Micheal Ferland

Ferland latched on with his third team in three years as a free agent, as he'll head to Vancouver on a four-year pact after mustering 41 points with Calgary in 2017-18 and 40 points with Carolina in 2018-19. The 6-foot-1, 217-pound power forward will have a hard time exceeding those totals with his new club, as Ferland was arguably punching above his weight class as a puck retriever and net-front presence on lines with highly skilled players in his last two locations. Unless he supplants fellow offseason acquisition J.T. Miller in such a role alongside Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser on the top line, Ferland will likely struggle to find the scoresheet consistently for a Canucks team that lacks the scoring depth of his last two clubs.

After spending his first four NHL seasons with the Flames, Ferland was dealt to Carolina during the 2018 offseason in a blockbuster trade. Taken in the fifth round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, the 6-foot-2 winger broke out last season to the tune of 21 goals and 41 points, setting career highs in both goals and assists. He also skated just over 15 minutes per game -- a significant increase from his 11:50 career average heading into 2017-18. Ferland will slot into a similar middle-six role with the Hurricanes and should continue seeing a chunk of power-play time. There are far more exciting options, but he remains serviceable in most virtual setups.

A fifth-round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Ferland was never destined to set fire to the league immediately. That said, the 25-year-old has been improving steadily year after year and is beginning to understand how to score at the NHL level. In 2016-17, he posted 25 points, including 15 goals on a healthy 14.2 shooting percentage -- all of those figures were career highs, and the Manitoba native achieved them while averaging a measly 11:34 of ice time. Ferland ended up finding a home on Calgary’s top line alongside Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau, so if he can expand upon that role and perhaps earn some time on the power play, he could be a late-round steal or waiver-wire hero in fantasy this season. Even if that doesn't transpire, he provides enough hits and PIM to offer value in formats that reward physicality.

Ferland turned in his first full NHL season (more or less) last year, but it was far from an impressive one – he managed just 18 points and a minus-15 rating in 71 games. On the bright side, he showcased plenty of physicality with 207 hits, but his lack of defensive proficiency and subpar shooting ability will keep him in Calgary’s bottom six, where he won’t be able to offer much help to fantasy owners.

Ferland ended up seeing a large amount of ice time as a rookie for Calgary last season, tallying five points in 26 regular-season games and five points in nine playoff contests. He raised his performance in the playoffs despite dealing with a torn oblique, which likely had to impress his coaches and put him on the inside track to break camp with the big club in 2015-16. The Flames have a glut of talent on the offensive end, but Ferland solidly inserted himself into that discussion with his play last season.

Ferland had a solid season in the AHL last year before hurting his knee and he finished with 18 points in 25 games. The aggravated assault charge from mid-2013 is still haunting him, as he makes as many headlines off the ice as on it, but there's no question he has talent. He should start 2014-15 in the AHL. Watch and wait on him to make sure he can both clean up his act and grow his game.

Ferland spend 2011-12 in the WHL and will begin 2012-13 in the AHL. He scored quite a bit in the WHL and it remains to be seen what he can do in the AHL.