NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers for the Week

This week's article includes a first-round pick taking a step forward with a team in a new locale, a Calder candidate in Big D, a young d-man and netminder rolling in Big D, the 2024 top overall pick sidelined for a bit, a cold Zib and Skinner scuffling. 

First Liners (Risers)

Barrett Hayton, C, UTAH: Utah, formerly known as Arizona, has been waiting for Hayton to take the next step in his development and live up to his 2018 fifth overall draft pick status. Now that he's fully healthy, we may be seeing Hayton do just that. Hayton had goals in each of Utah's first three games to begin the season, racking up three tallies and five points while skating on a line with Clayton Keller and Nick Schmaltz. Jump on board now, as he likely won't be available in your leagues for too long.

Mark Scheifele, C, WPG: Scheifele can be classified as boringly consistent. Since 2015-16, Scheifele has tallied at least 60 points in every full – or close to full – season played. He is off to a ridiculously hot start, with four goals, two assists and a plus-1 rating through the Jets' first three games. Scheifele's third goal of the season gave the former first-round pick, seventh overall, 300 for his career. His pace will most certainly slow, but you could do much worse as a second center that gets 65 to 75 points in your fantasy leagues. 

Dylan Guenther, RW, UTAH: If you are a regular reader of this column, you know that I usually try to avoid having two players from the same team profiled. This week, though, not including Guenther, even though Barrett Hayton was highlighted above, would be criminal. Guenther has five goals on just 12 shots in four games, so the scoring and shooting pace will obviously both regress to the mean. Even though that will be the case, Guenther is still a major breakout candidate as he skates on the second line and first power-play unit after signing an eight-year, $57.14 million contract with Utah in September. 

Logan Stankoven, RW, DAL: Stankoven entered the season as a Calder trophy candidate. Through three games, Stankoven has done little to dispel that notion, notching four helpers in that span. Stankoven has bounced between the first, second and third line, but will be productive irrespective of which trio he is on. Granted, his future output may be dependent on where he lays, but the talent in Big D should allow Stankoven to rack up points and bolster his ROY candidacy, especially with Macklin Celebrini sidelined with an injury.

Moritz Seider, D, DET: Seider's stock in fantasy leagues, especially those that are solely points-based, took a small hit last year. The presence of Shayne Gostisbehere resulted in a drop in PP TOI for Seider, though he matched the 42-point production he had the prior season. Simon Edvinsson may end up as Detroit's PP QB down the road, but for now, Seider is still manning the first unit point. Factor in the 200-plus blocks and hits and status as a first-unit defender, and it's easy to see why Seider is worth every penny and more of the seven-year, $59.85 million contract he signed with the Red Wings in September. 

Kris Letang, D, PIT: Letang, the future Hall of Famer, was adversely impacted by the presence of Erik Karlsson on the Penguins' blue line. That acquisition was expected to cost Letang power-play ice. Time and production, which certainly was the case, as he lost more than 90 seconds of PP TOI a game and fell from 21 to five points on the man-advantage. Despite that decline, Letang still posted 50 points. This season, the Pens are playing Letang and Karlsson together at the point on the man-advantage, which should result in a rise in Letang's power-play production, as he already has two points in those situations.. 

Lane Hutson, D, MTL: Normally I would profile only two blueliners and two goalies, but it's impossible to ignore what Hutson has done to start the season. Hutson has already notched four assists in his first four games, two of which have come on the power-play. Hutson is skating on the second line, both at even-strength and on the man-advantage, with Mike Matheson still the Habs' top d-man. Eventually, a swap will occur, as Hutson, who needs work in his own zone, is clearly the future No. 1 blueliner for Montreal.

Sam Montembeault, G, MTL: Like Lane Hutson and above with Barrett Hayton and Dylan Guenther, I am departing from normal protocol, but Montembeault's start to the season must be profiled. Montembeault has allowed just one goal over 73 shots in wins over Toronto and Ottawa as he cements his spot as the Habs'  No. 1 netminder. A look behind the numbers shows a goalie who was brilliant last season despite a poor defense in front of him. Montreal's D is still not elite, but Montembeault looks more than ready to carry the bacon between the pipes, despite surrendering five goals on 30 shots Monday.         

Others include Nazem Kadri, Jack Eichel, Connor Bedard, Paul Cotter, Pavel Buchnevich, Nick Schmaltz, Kirill Marchenko, Ivan Barbashev, Will Cuylle, Cole Caufield, Kirill Kaprizov, Anthony Mantha, Andrei Kuzmenko, Josh Morrissey, Mattias Ekholm, Rasmus Andersson, Seamus Casey, Connor Ingram, Connor Hellebuyck, Darcy Kuemper and Jake Oettinger.    

Buy Low

Kent Johnson, RW, CLM: Johnson showed signs of a breakout in the 2022-2023 season, notching 16 goals and 24 assists. Injuries limited Johnson to just 42 contests last year, but even when healthy, his output substantively waned, with just six markers and 10 helpers. Johnson right now is skating on the third line following the signing of James van Riemsdyk and Kevin Labanc, despite the trade of Patrik Laine, but he has gotten off to a strong start with a pair of goals and an assist. If he can remain hot, a move up to the top-six should occur before too long. 

Training Room (Injuries) 

Macklin Celebrini, C, SJ: Celebrini showed Opening night why the hype surrounding him and his selection as the first overall pick in the 2024 draft was justified. He scored on his first shot and added in an assist but came out of the game with a lower-body injury. Celebrini looked to have possibly suffered the injury on his goal and landed on injured reserve. He is considered week-to-week, which is a major loss for the Sharks who are looking to rebound from several poor seasons in a row. 

Others include Aleksander Barkov (lower body, injured October 10, expected to miss two to three weeks), Matthew Tkachuk (illness, expected to be sidelined for at least a week with a potential return date of Oct. 22), Yegor Sharangovich (lower body, placed on injured reserve Oct. 7, week-to-week injury), Jonathan Drouin (upper-body injury, will miss the next few games), John Marino (upper body, will miss weeks) and Joseph Woll (lower body, still on injured reserve).

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Alex Holtz, RW, LV: Holtz received a fresh start with the trade to Las Vegas with Akira Schmid for Paul Cotter. Early this season, Cotter has a surprising four goals and five points while Holtz has been held off the scoresheet in each of his first three games. Holtz is still on the second line, though that spot may be tenuous, especially if Victor Olofsson shows his prior scoring touch has not completely dried up. The clock may be ticking on Holtz to prove he is deserving of an NHL spot.

Pavel Mintyukov, D, ANA: I still have high hopes for Minty, who is seeing second-line power-play time. He may not take that step forward until Anaheim moves on from Cam Fowler. Even when that happens, the team has Olen Zellweger and Tristan Luneau looking to be the man. Even if his offense doesn't develop as hoped, he still offers plenty of physicality while seeing top four minutes, making his real-life value greater than his fantasy value. 

Stuart Skinner, G, EDM: Skinner, and the Oilers as a whole, have gotten off to a slow start. He was chased Opening Night after surrendering five goals in 13 shots, then allowed three markers in 28 shots to lose Sunday. Before you jump ship and start exploring deals, keep in mind the 25-year-old's slow start is reminiscent of 2023-24, when he had just one win in his first eight outings. Stay the course. He and the Oilers should be just fine, though it may take a bit to arrive there. 

Others include Sean Couturier, Charlie Coyle, Reilly Smith, Frank Vatrano, Ty Emberson, Simon Nemec, Tristan Jarry and Alexandar Georgiev. 

Sell High 

Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR: Zibanejad, who is in this category solely based on name recognition and reputation, entered the regular season off a poor performance at even-strength last season both in the regular and postseason. His first two games this season did little to mollify the Rangers' fanbase, as Zib was not dominant in either contest and was a minus-four Saturday. In that game, his defense, normally a strength, was nonevident, while he has been deferring too much again, opting to set up his wings rather than use his heavy shot. The production should eventually come, as was seen Monday in his empty-net goal and two helpers, though it may occur in starts-and-stops rather than be steady.