Winnipeg Jets Fantasy: Thoughts on ESPN’s Fantasy Rankings

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets hits the ice for the pre-game warm up prior to NHL action against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: Blake Wheeler #26 of the Winnipeg Jets hits the ice for the pre-game warm up prior to NHL action against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game Five of the Western Conference Final during the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. (Photo by Darcy Finley/NHLI via Getty Images)

Regardless of whether or not the Winnipeg Jets were one of the best teams in the NHL last season, they were one of the highest scoring. That alone will likely get you a lot of play in the fantasy hockey world.

The Winnipeg Jets were built to score. Second in the league to Tampa, as you know. So, when drafting your fantasy hockey team, I’m sure you’ll see a few of our boys fly off the board.

ESPN recently published quite a bit of fantasy hockey content. They have a top 300 big board, as well as sleepers and players to avoid. It’s quite nice. But I have some thoughts on their rankings, because I know much better than everyone at ESPN (just kidding).

Some Jets are far too low

I was scrolling through the top 300, and it’s mostly normal. I didn’t see a whole lot of surprises, and then I was wondering where some Jets fell into place. I saw Patrik Laine all the way at 28, the 6th best RW.

I was surprised, and tried to do more digging. Until I saw Mark Scheifele. At 59. Behind Rickard Rakell. Who is good.

Look, I understand why Scheifele is so low on the list. It’s his injury. He missed 22 games, so, not insignificant. But he’s not been missing time on a yearly basis. And he’s a point per game player.

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I think Scheifele can go 30-40-70, and that’s a conservative estimate. And he just showed us what he can do to premium opposition in the playoffs. I think Scheifele deserves a higher spot.

Laine, too, but I’m not going to gripe with that one too much. If Ovechkin is going to go #2, I think Laine should be a bit higher. Obviously he’s not the same player, but he scores goals at a comparable rate. At least, close enough.

They did okay with the goaltender

Connor Hellebuyck ranked fifth among goalies and 38th overall on the big board. Ahead of him were Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky, Braden Holtby and Jonathan Quick. I’m surprised Vasilevskiy is first.

Yes, his first half was ridiculous. But he fell short in the second half. The other three are fine. I’m not sure I agree totally, but fine. Keep in mind, this is fantasy hockey. I have to remind myself sometimes.

And that’s why I’m okay with Hellebuyck’s ranking. The fact that he has only one season of premium play is a concern, it is. But he’s got one of the best teams in the league in front of him.

So, the defense will help him keep the puck out of the net. And the offense will help him rack up wins, a thing he did at a historic pace last season.

Oh, and with a very shaky backup situation, you can expect him to play quite a bit. Honestly, I’m peeved by Vasilevskiy’s selection but cool with Connor’s.

As an aside, I know the Rangers are terrible, but Henrik Lundqvist at 270?? Corey Crawford is too high at 126, too, with his injury woes.

But seriously, Hank. At 270. Behind Cam Talbot. Ridiculous. I know he won’t pick up wins, but if he’s going that late, I’m picking him. High end number two or low end number one for sure.

They did well not overreacting to success

I would have had a hard time not putting guys like Scheifele higher, after his playoff success. Maybe they took that into consideration with Laine, who was disappointing in the tournament but remains a very high-upside play.

Nikolaj Ehlers feels a bit too high. It feels where I would rank him (73), but I’m the high man on Ehlers. Maybe ESPN is too. He’s still got some development left, and I think he’ll keep improving.

Would I bet on it in a fantasy league? Maybe. Look, ESPN has to have one of these because they host leagues for fantasy hockey.

But they aren’t exactly known for their extensive NHL coverage. I’m glad they did this and I appreciate it, but that doesn’t mean I don’t take it with a grain of salt.

But for the most part, it looks okay. It wouldn’t be my board, not close, but hey, I’m not known for my extensive history covering fantasy hockey.

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