A list of 10 players that failed to live up to lofty expectations so far in the 2024-25 season.
J.T. Miller, C/RW, Rangers - Yahoo Average Draft Position (ADP): 12.9
Coming off his second straight 30-goal, 200-hit season, Miller was a must-have in banger leagues. Very few players offered elite upside in as many categories as Miller, and expectations were sky-high following an outstanding season that saw the Canucks win the division banner. Another 30-goal, 100-point, 200-hit season was very attainable and expected.
Instead, the Canucks imploded, culminating in a trade that sent Miller to the Rangers. At the time of the trade, Miller had already taken a lengthy leave of absence reportedly due to locker-room strife with Elias Pettersson - we'll get to him in a bit - and was scoring at a 71-point, 169-shot pace. Perhaps Miller will return to his previous form last season when he was an all-star and finished 11th in MVP voting, but his final days with the Canucks has cast so much doubt in his fantasy value that the soon-to-be 32-year-old's peak fantasy value might've already came and went.
Miller's roller-coaster season proves that fantasy value is not tied to just numerical projections; these are real-life people with various off-ice issues that can significantly affect their play.
Elias Pettersson, C, LW, Canucks - ADP: 22.6
What was said about Miller could also be applied to Pettersson, who was coming off consecutive seasons where he was nominated for the Selke and named an all-star. Fantasy managers shook off concerns of his late-season fade in 2023-24, banking on the uber-talented Swedish pivot to basically become the second coming of Pavel Datsyuk, a perennial 100-point, two-way threat.
Instead, Pettersson seems to be dogged by nagging injuries and currently on pace to have his worst season yet. His production is way down in every single category, and on most nights struggles with the pace of the game and seems reluctant to shoot the puck. There will be plenty of red flags for Pettersson's fantasy value next season, but he still has the highest upside among the players on this list. If he drops outside the top-50 next season, he is worth the gamble.
Zach Hyman, LW/RW, Oilers - ADP: 22.6
We all knew a regression was coming, so it's difficult to elicit any sympathy for managers who drafted Hyman in the first two rounds like he was a star player. A short list of players who were drafted after Hyman: Sam Reinhart, Mitch Marner, Brayden Point, Jack Eichel, Jake Guentzel... and on and on and on.
Hyman's shooting percentage dropped significantly, and too much of his fantasy value hinged on the performances of other players. I wouldn't be surprised if Hyman scores 30 goals - quite easily - in 2025-26, but thinking he's a 50-goal threat worth taking in the early rounds is madness.
Steven Stamkos, C/LW,RW, Predators - ADP: 40.0
We all should've seen this coming, yet Stamkos was often picked in the top five rounds in 10-team leagues. Sure, there was some optimism surrounding the Preds and hindsight is 20/20, but there were enough red flags that fantasy managers should've shied away: the Preds were old and Stamkos' play was declining - albeit slowly - and it was a totally new environment after having spent his entire career with the Lightning.
Stamkos remains effective on the power play, but his 5-on-5 play continues to be worrisome, and he'll struggle to get to 30 goals and 200 shots this season, two milestones that had basically been an annual guarantee for him throughout his career. Stamkos will still have some value in the 2025-26 season, but also still prone to getting drafted too high due to his reputation.
Chris Kreider, LW, Rangers - ADP: 40.3
Of all the players on this list, Kreider is the biggest bust, going from a 30-goal, 200-shot threat to someone who is only rostered in 73 percent of Yahoo leagues. Kreider was one of the veteran players the Rangers had reportedly put on the trade back amidst a trying season, though it looks like Kreider will stick around.
Kreider will turn 34 years old in April and while his fantasy stock may be at all-time lows, it's also hard to envision how he can bounce back. The game's getting faster and faster and he's not good at creating his own shot. Kreider's on pace for 27 goals, a four-year low and a career-low seven (!) assists. Next season, I suspect Kreider will be late-round pick for managers looking for some extra goals.
Noah Dobson, D, Islanders - ADP: 57.0
The Isles ranked 22nd in goals for per game last season but it didn't stop Dobson from scoring 70 points. That definitely helped fantasy managers shrug off any concerns about a low-upside offense that managed to only add Anthony Duclair and KHL import Maxim Tsyplakov, who drew strong reviews at the start but gradually faded.
Dobson was viewed as a premier power-play quarterback who could join the league's elite ranks, but instead he's notched just seven helpers with the man advantage so far and a long-term injury threatens his status for the rest of the season. With some rumors that Dobson could be moved, his fantasy value is at crossroads. Will he take the next step like Evan Bouchard, or is he closer to a Shayne Gostisbehere, who is more of a passer than a shooter and needs to play more sheltered even-strength minutes?
Mika Zibanejad, C/RW, Rangers - ADP: 61.1
If you're sensing a theme here, it's because the struggles of an entire team aren't usually just limited to one player. Zibanejad is having his toughest season in a Rangers uniform, poised to finish with just 55 points despite being drafted as a point-per-game threat at a deep position. His minus-24 rating is sixth-worst in the league and quite embarrassingly is the only forward ranked in the bottom-20 who does not play on the Canadiens, Blackhawks, Sharks, Penguins, Predators or Sabres.
Zibanejad's play picked up when Miller joined his line, and he looked strong for Team Sweden against Canada at the 4 Nations opener, but he's looked nothing like a No. 1 center. Fantasy managers who were looking for a big bounce-back following a 72-point instead got an aging center whose play continued to decline.
Brock Boeser, RW, Canucks - ADP: 72.7
Here's what Boeser really is: a really good shooter and 30-goal threat, but also a winger who almost exclusively plays the right side and struggles to both carry the puck and create his own shot with consistency.
The problem is that there are plenty of players who can score 30 goals and offer upside in other categories; Boeser is not a high-volume shooter and his 40-goal season should be considered an anomaly, not the norm. At 27 years old, Boeser is still in his peak years, but without a significant change to his playing style or skill set, he's just one of the many, many depth scorers available in the mid-to-late rounds without the necessary upside to justify reaching for him. His future with the Canucks also remains uncertain at this point, and injuries have been a concern throughout his career.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, C/LW, Oilers - ADP: 75.2
Another Oiler whose declining point production was not a surprise. Nugent-Hopkins was a power-play merchant of the highest order; he went from 104 points (53 on the PP) in 2022-23 to 67 points (26 on the PP) in 2023-24 to just 35 points (15 on the PP) this season. When Nugent-Hopkins is not playing a big role on their power play - he's their fifth option now with Evan Bouchard demanding more time with the puck - he just doesn't have much fantasy value. At an ADP of 75.2, that was already a reach.
Morgan Rielly, D, Maple Leafs - ADP: 80.3
Drafting defensemen can be such a minefield because other than a handful at the very top, it's difficult to project who will have the most standout season. Rielly, however, has fallen from expectations the most. He's struggled all season with both his offensive and defensive play; the Leafs have taken him off the power play and now run five forwards on their top unit, and he's a team-worst minus-15.
For a team with elite offensive firepower and lacking in true offensive defenseman, Rielly is in a great position to score 50-60 points, but he'll have trouble getting close to 40 this season. Without the shots and hits, Rielly's gone from must-roster status to being rostered in just 75 percent of Yahoo leagues. It's actually hard to imagine he once scored 20 goals in a season.