Top 10 Players Whose Value Increased This Postseason

Tom Collins

2021-07-05

Although the playoffs have no bearing on next season's production, that doesn't stop fantasy general managers from overvaluing players based on the postseason.

A great postseason makes many believe that a small sample size can translate to a full season next year. Look no further than last season. Anton Khudobin was a higher pick this year based on what he did during the playoffs last year. Brayden Point was so awesome that one writer with The Hockey News predicted Point to win the Art Ross trophy this season in their annual fantasy guide.

While a player's value can increase thanks to a strong postseason, it's tough for a poor postseason to decrease a player's value. Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews will both still be first-round picks in fantasy drafts for next season, for example. Any player who does see his fantasy value decrease is usually because the postseason is a continuation of a poor season (see Sergei Bobrovsky).

By the way, if you're looking at the playoffs to try to figure out who might be a sneaky pick next year, stay away from ice time per game. It's the most misleading stat for the postseason as overtimes can significantly impact a player's time on ice.

Below are 10 players whose fantasy value rose because of the postseason. Keep in mind that the key theme of this deals with the postseason. Jack Campbell was excellent for the Leafs in round one, but he didn't greatly increase his fantasy value as he was also excellent in the regular season.

10. Alex Galchenyuk

This one may slowly be forgotten about, but Galchenyuk was one of the Leafs’ best players in their first-round choke job loss. He's been a fantasy pariah the last couple of years, as demotions to the AHL and spending time on four NHL teams with little production will do. However, he had four points in six playoff games, including a three-point game in Game 4. He was also credited with 15 hits. This fantasy boost won't last long, especially if he signs with another team, so I hope you took advantage of it while you could.

9. Nicolas Roy

In the regular season, he was on pace for 25 points over 82 games. In the playoffs, it's a bump to almost a 40-point pace. Despite playing on the third line, he still came through when it mattered most. He scored two big goals against Montreal and had five points in his last eight contests while given a shot on the power play at times. He also increased his average hits per game from one in the regular season to almost three in the postseason.

8. Cole Caufield

Every few years, a highly-touted NCAA prospect signs with his NHL team, gets a few games in and sees his value skyrocket even more. This happened to Cale Makar a few years back, and now it's happening to Caufield. After four goals and five points in 10 regular-season games, Caufield has four goals and 10 points in 18 postseason games. He's looked impressive almost every game and while he has a dangerous shot, his passing is also earning some rave reviews.

7. Erik Cernak

Since this is the second year in a row that Tampa has been to the finals, you may think that it's difficult for any of these players to get a boost from this deep run. However, Cernak is one of a couple of Lightning players to see his fantasy value increase. He went from 18 points in 46 regular-season games (0.39 points per game) and 98 hits to a postseason stat line of 10 points in 19 games (0.53 points per game) and 56 hits. This is after he had only three points in 25 playoff games a year ago, so it was a surprise.

6. Anthony Beauvillier

Earlier this year, I ranked Beauvillier ninth in my list of overhyped players 25 years old and younger. At the time, I focused on how he's never been on pace for a 50-point season and how he doesn't contribute in peripheral categories. Then the postseason comes, he does awesome and everyone is ready to anoint him as a sleeper pick for next season. Last year, he had nine goals and 14 points in 22 games while averaging three shots per game. This year, he had 13 points in 19 games while averaging 2.8 shots per game. You have to recognize that he's a wildly inconsistent player, with hot and cold streaks not seen since the likes of Brian Savage. This postseason, he had nine points in his first eight games, but four in his last 11. This mimics his regular season, when he had six points in 22 games, then 22 in 25.  

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5. Spencer Knight

Before the postseason, Knight was the third option with the Panthers. Even though he only played two postseason games against the Lightning, he was Florida's best option as Sergei Bobrovsky and Chris Driedger were awful. Maybe he goes back to being the third-string goalie again next season, but odds are Florida will find a way to get him into more than the four games he played this year.

4. Nick Suzuki

His 82-game point pace in the postseason is pretty much the same as the regular season, but he's easily been the most impressive Hab throughout the playoffs. Although there's a belief that the Habs roll four lines, Suzuki is centring the line that is counted on to score. Even more impressive is how consistent he has been. He had four points against Toronto, four against Winnipeg, five against Vegas and two against Tampa. Maybe even more important is the Habs finally have a number one power-play unit, which Suzuki is part of. He's also credited with 49 shots and 50 hits in 20 games so far.

3. Charlie McAvoy

There was a lot of like about McAvoy's postseason. His 12 points in 11 games were not only impressive, but that mark is tied for second-highest among all defensemen despite playing only two rounds. He averaged 2.7 shots per game while still dishing out 30 hits. Maybe the biggest news was he was finally permitted to run the top power-play unit, and did he ever respond. While being on the ice for 67.3 per cent of Boston's power-play minutes, he finished with eight power-play points. That should go a long way to ensuring he stays with the top power-play unit next season.

2. Alex Killorn

Killorn is maybe a late-round draft pick based on your league settings, but he certainly has jumped up the draft board based on this postseason. In his ninth NHL season, Killorn has never cracked 50 points and only once put up an 82-game pace of more than 50. Even this season, with 15 goals and 33 points in 56 games, he was on pace for 48 over a full season. Then came the postseason, and he morphed into a production beast. He has eight goals and 17 points in 19 games, which would put him on pace for 73 over 82 games. Those 17 points are fifth-highest this postseason. He's averaging 2.1 shots and about two hits per game. He also has eight power-play points, which is one shy of his regular-season total.

1. Carey Price

Ignore the finals for a minute. Actually, ignore the entire postseason. If you were to put together a list of the top-10 fantasy goalies before the playoffs, where would Price rank? How confident would you have been selecting Price in this fall's fantasy drafts? Would he have even made the top 10? Probably not, as he's had below-average numbers in three of the past four seasons, not to mention another stint on the IR this year. But after this postseason run? Even with some awful numbers against Tampa, he has seen his fantasy value skyrocket and should be back as a top-10 pick among netminders next season.

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