It's no secret that the power play is an integral part of hockey. A team's success, or lack thereof, with the man advantage often dictates the outcome of games, and by extension, playoff berths, seedings and championships.
The fantasy world is no different. More often than not, prolific and efficient power-play producers are among the most valuable from a fantasy standpoint, especially in leagues that reward extra points for special teams. Locking in some of the NHL's most dangerous scorers with the man advantage on draft day — as well as seeking out the complementary players that benefit from skating on the same unit — is a tried-and-true strategy that's essential in ensuring the offense rolls in for poolies all season long.
Let's explore a few interesting power-play assets heading into 2017-18…
Nicklas Backstrom, WAS
This should come as no surprise, as the veteran Swede took home the NHL power-play scoring title with 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) last season after putting up 30, 33 and 44 in each of the prior three campaigns. Digging a little deeper, though, reveals that Backstrom was remarkably efficient, accomplishing that feat while receiving the 27th-most man-advantage time in the league. There are some concerns that Backstrom may experience a downtick in overall production given the offseason departures of forwards Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams, but that won't impact his role centering one of the league's scariest power-play units featuring Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson
It's no secret that the power play is an integral part of hockey. A team's success, or lack thereof, with the man advantage often dictates the outcome of games, and by extension, playoff berths, seedings and championships.
The fantasy world is no different. More often than not, prolific and efficient power-play producers are among the most valuable from a fantasy standpoint, especially in leagues that reward extra points for special teams. Locking in some of the NHL's most dangerous scorers with the man advantage on draft day — as well as seeking out the complementary players that benefit from skating on the same unit — is a tried-and-true strategy that's essential in ensuring the offense rolls in for poolies all season long.
Let's explore a few interesting power-play assets heading into 2017-18…
Nicklas Backstrom, WAS
This should come as no surprise, as the veteran Swede took home the NHL power-play scoring title with 35 points (eight goals, 27 assists) last season after putting up 30, 33 and 44 in each of the prior three campaigns. Digging a little deeper, though, reveals that Backstrom was remarkably efficient, accomplishing that feat while receiving the 27th-most man-advantage time in the league. There are some concerns that Backstrom may experience a downtick in overall production given the offseason departures of forwards Marcus Johansson and Justin Williams, but that won't impact his role centering one of the league's scariest power-play units featuring Alex Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson. Look for more of the same from the 29-year-old in 2017-18.
Claude Giroux, PHI
Nobody saw the ice while up a man more than Giroux last year, reflected by his whopping 307:00, good for an average of 3:45 per game. The Hearst, Ontario native turned that into 31 points and a league-high 221 man-advantage faceoff wins — something that should be considered not only by those in leagues that score that category, but to anyone that values the importance of puck possession. There are a couple red flags with Giroux, though, including the fact that his point total has declined steadily over his last five full seasons (93 in 2011-12 to 58 last year), as well as the fact that Brayden Schenn was traded to St. Louis in the offseason. Schenn is a power-play whiz of his own (26 points last year), and while some suggest that Giroux was a big reason for his success, others would say that Schenn in the Flyers' top power-play pivot spot made the unit tick. The good news for Giroux is that Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek and Shayne Gostisbehere are still in town, and hopefully Valtteri Filppula — who currently projects to round out the team's No. 1 unit — can at least somewhat capably fill the void left by Schenn.
Shayne Gostisbehere, PHI
Sticking with the orange, black and white theme, let's take a peek at another interesting power-play asset in the blueliner they call "Ghost". After bursting onto the scene with an impressive 46 points in 64 games as rookie, Gostisbehere somewhat spun his wheels in his sophomore campaign to the tune of 39 points (and a hideous minus-21 rating) in 76 contests. The Floridian's goal-to-assist ratio on the power play was lopsided (two goals, 21 helpers), but his 23 points still helped him to a finish of seventh overall among league defensemen. What's worth noting, though, was his sheer dependence on the power play, where a whopping 58.97 percent of his total offense came from. That could spell trouble — and further overall regression — for Gostisbehere if the Philadelphia man advantage takes a step back without Schenn, so it might be wise to temper expectations when it comes to the 24-year-old rearguard.
Mark Scheifele, WPG
Scheifele was essentially the antithesis of Gostisbehere last year; that is, no player relied on the power play less for their overall success. The big Jets center rocketed to stardom in his fourth full NHL campaign, piling up an eye-popping 82 points, but inexplicably only 15 (!) of those came on the power play. It's not like Scheifele didn't get his looks, either, with a per-game average of 3:06, which led all Winnipeg forwards and trailed only minute-muncher Dustin Byfuglien. His 44 percent faceoff win rate probably didn't help things, but that's a minor detail considering the 24-year-old managed 67 even-strength points and got to spend power-play time with a combination of the same studs he skated with at five-on-five (Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler and Patrik Laine). All things considered, if you believe that Scheifele is here to stay as a legitimate point-per-game producer, then it's only logical to assume that his efficiency while up a man will improve, especially given the potency of his supporting cast.
Jack Eichel, BUF
Eichel's sophomore campaign was cut short due to a high-ankle sprain that kept the 2015 No. 2 pick shelved for 21 games. Because of the injury, and his status playing for a perennially lackluster squad in Buffalo, Eichel's success last year (24 goals, 57 points in 61 games) didn't receive much fanfare. That said, it would be wise to hone in on the youngster's power-play prowess heading into October, as his 24 points in 2016-17 equate to just shy of 0.4 per game, which is among the very best in the NHL (by comparison, Backstrom averaged 0.43). Fellow Sabres Rasmus Ristolainen (25 PPP) and Ryan O'Reilly (24 PPP) both finished top-25 in league power-play production, and Kyle Okposo wasn't far behind with 23 in 65 games, so Eichel should have everything he needs to repeatedly make the opposition regret taking trips to the sin bin this season.
