Fantasy: 5 players to target on the Tampa Bay Lightning
Top Targets
Steven Stamkos
Only two players have ranked in the top five every year in terms of points per game over the past three seasons: Sidney Crosby and Steven Stamkos.
Stamkos, limited to 37 games last season due to a broken leg, recorded 25 goals and 40 points, putting him pace for 55 goals (more than Alex Ovechkin) and 88 points (which would have been second overall in league scoring).
Stamkos also led the Lightning with an individual points percentage of 76.7, the rate at which he recorded a point on goals scored while he was on the ice. In layman's terms, Tampa Bay's offense - expected to be even more explosive this season - flows through Stamkos, one of the game's very best forwards.
If you miss you on Crosby, Stamkos is as good a player as any to build your team around.
Victor Hedman
Only three defensemen finished last season ahead of Hedman in total points: Erik Karlsson, Duncan Keith, and Shea Weber. At even strength, that list shrinks to two, with Weber removed from the picture.
Hedman, the second overall pick in the 2009 NHL Draft, recorded career highs in goals (13), assists (42), and shots on goal (170). The fact that the majority of his points came at even strength bodes well for new benchmarks to be set this season, especially with a healthy Stamkos back on the power play.
Hedman ranks 10th among players at his position, per theScore's composite rankings. Scooping him that low could be a boon for fantasy owners.
Ben Bishop
Bishop ranked fifth in our goalie composite rankings, and justifiably so based on a season that saw him post 37 wins, five shutouts, and a .924 save percentage.
After being named a Vezina Trophy finalist, Bishop underwent offseason wrist surgery to repair a torn ligament he had been dealing with all season. The injury was wholly unrelated to an elbow dislocation that ended his season before the playoffs.
Nevertheless, Bishop remains well positioned for success in Tampa Bay, espeiclaly behind a Lightning defense bolstered by the offseason acquisitions of possession-friendly defensemen Anton Stralman and Jason Garrison.
Proceed With Caution
Valtteri Filppula
In his first season with the Lightning, Filppula led the team with 20 power-play points, and posted 0.77 points per game, good for 63 over a full 82-game season.
He set a career high with 25 goals, but astute fantasy managers will notice Filppula posted that number on only 131 shots, good for a well above average shooting percentage of 19.1. Filppula's 148 shot attempts at even strength slotted him ninth among Lightning forwards.
Over the course of his career, Filppula is averaging 18 goals and 45 points per 82 games, and managers should expect production more along those lines this season.
Take A Flier On
Jonathan Drouin
Many were surprised when the third overall pick in 2013 was sent back to the QMJHL's Halifax Mooseheads, but the extra seasoning could turn into a tasty rookie season for fantasy owners willing to burn a pick on Drouin.
In two seasons surrounding his draft selection, Drouin recorded 289 points in 128 games, good for 2.25 points per game. Clearly ready to make the jump to the NHL, the 19-year-old is looking to follow in the footsteps of Jonathan Huberdeau, another QMJHL standout who recorded 31 points in 48 games as a rookie en route to a Calder Trophy.
Last season's rookie class was led by Nathan MacKinnon's 63 points. Production in the 55-point range isn't out of the question for Drouin, with the potential for so much more if he used in offensively favorable situations.
Some managers may shy away after it was announced Drouin will be on the shelf for three-to-four weeks with a thumb injury, but he's still worth a look in later rounds.