The fine folks at NHL.com dropped their fantasy rankings for the 2022-23 season this week. Included is their top 250 overall players in the NHL, a lengthy list and a serious undertaking for anyone to try putting together so we respect the hard work they did before hitting publish.
But reviewing the list, they don’t see much/any fantasy value in Chicago this coming season.
The first Blackhawks skater to make the list is Patrick Kane — at no. 37. There are three players — some of whom are goalies — with injury notes ranked higher than Kaner. Ouch, babe!
(Oh and for those who might be wondering, Alex DeBrincat ranked 35th.)
The second Blackhawks skater to make the list is Seth Jones — at no. 170 overall. And he’s the only other Blackhawks’ skater to make the list.
That’s right. The Blackhawks have only two(!) of the top 250 overall fantasy players in the NHL this coming season in the eyes of the experts at the league’s official website.
In their four-round mock fantasy draft (12-team format) that dropped on Friday morning, they have Kane (and DeBrincat for that matter) being considered in the third round.
According to the introductory comments on the rankings, their top-250 used “standard fantasy categories: goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal and hits for skaters; wins, goals-against average, save percentage and shutouts for goalies.”