The linemates they lost: who is projected beside weaker company in 2026-27
say so. A manager reading last season's points per game off a card has no way to see that the centre who produced them is on a different line this year.
This is that difference, measured. For every forward with a real trio sample from 2025-26 and a seat on the 2026-27 chart, it compares the scoring rate of the players he actually shared the ice with against the rate of the two he is projected beside now.
The case that prompted it
Bryan Rust spent 739 minutes at even strength with Sidney Crosby last season, more than with anybody else, and Crosby projects at 1.05 points per game. The 2026-27 chart has them on different lines: Rust on the third, beside Andrei Kuzmenko and Ben Kindel. The scoring rate of his company falls from 0.82 to 0.54.
That is a real loss and it is not the largest one. Rust ranks 33rd of 364 forwards by this measure, which is the reason to run it across the league rather than argue from a single case.
How this is measured
Both sides are valued at projected points per game for the season ahead. That is the one decision worth arguing with, and it is deliberate: pricing last season's linemates at what they really scored and this season's at what they are projected to score would mix two questions together, and because projections run lower than results it would show every forward in the league losing ground. Valuing both sets the same way leaves the change in deployment as the only thing moving. It also prices a rookie linemate, who has no last-season rate at all.
Last season's linemates come from the real forward trios and the time they actually spent together, so four hundred minutes on a line counts for more than ninety. A forward needs at least 150 minutes of trio time last season and 40 projected games this one before he appears here.
The biggest losses
28 forwards are projected beside company at least 0.30 points per game weaker than last season's. The top of that list:
| Player | Team | Line | Linemates last season | Projected linemates | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gabriel Vilardi | WPG | 2 | 0.93 | 0.27 | -0.66 |
| Zach Hyman | EDM | 2 | 1.21 | 0.55 | -0.66 |
| Jiri Kulich | BUF | 4 | 0.74 | 0.12 | -0.63 |
| Collin Graf | SJS | 4 | 0.78 | 0.22 | -0.55 |
| Igor Chernyshov | SJS | 3 | 1.03 | 0.50 | -0.53 |
| Ryan Greene | CHI | 4 | 0.66 | 0.13 | -0.52 |
| Gage Goncalves | TBL | 3 | 0.77 | 0.25 | -0.51 |
| Kasperi Kapanen | EDM | 3 | 0.68 | 0.18 | -0.49 |
| Stefan Noesen | NJD | 4 | 0.59 | 0.10 | -0.49 |
| Alex Iafallo | WPG | 4 | 0.78 | 0.30 | -0.47 |
| Dominic James | TBL | 4 | 0.62 | 0.17 | -0.44 |
| Ryan Hartman | MIN | 3 | 0.77 | 0.37 | -0.40 |
The ones who lost a star
A drop in the average is one thing; losing a specific player is another. These forwards spent at least an hour of even-strength time last season with somebody projected at 0.85 points per game or better, and are not projected beside him now.
Gabriel Vilardi, WPG. 668 minutes with Mark Scheifele last season, who projects at 1.14 points per game. This year the chart has him on the second line beside Isak Rosen and Viggo Bjorck, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 0.93 to 0.27. He also loses Kyle Connor.
Zach Hyman, EDM. 759 minutes with Connor McDavid last season, who projects at 1.74 points per game. This year the chart has him on the second line beside Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Isaac Howard, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 1.21 to 0.55. He also loses Leon Draisaitl.
Jiri Kulich, BUF. 105 minutes with Tage Thompson last season, who projects at 0.94 points per game. This year the chart has him on the fourth line beside Sam Carrick and Beck Malenstyn, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 0.74 to 0.12.
Collin Graf, SJS. 358 minutes with Macklin Celebrini last season, who projects at 1.51 points per game. This year the chart has him on the fourth line beside Adam Gaudette and Ty Dellandrea, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 0.78 to 0.22. He also loses Will Smith.
Igor Chernyshov, SJS. 216 minutes with Macklin Celebrini last season, who projects at 1.51 points per game. This year the chart has him on the third line beside Alexander Wennberg and Kiefer Sherwood, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 1.03 to 0.50.
Ryan Greene, CHI. 496 minutes with Connor Bedard last season, who projects at 1.21 points per game. This year the chart has him on the fourth line beside Jordan Greenway and Cole Smith, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 0.66 to 0.13.
Gage Goncalves, TBL. 284 minutes with Jake Guentzel last season, who projects at 1.08 points per game. This year the chart has him on the third line beside Pontus Holmberg and Conor Geekie, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 0.77 to 0.25. He also loses Brayden Point.
Kasperi Kapanen, EDM. 198 minutes with Leon Draisaitl last season, who projects at 1.45 points per game. This year the chart has him on the third line beside Jason Dickinson and Trent Frederic, and the scoring rate of his company falls from 0.68 to 0.18.
What it does not say
A projected line is a forecast, not a lineup card. Coaches reunite pairs that work and split ones that do not, usually inside a fortnight, and a forward on this list who is scoring in October will find his way back up the chart. The number here is a reason to check a card before drafting it, not a verdict on a season nobody has played.
It is also silent on the power play, where a good deal of the scoring that matters in a fantasy league actually happens. A forward can lose a star at even strength and keep him on the first unit, and several on this list do.