Brendan Lemieux

Lemieux is a pesky, physical winger with virtually no offensive upside, as evidenced by his nine points, 131 hits and 74 PIM in 45 contests last year. He split the season between the Kings and the Flyers, but even in Philadelphia, he wasn't a lock for the lineup. He signed with Carolina in free agency, but that's not exactly a great situation for him to get into the lineup. Lemieux may see extended stretches in the press box when the Hurricanes are healthy, and he won't do enough when he's on the ice to make an impact in fantasy anyway.

Lemieux doesn't quite have the nuclear heat of a guy like Tom Wilson, but he has had his ups and downs, prompting the Rangers (who acquired him from Winnipeg not all that long ago) to ship him to the Kings for a draft pick in late March. Lemieux has never scored more than 12 goals or 18 points in a single season, production that has kept him limited to a depth role. Lemieux should flirt with 200 hits and well over 200 PIM over the course of a full 82-game season, but those in traditional fantasy formats can probably find better options in the later rounds on draft day.

Lemieux's not much of a scorer, but he can be an asset in formats that reward the rough stuff, as the rugged winger has surpassed 100 PIM in each of the past two seasons. He totaled 18 points in 59 games while skating in the bottom six for the Rangers last year and will likely be penciled into a similar role in 2020-21. Lemieux spent some time working as the net-front presence on the second power-play unit last year, but he's unlikely to reprise that role unless injuries strike with first overall pick Alexis Lafreniere joining established veterans Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider ahead of him on the depth chart at left wing.

Lemieux was used sparingly in a fourth-line role by the Jets last season, but he saw a significant uptick in usage after being acquired by the Rangers at the trade deadline. Nobody will confuse Brendan for Mario, but if he can get his conditioning up, the young agitator has enough skill and speed to turn into a serious bottom-six asset for the Blueshirts. Lemieux recorded 108 PIM to go with 17 points in 63 appearances between Winnipeg and New York in 2018-19, so he should be on your radar in leagues that value PIM.

As the son of legendary agitator and four-time Stanley Cup champion Claude Lemieux, expectations are sky high for the 22-year-old. Brendan, who's feisty like his pops, maintained an eye-popping (0.90) points-per-game pace between the OHL's Barrie Colts and Windsor Spitfires from 2012-16. Showing well from a development standpoint, he'd go on to punish the AHL competition, adding 65 points and 306 PIM for Manitoba in the most recent campaign. Lemieux is only up to nine NHL appearances to date, but the 2014 second-round (31st overall) draft pick -- he was selected by Buffalo and subsequently traded to Winnipeg in 2015 -- figures to be one of the top candidates for a call-up when injuries inevitably threaten the parent club up front. Of course, with a strong showing in training camp, he may even crack the Opening Night roster.