The 2026 Fantasy Hockey Awards: Who Dominated and Who Left Managers Scrambling

This season delivered exactly what fantasy hockey addicts crave: breakout stars nobody saw coming, waiver wire pickups that saved entire leagues, and enough goalie roulette to make you question every draft decision you ever made. Some names you penciled in delivered. Others shocked everyone. And some made you seriously wonder why you wasted a pick on them in the first place. Here's the hardware that got handed out in 2025-26, and the guys who left fantasy managers pulling their hair out.

The Art Ross Trophy Race: MacKinnon's Moment

Nathan MacKinnon locked down the fantasy Art Ross Trophy as the guy with the most total fantasy points. The Colorado Avalanche center is holding a modest lead, but there's a caveat that could change everything down the stretch: if Colorado locks up the playoff picture or Presidents Trophy before the season ends, MacKinnon might get some rest. That could affect his final numbers. MacKinnon won this exact award back in 2023-24 with a ridiculous 294.9 fantasy points, but he won't get close to that mark this year. For context, Connor McDavid still owns the 15-year record with 320.1 fantasy points from 2022-23. A strong finish and minimal rest could push MacKinnon as high as sixth all-time on the skater list since 2009-10. Right now, he's sitting at ninth, behind David Pastrnak's dominant 2022-23 campaign that put up 258.8 fantasy points.

The Hart Trophy Shocker: Raddysh Came Out of Nowhere

Darren Raddysh of the Tampa Bay Lightning absolutely earned the fantasy Hart Trophy. The 30-year-old defenseman wasn't supposed to be the story this season. He was a solid injury replacement for Victor Hedman, but he didn't just fill the role, he exceeded every threshold Hedman had set. Raddysh set the franchise record for goals by a defenseman this past weekend and is going to finish the season close to 30 power-play points. The kicker? He was rostered in only 7.0% of leagues back in October. He was essentially free. That's what makes him the Hart winner: pure return on investment. You grabbed him off waivers and he turned into a league winner.

The Calder Trophy: Schaefer Is a Building Block

Matthew Schaefer, the New York Islanders defenseman, ran away with the fantasy Calder Trophy. At 18 years old, his numbers are unreal, and the fact that the Isles' power play didn't even pad his stats as much as it could moving forward makes him the bar-none best fantasy building block at the moment. Beckett Sennecke has some separation on the rest of the rookie class, but after that you're comparing apples to oranges. Ivan Demidov has solid fantasy points, while Jimmy Snuggerud has a better per-game mark. Jakub Dobes and Jesper Wallstedt contributed as goalies and deserve credit, but Dobes was more valuable for longer stretches. Either way, Schaefer is the guy you build around.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.