Colin Blackwell

Blackwell was limited by injuries during the 2023-24 campaign and finished with eight goals and 12 points in 44 contests as a member of the Blackhawks. He became an unrestricted free agent over the summer and inked a one-year, $775,000 contract with Dallas. Provided he can stay healthy, the 31-year-old figures to be a mainstay on the Stars' fourth line. Some bottom-six forwards can find fantasy relevancy through PIM and hits, but he's not a great in either category, providing 10 and 45, respectively, last season, so his fantasy prospects are very limited.

After back-to-back 20-point campaigns, Blackwell was held to just two goals and 10 points in 53 games during his first season with the Blackhawks in 2022-23. He missed the final 23 games of the year and underwent sports hernia surgery, but he should be in full health for the start of training camp. The 30-year-old forward has shown small flashes at the NHL level but has not found consistent success. Blackwell will enter the 2023-24 season in a depth role and could end up as a healthy scratch on a fairly regular basis.

Blackwell was viewed as nothing more than a depth signing when he was handed a two-year, $1.45 million contract by the Rangers in October 2020, but the Massachusetts native turned out to be a lifesaver for New York, posting 12 goals and 22 points in 47 games a season ago, often playing on the team's second line alongside Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome. The Kraken were so impressed with Blackwell's efforts that they selected him in the expansion draft this past summer. The 28-year-old should get a chance to play in a more prominent role for Seattle, but the Kraken might have only two or three forwards on their roster as talented as Strome, let alone Panarin. Blackwell is safe to leave on the wire in all but the deepest of fantasy formats.

Blackwell will compete for a fourth-line spot on the Rangers, but he's likely to be left on the outside looking in. He registered 10 points in 27 games for the Predators last season and played in six games without scoring a point the year before. That last sentence represents the entirety of the 27-year-old center's resume at the NHL level, so Blackwell will likely split this season between New York's taxi squad and the AHL.