Top 10 players who hit and block shots

Tom Collins

2014-12-01

SheaWeber

The Top 10 players who hit and block shots…

Although a lot of leagues don't use them, blocked shots and hits are two of my favourite categories in fantasy hockey.

Maybe it has to do with the fact that when I play hockey, I was never an offensive player, and much prefer blocking shots to taking them.

2010-11: 152 hits, 158 blocked shots

2011-12: 142 hits, 134 blocked shots

2012-13: 96 hits, 102 blocked shots (in the lockout shortened-season, was on pace for 171 hits and 182 blocked shots

2013-14: 170 hits, 144 blocked shots

2014-15: 64 hits, 48 blocked shots (on pace for 218 hits and 164 blocked shots)

You know what you're going to get with the Avalanche defenceman. It's good to always be able to count on that sort of stability.

4. Dennis Seidenberg

Seidenberg right now is at a perfect 50-50: 50 blocked shots and 50 hits. That's not just because Zdeno Chara is out with an injury either. Last season, Seidenberg had 61 hits and 66 blocked shots in just 34 games, and the season before, 115 of each in 46 games (lockout shortened season). So if Seidenberg can stay healthy, there's a good chance that he could break 200 in each category this year.

3. Zdeno Chara

ZdenoChara

Chara is one of the best in these two categories. He consistently puts up 100-plus in each one, plus contributes offensively as well. Last season, the Big Z put up 163 hits and 103 blocks. This year, he was at eight hits and 12 blocked shots in nine games before he suffered ligament knee damage. He may not finish in the top 10 in either category this year, but now that he's due back on Dec. 11, he becomes a top 10 guy on this list.

2. Shea Weber

Weber is one of those reasons why I hate when guys say Erik Karlsson is the best fantasy-defenceman in the league. Points-only, no doubt. But in multi-cat leagues where there's categories like hits and blocked shots? It's not even close. Weber is a beast in pretty much any format, and already this season, he has 53 hits and 51 blocked shots. Those numbers put him on pace for 188 hits and 181 blocked shots.

1. Brooks Orpik

Orpik is the only guy who makes is in the top five in the NHL in both categories. His 90 hits rank him fifth, and his 64 blocked shots are third in the league. This is pretty much his only value in hockey pools right now, as he has zero goals, six assists and a minus-four (although his 22 penalty minutes are a bonus). It also makes Orpik more valuable in cap leagues, since $5.5 million for the next five years is hard enough to swallow. But as of this moment, he's the best in the league when it comes to these two categories.