Nick Leddy

Leddy started last season with Detroit following seven years with the Islanders. He posted 16 points in 55 games with the Red Wings before a trade to the Blues. Leddy's eight points in 20 regular-season games with St. Louis was enough for the club to re-sign him to a four-year, $16 million contract. It seems a bit pricey for a player who finished the campaign with a minus-30 rating, but Leddy has averaged more than 20 minutes of ice time per game each of the past eight years and can still help out with the man advantage, so he should help the Blues some even if his fantasy value isn't what it once was.

On the strength of a significant rise in power-play time, Leddy posted 31 points in 56 games this past season, his highest total since 2017-18. His reward for a strong season was a deal from arguably the best defensive team in the league in the Islanders to arguably the worst defensive team in the league in Detroit. Leddy has his uses. He skates well and can run a power-play unit, although he's probably better suited as a second-pairing guy in that role. The trade to the Red Wings may help Leddy from an offensive standpoint, but it's also going to crater his plus-minus rating, which wasn't great (minus-3 a year ago) to begin with. Keep that in mind on draft day.

While Leddy had his lowest scoring output (21 points) since the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign last year, there's reasons to be optimistic about the 29-year-old blueliner. Leddy should see a fair amount of power-play time in 2020-21, and he'll also average a point roughly every three games during the truncated 56-game campaign. Leddy also contributes pretty well in hits and blocked shots, and his plus-minus rating has stabilized since Barry Trotz took over as the Islanders' head coach. With a less crowded blue line, Leddy could be poised for a resurgent season, so he's worth a look in the late rounds of deeper fantasy drafts -- remember, he's hit 40 points three times previously in his career, so he has offensive upside.

Leddy scored just one goal prior to the All-Star break, which ended up costing him dearly. The veteran blueliner ended last season with a disappointing four goals and 26 points in 82 games. The four scores were his fewest in a campaign since 2011-12, and even in that season, he recorded 37 points thanks to 34 helpers. If there was any consolation prize for Leddy last year, it was that he was able to avoid another disastrous season in the plus-minus department. While he only registered a zero rating in 2018-19, incredibly, that represented an improvement of 42, as he was a minus-42 player in 2017-18 under previous coach Doug Weight. Leddy likely won't record a shooting percentage as low as 3.4 percent again in 2019-20, but his days as a No. 1 defenseman are likely behind him. Making matters worse, Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews appear ready for more playing time on the power play, which will only further depreciate Leddy's fantasy value. Owners shouldn't count on the former Blackhawk returning to the 40-plus point form he displayed from 2015 to 2017 this season.

The mobile defenseman continued to be an offensive force last season, scoring 10 goals and 42 points in 80 games, but Leddy's officially become a liability in the plus-minus category. He has a minus-54 rating over the last three seasons, including a league-worst minus-42 mark in 2017-18. There seems to be a direct correlation between Leddy's defensive miscues and playing time, as he averaged more than 22 minutes per game in each of his four seasons posting a negative rating. New Islanders coach Barry Trotz would probably love to cut back on Leddy's minutes, but he may not have a choice since all-world center John Tavares and two-way defenseman Calvin de Haan found new teams in the offseason. As a result, one can expect more of the same from Leddy in 2018-19.

Fantasy owners had been waiting for Leddy’s 2016-17 campaign for a long time, as he continued his long-term upward trend by setting new career highs in goals (11), points (46) and shots (137) as the Isles’ go-to offensive defenseman. Leddy has increased his scoring for four consecutive seasons, and if he keeps that trend going, he's going to rise into one of the upper tiers of fantasy blueliners. At 26 years old, there’s certainly room for continued growth, and Leddy will have plenty of opportunities by virtue of being his team’s top offensive defenseman and often sharing the ice with John Tavares’ powerful first line. The only thing holding him back may be the guys behind him in goal, as both Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss are back after mediocre 2016-17 campaigns; the Isles’ issues in net have certainly contributed to Leddy finishing with negative ratings for the past two seasons.

Fresh off a massive seven-year deal with the Islanders heading into last season, Leddy had plenty of bigwigs counting on him for production. The 2015 portion of the 2015-16 season couldn't have gone much worse, though, as the defenseman only contributed 12 points -- and no goals -- while averaging more than 20 minutes a game. However, once the calendar flipped to 2016, the Islanders were rewarded for their patience, as the 2013 Stanley Cup champion put up 28 points in 43 games and looked more like the player they thought they were signing. The Islanders are likely to be expecting their power-play quarterback to build upon last season and find more consistency this year. Leddy has never been seen as much of a shooter, nor are his shooting percentages indicative of any potential rise in goal scoring, but he's a legitimate playmaker who's cemented in the top four of an Isles defensive corps short on offensive firepower.

From a third-pairing piece on a Stanley Cup-winning Blackhawks team to a top-line defenseman on Long Island, in the span of just 12 months, Leddy has become an invaluable member of a burgeoning Islanders core. Playing in 78 games, Leddy had the best offensive season of his young career, scoring 10 goals and 27 assists. He also contributed on the power play, scoring a goal and 11 assists with the man advantage. One of the best skaters on the blue line in the league, the 24-year-old Leddy is now rounding into form as one of the better defensemen around. With an improved scoring touch and plenty of ice time -- he logged more than 20 minutes per game last season, a figure that should increase -- Leddy's reputation is growing, and he could emerge as a 45- or 50-point player within a few years.

Leddy has strong puck-moving skills and at 23 years old, still has youth on his side. But his offensive numbers seem to have flat-lined (seven goals and 24 assists) even though the team gave him more of a green light to shoot. He continues to run hot-and-cold with his coaches, but we're hoping that each passing year brings a little more maturity to his game. We're hoping for 35-plus points this season.

Leddy is an enigma wrapped up in a riddle. By the end of the playoffs, he barely saw the ice (and we really mean barely). But then the team inked him to a two-year contract extension after the season. What gives? They must like him for the future, so maybe the reduced ice time was just a response to his developmental needs. It's hard to anticipate his production in 2013-14; for now, it's a wait and see.

Depending on who you ask, Leddy has been a disappointment or a success in his first two NHL seasons. But many forget that he only turned 21 last March and he still pulled off a three-goal, 34-assist season. Those 34 assists ranked him in the top 15 NHL defensemen. Expect him to continue to grow his game both offensively and defensively, and add another five or six points to last year's total.

Leddy, an up-and-coming defenseman for the Blackhawks, just turned 20 years old last March. He benefited from the Blackhawks’ salary cap problems as he saw time on the NHL team in 2010-11, when he was originally expected to be a sophomore at the University of Minnesota. He skated in 46 games for the Blackhawks and registered four goals and three assists. With a year under his belt, the team is expecting him to be on the ice from the first game, seeing ice time as a defenseman on the power play.

The Blackhawks apparently have much love for this kid. Why else would they give up Cam Barker only to ink Leddy to a three-year deal this past offseason after he had put in just one year with Minnesota at the collegiate level? A late offseason injury to defenseman Brian Campbell could open the door wide open for the quick-skating Leddy to crack the big-league roster and make an immediate impact with the defending Champs in 2010-11.

Leddy has amazing skating ability and his potential is sky high. He's committed to the University of Minnesota, so he could go that route this season. He could be a huge-scoring defenseman once he hits his prime in the NHL, though that's probably a few years away.