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brockadoodles · 3 years

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Gumbo, Football Sundays, and Christmas - q. hughes

AN: this was totally named something else before, but honestly I like this name better. So here’s holiday Quinn floof to celebrate the return of my main squeeze, the quinn to my brock, the oh so wonderful, @pettypetey If any of you are mean to her, its on sight, ily kyn <3

Word Count: 3759

Warnings: None :)

You carefully walked over to the couch where Quinn was sitting on his phone with two hot bowls in your hand. You cleared your throat to grab his attention, handing him the steaming bowl of your favorite homemade potato soup, something that his trainer would absolutely kill him for eating, yet he did anyway because you made it and he openly admitted that it was one of his favorite things. Quinn couldn’t cook to save his life, something that you had attempted to remedy when you became friends and found out that he got most of his meals from the rink or the Tanev family. But after one night where he spilled an entire pot of gumbo on your kitchen floor, you settled for doing the cooking or letting him pay for takeout whenever he came over, sparing your poor floor from another huge mess and your own sanity over wasting that much time on food only to not be able to eat it.

You sat down on the couch next to him, your thigh pressed up against him due to the nature of how small your old Ikea couch was. You set your bowl down on the coffee table and picked up the remote, scrolling through the various options on TV until you spotted a marathon of cheesy Christmas movies listed on the Hallmark channel.

“I’m absolutely not watching a Christmas movie with you, it’s not even thanksgiving yet,” Quinn frowned as you moved through the various options on the tv, each movie title becoming a worse holiday-related pun as you scrolled further into the depths of the Hallmark channel.

You glared at him and for a moment you contemplated why you were even such good friends with someone who clearly had no sense of what Christmas joy really meant. Obviously, you knew that he didn’t celebrate Christmas, but you also knew that he knew how much comfort these movies brought you. You used to spend hours watching them in November and December with your dad as a child, and when you moved to Vancouver, that quickly became one of the things you could do that reminded you of home.

“Quinn I will absolutely kick you out of my apartment,” you warned, queuing up one of the movies whose premise was likely about some small-town person who needed to save their business and the way that happens was through a Christmas miracle. It didn’t matter how similar or terribly low quality these movies were, you loved them and happily watched them consistently as early as September each year. Quinn should have considered himself lucky that you waited until November before putting one on with him there.

“You would never,” he smirked at you, wrapping an arm swiftly around your waist and pulling you into his chest. Quinn was always affectionate with you, something that you had found yourself readily falling into. You would never admit it to him but Quinn was your favorite person, and as the months had progressed his affections have sparked daydreams in your head of what it would be like if he took it one step farther with you.

The two of you sat in silence next to each other as the opening credits of the movie began to play as you enjoyed the warm soup. It was what you considered the perfect November evening, your favorite movies, your favorite meal, and your favorite person all in one sitting as the rain fell outside of your apartment.

You pulled the dark green throw blanket over both of your bodies as the movie continued to play, Quinn rolling his eyes and audibly groaning at the cheesy dialogue that was happening on screen.

“Shhhh, I’m trying to distract myself from you,” you whacked him in the chest, feeling his body vibrate softly as he laughed at you. He grabbed your hand, focusing on playing with your fingers lightly, sometimes threading his own through them. His actions were causing a flutter in your stomach and a blush to rise on your cheeks each time he held your hand in his, and the movie was offering no distraction from him.

Quinn was a constant for you, a presence that was always there whether that meant in your mind and heart as you thought of him, or physically there on your couch watching Christmas movies with you just because you asked. He had been your friend since he started playing in Vancouver, the two of you frequently running into each other at a hole in the wall Chinese place near your apartment. Somehow the chance run-ins had become Sunday nights in his apartment where he always had your favorite fried rice and football queued up for you provided he didn’t have a game of his own.

Quinn fussed around with your fingers and hand for the entirety of the movie, if someone were to ask him to summarize anything that had occurred over the last two hours that you were nestled into his chest, he simply couldn’t do it. He couldn’t focus on the movie, or the white noise of cars passing by outside and the rain steadily pouring down, all he could focus on was your hands and your breathing as you watched the movie. Quinn hadn’t admitted it to anyone, probably not even fully to himself yet just how attached he was to you. You were his favorite person, by far. His quiet demeanor never seemed to bother you, and you had the ability to calm him down yet challenge him when he needed it. You never made him feel like he was Quinn Hughes of the Vancouver Canucks, instead, he felt like just Quinn with you, a feeling he only ever experienced when he was back home with his family in Michigan. It might not have been obvious to him, but everyone else knew he was as in love with you as someone could be with a person they weren’t actually with. Even his mom asked about you frequently, smiling as he would tell her whatever mundane thing about you that he had thought of that day. You were the only person he willingly let this close to him, and people noticed.

“What time is it?” You groaned, moving from his lap. Your back was slightly stiff, and you were kind of warm as you peeled the blanket from both of your bodies. The tv was turned off, and the sky outside was pitch black. Quinn slowly opened his eyes, a soft and sleepy smile on his face as he pulled you back into his chest.

“Sleep time.” He hummed. You laughed softly and pressed your hands into his chest.

“Come on, let’s go to bed, q.”

A few weeks later, after American Thanksgiving had come and gone, you found yourself surrounded at a small table with some of the other young Canucks at a holiday charity event. Quinn had practically begged you to go with him to the fundraiser, complaining that he had no idea how to decorate gingerbread houses, and if you weren’t there to help him then Brock and Petey would never let him hear the end of how ugly he ultimately would turn out. You agreed pretty quickly, rolling your eyes at his concern and reassuring him that he shouldn’t feel bad even if his was the ugliest gingerbread house of the entire group.

Quinn was entirely out of his element as the kids tossed around various candies and made a mess at the table you were all sitting at together. His eyes were wide and he was quietly focussed on his own tragic house. You watched him try to concentrate on building a roof, struggling to hold in your laughter, and Brock and Elias relentlessly teased his efforts.

“Look Quinn, mistletoe!” Quinn shot a look to Brock instantly at his words, his eyes shooting daggers into his friend as he held mistletoe up above the two of you. You sat there in shock, silently hoping that Brock would simply let this whole thing go without a fight so that you wouldn’t end up embarrassed and hurt. Unfortunately for you and him, the kids instantly jumped at the chance of forcing you to kiss, almost all of them egging it on and making kissy faces at the two of you.

Quinn swore he was going to force Brock and Petey to block 50 of his shots next practice for how they were acting. It was bad enough that the kids were hounding him to kiss you, but he didn’t need it from his friends who knew about his long harbored crush on you. You took it all in stride though, a slight blush to your cheeks that Quinn found himself melting even moreover. It also didn’t help that you were there, wearing one so his jerseys, his name on your back. He wanted to kiss you, but the last thing he wanted was for you to think that it was all the accumulation of these pesky kids bullying him into it.

Quinn tried to brush off the attempts at pushing the two of you together. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to kiss you, he did, but he wanted it to be under his own terms and a moment that was more special than at a fundraiser event with a bunch of children and Brock watching. He shook his head at Brock, mouthing for him to cut it out. Brock was having none of it though, knowing that a kiss was a long time coming between you and if Quinn wasn’t going to make the move quickly, then he was going to take advantage of the situation and attempt to get things moving between you. About every guy on the Canucks roster had about had enough of Quinn talking about how much he liked you without doing anything about it, and Brock saw the opportunity and took it.

“Pucker up kids, there’s mistletoe now. You can’t break the Christmas law that is mistletoe,” Brock smirked, hanging the mistletoe above both of your heads. He knew exactly what he was doing, and Quinn wanted to smack the not so subtle smirk off of his face.

You grabbed his arm, turning to face him with a soft smile on your face. You almost felt bad for him, sensing how uncomfortable he was at the situation, but something about the way he was carrying himself had you hoping that maybe he did want to kiss you and that had you fluttering with excitement as you leaned in. Quinn just looked at you nervously, unable to react as you quickly grabbed his face, and softly pressed his lips to yours. The kids cheering in the background, and Elias and Brock smirking at the success of their efforts. It was almost too much, but he found himself grabbing your cheek and kissing you back, his heart beating so fast and loud he was sure that you would hear it.

You smiled into the kiss, pulling back with a bright crimson shade present on your cheeks, a wide-eyed Quinn in front of you. For a moment you thought maybe you had messed everything up, maybe Quinn had absolutely no feelings for you and that’s why he was looking at you like he looked at most other people who he didn’t know. But it didn’t take Quinn long to smile and grab your hand, lacing your fingers together and going back to decorating the tragic gingerbread houses sitting in front of you, a soft smile present on his face the rest of the afternoon.

Quinn has debatably taken your ugly Christmas sweater idea a bit too seriously, so seriously in fact that you were genuinely impressed when he came to pick you up in a dark green holiday sweater, complete with a reindeer and light up antlers on his chest as you opened your front door. You laughed a bit, shaking your head as you took him in. You found it sweet that he made the extra effort, knowing that you were in a bad mood and probably just wanted to cheer you up. You wordlessly grabbed your bag and locked your door, following Quinn quietly out to his car.

The drive to Bo and Holly’s was quiet, Quinn focused on the dark roads as he drove. You watched out the window, looking at the shiny pavement that was slick with the steady rain that Vancouver knew for the majority of the winter. Things with Quinn had felt weird since you kissed him under the mistletoe, you couldn’t explain the shift because as much as you hoped the kiss would show him your feelings for him, he never brought it up. You supposed that you were partially to blame, you could have put your heart out there with him, but you also felt like you had already done that by kissing him those weeks ago, and him not saying anything only sank your heart further. So instead of dwelling on it, you tried to enjoy your time with him as usual, pushing your feelings to the side in hopes that in time they would evaporate and you would be okay just being his friend again.

You fumbled around in your bag as he parked outside of the Horvat’s house, flicking his light-up sweater on with a soft smile as he moved to unbuckle his seatbelt and get out of the car.

“Quinn wait.” You started. You reached out and grabbed his thigh softly, pulling your hand back quickly when you realized what you were doing, your nerves bubbling up into your chest. You pulled a small wrapped box from your bag, fiddling with it in your hands as he watched you carefully. His eyebrows furrowed slightly as you handed him the present.

“Happy first day of Hanukkah.” You smiled. Quinn grinned at you in response, his heart softening at you remembering. Not that he thought you forgot, but you were after all parked outside of his captain’s house, dressed in ugly Christmas sweaters, about to attend the annual Canucks Christmas party. So while he didn’t think you forgot, it meant a lot to him that you vocally remembered and thought of him enough to get a gift.

Quinn carefully unwrapped the present and shook his head as he pulled the item from its box. He ran his hand over the keychain, the New Orleans Saints logo clear as day on the charm.

“I should have known not to expect something serious.” He joked as he put the keychain on his keys, a small act that caused butterflies to rush into your stomach.

“Yeah well, your taste in football sucks so I had to remind you who you should be cheering for.” You replied, smirking slightly at him. Quinn leaned over the center console, pressing a soft kiss to your cheek so quickly that you were sure you didn’t even have time to take one breath as he pulled away. Your eyes were wide and your mouth slightly parted at his outward display of affection, no sign of him thinking anything of it. You gulped a bit as you tried to hide the blush on your cheeks. Quinn didn’t say anything, instead, he smiled and climbed out of the car, waiting patiently for you to grab the punch you made and join him on the short walk to the front of the house, the moment between you quickly passing as you headed into the party.

You walked into the home, smiling in awe at how beautiful the decorations were. Your eyes wandered around the room, stopping on the huge tree in the living room, covered with red and green ornaments and lights. The whole house smelled like fir, and it was warm and inviting as you starting noticing the various players and their families who were scattered throughout the room.

Holly led you into their kitchen to help you get the punch set up for the rest of the guests. She took the large pitcher from your hands and set it on the counter. Quinn had been pulled another direction from you and was now talking with Elias in the living room as you were in the kitchen with Holly. You were a little nervous being alone with her, having only met her a handful of times at various events that you had gone to with Quinn. But she offered you a friendly smile and the first glass, which helped your nerves settle.

“Ah, Mrs. Huggy! You’re here!” You heard from behind you, an audible gasp at the nickname escaping from your lips as Jake slid up behind you and hugged you. You quickly turned out of his grasp and shot him a glare, glancing past him in hopes that Quinn hadn’t heard his friend call you that.

“Jake! Shut up!” You whispered harshly, whacking him lightly in the chest. He just laughed at you in return, leaving you alone in the kitchen with a now smirking Holly and a tint on your cheeks that you were hoping would go away before Quinn came back to find you. You took a long sip of your drink, resigning yourself to the fact that this night was probably going to be long, and you definitely needed the liquid courage to get yourself through it.

About an hour and two drinking games later, you found yourself tipsy and less nervous around Quinn and your friends, them seemingly forgetting about your unrequited crush in favor of arguing who got to have him as their beer pong partner, something that Quinn was shockingly undefeated at.

You walked into the kitchen, bypassing Brock who was leaning against the counter, typing away on his phone. He didn’t notice you as you walked by him and over toward the drinks that were on the counter, refilling yours and taking a moment to yourself. You didn’t notice that Quinn had followed you into the room, jumping slightly when you heard his voice coming from behind you.

“Hey so remember when you kissed me?” You nearly choked on your drink, the contribution you had decided to bless the party with, a punch that only came out during the holidays, containing what you could only describe to people as 90% alcohol and a 10% chance of blacking out. You were only on your third cup, not near inebriated enough for this potential conversation with Quinn. The truth was that you of course remembered kissing him, the feeling of it had been cycling around your brain since the charity event last week, but he never brought it up with you, so you were forced to pack your feelings back up into a tightly taped box, hoping that one day you could pull said box out and give it to him properly.

Quinn however had consumed almost four cups of your famous Christmas party punch, sending him well on his way passed tipsy and onto the train towards the loud drunk you rarely saw from him. He had wanted to kiss you again, a secret tucked deep in his chest that was bubbling up to the surface with the more drinks he had. He took in your appearance, your hair was down and you had a slight blush to your cheeks from your makeup, the Christmas sweater hanging from your body was stupid and endearing and all he could think about was tossing it onto the floor.

“Mhm, yes I do remember something of that sorts happening, Quinn,” you said, smirking softly at him, a complete act to hide your growing nerves. Quinn smiled the widest drunk smile you’d ever seen, and you couldn’t help but appreciate how cute he was.

“Can I kiss you this time?” He asked, loud enough that Brock turned his head from where he was standing, a few feet away in the kitchen as he was on his phone. He raised his eyebrows at you, smirking a bit before turning and walking out of the kitchen, leaving you and Quinn to yourselves as your heart beat faster in your chest. You gulped back the rest of your drink, setting it down and stepping toward him. Quinn’s hands instinctively went to your waist, pulling you in closer with a lazy smile on his face and a soft expression in his eyes.

“You gonna kiss me or what, Quinn?” Your heart was pounding so loudly, you were thankful for the chatter coming from the kitchen, someone yelling about winning what must have been that round of beer pong. Quinn smiled at you and it only made things worse, the moment feeling like it was hanging in time as you waited not so patiently for him to press his lips to yours again. You almost thought you were imagining the entire thing as he grabbed your cheek, leaning in and closing his eyes. As soon as his lips touched yours you melted into the kiss, wrapping your arms around his neck and tugging softly on his dark hair. You smiled into the kiss, not caring who was watching because all that mattered was Quinn.

Quinn pulled back and continued to hold you, a blush evident on both of your cheeks and smiles that were big and wide. You buried your head into his chest and he kissed your head, no words needing to be spoken between you, it was like you both knew exactly what the other person wanted to say. You knew how Quinn felt, and he knew how you felt, your hearts practically beating in each other’s ears as you shared a not so private moment in the kitchen, a cheesy Hallmark movie type ending that you loved.

“In case it isn’t obvious, I really like you.” Quinn murmured, running his hand softly along your hip as he looked down for your reaction. You leaned up and kissed him once more, smiling into it and squeezing him gently.

“I like you too, even if you hate Christmas movies and have terrible taste in football teams.” You said, earning a laugh out of your favorite person. The two of you spent the rest of the party stealing drunk kisses together, your minds fuzzy with the not new feelings but new ability to express them openly with each other, regardless of anyone else’s opinions or comments. Quinn was absolutely your favorite person, and you couldn’t believe you were finally getting to be with him in the way that you had wanted to for months, even with his stupid reindeer sweater on.

#quinn hughes #quinn hughes imagine #quinn hughes fluff #quinn hughe fic #nhl imagine #nhl fic

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pabo-reactions · 5 years

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NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

New Post has been published on https://nhlrumormill.com/nhl-rumors-quenneville-nylander-sens-canucks-more/

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

In today’s rumor rundown, the Ottawa Senators are dealing with the fallout of the video, and while it might hurt the future of the coaching staff, it doesn’t seem to be affecting the contract extension talks of a star forward. The Canucks are keeping a close eye on a young defensive prospect who headed over the KHL and there is talk about what’s next for the recently fired Joel Quenneville. Finally, with the William Nylander contract situation, teams are starting to hang around the Maple Leafs games in anticipation for a possible trade and that may or may not include a certain Islanders defenceman.

The Ottawa Senators Video

Bob McKenzie said on TSN’s Insider Trading that the trash-talking video which has gone viral and has become the talk around the Ottawa Senators was something the team knew about and thought it had put in the past. In fact, Matt Duchene, who was part of the video is already in contract extension talks despite his vocal complaints in the video itself. Clearly, the team hadn’t made it a huge issue until it went public.

UPDATE: The #Sens players have apologized for their comments.https://t.co/WrGftVtMPU

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2018

Many of the Senators players involved have apologized but the reality is, this is nothing new in hockey and for pro athletes air who discuss this kind of frustration all the time. The only difference here is that an Uber driver decided to make this private conversation public which is a bad look for the team.

Unfortunately, this video puts the already hot-seat coaching staff of Guy Boucher, Marc Crawford and Marty Raymond on thinner ice as they are all in the final year of their contracts. Pierre LeBrun suggests that this is a situation worth watching.

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Rask, Nylander, More

Canucks Still Watching Nikita Tryamkin

Nikita Tryamkin was one of the Vancouver Canucks young prospects on defense before he headed back to the KHL after his first full season in Vancouver. GM Jim Benning told Sportsnet radio that the team is still hoping he returns to North America at some point and “have not closed that door.”

(Nikita Tryamkin. Photo: hc-avto.ru)

Tryamkin is in the midst of his second season with his hometown Yekaterinburg and averaging more than 19 minutes per game. The massive 6’7″ defenseman has just three points on the season but is still someone the Canucks are watching closely. With players like Chris Tanev, Michael Del Zotto and Alexander Edler not in the picture down the line for the Canucks, Vancouver will need young talent to take their spots as they continue to grow. In a couple years the core of the Canucks defense could include Tryamkin, Olli Juolevi and Quinn Hughes.

Related: NHL Rumors: Kings, Islanders, Wild, More

What’s Next for Joel Quenneville

Pierre LeBrun also mentioned during that segment that recently fired Joel Quenneville will be owed his $6 million for the remainder of this season and next which leaves him with a number of choices and some decent leverage when it comes to whatever job he takes next.

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

There are already a number of teams being mentioned including St. Louis, where Mike Yeo is aware he’s on a short leash or in Ottawa where the team may choose to make a change at the end of the season and can’t seem to get out from under all the drama that surrounds the team.

Bob McKenzie suggests Quenneville will get coaching offers during the season but he could wait until the offseason to see what else opens up (and there definitely will be jobs available that aren’t available now.)

Darren Dreger then shifted to focus of the conversation towards Blackhawks GM Stan Bowman who has to be the next on the hot seat in Chicago. He won the battle between coach and GM, but it doesn’t remove him from his share of the blame when you consider the Blackhawks have traded quality players in Artemi Panarin and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Ho-Sang, Lundqvist, More

Maple Leafs Games Drawing Attention

Michael Augello of Sporting News Canada tweeted Carolina Hurricanes assistant GM Rick Dudley was listed again to attend a Maple Leafs game. This will be his fifth trip in the past couple of weeks. David Pagnotta of the Fourth Period noted Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray was in the Toronto to watch the Maple Leafs-Golden Knights game and Ducks director of player development Rick Paterson was the Ducks ‘scout’ listed to be in the press box.

As December 1 draws nearer, expect more and more teams to start closely watching the Maple Leafs so that they can determine what pieces would make sense in a potential Nylander trade.

Nick Leddy on the Move?

The New York Islanders may look at moving defenseman Nick Leddy. A while back, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta said he was popping up in conversations and that it remained a possibility to move him.

Nick Leddy – November 24, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

It appears his offense has dried up in New York and while the Islanders are winning games, he’s not helping the cause. A change of scenery might be the thing he needs to bounce back. It was not speculated if he would be a part of a trade with Toronto or if the Maple Leafs might have interest in Leddy for their blue line.

The post NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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thrashermaxey · 6 years

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20 Fantasy Hockey Thoughts

Every Sunday until the start of the 2018-19 regular season, we'll share 20 Fantasy Thoughts from our writers at DobberHockey. These thoughts are curated from the past week's "Daily Ramblings".

Writers: Michael Clifford, Ian Gooding, Cam Robinson, and Dobber

(Ed. Note: We’re just a few days away from the release of the 2018-19 DobberHockey Fantasy Guide, set for this Wednesday, August 1st! Be sure to grab your copy from the Dobber Shop. Don’t worry about the release being so early as it’s constantly updated with new information. There’s a truckload of content throughout our Guide, so give yourself the time you need to prepare!)

1. Johnny Gaudreau leads all wingers in primary assists over the last two seasons but note that Alex Radulov isn’t very far behind. On a team with Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, and John Klingberg, I think the fact that Radulov had 72 points last year gets a little overlooked. The additional ice time he received in Dallas compared to his season in Montreal helped boost his numbers across the board, even though his actual shot attempt rate per 60 minutes declined slightly.

Unless there’s some sort of trade for Erik Karlsson, it looks like the Dallas lineup last year will largely be the same this year. They brought back Valeri Nichushkin but he won’t be a big threat to Radulov’s ice time. It does seem possible that Nichushkin grabs the top-line slotting with Seguin and Benn but unless he shows more consistency than his last season with the Stars, it won’t be a long-term solution. I like Nichushkin’s skills a lot but he’s probably better suited to play more sheltered minutes on the second or third line. (july24)

2. I’m not really a guy that targets prospects in one-year fantasy drafts. The list of guys I’ve targeted over the years in their age-18 season can probably be counted on one hand. On the other hand…I’m finding it really hard not to get enamoured with Andrei Svechnikov.

I know, breaking news. Svechnikov is good. The thing is, it’s not really that hard to envision him with a top-nine slotting and top power-play minutes this year. My one concern would be that they stick Victor Rask on the top PP unit as they did at times last year. But if Svechnikov shows in camp to the level he’s capable and starts impressing with that shot of his, I find it hard to believe any coach would not give him the power-play minutes for him to succeed, even if it’s a month or so into the season.

Maybe this is all wishful thinking. Maybe he’ll bounce around the lineup and they limit his exposure in his first year. Or, maybe they let him play his game, give him 15 minutes a night, and he puts up a 25-goal season. Someone talk me off the ledge for this year, please. (july28)

3. It could be tough sledding for Florida prospects for a while. Looking up how many years Evgenii Dadonov has left on his deal, I realized the following: Aleksander Barkov, Vincent Trocheck, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mike Hoffman, Dadonov, and Nick Bjugstad all have at least two years left on all their contracts. Jared McCann has two years on the deal he signed. Presumably, if all goes well, left/right wing on the third line are the only spots up for grabs that could have fantasy relevance.

I was just thinking of Henrik Borgstrom, Aleksi Heponiemi, and Owen Tippett. They are certainly talented enough where they could earn a roster spot but in the short-term, nothing is a given. They will get there eventually, but it could be a couple years before they have any real fantasy impact. (july28)

4. We knew that Rick Nash would probably be a rental player for the Bruins, but do you think maybe the Bruins might want to have Ryan Spooner back? After joining the Rangers, Spooner was sizzling with 16 points in just 20 games. Add that up with his numbers in Boston and it resulted in 41 points (13g-28a) in 59 games, an average of 0.69 points per game. That placed him in line with the likes of Alex Pietrangelo, Evander Kane, Corey Perry, David Krejci, Bo Horvat, and Nazem Kadri.

That group above is where you could feel comfortable drafting Spooner in points-only leagues, but remember that in multicategory leagues, Spooner’s point totals are fairly assist-heavy, as he has never scored more than 13 goals in a season. Spooner’s non-scoring peripherals in particular are also very light. He had to receive Lady Byng consideration from someone, as he took just two minor penalties in all of 2017-18 and only took 24 hits in 2016-17. In spite of the scoring breakout with the Rangers, just two of his 16 points were on the man advantage, and his power-play time actually decreased with the Rangers.

One side note: Spooner is an RFA who remains unsigned and is scheduled for an August 4 arbitration hearing. According to Blueshirt Banter, the deal isn’t expected to be long-term, since the Rangers are on a rebuild and could move Spooner. But assuming he sticks with the Rangers for a full season, you could expect him to hold something like a second-line role with around 50 points. And remember that he’s better in pure points leagues than multicategory leagues. (july29)

5. Quinn Hughes won’t suit up for the Canucks in 2018-19, deciding to return to the University of Michigan instead. Although a tiny part of me would love to see him in a Canucks’ uniform this coming season, this is logically and completely the right move for both Hughes and the Canucks in the long run.

Bringing a teenager into the NHL can be risky. That risk is elevated when the player happens to be a defenseman, and the team happens to be a rebuilding one like the Canucks. Hughes was no guarantee to make the Canucks out of training camp, as the team already has eight defensemen under contract. Hughes will be in a much better position to make the squad in 2019-20, as both Alex Edler and Michael Del Zotto will be UFAs, and Chris Tanev could be traded by then. Ben Hutton and Derrick Pouliot will also be RFAs and the Canucks could easily decide to move on from either if they do not take a step forward this coming season. (july29)

6. Jake Gardiner can get you seven or eight goals and a pile of assists. That’ll play very well in points-only formats. But in leagues that count peripheral stats, he won’t give as much as people may think. Just for an example: in my points league that counts peripheral stats, he was just inside the top-40 defensemen in value. And that’s with a 50-plus point season. When looking through keeper defensemen, if you’re in a multi-category league, Gardiner can probably be left to the side, depending on league depth. (july28)

7. Though I’m not sure there will be much fantasy relevance, I’m a little surprised no team has signed Tobias Enstrom yet. His 50-point seasons are a thing of the distant past, but he’s still a pretty good defender, and a lot of teams can use a good left-handed defensive blueliner. A real defensive defenseman, not a face-punching defensive defenseman. Maybe he will return to Sweden after all, as had been reported earlier this summer. It’s hard to imagine an NHL team couldn’t use what he brings, and likely for very cheap. (july28)

8. Conor Sheary has a vastly different floor and ceiling fantasy-wise. Dobber said it best in his Fantasy Take on the Sheary trade to Buffalo: “You won’t see Sheary get between 30 and 55 points if he plays 80 games – he’ll either click and top 55, or he’ll sputter and fall short of 30.”

So, just know that if you invest in Sheary that you’ll either hit a home run or you’ll strike out. No middle ground. But, sometimes taking risks on these kinds of players are what you’ll need to win your fantasy league.

Sheary will have the opportunity to line up alongside up-and-coming Jack Eichel this season. But his most frequent center in Pittsburgh was no slouch either – his name is Sidney Crosby. In fact, nearly half of both his even-strength minutes and his even-strength points were on Crosby’s line.

Personally, I think there is significant risk in reaching for Sheary. Sure, there was the ‘breakout’ 53-point season. But he struggled in the playoffs after that, scoring just seven points in 22 games and getting healthy scratched. If you’re curious about 2017-18’s playoffs, Sheary recorded just two assists in 12 games. So, he’s really been in a funk for over a season. A new opportunity with a new team could be exactly what the doctor ordered. But since I’m more of a ‘believe it when I see it’ type, I’ll admit that I’m more bearish on Sheary than bullish. (july29)

9. Something I’ve just been thinking about for this year is Jeff Carter’s value. He lost two-thirds of his 2017-18 due to injury but still managed 13 goals and 22 points in 27 games. That’s pretty good.

My big issue is that he’s going into his age-34 season. The list of centers with 25-goal, 30-assist seasons at that age or older over the last five seasons is as follows: Pavel Datysuk (2014-15). That’s it. That’s the whole list. In fact, Datsyuk is the only center in the last decade to have a season with at least 25 goals and 30 assists at the age of 34 or older. We know of aging curves in hockey. We know that shots and shooting percentage fall off in the late 20s and get worse.

Carter is a shooter. He’ll still get 17-18 minutes a night centering the second line and on the top power-play unit. With Ilya Kovalchuk in town, do some of his shots on the PP disappear? This will largely be a question of average draft position (ADP). He was often drafted inside the top-75 last year. Even if he’s still just inside the top-100, it might be worth passing on him. Once I finish my projections, I’ll have a better idea of where to grab him. This might be a situation where I’d rather be a year early jumping off the boat than a year late. (july27)

10. The Flames re-signed Mark Jankowski for two years with an AAV of $1.675-million. Jankowski’s first full year was 2017-18, a year with 17 goals and 25 points.

I personally had hopes that Jankowski and Sam Bennett could form two-thirds of a solid third line in 2018-19 – they performed well with Garnet Hathaway last year – but the addition of Elias Lindholm could throw a wrench in these plans. If James Neal slides on the top line, and the second line is left as it has been for a couple years, Lindholm seems the logical choice for the third-line center position, pushing Jankowski to the fourth line. It’s good news for Calgary’s depth but bad news for Jankowski’s flickering fantasy value.

There has been talk from the team that Lindholm will go to the top line, Neal to the second line, and that would possibly put Michael Frolik on the third line with Jankowski and Bennett. With the addition of Derek Ryan, this might make some sense. We’ll have to see what Calgary decides to do. For now, Jankowski is still waiver fodder in most leagues.

11. Last year was Brandon Montour’s first full season and he didn’t disappoint with 32 points in 80 games. The moves Anaheim made on the blue line, namely trading Sami Vatanen and letting Shea Theodore go in the expansion draft, opened some ice time for Montour and he responded with a productive season.

It’s hard to see a lot of progression here fantasy-wise, though. It looks like he’ll be playing behind Josh Manson for the foreseeable future at even strength and will be the second option after Cam Fowler for the top PP unit. Expecting more than 19-20 minutes combined between EV and PP time is a bridge too far barring an injury (which did happen to Fowler last year). For most leagues, Montour is a guy who is at best a bench option or more likely a waiver option.

12. I enjoyed last week’s Cage Match piece by Rick Roos, particularly his discussion of Bryan Little. I agree with Rick that 2017-18 was an aberration from Little and with no help coming in the off season down the middle, he’s back to his second-line role, likely between Nikolaj Ehlers and Patrik Laine. His PP production may not improve much, but if he can play 82 games again, he’ll improve on those 43 points. He should come a big discount in season-long leagues.

13. With the Hurricanes acquiring Dougie Hamilton, Justin Faulk was assumed to be on the trading block. Yet here we are nearing the end of July and Faulk is still a Hurricane. So, we have to project Faulk as if that is where he will stay. Not only could Hamilton cut into Faulk’s power-play minutes by possibly bumping him to the second power-play unit, but Faulk is also fighting a downward point trend over the past three seasons. That’s not a positive sign for a player who is only 26.

Could Faulk still provide value in multicategory leagues? In spite of another down season, he still finished 12th in shots on goal among defensemen (211). With less power-play time with the arrival of the free-shooting Hamilton, that number could also decrease. He’s arguably still an option as a D5 in deeper multicategory 12-team leagues, particularly those that don’t count plus-minus (he has averaged a minus-21 per season over his past four seasons). But unlike past seasons, I won’t be making a point to draft Faulk again. (july25)

14. Once upon a time, Henrik Zetterberg was a keeper league mainstay, but eventually Father Time catches up to everyone. Keeper leaguers tend to avoid the over-35 crowd like the plague, yet in some cases they can provide some sneaky value. Z is still that kind of player, as he has recorded at least 50 points in each of his last four full seasons. In fact, he has never posted below 0.6 PTS/GP in any season, including last season (56 points, 0.68 PTS/GP).

Don’t reach too much for Zetterberg, particularly in multicategory leagues. The point totals have been assist-heavy for quite some time. Z has not recorded a 20-goal season in six seasons, dating back to the 2011-12 season. There is also the matter of him possibly not playing because of a lingering back issue, which caused him to skip all practices during the second half of last season. Zetterberg has three years remaining on a contract that pays him just over $6 million per season, so it wouldn’t be out of the question for the Wings to LTIR his contract.

Zetterberg probably isn’t worth targeting until more is known about his situation. But if he returns and is healthy, he should again play a prominent role on the Wings, who aren’t exactly loaded with scorers. So, he could be a cheap source of 50 points if he can pull it together for another full season. (july25)

15. A special shout out to Gustav Nyquist. I know he hasn’t really lived up to expectations since bursting on the scene with 28 goals in 57 games way back in the 2013-14 season. The PP production has been what’s holding him back, having averaged just shy of 10 PP points per season over the last three years. The 2018-19 season is the last one left on his current contract, so he could find himself with a new team once head-to-head playoffs hit in March (though he does have a no-trade, so he has control of where he goes). Unless the team moves to a heavily-used top PP unit, it’s hard to see Nyquist as more than a 20-goal, 50-point guy. Not bad for fantasyhockey but certainly capable of more. (july24)

16. Only eight players have managed at least 20 goals in each of the last two seasons. Some of those names make sense like Vladimir Tarasenko, Connor McDavid, Evgeni Malkin, Patrik Laine, and Auston Matthews. Wingers Anders Lee and Rickard Rakell are also on the list. The final name? James van Riemsdyk.

Van Riemsdyk has been known more for his power-play prowess over the last couple years as everyone marvels over his hands around the net. That is prolific five-on-five scoring, however. Now that he’s back in Philadelphia, maybe he’ll be made a focal point of the offense where he can average somewhere in the 17- or 18-minute range per game rather than the 15:24 he has the last two years. (july24)

17. These are the top-3 players in five-on-five goals over the last two years: Auston Matthews (55), Connor McDavid (51), and Rickard Rakell (48). That’s not a typo, only McDavid and Matthews have more five-on-five goals over the last two years than Rakell.

There is probably some quibbling to be done whether he’s just a good player skating with a Hall-of-Fame center or a great player skating with a Hall-of-Fame center, but for our purposes, it doesn’t really matter. He doesn’t seem destined to split from Ryan Getzlaf anytime soon and is locked into that top PP unit. I’m curious to see where his ADP lands because there isn’t a reason to suspect a decline coming from Rakell this year barring injury or a terrible streak of unluckiness. (july24)

18. I went to Twitter for some Keeper Bubble Week questions. Here’s one from Barry Miles: “Who’s got a better likelihood of holding a top six spot, Anthony Beauvillier or Andreas Athanasiou?”

Athanasiou’s fancy stats indicate that he can really make an impact and put up first-line points on Detroit, perhaps even better than Gustav Nyquist. And he probably deserves that spot over Nyquist. But zero chance that happens. This is another stepping-stone year for Athanasiou. So my answer is Anthony Beauvillier. If Jan Kovar fails to make things happen in the NHL as a top-sixer, then Beauvillier will get his chance. And then, whether or not he makes that chance work is up to him. If Kovar clicks, then Beauvillier is a depth guy again. So, in that sense, Athanasiou is a safer play. I have Athanasiou for 42 points. Nice and safe. So this question becomes: do you want safe, or do you want to swing for the fences? (july23)

19. Jacob Trouba was awarded $5.5 million in arbitration on a one-year deal. He becomes the second-highest paid defenseman on the Jets. I’d feel more bullish about him if he didn’t miss at least 17 games in four of his last five seasons. He saw the second-most ice time on the entire team last season (average per game), but was third on the totem pole behind Dustin Byfuglien and Tyler Myers in terms of PP time. Now that he’s making more than Myers, and the Jets could lose Myers to free agency next year, I think you’ll see that flip-flop. Trouba’s PP time should get a boost. If only I could feel comfortable projecting 80 games out of the guy, I’d feel so much better about him. (july23)

20. You may recall a few weeks ago when I discussed players who have babies and the impact that it has on their season, particularly with their second child (link on that is here). Getzlaf was a great example – his season after his second baby was terrible. Last year, Cam Talbot’s wife had twins. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on what happened to him in 2017-18 after that. Further to this, guess who had a baby on the weekend? Alex Pietrangelo. Guess who else had a baby? Alex Pietrangelo. Also, guess who had a baby on the weekend? Alex Pietrangelo. I’m not repeating myself, the guy actually welcomed triplets into the world! Congratulations to the Pietrangelo family, but let’s look at this from a fantasy hockey standpoint: If you think having three infants in the house in August, September and October will have no impact on his training schedule, then you’ve never had kids.

Look at this way – if Pietrangelo has a great season in 2018-19, then we’ll know he’s a pretty neglectful father! All kidding aside, I think even with a nanny to help, you still love your kids and you want to spend time with them especially during the first few months. It’s going to have an impact. I haven’t reviewed St. Louis for the DobberHockey Annual Fantasy Guide yet, but whatever my formula pits out for Pietrangelo, I’m rolling it back an additional five or six points (and just hope it doesn’t get any worse than that). (july23)

Have a good week, folks!!

from All About Sports https://dobberhockey.com/hockey-home/20-fantasy-hockey-thoughts/20-fantasy-hockey-thoughts-34/

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NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

New Post has been published on https://nhlrumormill.com/nhl-rumors-quenneville-nylander-sens-canucks-more-4/

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

The Ottawa Senators Video

UPDATE: The #Sens players have apologized for their comments.https://t.co/WrGftVtMPU

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2018

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Rask, Nylander, More

Canucks Still Watching Nikita Tryamkin

(Nikita Tryamkin. Photo: hc-avto.ru)

Related: NHL Rumors: Kings, Islanders, Wild, More

What’s Next for Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Ho-Sang, Lundqvist, More

Maple Leafs Games Drawing Attention

As December 1 draws nearer, expect more and more teams to start closely watching the Maple Leafs so that they can determine what pieces would make sense in a potential Nylander trade.

Nick Leddy on the Move?

Nick Leddy – November 24, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

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NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

New Post has been published on https://nhlrumormill.com/nhl-rumors-quenneville-nylander-sens-canucks-more-2/

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

The Ottawa Senators Video

UPDATE: The #Sens players have apologized for their comments.https://t.co/WrGftVtMPU

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2018

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Rask, Nylander, More

Canucks Still Watching Nikita Tryamkin

(Nikita Tryamkin. Photo: hc-avto.ru)

Related: NHL Rumors: Kings, Islanders, Wild, More

What’s Next for Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Ho-Sang, Lundqvist, More

Maple Leafs Games Drawing Attention

As December 1 draws nearer, expect more and more teams to start closely watching the Maple Leafs so that they can determine what pieces would make sense in a potential Nylander trade.

Nick Leddy on the Move?

Nick Leddy – November 24, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

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NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

New Post has been published on https://nhlrumormill.com/nhl-rumors-quenneville-nylander-sens-canucks-more/

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

The Ottawa Senators Video

UPDATE: The #Sens players have apologized for their comments.https://t.co/WrGftVtMPU

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2018

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Rask, Nylander, More

Canucks Still Watching Nikita Tryamkin

(Nikita Tryamkin. Photo: hc-avto.ru)

Related: NHL Rumors: Kings, Islanders, Wild, More

What’s Next for Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Ho-Sang, Lundqvist, More

Maple Leafs Games Drawing Attention

As December 1 draws nearer, expect more and more teams to start closely watching the Maple Leafs so that they can determine what pieces would make sense in a potential Nylander trade.

Nick Leddy on the Move?

Nick Leddy – November 24, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The post NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

New Post has been published on https://nhlrumormill.com/nhl-rumors-quenneville-nylander-sens-canucks-more-2/

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

The Ottawa Senators Video

UPDATE: The #Sens players have apologized for their comments.https://t.co/WrGftVtMPU

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2018

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Rask, Nylander, More

Canucks Still Watching Nikita Tryamkin

(Nikita Tryamkin. Photo: hc-avto.ru)

Related: NHL Rumors: Kings, Islanders, Wild, More

What’s Next for Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Ho-Sang, Lundqvist, More

Maple Leafs Games Drawing Attention

As December 1 draws nearer, expect more and more teams to start closely watching the Maple Leafs so that they can determine what pieces would make sense in a potential Nylander trade.

Nick Leddy on the Move?

Nick Leddy – November 24, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The post NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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pabo-reactions · 5 years

Text

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

New Post has been published on https://nhlrumormill.com/nhl-rumors-quenneville-nylander-sens-canucks-more-3/

NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More

The Ottawa Senators Video

UPDATE: The #Sens players have apologized for their comments.https://t.co/WrGftVtMPU

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 6, 2018

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Rask, Nylander, More

Canucks Still Watching Nikita Tryamkin

(Nikita Tryamkin. Photo: hc-avto.ru)

Related: NHL Rumors: Kings, Islanders, Wild, More

What’s Next for Joel Quenneville

Joel Quenneville, Chicago Blackhawks, Nov. 9, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Ho-Sang, Lundqvist, More

Maple Leafs Games Drawing Attention

As December 1 draws nearer, expect more and more teams to start closely watching the Maple Leafs so that they can determine what pieces would make sense in a potential Nylander trade.

Nick Leddy on the Move?

Nick Leddy – November 24, 2017 (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

The post NHL Rumors: Quenneville, Nylander, Sens, Canucks, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

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