Welcome back for the sixth edition of the Daily Faceoff Fantasy Hockey Player Rankings. The Olympics are over and it is back to the NHL!
Once again, we take in to account position, past performance and expected future stats. I know no one ever agrees on these things so feel free to rip me a new one in the comments!
A couple of notes:
-Long term injuries are excluded from the board and will be listed in “The Injury Brigade”.
-The “What Have You Done For Me Lately?” category is littered with guys you would normally expect to see in the top 50 but have not been performing for an extended period of time. Think of it as a bubble for guys who should be better than bubble performers. A strong performance will get them on to the board easier than the standard bubble players.
-The “Honourable Mention” section is for guys who couldn’t quite crack the top 50 this time around.
-Statistics and comments are current as of games played on February 28th.
| Rnk. | Player | Prvs. | |
| 1 | Alex Ovechkin | This is how good he is: 11 more assists, 13 more PIMS, 5 more PP and +34 better than Crosby | 1 |
| 2 | Sidney Crosby | OT winner shows just how clutch he is | 2 |
| 3 | Nicklas Backstrom | 18 points in his last 9 games before the Olympics | 14 |
| 4 | Evgeni Malkin | 65 points is not going to keep you in the top 5 much longer Evgeni | 3 |
| 5 | Dany Heatley | Dissapeared in big games in the Olympics but is still a regular season stud | 4 |
| 6 | Mike Green | Think he has a chip on his shoulder? | - |
| 7 | Zach Parise | Scored the tying goal against Canada but Kane and Kesler supplanted him as the alpha dogs on team USA | 5 |
| 8 | Alexander Semin | 33 points in his last 21 games… Just stay healthy | 19 |
| 9 | Ryan Miller | Olympics were icing on the cake for a fantastic season | - |
| 10 | Ryan Getzlaf | Hopefully can carry over his performance in the Olympics into the regular season | 11 |
| 11 | Joe Thornton | Slowing down, only 17 points in his last 19 games | 7 |
| 12 | Ilya Kovalchuk | 5 points in 6 games with NJ | 8 |
| 13 | Corey Perry | Has a shot at an 80 point season | 10 |
| 14 | Patrick Kane | Went into the Olympics hot (6 points in 4 games), and continued that play throughout the tourny | 12 |
| 15 | Henrik Sedin | Second to Ovechkin in the points race | 17 |
| 16 | Patrick Marleau | The only Sharks forward not to pull a Houdini in the last couple games of the Olympics | 15 |
| 17 | Marian Gaborik | Dominated the Olympics but is still an injury risk | 13 |
| 18 | Daniel Sedin | Over 82 games his stat lines projects 103 points and a +50 rating | - |
| 19 | Steven Stamkos | Showing why he was a first overall pick, 70 points in 61 games | 22 |
| 20 | Roberto Luongo | Looked shaky against the US but a gold medal has to boost his confidence | 25 |
| 21 | Martin Brodeur | It will be interesting to see what losing the starting job to Luongo does to his ego… | 16 |
| 22 | Anze Kopitar | On pace to post the first + rating of his career | 22 |
| 23 | Jeff Carter | 25 points since Christmas | 33 |
| 24 | Duncan Keith | Second in defenceman scoring | 29 |
| 25 | Marian Hossa | Just a shade under a point per game | 23 |
| 26 | Dan Boyle | Something a little more than +5 would be nice | 30 |
| 27 | Martin St. Louis | Defying the effects of aging with 71 points | 35 |
| 28 | Jarome Iginla | It’s official, he is no longer the Jarome of old | 20 |
| 29 | Mike Richards | Only 4 points in 7 February games | 21 |
| 30 | Drew Doughty | Unbelievable Olympics for the kid | 50 |
| 31 | Miikka Kiprusoff | Tough to bounce back from that semi-final loss Mr. I’m not playing unless I’m the starter | 27 |
| 32 | Evgeni Nabokov | Thank goodness fantasy hockey is only the regular season. Nabby couldn’t beat a team of 12 year olds in a big game | 28 |
| 33 | Rick Nash | So good in the Olympics, so bad in Columbus | 32 |
| 34 | Brad Richards | 28 PPP is a very nice fantasy contribution | 31 |
| 35 | Henrik Lundqvist | I feel so bad for him that he has to play on the Rangers | 34 |
| 36 | Andrei Markov | 18 points in 26 games | - |
| 37 | Alexandre Burrows | I keep waiting for him to cool off but he never does | - |
| 38 | Tomas Plekanec | Ditto | 41 |
| 39 | Ryan Kesler | I always knew he was good but after watching the Olympics… Wow | 44 |
| 40 | Eric Staal | He’s back: 31 points since Christmas | NR |
| 41 | Jonathan Toews | Doesn’t stand out in any single category but contributes everywhere | 39 |
| 42 | Chris Pronger | On pace for his best +/- rating in three years | 40 |
| 43 | Bobby Ryan | 3 multi-point efforts in his last 6 games | 38 |
| 44 | Vincent Lecavalier | Looks like he’ll be a – player for the 3rd consecutive year | 42 |
| 45 | Mike Knuble | Hottest player in hockey over the last month | NR |
| 46 | Tomas Vokoun | It’s shutout or nothing with Vokoun | NR |
| 47 | Patrick Sharp | A very quiet 52 points for Sharp | NR |
| 48 | Henrik Zetterberg | I just can’t drop him off yet | 47 |
| 49 | Pavel Datsyuk | Ditto | 48 |
| 50 | Ilya Bryzgalov | Only one shutout in the last 2 months | 43 |
Demoted: Dustiner Penner, Paul Stastny, Mikko Koivu
The Injury Brigade: Mike Cammalleri, Cam Ward
What Have You Done For Me Lately?: Olli Jokinen, Mark Streit, Brian Campbell, Dion Phaneuf, Brenden Morrow
Honourable Mention: Sergei Gonchar, Shea Weber, Jamie Langenbrunner, Kyle Okposo, Pekka Rinne, James Neal, Zdeno Chara, Ryan Malone, Mason Raymond, Nathan Horton, Scott Hartnell, Loui Eriksson, Cristobal Huet, Alexei Kovalev, Tim Connolly, Travis Zajac, Christian Ehrhoff, Brooks Laich,
March 2nd, 2010 at 2:14 pm
how is Stamkos not higher on this list? Went into the break on a 13 game point streak. 23 points in that span. Not to mention 33 points in his last 21. Arguably the top stick in the N right now.
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March 2nd, 2010 at 4:47 pm
If someone envisions Stamkos higher on the list I don’t have a problem with that. However, as such a young guy I think there is the possiblity of prolonged slumps. Everyone else on the list above him (other than Marleau) has a proven, consistent track record. To me, that is important.
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March 2nd, 2010 at 4:55 pm
Which is why this differs from simply listing the best performing players. We’re looking for guys you can count on. Well said, Ryan.
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March 4th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I liked your assessment of Kesler. Last year in the conference semi-finals, he was the most dangerous man on the ice. He and Kane played very well together.
Kesler and Ladd got into it a bit last time they played – it will be interesting to see if anything carries over tomorrow night.
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March 4th, 2010 at 1:56 pm
It is nice to see Kesler getting more recognition, and having a fantastic regular season. Him and Kane were terrifying out there. It seemed like they never left the ice.
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