Matthew Schaefer of the New York Islanders scored the most goals by a rookie defenseman since 1989. Dennis Schneidler-Imagn ImagesGreg WyshynskiSep 21, 2026, 09:00 AM ETCloseGreg Wyshynski is ESPN’s senior NHL writer.Multiple AuthorsOpen Extended ReactionsThe start of the NHL regular season always arrives with a jolt of unfettered optimism. Many teams have Stanley Cup aspirations; those that do not will hopefully give fans something to be optimistic about for the future.The start of fantasy hockey brings the same emotions. Players are projected to do great things, they are ranked based on that projection, and then we select them for our fantasy franchises with the optimism that they’ll hit their statistical marks.Until, of course, they don’t and we’re left making desperation trade proposals to our friends and scouring the waiver wire hoping to find an overlooked diamond in the ice shavings.It doesn’t have to be this way. There are players this season who should deliver the goods — and, in some cases, level up even higher than their draft rankings would indicate.
The 10 players discussed here are the ones on whom I plant my rhetorical flag for the 2026-27 NHL season. Some are the best of the best. Others are consistent contributors. A few are selections that will either make me look very smart or very stupid in my drafting prowess.My selections are based on how I believe the players will perform this season and how they’ll rack up the points in ESPN Fantasy standard scoring:Skaters: goals = 2 points; assists = 1 point; shots and hits = 0.1 points; blocked shots and special teams points = 0.5 points.Goaltenders: wins = 4 points; OT losses = 1 point; shutouts = 3 points; saves = 0.2 points; goals against = -2 points.Here’s the Plant My Flag list for 2026-27.
May all your picks turn out to be great ones.More: Sign up for free | Rankings | Projections | League typesMacklin Celebrini, C, San Jose SharksThere are essentially the same seven players at the top of every fantasy rankings list this season. Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid are either first or second overall. Nikita Kucherov, Leon Draisaitl and David Pastrnak are right behind them. Cale Makar is the token nonforward, as the best defenseman on the planet.And then there’s the 20-year-old kid from San Jose that has played himself into this rarified company.
Celebrini had 115 points, including 45 goals, in his second NHL season to finish fourth in the MVP balloting. He had 33 power-play points. He began to earn Sidney Crosby comparisons, but even Sid the Kid didn’t rifle the puck 287 times in 82 games as an NHL sophomore like Celebrini did.I think Celebrini levels up again this season, not only because he’ll continue to figure out the pro game but because the Sharks overall should be improved year over year. Most rankings and league drafts that I’ve seen had Celebrini around fourth overall.
By the end of the season, we might be wondering how he wasn’t everyone’s top choice. He’s that good.Matthew Schaefer, D, New York IslandersLook, putting Schaefer on your fantasy team is worth it for the vibes alone. His puppy-dog comportment will liven up your fantasy hockey locker room, and his boundless enthusiasm will reinvigorate the crusty veterans who drag their tired bodies onto the fantasy ice on a random winter Tuesday night to earn you 0.1 points with a hit.But last season’s Calder Trophy winner is more than vibes. He’s projecting to be an incredibly valuable fantasy point producer, at least in ESPN standard scoring.
Schaefer had 59 points in 82 games last season. That was with 18 power-play points, so even a reasonable improvement there could push him to 70 points this season.What I love about Schaefer’s offense is his goal scoring from the back end. His 23 goals last season were the most for a rookie defenseman since Brian Leetch scored 23 with the New York Rangers in 1988-89.But the real tantalizing part of his game from a fantasy perspective is his shot blocking. (Again, depending on how your league is scored.) Schaefer had 111 blocked shots last season to lead all rookies. Barring some fundamental change in his game encouraged by coach Peter DeBoer, Schaefer is going to hit that sweet spot of offensive pop and defensive fantasy stats.
Now we just need ESPN Fantasy to hand out points for vibes.Filip Forsberg, F, Nashville PredatorsThe 32-year-old Forsberg offers something I value in my fantasy drafting: The known quantity who could level up, depending on how well the young talent around him plays. Forsberg is a model of consistency. He has played 82 games in three straight seasons. He crested over 40 goals in two of those seasons, including a 94-point campaign in 2023-24 that remains his career apex.
He has been in double digits in power-play goals in all three seasons. He shoots the puck a bunch, throws the body a ton, with at least 124 hits in each of the past three seasons, and he’ll also block a shot or two.Word out of Nashville in the preseason is that Forsberg has been working with 21-year-old winger Matthew Wood, who had an impressive rookie season with 17 goals in 71 games despite skating just 12:19 per game. They worked well together in limited time as linemates last season, enough to pique my interest about Forsberg increasing his point total (75) from 2025-26. But even if he’s just the Forsberg we’ve seen over the past three seasons, that’s still an incredibly valuable fantasy player.Brady Tkachuk, LW, Florida PanthersThe two best lines of the preseason for the Panthers:The line coach Paul Maurice had when asked if Brady and Matthew Tkachuk might flank center Sam Bennett on what would be the NHL’s most bludgeoning trio: “I don’t want to give everybody what they want with the two Tkachuk brothers together with Sam Bennett in the middle.
They’ll be in jail before the puck drops.” Great stuff.The line that Brady Tkachuk, acquired by Florida from the Ottawa Senators in the summer, will likely start this season on. He’s expected to have Aleksander Barkov in the middle, who missed all last season with a right knee injury; and Sam Reinhart on his wing, a player two years removed from a 57-goal season.Brady Tkachuk was a consistent offensive force in the regular season during his eight seasons in Ottawa. While limited to 60 games last season, he put up the best points per 60 minutes mark (3.5) of his career.I am a little concerned about how his numbers will look as he goes from the fulcrum of the Ottawa offense to a cog in the Panthers’ machine. Will he keep his elephantine shots on goal averages, playing on a line with Reinhart or (potentially and perhaps inevitably) his brother Matthew?
That’s a mystery.What can’t be denied is Brady’s motivation to stifle his critics (especially up north), make up for his disappearing act offensively in last postseason and make a strong impression with his new team. There’s no room at the Elbo Room in Fort Lauderdale for an underachiever.John Carlson, D, Tampa Bay LightningCarlson turns 37 next January, so this is conceivably the last time I’ll ever plant my flag on this particular defenseman. If that’s the case, what a last fantasy hockey hurrah it’ll be for Carlson, as the quarterback of the Tampa Bay power play.He’s essentially the replacement for Darren Raddysh, who had 10 goals and 16 helpers on the man advantage in a breakout season that led to him getting eight years and $68 million from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Raddysh put up those numbers on a power play that ranked in the middle of the pack, thanks in large part to a slew of man games lost to key offensive players like Brayden Point (63 games played).Carlson split time between the Washington Capitals and the Anaheim Ducks, who acquired him at the trade deadline.
He had 60 points in 71 games, his best offensive season since 2021-22, but earned only 14 points on the power play, which is what happens when you’re QB1 for the 23rd (Anaheim) and 25th (Washington, inexplicably) teams in the league o
