Colton Sissons

Sissons matched his previous bests of 15 goals and seven power-play points while recording a career-high 35 points in 81 regular-season games last year. His 1.62 shots per contest was also a new personal best, along with his 16:34 of average ice time. Sissons faded offensively down the stretch, contributing only three assists in his final 19 outings and posting one goal in six playoff appearances. Still, he could get a significant boost in 2024-25 if he centers the second line between newcomers Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. There will be competition for that spot, and Stamkos could shift to the middle with a different winger moving up. Sissons is also likely to relinquish his position on the top power-play unit. If he can surpass 40 points while topping 100 shots and 150 hits, Sissons could be a good pickup in banger leagues.

A fine bottom-six forward, Sissons generally plays more minutes than his role would suggest thanks to his defensive prowess. The 29-year-old racked up 30 points, 87 shots on goal and 164 hits in 82 contests in 2022-23. However, his chances of a repeat effort in 2023-24 seem slim with the Predators' youth movement now in full swing. Sissons should still be a fixture in the lineup, especially as a penalty killer, but there's limited fantasy appeal here outside of the physicality. It seems like 30 points is probably Sisson's ceiling, so he can be left on the draft board in most formats.

Sissons played 79 games a season ago for Nashville, posting seven goals and 28 points, numbers right in line with what we have come to expect from him. Sissons was actually a bit unlucky in the scoring department given his 8.0 percent shooting percentage, so expect some positive regression there. It won't be enough for fantasy value in standard formats, but Sissons, who finished with a career-high 188 hits a season ago, will again be a regular in the Predators' lineup in 2022-23.

Sissons continues to be an effective bottom-six option for the Predators, a role he'll likely reprise in 2021-22. He's posted 15 points in each of the last two seasons, and he had 30 points in 75 contests back in 2018-19. The Canadian forward is fairly selective with his shooting, but he's also picked up eight shorthanded points during his seven-year career. Sissons won't dazzle anyone with skill, but he can rack up hits efficiently, which may give him some appeal in daily fantasy contests when he's on a hot streak rather than full-season formats. With a full season ahead, look for him to land between 25 and 30 points by the end of the campaign.

Sissons lost his role on the power play in 2019-20, and that caused his offense to go from 30 points the year before to 15 points in 57 contests last season. The 27-year-old still brings a fair amount of physicality -- he recorded 84 hits and chipped in with 20 PIM last campaign -- but his looks on offense will be sparse in a fourth-line role. There's a decent chance Sissons can match his 15-point output in 2020-21, especially if he's healthy all year, but there's little for fantasy managers in standard formats to like from his game, and his reliability in deeper formats is iffy at best.

The fourth-line center set career highs with 15 goals, 30 points and a plus-20 rating in 75 games last season. Part of that significant increase in scoring can be attributed to his shooting percentage jumping 6.0 percent in 2018-19, but that was to be expected since his shooting percentage was surprisingly low in 2017-18. Sissons might experience a correction the other way this year, but he should still be able to reach 10 goals and 25 points while logging 100-plus hits for a second straight campaign in 2019-20, especially if he continues to play more than 16 minutes per contest.

Sissons made huge strides during the 2017-18 season, falling just shy of the 30-point mark despite spending most of his ice time centering the Predators fourth line. In particular, he showed a terrific ability to deliver in the clutch, as four of his nine goals were game-winners, tying him with Kevin Fiala for third on the team in that department. He also contributed in a secondary role on the power play, with a goal and seven assists. For his efforts, Sissons was rewarded with more ice time, averaging 16:06 per game versus 11:07 the season before, a sign of the growing confidence the coaching staff has in him. For the upcoming season, with the recent departure of Scott Hartnell, look for Sissons to be bumped up to the third line, perhaps on the wing. The 24-year-old is really coming into his own as a bona fide top-six player, so a breakout could be forthcoming. Don't be afraid to take a chance on him in the later rounds of your fantasy drafts.

Sissons played in just 58 games for the Preds last season thanks to both injuries and healthy scratches. With just 10 points to show for it, he wasn't much of a factor over the course of the regular season, but he really stepped up his game in the playoffs. Granted an increase in ice time (from 11:07 in the regular season to 15:03 in the postseason), Sissons responded with 12 points in 22 games, and his hat trick in Game 6 of the Western Conference Finals – including the game winner – helped the Preds to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in franchise history. Looking ahead, the Preds are not particularly deep at center, and They're hoping the 23-year-old Sissons can eventually anchor one of their top two lines. For now, though, the recently acquired Nick Bonino and the up-and-coming Calle Jarnkrok appear to be ahead of Sissons for the No. 2 and 3 center jobs, leaving him with a likely fourth-line role that restricts his fantasy intrigue to very deep leagues.

Last season, Sissons was considered one of the Preds' leading AHL call-up candidates following a strong training camp. However, he wound up spending the entire campaign in the minors, where he recorded 42 points (25 goals, 17 assists) in 76 games for Milwaukee. Sissons could challenge for a roster spot in Nashville this season, but given his much-talked-about leadership qualities, he may be a more valuable commodity in Milwaukee than with the Preds right now. If he does manage to catch on at the NHL level, Sissons would likely occupy a spot on the Preds' third or fourth line. Currently, Sissons projects as a responsible, two-way player with limited offensive upside, qualities that translate into very little in the way of fantasy value in most formats.