Week 10: Fantasy top 100 forward rankings for 2016-17

All season long, NHL.com will rank the top 100 forwards for standard Yahoo leagues (goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power-play points, shots on goal). Players with long-term injuries have been removed from this list. Multiple positions indicate dual eligibility in Yahoo leagues.
These rankings are based on expectations for the rest of the season. Value is quantified by line combinations, power-play usage, past performance and overall upside in standard leagues. Changes in value each week are based on recent performance and/or lineup trends.

The signs of a potential breakout had always been there for Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson, but the great unknown was whether he would ever be much more than a 20-goal, 200-shot player in the NHL.
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Atkinson, entering his prime at 27, has answered that question. He's tied for ninth in the NHL with 31 points in 29 games this season. His plus/minus (plus-6) and SOG (85) totals are also impressive, and he has turned an extremely low average draft position (159.1) into a top 15 overall standing in Yahoo's performance-based rankings (13th).
He's riding a six-game point streak with four multipoint outings in the span and the Blue Jackets are the hottest team in the NHL with nine straight wins. They have three games remaining before the League's Christmas break.
The biggest reason for Atkinson's next-level surge has been the Blue Jackets' top-ranked power play (27.7 percent); Atkinson is tied for the League lead in PPP (15) with Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers. His running mates on the first power-play unit, Alex Wennberg (13 PPP), Sam Gagner (11), Zach Werenski (11) and Nick Foligno (11), accompany him near the top of the leaderboard.

The Blue Jackets are one of two teams with a quintet of skaters scoring at least 10 PPP, joining Ryan Kesler, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, Cam Fowler and Sami Vatanen of the Anaheim Ducks. Gagner, who enters the top 100 forward rankings this week, is dual eligible (C/RW) and remains underappreciated in Yahoo leagues (53 percent owned).
Atkinson, who previously never had more than 10 PPP in a single season, had similar fantasy statistics in 2013-14 (40 points, 216 SOG) and 2014-15 (40, 212). He was a bright spot for the Blue Jackets last season with an NHL-high 27 goals, 53 points and 226 SOG. It was his third straight season of at least 20 goals.
Speaking of consistency, Atkinson's productivity per shift is among the NHL's best. He's fourth in points per 60 minutes (3.56) among those with at least 20 games played behind Sidney Crosby (4.07), Vladimir Tarasenko (3.77) and Gagner (3.63). Atkinson has not gone more than two games without a point, scoring at least one in 21 of 29 games.
Now, Atkinson is on an 82-game pace of 88 points and 42 PPP. To put the second number in perspective, one player has topped 40 PPP in a single season since 2011-12: Nicklas Backstrom of the Washington Capitals had 44 in 2013-14.
Atkinson's fantasy worth has never been greater, presenting the opportunity for immense fantasy value if he keeps this up or sky-high trade value if you wish to sell high.

TRENDING UP

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has proven to be a self-sustainable fantasy asset in his second full NHL season. He's been on and off the line of NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid, but has managed to improve his production rate after the departure of frequent linemate Taylor Hall to the New Jersey Devils. Draisaitl, who enters NHL.com's top 35 fantasy forward rankings this week, has 30 points in 34 games and leads Edmonton in PPP (13). He's second on the Oilers in points with a big gap between him and their next-best scorers (Milan Lucic, Jordan Eberle with 23 each). He has emerged from a relatively inconsistent forward group to become a keeper-league gold mine.

TRENDING DOWN

Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar has not been up to par this season. He has a goal and no assists in his past six games and is minus-3 with nine SOG in the span. After an up-and-down stretch playing with Marian Gaborik, Kopitar is now centering Tanner Pearson and Trevor Lewis, hardly inspiring to fantasy owners who drafted him on average with the 29th pick. Kopitar, on pace for 44 points after scoring 74 in 2015-16, started slow last season before returning to elite form with 67 points in final 63 games. The Kings remain in the Stanley Cup Playoff hunt despite the absence of injured goalie Jonathan Quick and Kopitar owners should still have some faith that one of the best two-way players in the League can turn it around over time.

WORTH NOTING

Remember when Evander Kane (LW, 27 percent owned) of the Buffalo Sabres had no goals and two assists in his first 10 games? It's easy to forget that slump after he's scored eight points (five goals, three assists), two on the power play, with 29 SOG in the nine games since Jack Eichel returned from injury. Kane is separated from his frequent linemates in that stretch (Eichel, Sam Reinhart), but his production uptick has continued despite the change. He has points in four of his past five games and is averaging nearly two hits per game (36 in 19 games) on the season.

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Top 100 Fantasy Forwards

These rankings were last updated Dec. 20
1. Connor McDavid, C, EDM (SAME)
2. Sidney Crosby, C, PIT (SAME)
3. Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (SAME)
4. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, STL (SAME)
5. Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH (SAME)
6. Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT (+1)
7. Joe Pavelski, C/RW, SJS (-1)
8. Jakub Voracek, LW/RW, PHI (SAME)
9. Nikita Kucherov, RW, TBL (DTD)
10. Tyler Seguin, C/RW, DAL (SAME)
11. Mark Scheifele, C, WPG (SAME)
12. Wayne Simmonds, RW, PHI (SAME)
13. Claude Giroux, C, PHI (SAME)
14. Jamie Benn, LW, DAL (SAME)
15. Patrik Laine, LW/RW, WPG (SAME)
16. Artemi Panarin, LW, CHI (+1)
17. Phil Kessel, RW, PIT (-1)
18. Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH (+5)
19. Corey Perry, RW, ANA (SAME)
20. Brad Marchand, LW, BOS (SAME)
21. Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY (+6)
22. John Tavares, C, NYI (-4)
23. Auston Matthews, C, TOR (+3)
24. Blake Wheeler, RW, WPG (SAME)
25. David Pastrnak, RW, BOS (DTD)
26. Cam Atkinson, RW, CBJ (+10)
27. Alexander Radulov, LW/RW, MTL (-5)
28. Jack Eichel, C, BUF (SAME)
29. Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA (+2)
30. Ryan Kesler, C, ANA (+2)
31. Taylor Hall, LW, NJD (-6)
32. Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA (+3)
33. Jeff Skinner, LW, CAR (+9)
34. Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT (-5)
35. Leon Draisaitl, C/RW, EDM (+17)
36. Logan Couture, C, SJS (-6)
37. James Neal, RW, NSH (-4)
38. Jeff Carter, C, LAK (-4)
39. Matt Duchene, C/RW, COL (SAME)
40. Max Pacioretty, LW, MTL (-3)
41. Ryan Johansen, C, NSH (SAME)
42. Marian Hossa, RW, CHI (+2)
43. Tyler Toffoli, C/RW, LAK (+3)
44. Milan Lucic, LW, EDM (-1)
45. Ryan O'Reilly, C/LW, BUF (SAME)
46. Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (+1)
47. Kyle Okposo, RW, BUF (+1)
48. Mitch Marner, C/RW, TOR (+1)
49. Joe Thornton, C, SJS (+1)
50. Nick Foligno, LW/RW, CBJ (+1)
51. Nathan MacKinnon, C/RW, COL (-13)
52. Alexander Wennberg, C, CBJ (+4)
53. Jordan Eberle, RW, EDM (SAME)
54. James van Riemsdyk, LW, TOR (SAME)
55. Eric Staal, C, MIN (+15)
56. Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW, WPG (+2)
57. Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, WSH (+2)
58. Brandon Saad, LW/RW, CBJ (+5)
59. Mike Hoffman, LW, OTT (-2)
60. Brayden Schenn, C/LW, PHI (SAME)
61. Daniel Sedin, LW, VAN (SAME)
62. Anze Kopitar, C, LAK (-22)
63. Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL (-1)
64. Artem Anisimov, C, CHI (DTD)
65. J.T. Miller, C/LW/RW, NYR (+1)
66. Filip Forsberg, LW, NSH (+1)
67. Chris Kreider, LW, NYR (+1)
68. William Nylander, C/RW, TOR (+3)
69. Sean Monahan, C, CGY (SAME)
70. Rickard Rakell, C/LW, ANA (+9)
71. Jonathan Drouin, LW/RW, TBL (+9)
72. Victor Rask, C, CAR (+4)
73. Jaromir Jagr, RW, FLA (+4)
74. Robby Fabbri, C/LW, STL (+4)
75. Zach Parise, LW, MIN (+7)
76. Derek Stepan, C, NYR (+5)
77. Charlie Coyle, C/RW, MIN (+11)
78. Bryan Little, C, WPG (+12)
79. Mark Stone, RW, OTT (+16)
80. Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS (-25)
81. Jaden Schwartz, C/LW, STL (-8)
82. T.J. Oshie, RW, WSH (-7)
83. Alexander Steen, LW/RW, STL (-9)
84. Tyler Johnson, C, TBL (SAME)
85. Kevin Hayes, C/RW, NYR (SAME)
86. Mats Zuccarello, RW, NYR (+3)
87. Nazem Kadri, C, TOR (+9)
88. Sam Gagner, C/RW, CBJ (NEW)
89. Jason Spezza, C/RW, DAL (-17)
90. Michael Cammalleri, LW, NJD (-7)
91. Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL (-5)
92. Marcus Johansson, LW/RW, WSH (-5)
93. Jakob Silfverberg, RW, ANA (SAME)
94. David Backes, RW, BOS (+4)
95. Evander Kane, LW, BUF (NEW)
96. Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, NSH (NEW)
97. Conor Sheary, LW/RW, PIT (NEW)
98. Travis Zajac, C, NJD (-6)
99. Henrik Zetterberg, C/LW, DET (SAME)
100. Travis Konecny, C/LW, PHI (-3)
Just missed: Mike Fisher (C, NSH), Mikko Koivu (C, MIN), Valtteri Filppula (C/LW, TBL), Thomas Vanek (LW/RW, DET), Radim Vrbata (RW, ARI), Tomas Plekanec (C, MTL), Kyle Turris (C, OTT), Nino Niederreiter (LW/RW, MIN), Mikael Granlund (C/LW, MIN), Teuvo Teravainen (C/LW/RW, CAR)
Dropped out: Jonathan Marchessault (C/LW, FLA - DTD), Sam Reinhart (C/RW, BUF)
Key injuries: Steven Stamkos (C, TBL), Alex Galchenyuk (C, MTL), Rick Nash (LW/RW, NYR), Mika Zibanejad (C/RW, NYR), Jonathan Huberdeau (LW, FLA), Patrick Sharp (LW/RW, DAL), Tomas Hertl (C/LW, SJS), Max Domi (LW, ARI), Andrew Shaw (C/RW, MTL)
READ: Last week's Top 100 forward rankings