Fantasy hockey points vs categories leagues: one player, two ranks

Two formats, two different questions

A points league gives every stat a fixed value and adds them up. On the Parlae board, a skater earns 2 per goal, 1 per assist, 0.5 per power-play point, 0.2 per shot, 0.1 per hit and 0.2 per block. A goalie earns 3 per win, 0.15 per save and 2 per shutout, and loses 1 per goal against. Plus-minus is not scored at all.

A categories league asks a different question. Each skater is measured in seven categories (goals, assists, plus-minus, power-play points, shots, hits and blocks) and each goalie in four (wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts). Every category is scored as a z-score, how far a player sits above or below the pool, and the scores are added. Every category carries the same weight.

That second point is where the ranks split. In points, one goal is worth as much as 20 hits or 10 blocks, and plus-minus is worth nothing. In categories, hits, blocks and plus-minus are three full categories out of seven for a skater, each worth as much as goals.

Most of the time the two boards agree near the top. Of today's top 30 on the points board, 22 are also in the top 30 on the categories board. Further down, the gaps get large.

The biggest gaps, both ways

Source: Parlae points and categories boards, Oct 13 2026. Places moved is the difference between the two ranks. Team is as the board lists it today.

Who rises in categories: the hitters and blockers

The skaters who climb share a profile: plenty of hits or blocks, a positive plus-minus and modest scoring.

Mattias Ekholm, Edmonton, D. 0.10 goals and 0.38 assists a game, and he is 290th in points. He adds 0.79 hits, 1.30 blocks and a plus-minus of +0.75 a game, the best plus-minus rate of any skater on either list. In categories that is enough for 137th.

Josh Manson, Colorado, D. 2.12 hits, 1.28 blocks and +0.62 a game. In points, those hits and blocks are worth 0.47 a game, about 36% of his 1.30 total. In categories, they count toward two full categories, and he rises from 260th to 110th.

Thomas Chabot, Ottawa, D. 2.31 blocks a game, the most among the skaters on either list, with 0.13 goals and 0.44 assists. He is 141st in points and 80th in categories.

Two forwards just outside the table follow the same pattern. Lawson Crouse in Utah (2.63 hits a game) is 187th in points and 134th in categories. Mathieu Olivier in Columbus (3.44 hits a game) is 193rd and 143rd. In points, Olivier's 3.44 hits and 0.57 blocks add up to 0.46 a game, 30% of his total.

All five of those skaters are on the plus side of plus-minus.

Goalies rise in categories too

Ten of the 15 players who gain the most places in categories are goalies. Joel Hofer moves from 147th to 30th, Jesper Wallstedt from 102nd to 31st and Scott Wedgewood from 140th to 35th. Igor Shesterkin, just outside the table, moves from 96th to 47th.

In points, these goalies average between 1.25 (Markstrom) and 1.91 (Shesterkin) a game on the board. For comparison, the 30th player on the points board, Cutter Gauthier, averages 2.45. In categories, the four goalie categories are 4 of the 11 on the board.

Juuse Saros is the exception: 124th in points and 182nd in categories, with a categories score of -2.72. The formats treat goalies differently: in points every save adds 0.15, while in categories two of the four goalie categories, GAA and SV%, are rates that more starts do not raise. The goalie rankings show both numbers for every goalie.

Who falls in categories: scorers who give back plus-minus

The skaters who drop are the opposite profile: real scoring, few hits or blocks, and a negative plus-minus. All 14 skaters among the 15 biggest fallers were on the minus side.

John Tavares, Toronto, C. 0.34 goals and 0.47 assists a game put him 91st in points. His plus-minus of -0.43 a game is the worst on the list, and in points it costs him nothing. In categories he falls to 190th.

Artemi Panarin, Los Angeles, LW. 0.42 goals and 0.64 assists a game, 43rd in points. He averages 0.16 hits and 0.17 blocks, worth 0.05 points a game, 2% of his total. With -0.24 in plus-minus, he falls to 95th in categories.

Just below the table, the same split reaches the top of the board. William Nylander is 12th in points and 55th in categories, Connor Bedard 28th and 75th, Mark Scheifele 62nd and 109th.

None of this makes Tavares or Panarin a bad pick. It makes them worth more in one format than the other.

What to do with this

1. Confirm the format before you open a list. Use the points board for points leagues and the categories board for head-to-head categories or roto.
2. In categories, target hits, blocks and plus-minus late. Ekholm, Manson, Crouse and Olivier rank 110th to 143rd in categories and outside the top 185 in points. In a points league, pass on them.
3. In categories, take goalies earlier. Hofer, Wallstedt and Wedgewood sit inside the categories top 35. For the power-play side of the categories format, see the power-play units guide.