Dallas Stars centre Tyler Seguin shoots and scores during the shootout of an NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins in Boston on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013.The Associated Press
My fundamental hockey pool strategy rarely varies – it is to rely on safe, mostly proven choices and leave the higher-risk, higher-reward selections for braver souls. This is particularly true when it comes to injuries, which are often the single biggest deciding factor in your team's success or failure – and also the most difficult to predict.
A case in point: Last year, I recommended Steve Stamkos over Sidney Crosby as the top choice because Stamkos had played every game for four consecutive while Crosby had had this unbelievable run of freak injuries that derailed season after season. So what happened? Stamkos broke his leg in November (when he was actually leading the league in scoring) and Crosby made it through the year mostly unscathed. The theory was sound, but it wouldn't have worked out for anybody who went in that direction.
It was the same with the Sedin twins who had significant drop-offs in their production, some of it thanks to injuries, after years of being among the most consistently reliable fantasy hockey players on the planet. And how could you have predicted that John Tavares's run at a scoring title (66 points in his first 59 games) would be derailed by an injury at the Olympics in Sochi that prematurely ended his season?
That lengthy preamble is designed to prove that nothing is ever guaranteed when it comes to your pool list. And while increasingly fantasy hockey has become more complicated over the years, our annual guide projecting the NHL's top 200 point-scorers is designed primarily for the casual fan who wants to get in on the action, without endlessly poring over the statistics.
Here is our projected list of the NHL's top scorers for 2014-15:
1. Sidney Crosby, Pit.
2. Evgeni Malkin, Pit.
3. Steven Stamkos, Tpa.
4. John Tavares, NYI
5. Taylor Hall, Edm.
6. Tyler Seguin, Dal.
7. Alex Ovechkin, Was.
8. Ryan Getzlaf, Ana.
9. Claude Giroux, Pha.
10. Phil Kessel, Tor.
11. Patrick Kane, Chi.
12. Nicklas Backstrom, Was.
13. Jason Spezza, Dal.
14. Matt Duchene, Col.
15. Corey Perry, Ana.
16. Nathan MacKinnon, Col.
17. Jamie Benn, Dal.
18. Henrik Sedin, Van.
19. Anze Kopitar, LA
20. Joe Thornton, SJ
21. Zach Parise, Min.
22. Jonathan Toews, Chi.
23. Thomas Vanek, Min.
24. Erik Karlsson, Ott.
25. Daniel Sedin, Van.
26. Chris Kunitz, Pit.
27. Mikko Koivu, Min.
28. Jordan Eberle, Edm.
29. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Edm.
30. Max Pacioretty, Mtl.
31. Logan Couture, SJ.
32. Eric Staal, Car.
33. Henrik Zetterberg, Det.
34. Joe Pavelski, SJ
35. Patrick Sharp, Chi
36. Kyle Okposo, NYI
37. David Krejci, Bos.
38. Pavel Datsyuk, Det.
39. Blake Wheeler, Wpg.
40. Ryan O'Reilly, Col.
41. Patrick Marleau, SJ.
42. James Van Riemsyk, Tor.
43. Gabriel Landeskog, Col.
44. James Neal, Nas.
45. Ryan Johansen, Clb.
46. Paul Stastny, StL
47. Alex Steen, StL
48. Bobby Ryan, Ott
49. Marian Hossa, Chi.
50. Evander Kane, Wpg.
51. Gustav Nyqvist, Det.
52. Patrice Bergeron, Bos.
53. Martin St. Louis, NYR
54. Marian Gaborik, LA
55. Mike Cammalleri, NJ
56. Jeff Skinner, Car.
57. Kyle Turris, Ott.
58. Jason Pominville, Min.
59. Loui Eriksson, Bos.
60. Patric Hornqvist, Pit.
61. Derrick Brassard, NYR
62. Ryan Kesler, Ana.
63. Radim Vrbata, Van.
64. Jeff Carter, LA
65. David Backes, StL
66. Val Filppula, Tpa.
67. Duncan Keith, Chi.
68. Jacob Voracek, Pha.
69. Tomas Hertl, SJ
70. Vladimir Tarasenko, STL
71. Mikael Granlund, Min.
72. Milan Lucic, Bos.
73. TJ Oshie, StL
74. Bryan Little, Wpg.
75. Jarome Iginla, Col.
76. Kris Letang, Pit.
77. Andrew Ladd, Wpg.
78. David Perron, Edm
79. PK Subban, Mon.
80. Viktor Hedman, Tpa.
81. Nazem Kadri, Tor.
82. Wayne Simmonds, Pha.
83. Keith Yandle, Ari.
84. Rick Nash, NYR
85. Jaromir Jagr NJ
86. Mats Zuccarello, NYR
87. Dustin Byfuglien, Wpg
88. Joffrey Lupul, Tor.
89. Mikkel Boedker, Ari.
90. Mikhail Grabovski, NYI
91. Ales Hemsky, Dal.
92. Nick Bonino, Van.
93. Clarke MacArthur, Ott.
94. Matt Moulson, Buf.
95. Mark Scheifele, Wpg.
96. Mark Giordano, Cgy.
97. Cody Hodgson, Buf.
98. Ondrej Palat, Tpa.
99. Jonathan Drouin, Tpa.
100. Evgeny Kuznetsov, Was.
101. Sean Monahan, Cgy.
102. Jonathan Huberdeau, Fla.
103. Ryan Callahan, Tpa.
104. Alex Pietrangelo, STL
105. Patrick Elias, NJ
106. Derek Stepan, NYR
107. Sam Gagner, Ariz.
108. Brad Marchand, Bos.
109. Curtis Glencross, Cgy
110. Mike Ribeiro, Nas.
111. Tomas Plekanec, Mtl.
112. James Wiesniewski, Clb.
113. Tyler Bozak, Tor.
114. Travis Zajac, NJ
115. Scott Hartnell, Col.
116. Alex Semin, Car.
117. Martin Hanzal, Ari.
118. Brandon Saad, Chi.
119. Mike Richards, LA
120. Brad Richards, Chi.
121. Brandon Dubinsky, Clb.
122. Ryan McDonough, NYR
123. Drew Doughty, LA
124. Alex Galchenyuk, Mtl.
125. Nick Bjugstad, Fla.
126. Tyler Toffoli, LA
127. Nail Yakupov, Edm.
128. Valeri Nichushkin, Dal.
129. Jaden Schwartz, STL
130. Jiri Hudler, Cgy.
131. Alexander Barkov, Fla.
132. Mike Green, Was.
133. Niklas Kronwall, Det.
134. Andrej Sekera, Car.
135. Tyson Barrie, Col.
136. Chris Kreider, NYR.
137. Tyler Johnson, Tpa.
138. Benoit Pouliot, Edm.
139. Devante Smith-Pelly, Ana.
140. Brandon Sutter, Pit.
141. Carl Soderberg, Bos.
142. Marcus Johansson, Was.
143. Milan Michalek, Ott.
144. Alex Tanguay, Col.
145. Alex Chiasson, Ott.
146. Alex Killorn, Tpa.
147. Mason Raymond, Cgy.
148. Tomas Tatar, Det.
149. Tyler Ennis, Buf.
150. Justin Williams, LA
151. Pascal Dupuis, Pit.
152. Brayden Schenn, Pha.
153. Adam Henrique, NJ
154. Jacob Silfverberg, Ana.
155. Craig Smith, Nas.
156. Dustin Brown, LA
157. Justin Schultz, Edm.
158. Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Ari
159. Kevin Shattenkirk, STL
160. Cam Atkinson, Clb.
161. David Legwand, Ott
162. Brendan Gallagher, Mtl.
163. Frans Nielson, NYI
164. Troy Brouwer, Was.
165. Josh Bailey, NYI
166. Brian Gionta, Buf.
167. Brian Campbell, Fla.
168. David Desharnais, Mtl
169. Antoine Vermette, Ari
170. Slava Voynov, LA
171. Zdeno Chara, Bos.
172. Cam Fowler, Ana.
173. Derek Roy, Nas.
174. Drew Stafford, Buf.
175. Filip Forsberg, Nas.
176. Chris Stewart, Buf.
177. Mika Zibanejad, Ott.
178. Jason Garrison, Tpa.
179. Johnny Gaudreau, Cgy
180. Brent Burns, SJ
181. Johan Franzen, Det.
182. Sean Couturier, Pha.
183. Torey Krug, Bos.
184. Carl Hagelin, NYR
185. Andrei Markov, Mtl.
186. Charlie Coyle, Min.
187. Tommy Wingels, SJ.
188. Elias Lindholm, Car.
189. Colin Wilson, Nas.
190. Teddy Purcell, Edm.
191. Nino Niederreiter, Min.
192. Riley Sheahan, Det.
193. Tanner Pearson, LA
194. Matt Nieto, SJ.
195. Cody Eakin, Dal.
196. Roman Josi, NAs.
197. Artem Anisimov, Clb.
198. P.A. Parenteau, Mtl.
199. Reilly Smith, Bos.
200. Michael Frolik, Wpg.