NHL Player News

Willander notched two assists and a plus-2 rating in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.

Willander has opened the season in a top-four role and on the second power-play unit. The 21-year-old defenseman has earned three assists, three blocked shots and an even plus-minus rating over three contests. There's risk involved in rostering a Vancouver defenseman in fantasy, but Willander has some breakout potential after a 21-point campaign as a rookie in sheltered minutes last year.

Pettersson scored a goal and went plus-2 in Saturday's 4-1 win over the Flames.

Pettersson has racked up four hits, six blocked shots and a plus-4 rating over three contests this season. The 22-year-old defenseman has maintained steady time on the third pairing, but he will need to remain effective in the defensive zone, as the Canucks are carrying eight blueliners to start the year. Pettersson should be able to build on his 10-point effort from 70 outings in 2025-26, and he'll be a steady source of hits and blocked shots.

Clarke logged two assists, including one on the power play, and added five shots on goal, two blocked shots and a minus-2 rating in Saturday's 5-4 overtime loss to the Sharks.

Clarke has racked up six shots, four blocks, five PIM and a minus-1 rating over two contests. The 23-year-old defenseman is in a position to take over as the leader on the blue line as Drew Doughty's role continues to shrink. Clarke had 40 points, 185 blocks and 63 PIM over 82 regular-season outings last year, and it wouldn't be surprising for his offense to find another level in 2026-27.

Allan scored a goal on two shots and added two PIM in Saturday's 5-4 overtime win over the Kings.

Allan has opened the year on the second pairing, though his minutes could be sheltered in tight games. The 23-year-old is one of three young blueliners on the Sharks' roster, along with Luca Cagnoni and Sam Dickinson, so an occasional trip to the press box could occur for any of those defensemen. Allan was limited to the AHL in 2025-26, but he had a decent eight points in 43 outings for the Blackhawks in 2024-25. His long-term projection is to serve as a bottom-four penalty-kill specialist.

Vlasic picked two apples in a 4-3 loss to Buffalo on Saturday.

This is going to be a long season for Vlasic and so many of the Hawks' young players. The team was outscored 11-2 in its first two games this season, and while Saturday was better, the Hawks only mustered 15 shots. Vlasic's best season came in 2024-25 when he posted 30 points, including 12 on the power play, in 82 games. He'll be counted on for strong own-zone play this season, so his fantasy value will be limited.

Dahlin scored a goal in Saturday's 4-3 win over Chicago.

Dahlin is one of the best goal-scoring defenders in the NHL. He's fifth overall in that category in the last three seasons (37), behind Cale Makar (51), Jacob Chychrun (47), Zach Werenski (45) and Evan Bouchard (39). Dahlin is also sixth overall in points in that same span with 143. He's coming off a third-place finish in Norris trophy voting last season, the highest finish ever for a Buffalo defender. Dahlin's 74 points (19 goals, 55 assists) established a new career high for the 26-year-old.

Heiskanen scored a goal on five shots in Saturday's 2-1 loss to the Predators.

Heiskanen needed only 47 seconds to give Dallas the lead, taking a feed from Mikko Rantanen in the right circle and beating Juuse Saros with a wrist shot. It was the Stars' first goal of the season after they were shut out by St. Louis in their season opener. Heiskanen ultimately led Dallas with five shots and logged 24:35, but the Stars failed to score again despite putting 30 shots on Saros. Heiskanen should remain a valuable fantasy contributor from Dallas' blueline -- he posted 63 points (nine goals, 54 assists) across 77 regular-season appearances in 2025-26.

Makar scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Blues.

Makar tallied 4:09 into the contest, and the Avalanche never looked back. The 27-year-old is showing no signs of rust after battling a lower-body injury for most of the preseason. Makar has three points, four shots, three blocked shots and a plus-1 rating over two contests. He should be among the highest-scoring blueliners when all is said and done this season.

Manson scored a goal on two shots, dished an assist, went plus-4 and added three hits in Saturday's 6-1 win over the Blues.

Manson is filling a third-pairing role alongside Brent Burns to begin the campaign. With three points, three shots, four hits, two blocked shots and a plus-4 rating, Manson has looked good in that role amid the Avalanche's early explosion of offense. The 34-year-old will provide more physicality than scoring in the long run, but he's in a good team situation that gives him some fantasy value in banger leagues and deeper standard formats.

Schaefer recorded two assists, including one on the power play, in Saturday's 6-0 win over the Devils.

Schaefer played a key role as the Islanders broke open a scoreless contest in the second period. His shot created the sequence that ended with Brayden Schenn's goal at 5:00, and the defenseman later set up Bo Horvat's power-play tally at 12:08 to make it 3-0. Schaefer is coming off a spectacular rookie campaign in which he recorded 23 goals and 59 points across 82 regular-season appearances en route to winning the Calder Trophy, and these assists were his first two points of the 2026-27 campaign.