Players who start the majority of their shifts in the offensive zone means one of two things: Either that player is excellent on offense, or horrible on defense.

As a Habs fan, I always remember Yanic Perreault’s seasons with Montreal. Even though he was the best faceoff guys in the league (he won 61.4 per cent of faceoffs during his three seasons with the Canadiens), Perreault would not take a defensive zone faceoff in the last few minutes of a close game because the coach didn’t trust Perreault’s defense.

Now teams incorporate that sort of thinking during the full 60-minute game. You expect top players to get more offensive zone starts, but some players are given more than they should because they are poor defensively.

Of course, a high offensive zone start rate doesn’t always translate to success. Nail Yakupov started 63.9 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone last year, but he finished with nine points and a minus-three.

You also have to look at the context of each player compared to teammates. Dallas, for example, only had one regular player start at least 50 percent of their shifts in the offensive zone.

There are lots of factors that help a player achieve success in the NHL. Zone starts are just one of them. Here are 10 players that stand out with high offensive-zone starts last year, and what it might mean for them this year.

10. Craig Smith

Smith is one of those guys, like Yakupov, who can’t take advantage of favourable zone shifts. Last year, he started 60.2 per cent of his shifts in the offensive zone, second-highest on Nashville after Mike Ribeiro’s 76.8 per cent. And Smith’s 60.2 was actually down from 77.5 percent in 2015-16 and 65.1 per cent in 2014-15. But Smith had 29 points in 2016-17. Since Smith was tied to Ribeiro’s hip, I expect Smith’s offensive zone starts to drop dramatically, and with it, any chance of a rebound season.

9. Mark Streit

The Habs prefer to have their top defensemen start more in the defensive zone, bucking a trend most other clubs follow. Brandon Davidson is the only defenseman still in Montreal that started in the offensive zone more than 50 per cent of the time, and he was at 50.7 percent. Jeff Petry was at 47.3 percent and Shea Weber at 46 percent. Expect Streit, who was at 59.2 percent last year with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, to get plenty of offensive zone starts. It will help boost his numbers a little.

8. Jori Lehtera

Lehtera benefited greatly the last few years in St. Louis, constantly getting ice time with an elite superstar in Vladimir Tarasenko even though Lehtera posted subpar numbers. He started 65 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Now Lehtera is in Philadelphia and that will reduce his chances of favourable zone starts unless he has instant chemistry with Claude Giroux.

7. Robby Fabbri

Fabbri’s 2016-17 was pretty disappointing for anyone who was hoping for a breakthrough year. He was injured for a good portion of the season, had 29 points in 51 games and was a minus-16. It is comforting that starting 60.8 percent of his shift in the offensive zone means he played plenty with Vladimir Tarasenko. Tank’s goals for per 60 minutes was almost a goal higher (3.31) with Fabbri on the ice than without (2.35). Expect even more chemistry from these two this year.

6. Thomas Vanek

The newest Canuck started an amazing 70 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone with Detroit and Florida last year. No one on Vancouver that played at least 15 games last year had over 60 per cent offensive zone starts. Much of that has to do with how bad Vancouver was. When the opposing team is driving possession and taking more shots, it leads to more defensive zone faceoffs. The Sedins have made a career out of taking advantage of offensive zone starts, so there is a chance that happens again this year.

5. Brady Skjei

Skjei started 58.3 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. That was tops among all Rangers defensemen that played at least half a season and helped Skjei finish with 39 points. But the Rangers signed Kevin Shattenkirk, who has always had a ton of favourable zone starts (he averaged 58 per cent last year), in the offseason. The Rangers are obviously going to give Shattenkirk the sheltered role, which will also impact Skjei’s production.

4. Alex Galchenyuk

Galchenyuk played on the top line for a good chunk of the season before getting dropped further down the lineup last year. But he still started 66.4 percent of his shifts in the offensive zone. Part of the reason is that he can’t win a faceoff so the squad doesn’t want him taking defensive zone draws. With Jonathan Drouin now in Montreal, will he steal some of Galchenyuk’s offensive zone shifts? There is talk Drouin could centre Max Pacioretty, but Drouin can’t win a faceoff either and his defense is just as suspect. These two could battle for offensive zone starts if they aren’t on the same line.

3. Shayne Gostibehere

At 67.7 percent, Ghost was the highest fantasy-relevant defenseman when it came to offensive zone starts. The next closest fantasy-relevant dmen were Mark Streit at 59.2 per cent, Aaron Ekblad at 58.9 percent and Torey Krug at 58.8 percent. Ghost will continue to get the offensive zone starts as Ivan Provorov is the only Flyers’ defenseman that could put up some points.

2. Jonathan Huberdeau

I like Huberdeau a lot for having a great breakout season this year. He’s never cracked 60 points but I expect at least 70 from him in 2017-18. Huberdeau had his best points-per-game rate last year and has increased his goals-per-game and assists-per-game every year since 2013-14. Probably not coincidentally, his offensive zone starts last year were the highest it’s been since his rookie season. He went from 42.5 percent in 2015-16 to 59.6 percent last year.

1. Artemi Panarin

Panarin started 80.5 per cent of his shifts in the offensive zone last year, easily leading the league (Evgeni Malkin was the next-highest fantasy relevant player at 70.4 per cent). Panarin’s most frequent linemate, Patrick Kane, was at 62.5 per cent. That has to be a red flag going into this season. Panarin is now in Columbus where no forward made it to 60 percent offensive zone starts a year ago. Will Columbus continue to give Panarin sheltered minutes? If his zone usage goes down to 55 percent, can he still be a 75-point player? It will be interesting to see how this plays out.