Crosby, Stamkos top deep fantasy center rankings

With the 2014-15 NHL season inching closer by the day, NHL.com has you covered with positional fantasy rankings. Based on Yahoo eligibility, projected lineups, past performance, injury history and each insider's opinion, Matt Cubeta (centers), Matt Sitkoff (left wings), Pete Jensen (right wings), Brian Metzer (defensemen) and Justin Goldman (goalies) bring you up to speed by identifying all the players worth targeting at each position in your upcoming drafts.

Depth, depth and more depth. That's the story year after year when breaking down the center position for fantasy hockey. And as always, this year remains the same.

From the first round of your draft to the final round, there's always a good time to draft a center. But that first round is sure to see plenty fly off the board. Among my top-10 overall fantasy players, eight qualify as centers in Yahoo leagues. From Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby at the No. 1 spot to Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews at 10th, there seem to be more elite players at the center position than ever, and this doesn't even include superstars Tyler Seguin (Dallas Stars) or Anze Kopitar (Los Angeles Kings).

But the quality doesn't stop there. Calder Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets star Ryan Johansen could end up moving into the top tier at the center position. Another No. 1 draft pick, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, could finally start to pay dividends for the Edmonton Oilers and fantasy owners. Jason Spezza (Stars) and Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) should both bounce back to have big seasons.

As you move through your draft, some potential breakout candidates can also be found. Players like Brayden Schenn (Philadelphia Flyers), Derick Brassard (New York Rangers) and Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets) could all end up exceeding expectations in 2014-15. Then there are the sleepers; guys like Sam Gagner (Arizona Coyotes), Nick Bjugstad (Florida Panthers) and Elias Lindholm (Hurricanes) are all worth selections with one of your final picks come draft day.

Regardless of what you need, whether it's goals, assists, penalty minutes, plus/minus help, power-play production or shots on goal, the center position has you covered, and you'll be able to find what you need at almost any point during your draft.

MOCK DRAFT: Results, analysis of NHL.com's 12-team, 16-round simulation

RANKINGS: Top 50 breakdown | Center | Left Wing | Right Wing | D-men | Goalies

SLEEPERS: Cubeta | Jensen | Sitkoff

NOTE: NHL.com's fantasy staff has determined that the primary position of the players listed below is center. Each of these players is C-eligible in Yahoo leagues. These are Matt Cubeta's center rankings and may not reflect the order of NHL.com's aggregate top 275 overall fantasy rankings.

Rank	Team	Player
1.		Sidney Crosby
2.		Steven Stamkos
3.		Evgeni MalkiN*
4.		Ryan Getzlaf
5.		John Tavares
6.		Claude GirouX*
7.		JONATHAN TOEWS
8.		Anze Kopitar
9.		Tyler SeguiN*
10.		Logan CouturE*
11.		Nicklas Backstrom
12.		PAVEL DATSYUK*
13.		JOE PAVELSKI*
14.		Matt DuchenE*
15.		Jason Spezza
16.		ERIC STAAL
17.		David BackeS*
18.		Nathan MacKinnoN*
19.		Patrice Bergeron
20.		Joe Thornton
21.		HENRIK SEDIN
22.		JEFF CARTER*
23.		RYAN JOHANSEN*
24.		David Krejci
25.		Ryan KesleR*
26.		Brandon DubinskY*
27.		PAUL STASTNY
28.		Kyle Turris
29.		BRYAN LITTLE*
30.		DEREK STEPAN
31.		Mikko Koivu
32.		RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS
33.		NAZEM KADRI
34.		VALTTERI FILPPULA*
35.		CODY HODGSON*
36.		EVGENY KUZNETSOV*
37.		BRAYDEN SCHENN*
38.		DERICK BRASSARD
39.		MARK SCHEIFELE
40.		TOMAS PLEKANEC
41.		TYLER JOHNSON
42.		MIKAEL GRANLUND
43.		MIKE RIBEIRO
44.		NICK BONINO
45.		TYLER BOZAK
46.		MARTIN HANZAL
47.		BRAD RICHARDS*
48.		ALEKSANDER BARKOV
49.		ANDREW SHAW
50.		SAM REINHART

Just missed: Ryan Strome (Islanders), Sam Gagner* (Coyotes), Mike Richards* (Kings), Mika Zibanejad* (Senators), Nick Bjugstad (Panthers), Leon Draisaitl (Oilers), Elias Lindholm (Hurricanes), Mikhail Grabovski* (Islanders), Sean Monahan (Flames), Tyler Ennis* (Sabres)

* Player has dual-position eligibility in Yahoo leagues

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