Forward Rankings

Hockey Hearsay will resume next week.

For ’11-12 SINGLE SEASON fantasy pools which equally weigh goals, assists, plus/minus, penalty minutes, power play points and shots on goal.

Standard fantasy leagues aren’t just about who’ll score the most points, which is why you’ll see power forward-types so heavily coveted at the draft and in trade circles throughout the season. The more of them you accumulate, the lesser your need to go goon-hunting later in the season to make up ground in PIM. Shooters also tend to fare better in the rankings than passers because the former tend to help in more categories.

Your pick is coming up. The adrenalin is pumping. Is it time to gamble on Sidney Crosby?

Every owner in every draft war room will face that predicament leading up to the start of the regular season. When or even if he’ll play this season is, to put it bluntly, a complete question mark. When camp opened Saturday, he was able to exert himself 100% for the first time and he said he felt good. Sunday he began moving into the high-traffic areas in drills. He practiced hard for five straight days and then has today off, but only players dressing for tonight's preseason game against Chicago are skating. There has been no setback of any kind.

All of those notes from the past five days are good signs. When will he be cleared for contact? That question can’t be answered right now, but we seem to be getting closer to that point.

No. 87 seems to be a better gamble for H2H owners, with the hopes that he’ll be healthy and producing in time – at the latest - for their playoff run. Roto franchises could use an early pick on him, but then be too far out of the race by the time he receives clearance to play.

Then again, the news so far has been really encouraging. Things could change in a millisecond, but as of now I’m actually more inclined to want to take a chance on him as early as the end of the first round. Before camp began, I was targeting maybe 20 or so forwards I’d rather lock in than chance his concussion status. He’d never last that long with so many itchy trigger fingers in a draft room, but that was my general safety feel. The fact that he’s able to go all-out now seems to bode well, which makes me MUCH more willing to gamble. But who the hell knows? What looks good in a draft tonight might be completely different tomorrow, based on his latest update.

Throughout the summer, the Magic 8-Ball has been saying "Reply hazy, try again". Now? "Outlook good".

Crosby told The Post-Gazette Wednesday that whenever he returns, he is not promising he will immediately play at the level that had him leading the NHL with 66 points in 41 games when he got hurt.

"I'd love to be able to say the first game I play I'm right back where I left off, but it's probably pretty unrealistic," Crosby said.

"That's probably the best I've felt since I've played in the NHL, and that's where I want to get to. How long that will take, I don't know. But I'm going to do my best to get back there as soon as I can."

Nos. 1-10

1. Alex Ovechkin, LW, Washington Capitals: Off-season training changes seem to have paid off.

2. Steven Stamkos: C, Tampa Bay Lightning: Continuing to learn, improve. True stud performer.

3. Daniel Sedin, LW, Vancouver Canucks: Point consistency outshines weaker peripherals.

4. Henrik Sedin, C, Vancouver Canucks: Set it and forget it. L1 C spot locked up.

5. Corey Perry, RW, Anaheim Ducks: Fewer points, PIM likely; still highly-valuable.

6. Martin St. Louis, RW, Tampa Bay Lightning: 36 and still posting insane totals.

7. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh Penguins: Hungry. Healthy. Wants to be considered elite again.

8. Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins: Play the numbers 8-7 and hope for a winning ticket.

9. Zach Parise, LW, New Jersey Devils: Raring to go after missing most of last season.

10. Ilya Kovalchuk, LW, New Jersey Devils: Loves to shoot and should rise to point-per-game or so.

Nos. 11-20

11. Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim Ducks: Has missed 31 GP in past 2 years. Still top-end asset.

12. Eric Staal, C, Carolina Hurricanes: Decent points, but mammoth SOG total boosts value.

13. Pavel Datsyuk, C, Detroit Red Wings: Watch a game and just iso him. Unreal talent & mind.

14. Brad Richards, C, New York Rangers: Elite finisher on his wing; hopefully chemistry is there.

15. Rick Nash, LW/RW, Columbus Blue Jackets: Jeff Carter. Jeff Carter. Jeff Carter.

16. Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington Capitals: Should be an excellent rebound candidate.

17. Henrik Zetterberg, W/C, Detroit Red Wings: Swede loves to fire the puck, which helps his owners.

18. Patrick Kane, RW, Chicago Blackhawks: Wrist non-issue. Looking to take next step to elite.

19. Bobby Ryan, LW, Anaheim Ducks: Helps out across the board categorically.

20. Anze Kopitar, C, Los Angeles Kings: Support of Richards anchoring L2 should help immensely.

Nos. 21-30

21. Jarome Iginla, RW, Calgary Flames: 4 of past 5 years have been terrific results.

22. Teemu Selanne, RW, Anaheim Ducks: Back to dominate one more time. Revel in his greatness.

23. Jonathan Toews, C, Chicago Blackhawks: Should challenge point-per-game mark again.

24. Claude Giroux, C, Philadelphia Flyers: Broke out last year and has more room to breathe in line-up.

25. Jeff Carter, C, Columbus Blue Jackets: He and Nash need playmaking winger, but L1 C spot his now.

26. Marian Gaborik, RW, New York Rangers: Now has Richards; Torts thinks he's going to have big year.

27. Marian Hossa, RW, Chicago Blackhawks: More GP would really help the cause. Still a star.

28. Alexander Semin, RW, Washington Capitals: Easy to criticize, but still all-around fantasy threat.

29. Joe Thornton, C, San Jose Sharks: Should get back to point-per-game level. Strong PPP.

30. Milan Lucic, LW, Boston Bruins: PIM, +/-, L1 status drive his value. Decent points.

Nos. 31-40

31. Jason Spezza, C, Ottawa Senators: He’ll likely fall later than this in your draft.

32. Patrick Marleau, LW, San Jose Sharks: Willingness to shoot helps the cause.

33. John Tavares, C, New York Islanders: 6-year extension & ready to take next developmental step.

34. Mike Richards, C, Los Angeles Kings: Rekindled magic with Simon Gagne?

35. Patrick Sharp, W/C, Chicago Blackhawks: Emergency appendectomy only a minor setback.

36. Danny Briere, C, Philadelphia Flyers: Pretty sweet all-around deal this late.

37. Ryane Clowe, LW, San Jose Sharks: 119 points and 231 PIM over past two seasons.

38. Chris Stewart, RW, St. Louis Blues: Young power forward should deliver for poolies.

39. Dany Heatley, LW, Minnesota Wild: Change of address, more motivation to succeed.

40. Thomas Vanek, LW, Buffalo Sabres: Shooter has deeper supporting cast now.

Nos. 41-50

41. David Backes, C/W, St. Louis Blues: Captain helps out everywhere. Team improving.

42. Alexandre Burrows, RW, Vancouver Canucks: Value fell a bit last year, but still solid.

43. Johan Franzen, RW, Detroit Red Wings: Power forward stats with better point totals.

44. Jaromir Jagr, RW, Philadelphia Flyers: SOG/ PIM help the aging winger’s cause in this format.

45. Derek Roy, C, Buffalo Sabres: One of many bargains out there who should yield good returns.

46. Phil Kessel, RW, Toronto Maple Leafs: Slated to play with Connolly & Lupul. Love the SOG.

47. Joe Pavelski, W/C, San Jose Sharks: High SOG total moves him up. L1 RW with Thornton, Marleau?

48. Mike Ribeiro, C, Dallas Stars: No. 1 pivot with Richards gone.

49. Mikko Koivu, C, Minnesota Wild: Should begin with newcomers Setoguchi, Heatley.

50. Vincent Lecavalier, C, Tampa Bay Lightning: First camp in 5 years he starts healthy.

Nos. 51-60

51. Martin Havlat, RW, San Jose Sharks: Shoulder surgery recovery should be fine by opener.

52. Patrik Elias, C/W, New Jersey Devils: At C sans Zajac; Likely Parise on LW.

53. Ryan Kesler, C, Vancouver Canucks: Delayed start to season (hip surgery recovery) drops him.

54. Brandon Dubinsky, C/W, New York Rangers: Power forward totals; needs to deliver points again.

55. Jeff Skinner, C/W, Carolina Hurricanes: Level-headed enough to avoid sophomore pitfalls.

56. Nathan Horton, RW, Boston Bruins: Helpful PIM and point total will ideally come up this time.

57. Dustin Brown, RW, Los Angeles Kings: Chips in across the board; new team depth helps cause.

58. Ales Hemsky, RW, Edmonton Oilers: Even with IR stints, point pace is proficient.

59. David Krejci, C, Boston Bruins: Strong second half and led team in playoff points.

60. Loui Eriksson, LW, Dallas Stars: Weak peripherals, no Richards; still good wing option.

Nos. 61-70

61. Justin Williams, RW, Los Angeles Kings: Quiet PIM contributor in addition to top-six role.

62. Shane Doan, RW, Phoenix Coyotes: Nearly 35, depth power forward still has a place here.

63. Andy McDonald, C/W, St. Louis Blues: Probably available later than this too.

64. Michael Cammalleri, LW, Montreal Canadiens: SOG help cause; points have been so-so recently.

65. Scott Hartnell, LW, Philadelphia Flyers: PIM source with top-six slot and helpful points.

66. Brenden Morrow, LW, Dallas Stars: Points not as consistent, but still worthy PIM.

67. Tomas Plekanec, C, Montreal Canadiens: Some PIM/ SOG to go with increase in points.

68. Alex Tanguay, LW, Calgary Flames: Weak peripherals, but good assist man alongside Iginla.

69. Matt Duchene, C, Colorado Avalanche: Point-per-game not out of the question in third campaign.

70. Paul Stastny, C, Colorado Avalanche: Will be better than last season. Has to be.

Nos. 71-80

71. Jason Pominville, RW, Buffalo Sabres: SOG, point increase make him worthwhile.

72. Taylor Hall, LW, Edmonton Oilers: 200+ SOG and more frequent scoring summary appearances.

73. James Neal, RW/LW, Pittsburgh Penguins: Moving to RW; don’t forget PIM.

74. Daniel Alfredsson, RW, Ottawa Senators: Summer back surgery; no restrictions or concerns right now.

75. Mikhail Grabovski, C, Toronto Maple Leafs: Repeat of last year would be fine in this format.

76. James van Riemsdyk, LW, Philadelphia Flyers: Leap of faith. 7G, 70 SOG in 11 playoff GP.

77. Logan Couture, C, San Jose Sharks: Brilliant SOG total aids his poolies’ quests.

78. Dustin Penner, LW, Los Angeles Kings: Paid the price conditioning-wise over the summer.

79. Michael Grabner, RW, New York Islanders: Can he build on remarkable second half run?

80. Evander Kane, LW, Winnipeg Jets: Points bump enhanced by PIM/ SOG. Edged out Ladd.

­Chris Nichols is Sportsnet.ca's fantasy hockey writer.