The puck will soon drop on the 2024-25 NHL regular season, but there's still time to make some preseason NHL picks.
From highly talented rookies and emerging stars, to established players looking to rebound from down seasons, let’s take a look at five players worth backing in the NHL player props market to make plenty of noise offensively this season.
Mason McTavish Over 50.5 points
The Anaheim Ducks were an unmitigated disaster last year.
They were a predictably bad team that had matters made worse by a never-ending wave of injuries to key weapons. Alex Killorn and dynamic blueliner Pavel Mintyukov missed 19 games each, Leo Carlsson sat out 27 games, and Trevor Zegras suited up just 31 times all season. The Ducks ranked 30th in wins and goals scored as a result.
Despite less than ideal surroundings, Mason McTavish still managed to put up 42 points in 64 games. That’s a healthy 54 point pace over a full schedule.
With better team health, the promotion of top prospect Cutter Gauthier, and the continued development of youngsters like McTavish, Carlsson, Mintyukov and Zegras, the Ducks should be a much more competent offensive team in 2024-25. That will lead to more offense and McTavish should be one of the prime beneficiaries.
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Matvei Michkov to record 50+ points
There’s every reason to believe Matvei Michkov will hit the ground running as a rookie.
He put up 41 points in 45 KHL games this past season. While those numbers may not pop off the page, they’re very impressive for an 18-year-old playing in the second-best league in the world.
Not to mention, he didn’t have a great supporting cast. He was only six points shy of the team lead and the lone player in front of Michkov was a 26-year-old KHL veteran who appeared in 16 more games. Nobody on Michkov’s team scored more goals or produced more points per game.
The Philadelphia Flyers are starved for dynamic, game-breaking talent. If they had a little more, they probably would’ve held onto a playoff spot last year.
Michkov has shown flashes of brilliance during preseason play and averaged more than four power play minutes per game, indicating he’ll have a prominent role there from the jump.
With heavy usage for an offensively starved team, 50 points is not a lot to ask for a player of Michkov’s talent.
Adam Fantilli Over 43.5 points
This line is far too low for a player of Adam Fantilli’s talent and draft pedigree.
He produced 27 points in 49 games as a rookie, which equates to a 45-point pace. That was while being underutilized at times — there was a stretch he played 14 minutes or fewer in seven of eight games — by a head coach the Columbus Blue Jackets were forced to throw into the fire after the unexpected and messy departure of Mike Babcock before a game was played.
Fantilli now has NHL experience to go off of and should play a huge role under Dean Evason. He is expected to skate nightly in the Top-6 and be a staple as the go-to scorer on the No. 1 power play unit.
I think this number is far too low. With health, Fantilli might well flirt with 60 points.
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Andrei Svechnikov Over 23.5 goals
The Carolina Hurricanes lost a lot of firepower up front during the off-season. Jake Guentzel, Teuvo Teravainen, and Stefan Noesen all departed via free agency, leaving the team much thinner up front – particularly on the wing.
That means they’re going to be more reliant on the quality pieces they already have in place. Andrei Svechnikov tops the list.
He is likely to be stapled to the top line alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis on a full-time basis, which will serve him well. Svechnikov’s goal outputs were drastically higher at 5-on-5with those skaters on his line.
He will also be a focal point on the top power play. Given Svechnikov’s talent, he’s a great bet to take advantage of the opportunity.
It’s also worth noting Svechnikov has produced 29 goals per 82 games played over the past three seasons. He doesn’t need a bigger role or improved efficiency to clear this line — he just has to stay somewhat healthy.
Timo Meier Over 30.5 goals
Timo Meier’s first full season with the New Jersey Devils did not go well in any sense. He dealt with injury problems for the majority of the year, shockingly didn’t get run on the top power play until March, and had a revolving door of linemates nightly due to lines being put in a constant blender under Lindy Ruff. Nothing went right for Meier.
Even so, he still managed to score 28 goals. He was knocking on the door of this number despite missing 13 games, playing compromised for drastically more, and being miscast on the No. 2 power play unit.
Meier scored 40 goals in 2022-23 and 35 the season prior. He is a consistent 30+ goal guy and the Devils have a pair of high-end centers in Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier who can distribute the puck and set him up. New bench boss Sheldon Keefe has also promoted Meier back to the top power play on a stacked unit featuring Hughes, Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Dougie Hamilton.
I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he rebounds in a big way and flirts with 40 goals.
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