Jesper Fast

Few players in the NHL are as steady as Fast on a year-by-year basis. He's a defensively-responsible forward that can play up in the lineup if injuries strike and is seemingly always good for somewhere around a dozen goals and 30 points each season. Fast is also a proven playoff performer, highlighted by his six goals and three assists in 15 postseason games a year ago. Fast, an unrestricted free agent this past summer, inked a new two-year deal worth $2.4 million annually to return to the Hurricanes, where he figures to continue in a third-line role.

One of the most effective depth players and penalty killers in the NHL, Fast saw his offense tick up in his second year with the Hurricanes. His 14 goals, 34 points and plus-24 rating were all career-best marks, while Fast also posted 100-plus hits (109) for the sixth time. As much as Fast helps Carolina win hockey games, his skill set isn't conducive to fantasy production. Set to turn 31 this coming December, Fast remains a fade in virtually all formats this fall.

The Rangers let Fast leave for Carolina last fall on a three-year, $6 million contract, a decision they almost certainly wish they could take back given the difficulty they have had filling Fast's void on their second line. The Swede filled more of a depth role in his first season in Carolina, posting six goals and 19 points in 46 games. Fast is one of the smartest players in the league and an excellent penalty-killer, but he's never finished with more than 13 goals and 33 points in a single season. Fast is a key cog for the Hurricanes, but a clear fade in most fantasy formats.

Fast has become a reliable bottom-six NHL forward in recent years. He had 29 points and 125 hits in 69 contests for the Rangers last season, but he was ultimately allowed to leave as a free agent. The Hurricanes should enjoy his physical presence on their third line, but he's not likely to make a big enough impact to attract interest in standard fantasy formats. Fast will probably end up with 20 to 25 points and just under a pair of hits per game during the 56-game, 2020-21 campaign, and his lack of power-play usage will limit his fantasy viability to deeper leagues.

Fast regressed back to 20 points last season after riding a career-high 16.3 shooting percentage to career highs in goals (13) and points (33) in 2017-18. The hard-working forward will likely finish somewhere between those totals this season while continuing to serve in a bottom-six role. Every NHL team needs guys like Fast, but as far as fantasy goes, he can be overlooked in all but the deepest of formats due to his low ceiling.

Fast is coming off career highs of 13 goals, 33 points and 80 shots. That final number shows why he's going to have a hard time staying in the mainstream fantasy conversation, as Fast simply isn't a prolific scorer and fails to get the puck on net often. While his hard-nosed style and solid two-way game are important to the Rangers, Fast has just one power-play point and 270 shots in 287 career NHL games. The Swede's got a decent floor in fantasy leagues deep enough for players of his ilk, but owners in standard formats are better off gambling on youngsters with more upside.

Fast is a speedy winger -- naturally, with that name -- who plays with an edge and has grown into a valuable bottom-six role player for the Rangers. With plenty of talent ahead of him on the roster at right wing, it's hard to see him rising into top-six duties, which is probably for the best, but after netting just 21 points in an injury-shortened 2016-17, he should see a bit of a rebound toward the 30 he managed the season before.

Fast’s first full season in the NHL saw him produce 10 goals and 30 points in a strangely consistent sort of campaign – he didn’t have many hot streaks or slumps, just a steady trickle of offensive production. That’s fairly impressive production for a guy who not only saw zero power-play time, but also spent the second-most minutes among Rangers forwards on the penalty kill. The question Fast has to answer with his play in 2015-16 is whether he’s anything more than what we’ve seen so far, which is a speedy forward with a solid two-way game who’s best suited to the third line. He’ll have stiff competition for minutes at right wing, so Fast will have to look good early and often if he wants to earn his way into a premier role. It's worth noting, though, that Fast has been reasonably productive in Sweden as well as the AHL, and at the age of 24, he arguably hasn’t reached his ceiling yet.

Fast lives up to his name and more -- he's speedy, but the Rangers also value his toughness, and he's flashed offensive upside in the past, with a 35-point season in Sweden and 44 points in 58 career AHL games. He's ticketed for a bottom-six role, but he's got the moves and the willingness to do hard work in front of the net, so he should build on last year's meager 14 points. Eventually, the Swede could grow into a legitimate second-line winger, and he'll attempt to develop more consistency as he enters his first full NHL campaign.

Although not considered to be the cream of NHL prospects crop, Fast has certainly earned praise as one of the Rangers' most promising forwards in a weakened pipeline. In between collecting 17 goals, 17 assists with a plus-14 through 48 games with Hartford of the AHL, Fast found himself on a short list of players on call to New York last season. Although he was shutout in 11 regular season games, he made enough of an impression for head coach Alain Vigneault to trust him with three post-season appearances. Headed into training camp, Fast will once again find himself on a short list of players with a shot at filling the void left by personnel changes in the off-season.

It's been quite some time since the Rangers had a bonafide speedy phenom with exponential offensive skills and that's what the organization has in the artist formerly known as Jesper Fasth. After playing 47 games (18 goals and 17 assists) for HV71 in the Swedish Hockey League last season, Fast was invited to practice with the Rangers. Shortly after, the 21-year-old was assigned to the AHL. Fast scored a goal in his only game with the Hartford Wolf Pack, before being listed as 'banged up' for the remainder of the AHL season. Listed by the Hartford Wolf Pack as 5'11,165 pounds, the former sixth round pick is by far one of the most talked-about prospects in the pipeline for the Rangers and could end up getting at a shot with the big club if injuries present the opportunity.