Tyler Motte

Motte made a one-year pit stop in Tampa Bay last season, once again filling a depth, penalty-killing role. He appeared in 69 regular-season games, managing just a half dozen goals and nine points. Motte has bounced around in recent years. Over the past four seasons, he's played for Vancouver, Ottawa, the Rangers (twice) and Tampa Bay. Now he's off to Detroit after signing a one-year, $800K deal in free agency. It's a reasonable salary given Motte's potential contributions, but it should be noted he's missed no less than 13 regular-season games each of the past three years. There are zero fantasy implications here.

For the second year in a row, the Rangers made a deal to acquire Motte at the trade deadline. He ended up with 19 points, 109 shots on net, 118 hits and a plus-3 rating in 62 games between the Rangers and the Senators last year. That solid fourth-line production earned him a one-year contract with Tampa Bay this summer. The forward is a reliable bottom-six option who can kill penalties, but he's unlikely to ever score enough to reach the 20-point mark.

Motte began last season with Vancouver before a trade deadline move to the Rangers. He was injured early in his tenure with his new club and missed well over a month before returning for New York's final 15 postseason games. Motte entered free agency this offseason, ultimately inking a one-year, $1.35 million deal with Ottawa late in the summer. It's a move that won't impact fantasy squads considering Motte has never posted more than 16 points in any one season, but he's an ideal bottom-six depth player who should help the Senators win hockey games in 2022-23.

Motte appeared in just 34 games last year, notching eight points, 118 hits and a minus-10 rating. He also shot a career-high 10.5 percent, which suggests the career bottom-six forward was perhaps a little lucky in his limited time. Injuries are always a risk with Motte given his heavy playing style. He projects as a bottom-six forward, particularly considering his affordable two-year contract. He'll likely compete with Sven Baertschi and Antoine Roussel for playing time at left wing in 2020-21. Motte has some versatility in his game, which could keep him in the lineup more often than not, but it's unlikely he'll exceed a 15-point pace in 2020-21.

Motte, in his first full season with Canucks, appeared in 74 games and finished with 16 points. It's worth noting that the 24-year-old did not shy away from physical play, as evidenced by his 200 credited hits. That said, the offensive production simply isn't where it needs to be for the young center to be fantasy relevant in any format. Since his final season at the University of Michigan, one that saw him record 56 points in 38 games, Motte has seen his offensive numbers fall off a cliff. Until such time he shows the same level of offensive consistency he possessed in college at the NHL level, Motte should not be on fantasy radars.

Motte spent most of the season with Columbus before joining Vancouver, but in a bigger role he failed to impress, scoring just two goals in 15 games. He was loaned to AHL Utica for their playoff run but likewise failed to make a significant impact, scoring two goals in five games. Motte enters the final year of his entry-level deal with an uncertain future, currently on the outside looking in with a lot of competition to fend off at training camp. If he doesn't show much improvement, the Canucks won't see much value in playing him. Motte is best suited for a bottom-six role and because he's waivers-exempt will likely ride the minor-league shuttle for most of the 2018-19 season.