1. Sidney Crosby- For me, Sid the Kid is undoubtedly the best player in hockey and that's why he sits at the top of my list. Crosby was having the best season of his career last year and was dominating the NHL. He had 66 points after 41 games but then suffered a concussion that sadly ended his season. If Crosby doesn't run into injury problems, he easily makes it over the 100 point mark. Projection: 110 points.
2. Alexander Ovechkin- Ovi had 367 shots on goal last season which was the most in the league. He only converted only 32 of those shots into goals which was a career low for him. He will be looking to bounce back this year and get back to the top of fantasy rankings. Projection: 101 points.
3. Steven Stamkos- Stamkos is one of the most dangerous snipers in the game. His blazing shot from the face-off circle is feared by all goaltenders. When Stamkos gets hot, it's very hard to stop him. He had 17 power-play goals last season which was the second most in the NHL. He finished the year with 91 points. Projection: 102 points.
4. Daniel Sedin- Daniel Sedin followed his brothers footsteps and led the NHL in points with 104. That led him to winning the Ted Lindsay Award and the Art Ross Trophy. Projection: 97 points.
5. Evgeni Malkin- Geno has gone quiet the last two years because of injuries. But that doesn't mean you can forget his 113 point season in 2008-09. Projection: 96 points.
6. Henrik Sedin- Over his last two seasons, Henrik Sedin has recorded 206 points and has been a plus 61. He is playing the best hockey of his career and him and his twin Daniel are one of the best duos in the league. Projection: 93 points.
7. Corey Perry- Perry has always been known as a star during his career. But last season, he showed everyone he is an all-star. He made it to the 50 goal mark and was tied for the league lead in game winning goals with 11. He was awarded with the Hart Trophy for his incredible season. Projection: 89 points.
8. Martin St. Louis- Marty St. Louis is 36 years old but has shown no signs of slowing down. Last season he was second in the NHL in points with 99. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy at the NHL Awards. Projection: 89 points.
9. Anze Kopitar- Anze Kopitar got 73 points last season and was a plus 25. This year, with his new teammate Mike Richards there to give him help... I think the 23 year old center will have a breakout year. Projection: 87 points.
10. Patrick Kane- Kane will be entered his 5th season in the NHL and I think this season will be much like his other seasons in the NHL. Over his career he has been in the 70-90 point range and that's where I see him sitting this year too. Projection: 84 points.
11. Ryan Getzlaf- Not many people noticed how good of a season Getzlaf played last year. He was overshadowed by his teammate Corey Perry. Getzlaf finished the season with 76 points in 67 games. If he had played all 82 games and continued at the same pace he was at, then he would have finished the year with about 93 points. That would have put him top five in the NHL in points. Getzlaf is one of the top fantasy centers in hockey and he should be very high on your wish list. Projection: 86 points.
12. Tim Thomas- A lot of people thought that Tim Thomas was done and Tuukka Rask was the new starting goaltender for the Boston Bruins. But Thomas got his job back and put up a .938 SV% and a 2.00 GAA. He led the league in both those categories and in the playoffs he led the Bruins to winning the Stanley Cup. He also won the Conn Smythe and Vezina Trophy. Projection: 30 Wins, .928 SV%, 2.24 GAA.
13. Pavel Datsyuk- At his best, Datsyuk has made it to the 97 point mark twice in his career. The last two seasons his offense has took a bit of a downfall. He will be a player to watch for this season. Projection: 85 points.
14. Zach Parise- Zach Parise was fresh off two of his best seasons in the NHL as he put up 94 and 82 points in each. He was looking to continue his Zack Attack last year but he only played 13 games games due to a serious knee injury. Many of his fantasy owners had to suffer from this huge blow to their line-up and so did the New Jersey Devils who weren't able to make the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. Parise will try and get back to where he left off after the 2009-10 season and get his team back into the post-season. Projection: 81 points.
15. Henrik Zetterberg- Z-berg finished last season with 80 points and was 5th in the NHL in shots with 306. Projection: 79 points.
16. Eric Staal- The Hurricanes captain had 76 points and 296 shots on goal last season. Out of his seven seasons in the NHL, he has had at least 30 goals in five of them. Projection: 79 points.
17. Brad Richards- Richards was the biggest fish in free agency and was signed by the New York Rangers. If him and Gaborik can both stay healthy, they could each put up a lot of points. Projection: 84 points.
18. Claude Giroux- Giroux is a rising star in Philly and put up his career best 76 points last season. The former first round pick has a very high upside and cannot be passed on especially if you're in a keeper league. With the departure of Richards and Carter, Giroux will even get more ice time this season. Projection: 84 points.
19. Rick Nash- Rick Nash may have been the happiest person in the world this off-season when he learned that Jeff Carter would be joining him on the Blue Jackets. Nash had 66 points last season and with a better line-mate, I think he will have much better stats this upcoming season. Projection: 82 points.
20. Jeff Carter- Carter had 335 SOG last season which was 3rd in the NHL. He also had 36 goals 30 assists. He will help try and lead the Blue Jackets into the playoffs with his new line-mate Rick Nash. Projection: 80 points.
21. Joe Thornton- When it comes to points, Jumbo Joe suffered his worst season with the Sharks last year as he recorded 70. This year I see him at... Projection: 80 points.
22. Ilya Kovalchuk- Kovy was one of the biggest disappointments last season as he only got 60 points and was a minus 26. If there was an award for worst defensive forward in the league, Kovalchuk would truly deserve it. Despite his bad season I see him bouncing back this year. He has made it over 40 goals six times in his career and I think he will come close to doing it a seventh time this season. Projection: 84 points.
23. Nicklas Backstrom- Backstrom's production took a 36 point drop last season. He's playing on a very talented team with Alexander Ovechkin so I see a pretty good season for him. Projection: 81 points.
24. Jarome Iginla- Iggy got 86 points last season and why would you not want a guy like him on your roster? He can hit, fight, shoot, snipe, pass..... Projection: 77 points.
25. Jonathan Toews- Captain Serious had 76 points last season and was a plus 25. Projection: 76 points.
26. Roberto Luongo- Remember, these are rankings for the regular season. Bobby Lu has won over 30 games in all of his five seasons with the Canucks (47 in the 2006-07 season). He is one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL and has great stats every year including a career best 2.11 GAA last season. Projection: 34 Wins, .920 SV%, 2.35 GAA. 27.
27. Mike Richards- Richards was part of the most shocking deal in Flyers history as he was traded away to the Los Angeles Kings. He had 66 points last season with the Flyers and he also racks up a good amount of penalty minutes (if your league is giving points for that category). Projection: 76 points.
28. Matt Duchene- This will be Duchene's third season in the NHL and the 20 year old is improving every year. He had 67 points last season and avoided the sophomore slump. He has a very high upside and is a future all-star. Projection: 77 points.
29. Alexander Semin- If you add up Semin's plus/minus totals from his last three seasons in the NHL you will get a +83. In his best season in 2009-10, he got 84 points. Semin is a very talented winger and he could be even higher on this list if he didn't have injury problems. Buyer beware... Projection: 72 points.
30. Marian Gaborik- Gabby is another player with the tag- "Buyer beware". Injuries have ruined many of his seasons so he is a very risky player to draft.... Projection: 75 points.
Hope you enjoyed the post. This is also being featured on my "NHL Fantasy" page.
america baywach
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