Every year in fantasy hockey there are steals and busts. Here are a few potential busts that you should avoid when drafting unless they drop well below their average draft position (ADP). These players are either coming off of outlier seasons, are getting older and declining, are injured, or play for teams that aren’t great.
Chris Kreider – 26.8 ADP
At age 30, Chris Kreider had a career year that blew away every other season he’s played. He finished 2021-22 with 52 goals, 77 points, and 26 power-play goals – amazing for fantasy. He led the league in power-play goals and game-winning goals (11). In a season when everything went right, and he had a shooting percentage of 20.2, we can’t expect him to maintain that rate of production. He has a career shooting percentage of 14.9, which is still very good, but it should regress back to the mean.
Kreider nearly doubled his previous career high for goals of 28 achieved twice in nine seasons. Considering he almost scored as many power-play goals last season as his previous career high, that’s saying something. Though he may still score a fair amount of power-play goals, he’s not likely to touch 26 again. He would also do better with another top-six player on his line who is more productive offensively than Barclay Goodrow or Sammy Blais. Kreider will have a tough time reaching 40 goals this season, so he isn’t worth an ADP of 26.8.
Patrick Kane – 41.7 ADP
Patrick Kane is stuck in a bad situation after the Chicago Blackhawks had a fire sale this offseason. He has just one year remaining on his deal that includes a no-trade clause and can waive it if he chooses. He has looked out of it in the preseason and does not seem to be pleased to be there anymore. Depending on when or if he chooses to accept a trade, it could really hurt his fantasy stock.
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Kane doesn’t have his regular linemate Alex DeBrincat anymore and is by far the most productive player on the team. The Blackhawks are going to be beaten on most nights, and he will likely drop to a point-per-game player or worse with no help at all. Kane regularly records a lot of assists to boost his point total, but with nobody to finish plays, points will be hard to come by. Be cautious about choosing him around this spot as he could spend a good four months on the worst team in the NHL.
Max Pacioretty – 53.7 ADP
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