The Top 200 Players in Fantasy Hockey: A Comprehensive Analysis

Fantasy hockey is a fascinating world where fans can dive deeper into the game they love, scrutinizing player performance and creating their dream teams. Among the vast sea of professional hockey players, NHL.com has selectively listed the top 200 players in fantasy hockey for the 2023-24 season.

The rankings are based on various factors, including past performance in regular seasons and Stanley Cup Playoffs, line combinations, defense pairs, power-play usage, team goalie situations, anticipated start volume, projected goal support, injury history, age, contract status, and overall upside for the rest of the season.

"Every player, every game, every goal tells a story. Here's the story of the top 200 players in Fantasy Hockey."

Analyzing the Top Players

Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers tops the list. McDavid, a center, is known for his exceptional speed, skill, and ability to change the game single-handedly. His teammate, Leon Draisaitl, is listed second, demonstrating the power of the Oilers' offense.

David Pastrnak, a right-wing for the Boston Bruins, ranks third. Pastrnak's goal-scoring ability and power-play prowess make him a valuable asset in fantasy hockey. Nikita Kucherov, another right-wing, this time from the Tampa Bay Lightning, is fourth on the list, recognized for his scoring touch and creativity.

Jack Hughes, a versatile player with eligibility as a center and left wing, represents the New Jersey Devils in fifth place. Cale Makar, a defenseman for the Colorado Avalanche, breaks into the top six, showcasing the importance of a strong defensive player in fantasy hockey.

1. Connor McDavid, C, EDM
2. Leon Draisaitl, C/LW, EDM
3. David Pastrnak, RW, BOS
4. Nikita Kucherov, RW, TBL
5. Jack Hughes, C/LW, NJD
6. Cale Makar, D, COL 
7. Quinn Hughes, D, VAN 
8. Elias Pettersson, C, VAN
9. Nathan MacKinnon, C, COL
10. William Nylander, RW, TOR 
11. Artemi Panarin, LW, NYR
12. Sidney Crosby, C, PIT
13. Auston Matthews, C, TOR
14. Mikko Rantanen, RW, COL
15. J.T. Miller, C/RW, VAN
16. Jake Oettinger, G, DAL
17. Brady Tkachuk, LW, OTT
18. Brayden Point, C, TBL 
19. Jack Eichel, C, VGK
20. Mitchell Marner, RW, TOR
21. Matthew Tkachuk, LW/RW, FLA
22. Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW, DET
23. Tim Stützle, C/LW, OTT
24. Linus Ullmark, G, BOS
25. Jeremy Swayman, G, BOS
26. Adam Fox, D, NYR (NEW)
27. Brad Marchand, LW, BOS
28. Thatcher Demko, G, VAN
29. Kyle Connor, LW, WPG
30. Rasmus Dahlin, D, BUF
31. Igor Shesterkin, G, NYR
32. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TBL
33. Jake Guentzel, LW, PIT 
34. Dylan Larkin, C, DET (INJ.)
35. John Tavares, C, TOR
36. Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH
37. Jason Robertson, LW, DAL
38. Victor Hedman, D, TBL
39. Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT
40. Brock Boeser, RW, VAN 
41. Sam Reinhart, C/RW, FLA
42. Filip Forsberg, LW, NSH 
43. Steven Stamkos, C/LW, TBL
44. Zach Hyman, LW/RW, EDM 
45. Evander Kane, LW, EDM 
46. Adrian Kempe, C/RW, LAK
47. Alexandar Georgiev, G, COL
48. Connor Bedard, C, CHI (rookie)
49. Adin Hill, G, VGK
50. Kirill Kaprizov, LW, MIN
51. Joel Eriksson Ek, C, MIN
52. Jesper Bratt, LW/RW, NJD
53. Chris Kreider, LW, NYR
54. Clayton Keller, LW/RW, ARI
55. Erik Karlsson, D, PIT
56. Evan Bouchard, D, EDM
57. Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA
58. Tyler Toffoli, LW/RW, NJD
59. Roope Hintz, C, DAL
60. Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR
61. Roman Josi, D, NSH
62. Josh Morrissey, D, WPG
63. Sebastian Aho, C, CAR
64. Moritz Seider, D, DET 
65. Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI
66. Morgan Rielly, D, TOR
67. Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG
68. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, FLA
69. Dougie Hamilton, D, NJD (INJ.)
70. Joe Pavelski, C/RW, DAL
71. Mark Scheifele, C, WPG
72. Cam Talbot, G, LAK
73. Travis Konecny, LW/RW, PHI
74. Cole Caufield, LW/RW, MTL
75. Carter Verhaeghe, C/LW, FLA
76. Anze Kopitar, C, LAK
77. Filip Hronek, D, VAN 
78. Jonathan Marchessault, RW, VGK
79. Noah Dobson, D, NYI 
80. Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS
81. Brandon Hagel, LW/RW, TBL
82. Alex Tuch, RW, BUF 
83. Claude Giroux, C/RW, OTT
84. Mason McTavish, C/LW, ANA
85. Mark Stone, RW, VGK
86. Kevin Fiala, LW, LAK
87. Mats Zuccarello, RW, MIN
88. Vincent Trocheck, C, NYR
89. Pavel Zacha, C, BOS
90. Valeri Nichushkin, LW/RW, COL
91. Miro Heiskanen, D, DAL
92. Vince Dunn, D, SEA
93. Matt Duchene, C/RW, DAL
94. Quinton Byfield, C/LW, LAK
95. Jeff Skinner, LW, BUF
96. Matt Boldy, LW/RW, MIN
97. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C/LW, EDM
98. Alex Pietrangelo, D, VGK
99. Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, WPG
100. Nico Hischier, C, NJD
101. Brandon Montour, D, FLA
102. Patrick Kane, RW, DET (NEW; nearing return)
103. Frank Vatrano, C/LW, ANA
104. Brent Burns, D, CAR
105. Andrei Svechnikov, LW/RW, CAR
106. Jakob Chychrun, D, OTT
107. Tristan Jarry, G, PIT
108. Mathew Barzal, C/RW, NYI
109. Logan Cooley, C, ARI (rookie)
110. Wyatt Johnston, C, DAL
111. Robert Thomas, C, STL
112. John Carlson, D, WSH
113. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TBL
114. Juuse Saros, G, NSH
115. Jake Sanderson, D, OTT
116. Sean Durzi, D, ARI
117. Joseph Woll, G, TOR (rookie)
118. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, OTT
119. Mike Matheson, D, MTL
120. Bryan Rust, RW, PIT
121. Ryan O'Reilly, C, NSH
122. Trevor Moore, LW, LAK
123. Luke Hughes, D, NJD (rookie) 
124. William Karlsson, C, VGK 
125. Timo Meier, LW/RW, NJD (INJ.)
126. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, LAK
127. Martin Necas, C/RW, CAR
128. Chandler Stephenson, C, VGK
129. Zach Werenski, D, CBJ
130. Boone Jenner, C/LW, CBJ 
131. Ryan Hartman, C/RW, MIN (suspended)
132. Nick Schmaltz, C/RW, ARI
133. Andrei Kuzmenko, LW/RW, VAN
134. Connor Ingram, G, ARI 
135. Owen Tippett, RW, PHI
136. Brock Nelson, C, NYI
137. Jordan Kyrou, C/RW, STL
138. Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, CAR
139. Drew Doughty, D, LAK
140. Carter Hart, G, PHI
141. Kris Letang, D, PIT
142. Casey Mittelstadt, C, BUF (NEW)
143. Jamie Benn, LW, DAL
144. Devon Toews, D, COL
145. Travis Sanheim, D, PHI
146. Cole Perfetti, C, WPG
147. Thomas Chabot, D, OTT (NEW; nearing return)
148. Stuart Skinner, G, EDM 
149. Jonathan Quick, G, NYR 
150. Gabriel Vilardi, C/RW, WPG (NEW; nearing return)
151. Jordan Binnington, G, STL
152. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, DET (INJ.)
153. Gustav Nyquist, LW, NSH (NEW)
154. Nick Suzuki, C, MTL
155. Evan Rodrigues, C/LW/RW, FLA
156. Seth Jarvis, C/RW, CAR
157. Dylan Cozens, C/RW, BUF
158. Jared McCann, LW, SEA
159. Pavel Buchnevich, C/LW, STL
160. Elias Lindholm, C, CGY
161. Bo Horvat, C, NYI
162. Tyler Seguin, C/RW, DAL
163. JJ Peterka, RW, BUF
164. Tom Wilson, RW, WSH
165. Jaden Schwartz, C/LW, SEA (INJ.)
166. Joonas Korpisalo, G, OTT
167. Filip Gustavsson, G, MIN
168. Lucas Raymond, LW/RW, DET
169. Jesperi Kotkaniemi, C, CAR
170. Matias Maccelli, LW, ARI
171. Matty Beniers, C, SEA
172. Drake Batherson, RW, OTT
173. Patrik Laine, C/LW/RW, CBJ
174. Troy Terry, RW, ANA
175. Ryan Strome, LW/RW, ANA
176. MacKenzie Weegar, D, CGY (NEW)
177. Nazem Kadri, C, CGY
178. Sam Bennett, C, FLA 
179. Charlie Coyle, C, BOS
180. Philipp Kurashev, C, CHI 
181. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, G, BUF (NEW)
182. Vitek Vanecek, G, NJD
183. Oliver Bjorkstrand, RW, SEA
184. Lawson Crouse, LW/RW, ARI (NEW)
185. James van Riemsdyk, LW, BOS
186. Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, TOR
187. Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA
188. Joel Farabee, LW, PHI
189. Ross Colton, C/LW, COL (NEW)
190. Brayden Schenn, C/LW, STL
191. Ivan Provorov, D, CBJ
192. Pavel Mintyukov, D, ANA (rookie)
193. David Perron, LW/RW, DET (NEW)
194. Brady Skjei, D, CAR
195. Jake Neighbours, LW, STL (NEW)
196. Jacob Trouba, D, NYR (NEW)
197. Ryan Johansen, C, COL (NEW)
198. Anthony Beauvillier, LW/RW, CHI (NEW)
199. Mathieu Joseph, RW, OTT (NEW)
200. J.T. Compher, LW/RW, DET (NEW)

Understanding the Rankings

Fantasy hockey rankings are based on a combination of statistics, including goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal, and hits for skaters. Goalie ratings also factor in wins, goals against average, save percentage, and shutouts.

These rankings are not static and can change throughout the season. They are subject to shifts due to player performance, injuries, line changes, etc. Therefore, fantasy hockey managers must stay updated and make informed decisions based on the latest data.

With a comprehensive understanding of these top 200 players, fantasy hockey enthusiasts can better strategize and thrive in their leagues. Remember, every player and every play can change the game.