Fantasy sleeper for each team in 2020-21
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NHL.com
- Anaheim Ducks: Forward Max Comtois (LW/RW; undrafted on average in fantasy) has been productive at the NHL level and scored 24 points (nine goals, 15 assists) in 31 games for San Diego of the American Hockey League last season.
- Arizona Coyotes: Forward Conor Garland (LW/RW; undrafted on average in fantasy) led the Coyotes with 22 goals in 68 games last season and had 158 shots on goal, tied with Derek Stepan (now with Ottawa Senators) for their second-most behind Clayton Keller's 184.
- Staal was third on the Wild with 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 66 games last season and is a safe late-round selection in standard leagues.
- Calgary Flames: Forward Andrew Mangiapane (LW/RW; undrafted on average in fantasy) has sneaky appeal with even-strength exposure to elite wing Matthew Tkachuk (top 30 in NHL.com's fantasy rankings), who led the Flames in scoring last season with 61 points in 69 games.
- Mangiapane scored 17 points (nine goals, eight assists) in his final 19 regular-season games last season, and over that span, he was tied for second on the Flames in goals and even-strength points (16) behind his other linemate, center Mikael Backlund (10 goals, 17 EVP).
- Carolina Hurricanes: Forward Martin Necas (C/RW; undrafted on average in fantasy), who was tied for fifth on the Hurricanes last season with 36 points (16 goals, 20 assists) in 64 games, has a higher ceiling in his second full NHL season with a chance to earn the fifth spot on the first power play with valuable skaters Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Dougie Hamilton and Teuvo Teravainen.
- Chicago Blackhawks: Defenseman Adam Boqvist (undrafted on average in fantasy) scored 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 41 games last season.
- Dallas Stars: Right wing Joel Kiviranta (undrafted on average in fantasy) scored five goals, including a hat trick, and was plus-7 in 14 games during the 2020 postseason.
- Kiviranta is one of the top 10 fantasy rookies in NHL.com's rankings and worth selecting in deeper leagues with potential exposure to goal-scoring forwards Denis Gurianov (led Stars with 20 last regular season) and/or Roope Hintz (19; tied for second).
- Detroit Red Wings: Forward Filip Zadina (LW/RW; undrafted on average in fantasy) scored 15 points (eight goals, seven assists), including four goals and seven points on the power play, in 28 games last season.
- Edmonton Oilers: Right wing Jesse Puljujarvi (ADP: 172.0) could skate in a top-six role with either elite center Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl (second and third, respectively, in NHL.com's fantasy rankings) this season, and is off to another strong start with Karpat (12 points in 16 games) after he tied for fourth in Liiga in scoring last season.
- Nashville Predators: Forward Viktor Arvidsson (LW/RW; ADP: 160.1) is coming off an underwhelming fantasy performance with 28 points (15 goals, 13 assists) and 127 SOG in 57 games last regular season but scored three goals on 16 SOG in four games during the 2020 postseason, a sign he could bounce back this season.
- Arvidsson, a fixture on the top line with valuable left wing Filip Forsberg in the past, scored at least 29 goals in each of his prior three seasons (2016-17 to 2018-19) and averaged 3.2 SOG per game in that span, making him a potential hidden gem in late rounds of a fantasy draft.
- New York Islanders: Left wing Anthony Beauvillier (undrafted on average in fantasy) was tied with linemate and center Brock Nelson for the Islanders lead in postseason goals (nine) and was second in postseason SOG (67) behind left wing Anders Lee (72).
- Ottawa Senators: Center prospect Josh Norris (undrafted on average in fantasy) was tied for third in AHL scoring last season and could play a top-six role this season with exposure to valuable forwards Brady Tkachuk (52nd in NHL.com's fantasy rankings), Evgenii Dadonov and/or fellow rookie Tim Stutzle.
- Pittsburgh Penguins: Forward Kasperi Kapanen (LW/RW; ADP: 161.0) scored 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 69 games for Toronto last season in mostly a bottom-six role but had NHL career highs in goals (20) and points (44) the previous season
- San Jose Sharks: Forward Ryan Donato (C/LW; undrafted on average in fantasy) set an NHL career high in goals (14 in 62 games) last season in mostly a bottom-six role
- Louis Blues: Forward Robert Thomas (C/RW; ADP: 173.7) scored an NHL career-high 42 points (10 goals, 32 assists) in 66 games last season
- Tampa Bay Lightning: Left wing Ondrej Palat (ADP: 159.6) scored 18 points (11 goals, seven assists) in 25 postseason games skating mostly on the top line with elite forwards Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Left wing Nicholas Robertson (ADP: 170.5) is one of the best late-round fantasy targets, with a chance to land in Toronto's top-six forward group with exposure to either elite center Auston Matthews (fifth in NHL.com's fantasy rankings) or John Tavares
- Robertson, a left wing who scored one goal in four games with the Maple Leafs during the 2020 postseason and led the Ontario Hockey League in goals last season with 55 in 46 games, could finish among the top five fantasy rookies this season
- Vegas Golden Knights: Forward Alex Tuch (LW/RW; ADP: 162.8), who scored an NHL career-high 52 points (20 goals, 32 assists) in 2018-19 but missed significant time because of injury last season, should take a bigger step forward this season
- Washington Capitals: Defenseman Justin Schultz (undrafted on average in fantasy) is likely to be their second most valuable option at the position behind Carlson (first in NHL.com's defenseman rankings)
- Schultz was fantasy-relevant for most of his five seasons with the Penguins, combining for 123 points (25 goals, 98 assists; 50 power-play points) in 279 games and filling in on the first power-play unit whenever Kris Letang was out
- Winnipeg Jets: Rookie defenseman Ville Heinola (undrafted on average in fantasy) was fantasy-relevant during his NHL trial (five points in eight games) last season and has a ceiling of emerging as the Jets' power-play quarterback and best fantasy option at the position over Neal Pionk and Josh Morrissey as early as this season