NHL Player News

Smith scored a goal, recorded an assist and fired five shots on net in Thursday's 6-1 win over Winnipeg.

Smith notched his goal late in the first period before later picking up a secondary helper on Macklin Celebrini's tally in the third. The pair of points raised the 21-year-old Smith up to 24 goals, 35 assists and 166 shots on net across 69 games this season. The rising star took another step forward this season offensively, as he compiled more points and shots on net in less games than he played in his rookie campaign. He is a high-upside player in fantasy for the years to come and is set to operate inside the Sharks' top six for the foreseeable future.

Eklund tallied a goal, notched two assists and placed three shots on net in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Jets.

Eklund capped off his 2025-26 campaign with a strong outing, as he provided two primary assists before adding the Sharks' fifth goal of the game right before time expired in the second period. The 23-year-old winger wrapped up the regular season with 15 goals, 38 assists, 176 shots on net, 72 hits and 51 blocked shots across 78 games. Despite ending the year with five less points than he compiled in 77 games a season ago, he showcased growth as an all-around player with new career highs in shots on goal, hits and blocked shots. Eklund holds solid upside playing the Sharks' top six and is worthy of a draft pick in most standard fantasy formats next season.

Evangelista had two assists in a 5-4 loss to the Ducks on Thursday.

Evangelista finished the season on a three-game, five-point scoring streak (two goals, three assists). He put up 56 points, including 44 helpers, in 81 games, and he established career marks in assists, points (56), power-play points (17) and shots (176). Evangelista finished the season on the top power-play unit, a role that he could reprise to start next season.

Celebrini scored a goal, distributed two assists and placed three shots on net in Thursday's 6-1 win over Winnipeg.

Celebrini made history Thursday, as he recorded his 115th point of the season to pass Joe Thornton's 114-point, single-season record for the Sharks. Celebrini made the record-breaking performance possible with a pair of helpers in the first period before finding the back of the net himself less than a minute and a half into the third. With the trio of points, the 19-year-old superstar finished his sophomore season with 45 goals, 70 assists, 287 shots on net, 53 hits and 53 blocked shots across 82 games this season. He has cemented himself as one of the league's best players and will likely be a top-five pick in nearly all fantasy formats next season.

Comrie stopped 27 of 33 shots on net in Thursday's 6-1 loss to the Sharks.

Comrie struggled in Winnipeg's season finale, as he allowed two goals in the opening period before surrendering three more tallies in the second. With the loss, the 30-year-old netminder will wrap the season with a 12-11-1 record, a 3.13 GAA and an .890 save percentage across 25 outings this season. He improved as the season dragged on, with six wins over his final eight outings, but primarily served as Connor Hellebuyck's backup when the latter was fully healthy. Comrie is set to become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason, leaving his viability in fantasy up in the air ahead of next season.

Nedeljkovic turned aside 25 of 26 shots on net in Thursday's 6-1 win over the Jets.

Nedeljkovic ended the 2025-26 campaign on the right foot, allowing just one early goal before keeping the Jets off the scoresheet for the final 56 minutes of Thursday's contest. With the win, the 30-year-old netminder finished the season with an 18-14-4 record, a 2.87 GAA and an .896 save percentage across 40 appearances this season. While his first season in San Jose had its ups and downs, he played some of his best hockey down the stretch with a 5-1-0 record, a 2.17 GAA and a .915 save percentage over his final six outings. He will likely compete with Yaroslav Askarov for the starting job next season, but Nedeljkovic will likely receive enough chances in net to remain fantasy relevant in various deep leagues.

Forsberg scored twice Thursday in a 5-4 loss to the Ducks.

Forsberg fired six shots Thursday, and one of the goals came on the power play. He finished with 40 goals, 35 assists, 26 power-play points (11 PPG), 124 hits and 246 shots. This was the third time in the last five seasons that Forsberg hit the 40-goal plateau.

Stamkos scored twice and added an assist in Thursday's 5-4 loss to Anaheim.

Stammer finished the season with 42 goals and 24 assists. He was especially effective on Thursday nights, with 14 of his snipes coming on that day of the week. Stamkos' 42 goals were his best total since 2021-22 in Tampa Bay. That's when he finished with his one and only triple-digit point total (106). At 36, Stamkos will eventually go through an age-related decline, but so far, his sniping hasn't failed him. The Preds failed to reach the postseason, so Stammer will get plenty of rest this summer to be ready for 2026-27.

Saros made 35 saves in a 5-4 loss to Anaheim on Thursday.

Yes, Saros has had the worst stats of his career this year, but there are only so many miracles that a strong goalie can invoke in front of a team defense as abysmal as the Preds showed this season. He finished 28-21-8 with a 3.13 GAA and .894 save percentage. But those aren't that bad in an era when ".900 is the new .915 or .920", according to fellow netminder, Darcy Kuemper. Saros will get the rest he needs over the summer. Here's hoping the Preds get what they need to tighten things up in front of him for 2026-27.

Nelson (undisclosed) is expected to play Thursday versus Seattle, per the NHL media site.

Nelson skipped Tuesday's 3-1 win over Calgary for maintenance reasons as the Avalanche look ahead to their first-round series. He has 33 goals and 65 points in 80 outings with the Avalanche in 2025-26.