Who are the top players in multicategory leagues at the midseason point?

Even though a little more than half of the season has gone by, with most teams at just over 40 games played I thought it’d be interesting to take a look at who’s provided the most value so far. For our rankings, we’ll be using an average Yahoo league measuring G, A, SOG, PPP, HITS, Wins, SV%, GAA, and SO in our Fantasy Hockey Geek Tool.
 

Alex Ovechkin

After coming off a season where he scored the lowest goals-per-game in his career and failed to topped 50 goals for the first time in the last four seasons, there were many who were down on Alex Ovechkin. With him entering his 31-year-old season and the Capitals losing a lot of key guys over the offseason, many expected another below average season from the Russian winger. This showed as he was picked a lot lower in drafts than in years past, being selected on average fifth overall in ESPN leagues and 14^th overall in Fantrax leagues.

However, Ovechkin has completely blown away expectations and has shown once again why you shouldn’t count the Great Eight out yet. After scoring 33 goals in 82 games last season, Ovechkin is at 28 goals in only 45 games and is leading the league in goals. With an FHG Value of 113, he’s easily been the most valuable player in fantasy leagues and has put himself back on top. His 49 points are tied for the 11^th best in the league while his 193 shots are easily the most in the NHL. Expect this sort of production to keep coming from Ovechkin and continue to reap the rewards if you were one of the lucky ones who got to draft him.

Nikita Kucherov

Ever since he broke out as part of the famous Triplet Line, Nikita Kucherov has been steadily improving and was a popular pick for a huge season by poolies at the start of the year. While there’s no doubt his 85 points in 74 games was impressive, Kucherov was on fire towards the end of last season, scoring 36 points in his final 22 games (a 134-point pace over 82 games).

Since then, Kucherov has continued scoring at a blistering pace, leading the league with 60 points in only 44 games. His 90 FHG Value only trails Ovechkin and is boosted by his impressive shot and power play point totals. His 153 shots rank ninth best in the NHL while he’s once again been a force to reckon with on the power play, tallying the fourth-most power play points in the league. He won’t provide a ton of value in hits like Ovechkin, but nobody’s been scoring points like Kucherov this season.

Brent Burns

Even though he had a slow start, Burns is once again leading the pack in terms of fantasy value (being the most valuable defenseman through ~50 games so far). Since starting the year with seven points in 19 games (with zero goals), Burns has posted seven goals and 15 assists in his last 20 games. His 30 points are tied for the seventh most in the league but it’s Burns’ shot totals and peripherals that make him such a valuable asset. His 172 shots are fifth best in the league and are the number one most by any defenseman. Seth Jones comes in second with only 143 shots, a 29 shot difference in six more games! People were concerned at the beginning of the season with Burns’ slow start, but he’s right back on track to having another monster year for poolies.

Steven Stamkos

Similar to Alex Ovechkin, many poolies were cautious with Stamkos because of his injury history (as he was only drafted on average 20^th overall in Fantrax fantasy hockey leagues). Yet despite his struggles with staying healthy over the past few seasons, Stamkos has been on fire this year, tallying the second-most points out of any skater in the NHL so far. Forming one of the most potent duos in hockey with Nikita Kucherov at his side, Stamkos has reestablished himself as one of the elites in the game and has been one of the most valuable players in fantasy hockey so far. Poolies are sure to have been pleased with his excellent point totals but he’s been doing an incredible amount of damage on the power play, with the second-most power play points in the NHL.

Blake Wheeler

Blake Wheeler has been a reliable top fantasy asset for the past few years now and this season is no different. His 136 shots are ranked 19^th overall in the league while he’s once again on pace to average at least 80 hits on the season. However, this year Wheeler has provided even more value with a huge uptick in points, averaging over a point per game for the first time in his career. He has also already broken his career high in power-play points and is third in the league with 22 points scored with the man advantage.