After pacing the league with a 46-goal, 106-point season that included a 26-game point streak, the ridiculously skilled and consistent Patrick Kane enters the 2016-17 campaign as the top player in fantasy hockey. While elite forwards such as John Tavares and Max Pacioretty have seen their value drop due to the loss of key teammates, other budding superstars are ready to conquer the fantasy world. The shifty and insanely talented Johnny Gaudreau becomes a top-15 fantasy player after a point-per-game season that saw him reach the 30-goal mark, while linemate Sean Monahan just misses the top 30 on a young and energetic Flames team that's only getting better.
Connor McDavid is a legitimate threat to win the Art Ross Trophy after he took the NHL by storm, though his rookie campaign was cut short by a broken collarbone, while former Oiler Taylor Hall should thrive as the go-to guy in New Jersey. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars form the best 1-2 punch in the league and both crack our top-five rankings, while proven elite fantasy performers such as Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux and Joe Pavelski remain staples in the top-20. Be on the lookout for rising sniper Filip Forsberg, who netted 33 goals last season and will benefit from P.K. Subban's arrival in Nashville. Nathan MacKinnon, Kyle Okposo and Ryan Johansen are also three players who appear destined to have big years in 2016-17, while rookies Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are
After pacing the league with a 46-goal, 106-point season that included a 26-game point streak, the ridiculously skilled and consistent Patrick Kane enters the 2016-17 campaign as the top player in fantasy hockey. While elite forwards such as John Tavares and Max Pacioretty have seen their value drop due to the loss of key teammates, other budding superstars are ready to conquer the fantasy world. The shifty and insanely talented Johnny Gaudreau becomes a top-15 fantasy player after a point-per-game season that saw him reach the 30-goal mark, while linemate Sean Monahan just misses the top 30 on a young and energetic Flames team that's only getting better.
Connor McDavid is a legitimate threat to win the Art Ross Trophy after he took the NHL by storm, though his rookie campaign was cut short by a broken collarbone, while former Oiler Taylor Hall should thrive as the go-to guy in New Jersey. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn of the Dallas Stars form the best 1-2 punch in the league and both crack our top-five rankings, while proven elite fantasy performers such as Steven Stamkos, Claude Giroux and Joe Pavelski remain staples in the top-20. Be on the lookout for rising sniper Filip Forsberg, who netted 33 goals last season and will benefit from P.K. Subban's arrival in Nashville. Nathan MacKinnon, Kyle Okposo and Ryan Johansen are also three players who appear destined to have big years in 2016-17, while rookies Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine are ready to show what made them top picks in the 2016 draft.
On defense, after playing all 82 games for the third straight season, leading the league in assists and becoming the first defenseman since Nicklas Lidstrom to score more than 80 points in a season, Erik Karlsson maintains his spot at the top of the rankings among defensemen. There's simply no one better than Karlsson when it comes to rushing the puck up the ice and spearheading the offense, but he's followed closely by Brent Burns, whose 30 power-play points were second only to Patrick Kane and helped the Sharks finish third in the league with the man advantage. Kris Letang, P.K. Subban and Dustin Byfuglien round out the top five with Subban poised to have a big season, motivated by a controversial trade from the Habs and paired with the supremely underrated Roman Josi (with apologies to Andrei Markov). The NHL has no shortage of talent on defense, and it truly is a young man's league with John Klingberg, Rasmus Ristolainen, Shayne Gostisbehere, Colton Parayko, Darnell Nurse and Aaron Ekblad all poised to take another leap forward.
With the Capitals expected to dominate the regular season yet again this season, reigning Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby edges Carey Price for the No. 1 spot among goaltenders, though it should be a tight two-horse race between the league's two best goalies. The Western Conference is once again highlighted by Jonathan Quick and Corey Crawford, both still carrying heavy workloads for Stanley Cup contenders. Henrik Lundqvist falls slightly out of favor this season with the Rangers expected to take a step back, and while Marc-Andre Fleury and Ben Bishop are slated to start for two of the Eastern Conference's best teams, their future with them remain uncertain. Jake Allen, Brian Elliott and John Gibson provide some intrigue in their first seasons as undisputed No. 1 starters, while Petr Mrazek and Jacob Markstrom are still chomping at the bit to secure starting jobs.
Top 100 Fantasy NHL Players for 2016-17
1. Patrick Kane, CHI
2. Jamie Benn, DAL
3. Alex Ovechkin, WAS
4. Sidney Crosby, PIT
5. Tyler Seguin, DAL
6. Connor McDavid, EDM
7. Braden Holtby, WAS
8. Erik Karlsson, OTT
9. Vladimir Tarasenko, STL
10. Carey Price, MON
11. Joe Pavelski, SJ
12. Steven Stamkos, TB
13. John Tavares, NYI
14. Brent Burns, SJ
15. Johnny Gaudreau, CGY
16. Claude Giroux, PHI
17. Evgeny Kuznetsov, WSH
18. Evgeni Malkin, PIT
19. Corey Crawford, CHI
20. Jonathan Quick, LA
21. Kris Letang, PIT
22. Taylor Hall, NJD
23. Filip Forsberg, NAS
24. Blake Wheeler, WPG
25. Anze Kopitar, LA
26. Nicklas Backstrom, WAS
27. Logan Couture, SJ
28. Ben Bishop, TB
29. Artemi Panarin, CHI
30. Ryan Getzlaf, ANA
31. Patrice Bergeron, BOS
32. Matt Duchene, COL
33. Sean Monahan, CGY
34. James Neal, NAS
35. Joe Thornton, SJ
36. Corey Perry, ANA
37. Marc-Andre Fleury, PIT
38. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR
39. Aleksander Barkov, FLA
40. Nathan MacKinnon, COL
41. Ryan Johansen, NAS
42. Nikita Kucherov, TB
43. Max Pacioretty, MON
44. Daniel Sedin, VAN
45. Jonathan Huberdeau, FLA
46. Jonathan Toews, CHI
47. P.K. Subban, NAS
48. Zach Parise, MIN
49. Kyle Okposo, BUF
50. Pekka Rinne, NAS
51. Jack Eichel, BUF
52. Phil Kessel, PIT
53. Brad Marchand, BOS
54. Dustin Byfuglien, WPG
55. Jeff Carter, LA
56. Martin Jones, SJ
57. Tyler Johnson, TB
58. Alexander Steen, STL
59. Mark Scheifele, WPG
60. Cory Schneider, NJ
61. Roman Josi, NAS
62. Jaden Schwartz, STL
63. Jakub Voracek, PHI
64. Jason Spezza, DAL
65. Henrik Sedin, VAN
66. Tyler Toffoli, LA
67. Patrick Sharp, DAL
68. David Krejci, BOS
69. Mark Stone, OTT
70. Jonathan Drouin, TB
71. Brandon Saad, CLM
72. Mike Hoffman, OTT
73. Jake Allen, STL
74. John Klingberg, DAL
75. Max Domi, ARI
76. Auston Matthews, TOR
77. Tuukka Rask, BOS
78. Kyle Palmieri, NJD
79. John Carlson, WAS
80. Henrik Zetterberg, DET
81. Jordan Eberle, EDM
82. Wayne Simmonds, PHI
83. Victor Hedman, TB
84. Jaroslav Halak, NYI
85. Alex Galchenyuk, MTL
86. Bobby Ryan, OTT
87. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, ARI
88. Mats Zuccarello, NYR
89. Dylan Larkin, DET
90. Adam Henrique, NJD
91. Vincent Trocheck, FLA
92. Shea Weber, MTL
93. Loui Eriksson, VAN
94. Gabriel Landeskog, COL
95. Leon Draisaitl, EDM
96. Patrik Laine, WPG
97. Jaromir Jagr, FLA
98. Jeff Skinner, CAR
99. Ondrej Palat, TBL
100. Mark Giordano, CGY
101. James van Riemsdyk, TOR
102. Rick Nash, NYR
103. Robby Fabbri, STL
104. Patrick Marleau, SJS
105. Brayden Schenn, PHI
106. Justin Faulk, CAR
107. Kevin Shattenkirk, STL
108. Tyson Barrie, STL
109. Duncan Keith, CHI
110. Drew Doughty, LA
111. Rasmus Ristolainen, BUF
