Top 200 Cap League Skater Rankings – September 2024
Alexander MacLean
2024-09-25
We're back once again, now with Leon Draisaitl signed for eight more years at $14 million per. He has set the new bar that Connor McDavid and his extension will clear just next year. In the meantime, we're still waiting on contracts for a handful of RFAs.
The RFAs that worried me the most to extend into the season were Moritz Seider & Lucas Raymond. Having one key RFA is normal and one conversation can change things to push a deal over the line, but with two there's the politics of making sure that they are fairly equivalent, as well as manageable under the cap. Yzerman got them done though, and both right around the numbers we figured they would be all along which makes you wonder why it took so long in the first place. Oh to be a fly on the wall in NHL contract negotiations.
But first, the 19th annual Fantasy Hockey Guide was released just a couple of days ago. That’s right, I’ve earned your trust for 19 years. You can order your digital copy here for immediate download, or for another $5 you can get the Fantasy Prospects Report along with it (Value $14.99) here.
Standard pre-rankings note:
This isn't meant to be a be-all and end-all rating system for you to use without thinking and just trade your players for anyone above them on the list that you can find, but used with some foresight for managing salaries. 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 impact of rookies. 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 growth.
For those of you with variations from this setup, whether in terms of number of teams, salary space, roster positions, or scoring categories, you can make your own personal tweaks to move players up or down as necessary. This list is made to be a baseline guide for player evaluation, and to promote discussion and understanding of how to optimize rosters in a cap league setting.
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.
Rank | Name | Age | Pos | Cap Hit | Yrs | Rating | Prev Rank | Value |
1 | Connor McDavid | 27 | F | $12,500,000 | 2 | 377.59 | 1 | 253.44 |
2 | Cale Makar | 25 | D | $9,000,000 | 3 | 377.40 | 2 | 247.11 |
3 | Quinn Hughes | 24 | D | $7,850,000 | 3 | 356.27 | 4 | 253.83 |
4 | Adam Fox | 26 | D | $9,500,000 | 5 | 296.03 | 8 | 204.53 |
5 | Nathan MacKinnon | 29 | F | $12,600,000 | 7 | 272.53 | 3 | 231.52 |
6 | Nikita Kucherov | 31 | F | $9,500,000 | 3 | 272.32 | 5 | 253.15 |
7 | Connor Bedard | 19 | F | $950,000 | 2 | 269.66 | 7 | 344.17 |
8 | Evan Bouchard | 24 | D | $3,900,000 | 1 | 264.42 | 6 | 284.52 |
9 | Kirill Kaprizov | 27 | F | $9,000,000 | 2 | 220.86 | 10 | 194.81 |
10 | Leon Draisaitl | 29 | F | $8,500,000 | 1 | 212.72 | 9 | 208.99 |
11 | Jack Hughes | 23 | F | $8,000,000 | 6 | 211.77 | 11 | 180.97 |
12 | Josh Morrissey | 29 | D | $6,250,000 | 4 | 198.30 | 24 | 205.90 |
13 | David Pastrnak | 28 | F | $11,250,000 | 7 | 197.70 | 12 | 193.05 |
14 | Mitch Marner | 27 | F | $10,903,000 | 1 | 197.46 | 13 | 170.39 |
15 | Noah Dobson | 24 | D | $4,000,000 | 1 | 197.26 | 17 | 239.58 |
16 | Mikko Rantanen | 27 | F | $9,250,000 | 1 | 197.15 | 14 | 196.23 |
17 | Miro Heiskanen | 25 | D | $8,450,000 | 5 | 183.56 | 33 | 166.35 |
18 | Shea Theodore | 29 | D | $5,200,000 | 1 | 179.68 | 18 | 159.30 |
19 | Rasmus Dahlin | 24 | D | $11,000,000 | 8 | 177.24 | 35 | 161.35 |
20 | Auston Matthews | 26 | F | $13,250,000 | 4 | 176.94 | 15 | 174.36 |
21 | Zach Werenski | 27 | D | $9,583,333 | 4 | 172.99 | 36 | 158.52 |
22 | Matthew Tkachuk | 26 | F | $9,500,000 | 6 | 168.56 | 16 | 173.85 |
23 | Jason Robertson | 25 | F | $7,750,000 | 2 | 161.75 | 21 | 181.14 |
24 | Sam Reinhart | 28 | F | $8,625,000 | 8 | 161.52 | 19 | 175.67 |
25 | Jack Eichel | 27 | F | $10,000,000 | 2 | 160.68 | 20 | 143.58 |
26 | Elias Pettersson | 25 | F | $11,600,000 | 8 | 157.21 | 22 | 157.37 |
27 | William Nylander | 28 | F | $11,500,000 | 8 | 154.32 | 23 | 161.17 |
28 | Sebastian Aho | 27 | F | $9,750,000 | 8 | 149.10 | 25 | 158.73 |
29 | J.T. Miller | 31 | F | $8,000,000 | 7 | 148.17 | 26 | 185.84 |
30 | Jake Guentzel | 29 | F | $9,000,000 | 7 | 144.86 | 28 | 146.04 |
31 | Artemi Panarin | 32 | F | $11,642,857 | 2 | 144.27 | 29 | 177.07 |
32 | Brayden Point | 28 | F | $9,500,000 | 6 | 143.16 | 30 | 160.40 |
33 | Morgan Rielly | 30 | D | $7,500,000 | 6 | 143.12 | 52 | 164.63 |
34 | Robert Thomas | 25 | F | $8,000,000 | 7 | 141.26 | 32 | 166.86 |
35 | Aleksander Barkov | 29 | F | $10,000,000 | 6 | 138.70 | 27 | 148.08 |
36 | Kyle Connor | 27 | F | $7,142,857 | 2 | 138.70 | 34 | 148.28 |
37 | Jesper Bratt | 26 | F | $7,875,000 | 7 | 134.64 | 37 | 159.31 |
38 | Clayton Keller | 26 | F | $7,150,000 | 4 | 131.98 | 40 | 156.79 |
39 | Filip Forsberg | 30 | F | $8,500,000 | 6 | 131.64 | 31 | 167.20 |
40 | Lane Hutson | 20 | D | $950,000 | 2 | 129.01 | 66 | 53.28 |
41 | Tim Stutzle | 22 | F | $8,350,000 | 7 | 127.64 | 41 | 147.45 |
42 | Pavel Mintyukov | 20 | D | $918,333 | 2 | 125.69 | 72 | 211.91 |
43 | Nico Hischier | 25 | F | $7,250,000 | 3 | 125.63 | 42 | 143.98 |
44 | Mathew Barzal | 27 | F | $9,150,000 | 7 | 125.41 | 43 | 146.09 |
45 | Matt Boldy | 23 | F | $7,000,000 | 6 | 124.19 | 44 | 148.30 |
46 | Travis Konecny | 27 | F | $5,500,000 | 1 | 123.20 | 39 | 156.13 |
47 | Jack Quinn | 22 | F | $863,333 | 1 | 122.99 | 38 | 101.66 |
48 | Brady Tkachuk | 24 | F | $8,208,571 | 4 | 121.83 | 46 | 145.97 |
49 | Mikhail Sergachev | 26 | D | $8,500,000 | 7 | 120.94 | 78 | 99.90 |
50 | Vince Dunn | 27 | D | $7,350,000 | 3 | 120.43 | 80 | 99.16 |
51 | Adrian Kempe | 28 | F | $5,500,000 | 2 | 119.55 | 45 | 164.43 |
52 | Dylan Larkin | 28 | F | $8,700,000 | 7 | 117.29 | 47 | 130.25 |
53 | Shayne Gostisbehere | 31 | D | $3,200,000 | 3 | 116.86 | 84 | 209.94 |
54 | Charlie McAvoy | 26 | D | $9,500,000 | 6 | 115.77 | 86 | 131.68 |
55 | Dougie Hamilton | 31 | D | $9,000,000 | 4 | 114.83 | 90 | 87.93 |
56 | Mike Matheson | 30 | D | $4,875,000 | 2 | 114.71 | 91 | 129.12 |
57 | Nick Suzuki | 25 | F | $7,875,000 | 6 | 113.70 | 50 | 146.56 |
58 | Brandon Hagel | 26 | F | $6,500,000 | 8 | 113.64 | 49 | 153.69 |
59 | Victor Hedman | 33 | D | $7,875,000 | 1 | 111.81 | 93 | 176.50 |
60 | Carter Verhaeghe | 29 | F | $4,166,667 | 1 | 110.95 | 48 | 169.75 |
61 | Tage Thompson | 26 | F | $7,142,857 | 6 | 110.22 | 54 | 140.57 |
62 | Valeri Nichushkin | 29 | F | $6,125,000 | 6 | 109.17 | 55 | 120.29 |
63 | Alex Tuch | 28 | F | $4,750,000 | 2 | 107.80 | 56 | 156.51 |
64 | Lucas Raymond | 22 | F | $8,075,000 | 8 | 107.26 | 57 | 151.84 |
65 | Kevin Fiala | 28 | F | $7,875,000 | 5 | 107.09 | 53 | 140.84 |
66 | Andrei Svechnikov | 24 | F | $7,750,000 | 5 | 106.79 | 58 | 116.56 |
67 | Kirby Dach | 23 | F | $3,362,500 | 2 | 104.67 | 59 | 94.18 |
68 | Dylan Guenther | 21 | F | $894,167 | 1 | 104.59 | 60 | 189.03 |
69 | Roman Josi | 34 | D | $9,059,000 | 4 | 104.52 | 104 | 173.14 |
70 | Drake Batherson | 26 | F | $4,975,000 | 3 | 104.43 | 61 | 156.70 |
71 | Brock Boeser | 27 | F | $6,650,000 | 2 | 104.11 | 62 | 147.48 |
72 | Cole Caufield | 23 | F | $7,850,000 | 7 | 103.41 | 63 | 125.37 |
73 | Roope Hintz | 27 | F | $8,450,000 | 7 | 102.63 | 64 | 130.78 |
74 | Brock Faber | 22 | D | $925,000 | 1 | 101.74 | 112 | 260.76 |
75 | Luke Hughes | 21 | D | $925,000 | 1 | 100.47 | 103 | 265.42 |
76 | Dylan Strome | 27 | F | $5,000,000 | 4 | 99.40 | 67 | 153.10 |
77 | Alexis Lafreniere | 22 | F | $2,325,000 | 1 | 99.34 | 68 | 176.39 |
78 | Ryan Nugent-Hopkins | 31 | F | $5,125,000 | 5 | 99.03 | 69 | 163.84 |
79 | Gabriel Vilardi | 25 | F | $3,437,500 | 1 | 98.93 | 70 | 124.61 |
80 | Jordan Kyrou | 26 | F | $8,125,000 | 7 | 98.10 | 71 | 130.29 |
81 | Alex Newhook | 23 | F | $2,900,000 | 3 | 96.69 | 73 | 88.37 |
82 | Thomas Chabot | 26 | D | $8,000,000 | 4 | 96.22 | 117 | 103.95 |
83 | Rasmus Andersson | 27 | D | $4,550,000 | 2 | 95.81 | 118 | 143.02 |
84 | Mark Scheifele | 31 | F | $8,500,000 | 7 | 95.14 | 74 | 129.96 |
85 | Mason McTavish | 21 | F | $894,167 | 1 | 94.11 | 75 | 199.58 |
86 | Adam Fantilli | 19 | F | $950,000 | 2 | 93.65 | 76 | 225.49 |
87 | Shane Pinto | 23 | F | $3,750,000 | 2 | 93.55 | 77 | 66.75 |
88 | Nikolaj Ehlers | 28 | F | $6,000,000 | 1 | 93.09 | 79 | 121.64 |
89 | Devon Toews | 30 | D | $7,250,000 | 7 | 92.43 | 125 | 138.09 |
90 | Seth Jarvis | 22 | F | $7,420,087 | 8 | 92.18 | 65 | 129.65 |
91 | Jakob Chychrun | 26 | D | $4,600,000 | 1 | 91.86 | 106 | 142.54 |
92 | Shane Wright | 20 | F | $886,667 | 3 | 91.62 | 82 | 166.55 |
93 | Darren Raddysh | 28 | D | $975,000 | 2 | 90.40 | 126 | 140.49 |
94 | Nick Schmaltz | 28 | F | $5,850,000 | 2 | 90.34 | 83 | 134.46 |
95 | Alex DeBrincat | 26 | F | $7,875,000 | 3 | 90.22 | 51 | 126.50 |
96 | Jonathan Drouin | 29 | F | $2,500,000 | 1 | 89.96 | 85 | 189.43 |
97 | Jared McCann | 28 | F | $5,000,000 | 3 | 89.44 | 87 | 141.69 |
98 | Vincent Trocheck | 31 | F | $5,625,000 | 5 | 89.07 | 88 | 152.36 |
99 | Joel Eriksson Ek | 27 | F | $5,250,000 | 5 | 88.73 | 89 | 138.32 |
100 | Wyatt Johnston | 21 | F | $894,167 | 1 | 87.58 | 92 | 191.95 |
101 | Quinton Byfield | 22 | F | $6,250,000 | 5 | 85.85 | 81 | 132.94 |
102 | Pavel Zacha | 27 | F | $4,750,000 | 3 | 85.63 | 94 | 138.09 |
103 | Mika Zibanejad | 31 | F | $8,500,000 | 6 | 85.63 | 95 | 130.25 |
104 | Filip Hronek | 26 | D | $7,250,000 | 8 | 85.30 | 141 | 85.25 |
105 | Pavel Buchnevich | 29 | F | $5,800,000 | 1 | 85.07 | 97 | 132.76 |
106 | Thomas Harley | 23 | D | $4,000,000 | 2 | 84.55 | 113 | 115.95 |
107 | Noah Hanifin | 27 | D | $7,350,000 | 8 | 83.98 | 145 | 130.89 |
108 | Logan Cooley | 20 | F | $950,000 | 2 | 83.57 | 98 | 221.75 |
109 | Bo Horvat | 29 | F | $8,500,000 | 7 | 82.20 | 99 | 120.01 |
110 | Logan Stankoven | 21 | F | $836,667 | 1 | 81.92 | 100 | 82.91 |
111 | Sean Durzi | 25 | D | $6,000,000 | 4 | 81.57 | 150 | 138.24 |
112 | Yegor Sharangovich | 26 | F | $3,100,000 | 1 | 81.25 | 101 | 151.71 |
113 | Viktor Arvidsson | 31 | F | $4,000,000 | 2 | 81.06 | 102 | 78.22 |
114 | Leo Carlsson | 19 | F | $950,000 | 2 | 80.70 | 105 | 209.07 |
115 | Simon Nemec | 20 | D | $918,333 | 2 | 80.44 | 152 | 193.86 |
116 | Philipp Kurashev | 24 | F | $2,250,000 | 1 | 79.45 | 107 | 171.80 |
117 | Bryan Rust | 32 | F | $5,125,000 | 4 | 79.36 | 108 | 130.20 |
118 | Trevor Moore | 29 | F | $4,200,000 | 4 | 78.51 | 109 | 133.73 |
119 | Artturi Lehkonen | 29 | F | $4,500,000 | 3 | 77.86 | 111 | 100.41 |
120 | Martin Necas | 25 | F | $6,500,000 | 2 | 77.48 | 115 | 118.37 |
121 | Travis Sanheim | 28 | D | $6,250,000 | 7 | 77.36 | 143 | 129.92 |
122 | Troy Terry | 27 | F | $7,000,000 | 6 | 76.62 | 110 | 112.29 |
123 | Gustav Forsling | 28 | D | $5,750,000 | 8 | 75.65 | 188 | 124.37 |
124 | Connor Zary | 22 | F | $863,333 | 1 | 75.29 | 114 | 120.14 |
125 | Michael Bunting | 28 | F | $3,500,000 | 2 | 74.92 | 116 | 141.19 |
126 | MacKenzie Weegar | 30 | D | $6,250,000 | 7 | 73.87 | 167 | 93.43 |
127 | Mark Stone | 32 | F | $9,500,000 | 3 | 73.53 | 96 | 90.15 |
128 | JJ Peterka | 22 | F | $855,833 | 1 | 73.23 | 119 | 220.05 |
129 | Zach Hyman | 32 | F | $5,500,000 | 4 | 73.18 | 120 | 143.37 |
130 | Jake Sanderson | 22 | D | $8,050,000 | 8 | 72.86 | 172 | 112.41 |
131 | Timo Meier | 27 | F | $8,800,000 | 7 | 72.62 | 121 | 96.68 |
132 | Moritz Seider | 23 | D | $8,550,000 | 7 | 72.61 | 137 | 98.31 |
133 | William Karlsson | 31 | F | $5,900,000 | 3 | 71.76 | 124 | 121.97 |
134 | Tommy Novak | 27 | F | $3,500,000 | 3 | 69.81 | 127 | 140.11 |
135 | Oliver Bjorkstrand | 29 | F | $5,400,000 | 2 | 69.63 | 128 | 127.36 |
136 | William Eklund | 21 | F | $894,167 | 1 | 69.09 | 129 | 197.58 |
137 | Matias Maccelli | 23 | F | $3,425,000 | 2 | 68.84 | 131 | 97.10 |
138 | Mason Marchment | 29 | F | $4,500,000 | 2 | 68.79 | 132 | 130.72 |
139 | Yegor Chinakhov | 23 | F | $2,100,000 | 2 | 68.61 | 133 | 83.50 |
140 | Owen Tippett | 25 | F | $6,200,000 | 8 | 67.98 | 134 | 110.57 |
141 | Brandon Montour | 30 | D | $7,142,857 | 7 | 67.65 | 192 | 102.95 |
142 | Daniel Sprong | 27 | F | $975,000 | 1 | 67.52 | 153 | 190.66 |
143 | Sidney Crosby | 37 | F | $8,700,000 | 1 | 67.13 | 136 | 139.61 |
144 | Brady Skjei | 30 | D | $7,000,000 | 7 | 66.96 | 159 | 79.73 |
145 | Bowen Byram | 23 | D | $3,850,000 | 1 | 66.89 | 163 | 119.68 |
146 | Brock Nelson | 32 | F | $6,000,000 | 1 | 66.63 | 138 | 136.43 |
147 | Joel Farabee | 24 | F | $5,000,000 | 4 | 66.14 | 139 | 117.24 |
148 | Juraj Slafkovsky | 20 | F | $950,000 | 1 | 65.34 | 161 | 205.01 |
149 | Tomas Hertl | 30 | F | $8,137,500 | 6 | 64.93 | 144 | 80.37 |
150 | Timothy Liljegren | 25 | D | $3,000,000 | 2 | 64.63 | NR | 67.40 |
151 | Casey Mittelstadt | 25 | F | $5,750,000 | 3 | 63.81 | 147 | 117.72 |
152 | Teuvo Teravainen | 30 | F | $5,400,000 | 3 | 63.35 | 130 | 116.42 |
153 | Sam Bennett | 28 | F | $4,425,000 | 1 | 63.30 | 148 | 113.83 |
154 | Vladimir Tarasenko | 32 | F | $4,750,000 | 2 | 63.05 | 149 | 133.83 |
155 | Anthony Cirelli | 27 | F | $6,250,000 | 7 | 62.98 | 146 | 97.63 |
156 | K’Andre Miller | 24 | D | $3,872,000 | 1 | 62.72 | 183 | 118.18 |
157 | Marco Rossi | 22 | F | $863,333 | 1 | 62.02 | 123 | 181.76 |
158 | Matt Duchene | 33 | F | $3,000,000 | 1 | 61.36 | 154 | 155.78 |
159 | Jamie Drysdale | 22 | D | $2,300,000 | 2 | 59.94 | NR | 117.29 |
160 | Trevor Zegras | 23 | F | $5,750,000 | 2 | 59.82 | 156 | 100.69 |
161 | Chandler Stephenson | 30 | F | $6,250,000 | 7 | 59.09 | 158 | 106.93 |
162 | Anthony Duclair | 29 | F | $3,500,000 | 4 | 59.04 | 151 | 120.88 |
163 | Owen Power | 21 | D | $8,350,000 | 7 | 58.81 | NR | 97.93 |
164 | Philip Tomasino | 23 | F | $825,000 | 1 | 58.75 | 135 | 92.50 |
165 | Ryan O’Reilly | 33 | F | $4,500,000 | 2 | 58.63 | 160 | 144.87 |
166 | Jake Neighbours | 22 | F | $835,833 | 1 | 58.48 | 162 | 119.16 |
167 | Cole Perfetti | 22 | F | RFA | 0 | 58.38 | 164 | 115.76 |
168 | Bobby McMann | 28 | F | $1,350,000 | 2 | 58.13 | 184 | 146.98 |
169 | Filip Chytil | 25 | F | $4,437,500 | 3 | 57.76 | 142 | 58.10 |
170 | Frank Vatrano | 30 | F | $3,650,000 | 1 | 57.34 | 165 | 127.95 |
171 | Ryan Hartman | 29 | F | $4,000,000 | 3 | 57.17 | 166 | 113.54 |
172 | Brandt Clarke | 21 | D | $894,167 | 1 | 56.83 | 181 | 97.04 |
173 | Seth Jones | 29 | D | $9,500,000 | 6 | 56.76 | NR | 88.92 |
174 | Jeff Skinner | 32 | F | $3,000,000 | 1 | 56.67 | 169 | 149.12 |
175 | Jonathan Marchessault | 33 | F | $5,500,000 | 5 | 56.64 | 170 | 130.83 |
176 | Luke Evangelista | 22 | F | $797,500 | 1 | 56.55 | 171 | 118.95 |
177 | Zach Benson | 19 | F | $950,000 | 2 | 56.36 | 180 | 198.19 |
178 | Steven Stamkos | 34 | F | $8,000,000 | 4 | 56.20 | 173 | 129.29 |
179 | Tyson Foerster | 22 | F | $863,333 | 1 | 56.17 | 174 | 107.61 |
180 | Morgan Frost | 25 | F | $2,100,000 | 1 | 55.88 | 175 | 123.66 |
181 | Dylan Cozens | 23 | F | $7,100,000 | 6 | 55.49 | 176 | 97.22 |
182 | Nazem Kadri | 33 | F | $7,000,000 | 5 | 55.28 | 177 | 125.15 |
183 | Eeli Tolvanen | 25 | F | $3,475,000 | 2 | 55.24 | 178 | 119.69 |
184 | Andrei Kuzmenko | 28 | F | $5,500,000 | 1 | 54.88 | 182 | 111.40 |
185 | Kris Letang | 37 | D | $6,100,000 | 4 | 54.81 | NR | 133.31 |
186 | Nicolas Roy | 27 | F | $3,000,000 | 3 | 54.44 | 185 | 112.94 |
187 | Jack Roslovic | 27 | F | $2,800,000 | 1 | 54.39 | 186 | 107.12 |
188 | J.T. Compher | 29 | F | $5,100,000 | 4 | 54.19 | 187 | 104.08 |
189 | Morgan Geekie | 26 | F | $2,000,000 | 1 | 53.33 | 189 | 122.61 |
190 | Cam York | 23 | D | $1,600,000 | 1 | 53.19 | NR | 94.80 |
191 | Elias Lindholm | 29 | F | $7,750,000 | 7 | 53.17 | 190 | 94.51 |
192 | Nicholas Robertson | 23 | F | $875,000 | 1 | 53.03 | 193 | 94.20 |
193 | Chris Kreider | 33 | F | $6,500,000 | 3 | 52.77 | 191 | 123.37 |
194 | Olen Zellweger | 21 | D | $866,667 | 1 | 52.51 | NR | 104.77 |
195 | Pavel Dorofeyev | 23 | F | $1,835,000 | 2 | 52.36 | 168 | 62.24 |
196 | Josh Norris | 25 | F | $7,950,000 | 6 | 51.99 | 157 | 59.95 |
197 | Hendrix Lapierre | 22 | F | $863,333 | 1 | 51.70 | 195 | 85.32 |
198 | Jonatan Berggren | 24 | F | $825,000 | 0 | 51.51 | NR | 92.75 |
199 | Connor McMichael | 23 | F | $2,100,000 | 2 | 51.38 | 196 | 93.79 |
200 | David Jiricek | 20 | D | $918,333 | 2 | 51.34 | NR | 175.14 |