The RotoWire 200: Overall Rankings For Roto Leagues

The RotoWire 200: Overall Rankings For Roto Leagues

This article is part of our The RotoWire 200 series.

The RotoWire 200

This list is a set of overall rankings derived from RotoWire's projections and our Roto Rankings tool. All positions listed are those in our database - given how the shifting nature of hockey positions, please make check on your league's (and site provider's) positional settings - they may differ, raising or lowering the value of certain forwards. This list is based on 12-team roto leagues, using the following categories: goals, assists, power play points, plus/minus, penalty minutes (as a positive) and shots on goal for skaters; wins, shutouts, goals against average and save percentage for goalies - this is the most standard format used by our partners at Yahoo! Fantasy Sports. Obviously, you should use our Roto Rankings tool for different categories in your roto league, or our Projected Points tool for points-based leagues. Finally, these rankings presume the following positions used - 2 C's, 2 LW's, 2 RW's, 4 D's, 2 G's, and four reserves. Obviously, there's going to be a ton of good centers that go undrafted or get downgraded severely in this format.
 

RANKFIRST NAMELAST NAMEPOSTEAMNOTE
1 Alex Ovechkin LW WAS Ovie's "team-first" approach didn't win many fantasy championships last season, but at the end of the day he's still the safest bet for monster production.
2 Steven Stamkos C TAM Does Stamkos have another level to reach?
3 Corey Perry RW ANA Perry's penalty mintues put him ahead of pure scorers like Daniel Sedin.
4 Daniel
The RotoWire 200

This list is a set of overall rankings derived from RotoWire's projections and our Roto Rankings tool. All positions listed are those in our database - given how the shifting nature of hockey positions, please make check on your league's (and site provider's) positional settings - they may differ, raising or lowering the value of certain forwards. This list is based on 12-team roto leagues, using the following categories: goals, assists, power play points, plus/minus, penalty minutes (as a positive) and shots on goal for skaters; wins, shutouts, goals against average and save percentage for goalies - this is the most standard format used by our partners at Yahoo! Fantasy Sports. Obviously, you should use our Roto Rankings tool for different categories in your roto league, or our Projected Points tool for points-based leagues. Finally, these rankings presume the following positions used - 2 C's, 2 LW's, 2 RW's, 4 D's, 2 G's, and four reserves. Obviously, there's going to be a ton of good centers that go undrafted or get downgraded severely in this format.
 

RANKFIRST NAMELAST NAMEPOSTEAMNOTE
1 Alex Ovechkin LW WAS Ovie's "team-first" approach didn't win many fantasy championships last season, but at the end of the day he's still the safest bet for monster production.
2 Steven Stamkos C TAM Does Stamkos have another level to reach?
3 Corey Perry RW ANA Perry's penalty mintues put him ahead of pure scorers like Daniel Sedin.
4 Daniel Sedin LW VAN Can he keep up a 100-point pace, or slide back into the mid-80's?
5 Jonathan Toews C CHI Still just 23 years old - should break the 80-point barrier this year.
6 Henrik Sedin C VAN If he can crack 25+ goals again, he'll earn this draft spot.
7 Henrik Lundqvist G NYR This ranking implies that you start two goalies each week - move all goalies out of the first round if you start just one.
8 Milan Lucic LW BOS Move Lucic significantly down if you don't count PIM's as a positive.
9 Pekka Rinne G NAS Workhorse goalie in a contract year.
10 Tomas Vokoun G WAS You won't have to pay this price, but what a great set-up he's stepping into.
11 Nicklas Backstrom C WAS Nobody got hurt more than Backstrom's owners by the team's overall drop in scoring - look for some recovery here.
12 Bobby Ryan RW ANA The next frontier for Ryan is more production on the man advantage.
13 Ilya Bryzgalov G PHI The Flyers got their prime-time goalie that they desired, for a pretty hefty price.
14 Zach Parise LW NJD Parise has reported no setbacks in recovering from his knee injuries.
15 Eric Staal C CAR Staal played the final three weeks last year with a groin injury.
16 Ryan Miller G BUF If you buy into Buffalo's offseason moves, you could put him higher without much argument.
17 Patrick Kane RW CHI Kane hopes to be back from his wrist injury in time for the preseason.
18 Jarome Iginla RW CGY The Flames might use youngster Mikael Backlund as his center.
19 Ryan Kesler C VAN Watch carefully as we approach opening night - you might have to discount Kesler due to his hip injury.
20 Martin St. Louis RW TAM Once again, league format matters - if PIM's aren't a category for you, St. Louis's value rises.
21 Tim Thomas G BOS Lower than the other elites only because he has a great backup.
22 Daniel Briere RW PHI Hopefully Briere's production doesn't get hurt by the shifting lines caused by the Carter and Richards trades.
23 Henrik Zetterberg C DET Made it back to a point-per-game level last season. Check your positions with Zetterberg, in some leagues he qualifies at LW.
24 Corey Crawford G CHI Look for the Blackhawks to bounce back big this year.
25 Roberto Luongo G VAN Like Thomas, Luongo has a pretty capable backup in Schneider, thus might play less than some of the other top goalies.
26 Sidney Crosby C PIT The ultimate high-risk, high-reward pick this year. Any sort of projection is a dart throw.
27 Alexander Semin LW WAS Semin was fool's gold last year, but it's conceivable he could bounce right back to his point-per-game level.
28 David Backes C STL Grades out much higher in a roto format where PIM's and Plus/Minus are categories.
29 Antti Niemi G SAN The Sharks made a few changes to give him more defensive help - he has a higher ceiling than this.
30 Patrick Sharp RW CHI Sharp's plus/minus should recover along with the team's fortunes this year.
31 Dany Heatley RW MIN What happens to Heatley's production in Minnesota?
32 Rick Nash LW CLM Is Nash ever going to have that breakthrough to be among the elite?
33 Marc-Andre Fleury G PIT Fleury did yeoman's work to carry the Penguins as far as they went last year.
34 Jeff Carter C CLM Columbus is counting on Carter to help lift Nash to greater heights.
35 Ryan Getzlaf C ANA We'd like to see Getzlaf shoot the puck more often.
36 John Tavares C NYI If you're in a league that doesn't count plus/minus, Tavares will rank much higher.
37 Mike Green D WAS Couldn't stay healthy last year and produced at a lower level when he was on the ice.
38 Joe Thornton C SAN Thornton might be asked to do more this year given the Sharks' offseason moves.
39 Zdeno Chara D BOS Chara gets a boost in leagues that count PIMs and plus/minus.
40 Matt Duchene C COL Coming off of a fantastic sophomore campaign.
41 Carey Price G MON Price had a nice redemption season after the Habs showed faith in him by trading away Halak.
42 Patrick Marleau C SAN Marleau rode the roller coaster in the playoffs last year.
43 Drew Doughty D LAK Watch out for Doughty's contract situation - a holdout is possible.
44 Alexandre Burrows RW VAN So much of his value is dependent on whether he plays the Sedins' line.
45 Evgeni Malkin C PIT Malkin will be coming back from a major knee injury, and might be doing it without Crosby.
46 Chris Stewart RW STL The Avs will regret giving up on Stewart so quickly after his hand injury.
47 Martin Brodeur G NJD Injuries, age, and most importantly, a lack of quality blueliners caught up to Brodeur last year.
48 Joe Pavelski LW SAN The trade of Heatley ensures that Pavelski will be a top-six forward for the Sharks.
49 Thomas Vanek LW BUF If the Sabres improve as many expect, Vanek's plus/minus might lurch forward.
50 Ilya Kovalchuk LW NJD Kovalchuk is captain of the Last Year's Bums team.
51 Dustin Byfuglien D WPG Our rankings presuppose that you only start four defensemen - if it's six or more, you'll have to start the blue line run earlier.
52 Shea Weber D NAS Weber also is entering a big contract year.
53 Jimmy Howard G DET Howard was much better in the playoffs, especially against San Jose, than in the regular season.
54 P.K. Subban D MON Gets headlines for his pest abilities, but he's becoming a force on the man advantage too.
55 Brad Richards C NYR A recurring theme from this list - a center gets downgraded in an overall list where you have to specify positions among forwards.
56 Jonas Hiller G ANA Hiller has been symptom-free from the vertigo that ended his season for the last two months.
57 Jonathan Quick G LAK Quick will hold off Jonathan Bernier for one more season, though he might play less frequently this season.
58 Vincent Lecavalier C TAM Lecavalier will play this season wearing a protective shield from his helmet.
59 Scott Hartnell RW PHI Hartnell has had 140+ penalty minutes each of the last four seasons.
60 Dan Boyle D SAN Boyle might not be the only Shark defenseman getting PP points this year, following the acquisition of Burns.
61 Brenden Morrow LW DAL How much will his production scale back without Brad Richards around?
62 Keith Yandle D PHO With more talent around him, Yandle could be a top-3 blueliner.
63 Jeffrey Skinner C CAR What will Skinner do for an encore in his sophomore season?
64 Claude Giroux RW PHI Giroux had his breakthrough last season - he might slide back some with Carter and Richards gone.
65 Cam Ward G CAR Ward led all goalies in starts and minutes played last season. That might change with Brian Boucher as his backup.
66 Pavel Datsyuk C DET Datsyuk's lower-than-expected ranking is a reflection of our concern about his wrist injury.
67 Duncan Keith D CHI Keith shot just 4.0 percent last year - he'll do better than that this year and top the 50-point threshold.
68 Kris Letang D PIT Letang really faded down the stretch last season - not having Crosby and Malkin around will do that.
69 David Krejci C BOS Krejci has a much higher ceiling than this - it's only that poolies might overrate him because of his playoff production.
70 Marian Gaborik LW NYR Gaborik's inability to stay on the ice prevents him from getting ranked higher.
71 Ryane Clowe LW SAN The Sharks need Clowe to be more than a nice secondary winger this season.
72 Paul Stastny C COL Stastny got caught up in the malaise of the Avs' second-half collapse, dropping from 79 points to 57.
73 Christian Ehrhoff D BUF Ehrhoff probably joins a much worse power play with the Sabres, though he'll shoulder more responsibility there.
74 Dustin Brown RW LAK With the additions of Mike Richards and Simon Gagne, the Kings can run out two scoring lines now.
75 Mike Richards C LAK Reunited with Simon Gagne, and will get significant power play time.
76 Nicklas Lidstrom D DET Who expected Lidstrom to outlast Brian Rafalski? Lidstrom's plus/minus nosedived last season.
77 Lubomir Visnovsky D ANA Visnovsky led all defensemen in points last season and is a safe bet for 50 points with the Ducks.
78 Johan Franzen RW DET Franzen tapered off badly at the end of the regular season last year.
79 Anze Kopitar C LAK Kopitar still has swelling whenever he skates stemming from the broken fibula that ended last season.
80 Dwayne Roloson G TAM Roloson probably won't play as much as other goaltenders on contending teams.
81 Patric Hornqvist RW NAS Hornqvist backslid a little last season after his breakout in 2009-10.
82 Phil Kessel LW TOR Will the signing of Tim Connolly be the spark that pushes Kessel to greater heights?
83 James Neal LW PIT Neal stands to benefit as much as anyone if Sidney Crosby can return to full form.
84 Loui Eriksson LW DAL Give Eriksson a healthy bump in leagues where plus/minus and PIM's aren't used.
85 Marian Hossa RW CHI Hossa probably has a ceiling of 75 points after hitting the 90-point level earlier in his career.
86 Dion Phaneuf D TOR Never really became the monster fantasy player we once thought he could become.
87 John Carlson D WAS Carlson tallied 37 points in his rookie year, just two years after he was drafted.
88 Brent Burns D SAN Burns might rank higher if he weren't second fiddle to Dan Boyle on the power play.
89 Miikaa Kiprusoff G CGY Kiprusoff gets hurt by his middling supporting cast.
90 Mikhail Grabovski C TOR Grabovski is currently the Leafs' second line center, but given Connolly's fragility, that could change quickly.
91 Steve Downie LW TAM One of these years Downie could string together a 50-point, 200-PIM season.
92 Justin Williams RW LAK Williams can join teammate Anze Kopitar on the rehab path.
93 Martin Havlat RW SAN Havlat won't be asked to do as much offensively, but his plus/minus should improve with the Sharks.
94 Brandon Dubinsky LW NYR Part of an emerging young core with the Rangers, now buoyed by the signing of Brad Richards.
95 Ryan Whitney D EDM Watch Whitney's ankle injury - his production last year was curtailed by a similar injury.
96 Chris Pronger D PHI Pronger had back surgery in the offseason - he won't be ready for the start of camp but still hopes to be ready by opening night.
97 Niklas Kronwall D DET Kronwall's responsibilities had already increased last season, but with Rafalski retired, the Wings will need even more from him.
98 Tyler Ennis C BUF Ennis will turn just 22 at the start of the season - expect some improvement, but not a giant leap like last year.
99 Jaroslav Halak G STL Halak found the going much tougher as the regular starter than as the favored backup.
100 James Reimer G TOR Reimer outpaced his junior-level rate stats last year - some decline could be reasonably expected this year.
101 Nathan Horton RW BOS Horton is symptom-free from the concussion that knocked him out of the Stanley Cup Final.
102 Shane Doan RW PHO Doan doesn't have much upside at this point, but he's still a solid producer.
103 James van Riemsdyk LW PHI The Flyers are counting on van Riemsdyk to take the leap this year - he'll skate with Claude Giroux this year.
104 Ryan Callahan RW NYR Callahan first broke out then broke his ankle - he appears to be good to go to start the season.
105 Erik Cole RW MON Now with the Habs, Cole should find himself on the first line with Plekanec and Cammalleri.
106 Niklas Backstrom G MIN Backstrom had a disturbing number of blow-up games last season.
107 Alex Pietrangelo D STL The Blues nurtured Pietrangelo along correctly. Now he won't be a surprise to anyone.
108 Alex Goligoski D PIT Goligoski racked up 15 points in 23 games after getting traded to the Stars.
109 Jamie Benn LW DAL Benn has a high ceiling - he may not get there this year, but 75+ points is in his DNA.
110 Craig Anderson G OTT Anderson really shined once he escaped Colorado. Which version is the real Anderson?
111 Tomas Plekanec C MON The addition of Erik Cole gives Plekanec a better winger to work with.
112 Logan Couture C SAN Couture had a pretty good argument for the Calder, though he was edged out by Jeff Skinner.
113 Brad Boyes RW BUF Boyes' disappearing act in the playoffs drew the ire of Sabres fans last season.
114 R.J. Umberger LW CLM Watch this preseason to see who Umberger skates with - if he drops to the third line, you'll have to discount him below this spot.
115 Jaromir Jagr RW PHI Jagr should get a vast majority of his production from the power play.
116 Jason Pominville LW BUF Pominville is trying to make it all the way back from a scary leg injury.
117 Mark Streit D NYI Trying to come back after missing the entire season last year with a shoulder injury.
118 Mark Giordano D CGY Giordano had 25 power play points last year.
119 Tyler Myers D BUF Myers recovered from a horrible start to finish with passable numbers. He should break 40 points if healthy.
120 Kari Lehtonen G DAL Lehtonen might be the last of the full-time goalies here, depending on your view of some of the timeshares remaining.
121 Drew Stafford RW BUF The Sabres gave Stafford a four-year commitment this offseason, counting on at least a repeat of last season.
122 Ondrej Pavelec G WPG Pavelec could be a good upside pick, though he'll have a tough time overcoming his team's weaknesses.
123 Andrew Ladd LW WPG Ladd probably is the Jets' best forward, but his plus/minus will cost you.
124 Joe Corvo D BOS Corvo replaces Tomas Kaberle on the Bruins' power play.
125 Brent Seabrook D CHI Seabrook racked up a career-high 48 points last year - will he retreat a little this year?
126 Erik Karlsson D OTT Karlsson was a whopping -30 last year - too bad, because his offensive game (45 points) is strong.
127 Ryan Suter D NAS The Preds' contractual logjam could come to a head with Suter - as a result, watch him closely around the trade deadline.
128 Kimmo Timonen D PHI Timonen is not a 50-point player any longer, but he's still reliable for 35+ points.
129 Jordan Staal C PIT If Crosby has to sit out significant time, the Pens will look at Staal to be far more than a third-line center.
130 Taylor Hall LW EDM The 2010 first overall draft pick had a credible rookie season - he could threaten to get 30 goals this year.
131 Nikolai Kulemin RW TOR Kulemin got to 30 goals last season - is there another step up for him?
132 Devan Dubnyk G EDM Dubnyk first has to win a job battle with Khabibulin before you take him in this spot, but he's the one with upside.
133 Mike Ribeiro C DAL Taking back over the top center duties with Richards gone.
134 Erik Johnson D COL The Avs invested a lot to get Johnson and hope he becomes their Chris Pronger.
135 Alexander Edler D VAN Needs to avoid the back injuries that sidelined him for two months. Edler also is recovering from two broken fingers.
136 Jack Johnson D LAK Johnson is an offense-minded defenseman on a team that's gearing up to be a higher scoring team.
137 Joni Pitkanen D CAR Pitkanen would rate higher if he stayed on the ice more - he has missed at least 10 games each of the last four seasons.
138 Zenon Konopka C OTT Get your goon points here!
139 Jose Theodore G FLA Theodore will keep the seat warm for Jacob Markstrom for at least the first half of the season.
140 Steve Mason G CLM This is a huge year for Mason, after two bad seasons in a row.
141 Alex Tanguay LW CGY Tanguay ought to offer to carry Jarome Iginla's bags on each road trip - playing with Iginla has made Tanguay much wealther.
142 Curtis Glencross LW CGY If the Flames ever open up their style of play, Glencross could benefit the most.
143 Brad Marchand RW BOS Marchand's playoff performance has us thirsting for more than his 41 regular season points last year.
144 Andrei Markov D MON Markov has played just 52 games the last two years due to multiple knee injuries.
145 Tobias Enstrom D WPG Enstrom outperformed this level last year, tallying 51 points.
146 Travis Hamonic D NYI Hamonic is a trendy sleeper in many circles - he's also a bet against Mark Streit's continued health.
147 Mikko Koivu C MIN Hooking up with Dany Heatley might give him a big boost.
148 Michael Cammalleri C MON Cammalleri has had two injury-shortened campaigns in a row.
149 Stephen Weiss C FLA Our first Panthers skater, Weiss has an upside of about 65 points.
150 Jason Spezza C OTT How the mighty have fallen.
151 Rene Bourque LW CGY Bourque can either carry you for weeks or disappear for weeks - you just don't know when.
152 Mike Knuble RW WAS Boring but steady.
153 Dustin Penner LW LAK Penner was a total bust after arriving from Edmonton at the trade deadline last year.
154 Semyon Varlamov G COL Can Varlamov stay healthy, and can the Avs lessen the number of shots they allow (31.8 per game last year)?
155 Rick DiPietro G NYI Under contract until the rapture, so you know he'll get his chances.
156 Kris Versteeg RW FLA Might be able to click with Weiss.
157 Martin Erat RW NAS Seemingly always available late in your draft.
158 Steve Montador D CHI Montador essentially replaces Brian Campbell on the Blackhawks' blue line.
159 Kevin Shattenkirk D STL 43-point rookie season - now the Blues will look for him to be more proficient in his own end.
160 Mike Smith G PHO Competing with Jason LaBarbera to be the Coyotes' starting goalie.
161 Jonathan Bernier G LAK Bernier would immediately become a middle-of-the-pack goalie if either he or Quick were traded.
162 Evander Kane C WPG Will Kane take a big leap or just show incremental progress?
163 Derek Roy C BUF Missed all but one playoff game with a quad injury.
164 Kevin Bieksa D VAN With Ehrhoff leaving, Bieksa might be counted upon for more power play production this year.
165 Victor Hedman D TAM At some point in his career, Hedman will hit the 40-point plateau.
166 John-Michael Liles D TOR Liles will pile up the points, all while tearing apart your plus/minus.
167 Dennis Wideman D WAS The only question is how much power play time will Wideman get with Green and Carlson already in Washington.
168 Jordan Eberle RW EDM Eberle has 60-point potential, though that would require a big leap from his 43-point rookie season.
169 Chris Kunitz LW PIT The only thing keeping Kunitz from rating higher is his playing style, which often leads to injury.
170 Cory Schneider G VAN It's hard to dislodge Luongo, but Schneider has a huge ceiling if he ever got extended action between the pipes.
171 Matt Moulson LW NYI A lot of observers suggest the Islanders are a team on the rise - if true, Moulson will be worth more than this with a better plus/minus.
172 Brian Gionta RW MON A boring pick, but sometimes boring can pay the bills.
173 Jussi Jokinen LW CAR A major component of the Hurricanes' power play unit.
174 Al Montoya G NYI If the Islanders go strictly on performance, not tenure, Montoya could end up playing a lot.
175 Tuuka Rask G BOS It's hard to believe that two years ago Rask was the better goaltender between he and Thomas.
176 Cal Clutterbuck RW MIN Clutterbuck brings a little of everything, but doesn't excel in one particular area.
177 Cam Fowler D ANA Huge scoring upside - deserves to be a top-25 defenseman in non plus/minus leagues.
178 Dennis Seidenberg D BOS Seidenberg is another Bruin that shined in the playoffs.
179 James Wisniewski D CLM Cashed in on his career season - don't expect 51 points again.
180 Tomas Kaberle D CAR Kaberle was a bust in the playoffs - can he regain his mojo?
181 Marc Staal D NYR Staal has started to add more offensive components to his game.
182 Ian White D DET As the only right-handed shot among the primary Red Wings blueliners, White has some power play potential.
183 Matt Cooke RW PIT Not a beloved player, but he'll get you some points to go with the PIMs.
184 Michael Grabner RW NYI Somehow the Islanders were able to turn Grabner from a waiver claim into a 34-goal scorer.
185 Jakub Voracek RW PHI Could skate with Hartnell and Briere.
186 Andrei Kostitsyn LW MON Has been the poster child for unfulfilled potential - already talk about "coach problems."
187 Clarke MacArthur LW TOR Exploded in the early portion of the season - also provides a number of hits for leagues that use that stat.
188 Ty Conklin G DET Jimmy Howard went through tough stretches during the regular season - thus, Conklin has some upward mobility.
189 Anders Lindback G NAS If Rinne's contract becomes an issue, all of a sudden Lindback will step into a good situation.
190 Alexander Steen C STL Steen is the "Max Fisher" of hockey and the Blues are his Rushmore - he'll fill in any role in a pinch.
191 Patrice Bergeron C BOS Bergeron has really improved the defensive side of his game.
192 Mikael Samuelsson RW VAN Hoping to log plenty of ice time with the Sedins, at the least on the power play.
193 Ryan Smyth LW EDM Member emeritus on the "all-boring" team.
194 Jamie McBain D CAR Kaberle's arrival hurts him in the short-term, but eventually a primary power play spot will be his.
195 Teemu Selanne RW ANA At press time, Selanne hadn't yet decided whether he would return for one more year.
196 Derick Brassard C CLM Bumped off the Nash line because of the Jeff Carter trade.
197 Mathieu Garon G TAM Garon is a good hedge against Roloson's ability to stay healthy.
198 Jacob Markstrom G FLA Perhaps the best goalie prospect out there, though last season wasn't his best.
199 Michal Neuvirth G WAS We expect good things from Vokoun, but in case he flops, Neuvirth isn't a bad alternative.
200 Patrik Berglund C STL Berglund has been a trendy sleeper in some spaces - he rates lower here because there are just so many useful centers.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeff Erickson
Jeff Erickson is a co-founder of RotoWire and the only two-time winner of Baseball Writer of the Year from the Fantasy Sports Writers Association. He's also in the FSWA Hall of Fame. He roots for the Reds, Bengals, Red Wings, Pacers and Northwestern University (the real NU).
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