This week we are going to look at players from each team in the West and see who are the leaders in points per 60 minutes. There are a few surprising players here who could be available in some pools.

I've tried to include some numbers from the 2021-22 season as well for comparative purposes. Johnny Gaudreau led the NHL last season with 4.5/60 followed by Jonathan Huberdeau and Nikita Kucherov at 4.4, Matthew Tkachuk at 4.3, Connor McDavid and Kirill Kaprizov at 4.2. There were only 10 NHL players at 4.0 or higher last year.

I'm also going to point out the forward on each team who averages more than 15 min/gp with the lowest pts/60 on each team.

I will be focusing mostly on forwards below as defenders typically play more minutes and have much lower pts/60 than their counterparts up the ice. If a defenseman appears below, he's doing extraordinarily well.

Current league leaders this season are Jason Robertson at 5.5, McDavid at 5.4, Mikko Rantanen 5.0 followed by Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl at 4.8.

Anaheim Ducks

Troy Terry – 3.8 pts/60

Trevor Zegras – 2.7

Pavol Regenda – 2.4

Mason McTavish – 2.2

Ryan Strome – 2.2

Lowest forward playing more than 15 minutes per game – Jakob Silfverberg 1.1 pts/60. He hasn't been above 1.4 since the 2019-20 season.

Last season Terry led the Ducks at 2.9 per 60, followed by Zegras at 2.7 and Adam Henrique at 2.5.

Terry is certainly capable of maintaining his current pace but be a little wary as his 5on5 SH% is a little high at 13.4 as that was around the league high last season, so expect that number to come down a little. Regenda has only played in seven games, so take his production with a grain of salt, although he is still an intriguing add if free.

Arizona Coyotes

Clayton Keller – 3.6

Matias Maccelli – 2.7

Dylan Guenther – 2.5

Nick Ritchie – 2.5

Travis Boyd – 2.4

Barrett Hayton – 0.8; last season he had a 1.4 pts/60 pace and ended up with 23 points in 60 games. This year he has yet to score in his first 15 games on 25 SOG.

Last season Nick Schmaltz led the Coyotes with 3.1/60, followed by Keller at 2.8. No other Coyote was over 2.0.

Maccelli was not the player anyone had on their lists to be the first rookie to 10 points this year, but here he is. He might not get many goals as he only has one so far on 13 SOG in 15/GP , but he leads the team along with Keller at seven PPPs.

The other rookie in the Coyote's lineup who has produced with limited minutes is Guenther who has all three of his goals and five of his seven points on the power play.

Keller will more than likely see his production dip a little as the season progresses to somewhere between the 2.8 he had last season and the 3.6 he is currently at.

 Calgary Flames

Adam Ruzicka – 3.4 (only four GP)

Nazem Kadri – 2.9

Tyler Toffoli – 2.6

Michael Stone – 2.3

Elias Lindholm – 2.2

Dillon Dube – 1.1; Dube has been between 1.7 and 1.9 over the previous three seasons so he hasn't prospered yet while averaging 15:10 per game which is more than the 12-13 minutes he was getting in the prior two seasons. He is perhaps in danger of having his ice time diminished if the 9:57 he played on Saturday night is any indication.

Last season Huberdeau (1.9 this year) was at 4.4 and Kadri at 3.8 in Florida and Colorado respectively. They are unlikely to match that this season in Calgary, but Huberdeau needs to improve his production once he is back from injury.

Other players last season were Lindholm at 3.0, Andrew Mangiapane (1.3 this year) at 2.6 and Toffoli at 2.4.

Stone is unlikely to maintain his current pace, while we can expect Lindholm, Huberdeau and Mangiapane to pick up their pace a little.

Ruzicka might be a player to get in on early if available as he has played his way back into the Flames lineup and getting a look in the top-six.

Chicago Blackhawks

Tyler Johnson – 4.3 (only six games and currently injured)

Patrick Kane – 2.6

Jonathan Toews – 2.5

Max Domi – 2.4

Jason Dickinson – 2.4

Andreas Athanasiou and Philipp Kurashev tied at 1.6;

Last season Kane was at 3.2, while Domi was at 2.5 with Columbus and Carolina. Andreas Athanasiou played 28 games with Los Angeles  and had 2.4/60.

Johnson played well early this season before being injured and is out indefinitely. He was unlikely to continue his pace as well as Dickinson who has been between 0.8 and 1.3 over the prior three seasons.

The veteran duo of Kane and Toews are leading the Blackhawks once again.

Colorado Avalanche

Mikko Rantanen – 5.0

Valeri Nichushkin – 5.0 (seven games)

Nathan MacKinnon – 4.8

Cale Makar – 2.8 (the rare defenseman on this list)

Devon Toews – 2.4

J.T. Compher – 1.1; in his prior four seasons, Compher was consistently at 1.6 to 1.7.

Last season the leaders were MacKinnon at 3.9, Rantanen 3.5, Landeskog 3.4 and Makar and Nichushkin at 2.6.

5.0 is a little lofty for any player, so expect Rantanen and Nichushkin (when is back from injury) to slow down a little. MacKinnon does have a chance to maintain 4.8 while Makar and Toews can do the same at 2.8 and 2.4.

Dallas Stars

Jason Robertson – 5.5

Roope Hintz – 4.7

Joe Pavelski – 4.4

Jamie Benn – 3.9

Tyler Seguin – 2.7

Miro Heiskanen – 2.1

Mason Marchment – 2.0; Marchment is the lowest for any forward over 15 minutes per game, which is a testament to how much production the Dallas top-six have been producing so far.

Last season the leaders were Marchment at 3.7 while in Florida, Robertson at 3.5, Pavelski at 3.2 and Hintz at 3.0.

Robertson is leading the NHL right now at 5.5 which for anyone not named McDavid is probably unsustainable. Hintz, Pavelski and Benn are in the clouds right now and can only come down.

Edmonton Oilers

Connor McDavid – 5.4

Leon Draisaitl – 4.8

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – 3.3

Zach Hyman – 3.2

Evander Kane – 2.9 (out for three to four months)

Tyson Barrie – 2.4

Kailer Yamamoto – 0.8; Yamamoto in the previous two seasons was at 1.8 and 1.5 which allowed him to score 20 goals and 20 assists last year. This year he has three assists in his first 16 games and he is now injured.

Last season McDavid led the Oilers at 4.2 followed by Draisaitl at 3.7, Kane at 2.8, Nugent-Hopkins at 2.5 and Hyman at 2.2.

Even for McDavid, 5.4 is a stretch along with the 4.8, 3.3 and 3.2 for Draisaitl, Nugent-Hopkins and Hyman. Barrie has had a few seasons at 2.4 so he is more than capable of maintaining it.

Los Angeles Kings

Alex Iafallo – 4.8 (only four games as he was injured and is out indefinitely)

Arthur Kaliyev – 3.7

Kevin Fiala – 3.3

Gabriel Vilardi – 3.2

Anze Kopitar – 2.3

Phillip Danault – 2.3

Viktor Arvidsson – 2.2

Adrian Kempe – 1.9 is the low for a forward over 15 minutes per game.

Last season Kevin Fiala was at 3.5 while with the Minnesota Wild, Arvidsson was at 2.6, Kopitar 2.4, Trevor Moore at 2.3 and Kempe at 2.2.

The surprises this season are Kaliyev and Vilardi and while both will more than likely slow down, they have shown they are capable of some pretty good production. Fiala will probably lead the Kings by the end of the season in this category.

Minnesota Wild

Kirill Kaprizov – 3.3

Mats Zuccarello – 2.9

Mason Shaw – 2.4

Matt Boldy – 2.3

Frederick Gaudreau – 1.2; Gaudreau was at 2.1 last season so I think he will improve his production as the season progresses or lose his spot in the top six.

Last season Kaprizov led the team with 4.2, Zuccarello was at 3.6, Boldy at 3.2 and Ryan Hartman at 2.6.

Kaprizov has been a little disappointing this season with 'only' 10 goals and 17 points in his first 15 games but he is averaging almost two minutes per game more than last year. I don't think Zuccarello and Boldy can match what they put up last year while Mason Shaw is an intriguing 24-year old rookie who has five points in 10 games and might see more ice time in the near future.

Nashville Predators

Filip Forsberg – 3.3

Mark Jankowski – 2.6 (in five games)

Mikael Granlund – 2.5

Matt Duchene – 2.4

Colton Sissons – 0.8; Sissons has averaged production between 0.9 and 1.5 his prior nine years in the league and has averaged more than 15 or more minutes per game in four of his past six seasons.

Last year the Predators were led by Forsberg at 4.0, Duchene at 3.5, Ryan Johansen at 2.9, then Roman Josi (1.5 this year) at 2.8.

I'm not going to argue that the 28-year old Jankowski will continue his production after only five games, but he should be a free addition in most pools and he has had a very good start to his time in Nashville.

San Jose Sharks

Erik Karlsson – 3.0

Timo Meier – 2.5

Tomas Hertl – 2.5

Evgeny Svechnikov – 2.4

Nick Bonino – 0.3; Bonino had a similar start to last season with only two points in his first 21 games, but finished up with 16 goals and 10 assists.

Last season the leaders were Timo Meier at 3.1, Hertl and Couture at 2.3 while Karlsson was at 1.8.

Karlsson has had an unbelievable start to this season and has had six seasons in his career where he has been above 2.0. That is more than likely his ceiling for the full year.

Svechnikov is an inconsistent 26-year old who is on to his third team in three seasons, but has had a decent start in San Jose with six points in 13 games.

Seattle Kraken

Daniel Sprong – 4.3

Morgan Geekie – 3.8

Andre Burakovsky – 3.1

Jordan Eberle – 2.6

Brandon Tanev – 2.5

Jared McCann – 2.5

Alex Wennberg – 1.6

Last season the leaders were Matty Beniers at 3.2 (played 10 games), Burakovsky at 2.8 while with Colorado, McCann at 2.5 and Oliver Bjorkstrand at 2.4 while with Columbus.

Sprong has had a very good nine games in Seattle this season with seven points so far. He will slow down but he has scored 13 or more goals three times in his career so there is some offense to give.

Geekie barely averages 10 minutes per game but has eight points in 13 games while being a plus 12. Tanev has continued on from last year where his season ended after 30 games. He now has a fairly impressive 13 goals, 12 assists and a plus 16 after 46 games as a Kraken to go along with 133 hits.

St. Louis Blues

Calle Rosen – 3.2 (five games)

Brayden Schenn – 3.1

Vladimir Tarasenko – 2.5

Justin Faulk – 2.2

Ryan O'Reilly – 1.0

Last season the leaders were Tarasenko at 3.9, Jordan Kyrou (1.1 this year) at 3.7, Robert Thomas (2.0 this year) at 3.4, Pavel Buchnevich (1.6 this year) at 3.4, Schenn at 3.2 and Ivan Barbashev (1.5 this year) at 2.7.

Justin Faulk is one of the few players on the Blues who is actually ahead of where he was last season. All of O'Reilly, Kyrou, Thomas, Buchnevich and Barbashev have not even come close to where they were.

Vancouver Canucks

Elias Pettersson – 3.3

Bo Horvat – 3.1

Andrei Kuzmenko – 2.9

Quinn Hughes – 2.8

Brock Boeser – 2.8

J.T. Miller – 2.7

Conor Garland – 2.1

Last season the team was led by J.T. Miller at 3.5, Pettersson at 2.7, Garland 2.5, Mikheyev 2.4 while in Toronto and Horvat at 2.3.

Production is not really this team's issue this year or last. It is preventing production from their opposition. Kuzmenko was a surprising healthy scratch on Sunday against Boston as he had seven goals and 11 points after his first 15 games. Kuzmenko is not going to check the opposition into the ground but he might score. Hughes is a little high at 2.8 after being 2.1 last season, while Boeser at 2.8 is a bit of a surprise as he has no goals after 10 games and hasn't been even close to the player he has been.

Vegas Golden Knights

Jack Eichel – 3.9

Paul Cotter – 3.3 (six games)

Chandler Stephenson – 3.1

Reilly Smith – 3.0

William Karlsson – 2.8

Jonathan Marchessault – 2.5

Nicolas Roy – 2.5

Mark Stone – 2.3 is the lowest of any forward averaging over 15 minutes per game.

Last season the team was led by Marchessault at 3.0, Stone 2.7, Stephenson 2.5, Brett Howden (0.6 this year) 2.4, and Eichel and Reilly Smith at 2.3.

Eichel has the form he had in 2019-20 when he had 78 points in 68 games with Buffalo. Paul Cotter has only played six games for Vegas this year, but he has played well so far with two goals and two assists.

Winnipeg Jets

Pierre-Luc Dubois – 2.9

Josh Morrissey – 2.8

Kyle Connor – 2.5

Blake Wheeler – 2.5

Mark Scheifele – 2.4

Adam Lowry – 2.4

Mason Appleton – 1.6

Last season the team was led by Connor at 3.2, Scheifele 3.0, Ehlers 2.9, Wheeler 2.8 and Dubois at 2.3

Connor has had a slow start to the season with only two goals in his first 16 games, but he has eight points in his past five games. Ehlers has only played two games this year and should be back with the Jets in a week or so. Josh Morrissey has never had a season over 1.4 so it is unlikely after seven seasons he stays where he is.

Thanks for reading and if you have any questions or players you'd like me to look at please message or follow me on Twitter @gampbler15.