Nichushkin’s production has led to an uptick in PT; on both Wednesday and Friday, for instance, he paced all Colorado forwards in ice time. At 6’4″, 210, he has amazing size for a winger, and given how powerful his skating is, there’s amazing upside here. If Nichushkin is finally developing a bit of consistency and will battle game in and game out, look out.

Need help in hits? Katchouk can provide some assistance in this department, piling up four on Friday, giving him 25 in the last seven games alone. Over this same stretch, the rookie has pitched in with three helpers, and has 10 PMs so far this season, so could deliver a boost in this area as well.

Don’t expect much in the way of points from the veteran, but with penalties in back-to-back games and as many as 53 minutes in a season before, he can help in that regard. The journeyman’s ice time is up and he’s already recorded 35 blocks with 20 hits, so could definitely be an asset in leagues that track these stats.

Calgary’s 2017 first round pick came into his own last season, recording 11 points in 49 games despite seeing slightly less PT than he did in his rookie campaign. Valimaki isn’t likely to light up the scoresheet, yet he did actually lead Flames defensemen in A/60 last season, so there’s potential here. He’s getting solid third pairing minutes and twice this week in a three-game span he recorded four minutes in penalties, so can provide a boost in leagues that track that. Consider Valimaki in very deep formats for now, but don’t be shocked if he becomes a bigger asset as the season progresses.

Ruotsalainen showed something in his first taste of the NHL last season, potting five goals in 17 games.