The Big 50

Last modified: March 1, 2010 at 4:17 pm

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,

5 Comments For This Post

  1. T reid Says:

    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.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 3 Thumb down 0

  2. Ryan Campbell Says:

    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.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 2 Thumb down 1

  3. Matt Bennett Says:

    Which is why this differs from simply listing the best performing players. We’re looking for guys you can count on. Well said, Ryan.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

  4. rich lindbloom Says:

    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.

    Like or Dislike: Thumb up 0 Thumb down 0

  5. Ryan Campbell Says:

    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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