New York Rangers' Hayes, Miller and Grabner have been fantasy hockey studs
After going undrafted in most ESPN fantasy hockey leagues, the New York Rangers depth has produced three fantasy hockey studs who have boosted their new owner’s teams this season.
If somebody told you prior to the season starting that J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes and Michael Grabner would combine for 30 goals and 24 assists, to go along with a plus 49 rating, you would have called them nuts. But here we are just about two months into the season, and that is the exact situation we find ourselves in.
Now, of course, from a New York Rangers perspective, this is a great thing, as it means the team is getting production from all around the lineup and is able to roll four lines. If a team can check those two items off their list, then that probably means they have been pretty successful. And that’s just what the Rangers have been this year, as they were in first place in the Metropolitan Division heading into their Sunday night showdown with the Ottawa Senators.
And that’s just what the Rangers have been this year, as they were in first place in the Metropolitan Division heading into their Sunday night showdown with the Ottawa Senators.
But the Rangers aren’t the only team benefiting from the success of Miller-Hayes-Grabner.
Their fantasy owners have been benefiting, too.
None of the three forwards were drafted in the top 200 in ESPN.com fantasy hockey leagues. Because of this, the owners who were able to get their hands on the talented forwards via the waiver wire might have put their teams over the top.
J.T. Miller
After not being drafted, Miller has started out the year where he left off last season. Through his first 22 games of the season, Miller has totaled 8 goals, 11 assists and a plus 13 rating, ranking him 47th overall on ESPN’s player rater with an 8.55 rating.
He has been even more valuable in leagues where hits are counted as a category. He has totaled 37 of those to go along with 17 blocks to start the year. Miller also is second on the Rangers in shots on goal, as he only sits behind Rick Nash‘s 66 with 54 of his own. Coincidentally, Grabner and Mats Zuccarello also have 54 a piece.
The other thing that makes Miller such a hot fantasy commodity now is that he tri-position eligibility. He can play all forward positions, so that makes it easier for his owners to set their lineups.
Miller is one of two NHL forwards who have registered both 8+ goals, 19 or more points and a plus 13 rating or higher. The other one; Kevin Hayes.
Kevin Hayes
Hayes has 10 goals through his first 22 games, while also notching 9 assists and a plus 15 rating. Although he is not producing hits like J.T. Miller is–he has only 14 hits on the season, he has kept up with him in the blocks category with 18 of his own.
Another category where he falls short of Miller is in the shot column, where he only has 35 shots on goal this season, which is extremely low. From a fantasy perspective, Hayes’ only two flaws are his shot total and his PIM, as he has only taken three minor penalties this year. While he doesn’t have the kind of value that Miller has in a lot of formats, Hayes is not too far off and should be owned in all leagues.
Michael Grabner
The New York Rangers’ speedster has gotten off to an extremely fast start. He leads the team in goals and is tied for 3rd in the league in that category as well behind Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby (15) and Boston’s David Pastrnak (13).
Grabner is also a stud in the plus/minus category. Grabner leads the league in the category with a +20 rating, which has carried a lot of his fantasy owners thus far in that stat.
Grabner is not a guy who will get you power play points, and in some leagues, that does hurt his value. He does not get powerplay minutes for the Rangers, as they have a lot of other guys that they would rather use so Grabner is more rested for the penalty kill, so the fact that Grabner leads the league in even strength goals is great for the New York Rangers, but not so great for fantasy owners in some leagues.
Grabner is clearly the third ranked of these three forwards, but regardless, he needs to be owned. Grabner probably won’t stay on the pace he has been scoring on all year, but until his production does die off, he should be owned in all leagues.
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