Here are the season-ending fantasy hockey awards. It is so easy to argue whether some choices could go elsewhere, but that's the beauty of these awards. All stats are through the end of the season.
2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Award Winners
Top Fantasy Hockey MVP of 2024-25 Season
Connor Hellebuyck, Goalie, Winnipeg Jets
This was a very tight race as Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl all deserved consideration. There are not many times a goaltender is considered the top fantasy choice, but Hellebuyck's season was so superior, it could not be overlooked. He led the NHL in wins with 47, goals-against-average (2.00), shutouts with eight and tied for the league lead in games played with 63. He finished second to Anthony Stolarz in save percentage, only .001 behind Stolarz's .926. Had I selected a forward, it is likely I would have picked Leon Draisaitl, who led the NHL in goals with 51.
Fantasy Hockey Sleeper of the Year
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Center, Washington Capitals
Dubois had a horrible 2023-24 campaign, scoring 16 times and adding 24 assists in 82 regular-season games with Los Angeles. He was dealt in the offseason to Washington, where he had a career high 65 points, as well as 76 PIM and 13 points on the power play. Teammate Logan Thompson led most of the season for this award, but he slumped late in the season (the playoffs for many), finishing 0-2-1, allowing 13 goals on 59 shots before suffering an upper-body injury
Here are the season-ending fantasy hockey awards. It is so easy to argue whether some choices could go elsewhere, but that's the beauty of these awards. All stats are through the end of the season.
2024-25 Fantasy Hockey Award Winners
Top Fantasy Hockey MVP of 2024-25 Season
Connor Hellebuyck, Goalie, Winnipeg Jets
This was a very tight race as Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl all deserved consideration. There are not many times a goaltender is considered the top fantasy choice, but Hellebuyck's season was so superior, it could not be overlooked. He led the NHL in wins with 47, goals-against-average (2.00), shutouts with eight and tied for the league lead in games played with 63. He finished second to Anthony Stolarz in save percentage, only .001 behind Stolarz's .926. Had I selected a forward, it is likely I would have picked Leon Draisaitl, who led the NHL in goals with 51.
Fantasy Hockey Sleeper of the Year
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Center, Washington Capitals
Dubois had a horrible 2023-24 campaign, scoring 16 times and adding 24 assists in 82 regular-season games with Los Angeles. He was dealt in the offseason to Washington, where he had a career high 65 points, as well as 76 PIM and 13 points on the power play. Teammate Logan Thompson led most of the season for this award, but he slumped late in the season (the playoffs for many), finishing 0-2-1, allowing 13 goals on 59 shots before suffering an upper-body injury April 2, missing the final seven games of the season.
Fantasy Hockey Bust of the Year
Auston Matthews, Center, Toronto Maple Leafs
Matthews didn't have a bad season, just not one you would expect from a Top 5 pick in fantasy pools. Matthews was spectacular last season with 69 goals and 38 assists in 81 games. This season he was held back by an upper-body injury that cost him 15 games during the year. He had only 33 goals in 67 games, a huge drop from last season. He was red-hot through portions of the season, but that did not make up for his draft position. Another bust was Roman Josi, who had nine goals and 38 points in 53 games before missing the final 25 contests with an upper-body injury. He had 85 points last season and was likely a second or third-round selection in most drafts.
Goalie MVP
Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets
Hellebuyck was the best goaltender from start to finish once again this season. The reasons for choosing him are the same as in MVP voting above. Andrei Vasilevskiy and Jake Oettinger put together high-end seasons, but nothing like what we saw from Hellebuyck, who should easily take home the Vezina Trophy this year.
Defenseman MVP
Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Makar beat out Zach Werenski of the Blue Jackets for the top spot. Makar had his second straight 90-point season, picking up 30 goals for the first time in his career, while managing 62 assists. Makar was a force on the power play with 35 points and fired 246 shots on net, also a career high. He beat out Werenski, who was spectacular this season, tallying 23 goals and 59 assists, both career bests. Makar is the top defenseman in the NHL, while Werenski is a top-three blueliner, along with Quinn Hughes.
Fantasy Hockey Rookie of the Year
Lane Hutson, Defenseman, Montreal Canadiens
Another tough category, as Hutson and Dustin Wolf were the two best rookies, with Macklin Celebrini and Matvei Michkov close behind. Hutson was fabulous throughout the season, tallying six goals and adding an NHL-record tying 60 assists for a rookie defenseman (along with Larry Murphy of the Kings back in 1980-81). Hutson had one five-game scoreless drought in the season, but that followed a nine-game scoring streak in which he had 13 points. Wolf was outstanding as he gave the low-scoring Flames (29th in the NHL, averaging 2.69 goals per game) every opportunity to make the playoffs as they fell just short, tying St. Louis for the second wild-card spot but losing out on regulation wins. Wolf was 29-16-8 with three shutouts, a 2.64 GAA and a .910 save percentage in 53 games.
Waiver Wire Pickup of the Year
Aliaksei Protas, Right Wing, Washington Capitals
Anyone who took Protas in their regular draft (even the deepest ones) must have had a crystal ball, as Protas managed only six goals and 23 assists over 78 games with the Capitals in 2023-24. He was outstanding in 2024-25, scoring 30 times while adding 36 assists, despite picking up only one point on the power play. He was a plus-40, third-best in the NHL, and at the age of 24, he has a bright future with Washington. Teammate Pierre-Luc Dubois also deserves a shoutout as he went from a 40-point player (and lost in Los Angeles) to 66 points with the Capitals.
Dynasty Stash for 2024-25
Yaroslav Askarov, Goalie, San Jose Sharks
There are not too many goaltenders who are good year after year, as Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Igor Shesterkin usually seem to be the top-three. Askarov is the Sharks' goaltender of the future. He was drafted 11th overall in 2020 by Nashville and dealt to San Jose last offseason. He spent most of the season with AHL San Jose, going 11-9-1 with a 2.45 GAA and a .923 save percentage. At the NHL level, Askarov was 4-6-2 with a 3.10 GAA and a .896 save percentage, but he tantalized many with his outstanding play under tough circumstances with the lowly Sharks. San Jose is an up-and-coming team, and Askarov is expected to play a major role in 2025-26.
My Best Fantasy Pick
Dustin Wolf, Goalie, Calgary Flames
I selected Wolf in the 12th round, and he was instrumental in getting me to the semifinals. As mentioned above, Wolf had an outstanding rookie campaign and should be a Top 10 pick among goaltenders next season.
My Worst Fantasy Pick
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Center, Edmonton Oilers
I picked Nugent-Hopkins in the sixth round, figuring he could return to close to the 104-point effort in 2022-23, rather than his 67-point performance last season. I was wrong. Nugent-Hopkins took a further dip in the points race with only 20 goals and 49 points in 78 games. At the age of 33 next season, Nugent-Hopkins may no longer be fantasy-worthy in shallow pools.
