The Home of Fantasy Sports Analysis

Depth Charts for NHL Top Six Forward Groups

Unless you’re in a deep league, the forwards you draft will mostly be playing in a top six role. Consider this a cheat sheet to get a quick glimpse as to how top six forward groups around the NHL could look.


Not using Fantrax for your fantasy hockey league? Check out our Fantasy Hockey Commissioner and find out why you should be.


You’ll notice that not every spot is a lock. Many teams have new faces joining from the offseason – inckuding a handful of rookies. However, aside from Jack Hughes and Kaapo Kakko, the others are not guaranteed to remain in the top six all year.

Some teams have two quality options as their top center. Don’t be surprised to see Matt Duchene and Ryan Johansen each spend time on the top line. Likewise both Hughes and Nico Hischier should both get opportunities with Taylor Hall as their winger.

It’s interesting to note that several successful teams have openings within their top six.

  • Boston for second line RW
  • Calgary for second line RW
  • Colorado for second line LW and RW
  • Dallas for second line LW
  • Nashville for second line RW
  • Pittsburgh for second line RW
  • San Jose for second line LW
  • St. Louis for second line RW
  • Winnipeg for second line C

What this means is likely a rotating door of players will fill into this slot for their respective teams. It also creates an opportunity for a prospect to make the team out of training camp and start in a prominent role. San Jose has the most glaring hole, with Marcus Sorensen in as the place holder. Don’t expect him to keep that spot.


2019 Fantasy Hockey Rankings: Goalkeepers | Defensemen | Forwards


Biggest Offseason Improvements

New York Rangers: Signed free agent Artemi Panarin and drafted Kakko.

New Jersey Devils: Traded for Nikita Gusev and won another draft lottery to land Hughes.

Arizona Coyotes: Traded for Phil Kessel, who becomes their top forward.

Colorado Avalanche: Completely revamped the second line.

Vancouver Canucks: Traded for J.T. Miller and signed Micheal Ferland.

Biggest Offseason Regression

Columbus Blue Jackets: Artemi Panarin, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel all left via free agency. They signed Gustav Nyquist to mitigate some of the losses.

San Jose Sharks: Lost their captain and goal-scoring leader in Joe Pavelski. His 38 goals will be missed, and no one was signed to fill the void.

Depth Charts

If you’re torn on who to draft, use the following depth charts to give you an idea as to where they may fall in their team’s top six.

Anaheim Ducks
Rickard Rakell Sam Steel Jakub Silfverberg
Maxime Comtois Ryan Getzlaf Ondrej Kase
Arizona Coyotes
Clayton Keller Nick Schmaltz Phil Kessel
Christian Dvorak Derek Stepan Vinnie Hinostroza
Boston Bruins
Brad Marchand Patrice Bergeron David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk David Krejci Danton Heinen

Buffalo Sabres
Jeff Skinner Jack Eichel Sam Reinhart
Conor Sheary Casey Mittelstadt Marcus Johansson
Calgary Flames
Johnny Gaudreau Sean Monahan Elias Lindholm
Matthew Tkachuk Mikael Backlund Michael Frolik
Carolina Hurricanes
Andrei Svechnikov Sebastian Aho Teuvo Teravainen
Ryan Dzingel Jordan Staal Nino Niederreiter
Chicago Blackhawks
Alex DeBrincat Dylan Strome Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad Jonathan Toews Andrew Shaw
Colorado Avalanche
Gabriel Landeskog Nathan MacKinnon Mikko Rantanen
Andre Burakovsky Nazem Kadri Joonas Donskoi
Columbus Blue Jackets
Gustav Nyquist Pierre-Luc Dubois Cam Atkinson
Oliver Bjorkstrand Alexander Wennberg Josh Anderson
Dallas Stars
Jamie Benn Tyler Seguin Alex Radulov
Jason Dickinson Roope Hintz Joe Pavelski
Detroit Red Wings
Tyler Bertuzzi Dylan Larkin Anthony Mantha
Andreas Athanasiou Valtteri Filppula Taro Hirose
Edmonton Oilers
Leon Draisatil Connor McDavid James Neal
Alex Chiasson Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Zack Kassian
Florida Panthers
Jonathan Huberdeau Aleksander Barkov Evgenii Dadonov
Mike Hoffman Vincent Trochek Brett Connolly
Los Angeles Kings
Dustin Brown Anze Kopitar Tyler Toffoli
Alex Iafallo Jeff Carter Ilya Kovalchuk
Minnesota Wild
Jason Zucker Eric Staal Mats Zuccarello
Zach Parise Mikko Koivu Kevin Fiala
Montreal Canadiens
Tomas Tatar Phillip Danault Brendan Gallagher
Jonathan Drouin Max Domi Paul Byron
Nashville Predators
Filip Forsberg Matt Duchene Vitkor Arvidsson
Mikael Granlund Ryan Johansen Craig Smith
New Jersey Devils
Taylor Hall Jack Hughes Kyle Palmieri
Nikita Gusev Nico Hischier Jesper Bratt
New York Islanders
Anthony Beauvillier Mathew Barzal Josh Bailey
Anders Lee Brock Nelson Jordan Eberle
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin Mika Zibanejad Kaapo Kakko
Chris Kreider Filip Chytil Pavel Buchnevich
Ottawa Senators
Brady Tkachuk Colin White Drake Batherson
Anthony Duclair Chris Tierney Bobby Ryan
Philadelphia Flyers
Claude Giroux Sean Couturier Travis Konecny
James van Riemsdyk Kevin Hayes Jakub Voracek
Pittsburgh Penguins
Jared McCann Sidney Crosby Jake Guentzel
Alex Galchenyuk Evgeni Malkin Dominik Kahun
San Jose Sharks
Evander Kane Logan Couture Timo Meier
Marcus Sorensen Tomas Hertl Kevin Labanc
St. Louis Blues
Jaden Schwartz Brayden Schenn Vladimir Tarasenko
David Perron Ryan O’Reilly Robert Thomas
Tampa Bay Lightning
Yanni Gourde Brayden Point Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat Steven Stamkos Tyler Johnson
Toronto Maple Leafs
Zach Hyman John Tavares Mitch Marner
Andreas Johnsson Auston Matthews William Nylander
Vancouver Canucks
Micheal Ferland Elias Pettersson Brock Boeser
Tanner Pearson Bo Horvat J.T. Miller
Vegas Golden Knights
Max Pacioretty Paul Stastny Mark Stone
Jonathan Marchessault William Karlsson Reilly Smith
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin Nicklas Backstrom Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana Evgeny Kuznetsov T.J. Oshie

Winnipeg Jets
Kyle Connor Mark Scheifele Blake Wheeler
Nikolaj Ehlers Bryan Little Patrik Laine

Fantrax was one of the fastest-growing fantasy sites of 2018 and we’re not slowing down any time soon! With multi-team trades, designated commissioner/league managers, and drag/drop easy click methods, Fantrax is sure to excite the serious fantasy sports fan – sign up now for a free year at Fantrax.com.

Leave A Reply

Your email address will not be published.