Friday’s news on Aleksander Barkov confirmed the worst, as the Panthers captain underwent surgery on both the ACL and MCL on his right knee. The Panthers have stated a recovery timeline of 7 to 9 months is normal for this type of injury, which means that Barkov would miss the entire regular season. A best-case scenario could see Barkov return sometime during the playoffs.

Barkov needed to be helped off the ice during Thursday’s practice after what seemed like a relatively harmless play.

As much as this would be a massive loss for the Panthers, three-time Selke winner Barkov is probably an even better real-life player than fantasy player, similar to Jonathan Toews during the Blackhawks’ prime years. Barkov has been a point-per-game player for six of his last seven seasons, which makes him a known commodity – but only to a degree. Over the last four 82-game seasons, Barkov has played 70 games just once, and he has missed a minimum of nine games each season. A proper projection for Barkov would have him missing at least 10 games, so his season-long projection would have been closer to 70 points than 80 points.

Anton Lundell stands to gain the most with the extended Barkov absence, as Lundell could potentially move up to the top 6. Lundell has been productive as a third-line center and deserves at least a look in the top 6. That might change, however, if the Panthers sign Jack Roslovic or opt for something much bigger (Sidney Crosby, for example?) If we’re speaking in hypotheticals, Roslovic wouldn’t necessarily be a guarantee to bump Lundell down, but Crosby would.

That being said, even after the Panthers brought the band back against the odds during the offseason, this is a more watered-down top 6 with both Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk out. Barkov and Tkachuk have generally played on different even-strength lines, so there isn’t a third forward to hugely downgrade. The injuries could cut into the production of the likes of Sam Reinhart or Carter Verhaeghe or Brad Marchand, though. To counterbalance that, Verhaeghe could be back on the top power play, a spot that he lost later in the last season and through much of the playoffs.

If you’re looking for sub-50% rostered C-eligible players on Yahoo, Barkov’s former Panthers teammate Jonathan Huberdeau is one possible option, especially if he can find a way to bounce back closer to his pre-trade numbers. Assuming he is healthy for opening night, Jared McCann is also worth considering. Adam Fantilli has potential sleeper value, although he is creeping toward being 50% rostered himself. But if Fantilli isn’t available, you might have better luck with his Columbus teammates Sean Monahan or Kent Johnson. Marco Rossi is also worth betting on for his upside, and he’s only 18% rostered in Yahoo.

One last thing: Barkov is on the fantasy team that I will describe later, so I feel your pain. He is a player that I had to keep from last season. Because I was trying to build up depth at the center position even before the Barkov injury, I have one more possible replacement, which you’ll have to read on to find out about.

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James Reimer is making a long-awaited return to Toronto. The Leafs have signed the veteran goalie to a PTO. This is likely because of Joseph Woll‘s unknown timeline for a return from a personal leave of absence. The Leafs may not be totally sure that Dennis Hildeby is NHL-ready, or at least would like some more competition behind Anthony Stolarz. Reimer is now 37 years of age and seems best suited for a backup role at this point in his career.

For more player news, see our Frozen Tools Player News page.

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You may remember that years ago, DobberHockey had a column called The Contrarian. In this column, Demetri Fragopoulos would take on a differing view of a widely held hockey-related opinion. With the world becoming more polarized and critical thinking becoming a lost art, I occasionally feel the need to bring this type of writing back in some way.

I definitely don’t mean that by discussing politics or other hot-button news stories here. I’ll try to stay in my lane with respect to fantasy hockey. My contrarian take today is how I’ve ended up targeting over-30 veterans in my recent slow draft, deliberately or not. I’m coming off a run of two league championships in the last four years along with two other very strong finishes. Attempting to win forces you to go all in for the present, which results in sacrificing the future.

That being said, I’ve also noticed that players on the back half of their careers can be acquired at a discount, especially in a keeper league. On top of that, veterans are often more of a known commodity, whereas those who invest heavily in prospects are often waiting a while for tangible results – if they receive them at all from some of them. All the while, valuable weeks, months, and even years are ticking away. Are you considering opportunity cost when formulating a plan for your team?

One day, I’ll get back to chasing prospects in my league, particularly if I’m in more of a retool state. I hesitate to use the word “rebuild” in this league, as I’d rather stay away from a long rebuild. For now, here’s a veteran-heavy list of players that I’ve drafted in my league recently. Some of this is analysis on the player, but I’ve also mixed in some thoughts about drafting in general.

Artemi Panarin, LW, NYR

After leaving practice a week ago with a lower-body injury, Panarin has returned to practice and been cleared for contact, although he was wearing a non-contact jersey during Friday’s practice. I had the high bid on Panarin when the injury was announced, and sure enough the bidding suddenly stopped. That’s one of the downsides of having an early draft – you could be left holding the bag on an injured player. Just ask those who drafted Barkov before his injury. Fortunately, Panarin seems like he’ll be okay and ready to deliver on his Yahoo ADP of 28 and Fantrax ADP of 25. Keep in mind that he is nearly 34 years of age and experienced a drop in scoring last season (although he fell “way down” to 88 points).

Darcy Kuemper, G, LA

Okay, maybe I didn’t go total Zero G as I said I would. I did say I needed one more goalie, and the price on the Vezina Trophy finalist made sense. Only seven goalies have been drafted ahead of Kuemper in Yahoo (ADP 52), which makes sense because an easy way to rank goalies is to compare last season’s numbers. Among goalies with at least 30 GP last season, Kuemper had the second-best GAA (2.00) and the third-based SV% (.922). A Fantrax ADP of 119 represents less confidence in a 35-year-old goalie who was not nearly as successful during his two seasons in Washington. The Kings don’t have any strong challengers (Anton Forsberg, Pheonix Copley, Erik Portillo), so Kuemper should at least provide a high volume of starts, even if the ratios aren’t as strong as 2024-25.

Jackson Lacombe, D, ANA

Here’s my exception to the veteran rule. By my very unscientific observation, I’d say that Lacombe (Yahoo ADP 122, Fantrax ADP 96) has been the most frequently searched player on Frozen Tools this offseason. I’m sure the reasons center around whether he will be on Anaheim’s top power play again this season. Those rostering either Olen Zellweger or Pavel Mintyukov have a vested interest, as both seemed to have the upper hand on Lacombe in that area a year ago. Lacombe has earned that spot with strong offensive production over the final three quarters of the season (39 PTS in 60 GP). The spot on the top power play could shift under new coach Joel Quenneville, but Lacombe’s solid footing as a top-4 defenseman should not be based on his ability to handle tough minutes on a young team.

Anze Kopitar, C, LA

The Barkov injury makes my Kopitar addition that much more valuable. By my league calculations, Kopitar is a dropoff from Barkov, although not a major one. Even into his late 30s, Kopitar is remarkably consistent, having ranged between 0.8 and 0.9 PTS/GP over the last six seasons. Because he has been amazingly healthy having missed only three games over the past five seasons, Kopitar’s point total has been easy to project, ranging between 67 and 74 points.

It’s possible that the Kings begin to think about life without Kopitar very soon, and that would happen by handing Quinton Byfield top-line duties this season. Kopitar’s Fantrax ADP of 313 reflects the lack of keeper value that he has with just one more season, while his Yahoo ADP of 167 represents a bargain for the one last season. Kopitar is also rostered in 45% of Yahoo leagues, for what that’s worth to you.

Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, CHI

Teravainen is a back-to-back 50+ point scorer with two different teams, and he is projected to appear on Chicago’s top power play again. Known veteran commodity as well. I could go on trying to find reasons that he should stand out his super-low ADP on Yahoo and Fantrax, but instead I’ll reveal the real reason that I added him. Chicago is a team that appeared to have a favorable schedule for wingers when I entered the teams of my existing wingers into an Excel spreadsheet known as the Same Night Tool. You’ll find it on this Forum thread as a downloadable zip file. Thank you to user rjfisher83 for putting this together!

The Same Night Tool goes beyond the simple method of targeting teams with greater numbers of light days. Spoiler: Anaheim has the highest number in the league (38), which has often been the case in past seasons. So Mikael Granlund, Chris Kreider, Leo Carlsson, and Troy Terry could be players to target late in your draft or to stream at some point. Chicago has 36 light days, which also makes Ryan Donato and Tyler Bertuzzi players to target for that reason. I just hope none of my fellow league members are reading this!

For other players I’ve picked, see my Ramblings from last week.

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