Fantasy Hockey Risers and Fallers Heading into 2025-26 Season
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Pressure makes diamonds, and there is no bigger pressure cooker than the Stanley Cup playoffs. The months-long quest weeds out the pretenders from the contenders in a test more daunting than the Grail Knight's final challenge in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
With the 2024-25 season now over, fantasy managers will immediately turn their eyes to 2025-26 – we're an unhealthy, obsessive bunch – and take note of players whose fantasy values have shifted based on their playoff performances.
Jackson Blake's Contract Extension Signals Potential Fantasy Breakout Carolina extends Jackson Blake's contract, showing confidence in his upcoming breakout.
TRENDING UP
Evander Kane, LW, Vancouver
Kane has missed nearly half of Edmonton's regular-season games since he signed with the team in January 2022 (129 of 290 games), including all 82 in 2024-25. Despite undergoing multiple pre-season surgeries, he was a popular bench stash due to his rare 20-goal, 200-hit potential. Only five players (Will Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, Eeli Tolvanen, Tom Wilson and Brady Tkachuk) accomplished that feat this season, putting Kane in rarefied air in 'banger' leagues. Though stashing him didn't pay off this year, Kane is firmly back on the fantasy radar for 2025-26 after making a successful playoff return, ranking top five on the Oilers in goals and hits. He'll get even more opportunities in Vancouver after being traded to the Canucks in late June.
Jackson Blake, RW, Carolina
Blake's ice time per game overall (16:55) and on the power play (3:59) ranked fifth and fourth among Canes forwards in the playoffs, and he was the second option behind Seth Jarvis on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov during the regular season.
That puts Blake in a great spot to score points and increase his fantasy value. Logan Stankoven, the prized piece from the Mikko Rantanen trade, was often used in a matchup role with veteran checkers Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook. Stankoven's line played slightly fewer minutes at even strength (54:49) than the top line of Blake, Aho and Svechnikov (62:28), but Blake's line generated far more shot attempts (95 to 52, per naturalstattrick.com). If Blake consistently features on the top line, he's a potential 25-goal, 50-point sleeper who's worth drafting in the late rounds.
Thomas Harley, D, Dallas
Harley led Stars defensemen in playoff scoring with 14 points – no one else had more than four – and he finished seventh in Norris voting in just his second-full NHL season. The Stars have stubbornly stuck with Miro Heiskanen on the power play, and it wasn't until an injury to Heiskanen that Harley got a chance, even though Harley always looked better as their top PP quarterback. Harley's performance at the 4 Nations Face-Off and in the playoffs should prove to the Stars that they should give him the bulk of the power-play minutes. There's no debate: if given the minutes, Harley is a top-tier fantasy D-man and leapfrogs Heiskanen in fantasy value by a significant margin.
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TRENDING DOWN
Auston Matthews, C, Toronto
There may not be another player whose fantasy value dips more following July 1. Longtime running mate Mitch Marner is set to leave Toronto, breaking up the highest-scoring pair of teammates in Leafs history. Matthews, hampered by injuries this season, scored at a 40-goal pace following a brilliant 69-goal 2023-24, and he'll be in tough to reach his high-water mark again without Marner's playmaking ability.
Following another ugly playoff exit, the Leafs will continue shaping their new identity – one potentially more focused on the defensive side of the puck, with more structure and less emphasis on scoring. If Matthews doesn't score at a 60-goal pace, it becomes more difficult to justify him as a top-10 pick.
Jonathan Drouin, LW, Colorado
Throughout his career, dating back to his days in the QMJHL, Drouin has always been more productive when playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon. Drouin's point-per-game average with the Avs (0.76) is far higher than what he managed with the Habs or Lightning (0.58 with each), and he was an inexpensive option for fantasy managers looking for points in the late rounds.
But Drouin's future in Colorado is in doubt with his contract expiring, and he had a poor playoff showing (three assists and minus-6 in seven games) with significantly reduced minutes. The return of Gabriel Landeskog creates a logjam of wingers, and Drouin has little value, real or fantasy, playing lower in the lineup. A potential move and a lengthy injury history push Drouin off the fantasy radar as he enters his 30s.
Darcy Kuemper, G, Los Angeles
Kuemper was fourth in quality start percentage among goalies with at least 30 regular-season starts, per hockey-reference.com, but he posted a save percentage of .900 or better in just three of six playoff games and finished with a 3.74 goals-against average, worst among post-season starters. He's not solely to blame – the Kings allowed the second-most shots per game in the playoffs after allowing the second-fewest shots during the regular season. Granted, they were facing Connor McDavid, but which version of the Kings will show up next season?
L.A. was a defensive juggernaut even with missing Drew Doughty for their first 52 games, but by the end of their playoff run, that identity was shattered. If the Kings can't re-sign Vladislav Gavrikov, the blueline will be thin and will rely far too much on a 35-year-old Doughty. It's worth noting Kuemper has struggled with year-to-year consistency, and without an elite defense, his numbers will surely dip.
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