Sean AllenMar 25, 2025, 02:30 PM ET
CloseSean Allen is a contributing writer for fantasy hockey and betting at ESPN. He was the 2008 and 2009 FSWA Hockey Writer of the Year.
If Gabriel Vilardi is on your fantasy hockey roster, you are probably looking for ways to replace his production as you compete in the head-to-head playoffs for fantasy hockey.
The Winnipeg Jets top-line winger, the most rostered player on ESPN fantasy hockey teams that made the postseason, is week-to-week with an upper-body injury and might not return until the final week of the season.
The team that runs the fantasy game provided me with the percentage of roster appearances for players on playoff-bound fantasy teams. Vilardi stands alone as the only player on more than 70% of teams headed to the postseason (72%, to be precise). By combining this newly-acquired data with information I’ve tracked throughout the season, we can take a closer look at how winning fantasy rosters were built.
There are 92 NHLers who appeared on at least 40% of rosters that qualified for head-to-head fantasy playoffs. The majority of them were on rosters coming out of the draft. I have roster percentages saved from each Tuesday across most of the season, and 60 of the 92 players were on at least 80% of fantasy rosters on opening day.
Of those remaining 32 players, 14 remain below 80% rostered, while the other 18 were added sporadically throughout the season. The biggest group of them being scooped up actually happened on Feb. 18, with five of the key players crossing the 80% threshold on that particular Tuesday. The off-week during the 4 Nations Face-Off proved to be a crucial turning point in the fantasy season. It was also when 28 of the 92 players had their biggest jump in fantasy rostership.
But if you play in a deeper league, in which a player being on 40% of rosters means he is likely unavailable, the early season was where all the important action happened. By the end of November, 86 of the 92 players were already rostered in at least 40% of ESPN leagues. The only players that crossed that threshold later in the season and turned out to be winning additions were Pierre-Luc Dubois, Vilardi, Dylan Holloway, Jackson LaCombe, Darcy Kuemper and Mackenzie Blackwood.
Among those key players on playoff-bound fantasy teams, 55 are forwards, 26 are defense and 11 are goalies, which is about the distribution you would expect, considering roster requirements. As for the goalies, six of the 11 were already on at least 80% of fantasy rosters right out of the draft. Later additions included Kuemper, Blackwood, Logan Thompson, Adin Hill and Dustin Wolf.
On the other end of the spectrum, the top rostered player that was on less than 1% of playoff-bound fantasy teams this season was goaltender Petr Mrazek, on 6% of fantasy teams, almost all of which missed the head-to-head playoffs. The player on at least 80% of fantasy teams that was on the lowest percent of playoff-bound teams was Matthew Tkachuk. Only 24% of teams with Tkachuk made the playoffs, which makes sense, given how devastating his injury was to fantasy rosters.
Gabriel Vilardi, C, Winnipeg Jets
Editor’s Picks
1 Related
Rostered on 72% of playoff teams; Started season on 16.2% of teams, currently on 72.9%
Biggest jump in rostership on Jan. 2 of 17.1%
Health has always dogged Vilardi to this stage of his career. Even if his 71 games this season doesn’t go any higher, it’s still his career-best mark. He’s an example of a player showing signs of fantasy value in small doses, but just not getting enough healthy minutes together to become a reliable option, finally breaking through when things go (up until now) mostly right.
Tom Wilson, RW, Washington Capitals
Rostered on 69% of playoff teams; Started season on 26.9% of teams, currently on 90.5%
Biggest jump in rostership on Oct. 22 of 30.4%
There weren’t a lot of reasons to believe in the Capitals coming into this campaign. It was not clear that their retool-on-the-fly approach was going to work enough to make the playoffs, let alone threaten for the President’s Trophy! But here we are, the Cinderella story of the season. And there is fantasy value up and down this lineup. Wilson was only rostered in about 25% of fantasy teams out of the draft, but as the Capitals found early success, it was clear he was going to be a big part of it. This is Wilson’s first 30-goal campaign and the first time he’s had more than five power-play goals (he’s at 11). And he has already matched his career high for assists and set a new mark for points. As you can see by the uptick in his rostership by Oct. 22, you had to react early to get on board.
Jake Walman, D, Edmonton Oilers
Rostered on 68% of playoff teams; Started season on 10.3% of teams, currently on 81.5%
Biggest jump in rostership on Nov. 5 of 20.0%
Walman was a slow burn but turned into a phenomenal fantasy asset. And he’s still finding a way to get things done with the Oilers, even though his role is reduced since the trade from the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks didn’t have a clear quarterback for their power play, and Walman had a profile as more of a defending defender in his time with the Red Wings, so he wasn’t a top candidate to turn into the offensive catalyst from the blue line. But he showed his ability in spades and became a roster addition in most leagues by December.
Mackenzie Blackwood, G, Colorado Avalanche
Rostered on 67% of playoff teams; Started season on 0.9% of teams, currently on 78.7%
Biggest jump in rostership on Dec. 17 of 15.5%
And here we see the value that can come from a trade. On Dec. 3, Blackwood was rostered in just 4.4% of ESPN leagues. On Dec. 10, the day after the trade to the Avalanche, that jumped to 18.4 percent — and continued to climb as it became clear this was a huge value swing. This midseason availability of a quality starting goaltender proved huge, as Blackwood is on the highest percentage of playoff-bound teams among goaltenders — more than Connor Hellebuyck.
You can find a table of the top 100 players and their rostership details at the bottom of this article.
Goalie notes
play
0:44
Jonathan Lekkerimaki scores winning SO goal for Canucks
Jonathan Lekkerimaki scores the winning goal in the shootout to lift the Canucks past the Devils.
Montreal Canadiens in 69 games (three last week)
Sam Montembeault (crease share season/week: 70.8%/100.0%, fantasy points season/week: 88.6/-0.8, 66.0% available)
Jakub Dobes (crease share season/week: 16.6%/DNP, fantasy points season/week: 27.2/DNP, 94.9% available)
The highs and lows continue, with Montembeault providing negative points in his past two following three consecutive victories. The Habs still have one of the better schedules going forward, and we all know finding free-agent goaltender help is not an easy task. While you still need to exercise caution and being able to choose which matchup to deploy him is still preferable, Montembeault seems like one of the few good options remaining that might be available in your league.
Pittsburgh Penguins in 72 games (three last week)
Alex Nedeljkovic (crease share season/week: 45.0%/32.6%, fantasy points season/week: 27.0/6.8, 97.5% available)
Tristan Jarry (crease share season/week: 37.2%/67.4%, fantasy points season/week: 27.0/1.4, 74.0% available)
We shall see on Tuesday evening based on who starts, but the Penguins may be back to a rotational 50/50 split here following the end of Jarry’s winning streak. Pittsburgh has some tougher matchups dotted in throughout the schedule, but if you can cherry-pick the good ones, there’s a world where adding Jarry is still an option. If there strict rotation holds, Jarry closes the season with starts against the Sabres, Blues, Blackhawks, Devils and Capitals.
Carolina Hurricanes in 70 games (three last week)
Pyotr Kochetkov (crease share season/week: 58.4%/33.3%, fantasy points season/week: 93.6/-10.4, 55.6% available)
Frederik Andersen (crease share season/week: 22.9%/66.7%, fantasy points season/week: 55.0/13.8, 34.0% available)
Speaking of rotations, this one has been a strict 50/50 since Andersen returned. Kochetkov is definitely the preferred option to close the season. If the timeshare holds, Andersen gets the Canadiens, Capitals, Bruins, Capitals again, Maple Leafs and Senators. Compare that with Kochetkov’s haul of the Predators, Islanders, Red Wings, Sabres, Rangers and Canadiens.
Power-play notes
Taylor Hall, LW, Carolina Hurricanes (available in 93.1%)
There’s a hole on the top power play in Carolina, as Andrei Svechnikov continues to miss time. The hat trick on Sunday aside, the Canes are running Hall out on the top power-play unit consistently — as opposed to their shiny new Logan Stankoven acquisition. There could be some late-season value from Hall.
Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, Calgary Flames (available in 28.4%)
He’s not available in most leagues, but he’s worth checking on. Huberdeau seems to be building momentum as the season continues. He’s been on the ice for six power-play goals in the past 10 games.
Artyom Levshunov, D, Chicago Blackhawks (available in 98.4%)
He’s not necessarily getting all the points himself yet, but the top unit with Levshunov on the point is coming around. The top unit has three goals and 14 shot attempts in 5:44 across the past three games.
Jeff Skinner, LW, Edmonton Oilers (available in 66.9%)
With Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl both on the shelf, Skinner and Viktor Arvidsson have been elevated to the top power-play unit. They didn’t get a point on it, but the unit did pick up a goal on Saturday with them on the ice.
Nick Blankenburg, D, Nashville Predators (available in 99.6%)
If you are desperate in a deeper league, the Predators have been rolling Blankenburg as their power-play quarterback with Roman Josi out of the lineup. For his part, Blankenburg is picking up the occasional power-play point for his efforts.
Jani Nyman, RW, Seattle Kraken (available in 99.6%)
Up for a test run as the Kraken play out the string, Nyman looks like he has some chemistry with fellow Finn Kappo Kakko. And some of that is coming out on the power play, where Nyman has three of his four points in six games this season.
Cole Perfetti, LW, Winnipeg Jets (available in 81.1%)
Coming back to the start of this article, the best guess is that Perfetti will assume Vilardi’s duties on the Jets top power-play unit. He has managed 15 power-play points this season, coming mostly from the secondary power-play unit, so this opportunity to close the season with the big guns is a good time to add him to your team.
Top 100 most common players on playoff rosters
PlayerPlayoff
TeamsStart of
SeasonCurrentlyBiggest
JumpBiggest
Jump DateReached
75% DateGabriel Vilardi, C, Winnipeg Jets72%16.20%72.90%17.10%Jan. 2Feb. 4Tom Wilson, RW, Washington Capitals69%26.90%90.50%30.40%Oct. 22Dec. 10Rickard Rakell, RW, Pittsburgh Penguins69%15.80%88.10%15.40%Nov. 5Jan. 14Jake Walman, D, Edmonton Oilers68%10.30%81.50%20.00%Nov. 5Feb. 18Mackenzie Blackwood, G, Colorado Avalanche67%0.90%78.70%15.50%Dec. 17Feb. 18Mark Scheifele, C, Winnipeg Jets66%82.00%98.30%3.90%Oct. 22Oct. 8Lane Hutson, D, Montreal Canadiens63%23.10%83.60%21.60%Oct. 15Feb. 18Brandon Hagel, LW, Tampa Bay Lightning61%82.80%95.80%3.80%Oct. 15Oct. 8Macklin Celebrini, C, San Jose Sharks61%57.60%84.40%12.40%Dec. 3Dec. 24Mark Stone, RW, Vegas Golden Knights60%61.70%88.70%17.20%Oct. 15Oct. 15Dylan Holloway, C, St. Louis Blues60%1.40%69.00%20.80%Jan. 14Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets60%99.80%99.90%0.10%Feb. 18Oct. 8Mikael Granlund, LW, Dallas Stars60%27.70%80.70%27.70%Oct. 29Nov. 12Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche59%99.90%99.90%0.00%Feb. 18Oct. 8Anthony Cirelli, C, Tampa Bay Lightning59%14.50%71.90%25.90%Nov. 26Jan. 21Moritz Seider, D, Detroit Red Wings58%99.30%99.40%0.30%Feb. 18Oct. 8Jake Middleton, D, Minnesota Wild57%12.00%69.30%24.40%Oct. 29Dec. 3Jackson LaCombe, D, Anaheim Ducks57%0.30%63.20%15.50%Jan. 14Sam Reinhart, RW, Florida Panthers56%99.70%99.80%0.10%Feb. 18Oct. 8Mitch Marner, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs55%99.60%99.60%0.40%Oct. 29Oct. 8Jake Oettinger, G, Dallas Stars55%97.40%98.40%0.70%Oct. 22Oct. 8Jonathan Huberdeau, LW, Calgary Flames55%22.10%70.90%33.30%Oct. 15Dylan Guenther, RW, Utah Hockey Club54%46.90%83.10%32.30%Oct. 15Oct. 15MacKenzie Weegar, D, Calgary Flames54%99.10%99.30%0.40%Feb. 18Oct. 8Victor Hedman, D, Tampa Bay Lightning53%99.70%99.70%0.20%Dec. 17Oct. 8Leon Draisaitl, C, Edmonton Oilers53%99.90%99.90%0.00%Feb. 18Oct. 8Logan Thompson, G, Washington Capitals53%47.10%92.20%9.90%Nov. 12Jan. 2Robert Thomas, C, St. Louis Blues52%78.20%76.70%10.70%Oct. 29Oct. 8Josh Morrissey, D, Winnipeg Jets52%99.60%99.60%0.20%Feb. 25Oct. 8Evan Bouchard, D, Edmonton Oilers52%99.80%99.50%0.80%Oct. 22Oct. 8Seth Jarvis, RW, Carolina Hurricanes52%81.00%86.50%5.80%Feb. 18Oct. 8Dylan Strome, C, Washington Capitals51%71.00%89.60%4.90%Feb. 18Nov. 5Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Washington Capitals51%14.20%58.30%11.90%Feb. 18Quinn Hughes, D, Vancouver Canucks50%99.80%99.90%0.10%Oct. 15Oct. 8Mikhail Sergachev, D, Utah Hockey Club50%92.60%96.40%2.80%Feb. 18Oct. 8Adam Fox, D, New York Rangers50%99.80%99.50%0.20%Mar. 4Oct. 8Matt Duchene, C, Dallas Stars50%63.40%83.10%9.20%Oct. 29Nov. 12Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets50%90.80%98.80%2.10%Nov. 26Oct. 8Jake Sanderson, D, Ottawa Senators49%96.30%98.60%1.50%Oct. 22Oct. 8Matthew Knies, LW, Toronto Maple Leafs49%37.80%62.90%17.80%Feb. 18Tomas Hertl, C, Vegas Golden Knights49%87.50%91.20%3.60%Oct. 29Oct. 8Rasmus Andersson, D, Calgary Flames48%91.80%93.50%1.80%Oct. 22Oct. 8Filip Gustavsson, G, Minnesota Wild48%85.20%96.40%4.30%Oct. 22Oct. 8Valeri Nichushkin, RW, Colorado Avalanche48%34.60%61.50%8.10%Nov. 19Darcy Kuemper, G, Los Angeles Kings47%20.80%64.30%16.80%Jan. 14Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes47%98.70%98.10%0.90%Oct. 15Oct. 8Dustin Wolf, G, Calgary Flames47%5.70%65.60%19.20%Nov. 26Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles Kings47%92.20%89.90%1.90%Feb. 18Oct. 8Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche47%99.90%99.90%0.10%Feb. 18Oct. 8Jesper Bratt, RW, New Jersey Devils47%93.90%97.90%1.10%Oct. 15Oct. 8Jakob Chychrun, D, Washington Capitals46%76.10%90.00%7.50%Nov. 5Oct. 8John Carlson, D, Washington Capitals46%98.90%98.30%0.80%Feb. 18Oct. 8Alex Tuch, RW, Buffalo Sabres46%84.70%91.20%4.60%Feb. 18Oct. 8Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers46%99.20%99.20%1.00%Oct. 15Oct. 8Thomas Harley, D, Dallas Stars46%84.70%86.00%8.20%Feb. 18Oct. 8Jack Eichel, C, Vegas Golden Knights46%99.20%99.70%0.20%Feb. 18Oct. 8Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres45%99.80%99.50%0.80%Oct. 29Oct. 8Sergei Bobrovsky, G, Florida Panthers45%99.50%96.10%1.20%Nov. 26Oct. 8Roope Hintz, C, Dallas Stars45%90.20%86.60%5.30%Feb. 4Oct. 8Mike Matheson, D, Montreal Canadiens45%98.50%94.00%1.20%Jan. 28Oct. 8Kyle Connor, LW, Winnipeg Jets45%99.50%99.70%0.10%Feb. 18Oct. 8Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning45%99.80%99.90%0.00%Feb. 18Oct. 8Tim Stutzle, C, Ottawa Senators45%94.70%97.70%1.00%Feb. 18Oct. 8Brayden Point, C, Tampa Bay Lightning45%99.70%99.50%0.60%Nov. 12Oct. 8Nick Suzuki, C, Montreal Canadiens44%99.10%99.00%0.80%Oct. 15Oct. 8Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning44%99.80%99.80%0.10%Feb. 18Oct. 8Noah Dobson, D, New York Islanders44%99.60%94.70%2.70%Jan. 28Oct. 8Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers44%99.90%99.90%0.10%Feb. 18Oct. 8Igor Shesterkin, G, New York Rangers43%99.80%98.60%0.30%Jan. 2Oct. 8Lucas Raymond, LW, Detroit Red Wings43%97.00%96.50%1.70%Oct. 22Oct. 8Artemi Panarin, LW, New York Rangers43%99.50%99.70%0.20%Oct. 22Oct. 8Martin Necas, RW, Colorado Avalanche42%82.50%96.60%7.30%Nov. 5Oct. 8J.T. Miller, C, New York Rangers42%99.80%96.80%3.40%Nov. 26Oct. 8Drake Batherson, RW, Ottawa Senators42%84.20%84.70%4.10%Oct. 15Oct. 8Jacob Trouba, D, Anaheim Ducks42%96.30%88.90%0.80%Dec. 10Oct. 8Cole Caufield, LW, Montreal Canadiens42%91.50%96.10%1.40%Feb. 18Oct. 8Adin Hill, G, Vegas Golden Knights42%78.50%81.90%5.20%Oct. 22Oct. 8Jake Guentzel, LW, Tampa Bay Lightning42%99.40%99.40%0.30%Oct. 15Oct. 8Matt Boldy, LW, Minnesota Wild42%85.00%94.00%2.40%Feb. 18Oct. 8Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils42%95.40%98.10%1.40%Oct. 29Oct. 8Patrik Laine, RW, Montreal Canadiens42%42.20%66.00%26.40%Dec. 10Jan. 28Bryan Rust, RW, Pittsburgh Penguins41%73.30%78.10%8.00%Dec. 17Jan. 21Connor McMichael, C, Washington Capitals41%1.30%56.10%24.20%Nov. 5Nov. 26Sam Bennett, C, Florida Panthers41%80.80%87.80%4.20%Feb. 18Oct. 8Filip Forsberg, LW, Nashville Predators41%99.70%99.00%0.60%Dec. 10Oct. 8Vincent Trocheck, C, New York Rangers41%98.90%96.60%1.40%Feb. 18Oct. 8Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs41%87.30%76.00%5.30%Mar. 4Oct. 8Nikolaj Ehlers, LW, Winnipeg Jets41%76.60%85.70%5.00%Feb. 18Oct. 8Thomas Chabot, D, Ottawa Senators41%29.90%60.10%14.00%Nov. 19Travis Sanheim, D, Philadelphia Flyers40%64.40%80.90%11.00%Nov. 19Nov. 26Clayton Keller, LW, Utah Hockey Club40%97.60%97.10%1.70%Dec. 24Oct. 8Tage Thompson, C, Buffalo Sabres40%97.80%97.80%0.90%Feb. 18Oct. 8Mikko Rantanen, RW, Dallas Stars39%99.90%99.90%0.00%Feb. 25Oct. 8Alex Pietrangelo, D, Vegas Golden Knights39%93.40%89.90%2.80%Oct. 29Oct. 8Erik Karlsson, D, Pittsburgh Penguins39%97.10%95.20%2.20%Feb. 18Oct. 8Jacob Markstrom, G, New Jersey Devils39%87.20%77.60%2.60%Jan. 28Oct. 8Kirill Marchenko, LW, Columbus Blue Jackets38%56.20%84.70%6.40%Jan. 2Jan. 2Josh Norris, C, Buffalo Sabres38%7.90%47.80%16.00%Oct. 22Aliaksei Protas, C, Washington Capitals38%0.50%50.00%16.90%Feb. 18Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins37%99.80%99.60%0.20%Oct. 29Oct. 8
