The 2017 Stanley Cup Playoffs yielded plenty of fantasy developments heading into next season, and the offseason ahead promises to shake up the landscape even further.
From the Nashville Predators' surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final to the rise of the young Edmonton Oilers and Toronto Maple Leafs, there are
plenty of players who have gained fantasy value from the postseason
. Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, who led the NHL in playoff goals (13) as a rookie, warrants much earlier consideration in drafts next fall.
Fantasy: Top 250 rankings for 2017-18, Update No. 2
NHL.com lists most valuable standard-league assets for next season
We've now reached what could be the most exciting offseason in the modern era of fantasy sports. With the Vegas Golden Knights set to construct their roster in the NHL Expansion Draft on June 21, a new team of potentially fantasy-relevant players will be incorporated into the top 250 rankings. The Golden Knights have already signed forward Vadim Shipachyov, who finished third in Kontinental Hockey League scoring last season with 76 points (26 goals, 50 assists). They also could add Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who has reportedly agreed to waive his no-movement clause for purposes of the Expansion Draft.
RELATED: [Fantasy impact of July 1 free-agent signings | Fantasy cheat sheet ]
Speaking of goalies, Ben Bishop (Dallas Stars) and Scott Darling (Carolina Hurricanes) have already joined new teams after trades.
Bishop carries bounce-back potential
and
Darling has plenty of breakout appeal for next season.
Other teams could follow suit by trading players to avoid losing them in the Expansion Draft. There's also the anticipation of the 2017 NHL Draft on June 23-24, not to mention the start of free agency July 1. Among the best potential unrestricted free agents are defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, forward Alexander Radulov, veterans Joe Thornton, Patrick Marleau and Jaromir Jagr, and goalie Brian Elliott. Another major storyline is the New Jersey Devils having the rights to Russian forward Ilya Kovalchuk, who could return to the NHL as early as next season and potentially be traded to a new team.
But before all those dominoes fall, let's kick off the offseason with updated top 250 fantasy player rankings, including players who have gained and lost value based on the playoffs and other League news. These rankings will continue to be updated after the Expansion Draft, free agency and other offseason developments.
- Connor McDavid, C, EDM (SAME)
- Sidney Crosby, C, PIT (SAME)
- Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (SAME)
- Auston Matthews, C, TOR (+4)
- Nikita Kucherov, RW, TBL (-1)
- Erik Karlsson, D, OTT (INJ.) (+6)
- Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH (-2)
- Brent Burns, D, SJS (-2)
- Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT (+5)
- Brad Marchand, LW, BOS (SAME)
- Jamie Benn, LW, DAL (+5)
- Patrik Laine, LW/RW, WPG (-3)
- Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, STL (+4)
- Jack Eichel, C, BUF (-3)
- Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH (-2)
- Mark Scheifele, C, WPG (+3)
- Braden Holtby, G, WSH (-10)
- Carey Price, G, MTL (-3)
- John Tavares, C, NYI (+1)
- Tyler Seguin, C/RW, DAL (INJ.) (+1)
- Leon Draisaitl, C/RW, EDM (RFA) (+9)
- Artemi Panarin, LW, CHI; UPDATE:
Impact of Panarin trade to CBJ
23. Victor Hedman, D, TBL (-5) - Steven Stamkos, C, TBL (INJ.) (+1)
- Matt Murray, G, PIT (+26)
- Dustin Byfuglien, D, WPG (-2)
- Phil Kessel, RW, PIT (SAME)
- Cam Talbot, G, EDM (SAME)
- Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA (+5)
- Joe Pavelski, C/RW, SJS (-4)
- Blake Wheeler, RW, WPG (-2)
- David Pastrnak, RW, BOS (RFA) (-1)
- Roman Josi, D, NSH (+3)
- Mitch Marner, C/RW, TOR (+6)
- Filip Forsberg, LW, NSH (+14)
- Wayne Simmonds, RW, PHI (SAME)
- Sergei Bobrovsky, G, CBJ (-14)
- Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS (-5)
- John Gibson, G, ANA (+1)
- Jake Allen, G, STL (+1)
- Max Pacioretty, LW, MTL (-9)
- Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY (-5)
- Tuukka Rask, G, BOS (+2)
- Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, WSH (-2)
- Sean Monahan, C, CGY (+3)
- Ryan Johansen, C, NSH (RFA - INJ.) (+13)
- Jonathan Quick, G, LAK (+7)
- Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN (-10)
- P.K. Subban, D, NSH (+21)
- William Nylander, C/RW, TOR (SAME)
- Pekka Rinne, G, NSH (+10)
- Duncan Keith, D, CHI (-8)
- Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA (-1)
- Corey Crawford, G, CHI (-1)
- Claude Giroux, C, PHI (-8)
- Kevin Shattenkirk, D, WSH; UPDATE:
Impact of Shattenkirk signing with NYR
) - Mike Hoffman, LW/RW, OTT (-11)
- Kris Letang, D, PIT (INJ.) (-3)
- Martin Jones, G, SJS (+1)
- Mikael Granlund, C/LW/RW, MIN (RFA) (-4)
- Corey Perry, RW, ANA (+1)
- Cam Atkinson, RW, CBJ (-5)
- Jeff Carter, C, LAK (+3)
- Shea Weber, D, MTL (-6)
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TBL (-1)
- Anze Kopitar, C, LAK (+2)
- Jakub Voracek, LW/RW, PHI (-2)
- Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, FLA (-1)
- Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (-6)
- Frederik Andersen, G, TOR (+10)
- Jonathan Drouin, LW/RW, TBL; UPDATE:
Impact of Drouin trade to MTL
72. Sebastian Aho, LW/RW, CAR (+1) - Zach Werenski, D, CBJ (INJ.) (+5)
- Drew Doughty, D, LAK (+1)
- Craig Anderson, G, OTT (+23)
- Dougie Hamilton, D, CGY (-7)
- Ryan Kesler, C, ANA (SAME)
- Rasmus Ristolainen, D, BUF (-4)
- James van Riemsdyk, LW, TOR (SAME)
- Jeff Skinner, LW, CAR (+2)
- Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW, WPG (+3)
- Alexander Radulov, LW/RW, MTL; UPDATE:
Impact of Radulov signing with DAL
83. Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR (+12) - Eric Staal, C, MIN (-8)
- Logan Couture, C, SJS (-2)
- Torey Krug, D, BOS (INJ.) (SAME)
- Nathan MacKinnon, C/RW, COL (+4)
- Nazem Kadri, C, TOR (-1)
- Henrik Zetterberg, C/LW, DET (-1)
- Taylor Hall, LW, NJD (+6)
- Justin Schultz, D, PIT (-10)
- Ben Bishop, G, DAL (+10)
- T.J. Oshie, RW, WSH (+7)
- Brayden Schenn, C/LW, PHI (-2); UPDATE:
Impact of Schenn trade to STL
95. Rickard Rakell, C/LW, ANA (+19) - Jake Guentzel, C/LW, PIT (+39)
- Ryan O'Reilly, C/LW, BUF (SAME)
- Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, NSH (RFA) (-8)
- Ryan Suter, D, MIN (-6)
- Mark Stone, RW, OTT (-6)
- Alex Pietrangelo, D, STL (-2)
- Tyler Toffoli, C/RW, LAK (+11)
- Kyle Turris, C, OTT (+3)
- John Klingberg, D, DAL (+8)
- Anders Lee, LW, NYI (+3)
- Brian Elliott, G, CGY; UPDATE:
Impact of Elliott signing with PHI
) - Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, ARI (+2)
- Mats Zuccarello, RW, NYR (-7)
- Evander Kane, LW, BUF (+2)
- Mark Giordano, D, CGY (-7)
- Zach Parise, LW, MIN (+5)
- John Carlson, D, WSH (+5)
- Mikko Koivu, C, MIN (-9)
- Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT (-7)
- Derek Stepan, C, NYR; UPDATE:
Impact of Stepan trade to ARI
116. Milan Lucic, LW, EDM (-6) - Jaden Schwartz, C/LW, STL (+11)
- Jaroslav Halak, G, NYI (SAME)
- Oscar Klefbom, D, EDM (+17)
- James Neal, RW, NSH; UPDATE:
Impact of Neal joining VGK
121. Scott Darling, G, CAR (+103) - Ryan McDonagh, D, NYR (+23)
- Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA (SAME)
- Marcus Johansson, LW/RW, WSH; UPDATE: Johansson traded to NJD)
- Jakob Silfverberg, RW, ANA (+57)
- Conor Sheary, LW/RW, PIT (RFA) (-55)
- Cory Schneider, G, NJD (+2)
- Chris Kreider, LW, NYR (-9)
- Kyle Okposo, RW, BUF (INJ.) (-9)
- Nino Niederreiter, LW/RW, MIN (RFA) (-9)
- Alex Galchenyuk, C, MTL (RFA) (-9)
- Matthew Tkachuk, LW, CGY (-10)
- Kyle Palmieri, RW, NJD (-8)
- Ondrej Palat, LW, TBL (RFA) (-8)
- Shayne Gostisbehere, D, PHI (+2)
- Nick Foligno, LW/RW, CBJ (-9)
- Brandon Saad, LW/RW, CBJ; UPDATE:
Impact of Saad trade to CHI
138. Robin Lehner, G, BUF (RFA) (-7) - Justin Faulk, D, CAR (-7)
- Keith Yandle, D, FLA (-6)
- Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA (-3)
- Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG (RFA) (+1)
- Andre Burakovsky, LW/RW, WSH (RFA) (+11)
- Brady Skjei, D, NYR (+11)
- Jason Spezza, C/RW, DAL (-6)
- Tyler Johnson, C, TBL (RFA) (-4)
- Patrick Maroon, LW, EDM (-1)
- Alexander Steen, LW/RW, STL (+1)
- James Reimer, G, FLA (+2)
- Roberto Luongo, G, FLA (+2)
- Mika Zibanejad, C/RW, NYR (RFA) (+29)
- Matt Duchene, C/RW, COL (+10)
- Colton Parayko, D, STL (RFA) (+3)
- Marc-Andre Fleury, G, PIT; UPDATE:
Impact of Fleury joining VGK
155. Bryan Little, C, WPG (-8) - David Krejci, C, BOS (INJ.) (-16)
- Sam Reinhart, C/RW, BUF (SAME)
- Nick Schmaltz, C/LW, CHI (-10)
- Cam Fowler, D, ANA (+8)
- Jaromir Jagr, LW/RW, FLA (UFA)
- Rick Nash, LW/RW, NYR (+3)
- Alex Wennberg, C, CBJ (RFA) (-21)
- Jake Gardiner, D, TOR (-10)
- Elias Lindholm, C/RW, CAR (-4)
- Joshua Ho-Sang, C/RW, NYI (-4)
- Seth Jones, D, CBJ (+2)
- Joe Thornton, C, SJS (UFA - INJ.) (-23)
- Anthony Mantha, LW/RW, DET (-2)
- Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL (-10)
- Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS (+72)
- Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL (SAME)
- Marian Hossa, RW, CHI (INJ.); UPDATE:
Hossa will miss next season
173. Max Domi, LW, ARI (-1) - Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, EDM (+3)
- Jimmy Howard, G, DET (SAME)
- Jordan Eberle, RW, EDM; UPDATE:
Impact of Eberle trade to NYI
177. Charlie Coyle, C/RW, MIN (-12) - Bo Horvat, C, VAN (RFA) (-5)
- Tyson Barrie, D, COL (-5)
- Vadim Shipachyov, C, VGK (NEW)
- Mathew Dumba, D, MIN (-5)
- Nikita Zaitsev, D, TOR (-3)
- Teuvo Teravainen, C/LW/RW, CAR (SAME)
- Robby Fabbri, C/LW, STL (INJ.) (-14)
- Thomas Greiss, G, NYI (+9)
- Mikael Backlund, C, CGY (-5)
- Matt Niskanen, D, WSH (-2)
- Nick Leddy, D, NYI (-10)
- Juuse Saros, G, NSH (-2)
- Richard Panik, LW/RW, CHI (-4)
- Brent Seabrook, D, CHI (-2)
- Ryan Ellis, D, NSH (+14)
- Dmitry Orlov, D, WSH (-5)
- Gustav Nyquist, LW/RW, DET (+1)
- Tyler Bozak, C, TOR (+1)
- Artem Anisimov, C, CHI (-4)
- Bobby Ryan, RW, OTT (NEW)
- Daniel Sedin, LW, VAN (SAME)
- Jaccob Slavin, D, CAR (SAME)
- Jacob Trouba, D, WPG (SAME)
- Brandon Dubinsky, C, CBJ (INJ.) (SAME)
- Morgan Rielly, D, TOR (NEW)
- Patrick Eaves, RW, ANA (UFA)
- Justin Williams, RW, WSH; UPDATE:
Impact of Williams signing with CAR
) - Dion Phaneuf, D, OTT (-12)
- Ivan Barbashev, C/LW, STL (-2)
- Tyson Jost, C, COL (-2)
- Boone Jenner, C/LW, CBJ (-11)
- J.T. Miller, C/LW/RW, NYR (-7)
- David Backes, RW, BOS (-7)
- Tomas Tatar, LW/RW, DET (RFA) (-1)
- Brayden Point, C/RW, TBL (+3)
- Anthony Stolarz, G, PHI (RFA) (SAME)
- Tomas Hertl, C/LW, SJS (-3)
- Dylan Larkin, C/RW, DET (+8)
- Shea Theodore, D, ANA; UPDATE:
Impact of Theodore trade to VGK
217. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, CBJ (SAME) - Mathew Barzal, C, NYI (+11)
- Andrei Markov, D, MTL (UFA)
- Antti Raanta, G, NYR; UPDATE:
Impact of Raanta trade to ARI
221. Jake Muzzin, D, LAK (-3) - Zdeno Chara, D, BOS (-10)
- Kevin Fiala, LW/RW, NSH (INJ.) (NEW)
- Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (-3)
- Michael Frolik, C/RW, CGY (-9)
- Mathieu Perreault, C/LW, WPG (-7)
- Jonathan Marchessault, C/LW, FLA; UPDATE:
Impact of Marchessault joining VGK
228. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, EDM (-19) - Sami Vatanen, D, ANA (INJ.) (+8)
- Patrick Marleau, C/LW, SJS; UPDATE:
Impact of Marleau signing with TOR
231. Philipp Grubauer, G, WSH (RFA) (+8) - Jason Zucker, LW/RW, MIN (-7)
- Paul Stastny, C, STL (-5)
- Sean Couturier, C, PHI (-4)
- Andreas Athanasiou, C/LW, DET (RFA) (SAME)
- Mike Smith, G, ARI; UPDATE:
Impact of Smith trade to CGY
237. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D, SJS (-6) - Kyle Connor, LW, WPG (-2)
- Kevin Hayes, C/RW, NYR (-17)
- Mikko Rantanen, LW/RW, COL (-2)
- Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN (-15)
- Tanner Pearson, LW, LAK (-1)
- Semyon Varlamov, G, COL (+3)
- Jakob Chychrun, D, ARI (+3)
- Petr Mrazek, G, DET (NEW)
- Connor Brown, RW, TOR (RFA) (-2)
- Brock Boeser, RW, VAN (-2)
- Clayton Keller, C, ARI (+1)
- Ryan Pulock, D, NYI (+1)
- Dylan Strome, C, ARI (NEW)
Dropped out:Cam Ward, Hampus Lindholm, Andrew Shaw, Derick Brassard (INJ.), Jonathan Bernier, Radim Vrbata, Scott Hartnell
NOTES: Standard Yahoo categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, PPP and SOG for skaters, and wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies. Value has been quantified based on factors including line combinations, power-play usage, team goalie situations, injury history, bounce-back or breakout potential, projected regression, age, and contract status (pending unrestricted and restricted free agents are noted below).
\ UFA: pending is a pending unrestricted free agent. RFA: player is a pending restricted free agent. INJ.: player is recovering from injury.
[RELATED: Fantasy top 250 rankings for 2017-18, Update No. 1 ]*
