The linemates they gained: who is projected beside better company in 2026-27
Every projection on this site is built on a depth chart, so the company a forward keeps is already priced into his number. What the number does not do is say so. A manager reading last season's points per game off a card has no way to see that the forward is about to spend the year beside better players than produced it. 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.
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 gains
22 forwards are projected beside company at least 0.30 points per game stronger than last season's. The top of that list:
| Player | Team | Line | Linemates last season | Projected linemates | Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ilya Mikheyev | TBL | 1 | 0.43 | 1.29 | +0.86 |
| Vasily Podkolzin | EDM | 1 | 0.85 | 1.60 | +0.75 |
| Justin Hryckowian | DAL | 1 | 0.51 | 1.16 | +0.65 |
| Cole Perfetti | WPG | 1 | 0.52 | 1.13 | +0.61 |
| Anthony Mantha | NJD | 1 | 0.59 | 1.18 | +0.59 |
| Sam Reinhart | FLA | 1 | 0.55 | 1.09 | +0.54 |
| Mason Marchment | SJS | 1 | 0.66 | 1.20 | +0.53 |
| Blake Coleman | MIN | 2 | 0.45 | 0.93 | +0.48 |
| Quinton Byfield | LAK | 1 | 0.54 | 0.98 | +0.44 |
| Alexander Kerfoot | NSH | 1 | 0.34 | 0.78 | +0.43 |
| Leon Draisaitl | EDM | 1 | 0.65 | 1.08 | +0.42 |
| Nick Robertson | PIT | 1 | 0.50 | 0.92 | +0.42 |
The ones who gained a star
A rise in the average is one thing; being handed a specific player is another. These forwards are projected beside somebody at 0.85 points per game or better whom they spent under an hour with last season. A forward who already played three hundred minutes with him has not gained him, whatever the chart says.
Nought minutes together is the same figure for three different events, so each entry says which: the star missed last season, the forward was somewhere else, or they were teammates on different lines. Only the last is a promotion, and the first is the one most likely to be mistaken for one.
Ilya Mikheyev, TBL. The chart puts him on the first line beside Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.43 to 1.29. The name that moves it is Nikita Kucherov, at 1.66 points per game: Ilya Mikheyev played last season for CHI, so the company is new because the club is. He also draws Brayden Point.
Cole Perfetti, WPG. The chart puts him on the first line beside Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.52 to 1.13. The name that moves it is Mark Scheifele, at 1.14 points per game: they shared 26 minutes last season and are projected together now. He also draws Kyle Connor.
Anthony Mantha, NJD. The chart puts him on the first line beside Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.59 to 1.18. The name that moves it is Jack Hughes, at 1.38 points per game: Anthony Mantha played last season for PIT, so the company is new because the club is. He also draws Jesper Bratt.
Sam Reinhart, FLA. The chart puts him on the first line beside Aleksander Barkov and Brady Tkachuk, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.55 to 1.09. The name that moves it is Aleksander Barkov, at 1.13 points per game: Aleksander Barkov did not play last season, so this is a star returning rather than a line being promoted past one. He also draws Brady Tkachuk.
Mason Marchment, SJS. The chart puts him on the first line beside Will Smith and Macklin Celebrini, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.66 to 1.20. The name that moves it is Macklin Celebrini, at 1.51 points per game: Mason Marchment played last season for CBJ, so the company is new because the club is. He also draws Will Smith.
Blake Coleman, MIN. The chart puts him on the second line beside Joel Eriksson Ek and Matt Boldy, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.45 to 0.93. The name that moves it is Matt Boldy, at 1.10 points per game: Blake Coleman played last season for CGY, so the company is new because the club is.
Quinton Byfield, LAK. The chart puts him on the first line beside Adrian Kempe and Artemi Panarin, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.54 to 0.98. The name that moves it is Artemi Panarin, at 1.08 points per game: they shared 7 minutes last season and are projected together now.
Alexander Kerfoot, NSH. The chart puts him on the first line beside Steven Stamkos and Ryan O'Reilly, and the scoring rate of his company rises from 0.34 to 0.78. The name that moves it is Ryan O'Reilly, at 0.85 points per game: Alexander Kerfoot played last season for UTA, so the company is new because the club is.
What it does not say
A projected line is a forecast, not a lineup card. Coaches split pairs that do not work, usually inside a fortnight, and a promotion here is an opportunity rather than a guarantee of one. The number is a reason to look harder at 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 gain a star at even strength and not share a unit with him, and several on this list do.