Matt Larkin’s 2024 playoff fantasy hockey top 150 player rankings

Matt Larkin’s 2024 playoff fantasy hockey top 150 player rankings
Credit: Apr 5, 2024; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid (97) and Colorado Avalanche defensemen Cale Makar (8) chase a loose puck during the third period at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports

Casual and diehard fantasy hockey players, unite!

What I love most about playoff hockey pools: they have a broader appeal. Because they involve so much more subjectivity and incorporate so much more randomness, the ways to win – and the types of people who win – vary wildly year to year. A true expert might dominate one postseason, but a clueless dart thrower who backs the right underdog can go on a magical run, too. Picture, for instance, a non-hockey fan who showed up to a draft at the last minute a year ago and picked all Florida Panthers because they liked their logo.

Winning a playoff pool is still partially about selecting the best players, sure. But it’s just as important to pick the players you expect to play the most games. A superstar who gets bounced in Round 1 might deliver you, at best, 10 points in a seven-game series. A gritty third-line center on a Stanley Cup champion could pick up 14 points in 20-plus games, right? The latter player delivers more value for you.

In presenting you my top 150 player rankings for the postseason, I thus cannot simply rhyme off the best guys in order. The list is highly subjective and factors in the players I expect to go far into the playoffs. The path matters a lot, too. If you see two juggernauts at the top of the same division, for instance, we know one of those teams isn’t making it any further than Round 2.

My list is thus a loose guideline for you – rather than the ironclad suggested draft order I give you before a regular-season draft. If you have a hunch about a certain team, adjust your own rankings accordingly.

Scoring system for these rankings: total points for players and wins for goalies, also worth one point each. No other categories are factored in, because most playoff pools tend to be casual and go simply on points. Players marked with asterisks have injuries that could keep them out for the start of the postseason.

Good luck and, as usual, hit me up (@MLarkinHockey on Twitter) if you notice any glaring omissions.

TIER 1: Superstar Player, Elite Team, Easier Path

These guys check all the boxes: fantasy studs on juggernaut teams expected to make it to Round 2 at least. Your high first-round picks.

Connor McDavid, C, Oilers
Leon Draisaitl, C, Oilers
Artemi Panarin, LW, Rangers

TIER 2: Superstar Player, Elite Team, Difficult Path

These players are all-world in the regular season. But if a superstar’s team has a challenging road through the playoffs, it has to give you some pause. How many games will the guys in this tier play?

Nathan MacKinnon, C, Avalanche
David Pastrnak, RW, Bruins
Mikko Rantanen, RW, Avalanche
Cale Makar, D, Avalanche

TIER 3: Superstar Player, Good Team

This is a tricky tier. You’ll find Grade-A talent here, guys you wouldn’t hesitate to draft in the first round in the regular season. But some of these names could see their seasons end within two weeks.

Nikita Kucherov, RW, Lightning
Auston Matthews, C, Maple Leafs
Connor Hellebuyck, G, Jets
Quinn Hughes, D, Canucks

TIER 4: Elite Player, Elite Team

If you have a really strong hunch about the team any of these guys plays for, bump them into the next tier. A point-per-game producer who plays into the Conference Final and beyond could be a building block of your championship squad.

Matthew Tkachuk, RW, Panthers
Sam Reinhart, RW, Panthers
Jake Oettinger, G, Stars
Evan Bouchard, D, Oilers
Zach Hyman, RW, Oilers
Jake Guentzel, LW, Hurricanes
Sebastian Aho, C, Hurricanes
Jason Robertson, LW, Stars
Igor Shesterkin, G, Rangers
Adam Fox, D, Rangers
Roope Hintz, C, Stars
Aleksander Barkov, C, Panthers
Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Panthers
Valeri Nichushkin, LW, Avalanche
Miro Heiskanen, D, Stars
Andrei Svechnikov, RW, Hurricanes

TIER 5: Elite Player, Good Team

Given the all-star talent in this tier, it’s not the worst idea to grab someone from this tier in hopes he plays multiple rounds. But it would be risky to pick too many, as some of the teams reflected in here will go home early.

Thatcher Demko, G, Canucks
J.T. Miller, C, Canucks
Elias Pettersson, C, Canucks
Mitch Marner, RW, Maple Leafs
William Nylander, RW, Maple Leafs
Brayden Point, C, Lightning
Victor Hedman, D, Lightning
Steven Stamkos, C, Lightning
Jack Eichel, C, Golden Knights
Kyle Connor, LW, Jets
Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Lightning
Adin Hill, G, Golden Knights
Josh Morrissey, D, Jets
Mark Scheifele, C, Jets
Morgan Rielly, D, Maple Leafs
Brandon Hagel, LW, Lightning
Brock Boeser, RW, Canucks
Jonathan Marchessault, RW, Golden Knights
Shea Theodore, D, Golden Knights
William Karlsson, C, Golden Knights
Mark Stone, RW, Golden Knights*

TIER 6: Good Player, Elite Team

Some of these players are merely depth pieces in regular-season pools, but they can be heroes in your playoff pools if their teams go all the way.

Frederik Andersen, G, Hurricanes
Vincent Trocheck, C, Rangers
Chris Kreider, LW, Rangers
Mika Zibanejad, C, Rangers
Seth Jarvis, RW, Hurricanes
Linus Ullmark, G, Bruins
Jeremy Swayman, G, Bruins
Carter Verhaeghe, LW, Panthers*
Brad Marchand, LW, Bruins
Wyatt Johnston, C, Stars
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, Oilers
Joe Pavelski, RW, Stars
Matt Duchene, C, Stars
Artturi Lehkonen, RW, Avalanche
Alexis Lafreniere, RW, Rangers
Martin Necas, RW, Hurricanes
Stuart Skinner, G, Oilers
Pavel Zacha, C, Bruins
Charlie McAvoy, D, Bruins
Jamie Benn, LW, Stars
Tyler Seguin, RW, Stars
Devon Toews, D, Avalanche
Jonathan Drouin, LW, Avalanche
Alexandar Georgiev, G, Avalanche
Thomas Harley, D, Stars

TIER 7: Superstar or Elite Player, Underdog Team

It’s not the worst idea to snag one player from this group in hopes that he puts up monster production even if it’s just for one round.

Roman Josi, D, Predators
Filip Forsberg, LW, Predators
Noah Dobson, D Islanders*
Juuse Saros, G, Predators
Mathew Barzal, C, Islanders
Kevin Fiala, LW, Kings
Adrian Kempe, RW, Kings
Bo Horvat, C, Islanders
Gustav Nyquist, RW, Predators
Ryan O’Reilly, C, Predators
Anze Kopitar, C, Kings
Cam Talbot, G, Kings
Alex Ovechkin, LW, Capitals
Brock Nelson, C, Islanders
Semyon Varlamov, G, Islanders
Ilya Sorokin, G, Islanders
John Carlson, G, Capitals
Dylan Strome, C, Capitals
Charlie Lindgren, G, Capitals

TIER 8: Good Player, Good Team

This is my favorite tier. If you play the right hunch on the right Cinderella team and hit on a couple players in this tier, you go all the way. Last season, I had Jonathan Marchessault in this group, for instance.

William Karlsson, C, Golden Knights
John Tavares, C, Maple Leafs
Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Jets
Ilya Samsonov, G, Maple Leafs
Ivan Barbashev, LW, Golden Knights
Noah Hanifin, D, Golden Knights
Tyler Toffoli, RW, Jets
Gabe Vilardi, RW, Jets
Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, Maple Leafs
Alex Pietrangelo, D, Golden Knights*
Chandler Stephenson, LW, Golden Knights*
Filip Hronek, D, Canucks
Anthony Duclair, LW, Lightning
Sean Monahan, C, Jets
Max Domi, LW, Maple Leafs
Anthony Cirelli, C, Lightning
Tomas Hertl, C, Golden Knights

TIER 9: Depth Player, Elite Team

This is where you galaxy brain it. Do you bank on great per-game production from some highly skilled players on teams that might not go far? Or do you hope some of these guys play 20 to 25 games and give you a dozen points?

Evander Kane, LW, Oilers*
Justus Annunen, G, Avalanche
Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Hurricanes
Charlie Coyle, C, Bruins
Brandon Montour, D, Panthers
Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Panthers
Mason Marchment, LW, Stars
Brent Burns, D, Hurricanes
Danton Heinen, LW, Bruins
Sam Bennett, C, Panthers
Brady Skjei, D, Hurricanes
Gustav Forsling, D, Panthers
Logan Stankoven, RW, Stars
K’Andre Miller, D, Rangers
Jaccob Slavin, D, Hurricanes
Jack Roslovic, RW, Rangers
Jake DeBrusk, RW, Bruins
Corey Perry, RW, Oilers
Filip Chytil, C, Rangers*
Erik Gustafsson, D, Rangers
Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Hurricanes
Morgan Geekie, C, Bruins
Trent Frederic, RW, Bruins
Evan Rodrigues, RW, Panthers
Anton Lundell, C, Panthers
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Panthers*
Nick Cousins, LW, Panthers
Ross Colton, C, Avalanche
Casey Mittelstadt, C, Avalanche
Warren Foegele, RW, Oilers
Darnell Nurse, D, Oilers

TIER 10: The Leftovers

The most subjective tier. You’ll find some solid players in here, many who are more skilled than the Tier-9 guys. You can rank them higher if you have more faith in their teams than I do.

Drew Doughty, D, Kings
Quinton Byfield, LW, Kings
Nick Paul, C, Lightning
Trevor Moore, LW, Kings
Nils Hoglander, RW, Canucks
Elias Lindholm, C, Canucks
Logan Thompson, G, Golden Knights
Joseph Woll, G, Maple Leafs
Nicolas Roy, C, Golden Knights
Adam Lowry, C, Jets
Anthony Mantha, RW, Golden Knights*
Darren Raddysh, D, Lightning
Phillip Danault, C, Kings
Conor Garland, RW, Canucks
Tommy Novak, C, Predators
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, Hurricanes
Neal Pionk, D, Jets
Matthew Knies, LW, Maple Leafs
Ryan McDonagh, D, Predators
Nino Niederreiter, RW, Jets
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Kings
Tom Wilson RW, Capitals
Connor McMichael, C, Capitals
Jake McCabe, D, Maple Leafs
Luke Evangelista, RW, Predators
Colton Sissons, C, Predators
Jason Zucker, LW, Predators
Pavel Dorofeyev, RW, Golden Knights
Dakota Joshua, LW, Canucks
T.J. Oshie, RW, Capitals
Max Pacioretty, LW, Capitals
Sonny Milano, RW, Capitals

Top 150 at a glance

  1. Connor McDavid, C, Oilers
  2. Leon Draisaitl, C, Oilers
  3. Artemi Panarin, LW, Rangers
  4. Nathan MacKinnon, C, Avalanche
  5. David Pastrnak, RW, Bruins
  6. Mikko Rantanen, RW, Avalanche
  7. Cale Makar, D, Avalanche
  8. Nikita Kucherov, RW, Lightning
  9. Auston Matthews, C, Maple Leafs
  10. Connor Hellebuyck, G, Jets
  11. Quinn Hughes, G, Canucks
  12. Matthew Tkachuk, RW, Panthers
  13. Sam Reinhart, RW, Panthers
  14. Jake Oettinger, G, Stars
  15. Evan Bouchard, D, Oilers
  16. Zach Hyman, RW, Oilers
  17. Jake Guentzel, LW, Hurricanes
  18. Sebastian Aho, C, Hurricanes
  19. Jason Robertson, LW, Stars
  20. Igor Shesterkin, G, Rangers
  21. Adam Fox, D, Rangers
  22. Roope Hintz, C, Stars
  23. Aleksander Barkov, C, Panthers
  24. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Panthers
  25. Valeri Nichushkin, LW, Avalanche
  26. Miro Heiskanen, D, Stars
  27. Andrei Svechnikov, RW, Hurricanes
  28. Thatcher Demko, G, Canucks
  29. J.T. Miller, C, Canucks
  30. Elias Pettersson, C, Canucks
  31. Mitch Marner, RW, Maple Leafs
  32. William Nylander, RW, Maple Leafs
  33. Brayden Point, C, Lightning
  34. Victor Hedman, D, Lightning
  35. Steven Stamkos, C, Lightning
  36. Jack Eichel, C, Golden Knights
  37. Kyle Connor, LW, Jets
  38. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Lightning
  39. Adin Hill, G, Golden Knights
  40. Josh Morrissey, D, Jets
  41. Mark Scheifele, C, Jets
  42. Morgan Rielly, D, Maple Leafs
  43. Brandon Hagel, LW, Lightning
  44. Brock Boeser, RW, Canucks
  45. Jonathan Marchessault, RW, Golden Knights
  46. Shea Theodore, D, Golden Knights
  47. William Karlsson, C, Golden Knights
  48. Mark Stone, RW, Golden Knights*
  49. Frederik Andersen, G, Hurricanes
  50. Vincent Trocheck, C, Rangers
  51. Chris Kreider, LW, Rangers
  52. Mika Zibanejad, C, Rangers
  53. Seth Jarvis, RW, Hurricanes
  54. Linus Ullmark, G, Bruins
  55. Jeremy Swayman, G, Bruins
  56. Carter Verhaeghe, LW, Panthers*
  57. Brad Marchand, LW, Bruins
  58. Wyatt Johnston, C, Stars
  59. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, LW, Oilers
  60. Joe Pavelski, RW, Stars
  61. Matt Duchene, C, Stars
  62. Artturi Lehkonen, RW, Avalanche
  63. Alexis Lafreniere, RW, Rangers
  64. Martin Necas, RW, Hurricanes
  65. Stuart Skinner, G, Oilers
  66. Pavel Zacha, C, Bruins
  67. Charlie McAvoy, D, Bruins
  68. Jamie Benn, LW, Stars
  69. Tyler Seguin, RW, Stars
  70. Devon Toews, D, Avalanche
  71. Jonathan Drouin, LW, Avalanche
  72. Alexandar Georgiev, G, Avalanche
  73. Thomas Harley, D, Stars
  74. Roman Josi, D, Predators
  75. Filip Forsberg, LW, Predators
  76. Noah Dobson, D Islanders*
  77. Juuse Saros, G, Predators
  78. Mathew Barzal, C, Islanders
  79. Kevin Fiala, LW, Kings
  80. Adrian Kempe, RW, Kings
  81. Bo Horvat, C, Islanders
  82. Gustav Nyquist, RW, Predators
  83. Ryan O’Reilly, C, Predators
  84. Anze Kopitar, C, Kings
  85. Cam Talbot, G, Kings
  86. Alex Ovechkin, LW, Capitals
  87. Brock Nelson, C, Islanders
  88. Semyon Varlamov, G, Islanders
  89. Ilya Sorokin, G, Islanders
  90. John Carlson, G, Capitals
  91. Dylan Strome, C, Capitals
  92. Charlie Lindgren, G, Capitals
  93. William Karlsson, C, Golden Knights
  94. John Tavares, C, Maple Leafs
  95. Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Jets
  96. Ilya Samsonov, G, Maple Leafs
  97. Ivan Barbashev, LW, Golden Knights
  98. Noah Hanifin, D, Golden Knights
  99. Tyler Toffoli, RW, Jets
  100. Gabe Vilardi, RW, Jets
  101. Tyler Bertuzzi, LW, Maple Leafs
  102. Alex Pietrangelo, D, Golden Knights*
  103. Chandler Stephenson, LW, Golden Knights*
  104. Filip Hronek, D, Canucks
  105. Anthony Duclair, LW, Lightning
  106. Sean Monahan, C, Jets
  107. Max Domi, LW, Maple Leafs
  108. Anthony Cirelli, C, Lightning
  109. Tomas Hertl, C, Golden Knights
  110. Evander Kane, LW, Oilers*
  111. Justus Annunen, G, Avalanche
  112. Teuvo Teravainen, LW, Hurricanes
  113. Charlie Coyle, C, Bruins
  114. Brandon Montour, D, Panthers
  115. Vladimir Tarasenko, RW, Panthers
  116. Mason Marchment, LW, Stars
  117. Brent Burns, D, Hurricanes
  118. Danton Heinen, LW, Bruins
  119. Sam Bennett, C, Panthers
  120. Brady Skjei, D, Hurricanes
  121. Gustav Forsling, D, Panthers
  122. Logan Stankoven, RW, Stars
  123. K’Andre Miller, D, Rangers
  124. Jaccob Slavin, D, Hurricanes
  125. Jack Roslovic, RW, Rangers
  126. Jake DeBrusk, RW, Bruins
  127. Corey Perry, RW, Oilers
  128. Filip Chytil, C, Rangers
  129. Erik Gustafsson, D, Rangers
  130. Pyotr Kochetkov, G, Hurricanes
  131. Morgan Geekie, C, Bruins
  132. Trent Frederic, RW, Bruins
  133. Evan Rodrigues, RW, Panthers
  134. Anton Lundell, C, Panthers
  135. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Panthers*
  136. Nick Cousins, LW, Panthers
  137. Ross Colton, C, Avalanche
  138. Casey Mittelstadt, C, Avalanche
  139. Warren Foegele, RW, Oilers
  140. Darnell Nurse, D, Oilers
  141. Drew Doughty, D, Kings
  142. Quinton Byfield, LW, Kings
  143. Nick Paul, C, Lightning
  144. Trevor Moore, LW, Kings
  145. Nils Hoglander, RW, Canucks
  146. Elias Lindholm, C, Canucks
  147. Logan Thompson, G, Golden Knights
  148. Joseph Woll, G, Maple Leafs
  149. Nicolas Roy, C, Golden Knights
  150. Adam Lowry, C, Jets

On the Bubble

Anthony Mantha, RW, Golden Knights*
Darren Raddysh, D, Lightning
Phillip Danault, C, Kings
Conor Garland, RW, Canucks
Tommy Novak, C, Predators
Evgeny Kuznetsov, C, Hurricanes
Neal Pionk, D, Jets
Matthew Knies, LW, Maple Leafs
Ryan McDonagh, D, Predators
Nino Niederreiter, RW, Jets
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Kings
Tom Wilson RW, Capitals
Connor McMichael, C, Capitals
Jake McCabe, D, Maple Leafs
Luke Evangelista, RW, Predators
Colton Sissons, C, Predators
Jason Zucker, LW, Predators
Pavel Dorofeyev, RW, Golden Knights
Dakota Joshua, LW, Canucks
T.J. Oshie, RW, Capitals
Max Pacioretty, LW, Capitals
Sonny Milano, RW, Capitals

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