NHL Player News

Hamilton scored a goal, placed five shots on goal and served two PIM in Thursday's 3-2 overtime win over the Predators.

Hamilton found the back of the net midway through the second period to level the score at one apiece. The 32-year-old has been one of the best offensive blueliners over his last 10 games with 12 points and two multi-point efforts. In that span, he ranks sixth among defensemen in points and is up to 21 points, 131 shots on net, 51 hits and 47 blocks across 49 games this season. The 32-year-old blueliner's campaign took off when trade rumors began to circulate around him, which has likely been an added incentive for him to showcase his best brand of hockey. Regardless of where he ends up after the March 6 trade deadline, Hamilton is back on track to post another quality year after the slow start, which gives him high-level fantasy value the rest of the way.

Peeke collected two assists in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Flyers.

The 27-year-old blueliner helped set up back-to-back tallies by Casey Mittelstadt and Tanner Jeannot late in the second period. Peeke snapped a 13-game point drought with the performance, and on the season he's produced four goals, 11 points, 96 blocked shots, 65 hits, 59 shots on net, 20 PIM and a minus-9 rating in 54 contests.

Simashev was reassigned to AHL Tucson on Friday.

The defenseman was a healthy scratch in both games during his recent callup. Overall, Simashev has one assist in 24 NHL games this season. The 20-year-old was drafted sixth overall in 2023, and it still may take awhile before his offensive skills are fantasy worthy in redraft leagues.

Gostisbehere scored two goals, distributed an assist and put three shots on net in Thursday's 5-4 win over the Mammoth.

Gostisbehere scored on a power play late in the second period before playing a pivotal role in the Hurricanes' late comeback in his return from a five-game absence due to a lower-body injury. After sliding the primary helper on Andrei Svechnikov's goal with the man advantage, Gostisbehere found the back of the net himself at even strength 32 seconds later to tie the contest at four goals apiece. With the three-point performance, Gostisbehere is up to eight goals, 27 assists, 76 shots on net and 42 blocked shots through 36 games in 2025-26. While he's dealt with injuries throughout the season, the 32-year-old blueliner has been elite when healthy. Thursday's outing was his fourth of the season with three points and his eighth multi-point effort. Barring injury, Gostisbehere is on track to finish the year with a career high in points per game, giving him strong fantasy value from the blue line moving forward.

Murphy scored a goal and blocked two shots in Thursday's 6-2 loss to the Penguins.

Murphy scored the opening goal at 9:32 of the first period. The Penguins had the next six tallies before Connor Bedard stopped the bleeding. Murphy has three goals and an assist over his last 12 games, an unusual burst of offense for the shutdown defenseman. He's now at 10 points, 50 shots on net, 52 hits, 81 blocked shots, 44 PIM and a minus-3 rating over 54 appearances.

Solovyov recorded an assist and a plus-3 rating in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Blackhawks.

This was Solovyov's debut for the Penguins after he was traded from the Avalanche earlier in the month. The 25-year-old didn't have to wait long for his first point, setting up Ryan Shea's goal in the second period. Solovyov has a total of four points, 14 shots on net, 20 hits, 20 blocked shots and a plus-2 rating over 17 appearances this season. He may get to play regularly while Ryan Graves (lower body), Jack St. Ivany (hand) and Caleb Jones (lower body) are out, though Connor Clifton is also in the mix for third-pairing minutes.

Shea scored a goal on three shots, added an assist, went plus-3 and logged two hits in Thursday's 6-2 win over the Blackhawks.

Shea has a goal and four assists during his four-game point streak. While the Penguins' defense is nearly at full health again, Shea has remained productive from the third pairing. He's up to three goals, 21 points, 51 shots on net, 62 blocked shots, 31 hits and a plus-21 rating over 52 appearances. Shea's stats don't jump off the page, but he's been steady enough to help in deep fantasy formats.

Malinski notched an assist, four shots on goal and two PIM in Thursday's 7-3 loss to the Canadiens.

Malinski signed a four-year contract extension Tuesday. That deal came as he's proven himself in a top-four role alongside Cale Makar in the absence of Devon Toews (upper body). Malinski has posted just four helpers with 40 shots on net and 18 blocked shots over his last 15 outings since a three-assist game in Vegas on Dec. 27. Overall, the 27-year-old blueliner has 25 points, 104 shots on net, 57 blocked shots, 25 hits and a plus-27 rating through 52 appearances, numbers worthy of a look in deeper fantasy formats.

Girard posted an assist, three shots on goal and two blocked shots in Thursday's 7-3 loss to the Canadiens.

Girard had gone 13 games without a point entering Thursday. The 27-year-old blueliner has held a steady role on the third pairing during his slump, though that role may be contributing to his difficulties on offense. For the season, Girard is at 12 points, 31 shots on net, 34 blocked shots and a plus-13 rating over 37 appearances.

Xhekaj's point drought reached 20 games in Thursday's 7-3 win over the Avalanche.

Xhekaj has been a physical force as usual, racking up 49 PIM and 71 hits during his slump on offense. He's added just 10 shots on net in that span. The 25-year-old defenseman is holding down a third-pairing role while Jayden Struble sits as a healthy scratch, but Xhekaj is tough to roster in fantasy if he's not going to chip in at least a little offense. For the season, he has just two points with 32 shots on net, 104 PIM, 131 hits and a minus-7 rating through 48 appearances.