After four years and 276 NHL games with the Canucks, Hutton is going to the Kings on a one-year deal. The 26-year-old left-shot defenseman had 20 points (5G / 15A) in 69 games last season and provides Los Angeles with a little depth while Derek Forbort recovers from a back injury.
Claesson continues to bounce around the NHL. After spending his first three years in Ottawa, Claesson was with the Rangers in 2019 and now signs on with the Hurricanes. Carolina possesses one of the deepest bluelines in the entire NHL so Claesson likely won’t sniff the big leagues this season.
Carlo was the last of the Bruins RFA’s to sign and earned himself a $2.85M AAV contract after recorded 10 points (2G / 10A) in 72 games a season ago. The 6-foot-5, 212 lbs. defenseman has become a physical shutdown defenseman that the Bruins can rely on to eat up heavy minutes (20:55 ATOI) next to Torey Krug.
Boeser had 26 goals and 30 assists (56 points) in 69 games in 2019. Through two NHL seasons, Boeser has averaged 34 goals and 35 assists (69 points) per 82-games but has missed 20.1 percent of the games. If Boeser can stay healthy, he has legit 40-goal, 40-assist upside next to Elias Pettersson.
Konecny ranks 33rd in the NHL in even-strength goals (43) over the last two seasons while playing 15:05 ATOI. In 2020, Konecny figures to be a staple on the top line with Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux and should see a lot more ice-time. That should allow him to get over 200 shots and 24 goals while chipping in close to 30 assists.
Mangiapane spent most of his time in the NHL in 2019, scoring eight goals with five assists (13 points) in 44 games with the Flames. Mangiapane will likely be reserved to a fourth-line role, with Johnny Gaudreau, Matthew Tkachuk and Milan Lucic ahead of him on the depth chart.
Through two seasons, McAvoy’s production has been solid, averaging 10 goals and 32 assists per 82-games—the issue is that he’s played in just 71.3 percent of the games. McAvoy is somewhat limited because of Torey Krug’s role on the top PP-unit, but he has 40-point upside if he can stay healthy in 2020.
Spurgeon’s $7.575M AAV cap-hit makes him the highest paid player in Minnesota Wild history (by AAV). Spurgeon is coming off of a career-year, posting 14 goals and 29 assists (43 points) in 82 games. In 2020 he will be heavily featured in the Minnesota top-4 and his career 7.2 SH% makes him a threat for for double-digit goals every year.
Eaves has played just nine games over the last two seasons due to an illness. "Whatever you want to call what he had keeps resurfacing,” GM Bob Murray said. :He's tried a couple times to come back, but he and his wife have decided that's enough for now, and I totally agree with that at this point in time." Eaves will sit out the entire 2020 season and his career is in jeopardy at this point.
The Ducks confirmed what was already believed about Kesler’s status for the 2020 season. Kesler underwent right hip refacing surgery in early-May and will not play this season but the door is still open for him to resume his NHL career following a lengthy recovery.
Kolyachonok, 18, was a second-round pick of the Panthers this summer. The 6-foot-1, 184 lbs. defenseman had four goals and 25 assists (29 points) in 53 games in his first season with the Flint Firebirds (OHL).
After just one day of training camp, the Maple Leafs and Marner were able to come to terms on a six-year contract extension that makes him the seventh highest paid player in the NHL (by AAV). Marner had 94 points (26G / 68A) last season and comes into 2020 with 90-point potential as a staple next to John Tavares.
Perry’s first training camp with the Stars will be delayed after suffering a broken foot on Wednesday. Perry will be re-evaluated in two weeks but will likely miss at least one month, which would put his status for opening night in jeopardy.
Provorov and the Flyers wrap-up their RFA stalemate with a six-year extension that makes him the highest-paid defenseman on the team (per PuckPedia). After a breakout 2018 campaign, Provorov had a disappointing 26 points (7G / 19A) in 82 games last year. He has not missed a game in three years and is poised to lead the Flyers in ice-time again in 2020.
Lemieux was traded to the Rangers last season and finished the season with six points (3G / 3A) in 19 games with New York. Adding Kaapo Kakko, Artemi Panarin and potentially Vitali Kravtsov upfront this offseason is going to make it very difficult for Lemieux to crack the opening night lineup in 2020.
The Flames D-depth took a hit in August when Valimaki suffered a torn ACL. Michael Stone was signed on Wednesday to help fill that void. Stone and Oscar Kylington will likely battle for the sixth spot to open the 2020 season. Best case scenario, Valimaki returns late in the season and is ready for the playoffs.
Pettersson was traded to the Penguins early in 2019 and he finished with 19 points (2G / 17A) in 57 games with his new team. He won’t play enough meaningful minutes to be fantasy relevant in 2020. However, Kris Letang and Justin Schultz both have durability concerns, so there is a scenario where Pettersson sees PP1 time, it just wouldn’t be a great scenario for the Penguins.
Morrissey set a new career-high in points (31) despite playing in just 59 games in 2019. With Jacob Trouba now in New York, Morrissey is expected to handle the PP2 duties in 2020, which gives him a potential boost in value. He should be viewed as a reserve fantasy defenseman heading into drafts.
Stone was bought out by the Flames earlier in the summer but signs back on for a discount after Jusso Valimaki suffered a torn ACL. Stone had just five assists in 14 games with Calgary last season and figures to be their 6/7th defenseman in 2020.
Fiala struggled after being traded to the Wild last season, scoring just three goals with four assists (seven points) in 19 games. Heading into his first training camp with Minnesota, Fiala has a chance to start the season on the top-line with Eric Staal and Jason Zucker, putting him back on the map for a fantasy hockey breakout. He has great shot volume and that will only get better with first line minutes.
