Way Too Early 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Advice

Way Too Early 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Advice

The 2023-24 Stanley Cup Finals are finally here. The Panthers and Oilers will battle it out to see who hoists the Cup. If you’re looking to get in on the action, check out the Stanley Cup odds right here! In the meantime, while we wait, let’s look ahead and go over way too early 2024-25 Fantasy Hockey advice you need to hear for the upcoming season.

It’s the same concept we did for fantasy football. The 2024-25 NHL Season is still a ways away but it’s never too early to get a plan together for the next fantasy season.

In the least shocking turn of events, I won fantasy hockey again. I’ve never lost and am now 4-4. Oh, and I totally have Sean Allen’s number but you know that already if you have been paying attention. Not to tout my own horn but who would you trust more than me to give you fantasy hockey advice?

I lost to @brown_emma09 in week 8 🙄 pic.twitter.com/xEydStmC29

— Trey Daubert (@treydaubert) April 19, 2024

Don’t worry, the 2024 Sean Allen video will be here shortly after another winning season. I promise it won’t disappoint either. Again, it’s one thing that he sucks at fantasy hockey. It’s another thing that he’s a terrible journalist and literally lies about injuries.

Dummy Sean Allen has his 2024-25 fantasy hockey rankings out for ESPN.com. If you’re looking to dominate in fantasy hockey next season, here are ten takeaways you need to know before draft day.

*These are in no particular order. Just ten observations you need to know in terms of flaws in his rankings so you can take advantage when draft day comes.*

Link to ESPN’s Rankings

1: Controversy at the top?

Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, and Connor McDavid are the 1-2-3 in the ESPN rankings. MacKinnon and Matthews are great players. I’m never going to tell you not to draft them. Let’s just stop pretending that anybody is better than McJesus. The Oilers are in the Cup Final for a reason. Did you see this goal last night?

Just nasty, tbh 😤 pic.twitter.com/KRcj2GF3El

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 3, 2024

Any list that doesn’t have McJesus ranked first is inherently wrong. Except you knew that already because it’s Sean Allen’s sheet.

This is how I would rank the top 10:

Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Leon Draisaitl, Cale Makar, Nikita Kucherov, Mikko Rantanen, David Pastrnak, Quinn Hughes, Brayden Point.

2: Goalies

Allen has eight goalies listed inside his top 100. You know the rule. Smart people don’t take goalies inside the top 100. They’re the running backs of the NFL. I can find someone ranked 150 who will produce better than several ranked 100 spots higher. They’re far too streaky to invest heavy resources in.

Connor Hellebuyck, Igor Shesterkin, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jake Oettinger, Thatcher Demko, Stuart Skinner, Ilya Sorokin, and Juuse Saros are ranked inside the top 100. You know what to do. I’m not saying cross them off the list but the smart people aren’t reaching for any of them.

Instead, these players are looking like total bargains deep in drafts: Linus Ullmark (G20, 218), Joey Daccord (G25, 240), Logan Thompson (G26, 260), Yaroslav Askarov (G28, 268). There should be some movement on some of these goalies this offseason that should provide more clarity. The latter example of Askarov is a prime example of that.

3: Obvious Busts

There are just some players on this list that you already know are ranked WAY too high. Buying any of these players at this price is asking to lose. Let’s just list a few of those examples quickly.

MacKenzie Weegar (D4, 23rd overall), Valeri Nichushkin (RW9, 39th overall), Mike Matheson (D13, 48th overall), Joel Eriksson Ek (C15, 50th overall).

• You’re on crack if you pick Weegar that high. Very good real life player. To project that he’s the 4th best-producing fantasy defenseman is insane. Anybody that picks Weegar ahead of Evan Bouchard and Hughes in fantasy is Looney Tunes.
• I know Allen doesn’t watch the games or keep up with the news but the idea that Nichushkin is ranked 39th is hilarious. We are aware that he’s currently suspended, right?
• Mike Matheson had a great year last year. Matheson, 30, notched a career high 62 points with a record high ice time mark. His prior career high is 34 points. I’m going to take the regression on this one. It’s only a matter of time before Kaiden Guhle steals the top end role in Montreal too.
• Eriksson Ek is a really good two way center. He’s also coming off a career high 64 points. I’m sorry but 64 points doesn’t cut it for 50th overall. That’s best case scenario. I’m out on that price tag.

4: Buy The Sophomore Bump

Last year I told you Wyatt Johnston was a league winner. You’re welcome if you listened after Johnston led a loaded Stars team in goals as a 20-year-old.

This year I think you’re going to want to monitor the price on some of these year two guys. Last year if you wanted Connor Bedard, you had to pony up big time for him. Of course, Trey was right and Bedard was overvalued.

This upcoming year, Bedard is ranked 57th, which is about 30 spots lower than he was ranked as a rookie. It makes zero sense but that’s Sean Allen for you. At 57th overall, Bedard is a buy.

But don’t stop there. I like Brock Faber at 89, Pavel Mintyukov at 226, and Logan Cooley at 278 too.

5: Homer Alert!

I’m going to talk about the Vegas Golden Knights now and you’re going to deal with it. This is a team that should be firing on all cylinders heading into next year. The road to repeat as Cup champs was difficult and the VGK reshaped their entire team at the deadline. We need to understand where this team is going in order to project them forward.

Things could change between now and the start of the season. I’m not going to go crazy here but one thing really needs to be said. If you watched the games, you know Noah Hanifin is the best defenseman on the team and I don’t know how it’s arguable. If you watch the games, you know Hanifin is even better than I initially projected him to be.

Theodore is ranked 56th, Alex Pietrangelo is ranked 78th, Brayden McNabb is ranked 100th, Alec Martinez slots in at 138th, and Hanifin comes in at 159th.

Again, not sure who needs to hear this but Hanifin most likely will be the highest scoring player of that group. It sure as hell won’t be Martinez who I did a lengthy write-up about here. Hanifin already won the top PP QB job. I don’t see it changing and the guy totally played with his hair on fire during playoffs. If you’re picking a VGK blue liner, it should be Hanifin.

Hanifin had two goals and three assists in the seven playoff games for Vegas. Expect more of that next season.

Why Hasn’t ESPN Hired Trey Daubert To Do Their Fantasy Hockey Rankings Yet?

6: Offseason!

It’s not a crazy free agent class and I’m sure Allen’s rankings will change after the dust settles. They also might not change because you can’t fix that guy’s brain. Let’s just list off some free agents you need to pay attention to depending on landing spot.

Elias Lindholm (202nd overall) is ranked comically low. There is word that he could end up on the Bruins to play top line with David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand. If that happens, Lindholm is an instant buy.

Ditto for Martin Necas (162nd ranked). It seems like a lock that he’s leaving Carolina. If that gets more ice time, look out. He’s a buy for me if the next landing spot is fruitful.

One more for you. What about Mitch Marner? Players like this, of course, have far less clarity. It seems like Mitch Marner could be on the move and Nashville is lurking. It’s tough to say that leaving Matthews will positively impact Marner’s fantasy value. Time will tell on that one.

7: Teams On The Rise

Who is the next young team to pop? That could go a long way toward finding the next breakout star in fantasy. The Devils seem destined to get back on track. Guys like Jack Hughes (40th overall) and Jesper Bratt (75th) can be had at discounted rates because of last year. Sheldon Keefe feels like an upgrade over Lindy Ruff and he’s had success getting the Leafs to score goals. Jersey could be a team with breakout candidates.

Out West, I actually like Utah. They need to sign a ton of blue line help this offseason, but it should actually improve the rest of their team. Clayton Keller, Cooley, and Dylan Guenther are young players to buy before this team takes off.

8: Teams On The Decline

When teams rise, they also fall. Out East, it feels obvious but the group of Pittsburgh, Washington, and the NY Islanders all feel like fringe teams that could bottom out. Be wary getting too invested in any player on those teams.

Out West, the only thing I’d say is I highly doubt Winnipeg is that good again. They just lost their head coach and Nikolaj Ehlers is on the way out.

9: Potential Retirements To Monitor

I just want to quickly mention that these players could ultimately retire and are currently ranked as fantasy commodities. Even if they don’t retire, proceed with caution unless the price drops. Alec Martinez (139th) and Joe Pavelski (244th) could call it quits this summer. Either way, be careful spending too high on players with an advanced age. Things could change quickly and it’s far more important to find the young buzz saws who peak during fantasy playoffs.

The Secret To Picking Defensemen In Fantasy Hockey

10: Make VSM your home for fantasy hockey.

This is obvious but if you want more fantasy hockey content from Trey, you have to do a better job supporting the site. It is what it is. We will have our own fantasy hockey database eventually but there’s only so much the one-man team of Trey can accomplish on a daily basis. Do what you can to support the site. The track record speaks for itself.

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