2018-19 Fantasy Hockey Left Wing Rankings

Below are my 2018-19 Fantasy Hockey Left Wing Rankings. There won’t be much movement from now until puck drop, but the latest can be found on FantasyPros. I’ve touched on a few left wing targets, busts, breakouts and deep league targets.

The left wing position produces one of the safest fantasy hockey players we’ve ever seen and that’s Alex Ovechkin. Whether you think he’s still on a bender or not, he’s one of the most consistent skaters in the game. Ovechkin will flirt with 50 goals, 30 power play points, lead the league in shots and throw 100 plus hits. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Keep in mind I’m ranking left winger’s as if you were playing with shots, hits, blocks and power play points.

Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Goalie | Left Wing | Right Wing | Centers | Defensemen

Fantasy Hockey: Left Wing Targets

Evander Kane, San Jose Sharks

Evander Kane touches every category you could ask for. He gets a big time boost in leagues with shots, hits and penalty minutes. Kane had a solid nine goals and 14 points in his 17 games with the Sharks after being acquired at last year’s trade deadline. San Jose locked up the left winger to a seven-year deal and he’s poised for his best season yet. Kane finished 2017 with 29 goals, 54 points, 159 hits, 82 penalty minutes and 307 shots. He also played 20:15 per game in SJ compared to 19:23 per game in Buffalo. There is just so much more appeal for Kane in San Jose, especially with the addition of Erik Karlsson. He’s one of the few volume shooters who will contribute in with 100-plus hits, penalty minutes and 200 plus shots while getting power play time. 

Max Pacioretty, Vegas Golden Knights

Max Pacioretty has averaged 274 shots and 31 goals in his last six full seasons (excluding lockout year). His 206 goals since 2011-12 are the ninth most in the NHL, just three back of Patrick Kane in two fewer games. His 1,804 shots over that time frame rank fourth, just one behind Phil Kessel. Pacioretty is behind only Alex Ovechkin and Brad Marchand in even strength goals over the past five seasons, at the LW position. After four straight 30 goal and 60 point seasons, Pacioretty scored just 17 goals and finished with 37 points in 2017. He was considered one of the major busts at the left wing position. Pacioretty was drafted as a Top 10 LW last season and he’s going well outside the Top 10 in 2018, but his stock has certainly jumped with the trade to Vegas. There’s no question the former Hab can get back into the 30-goal column as he had a career worst shooting percentage (8.0) last season. His 64 games were the lowest he’s played since the lockout season, but he had a career-high 118 hits, which was the third time he’s had at least 100 hits over the last four seasons. 

More on the Paccioretty trade and his value here

Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks

Rickard Rakell proved to doubters that his 33-goal season from 2016-17 was no fluke, as he scored 34 last season. Rackell also had a career-high 69 points, 18 power play points and 230 shots in 2017. His shooting percentage went from 18 to 14 percent, but he had 53 more shots last season than the season prior. The fact that his shooting percentage dropped to a more sustainable rate, while his goal total stayed the same is a huge plus for his outlook. Rakell averaged two more minutes per game in 2017 and is a staple on Ryan Getzlaf’s wing. The Ducks’ winger finished as a Top-40 forward last season and should be drafted as one in 2018. He’s also an underrated hitter if you play with those categories. 

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edmonton Oilers

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has center and left wing eligibility in 2018. We know him more as a center, but he was moved to the wing toward the end of last season and he’ll start on the left side this season. RNH owners will lose faceoffs, but they’ll happily trade that in for a boost in production. Nugent-Hopkins matched a career-high in goals with 24 and was brilliant down the stretch with 17 points in his final 16 games. Nuge unsurprisingly showed great chemistry with Connor McDavid in the second half and the duo have lit it up together in preseason as well. RNH has a ton of offensive upside, it’s just always been a matter of health. He’s going late enough in drafts where he’s 100 percent worth the risk. 

Others to consider: Johnny Gaudreau, Artemi Panarin, Gabriel Landeskog

Fantasy Hockey: Left Wing Busts

Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers

It’s hard to consider Claude Giroux a bust, because he’s one of the better point producers in the game. There are some red flags, though. Giroux had gone from 86 points, to 73, to 67, to 58 and then bam…102 points! Giroux shocked just about everyone in the fantasy community with the bounce-back of all bounce-backs. He scored a career-high 34 goals and 102 points. The Flyers’ captain has always taken on more of a playmaking role, especially on the power play, so it was nice to see 34 goals. However, it came with a career-high 17.6 shooting percentage which bumped his career average to 11.3% over 10 seasons. He’s definitely capable of providing first round value again, but expect a dip in goals. It’s a potent top six in Philadelphia and his 36 power play points was just another season for Giroux as he’s averaged 32 power play points per season over the last seven years. Don’t pay for last season’s output as he’ll likely fall back in that 70-80 point range, but don’t let him slip into the third round.  

Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

Nikolaj Ehlers backed up his 25 goal and 64 point season as a sophomore, by scoring 29 goals and adding 31 assists in year number three. Ehlers had a career high 231 shots and remains a threat on the PP despite being on the second unit. He also maintained a shooting percentage of 12.0 over the last two seasons. All of this is good news if you play in straight points leagues. Ehlers is getting drafted in the sixth round, but finished well outside the Top 100 last season in leagues with hits, power play points and blocks. Ehlers had 13 power play points last season and has 35 power play points in his NHL career, but with the loss of Paul Stastny, that second unit doesn’t look as sharp as the first.  Ehlers has a ton of speed and skill to put up 30 goals and 60 points, but that seems like his ceiling at the moment. There’s no way he should be the 11th LW on average to come off the draft board when he finished 23rd in scoring at the position. I can’t see him improving on last season, which is fine… just wait it out for him on draft day. 

Anders Lee, New York Islanders 

Anders Lee had 40 goals and 62 points last season, with 22 of those points coming on the power play. There’s just on problem: Lee played a majority of his shifts with John Taveres who left through free agency. Lee is a volume shooter and can fill other categories like hits and blocks. He has a 14.6 shooting percentage for his career, but it was 19 percent last season. Auston Matthews and Brad Marchand were the only other skaters in the top 50 in goal scoring last season to have a shooting percentage over 17%. Tavares to Brock Nelson or Valtteri Filppula is a significant downgrade for Lee. Expect a decline in just about every statistic. 

Fantasy Hockey: Left Wing Breakouts

Tomas Hertl, San Jose Sharks

Tomas Hertl scored a career-high 22 goals and tied a career high with 46 points last season. He played the most minutes he’s every played (18:06 per game) and had a career-high 12 power play points. Hertl has sneaky value in leagues with hits and shots as well. He had a very strong playoffs with six goals and nine points in 10 games. Look for him to take another step forward this season on one of the best scoring teams in the NHL.

Kevin Fiala, Nashville Predators

Kevin Fiala is in for a breakout season and it’s best to be all over him on draft day. Fiala is going fairly late in drafts despite scoring a career-high 23 goals and 48 points in his second NHL season. Fiala also skated on the power play for the first time in his career as he chipped in with 15 PPP. 30 goals and 200-plus shots is not out of the question for the Predators’ sniper. He has a ton of skill and offensive upside.

Anthony Mantha, Detroit Red Wings

Anthony Mantha has done nothing but score since entering the NHL, and the Red Wings rewarded him with a two-year deal worth $6.6 million. Mantha improved on his 17 goal season as a rookie by putting up 24 last season with a career-high 48 points. He also had a career high 91 hits, nine power play goals and 190 shots. He’s very affordable in the Fantrax salary cap setting and touches all categories.

Other candidates: Matthew Tkachuk, Jake DeBrusk

Fantasy Hockey: Late Round Targets

Patrick Marleau, Toronto Maple Leafs

Patrick Marleau proved he still has something to offer in fantasy as he scored 27 goals and added 20 assists last season. The 38-year-old enters his 22nd season in the NHL and will be one of the better values in drafts this season. Marleau has scored at least 25 goals in his last three seasons and he’s had 200-plus shots in four of his last five seasons. He’ll continue to get power play time and his center will be much better this season than last: John Tavares or Auston Matthews. That does wonders for his value.

Tomas Tatar, Montreal Canadiens

Tomas Tatar has scored at least 20 goals in four straight seasons and his career-high point total is 56. He’s entering his eighth season and is coming off his worst to date. It’s hard to believe he fetched three picks at the deadline, and then hardly played for Vegas. He’ll get all the ice time he can handle in Montreal, including power play time. Don’t be surprised if he has his best season yet and if you don’t play in plus/minus leagues, it’s worth it to find out. Make him your last pick in a deep league.

Bryant Rust, Pittsburgh Penguins

I want to believe in Daniel Sprong just like everybody else, but Bryan Rust is a more realistic option at this point. Rust gets tossed around the top three lines in Pittsburgh which really isn’t a bad thing. If it’s not with Sidney Crosby, it’s usually with Evgeni Malkin. Rust has 28 goals, 198 hits and 233 shots in the last two seasons. He played three more minutes per game in 2017 compared to 2016 and scored 10 more points. If you are playing in leagues with hits, he’s a great finishing pick with upside.

Others to consider: Patrick Maroon, Chris Kreider, Brandon Saad, Valentin Zykov

Fantasy Hockey: Left Wing Rankings