Fantasy forward top 100 rankings for 2018-19
Avalanche first line among most potent; Meier having breakout season for Sharks
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Trending up
-- The Colorado Avalanche first line has been arguably the most potent in the NHL to start the season; center Nathan MacKinnon (18 points in 12 games; T-2nd) joins the top five overall rankings, right wing Mikko Rantanen (leads NHL with 21 points) cracks the top 30 forwards, and left wing Gabriel Landeskog is the biggest riser among players in the top 40.
-- With elite center Auston Matthews (shoulder) out at least four weeks, Nazem Kadri moves up in the rankings after being elevated to a line with Mitch Marner and Patrick Marleau. Kadri was already playing on the first power play with center John Tavares and defenseman Morgan Rielly and remained there against the Calgary Flames on Monday, scoring a power-play goal. He now has goals in three straight games and had 32 in each of the past two seasons. Now would be a great time for fantasy owners to trade for unsigned restricted free agent forward William Nylander in the hope he signs soon.
-- The San Jose Sharks' second line of Tomas Hertl, Logan Couture and Timo Meier has been thriving, and Meier has been the biggest fantasy steal of the bunch. Entering Tuesday, Meier is ranked 32nd among all players in Yahoo and is tied for seventh in goals (eight) with more than three shots on goal per game (35 in 11 games). With center Joe Thornton (knee infection) returning Tuesday, Meier has been moved to the top line with Thornton and Joe Pavelski, proving he is a mainstay in the Sharks' top six.
Trending down
-- Forward Jamie Benn has been held without a point over the past six games and is ranked 66th in Yahoo entering Tuesday. He practiced on a separate line from elite forward Tyler Seguin on Monday, skating with Jason Spezza on the second unit. Although Spezza (C/RW in Yahoo) could benefit from this change, Benn's fantasy ceiling would be lower if he and Seguin remain apart for more than a few games. In the meantime, right wing Alexander Radulov returned from injury Tuesday, and Benn will at least remain with Seguin and defenseman John Klingberg on the Stars power play, which ranks sixth in the NHL (28.6 percent).
-- The Philadelphia Flyers have been one of the most disappointing team in the NHL over the first month of the season, and the lack of production from right wing Wayne Simmonds and center Sean Couturier is especially alarming. After each played through injury last season, Simmonds has been mostly on the third line this season, and Couturier has struggled despite top-line placement with Claude Giroux. Simmonds has six goals but shaky category coverage (one assist, minus-6); Couturier may become droppable if his slow start (points in only three of 11 games) continues.
-- Carolina Hurricanes rookie Andrei Svechnikov has turned out to be more of a fantasy project than impact player. Playing mostly in the bottom six, away from fantasy-relevant forwards Sebastian Aho, Teuvo Teravainen, Micheal Ferland and Jordan Staal, Svechnikov has no points over his past seven games. His shots on goal volume (21) over the span in encouraging, and he should be held onto in fantasy with the chance to be elevated in the lineup at any time.
FANTASY TOP 100 FORWARD RANKINGS
Standard Yahoo categories include goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal and hits for skaters. Forward positions indicate Yahoo eligibility for 2018-19 season (subject to additions, but never subtractions, at Yahoo's discretion). ... Value has been quantified based on factors including but not limited to past production, projected line combinations, power-play usage, injury history, sleeper upside, anticipated regression or bounce-back candidacy, age and contract status (potential 2019 UFA: \; RFA: \\). ... DTD indicates player with day-to-day injury.
1. Connor McDavid, C, EDM (SAME)
2. Alex Ovechkin, LW, WSH (SAME)
3. Evgeni Malkin, C, PIT (+2)
4. Nathan MacKinnon, C, COL (+4)
5. Sidney Crosby, C, PIT (+4)
6. David Pastrnak, RW, BOS (+4)
7. Brad Marchand, LW, BOS (-1)
8. Jamie Benn, C/LW, DAL (-5)
9. Nikita Kucherov, RW, TBL (-2)
10. John Tavares, C, TOR (+1)
11. Tyler Seguin, C, DAL (+1)
12. Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (+2)
13. Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, WSH (+3)
14. Mitchell Marner, C/RW, TOR\* (+3)
15. Patrik Laine, RW, WPG\\ (-2)
16. Claude Giroux, C/LW, PHI (-1)
17. Blake Wheeler, C/RW, WPG (+2)
18. Taylor Hall, LW, NJD (+2)
19. Johnny Gaudreau, LW, CGY (-1)
20. Sebastian Aho, C/LW/RW, CAR\\ (+1)
21. Jack Eichel, C, BUF (+1)
22. Artemi Panarin, LW, CBJ* (+3)
23. Filip Forsberg, LW, NSH (+3)
24. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, STL (-1)
25. Steven Stamkos, C/RW, TBL (-1)
26. Patrice Bergeron, C, BOS (+1)
27. Phil Kessel, RW, PIT (+1)
28. Mikko Rantanen, RW, COL\\ (+5)
29. Aleksander Barkov, C, FLA (SAME)
30. Mark Scheifele, C, WPG (+1)
31. Nicklas Backstrom, C, WSH (-1)
32. Jonathan Marchessault, C/LW, VGK (SAME)
33. Evander Kane, LW, SJS (+2)
34. Leon Draisaitl, C/RW, EDM (+4)
35. Gabriel Landeskog, LW, COL (+6)
36. Alexander Radulov, RW, DAL (DTD)
37. Jakub Voracek, RW, PHI (SAME)
38. Anze Kopitar, C, LAK (-2)
39. William Karlsson, C/LW, VGK\\ (SAME)
40. Joe Pavelski, C/RW, SJS* (SAME)
41. Mathew Barzal, C, NYI (+1)
42. Matthew Tkachuk, LW, CGY\\ (+1)
43. Brayden Schenn, C, STL (+8)
44. Ryan Getzlaf, C, ANA (+4)
45. Alex DeBrincat, LW/RW, CHI (-1)
46. Rickard Rakell, C/LW/RW, ANA (-1)
47. Sean Monahan, C, CGY (-1)
48. Vincent Trocheck, C, FLA (+1)
49. Kyle Connor, LW, WPG\\ (+3)
50. Teuvo Teravainen, LW/RW, CAR\\ (+4)
51. Logan Couture, C/LW, SJS (+4)
52. Clayton Keller, C/LW/RW, ARI (+4)
53. Brayden Point, C, TBL\\ (SAME)
54. Jeff Skinner, C/LW, BUF* (+5)
55. Brock Boeser, RW, VAN\\ (-8)
56. Wayne Simmonds, RW, PHI* (-6)
57. Ilya Kovalchuk, LW/RW, LAK (SAME)
58. Viktor Arvidsson, LW/RW, NSH (+8)
59. Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (-1)
60. Evgenii Dadonov, LW/RW, FLA (SAME)
61. Elias Pettersson, C, VAN (SAME)
62. Mikael Granlund, C/RW, MIN (SAME)
63. Ryan Johansen, C, NSH (+5)
64. Kyle Palmieri, RW, NJD (+7)
65. Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, FLA (-2)
66. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C/LW, EDM (+1)
67. Ryan O'Reilly, C, STL (+5)
68. T.J. Oshie, RW, WSH (+1)
69. Nikolaj Ehlers, LW/RW, WPG (-4)
70. Elias Lindholm, C/RW, CGY (SAME)
71. Timo Meier, LW/RW, SJS\\ (+3)
72. Jake Guentzel, C/LW, PIT\\ (+1)
73. Micheal Ferland, LW/RW, CAR* (+2)
74. Patric Hornqvist, RW, PIT (+4)
75. Anders Lee, LW, NYI* (+10)
76. Pierre-Luc Dubois, C/LW, CBJ (+3)
77. Cam Atkinson, RW, CBJ (+3)
78. Mike Hoffman, LW/RW, FLA (+3)
79. Tomas Hertl, C/LW/RW, SJS (+5)
80. Alex Galchenyuk, C/LW, ARI (+8)
81. Yanni Gourde, C/LW/RW, TBL (+1)
82. Sean Couturier, C, PHI (-6)
83. Mark Stone, RW, OTT* (+8)
84. J.T. Miller, C/LW/RW, TBL (-1)
85. Andrei Svechnikov, RW, CAR (-8)
86. Dylan Larkin, C, DET (SAME)
87. Eric Staal, C, MIN* (SAME)
88. Jason Zucker, LW/RW, MIN (+4)
89. Nazem Kadri, C, TOR (NEW)
90. Kasperi Kapanen, RW, TOR\\ (+8)
91. Mika Zibanejad, C, NYR (+5)
92. Brendan Gallagher, RW, MTL (+5)
93. Zach Parise, LW, MIN (+2)
94. Nico Hischier, C, NJD (NEW)
95. Jonathan Drouin, C/LW, MTL (+4)
96. Max Domi, C/LW, MTL (+4)
97. Matt Duchene, C, OTT* (NEW)
98. Reilly Smith, LW/RW, VGK (-8)
99. Josh Bailey, RW, NYI (NEW)
100. Jason Pominville, RW, BUF* (NEW)
Dropped out: Auston Matthews, C, TOR\* (INJ.); Max Pacioretty, LW, VGK (INJ.); Jeff Carter, C, LAK; Travis Konecny, C/LW/RW, PHI\\; Ondrej Palat, LW, TBL (DTD)
Just missed: Dustin Brown, RW, LAK; Alex Tuch, RW, VGK\\; Sam Reinhart, C/RW, BUF; Tyler Toffoli, RW, LAK; Jaden Schwartz, LW, STL; Patrick Marleau, C/LW, TOR; Tyler Johnson, C/RW, TBL; Zach Hyman, LW, TOR; Bo Horvat, C, VAN; David Perron, LW/RW, STL; Jakub Vrana, LW/RW, WSH\\; Chris Kreider, LW, NYR; Nick Bjugstad, C/LW/RW, FLA; Jordan Staal, C, CAR; Jakob Silfverberg, RW, ANA\; Jason Spezza, C/RW, DAL\; Dominik Simon, C/LW, PIT; Kyle Okposo, RW, BUF; Zach Sanford, C/LW, STL; Joe Thornton, C, SJS\
Key injuries:* Brady Tkachuk, LW, OTT; James van Riemsdyk, LW, PHI; Ondrej Kase, RW, ANA; Paul Stastny, C, VGK; Corey Perry, RW, ANA; Patrick Eaves, LW/RW, ANA; Ty Rattie, RW, EDM
Unsigned restricted free agent: William Nylander, C/RW, TOR
Suspended: Tom Wilson, RW, WSH
READ: [Top 100 forward rankings Oct. 23]
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