going to have to start producing at even strength, and that may be difficult considering Evgeny Kuznetsov has supplanted him as Alex Ovechkin's centerman.
One trade worth exploring would be Backstrom in exchange for the aforementioned Stamkos straight up.
In deeper leagues, he may turn out to be a mainstay on your team if he can stick with McDavid, but even in standard-sized leagues he still makes for a solid streaming option considering the Oilers play four times this week.
Edmonton Oilers forward Ty Rattie was placed on injured reserve Sunday, one day after the team announced he will miss a couple weeks with a muscle injury to his midsection.
Cooper Marody has been recalled from the AHL in a corresponding move.
Rattie left Thursday's game against the Boston Bruins and did not return. He then sat out Saturday's contest versus the Nashville Predators.
The 25-year-old winger had been gifted a glorious opportunity to play on Connor McDavid's line to start the season but was only able to muster two points in five appearances.
Marody, a sixth-round pick by the Philadelphia Flyers in 2015, has been off to a hot start with the Bakersfield Condors, picking up six points through his first five games.
