Many a fantasy GM has wondered whether some of their players could do better if only they were given a true chance to shine, while at the same time hoping others, who they might not have expected to thrive to the extent they are, will continue to do so because of their better than anticipated deployment. What these thought experiments underscore is that in fantasy hockey, how a player is used by his team, or just being on a certain team, can make a huge difference in his production.

That brings us to our poll, one I run every year, asking you which players are performing as well as they are to at least some degree because of how well they're deployed. But how can we quantify this? By assessing the voting choices and choosing the five who are seeing the biggest percentagewise scoring rate increases because of their deployment. The key is percentagewise. For example, if you believe a player who's currently scoring at a 70-point rate would be nothing more than a point per every other game guy if he wasn't so fortunate to be deployed as he is, that is quite a high percentage, whereas a player who's scoring at a 90-point rate but likely would be in the 70s if deployed less favorably is not nearly as high a percentage. Or think of it this way – which five of the choices would see the biggest drop, percentagewise, in scoring rate, if their deployment became less favorable than it is now.

There are also a couple of other things to keep in mind. You might end up voting for players who are better than others in terms of talent; but they still can earn your vote because they're truly benefitting more, percentagewise, due to deployment than lesser talented guys. Also, one's deployment can be beneficial due to many factors, not just linemates. For example, if they're on a great team, a rising tide might be lifting their boat, meaning they would not be doing nearly as well if it weren't for the team on which they play, and/or other circumstances.

The 20 voting choices are listed below, in alphabetical order. A link to cast your votes will appear at the end of the column.

Ivan Barbashev

The other winger might change, but one constant since Jack Eichel arrived in Vegas has been Barbashev as a winger on his line at even strength. Lo and behold, Barbashev went from a point per every other game player for the Golden Knights, to one who now paces for 60. Nice gig, or so it sure seems.

Tyler Bertuzzi

After looking like a rising star on Detroit early in his career, Bertuzzi could not manage a scoring rate that was even in the 50s after he left Motown. That is until 2025-26, where, despite the fact Bertuzzi has flanked budding superstar Connor Bedard for only a third of Bertuzzi's total ice time, Bedard has been on the ice when Bertuzzi scored 60% of his points. It's not hard to do the math, and see what a benefit that's been to Bertuzzi.

Evan Bouchard

As I caveated above, there will be very talented players among the voting choices, and for sure Bouchard is among them. In fact, he'd be a safe bet for 60+ points on nearly any team. But playing for the Oilers, where he's on the ice for 87% of the man advantage for a team that's converting on a jaw dropping 32.7% of its PP opportunities, is a great gig, made even better by Bouchard starting over 60% of his shifts in the offensive zone. He's great – no doubt. But would he be this great elsewhere?

Charlie Coyle

Yes, Coyle did produce at a 60-point pace for the Bs two seasons ago. However, other than that campaign he's been a non-factor offensively for quite a while. However, he has become a favorite of recently hired Blue Jackets coach Rick Bowness, leading to spot on PP1 and far more favorable deployment overall. It may be that Coyle had this in him, but his deployment is seemingly helping quite a bit.

Pavel Dorofeyev

Yes, he's at his breakout threshold, so improvement might be occurring in the normal course. But I'm not buying it, as 14 of Drorfeyev's 24 goals for 2025-26 have come on the PP, where he takes the ice for 80% of the team's man advantage minutes, thanks to Vegas running an "all gas" five forward PP1. With half of Dorofeyev's points being PPPts, it sure seems it's giving him a major boost that would otherwise not be occurring.

Morgan Geekie

Another player at his breakout threshold, in this case game 400 due to his size, we can't overlook that Geekie was arguably almost on his way out of the NHL until last season Boston put him with David Pastrnak more out of necessity than other reasons. Whatever the justification, to say it ignited Geekie would be a vast understatement, as he scored more goals in calendar year 2025 than any other NHLer. He's only playing with Pasta 60% of the time now, but Pasta has been on the ice for just under 80% of his points. Maybe not as pronounced as Bertuzzi/Bedard, but still definitely a major boost.

Shayne Gostisbehere

At first glance, Ghost's deployment doesn't seem so remarkable. He's not on the ice for as high a percentage of the PP as some top offensive defensemen, and not even averaging 20 minutes of ice time per game. However, those minutes are very geared toward scoring, with him not seeing any PK time and having an offensive zone starting percentage of 66.9%, as high as a sheltered rookie might receive and a good bit above the rates for even the best of the best offensive defensemen in the league.

Jake Guentzel

I'm not here to suggest Guentzel wasn't already a great player, or that he isn't now. What I can point out though is since coming to Tampa Bay, his SH%, which was 15.2% for his career, has been 19.0% and 18.2% and his PPPt scoring rate is way up as well. Also, his team SH% at 5×5 was 11.6% last season and is 12.7% for 2025-26 thus far, after never – not even once – being in double digits in his career. Keep in mind – this is someone who'd been tethered to Sidney Crosby for close to a decade. The fact he's doing as well as he is now in these areas shows the Nikita Kucherov effect, and how beneficial it is.

Quinn Hughes

Yet again a case of a great player made better given his current deployment. With Minnesota, he is taking the ice for nearly half the game, up almost two minutes, yet with no added PK duty and still with an OZ% of 54.5%. He has also been installed on a PP that was already great, and now is downright absurd, with the result being a PPPt in seven of his last eight games and points in ten straight contests, with six of those seeing him post 2+ points. What a difference it can make where you play, and with whom.

Zach Hyman

After a forgettable 2024-25, Hyman has risen back to his prior ways, with lots of goals and right around a point per game. This despite an overall IPP of 45.6% and an IPP on the PP of 36.4%, which are both basically awful, and suggest he's purely a passenger, benefitting from the talent of those around him if not entirely then to a very significant extent.

Marcus Johansson

Once a decent fantasy option, it's been nearly a decade since Johansson had a scoring rate in the 50s. Yet at age 35 he's on pace to do so again. Why might that be? A team SH% of 10.7% and a cemented spot in the Wild's top six. Objectively, there is no way to explain this happening but for his deployment being markedly better than it's been in a long while.

Artturi Lehkonen

The Fin was a fantasy flop in Montreal. Since coming to Colorado though, he's often been used in the top six, including this year. Voila – he's a 60+ point producer. Go figure! Simply put, the Nathan MacKinnon effect is very real, and this serves as proof.

Anthony Mantha

Like Bertuzzi, Mantha showed early promise, although in his case it was recurring injuries that derailed him, then a failure to stick in any team's top six. For 2025-26 though, the Pens are not nearly as brimming with talent, which, coupled with – knock on wood – Mantha managing to stay healthy, has led to his scoring rate again climbing into the 60s. But can it last?

Martin Necas

I'm not here to say Necas is a passenger. But scoring at nearly a 100-point pace when he just so happens to be tethered to MacKinnon cannot be ignored. He had shorter stretches around this level before joining the Avalanche, but never put things together consistently. 

Brock Nelson

Even if Nelson isn't on the same ES line as MacKinnon, he benefits since teams have to put their best defensive-minded players on the ice with Mac, leaving lesser talented ones to be pitted against Nelson's line. Before the break Nelson had been installed on Colorado's PP1, which is a stellar gig.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

At even strength, RNH has 20 points in 49 games. But on the PP, where he's a PP1 fixture, he has 24. If that doesn't make it abundantly clear how great a spot that is, I'm not sure what would.

Troy Terry

In two prior seasons, Terry produced at a 70+ point pace. But then he fell to just below 60. Yet now, at age 28, and with nearly 500 games under his belt, he's suddenly hovering at the point per game mark. What's the difference? Seemingly some guy named Leo Carlsson, who's been the spark that has apparently ignited Terry to heights he's never achieved.

Gabriel Vilardi

The past two seasons, Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor have been scorching. Can we attribute it to Vilardi being added to their line? Most likely not, as it appears he's been the beneficiary of their talent, not vice versa. 

Alexander Wennberg

A former first round pick and 60-point scorer with Columbus, Wennberg had morphed into a bottom six center who only twice had produced at even a point per game rate in the past eight seasons. What changed this season to see him scoring at a 55-point rate? How about a spot on PP1 alongside Macklin Celebrini and several other elite youngsters.

Mats Zuccarello

At 38, somehow the diminutive Norwegian is back at a 70+ scoring rate after a subpar 2024-25. Why? Try a healthy Kirill Kaprizov, something that wasn't the case last season in the second half when Zuccarello's numbers really tailed off.

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There you have it – 20 players I think are benefitting from their deployment to some degree. It is up to you to choose the five benefitting the most, percentagewise, in terms of what they're scoring now versus how they'd be faring if their deployment was not as helpful to their cause. Vote for exactly five, and remember that you might vote for players more talented than others, so long as they're among the five benefitting the most. Click here to cast your votes.

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Questions for Mailbag Column

My monthly mailbag column still has room for more questions. To get yours to me, you can either private message “rizzeedizzee” via the DobberHockey Forums or, instead, send an email to [email protected] with “Roos Mailbag” as the subject line.