Week 8: 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.

This week the fantasy forward landscape comes with plenty of injury implications, for better or worse.
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TOP 25 GOALIES
Calgary Flames left wing Johnny Gaudreau (finger) returned earlier than expected Sunday; he had two points, was a plus-2 and had four SOG against the Anaheim Ducks. Gaudreau was off to a slow start prior to his injury, but the win Sunday means Calgary is 7-3-1 since Nov. 16 and has the second-most points (15) in that span behind the Columbus Blue Jackets (16; 7-1-2).
The interesting wrinkle in the Flames lineup was Gaudreau. He usually plays with center Sean Monahan on a line with Sam Bennett, who just gained dual eligibility this week in Yahoo (C/LW; 18 percent owned). Bennett had three points in Gaudreau's return with one coming on the power play. For those in leagues that count PIMs, Bennett has provided a surprising bonus with 32 in 28 games. Monahan centered Troy Brouwer and Kris Versteeg (LW/RW, 4 percent owned), who has points in five of six games since returning from injury.

All things considered, Gaudreau's return should help the Flames continue their strong play. On the flip side, the injury news regarding Alex Galchenyuk could blindside the NHL-leading Montreal Canadiens.
Galchenyuk, arguably the biggest fantasy steal of the season (Yahoo rank: 28; average draft position: 133), is out indefinitely with a lower-body injury. The exact timetable is unclear, but this sets up a value spike for Tomas Plekanec (C, 10 percent owned), who should move up to the first line and see additional power-play time in Galchenyuk's place on the first unit. Plekanec has been quiet offensively with seven points (three PPP) and 49 SOG in 25 games, but had 54 points last season and 60 two seasons ago.
If Plekanec ends up centering Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov with Galchenyuk out, there's a chance Andrew Shaw (C/RW, 37 percent owned) could also be bumped up to an even-strength spot next to Brendan Gallagher. Shaw has played on Montreal's first power-play unit in recent games and has covered five of the six standard categories well this season (six goals, five assists, plus-10, 58 PIMs, 49 SOG), leading to an impressive Yahoo rank (33rd) considering his low ownership. Gallagher, who's owned in most leagues (70 percent; Yahoo rank: 81) is also a candidate to fill Galchenyuk's spot on the first power-play unit.

TRENDING UP

Travis Zajac (C, 30 percent owned; Yahoo rank: 70) may be the most underappreciated player in fantasy hockey this season. Whether he's centering Taylor Hall or, more recently, Michael Cammalleri, his point production and heavy workload has been consistent. He averages 20:23 per game (12th among forwards) and leads the New Jersey Devils with 20 points in 24 games. He has multiple points in four of six games since Cammalleri rejoined the Devils (personal reasons) and Hall's subsequent return from injury has them finally giving their goaltenders plenty of offensive support.

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TRENDING DOWN

Outside of a brief surge by rookie Mikko Rantanen, there hasn't been much to rave about in the Colorado Avalanche forward group this season. Nathan MacKinnon (Yahoo rank: 141) is among the League leaders in SOG (84, 8th), but has gone four straight games without a point. Matt Duchene (Yahoo rank: 272) has three points in six games since returning from a concussion, but has gone five games without a goal and is a minus-5 in that span. Duchene is also skating with less-than-inspiring linemates at even strength lately. The Avalanche, who went 0-4-1 on their recent homestand, are at the bottom of the NHL standings. Don't be surprised to see some sort of roster shakeup in the coming days and/or weeks, so it's worth being patient with MacKinnon and Duchene in the interim.

WORTH NOTING

• Mike Hoffman finally ended his season-opening funk for the Ottawa Senators, scoring at least a point in seven of his past eight games. He is among League leaders in points (12, 1st), PPP (six, T-1st) and SOG (26, T-5th) in that span, and is finding his groove playing with fellow slow-starters Mark Stone and Derick Brassard at even strength. Contrary to past years, Hoffman has been a staple on the first power-play unit with Stone, center Kyle Turris, and defensemen Erik Karlsson and Dion Phaneuf. The Senators are still one of the lowest-scoring teams in the NHL (2.35 goals per game, T-24th), so this offense may still have a higher gear. With Bobby Ryan (broken finger) injured, Ottawa's second line has Turris centering Ryan Dzingel (LW, 4 percent owned), who is on a three-game point streak, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau (C, 3 percent owned).
  - Scoring depth remains a concern for the Los Angeles Kings, but the recent returns of Anze Kopitar (Nov. 23) and Marian Gaborik (Nov. 26) bring hope. Kopitar has six assists in his first five games back, and Gaborik (RW, 11 percent owned) has two assists (one PPP) and a high shot volume (14) in his first four games. They were teammates for Team Europe at the World Cup of Hockey 2016 and have a long history as linemates, highlighted by their dominance during the Kings' Stanley Cup run in 2014.
  - In addition to Bennett, four other notable Yahoo eligibility updates were made Dec. 2. Nick Bjugstad (C/+RW) of the Florida Panthers, Leo Komarov (C/+LW/RW) of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Brandon Sutter (C/+RW) of the Vancouver Canucks and Jason Zucker (LW/+RW) of the Minnesota Wild each gained an additional forward position.

Top 100 Fantasy Forwards

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