The Week Ahead: Trouba Heads to Anaheim

There have been a surprising amount of trades in the last week, culminating with the Rangers dealing Jacob Trouba and his huge salary to Anaheim. The NHL will halt all trading from Dec. 20-Dec. 27, but there is still plenty of time for something to happen before the Christmas break.

All statistics are through Saturday's games unless otherwise noted.  

WEEK OF DECEMBER 9-15

4 Games – Anaheim, Buffalo, Chicago, Columbus, Minnesota, St. Louis, Toronto

3 Games – Boston, Calgary, Carolina, Colorado, Detroit, Edmonton, Florida, Los Angeles, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Ottawa, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, San Jose, Seattle, Tampa Bay, Utah, Vancouver, Vegas, Winnipeg

2 Games – Dallas, Washington

Anaheim plays all four games on the road.

Carolina, Columbus, Minnesota, New Jersey, Seattle and Washington play three games at home.

Boston, Chicago, Florida, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay play three games on the road.

ANAHEIM

Games this week: @ Montreal, @ Ottawa, @ Toronto, @ Columbus

Tired: @ Toronto (Thursday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Ducks play all four games on the road, including three games in four nights...Look for John Gibson and Lukas Dostal to share the net...The Ducks picked up Jacob Trouba from the Rangers on Friday...Trouba should provide the young Ducks with a veteran presence in addition to Cam Fowler and Radko Gudas on the blueline...Trevor Zegras was seen on crutches after his injury Wednesday and could be out a while.

BOSTON

Games this week: @ Winnipeg, @ Seattle, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Bruins are starting to get good goaltending from Jeremy Swayman, who finally seems to be his old self. He is 3-2-0 with a 1.82 GAA and a .925 save percentage ahead of Saturday's game against the Flyers...Elias Lindholm continues to disappoint. He had a three-assist night Nov. 27 and scored against Utah on Nov. 21, but outside of that, he is without a point his other 11 games, dating back to Nov. 9. The Bruins were hoping he would be their No. 1 center, but he has only three goals and 13 points in 29 games. 

BUFFALO

Games this week

vs. Detroit, vs. New York Rangers, @ Washington, @ Toronto

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Sabres are missing Rasmus Dahlin, who is out with back spasms...Owen Power has taken over Dahlin's spot on the first power play...Tage Thompson has three goals in his last three games, giving him 14 goals and 21 points in 22 contests...Dylan Cozens had three goals and seven points in his first 20 games, but he has come on of late with three goals and five points in his last seven appearances.

CALGARY

Games this week: @ Nashville, vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Florida

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Flames used Dan Vladar for three straight starts this week as Dustin Wolf was under the weather Tuesday and it was decided to start Vladar on Thursday...Look for Wolf to regain his spot as the top netminder as he is 8-4-1 with a 2.60 GAA and a .918 save percentage...The Flames really need help offensively as Nazem Kadri and Jonathan Huberdeau lead the team with eight goals and 16 points in 27 games...That's not great.

CAROLINA

Games this week: vs. San Jose, vs. Ottawa, vs. Columbus

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Columbus (Sunday)

Notes: The Hurricanes sent Spencer Martin to the minors this past week and signed Dustin Tokarski to a contract...Tokarski will get the occasional start behind Pyotr Kochetkov, until Frederik Andersen (knee surgery) is ready to return in a couple of months...Brent Burns is 39 years of age and his eight-year contract ends this season. He may have a tough time getting more than one year as he has only a goal and an assist in his last 16 games...You can't beat Father Time.

CHICAGO  

Games this week: @ New York Rangers, @ New York Islanders, @ New Jersey, vs. New York Islanders

Tired: vs. New York Islanders (Sunday)

Rested: @ New York Rangers (Monday)

Notes: The Blackhawks play three games in four nights as part of their four-game schedule...Petr Mrazek was injured Saturday and if he is healthy, he should start at least twice and possibly three times while Arvid Soderblom gets the remainder of the starts...Chicago fired coach Luke Richardson on Thursday and replaced him with Swedish-born Anders Sorensen...It should be interesting to see how the team responds to the coaching change...Alex Vlasic has two goals and four points in his last five games as he has taken over quarterbacking the top power play with Seth Jones (foot) out of action.

COLORADO

Games this week: @ Pittsburgh, vs. Utah, vs. Nashville

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Avalanche complete a five-game road trip in Pittsburgh...Ross Colton returned to action Saturday after missing almost six weeks with a foot injury. He played on a line with Valeri Nichushkin and Casey Mittelstadt but coach Jared Bednar eventually wants him to play on the top line with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen...Jonathan Drouin has two goals and four points in five games this season. He missed 16 games with an upper-body injury and is now out week-to-week with another UBI.

COLUMBUS

Games this week: vs. Philadelphia, vs. Washington, vs. Anaheim, @ Carolina  

Tired: @ Carolina (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Blue Jackets play four times, including three games in four nights...Elvis Merzlikins should get at least two starts and possibly three, with Daniil Tarasov starting the remainder of the games...While everyone talks about the offensive output of Zach Werenski from the blueline, Damon Severson has been a gem offensively of late with two goals and seven points in his last eight games...Adam Fantilli, the third pick in the 2023 Draft, has five goals and eight assists in 26 games this season.

DALLAS

Games this week: vs. Nashville, vs. St. Louis

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Stars have lost Tyler Seguin for the rest of the season after he underwent surgery Thursday to repair a femoral acetabular impingement as well as to fix his hip labrum. It's a big loss as Seguin had 20 points in 19 games this season...Jake Oettinger has lost two straight games, allowing six goals on 45 shots...Matt Duchene has 12 goals and 28 points in 26 games this season, but has only one assist in his last four games.

DETROIT

Games this week: @ Buffalo, @ Philadelphia, vs. Toronto   

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Simon Edvinsson is carrying a big workload this season. The 21-year-old is averaging 21:07 of ice time, with only nine seconds of that being on the power play. He has three goals, nine assists, 47 blocked shots and a plus-5 rating across 26 games...His defensive partner Moritz Seider is without a point in his last five games, but still has two goals, nine assists, 73 hits, 59 blocks and five helpers on the power play in 26 appearances.

EDMONTON

Games this week: vs. Tampa Bay, @ Minnesota, vs. Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Oilers got Zach Hyman back Thursday and he sniped two goals on five shots on goal in a 6-3 win over Columbus. Hyman has five goals and 10 points in 21 games and looks to be back on track after scoring 54 goals in 80 regular-season games last year...Mattias Ekholm snapped a nine-game pointless streak with his third goal of the season Thursday...Connor McDavid has 25 points in his last 12 games, including a four-assist effort Thursday.

FLORIDA

Games this week: @ Seattle, @ Vancouver, @ Calgary

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Panthers travel out west this week...Sergei Bobrovsky returned to the lineup Saturday after missing a couple of games for the birth of his second child...He has not been stellar this season, as he is 11-5-1 with a 3.04 GAA and an .890 save percentage...Sam Reinhart is proving that last season's 57 goals and 94 points were no fluke as he has 19 goals and 38 points in 28 contests this season...Carter Verhaeghe has four goals and 10 points in his last eight appearances.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week: @ New York Islanders, @ New Jersey, @ New York Rangers

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes:The Kings are in the New York City area all week...Drew Doughty (ankle) is hoping to return to the lineup in early January. He has yet to play a game this season after he fractured his ankle during training camp...This should impact Brandt Clarke, who is currently quarterbacking the top power play...Alex Laferriere has three goals and six points in his last five games.

MINNESOTA

Games this week: @ Nashville, vs. Edmonton, vs. Philadelphia, vs. Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Wild play four games this week, including three in four nights...Filip Gustavsson should get three starts with Marc-Andre Fleury getting one chance between the pipes...Marco Rossi has already taken advantage of his chance to center the top line with the lower-body injury suffered by Joel Eriksson Ek... Rossi had two goals and an assist Friday and has a four-game point streak with three goals and six points heading into action Saturday...Rossi is flanked by Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Boldy on the top unit.

MONTREAL

Games this week: vs. Anaheim, vs. Pittsburgh, @ Winnipeg

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Canadiens got Patrik Laine back this week from a knee injury that had cost him the first 24 games of the season. Laine had a pair of power-play goals to open the season...He is seeing second line action during even-strength situations, alongside Juraj Slafkovsky and Kirby Dach, while Nick Suzuki headlines the top line, with Cole Caufield and Alex Newhook on the wings...Lane Hutson has a six-game point streak...His seven assists during the streak give him 18 helpers with nary a goal this season.

NASHVILLE

Games this week: vs. Calgary, @ Dallas, @ Colorado

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Predators are the lowest scoring team in the NHL this season, striking paydirt a league-low 60 times in 28 games...Thomas Novak returned to the lineup Saturday after being a healthy scratch for the first time this season Thursday. Novak had three goals and an assist in his first seven games of the campaign, but has not hit the scoresheet in 13 subsequent games heading into action Saturday.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week: vs. Toronto, vs. Los Angeles, vs. Chicago

Tired: None

Rested: None       

Notes: Luke Hughes scored his first of the season Friday and has seven points in his last seven games. This is the type of performance fantasy managers were expecting when drafting the second-year pro...Hughes started the season with only two assists in his first 13 games before taking off of late...Jesper Bratt has 13 goals and 37 points in 29 games, including three goals and six assists in his last four appearances.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week: vs. Los Angeles, vs. Chicago, @ Chicago

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Chicago (Sunday)

Notes: The Islanders play a home-and-home series against the Blackhawks this week, the only time the two teams will meet this season...Should there be any rough stuff, look for Scott Mayfield to be in the middle of things...Anders Lee has four goals and eight points in his last seven games to take over the goal scoring lead on the Islanders with 11 markers...Noah Dobson continues to struggle this season with only two goals and 13 points in 28 games.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week: vs. Chicago, @ Buffalo, vs. Los Angeles, @ St. Louis

Tired: @ St. Louis (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes: The Rangers dealt Jacob Trouba to Anaheim on Friday, receiving defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in 2025 in exchange. The best part of the deal is that the Rangers did not retain any of his $8 million salary this season or in his final year of 2025-26...The Rangers inked Igor Shesterkin to an eight-year, $92 million contract extension Friday...Shesterkin then went out and snapped a four-game losing streak, defeating the Penguins 4-2.

OTTAWA 

Games this week: vs. Anaheim, @ Carolina, vs. Pittsburgh

Tired: vs. Pittsburgh (Saturday)

Rested: None

Notes: Josh Norris had plenty to prove heading into this season as he had seen action in only 58 games over the last two seasons, while missing 106 games with shoulder woes. But the 25-year-old has not missed a step, as he has 11 goals and 17 points in 26 games, including six points on the power play...Adam Gaudette only played in two NHL games over the previous two seasons, but has come into his own with the Senators this season as he has 12 goals and two assists in 25 appearances.   

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week: @ Columbus, vs. Detroit, @ Minnesota

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Flyers are expecting to get Samuel Ersson (lower body) back this week, if not sooner, as he could start Sunday...Ersson is 5-2-2 with a 2.70 GAA and a .902 save percentage, far better than the duo of Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov, who have been manning the nets in Ersson's absence...Travis Konecny leads the Flyers with 13 goals and 31 points in 27 games but coach John Tortorella benched him in the third period Saturday for uneven play.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week: vs. Colorado, @ Montreal, @ Ottawa

Tired: None

Rested: @ Ottawa (Saturday)

Notes: Brian Rust had a goal and an assist Saturday against the Maple Leafs to give him nine goals and 15 points in 22 games. He has four goals and seven points in his last seven games...Michael Bunting started the season as a top-six forward, but he has been relegated to the third line. It hasn't hurt him offensively — as a matter of fact he has improved of late. He has two goals and five points in his last four games.

SAN JOSE

Games this week: @ Carolina, @ St. Louis, vs. Utah

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Sharks finish a five-game road trip Thursday in St. Louis...I can't see Vitek Vanecek sticking with the Sharks much longer. He is 3-6-1 with a 3.90 GAA and an .883 save percentage after allowing 10 goals on 43 shots over the last two games...Their goalie of the future, Yaroslav Askarov is waiting patiently in the minors where he has excelled...William Eklund has only five goals this season, but he has chipped in with 18 assists in 28 games.           

SEATTLE

Games this week: vs. Florida, vs. Boston, vs. Tampa Bay

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Kraken are so happy to have Vince Dunn back in their lineup after he missed 19 games with an upper-body injury. After being held off the scoresheet in his first game back, Dunn has a goal and four assists in his last three games...Shane Wright has also been hot of late with five goals and seven points in his last seven games...Brandon Tanev has moved up to the top line (for now) and has a goal and three assists in his last six games.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week: @ Vancouver, vs. San Jose, @ Dallas, vs. New York Rangers

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Blues play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week...Jordan Binnington should see action in two games, and possibly three, while Joel Hofer will get the remainder of the action...Justin Faulk returned to action Saturday after missing a couple of games with an upper-body injury...Brayden Schenn had points in four of his last five games heading into action Saturday.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week: @ Edmonton, @ Calgary, @ Seattle

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Nikita Kucherov (undisclosed) has been out a week, but due to the light schedule for the Lightning, he has missed only two games...He has 12 goals and 34 points in 22 appearances this season...Victor Hedman has a four-game point streak in which he has picked up six assists. Hedman has four goals and 20 assists in 24 contests this season and has chipped in with a goal and 10 helpers on the power play...Andrei Vasilevskiy snapped a two-game losing streak Thursday, turning aside 20 shots in an 8-1 thrashing of the Sharks.

TORONTO

Games this week: @ New Jersey, vs. Anaheim, @ Detroit, vs. Buffalo

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Anaheim (Thursday)

Notes: The Maple Leafs play four times this week, including three games in four nights...Look for Anthony Stolarz and Joseph Woll to share the net...Toronto is in a bit of a slump as they have lost their last two games...Max Pacioretty returned to the lineup Saturday after missing the last 10 games with a lower-body injury...He started on the top line, alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner, which should really help his fantasy value.

UTAH

Games this week: vs. Minnesota, @ Colorado, @ San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Michael Kesselring has been a pleasant surprise offensively this season. The 24-year-old had five goals and 21 points in his rookie season of 2023-24, but has taken his game to a new level this season, scoring four times while adding 10 assists in only 26 games...Clayton Keller has only seven goals in 26 games after a pair of 30-plus goal seasons in his last two years. Keller does have 16 assists in 26 games this season.

VANCOUVER

Games this week: vs. St. Louis, vs. Florida, @ Edmonton

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Canucks finally got Thatcher Demko (knee) back in the lineup Friday, albeit in a backup role to Kevin Lankinen...Demko should get one start this week and look for him to snatch the No. 1 job back from Lankinen before Christmas...J.T. Miller (personal) hasn't played since Nov. 17, a span of eight games, but he could back in the lineup in the not-to-distant future...Quinn Hughes is on a six-game point streak, scoring twice while adding 10 assists. He has six goals and 31 points in only 25 games this season.

VEGAS

Games this week: @ Winnipeg, vs. Boston, @ Minnesota

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Golden Knights play three games in four nights...Adin Hill should get two starts with Ilya Samsonov playing once...Mark Stone returned to the lineup Friday after missing 14 games with a lower-body injury and picked up a power-play assist, giving the veteran winger six goals and 22 points in just 14 appearances...Pavel Dorofeyev has 12 goals and 17 points in 28 games. He was on the top line, but was sent down the depth chart to the second unit with the return of Stone.

WASHINGTON

Games this week: @ Columbus, vs. Buffalo

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: Washington has to be the biggest surprise story of the season...Not too many pundits thought that they would make the playoffs, but the Capitals are in first place in the Eastern Conference with 40 points...Aliaksei Protas has nine goals and 23 points in 27 games this season, as he is closing in on his career best, set last season with 29 points in 78 games...Alex Ovechkin (broken fibula) skated on his own this week and could return as early as the week of Dec. 16.   

WINNIPEG

Games this week: vs. Boston, vs. Vegas, vs. Montreal

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes: The Jets are getting performances from almost everyone in their lineup...Third-line winger Mason Appleton had only one assist in 14 games heading into action Saturday, but broke out with a goal and an assist in a 4-2 win over Chicago...Brad Lambert was recalled this week from AHL Manitoba as Nikolaj Ehlers (lower body) was placed on injured reserve. The 20-year-old Lambert was selected 30th overall in 2022 and is pointless in three games since his recall.