NHL.com has published its outlook on the players expected to deliver the most value in fantasy formats that score hits, blocked shots and face-off wins for the 2026-27 season. The list, part of the site's ongoing fantasy coverage at NHL.com/Fantasy, reflects a broader shift in how fantasy hockey is played: scoring systems increasingly reward physical and positional contributions alongside traditional goals and assists.
Why Peripheral Stats Now Drive Fantasy Value
Standard fantasy hockey once lived and died by goals, assists and points. Leagues that also count hits, blocks and face-off wins change the calculus entirely, elevating players whose value doesn't always show up on a scoresheet. Brady Tkachuk tops the list for exactly this reason - his combination of scoring touch and physical play, now paired with brother Matthew in Florida, gives him rare dual-category relevance. Players like Tom Wilson and MacKenzie Weegar follow a similar logic: neither leads the League in points, but their combined hit and block totals make them foundational pieces in formats that reward volume across categories.
Defensemen and Two-Way Forwards Gain Ground
Moritz Seider's inclusion signals how modern defensemen are valued differently than a decade ago. His jump to 60 points last season, paired with sustained hit and block totals, makes him a rare three-category contributor on the blue line. Alex Tuch's profile tells a parallel story among forwards - his shorthanded production and league-leading blocked-shot totals since 2023-24 show how penalty-killing responsibility and physical engagement can translate directly into fantasy scoring, independent of power-play usage.
Young Players and Breakout Risk
The presence of Porter Martone, a teenager with fewer than 20 NHL games to his name, highlights the volatility built into these rankings. Small sample sizes can produce eye-catching per-game rates that may not hold across a full 82-game season. Fantasy players weighing early-career players like Martone or Juraj Slafkovsky against established veterans such as Filip Forsberg or Drake Batherson are making a judgment about consistency versus ceiling - a trade-off inherent to any projection-based ranking system, whether in sports fantasy pools or broader prediction markets.
What This Reflects About Fantasy Platforms Generally
These rankings are ultimately a reminder that fantasy sports scoring rules shape player value as much as raw talent does. Platforms that let users customize categories - hits, blocks, face-offs - create genuinely different strategic environments from standard points-only leagues. For participants, understanding how a specific scoring format rewards certain skill sets matters more than chasing overall star power. That distinction applies broadly across fantasy sports products, where the underlying game mechanics, not just player quality, determine which picks carry real value over a season.