I had a look at the all-star lineups when they were announced and gave them a fantasy spin back in mid-January. But now, on the eve of the all-star celebrations, it’s time to look at the real fantasy all-star teams. The one selected not by overall production, but by relative production.
These selections are based on how a player’s fantasy production compares to their expected production/cost of acquisition. To get the list of eligible nominees, I simply looked at the difference between a player’s current projected finish for fantasy points and compared it to where ESPN.com had them ranked in the top 300 during the offseason. These are not my rankings, but the ones used by the fantasy game and the ones you would see inside a draft room at ESPN.com back in September/October.
And I’m not doing an all-star team for each division with equal team representation. This is just a first- and second-team all-star list for the best fantasy players based on cost of acquisition.
First team all-stars
Nazem Kadri, C, Colorado Avalanche (current projected rank: 23, offseason rank: 282)
Jordan Kyrou, C/W, St. Louis Blues (79, 274)
Ryan Hartman, W, Minnesota Wild (73, not ranked)
Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings (56, not ranked)
Noah Dobson, D, New York Islanders (61, not ranked)
Ilya Sorokin, G, New York Islanders (32, 255)
It would have been criminal-adjacent for Kadri not to be included in this coming weekend’s festivities, so thank goodness for the fan votes. He finished 186th overall in fantasy scoring last season, but is on pace to be one of 19 skaters to crack 200 fantasy points this season. … There were a few ways the Blues depth chart could go, but things broke just right for Kyrou to emerge this season. … Hartman turned out to be the perfect winger for Kirill Kaprizov, and that has paid off in spades. … Seider and Dobson were both low on the radar before the season, but have emerged to be their team’s offense leaders from the blue line. … Sorokin is getting way more playing time than anyone anticipated thanks to a combination of injury to and inconsistent play from Semyon Varlamov.
Second team all-stars
Matt Duchene, C, Nashville Predators (66, 294)
Timo Meier, W, San Jose Sharks (19, 149)
Vladimir Tarasenko, W, St. Louis Blues (47, 162)
Evan Bouchard, D, Edmonton Oilers (87, not ranked)
Shayne Gostisbehere, D, Arizona Coyotes (102, 262)
Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Florida Panthers (16, 223)
Can’t help but wonder if being exposed in the expansion draft was a wakeup call for Duchene and Ryan Johansen. … Meier and Tarasenko were on teams after all fantasy drafts, but what a pleasant surprise to get second- and fifth-round value out of them so far. … No one saw Bouchard coming this season; not with Tyson Barrie and Darnell Nurse mostly healthy. … Gostisbehere may be a pleasant surprise, but his value has come at a steep cost: the complete and total destruction of Jakob Chychrun’s fantasy value. … It was completely fair to write-off Bobrovsky after last season’s debacle and a looming Spencer Knight. It was wrong to do, in hindsight, but it was fair at the time. The lesson might be to never count out a former Vezina winner (at least until they are 35).
Forwards on the move
Max Pacioretty, W, Vegas Golden Knights (up 81 spots to No. 37): The Knights are getting back to full health, with Alec Martinez likely next and Jack Eichel after him. Pacioretty has been one of the top assets this season on a per-minute basis, and that could only improve with Eichel in the lineup. He’s not ranked here, but don’t forget about Evgenii Dadonov. Once Eichel is healthy, Dadonov has a chance to be the fourth forward on the advantage with Mark Stone, Pacioretty and Eichel.
Josh Norris, C, Ottawa Senators (down 18 spots to No. 71): Now also hurt himself, the real damage to the ranking here comes from Drake Batherson being out until April. We’ll have to see how the Sens cope, and Tim Stutzle may be ready to adequately fill out the top line with Norris and Brady Tkachuk, but it’s questionable at best.
Evander Kane, W, Edmonton Oilers (up 76 spots to No. 93): With Connor McDavid at even strength? Check. On the top power-play unit with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl? Check. That’s it. That’s all we were looking for before considering Kane having all the requirements in place to be a top 50 fantasy play the rest of the way out. We’ll give it another couple games before ranking him there, but for all intents and purposes, it looks like it was worth stashing him, even if you did so at the start of the season.
Defensemen on the move
Rasmus Andersson, D, Calgary Flames (up 21 spots to No. 139): It took a while for him to come around and settle in, but Andersson has the looks of a bona fide power-play quarterback of late. He’s shooting more and picking up more points on the advantage as a result. It’s not exactly league-leading territory, but when you have equal power-play points to Drew Doughty, John Carlson and Alex Pietrangelo, you are doing something right.
Goaltenders on the move
Ville Husso, G, St. Louis Blues (up 48 spots to No. 163): The chasm between Husso and Jordan Binnington is only widening with time. I think we are on the precipice of one more bad start from Binnington being all that’s needed to relegate him to the backup role for the foreseeable future. If dropping Binnington is what you need to do to make room for Husso, I think it’s justified at this point.
Linus Ullmark, G, Boston Bruins (up 32 spots to No. 213): Tuukka Rask’s results since his return can be described as mercurial at best: Two goals against, five goals against, two goals against and five goals against. And Rask is now out with a lower-body injury. Ullmark and Jeremy Swayman haven’t been blockbuster in the past few games, but they may be all the Bruins have for a while. Ullmark deserves a roster spot in the meantime.
New to rankings
Ondrej Kase (top-six role over, but still a factor), Blake Coleman, Jakub Vrana (almost healthy), Cole Perfetti (Nikolaj Ehlers may be out a while yet), Paul Stastny.
Just missed
Ryan Lindgren, Ryan McDonagh, Brett Pesce, Ryan Ellis, Connor Brown, Mike Hoffman, Bowen Byram, Nino Niederreiter, Scott Mayfield.
Dropped out
Drake Batherson (out until April, maybe), Erik Karlsson (out until April), Conor Garland, David Savard (out until late March), Alex Nedeljkovic.
Top-250 rankings
1. Connor McDavid, F, EDM (F1)
2. Auston Matthews, F, TOR (F2)
3. Leon Draisaitl, F, EDM (F3)
4. Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL (F4)
5. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TB (G1)
6. Nikita Kucherov, F, TB (F5)
7. Mikko Rantanen, F, COL (F6)
8. Brad Marchand, F, BOS (F7)
9. Igor Shesterkin, G, NYR (G2)
10. Jack Campbell, G, TOR (G3)
11. Alex Ovechkin, F, WSH (F8)
12. Cale Makar, D, COL (D1)
13. Roman Josi, D, NSH (D2)
14. Adam Fox, D, NYR (D3)
15. Frederik Andersen, G, CAR (G4)
16. Timo Meier, F, SJ (F9)
17. David Pastrnak, F, BOS (F10)
18. Gabriel Landeskog, F, COL (F11)
19. Jake Guentzel, F, PIT (F12)
20. Juuse Saros, G, NSH (G5)
21. Tristan Jarry, G, PIT (G6)
22. Sebastian Aho, F, CAR (F13)
23. Aleksander Barkov, F, FLA (F14)
24. Kirill Kaprizov, F, MIN (F15)
25. Mika Zibanejad, F, NYR (F16)
26. Kyle Connor, F, WPG (F17)
27. Charlie McAvoy, D, BOS (D4)
28. Filip Forsberg, F, NSH (F18)
29. Steven Stamkos, F, TB (F19)
30. Nazem Kadri, F, COL (F20)
31. Anze Kopitar, F, LA (F21)
32. Elias Lindholm, F, CGY (F22)
33. Victor Hedman, D, TB (D5)
34. Jacob Markstrom, G, CGY (G7)
35. Brady Tkachuk, F, OTT (F23)
36. Sidney Crosby, F, PIT (F24)
37. Max Pacioretty, F, VGS (F25)
38. Alex Pietrangelo, D, VGS (D6)
39. Patrice Bergeron, F, BOS (F26)
40. Kris Letang, D, PIT (D7)
41. Vladimir Tarasenko, F, STL (F27)
42. Chris Kreider, F, NYR (F28)
43. Seth Jones, D, CHI (D8)
44. Aaron Ekblad, D, FLA (D9)
45. Matthew Tkachuk, F, CGY (F29)
46. John Tavares, F, TOR (F30)
47. Joe Pavelski, F, DAL (F31)
48. Drew Doughty, D, LA (D10)
49. Jonathan Huberdeau, F, FLA (F32)
50. Bryan Rust, F, PIT (F33)
51. Mark Stone, F, VGS (F34)
52. Artemi Panarin, F, NYR (F35)
53. Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI (G8)
54. Johnny Gaudreau, F, CGY (F36)
55. Devon Toews, D, COL (D11)
56. John Carlson, D, WSH (D12)
57. J.T. Miller, F, VAN (F37)
58. Sergei Bobrovsky, G, FLA (G9)
59. Darnell Nurse, D, EDM (D13)
60. MacKenzie Weegar, D, FLA (D14)
61. Mitch Marner, F, TOR (F38)
62. Patrik Laine, F, CLS (F39)
63. Mark Scheifele, F, WPG (F40)
64. Roope Hintz, F, DAL (F41)
65. Tyler Bertuzzi, F, DET (F42)
66. Mats Zuccarello, F, MIN (F43)
67. Jack Hughes, F, NJ (F44)
68. Brayden Point, F, TB (F45)
69. Dougie Hamilton, D, NJ (D15)
70. Jason Robertson, F, DAL (F46)
71. Josh Norris, F, OTT (F47)
72. Noah Dobson, D, NYI (D16)
73. Zach Werenski, D, CLS (D17)
74. William Nylander, F, TOR (F48)
75. Andrei Svechnikov, F, CAR (F49)
76. Evgeni Malkin, F, PIT (F50)
77. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F, EDM (F51)
78. Ryan Hartman, F, MIN (F52)
79. Brock Nelson, F, NYI (F53)
80. Pierre-Luc Dubois, F, WPG (F54)
81. Alex DeBrincat, F, CHI (F55)
82. Morgan Rielly, D, TOR (D18)
83. Jacob Trouba, D, NYR (D19)
84. Thomas Chabot, D, OTT (D20)
85. Alex Tuch, F, BUF (F56)
86. Jordan Kyrou, F, STL (F57)
87. Brent Burns, D, SJ (D21)
88. Thatcher Demko, G, VAN (G10)
89. Tony DeAngelo, D, CAR (D22)
90. Dylan Larkin, F, DET (F58)
91. Cam Talbot, G, MIN (G11)
92. Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG (G12)
93. Evander Kane, F, SJ (F59)
94. Alec Martinez, D, VGS (D23)
95. Matt Duchene, F, NSH (F60)
96. Boone Jenner, F, CLS (F61)
97. Evgeny Kuznetsov, F, WSH (F62)
98. Mario Ferraro, D, SJ (D24)
99. Evan Bouchard, D, EDM (D25)
100. Joel Eriksson Ek, F, MIN (F63)
101. Miro Heiskanen, D, DAL (D26)
102. Robin Lehner, G, VGS (G13)
103. Elias Pettersson, F, VAN (F64)
104. Sam Bennett, F, FLA (F65)
105. Darcy Kuemper, G, COL (G14)
106. Tomas Hertl, F, SJ (F66)
107. Moritz Seider, D, DET (D27)
108. Anthony Duclair, F, FLA (F67)
109. Pavel Buchnevich, F, STL (F68)
110. Troy Terry, F, ANA (F69)
111. Nicklas Backstrom, F, WSH (F70)
112. Mathew Dumba, D, MIN (D28)
113. Cam Atkinson, F, PHI (F71)
114. Ryan Pulock, D, NYI (D29)
115. Colton Parayko, D, STL (D30)
116. Patrick Kane, F, CHI (F72)
117. T.J. Oshie, F, WSH (F73)
118. Teuvo Teravainen, F, CAR (F74)
119. Tom Wilson, F, WSH (F75)
120. Ivan Provorov, D, PHI (D31)
121. Neal Pionk, D, WPG (D32)
122. Ondrej Palat, F, TB (F76)
123. Zach Whitecloud, D, VGS (D33)
124. Taylor Hall, F, BOS (F77)
125. John Gibson, G, ANA (G15)
126. Artem Zub, D, OTT (D34)
127. Valeri Nichushkin, F, COL (F78)
128. Mathew Barzal, F, NYI (F79)
129. Claude Giroux, F, PHI (F80)
130. Shayne Gostisbehere, D, ARI (D35)
131. Logan Couture, F, SJ (F81)
132. Nikolaj Ehlers, F, WPG (F82)
133. Vincent Trocheck, F, CAR (F83)
134. Esa Lindell, D, DAL (D36)
135. Andre Burakovsky, F, COL (F84)
136. Samuel Girard, D, COL (D37)
137. Jack Eichel, F, BUF (F85)
138. Blake Wheeler, F, WPG (F86)
139. Rasmus Andersson, D, CGY (D38)
140. Andrew Copp, F, WPG (F87)
141. Marcus Foligno, F, MIN (F88)
142. Erik Johnson, D, COL (D39)
143. Sam Reinhart, F, FLA (F89)
144. Jared Spurgeon, D, MIN (D40)
145. Andrew Mangiapane, F, CGY (F90)
146. Kevin Fiala, F, MIN (F91)
147. Jonathan Marchessault, F, VGS (F92)
148. Tuukka Rask, G, BOS (G16)
149. Pavel Francouz, G, COL (G17)
150. Shea Theodore, D, VGS (D41)
151. Mark Giordano, D, SEA (D42)
152. Jaccob Slavin, D, CAR (D43)
153. Alex Iafallo, F, LA (F93)
154. Zach Hyman, F, EDM (F94)
155. Clayton Keller, F, ARI (F95)
156. Matthew Boldy, F, MIN (F96)
157. Brock Boeser, F, VAN (F97)
158. Viktor Arvidsson, F, LA (F98)
159. Elvis Merzlikins, G, CLS (G18)
160. Rasmus Dahlin, D, BUF (D44)
161. Connor Murphy, D, CHI (D45)
162. Jeff Carter, F, PIT (F99)
163. Ville Husso, G, STL (G19)
164. Quinn Hughes, D, VAN (D46)
165. Adam Larsson, D, SEA (D47)
166. Jesper Bratt, F, NJ (F100)
167. Jared McCann, F, SEA (F101)
168. Rickard Rakell, F, ANA (F102)
169. Tim Stutzle, F, OTT (F103)
170. Oliver Bjorkstrand, F, CLS (F104)
171. Ryan Getzlaf, F, ANA (F105)
172. Jonas Brodin, D, MIN (D48)
173. Jordan Eberle, F, SEA (F106)
174. Ivan Barbashev, F, STL (F107)
175. Lucas Raymond, F, DET (F108)
176. Chandler Stephenson, F, VGS (F109)
177. Tage Thompson, F, BUF (F110)
178. Tyler Toffoli, F, MON (F111)
179. Ryan Johansen, F, NSH (F112)
180. Oliver Wahlstrom, F, NYI (F113)
181. Ryan Graves, D, NJ (D49)
182. Anthony Cirelli, F, TB (F114)
183. Jakob Chychrun, D, ARI (D50)
184. Joshua Morrissey, D, WPG (D51)
185. Sean Couturier, F, PHI (F115)
186. Jonathan Quick, G, LA (G20)
187. Alex Killorn, F, TB (F116)
188. Brayden McNabb, D, VGS (D52)
189. Tyson Barrie, D, EDM (D53)
190. Ilya Mikheyev, F, TOR (F117)
191. Kevin Shattenkirk, D, ANA (D54)
192. J.T. Compher, F, COL (F118)
193. Jesse Puljujarvi, F, EDM (F119)
194. Ilya Samsonov, G, WSH (G21)
195. Bo Horvat, F, VAN (F120)
196. John Klingberg, D, DAL (D55)
197. Mikhail Sergachev, D, TB (D56)
198. Ryan O’Reilly, F, STL (F121)
199. Cam Fowler, D, ANA (D57)
200. Anton Lundell, F, FLA (F122)
201. Jordan Binnington, G, STL (G22)
202. Adam Henrique, F, ANA (F123)
203. Nick Suzuki, F, MON (F124)
204. Nico Hischier, F, NJ (F125)
205. Nate Schmidt, D, WPG (D58)
206. Jamie Benn, F, DAL (F126)
207. Mikael Granlund, F, NSH (F127)
208. Yanni Gourde, F, SEA (F128)
209. Alex Goligoski, D, MIN (D59)
210. Anders Lee, F, NYI (F129)
211. Trevor Zegras, F, ANA (F130)
212. Tyler Seguin, F, DAL (F131)
213. Linus Ullmark, G, BOS (G23)
214. David Perron, F, STL (F132)
215. James Reimer, G, SJ (G24)
216. Torey Krug, D, STL (D60)
217. Mikko Koskinen, G, EDM (G25)
218. Carter Hart, G, PHI (G26)
219. Brayden Schenn, F, STL (F133)
220. Jaden Schwartz, F, SEA (F134)
221. Vladislav Gavrikov, D, CLS (D61)
222. Justin Faulk, D, STL (D62)
223. Adrian Kempe, F, LA (F135)
224. Evan Rodrigues, F, PIT (F136)
225. Jake Oettinger, G, DAL (G27)
226. Ryan Strome, F, NYR (F137)
227. Rasmus Ristolainen, D, PHI (D63)
228. Mike Smith, G, EDM (G28)
229. Semyon Varlamov, G, NYI (G29)
230. Marc-Andre Fleury, G, CHI (G30)
231. Matt Roy, D, LA (D64)
232. Lawson Crouse, F, ARI (F138)
233. Kaapo Kahkonen, G, MIN (G31)
234. Ondrej Kase, F, TOR (F139)
235. Blake Coleman, F, CGY (F140)
236. Jeff Skinner, F, BUF (F141)
237. Filip Hronek, D, DET (D65)
238. Braden Holtby, G, DAL (G32)
239. Reilly Smith, F, VGS (F142)
240. Ben Chiarot, D, MON (D66)
241. Robert Thomas, F, STL (F143)
242. Radko Gudas, D, FLA (D67)
243. Tyler Myers, D, VAN (D68)
244. Nathan Bastian, F, NJ (F144)
245. Carter Verhaeghe, F, FLA (F145)
246. Sean Durzi, D, LA (D69)
247. Jakub Vrana, F, DET (F146)
248. Justin Braun, D, PHI (D70)
249. Cole Perfetti, F, WPG (F147)
250. Paul Stastny, F, WPG (F148)