Fantasy Hockey

Cates (undisclosed) signed a one-year, two-way deal with Philadelphia on Sunday, per CapFriendly.

Cates scored one goal in 11 appearances with the Flyers last season and added 10 points in 37 games with AHL Lehigh Valley. The 24-year-old forward should see a similar depth role during the 2022-23 campaign.

Patrick (upper body) is likely to begin the 2022-23 season on long-term injured reserve, Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now reports.

Patrick sustained this latest upper-body injury in late March, and as of July, he'd made no substantial progress in his recovery. The 23-year-old center has dealt with traumatic head injuries for much of his professional career, and it's expected he'll be forced to miss at least the first month of the upcoming season -- and likely much more.

Leschyshyn signed a three-year contract with the Golden Knights on Saturday.

Leschyshyn established himself as an NHLer last season when injuries ravaged the Golden Knights' forward corps. While he managed just six points in 41 games in his age-22 season, he'll have a little job security with a three-year deal. The forward's contract is one-way in all three years, so it seems like he'll have a realistic chance to make the Opening Night roster this season, albeit in a bottom-six role.

Cotter signed a three-year contract extension with the Golden Knights on Saturday.

Cotter's deal is two-way in 2023-24 and one-way for the two seasons after that. As such, he shouldn't be expected to take on a regular role with the Golden Knights for another couple of years, though he'll be at the top of the list for call-ups when injuries stretch the team's forward depth. The 22-year-old had two goals and 17 hits in seven games last year.

Kurashev secured a one-year, $750,000 contract from the Blackhawks on Friday.

Kurashev set new personal bests in games played (67), assists (15) and points (21) last season. While the 22-year-old winger will likely remain in a bottom-six role this year, he should remain on at least the No. 2 power-play unit, which will no doubt bolster his offensive opportunities.

Gustafsson penned a two-year, $1.55 million deal with Winnipeg on Wednesday.

Gustafsson has logged just six NHL games over the previous two seasons, so his spot on the Opening Night roster against the Rangers on Oct. 14 is far from guaranteed. Even if he does make the 23-man roster, Gustafsson figures to spend plenty of time in the press box this year and should be considered a fringe roster player at best.

Blais (knee) was activated off injured reserve Tuesday, per CapFriendly.

Blais missed most of the 2021-22 campaign with his last appearance for the Rangers coming Nov. 14 versus the Devils, a stretch of 87 games including the postseason. With Blais seemingly ready for training camp, he should be in the mix for a spot on the third line though he could certainly earn a bigger role along the way.

Kolesar (lower body) said he'll be ready once training camp opens, Ben Gotz of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports.

Kolesar underwent offseason surgery after missing time at the end of the campaign. The winger signed a three-year, $4.2 million contract last week to stay in Vegas, where he figures to be a bottom-six mainstay. As such, he'll be a low-end fantasy target with his biggest production coming from hits and PIM.

Zetterlund secured a one-year, two-way deal with the Devils on Wednesday.

Zetterlund spent the bulk of the 2021-22 season in the minors, logging 58 games for AHL Utica in which he generated 24 goals and 28 helpers. In his limited NHL appearances (14 games), the 22-year-old winger did display some of his offensive upside with three goals and five helpers. While the Swede should see an uptick in opportunities with the Devils this year, he will likely still spend some time in the minors.

Pacioretty is scheduled for Achilles surgery Wednesday. He is expected to miss at least six months.

Pacioretty was expected to be a key piece of the Hurricanes' offense this season, but he'll instead be sidelined for well over half of the campaign. Martin Necas will likely see the biggest benefit -- he was slated to lose some playing time when the Hurricanes acquired Pacioretty, but Necas should now remain in the top six. Fantasy managers who want to stash Pacioretty shouldn't expect him to be available prior to February.

Crouse (hand) signed a five-year, $21.5 million contract extension with the Coyotes on Monday, Arizona Coyotes Insider Craig Morgan reports.

The deal carries a cap hit of $4.3 million. Now 25, Crouse reached several new career highs last season with 20 goals, 34 points and 17:26 of average ice time over 65 games. He's expected to assume a full-time role in the team's top six and top power-play unit -- where he averaged 1:55 in 2021-22 -- but fantasy managers would be wise not to bank on a repeat of his 15.3 shooting percentage, which was well above his career mark of 10.4.

Benson signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Oilers on Saturday, per Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic.

The deal is worth $750,000 at the NHL level. Benson logged a goal and an assist in 29 games with Edmonton last season. The 24-year-old winger will likely compete for a bottom-six role with the Oilers in training camp.

Knyzhov underwent surgery Aug. 10 for a torn Achilles that he recently suffered during off-ice activity. The recovery timeline is approximately six months.

Knyzhov last played in an NHL contest back in 2020-21, putting up 10 points in 56 games. He'll need to wait at least until February to return to game action, and it's unclear if he'll be in line for action with the big club or down with the AHL affiliate.

Jones inked a one-year, $1.35 million deal with Chicago on Friday.

Jones logged 51 games with the Hawks last year in which he tallied five goals, 10 assists and 57 shots while averaging 16:43 of ice time. With the departures of Erik Gustafsson and Calvin de Haan, the 25-year-old Jones should be a regular starter for the team this year, though his offensive ceiling likely remains in the 25-point range.

Walman (shoulder) signed a one-year, $1.05 million contract with Detroit on Wednesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Walman was headed for an arbitration hearing but instead agreed to settle with the club on a new deal. Perhaps most importantly for the blueliner, his new contract is a one-way pact, which means it will be harder for the club to move him between the NHL and AHL. WIth Walman expected to miss the start of the season due to his shoulder issue, he may be hard-pressed to secure regular minutes in 2022-23.

Ferraro agreed to terms on a four-year, $13 million contract with San Jose on Thursday.

Ferraro finished the season stuck in a 48-game goal drought, during which he managed seven helpers and just 34 shots. As such, fantasy players shouldn't be expecting much out of the blueliner in terms of offensive production, though he can certainly rack up hits and blocks having recorded 140 and 151, respectively, last season.

Kylington (shoulder) signed a two-year, $5 million contract with the Flames on Tuesday, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reports.

Kylington avoided arbitration by signing this deal. The 25-year-old took a major step forward in 2021-22 with nine goals and 31 points in 73 contests, but the Flames' addition of Mackenzie Weegar in the Matthew Tkachuk trade could still mean a reduced role for Kylington. He'll likely be in contention for a third-pairing role for the upcoming season.

Gawanke signed a one-year, two-way contract with Winnipeg on Monday, per PuckPedia.

Gawanke scored 10 goals and 36 points in 65 games with AHL Manitoba last season. The 23-year-old blueliner was taken in the fifth round of the 2017 NHL Entry Draft but he's yet to make his NHL debut. He should fill a similar depth role again next season.

Brossoit (undisclosed) is "ahead of schedule" but likely won't be ready for Opening Night, Jason Gregor of OilersNation.com reports.

With Robin Lehner (hip) out for the 2022-23 season, Brossoit and Logan Thompson are expected to handle the goaltending duties for Vegas. Brossoit underwent surgery this offseason and, while the progress has been good, it sounds like he could begin the year on injured reserve. The 29-year-old posted a 2.90 GAA and an .895 save percentage through a career-high 24 appearances last season. An extended absence for Brossoit or a hot start by Thompson could shape how the team utilizes the tandem once both are available.

Lehner will miss the entirety of the 2022-23 season due to pending hip surgery, the team announced Thursday.

Lehner was already in doubt for the start of training camp after having offseason shoulder surgery, but clearly the netminder is dealing with a more significant injury. With Lehner sidelined, the Knights will have to turn to either career-backup Laurent Brossoit, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury of his own, or up-and-comer Logan Thompson. While not yet official, Lehner will no doubt be placed on long-term injured reserve when the season starts to give Vegas some cap flexibility.

Eriksson Ek signed a one-year contract extension with the Ducks on Friday.

Eriksson Ek spent the entirety of the 2021-22 season with AHL San Diego, going 7-15-3 while posting a sub-par 3.44 GAA and .880 save percentage. The 23-year-old Swede will likely once again spend most, if not all of the 2022-23 campaign in the minors.

Vanecek signed a three-year, $10.2 million contract with the Devils on Tuesday.

Recently acquired by the Devils via trade from the Capitals on July 8, Vanecek recorded 20-plus wins in each of his first two NHL campaigns while posting a .908 save percentage. Now entering his third season at the top level, the Czech netminder should challenge for the No. 1 role in New Jersey with Mackenzie Blackwood, who struggled to the tune of a 3.39 GAA and .892 save percentage in 25 appearances last year.

Montembeault (wrist) signed a two-year, $2 million deal with the Canadiens on Monday.

Montembeault was claimed by Montreal last October after the Panthers waived him. His numbers weren't great in a Canadiens sweater, though, as he went 8-18-6 with a 3.77 GAA and .891 save percentage across 38 games while filling in with Jake Allen (groin) behind Carey Price -- who missed all but five games with a knee injury. Montembeault is expected to be fully recovered by the time training camp starts in September, but even if he's healthy, his performance last season doesn't inspire much confidence from a fantasy perspective.

Kahkonen signed a two-year, $5.5 million contract with the Sharks on Monday, PuckPedia reports.

The Finnish netminder got plenty of NHL action last season, posting a .912 save percentage and 2.87 GAA across 36 appearances with Minnesota and San Jose. Kahkonen has flashed moments of brilliance over the last couple campaigns, but he's currently entangled in the Sharks' goalie ranks with presumptive No. 1 James Reimer and Adin Hill (lower body), which makes his fantasy situation tough to forecast heading into 2022-23 -- especially