I've saved the best for last and the answer to the question, which forward is better, Sidney Crosby or Alexander Ovechkin will be answered. So without further adu, here are the Fantasy Factors top 30 forwards for the 2008-2009 NHL season:
1. Sidney Crosby - No, this isn't because I live in Pittsburgh, this is because he is the best player in the NHL, but just barely. This really depends on how your league is structured. If goals, power play goals and game winning goals mean a lot, then Ovechkin would have to be at the top. But in your basic point and head to head leagues, Crosby has a slight advantage. He consistently racks up over 100 points, usually around 80 assists, is always close to 40 goals and takes a tremendous amount of shots for a playmaker. Not to mention his plus/minus is better and isn't afraid of the rough stuff which contributes to PIM. Ovechkin's value is all in his goal scoring ability. Last year, he scored 65 goals, but the year before that he only scored 46 (yeah, I know, I say "only 46" like its low). Unless he gets injured, Crosby will always have 30+ goals and 80+ assists. Teams are really going to focus on Ovie this year after dominating the way he did last year and I seriously doubt he'll reach the 65 goal plateau again. Crosby, on the other hand, has Geno to help take away some of the defensive focus. If you have the first pick in your draft, use it on the superstar with the easier road to success.
2. Alexander Ovechkin - As I mentioned above, Ovechkin's value is in his goal scoring ability. No one has reached the 60 goal mark since Super Mario did it in 1996 (69 goals). In this era of "defense first" hockey, opposing teams are going to focus on Ovechkin like never before and he doesn't have a lot of help to take that pressure off him. The good news is that no one in the Southeast division, except for the Panthers (and even that's a little questionable), has any shred of defense. So I do expect Ovie to clean up when he plays his own division and will be the favorite to win the Rocket Richard Award (most goals).
3. Evgeni Malkin - Last year, after Sidney Crosby went down with injury, Geno really stepped it up. He stepped it up so much that people were starting to call HIM the best player on the team. After the way he picked up the Penguins and carried them on his back last year, he has to be included in the conversation as one of the best players in the league. But at this point in time, I don't think he can be elevated above Crosby or Ovechkin. For now, he's just the Jaromir Jagr to Sidney Crosby's Mario Lemieux.
4. Dany Heatley - In my fantasy hockey draft last season, Heatley was drafted as the first overall pick in the draft. So there may be just a few of them out there, but in some people's minds Dany Heatley is the best player in hockey. Playing alongside Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson, Heatley plays on one of the most dominant offensive lines in hockey. Although the news out of Ottawa now is that, that line will be broken up, I don't think it will affect Heatley's value that much. Assuming he stays healthy, he's a good bet for a 50 goal, 50 assist season and if the Sens can get some scoring depth and keep that line together, who knows how much higher he can go.
5. Joe Thornton - I was fortunate enough to be in attendance when Big Joe began his NHL career at the 97 entry draft. A lot of people there were saying "we're witnessing the draft of the next Gretzky". Well 11 years later, Thornton hasn't put up Gretzky type numbers, but he has posted some monster numbers that had people calling him the best player in the league before the Crosby / Ovechkin era started. Thornton has recorded over 65 assists 4 times and gone over 100 points twice. Like Crosby, if he could get a legitimate goal scorer on his line, his numbers would be through the roof. This year, new coach Todd McLellan, wants to pair him up with slumping superstar, Patrick Marleau. If these two can click, Thornton should have no problem hitting 100 points and be in the running for the Art Ross Trophy.
6. Vincent Lecavalier - This is the great part about hockey, we're at number 6 in the rankings and we're still talking about players that can be considered the best in the league. He would be ranked much higher if it wasn't for his plus / minus, but if you don't care about that, then Vinny is a great player to build around. He's an easy 40-50 goal, 90-100 point player.
7. Jarome Iginla - Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla has a shot that's probably as big and as hard as his full name. Last year, however was only the second time in his career he's hit the 50 goal mark. Without Kristian Huselius on his line this year, Iginla may struggle to hit that mark again. He's still a good bet for 40 goals and should score a lot of those on the PP.
8. Henrik Zetterberg - If you were going to start an actual hockey team and picked Hank first, I don't think you'd get any weird looks. At least not from any educated hockey fans. Zetterberg is best all around player in the sport and he has a Stanley Cup and a Conn Smythe to prove it. Unfortunately, in the world of fantasy hockey, his talents don't transfer over as well. He's a lock for 35-40 goals and 40-50 assists. If the mega line of Zetterberg, Datysuk and Hossa gets put together, those numbers will be much higher.
9. Pavel Datsyuk - The only player that can even come close to Zetterberg in all around talent is Pavel Datsyuk. Once upon a time, Brett Hull said that Datsyuk was the best player he's ever played with. High praise from an accomplished goal scorer that once played with Wayne Gretzky. The inventor of the Datsyukian Deke will in all likelihood get paired up with newly acquired winger Marian Hossa, leading to some big numbers for both.
(Photo by Julian H. Gonzalez / Detroit Free Press)
10. Marian Hossa - I don't think the move of a rental player from one team to another in the off season has caused as much controversy and stirred so much emotion as the move Hossa made to the Red Wings. Hossa sacrificed some BIG numbers, statistically and financially, for a chance to win a Stanley Cup. Hossa fits into the Wings system perfectly and, despite not playing alongside Crosby, should have a career year. Expect Hossa to finally hit that 50 goal mark this season.
11. Marian Gaborik - Today's version of Pavel Bure is in the final year of a his contract, which means he'll be working extra hard so he can get big bucks this off season. Even though he plays for the defensive minded Minnesota Wild, Gaborik is a one man offensive force and will put up big numbers no matter what team he's on. Speaking of which, the Wild have entertained the thought of trading Gaborik if they can't get him to sign. All the teams that were in the Marian Hossa sweepstakes this past year, figure to be in the this one as well. Maybe even the Pens?
12. Illya Kovalchuk - The departures of Dany Heatley, Marc Savard, Keith Tkachuk and Marian Hossa, have left this sniper all alone on potentially the worst team in hockey. One bright spot is that the Thrashers, with the acquisition of Mathieu Schneider, have three good puck moving defensemen and good threats from the blueline on the powerplay. Kovalchuk won't help you in the plus/minus category, but he should continue on his torrid goal scoring pace and get a lot of them on the powerplay.
13. Mike Richards - Last year, Richards had the breakout year the Flyers were hoping he would have. With the return of winger, Simon Gagne, Richards should continue to get better. Even though he only finished with 28 goals last year, I think he'll rack up around 40 this year and get up to 60 assists. The Flyers have a ton of offensive depth and Richards is at the top of that depth.
14. Olli Jokinen - One of the most underrated players in the game today, Jokinen has recorded at least 34 goals in 4 of the last 5 seasons. He's on a much better team in Phoenix, unfortunately, his division isn't exactly offense friendly (Stars, Sharks and Ducks). Better team, but tougher division means that Jokinens' numbers will probably be the same as they have been.
15. Jason Spezza - Rumors about the Sens top unit getting broken up, doesn't really affect Spezzas' value. He'll center for either Dany Heatley or Daniel Alfredsson. Either way its win-win for him. If they keep them together, I'd expect more assists from Spezza, if not, he'll be a 30 goal scorer.
16. Eric Staal - Jordan's older and more talented brother (let's face it, the older brothers are always better), signed a big deal in the off season and the Canes are looking to get a big return. Staal is a great all around player and led Carolina in scoring last year. He's probably not going to hit the 50 goal mark, but 40 goals, 50-60 assists is well within his reach.
17. Daniel Alfredsson - The captain of the Sens had a nice bounce back season last year and returned to 40 goal form. Alfredsson is great to own if the top line stays together, but typically when the Sens want to break up the top line, that means Alfredsson gets stuck on with Mike Fisher and Antoine Vermette, who looks a lot like Kelso from "That 70's Show". It hurt his numbers a couple years ago, so I'd watch this situation closely.
18. Ryan Getzlaf - One of the few offensive bright spots on a very average offensive team, Getzlaf should continue to build on his breakout season. With Teemu Selanne already on the team and Corey Perry healthy and ready to go, Getzlaf should have no problem improving on last year's numbers.
19. Rick Nash - The NHL 2009 coverboy is one of the most underrated goal scorers in the NHL. He has a blistering shot, incredible moves, and doesn't get anywhere near the attention he should. Over the years, Nash has been pretty much doing it all by himself, but this year he has a couple new linemates in RJ Umberger and Kristian Huselius. If he is able to click with them, Nash will easily reach 50 goals.
20. Teemu Selanne - Heeee's back... umm... again. One of the most prolific scorers over the past 20 years is back for at least one more season with the Mighty Ducks... I mean, just the Ducks. Apparently, they didn't want to be mighty anymore. Anaheim doesn't have a lot of scoring, so Teemu will be used a lot. He's a good bet for a high 30 goal season with around 40-50 assists.
21. Brad Richards - Here's one of my personal favorites. He's played on every fantasy hockey team, I've owned since he broke into the league in 00-01 and he never disappoints. In his first full season with the Stars, Richards makes them a legitimate contender for the Cup. He'll be paired up with future HOF Mike Modano and the newly acquired Sean Avery. Richards has never been a big goal scorer, but he should rack up a lot of assists as usual and add a ton of shots on goal.
22. Martin St. Louis - The former Hart, Art Ross and Lester B Person award winner should find himself paired up yet again with Vincent Lecavalier. He doesn't have the best shot, but his play making skills really opens up the ice for Vinny, making these two inseparable and making St Louis a solid option at forward.
23. Mike Ribiero - The Odd Couple, Ribiero and Morrow will once again be paired up with Jere Lehtinen to form Dallas' top line. That's good news for everyone owning any of those players. They formed one of the most dominant lines in the NHL last year and are looking good so far this season. Ribiero had a career year in 07-08 and 08-09 promises to be even better now that the Stars have more forward depth.
24. Scott Gomez - Gomez is one of those type of players that makes everyone around him better. He's always been a big assist guy and even hit the 30 goal mark once when he was the centerpiece of the EGG line (Elias, Gomez, Gionta) in New Jersey. Even though the Rangers didn't have a great goal scorer last season, Gomez still managed to put up 54 assists. This year, he'll have recently acquired sniper, Markus Naslund to help improve on those numbers.
25. Thomas Vanek - A few years ago when Vanek broke into the league, I read a scouting report on him that said he "looked like a big fish in a small pond" in reference to Vanek playing at the Univ of Minnesota. The NHL seems to be big enough to hold him, for now. He is, without a doubt, the go-to-guy for the Sabres. The Sabres don't have the kind of talent they had back when Vanek scored 43 goals, but he's still a good bet for high 30's in goals.
26. Simon Gagne - Last year turned out to be a lost season for the two time 40 goal scorer due to a concussion. Gagne has been cleared to play and is playing on a line with Daniel Briere and Mike Richards. He could very easily be the steal of your draft.
27. Johan Franzen - Even as a Wings fan, its tough to get a read on who the real Johan Franzen is. The guy that gets around 12 goals a year or the guy that looked unstoppable during the end of last season and into the post season. I think the talent is there and I believe he'll be on one of the top two lines, giving him unlimited possibilities.
28. Markus Naslund - His stock has been dropping ever since reaching a career high 48 goals in 03. Scott Gomez to the rescue! Naslund has the talent to get back around 40 goals again and I can't imagine him not getting at least 30 playing alongside Gomez.
29. Brenden Morrow - The heart and soul of the Dallas Stars should have another great season playing on the Stars top line. Morrow is a great player to own because contributes to all offensive categories.
30. Daniel Briere - Last year was a bit of an off year for him. After recording career highs in goals, assists and plus/minus in Buffalo, Briere's first season in Philly didn't work out as well. This year, he's paired up with Gagne and Richards, which should be one of the most exciting lines in hockey.
Posted
Oct 01 2008, 07:00 AM
by
Nick Fruscello