It’s time for the inaugural look at our in-season fantasy hockey rankings. Here you’ll find the top 250 players, ranked exclusively for points leagues and based on a model that projects their remaining fantasy output. Keep that in mind, as what they’ve done so far will influence the projection, but it does not count toward their remaining total.
The model, while still in development, uses a player’s history, output from comparable players in the past 15 seasons (close in age, ice time and skill), as well as team-based projections and — for the goaltenders — a projected crease share. How this model projects the players will change as the season evolves and we can rely on larger samples from the current campaign.
These rankings are based on expectations of fantasy points produced from Friday, Oct. 18 until the end of the season. Fantasy points are based on the ESPN.com standard game (for skaters: goals = 2 points, assists = 1 point, shots and hits = 0.1 points, blocked shots and special-teams points = 0.5 points; for goaltenders: wins = 4 points, OT losses = 1 point, shutouts = 3 points, saves = 0.2 points, goals against = -2 points).
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1. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, C1
2. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, G1
3. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, C2
4. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, RW1
5. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, C3
6. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, D1
7. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche, RW2
8. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers, LW1
9. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, D2
10. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, RW3
11. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, G2
12. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, C4
13. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, LW2
14. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, RW4
15. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks, C5
16. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, C6
17. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D3
18. Adam Fox, New York Rangers, D4
19. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, LW3
20. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, LW4
21. John Carlson, Washington Capitals, D5
22. Noah Dobson, New York Islanders, D6
23. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C7
24. MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames, D7
25. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, C8
26. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, C9
27. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, C10
28. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW5
29. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW6
30. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW5
31. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D8
32. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, RW7
33. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, G3
34. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers, C11
35. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, D9
36. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, D10
37. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, C12
38. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators, C13
39. Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators, C14
40. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, D11
41. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, C15
42. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, LW6
43. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, D12
44. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers, RW8
45. Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, D13
46. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, C16
47. Clayton Keller, Utah Hockey Club, LW7
48. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, LW8
49. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, C17
50. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, C18
51. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, D14
52. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins, D15
53. Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars, C19
54. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D16
55. Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens, LW9
56. Chris Kreider, New York Rangers, LW10
57. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs, C20
58. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, C21
59. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers, C22
60. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, G4
61. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, C23
62. Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers, D17
63. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, C24
64. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, D18
65. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, RW9
66. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, C25
67. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils, C26
68. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, LW11
69. Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, LW12
70. Brock Nelson, New York Islanders, C27
71. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D19
72. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, C28
73. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, G5
74. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens, LW13
75. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, C29
76. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils, D20
77. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders, C30
78. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals, D21
79. Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, D22
80. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, LW14
81. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, G6
82. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, RW10
83. Mike Matheson, Montreal Canadiens, D23
84. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, C31
85. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, RW11
86. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers, RW12
87. Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, RW13
88. Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames, C32
89. Dylan Guenther, Utah Hockey Club, RW14
90. Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks, D24
91. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, LW15
92. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, RW15
93. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, D25
94. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, C33
95. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, RW16
96. Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues, RW17
97. Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings, LW16
98. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, RW18
99. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators, D26
100. Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken, D27
101. Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes, LW17
102. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, D28
103. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW19
104. Jonathan Marchessault, Nashville Predators, RW20
105. Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild, D29
106. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, C34
107. Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild, RW21
108. Yegor Chinakhov, Columbus Blue Jackets, RW22
109. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, G7
110. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals, C35
111. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators, G8
112. Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken, RW23
113. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Hockey Club, D30
114. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins, LW18
115. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, RW24
116. Pavel Buchnevich, St. Louis Blues, RW25
117. Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights, D31
118. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, C36
119. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW19
120. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, RW26
121. Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights, D32
122. Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche, D33
123. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, D34
124. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins, D35
125. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights, D36
126. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, G9
127. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, C37
128. Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues, D37
129. Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators, RW27
130. Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers, RW28
131. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers, LW20
132. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames, LW21
133. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, D38
134. Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks, RW29
135. Ryan O’Reilly, Nashville Predators, C38
136. Kaiden Guhle, Montreal Canadiens, D39
137. Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken, D40
138. Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers, RW30
139. Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings, RW31
140. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D41
141. Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes, D42
142. Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs, D43
143. Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken, D44
144. Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, G10
145. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, G11
146. Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars, LW22
147. Ben Chiarot, Detroit Red Wings, D45
148. Alexander Romanov, New York Islanders, D46
149. Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers, LW23
150. Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars, C39
151. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, G12
152. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, LW24
153. Alec Martinez, Chicago Blackhawks, D47
154. Jake Middleton, Minnesota Wild, D48
155. Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders, D49
156. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, D50
157. Casey Mittelstadt, Colorado Avalanche, C40
158. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, C41
159. Josh Norris, Ottawa Senators, C42
160. Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks, D51
161. Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues, C43
162. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets, LW25
163. Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild, D52
164. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Hockey Club, RW32
165. Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado Avalanche, RW33
166. Tyler Toffoli, San Jose Sharks, RW34
167. Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks, C44
168. Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks, RW35
169. Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes, G13
170. Mikael Granlund, San Jose Sharks, LW26
171. Cam York, Philadelphia Flyers, D53
172. Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights, G14
173. Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild, D54
174. Ivan Barbashev, Vegas Golden Knights, LW27
175. Lawson Crouse, Utah Hockey Club, RW36
176. Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks, C45
177. Ryan Hartman, Minnesota Wild, C46
178. Vladimir Tarasenko, Detroit Red Wings, RW37
179. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, G15
180. Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks, D55
181. Ivan Provorov, Columbus Blue Jackets, D56
182. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, G16
183. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, D57
184. Charlie Coyle, Boston Bruins, C47
185. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs, G17
186. Jaccob Slavin, Carolina Hurricanes, D58
187. Logan Cooley, Utah Hockey Club, C48
188. J.T. Compher, Detroit Red Wings, RW38
189. Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, D59
190. Anton Lundell, Florida Panthers, LW28
191. Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets, C49
192. Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets, D60
193. Brady Skjei, Nashville Predators, D61
194. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington Capitals, C50
195. Jeff Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, LW29
196. David Savard, Montreal Canadiens, D62
197. Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers, D63
198. Nick Foligno, Chicago Blackhawks, LW30
199. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW39
200. William Eklund, San Jose Sharks, LW31
201. Kent Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets, C51
202. Andrei Kuzmenko, Calgary Flames, LW32
203. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes, G18
204. Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg Jets, C52
205. Owen Power, Buffalo Sabres, D64
206. K’Andre Miller, New York Rangers, D65
207. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights, C53
208. Adam Henrique, Edmonton Oilers, LW33
209. Chris Tanev, Toronto Maple Leafs, D66
210. Mason Marchment, Dallas Stars, LW34
211. Pavel Zacha, Boston Bruins, C54
212. Alex Vlasic, Chicago Blackhawks, D67
213. Matt Roy, Washington Capitals, D68
214. Brandt Clarke, Los Angeles Kings, D69
215. Martin Necas, Carolina Hurricanes, RW40
216. Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D70
217. Filip Hronek, Vancouver Canucks, D71
218. Scott Laughton, Philadelphia Flyers, C55
219. Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars, RW41
220. Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators, RW42
221. Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames, RW43
222. Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers, D72
223. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Seattle Kraken, RW44
224. Jake Walman, San Jose Sharks, D73
225. Connor Zary, Calgary Flames, C56
226. Eeli Tolvanen, Seattle Kraken, LW35
227. Anders Lee, New York Islanders, LW36
228. Brent Burns, Carolina Hurricanes, D74
229. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW37
230. Phillip Danault, Los Angeles Kings, C57
231. Marcus Pettersson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D75
232. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, C58
233. Sam Montembeault, Montreal Canadiens, G19
234. Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver Canucks, RW45
235. Gustav Nyquist, Nashville Predators, RW46
236. JJ Peterka, Buffalo Sabres, RW47
237. Trevor Moore, Los Angeles Kings, LW38
238. Jordan Eberle, Seattle Kraken, RW48
239. Logan Stankoven, Dallas Stars, C59
240. Yegor Sharangovich, Calgary Flames, C60
241. Ross Colton, Colorado Avalanche, LW39
242. Tyler Bertuzzi, Chicago Blackhawks, LW40
243. Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders, RW49
244. Charlie Lindgren, Washington Capitals, G20
245. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals, G21
246. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, G22
247. Lukas Dostal, Anaheim Ducks, G23
248. Cam Talbot, Detroit Red Wings, G24
249. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, G25
250. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, G26
