Top 200 Rankings: Banger Leagues
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Rankings
Top 200 | C | LW | RW | D | G
Here are the top 200 skaters and goalies ranked in descending order based on their value in 10 or 12 team "Banger Leagues." A typical banger league consists of goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power-play points, shots on goal, hits and blocked shots for skaters. For goaltenders, wins, goals-against-average, save percentage and shutouts are recorded.
| Rank | Player | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alex Ovechkin | LW | WAS |
| 2 | Erik Karlsson | D | OTT |
| 3 | Jamie Benn | LW | DAL |
| 4 | Brent Burns | D | SJ |
| 5 | Sidney Crosby | C | PIT |
| 6 | P.K. Subban | D | NAS |
| 7 | Tyler Seguin | C | DAL |
| 8 | Braden Holtby | G | WAS |
| 9 | Kris Letang | D | PIT |
| 10 | Carey Price | G | MTL |
Ovechkin will be among the league leaders in goals, power-play points, shots and hits each year. You can't say the same for many players. Defensemen are clearly a trend here. If you're able to draft a few multi-category studs on the back end early on, it can provide great flexibility later in the draft. Karlsson's shot-blocking ability is overshadowed by his offensive prowess.
| Rank | Player | Position | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Patrick Kane | RW | CHI |
| 12 | Connor McDavid | C | EDM |
| 13 | Jonathan Quick | G | LA |
| 14 | Corey Crawford | G | CHI |
| 15 | Dustin Byfuglien | D | WPG |
| 16 | Steven Stamkos | C | TB |
| 17 | Joe Pavelski | C/RW | SJ |
| 18 | Roman Josi | D | NAS |
| 19 | Ben Bishop | G | TB |
| 20 | Blake Wheeler | RW | WPG |
| 21 | Wayne Simmonds | RW | PHI |
| 22 | Mark Giordano | D | CGY |
| 23 | Martin Jones | G | SJ |
| 24 | Cory Schneider | G | NJ |
| 25 | Max Pacioretty | LW | MTL |
| 26 | Evgeni Malkin | C | PIT |
| 27 | John Gibson | G | ANA |
| 28 | Vladimir Tarasenko | RW | STL |
| 29 | Henrik Lundqvist | G | NYR |
| 30 | Jake Allen | G | STL |
| 31 | Claude Giroux | C | PHI |
| 32 | Evgeny Kuznetsov | C | WAS |
| 33 | Filip Forsberg | LW | NAS |
| 34 | Ryan Johansen | C | NAS |
| 35 | Oliver Ekman-Larsson | D | ARI |
| 36 | Shayne Gostisbehere | D | PHI |
| 37 | Roberto Luongo | G | FLA |
| 38 | Corey Perry | RW | ANA |
| 39 | John Tavares | C | NYI |
| 40 | John Carlson | D | WAS |
| 41 | Nikita Kucherov | RW | TB |
| 42 | Aleksander Barkov | C | FLA |
| 43 | Devan Dubnyk | G | MIN |
| 44 | Anze Kopitar | C | LA |
| 45 | Jeff Carter | C | LA |
| 46 | Shea Weber | D | MTL |
| 47 | Victor Hedman | D | TB |
| 48 | Matt Murray | G | PIT |
| 49 | Drew Doughty | D | LA |
| 50 | Tuukka Rask | G | BOS |
Some may be puzzled why Kane is left out of the top 10. He's seemingly a lock for 80 points if healthy, but he offers very little in secondary stats such as PIMs, hits and blocks. With many teams executing a tandem in net, it's important to try for two of the top 10-12 goaltenders in the first few rounds.
Lucic is an absolute beast in banger leagues. He will rack up the hits and PIMs, and he could have a career offensive season if he sticks on McDavid's wing. If you can't draft multiple top netminders, drafting a tandem such as Neuvirth and Mason for your No. 2 and No. 3 goalies can be efficient. Toews is a much worse player in fantasy than in real life.
Despite being small in stature, Kadri put up big numbers in terms of PIMs and hits. If he approaches last season's shot total of 260, more goals will likely follow. He'll also be surrounded by more talent this season. Thornton is one-dimensional in banger leagues. When he's not tallying assists in bunches, he can be a virtual dud on your fantasy team.
If your roster has enough scoring but needs some grit, look no further than Gudas. He had 116 PIMs, 304 hits, and 157 blocks last season while chipping in with 150 shots. He has a very high floor from week to week.