Fantasy hockey: Way too early 2022-23 rankings
To get the ball rolling on discussions for the fall, we present the way-too-early top 300 fantasy rankings.
Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Leon Draisaitl, W, Edmonton Oilers
Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers
Nikita Kucherov, W, Tampa Bay Lightning
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning
Kirill Kaprizov, W, Minnesota Wild
Roman Josi, D, Nashville Predators
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche
Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning
I don’t think there would be too much argument over these selections. For the record, I also project Matthew Tkachuk, Mitch Marner and Jonathan Huberdeau to eclipse 200 fantasy points next season, joining these 10 as the ones to hit that threshold.
The projections I used still give a slight edge to McDavid for overall scoring, but we are talking about less than two points separating them, so you could really call them 1A and 1B.
Josi, Hedman and Cale Makar form the top grouping of fantasy defensemen for next season, but I might suggest that Moritz Seider has a chance to join them in the tier. He just needs the Red Wings to make a couple of offseason improvements, specifically to the power play.
Shesterkin and Vasilevskiy can be argued as their own tier at the top of the goaltenders list. Ilya Sorokin has a chance to join them if the Islanders are a better team next season. One of the biggest risers is Jake Oettinger, who projects to have a clear path to more playing time as the Stars unquestioned starter, joining the next tier with Sorokin, Juuse Saros and Jacob Markstrom.
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Ryan Getzlaf and Dustin Brown already announced their intentions, but others could also decide to hang them up. Some with significant fantasy impacts.
If Patrice Bergeron, whose contract expires, decides to keep playing, he showed enough signs of life to carry an impact fantasy line for another season. Brad Marchand would benefit, and the Bruins power play would be better for it. Getting another center under contract that could drive this offense is a tall order, so the Bruins are likely hoping Bergeron wants to keep playing hockey. From a fantasy perspective, a retirement here would impact almost everyone on the team negatively.
Not all players would have such a sweeping impact on their club if they decide to call it a career. Among the players that made this top 300 that will be 37 or older next season are Bergeron, Alex Ovechkin, Joe Pavelski, Mark Giordano, Brent Burns, Jeff Carter, Alex Goligoski, Ryan Suter and Paul Stastny.
But some, like Giordano and Fleury, are currently on rental contracts, so are already expected to “retire” from their current team unless they come to a new accord. Ovechkin is still hunting the Great One’s goal mark, so won’t be going anywhere.
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While Johnny Gaudreau had the most points, Stanley Cup champion Nazem Kadri may get the most attention among free agents as a center. The Bruins and Stars would certainly like to come calling on Kadri if they need to replace Bergeron or Pavelski.
Other marquee free agents include: Filip Forsberg, Claude Giroux and Evgeni Malkin. But the list goes on to include Evander Kane, Bryan Rust, David Perron, Ryan Strome, Andrew Copp, John Klingberg, Vincent Trocheck, Andre Burakovsky and Valeri Nichushkin, as well as Darcy Kuemper and Jack Campbell in the crease.
There are some significant assets available here.
Forsberg, Kadri and Gaudreau are locks for top duty with whatever club they join, with Giroux and Kane arguably in a similar position. Gaudreau was part of the most dangerous line in the NHL this season — and it wasn’t close. Elias Lindholm, Tkachuk and Gaudreau accounted for 72 goals at five-on-five; the Leafs line of Matthews, Marner and Michael Bunting was second with 61. It might be tough for the Flames to afford to give Gaudreau a raise with Tkachuk also due one.
The Preds have the room to bring back Forsberg, but if they don’t, he could become a top-10 fantasy asset in the right home. Giroux is a question mark, given he is in a position to potentially sign with a Cup contender, but he’s effective enough to come back for another season, too.
As for Kane, as well as other potential top-six assets like Rust, Perron, Strome, Copp and Trocheck, we’ll have to see where they land before passing judgment.
In the crease, there are more teams that will want an upgrade in net than there are goaltenders available. With Marc-Andre Fleury resigning in Minnesota for two more seasons, it leaves Kuemper and Campbell as the top targets — and both are due massive pay raises after this season. In regards to Kuemper, the Avalanche have traded for Rangers backup Alexandar Georgiev, likely signaling that Kuemper’s time with the Cup-winning Avalanche is over.
But the list of teams looking for stability in the crease could be argued as a very long one: Oilers, Kings, Sharks, Coyotes, Blackhawks, Devils, Sabres and Canadiens.
Next season’s fantasy Calder race should be another good one, with a decent number of fresh assets expected to join the ranks of the fantasy producers.
Matty Beniers headlines the crew, having put up 10 games of solid production to end this campaign. He’ll come into next year ready to lead the Seattle Kraken offense.
Owen Power will be on the Sabres blue line. But there is likely a cap on his overall rookie potential with Rasmus Dahlin established in place.
Marco Rossi will be in line for a wing spot with the Wild and could be the eventual successor to Mats Zuccarello on Kaprizov’s line. Jake Sanderson should get a chance to establish himself on the Sens blue line. Thomas Bordeleau and William Eklund have ample opportunities on a rebuilding Sharks club. Whether it’s with the Rangers is debatable, but Vitali Kravtsov should be ready for an NHL top-six role.
There are others outside this top 300 worth monitoring into the fall: Aatu Raty, Alexander Holtz, Kent Johnson, Dylan Holloway and Yaroslav Askarov, among them.
Updated July 7
1. Connor McDavid, F, EDM (F1)
2. Auston Matthews, F, TOR (F2)
3. Leon Draisaitl, F, EDM (F3)
4. Igor Shesterkin, G, NYR (G1)
5. Nikita Kucherov, F, TB (F4)
6. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TB (G2)
7. Kirill Kaprizov, F, MIN (F5)
8. Roman Josi, D, NSH (D1)
9. Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL (F6)
10. Victor Hedman, D, TB (D2)
11. Matthew Tkachuk, F, CGY (F7)
12. Mitch Marner, F, TOR (F8)
13. Jonathan Huberdeau, F, FLA (F9)
14. Mikko Rantanen, F, COL (F10)
15. Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI (G3)
16. J.T. Miller, F, VAN (F11)
17. Aleksander Barkov, F, FLA (F12)
18. Juuse Saros, G, NSH (G4)
19. Cale Makar, D, COL (D3)
20. Jacob Markstrom, G, CGY (G5)
21. Kyle Connor, F, WPG (F13)
22. Moritz Seider, D, DET (D4)
23. Jake Guentzel, F, PIT (F14)
24. Chris Kreider, F, NYR (F15)
25. Jake Oettinger, G, DAL (G6)
26. Timo Meier, F, SJ (F16)
27. Adam Fox, D, NYR (D5)
28. Alex DeBrincat, F, CHI (F17)
29. Johnny Gaudreau, F, CGY (F18)
30. Sidney Crosby, F, PIT (F19)
31. Jack Hughes, F, NJ (F20)
32. Elias Lindholm, F, CGY (F21)
33. Mika Zibanejad, F, NYR (F22)
34. Brady Tkachuk, F, OTT (F23)
35. Gabriel Landeskog, F, COL (F24)
36. David Pastrnak, F, BOS (F25)
37. Sebastian Aho, F, CAR (F26)
38. Seth Jones, D, CHI (D6)
39. Steven Stamkos, F, TB (F27)
40. Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA (D7)
41. Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS (D8)
42. Frederik Andersen, G, CAR (G7)
43. Patrick Kane, F, CHI (F28)
44. Filip Forsberg, F, NSH (F29)
45. Jack Eichel, F, VGS (F30)
46. John Tavares, F, TOR (F31)
47. Darnell Nurse, D, EDM (D9)
48. Darcy Kuemper, G, COL (G8)
49. Ville Husso, G, STL (G9)
50. MacKenzie Weegar, D, FLA (D10)
51. John Carlson, D, WSH (D11)
52. Patrik Laine, F, CLS (F32)
53. Brad Marchand, F, BOS (F33)
54. Mark Scheifele, F, WPG (F34)
55. Tristan Jarry, G, PIT (G10)
56. Andrei Svechnikov, F, CAR (F35)
57. William Nylander, F, TOR (F36)
58. Sam Reinhart, F, FLA (F37)
59. Noah Dobson, D, NYI (D12)
60. Josh Norris, F, OTT (F38)
61. Alex Ovechkin, F, WSH (F39)
62. Vladimir Tarasenko, F, STL (F40)
63. Roope Hintz, F, DAL (F41)
64. Jason Robertson, F, DAL (F42)
65. Anze Kopitar, F, LA (F43)
66. Dylan Larkin, F, DET (F44)
67. Patrice Bergeron, F, BOS (F45)
68. Nazem Kadri, F, COL (F46)
69. Nick Suzuki, F, MON (F47)
70. Morgan Rielly, D, TOR (D13)
71. Alex Pietrangelo, D, VGS (D14)
72. Kevin Fiala, F, MIN (F48)
73. Rasmus Dahlin, D, BUF (D15)
74. Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (D16)
75. Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG (G11)
76. Tomas Hertl, F, SJ (F49)
77. Thatcher Demko, G, VAN (G12)
78. Boone Jenner, F, CLS (F50)
79. Jacob Trouba, D, NYR (D17)
80. Adrian Kempe, F, LA (F51)
81. Drake Batherson, F, OTT (F52)
82. Artemi Panarin, F, NYR (F53)
83. Pavel Buchnevich, F, STL (F54)
84. Kris Letang, D, PIT (D18)
85. Rasmus Andersson, D, CGY (D19)
86. Elias Pettersson, F, VAN (F55)
87. Justin Faulk, D, STL (D20)
88. Tage Thompson, F, BUF (F56)
89. Tim Stutzle, F, OTT (F57)
90. Bo Horvat, F, VAN (F58)
91. Joel Eriksson Ek, F, MIN (F59)
92. Max Pacioretty, F, VGS (F60)
93. Vince Dunn, D, SEA (D21)
94. Pierre-Luc Dubois, F, WPG (F61)
95. Joshua Morrissey, D, WPG (D22)
96. Robert Thomas, F, STL (F62)
97. Cam Talbot, G, MIN (G13)
98. Tanner Jeannot, F, NSH (F63)
99. Matt Duchene, F, NSH (F64)
100. Nikolaj Ehlers, F, WPG (F65)
101. Ryan Pulock, D, NYI (D23)
102. Devon Toews, D, COL (D24)
103. Sean Couturier, F, PHI (F66)
104. Jordan Kyrou, F, STL (F67)
105. Dougie Hamilton, D, NJ (D25)
106. Evander Kane, F, EDM (F68)
107. Jonathan Marchessault, F, VGS (F69)
108. David Perron, F, STL (F70)
109. Brayden Point, F, TB (F71)
110. Shea Theodore, D, VGS (D26)
111. Matthew Beniers, F, SEA (F72)
112. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TB (D27)
113. Cole Caufield, F, MON (F73)
114. Jack Campbell, G, TOR (G14)
115. Joe Pavelski, F, DAL (F74)
116. Tony DeAngelo, D, PHI (D28)
117. Logan Couture, F, SJ (F75)
118. Matthew Boldy, F, MIN (F76)
119. Brock Nelson, F, NYI (F77)
120. Quinn Hughes, D, VAN (D29)
121. Oliver Bjorkstrand, F, CLS (F78)
122. John Gibson, G, ANA (G15)
123. Troy Terry, F, ANA (F79)
124. Bryan Rust, F, PIT (F80)
125. Tom Wilson, F, WSH (F81)
126. Ryan Hartman, F, MIN (F82)
127. Michael Bunting, F, TOR (F83)
128. Alex Tuch, F, BUF (F84)
129. Tyler Bertuzzi, F, DET (F85)
130. Zach Werenski, D, CLS (D30)
131. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, FLA (G16)
132. Jakob Chychrun, D, ARI (D31)
133. Thomas Chabot, D, OTT (D32)
134. Adam Larsson, D, SEA (D33)
135. Ryan O’Reilly, F, STL (F86)
136. Mats Zuccarello, F, MIN (F87)
137. Blake Wheeler, F, WPG (F88)
138. Claude Giroux, F, FLA (F89)
139. Owen Power, D, BUF (D34)
140. Taylor Hall, F, BOS (F90)
141. Ryan Johansen, F, NSH (F91)
142. Damon Severson, D, NJ (D35)
143. Esa Lindell, D, DAL (D36)
144. Andrew Mangiapane, F, CGY (F92)
145. Jeff Skinner, F, BUF (F93)
146. Jesper Bratt, F, NJ (F94)
147. Kevin Shattenkirk, D, ANA (D37)
148. Dysin Mayo, D, ARI (D38)
149. Evgeny Kuznetsov, F, WSH (F95)
150. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, ARI (D39)
151. Vincent Trocheck, F, CAR (F96)
152. Brayden Schenn, F, STL (F97)
153. Robin Lehner, G, VGS (G17)
154. Trevor Zegras, F, ANA (F98)
155. Vladislav Gavrikov, D, CLS (D40)
156. Mark Giordano, D, TOR (D41)
157. Phillip Danault, F, LA (F99)
158. Andrew Copp, F, NYR (F100)
159. Cam Fowler, D, ANA (D42)
160. Clayton Keller, F, ARI (F101)
161. Sam Bennett, F, FLA (F102)
162. Anton Lundell, F, FLA (F103)
163. Artem Zub, D, OTT (D43)
164. Ryan Ellis, D, PHI (D44)
165. Chandler Stephenson, F, VGS (F104)
166. Jeremy Swayman, G, BOS (G18)
167. Mark Stone, F, VGS (F105)
168. Tyson Barrie, D, EDM (D45)
169. Tyler Toffoli, F, CGY (F106)
170. Jamie Benn, F, DAL (F107)
171. Lucas Raymond, F, DET (F108)
172. Neal Pionk, D, WPG (D46)
173. Jeff Petry, D, MON (D47)
174. Evan Bouchard, D, EDM (D48)
175. Alec Martinez, D, VGS (D49)
176. Brock Boeser, F, VAN (F109)
177. Viktor Arvidsson, F, LA (F110)
178. Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN (D50)
179. Cam Atkinson, F, PHI (F111)
180. Colton Parayko, D, STL (D51)
181. Andre Burakovsky, F, COL (F112)
182. Alexander Romanov, D, NYI (D52)
183. Jaccob Slavin, D, CAR (D53)
184. John Klingberg, D, DAL (D54)
185. Mikael Granlund, F, NSH (F113)
186. Mathew Barzal, F, NYI (F114)
187. Vasily Podkolzin, F, VAN (F115)
188. Brandon Tanev, F, SEA (F116)
189. Valeri Nichushkin, F, COL (F117)
190. Nico Hischier, F, NJ (F118)
191. Alex Killorn, F, TB (F119)
192. Jonas Brodin, D, MIN (D55)
193. Zach Hyman, F, EDM (F120)
194. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, F, NYI (F121)
195. Noah Hanifin, D, CGY (D56)
196. Nick Schmaltz, F, ARI (F122)
197. Radko Gudas, D, FLA (D57)
198. Evgeni Malkin, F, PIT (F123)
199. Christopher Tanev, D, CGY (D58)
200. Anton Forsberg, G, OTT (G19)
201. Connor Murphy, D, CHI (D59)
202. Timothy Liljegren, D, TOR (D60)
203. Miro Heiskanen, D, DAL (D61)
204. Ondrej Palat, F, TB (F124)
205. Ryan Strome, F, NYR (F125)
206. Ben Chiarot, D, FLA (D62)
207. Ryan Graves, D, NJ (D63)
208. Travis Sanheim, D, PHI (D64)
209. Brayden McNabb, D, VGS (D65)
210. Mathew Dumba, D, MIN (D66)
211. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F, EDM (F126)
212. Tyler Myers, D, VAN (D67)
213. Drew Doughty, D, LA (D68)
214. Mario Ferraro, D, SJ (D69)
215. Anthony Duclair, F, FLA (F127)
216. Teuvo Teravainen, F, CAR (F128)
217. Yegor Sharangovich, F, NJ (F129)
218. Torey Krug, D, STL (D70)
219. Jared McCann, F, SEA (F130)
220. Rasmus Ristolainen, D, PHI (D71)
221. Adam Henrique, F, ANA (F131)
222. Marco Rossi, F, MIN (F132)
223. Jake Sanderson, D, OTT (D72)
224. Ryan McDonagh, D, MIN (D73)
225. Dmitry Orlov, D, WSH (D74)
226. Brent Burns, D, SJ (D75)
227. Calvin de Haan, D, CHI (D76)
228. Sean Durzi, D, LA (D77)
229. Ivan Barbashev, F, STL (F133)
230. Travis Konecny, F, PHI (F134)
231. Mason Marchment, F, FLA (F135)
232. Mason McTavish, F, ANA (F136)
233. Thomas Bordeleau, F, SJ (F137)
234. Yanni Gourde, F, SEA (F138)
235. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, MIN (G20)
236. Spencer Knight, G, FLA (G21)
237. Erik Karlsson, D, SJ (D78)
238. Jake McCabe, D, CHI (D79)
239. Jordan Staal, F, CAR (F139)
240. Adam Pelech, D, NYI (D80)
241. Rickard Rakell, F, PIT (F140)
242. Trevor Moore, F, LA (F141)
243. Alex Iafallo, F, LA (F142)
244. Cody Ceci, D, EDM (D81)
245. Anthony Cirelli, F, TB (F143)
246. David Savard, D, MON (D82)
247. Philipp Grubauer, G, SEA (G22)
248. Jakub Voracek, F, CLS (F144)
249. Nick Bonino, F, SJ (F145)
250. Vitali Kravtsov, F, NYR (F146)
251. Nino Niederreiter, F, CAR (F147)
252. Brett Pesce, D, CAR (D83)
253. Jordan Eberle, F, SEA (F148)
254. Jeff Carter, F, PIT (F149)
255. Blake Coleman, F, CGY (F150)
256. Elvis Merzlikins, G, CLS (G23)
257. Conor Garland, F, VAN (F151)
258. Marcus Foligno, F, MIN (F152)
259. Alexander Kerfoot, F, TOR (F153)
260. Alex Goligoski, D, MIN (D84)
261. James van Riemsdyk, F, PHI (F154)
262. Jacob Middleton, D, MIN (D85)
263. Vitek Vanecek, G, NJ (G24)
264. Carter Hart, G, PHI (G25)
265. Filip Hronek, D, DET (D86)
266. Linus Ullmark, G, BOS (G26)
267. Jaycob Megna, D, SJ (D87)
268. Dylan Strome, F, CHI (F155)
269. Carter Verhaeghe, F, FLA (F156)
270. Brenden Dillon, D, WPG (D88)
271. Josh Anderson, F, MON (F157)
272. Nate Schmidt, D, WPG (D89)
273. Jani Hakanpaa, D, DAL (D90)
274. Garnet Hathaway, F, WSH (F158)
275. Zach Whitecloud, D, VGS (D91)
276. Mattias Ekholm, D, NSH (D92)
277. Brady Skjei, D, CAR (D93)
278. Scott Mayfield, D, NYI (D94)
279. Justin Holl, D, TOR (D95)
280. Joel Farabee, F, PHI (F159)
281. Ryan Suter, D, DAL (D96)
282. Bowen Byram, D, COL (D97)
283. Brandon Montour, D, FLA (D98)
284. Anthony Mantha, F, WSH (F160)
285. Gustav Nyquist, F, CLS (F161)
286. Victor Olofsson, F, BUF (F162)
287. Tyler Seguin, F, DAL (F163)
288. Oliver Kylington, D, CGY (D99)
289. Ryan Lindgren, D, NYR (D100)
290. Paul Stastny, F, WPG (F164)
291. Christian Dvorak, F, MON (F165)
292. Lawson Crouse, F, ARI (F166)
293. Dominik Kubalik, F, CHI (F167)
294. Nikita Zaitsev, D, OTT (D101)
295. Connor Brown, F, OTT (F168)
296. Jamie Drysdale, D, ANA (D102)
297. Erik Haula, F, BOS (F169)
298. Nick Paul, F, TB (F170)
299. T.J. Oshie, F, WSH (F171)
300. Jack Roslovic, F, CLS (F172)