Is it ever really “way too early” to start talking about the next fantasy hockey season? A lot is going to change between now and the fall, but let’s take an initial pass over how we expect next season to shake out.
Obviously, the outcome of the Stanley Cup playoffs, the free-agent offseason and the NHL draft will all push players up and down from this first glance. Where will Mitch Marner sign? Where do John Tavares and Nikolaj Ehlers end up? What happens with some of the major restricted free agents, like Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson?
We are also teed up to see some of the major Calder Trophy candidates showcase themselves in the postseason as an early preview. For their part, players like Alexander Nikishin, Ivan Demidov and Zeev Buium have been left out of these rankings so we can get some hard numbers on how they fit into their team’s respective offense. We’ll work them into the fall rankings after we see some playoff box scores.
These rankings are based on expectations of fantasy points produced for the entirety of the 2025-26 NHL season. Fantasy points are based on the ESPN Fantasy standard game (for skaters: goals = 2 points, assists = 1 point, shots and hits = 0.1 points, blocked shots and special-teams points = 0.5 points; for goaltenders: wins = 4 points, OT losses = 1 point, shutouts = 3 points, saves = 0.2 points, goals against = -2 points).
Top 250 rankings for 2025-26
1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, C1
2. Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche, D1
3. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning, RW1
4. Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets, G1
5. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers, C2
6. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche, C3
7. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers, C4
8. Kirill Kaprizov, Minnesota Wild, LW1
9. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins, RW2
10. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers, G2
11. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights, C5
12. Rasmus Dahlin, Buffalo Sabres, D2
13. Roman Josi, Nashville Predators, D3
14. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals, LW2
15. MacKenzie Weegar, Calgary Flames, D4
16. Jake Guentzel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW3
17. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils, C6
18. J.T. Miller, New York Rangers, C7
19. Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators, LW4
20. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW3
21. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers, RW4
22. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens, C8
23. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers, LW5
24. William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs, RW5
25. Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers, RW6
26. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning, C9
27. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins, C10
28. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils, C11
29. Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators, LW6
30. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers, C12
31. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues, C13
32. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning, D5
33. John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs, C14
34. Alex Tuch, Buffalo Sabres, RW7
35. Zach Werenski, Columbus Blue Jackets, D6
36. Adam Fox, New York Rangers, D7
37. Bryan Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW8
38. Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild, LW7
39. Jake Sanderson, Ottawa Senators, D8
40. Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes, RW9
41. Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks, D9
42. Kyle Connor, Winnipeg Jets, LW8
43. Jake Oettinger, Dallas Stars, G3
44. Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning, LW9
45. Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals, G4
46. Noah Dobson, New York Islanders, D10
47. Vincent Trocheck, New York Rangers, C15
48. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres, C16
49. Dylan Guenther, Utah Hockey Club, RW10
50. Colton Parayko, St. Louis Blues, D11
51. Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars, RW11
52. Thomas Chabot, Ottawa Senators, D12
53. Jordan Kyrou, St. Louis Blues, RW12
54. Mikhail Sergachev, Utah Hockey Club, D13
55. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks, C17
56. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, C18
57. Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars, LW10
58. Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers, D14
59. Wyatt Johnston, Dallas Stars, C19
60. Rasmus Andersson, Calgary Flames, D15
61. Jacob Markstrom, New Jersey Devils, G5
62. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida Panthers, G6
63. Moritz Seider, Detroit Red Wings, D16
64. Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche, G7
65. Tomas Hertl, Vegas Golden Knights, C20
66. Adrian Kempe, Los Angeles Kings, RW13
67. Ilya Sorokin, New York Islanders, G8
68. Lane Hutson, Montreal Canadiens, D17
69. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets, C21
70. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins, RW14
71. Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals, RW15
72. Timo Meier, New Jersey Devils, LW11
73. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning, G9
74. Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets, D18
75. Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames, C22
76. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils, RW16
77. Valeri Nichushkin, Colorado Avalanche, RW17
78. Jeremy Swayman, Boston Bruins, G10
79. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes, C23
80. John Carlson, Washington Capitals, D19
81. Darcy Kuemper, Los Angeles Kings, G11
82. Boone Jenner, Columbus Blue Jackets, C24
83. Dylan Holloway, St. Louis Blues, C25
84. Jonathan Huberdeau, Calgary Flames, LW12
85. Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken, RW18
86. Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils, D20
87. Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins, D21
88. Gabriel Vilardi, Winnipeg Jets, C26
89. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals, C27
90. Marco Rossi, Minnesota Wild, C28
91. Sean Monahan, Columbus Blue Jackets, C29
92. Joel Eriksson Ek, Minnesota Wild, C30
93. Seth Jones, Florida Panthers, D22
94. Darnell Nurse, Edmonton Oilers, D23
95. Clayton Keller, Utah Hockey Club, LW13
96. Martin Necas, Colorado Avalanche, RW19
97. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings, LW14
98. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders, C31
99. Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights, D24
100. Pyotr Kochetkov, Carolina Hurricanes, G12
101. Jackson LaCombe, Anaheim Ducks, D25
102. Jake Walman, Edmonton Oilers, D26
103. Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets, C32
104. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks, C33
105. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars, C34
106. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens, LW15
107. Thomas Harley, Dallas Stars, D27
108. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings, D28
109. Steven Stamkos, Nashville Predators, C35
110. Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights, RW20
111. Patrick Kane, Detroit Red Wings, RW21
112. Drake Batherson, Ottawa Senators, RW22
113. Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars, C36
114. Kevin Fiala, Los Angeles Kings, LW16
115. Josh Norris, Buffalo Sabres, C37
116. Elias Lindholm, Boston Bruins, RW23
117. Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks, D29
118. Anze Kopitar, Los Angeles Kings, C38
119. Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild, RW24
120. Nick Seeler, Philadelphia Flyers, D30
121. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators, C39
122. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers, C40
123. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers, RW25
124. Brad Marchand, Florida Panthers, LW17
125. Logan Cooley, Utah Hockey Club, C41
126. Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars, D31
127. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets, LW18
128. Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars, RW26
129. Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche, D32
130. Alexander Romanov, New York Islanders, D33
131. Tyson Foerster, Philadelphia Flyers, RW27
132. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers, RW28
133. Evander Kane, Edmonton Oilers, LW19
134. Mikael Granlund, Dallas Stars, LW20
135. Shayne Gostisbehere, Carolina Hurricanes, D34
136. Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning, C42
137. Matthew Knies, Toronto Maple Leafs, LW21
138. Morgan Rielly, Toronto Maple Leafs, D35
139. Kaiden Guhle, Montreal Canadiens, D36
140. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins, C43
141. Jake McCabe, Toronto Maple Leafs, D37
142. Morgan Geekie, Boston Bruins, C44
143. Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights, D38
144. Cutter Gauthier, Anaheim Ducks, LW22
145. Jakob Chychrun, Washington Capitals, D39
146. Andrei Svechnikov, Carolina Hurricanes, LW23
147. Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets, D40
148. Mike Matheson, Montreal Canadiens, D41
149. Connor Murphy, Chicago Blackhawks, D42
150. Pavel Buchnevich, St. Louis Blues, RW29
151. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers, C45
152. Tyler Toffoli, San Jose Sharks, RW30
153. Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders, C46
154. Mason Marchment, Dallas Stars, LW24
155. Sean Durzi, Utah Hockey Club, D43
156. Brock Boeser, Vancouver Canucks, RW31
157. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings, C47
158. Lucas Raymond, Detroit Red Wings, LW25
159. Brock Nelson, Colorado Avalanche, C48
160. JJ Peterka, Buffalo Sabres, RW32
161. Zach Hyman, Edmonton Oilers, RW33
162. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers, C49
163. Pierre-Luc Dubois, Washington Capitals, C50
164. Quinton Byfield, Los Angeles Kings, C51
165. Brock Faber, Minnesota Wild, D44
166. Ryan Pulock, New York Islanders, D45
167. Thatcher Demko, Vancouver Canucks, G13
168. Adam Larsson, Seattle Kraken, D46
169. Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild, D47
170. Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets, LW26
171. Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers, D48
172. Aaron Ekblad, Florida Panthers, D49
173. Leo Carlsson, Anaheim Ducks, C52
174. Filip Gustavsson, Minnesota Wild, G14
175. Vince Dunn, Seattle Kraken, D50
176. Marcus Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks, D51
177. Esa Lindell, Dallas Stars, D52
178. Anders Lee, New York Islanders, LW27
179. Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins, D53
180. Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton Oilers, D54
181. Torey Krug, St. Louis Blues, D55
182. Kiefer Sherwood, Vancouver Canucks, LW28
183. Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators, G15
184. Ian Cole, Utah Hockey Club, D56
185. Luke Hughes, New Jersey Devils, D57
186. Shakir Mukhamadullin, San Jose Sharks, D58
187. Jake Middleton, Minnesota Wild, D59
188. Ryan Donato, Chicago Blackhawks, RW34
189. Radko Gudas, Anaheim Ducks, D60
190. Justin Faulk, St. Louis Blues, D61
191. Juraj Slafkovsky, Montreal Canadiens, LW29
192. Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens, RW35
193. Brayden McNabb, Vegas Golden Knights, D62
194. Nick Schmaltz, Utah Hockey Club, RW36
195. Jake DeBrusk, Vancouver Canucks, RW37
196. Dylan Samberg, Winnipeg Jets, D63
197. Brandon Montour, Seattle Kraken, D64
198. Dante Fabbro, Columbus Blue Jackets, D65
199. Jaden Schwartz, Seattle Kraken, LW30
200. Tyler Myers, Vancouver Canucks, D66
201. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins, D67
202. Conor Garland, Vancouver Canucks, RW38
203. Ryan McDonagh, Tampa Bay Lightning, D68
204. Mason McTavish, Anaheim Ducks, C53
205. Brayden Schenn, St. Louis Blues, C54
206. Tony DeAngelo, New York Islanders, D69
207. Jake Neighbours, St. Louis Blues, LW31
208. Linus Ullmark, Ottawa Senators, G16
209. Marcus Foligno, Minnesota Wild, RW39
210. Pius Suter, Vancouver Canucks, C55
211. Alexandre Carrier, Montreal Canadiens, D70
212. David Savard, Montreal Canadiens, D71
213. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues, G17
214. Adam Henrique, Edmonton Oilers, LW32
215. William Eklund, San Jose Sharks, LW33
216. Jonas Brodin, Minnesota Wild, D72
217. Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks, D73
218. Dustin Wolf, Calgary Flames, G18
219. Noah Hanifin, Vegas Golden Knights, D74
220. Brady Skjei, Nashville Predators, D75
221. Jonathan Marchessault, Nashville Predators, RW40
222. William Karlsson, Vegas Golden Knights, C56
223. Frank Vatrano, Anaheim Ducks, RW41
224. Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken, C57
225. Sean Couturier, Philadelphia Flyers, C58
226. Ryan O’Reilly, Nashville Predators, C59
227. Owen Tippett, Philadelphia Flyers, RW42
228. Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights, G19
229. Pavel Dorofeyev, Vegas Golden Knights, RW43
230. Carter Verhaeghe, Florida Panthers, LW34
231. Aliaksei Protas, Washington Capitals, C60
232. Matt Coronato, Calgary Flames, RW44
233. Blake Coleman, Calgary Flames, RW45
234. Kyle Palmieri, New York Islanders, RW46
235. Shane Pinto, Ottawa Senators, C61
236. Oliver Bjorkstrand, Tampa Bay Lightning, RW47
237. Alex Laferriere, Los Angeles Kings, RW48
238. Will Cuylle, New York Rangers, LW35
239. Taylor Hall, Carolina Hurricanes, LW36
240. Claude Giroux, Ottawa Senators, RW49
241. Andrei Kuzmenko, Philadelphia Flyers, LW37
242. Marco Kasper, Detroit Red Wings, C62
243. Charlie Coyle, Colorado Avalanche, C63
244. Trevor Moore, Los Angeles Kings, LW38
245. Jonathan Drouin, Colorado Avalanche, LW39
246. Stuart Skinner, Edmonton Oilers, G20
247. Anthony Stolarz, Toronto Maple Leafs, G21
248. Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken, G22
249. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres, G23
250. Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs, G24
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