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

Connor McDavid, C, Oilers
Leon Draisaitl, C, Oilers
Artemi Panarin, LW, Rangers
Nathan MacKinnon, C, Avalanche
David Pastrnak, RW, Bruins
Mikko Rantanen, RW, Avalanche
Cale Makar, D, Avalanche
Nikita Kucherov, RW, Lightning
Auston Matthews, C, Maple Leafs
Connor Hellebuyck, G, Jets
Quinn Hughes, G, Canucks
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
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*
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
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
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
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
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

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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