Fantasy top 250 rankings for 2018-19

NHL.com's top 250 player rankings are based on past production and expectations for next season in standard Yahoo leagues. Fantasy owners should use these updated rankings as a basis for team evaluation, keeper decisions and offseason draft research. These rankings will be updated throughout the offseason after free agency, trades, injury and prospect news, fantasy mock drafts and any other developments.

2018-19 RANKINGS:
Top 100 forwards
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50 defensemen
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Offseason injury report
After 2018 NHL Draft weekend, here are five players that have altered the fantasy landscape:
Ilya Kovalchuk, LW/RW, LAK -- The veteran wing will be back in the NHL next season after agreeing to terms with the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, and fantasy owners should immediately consider him a top 50 overall player again. Even at 35 years old, he is a dynamic playmaker who will have a strong center on his line with the Kings in either Anze Kopitar, a finalist for the Hart Trophy and winner of the Selke Trophy this season, or Jeff Carter. The arrival of Kovalchuk improves the fantasy value of Kings stalwarts Kopitar, Drew Doughty, Jonathan Quick and Carter, but could hurt Dustin Brown, Tyler Toffoli and/or defenseman Jake Muzzin depending on who loses first power-play usage.
Read:
Fantasy projection for Kovalchuk with Kings
Rasmus Dahlin, D, BUF -- The 18-year-old defenseman addresses a glaring need for the Buffalo Sabres, who selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2018 draft. Dahlin is likely to average around 20 minutes per game and see significant power-play usage for the Sabres, maybe even on the first unit with top 15 fantasy center Jack Eichel. If the Sabres address their goaltending and wing needs, avoid significant injuries, return to their dominant power-play form from two seasons ago and get improved play from Rasmus Ristolainen as a result of Dahlin, the rookie could finish among the top 15 fantasy defensemen.
Read:
Fantasy projection for Dahlin with Sabres
Andrei Svechnikov, RW, CAR -- The Russian wing brings a high goal-scoring ceiling to the Carolina Hurricanes, who selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2018 draft. The best-case scenario would be him latching onto the top line with the high-upside forward duo of Sebastian Aho and Teuvo Teravainen. Svechnikov had 72 points (40 goals, 32 assists) in 44 games for Barrie of the Ontario Hockey League and is worth reaching for in the ninth or 10th round of 12-team fantasy drafts next season. The addition of top 20 fantasy defenseman Dougie Hamilton, whose 94 even-strength points over the past three seasons rank seventh at the position, drastically improves Carolina's offensive upside.
Read:
Fantasy projection for Svechnikov with Hurricanes
Philipp Grubauer, G, COL -- The 26-year-old goaltender was acquired by the Colorado Avalanche on Friday and signed a three-year contract with them Saturday, boosting his fantasy value. Grubauer was the backup for the Washington Capitals but earned extended playing time down the stretch, going 11-3-0 with a .934 save percentage in his final 17 regular-season games (14 starts). Grubauer moves up 33 spots in the NHL.com top 250 because he should share starts with the often-injured Semyon Varlamov. Varlamov drops below veteran starters Roberto Luongo (Florida Panthers) and Mike Smith (Calgary Flames) given the offseason improvements of those teams and projected heavier workloads.
Filip Zadina, LW, DET -- The Detroit Red Wings were fortunate to land the Czech Republic native with the No. 6 pick in the 2018 draft after he was the third-best player in many projections. He instantly makes the Red Wings fantasy-relevant again, joining a talented forward nucleus led by Dylan Larkin, Anthony Mantha and prospects Michael Rasmussen and Evgeny Svechnikov. Zadina scored 82 points (44 goals, 38 assists) in 57 games for Halifax of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and could have added motivation in his rookie season after getting passed over in the draft. The Red Wings could end up being a surprise fantasy team, so don't sleep on Zadina or any of these other Detroit forwards in late rounds.
Read:
Fantasy roundup from 2018 NHL Draft weekend
TOP 250 PLAYER RANKINGS FOR 2018-19
Standard Yahoo categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power-play points and shots on goal for skaters and wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies. Forward positions indicate eligibility in Yahoo leagues during 2017-18 season (subject to change at Yahoo's discretion in offseason). ... Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production, projected line combinations, power-play usage, injury history, sleeper upside, anticipated regression or bounce-back candidacy, age and contract status (pending unrestricted or restricted free agent). ... In addition to players who could become unrestricted or restricted free agents July 1, any potential 2019 UFAs (\) and RFAs (\\) are also noted below. ... INJ. indicates players who dealt with injuries at the end of the regular season and/or in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
1. Connor McDavid, C, EDM
2. Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH
3. Nikita Kucherov, RW, TBL\*
4. Sidney Crosby, C, PIT
5. Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT
6. Patrik Laine, RW, WPG\\
7. Steven Stamkos, C, TBL
8. Brad Marchand, LW, BOS
9. Nathan MacKinnon, C, COL
10. David Pastrnak, RW, BOS
11. Auston Matthews, C, TOR\\
12. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TBL
13. Blake Wheeler, C/RW, WPG*
14. Claude Giroux, C/LW, PHI
15. Tyler Seguin, C/RW, DAL*
16. Jamie Benn, C/LW, DAL
17. Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG (RFA)
18. Patrick Kane, RW, CHI
19. Taylor Hall, LW, NJD (INJ.)
20. Dustin Byfuglien, D, WPG
21. Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, WSH
22. Brent Burns, D, SJS
23. Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS
24. Mark Scheifele, C, WPG
25. Anze Kopitar, C, LAK
26. Phil Kessel, RW, PIT
27. John Tavares, C, NYI (UFA)
28. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, STL (INJ.)
29. Artemi Panarin, C/LW, CBJ*
30. Victor Hedman, D, TBL
31. Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA
32. Jack Eichel, C, BUF
33. Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY
34. Erik Karlsson, D, OTT*
35. Braden Holtby, G, WSH
36. Filip Forsberg, LW, NSH
37. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, CBJ*
38. Joe Pavelski, C/RW, SJS*
39. Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA
40. Drew Doughty, D, LAK*
41. P.K. Subban, D, NSH
42. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, VGK*
43. Mitchell Marner, C/RW, TOR\\
44. Jakub Voracek, RW, PHI
45. Tuukka Rask, G, BOS
46. William Karlsson, C/LW, VGK (RFA)
47. Mathew Barzal, C, NYI
48. Evander Kane, LW, SJS
49. Leon Draisaitl, C/RW, EDM
50. Ilya Kovalchuk, LW/RW, LAK (NEW)
51. John Klingberg, D, DAL
52. Roman Josi, D, NSH
53. Alexander Radulov, RW, DAL
54. Pekka Rinne, G, NSH*
55. Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH
56. Sean Monahan, C, CGY (INJ.)
57. Frederik Andersen, G, TOR
58. Seth Jones, D, CBJ
59. Matt Murray, G, PIT
60. John Gibson, G, ANA\\
61. Jonathan Marchessault, C/LW, VGK
62. Mikko Rantanen, LW/RW, COL\\
63. Brock Boeser, RW, VAN (INJ.)\\
64. Martin Jones, G, SJS
65. Jonathan Quick, G, LAK
66. John Carlson, D, WSH
67. Sebastian Aho, LW/RW, CAR\\
68. Rickard Rakell, C/LW/RW, ANA
69. Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT
70. Sean Couturier, C, PHI (INJ.)
71. Ben Bishop, G, DAL (INJ.)
72. Matthew Tkachuk, LW, CGY (INJ.)\\
73. Torey Krug, D, BOS
74. Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW, WPG
75. Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, NSH
76. Mikael Granlund, C/RW, MIN
77. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, PHI
78. William Nylander, C/RW, TOR (RFA)
79. Rasmus Dahlin, D, BUF (NEW)
80. Max Pacioretty, LW, MTL (INJ.)*
81. Kris Letang, D, PIT
82. Logan Couture, C/LW, SJS*
83. Cam Atkinson, RW, CBJ
84. Brayden Point, C/RW, TBL\\
85. Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA
86. Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, FLA
87. Brayden Schenn, C/LW, STL
88. Keith Yandle, D, FLA
89. Wayne Simmonds, RW, PHI (INJ.)*
90. Dougie Hamilton, D, CAR
91. Eric Staal, C, MIN*
92. Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN
93. Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL
94. Clayton Keller, C/LW/RW, ARI
95. Antti Raanta, G, ARI
96. Anders Lee, LW, NYI*
97. Ryan Johansen, C, NSH
98. Tyson Barrie, D, COL
99. Teuvo Teravainen, C/LW/RW, CAR\\
100. Mike Hoffman, LW/RW, FLA
101. Nazem Kadri, C, TOR
102. Jeff Carter, C, LAK
103. Mark Giordano, D, CGY
104. Mark Stone, RW, OTT (RFA - INJ.)
105. Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR (INJ.)
106. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, ARI*
107. Corey Crawford, G, CHI (INJ.)
108. Evgenii Dadonov, LW/RW, FLA
109. Matt Duchene, C/RW, OTT*
110. Jaden Schwartz, LW, STL (INJ.)
111. Jake Allen, G, STL
112. Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (INJ.)
113. Alex Pietrangelo, D, STL
114. James van Riemsdyk, LW, TOR (UFA)
115. Ryan Ellis, D, NSH*
116. Zach Werenski, D, CBJ\\
117. Carey Price, G, MTL
118. Reilly Smith, LW/RW, VGK
119. T.J. Oshie, RW, WSH
120. Dylan Larkin, C/RW, DET (RFA)
121. Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS\\
122. Kyle Connor, LW, WPG\\
123. Chris Kreider, LW, NYR
124. Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA
125. Rasmus Ristolainen, D, BUF
126. Jake Guentzel, C/LW, PIT\\
127. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, CBJ
128. Andrei Svechnikov, RW, CAR (NEW)
129. Dustin Brown, LW/RW, LAK
130. J.T. Miller, C/LW/RW, TBL
131. Jason Zucker, LW/RW, MIN (RFA)
132. Cam Talbot, G, EDM*
133. Roberto Luongo, G, FLA
134. Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR
135. Shea Weber, D, MTL (INJ.)
136. Mike Smith, G, CGY*
137. Tom Wilson, LW/RW, WSH (RFA)
138. Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL
139. Tomas Hertl, C/LW/RW, SJS (RFA)
140. Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (INJ.)\\
141. Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW, CHI
142. Yanni Gourde, C/RW, TBL*
143. Semyon Varlamov, G, COL (INJ.)*
144. Morgan Rielly, D, TOR
145. Sam Reinhart, C/LW/RW, BUF (RFA)
146. Pavel Buchnevich, LW/RW, NYR\\
147. Cory Schneider, G, NJD (INJ.)
148. Corey Perry, RW, ANA
149. Jake Gardiner, D, TOR*
150. Matt Dumba, D, MIN (RFA)
151. Jordan Eberle, C/RW, NYI*
152. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TBL
153. Kevin Shattenkirk, D, NYR (INJ.)
154. Travis Konecny, C/LW/RW, PHI\\
155. Nico Hischier, C, NJD
156. Alex Galchenyuk, C/LW, ARI
157. Tyler Toffoli, C/RW, LAK
158. Nino Niederreiter, LW/RW, MIN
159. Ryan Suter, D, MIN (INJ.)
160. Filip Zadina, LW, DET (NEW)
161. Nick Leddy, D, NYI
162. Jeff Skinner, LW, CAR*
163. Philipp Grubauer, G, COL
164. Anthony Mantha, LW/RW, DET (RFA)
165. Kevin Fiala, LW/RW, NSH\\
166. Jake Muzzin, D, LAK
167. Justin Faulk, D, CAR (INJ.)
168. Josh Bailey, LW/RW, NYI
169. Henrik Zetterberg, C/LW, DET
170. Shea Theodore, D, VGK (RFA)
171. Tyler Johnson, C/RW, TBL
172. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C, EDM
173. Bo Horvat, C, VAN
174. Kyle Palmieri, RW, NJD
175. Mats Zuccarello, RW, NYR*
176. Ryan O'Reilly, C, BUF
177. Colton Parayko, D, STL
178. Nolan Patrick, C, PHI
179. Ryan Pulock, D, NYI (RFA)
180. Alex Tuch, RW, VGK\\
181. Craig Smith, RW, NSH
182. James Neal, LW/RW, VGK (UFA)
183. Erik Johnson, D, COL (INJ.)
184. Zach Hyman, C/LW, TOR
185. Nick Bjugstad, C/RW, FLA
186. Max Domi, C/LW, MTL
187. Mattias Ekholm, D, NSH
188. Derek Stepan, C, ARI (INJ.)
189. Nick Schmaltz, C/LW, CHI\\
190. Ryan McDonagh, D, TBL*
191. Cam Fowler, D, ANA (INJ.)
192. Patrick Marleau, C/LW, TOR
193. Duncan Keith, D, CHI
194. David Perron, LW/RW, VGK (UFA)
195. Kyle Turris, C, NSH
196. Brandon Montour, D, ANA (RFA)
197. Will Butcher, D, NJD\\
198. Paul Stastny, C, WPG (UFA)
199. Timo Meier, LW/RW, SJS\\
200. Elias Lindholm, C/RW, CGY - RFA (NEW)
201. Justin Schultz, D, PIT
202. Derick Brassard, C, PIT*
203. Tyler Myers, D, WPG*
204. Sami Vatanen, D, NJD (INJ.)
205. Juuse Saros, G, NSH (RFA)
206. James Reimer, G, FLA
207. Mikko Koivu, C, MIN
208. Colin Miller, D, VGK (RFA)
209. Mike Matheson, D, FLA
210. Ondrej Palat, LW, TBL
211. David Krejci, C, BOS
212. Anthony Beauvillier, C/LW, NYI\\
213. Brandon Saad, LW, CHI
214. Erik Haula, C/LW, VGK
215. Mikael Backlund, C, CGY
216. Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW, CBJ (RFA)
217. Sven Baertschi, LW, VAN (RFA - INJ.)
218. Josh Manson, D, ANA
219. Joe Thornton, C, SJS (UFA - INJ.)
220. Noah Hanifin, D, CGY - RFA (NEW)
221. Jakub Vrana, LW/RW, WSH\\
222. Elias Pettersson, C, VAN
223. Darnell Nurse, D, EDM (RFA)
224. Alex Wennberg, C, CBJ
225. Valentin Zykov, LW/RW, CAR
226. Jesse Puljujarvi, RW, EDM\\
227. Eli Tolvanen, RW, NSH
228. Alex Kerfoot, C/RW, COL\\
229. Nikita Zadorov, D, COL\\
230. Nick Foligno, C/LW/RW, CBJ
231. Esa Lindell, D, DAL\\
232. Casey Mittelstadt, C, BUF
233. Henrik Borgstrom, C, FLA
234. Aaron Dell, G, SJS
235. Jake DeBrusk, LW, BOS
236. Jakob Silfverberg, LW/RW, ANA*
237. Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN
238. Jonathan Drouin, C/LW/RW, MTL
239. Oscar Klefbom, D, EDM (INJ.)
240. Alexander Steen, C/LW/RW, STL
241. Matt Niskanen, D, WSH
242. Thomas Chabot, D, OTT
243. Danton Heinen, C/LW/RW, BOS\\
244. Ondrej Kase, LW/RW, ANA (RFA)
245. Zdeno Chara, D, BOS*
246. Rick Nash, LW/RW, BOS (UFA)
247. Quinn Hughes, D, VAN (NEW)
248. Vince Dunn, D, STL (INJ.)
249. Michael Rasmussen, C, DET
250. Martin Necas, C, CAR (NEW)
Dropped out from previous update: Mike Green, D, DET (UFA - INJ.); Justin Williams, RW, CAR\; Nate Schmidt, D, VGK\; Dmitry Orlov, D, WSH; Alexander Edler, D, VAN\; Filip Chytil, C, NYR; Thatcher Demko, G, VAN\\; Samuel Girard, D, COL
RELATED: [Top 250 rankings for 2017-18, May]*