After a long hot summer, the puck is set to drop on a fresh sheet of ice Wednesday as the 2015-16 NHL season opens up with eight teams in action.
The summer brought a lot of change to the league after the Blackhawks won their third Stanley Cup in six years. All 29 other teams restocked their rosters in hopes of being the next club to raise a championship banner. Eight teams collide Wednesday to open up the new season.
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In the Wednesday Night Rivalry games, the Blackhawks will raise their Stanley Cup banner and play host to fellow Original Six club the Rangers, while the Kings host the rival Sharks. Also on tap, the Canadiens and Maple Leafs rekindle their rivalry and the Canucks visit the Flames,
Using one player from each of the eight teams in action Wednesday, here is a fantasy lineup for FanDuel.
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Left Wing
Joe Pavelski ($7,800): The Sharks captain is an elite winger and with good reason. Pavelski will only be bolstered by playing on a line with play-maker Joe Thornton and is coming off of a season where he tied for the league lead with 37 goals and led San Jose with 70 points. The Wisconsin native had two goals against the Kings last year and 11 points in October.
Johnny Gaudreau ($6,500): Johnny Hockey is coming off of an explosive rookie campaign for the Flames where he went 24-40--64, and there should be no fear of a sophomore slump with him playing on a line with the explosive Sean Monahan and rejuvenated Jiri Hudler. Gaudreau was pointless in his first six games last season, but we'll attribute that to it being the first contests of his NHL life.
Center
Derek Stepan ($6,500): The Rangers star went 16-39-55 last season and playing on a unit that consists of speedsters Chris Kreider and Kevin Hayes, he's sure to get plenty of looks. Stepan has also been prone to quick starts in the past. Who could ever forget his hat trick in his NHL debut against the Sabres?
Henrik Sedin ($5,000): It seems cruel to take one brother without the other, but Daniel Sedin may very well set up his sibling for some opportunities Wednesday. Offseason import Brandon Sutter is also on that line, and he could help Henrik rack up some assists. Henrik had 55 helpers and 83 points last season.
Right Wing
Marian Hossa ($6,500): The Blackhawks winger paced the team with 39 assists last season and ranked third on the club with 61 points. Playing with the dynamic Jonathan Toews and breakout youngster Teuvo Teravainen, Hossa is due to stash some points. The Slovakia native scored 14 goals at home last season.
Brendan Gallagher ($5,500): The Canadiens star plays on a top-notch first line along with Max Pacioretty and Tomas Plekanec that is due to sparkle this season. Gallagher went 24-23--47 last season and was a plus-18.
Defense
Morgan Rielly ($4,200): The Leafs blueliner has shown flashes of becoming the NHL's next great defenseman, and he should continue that pace this season. Rielly plays a top-four role for Toronto and is a bargain that carries a lot of upside compared to other defenseman in the league. He finished 8-21--29 last season and played an average of 20:20 time on ice. The Leafs averaged just 2.51 goals per game last season and traded Phil Kessel in the offseason, so if you're taking a Toronto player, stick to defense.
Goalie
Jonathan Quick ($8,800): The Kings may not have scored enough goals to make the playoffs in defense of their Stanley Cup title last season, but their netminder can't control that. Quick remains one of the NHL's elite goalies after going 36-22-13 last season with a 2.24 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
Leftover
FanDuel gives you nine spots, so $4,200 is left over to nab another defenseman. At the risk of repeating teams, Niklas Hjalmarsson ($4,100), Dion Phaneuf ($4,000) and Jeff Petry ($4,000) are the three most expensive options in that price range.
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