My fantasy hockey top-150 rankings have been formulated based on traditional fantasy league stats including points, assists, power play points, shots on goal, blocks and plus/minus. 

The overall upside is considered first and foremost, with a player’s ceiling in the vital scoring categories considered first and foremost. 

Factors such as age, opportunity, history, and overall quality of the team have also been weighed in the rankings.

For the rest of my fantasy hockey positional rankings, see below:

• Fantasy Hockey Rookie Rankings
• Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
• Fantasy Hockey Winger Rankings
• Fantasy Hockey Center Rankings
• Fantasy Hockey Defensemen Rankings
• Fantasy Hockey Sleepers for 2024
• Fantasy Hockey Breakouts for 2024

Without further ado, here are my 2024 fantasy hockey top-150 rankings, including targets, values, and fades.

2024 Fantasy Hockey Rankings

Fantasy Hockey Targets for 2024

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche Center

The 29-year-old MacKinnon is coming off a career year after scoring 51 goals and winning his first-ever Hart Trophy as the league’s best player. I have him ranked second overall and could see him again outperforming Conner McDavid for fantasy purposes after McDavid shot the puck far less in 2023-24 than he did the season before. 

The Oilers and McDavid added some shooters over the offseason, which should keep McDavid’s playmaker stats high, but MacKinnon feels likely to outperform McDavid in the goal department. Colorado’s top six is thin this year with Artturi Lehkonen now hurt and Gabriel Landeskog’s return timetable still unclear. 

MacKinnon should shoot the puck a ton again in 2024-25 and exceed the 405 shots he put on the net last season. 

Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils Center

Hughes couldn’t match his breakout season from 2022-23, as he struggled with injury issues for parts of 2023-24. Still, his 1.23 PPG pace over the last two seasons is encouraging, as is the fact he’ll be starting the season healthy and in a new system under Sheldon Keefe, who coached Auston Matthews to two 60-plus goal seasons.  

More than anything, Hughes’ upside just feels a little undervalued — he’s still just 23 years old and has shown incredible upside when he’s been able to stay on the ice, both as a point producer and goal scorer (43 goals in 78 games in 2022-23). 

Of the forwards ranked between seven and 15 this season, he feels undoubtedly like the player with the best chance to crash the party and end the season as a top-five fantasy forward. I see him as a great pick if you are drafting toward the end of the first round. 

Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers Defenseman

I have Bouchard ranked just slightly ahead of Roman Josi, but as I outlined in our fantasy defensemen rankings, Bouchard has the upside to be the best fantasy producer at his position this season. 

The 24-year-old just completed his first full season as the Oilers' leader on the backend and PP, and the results were staggering with 82 points in 81 games — and a playoff run that saw him score at an even higher rate. The Oilers bolstered their roster again this offseason, so there is still more upside lurking for Bouchard, who often can be had as the fourth defenseman off the board in drafts. 

Value Picks for Fantasy Hockey 2024

Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals Left Winger

Ovechkin needs 42 goals this year to break the all-time goal-scoring record held by Wayne Gretzky. I don’t tend to like betting against generational players when these kinds of milestones are within reach, and the Capitals did reload somewhat this season to provide Ovechkin some support. 

The 39-year-old did see his production dip last season to 0.39 goals per game, but he finished strong. He scored 23 goals over his last 36 games — a 52-goal pace. He’s no lock, but 40-plus goals from the Russian at his current valuation would equate to some very strong fantasy returns. From an upside perspective, he presents as solid upper- to mid-round value. 

Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars Left Winger

The Stars have a deep squad, but I still tend to regard Robertson as their best offensive player. The winger is still just 25 years of age and has already posted two 40-plus goal seasons. Coming off a depressed year scoring-wise, he’s now available much later in drafts (sometimes well past the 40th player off the board). 

Dallas’ power play was elite last season, and there is no reason to think it will regress this year. Even if he doesn’t reach 40-plus goals again, Robertson should be in a position to improve on his playmaking numbers and increase his offensive production this year. I view him as another good bounceback candidate and a young player you should be targeting if he falls past his current ADP. 

Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators Center

The Predators added a lot of depth via free agency this season, and while the moves were made more to boost their second and third-line scoring, first-line center Ryan O’Reilly figures to see a boost from these moves as well. 

O’Reilly had a great first season with Nashville, posting 69 points in 82 games with 26 goals, which is the second-highest mark of his career. He also had 28 PPP which was a career high — and a mark he may be able to improve on with Steven Stamkos now part of the fold on special teams. 

In general, I want a piece of this Nashville offense in any draft, and O’Reilly is still cheap, often coming off the board after the top 100 players or so. 

Players to Avoid in Fantasy Hockey 2024

Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers Right Winger

Reinhart scored a career-high 57 goals last year. As such, he’s now coming off the board much higher than he has been in the past, and people who take the Panthers winger will almost need him to duplicate or come close to duplicating his 2023-24 numbers. 

Straight up, Reinhart’s 24% shooting percentage from last season was otherworldly and just unsustainable. If he starts falling in ADP, then, sure, he’ll be a reliable first-line winger. But I’d much rather look for better value than pay up and have to rely on him shooting the lights out for a second year in a row. 

Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks Center

Pettersson’s numbers regressed a little in 2023-24 as he dipped to 1.08 PPG. He did post a career-best +20 in plus/minus ratings, but he was bypassed in scoring by JT Miller. 

I think Pettersson has all the talent in the world, but at this point I also feel like he’s simply just a better two-way player than an offensive superstar. I see last year as pretty in line with what to expect in 2024-25. The Canucks also worry me from a regression standpoint, as they ran super hot on the power play last season and may have goalie issues, which could hamper their top player's plus/minus stats.