Check out theScore's 2019-20 fantasy hockey draft kit for all the advice you need leading up to the start of the season.

Yahoo fantasy sports (finally) ditched penalty minutes as a category in standard leagues. It's been replaced with hits in head-to-head leagues and blocks in head-to-head points leagues. To account for both styles, these rankings take the following categories into account:

These rankings are based on 12-team leagues and factor in positional value. The value of certain positions can change depending on the size of the league. Positional eligibility is courtesy of Yahoo.

*Unsigned RFA

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Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov will be suspended by the NHL to start the season for his positive cocaine test, but the ban is not expected to exceed three games, sources told The Washington Post's Isabelle Khurshudyan.

More to come.

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Corey Perry's tenure in Big D isn't starting the way he envisioned.

The Dallas Stars forward suffered a small foot fracture and will be re-evaluated in two weeks, general manager Jim Nill said on Friday, according to Mike Heika of the team's website.

Perry signed a one-year, $1.5-million contract with the Stars on July 1 after the Anaheim Ducks bought him out.

The former Hart Trophy winner missed the first four months of the 2018-19 campaign after undergoing knee surgery in September. The 34-year-old was a shell of his former self when he returned, tallying just 10 points in 31 games.

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Winnipeg Jets defenseman Dustin Byfuglien has been granted a personal leave of absence from the team, the club announced on Friday.

Both the reason and duration are unknown at this time, although head coach Paul Maurice told TSN 1290 that Byfuglien is "going to be fine," adding that it's "nothing sinister," according to The Athletic's Murat Ates.

Byfuglien was productive during an injury-riddled season in 2018-19, tallying 31 points in 42 games.

With fellow defensemen Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers, and Ben Chiarot departing this offseason, the Jets are counting on a big campaign from Byfuglien to help them return to the playoffs.

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The Philadelphia Flyers have re-signed restricted free-agent defenseman Ivan Provorov to a six-year contract with an average annual value of $6.75 million, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.

Provorov, 22, is coming off the worst campaign of his three-season NHL career after posting 26 points and severely negative possession numbers in 2018-19. The former seventh overall pick led the Flyers in average ice time for a third straight year, however, and previously flashed offensive potential with 17 goals and 41 points in 2017-18.

Provorov's reported deal is the latest in a flurry of blue-liner signings. The Winnipeg Jets inked Josh Morrissey to an eight-year, $50-million extension earlier Thursday, while the Columbus Blue Jackets signed their own RFA defenseman, Zach Werenski, to a three-year deal with a $5-million annual cap hit Monday.

The Flyers now have $6.67 million left in projected cap space, according to CapFriendly, with one unsigned RFA in winger Travis Konecny.

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The Minnesota Wild re-signed restricted free-agent forward Kevin Fiala to a two-year, $6-million contract, the team announced Wednesday.

Fiala was acquired in a deadline deal with the Nashville Predators in exchange for Mikael Granlund. The trade was made by ex-Wild general manager Paul Fenton, who had previously been the assistant GM in Nashville.

In 83 games split between the two clubs, Fiala registered 12 goals and 39 points in 2018-19. This marked a bit of a down year compared to his 23-goal, 48-point output in 2017-18.

The 23-year-old will compete for top-six minutes in his first full campaign with the Wild.

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Mitch Marner apparently declined an offer that would've made him one of the highest-paid players in the NHL.

The Toronto Maple Leafs offered the restricted free-agent winger a contract with an annual cap hit of $11 million in June, according to TSN's Darren Dreger. The average annual value would've tied Marner with Drew Doughty and teammate John Tavares as the fourth-highest paid player in the league.

The $11-million offer also included performance bonuses that the club wouldn't pay during his entry-level contract, according to Dreger.

The Leafs have been pushing both seven- and eight-year contracts for Marner, Dreger added. However, a three-year extension now remains the focus, which would be problematic for Toronto, as his salary in the final season could be as high as $12 million. Marner could then accept the $12-million qualifying offer and walk into unrestricted free agency after the fourth year.

San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, one of the few premium RFAs to get a deal done, signed a similar contract earlier this offseason. He inked a four-year, $24-million backloaded deal to assure he gets a $10-million qualifying offer in his final year of restricted free agency.

The Leafs currently have a projected cap hit of $85.35 million - nearly $4 million above the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly. However, the dead contracts of David Clarkson and Nathan Horton (combined $10.5M AAV) are projected to hit long-term injured reserve, and Zach Hyman and Travis Dermott (combined $3.13M AAV) could join them on LTIR to begin the season.

The Leafs can also option a couple of players to the minors to create additional cap space.

Marner finished 11th in league scoring in 2018-19 with 94 points.

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Jake Gardiner was the easy scapegoat.

In back-to-back first-round Game 7 losses to the Boston Bruins, the heavily scrutinized Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman didn't bring his best stuff. Could he have played better? Absolutely. Was he the primary reason for his club's early playoff exits? Absolutely not.

After Gardiner signed a four-year, $16.2-million deal with the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday, most Toronto fans will simply say "good riddance," with Game 7 turnovers imprinted in their minds as they reflect on his tenure in blue and white. In reality, though, he was one of the most underappreciated Leafs players in recent memory and the franchise's second-best defenseman of his generation behind Morgan Rielly.

Looking strictly at the salary-cap era, one could argue Tomas Kaberle and Bryan McCabe were better, but both made a significant portion of their contributions before the 2005 lockout. Dion Phaneuf is probably the only other modern Leafs blue-liner who gives Gardiner a run for his money.

Gardiner was an easy target. Toronto's fan base, for the most part, has always adored the underdog. The player who brings grit, toughness, tenacity, and a chip on his shoulder. Players like Darcy Tucker. Gardiner, at least visibly, didn't offer any of those traits.

The areas in which Gardiner excels aren't as obvious to the casual fan. He's one of the NHL's best puck-movers and transition defensemen. He makes an excellent first pass and, when necessary, can skate his way out of trouble with some of the most unique edge work in the league.

Gardiner is mistake-prone, though, and his mistakes are glaring. Although his net impact in Toronto was far more positive than negative, most Leafs fans couldn't look past his blunders. The home crowd at Scotiabank Arena even booed him whenever he touched the puck during a regular-game against the Colorado Avalanche in January.

Over the last three seasons, the Leafs controlled 53.3% of the scoring chances, 54.2% of the high-danger scoring chances, and 58.5% of the goals scored with Gardiner on the ice at five-on-five. Those are elite numbers, and they're even more impressive when one considers the fact he had to drag Nikita Zaitsev around for the bulk of those three campaigns.

Here's a look at how Gardiner and Zaitsev performed with and without each other over that span:

Situation	CF%	xGF%	GF%	SCF%	HDCF%
Together	49.2	50.5	51.6	52.1	54.9
Zaitsev w/o Gardiner	48.8	48	44.8	50.7	48.5
Gardiner w/o Zaitsev	52.4	52.2	64.5	54.3	54.2

CF% = Corsi for (shot attempt) percentage
xGF% = Expected goals for percentage
GF% = Goals for percentage
SCF% = Scoring chances for percentage
HDCF% = High-danger scoring chances for percentage

If there was blame to be placed on the Gardiner-Zaitsev pairing, Leafs fans should have been pointing their fingers at Zaitsev. Imagine how much more effective Gardiner would've been with a competent partner.

We may find out as early as this season.

A bargain for Carolina

If healthy, Gardiner could prove the most cost-efficient signing of the offseason. That's a big if, considering a back injury kept him out of the Leafs' lineup for 20 games during the 2018-19 season. When he returned for a brief tune-up before the playoffs, it was clear he wasn't himself, and while he'd never admit it on record, it's an obvious excuse for his uneven postseason performance.

That's likely why Gardiner remained on the open market until Friday, and why he signed a deal below market value. Without injury concerns, he would've likely garnered a longer-term contract in the range of $6-7 million annually, comparable to Tyler Myers' five-year, $30-million deal with the Vancouver Canucks.

In joining Carolina, though, Gardiner probably couldn't have landed in a better spot.

Not only are Hurricanes fans more forgiving than those in Toronto, but the team's roster - playing an up-tempo style and thriving on puck possession - is a great fit for his game.

Gardiner will likely slot in on the left side of his new team's second pairing - a familiar spot. But instead of carrying a lackluster partner, he'll likely get a chance to play with one of the league's very best shutdown blue-liners in Brett Pesce. Blossoming into the new Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Pesce is a steadying presence perfectly suited to playing alongside a risk-taker like Gardiner.

Here's a look at the Canes' projected blue line:

LD	RD
Jaccob Slavin	Dougie Hamilton
Jake Gardiner	Brett Pesce
Gustav Forsling	Justin Faulk
Haydn Fleury

*Trevor van Riemsdyk underwent offseason shoulder surgery and could start the season on LTIR

Gardiner will likely receive some power-play time, and at just 29 years old, is set up to have some of the best years of his career in Raleigh. He told reporters other teams offered short-term contracts, but he wanted a long-term deal. The Hurricanes will soon be rewarded for taking a chance on an undervalued asset.

General manager Don Waddell has some shuffling to do to get under the salary cap, but he essentially used the money that would've gone to Justin Williams - who, at least temporarily, has ended his playing career - to fill a gaping hole on the left side of the blue line.

None of this is to say Toronto should've re-signed Gardiner. Though his annual cap it is the same as it was on his previous deal, the cap-strapped Leafs couldn't afford to wait around and count on him to return without upgrading the defense in the meantime. There are at least a handful of teams, however, that may regret not taking a chance on Gardiner.

Advanced stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick

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The Edmonton Oilers added some center depth by landing veteran pivot Riley Sheahan on a one-year, $900,000 contract, Sportsnet's Mark Spector reports.

Sheahan split last season between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Florida Panthers, collecting 19 points in 82 games while being deployed primarily on the fourth line.

The 27-year-old has totaled 149 points in 447 career NHL games. He was a first-round pick in 2010 by the Detroit Red Wings, who were run by current Oilers GM Ken Holland at the time.

Sheahan is expected to compete with Colby Cave and Kyle Brodziak, who's currently dealing with a back ailment, for Edmonton's fourth-line center job.

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The Winnipeg Jets and defenseman Josh Morrissey have begun negotiating a long-term contract extension, he told The Athletic's Ken Wiebe.

"We chatted a little bit throughout the last couple weeks and throughout the summer," he said. "It's just kind of the process of how it goes. You've been through contract negotiations, so you know how it works."

Morrissey is entering the final season of a two-year, $6.3-million bridge deal he signed last September. The 24-year-old was limited to just 59 games in 2018-19 due to injury but still managed to post a career-high 31 points while averaging 22:24 minutes per night.

He's adamant about being with the team for years to come.

"I've always maintained I want to be a Jet and I want to play here in Winnipeg," Morrissey said. "I would love to get something done. As a player, you want to go through the process and handle it the right way. I would love to play here throughout my career. We’ll see what happens."

With Jacob Trouba's departure and Dustin Byfuglien now in his mid-30s, Morrissey is expected to take on a greater role on the Jets' blue line this season.

While locking in Morrissey would certainly be a boon for the Jets, general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has more immediate business to take care of. Patrik Laine and Kyle Connor are both restricted free agents, and the Jets have a projected $16.15 million in remaining cap space to sign the duo, according to CapFriendly.

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