Hill spent most of the 2019 in the AHL, but also went 7-5-0 with a 2.76 GAA, .901 SV% and one shutout in 13 NHL contests. The former third-round pick was 16-19-2 with a 2.61 GAA and .906 SV% in 36 games in Tucson (AHL). With Antti Raanta and Darcy Kuemper firmly ahead of him on the depth chart, Hill will open the 2020 season with the Roadrunners.
Ullmark appeared in 37 games during his first full year with the Sabres, going 15-14-5 with a 3.11 GAA and .905 SV%. Ullmark will likely play a similar number of games in 2020 as he heads into the season as Carter Hutton’s backup.
McCabe appeared in less than 60 games for the second straight season, posting 14 points (4G / 10A) in 59 games in his fourth full year in Buffalo. On the defensive-side of the puck, McCabe averaged 1.7 hits and 1.7 blocked shots per game while ranking third among Sabres’ defensemen in SH TOI/gm (2:09) and fifth in total ice-time (18:57).
Alexandrov was a second-round pick (No.62 overall) in this summer’s draft. The 18-year-old centre had 27 goals and 34 assists (61 points) in 64 QMJHL games last year. He will return to the Charlottetown Islanders for his third season in 2020.
Elie split the 2019 season between the AHL and NHL. He had one assist in 16 games with Buffalo and 14 points (8G / 6A) in 25 games in Rochester. Elie is likely heading to Rochester (AHL) to start the 2020 season.
Stone appeared in just 14 NHL games and three AHL games last season and the Flames have bought out the final-year of his contract. The emergence of Rasmus Andersson and Juuso Valimaki pushed Stone down the depth chart.
The Rangers signed Shattenkirk to a four-year, $26.6M deal ($6.65M AAV) in 2017 and have bought out the final two-years of his contract. Shattenkirk had just 23 points and 28 points in his first two seasons with the Rangers and the additions of right-handed, offensive-defensemen Jacob Trouba and Adam Fox made Shattenkirk expendable.
Greer split the 2019 season between the AHL and NHL, scoring one goal and one assist in 15 games in Colorado. During his time in the AHL, Greer was second on the team with 44 points (19G / 25A) in 54 games. He will likely start 2020 in the AHL.
Kallionkieli was a fifth-round pick in this summer’s draft after scoring 29 goals and 24 assists (53 points) in 58 games with Sioux City (USHL).
Girard posted a career-high with 27 points (4G / 23A) in 82 games last season. Girard will be the man in Colorado to start 2020 following the trade of Tyson Barrie. However, Cale Makar could quickly elevate up the depth chart but Girard will likely play on the top-pair and second power-play to open the season.
In his second professional season, Butcher had four goals and 26 assists (30 points) in 78 games. It was a step backwards from his rookie campaign and the Devils’ blueline just got a little more crowded with the offseason addition of P.K. Subban. However, Butcher should still see PP1 time throughout the year and should be a solid No.4 fantasy defenseman option.
Kamenev only appeared in 25 combined games last year after suffering a shoulder injury in mid-December. Kamenev had just two goals and three assists (five points) in 23 games with the Avalanche and will likely start 2020 on their fourth line.
Condon only appeared in three games last season—two with Ottawa, where he allowed eight goals on 40 shots (.800 SV%) and one with Belleville where he allowed six goals on 23 shots (.739 SV%). Condon will go to Syracuse (AHL) to start 2020.
Callahan has one year left on his contract and will be placed on LTIR after suffering a career-ending back injury. Callahan had seven goals and 10 assists (17 points) in 52 games with the Lightning last season.
Kunitz finished his 15-year NHL career with 268 goals and 351 assists (619 points) in 1022 games with the Ducks, Penguins, Lightning and Blackhawks. He is a four-time Stanley Cup Champion and one-time Olympic Gold Medalist. Kunitz will join the Blackhawks hockey operations department as player development adviser.
Gusev was acquired from the Golden Knights and immediately signed a two-year deal with the Devils. The 27-year-old led the KHL with 82 points (17G / 65A) in 62 games last year. He has totalled 63 goals and 152 assists (215 points) in 173 combined games over the last three seasons. Gusev projects to be a top-6 winger for the Devils to start 2020.
Gusev is a 27-year-old winger who was originally drafted in the seventh-round back in 2012. Gusev has been in the KHL since then and led the league in assists (65) and points (82) a season ago. Gusev joins a Devils team that has added Jack Hughes, P.K. Subban and Wayne Simmonds this offseason.
Vasilevskiy had an excellent 2019 regular season, leading the NHL in wins (39), fourth in shutouts (6), sixth in SV% (.925) and ninth in GAA (2.40). Despite having a forgettable postseason, Vasilevskiy earned a much-deserved raise, becoming the third highest-paid netminder in the NHL. He should absolutely be one of the first goalies drafted this fall (if not the first).
Rittich played very well for stretches of the 2019 season, going 27-9-5 with a 2.61 GAA and .911 SV% in 45 games with the Flames. However, when it came to the postseason, the Flames leaned on Mike Smith and were ultimately bounced in the first-round. Coming into 2020, Rittich will be battling with Cam Talbot for the No.1 job and the 26-year-old probably has the early edge to win the spot.
McCarron was a first-round pick (No.25 overall) in 2013 but has yet to make an impact at the NHL level. The 24-year-old had 21 points (7G / 14A) in 32 games with Laval (AHL) last year, but had just one assist in 18 NHL games. In total, McCarron has just eight points (2G / 6A) and 110 PIMS in 69 career games with Montreal.
