Top 25 Fantasy Centers

(Ed. note: We thank Chris from The Program for posting his fantasy rankings this week... today are the centers, with the right wingers and defensemen coming up to finish out the week.)

Our top 25 lists as always are based on usual three year projections but also based on how the player is progressing career wise, and who is playing with him on his line or pairing (chemistry). Again much thanks goes out to guys like Ryan Porth, Ian Gooding, Darryl Houston Smith, and so many others for their help this summer. Now the list.

Top 25 Centers

1. Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) LY: 2
Why?: He is 'Sid The Kid'....and finds ways to get points...that simple. A nice season totaling 109 points (51 G, 58 A) but there are no more buts left. Yes, he has great hands....no one can question that but it is more than just how straight his hockey stick is folks. The improvement of 13 PPG's was very pleasant. The balance of adding that shot threat is big. It gave him more room to work down low. However, how he was contained by Hal Gill in the playoffs last year is a small concern.
Skinny: Barring injury...Crosby will finish 2nd in points amongst centers. His 21:51 ATOI is also excellent. He is flanked by excellent guys on the wings (Bill Guerin and Chris Kunitz). A full season will also help sort out any chemistry issues if they are remaining. Malkin and Crosby are in their early 20's and just finding their games still. I can see Crosby at about 35 goals, 72 assists and 107 points this year. Hey maybe he cracks 10 goals on the man advantage and figures out to shoot more from distance to keep goalies honest.

2. Nicklas Backstrom (Washington Capitals) LY: 5
Why?: He can pass like so few can. 68 assists to go along with 33 goals belies the fact that this guy is a potential sniper breakout awaiting to happen. Out of his 33 goals, 11 were on the man advantage last year. What I like is he did not have a sophomore slump; he busted right through that. 100 points seems to be on the norm for Backstrom. As a matter of fact, he could potentially lead the league in scoring this year if things fall right.
Skinny: Backstrom shot more to the tune of 222 shots last year and has the shot to push it up to near 250 this year. He should top the 30-goal mark but could come close to 80 assists if Washington continues to score the way it has. Unlike Vancouver, Washington has the guns to keep pushing it. What to expect? Potentially a 34-74-108 type of year from Backstrom and a tidy 15 tallies on the man advantage with a +40. Those are some eye popping numbers.

3. Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay Lightning) LY: NR
Why?: Stamkos netted 51 goals last year in his sophomore campaign, and was an absolute machine on the power play with 24 goals and 41 points. Next to Martin St. Louis and Steve Downie, Stamkos thrived on the top line.
Skinny: Stamkos' 95-point performance in 2009/10 can certainly be repeated... in fact, it should be expected. Tampa Bay's power play (ranked 8th last year) should only get better with the addition of Simon Gagne and possible re-emergence of Vinny Lecavalier. This year I think you'll see a 50-45 type campaign from Stamkos, and will once again be one of the top fantasy players in the league.

4. Henrik Sedin (Vancouver Canucks) LY: 11
Why?: Because all Henrik did was lead the league in scoring with 112 points. 29 goals and 83 assists on a team that scored a Western Conference-leading 272 goals last year is pretty impressive. It is obvious that his numbers are very good. The only question is can he keep it up? That answer is yes, despite the absences of his twin brother, Daniel. The other concern may be the lack of goals on the extra man with four but most are willing to look past that with the 23 power play assists.
Skinny: What I like about Henrik the most is the simple fact that he just does what he does. There is nothing overtly fancy about him but he finds ways to score and Vancouver still will have a potent offense. I just think the depth guys will contribute a bit less. An awful lot of guys had breakout years all at once in Vancouver. Expect a season right near 100 points with 34 goals for Henrik.

5. Evgeni Malkin (Pittsburgh Penguins) LY: 1
Why?: He led the league in points two years ago. DUH! You know how they say the world is your oyster...well with Mr. Malkin it really is. He won the Stanley Cup, but that was two years ago. Last year was different and an exercise in frustration. Injuries and lack of power play production drove Malkin nuts as he only played in 67 games while totaling 77 points. That is a nice average for most but not for Malkin, who clearly was miffed at the tail end of last year.
Skinny: Malkin will be back amongst the top point scorers this year. He may even come to close to 40 goals and easily top 50 assists. So for those scoring at home, Malkin should have a 39-58-97 type of season which is not totally Malkin-like but much better than last year. I like the fact that he could top over 20 PPG's; keep that in mind for leagues that love power play points. Pittsburgh will bounce back on the man advantage and Malkin will be one of the chief beneficiaries.

And now 6-10........

6. Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim Ducks)
Why?: Getzlaf struggled to stay in the lineup consistently, and failed to take next step like most people expected. He tallied 69 points in 66 games. He had a 15-point drop off in power play points from the 08/09 season while missing 16 games due to injury.
Skinny: Getzlaf has 100 point potential written all over him if he can be just a little more disciplined as far as the penalties he takes. Everyone knows it and he can shoot the puck more as well. He only had 221 shots last year which is low for a guy of his caliber. He even has the TV commercial thing down (Home Depot) and his balding spot will not stop him. Expect a season of 30-71 and 101 points along with 80-90 PIMS and 12 PPG's. Getzlaf will be a force and cause huge difficulty for defenses and coaches this season.

7. Joe Thornton (San Jose Sharks) LY: 7
Why?: He had that predicted slight uptick with 89 points in 79 games last year. So 7 seems the perfect slot for a guy that is destined to be right around 90 points and little more. The problem is he still cannot score on the man advantage like he used to. Jumbo Joe had 4 goals on the man advantage and his 25 assists there were a bit lower than usual. The 141 SOG really hurts badly and if that does not improve, Thornton will fall further down next year.
Skinny: So we can see Jumbo Joe will do about the same this year. Right around a 30-60-90 season should do it. That shot total will have to go up to around 170 to keep him fantasy relevant in that category. The question becomes will some of the San Jose players around Thornton step up? That could be a key in slotting Thornton's production. Stay tuned but he will always go higher than he should in drafts from here on out.

8. Eric Staal (Carolina Hurricanes) LY: 8
Why?: He cracked a bit last year but still averaged a point a game on an injury-riddled shell of a team that just did not perform as expected. The offense will be pretty good this year, but his defense can be below average at times. That puts even more onus on Eric Staal to do the deed. If he stays healthy, there is no reason to believe he won't get at least 85 points. Can he get 90?
Skinny: Yes he can. I really do think Eric Staal has a 90 point season in him just barely. He can put the pucks in the net and I think more will go in this year. Staal did have some very bad luck at times in the 08-09 campaign. Still he can pass the puck especially on the man advantage. So something along the lines of 44-46-90 with 14 PPG's and 8 GWG's are actually reasonable this season for a center who should make the All-Star team. The numbers go down a bit with injury which could happen again with Staal. Keep an eye out.

9. Pavel Datsyuk (Detroit Red Wings) LY: 4
Why?: I think he is due for a better season by default. Here is a guy normally near 90 points who had an off year last season. 70 points in 80 games was a bit of a shock to a lot of people but when you add in all the injuries to the Wings' roster, it was no surprise at all.
Skinny: He is going to be much improved with healthy players such as Johan Franzen, Henrik Zetterberg, and... you get the idea. Expect a nice bounce back type year with Datsyuk and a rejuvenated man advantage unit. Datsyuk could get close to 90 points but I am willing to go with 33-55-88 for starters. Look out, Datsyuk may surprise. Sounds crazy, I know.

10. Paul Stastny (Colorado Avalanche) LY: 23
Why?: I like the way he started to play late last year for Colorado like it was his team, offensively, finally. That is what Stastny needed to figure out to take that next step, and the Avs will benefit from that. 79 points could be a mere precursor to what he does this season. The key will be the health of guys like Chris Stewart, Peter Mueller, and David Jones. I think they hold some of the key to Stastny's point scoring future.
Skinny: Some think other players are more deserving in this slot but Stastny's time is now. I can see him easily topping 30 goals and coming near 60 assists. The major numbers should all come up some, even plus/minus. Expect a nice 34-59-93 season out of the talented center and an improved face-off percentage as well. The time is now and you can get this guy much lower on the draft board than you would think.

Now of course 11-25.......skinny style.

T-11. Jason Spezza (OTT) -- Spezza still has enough talent around him.
11. Vincent Lecavalier (TB) -- Will have a strong second half fueling '10-'11.
12. Anze Kopitar (LA) -- Will benefit if Smyth stays healthy.
13. Jonathan Toews (CHI) -- Kane situation may motivate him early.
14. Patrick Marleau (SJ) -- Multi positional for now at least....
15. Brad Richards (DAL) -- Still can score but will Loui help again?
16. Johan Franzen (DET) -- Spotlight is on now....no turning back.
17. Travis Zajac (NJ) -- Steady progress and high plus/minus again.
18. Mikko Koivu (MIN) -- Last year was not a fluke at all.
19. Nik Antropov (ATL) -- A surprise maybe but Kovalchuk helps!!
20. Scott Gomez (MTL) -- Started to play better in the second half....
21. Saku Koivu (ANA) -- Playing with Selanne will help!
22. Ryan Kesler (VAN) -- A step back for the center this year.
23. Mike Richards (PHI) -- Maybe this is where Richards belongs.
24. Jeff Carter (PHI) -- Could get traded and be better off.
25. Olli Jokinen (CGY) -- No joke could actually be productive in Calgary.

We expect lots of debate and controversy as always. The goal is to not only imform but to get opinions from everywhere.

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