From the Press Box: Playing Without Big Buff

Johnny Hockey gets all the attention in Calgary, but don't forget about center Sean Monahan.

Johnny Gaudreau has certainly made a big splash in his rookie season, as the speed merchant has wowed hockey fans with his willingness to battle for puck possession against much bigger opponents and produce 48 points in 65 games this season. He certainly has not let his diminutive stature (5-foot-8, 150 pounds) be a deterrent to the success he has enjoyed, and he is already a crowd favorite. Happy are those fantasy owners who took a late-round flier on him.

The Flames' management team must be thrilled with this outcome, but have to be equally pleased with the continued development of Sean Monahan. Every NHL GM loves the notion of that big center to be the key piece in a true No. 1 scoring line, and the Flames believe they got that piece when they used the sixth overall pick in the 2013 Draft to snag this 6-2, 190-pounder out of Brampton, Ontario, a city just on the outskirts of Toronto.

He took the unusual path of going straight from Junior hockey, where he played for the Ottawa 67s and joined the Flames as an 18 year old, scoring 22 goals and 34 points for a bad Calgary club last year. This season, that development has continued with 24 goals and 47 points in 66 games. To see how far his overall NHL game has evolved, he has a plus-2 rating, a big improvement over the minus-20 he posted last year. 

The best news: he is a fixture on the power play for a vastly-improved Flames club this season.     

So, the Flames' success this year can certainly be credited, in large part, to the contribution of two young players who should both be expected to be integral pieces of an evolving offense.

Dustin Byfuglien - how does his injury impact the Jets?

"Big Buff" is a rare physical specimen in hockey circles, a key offensive force, who stands 6-5 and 265 pounds. You just don't replace this unique combination of size and skill very easily. He is also that rarest of versatile players who is equally adept at playing both as a forward and as a defenseman for the Jets.

At this time, he is out for 2-to-4 weeks with an upper body injury. It could not have occurred at a worse moment, as the Jets are barely hanging onto the final Western playoff berth, tied with the defending-champion Los Angeles Kings, and three points ahead of the San Jose Sharks.

The Jets have a pretty deep blue line and hope that recent trade pickup, Tyler Myers, can continue to take on a heavy workload. He has fit in very well, joining Tobias Enstrom and Jacob Trouba, who themselves just returned from injuries, as three solid two-way defenders who anchor this blueline. Up front, there remains a good mix of size and toughness to round out the top-two scoring lines. With Byfuglien out for the balance of the regular season, the Jets remaining players have to step up in order to get this club into the postseason. Should they be able to make it there, they ought to get a big shot in the arm, as he is expected to be back to optimal health at that time.

Nathan MacKinnon - out 6-8 weeks with fractured foot. Fantasy disappointment this season... worth keeping in keeper leagues?  Or try and trade?

What a difference a year makes…

Looking back on MacKinnon's profile, we remember that he was a first overall draft pick last year before having a great rookie season, when he posted 63 points and a plus-20 rating while playing all 82 games. He played a key role with a first-place Cinderella season with the Avs and his own stellar debut.

This year he and the whole team have taken a step back. He will finish with only 14 goals and 38 points in 66 games this time around. It is important to note that he is only 19 years old, turning 20 at the start of the next NHL season.

You just can't begin to write him off.

Do yourself a favor: if another team owns him on your fantasy keeper league, make a trade offer to snap him up if you can.

You won't be sorry. He and the Avs are well positioned to rebound from this surprisingly disappointing campaign. Don't give up on him at all. He should be back with a vengeance next season and ready to resume his role as a big, strong and skilled key ingredient of the Avs' attack force.  

Nazem Kadri finds himself in the eye of a storm in Toronto? Is he a long-term keeper?

In a season that began with an unexpectedly good start for the Maple Leafs, who were 19-9-3 through the first 31 games, their world has come crashing down, as the club has produced a league-worst 7-26-3 mark since then.

Team president Brendan Shanahan has ended his quiet review of the overall landscape, with the public proclamation that a full rebuild is necessary and will take place. Naysayers will look at this and suggest that the management group will do what many predecessors have done here before, but they cannot afford to go for that quick fit.

Shanahan knows that and has apparently come up with a short list of players who are seen as keepers, who will be a part of the team going forward, while several other, older high-paid players may well be gone before next season.

2007 first round pick (seventh overall) Nazem Kadri is on that list of keepers. On the positive side of his evaluation, he has 16 goals and 20 assists in 64 games. He has also managed to improve on the defensive side of his game, even with the carnage of a lost season for the team. However, on the down side, this week he has found himself in hot water with the club as he was called out first by interim coach Peter Horachek, and later by Shanahan, because of his off-ice inattention to detail – specifically a list of violations against team policy that will not be tolerated.

Shanahan is clearly trying to send an emphatic message here to a talented player, who has a growing history of concerns stemming from his level of commitment.

He has shown flashes of the skills set, which merited such a high draft selection, but observers are left to wonder if he has what it takes to reach the high level that the Leafs and their fans expect.

With the prospect of a tough time ahead for this rebuilding club, there is no room for anyone who is not up for the challenge of reshaping Toronto's fortunes. To complicate the Kadri circumstance, he is a pending restricted free agent, who was hoping to get a new long-term deal done at the start of this season. Now, the Leafs position is one where they may force him to accept a one or two-year term and hope that this pushes him on the ice. As a fantasy owner, I would be inclined to look elsewhere and not make that same long-term commitment in my keeper leagues.

These are just a sample of the numerous decisions that can impact NHL and fantasy rosters alike. The key on the management side, in both scenarios, is to get most of those decisions right, in order to improve the likelihood for team success.