Yahoo Fantasy Hockey: Previewing the East in the middle of the off-season

Dobber Hockey launched in 2005 and Dobber and his staff have hitched their wagons to Puck Daddy to preach fantasy hockey to the Yahoo masses since 2009.

Now that the smoke has (mostly) cleared from an offseason that saw numerous big names switch jerseys, we are now ready to discuss the fantasy implications of these moves. Let’s take a tour around the NHL to find out how these changes could affect player fantasy values entering the 2015-16 season.

We’ll start with our preview of the Eastern Conference teams. The Western Conference preview will be up Thursday. 

Atlantic Division

Boston Bruins

If Don Sweeney were a fantasy GM, he’d be the guy that you’d poke fun at for getting fleeced. Regardless, the cap situation left by his predecessor had backed the Bruins into a corner. But many Bruins simply don’t possess the fantasy value that they used to … Torey Krug seems likely to log the even-strength minutes that will be left by Dougie Hamilton, which could help improve his overall point total. Krug’s power-play ice time per game last season (2:37) was actually more than Hamilton’s (2:30) … Matt Beleskey should take on Milan Lucic’s role as the resident power forward who will score a little. Never mind his sizable contract – the quality of his linemates could prevent him from reaching 20 goals … With the Bruins now trending downward for next season, is Tuukka Rask still a top-5 goalie? A top-10 goalie?

Buffalo Sabres

Following this offseason, there are some exciting times ahead for the Sabres. Just don’t expect major gains in 2015-16 while this team continues on its rebuild course. Overall, this team contains a ton of x-factors fantasy-wise … Jack Eichel should be drafted in most fantasy formats as a sleeper, although you won’t want to draft him too early in single-season formats … Don’t overvalue Ryan O’Reilly either, as O’Reilly seems to offer a better real-life game than a fantasy game … Is it possible that the first Sabre drafted in your fantasy league is Evander Kane? Don’t forget that he will also be making his Sabres debut this season … Sabres’ goalies must have felt like they worked at a tire factory last season, as they faced more rubber than any other NHL team (35.6 shots per game). Keep that in mind when drafting Robin Lehner.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today!]

Detroit Red Wings

Best known as a veteran team, the Red Wings brought in - guess what - more veterans during the offseason. But we can’t argue Ken Holland’s brilliance, so we applaud his players’ subsequent contributions to fantasy teams through the years … Detroit seems like the perfect home for Mike Green, whose role in Washington had been diminishing. Green averaged under 16 minutes of even-strength ice time last season, which in essence made him a fifth defenseman. An ESTOI increase means that a return to 50 points is not completely out of the question … At this stage in his career, Brad Richards is probably a late-round pick at best in single-season Yahoo leagues. However, he could be a sneaky early-season pickup with Pavel Datsyuk likely on the shelf to start the year following ankle surgery.

Florida Panthers

Since the Panthers are a cap floor team attempting to rebuild with youth, there’s very little to see here fantasy-wise … The most significant offseason acquisition was that of Reilly Smith, who was acquired from Boston along with Marc Savard’s contract for Jimmy Hayes. Yet Smith will still need to battle for minutes with youngsters Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, and Jonathan Huberdeau and of course the venerable Jaromir Jagr … If you’re in one of those deep keeper leagues that rewards physical play, you may want to get your hands on first-round pick Lawson Crouse (6-3, 212 lbs.)

Montreal Canadiens

If you’ve played fantasy hockey for a number of years, you’ve probably been disappointed by Alexander Semin by now. But remember that the last time he signed a one-year contract, he was a point-per-game player. Don’t expect him to pull that off again this season, but he could very well be a top-6 forward for the offensively-challenged Habs … Although he is still only 24 years old, Zack Kassian will have a lot to prove. A power forward who has shown great hands at times, particularly with the Sedins in Vancouver, Kassian will need to improve his defensive game in order to stay out of Michel Therrien’s Chateau Bow Wow and thus earn top-6 minutes … Looking for an extremely deep sleeper? Try defenseman Mark Barberio, who was an afterthought for the Lightning during last year’s playoffs. Habs fans may remember Barberio from his QMJHL days, when he recorded point-per-game numbers for the Moncton Wildcats.

Ottawa Senators

The Senators don’t spend money like a Canadian politician with an expense account, so the offseason moves were also kept to a minimum here … The most significant offseason move was the trade of onetime goalie of the future Robin Lehner to the Sabres. This move opens the door for late-season sensation Andrew Hammond to not only sell more cheeseburgers in Ottawa, but also to earn a full-time NHL roster spot. The prospective Hammond/Craig Anderson goaltending battle will be one to watch. Hammond earned more wins (20) over 24 games than Anderson did (14) over 35 games. So does that mean the Hamburgler will be the starter come opening night? Not necessarily - he turned around and lost the starting job in playoffs. Either way, it will be worth keeping an eye on.

Tampa Bay Lightning

There is very little change on this roster, but this time it’s for all the right reasons. The trick for the Bolts will be attempting to keep all their young talent together once contracts begin to expire. In fact, there’s not much to add here when your top offseason acquisitions were Erik Condra, Tye McGinn, and Jeff Tambellini. There’s still oodles of fantasy goodness on this team, just nothing new to report.

Toronto Maple Leafs

If you want change, then you’ve come to the right paragraph, because there’s never a dull moment in Leafland. We all know that Phil Kessel is out and that Lou Lamoriello and Mike Babcock are in. And the list of new players seems endless … If the Leafs wanted to go about this rebuild properly, they weren’t going to make a splash with the big names. So their two most significant additions are P.A. Parenteau and Shawn Matthias, who could be top-6 forwards on the Leafs, unlike their previous teams. Keep in mind that they will probably be trade chips later in the season. Same with Mark Arcobello, who always seems to be a trade chip anyway. One other thing to consider - with no Phil Kessel you may be looking at no 60-point players. And probably only a small handful of 40-point players.

Metropolitan Division

Carolina Hurricanes

While other teams moved significant draft picks for Cam Talbot and Robin Lehner, the Canes were able to obtain Eddie Lack for a lower price. Lack will be brought in to push Cam Ward for the starting goalie job, which means we have a possible timeshare here. But here’s a stat that probably no one is mentioning: Ward’s 2.40 goals-against average in 2014-15 was the lowest of his entire career … Here’s another stat that might raise your eyebrows: The Canes are known for giving up high shot totals, but their 27.3 shots allowed per game was the third-lowest total in the NHL last season. In addition, this is a defense that could be adding third overall pick Noah Hanifin and James Wisniewski to the mix, so coming to Carolina might not hurt their fantasy value as much as you’d think.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets probably should have used a bandage as their logo last season. According to the website Man Games Lost, the Blue Jackets’ 508 man games lost last season was the highest total of any team. So it’s no surprise that the Jackets are the pick of many to be 2015-16’s bounce-back team and that was even before they added Brandon Saad. So what do we expect from Saad in Columbus? Don’t be discouraged about this trade fantasy wise. In fact, Saad on Columbus’ first line with Ryan Johansen could be a stronger player than Saad on Chicago’s second line. Don’t be surprised to see him reach 30 goals for the first time in his career.

New Jersey Devils

By far the most significant offseason move was the departure of Lou Lamoriello to Toronto, which caught everyone by surprise. But Lou Lam isn’t the kind of dude that you want to invite to poker night at your basement. Perhaps his departure will usher a new, more exciting style of hockey in New Jersey. Trouble is, the Devils simply don’t have those kind of players that sell tickets. In fact, the team the currently possesses the lowest payroll barely registered a blip during this offseason. Kyle Palmieri (29 points in 57 games) is the Devils’ most significant acquisition, and he’s never reached 15 goals in his five-year NHL career. Regardless, he’ll be able to battle for first-line minutes on this roster, and 40 points seems like a reasonable projection given his production from last season.

[Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football: Sign up and join a league today!]

New York Islanders

When you’re a team on the rise because of the high draft picks and young prospects that you’ve stockpiled over the last few seasons, you can get away with having a quiet offseason … So maybe this is an opportune time to talk about backup goalies. It might be hard to believe that Thomas Greiss is only a year younger than Jaroslav Halak, but Greiss has made a case for more playing time the past few seasons. His 2.47 goals-against average makes him one of the better backup goalies in the league, although their recent career numbers suggest that Halak will still start three-quarters of the time.

New York Rangers

The burning question for the Rangers is who will replace Martin St. Louis? Emerson Etem will try to fill the void left at right wing, or at the very least he won’t need to shuffle back and forth between the NHL and the AHL as he did with Anaheim. The Rangers are already decent at the right wing position, with Mats Zuccarello and Kevin Hayes likely to earn more minutes. But getting traded to NYC helped Etem’s fantasy value … Etem’s linemate on the third line could be Viktor Stalberg, another offseason addition. Stalberg will try to turn things around after two underwhelming seasons in Nashville, although he won’t be on the fantasy radar of many.

Philadelphia Flyers

The Flyers seem to have at least a couple of players who have seen better days. There’s still time for a turnaround for Sam Gagner, who has yet to turn 26 at the time of this writing. Throughout his career, Gagner has been good for 40 points and little more. Until we see otherwise, expect more of the same … It looks like the Flyers will have to retain Vincent Lecavalier, who has gone from the Michael Jordan of hockey to the guy that no one wants … Michal Neuvirth was brought in to back up Steve Mason, and he should make a great insurance policy for Mason owners. Don’t be surprised if Neuvirth sees a stretch or two of starts should Mason struggle.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Phil Kessel is perhaps the player whose fantasy value increased the most by these offseason moves. The minus-34 will be a thing of the past, as will the long stretches without a goal once the Leafs threw in the towel last season. The question might now be which center is better suited for Kessel: Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. Remember that whether you admire Kessel or you think he’s a one-dimensional player that doesn’t have the right attitude for a professional, he gets paid to score goals. Prior to last season, he had reached at least 30 goals in each of his last five full seasons. You don’t need to worry about that other stuff if he’s on your fantasy roster. You just need him to score goals, and that’s that … Right before I polished up this article, Nick Bonino and Eric Fehr found their way onto the Penguins’ roster. They will give the Penguins strong depth at center, but their fantasy values just took a hit if they find themselves on the third or fourth line.

Washington Capitals

The Capitals were only a Game 7 overtime away from the Eastern Conference Final last season, and they arguably improved their team the most in the offseason. Mr. Game 7 Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie are in, while Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward are out. One of the two new Capitals will receive the ideal job of riding shotgun with Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The lucky winner will probably be Oshie, who could surpass 60 points to go with solid peripheral stats and improved power-play numbers on the first unit. Williams, meanwhile, hasn’t been the man during the regular season, barely hitting 40 points in each of his last two seasons while watching his ice time be reduced in LA. Even if Williams is on the second line, he could be due for a slight bounce back.

Ian Gooding is an Associate Editor at Dobber Hockey where you can read his Ramblings every Sunday. You can also find his work over at Today’s Slapshot. 

MORE FROM YAHOO SPORTS: