I’ve already covered our top 10 for 2015 and top 20 for 2015 so without further ado, here’s the rest the top 50 for our 2014-2015 Fantasy Hockey Rankings:
21) Matt Duchene – had his breakout season last year posting nearly a point per game (0.99) posting 70 points in 71 games. I don’t see him ranked this high often and I’m not sure why. He’s the best offensive threat on a team loaded with talent up front. Lucky for him Ryan O’Reilly re-signed so expect Duchene to skate with him again after spending nearly 80% of his time on a line with O’Reilly last year. Don’t worry about the MCL injury he suffered last last season, he’s fine going into camp and should be a top fantasy asset this season. 2015 Projections: 27 G, 48 A, 75 PTS
22) Nicklas Backstrom – found a new allergy medication in the offseason, or so I hope, because his value is nil if he gets caught with amphetamines in his system again. Meth? Adderall? Allergy Meds? Same stuff! But seriously, Backstrom was the heart and soul of the Caps offense and has been one of the most consistent scorers in the league since 2008-09 (9th overall in points, 7th in points per game). So long as he’s paired with Ovi all is well, but if for some insane reason they are broken up again (it happened for 18 games total last season and Backstrom tallied just 5 helpers in those games), he could have trouble meeting expectations. 2015 Projections: 16 G, 60 A, 76 PTS
23) Joe Pavelski – ended up third in goals last year with 41, but I doubt he reaches the 40 goal club again this season. Still, he remains quite valuable and will easily breach the 30-goal barrier. Why? How about an insane, career high 18.2% shooting percentage, 7% higher than his career average of 11.1%. Expect a bit of regression to the mean there and a few fewer goals. 2015 Projections: 32 G, 40 A, 72 PTS
24) P.K. Subban – finished 5th overall in scoring for defenseman last year and signed a ridiculous contract (8 years, $72 million) in the offseason, Subban will continue to anchor the Habs’ powerplay after skating on 80% of Montreal’s PP time last season. Unfortch for him, the Habs’ powerplay is pretty weak and it didn’t get much better this offseason. He could challenge Erik Karlsson for the defensive scoring title if the Habs weren’t so offensively inept, but alas, they are. Still, at just 25 years old he’ll remain an elite scoring for years to come. 2015 Projections: 15 G, 50 A, 65 PTS
25) Patrick Sharp – had one hell of a comeback campaign last year (78 PTS in 82 GP) after missing much of the 2012-13 season with a nasty shoulder injury. He’s healthy going into this 2015 season and will likely remain on a line with Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, so he should be all systems go for another solid season. He’s streaky, though, scoring 21 goals in a 30 game stretch last season with 14 of those coming in a 16 game span, so beware of him in H2H leagues, but for roto? Money in the bank. 2015 Projections: 30 G, 38 A, 68 PTS
26) Pavel Datsyuk – suffered through a rough, injury riddled campaign in 2014 with a concussion, groin pull and knee problems and sadly, I don’t think he stays healthy this year either. If it was just his talent he would be top of the league, but it isn’t, and he hasn’t played more than 70 games in some time. When he’s paired with Henrik Zetterberg, who has his own injury problems, the two walk on air and put the biscuit in the basket on the reg, but they only skated together about 30% of the time last year and, again, I don’t think that changes either. He’s a risky pick with injury woes, but he’s always good enough to maintain near a point per game pace. 2015 Projections: 24 G, 45 A, 69 PTS in 68 GP
27) Logan Couture – is another risky pick due to injury, though not nearly as bad as Dats. Another streaky guy he went on a few long goal scoring droughts of eight and eleven games respectively with a 25 game stretch where he potted just three goals. Injuries limited him to 65 games last season, so his numbers a bit soft for what he’s capable of. Beware of the off-season surgery he required after a fight in the playoffs with the Kings’ Mike Richards as well. He should be good to go to start the season. Wrist injuries cost him last season with a 2+ point loss on his shooting percentage (9.9% last season vs. 12.1% career average) so if he’s 100% healthy, and I think he will be, we should see him return to his goal scoring ways and post a good year. 2015 Projections: 35 G, 38 A, 73 PTS
28) Kyle Okposo – gets to play with John Tavares again, and that’s good news for Okie in 2015. That being said, even after Tavares went down Okie was able to keep his production at respectable levels posting 10 points in 12 games without the all-world center on his line. He’s not getting this kind of love from other ‘perts, but I see now reason why he can’t at least match his 69 points in 71 games from last season. 2015 Projections: 25 G, 45 A, 70 PTS
29) Chris Kunitz – keeps having good seasons despite the fact that I don’t think he should. So, this season, I’m going to rank him in the top 30 because he’s been playing like a top 30 guy for a few seasons now. Granted, my grandmother could look like a top 30 guy playing with Crosby, so there’s that. He broke the 30-goal barrier for the first time and, like Pavelski, an inflated shooting percentage (16.9%) and tons of power play time helped him along the way. The time on the PP won’t dip, but the overall goal scoring will. A bonus here is that if he isn’t playing with Crosby, he’ll play with Geno. Unless they’re both hurt. Then he’s screwed. 2015 Projections: 28 G, 38 A, 66 PTS
30) Carey Price – proved that he belongs among the elite goaltenders last season and he will be among them again this year despite suffering a knee injury in the ECF against the Rangers last year. There are only a handful of goalies that can start 60-plus games and he’s one of them. The Habs’ defense is pretty decent and Carey can make up for the gaps they leave with strong vision, good positioning and lightning quick reflexes. 2015 Projections: 62 GP, 35-21-6, 2.28 GAA, .925 SV%, 6 SHO
31) Ben Bishop – finished his breakout season 7th in GAA (2.23) and SV% (.924) last year as he looks to continue his rise into the NHL’s goaltending elite. Bishop is a giant (6’7”) but hella lanky (210lbs), still, that gives him quite the reach and he uses it well. He plays an aggressive game that can leave him exposed if he over plays, so hopefully coaching will reign that in a bit for him this season as the league adjusts to his style. He carried the Bolts for long stretches last season and without him there were no playoffs in the picture for Tampa Bay. Arm and leg injuries cause worry, but if he’s healthy he should be part of the Vezina picture again. 2015 Projections: 60 GP, 36-20-4, 2.41 GAA, .920 SV%, 5 SHO
32) Henrik Zetterberg – remains a high-risk, high-reward, injury prone guy in 2015. Last season he went down with a herniated disc in his back that required surgery to repair, but he’s good to go now. Before he went down he was having his best year since the last 2000s scoring at 1.05 point-per-game pace that, if based on talent alone, I would say he could match again this season. Unfortch for Hank, he’s not getting any younger and he’s always been somewhat injury prone. At 33 years old he’s past his prime, but capable of putting up elite numbers. Don’t expect a full season from him. 2015 Projections: 25 G, 43 A, 68 PTS
33) Shea Weber – had a career year last season posting 56 points in 79 games with 23 goals, tying or beating previous career highs. Weber is the lynchpin to the Preds offense skating on 41% of the team’s even strength time and 63% of their power play time and there’s no reason to think he won’t match those numbers again this year. He pours shots on goal but misses a bit more than I’d like, but hey, results are results and Weber puts up results. He tallied 15 multi-point games last season, tying him for first among all defenseman. Expect another stellar season from the blue line. 2015 Projections: 15 G, 35 A, 50 PTS
34) Gabriel Landeskog – finished ninth overall in even strength points last season with 55 and fired a career high 222 shots on goal the 2011 Calder winner returned to form after a concussion limited him in the lockout shortened 2012-13 season. Last season saw him lay 176 hits on opposing players and that can be a double-edged sword as injury risk rises with each boom. Still, he’s got a ton of talent and there’s no reason to think he won’t match his production from last season on a young, hungry, stacked Avs squad. 2015 Projections: 27 G, 40 A, 67 PTS
35) Eric Staal – posted a pretty bleh season last year with 61 points in 79 games, not powered by just 21 goals. You have to figure his torn MCL was a big factor in the dip in production. Sadly if you dig deeper you’ll find his shooting percentage (8%) and point production (0.77) dipped despite his shots per game (3.16) beating his career average (2.80). Further injury woes with a core-muscle injury that required surgery and subsequent re-injury this off-season make me very wary of drafting Staal in 2015. In fact, the only reason he’s this high because I think, if healthy, he’s capable of returning to his 2011-12 form. 2015 Projections: 20 G, 47 A, 67 PTS
36) Max Pacioretty – managed to post 60 points powered by 39 goals over 73 games despite fighting through some early season injuries, I don’t see why he won’t see a slight uptick this year. Expect the goals to come as usual though he’s another one with an inflated shooting percentage, so 40 goals is probably out of the question or he’d be ranked higher. He could do well with a few more assists and I think he’ll get them. Or do I hope he’ll get them? I thope he gets them. 2015 Projections: 35 G, 29 A, 64 PTS
37) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – has been steadily improving since entering the league a few years ago, but shoulder surgery recovery cost him big time last season. He wasn’t able to do much training last off-season and he really needs to bulk up to be a more effective center for the Oil. The lack of training was evident as he slowed significantly as the season went on, really falling off the table in February and March. If he trained and if he’s healthy and if he bulked up a bit, skating on a line with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle should mean he’ll have plenty of opportunities to grow up, but he needs to do it fast. He’ll be undervalued in this year’s drafts, so keep an eye out for him as a good value pick in mid-rounds. 2015 Projections: 20 G, 46 A, 66 PTS
38) Sergei Bobrovsky – showed that his Vezina in 2013 was no lockout fueled joke. He gives up too many rebounds for my liking, but has the athleticism to keep most of them from finding the twine. He could see 60 starts or more as the Blue Jackets have some lofty expectations to live up to. 2015 Projections: 60 GP, 35-20-5, 2.42 GAA, .920 SV%, 3 SHO
39) Duncan Keith – is going to give you assists. Lots of assists. So many assists you might not know what to do with them. Goals? Not so much. Still, he’s an elite guy on an elite offense and he’s going to give you what he always gives you. ASSISTS! Oh, and some power play points. 2015 Projections: 5 G, 50 A, 55 PTS
40) Zach Parise – was limited by injury last season but seemed to come alive in the playoffs, so there’s that. Remember when Zach was the bee’s knees and the Devils faithful were freaking out that they wouldn’t be able to re-sign him? I do, and those days are long over. I don’t have the confidence I once did in Parise and considering he’s never been a guy who gives the puck away much, I can’t imagine that even when healthy he pushes his way back to 70 point production. He’ll give you 30 goals or so, but otherwise he’s become a poor man’s Max Pacioretty. Really? Really. 2015 Projections: 32 G, 30 A, 62 PTS
41) Cory Schneider – finally gets his chance with veteran Martin Brodeur out of the picture in Jersey and expect him to step right up and fill the gap. That said, this isn’t your Dad’s Devils team and Schneids might end up with a bit of a bleh W-L record. Still, his peripherals will be there and they will be sexy. 2015 Projections: 65 GP, 30-25-6, 2.10 GAA, .923 SV%, 6 SHO
42) Jason Spezza – wasn’t able to get into a groove with Bobby Ryan last season and, well, there isn’t really anyone else on the Sens after Ryan that could have been a bonafide scoring threat for Spez to feed the puck to, so not much happened. His natural talent lifted him to 66 points in 75 games, and playing 75 games is great for the injury-plagued center. This season he’s likely to spend his time with Ales Hemsky and Valeri Nichushkin and that bodes well for his production remaining about the same. It will be up to Jaime Benn and Tyler Seguin to play the big minutes, so a second line role and a bit less wear and tear could do well for him. 2015 Projections: 22 G, 42 A, 64 PTS
43) Jakub Voracek – couldn’t match the point-per-game pace he put up in the lockout shortened 2013 season to start, but finished extremely strong putting up 50 points in his final 53 games. Frequent line changes and experiments coupled with some injury woes (back, knee, finger) definitely hurt his production. So long as he plays with Claude Giroux and Michael Raffl, the line that he saw the most success with last season, he should be fine. I’m a bit tepid on Voracek due to the injury bug and, you know, Philly. Still, he’s among the best options on the right side for fantasy owners. 2015 Projections: 26 G, 40 A, 66 PTS
44) Patrick Marleau – seems ageless and entering this season at 35 years old it seems like he’ll keep rolling. Only Alex Ovechkin and Corey Perry have scored more goals since 2008 than Marleau, who scores 30 a season like it’s his job. Wait, I think that is his job, so way to be Patty! He’ll be undervalued in drafts due to the overall the Sharks dealt with in the offseason and because he’s 35, and the natural degradation of his skills is underway, but I wouldn’t kick him off my team. 2015 Projections: 30 G, 36 A, 66 PTS
45) Martin St. Louis – will have a decent season because he’s Martin St. Louis, but lets face it, despite being healthy as an ox (only missed 8 games in the last ten years) he has to come back down to earth some time, and you know when that time is? When he turned 39. He’s still going to be a great option on the right side and will fight for the team lead in points for the Rangers, but that doesn’t say much considering the Rangers lackluster offense. He’ll miss playing with Steven Stamkos (who wouldn’t?) too. 2015 Projections: 30 G, 37 A, 67 PTS
46) Paul Stastny – might be another guy who gets bit by an inflated shooting percentage last year (16.7% in 2014 vs. 10.56% career avg), so don’t get bit taking him too early. Everyone expected Ryan Miller to go crazy after he was moved from the woeful Sabres to the (then) cup contending Blues, but it didn’t really pan out that way, did it? Same thing goes for Stas this season. 2015 Projections: 23 G, 40 A, 63 PTS
47) Derek Stepan – was overvalued in last year’s drafts because of the near point-per-game pace he posted in the lockout shortened 2013 season. He had a career year last year, but that meant 57 points in 82 games. That’s pretty bleh on the surface, but when you consider he missed most of training camp holding out for a new deal, you can throw rust in there as part of the problem with his numbers. Oh, and the inept Rangers offense. I think Step takes another, well, step forward this season and considering his 2014 season he’s likely to be a good value pick in later rounds this year. 2015 Projections: 20 G, 45 A, 65 PTS – UPDATE: Stepan is out indefinitely with a broken fibula, do not draft. More here: All Aboard The Pain Train: Derek Stepan, Datsyuk, J. Staal Injured
48) Ryan O’Reilly – is certainly capable of an offensive leap this season but I wouldn’t count on it. Despite entering this season at just 23 years old he’s been around for five years and we’ve seen a lot of what he can do. Steady, strong and worth around 25 goals you could do a lot worse for your second or third center. 2015 Projections: 25 G, 38 A, 63 PTS
49) Marian Hossa – starts this season at 35 years old and there’s no escaping that his best years are behind this stellar winger. He’s only been able to play more than 75 games twice over the last decade and while you can likely count on him for 20+ goals, it’s best not to expect him to dress for more than 65 or so games. His back is always and issue even though he didn’t miss any time because of it last season, he did miss eight games due to other injuries. Some peeps might still highly covet Hossa given his pedigree, history and team, but you shouldn’t. 2015 Projections: 26 G, 34 A, 60 PTS in 64 GP
50) Ryan McDonagh – had a breakout season last year and should continue to be a dominant force on the blue line for the Rangers in 2015. With Torts gone and AV in at head coach McDonagh was freed up to join the offense and man did he ever. McD will play tons of minutes and in all situations so if you’re looking for a guy who can give you short handed points from the back end, he’s a good possibility after averaging over 2:30 minutes a game on the PK. Don’t forget he also sees decent time with the man advantage, too. Projections: 13 G, 35 A, 48 PTS
