When ranking the forwards in terms of fantasy, it’s a little annoying because guys change their positions quite often. If you’re in a league where there’s positional limits you’ll have to bear with me here, but i’ll do my best. For instance, this year Patrik Laine looks like he’ll be playing left wing on a line with Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler but these rankings wont reflect that.
A couple quick notes:
Jamie Benn won the Art Ross a couple years ago (albeit with 87 points) when the Stars burst on the scene as an offensive juggernaut. A down year for the team last year saw Benn’s total drop to 69 points. This year with the addition of Radulov, Hanzal and a solid stay at home defenseman like Marc Methot to help Ben Bishop on the back end, the Stars are on the upswing again. And a guy like Jamie Benn will likely be the one leading that charge. A theme that you’ll notice in my rankings is I’m very high on all the big guns on their offense.
Let’s look at a guy like Jake Guentzel. A 3rd round pick in 2013 who was unable to crack the lineup until last year, the kid burst on the scene with 33 points in 40 games, mostly on a line with Sidney Crosby. In the playoffs, he brought his game to another level with 21 points in 25 games (good for 4th on team behind Malkin 28 pts – Crosby 27pts – Kessel 23 pts) With a full season with #87, Guentzel should be in line for a big point total for the 2017-18 campaign.
Wayne Simmonds is the guy on this list with the highest floor. 50-60 points is a lock with him if he stays healthy. With unreal hand-eye in front of the net on the power play and the added bonus of being one of the tougher guys in the league, he’s a great fantasy winger. Especially in leagues with hits and PIM’s. Late 3rd, early 4th round is where he will likely go in most drafts. He is my favorite Flyer because of this:
And here’s some Jamie Benn highlights from last year.
Now onto the Top 50 Left Wingers for the 2017-18 season
- Jamie Benn DAL
- Alex Ovechkin WSH
- Brad Marchand BOS
- Artemi Panarin CBJ
- Johnny Gaudreau CGY
- Max Pacioretty MTL
- Wayne Simmonds PHI
- Filip Forsberg NSH
- Nikolaj Ehlers WPG
- Taylor Hall NJ
- Jonathan Huberdeau FLA
- William Nylander TOR
- Jake Guentzel PIT
- Brandon Saad CHI
- Sebastian Aho CAR
- Jeff Skinner CAR
- James Van Riemsdyk TOR
- Mike Hoffman OTT
- Max Domi ARI
- Jaden Schwartz STL
- Matthew Tkachuck CGY
- Rickard Rakell ANA
- Nino Niedereiter MIN
- Alex Steen STL
- Zach Parise MIN
- Milan Lucic EDM
- Evander Kane
- Gustav Nyquist DET
- Chris Kreider NYR
- Ondrej Palat TB
- Tanner Pearson LA
- Tomas Tatar DET
- Jonathan Marchessault VGK
- Daniel Sedin VAN
- Gabriel Landeskog COL
- Robby Fabbri STL
- Clayton Keller ARI
- Nick Foligno CBJ
- Anders Lee NYI
- Boone Jenner CBJ
- Tomas Hertl SJS
- Andrew Ladd NYI
- Jimmy Vesey NYR
- Patrick Maroon EDM
- Patrick Marleau TOR
- Andreas Athanasiou DET
- Travis Konecny PHI
- Henrik Haapala FLA
- Patrick Sharp CHI
- Kyle Conner WPG
Sleepers:
Jakub Vrana WSH – 6’0″ 180 lb
A first round pick in 2014, Vrana is expected to play a top 9 role for the Caps this season. The 21 year old has all the tools to be an elite NHLer. The kid has good wheels and unreal hands with a knack for putting the puck in the net. He’s been close to a point per game player for AHL Hershey for the past two seasons and a 40 point season for his first full NHL campaign isn’t out of the question. He’ll probably go undrafted in most leagues, but keep an eye on him if he gets some power play time with the 2nd unit. He could be a nice waiver pickup once he gets some consistent playing time.
Charles Hudon MTL – 5’10” 195 lb
The first pick in the 5th round in 2012, Hudon is by far the most talented offensive prospect in the Canadiens system. He’s been the leading scorer for AHL St. Johns for the past two seasons with 53 and 49 points respectively. With 4 points in 6 games at the NHL level, he looks like he’s cemented a spot on the 2nd power play and could see 14 to 15 minutes a night. He does play with a bit of an edge so he could pick up a decent amount of PIMs this season. For the time being it looks like he’ll be playing on a line with Tomas Plekanec. If there’s an injury in the Hab’s top 6 he could get into the 50 point range this season. So far this preseason he has 2 goals in 2 games, and getting about 17 minutes per game. He’s a deep sleeper but definitely someone to keep an eye on for your virtual squad.
Scouting report for Hudon was courtesy of Ryan Bourgeois, who’s my Habs insider.
Thanks for checking out my rankings for Left Wingers, next up my Top 50 Centers for the 2017-18 season.
The Morning Skate 