ESPN is bringing you quick-hitting team previews ahead of the 2016-17 fantasy season, with a spin through each division. We'll look at what's new, upward and downward trending players, and the goaltending situation for all 30 teams.
The goaltender index is a rating from one to 10, with one being your workhorse starters that face no threat whatsoever to their expected workload of 60-plus games, and 10 being a situation that is already a full-blown timeshare between two goalies.
Boston Bruins
What's new: The Bruins still have one of the best duos on the top line and one of the best one-two punches down the middle in the NHL. Those two factors will go a long way to producing fantasy value. David Backes is new to the roster this season. While he is a center by trade, Backes can play the wing if need be.
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand will continue to star on the top line, while Krejci can anchor the second line with the best of them. Up and comers, including David Pastrnak, Ryan Spooner and Frank Vatrano, can help fill out the holes in the top six.
Trending up: David Pastrnak, W: Backes might not get the first crack at the top line because Pastrnak is due for some more responsibility. After a scorching finish to his rookie season in 2014-15, Pastrnak's sophomore campaign was interrupted by a loan to the Czech junior national team, and he played just 51 games. But in those 51 games, he managed 15 goals and 26 points in barely 14 minutes of ice time per contest. If he were to earn a role on the top line -- or even the second unit -- Pastrnak's additional ice time would push him into fantasy starting territory very quickly.
Trending down: Zdeno Chara, D: His finish as the 87th-best player on the ESPN Player Rater last season belies what were new lows for Chara for a full season. He only moderately topped his poor numbers from 2014-15, in which he played 17 fewer games than last season. His contributions in penalty minutes and ice time kept him on the bubble for fantasy usefulness, but it seems age is catching up to this 39-year-old defenseman. He's still worth a back-end roster spot, but Chara shouldn't be counted on as a key contributor.
Goaltender index: 3. Tuukka Rask is still cemented into the starting role, but if his trends from the past three seasons continue, he could play his way out of it. Rask's ratios slipped firmly into pedestrian territory last season, at a 2.56 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. That is easily replacement-level production, and it was the second consecutive year his ratios slipped by a statistically significant amount. His slide coincides with the departure of several key members of the defensive group, but with no reinforcements on the way, there is little reason for optimism. We have him as a mid-tier No. 2 fantasy goaltender, which doesn't exactly lineup with his name value. That said, it would take a particularly poor showing before Anton Khudobin or Malcolm Subban drew into the fantasy picture this season. But if Rask doesn't have a big bounce-back season, you'll want to stash Subban for the 2017-18 campaign in keeper leagues.
Buffalo Sabres
What's new: The future is bright with Kyle Okposo jumping onto the Sabres' top line with Jack Eichel, echoing the dangerous duo that Okposo formed on Long Island with John Tavares. Experience playing with a stud center should make the acclimation painless for Okposo, boosting Eichel past any thoughts of a sophomore slump. The Sabres also have other pieces, including a healthy Tyler Ennis, Ryan O'Reilly, sophomore Sam Reinhart and -- hopefully -- a mercurial Evander Kane with which to build an offensive attack. But the buck stops at the new Okposo-Eichel duo, and they are the ones fantasy owners should key on.
The defense is strong from a defensive perspective, but lacks much offensive push outside of the as-of-yet-unsigned restricted free agent Rasmus Ristolainen.
Trending up: Rasmus Ristolainen, D: Ristolainen remains the only Sabres defenseman with any kind of legitimate offensive upside to his game, and will therefore play almost all of the power-play minutes. By the way, those power-play minutes will be with a group of stars that should push into the top 10 this season. Ristolainen responded to increased ice time last season with 40 points and more than 200 shots. With the continued improvement of both himself and the team, look for 50 points and 250 shots this season.
Trending down: Evander Kane, W: Just a hot mess off the ice, Kane won't stop providing fodder for distractions away from his hockey ability. When on the ice and playing to his potential, he can score 30 goals and trail only Alex Ovechkin for shots (maybe Patrik Laine now, too). But with many off-ice legal concerns on his plate, how much stock do you put in Kane being able to put in a full campaign? He's worth the risk at some point in your draft, but he won't go anywhere near where he would have coming into the season with a clean slate.
Goaltender index: 3. After a prolonged injury absence last season, Robin Lehner gets a mulligan on his first season with the Sabres. This will be the campaign that decides if he's the true No. 1 goaltender he appeared to be throughout his minor-league career. The chance of the Sabres making the playoffs a season earlier than expected will live and die with Lehner's performance as the guy.
Anders Nilsson can spell Lehner when need be, but if Lehner struggles, the Sabres have to go back to the drawing board next season. For this season, Lehner's a bench stash on the chance he makes good on his potential. He showed hints last season with a .924 save percentage, which was tied for fourth in the league among players with more than 20 games.
Detroit Red Wings
What's new: The Red Wings step into the post-Pavel Datsyuk era with plenty of talent that under-performed last season. In fact, aside from rookie Dylan Larkin's exploits, there aren't any returning Red Wings who fantasy owners felt good about owning last season based on their draft value.
Frans Nielsen provides terrific secondary center support and Thomas Vanek will be a boost to scoring chances on the wing, but are they enough to fill the void left by Datsyuk's return to Russia? Probably not. The team will need continued development from Larkin, big bounce-back seasons from Tomas Tatar, Gustav Nyquist and Henrik Zetterberg, and inbound support from youngsters like Anthony Mantha or Andreas Anasthasiou.
Trending up: Dylan Larkin, C: Larkin is likely making the full-time switch to center this season, with Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill hopefully committing more responsibility to his best young pivot. Larkin produced most of last season on a line with Zetterberg and Justin Abdelkader, but perhaps would be better served with the team's top talent on his flanks, including Tatar or Nyquist. He'll need to score better than the 23 goals he had last season, which led the Red Wings. That was the lowest total to lead a team in scoring outside of Toronto.
Trending down: Niklas Kronwall, D: Stick a fork in him, he's done. Kronwall turned in his worst season in a decade and it wasn't even close. Three goals and a minus-21 rating are straight-up brutal statistics from someone who was leaned on as a fantasy regular for the 10 seasons prior. The drop off the cliff came out of nowhere, and there is no reason for hope headed into 2016-17. His lingering knee issue, for which surgery is not an option, is going to make him a shadow of his former self going forward.
Goaltender index: 6. While we are more than confident in Petr Mrazek delivering the goods in net for the Red Wings, we have to remain cognizant of the fact that Jimmy Howard is still hanging around. We also can't ignore how Mrazek faltered at the end of last season, and even ceded way to Howard for the start of the postseason. Mrazek is the far superior talent at this juncture, and should confidently be drafted as a No. 2 fantasy goaltender, but he hasn't shaken Howard away completely.
Florida Panthers
What's new: The Panthers took a team on the rise and added an established power-play quarterback and a competent backup goaltender. Keith Yandle takes some of the offensive pressure off Aaron Ekblad and gives himself a role to recapture his glory days from the desert. James Reimer gives the Panthers a strong option if Roberto Luongo's age starts to catch up to him.
The top line of Jaromir Jagr and the kids should continue to dominate for fantasy owners, despite Jagr's advancing age. If you thought Aleksander Barkov broke out last season, you ain't seen nothing yet. Barkov played only 66 games, but had a pace that was good enough for 70 points if he was healthy. Look for him to blow past 70 in a full season.
A word of caution about the second line, however, as Vincent Trochek, Jussi Jokinen and Reilly Smith took the league by surprise last season. Everyone knows they are coming this season, so a drop-off could be in store for a couple of them, similar to what happened with the "Triplets" last season in Tampa Bay.
Trending up: Aaron Ekblad, D: Remember when Yandle and Oliver Ekman-Larsson were both elite fantasy defensemen together in Arizona? It wasn't that long ago, and the Panthers have recreated the recipe for Yandle and Ekblad to dominate the blue line together this season. The presence of Yandle and his deadly point shot will help push Ekblad to the next level, giving him a shot at 45-plus points and a boost in his power-play numbers.
Trending down: Jaromir Jagr, W: It just can't happen again. Can it? We still think Jagr will be a fantasy asset this season, but he finished as the 49th-best fantasy player last season. There's just no way, in the same season he turns 45 years old, that he can still be a top-50 player in the NHL. Right? Right?!? Maybe he can, but we swear there will be some serious regression here. The last time he had a shooting percentage as high as his 18.9 percent from last season, it was literally 1997 -- you know, the year Auston Matthews was born!
Goaltender index: 4. Reimer has uniquely honed his game with the Maple Leafs, perhaps learning a lot about goaltending by being the stopgap for a bottom-feeder. He parlayed his first chance to tend twine for a winner into exceptional stats for the San Jose Sharks at the end of last season, and now gets a chance to play for another winner in Sunrise. But make no mistake, this is still Luongo's team unless injury says otherwise. There are already whispers from that department though, as offseason surgery will leave Luongo in less-than-prime shape to start the season. Reimer is a very sensible handcuff or fourth goalie at the end of your draft.
Montreal Canadiens
What's new: Carey Price is healthy and that's all you need to know. Well, not really. But it's the most important point. The Habs were lost without Price last season, and should be back to being a playoff team with him.
But the big news doesn't stop there. In one of the most -- let's call it -- interesting trades of recent memory, Canadiens brass decided they were playing in a re-draft fantasy hockey league and traded P.K. Subban for Shea Weber. While everyone likes to point out that Weber is on the decline, let's not forget that Weber was the 31st-best fantasy player in 2014-15. Of course, Subban was 15th-best that season, but we digress ...
If it seems like ages ago that Alexander Radulov was lighting the NHL on fire as a 22-year-old with Jason Arnott and J.P. Dumont, that's because it was ages ago. But don't forget that it happened. The knowledge that Radulov scored 26 goals and 58 points once upon a time in the NHL answers the biggest question about his return: Can his skills translate? Of course they can. They already did once. Even during his whirlwind return to Nashville in 2011-12 -- you know, when the curfew issues occurred -- he potted 13 points in 17 games before heading back to Russia.
Trending up: Alex Galchenyuk, C: Showing last season that he is a legitimate No. 1 center portends an increase in both ice time and responsibility for Galchenyuk. The training wheels should come off completely this season, as he takes on the top-line pivot role. If he can score 30 goals and almost 60 points with 16 minutes of ice time per game, what happens when he starts approaching 19 or 20 minutes per game?
Trending down: Brendan Gallagher, W: This team has three top-line wingers and that's one too many. Max Pacioretty isn't going anywhere from the top line, so it's a question of whether Gallagher can stay there with Radulov in the fold. We just don't how that will go down, as Gallagher was showing even more improvement in an injury-riddled campaign last season and Radulov was, hands down, the best hockey player in the world outside the NHL last season. Given that Gallagher already has some chemistry with second-line center Tomas Plekanec, the battle may already be decided.
Goaltender index: 1. Price, even though he only played 12 games, still finished as the 116th-best fantasy player in the ESPN standard game. His numbers in those 12 games were that good. Prior to that, he was coming off a season winning both the Vezina and Hart trophies. It's safe to say a healthy Price is still the best goalie in the business.
Al Montoya is both capable enough to spell Price for 20 games and step in and provide better-than-replacement level goaltending if the unthinkable were to happen to Price again. In deeper leagues, he might be worth a handcuff if you spend your first-round pick on Price.
Ottawa Senators
What's new: This team begins and ends with Erik Karlsson's presence. That presence, however, has a reverberating impact on the lineup and helps create plenty of fantasy value on offense. If you are a believer in "value over replacement player," we wouldn't fault you for taking Karlsson as the first overall pick in fantasy.
New coach Guy Boucher was most previously employed in the league with the Lightning from 2010-11 to 2012-13, guiding the team to epic offensive numbers -- and terrible defensive ones. We aren't so sure he has changed his spots since then, so the offense should still be fine for fantasy purposes. This is not a situation in which to bank on a turnaround from Craig Anderson, though. Seriously, the Lightning had a sub.-900 save percentage under Boucher's direction in three seasons.
The swap of Mika Zibanejad for Derick Brassard is a slight upgrade at center for the Senators, and we like the potential chemistry of Brassard with Mark Stone, as Kyle Turris was starting to feel a bit stale as the No. 1 pivot here.
Trending up: Mark Stone, W: Throw out a dreadful January and Stone did make some major strides last season. Seriously, it was an awful month. His 61 points in 75 games with a minus-4 rating look good, but not great. Take away January, and Stone had 59 points in 63 games with a plus-6 rating. All of a sudden, that's borderline superstar status.
Trending down: Kyle Turris, C: While Stone secretly made gains last season, Turris most definitely did not. His 30 points in 57 games is disastrous compared to the breakout stats he posted in 2014-15. The drop in points-per-game rate was from 0.78 to 0.53, which is going from No. 2 fantasy center territory to fantasy afterthought. The arrival of Brassard, who is more reliable in recent seasons, could easily push Turris away from the top line, and away from fantasy relevance.
Goaltender index: 4. Anderson is the man for the Senators after Andrew Hammond lost his Hamburglar magic last season. There won't be much threat to Anderson playing fewer than 60 games -- outside of his own health. But as we pointed out, coach Guy Boucher's track record for keeping pucks out of the net is not a good one. He can run an offense, but until we see a change in his coaching in the defensive end, be wary of Anderson as any more than a No. 3 fantasy goalie.
Tampa Bay Lightning
What's new: Not much is new with the Lightning. Considering they came within one win of their second consecutive Stanley Cup finals appearance, that's just fine.
Jonathan Drouin put the drama of last season's demotion and suspension behind him, and will have to find his role in the offense. Given his performance as a playoffs savior when Steven Stakmos was injured, Drouin could find a very fantasy-friendly role, and needs to be taken as a sleeper on offense.
Health among the "Triplets" could also go a long way to changing the fortunes of the Lightning's season. Ondrej Palat struggled with injury and Tyler Johnson's wrist was never right all season. If they can come in with a clean bill of health, the Triplets could ride again as they did in 2014-15.
Trending up: Jonathan Drouin, W: After a spat with the club in December following an AHL demotion, Drouin buckled down, played well in the minors and came back strong when called upon in April. Including the postseason run, Drouin had seven goals and 16 points in 19 games when he was brought back to the Lightning following Stamkos' injury. He didn't have much chemistry with Stamkos at the beginning of last season, but he was a different player at the end of last season and will get another chance on the top line.
Trending down: Ryan Callahan, C: The same is also true for Valtteri Filppula, as both veterans have been thoroughly passed by a swath of young forwards on the Bolts' depth chart. No longer do Callahan or Filppula have a fleeting chance in this strong lineup for scoring-line roles. Vladislav Namestnikov, all three Triplets, Alex Killorn, Drouin and even J.T. Brown can be argued above them for scoring roles. It's why the Lightning might have the best fourth line in the league, but don't expect fantasy stats out of these guys anymore.
Goaltender index: 5. Ben Bishop has been a Vezina finalist in two of the past three seasons and has been among the workhorses in the NHL during that span. He's also very clearly just keeping the seat warm at this point for Andrei Vasilevskiy. Don't take that suggestion to far in your thinking, however. If the Lightning are in the running for the Stanley Cup again, Bishop isn't going anywhere. But Vasilevskiy has more than proven he is capable of a bigger workload and Bishop's start total might drop closer to the range of 50 this season. This is a rare case where you need to handcuff your goaltender if you are going to draft the starter. Take Bishop, and plan on taking Vasilevskiy in the later rounds.
Toronto Maple Leafs
What's new: With Nazem Kadri still potentially on the rise, James van Riemsdyk hoping for a full season of health and the injection of three of the NHL's most exciting rookies (William Nylander, Auston Matthews and Mitchell Marner), there is plenty of reason to expect this Leafs team to improve on their 28th-ranked 2.34 goals per game last season. Also with the addition of dependable netminding in the form of former Anaheim Ducks starter Frederik Andersen, there is reason to expect an improvement in the team's 24th-ranked 2.93 goals allowed per game.
Fantasy owners in redraft leagues won't have to make a decision about whether they want to buy into the Leafs until the middle rounds of their draft, so the potential returns are quite tantalizing. Just remember that the goal this season for the team will be a middle-of-the-pack finish with measured development of young stars, so don't expect too much.
Trending up: Nazem Kadri, C: Kadri still has 30-goal potential on his stick and if he's going to realize it, this will be the season. It's the right mix of opportunity and influx of talent for Kadri to have a breakout campaign with the Leafs. The rookies will supply the supporting cast of talent but still not take over the offense completely from the established players. Kadri boosted his shots on goal rate significantly last season, now he just has to put more of those biscuits in the basket.
Trending down: Tyler Bozak, C: Without Phil Kessel to work with last season, one might have expected Boak to be exposed as the bottom-six center he is. Not the case. Bozak's 35 points in just 57 games might convince some fantasy owners that there is fantasy life for him here, A.P. (After Phil). But with Kadri in tow and Matthews just waiting to take over, the Leafs will be forced to use Bozak in a third-line role sooner than later.
Goaltender index: 4. Don't be mistaken, this is Andersen's team to start the season. He brings a career .918 save percentage and 77-26-12 record into Toronto. But that win-loss ratio is one of the main reasons we downgrade this to a four on the index. Andersen's never played for a losing team before, and it's not the same for a goaltender playing for a winner. It takes a certain kind. If Andersen doesn't take it personally and plays his game, he'll have spot fantasy value through the season, and could be a No. 2 goaltender in 12-team leagues.