NHL Barometer: Risers and Fallers

This week's article includes a hot Jenner, Stutzle rolling, Boston's new blueliner on fire, Vegas benefitting from a trade, Hall down long-term and Calgary's top center in a slump. 

First Liners (Risers)       

Tyler Seguin, C, DAL – Seguin is no longer the primary scoring option in Big D, but he's become a nice secondary option. His assist Monday gave Seguin three goals and four helpers in his last seven contests. On the year, the 2010 second-overall pick is up to 17 markers and 25 apples in 64 games, mostly in line with the scoring pace he showed in his last two full seasons. Seguin is no longer a 70+ point scorer, but he should end the season somewhere in the 50+ range, which is still solid.

Boone Jenner, C, CLM – Columbus has had a rough season, but their captain has shown the way as best as possible with his play. Over the last 18 contests, Jenner accumulated a tidy eight goals and 14 points. For the year, Jenner, who really is more of a second-line pivot but has been manning that role on the first line, has 36 points in 52 games. The Blue Jackets don't really have a better option for the spot and likely won't make any changes, giving Jenner continued value for the balance of the season. 

Tim Stutzle, RW, OTT – The third overall pick in 2020, Stutzle continues to add to his career-high in points each time he hits the scoresheet. He hit the 30-goal mark for the first time Saturday and sits just one assist shy of the 36 he posted last season in his sophomore campaign. Stutzle, despite the myriad of talent around him in Ottawa, has quickly become the player that teams need to gameplan against to stop. He still is in growth mode and could be a 50-goal scorer sometime in the very near future.

Jared McCann, LW, SEA – The move to Seattle and the additional ice time and line placement earned by McCann has resulted in a massive spike in his production. He went from a career-high 35 points as a Penguin to 50 last season, his first as a member of the Kraken. McCann is showing that we hadn't seen anything yet, as he's hit the 30-goal mark for the first time in his career with his tally Friday and sits just two points shy of last year's total with 14 fewer games played to date. McCann is a big reason why Seattle could make the postseason in the second year of the team's history. 

Dmitry Orlov, D, BOS – Orlov has morphed into Bobby Orr since donning the black-and-gold. Already having an excellent year offensively in Washington with six goals and 21 assists in 47 games, Orlov has taken his game to another level in Boston. His assist Saturday extended his point streak to four games, during which he has potted a pair of goals and added six helpers, with the point setting a new career-new in that category. Orlov is skating on the first duo at even strength and manning a point on the second power-play unit, enabling him to remain productive, though likely not at this level.

Brent Burns, D, CAR – Carolina added a true scoring blueliner when they acquired Burns this offseason. He has been everything they could have wanted and then some, especially recently. Burns has been a consistent contributor lately, providing at least a point in 13 of his last 15 outings, capped by him notching four assists Friday. He is now up 12 goals and 50 points in 61 games this season, including 19 power-play points, as he's settled in nicely with his new team. Burns helps drive Carolina's production from the back line.

John Gibson, G, OTT – You take production wherever you can get it. Gibson, who's having a rough overall campaign for the fifth straight season as Anaheim remains firmly in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes, hasn't lost in regulation in his last five outings (3-0-2). Rather than pushing for a trade, Gibson has opted to remain with the Ducks. A good portion of that may be because he's signed for four more seasons at a $6.4 mil AAV, but put him on a good team and his numbers would rise. Enjoy the run while it lasts. 

Adin Hill, G, LV – The initial reaction after Jonathan Quick was traded from Columbus to Las Vegas was that Quick would take over as the team's #1 netminder, relegating Hill to backup duty. That view may not be accurate, as Hill has won five of his last six outings with 14 goals allowed over that span, including a 47-save victory Friday. For the season, the 26-year-old goalie is 16-6-1 with a 2.51 goals-against average (GAA) and a .913 save percentage, saving the Knights' bacon with Logan Thompson sidelined. 

Others include Logan Couture, Patrice Bergeron, Mason McTavish, Brayden Point, Dawson Mercer, Roope Hintz, Jason Zucker, Nick Schmaltz, Kevin Shattenkirk, Vince Dunn, Roman Josi, John Klingberg, Sergei Bobrovsky, Tristan Jarry, Cam Talbot and Jake Allen. 

Buy Low 

Ivan Barbashev LW, LV – Those who read this column regularly know that I try to avoid profiling two players from the same team. But Barbashev has hit the ground running with his new team, aided by his line placement. Barbashev tallied 60 points last season, which we all knew was an aberration. He notched 29 points in 59 games in St. Louis before the trade to Vegas. Since the deal, Barbashev has two goals and three helpers through four games with the Golden Knights, skating with Jonathan Marchessault and Jack Eichel on the top line.

Training Room (Injuries)

Taylor Hall, LW, BOS – Hall, injured February 25 against Edmonton, was not expected to miss much time. But he was moved Thursday to Long-Term Injured Reserve, requiring him to miss 10 games or 24 days. The move was made necessary when the Bruins picked up Tyler Bertuzzi from Detroit earlier in the day, putting the team over the salary cap. Hall will now be sidelined until at least the end of March. He has 16 goals and 36 points in 58 games this season, a significant decline from his production last season, his first in Boston. 

Others include Aleksander Barkov (lingering hand injury, missed three straight games, returned to lineup Saturday), Adam Henrique (sprained MCL, expected to miss another four-to-five weeks), Pierre-Luc Dubois (lower body, missed three straight games, played Monday), Sam Bennett (lower body, missed six straight games, returned to the lineup Saturday versus Pittsburgh), Filip Hronek (upper body, injured Tuesday, out a few weeks) and Ville Husso (undisclosed, injured Friday, missed Saturday's game).           

Fourth Liners/Press Boxers (Fallers)

Elias Lindholm, C, CGY – Lindholm set a new career-high last season with 82 points in 82 games, aided by skating alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Matthew Tkachuk. With both elsewhere this season, the expectation was that Lindholm would see his production decline. Until his recent mild skid, Lindholm had been doing his best to disprove that view, tallying 18 goals and 34 assists in 62 contests, only a slight decline from his prior production. But Lindholm now has just one goal in his last six games, snapping a five-game drought Monday, as Calgary finds themselves on the outside looking in on the playoff race.

Dominik Kubalik, LW, DET – Kubalik opened the season looking like the winger who scored 30 goals his first season in Chicago. He potted nine goals his first 18 games in Hockeytown, but since then, he has just eight lamplighters in his last 44 contests, including just one marker his last nine games. Kubalik could get a little boost with Patrick Kane now being in New York, but his struggles since that hot start make relying on him in your leagues dangerous. Tread lightly and carefully. 

James Reimer, G, SJ – Reimer was a little chafed that he wasn't dealt at the trade deadline. In the final year of the two-year, $4.5 million contract he signed with the Sharks in July of 2021, heading into Monday's game, the 34-year-old was 9-16-6 with a 3.35 GAA and an .892 save percentage through 31 starts. One look at those numbers and his production the past several seasons should provide enough evidence as to why teams had little interest. Kaapo Kahkonen has been the better option in net lately, leaving Reimer, who did stop 36 of 38 shots to win 3-2 on Monday, to fill a backup role in San Jose.

Others include Jack Roslovic, Evan Rodrigues, Dillon Dube, Phil Kessel, Kyle Palmieri, Drew Doughty, Lukas Dostal and Ilya Samsonov (on the road). 

Sell High 

Adam Larsson, D, SEA – Larsson is mainly known for being the other side of the Taylor Hall to New Jersey deal and is primarily thought of as just a physical blueliner. In leagues that use hits and blocks, Larsson still had substantive value despite not producing offensively. Larsson looked to shed the "No O" label earlier this season, with 24 points in his first 51 games. Unfortunately, that output has proven to be fool's gold, as he has potted just one point his last 12 contests, a span that included an eight-game pointless streak.