DailyFaceoff fantasy hockey rankings has seven Edmonton Oilers in top 100
By Zach Laing
11 months agoThe first rendition of Daily Faceoff’s fantasy hockey rankings have dropped and they feature seven Edmonton Oilers in the top 100.
Not just that, but another four round out the top 300 players as listed by Matt Larkin.
It should be no surprise at who is at the top of that list: Connor McDavid. And right behind him is teammate Leon Draisaitl.
1. Connor McDavid, C, Oilers: Finally, he gets that goal total into the God tier, and I can hand him the undisputed fantasy crown instead of ranking him No. 2.2. Leon Draisaitl, C, Oilers: The points floor is, what, 110? He doesn’t shoot the puck as often as other elite goal scorers, but nobody is more efficient. Leon has the highest career shooting among active players (min. 200 GP) at 18.1.
The next Oiler to pop up in the ranks is Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who racked up his first 100-point season of his career.
36. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, Oilers: “He got half his points because of that amazing power play.” And your point is…? That amazing power play hasn’t gone anywhere. Maybe he isn’t a 100-point player again, but I’d be shocked if he didn’t rack up another 80.
Twenty-one spots later, it’s another Oilers top six staple in Zach Hyman.
57. Zach Hyman, LW, Oilers: Handy player with a high floor, but I’m a bit wary paying for his jump from 54 to 83 points in his age-30 season. He only had 23 points in his final 30 games. Last year will probably go down as the peak.
Close behind is Evander Kane, who is coming off an injury-filled season, but Larkin isn’t overly concerned.
66. Evander Kane, LW, Oilers: Last season didn’t scare me too much from an injury-prone perspective, as a fluke skate cut isn’t the same as some kind of nagging soft tissue problem. Kane in 84 regular season games as an Oiler: 38 goals, 64 points, 298 shots, 259 hits. Maybe that’s the ceiling rather than the floor at this point, but it’s excellent if he can even reach 80 percent of that.
In the 71st spot, Larkin has Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard listed. Quite honestly, I think he should be a lot higher on the list as he has point-per-game upside this season. Larkin himself predicts the “big breakout” campaign coming.
71. Evan Bouchard, D, Oilers: After the Tyson Barrie trade freed up the PP1 spot for Bouchard, he had 36 points in 33 games including playoffs. Giddyup for the big breakout in 2023-24.
Two spots behind is Darnell Nurse.
73. Darnell Nurse, D, Oilers: Helps you in every category: double-digit goals, 40-plus points, 200 shots, give or take 150 hits and blocks. He’s Seider, except Nurse’s peak appears to be Seider’s floor.
Stuart Skinner, Connor Brown, Mattias Ekholm and Jack Campbell all appear in Larkin’s top 300.
118. Stuart Skinner, G, Oilers: Feels like he should be higher given he’s the No. 1 on a Cup contender who started 48 games and delivered a .913 SV% as a rookie. But he doesn’t exactly have a vice grip on the gig following a postseason in which he was pulled in four different games. Jack Campbell is still competition.188. Connor Brown, RW, Oilers: Have to assume he gets an extended look with his old Erie Otters buddy McDavid. Brown is obviously fun as heck to draft as a sleeper this year. But just remember he’s coming off a torn ACL and his career high is 43 points. I do expect a career year, but an all-star he ain’t.227. Mattias Ekholm, D, Oilers: Offense isn’t Ekholm’s calling card, but he moves the puck decently for a big guy and accumulated some solid numbers after being traded to Edmonton simply by being on the ice with their superstars. He had 14 points and was plus-28 in 21 regular-season games as an Oiler. He won’t be out there with the magical power play but will soak up his share of even-strength points.299. Jack Campbell, G, Oilers: Skinner was shaky enough to leave the door open. Campbell could still wind up starting 30-plus games this season. He always performs his best as a backup rather than a starter – when the pressure is off. He’s the new Brian Elliott.
You can read Larkin’s rankings in full here.
Zach Laing is the Nation Network’s news director and senior columnist. He can be followed on Twitter at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@oilersnation.com.
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