NOTE: VIEW NHL.COM'S UPDATED PRESEASON TOP 250 PLAYER RANKINGS
Defensemen Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators, Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks, P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators and Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins have revolutionized the fantasy value of their position, so much so that the first round of drafts could have a far different look than last season.
Karlsson was the only defenseman drafted inside the top 15 on average last season, and Subban was the only other defenseman taken among the first 30 picks. But three defensemen (Karlsson, Burns, Letang) finished among the top 13 overall players in Yahoo's performance-based rankings last season. And now Subban, who missed time because of injury last season, was traded to the Stanley Cup-contending Predators, meaning four elite, puck-moving defensemen are worth drafting among the top 13 this season.
Fantasy: Top 200 overall rankings for July
Four defensemen among first 13 players; Cory Schneider now top-five goalie
© Bill Smith/Getty Images
Subban likely will man the first power-play unit in Nashville with fellow top-10 fantasy defenseman Roman Josi and could have 60-70 points while covering all six categories. Karlsson and Burns may be safer picks, but you can make the argument Subban's ceiling is higher. Other defensemen to climb the top 200 rankings include Keith Yandle, who joins the Florida Panthers, and Rasmus Ristolainen, who now has Kyle Okposo, in addition to Jack Eichel and Ryan O'Reilly, with him on the Buffalo Sabres' first power-play unit.
The biggest forward value spikes go to Dylan Larkin, who could take the next step for the Detroit Red Wings after Pavel Datsyuk's departure; Andrew Ladd, who has his sights set on a spot next to John Tavares with the New York Islanders; and Adam Henrique, who reunites with Ontario Hockey League teammate Taylor Hall after Hall was traded to the New Jersey Devils. Factor in the top two 2016 NHL Draft picks, Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets, respectively, the return to the NHL of Russian forward Alexander Radulov with the Montreal Canadiens and several underrated free-agent signees (Eric Staal, Minnesota Wild; Mikkel Boedker, Sharks; PA Parenteau, Islanders) and you have a drastically different landscape than when the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs ended.
On the goalie front, Cory Schneider finally is equipped to excel in the wins category after the Devils' offensive upgrade, and John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks should be considered a top-10 fantasy goalie after the Frederik Andersen trade to the Maple Leafs. With Marc-Andre Fleury still with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defending Stanley Cup champions could use a timeshare tandem this season, potentially putting a cap on Matt Murray's fantasy upside. With the Tampa Bay Lightning signing Andrei Vasilevskiy to a three-year contract extension and an expansion draft looming for the Las Vegas franchise after this season, Ben Bishop's value takes at least a slight hit with the younger Vasilevskiy poised for additional starts this season. And given all the Sabres' moves, goalie Robin Lehner leads the early list of fantasy sleeper candidates.
With all these offseason trends in mind, here's an updated look at the top 200 fantasy player ranking for 2016-17. Value has been quantified based on past production trends, potential line combinations, power-play usage, team goalie situations, injury history, bounce-back or breakout upside, projected regression, age and contract status (pending restricted free agents are noted below). This list will be updated again before training camp.
NOTE: 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.
1. Patrick Kane, C/RW, CHI
2. Sidney Crosby, C, PIT
3. Alex Ovechkin, LW/RW, WSH
4. Jamie Benn, LW, DAL
5. Erik Karlsson, D, OTT
6. Brent Burns, D/RW, SJS
7. Joe Pavelski, C/LW/RW, SJS
8. Tyler Seguin, C/RW, DAL
9. Connor McDavid, C, EDM
10. P.K. Subban, D, NSH
11. Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY (RFA)
12. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, STL
13. Kris Letang, D, PIT
14. Claude Giroux, C/RW, PHI
15. John Tavares, C, NYI
16. Braden Holtby, G, WSH
17. Nikita Kucherov, RW, TBL (RFA)
18. Evgeny Kuznetsov, C/LW, WSH
19. Joe Thornton, C, SJS
20. Steven Stamkos, C, TBL
21. Anze Kopitar, C, LAK
22. Evgeni Malkin, C/RW, PIT
23. Ben Bishop, G, TBL
24. Blake Wheeler, RW, WPG
25. Artemi Panarin, LW, CHI
26. Carey Price, G, MTL
27. Logan Couture, C/LW, SJS
28. Corey Perry, RW, ANA
29. Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS
30. Phil Kessel, RW, PIT
31. Wayne Simmonds, LW/RW, PHI
32. Taylor Hall, C/LW, NJD
33. Martin Jones, G, SJS
34. Dustin Byfuglien, D/RW, WPG
35. Filip Forsberg, C/LW/RW, NSH
36. Cory Schneider, G, NJD
37. Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH
38. Roman Josi, D, NSH
39. Jonathan Quick, G, LAK
40. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, ARI
41. Corey Crawford, G, CHI
42. Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA
43. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, PHI
44. James Neal, LW/RW, NSH
45. Jack Eichel, C, BUF
46. John Carlson, D, WSH
47. Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA
48. Ryan Johansen, C/RW, NSH
49. John Gibson, G, ANA
50. Drew Doughty, D, LAK
51. Mark Scheifele, C, WPG
52. Ryan O'Reilly, C/LW/RW, BUF
53. Pekka Rinne, G, NSH
54. Sean Monahan, C, CGY (RFA)
55. Nathan MacKinnon, C/RW, COL
56. Zach Parise, LW, MIN
57. Mark Giordano, D, CGY
58. Jason Spezza, C, DAL
59. Matt Murray, G, PIT
60. Brad Marchand, LW, BOS
61. Daniel Sedin, LW, VAN
62. Jake Allen, G, STL
63. Victor Hedman, D, TBL
64. Jonathan Huberdeau, C/LW, FLA
65. Jonathan Toews, C, CHI
66. Alexander Steen, C/LW, STL
67. Max Pacioretty, LW, MTL
68. Henrik Lundqvist, G, NYR
69. John Klingberg, D, DAL
70. Tyler Toffoli, C/LW/RW, LAK
71. Tyler Johnson, C, TBL
72. Duncan Keith, D, CHI
73. Kyle Okposo, RW, BUF
74. Brian Elliott, G, CGY
75. Keith Yandle, D, FLA
76. Brayden Schenn, C/LW, PHI (RFA)
77. Jeff Carter, C/RW, LAK
78. Vincent Trocheck, C/RW, FLA
79. Matt Duchene, C/LW, COL
80. Roberto Luongo, G, FLA (INJ.)
81. Auston Matthews, C, TOR
82. Jaromir Jagr, RW, FLA
83. Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT
84. Patrick Sharp, C/LW/RW, DAL
85. Shea Weber, D, MTL
86. Milan Lucic, LW, EDM
87. Ryan Kesler, C/RW, ANA
88. Jonathan Drouin, LW, TBL
89. Tyson Barrie, D, COL (RFA)
90. T.J. Oshie, C/RW, WSH
91. Devan Dubnyk, G, MIN
92. Rasmus Ristolainen, D, BUF (RFA)
93. Brandon Saad, LW/RW, CBJ
94. Jordan Eberle, RW, EDM
95. Frederik Andersen, G, TOR
96. Kevin Shattenkirk, D, STL
97. Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA
98. Andrew Ladd, LW, NYI
99. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, PIT
100. Torey Krug, D, BOS
101. Patrik Laine, LW/RW, WPG
102. Derick Brassard, C, NYR
103. Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL
104. Ryan Suter, D, MIN
105. Jakub Voracek, LW/RW, PHI
106. Brent Seabrook, D, CHI
107. Tomas Hertl, C/LW, SJS
108. Rick Nash, LW/RW, NYR
109. Jake Muzzin, D, LAK
110. Loui Eriksson, LW/RW, VAN
111. Tuukka Rask, G, BOS
112. Justin Faulk, D, CAR
113. Robby Fabbri, C, STL
114. Kyle Palmieri, LW/RW, NJD
115. Max Domi, C/LW, ARI
116. Henrik Sedin, C, VAN
117. Jussi Jokinen, C/LW/RW, FLA
118. Teuvo Teravainen, LW, CAR
119. Dylan Larkin, C/LW, DET
120. David Krejci, C, BOS
121. Alex Pietrangelo, D, STL
122. Henrik Zetterberg, C/LW, DET
123. Thomas Greiss, G, NYI
124. Seth Jones, D, CBJ
125. Adam Henrique, C/LW, NJD
126. Justin Williams, RW, WSH
127. Marian Hossa, RW, CHI
128. Marc-Edouard Vlasic, D, SJS
129. Petr Mrazek, G, DET (RFA)
130. Sami Vatanen, D, ANA
131. James van Riemsdyk, LW, TOR
132. Alexander Radulov, RW, MTL
133. Jeff Skinner, LW/RW, CAR
134. Dougie Hamilton, D, CGY
135. Boone Jenner, C/RW, CBJ
136. Jaden Schwartz, LW, STL (RFA)
137. David Backes, C/RW, BOS
138. Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL
139. Colton Parayko, D, STL
140. Mike Hoffman, C/LW, OTT (RFA)
141. Alex Galchenyuk, C/LW, MTL
142. Michael Cammalleri, C/LW, NJD
143. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TBL
144. Ryan McDonagh, D, NYR
145. Robin Lehner, G, BUF
146. Anton Stralman, D, TBL
147. Evander Kane, LW, BUF
148. Mats Zuccarello, LW/RW, NYR
149. Mark Stone, RW, OTT
150. Bobby Ryan, LW/RW, OTT
151. Ondrej Palat, LW, TBL
152. Michal Neuvirth, G, PHI
153. Morgan Rielly, D, TOR
154. Bryan Little, C/RW, WPG
155. Anthony Duclair, LW/RW, ARI
156. Eric Staal, C/LW, MIN
157. Nick Leddy, D, NYI
158. James Reimer, G, FLA
159. Joonas Donskoi, RW, SJS
160. Reilly Smith, LW/RW, FLA
161. Paul Stastny, C, STL
162. Derek Stepan, C, NYR
163. Jaroslav Halak, G, NYI
164. Mikko Koivu, C, MIN
165. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, CBJ
166. Zdeno Chara, D, BOS
167. Victor Rask, C, CAR (RFA)
168. TJ Brodie, D, CGY
169. Hampus Lindholm, D, ANA (RFA)
170. Mikkel Boedker, LW/RW, SJS
171. Brandon Dubinsky, C/LW, CBJ
172. Rickard Rakell, C, ANA (RFA)
173. Semyon Varlamov, G, COL
174. Michael Stone, D, ARI (RFA)
175. Sean Couturier, C, PHI
176. Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW, WPG
177. Frans Nielsen, C, DET
178. Alex Killorn, C/LW, TBL (RFA)
179. Andre Burakovsky, LW, WSH
180. Steve Mason, G, PHI
181. Alec Martinez, D, LAK
182. Mattias Ekholm, D, NSH
183. Jimmy Howard, G, DET
184. Trevor Daley, D, PIT
185. Mike Green, D, DET
186. Kyle Turris, C, OTT
187. PA Parenteau, RW, NYI
188. Dion Phaneuf, D, OTT
189. William Nylander, C/RW, TOR
190. Matt Niskanen, D, WSH
191. Andrei Markov, D, MTL
192. Troy Brouwer, RW, CGY
193. Brian Campbell, D, CHI
194. Sam Reinhart, C, BUF
195. Johnny Boychuk, D, NYI
196. Ryan Ellis, D, NSH
197. Leo Komarov, C/LW/RW, TOR
198. Cam Talbot, G, EDM
199. Mathew Dumba, D, MIN (RFA)
200. David Pastrnak, LW/RW, BOS
Just missed: Cam Atkinson (RW, CBJ), Nick Bonino (C, PIT), Kari Lehtonen (G, DAL), Nick Holden (D, NYR), Leon Draisaitl (C/RW, EDM), Chris Kreider (LW, NYR - RFA), Dylan Strome (C, ARI), Connor Hellebuyck (G, WPG), Adam Larsson (D, EDM), Noah Hanifin (D, CAR)