What categories does the categories value use?

Goals, assists, plus-minus, power-play points, shots, hits and blocks for skaters; wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies. Each is a z-score against the players a 12-team league rosters, and they are added up; save percentage and goals-against average are weighted by the work a goalie does.

What are L1, PP1 and the ROS projection?

L1 to L4 are forward lines and D1 to D3 defense pairs, by even-strength ice time over the team's last five games. PP1 and PP2 are power-play units by power-play time. The NHL publishes ice time, not line charts, so these are derived and say so. ROS proj. is a projection: fantasy points per team game times the team's games left, as if the player plays every one.

Fantasy hockey defenseman rankings 2026-27

Evan Bouchard (EDM) is No. 1 among defensemen at 2.88 fantasy points per game, ahead of Cale Makar at 2.50 fantasy points per game. Every D on the board, 135 in all, ranked from the NHL's own per-game stats for points and categories leagues, with each player's line and power-play role.

#	Player	GP	FP/G	Cat #	ROS proj.	TOI	G	A	PPP	SOG	HIT	BLK	+/-
1	Evan Bouchard DEDM D1 PP1	5	2.88	4	228	24:43	0.45	0.96	0.40	2.8	0.4	1.1	0.72
2	Cale Makar DCOL D2 PP1	5	2.50	15	197	24:11	0.33	0.79	0.35	2.6	0.4	1.5	0.42
3	Zach Werenski DCBJ D1 PP1	5	2.39	25	189	27:04	0.23	0.79	0.26	3.3	0.3	1.6	0.28
4	Quinn Hughes DMIN D1 PP1	6	2.29	38	179	27:30	0.15	0.99	0.51	2.7	0.1	1.0	0.04
5	Rasmus Dahlin DBUF D1 PP2	6	2.21	42	170	24:03	0.27	0.63	0.30	2.7	1.0	1.3	0.18
6	Roman Josi DNSH D1 PP1	5	2.16	60	171	25:02	0.19	0.69	0.44	2.4	0.4	1.6	-0.18
7	Darren Raddysh DTOR D1 PP1	6	2.05	63	160	22:48	0.23	0.58	0.31	2.7	0.8	1.1	0.07
8	Charlie McAvoy DBOS	69*	2.02	47	158	24:23	0.16	0.72	0.33	1.6	1.1	1.9	0.19
9	Moritz Seider DDET D1 PP1	6	2.01	35	157	25:32	0.09	0.58	0.34	2.2	1.7	2.3	0.14
10	Mikhail Sergachev DUTA D2 PP1	6	2.01	59	156	23:47	0.14	0.71	0.41	2.1	0.6	1.6	0.02
11	Jakob Chychrun DWSH D1 PP1	6	2.00	69	156	23:39	0.29	0.40	0.21	2.9	0.6	1.4	0.15
12	Matthew Schaefer DNYI D1 PP1	5	1.97	72	154	24:50	0.22	0.51	0.26	2.9	0.5	1.2	0.13
13	Jake Sanderson DOTT	1	1.96	56	151	23:52	0.20	0.57	0.31	2.1	0.5	1.9	0.23
14	John Carlson DTBL D2 PP1	6	1.94	94	151	22:25	0.23	0.57	0.19	2.4	0.5	1.5	0.02
15	Shayne Gostisbehere DCAR D3 PP1	8	1.90	67	144	19:02	0.24	0.59	0.38	2.0	0.4	0.9	0.32
16	Lane Hutson DMTL D1 PP1	6	1.88	70	147	24:28	0.15	0.81	0.23	1.7	0.3	1.5	0.38
17	Adam Fox DNYR D1 PP1	8	1.85	71	141	23:02	0.12	0.82	0.35	1.4	0.5	1.5	0.24
18	Miro Heiskanen DDAL D1 PP1	5	1.83	80	144	25:16	0.17	0.60	0.29	1.9	0.3	1.7	0.21
19	Erik Karlsson DPIT D1 PP1	6	1.81	92	140	23:33	0.15	0.71	0.34	2.2	0.2	0.8	0.16
20	Jackson LaCombe DANA D1 PP1	5	1.79	103	141	24:40	0.14	0.63	0.29	1.7	0.9	1.6	-0.06
21	Josh Morrissey DWPG D3 PP1	4	1.76	107	139	23:57	0.15	0.57	0.26	2.1	0.4	1.5	0.02
22	Brock Faber DMIN	80*	1.74	98	136	24:41	0.19	0.45	0.14	2.2	0.4	1.9	0.23
23	Seth Jones DFLA D1 PP1	7	1.74	111	134	24:16	0.14	0.58	0.38	2.0	0.9	1.1	-0.12
24	Thomas Chabot DOTT D1 PP1	7	1.66	81	128	23:48	0.13	0.42	0.13	2.0	0.7	2.3	0.34
25	Filip Hronek DVAN D1 PP1	7	1.65	135	125	24:58	0.07	0.56	0.26	1.6	1.5	1.8	-0.28
26	Vince Dunn DSEA D2 PP1	7	1.62	186	124	21:57	0.17	0.45	0.27	2.1	0.4	1.2	-0.18
27	Brandon Montour DSEA D1 PP1	7	1.61	175	124	23:04	0.13	0.43	0.13	2.4	1.1	1.3	-0.21
28	Brandt Clarke DLAK D2 PP1	4	1.60	130	128	19:40	0.08	0.45	0.21	2.0	0.3	2.3	-0.06
29	Dougie Hamilton DNJD D2 PP2	6	1.59	163	124	21:31	0.16	0.31	0.14	2.8	1.2	1.1	-0.14
30	Rasmus Andersson DVGK D2 PP2	7	1.54	234	119	21:55	0.19	0.31	0.12	2.1	0.4	1.6	-0.22
31	MacKenzie Weegar DUTA D1	6	1.54	139	120	21:56	0.08	0.23	0.06	1.9	2.5	2.5	-0.28
32	Noah Dobson DMTL D2 PP2	6	1.52	167	118	22:15	0.12	0.38	0.07	1.9	1.0	2.0	-0.03
33	Justin Faulk DDET D2 PP2	6	1.49	211	116	21:24	0.20	0.31	0.13	1.8	0.9	1.3	-0.08
34	Jacob Trouba DSJS D2	5	1.48	184	117	22:32	0.10	0.33	0.01	2.0	1.8	1.9	-0.13
35	Sean Walker DCAR D1 PP2	8	1.46	168	111	21:41	0.08	0.41	0.04	1.9	1.5	1.6	0.02
36	Mattias Samuelsson DBUF D2	7	1.45	143	111	22:38	0.16	0.38	0.00	1.3	1.5	1.6	0.32
37	Shea Theodore DVGK D1 PP2	7	1.37	161	105	22:33	0.14	0.38	0.09	2.0	0.0	1.3	0.46
38	Thomas Harley DDAL D1 PP2	5	1.36	177	107	23:09	0.07	0.38	0.08	1.7	0.6	2.0	0.15
39	Darnell Nurse DSJS D1	5	1.35	226	106	21:01	0.11	0.17	0.00	2.0	1.6	2.0	-0.16
40	Vladislav Gavrikov DNYR D1	8	1.33	227	101	22:59	0.16	0.33	0.05	1.4	0.7	1.5	0.14
41	Morgan Rielly DTOR D1 PP2	6	1.33	324	104	20:53	0.11	0.40	0.10	1.6	0.5	1.4	-0.22
42	Damon Severson DCBJ D2	3	1.30	204	103	21:21	0.14	0.42	0.05	1.3	0.5	1.3	0.35
43	Alexander Nikishin DCAR	81*	1.30	179	99	18:11	0.14	0.27	0.12	1.5	1.6	1.2	0.22
44	Josh Manson DCOL D3	5	1.30	109	103	17:36	0.09	0.34	0.00	1.5	2.1	1.3	0.63
45	K'Andre Miller DCAR D1 PP2	8	1.29	276	98	22:26	0.12	0.36	0.03	1.6	1.4	1.1	-0.04
46	Luke Hughes DNJD D1 PP1	6	1.29	306	101	23:14	0.11	0.37	0.19	2.4	0.2	0.6	-0.12
47	Travis Sanheim DPHI D1	8	1.28	352	97	24:32	0.13	0.30	0.03	1.3	0.7	1.8	-0.22
48	Kris Letang DPIT D1 PP2	6	1.27	208	98	21:17	0.03	0.44	0.14	1.7	1.2	1.2	0.04
49	Simon Edvinsson DDET	72*	1.26	200	99	22:21	0.13	0.22	0.01	1.2	1.3	2.1	0.17
50	Ivan Provorov DCBJ	82*	1.26	225	100	24:49	0.11	0.27	0.06	1.9	0.3	1.6	0.17
51	Mike Matheson DMTL D1	5	1.26	274	98	24:10	0.07	0.35	0.01	1.5	0.7	1.9	-0.03
52	Jared Spurgeon DMIN D2 PP2	6	1.25	199	98	20:14	0.10	0.31	0.10	1.1	1.0	1.9	0.17
53	Mattias Ekholm DEDM D2	5	1.23	132	97	20:50	0.10	0.38	0.03	1.5	0.8	1.3	0.75
54	Brent Burns DCOL D3	5	1.22	268	96	18:22	0.12	0.34	0.01	2.0	0.3	1.1	0.24
55	Devon Toews DCOL D2 PP2	5	1.21	156	96	21:50	0.12	0.37	0.09	1.6	0.4	1.1	0.68
56	Rasmus Sandin DWSH	73*	1.19	267	93	19:12	0.07	0.33	0.01	1.2	1.2	1.7	0.06
57	Colton Parayko DSTL D2	6	1.18	252	92	21:58	0.04	0.26	0.00	1.4	1.2	2.3	-0.02
58	Logan Stanley DNYI D1	5	1.18	255	92	17:15	0.10	0.34	0.01	1.2	1.7	1.2	0.15
59	Neal Pionk DWPG D2 PP2	5	1.18	261	93	22:50	0.05	0.18	0.03	1.8	2.1	1.5	-0.14
60	Adam Larsson DSEA D2	7	1.17	197	90	21:28	0.06	0.20	0.00	1.2	1.5	2.3	0.18
61	Denton Mateychuk DCBJ D1 PP2	5	1.17	366	93	20:07	0.18	0.23	0.03	1.4	0.3	1.3	0.05
62	Nick Blankenburg DTOR	1	1.17	389	91	16:46	0.17	0.25	0.11	1.2	1.0	0.9	-0.11
63	Tony DeAngelo DNYI D2 PP2	5	1.17	380	91	18:39	0.09	0.36	0.07	1.8	0.3	1.0	-0.09
64	Brayden McNabb DVGK D2	7	1.17	182	90	20:03	0.06	0.23	0.00	1.2	1.7	2.0	0.32
65	Jake Walman DEDM D3 PP2	4	1.16	473	92	18:05	0.13	0.19	0.03	1.7	0.2	1.7	-0.39
66	Victor Hedman DTBL D3	6	1.16	285	91	17:43	0.02	0.45	0.14	1.4	0.5	1.4	0.01
67	Hampus Lindholm DBOS D3 PP2	6	1.16	288	90	21:11	0.10	0.36	0.08	1.3	0.2	1.4	0.19
68	Noah Hanifin DVGK D1	7	1.16	314	89	22:03	0.07	0.26	0.07	1.7	0.4	1.7	-0.04
69	Sam Malinski DCOL D1	4	1.15	176	90	17:29	0.08	0.33	0.01	1.8	0.5	1.2	0.65
70	Sean Durzi DNYR D2 PP2	8	1.14	360	87	19:35	0.10	0.33	0.08	1.1	0.8	1.4	-0.07
71	Owen Power DBUF D1 PP1	7	1.13	356	87	22:54	0.11	0.41	0.00	1.3	0.3	1.0	0.19
72	Mario Ferraro DWPG D2	5	1.12	338	89	20:46	0.11	0.16	0.00	1.2	1.6	1.8	-0.09
73	Simon Nemec DCGY D1 PP2	5	1.12	497	88	19:59	0.13	0.22	0.02	1.5	0.3	1.5	-0.41
74	Cole Hutson DWSH D2 PP2	6	1.11	323	87	18:58	0.10	0.26	0.06	1.6	0.7	1.2	0.08
75	Aaron Ekblad DFLA D2 PP2	5	1.11	390	86	22:11	0.04	0.32	0.10	1.4	1.2	1.3	-0.26
76	Tyler Kleven DOTT D2	7	1.11	278	86	18:17	0.07	0.20	0.00	1.2	1.8	1.8	0.02
77	Nikita Zadorov DBOS D2	6	1.11	203	86	20:48	0.02	0.27	0.00	1.4	2.7	1.3	0.17
78	Bowen Byram DCHI D1 PP1	5	1.10	445	85	22:49	0.11	0.30	0.07	1.3	0.5	1.2	-0.17
79	Rasmus Ristolainen DPHI	3	1.08	273	82	20:59	0.06	0.26	0.02	1.3	1.1	1.5	0.20
80	Jake McCabe DTOR D2	6	1.07	263	84	21:44	0.05	0.19	0.00	1.0	1.3	2.3	0.11
81	Martin Fehervary DWSH D1	6	1.07	245	84	19:58	0.05	0.21	0.00	0.7	1.5	2.4	0.18
82	Mason Lohrei DBOS D1 PP2	6	1.07	337	84	17:29	0.15	0.28	0.05	1.0	0.4	1.2	0.29
83	Philip Broberg DSTL D1	6	1.07	342	84	23:11	0.06	0.38	0.09	1.3	0.4	1.2	0.13
84	Charle-Edouard D'Astous DTBL D3 PP2	6	1.07	422	83	17:47	0.10	0.25	0.02	1.3	1.3	1.0	-0.12
85	Alexandre Carrier DMTL D3	6	1.06	339	83	18:57	0.11	0.20	0.00	0.9	0.6	2.0	0.14
86	Olen Zellweger DBUF D2	6	1.05	423	81	17:23	0.15	0.19	0.03	1.6	0.4	0.9	0.04
87	Dmitry Orlov DSJS D2	5	1.05	442	83	20:38	0.03	0.33	0.18	1.0	1.5	1.1	-0.39
88	Cam York DPHI D3	5	1.04	411	79	22:24	0.04	0.24	0.08	1.2	0.5	2.0	-0.19
89	Artem Zub DOTT	81*	1.04	301	80	20:48	0.06	0.31	0.00	1.1	0.8	1.5	0.27
90	Esa Lindell DDAL D2	5	1.04	230	82	22:33	0.06	0.25	0.02	0.9	0.4	2.2	0.45
91	Ben Chiarot DDET D1	6	1.04	325	81	20:19	0.05	0.13	0.00	1.2	1.9	1.9	-0.08
92	Jeremy Lauzon DVGK D3	7	1.03	222	79	16:51	0.01	0.13	0.00	1.2	3.7	1.3	0.04
93	Louis Crevier DBUF D3	7	1.03	392	79	16:33	0.07	0.21	0.00	1.4	1.5	1.3	-0.09
94	Kaiden Guhle DMTL D2	2	1.02	280	80	19:33	0.05	0.21	0.00	1.0	2.2	1.5	0.12
95	Noah Warren DANA D3	5	1.02	309	81	18:38	0.04	0.34	0.00	1.1	1.0	1.4	0.21
96	Sam Rinzel DCHI D3 PP2	5	1.02	458	78	18:14	0.10	0.19	0.06	1.5	0.8	1.1	-0.18
97	Oliver Ekman-Larsson DTOR D3	6	1.02	434	79	19:37	0.08	0.31	0.09	1.2	1.1	0.8	-0.10
98	Luca Cagnoni DSJS D3 PP1	5	1.02	378	80	19:17	0.10	0.21	0.07	1.3	0.6	1.2	0.08
99	Radko Gudas DFLA D3	6	1.00	269	77	15:29	0.03	0.15	0.00	1.0	2.8	1.6	0.05
100	Frederic Brunet DBOS D3 PP2	3	1.00	279	78	19:00	0.04	0.24	0.08	1.3	0.9	1.5	0.25
101	Matt Roy DWSH	2	1.00	260	78	20:25	0.02	0.20	0.00	1.1	1.6	1.9	0.21
102	Ryan Shea DEDM D1 PP2	5	1.00	320	79	19:44	0.10	0.37	0.00	0.8	0.6	1.0	0.46
103	Dylan Samberg DWPG D1	5	1.00	321	79	21:54	0.01	0.24	0.00	1.4	1.0	1.8	0.10
104	Artyom Levshunov DCHI D1	6	0.99	508	76	19:39	0.02	0.29	0.12	1.3	1.4	1.0	-0.58
105	Jordan Spence DOTT D1	7	0.99	387	76	19:42	0.07	0.28	0.03	1.4	0.7	1.0	0.12
106	Andrew Peeke DUTA D3	6	0.99	413	77	18:26	0.09	0.13	0.00	1.1	1.3	1.7	-0.08
107	Jamie Drysdale DPHI D1 PP1	8	0.98	476	75	21:42	0.07	0.22	0.08	1.2	0.3	1.5	-0.21
108	Nick Seeler DPHI D2	8	0.98	329	74	18:10	0.04	0.13	0.00	1.0	1.6	2.2	0.01
109	Braden Schneider DNYR D3	8	0.98	286	74	19:30	0.02	0.17	0.00	1.2	2.1	1.6	0.10
110	Carter Yakemchuk DOTT D2 PP2	7	0.97	482	75	18:52	0.09	0.18	0.12	1.3	0.5	1.2	-0.22
111	Ryan Pulock DNYI D3	5	0.97	376	76	20:15	0.03	0.25	0.01	1.0	0.7	1.9	0.06
112	Jamie Oleksiak DVAN D3	6	0.96	428	73	17:20	0.09	0.18	0.00	0.8	1.5	1.5	-0.07
113	Pavel Mintyukov DANA D2	5	0.96	440	76	18:44	0.09	0.19	0.02	1.1	0.5	1.6	0.01
114	Erik Cernak DTBL D1	6	0.95	270	74	17:57	0.04	0.14	0.00	1.0	2.1	1.6	0.23
115	Ryan McDonagh DTBL D3	6	0.95	364	74	18:22	0.10	0.28	0.00	0.7	0.3	1.5	0.34
116	Max Crozier DTBL D1	4	0.95	369	74	16:19	0.02	0.30	0.00	1.4	1.3	1.0	0.13
117	Connor Clifton DBOS D1	6	0.95	271	74	17:39	0.03	0.10	0.00	0.8	3.3	1.5	0.08
118	Jonas Brodin DMIN D2	6	0.95	340	74	20:33	0.05	0.17	0.01	1.1	0.2	2.1	0.24
119	Yan Kuznetsov DCGY D2	4	0.94	494	74	19:51	0.06	0.12	0.00	1.2	1.4	1.6	-0.37
120	Gustav Forsling DFLA D1	6	0.93	477	72	22:16	0.06	0.25	0.02	1.3	0.6	1.1	-0.09
121	Mikey Anderson DLAK D1	4	0.93	386	75	20:13	0.04	0.21	0.00	0.8	1.3	1.8	0.04
122	Jack St. Ivany DWPG D3	2	0.93	310	74	16:08	0.00	0.32	0.00	0.8	2.2	1.2	0.18
123	Connor Murphy DEDM D2	5	0.93	395	73	18:17	0.05	0.16	0.00	0.8	1.0	2.0	0.02
124	Timothy Liljegren DWSH D2	6	0.93	471	72	19:36	0.06	0.16	0.03	0.8	0.9	1.9	-0.19
125	Matthew Robertson DNYR	72*	0.92	438	70	17:24	0.08	0.17	0.00	1.1	1.5	1.1	-0.01
126	Conor Timmins DBUF	39*	0.92	459	71	18:46	0.00	0.20	0.00	1.1	0.7	2.1	-0.20
127	J.J. Moser DTBL D2	6	0.92	294	72	20:30	0.07	0.21	0.01	1.3	0.7	1.2	0.48
128	Parker Wotherspoon DVGK D3	6	0.92	430	71	19:44	0.03	0.26	0.00	0.9	1.8	1.3	-0.07
129	Dylan DeMelo DWPG D1	5	0.92	412	73	21:30	0.07	0.24	0.00	0.8	1.3	1.3	0.11
130	Cale Fleury DSEA	2	0.92	368	71	16:10	0.04	0.13	0.00	1.0	2.1	1.5	-0.01
131	Adam Jiricek DSTL D3 PP2	6	0.92	437	71	18:11	0.10	0.13	0.00	1.5	0.9	1.0	0.08
132	Kaedan Korczak DPIT D3	6	0.91	418	70	16:14	0.03	0.28	0.00	0.9	1.1	1.4	0.06
133	Samuel Girard DPIT D2	6	0.91	474	70	18:30	0.08	0.36	0.00	0.9	0.4	0.9	0.14
134	Drew Doughty DLAK D1	4	0.91	464	73	22:44	0.06	0.25	0.01	1.2	0.7	1.1	0.01
135	Jaccob Slavin DCAR D2	8	0.91	341	69	21:11	0.02	0.20	0.00	1.6	0.2	1.7	0.29

Per-game numbers blend last season with this one. L1 to L4 and D1 to D3 are lines and pairs by even-strength ice time over the team's last 5 games; PP1 and PP2 are power-play units by power-play time. GP marked * is last season's. ROS proj. is a projection: fantasy points per team game times his team's games left, as if he plays every one.

How the board is built

Ranked on per-game production from the NHL's own stats: 2025-26 blended with every 2026-27 game so far, last season counting as at most 20 games (15 for a goalie), so a real role change moves a player within a few weeks. A player without a full NHL season behind him starts from the median regular's line at his position, worth 10 games, so a hot first week cannot rank him beside an established scorer.

Points scoring is skaters 2 per goal, 1 per assist, 0.5 per power-play point, 0.2 per shot on goal, 0.1 per hit and 0.2 per blocked shot; goalies 3 per win, 0.15 per save, 2 per shutout and minus 1 per goal against. Categories value adds up z-scores in goals, assists, plus-minus, power-play points, shots, hits and blocks for skaters; wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies. Positions are the NHL's listed position; your league may grant more.

By position: centers, left wingers, right wingers, defensemen, goalies. This week: start or sit, waiver wire and streamers and goalie starts.

Common questions

How are these 2026-27 fantasy hockey rankings built?
Ranked on per-game production from the NHL's own stats: 2025-26 blended with every 2026-27 game so far, last season counting as at most 20 games (15 for a goalie), so a real role change moves a player within a few weeks. A player without a full NHL season behind him starts from the median regular's line at his position, worth 10 games, so a hot first week cannot rank him beside an established scorer. A skater needs 20 games last season or 3 this season to be ranked. No expert opinion is mixed in.
What scoring do the points rankings use?
Fantasy points at skaters 2 per goal, 1 per assist, 0.5 per power-play point, 0.2 per shot on goal, 0.1 per hit and 0.2 per blocked shot; goalies 3 per win, 0.15 per save, 2 per shutout and minus 1 per goal against. A goalie's number is per TEAM game: his points per appearance times his share of his team's starts, so a backup is not ranked as if he played every night.
What categories does the categories value use?
Goals, assists, plus-minus, power-play points, shots, hits and blocks for skaters; wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies. Each is a z-score against the players a 12-team league rosters, and they are added up; save percentage and goals-against average are weighted by the work a goalie does.
What are L1, PP1 and the ROS projection?
L1 to L4 are forward lines and D1 to D3 defense pairs, by even-strength ice time over the team's last five games. PP1 and PP2 are power-play units by power-play time. The NHL publishes ice time, not line charts, so these are derived and say so. ROS proj. is a projection: fantasy points per team game times the team's games left, as if the player plays every one.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 13, 2026 at 10:41 PM ETHow this is built Report a wrong number