It’s still very early on in the 2016-17 NHL season so while there are a few surprises among the top fantasy performers it isn’t as if those players are guaranteed to keep up their current rates of production. The center position is one of those areas where we could see change with Artem Anisimov and Ryan Kesler unlikely to keep up their current rates. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby has eight goals and 10 points through his first seven games with the Pittsburgh Penguins so it might only be a matter of time before he tops this list. Here is a look at the top five fantasy centers so far this NHL season.
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Scheifele has stolen the spotlight early on this season with 18 points through his first 14 games played. His balance has been outstanding as he has nine goals and nine assists while building up a plus-eight rating for a Winnipeg team that is 6-7-1 while centering a pair of talented young players in Nikolaj Ehlers and rookie Patrik Laine. Scheifele has decent peripheral stats as well with 39 shots, 12 penalty minutes and four powerplay points and while it will be difficult to maintain his level of production his strong finish to last season combined with his excellent start to the year indicate it is definitely possible.
Artem Anisimov, Chicago Blackhawks
Anisimov has performed well above his career pace and the fact that he suffered an injury in Wednesday’s 2-1 win over the St. Louis Blues could be a sign of his pending regression. Anisimov is among the NHL scoring leaders with 17 points in 14 games with a plus-12 rating and four powerplay points. The 28-year-old has struggled to stay healthy throughout his career so while he is off to an outstanding start the expectations for him have to be tempered at this point.
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Expectations certainly won’t be tempered for McDavid, who has exploded out of the gate with 17 points through 14 games this season. The 19-year-old has dazzled with his speed and skill and his peripheral stats are impressive as well as he is a plus-six with five powerplay points and 37 shots on goal. The Oilers likely want McDavid to shoot the puck even more than he has so far and right now there is no reason to expect him to slow down from his current pace.
Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning
After signing a long-term deal in the offseason, Stamkos is now free to focus on his game and the early indications are that it is a very good thing for his fantasy owners. Stamkos has seven goals and 14 points in 13 games this season and while his minus-two rating isn’t a good thing he does have five powerplay points, 14 penalty minutes and an impressive 49 shots on goal. Remember when there was debate about the Lightning trading him away last season or the chatter about the Lightning letting him walk in free agency? Looks like that would have been a terrible idea.
The star enter will continue to shoot the puck at a high rate and he should have no problem improving his plus-minus rating while remaining a top-five fantasy center throughout this season. The Lightning have scored the third-most goals of the Eastern Conference teams and figure to be among the league-leaders this season.
Ryan Kesler, Anaheim Ducks
Kesler is another center that has overachieved based on expectations of him heading in to this season with 10 points through his first 14 games. While those totals aren’t outstanding, Kesler has six powerplay points, 22 penalty minutes and a total of 31 shots on goal. Those are some of the best peripheral stats in the NHL and while Kesler will have a tough time maintaining his current pace, he certainly deserves this spot among the top fantasy performers at his position so far this season.
The Ducks have had a decent start to the season as they are currently in second place in the Pacific Division, just two points shy of the first-place Edmonton Oilers. Only four teams in the Western Conference have a plus goal differential and they are one of them.
