Erik Haula

Haula is a useful player, which makes it all the more surprising he will be joining his sixth NHL team in nine seasons in 2021-22. Haula spent last ear in Nashville, finishing with nine goals and 21 points in 51 games. Outside of his fluky 2017-18 campaign in which he posted 29 goals on the strength of a ridiculous 16.6 percent shooting percentage, Haula has generally been good for roughly a dozen goals and 25-30 points a year. He'll undoubtedly help the Bruins, with whom Haula signed a two-year, $4.75 million contract this summer, but his value in standard fantasy leagues will likely be minimal.

Haula put up 24 points in 48 games split between the Hurricanes and the Panthers in 2019-20. The 29-year-old burst onto the scene in 2017-18 with 55 points for the Golden Knights, but he's now on his third team in the last two years. Haula should slot into the third-line center role for the Predators, and if he can produce at a similar pace to last year, he'll have a chance for 30 points in the shortened 56-game season. Injuries are almost always a factor with Haula, however, so fantasy managers that invest in him should expect to need a replacement at some point. If he can get power-play time in Nashville, he'll be worth a late-round pick in deeper formats.

Haula was squarely among the league's biggest breakout performers in Vegas' inaugural season, with the crafty Finn uncorking a career-high 29 goals and 26 assists -- including 19 power-play points -- through 76 games. Unfortunately, Haula experienced a violent collision against the boards which ended his 2018-19 campaign in early November and required surgery. The 28-year-old will round out his recovery with Carolina, as the Hurricanes acquired him in a pre-draft trade for Nicolas Roy and a 2021 fifth-round selection. Haula should fit in nicely with a franchise that has a rich history of grooming Finnish players, but the seventh-year pivot comes with substantial risk given all the unknowns about his health and conditioning.

Haula had a breakout season in Vegas after being left exposed by the Wild in the expansion draft. The 27-year-old exploded for 29 goals in 76 games and became a staple in the top-six and on the power play. Haula struck 12 times with the man advantage during the regular season but cooled off during the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final. While another season in the 30-goal range might be unlikely, Haula has proved over the last three years that he's a capable and consistent scorer. If he remains in his role in the top-six and on the power play, Haula should once again be a productive fantasy asset.

A versatile forward who possesses devastating speed, Haula’s made good as a seventh-round pick in the 2009 draft, but he’s never quite proven good enough to lock down a steady top-six role. Still, he saw his responsibilities grow with Minnesota last year (although his point production and rating both fell) before the Golden Knights claimed him in the expansion draft and signed him to a new three-year deal. Haula’s new team will likely follow the Wild’s example, using him as a checking center or two-way winger who can move up and down the lineup while doing his best work on the penalty kill. Vegas isn't expected to be a good team, especially in terms of scoring depth, so Haula will have a hard time returning much fantasy value in 2017-18.

If there’s one player on the Wild who deserves more ice time, it’s Haula – despite averaging just 12:44 per game last year, he experienced a major spike in production, posting 14 goals, 20 assists and a team-best (by far) plus-21 rating over 76 games. The majority of that came after he saw his role increase early in February, as Haula averaged 15:38 of ice time over the season’s final 30 games and delivered the goods: 10 goals and 13 assists. That’s plenty enough to spark wonder about what he might be able to do with a full season of top-six minutes. Unfortunately, with the Wild having imported Eric Staal this offseason, Haula’s stuck with the third-line job unless or until he can overtake the veteran for top-six minutes. That won’t come quickly, but if Haula can keep scoring while maintaining last year’s dramatic improvement in faceoffs (45.4 percent to 53.3), it’s going to get harder and harder to deny him the role he’s earned.

Haula got hot at times last year with two games of back-to-back multiple points. However, he also was in the coach's doghouse too often for defensive lapses. He's just 24 and his role could grow in his third season. However, he may spend too much time on the fourth line or the bench for most fantasy leagues.

Haula emerged as a serious player for the Wild in his rookie season, though it wouldn't seem so based on the surface numbers. During the season, he played just 46 games, posting six goals and nine assists. But it's his play at the end of the season and during the playoffs that's worthy of note here. He had played respectably throughout most of the campaign, but an injury to Mikael Granlund in the final month elevated him to the second-line center role. He thrived in that capacity, ultimately posted four goals (including one game-winner), three assists and 29 shots over 13 playoff games. With Granlund back in the fold, Haula is slotted into a third-line role to start the season, and he could surprise if injuries force him to move up the depth chart again. He's still a bit of an unknown, but he could be a killer sleeper pick in a very late round of your draft.

Haula played six games for Houston of the AHL last spring after finishing a strong career at the University of Minnesota (51 points in 37 games his final season). He'll likely begin the season in the AHL, but drew praise from the coaching staff and could be called up early in the season.