Ryan O'Reilly, C (91) -- The Conn Smythe Trophy winner finished tied with Brad Marchand for the playoff scoring lead with 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in 26 games, a continuation of a strong regular season. O'Reilly had the best numbers of his 10-season NHL career with 77 points (28 goals, 49 assists), a plus-22 and had at least 22 power-play points for the fifth time in the past six seasons. O'Reilly plays the deepest fantasy position but should be prioritized in leagues that count face-off wins (led NHL with 1,086 last season) and/or percentage (56.9).
Alex Pietrangelo, D (97) -- He had 41 points (13 goals, 28 assists) in 71 regular-season games (his fewest in the past three seasons) but then led all NHL defensemen with 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 26 playoff games. Pietrangelo quarterbacks the Blues power play, which struggled in the postseason (16.3 percent; 12th out of 16 playoff teams) but could improve under new assistant coach Marc Savard (hired July 24). Pietrangelo is a top 20 fantasy defenseman but could lose value if Colton Parayko and/or Vince Dunn cut into his first power-play minutes.
Brayden Schenn, C/LW (111) -- He declined in every major offensive category last season (goals, assists, points, plus-minus, PPP, SOG) after NHL career highs in 2017-18. That said, Schenn could easily bounce back on the top line with Tarasenko and Jaden Schwartz after playing most frequently on that line in the playoffs. Schenn has had a high floor with at least 54 points in each of the past four seasons and brings added value in hits leagues (111 last season; 2.2 per game in NHL career).