Yahoo fantasy position updates for 2018-19

Yahoo Fantasy Hockey is officially open for sign-ups, and with the game's launch has come some notable position eligibility changes for the 2018-19 NHL season.
Below are players ranked in NHL.com's top 250 who have retained or gained dual eligibility in Yahoo leagues, as well as players who lost that distinction for the upcoming season. Dual-eligible forwards can be moved to any of their positions on any given game night, giving their season-long fantasy owners additional lineup flexibility.

For more fantasy coverage, visit NHL.com/Fantasy.

NOTABLE YAHOO POSITION TRENDS:

-- Five players in NHL.com's top 50 overall rankings have retained dual eligibility: Jamie Benn (C/LW, DAL), Blake Wheeler (C/RW, WPG), Claude Giroux (C/LW, PHI), Joe Pavelski (C/RW, SJS) and Leon Draisaitl (C/RW, EDM). Benn, Wheeler and Pavelski also gained value from Yahoo making hits a standard category (to replace penalty minutes) this season.
-- Veteran wing Ilya Kovalchuk, who returns to the NHL after playing the past five seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League, is LW/RW eligible for the Los Angeles Kings.
-- The only notable dual-eligible player from last season who lost one position but gained another is Sebastian Aho (now C/LW; was LW/RW last season). He played center down the stretch for the Carolina Hurricanes last season on a line with Teuvo Teravainen and Valentin Zykov, who each are LW/RW. Teravainen lost center eligibility in this update.
-- The most notable position addition involves Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (C/LW), who has gained LW eligibility after playing on a line with elite center Connor McDavid down the stretch last season.
-- The highest ranked players by NHL.com to lose dual eligibility are Tyler Seguin (C, DAL), Mitch Marner (RW, TOR), Artemi Panarin (LW, CBJ), Brayden Schenn (C, STL) and Mikko Rantanen (RW, COL).
-- Tomas Hertl (C/LW/RW, SJS) is the only noteworthy forward to remain tri-eligible in Yahoo. Alexander Steen (RW, STL) is the only notable tri-eligible forward from last season to lose two positions.

NOTABLE DUAL-ELIGIBLE PLAYERS FOR 2018-19:

Jamie Benn, C/LW, DAL
Blake Wheeler, C/RW, WPG*
Claude Giroux, C/LW, PHI
Joe Pavelski, C/RW, SJS*
Leon Draisaitl, C/RW, EDM
Ilya Kovalchuk, LW/RW, LAK
William Karlsson, C/LW, VGK\\
Sebastian Aho, C/LW, CAR\\ (gained C; lost RW)
Rickard Rakell, LW/RW, ANA (lost C)
Jonathan Marchessault, C/LW, VGK
William Nylander, C/RW, TOR - RFA
Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW, WPG
Logan Couture, C/LW, SJS
Mikael Granlund, C/RW, MIN
Clayton Keller, LW/RW, ARI (lost C)
Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, CAR\\ (lost C)
Mike Hoffman, LW/RW, FLA
Sam Reinhart, C/RW, BUF - RFA (lost LW)
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, CBJ
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C/LW, EDM (gained LW)
Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW, CHI
J.T. Miller, C/RW, TBL (lost LW)
Reilly Smith, LW/RW, VGK
Nino Niederreiter, LW/RW, MIN
Evgenii Dadonov, LW/RW, FLA
Tomas Hertl, C/LW/RW, SJS (remains tri-eligible)
Alex Galchenyuk, C/LW, ARI
Travis Konecny, LW/RW, PHI\\ (lost C)
Jason Zucker, LW/RW, MIN
Yanni Gourde, C/RW, TBL*
Anthony Mantha, LW/RW, DET
Nick Bjugstad, C/RW, FLA
Patrick Marleau, C/LW, TOR
Anthony Beauvillier, C/LW, NYI\\
Nick Schmaltz, C/LW, CHI\\
Jakub Vrana, LW/RW, WSH\\
Kevin Fiala, LW/RW, NSH\\
Elias Lindholm, C/RW, CGY
Tyler Johnson, C/RW, TBL
Nick Foligno, C/RW, CBJ (lost LW)
Erik Haula, C/LW, VGK
Danton Heinen, LW/RW, BOS\\ (lost C)
Boone Jenner, C/LW, CBJ

NOTABLE PLAYERS TO LOSE DUAL ELIGIBILITY:

Tyler Seguin, C, DAL* (lost RW)
Mitchell Marner, RW, TOR\\ (lost C)
Artemi Panarin, LW, CBJ* (lost C)
Brayden Schenn, C, STL (lost LW)
Mikko Rantanen, RW, COL\\ (lost LW)
Brayden Point, C, TBL\\ (lost RW)
Viktor Arvidsson, RW, NSH (lost LW)
Jake Guentzel, LW, PIT\\ (lost C)
Dylan Larkin, C, DET (lost RW)
Dustin Brown, RW, LAK (lost LW)
Tom Wilson, RW, WSH (lost LW)
James Neal, RW, CGY (lost LW)
Jordan Eberle, RW, NYI* (lost C)
Matt Duchene, C, OTT* (lost RW)
Pavel Buchnevich, RW, NYR\\ (lost LW)
Tyler Toffoli, RW, LAK (lost C)
Zach Hyman, LW, TOR (lost C)
Timo Meier, LW, SJS\\ (lost RW)
David Perron, LW, STL (lost RW)
Ondrej Kase, RW, ANA (lost LW)
Josh Bailey, RW, NYI (lost LW)
Alexander Steen, RW, STL (lost C, LW)
Alex Kerfoot, C, COL\\ (lost RW)

NOTABLE ROOKIE FORWARDS WITH ELIGIBILITY:

Andrei Svechnikov, RW, CAR
Filip Zadina
, LW, DET
Elias Pettersson
, C, VAN
Valentin Zykov, LW/RW, CAR
Casey Mittelstadt, C, BUF
Eeli Tolvanen, RW, NSH
Kailer Yamamoto
, RW, EDM
Michael Rasmussen
, C, DET
Martin Necas, C, CAR
NOTE: New positions can be added (but never removed) and/or old ones can be regained at Yahoo's discretion throughout a given season based on lineup changes.
RFA - Current restricted free agent
\Potential 2019 unrestricted free agent
\\Potential 2019 restricted free agent
RELATED: [Yahoo fantasy position updates for 2017-18]*