Welcome to the final Ramblings of 2025. After a quick holiday break, we’ve had a busy few days of games, which has left us with a lower than usual number of Tuesday night games. That makes for a rebound to a bigger slate on New Year’s Eve today, so keep a closer eye on your Wednesday lineups than you otherwise might.
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The Penguins have dropped off of late, and are now a bottom-five team in the East, even after last night’s 5-1 win against a reeling Hurricanes team. Soon enough, the Pens are going to be moving out some of their deadline pieces, possibly including Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust. Rust is on track to pace for 75-points for a third straight year, while Rakell has 13 points in the 17 full games he has played. Both are in their early-30s, and they’re going to fetch a solid amount on the trade market.
The problem for fantasy managers is that it’s very unlikely that they find a better landing spot than playing 19-20 minutes a night alongside Sidney Crosby. Maybe landing next to Auston Matthews or Jack Hughes would suit them, but those teams are also outside of the playoff picture at the moment. It’s a possibility that ending up in Minnesota or Tampa could put them with an elite player that could keep their scoring pace high, but it’s no guarantee. If you’re a seller, it might be best to move them in fantasy before they end up in Detroit or Long Island.
Similar story goes for the entire Pittsburgh second line last night, who put up two points each. Anthony Mantha, Tommy Novak and Justin Brazeau aren’t going to be seeing more ice time with another team. However, if they end up sticking around after the sell-off, then they could even be in line for some top-line deployment with the Penguins. That’s the double-edged sword we have to consider this time of year.
Meanwhile, on the other end of the lopsided loss, the Hurricanes have a day off today after a back to back, and still have three games left this week to complete the five-game in seven-day stretch. This coming on the heels of the injury news for Pyotr Kochetkov, and they are suddenly thrust into having Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen handle a few more games each than expected. Bussi has been fantastic this year, but because Andersen hasn’t (and wasn’t again last night with five goals against), one has to wonder whether the Canes go looking for goaltending help elsewhere.
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Without Auston Matthews and William Nylander, it was of course Bobby McMann and Nicholas Robertson leading the offence for the Leafs with two points apiece. That brings Robertson up to five points in his last three games, while McMann has four in his last four. Both are just above a point-per-every-other-game pace this year, but despite the Leafs having injury issues, the pair are both seeing a downtick in minutes.
Check in to the Injury Ward tomorrow for any updates on Matthews, Nylander, and more.
Joseph Woll made 33 saves against the Devils to post his first shutout of the year, besting Jacob Markstrom who allowed four goals and lost any momentum he had built up over his previous two games where he posted back-to-back quality starts for only the second time all season.
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Sam Montembeault played in his first game back from a conditioning loan and went toe-to-toe with Sergei Bobrovsky. Both goalies were perfect for the first 50 minutes of the game, but then the cracks started. After goals from four likely Olympians in Brad Marchand, Sam Reinhart, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield, the Canadiens managed to eek out the overtime win on a marker, again from Suzuki. If only the Canadiens had a second-line centre… more on that later.
Lane Hutson (five points in his last three games) and Noah Dobson (seven in four) each picked up two assists, to keep some very impressive hot streaks rolling.
It is great to see Montembeault back in form with the win, but that does cloud the goaltending picture in Montreal for now. Jacob Fowler hasn’t exactly stolen the job while he has been recalled, and sending him back is likely the short-term answer. However, this is likely not the last we have seen of Fowler this season.
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In good injury news, expect Adam Fox to return to the Rangers lineup Wednesday. He’s been out of the lineup for a month now with an upper-body injury, and was on a streak of 10-points in six games before the injury. Hopefully he can pick up where he left off.
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With the World Juniors on, it’s always fun to look at a few of those players who are making a name for themselves:
The Michael Hage, Gavin McKenna, Brady Martin line has been Canada’s best, with McKenna leading the way with seven points through three games. For those who are somehow unaware, McKenna is the favourite to go first overall in the upcoming 2026 entry draft. Only the best of the best can put up numbers like that before they’re drafted. McKenna’s linemates are keeping up though, as Hage (2024 draft, MTL) has six points in three games, and Martin (2025 Draft, NSH) has five points. Each of them has a few goals as well.
Martin started the year with the Predators, but was quickly re-assigned back to the OHL. It won’t be long until he’s making an impact at the NHL level, as his mix of scoring touch and work ethic will help him adapt to the next level. Meanwhile, Hage is still developing through the NCAA route, and it’s possible we see him in the NHL as early as this spring. Once Hage’s season is over, he could sign his ELC with the Canadiens, and his scoring prowess might be a welcome addition to their middle-six group.
Tomas Chrenko is a Slovakian draft-eligible forward who is leading the tournament in goals through the first four days, with five in three games. He’s a slightly shorter forward at five-foot-10, but this kind of performance could be enough to jump him up from middle-round consideration at next year’s draft, all the way into the top-65 or so.
Leading the tournament in scoring from the blueline is Czech defender Tomas Galvas, who went undrafted in both 2024 and 2025. That was likely in part due to his size, as it’s much more difficult to succeed in the NHL as a five-foot-10 defenceman. His puck skills have been on display this year, but it takes more than that to impress NHL scouts as a defenseman.
Sweden’s duo of Anton Frondell and Viktor Eklund have led the charge on offence for their team. They always click very well when playing together. Unfortunately, they weren’t drafted by the same team, with Frondell having gone third overall to the Blackhawks, and Eklund property of the islanders.
After an incredibly impressive year in the second-tier Swedish league last season, Frondell has moved up to the top mens league, the SHL. His numbers there are still impressive, but aren’t quite as eye-popping. Still, it is an excellent sign and it makes a great stepping stone before joining the Blackhawks, perhaps as soon as next season. Eklund has moved up through the ranks with Frondell, and his scoring numbers are nearly as high. Eklund without the same game-breaking ability and size that Frondell has, might need a little longer to season before making his NHL impact, but once Frondell leaves for North America, it would make sense that he might want to follow him over as well.
Adam Jirickek had a very pretty goal in overtime on Monday to steal the game back for the Czechs after a late Finland rally. Jiricek has been having a fantastic resurgence year in the OHL with Brantford, putting up 29 points through his first 25 games, and most importantly, he has been healthy. His older brother David Jiricek has fallen off the last couple of years, and people were starting to wonder whether both brothers were set to be busts, despite their high pedigree. Adam at least has quelled those fears on multiple stages this year, as the Blues continue to have defencemen shine at the WJC.
The Americans unfortunately lost one of their best players in Cole Hutson after he was hit in the head with a puck. We’re all hoping that he makes a full recovery, though at this point without a clear update it seems unlikely he is suddenly back and playing in the next day or two. The medal round games start on the 2nd.
In the meantime, Will Zellers has been leading the way for the USA, with six points in three games, while no one else on the team has more than four. Zellers was a third-round pick of the Bruins back in 2024, and while he hasn’t put up gaudy numbers yet, there is still quite a bit of runway on his development path, as he’s only in his first year in the NCAA.
The final round robin games begin today at 1pm.
Happy New Year’s Eve everyone!
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See you next year, and if you have any fantasy hockey questions or comments you can find me on BlueSky @alexdmaclean.