Week 6: 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.

It's hard to remember a week in recent years where the fantasy forward landscape was affected by injuries to this degree.
Six top 100 forwards are dealing with long-term injuries: Steven Stamkos (lateral meniscus tear; out 4-6 months), Johnny Gaudreau (fractured finger; out six weeks), Taylor Hall (torn meniscus; out 3-4 weeks), Mika Zibanejad (broken fibula; out 6-8 weeks), T.J. Oshie (upper body; week to week), and Tomas Hertl (knee; no timetable). Chris Kunitz, who just missed the top 100 rankings last week, is week to week with a lower-body injury.
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As for replacement options, we have already touched on center and left wing options from in-house and around the League. But it's worth noting which players moved inside the top 100 rankings in place of these injured forwards.
Robby Fabbri (C/LW, 36 percent owned) had the biggest jump among unranked players from last week, joining the top 75 forwards. The St. Louis Blues wing had a rocky start to the season and was a healthy scratch Nov. 10, but the wakeup call sparked his current four-game point streak (three goals, two assists, nine penalty minutes, four PPP, nine SOG). The preseason breakout candidate is doing his damage on the top line and first power-play unit with Vladimir Tarasenko, making him an attractive fantasy option regardless of format.
Valtteri Filppula (C/LW, 20 percent owned), who has four points (three PPP) in four games since Stamkos was injured, and Patrick Eaves (RW, 44 percent owned), who has points in six straight games and eight of his past nine, also warrant ownership in most formats because of their recent usage and production. Eaves, still playing on the Dallas Stars first power-play unit after the return of Jason Spezza and Patrick Sharp from injuries, has six PPP in the nine-game span.
Rounding out the list of additions are Nazem Kadri (C, 57 percent owned), who's ranked 17th in Yahoo's performance-based rankings as the Toronto Maple Leafs third-line center, Alex Killorn (C/LW, 44 percent owned), who's been productive alongside Filppula and Jonathan Drouin on the Tampa Bay Lightning's revised second line, and Jakob Silfverberg (RW, 48 percent owned), who's primarily an even-strength scorer but a good one at that (four goals, six assists in past eight games) on a line with Ryan Kesler.

TRENDING UP

Maple Leafs linemates Mitch Marner and James van Riemsdyk went on a scoring rampage this week; the rookie had four points and was a plus-5 and had eight SOG in three games, and the left wing had six points, was a plus-5 and had 11 SOG in the span, including a hat trick Nov. 15 against the Nashville Predators. Each has catapulted into the 51-60 range of the top 100 forward rankings this week. Through nine games this month, van Riemsdyk (11 points) and Marner (10 points) lead the Maple Leafs in scoring, vastly outperforming rookie duo Auston Matthews (three) and William Nylander (three). The Maple Leafs have a lot of work to do on the back end (3.28 goals allowed per game; 27th in NHL), but have also showcased their immensely talented young forwards, who are lighting up the scoreboard in the present (3.17 goals per game; third in NHL) and have a bright future.

TRENDING DOWN

Gaudreau's long-term injury hits the fantasy value of center Sean Monahan especially hard. Monahan, who has eclipsed 60 points in each of the past two seasons, has been held without a point in three of his first four games since Gaudreau went down, and has been limited to eight points, one on the power play, and is a minus-11 in 21 games this season. He's skating alongside Sam Bennett and Troy Brouwer at even strength and remains on the Calgary Flames first power-play unit, but the struggling forward and the Flames face an even greater uphill battle without Gaudreau. It's wise to be patient with Monahan in fantasy for as long as possible, but it's acceptable to drop him if you're in a shallow league and losing ground.

WORTH NOTING

• Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene, who missed four games because of a concussion, returned Monday and scored the game-winning overtime goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Duchene played on a line with Carl Soderberg, and Nathan MacKinnon was flanked by rookie Mikko Rantanen (RW, 4 percent owned). MacKinnon is one of the hottest scorers in the League, totaling two goals, three assists, a plus-2 and 13 SOG in his three-game point streak. Rantanen, who had no points in nine games during his NHL trial last season, has been much better this time around. The 20-year-old had another assist against the Blue Jackets on Monday, giving him five points (two PPP) in his past six games.
  - Jesse Puljujarvi (RW, 19 percent owned) has bounced around the Edmonton Oilers lineup, been a healthy scratch, and had a lower-body injury already as a rookie, but has remained with the Oilers past his nine-game trial and is beginning to pick up steam. He helped spark Connor McDavid's hat trick against the Dallas Stars on Saturday with two assists, and had another assist in the Oilers' 5-0 rout of the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. Puljujarvi was a combined plus-4 in those two games and presents boom-or-bust potential in one-year fantasy leagues. His ownership is low enough to make him worth the risk in deep leagues, and his keeper-league value should be evident at this point.
  - Patrick Marleau (C/LW, 46 percent owned) has been playing on the San Jose Sharks top line alongside Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski for the past two games, and has one goal on eight SOG and is a plus-3 in the span. Hertl's injury shakes up the Sharks top nine forward group, and Marleau has a chance to capitalize on this rare first line opportunity. Marleau, the Sharks all-time leading scorer (1,042 points), has been off the fantasy grid this season with six points (two PPP) in 19 games, but the Pavelski-Thornton duo could boost the veteran's stock in a hurry.

Top 100 Fantasy Forwards

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