DFS NHL: Review of the FanDuel NHL Season 2016-2017
By Matt Rogers
Welcome back, hockey fans, for another great season of DFS NHL action. We’re going to review the top FanDuel NHL players from each position, during the 2016-2017 season, to arm you with information as we begin to build lineups for the new DFS NHL year.
Yes, it’s already that time of year. FanDuel has their first DFS NHL tournaments open for the starts of the 2017-2018 season on Wednesday, October 4th. With four games on the slate, eight teams to pick through, and plenty of lines to target for stacking, there will be many options to consider. But first, we’re going to take a step-back and look at how last season’s DFS NHL played out, and bring that knowledge forward as we prepare for the new season.
For each position, we’re going to discuss who had the most FanDuel points-per-game, as many of the players were in and out of lineups due to injury, and you want to know who to target when they’re on the ice. We’ll focus on the top five of each position, but provide honorable mentions as well. Last season, if you recall, we had some key players we targeted throughout the year, even though they weren’t always consistent.
We’ll finish our review of the season with the top goalies of the year. Picking your best DFS NHL goalie each night can be challenging. While save percentage and wins are very important, you also want to make sure you’re getting a goalie who will have ample save opportunities throughout the game.
Let’s get started, but reviewing the top centers from last season…
Top DFS NHL FanDuel Centers during the 2016-2017 Season
A sobering thought to start off our top 2016-2017 NFL FanDuel centers, three of the top five centers in FanDuel NHL points-per-game, last season, were under the age of 21. That’s right, three of those top five were not even allowed to drink a beer after the game, when in the states.
So who are the old guys in that group? They’re our top two centers of the 2016-2017 season, and current Stanley Cup champions Sidney Crosby (18.02 FPPG) and Evgeni Malkin (17.18 FPPG). If you followed the NHL last season, that won’t surprise you.
Crosby, or ‘Sid the Kid,’ is no longer young for NHL standards, logging in at age 29 last year. But Sidney lead all centers in goal scoring with 44 goals in 75 games. And, Crosby matched his goal scoring by dishing out 45 assists as well, totaling 89 points.
Malkin only played in 62 games, so he had less opportunity for goals and assists than Crosby, but his stats were still very similar to Crosby’s on a per-game basis. Evgeni had 33 goals and 39 assists, totaling 72 points in just 62 games.
Another differentiation between the Crosby/Malkin top-two and the rest of the NHL centers was assists and goals scored during power plays. They each had double-digit goals and assists, averaging around 25 points per player, with the one-man advantage. That’s a big differentiator compared to the rest of the NHL center crop.
Third among all centers in FanDuel DFS NHL scoring was Connor McDavid (16.90 FPPG). Connor averaged over 21 minutes per game, one of the highest averaged among all centers last season. McDavid had 1,386 FanDuel NHL points, more than any center, but he also played in all 82 games for the Oilers. Still, that’s why ‘McJesus’, as the locals call him in Edmonton, is one of the top FanDuel centers of the 2016-2017 season. He can do everything and is quickly emerging as the best offensive player in the NHL.
Before last season, Jack Eichel (16.70 FPPG) and Auston Matthews (15.45 FPPG) were relatively unknown to many who watch hockey. But 19-year-old Matthews burst onto the NHL scene starting the season with four goals in his first career game. Auston later finished with 40 goals, one of the most in the NHL.
While the Buffalo Sabres struggled during the 2016-2017 season, their offense caught fire toward the end of the season. Eichel become a Swiss-army-knife type of center for the Sabres, scoring 24 goals with 33 assists, even though he had a -13 +/- on the season. Jack also had 10 power play goals and 14 power play assists, resembling the impressive man-advantage offensive prowess like the Penguins stars.
While they didn’t finish in the top-five, two other emerging stars, John Tavares (14.30 FPPG) and Mark Scheifele (14.0 FPPG) were also very hot in the second half of the season, and they both should be near the top of your FanDuel NHL target list each time they suite up.
Now let’s take a look at the top wingers…
Top DFS NHL FanDuel Wings during the 2016-2017 Season
Nikita Kucherov (17.32 FPPG) battled some injury issues during the 2016-2017 season, but he was still able to log into 74 of the 82 total games. During his time on the ice, Kucherov was absolutely fantastic. Nikita had 40 goals and 45 assists last season, totaling 85 points or fifth in the NHL. A common theme among our top centers, Kurcherov had 16 FanDuel NHL points from power plays last year, greater than any winger in the league. Nikita also had 20 blocked shots, a common theme among our top wingers, and statistic typically absent from most of our top centers.
With 1,350.7 FanDuel NHL total points last season, Patrick Kane (16.47 FPPG) was consistently the best wing option throughout the season last year. Unlike Kucherov, Kane stayed healthy through the full season and was able to play in all 82 of the Blackhawks games. While Patrick had less goals than Nikita, 34, he 55 helpers totaling 89 points and was third in the NHL with total points. While Kane played more games than Nikita, he wasn’t as active blocking shots or in the man advantage, but he still provided a consistent enough return to be the second best winger. Still, between the two, I’ll always take Kucherov.
Brad Marchand (15.95 FPPG) and David Pastrnak (15.71 FPPG) were a very big part of an incredibly productive Boston Bruins offense last season. Marchand had 85 points in 80 games, providing a consistent return each game. Pastrnak only played in 75 games and had 70 total points, but David had an even 30+ goals and assists. Marchand and Pastrnak should, again, play on the Bruins top line, and are consistently the best stacking option in FanDuel NHL this season.
While Alex Ovechkin (15.17 FPPG) didn’t make the top five in FanDuel NHL points-per-game, fellow Russian Vladimir Tarasenko (15.54 FPPG) landed fifth on the list. Unfortunately the Blues offense struggled last year and Tarasenko was hard to stack, but with 39 goals, 36 assists, 22 power play points, and 31 blocked shots, Vladimir was often a great asset if you could afford him.
Not in the top five, but within the top 12 in FanDuel NHL points-per-game are rising stars Patrik Laine (14.28 FPPG) and Viktor Arvidsson (13.70 FPPG). Laine was another sub-20 year old (18 years old last season) who immediately impacted the NHL with 64 points and 33 blocked shots. Patrik is someone to keep an eye on, and use early while he’s more affordable. Laine matches perfectly with the Jets Scheifele on the same line. Arvidsson caught fire, along with the rest of the Predators offense, toward the middle of last season and never really looked back. Viktor should also start the season more affordable than he’s truly worth.
Now let’s take a look at the top defenders…
Top DFS NHL FanDuel Defenders during the 2016-2017 Season
When looking at the top DFS NHL FanDuel defenders of the 2016-2017 season, there’s a clear drop-off after the top three defenders. Only three defenders had more than 56 NHL points all of last season. But each of the top three are unique and dominate in DFS NHL, and should be part of your lineup when on the ice.
Brent Burns (18.02 FPPG), one of my favorite hockey players, plays like a large wing on defense. Burnsy piled up 29 goals last season, on top of 47 assists for a total of 76 points, ninth among all skaters. That is incredible production for a defender, and while Brent is often very expensive for FanDuel NHL, he’s always high on my list for lineups each time he’s on the ice.
One of the most important, but often forgotten, statistics for defenders is blocked shots. Earning 1.6 FanDuel NHL points per blocked shot, they’re almost as valuable as a short handed goal. While Brent is a top scoring defender, he’s always piling up blocked shots, stopping 142 in 82 games last year, or a 1.73 per game rate.
But the top honors for blocked shots among the top three scoring defenders goes to Erik Karlsson (17.19 FPPG). Karlsson had 201 blocked shots in only 77 games, over 2.6 blocked shots per game. Along with an incredible 17 goals and 54 assists, Erik does the near impossible and makes you contemplate flipping your pick to him over Burns when they’re both on the ice in the same night. And depending on the match up, Karlsson is often the better play.
Victor Hedman (14.35 FPPG) isn’t in the same incredible tier as Burns or Karlsson, but he’s still one of the best defensive options in a given night for FanDuel NHL lineups. Hedman had 132 blocked shots in 79 games, along with 16 goals and a very good 56 assists.
While Victor may not be in the same tier as Burns and Karlsson, he’s mostly in a tier of his own, as the next best option at defense is Kevin Shattenkirk (11.54 FPPG). Kevin was a great option on the Blues, but was later traded to the Capitals where he seemed to never quite fit in. Still, Shattenkirk had 13 goals, 43 assists, and 95 blockes in 80 games and was one of the better options on defense last season.
Now let’s take a look at the top goalies…
Top DFS NHL FanDuel Goalies during the 2016-2017 Season
In 63 games, Sergei Bobrovsky (22.57 FPPG) had 41 wins and was consistently the best DFS NHL goalie last season. ‘Bob’ had a 93.1% save percentage, the highest of any goalie playing any time last season, only 127 goals against, a low 2.01 average per game, and piled up seven shutouts which was tied for third among all NHL goalies.
One of the most underrted stats when picking a goalie is saves, which is a result of more shots on goal and great goalie play. Bobrovsky had the fourth highest FanDuel DFS NHL point total of all goalies with 1,727 saves last year. Sergei is expensive, but consistently a great play.
Craig Anderson (22.40 FPPG) only played in 40 games last year because of an injury and other personal issues, but Anderson was consistently one of the best DFS NHL FanDuel goalies when on the ice. Entering this season, it’s possible Craig is the most underrated and best value of all goalies.
Similar to Anderson, but mostly due to the depth at goalie for the Penguins last year, Matthew Murray (21.29 FPPG) only played in 49 games and was an underrated, often under the radar, goalie option last season. Murray won 32 of his 49 starts, a 65% rate very similar to Bobrovsky’s incredible season. Now the dominate option in Pittsburgh, Matt is due for a very big DFS NHL season.
Two goalies who were very hot to start the season but cooled off toward the end of the year were Braden Holtby (20.93 FPPG) and Devan Dubnyk (20.26 FPPG). Both Holtby and Dubnyk had 43 games, and Braden only had two more wins, with 42 last year. Holby’s goals against matched Bobrovsky’s at 127, and Dubnyk had 141.
Holtby’s shutouts were the most in the NHL, with nine, he had less shots on goal than Bobrovsky and only piled up 1,690 saves. Still, Dubnyk and Holtby are two goalies to keep an eye on as the season begins in October.
Next: PlayLine Enters the Fantasy Sports Ring
Best of luck in your FanDuel contests this DFS NHL season, and we will see you back here for our daily lineups column soon!