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.
Anaheim Ducks
What's new: Welcome back, Randy Carlyle! Previously with the Ducks from 2005 to 2011, Carlyle guided the team to the playoffs in five of his six full seasons, capturing one Stanley Cup along the way. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry had some of the more productive seasons in their careers with Carlyle at the helm, and should have little trouble recapturing that magic.
After Getzlaf and Perry, however, the team is mostly bit players for fantasy purposes. Ryan Kesler still stuffs most categories, while Rickard Rakell has the inside track to build on his chemistry with Getzlaf and Perry from last season. The defense is led by Sami Vatanen, but Hampus Lindholm (once he signs a contract) will also be a factor. Jakub Silfverberg remains a sleeper for untapped offensive potential, too.
Trending up: Rickard Rakell, W: Settling in as the third member of the Ducks' top line last season, both on and off the power play, Rakell turned in a 20-goal campaign. It would have been better had the Ducks not tinkered with their lines early in the campaign during a slow start. He's coming off abdominal surgery this offseason, but the thought is that he'll still be there for opening night.
Trending down: Antoine Vermette, C: With Getzlaf and Kesler down the middle, Vermette will start the season as a third-line center for the first time in a few seasons. That should bring a run of fringe fantasy relevance to a close, especially given his lack of power-play time, as the Ducks are quite loaded with other options.
Goaltender index: 2. This would be a "1" if John Gibson had a full season under his belt already, but it doesn't appear he's at risk of losing his starting job early. The main concern is the heavier workload the young goaltender is expected to shoulder as the workhorse netminder. Gibson had sparkling ratios in his 40 games last season, and should get pushed toward starting 60-plus this season.
With his ratios and a winning formula in front of him, Gibson's a lock for No. 1 fantasy goaltender numbers, with the upside for a top-five finish if the extra work doesn't slow him down, especially later in the season. Jonathan Bernier doesn't need to be drafted if you take Gibson, but he is expected to thrive if called upon, now that he is out of Toronto and not trying to win games by himself anymore.
Arizona Coyotes
What's new: The near-lock addition of Dylan Strome and possible addition of Christian Dvorak gives the Coyotes two more young offensive dynamos to add to the pile with Anthony Duclair and Max Domi. Strome is clearly the team's No. 1 center for 2017-18, but whether he ascends to that role this season is not clear.
Aside from the addition of more bodies from their elite prospect pool, the Coyotes added veterans Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata and Alex Goligoski as possible fantasy role players.
Trending up: Anthony Duclair, W: With a big rookie season in the books, Duclair will look to translate more ice time and responsibility into even better numbers. A drop in goals in the second half was just his shooting percentage coming back down to Earth (although he still finished a bit high, at 19 percent). Duclair had success with Martin Hanzal, and will continue to work there until Strome shows he's ready to take over the top line.
Trending down: Martin Hanzal, C: In the same way Auston Matthews is coming into the Toronto Maple Leafs' fold, Strome is joining the Coyotes with the knowledge that it's only a matter of time before he's the team's No. 1 pivot. Does he play there out of the gate? Does it take two months? Is it when (not if) Hanzal is hurt for the first time this season? It's going to be one of those, and Strome will finish at the top of the team's depth chart this season. Drafting Hanzal, who has been a fantasy-relevant player when healthy, is essentially putting blinders on to the inevitable.
Goaltender index: 4. Mike Smith continued his trend of a quality-ratios season following one of utter disaster. His numbers were OK again, as he put together a great late-season run to finish with more wins in just 32 games than he won in 2014-15 while playing 62. Smith is the incumbent, but if the "every other season" trend continues, he's due for another bad one. Louis Domingue was good enough last season that he'll start getting more work at the first sign of Smith's struggles.
All of this said, the Coyotes are due for another date in the draft lottery, and neither goaltender will offer much to season-long fantasy players.
Calgary Flames
What's new: While there is a new coach in town, and that will have a big impact, the headline here is the arrival of Brian Elliott. In one of the most obvious moves of the offseason, the team with the worst save percentage in the NHL stole the starting goaltender from the team with the best save percentage in the NHL. At the very least, that means a middle-of-the-road finish for the Flames when it comes to keeping the puck out of the net. At best, Elliott will prove it wasn't just the system in St. Louis that bred his success.
The arrival of coach Glen Gulutzan also signals a sweeping change in the way the Flames will play hockey. Former coach Bob Hartley sent out a run-and-gun offense that played into the wheelhouses of the team's talented studs like Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan. Gulutzan will bring a more possession-based approach that could mean we just saw Gaudreau's career high for points last season. Don't get us wrong, he's still close to a point-per-game player and overall improvement should stabilize his elite fantasy value. We are just not projecting Gaudreau into the top 10 for fantasy forwards without Hartley's reckless abandon for the attack behind him.
But note that the Flames finished in the bottom 10 for goals allowed and the top 10 in goals, and were are anticipating both of those numbers to draw toward the mean with the additions in net and behind the bench.
Trending up: Troy Brouwer, W: A punishing power forward projected to skate with Gaudreau and Monahan on a regular basis, Brouwer has big potential for multi-category fantasy impact this season with the Flames. He's done it before, dominating on the power play with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in 2013-14 and kicking butt on a line with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews in 2009-10. Brouwer knows how to work with stud forwards, and should push toward another season of 20-plus goals and 40-plus points.
Trending down: T.J. Brodie, D: Unfortunately for Brodie, Dougie Hamilton has stolen the second chair for fantasy defensemen on the Flames going forward. Following a 2014-15 with 11 goals and 133 shots, Brodie took a step back offensively, with just six goals and 79 shots last season. Hamilton and Mark Giordano patrolled full-time on the power play together. Even though his point total was higher last season, the difference in how Brodie got those points was the difference between being a No. 2 fantasy defenseman and being a back-end No. 4 fantasy defenseman.
Goaltender index: 2. The starting job is Elliott's to run with in Calgary, with the only note of caution being that he hasn't had a full workload, like, ever. He's started more than 40 games twice in a nine-season career, and never started more than 50.
However, his potential to carry over elite ratios for a team with a strong offense could push Elliott into the top-five for fantasy goaltenders. We've got him just outside the top 10 based on concerns with workload, and whether it was the goalie or system that earned Elliott the best goals-against average in the NHL for the past five seasons combined.
Edmonton Oilers
What's new: We'd say what's new with the Oilers was the injection of another top-three talent from the NHL draft (yes, Jesse Puljujarvi should have gone third) and renewed optimism to break a 10-year playoff drought. But, you know, that's the story line every year here!
There is otherworldly talent mixed in as deep as three lines for the Oilers, leaving fantasy owners with nine names to know, but only supreme confidence in one of them. Connor McDavid is a rockstar, and it doesn't matter how the lines are deployed; he'll be among the league's scoring leaders. Everyone else will be situationally dependent on the lines and how their linemates are playing, but within that, there are some fantasy stars in waiting. Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle are the most obvious, as both are expected to play with McDavid out of the gate. But Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Puljujarvi, Leon Draisaitl, Benoit Pouliot, Nail Yakupov and maybe even Kris Versteeg are all names to remember later in your draft.
Trading Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson was much criticized, but it addressed a need for the club. Just don't go around thinking this defensive group is on par with the forwards. Oscar Klefbom might have some fantasy value, and Larsson has an outside shot at improving, but probably still not enough to warrant attention.
Trending up: Milan Lucic, LW: While we admit the plus-26 rating is not repeatable for Lucic on this Oilers team, it's still important to note that his numbers last season with the Kings landed him as the 55th-best fantasy player in the ESPN standard game. He may give up that lofty plus/minus, but playing with McDavid will bring an influx of other stats to counter that. Lucic does it all in fantasy, and could be on his way to his best overall season if he finds a home next to McDavid for the long haul.
Trending down: Leon Draisaitl, C: Something has to give with this Oilers team down the middle. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins comes into this season on his last chance to produce consistently and, given his pedigree and talent, we think he can finally come through. That scenario would leave Draisaitl, although talented in his own rights, with the scraps of the third line. There will be some flip-flopping through the season between these two, but RNH has tenure and should come out on top if he stays healthy. One other possibility: Draisaitl moves to the wing. In other words, this is one situation we'll have to consistently monitor.
Goaltender index: 2. After a shaky start, Cam Talbot certainly held his own in his first season as a full-time starter, especially considering how often he was thrown to the wolves by the team in front of him. The crease is his again this season. Jonas Gustavsson wasn't brought in to challenge him, but rather spell him when the need arises. That said, you can do better than a fantasy goalie from a rebuilding franchise with a suspect defense.
Los Angeles Kings
What's new: Lucic's departure leaves a gaping hole in the top six, where Lucic played on the Kings' best line last season with Jeff Carter and Tyler Toffoli. Can Toffoli replicate that success with new linemates? Does he stay with Carter or move to the wing with Anze Kopitar? How does the prodigal Teddy Purcell fit into the picture now that he's more experienced as a scoring-line winger?
Kopitar is a top-20 forward, Drew Doughty a top-10 defenseman and Jonathan Quick a top-five goaltender. Those are the facts we know, and the rest of the answers will be sorted out through the early part of the campaign. Just be aware that there are several moving pieces at play here in the early going.
Trending up: Tyler Toffoli, W: The Kings' only 30-goal scorer last season built on each of his previous two NHL campaigns to finish with 31 goals and 58 points in 2015-16. The question with Toffoli is whether he can get it done without Lucic, as he rarely set foot on the ice without him last season. Luckily the Kings have a fellow named Kopitar who's pretty adept at running an offense, and only spent a portion of Toffoli's ice time with him. Increased minutes with Kopitar, chemistry with Carter, more power-play time -- the list of positive possible variables for Toffoli is a long one headed into this season. While we can't yet nail down how he will get the job done, rest assured we know he won't disappoint.
Trending down: Marian Gaborik, W: Hurt before the season even starts? Yes, that's Gaborik for you. But it's not just the injuries that are the concern. If Gaborik still got us 30 goals in 54 games or so, we could take the injuries in stride. But last season, Gaborik only managed 12 goals and 22 points in 54 games. That's nowhere near the kind of elite production we're used to do from Gaborik, even in his injury-shortened campaigns. It's been four full seasons since he was a 30-year-old, 40-goal scorer. Don't even worry about stashing him early on this season, as he's out until sometime in November anyway.
Goaltender index: 1. Of the 16 goalies who have played in more than 100 games during the past two seasons, Quick is an uninspiring 11th in save percentage, but fifth in goals-against average and second in wins. What does that tell you? Quick plays in a good system, but might struggle outside of it.
Luckily that doesn't matter, as the Kings aren't looking to supplant Quick anytime soon. He'll once again be aces in two of the three categories that matter, while not killing you in the third. That makes for a No. 1 fantasy goaltender. Remember the note about the system, as an injury to Quick would allow whoever replaces him to thrive -- as we've seen in the recent past for Jhonas Enroth and Martin Jones. For this season, Jeff Zatkoff becomes immediately interesting if Quick gets hurt.
San Jose Sharks
What's new: There was no reason to reinvent the wheel after pushing into the Stanley Cup finals last season, so the Sharks brought in a couple of bit pieces and will look for another run of success from their aging core.
You know the score here: Joe Pavelski, Brent Burns and Martin Jones are elite at their respective positions, with Burns and Pavelski both reasonable takes in the first round of your fantasy draft. Logan Couture and Joe Thornton are also in the mix for top-50 value, though we'd feel safer betting on Couture.
The new faces will mix in with the established players. David Schlemko probably won't get a chance to be a fantasy factor, but Mikkel Boedker could easily be a sleeper on the right line. The speedy winger will be playing with the best linemates of his career if he makes the Sharks' top six in some capacity.
Trending up: Logan Couture, C: Missing a good chunk of last season following a broken leg really suppresses Couture's apparent value, especially because fantasy owners can sometimes forget to take a peek at the playoff scoring leaders. Couture led them all with 10 goals and 30 points in 24 games. He should finally shatter the 70-point barrier this season.
Trending down: Patrick Marleau, W: It's not as if Marleau didn't get his chances last season. He played 19 minutes per game and was a mainstay on the Sharks' deadly power play. But outside of his specialization as a power-play wizard, Marleau's stats were pretty weak, considering the situation. He was a minus-22 on the season, for starters. He managed that while the top line finished at plus-25. Even though he had 25 power-play points, Marleau still finished 171st on the ESPN Player Rater, as testament to just how harmful that terrible plus/minus was. On the right fantasy team, Marleau can have value, but don't take him where his name pedigree might suggest.
Goaltender index: 1. Jones proved he could handle the rigors of an NHL starting job in his first chance, finishing tied for fifth in games played and third in wins. The goals-against average was terrific thanks to the Sharks' defense, but the save percentage was only OK, at .918. If you are being aggressive on goaltending, Jones and a guy like Cory Schneider -- who will have a high save percentage, but fewer wins -- would be perfect. It might be tough to get them both, though, so a sleeper like Robin Lehner might suffice. Aaron Dell and Troy Grosenick are competing to back up Jones, but we don't need to worry about who they are unless there is an injury.
Vancouver Canucks
What's new: The Canucks appear to be stuck in fantasy limbo, with little to get excited about beyond the first line. The only new addition of substance is Loui Eriksson, who gets a chance to return to his first-line production levels which were last truly on display when he was a member of the Dallas Stars. He'll join Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin on the top line, and get a chance to replicate their chemistry from international competition.
There are a few other players on whom fantasy owners can take fliers, but not until the end of drafts. Specifically, a rebounding Alexander Edler, potential-realizing Nikita Tryamkin or breakout Sven Baertschi might be worth stashing late.
Trending up: Bo Horvat, C: Another such dark horse will be Horvat, who had a spike in both ice time and production in his second season. Given that his offensive upside easily trumps that of Brandon Sutter, Horvat is the guy we want winning the job of second-line center for the Canucks. If he does, we can expect a modest increase to roster-worthy levels of production. But that doesn't happen if the Canucks don't let him leapfrog Sutter.
Trending down: Henrik Sedin, C: While Daniel has maintained his fantasy value as the goal scorer of the duo, the downward trend in the Sedins' production has all but sapped Henrik of any fantasy relevance. Daniel finished 48th in the ESPN Player Rater last season; Henrik finished 149th.
Goaltender index: 8. Ryan Miller and Jacob Markstrom were a wash last season for reliability, with neither of any interest to fantasy owners. If you are in a deep league and have to pick one, you go with Markstrom because he has upside, but ideally you are getting your goaltending elsewhere. The Canucks appear likely to finish 29th in shots allowed and 23rd in goals allowed again this season.