With the latest updates to the Value column, Connor McDavid is now the top value there as well, which is a tough this to do at a $12.5 million cap hit! On that note, Erik Karlsson and his 100 points has also made himself valuable again even at his $11.5 million cap hit. I would be cautious with him though, and if you can get a fair return, then I'm letting someone else take that gamble.

Connor Bedard and a few of the 2023 draftees have been added to the database, but they only grade out well in the value rankings, less so in the Rating column where more of the existing body of work is accounted for. His value number puts him adjacent to Nikita Kucherov, which seems like an interesting option for trying to trade for Bedard in a dynasty league. It won't be any less expensive than that.

Alex Tuch seems to be the first semi-surprising name on the list at #20, but when you look into all the numbers, it's tough to argue him being much lower. He's just growing into his peak years, on a value contract, and it doesn't seem as though his production is hugely tied to just being Tage Thompson's wingman.

Those still needing new contracts also add some uncertainty to the list, with players such as Tyler Bertuzzi, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Patrick Kane all keeping owners on their toes. The RFAs are also unpredictable as well, but with the shift to paying the key players earlier in their careers, we know not to expect bridge deals for the top fantasy-worthy players listed below. When we own them, we do hope that the UFAs take a bargain deal to go somewhere that they really want to be. However, a lot of the time they end up getting too much money and/or too much term. Be cautious evaluating them next to those that are sure things, who are usually the better deal.

The upcoming salary projections list should be out within the next week.

Standard pre-rankings note:

The assumed league setup is for points-only leagues, and I have made an effort to balance it for a range of league and roster sizes. Cap hit is used for the player cost, so if your league uses salary or AAV, please account for that, as it can greatly change the value of some players, especially on their ELCs. The rankings are set up so as to provide the most value in the current season, while providing some value in future years, based on modeling for predicted salary increases and production trends.

If you note a mistake, or have any further questions about the ranking system, please let me know. You can find me on Twitter here @alexdmaclean.

Comments help with optimizing the values, because they're not perfect and they never will be.

We're sticking with the +/- 5.0 rating that Dobber uses on all of his rating schemes as the range for approximately equivalent value. The skater and goalie rankings are synched so that the value of a skater against a goalie can be compared, though the scale of the ratings has changed a little since the last update.