Fantasy hockey rankings: New roles bring new outlooks
The Colorado Avalanche winger skated with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen both on and off the power play in place of captain Gabriel Landeskog, who we learned is shelved until the playoffs after undergoing knee surgery.
The quick value swing that takes place with the news that Landeskog is out mimics what can happen as the trade deadline approaches: A player gets a new role with high upside and the potential for permanence.
Nichushkin has been in a good spot, skating with Nazem Kadri and Landeskog on the second line in recent weeks. But playing with MacKinnon and getting power-play time is a big boost here. Unless the Avs make another splash for a winger before Monday’s trade deadline, Nichuskin could be in a great spot for the final month and a half of the season.
Of course, that it the rub. The Avs still have the option to use the salary cap loophole, made famous by the Tampa Bay Lightning, by putting Landeskog on long-term injured reserve to free up a ton of salary cap space. With the team basically saying Landeskog is gone until the playoffs, it’s a possibility. That could open up the team to adding another forward that could take the winger spot on the top line (cough, Claude Giroux, cough).
So it’s Nichushkin you want short-term (available in 75 percent of ESPN leagues), but if the Avs make a play for another winger at the deadline, the path for their incoming role is equally as attractive.
Jack Eichel, C, Vegas Golden Knights (down six spots to No. 47): I had visions earlier this season of Eichel triumphantly returning to the ice comfortably between a pair of absolute snipers in Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty. Sigh.
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Let’s just say it’s been rough. With Reilly Smith hitting the injured reserve and Pacioretty missing Sunday’s game, Eichel played with William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault – not a horrible spot, but the Knights second line was Chandler Stephenson, William Carrier and Nicholas Roy, which is just an example of how decimated this lineup is now. Also consider the IR includes Mark Stone, last season’s top fantasy defenseman Alec Martinez and struggling goaltender Robin Lehner, and you start to the get the full picture.
Since Eichel’s return a month ago, the Golden Knights only have nine points in the standings. The Buffalo Sabres have eight.
Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles Kings (down 16 spots to No. 77): When Kopitar gets cold, he gets really cold. Last season, he had seven points in the final 22 games; in 2018-19, he started the season with four goals and two assists in the first 17 games. With news that Drew Doughty hit the IR, joining top-six options Dustin Brown, Viktor Arvidsson and Andreas Athanasiou, it might be worth finding an alternative to Kopitar for your active lineup for the time being.
Ryan Johansen, C, Nashville Predators (enters ranks at No. 221): I threw in the towel on Johansen two weeks ago, but I kind of want it back. At the time, it had been three months of subpar fantasy production with no indication the Preds had a desire to bring Johansen back to the top line. Really, what we had from Johansen this season is a really hot November in which he replaced and injured Filip Forsberg on the top line. But outside of that solid month of work, the numbers weren’t there. But losing to the Seattle Kraken on March 2 was the impetus for change. Johansen replaced Mikael Granlund on the top line with Forsberg and Matt Duchene – and the results have been predictable: six points in five games.
John Carlson, D, Washington Capitals (up 16 spots to No. 61): Just a few weeks ago, Carlson was projecting outside the top 100 skaters for fantasy. In contrast to what is happening to poor Eichel in Vegas, Carlson is benefiting from a healthy core returning to action. T.J. Oshie returned Feb. 24 and Anthony Mantha was back March 3 to get the Capitals back to a healthy top six. Carlson has been back to his old self since Feb. 28, right between those two return dates. In six games since then, Carlson has potted nine assists, including five on the advantage.
Jakob Chychrun, D, Arizona Coyotes (down seven spots to No. 172): This two- to four-week injury sure complicates things, but the best-case scenario that exists here is still a pretty good one. There is a chance Chychrun is back on the ice for the final month of the season with a team that gives him a much better chance of putting up the stats that made him the No. 2 overall fantasy defenseman last season. Don’t let the injury scare you off of him too much.
Vitek Vanecek, G, Washington Capitals (enters ranks at No. 230): The results haven’t been spectacular, but they’ve been much better than what Ilya Samsonov has been giving the Capitals. Unless the Caps manifest a trade for a goaltender at the deadline, it looks like Vanecek will get a larger share of the crease than Samsonov moving forward. Even projecting him with a lesser share, he sits among the top-15 goaltenders for the remainder of the season, so he easily has borderline No. 1 tender upside.
Ryan Johansen, Vitek Vanecek, Lawson Crouse, Travis Hamonic, Craig Smith, Drake Batherson, Dysin Mayo.
Travis Sanheim, Justin Holl, Tyler Motte, Alexander Kerfoot, Carter Hart, Barrett Hayton, Denis Gurianov, James Reimer, Mike Hoffman, Ryan Suter, Jonathan Dahlen, Conor Sheary.
Gabriel Landeskog, Alec Martinez, Nathan Bastian, Samuel Girard, Ilya Samsonov, Matt Roy, Kaapo Kahkonen, Jakub Voracek.
1. Auston Matthews, F, TOR (F1)
2. Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL (F2)
3. Nikita Kucherov, F, TB (F3)
4. Connor McDavid, F, EDM (F4)
5. Aleksander Barkov, F, FLA (F5)
6. Igor Shesterkin, G, NYR (G1)
7. Kirill Kaprizov, F, MIN (F6)
8. Leon Draisaitl, F, EDM (F7)
9. Jacob Markstrom, G, CGY (G2)
10. Mitch Marner, F, TOR (F8)
11. Cale Makar, D, COL (D1)
12. Roman Josi, D, NSH (D2)
13. Frederik Andersen, G, CAR (G3)
14. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TB (G4)
15. Victor Hedman, D, TB (D3)
16. Brad Marchand, F, BOS (F9)
17. Alex Ovechkin, F, WSH (F10)
18. J.T. Miller, F, VAN (F11)
19. Timo Meier, F, SJ (F12)
20. Mikko Rantanen, F, COL (F13)
21. Adam Fox, D, NYR (D4)
22. Jack Hughes, F, NJ (F14)
23. David Pastrnak, F, BOS (F15)
24. Sebastian Aho, F, CAR (F16)
25. Mika Zibanejad, F, NYR (F17)
26. Filip Forsberg, F, NSH (F18)
27. Elias Lindholm, F, CGY (F19)
28. Mats Zuccarello, F, MIN (F20)
29. Sidney Crosby, F, PIT (F21)
30. Steven Stamkos, F, TB (F22)
31. Kyle Connor, F, WPG (F23)
32. Jonathan Huberdeau, F, FLA (F24)
33. Moritz Seider, D, DET (D5)
34. Matthew Tkachuk, F, CGY (F25)
35. Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI (G5)
36. Joe Pavelski, F, DAL (F26)
37. Patrick Kane, F, CHI (F27)
38. Darcy Kuemper, G, COL (G6)
39. Noah Dobson, D, NYI (D6)
40. Jake Guentzel, F, PIT (F28)
41. Johnny Gaudreau, F, CGY (F29)
42. Kris Letang, D, PIT (D7)
43. Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA (D8)
44. Chris Kreider, F, NYR (F30)
45. Juuse Saros, G, NSH (G7)
46. Patrik Laine, F, CLS (F31)
47. Jack Eichel, F, VGS (F32)
48. Tristan Jarry, G, PIT (G8)
49. Jason Robertson, F, DAL (F33)
50. Andrei Svechnikov, F, CAR (F34)
51. Bryan Rust, F, PIT (F35)
52. Evgeni Malkin, F, PIT (F36)
53. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, FLA (G9)
54. Thomas Chabot, D, OTT (D9)
55. Brayden Point, F, TB (F37)
56. Vladimir Tarasenko, F, STL (F38)
57. Jeremy Swayman, G, BOS (G10)
58. Brady Tkachuk, F, OTT (F39)
59. Artemi Panarin, F, NYR (F40)
60. Dylan Larkin, F, DET (F41)
61. John Carlson, D, WSH (D10)
62. Patrice Bergeron, F, BOS (F42)
63. Nazem Kadri, F, COL (F43)
64. Alex DeBrincat, F, CHI (F44)
65. Jake Oettinger, G, DAL (G11)
66. Kevin Fiala, F, MIN (F45)
67. Blake Wheeler, F, WPG (F46)
68. Roope Hintz, F, DAL (F47)
69. Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS (D11)
70. Evander Kane, F, EDM (F48)
71. Jesper Bratt, F, NJ (F49)
72. Ryan Pulock, D, NYI (D12)
73. Max Pacioretty, F, VGS (F50)
74. Seth Jones, D, CHI (D13)
75. Brent Burns, D, SJ (D14)
76. Mark Scheifele, F, WPG (F51)
77. Anze Kopitar, F, LA (F52)
78. Dougie Hamilton, D, NJ (D15)
79. Clayton Keller, F, ARI (F53)
80. Matt Duchene, F, NSH (F54)
81. Tomas Hertl, F, SJ (F55)
82. Drew Doughty, D, LA (D16)
83. Sam Reinhart, F, FLA (F56)
84. Alex Pietrangelo, D, VGS (D17)
85. Elias Pettersson, F, VAN (F57)
86. Teuvo Teravainen, F, CAR (F58)
87. Logan Couture, F, SJ (F59)
88. Tage Thompson, F, BUF (F60)
89. Matthew Boldy, F, MIN (F61)
90. Darnell Nurse, D, EDM (D18)
91. Brayden Schenn, F, STL (F62)
92. Nico Hischier, F, NJ (F63)
93. Boone Jenner, F, CLS (F64)
94. Devon Toews, D, COL (D19)
95. Jacob Trouba, D, NYR (D20)
96. Thatcher Demko, G, VAN (G12)
97. Zach Werenski, D, CLS (D21)
98. Ville Husso, G, STL (G13)
99. Nick Suzuki, F, MON (F65)
100. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TB (D22)
101. MacKenzie Weegar, D, FLA (D23)
102. Brock Nelson, F, NYI (F66)
103. Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN (D24)
104. Jordan Kyrou, F, STL (F67)
105. Nikolaj Ehlers, F, WPG (F68)
106. Andrew Mangiapane, F, CGY (F69)
107. Colton Parayko, D, STL (D25)
108. Pierre-Luc Dubois, F, WPG (F70)
109. John Tavares, F, TOR (F71)
110. Michael Bunting, F, TOR (F72)
111. Tyler Bertuzzi, F, DET (F73)
112. Justin Faulk, D, STL (D26)
113. Nick Schmaltz, F, ARI (F74)
114. William Nylander, F, TOR (F75)
115. Bo Horvat, F, VAN (F76)
116. Josh Norris, F, OTT (F77)
117. Claude Giroux, F, PHI (F78)
118. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, ARI (D27)
119. Alex Tuch, F, BUF (F79)
120. Sam Bennett, F, FLA (F80)
121. Morgan Rielly, D, TOR (D28)
122. Tyler Toffoli, F, CGY (F81)
123. Rasmus Andersson, D, CGY (D29)
124. Zach Hyman, F, EDM (F82)
125. Cam Talbot, G, MIN (G14)
126. Anthony Duclair, F, FLA (F83)
127. Jeff Petry, D, MON (D30)
128. Evgeny Kuznetsov, F, WSH (F84)
129. Tom Wilson, F, WSH (F85)
130. Esa Lindell, D, DAL (D31)
131. Valeri Nichushkin, F, COL (F86)
132. Rasmus Dahlin, D, BUF (D32)
133. Cam Atkinson, F, PHI (F87)
134. Jonathan Marchessault, F, VGS (F88)
135. Joshua Morrissey, D, WPG (D33)
136. Mark Giordano, D, SEA (D34)
137. Joel Eriksson Ek, F, MIN (F89)
138. Cole Caufield, F, MON (F90)
139. Jamie Benn, F, DAL (F91)
140. Lucas Raymond, F, DET (F92)
141. Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG (G15)
142. Brayden McNabb, D, VGS (D35)
143. T.J. Oshie, F, WSH (F93)
144. Erik Karlsson, D, SJ (D36)
145. Jaccob Slavin, D, CAR (D37)
146. Pavel Buchnevich, F, STL (F94)
147. Vincent Trocheck, F, CAR (F95)
148. Quinn Hughes, D, VAN (D38)
149. Connor Brown, F, OTT (F96)
150. Tyler Seguin, F, DAL (F97)
151. Tony DeAngelo, D, CAR (D39)
152. Troy Terry, F, ANA (F98)
153. Dylan Strome, F, CHI (F99)
154. Taylor Hall, F, BOS (F100)
155. Oliver Bjorkstrand, F, CLS (F101)
156. Ryan Graves, D, NJ (D40)
157. Rasmus Ristolainen, D, PHI (D41)
158. Jack Campbell, G, TOR (G16)
159. Ryan Hartman, F, MIN (F102)
160. Alex Killorn, F, TB (F103)
161. Ryan McDonagh, D, TB (D42)
162. Adrian Kempe, F, LA (F104)
163. Miro Heiskanen, D, DAL (D43)
164. Adam Henrique, F, ANA (F105)
165. Jakub Vrana, F, DET (F106)
166. Connor Murphy, D, CHI (D44)
167. Calvin de Haan, D, CHI (D45)
168. Robin Lehner, G, VGS (G17)
169. Tanner Jeannot, F, NSH (F107)
170. Anders Lee, F, NYI (F108)
171. Viktor Arvidsson, F, LA (F109)
172. Jakob Chychrun, D, ARI (D46)
173. Mathew Barzal, F, NYI (F110)
174. Tim Stutzle, F, OTT (F111)
175. David Perron, F, STL (F112)
176. Nicklas Backstrom, F, WSH (F113)
177. Neal Pionk, D, WPG (D47)
178. John Klingberg, D, DAL (D48)
179. Blake Coleman, F, CGY (F114)
180. Torey Krug, D, STL (D49)
181. Damon Severson, D, NJ (D50)
182. Zach Whitecloud, D, VGS (D51)
183. Ivan Barbashev, F, STL (F115)
184. Shea Theodore, D, VGS (D52)
185. Vladislav Gavrikov, D, CLS (D53)
186. Adam Pelech, D, NYI (D54)
187. Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (D55)
188. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, CHI (G18)
189. Jonas Brodin, D, MIN (D56)
190. Mason Marchment, F, FLA (F116)
191. Yegor Sharangovich, F, NJ (F117)
192. Mathew Dumba, D, MIN (D57)
193. Marcus Foligno, F, MIN (F118)
194. Anton Lundell, F, FLA (F119)
195. Ben Chiarot, D, MON (D58)
196. Andre Burakovsky, F, COL (F120)
197. Rickard Rakell, F, ANA (F121)
198. Jeff Skinner, F, BUF (F122)
199. Kyle Palmieri, F, NYI (F123)
200. Mikael Granlund, F, NSH (F124)
201. Trevor Zegras, F, ANA (F125)
202. Anthony Cirelli, F, TB (F126)
203. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F, EDM (F127)
204. Ondrej Palat, F, TB (F128)
205. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, F, NYI (F129)
206. Evan Bouchard, D, EDM (D59)
207. Brock Boeser, F, VAN (F130)
208. Luke Schenn, D, TB (D60)
209. Robert Thomas, F, STL (F131)
210. Scott Mayfield, D, NYI (D61)
211. Ryan O’Reilly, F, STL (F132)
212. Cam Fowler, D, ANA (D62)
213. Reilly Smith, F, VGS (F133)
214. Artem Zub, D, OTT (D63)
215. Zach Parise, F, NYI (F134)
216. Radko Gudas, D, FLA (D64)
217. Brett Pesce, D, CAR (D65)
218. Ryan Strome, F, NYR (F135)
219. Scott Laughton, F, PHI (F136)
220. Kevin Shattenkirk, D, ANA (D66)
221. Ryan Johansen, F, NSH (F137)
222. Tyson Barrie, D, EDM (D67)
223. Erik Johnson, D, COL (D68)
224. Ryan Lindgren, D, NYR (D69)
225. Carter Verhaeghe, F, FLA (F138)
226. Phillip Danault, F, LA (F139)
227. Anthony Mantha, F, WSH (F140)
228. Tyler Myers, D, VAN (D70)
229. Noah Hanifin, D, CGY (D71)
230. Vitek Vanecek, G, WSH (G19)
231. Filip Hronek, D, DET (D72)
232. Dawson Mercer, F, NJ (F141)
233. Lawson Crouse, F, ARI (F142)
234. Jared McCann, F, SEA (F143)
235. Christopher Tanev, D, CGY (D73)
236. Travis Hamonic, D, VAN (D74)
237. Chandler Stephenson, F, VGS (F144)
238. Ondrej Kase, F, TOR (F145)
239. Travis Konecny, F, PHI (F146)
240. Nate Schmidt, D, WPG (D75)
241. Craig Smith, F, BOS (F147)
242. Jonathan Quick, G, LA (G20)
243. Elvis Merzlikins, G, CLS (G21)
244. Justin Braun, D, PHI (D76)
245. Corey Perry, F, TB (F148)
246. Drake Batherson, F, OTT (F149)
247. Jake DeBrusk, F, BOS (F150)
248. Josh Anderson, F, MON (F151)
249. Dysin Mayo, D, (D77)
250. Andrew Copp, F, WPG (F152)