Brodziak registered 10 goals and 23 assists for the St. Louis Blues last season. The 34-year-old St. Paul, Alberta native was with the Blues for the previous three campaigns.
Edmonton selected Brodziak in the seventh round of the 2003 draft. The versatile forward totaled 123 goals and 164 assists in 847 career regular-season games split between the Oilers, Blues, and Minnesota Wild.
Brodziak registered 10 goals and 23 assists for the St. Louis Blues last season. The 34-year-old St. Paul, Alberta native was with the Blues for the previous three campaigns.
Edmonton selected Brodziak in the seventh round of the 2003 draft. The versatile forward totaled 123 goals and 164 assists in 847 career regular-season games split between the Oilers, Blues, and Minnesota Wild.
The Vancouver Canucks continued their busy Canada Day by locking down winger Sven Baertschi to a three-year deal with an annual average value of $3.367 million, the team announced.
"He's a talented offensive player. We look forward to seeing Sven further develop his complete game and become a consistent contributor to our success," said general manager Jim Benning.
“We’re very pleased to sign Sven to an extension," said GM Jim Benning. "He's a talented offensive player. We look forward to seeing Sven further develop his complete game and become a consistent contributor to our success." pic.twitter.com/divLAiH6Vl
John Tavares could be in for some of the best seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs after signing with them Sunday, and his fantasy value has skyrocketed because of it.
When Tavares steps onto the ice with the Leafs, he'll be surrounded by the best supporting cast of his career. Here's how Mike Babcock envisions the Leafs' top two lines, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston:
LW
C
RW
Patrick Marleau
Auston Matthews
William Nylander
Zach Hyman
John Tavares
Mitch Marner
Between a dynamic playmaker like Mitch Marner and a workhose in Zach Hyman, 45 goals and 90 points for Tavares are realistic possibilities, and both would represent career highs.
Tavares and Marner, two of the smartest players in the game, would seemingly form quite a dynamic duo. Tavares instantly makes everyone around him better, and his presence could result in a breakout, 80-point season from Marner.
Of course, there's no guarantee Tavares and Marner will last all season, but a teammate he definitely won't be on the ice with stands to significantly affect his fantasy value as well. Having Auston Matthews on a separate line will force opposing coaches to choose which trio to deploy their top checkers and best defense pairings against. Some teams may consider Matthews the bigger threat, while others may think it's Tavares. This bodes well for Matthews' fantasy value too.
In standard leagues, Tavares and Matthews should be surefire first-round picks. Sneaking into the top five isn't outside the realm of possibility, either. Though there's no wrong answer, Matthews should be ranked slightly ahead of Tavares, since his ceiling is higher.
In banger leagues (leagues with hits and blocks), Matthews and Tavares should be valued as high second-round picks, since neither player fills the additional categories.
As for the rest of the Leafs, just about everyone's fantasy value could see at least a slight uptick. Having one of the game's best players on your team leads to more production all around, even from defensemen like Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly. In goal, Frederik Andersen should pile up a few more wins than previously expected.
The only Maple Leaf whose fantasy value doesn't get a boost is Nazem Kadri. He'll get slightly less ice time, and probably fewer chances to play alongside Marner, but Tavares' old London Knights teammate is likely still a 25-goal, 50-point player.
What about the Isles?
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
The Islanders are now officially a fantasy wasteland after being one of the league's highest-scoring teams last season.
Mathew Barzal becomes the team's No. 1 center, and while he'll play more minutes, opposing coaches will game plan around shutting him down. A slight sophomore slump could be in order, but he's still talented enough to get 70 points.
Stay far away from Anders Lee and Josh Bailey in fantasy drafts, however. Both players are coming off career years, but will be hurt dramatically by the loss of their superstar center.
The signings include forwards Adam Cracknell and Josh Jooris, both of whom will carry a $650,000 cap hit. Defenseman Martin Marincin re-signed for one year at an $800,000 cap charge.
The Maple Leafs also announced the signing of blue-liner Jordan Subban, who inked a two-way deal. Subban has yet to make an NHL appearance and split last season between the minor-league affiliates of the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings.
While the Rangers didn't disclose the terms, TSN's Pierre LeBrun reports the deal will pay Namestnikov $4 million annually.
The Rangers acquired Namestnikov from the Tampa Bay Lightning as a part of the Ryan McDonagh return at the trade deadline. Between both teams in 2017-18, the 25-year-old had 48 points in 81 games.
Rieder had 12 goals and 13 assists in 78 games split between the Arizona Coyotes and the Los Angeles Kings last season. He's scored between 12 and 16 goals in each of his four NHL campaigns.
At 25, Rieder was one of the younger UFAs on the open market. It's possible the Oilers will put him on a line with fellow German Leon Draisaitl.
