Welcome to the Thursday prospect ramblings. I hope to distract you if your preferred candidate lost in the US election, or if you want a break from still waiting for a result (seriously, how is it not wrapped up in a night?), or if you are just sick of all the politics talk on the internets.

This week I am going to go through the contract situations of teams in the Pacific Division (yay for Capfriendly) to see how many openings they have, where they have openings, and what prospect is most likely to take that spot. I am also assuming the rosters are set, as in how the roster will look when the 2020-2021 season starts… whenever that starts

 

First, my #GoodTweet of the week… which was not what I tweeted, but I was involved in it!

 

 

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You better follow the off-season 31-in-31 series that began on November 1st. It is the best out there.

 

Be sure to grab Dobber’s 2020-21 Fantasy Guide while you are at it. It is officially in the Dobber Shop and loaded with content. Read it, enjoy it, and beat your friends in fantasy.

 

 

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PACIFIC

 

Anaheim Ducks

 

Forward:

• 11 one-way contracts; all $1M or above
• One to two forward spots open
• Guaranteed Candidates: Max Jones and Sam Steel
• Unfortunately, there is not really an open for Trevor Zegras or Isac Lundestrom with established players and prospects ahead of them. However, those two should be the first players called upon if both are in the AHL at the time. If those two are not available for call ups expect the Ducks to rotate Vinni Lettieri, Andrew Agozzino, Chase De Leo, or Jack Kopacka

 

Defense:

• Seven one-way contracts; all $1M or above
• Christian Djoos only has a one-year deal, so he could be sent down if he does not perform
• Kodie Curran is a European signing who could surprise or flame out
• If one or both of those above players do not work out, or injuries occur, expect Josh Mahura to get a call or even Brendan Guhle

 

Goalie:

• John Gibson is not going anywhere
• Anthony Stolarz has a one-way contract and there are no real threats for Gibson any time soon

 

 

Arizona Coyotes

 

Forward:

• 11 one-way contracts; nine $1M or above and two below $1M
  • One of those under $1M contracts is Conor Garland so there are 10 spots locked up
• Two spots should be open
• Guaranteed Candidate: Barrett Hayton
• Likely Candidates: Brayden Burke and Lane Pederson
• Dark Horse Candidate: Jan Jenik
• Non-fantasy Candidates: Dryden Hunt and John Hayden
• Hayton will likely fill out the top nine while Hunt and Hayden will fill out the bottom line and 13^th forward position

 

Defense:

• Eight one-way contracts; seven are $1M or above, five are UFAs in 2021
  • Kyle Capabianco has a two-year one-way deal for $775k per year
• Spots will open as the season progresses, especially if the Coyotes are out of the playoffs
• Likely Candidate: Victor Soderstrom; Who can likely step in to a top four role should force his way on to the roster
• No other defense prospect in Arizona’s system is moving the needle for fantasy

 

Goalie:

• Kuemper, Raanta and Adin Hill all signed to one-way deals, with only Kuemper extended past 2020-2021
• Dark Horse Candidate: Ivan Prosvetov is close, but there is no need to rush him

 

 

Calgary Flames

 

Forwards:

• 12 one-way contracts; nine above $2M and four players under $870K
  • Buddy Robinson has a one-way contract at $700K but should predominately stay in the AHL
• Guaranteed Candidate: Dillon Dube; who is on the final year of his ELC and is a lock for the top nine
• No real spots open as one of Josh Leivo, Joakim Nordstrom and Dominik Simon should rotate as the 13^th forward
• Dark Horse and Likely Candidates: Mathias Emilio Pettersen, Glenn Gawdin, Eetu Tuulola, and Matthew Phillips
• Calgary is quite full up front and unless major injuries or trades happen prospects will likely play another year in the AHL

 

Defense:

• Five one-way contracts; four above $4.5M and one under $1M
  • Nikita Nesterov is returning to the NHL and can play on the bottom pairing
• Guaranteed Candidate: Juuso Valimaki; should pay immediate dividends
• Likely Candidate: Oliver Kylington; Hopefully he can stick in the NHL but he may not have the defensive awareness and structure IQ that coaches require
• Dark Horse Candidate: Alexander Yelesin
• Possible Candidate, and previous Florida protected player in the Las Vegas expansion: Alex Petrovic

 

Goalies:

• Locked up with Markstrom, and Rittich as one year and $2.75M remaining
• If injuries occur the first call up should be: Louis Domingue
• Dark Horse Candidate: Artyom Zagidulin; Possible impact could be made if given the role due to injuries

 

 

Edmonton Oilers

 

Forwards:

• 14 one-way contracts; 11 are $1M or above and three are under $1M
• Recently signed Dominik Kahun is under $1M but he should easy stick in the top nine
• Alex Chiasson is a UFA in 2021 and has been talked about as a trade candidate or someone to be sent to the AHL
• Guaranteed Candidate: Kailer Yamamoto; final year of his ELC and he is a fixture to in top six
• No real spots open
• Dark Horse Candidate: Tyler Benson
• Oilers are quite full at forward, especially with Jesse Puljujarvi returning so do not expect much movement at forward unless trades happen

 

Defense:

• Six one-way contracts; five are over $3.75M and one is below $1M
• Ethan Bear is a RFA and will factor in to the defense, but thanks to Oscar Klefbom likely being out for a season there is still a spot open
• Likely Candidates: Evan Bouchard and Philip Broberg; It will be a battle between these two for the Oilers defense and while the Edmonton media loves Broberg, Bouchard is the better prospect to me. It is still a toss up
• Dark Horse Candidate: Dmitri Samorukov

 

Goalies:

• Koskinen, Mike Smith and Anton Forsberg are signed to one-way deals, with only Koskinen as the one signed past 2021
• Dark Horse Candidates: Stuart Skinner and Dylan Wells

 

 

Los Angeles Kings

 

Forwards:

• Nine one-way contracts; six above $1M and three below $775K
• Guaranteed Candidates: Gabriel Vilardi and Blake Lizotte; Both players finished the year strong
• One or two spots open
• Likely Candidates:
  • Quinton Byfield – The #2 overall should be able to make the roster and make an impact but, in all honestly, an extra year in the OHL (or overseas) would not be the worst for him
  • Tyler Madden – Slightly older than Byfield and can play in the middle-six
  • Lias Andersson – Traded from the Rangers he will look to make an impact for his new team, could likely just fill out a third line role well
  • Carl Grundstrom – Traded from Toronto, he recently signed a two-year contract with the second being one-way. He should be able to stick in the bottom six
  • Jaret Anderson-Dolan – A good candidate to fill out the bottom of the roster for the Kings
  • Matt Luff – Was up and down between the NHL and AHL for the past two seasons, and he should be able to stick or do more of the same yo-yoing
• Dark Horse Candidate: Alex Turcotte; Like Byfield he could benefit from an extra year in the NCAA or overseas, but unlike Byfield there is a much greater argument for Turcotte to not be in the NHL for 2020-2021
• Lots of room for movement in 2020-2021 for prospects in the Kings system

 

Defense:

• Five one-way contracts; Three over $2.5M and two under $1M
• Guaranteed Candidate: Michael (Mikey) Anderson
• One spot open
• Likely Candidates: Sean Durzi and Kyle Clague
• Dark Horse Candidate: Tobias Bjornfot; made the roster outright in 2019-2020 but did not stick. I think Clague and Durzi are in a better spot to play for 2020-2021 and Bjornfot would be better suited waiting a year

 

Goalie:

• Cal Petersen and Jon Quick are both signed to one-way deals
• If an injury occurs expect Troy Grosenick to get the first call

 

 

San Jose Sharks

 

Forwards:

• 11 one-way contracts; seven players over $1.5M and four under $1M
• Guaranteed Candidates: Noah Gregor and Joel Kellman; both were up and down all of 2019-2020, with Gregor finishing strong
• One or two spots should be open
• Likely Candidates: Antti Suomela
• This roster is surprisingly full and not very exciting. They have many Dark Horse Candidates that could make the jump and an impact, those being:
  • Lean Bergmann – Played some NHL games and stayed mostly in the AHL, the undrafted FA could still make an impact in the middle six
  • Danil Yurtaykin – Played some NHL games and stayed mostly in the AHL, the undrafted FA could still make an impact in the middle six (yes it is the same update, they are that similar and unspectacular to me)
  • John Leonard – Possibly the prospect in the Sharks system hat could make an NHL impact but would need the right line mates
  • Joachim Blichfeld – Impressive 2019-2020 season that could lead him to good things in the NHL
  • Maxim Letunov – Played very well in his “make it or break it” as a prospect season. The Sharks (and keeper league GMs) have been waiting on him forever and this could possibly be him making it
  • Alex Chmelevski – Good first AHL season may make the NHL roster

 

Defense:

• Four one-way contracts; All over $2.5M
• The bottom pairing, and seventh defenseman will be a toss up between some players/prospects that are also not very exciting
• Likely Candidates: Mario Ferraro (best shot), Jacob Middleton, Nikolai Knyzhov, Trevor Carrick, and Brinson Pasichnuk

 

Goalies:

• Martin Jones and Devan Dubnyk are both signed for 2020-2021, which is exciting for H2H leagues when you team plays San Jose
• Likely / Dark Horse Candidates (as both need additional AHL time): Alexei Melnichuk and Josef Korenar

 

 

Vancouver Canucks

 

Forward:

• 15 one-way contracts; 12 are over $1M and three are below $1M
• The Canucks are looking to move a number of forwards but have been out of luck so far. Sven Baertschi, Brandon Sutter and Tanner Pearson are all UFAs in 2021, so they are the ones likely to be moved. Perhaps if Vancouver gets luck a team will take Loui Eriksson but I doubt it
  • Marc Michaelis is on a one-way contract at $700K and can easily be sent down
• Elias Pettersson is on the last year of his ELC. That is 16 forward roster spots so do not expect prospects to really get a sot
  • Justin Bailey is an RFA and also likely looking for a one-way deal
• Dark Horse Candidate: Kole Lind

 

Defense:

• Six one-way contracts; four are $2M or more, and the final two are $700K
  • Josh Teves and Brogan Rafferty have those two contracts
• Quinn Hughes is on the last year of his ELC, I am pretty sure he is on the roster
• There are one to two spots available
• Likely Candidates: Brogan Rafferty and Jack Rathbone
• Dark Horse Candidate: Olli Juolevi

 

Goalies:

• Braden Holtby and Thatcher Demko should have the net sealed up for as long as Holtby is in Vancouver (currently until 2022
• Dark Horse Candidate: Michael DiPietro

 

 

Vegas Golden Knights

 

Forward:

• 15 one-way contracts; 10 over $1M and five below $1M
  • Nicolas Roy is signed to $750k for two seasons and will make the roster
  • Tomas Jurco, Tyrell Goulbourne, Patrick Brown and Dylan Sikura are all between $700K-$750K and might make the roster but will likely stay in the AHL
• Cody Glass was injured to finish the season, and through the return to play playoffs, but will be a fixture on the roster
• There should be one open spot
• Likely Candidates:
  • Keegan Kolesar – The second year of his two-year contract is one-way (slated for 2021-2022), so Vegas sees something there
  • Lucas Elvenes – Great year in the AHL and if moved in to the top nine he could post underrated numbers for poolies lucky to grab him
  • Peyton Krebs – Vegas’ top prospect can fill out the teams top nine, and make it even more scary

 

Defense:

• Seven one-way contracts; Five over $1.5M and two below $1M
  • Zach Whitecloud – will be in on the roster)
  • Carl Dahlstrom – possible bottom pairing but could be scratched occasionally
• Likely Candidates: Nicolas Hauge, Jimmy Schuldt, and Jake Bischoff

 

Goalies:

• Robin Lehner and Mark Andre Fleury will start for the next two seasons, unless there is a sword attack, if any prospect comes up they will just be a back up
• Likely Candidate: Oscar Dansk

 

 

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Thanks for reading. Follow my twitter: @FHPQuinn