Milan Lucic's contract may be questionable, but what about his fantasy value?

We’ve already gone through last year’s best fantasy goalies and defensemen so the only thing left is the forwards, right? I was originally going to go through all the forwards but figured it’d be more helpful to split it up even further into wingers and center, since specific forward position is important in many leagues. So without further ado, we’ll be looking at the most valuable wingers in fantasy hockey from last season.

To start, we’ll be using our Fantasy Hockey Geek tool to take a look at which wingers provided the most fantasy value in average leagues. In our setup, this league will be a 12-team H2H Yahoo league measuring G, A, PPP, SOG, Hits, W, SV%, GAA, and SO.

Alex Ovechkin

Nobody should be surprised to see Alex Ovechkin once again at the top of the leaderboard for most valuable winger in fantasy hockey. Year after year Ovechkin has consistently dominated in fantasy hockey and this year was no different. With a Fantasy Hockey Geek Value of 106, the difference between him and the winger with the second-most FHG value was the same between the winger with the third and 47th most value. Strongly contributing in every category, Ovechkin will do a bit of everything for your team. And even though it was a down year for Ovie compared to seasons he’s had in the past, he didn’t disappoint fantasy owners. With 33 goals and 69 points, Ovechkin finished near the top of the league in both categories, placing 13^th and 22^nd overall respectively. Not to mention his 26 power-play points was good for 12^th in the league while he took the second-most shots out of any skater with 313. And unlike most top forwards, Ovechkin can rack up the hits, totaling 216 for the 19^th most in the NHL.

Patrick Kane

It may not have been another 100-point season, but Patrick Kane didn’t disappoint, posting another fantastic season. His 89 points were tied for the second most in the league while his outstanding 292 shots was ranked fifth overall in the league. His goal total dropped by a significant amount from 46 to 34 but it’s hard to complain when that’s still tied for the 10^th highest in the NHL. With Kane, you know that you’ll be getting some of the most points by any one player in the league and this translates very well to fantasy hockey. The only big minus against Kane is his low hit totals, as his 28 hits is a huge blow to his value. Even though he had one more goal and 19 more assists than Ovechkin, Kane has some of the lowest hit totals amongst forwards.

Nikita Kucherov

The 23-year-old Russian had quite the year for the Tampa Bay Lightning, posting new career highs in goals, assists, and points. After two consecutive seasons of around 30 goals and 65 points, Kucherov found a way to elevate his game to another level, by far surpassing the point-per-game mark. Despite only playing in 74 games, Kucherov still managed to finish tied for fifth in the league in points. And though he similarly performs poorly in the hits category like Patrick Kane, Kucherov ranks well in both power-play points and shots. A beast on the power play, his 32 power-play points in only 74 games ranks third overall while his 246 shots ties him for the 20^th most in the NHL.

Honorable Mentions

Milan Lucic

Lucic takes a lot of heat sometimes for his huge contract and declining point production, but for fantasy leagues that value additional categories other than points, Lucic still provides a lot of value. Even though his 50 points were only tied for 98^th most in the league, Lucic’s value lies in his peripherals. While his shot totals are mostly average and his penalty minutes are lower than you’d expect, he ranks 22^nd in the league in hits and 18^th in power-play points. With an FHG value of 54, he was still the 11^th best winger in fantasy hockey last year.

Nick Foligno

Even though he probably won’t be posting 70+ point seasons again, Nick Foligno still provides plenty of value. After a down season that saw him only score 37 points two years ago, Foligno bounced back with 26 goals and 51 points while still contributing to plenty of other categories. His 157 hits rank 55^th in the league while his good shot totals and power-play points helps his fantasy value. His 41 FHG Value is tied for the sixth highest out of all left wingers and 15^th highest out of all NHL wingers.