Regardless of what series you're talking about, all teams remaining in the playoffs clearly have talented rosters with fantasy-relevant pieces up-and-down their lineups. However, just like with any team sport and a prolonged postseason push, not every player pulls their weight and poor playoff performances can have a direct impact on fantasy value heading into draft season in the fall.

With that in mind, we’re taking a look into the top-10 fantasy hockey pieces that have hurt their value with lackluster postseason play over the first month of NHL playoff action. Are the names below still fantasy relevant? Most definitely. However, struggles in the spring can carry into October and getting behind the eight ball off the jump can mean fantasy hockey disaster.

10. Linus Ullmark

It might be a bit unfair to put Ullmark on a list for poor performances when he's only received one start till this point in the playoffs, but the fact remains his fantasy value has taken a hit over the past few weeks as he's failed to capitalize on his limited opportunity while allowing five goals on 44 shots. With Jeremy Swayman seemingly cementing himself as the guy the Boston Bruins rely on by posting a .930 save percentage and 2.28 goals-against average this postseason, Ullmark could find himself as the odd-man out this summer in Beantown.

That's definitely a bold statement considering how good Ullmark is and that he's only a season removed from winning the Vezina, but with Swayman aiming for a big pay day and long-term contract as a pending restricted free agent this summer, the goaltending situation in Boston could get very interesting over the coming weeks. Monitor how the Swayman-Ullmark scenario shakes out very closely, fantasy hockey netminders of this quality don't come around often.

9. Evander Kane

Considering how good Kane was only two playoffs back when he led NHL scorers in goals with 13 in 15 games, this year's two tallies and two assists are leaving a lot to be desired. Right now the Oilers are getting outgunned five-on-five at the hands of the upstart Vancouver Canucks and someone outside of the top line of Leon Draisaitl, Zach Hyman, and Connor McDavid will need to step up if Edmonton wants to swing the series back in their favour. That means players like Kane will need to be a lot better than they have been so far. As for Kane's future fantasy value, other than the obvious injury concerns and regular-season decline in production, if the dip in his hit totals this postseason translates into October, his appeal as a rugged power-forward with a ton of offensive upside may start to lose some shine – especially in banger leagues.

8. Stuart Skinner

Look we get it, a number of players on this list are still in the playoffs and at some point over the past few weeks have made an impact. Such is the case with Skinner but here it is plain and simple: he was pretty solid during the first round when called upon but the Oilers completely blew the doors off the Kings with elite-level special teams at both ends of the ice that obviously propped up his numbers. The second round has been a much rougher ride for the 25-year-old netminder, as Skinner's been lit up to the tune of 12 goals in three games while rocking a .793 SV.%. Even more concerning is the nature in which a number of these goals have been scored, as Skinner's allowed a number of muffin-like goals while looking a bit lost with an inability to properly read plays and see the puck with clarity. Skinner is still going to get the chance to right the ship this postseason and likely a good look next year on a really good Oilers team but right now he's hurting his fantasy value in a very big way.

7. Ilya Sorokin

The New York Islanders gave the Carolina Hurricanes a good run in the first round but that had nothing to do with their former Vezina-level netminder in Sorokin. A lot could be said about head coach Patrick Roy's decision to put such a short leash on Sorokin while clearly favouring perennial backup Semyon Varlamov, but this really wasn't Sorokin's year. Last season's Vezina runner up was inconsistent during the regular season (25-19-12, 3.01 G.A.A., .908 SV.%) and he followed that up by getting shelled in his limited 27 minutes of action allowing three goals on 14 shots. Combine the regular-season and playoff performances and we're left with another goaltender who's leaving a poor taste in our mouths with fantasy draft research beginning much sooner-than-later.

The Isles are still heavily invested in Sorokin, as his eight-year $66-million deal only kicks in next season, so he's still very likely to carry some value as a starting netminder – be wary of drafting him too early on.

6. John Tavares

Changes are coming in Toronto, and even though upper management missed a golden opportunity to turn the page and instill a new culture at the top by getting rid of Brendan Shannahan, there will be major differences with the Leafs' roster come training camp. In terms of Tavares, he remains under contract for one more season but after that his future is uncertain and with that comes questions about his fantasy value. Look, Tavares has been an absolute fantasy hockey beast for most of his Hall-of-Fame worthy career and his production of 65-plus point seasons actually deserves more credit, but he's fading. His most-recent postseason showing was arguably the worst of his career with only one goal and two points in seven games but even more concerning is he's clearly lost a step, or two, when it comes to foot speed.

Johnny T is not the reason why the Maple Leafs haven't been able to get it done but his fantasy value is on the decline, leave him for the backend of the draft and hope he still gets as much ice time.

5. Tomas Hertl

Let's get the obvious out of the way early: Hertl was coming off a major injury, had only six games of regular-season action under his belt after that, and he was joining a brand-new team. All of those angles don't hide the fact Hertl was brought in to be a difference maker for the at-times offensively challenged Golden Knights and he was mostly invisible for Vegas' seven-game onslaught against the Dallas Stars. Hertl started the series strong with a goal in Game 1 only to then stay off the scoresheet completely for the remainder of the series. Sprinkle in Hertl's recent injury and he becomes a bit of a fantasy hockey draft enigma whose value dropped with poor first-round play.

4. Nikolaj Ehlers

Realistically, there could be a few Winnipeg Jets on here after they were unceremoniously bounced in five games while losing four straight to the offensive juggernaut Colorado Avalanche, but we're running with Ehlers for the sake of our list. Despite growing injury concerns from the previous two campaigns, Ehlers played a full season and registered the third 60-plus-point season of his career during 2023-24 but he completely disappeared in the playoffs with two assists, 14 shots on net, and a minus-four rating in five games. Ehlers was already a risky offensive option heading into next season's draft but his recent play raises even more red flags and he should be looked at as a final piece of your team or week-to-week fill in only.

3. Cam Talbot

Not much to say about this one other than Talbot got pumped in the first round and the L.A. Kings would be wise to take a long look at what they're trying to achieve with a goaltending duo of perennial backups in the tandem of Talbot and Dave "Big Save" Rittich. Talbot's numbers over the course of his regular-season and playoff career actually reveal a netminder that's performed admirably, but he's not a number one guy and the Kings are far too good up front to let another real run at the Cup pass them by.

2. Alexander Ovechkin

Much like Talbot above, Ovi's inclusion on our list really doesn't need a whole lot of preamble. Ovechkin is sure to be one of the hottest topics come September and October in terms of polarizing fantasy hockey pieces that a lot of GMs will be thinking long and hard on how to deal with him. Ovechkin followed up the worst regular season of his illustrious career with easily his worst playoffs as The Great Eight was a ghost out there while New York Rangers absolutely had their way with the Washington Capitals. The rugged Russian had no goals, no assists, five shots on net, and a minus-two rating in four games – combine that with the snoozy first half and Ovechkin is the perfect example of a player's spring showing hurting their overall fantasy hockey value. He's going to break Gretzky's scoring record, but his days as a fantasy beast are over.

1. Elias Pettersson

Before the keyboard warriors start button mashing, the Vancouver Canucks deserve a ton of credit for how they've shown up against a dangerous Oilers team over the first-three games of their second-round series.

Arturs Silovs is an amazing story and a goalie who is proving his worth in his first stint in the NHL playoffs. The energy around the team right now is something that cannot be ignored and momentum at this time of the hockey calendar can be the difference-maker that takes a team over-the-top. As for Pettersson, he's been a major question mark. Somebody better wake this guy up in a hurry because there's only so many games that Brock Boeser can carry Vancouver, especially when you consider the major contract Pettersson is expecting after the massive season he put up with 34 goals and 89 points. Pettersson is lucky his team is playing so well around him because he now has an excellent chance to put the first nine games of the playoffs behind him and propel the Canucks to victory against the heavily favoured Oilers. Thirteen shots on net in nine games is not going to cut it for a player of this talent level and right now, Pettersson is playing his way out of the first two rounds of fantasy hockey drafts as his fantasy value takes a hit.