If you are anything like me, when you play fantasy sports you have to have at least one player from your favorite team on your roster. You’d think being a fan of the Golden Knights would make this easy. Vegas has been one of the top three or four teams in the NHL each of the past two seasons and are right there again this year. However, fantasy hockey and actual hockey are much different.
NHL.com has released a whole host of fantasy hockey lists from Top 250 to sleepers to rookies to watch and the Golden Knights are notably absent on many of these lists. But, when they added it all up, VGK found themselves in 4th on the overall team rankings. Very confusing, let’s go through it.
The Golden Knights have eight players in the NHL Top 250. The first guy on the board doesn’t come until #24 though, that’s Robin Lehner. Then we find Max Pacioretty (#33), Mark Stone (#43), Alex Pietrangelo (#54), Shea Theodore (#63), William Karlsson (#138), Alec Martinez (#152), and Jonathan Marchessault (#164). Alex Tuch is also listed in “Key Injuries” which means he would likely have been in the Top 250 as well.
Lehner certainly earns the Golden Knights a lot of weight in the fantasy world and actually, Laurent Brossoit behind him helps out as well. The pair are ranked 4th in the NHL in fantasy goalie tandems behind the Islanders, Lightning, and Avalanche.
One slightly surprising omission is Peyton Krebs on the rookie list. Spencer Knight and Cole Caufield headline the list, but names like Marco Rossi, Jamie Drysdale, and Quinton Byfield made the cut. In fact, there are even a few “other” rookies listed and Krebs couldn’t even get his name included there.
A 12-team mock draft was run using a few writers on the site and the first Golden Knights to be selected was Lehner at #25 overall. Stone and Pacioretty went in the 4th round with Pietrnagelo quickly behind in the 5th. John Carlson, Jake Guentzel, Kyle Connor, and Jack Eichel were selected between the three Golden Knights. All eight Golden Knights were selected in the 16 round draft consisting of 192 players.
The top three teams in the power rankings are Tampa Bay, Colorado, and Florida. They have 10, 11, and 12 players in the top 250 respectively, where VGK come in with just the eight. Behind the Golden Knights are the New York Rangers, Washington, Boston, Carolina, Toronto, and Pittsburgh. All of those teams have at least eight players in the top 250 and so do the Seattle Kraken, who were ranked 23rd.
Evgenii Dadonov and Laurent Brossoit are both listed as “key additions” for the Golden Knights, but neither cracked the 10 players listed in the “sleeper” or even “deep sleeper” categories. VGK also came up empty in “breakouts” and “bounce-back candidates.”
Overall, the Golden Knights have plenty of high-end players, but no one true superstar from a fantasy perspective. Mark Stone seems criminally underrated for a player that will play in all situations and has a strong chance to tally a point per game this year. Pietrangelo and Theodore seem to be taking away from each other’s fantasy expectations and the Misfit Line has fallen out of favor with fantasy players.
The good news is that even after trading the Vezina winner for a bag of pucks, the Golden Knights are still in a great position between the pipes.
No matter how you slice it though, fantasy success and winning hockey games are not always a mutual relationship. The Golden Knights are going to do a ton of the latter, hopefully whoever ends up on your team does enough of the former to lead you to victory as well.
THE hockey GOD
nice article Ken, too bad the whiners still whine about Vegas getting a”top center”. There are only THREE really good centers in whole league and they are all outside of VGK budget. All home grown too.
So much for whining about getting a top center when well over 95 % of league teams do not have a great center.
Blitz
I don’t know if this is whining or not. It’s all just fuzzy at this point, but here goes…
I don’t think VGK needs a top center, because as you mention there aren’t alot of them. However, VGK needs an improvement at C1. I like Stephenson just fine. He does some things well, but if we can improve at C1 that make Stephenson our C3 and that too is an improvement overall. So the C need is a thing, but I do agree that a “top” C is realistically unobtainable.
I too think you have to grown them. Gotta hope at this point that Krebs or Patrick can hit the next gear. That’s all we realistically got. Unless we can do a trade in season.
Ken Boehlke
For me it’s about getting more center depth more so than getting a true 1C. I agree, those are too hard to find. They could have gone done the center route instead of Pietrangelo, or this year instead of Dadonov.
Ulf
With all due respect you must be joking to think the NHL has only three centers better than Chandler Stepehenson or William Karlsson.
The centers are there but can indeed be difficult to get. But Vegas hasn’t been willing or able to pay the price, the farm team isn’t great.
ulf
some teams that have great top centers…well over the 95% mark…
Carolina (Aho)
Colorado (MacKinnon)
Dallas (Seguin)
Edmonton (McDavid, Draisatl)
Florida (Barkov)
LA (Kopitar)
NY Islanders (Barzal)
NY Rangers (Zibenejad)
Philadelphia (Couturier, arguably Giroux)
Pittsburgh (Crosby, Malkin)
San Jose (Couture)
St. Louis (O’Reilly)
Tampa Bay (Point, Stamkos)
Toronto (Matthews, Tavares)
Vancouver (Petterson, arguably Horvat but he’s a different type of player)
Washington (Kuznetsov, Backstrom)
Winnipeg (Scheifele)
This is not even counting those on the decline but still better options than Vegas has (Boston’s Bergeron), up and coming centers who are already better options than we have (Ottawa’s Josh Norris), and injured superstars with question marks (Buffalo/?’s Eichel). Plus star draft kids (e.g. Byfield) and guys who have been good in the past but may be declining or just in need of a fresh start (too many to mention).
Now of those 5 came from trade. With VGK doing so well we’ve been drafting really low, and the prospects that have been picked aren’t setting the world on fire.
I think when Ken said he sees the window to win being 3 years long given the current roster, it might even be optimistic! Lots of talent coming up in the competition.
Richard Santomauro
Other than the risky Eichel, there is pretty much zero chance that any of them are moving, period. You are not going to get a #1 center through a trade unless that player has issues. You’re not going to get a #1 center unless he’s an UFA and looking for big money, and that center is likely to be much older.
If VGK were interested in a #1 center they would have been drafting that potential. Instead, when they do, they are trade bait. M&M are desperate and the moves that they have made the past several years haven’t made this team any better.
ulf
Agree with you on those points…maybe adding one, that if VGK magically finds a GM wanting to move a player that’s a fit they should jump on it, but we haven’t had that kind of management.
There are a number of examples of that kind of stuff but management doesn’t seem to want to do it.
Zibanejad was young when he moved from Ottawa, but the Sens wanted to move him when they were worried about money (I mean they still are but…), so ended up with Brassard – a tough trade then and still one now.
Going back a ways Seguin fell out of favor in Boston and was traded for the amazing Loui Eriksson and change.
O’Reilly demanded a trade from Colorado years back.
Kuznetsov is having problems in Washington. A huge talent, maybe some personality issues but can VGK’s dressing room turn him around? Pietro’s a good guy for that kind of stuff.
Then there’s Eichel, but he’s got a big contract.
The closest one that became available recently was Pierre-Luc Dubois from Columbus, and even if VGK couldn’t match the Jets’ offer of Laine+Roslovic, VGK didn’t seriously try.
I think he’ll do fine in Winnipeg, but I also think he may have been a good fit with the VGK style.
Richard Santomauro
It’s all moot at this point. VGK is going to have to make a Cup run with what it has and they’re betting that Lehner, Dadanov, and the other moves will pay off.
I remain skeptical but hopeful.
ulf
@Richard that’s a good way to put it.
THE hockey GOD
Hard to make a case for KRebs until he proves he can handle NHL competition and he’s fully recovered from his injury. Plus VGK has yet to have a drafted forward/center rookie develop from their farm system. They seem to do better with D men.
Richard Santomauro
You still here?
You’re right though. Krebs is pretty much the only one that might become a top line center. MIGHT. The VGK FO hasn’t focused on this position and when it has the prospects are traded away. The Cody Glass story isn’t over. I cannot wait to see if he returns and burns us like Suzuki.
DOC (Go Knights Go)
What an amazing opening weekend for our new hockey only forum! Lots of people, lots of comments. (Ken has the numbers, if he chooses to share).
I’m so proud that my efforts led to something so many appreciate and feel needed. All of it born, because of the insanity that transpired on here.
Anyway, as I leave this place, I could drop bombs on some of you low-life idiots ….. but ….. I just don’t care anymore. Don’t care about you or sinbin. To my grandson Jason, keep up the good work. To the rest of you, Ill leave you with something an old boss of mine used to say”
“You criticism was greatly appreciated”, “Fuck you very much”!
Aurevoir !
Arrivederci !
Adios !
GOODBYE SINBIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Blitz
Tell your old boss it’s “your” not “you” and besides I am not sure a Mcdonald’s manager should be talking to you that way.
knights fan in minny
shut up fool go look in the mirror you will find yopur only friend joe blunder your buddy is a piece of crap with blood on his hands now beat it clown
THE hockey GOD
i would hardly call your two relatives with multiple IDs posting, that is like saying joe biden got 81 people to vote for him when in reality it was a bunch of dead people, out of state people, and same people entering multiple ballots through the system.
You aren’t fooling anyone , old coot.
knights fan in minny
your such a leader doc what a fraud
Ulf
Hey I like what Ken and Jason have done with Sinbin (although I do find there’s some naive analysis by some self-defined “experts” in the comment section, who clearly haven’t played hockey or researched most of the vast history of the game – but it’s a new market here) – that being said always nice to see how the fan base is growing and new forums that come up. What is the site Doc is talking about?
Vic
This site just became better due to the apparent departure of an infamous poster. That poster reminds me of an old prostitute.
Richard Santomauro
Ranking Lehner 24th?
Could be. I will readily admit that Lehner will play the lions share of games in the first 2-3 months. The VGK defense isn’t that bad, but offensively they could be losing a lot of 1 goal games.
I’ve consistently stated that I will root for the Flopping Panda, but he has to prove to me that he’s the real deal, something he has failed to do anywhere in his entire career.
We should know come mid-January or so.
LehnerStan
So his Vezina nomination in New York didn’t prove anything? His .918% in Chicago (which was one of the worst defensive teams in the league at the time) doesn’t prove anything? 7 seasons at .920 or higher in the NHL doesn’t prove anything?
Richard Santomauro
If he was such a great goalie in New York then why didn’t they keep him. Obviously he was still young enough. A .918% in Chicago certainly would leave you to believe that they would have wanted to keep such a solid goalie.
As you say, he has had 7 years to find a home. All of a sudden we’re just supposed to believe that this time, whatever the reason for his bouncing around, is going to change?
Like I said. He has to win me over, and I am sure there are a lot of others who feel the same way.
Tim
There’s no I in team. I’d rather have a solid 20 man roster then a superstar center with a bunch of moving parts. If it’s and butts were candy and nuts Krebs or Patrick not today but by the end of the season could develop into a number one or two center would be a win for now and the future. Anyone know if there going to televise the rookie games in Arizona? Ken you must be privy to that info. Please share with the flock.
knights fan in minny
the hockey news has vegas and tampa in the cup vegas raising lord stanley
Tim
I’d say that’s a stretch. We have good players but to get to the cup you need money players and were fresh out. I think the last three years will testify to that.
knights fan in minny
i agree tim i have the lanche in the west they finally break through panthers in the east the rienhart add should be big
LehnerStan
So his Vezina nomination in New York didn’t prove anything? His .918% in Chicago (which was one of the worst defensive teams in the league at the time) doesn’t prove anything? 7 seasons at .920 or higher in the NHL doesn’t prove anything?
Jason Mason
I had a fantasy team last season and the players I drafted and never dropped were Stone, Tuch, Smith, Karlsson, Theodore, Pietrangelo, Marchessault, Stephenson, and Martinez all from the Knights. I also had David Perron, Connor McDavid and Adam Larsson. Other players on the roster were dropped and picked up based on availability on any given week to fill out my roster.
Oh, and my drafted goalie…..Marc Andre Fleury with a series of backups whenever I needed an available filler.
I won my league, so I’ll stick with a lot of the same core guys, INCLUDING Fleury.