The following season, he was definitely experiencing a major bounce back, but suffered a season-ending knee injury. The last two seasons haven’t been as great, yet Lee still flirted with 30 goals in each campaign. He began 2023-24 so slowly (just one goal in November) that he was no longer a must own Fantasy asset. But in case you missed it, the veteran has regained his scoring touch with three goals in November and six in 13 games so far this month, including his only multi-goal effort a couple of weeks ago and tallies in three straight before being held off the scoresheet in the last couple of games. The Islanders’ captain enjoyed a three-point effort on Saturday and is still capable of being a tremendous net front presence, so grab him while you can.

He slowed down after that blazing start, but still produced a career-best campaign. Vilardi’s reward was to be shipped north to the Jets this offseason, and after being sidelined for six weeks with a knee woe, he’s back now and finds himself on the top line with Connor (knee) out 6-to-8 weeks. Having recently scored his first goal as a Jet (a game-winner to boot), Vilardi is being given a prime opportunity to show how good a playmaker he is, so he’s a must add before the rest of your league catches on.

However, since he arrived in Philadelphia in 2021, he’s seen his role increase every season and he’s now playing enough to be a useful addition should your team need blocks. Seeler is getting his body in front of 10.19 shots per 60, and since the beginning of last month, only four players have more total blocks. He’s also managed five helpers while pacing the Flyers in +/-. Seeler was a pleasant surprise last season (and, honestly, you could have made the argument he deserved to be named the team’s top blueliner) and he’s built on that so far in 2023-24.

Landing in Vancouver as the backup didn’t exactly put him in the best position to rebound yet, along with everything Canucks-related, he’s bounced back in a big way so far (despite a rough outing on Thursday). DeSmith is facing less rubber this season, and it’s helping.

He’s clearly too good for that league (over a point per game last season, and three goals with an assist in three games this season), so let’s see what he can do in an extended look. Chinakhov had a decent rookie effort in 2021-22, and while he was scoring at a better pace last season, injuries limited him to 30 games. The team’s 2020 first round pick (21st overall) has proven to be an asset on the power play in the past, so keep an eye on how he’s deployed. There’s major potential here.

What intrigues us now is that it seems Cotter is moving up the Golden Knight depth chart and seeing top six type PT (over 13 minutes in each of the last two, including a season-high 15 on Thursday). He clearly has value in deep formats for the hits; but there could very well be offensive upside, so consider him a sleeper — especially if he continues to get that much TOI.

Talk about a triumphant return from last season’s shoulder surgery for Bean! For Werenski, who also had a season-ending shoulder injury in ’22-23… not so much… he’s expected to miss around two weeks with a quad injury. With five assists through the first 14 games, Bean seemed headed for a career-best before getting hurt last season, but he’s already matched his goal total and is sure to see much more PT this season, especially early on. It’s just one game, but he looks vastly improved, and is poised for a bigger role.