This is the Big List we’ve all been waiting for. Let’s face it, forwards are the sexy picks in fantasy hockey and tend to be more valuable with leagues typically favouring offence.
I’ve made these Big Lists with the simplest of leagues in mind — that being points-only rotisserie. Essentially, I’ve predicted the NHL’s points leaders among forwards from No. 1 to 400.
I realize many leagues utilize additional scoring categories beyond just goals and assists, but coming up with a ranking system to accommodate the various formats proved far too complex. So I went the easy route and ranked all these forwards based solely on point potential, making this Big List applicable to all leagues from keepers to box pools. As a result, the multi-stat, multi-position guys — those who rack up penalty minutes, hits, shots, etc., in addition to points — might be ranked lower than you’d expect.
The keyword with these projections is potential. For example, I’m well aware that only 50 forwards recorded 60 or more points last season. So although these rankings show 110 players with 60-plus potential, I realize the actual number will be substantially lower. But for each point plateau, I listed all of the players that I believe could realistically reach those totals in a best-case scenario.
These are my personal rankings and while I tried to be as impartial as possible, I’m sure you’ll find some instances of favouritism. Perhaps a few Oilers will be ranked too high, or a few Flames too low. I’m also a sucker for potential, so I’ve never been afraid to rank a rookie ahead of a more established veteran — for better or worse come season’s end.
As always, I welcome your feedback in the comments section below and would be glad to discuss any individual players in greater detail.
Without further ado, I give to you my top 400 forwards for the 2015-16 fantasy season:
80-Plus Points
1) Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
2) John Tavares, New York Islanders
3) Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars
4) Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
5) Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
* 6) Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks (under investigation, could be suspended)
7) Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
8) Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
9) Tyler Johnson, Tampa Bay Lightning
10) Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
11) Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
12) Jamie Benn, Dallas Stars
* 13) Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals (hip injury)
14) Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (Rookie)
15) Ryan Johansen, Columbus Blue Jackets
15) Jakub Voracek, Philadelphia Flyers
16) Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
17) Joe Thornton, San Jose Sharks
18) Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings
20) Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks
21) Phil Kessel, Pittsburgh Penguins
22) Taylor Hall, Edmonton Oilers
23) Joe Pavelski, San Jose Sharks
24) Henrik Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
25) Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks
60-to-80 Points
If you’re looking for a bounce-back player that is sure to be overlooked by your peers, look no further than Nathan MacKinnon. He won the Calder two years ago and then suffered through the dreaded sophomore slump. I’m confident he’s going to be a breakout sensation and become a steal for anybody luck enough (or smart enough) to pick him.
26) Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
27) Jason Spezza, Dallas Stars
28) Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers
29) Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres (Rookie)
30) Eric Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
31) Mikael Granlund, Minnesota Wild
32) Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators
33) Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning
34) Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
35) Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit Red Wings
36) Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
37) Kyle Turris, Ottawa Senators
38) Matt Duchene, Colorado Avalanche
39) Rick Nash, New York Rangers
40) Patrick Sharp, Dallas Stars
41) Tyler Ennis, Buffalo Sabres
42) Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames
43) Brandon Saad, Columbus Blue Jackets
44) Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington Capitals
45) Derek Stepan, New York Rangers
46) Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens
47) James van Riemsdyk, Toronto Maple Leafs
48) Bobby Ryan, Ottawa Senators
49) Nick Foligno, Columbus Blue Jackets
50) Jaden Schwartz, St. Louis Blues
51) Logan Couture, San Jose Sharks
52) Elias Lindholm, Carolina Hurricanes
53) Gabriel Landeskog, Colorado Avalanche
54) Jeff Carter, Los Angeles Kings
55) David Krejci, Boston Bruins
56) Jiri Hudler, Calgary Flames
57) Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg Jets
58) Ryan O’Reilly, Buffalo Sabres
59) Mark Stone, Ottawa Senators
60) David Backes, St. Louis Blues
61) Marian Hossa, Chicago Blackhawks
62) Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
63) Patrick Marleau, San Jose Sharks
64) Wayne Simmonds, Philadelphia Flyers
65) Kyle Okposo, New York Islanders
66) Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames
67) Gustav Nyquist, Detroit Red Wings
68) Ryan Strome, New York Islanders
69) Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida Panthers
70) T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
71) Marian Gaborik, Los Angeles Kings
* 72) Pavel Datsyuk, Detroit Red Wings (ankle)
73) James Neal, Nashville Predators
74) Ondrej Palat, Tampa Bay Lightning
75) Patric Hornqvist, Pittsburgh Penguins
76) Craig Smith, Nashville Predators
77) Evander Kane, Buffalo Sabres
78) Bryan Little, Winnipeg Jets
79) Paul Stastny, St. Louis Blues
80) Derick Brassard, New York Rangers
81) Mike Ribeiro, Nashville Predators
* 82) Jordan Eberle, Edmonton Oilers (shoulder)
83) Alex Galchenyuk, Montreal Canadiens
84) Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
85) Milan Lucic, Los Angeles Kings
86) Andrew Ladd, Winnipeg Jets
87) Chris Kunitz, Pittsburgh Penguins
88) Thomas Vanek, Minnesota Wild
89) Jakob Silfverberg, Anaheim Ducks
90) Nail Yakupov, Edmonton Oilers
91) Adam Henrique, New Jersey Devils
92) Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
93) Mikko Koivu, Minnesota Wild
94) Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues
95) Brandon Dubinsky, Columbus Blue Jackets
96) Jordan Staal, Carolina Hurricanes
97) Jarome Iginla, Colorado Avalanche
98) Jason Pominville, Minnesota Wild
99) Alex Steen, St. Louis Blues
100) Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers
101) Mike Cammalleri, New Jersey Devils
102) Brayden Schenn, Philadelphia Flyers
103) Jeff Skinner, Carolina Hurricanes
104) Tomas Plekanec, Montreal Canadiens
105) Loui Eriksson, Boston Bruins
106) Radim Vrbata, Vancouver Canucks
107) Jaromir Jagr, Florida Panthers
108) Scott Hartnell, Columbus Blue Jackets
109) Alex Tanguay, Colorado Avalanche
40-to-60 Points
Look for Jonathan Drouin to have a breakout season playing alongside Steven Stamkos on Tampa’s top line.
110) Jonathan Drouin, Tampa Bay Lightning
111) Teuvo Teravainen, Chicago Blackhawks
112) Tyler Toffoli, Los Angeles Kings
113) Chris Kreider, New York Rangers
114) Tomas Tatar, Detroit Red Wings
115) Matt Moulson, Buffalo Sabres
116) Ryan Callahan, Tampa Bay Lightning
117) Alex Semin, Montreal Canadiens
118) Brandon Sutter, Vancouver Canucks
119) Cody Eakin, Dallas Stars
120) Bo Horvat, Vancouver Canucks
121) Nazem Kadri, Toronto Maple Leafs
122) David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
123) Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks
124) Nick Bjugstad, Florida Panthers
125) Mike Hoffman, Ottawa Senators
126) Kevin Hayes, New York Rangers
127) Anders Lee, New York Islanders
128) Valeri Nichushkin, Dallas Stars
129) Sam Reinhart, Buffalo Sabres (Rookie)
130) Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets (Rookie)
131) Sam Bennett, Calgary Flames (Rookie)
132) Max Domi, Arizona Coyotes (Rookie)
133) Nino Niederreiter, Minnesota Wild
134) Brock Nelson, New York Islanders
135) Charlie Coyle, Minnesota Wild
136) Mika Zibanejad, Ottawa Senators
137) Ryan Spooner, Boston Bruins
138) Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets
139) Josh Bailey, New York Islanders
140) Colin Wilson, Nashville Predators
141) Mikkel Boedker, Arizona Coyotes
142) Sasha Barkov, Florida Panthers
143) Michael Frolik, Calgary Flames
144) Justin Abdelkader, Detroit Red Wings
145) Micheal Raffl, Philadelphia Flyers
146) David Perron, Pittsburgh Penguins
147) Travis Zajac, New Jersey Devils
148) Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks
149) Valtteri Filppula, Tampa Bay Lightning
150) Artemi Panarin, Chicago Blackhawks (Rookie)
151) Sven Baertschi, Vancouver Canucks
152) Jiri Sekac, Anaheim Ducks
153) Joonas Donskoi, San Jose Sharks (Rookie)
154) Sergei Plotnikov, Pittsburgh Penguins (Rookie)
155) Frans Nielsen, New York Islanders
156) Mikael Backlund, Calgary Flames
157) Matt Beleskey, Boston Bruins
158) Tobias Rieder, Arizona Coyotes
159) Victor Rask, Carolina Hurricanes
160) Zemgus Girgensons, Buffalo Sabres
161) Ales Hemsky, Dallas Stars
162) Tyler Bozak, Toronto Maple Leafs
163) Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets
164) Jussi Jokinen, Florida Panthers
165) David Desharnais, Montreal Canadiens
166) Marcus Johansson, Washington Capitals
167) Carl Soderberg, Colorado Avalanche
168) Justin Williams, Washington Capitals
169) Benoit Pouliot, Edmonton Oilers
170) Carl Hagelin, Anaheim Ducks
171) Brendan Gallagher, Montreal Canadiens
172) Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers
173) Brad Richards, Detroit Red Wings
174) Joel Ward, San Jose Sharks
175) Lars Eller, Montreal Canadiens
176) Drew Stafford, Winnipeg Jets
177) Troy Brouwer, St. Louis Blues
178) Chris Stewart, Anaheim Ducks
179) Clarke MacArthur, Ottawa Senators
180) Mike Fisher, Nashville Predators
181) Alex Killorn, Tampa Bay Lightning
182) Jason Zucker, Minnesota Wild
183) Tommy Wingels, San Jose Sharks
184) Brandon Pirri, Florida Panthers
185) Johan Franzen, Detroit Red Wings
186) Joffrey Lupul, Toronto Maple Leafs
187) Alex Burrows, Vancouver Canucks
188) Martin Hanzal, Arizona Coyotes
189) Tanner Pearson, Los Angeles Kings
190) Riley Sheahan, Detroit Red Wings
191) Reilly Smith, Florida Panthers
192) Nick Bonino, Pittsburgh Penguins
193) Milan Michalek, Ottawa Senators
194) Matt Nieto, San Jose Sharks
195) Matt Read, Philadelphia Flyers
196) Blake Comeau, Colorado Avalanche
197) Jacob Josefson, New Jersey Devils
198) J.T. Miller, New York Rangers
199) Dmitrij Jaskin, St. Louis Blues
200) Adam Lowry, Winnipeg Jets
201) Anton Lander, Edmonton Oilers
202) Antoine Vermette, Arizona Coyotes
203) Teddy Purcell, Edmonton Oilers
204) Mathieu Perreault, Winnipeg Jets
205) Kyle Palmieri, New Jersey Devils
206) Jimmy Hayes, Boston Bruins
207) Jiri Tlusty, New Jersey Devils
208) Tomas Fleischmann, Montreal Canadiens
209) Brad Boyes, Toronto Maple Leafs
210) Shane Doan, Arizona Coyotes
211) Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings
212) Brian Gionta, Buffalo Sabres
213) Kris Versteeg, Carolina Hurricanes
214) Mikhail Grabovski, New York Islanders
215) P.A. Parenteau, Toront Maple Leafs
216) Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings (rookie)
217) Robby Fabbri, St. Louis Blues (rookie)
218) Viktor Arvidsson, Nashville Predators (rookie)
219) Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche (rookie)
220) Anthony Duclair, Arizona Coyotes (Rookie)
221) Brett Connolly, Boston Bruins
222) Calle Jarnkrok, Nashville Predators
223) Vincent Trocheck, Florida Panthers
224) Andre Burakovsky, Washington Capitals
225) Scott Laughton, Philadelphia Flyers
226) Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks
227) Lance Bouma, Calgary Flames
228) Antoine Roussel, Dallas Stars
229) Andrew Cogliano, Anaheim Ducks
230) Cody Hodgson, Nashville Predators
231) Andrew Shaw, Chicago Blackhawks
232) Peter Holland, Toronto Maple Leafs
323) Dave Bolland, Florida Panthers
234) Shawn Matthias, Toronto Maple Leafs
235) Rene Bourque, Columbus Blue Jackets
236) Nathan Gerbe, Carolina Hurricanes
237) Patrick Maroon, Anaheim Ducks
238) Nikolai Kulemin, New York Islanders
239) Jannik Hansen, Vancouver Canucks
* 240) Patrik Elias, New Jersey Devils (knee)
* 241) Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings (concussion)
* 242) Pascal Dupuis, Pittsburgh Penguins (lower-body)
* 243) Chris Higgins, Vancouver Canucks (foot)
* 244) Justin Fontaine, Minnesota Wild (oblique)
20-to-40 Points
Alex Burmistrov is back in North America — back in the fold for the Winnipeg Jets — after spending a couple seasons in Russia’s KHL.
245) Alex Burmistrov, Winnipeg Jets
246) Curtis Lazar, Ottawa Senators
247) Tomas Jurco, Detroit Red Wings
248) Jesper Fast, New York Rangers
249) Marcus Foligno, Buffalo Sabres
250) Sam Gagner, Philadelphia Flyers
251) Chris Tierney, San Jose Sharks
252) Teemu Pulkkinen, Detroit Red Wings
253) Markus Granlund, Calgary Flames
254) Johan Larsson, Buffalo Sabres
255) Mikhail Grigorenko, Colorado Avalanche
256) Emerson Etem, New York Rangers
257) Beau Bennett, Pittsburgh Penguins
258) Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals
259) R.J. Umberger, Philadelphia Flyers
260) Matt Cullen, Pittsburgh Penguins
261) Jamie McGinn, Buffalo Sabres
262) Bryan Bickell, Chicago Blackhawks
263) Brooks Laich, Washington Capitals
264) Lee Stempniak, New Jersey Devils
265) David Clarkson, Columbus Blue Jackets
266) Viktor Stalberg, New York Rangers
267) Oscar Lindberg, New York Rangers (Rookie)
268) Anton Slepyshev, Edmonton Oilers (rookie)
269) Mattias Janmark, Dallas Stars (rookie)
270) Shane Prince, Ottawa Senators (rookie)
271) Jake Virtanen, Vancouver Canucks (rookie)
272) Nic Petan, Winnipeg Jets (rookie)
273) Matt Puempel, Ottawa Senators (rookie)
274) Matt Calvert, Columbus Blue Jackets
275) Luke Glendening, Detroit Red Wings
276) Erik Condra, Tampa Bay Lightning
277) Steve Bernier, New York Islanders
278) Scottie Upshall, St. Louis Blues
279) Trevor Lewis, Los Angeles Kings
280) Riley Nash, Carolina Hurricanes
281) Marcus Kruger, Chicago Blackhawks
* 282) Joe Colborne, Calgary Flames (thumb)
283) Patrick Eaves, Dallas Stars
284) Alex Chiasson, Ottawa Senators
285) Daniel Winnik, Toronto Maple Leafs
286) John Mitchell, Colorado Avalanche
287) Ryan Garbutt, Chicago Blackhawks
288) Jay Beagle, Washington Capitals
289) Michael Grabner, Toronto Maple Leafs
290) Casey Cizikas, New York Islanders
291) Lauri Korpikoski, Edmonton Oilers
292) Eric Fehr, Pittsburgh Penguins
293) David Jones, Calgary Flames
294) Mark Letestu, Edmonton Oilers
295) Jordan Weal, Los Angeles Kings (Rookie)
296) William Karlsson, Columbus Blue Jackets (rookie)
297) Kyle Baun, Chicago Blackhawks (rookie)
298) Rocco Grimaldi, Florida Panthers (rookie)
299) Jared McCann, Vancouver Canucks (rookie)
300) Steve Downie, Arizona Coyotes
301) Derek Dorsett, Vancouver Canucks
302) Cal Clutterbuck, New York Islanders
303) Micheal Ferland, Calgary Flames
304) Kyle Clifford, Los Angeles Kings
305) Devante Smith-Pelly, Montreal Canadiens
306) Viktor Tikhonov, Chicago Blackhawks
307) Leo Komarov, Toronto Maple Leafs
308) Jarret Stoll, New York Rangers
309) Tuomo Ruutu, New Jersey Devils
310) Jack Skille, Colorado Avalanche
311) Mike Santorelli, Anaheim Ducks
312) Chris Vande Velde, Philadelphia Flyers
313) David Legwand, Buffalo Sabres
314) Vincent Lecavalier, Philadelphia Flyers
315) Chris Kelly, Boston Bruins
316) Jason Chimera, Washington Capitals
317) Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Ottawa Senators
318) Cedric Paquette, Tampa Bay Lightning
319) Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Philadelphia Flyers
320) Mark Arcobello, Toronto Maple Leafs
321) Torrey Mitchell, Montreal Canadiens
322) Colton Sceviour, Dallas Stars
323) Erik Haula, Minnesota Wild
324) Andrej Nestrasil, Carolina Hurricanes
325) Zack Smith, Ottawa Senators
326) Ben Smith, San Jose Sharks
327) Vladislav Namestnikov, Tampa Bay Lightning
328) Reid Boucher, New Jersey Devils
329) Alexander Wennberg, Columbus Blue Jackets
330) Chris Terry, Carolina Hurricanes
331) J.T. Brown, Tampa Bay Lightning
332) Josh Jooris, Calgary Flames
333) Nicolas Deslauriers, Buffalo Sabres
334) Andrew Desjardins, Chicago Blackhawks
335) Vernon Fiddler, Dallas Stars
336) Stanislav Galiev, Washington Capitals (rookie)
337) Andrew Copp, Winnipeg Jets (rookie)
338) Tyler Graovac, Minnesota Wild (rookie)
339) Barclay Goodrow, San Jose Sharks
340) Nick Shore, Los Angeles Kings
341) Quinton Howden, Florida Panthers
342) Sergey Kalinin, New Jersey Devils (rookie)
343) Joonas Kemppainen, Boston Bruins (rookie)
344) Connor Brickley, Florida Panthers (rookie)
345) Auston Watson, Nashville Predators
346) Stefan Matteau, New Jersey Devils
347) Matt Hendricks, Edmonton Oilers
348) Chris Thorburn, Winnipeg Jets
349) Brandon Prust, Vancouver Canucks
350) Kyle Brodziak, St. Louis Blues
351) Brian Boyle, Tampa Bay Lightning
352) Matt Stajan, Calgary Flames
353) Scott Gomez, St. Louis Blues
354) Drew Miller, Detroit Red Wings
355) Steve Ott, St. Louis Blues
356) Joakim Andersson, Detroit Red Wings
357) Dwight King, Los Angeles Kings
358) Dan Cleary, Detroit Red Wings
* 359) Zack Kassian, Montreal Canadiens (rehab)
* 360) Brett Ritchie, Dallas Stars (wrist)
* 361) Patrik Berglund, St. Louis Blues (shoulder)
362) Mason Raymond, Calgary Flames
363) Richard Panik, Toronto Maple Leafs
364) Linden Vey, Vancouver Canucks
365) Melker Karlsson, San Jose Sharks
366) Andy Andreoff, Los Angeles Kings
367) Magnus Paajarvi, St. Louis Blues
368) Jordon Schroeder, Minnesota Wild
369) Ronalds Kenins, Vancouver Canucks
Prospect Watch
NOTE: These prospects are starting the season in the AHL, but could make a fantasy impact if they get called up at some point.
1) Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
2) Marko Dano, Chicago Blackhawks
3) Kevin Fiala, Nashville Predators
4) Nikolay Goldobin, San Jose Sharks
5) Nikita Scherbak, Montreal Canadiens
6) Alexander Khokhlachev, Boston Bruins
7) Ty Rattie, St. Louis Blues
8) Steve Moses, Nashville Predators
9) Joel Armia, Winnipeg Jets
10) Sven Andrighetto, Montreal Canadiens
11) Kerby Rychel, Columbus Blue Jackets
12) Jacob De La Rose, Montreal Canadiens
13) Ryan Hartman, Chicago Blackhawks
14) Curtis McKenzie, Dallas Stars
Free-Agent Watch
NOTE: These forwards remain unrestricted free agents, but could make a fantasy impact if they are signed before or during the season.
1) Martin Havlat
2) Derek Roy
3) David Booth
4) Curtis Glencross
5) Sean Bergenheim
6) Tomas Kopecky
7) James Sheppard
8) Stephen Weiss
9) Erik Cole
10) Devin Setoguchi
11) Michael Ryder
12) Tyler Kennedy
13) Brenden Morrow
14) Olli Jokinen
15) Dainius Zubrus
16) Daniel Paille
* 17) Mike Richards (facing drug charges)
Larry Fisher is a sports reporter for The Daily Courier in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. Follow him on Twitter: @LarryFisher_KDC.