7.            Patrice Bergeron

While Bergeron owners would love to see him return to his former 70+ point ways, he's actually posted 62 and 64 in the past two full seasons, which is barely below his early career numbers. What's more, he's averaged a +30 rating over the past four seasons, during which he's also finished in the top five for faceoff wins and top ten for faceoff % each season. With his concussion woes seemingly behind him, and given his talent and the team he plays for, he's a great fantasy asset.

6.            Jonathan Toews

Pretty much everything that I said about Bergeron likewise applies to Toews, except he's a few years younger, gives you a realistic shot at 5-10 more points per year, and has a bit higher PP output.

5.            Shea Weber

Weber is now officially Zdeno Chara v2.0 – the definition of a multi-cat defenseman beast. Everything you want and need from a rearguard you get from Weber, including between 16 and 23 goals in each of the past five full seasons and finishing in the top thirty among defensemen in both hits and blocked shots year in and year out.

4.            Niklas Backstrom

Here's a guy who's posted 171 points in 172 games over the past three seasons in the fairly quiet shadow of Alex Ovechkin. And Backstrom also had two seasons out of three before that which were point per game as well. Oh, and four times in the past six seasons he's finished within the top 11 in power play points, including first overall last season. When it comes to points, assists, and steady health he's just about as non-frustrating as you can get.

3.            Tuukka Rask

Although he's still yet to even play in 200 NHL games, and 2013-14 was his first where he took the ice for more than 45 contests, he clearly belongs this close to #1 since he's never once shown signs of poor play. Going into 2013-14 the only question was whether he could withstand the rigors of a full season, especially one where he'd have the added burden of playing in the Sochi Olympics. He went out and proved that he was more than ready for the task, capturing the Vezina Trophy while anchoring many a fantasy league winning team's roster.

2.            Claude Giroux

No one in the entire NHL has played as many games as Giroux over the past three seasons and also posted point per game output in each. Plus, he's excellent with the man advantage (finishing within the top six in the NHL in power play points for each of the past three seasons) and, unlike many top scoring centers, can be counted upon for 1+ hit, 2.5 to 3 shots, and 0.5 PIM per game, all while having missed a mere five games over the past four seasons. Oh, and last season he actually tallied all 86 points in his final 77 games and all 28 goals in his final 67 contests, which means 30+ goals and 90+ points are within reach going forward.

1.            Henrik Lundqvist

Could there be any other choice? Eight straight full seasons of 30+ wins, five straight seasons of 92% or higher save percentage, only one season with a GAA higher than 2.38. Yes – at this point he probably won't go out and post a Hasek-like season of 94% SV% or 1.87GAA; but he's the true definition of someone you can put in your line-up and rest assured of good health and top notch performance by season's end.