According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Matthew Tkachuk underwent surgery a few weeks ago and would miss the start of the season as a result. Pagnotta also speculated that a Tkachuk return to action could take place as late as January, which would give Tkachuk a runway of at least a few games before the Olympics start in February. No other hockey insiders have confirmed this information.
Assuming this report is accurate, this news shouldn’t come as a complete shocker. Surgery for a torn adductor had been on the table for Tkachuk since the Stanley Cup Final ended, and the smart move is probably to get it done as soon as possible, even if cuts into the regular season. Hopefully you have been following along here either in the Ramblings or the Fantasy Guide and have been able to prepare accordingly. In single-season leagues, Tkachuk’s draft-day value should plummet significantly (currently 19 in Yahoo). He would be a great asset to hang onto in IR if you figure the rest of your team can push through to the fantasy playoffs.
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The Minnesota Wild have avoided a contract holdout and perhaps even a trade, signing Marco Rossi to a three-year, $15 million contract extension. Once the contract expires in 2028, Rossi will have one more year of RFA status before becoming a potential UFA in 2029.
In his second full NHL season, Rossi finished with career highs in the important offensive categories of goals (24), assists (36), and power-play points (16). He also added to his peripheral totals with career highs in hits (63) and faceoffs won (464), also adding to his icetime total by averaging 18:15 per game. Rossi has also reached 185 career games, so his breakout threshold may come as early as this season. However, as a smaller forward (5-9, 182 lbs.), that breakout may be a bit delayed. Rossi’s potential upside as a first-line center should not be ignored, though.
One interesting stat courtesy of Mike Amato: Rossi averaged just 11 minutes per game in the Wild’s six-game playoff series with Vegas. During that series, Rossi’s most frequent linemates were Yakov Trenin, Justin Brazeau, and Marcus Foligno. For some reason, the Wild may not view Rossi as their first-line center of the future. That may explain why they are giving Rossi three years to prove himself instead of locking him up for seven years, similar to Frank Nazar in Chicago.
For more on Rossi and the Wild, see our Offseason Fantasy Grades article on the team, released on Friday.
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Here are the top Frozen Tools searches for the past week:
I’ve picked a few players of interest out of here that I either haven’t written much about this offseason or have something to say about. I make a point about writing about top Frozen Tools searches because these are the players that Frozen Tools visitors are curious about.
After showing a sharp decline in just about every meaningful fantasy category in 2024-25, Pettersson has stated that he is looking for “revenge” in 2025-26. With the reported feud with J.T. Miller consuming much of the discourse about Pettersson’s performance, it’s quite likely that Pettersson’s diminished results were confidence-related. If he can put that behind him, the Pettersson revenge tour will be one of the biggest comeback stories of the coming season.
One reason to be optimistic about a better season for Pettersson is the fact that he has added muscle and trained intensely. It was believed he hadn’t trained as hard during the 2024 offseason, or perhaps he was nursing an undisclosed injury. One key for Pettersson will be to trust his shot, a onetime strength of his game. Pettersson’s shots-per-game average has declined from 3.2 SOG/GP in 2022-23 to 2.5 SOG/GP in 2023-24 all the way down to 1.7 SOG/GP in 2024-25. Pettersson looked hesitant too often last season, looking to pass the puck instead.
Petterson’s Yahoo predraft value of 109 will perhaps never be lower. As I mentioned in a previous mock draft, 60-70-point forwards are usually being picked in this range. That might be a conservative estimate for Pettersson, who was already on a 58-point pace in his most disappointing season. Expecting Pettersson to reach 100 points again is too much to ask, at least from where he is now. However, a point-per-game output is within reach if in fact he can rebound.
The truth is that projections for Pettersson will vary widely, so even the experts could have a tough time figuring this one out. At around pick 100, he’s a gamble that I’m willing to take.
In his first full NHL season, Kasper finished seventh in rookie scoring with 37 points in 77 games. Even more impressive was the fact that he finished the season with nine goals and 14 points and a plus-11 in his last 18 games. Kasper was shooting the lights out at 20.5% during that span, so we shouldn’t suddenly forecast him to score 40 goals. That surge is still a good sign for a 21-year-old player, though.
His usage varied throughout the Red Wings’ lineup, but his two most frequent line combinations included top 6 forwards Dylan Larkin, Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Alex DeBrincat. Looking at the Red Wings’ depth chart, Kasper appears to be slotted in as the second-line center behind Larkin and ahead of J.T. Compher and Andrew Copp. The odds seem good that he will be a used as a top-6 forward throughout 2025-26, although it’s worth mentioning that Copp was out of the lineup from late February onward due to season-ending surgery.
Another element to Kasper’s fantasy value is in the hits category. With 156 hits, Kasper trailed only Moritz Seider for the Detroit team lead in hits. That’s something to keep in mind for bangers leagues. Kasper has two-way skill, so it wouldn’t be a complete surprise if he took on some minutes on the third line.
The Wings will need their young high-end talent to take another step forward in order to become an Eastern Conference playoff team. Kasper was the eighth overall pick in 2022, so he comes with those high expectations. That’s why I’d expect Kasper’s icetime to increase from the 15:27 average in 2024-25 and perhaps take a small step forward in 2025-26.
After splitting time between the AHL and NHL in 2023-24, Guenther’s first full NHL season was a resounding success. During that time, Guenther was able to establish himself as a fixture on Utah’s top line and first-unit power play. As the now-Mammoth look to climb into a playoff spot, Guenther will be an important player in the mix.
One burning question regarding the Utah roster is how power-play time will be handled with the offseason addition of JJ Peterka. Guenther shouldn’t be in any danger of losing power-play time, as 29 of his 60 points came with the man advantage (second on the team). As well, Guenther led Utah with 12 power-play goals.
The next step for Guenther could be the point-per-game mark. This question was asked in a recent Fantasy Hockey Poll, one of the features from the Roos Let Loose series. Guenther has played 148 career NHL games, so his breakout is projected for either later this season or early next season. As well, Guenther has yet to play more than 70 games in an NHL season, so his point total could rise accordingly assuming he is not a Band-Aid Boy. At age 22, Guenther seems like a solid player to bank on for the long term.
I am in the process of writing Pittsburgh’s Offseason Fantasy Grades article, where I’ve analyzed a few of the Penguins’ top prospects. At the present moment, Rutger McGroarty, Filip Hallander, and Owen Pickering seem to have the best chance of making the team, although Koivunen is not that far behind.
Koivunen was able to score at both the AHL and NHL level in 2024-25. Koivunen led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins with 56 points in 63 games, while he was able to pile up seven assists in his eight-game cup of coffee with the Penguins. His tenure on the Penguins mainly included time on the top 6 with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Bryan Rust, Evgeni Malkin, and Rickard Rakell as his regular linemates. More top 6 icetime should be on the way if and when Koivunen is on the Penguins this season.
The Penguins organization also has a lot invested in Koivunen, as he was acquired from Carolina as part of the Jake Guentzel trade. A second-round pick in 2021, Koivunen is still waiver-exempt, which might be the reason he is not promoted right away. The Penguins have numerous players over 30 and many UFAs-to-be in 2026, which as a rebuilding team means they could be a busy seller at the deadline. That should be good news for Koivunen being an NHL regular by the end of the season.
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