NHL Player News

McDavid provided a pair of assists, including one on the power play, and five shots on goal in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Flames.

While we won't get to enjoy contract-year McDavid after he signed a two-year deal Monday, his regular level of production is still quite exciting. He helped out on first-period tallies by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Andrew Mangiapane to open his account for 2025-26. McDavid has logged at least 100 points in eight of the last nine seasons, and that's the bare-minimum expectation for him as long as he can stay relatively healthy. He could be more productive this year if he's able to increase his shot volume -- he averaged just 2.9 shots per game in the 2024-25 regular season, his lowest mark since his rookie year.

Draisaitl scored a goal on six shots and added an assist in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Flames.

Both of Draisaitl's points came on the power play. The goal was the 400th of his career, a milestone he reached in his 791st regular-season contest. The 29-year-old is off to a positive start in 2025-26 as he sets his sights on a fifth straight 100-point campaign. Barring disaster, Draisaitl will likely also reach the 1,000-point mark this season -- he's now 42 away after his two-point effort in the season opener.

Nugent-Hopkins scored a goal on three shots, added two assists and logged two PIM in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to the Flames.

Nugent-Hopkins' goal and one of his assists came on the power play. The 32-year-old production is likely to rely heavily on the man advantage -- he earned 20 of his 49 points on the power play during the 2024-25 regular season as well as eight of his 20 points during the playoffs. He's centering his own line to begin 2025-26 because Leon Draisaitl is playing on the wing alongside Connor McDavid early on, but that could change if head coach Kris Knoblauch opts to spread the talent around the lineup.

Coleman scored a goal on two shots and added two hits in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over the Oilers.

Stuart Skinner mishandled a dump-in, and Coleman was there to pounce on it for his first goal of the season. The 33-year-old Coleman plays an honest game and will be a middle-six fixture for the Flames once again this year. He has recorded at least 30 points in seven straight seasons, including 15 goals and 39 points over 82 appearances in 2024-25. Fantasy managers can also count on Coleman for hits and PIM, as long as they can tolerate just average offense.

Zary scored a power-play goal on three shots in Wednesday's 4-3 shootout win over the Oilers.

Zary was able to knock down a rebound of an Adam Klapka shot, and it was upheld as a legal goal. The 24-year-old Zary has potted 27 goals over his first 117 career games, but now entering his third NHL campaign, he could be due for a breakout year. He was on the third line Wednesday and saw just 14:22 of ice time in the season opener, but a strong performance early in the year will likely lead to more ice time for the forward, especially given the lack of established high-end scorers in the Flames' lineup.

Eichel scored a goal on five shots, dished three assists and went plus-2 in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings.

Eichel had a hand in both of Pavel Dorofeyev's power-play goals in the second period. In the third, Eichel scored to put Vegas ahead 4-3 and set up an Ivan Barbashev tally. All in all, it was an excellent day for Eichel, who signed an eight-year, $108 million contract extension earlier in the day to remain as the centerpiece of the Golden Knights' offense for years to come. The 28-year-old had a career-high 94 points in 77 regular-season outings in 2024-25, and he should be able to replicate that production as long as he stays healthy this year.

Dorofeyev scored three goals, including two on the power play, in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout loss to the Kings.

Dorofeyev scored all three goals in the second period to help the Golden Knights erase an early 2-0 deficit. The 24-year-old winger is picking up right where he left off after a 35-goal, 52-point effort in the 2024-25 regular season. He's doing it from a middle-six role for now, but the Vegas offense can easily roll three scoring lines. He'll have high-end potential as long as he's on the top power-play unit, which is where he scored 13 of his goals last year. Dorofeyev may have flown under the radar in fantasy after battling a lower-body injury during the preseason, but he won't linger on the waiver wire for long if he continues to score regularly.

Turcotte provided an assist and five PIM in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout win over the Golden Knights.

Turcotte's penalty was a major for boarding in the second period that led to two goals for the Golden Knights. Aside from that, the 24-year-old looked effective in a fourth-line role. He's averaging just 7:09 of ice time per game through two contests, adding one shot on net, two blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating. He'll need to continue being impressive in a limited role to keep Samuel Helenius in the press box. Still, Turcotte also has enough scoring upside to move up the lineup when injuries occur.

Byfield scored a goal on three shots, dished an assist and added two PIM in Wednesday's 6-5 shootout win over the Golden Knights.

Byfield looked impressive in most areas, though he went just 5-for-20 at the faceoff dot. His goal came when he picked off a pass and beat Vegas defenseman Jeremy Lauzon down the middle on a partial breakaway. Byfield also set up Brandt Clarke's game-tying tally with six minutes left in the third period. With two points, seven shots and four hits over his first two games of the year, Byfield could be poised to take his game to the next level, especially if he continues to receive steady top-six minutes. He's posted point totals of 55 and 54 over the last two regular seasons, but he could push for 60-plus this year.

Roslovic signed a one-year, $1.5 million contract with the Oilers on Wednesday.

Roslovic wanted multiple years and likely could have commanded a larger salary after his 22-goal, 39-point regular season with the Hurricanes in 2024-25. The 28-year-old will instead take a discount to play for a contender. If Roslovic is ultimately able to earn a top-six role and power-play time, he could be a quality addition for fantasy managers once he gets up to speed with his new team. It's unclear how long that process will take, so it's not yet known when Roslovic will make his Edmonton debut.