Soccer may be the ultimate team sport, but within that emphasis on the collective is a feverish debate over the individual. The GOAT conversations may have evolved over the years, and every fan has his or her own personal favorite to defend at all costs. But when it comes down to it, there are plenty of facts, moments, goals, tournaments and trophies to point to in order to make an informed call.

It's always a bit of a fool’s errand to compare players from different eras, given all of the different circumstances, variables and ecosystems in play, but we’re here to do it anyway. Let’s add some fuel to the fire with Sleeper's top 25 men’s soccer players of all time.

The Greatest Men’s Soccer Players Ever

1. Lionel Messi

For years, Messi was a World Cup title short of securing his place atop the GOAT conversation. Then in 2022 it happened, as he led Argentina to the trophy in Qatar. Backed with loads of goals and silverware for both his clubs and country, a record eight Ballon d’Or trophies (given annually to the world’s best player) and the pairing of skill and longevity unmatched by any peer or predecessor, Messi will go down as the greatest.

2. Diego Maradona

Another Argentine, Maradona may be even more beloved back home than Messi, and at his peak there may have been nobody better, but he takes a back seat to Messi on this list, especially after Messi delivered for his country both in Copa América and the World Cup. Maradona’s 1986 World Cup performance, where he scored two of the most famous goals ever in the quarterfinals vs. England, cemented his legend, and he’s also royalty in Naples, Italy, where he guided Napoli to two Serie A titles.

3. Pelé

The Brazilian’s all-time goal tally is the stuff of folklore — 1,279 goals in 1,363 matches is the tally recognized by Guinness World Records, taking into account unofficial and amateur games.

There is no denying the rarefied air O Rei occupied during his career.

He won three World Cups for the Seleção, the only player in history to have won it three times, and his greatness transcended generations.

4. Johan Cruyff

The Dutch maestro’s influence over the sport has lasted long since his playing days, which were world-class in their own right. Cruyff revolutionized the modern game while hitting heights at Ajax and Barcelona and the Netherlands national team. He won three Ballon d’Ors in the 1970s, was a runner-up in a World Cup and had a legendary run as a manager as well.

5. Cristiano Ronaldo

Ronaldo may be the greatest pure goalscorer of all-time, and his personal rivalry with Messi — especially while both were in La Liga at rivals Barcelona and Real Madrid — fueled the sport for years.

No matter the club, league or competition, Ronaldo has been putting the ball in the back of the net for over two decades and remains on course to break the 1,000-goal barrier.

6. Franz Beckenbauer

Der Kaiser was a do-it-all dynamo for club and country, and he’s one of only three men to ever win the World Cup as both a player (1974) and a coach (1990). He was as complete of a talent as it gets, often operating as a sweeper, and he won the Ballon d’Or twice.

7. Alfredo Di Stefano

Real Madrid dominated Europe in the 1950s with five straight European Cup titles, thanks in large part to Di Stefano, who scored 308 goals in 396 matches in all competitions for the club. He was a two-time Ballon d’Or winner whose ability was only matched by his trophy count.

8. Zinedine Zidane

Zizou was as classy as it gets — well, until that headbutt in the 2006 World Cup final that wound up his final act as a player. But it’s a disservice to remember him for that alone when you consider how universally respected the French midfielder was during his elongated peak with France and at Juventus and Real Madrid. He went on to solidify his status as a manager, leading Real Madrid to a Champions League three-peat.

9. Ronaldo 

The Brazilian striker was perhaps the most feared forward of his time, and his two-goal showing in the 2002 World Cup final against Germany displayed the peak of his powers. It takes a special player to pull off playing for both AC Milan and Inter Milan and Barcelona and Real Madrid, but O Fenômeno was as special as it gets.

10. Michel Platini

Before the French legend became a disgraced ex-FIFA executive, Platini was one of the most prolific players in the world — a three-time Ballon d’Or winner, European champion and one of the best goal-scoring attacking midfielders to ever play the game.

11. Ferenc Puskás

The Hungarian great was a goalscoring machine in his native country before taking his talents to Real Madrid, where he starred for the club from 1958-1966 and scored 242 goals.

Such was his ability that Puskas also has the honor of having FIFA’s Goal of the Year award named after him.

12. Mané Garrincha

The two-time World Cup winner starred alongside Pelé but was a sensation on his own, too — especially in the 1962 World Cup, when Pelé was injured. The Brazilian winger was a wizard with the ball at his feet, which is made even more remarkable considering he was born with a crooked spine and one leg being shorter than the other.

13. Gerd Müller

At 5’9”, “Der Bomber” may not have been the biggest striker, but he was one of the greatest goalscorers of all time. His 365 goals (in 427 appearances) remain a Bundesliga record, and his 68 international goals are second-most in Germany’s history. Of those, 14 came in World Cups, which is good for third-most in history, and his four in 1974 helped the Germans lift the trophy. 

14. Eusébio

Long before Cristiano Ronaldo, Portugal rested its hopes on Eusébio, whose skill and productivity rivaled that of Pelé and earned the unabashed respect of his Brazilian counterpart. He scored 473 goals in 440 official matches for Benfica, averaging more than a goal per game. He won one Ballon d’Or, led Portugal to its best World Cup finish ever (third in 1966) and netted Benfica one European title to go along with 11 domestic league crowns.

15. Marco van Basten

As good as van Basten was, there’s always the curiosity of how good he could have been had injuries not cut him down in his peak years. The Dutch human highlight reel starred for Ajax and AC Milan on the club level and captured a European title with the Netherlands in 1988, but he was forced to retire at 28 due to the state of his ankle. Even in his shortened career, he won three Ballon d’Ors.

16. Roberto Baggio

Baggio is synonymous with his penalty kick that sailed over the bar in the 1994 World Cup final and sealed Italy’s fate, but that’s entirely unjust for a player who was among the greatest and most creative attacking talents ever. He was a Ballon d’Or winner and also rocked an unmistakable ponytail.

17. Bobby Charlton

England has its first representative on our list in the form of the knighted forward, who starred for Manchester United (249 goals in 758 games) and the Three Lions. In 1966, he won both the World Cup and Ballon d’Or.

18. George Best

The Northern Irish winger rose to international prominence at Manchester United in the 1960s and 70s, but personal demons likely prevented his career from reaching even greater heights. As it was, Best had an innate ability to take on — and get by — defenders and was the 1968 Ballon d’Or winner.

19. Paolo Maldini

This list wouldn’t be complete without an Italian defender, and Maldini was best in class. He played for an audacious 25 seasons with AC Milan, where he served as captain, and he donned the armband for his country as well. While he somehow never lifted a major international trophy, he won five European club championships and seven Serie A titles as part of his haul with Milan.

20. Zico

Zico does not have the World Cup trophy that his fellow countrymen on this list boast, but that doesn’t take away from the glorious talent he possessed. He was a genius with the ball at his feet and crafted his legend on home soil with Flamengo. He’s the fifth-leading scorer in Brazil’s history behind Neymar, Pelé, Ronaldo and Romário.

21. Franco Baresi

Another Italian defender to join Maldini, Baresi was as steady as they come and part of the backbone of some of AC Milan’s best years, playing for the club for the entirety of his 20-year career.

Baresi won six Italian league titles and three European titles while with Milan and also was part of three top-three World Cup finishes with Italy, including the title in 1982.

22. Xavi

The heartbeat of Barcelona and Spain’s peak years, Xavi was a midfield mastermind, and if not for playing in the age of Messi and Ronaldo, he likely would have broken through for at least one Ballon d’Or (he finished third from 2009-2011).

23. Andres Iniesta

Another star at the core of the best Barça and Spain teams of the modern era, Iniesta also has a World Cup-winning goal to his name. He patrolled the midfield with grace and was an expert at passing and possessing the ball to great effect.

24. Ronaldinho

The electrifying and dazzling Brazilian embodied his nation’s jogo bonito style, keeping defenders on their heels and scoring at will throughout his career — doing it all with a wide smile on his face. At his peak playing in Europe, he starred at PSG, AC Milan and Barcelona, and he was a key cog in Brazil’s 2002 World Cup-winning side while also capturing a Champions League title with Barça.

25. Lev Yashin

Goalkeepers tend to not get a lot of love when it comes to these lists, and it’s hard to compare their contributions and stats against those of field players. Nevertheless, Yashin remains the only GK to win the Ballon d’Or, is said to have saved over 150 penalty kicks in his career and was a pioneer for the position while starring for Dynamo Moscow and the Soviet Union national team between 1950-1970.

How Legends of the Game Impact Fantasy Soccer Strategies

If you’re an active player anywhere close to the top 25 players of all time, then chances are you’re going to be a safe pick for any fantasy soccer league or DFS games. The amount of prolific consistency it takes to be mentioned among these greats is enough to warrant attention from fantasy managers.

Even those who are playing today who may not reach the Messi-Ronaldo tier can still be plenty productive, though, and it’s the stars on the rise who have the makings of one day achieving that status who should clearly be under consideration as you craft your squads.

Any player scoring goals by the bucketload — or any fixture on one of the more explosive teams in Europe, where assists are just as likely to be racked up — should be on the radar.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is better, Messi or Ronaldo?

Based on this list, our answer is Messi, but that should take nothing away from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo, who has hordes of fervent supporters ready and willing to sing his praises at any time. For 10 seasons, 2008-2017, one of these two all-timers won the Ballon d’Or, to give you an idea of their prolonged dominance.

Who are the next all-time soccer greats?

You can never predict how careers are going to pan out, but Real Madrid’s French star Kylian Mbappé and Man City’s Norwegian machine Erling Haaland are best situated to take aim at some of the marks Messi and Ronaldo have set before them. Note that “take aim” does not necessarily mean “come close to catching.”

What attributes make a soccer player valuable in DFS and fantasy leagues?

Finding players who rack up the goals and assists is a good place to start, though there’s value in having players who simply shoot and get the ball on frame as well. On the defensive side, there are points to be had for goalkeepers and defenders who keep clean sheets. 

A good approach is plucking from the most prolific attacking and most stingy defensive sides, as even the players who aren’t necessarily the headliners still stand a chance at stockpiling the points by association.

Play Fantasy Soccer Games With Sleeper

Whether you’re a fan with strong feelings about the top soccer players of all time or just a novice interested in dabbling in the fantasy soccer and DFS spaces, be sure to join Sleeper, which you can do either by signing up on the website or downloading the app. 

You can play Pick’em games for the Premier League, La Liga and Champions League or try your hand at drafting full squads in our Premier League and La Liga games to get your footie fix.

The NFL is a league built on great players, and some of the very best of all time are the ones who collected the league’s Most Valuable Player honors.

The true legends are the ones who've won the award multiple times. Any number of players can have tremendous seasons once — but do it over and over, and you’ll go down among the best of the best.

So who meets that criteria? Whether you’re a diehard fan looking to bone up on NFL MVP trivia or a newer fan looking to learn more about the NFL and its history, read on to find out all you need to know about those who have been crowned the NFL’s single-season kings.

Who Has the Most MVPs in NFL History?

Peyton Manning may not have the most Super Bowl victories, but when it comes to regular-season accolades, he is second to none. Manning’s five MVP honors are the most in league history, one more than Aaron Rodgers’ four.

Manning won the award as part of two franchises — the only player in NFL history to accomplish that. He won four with the Indianapolis Colts (2003, ‘04, ‘08, ‘09) and one with the Denver Broncos in 2013. His legacy in NFL lore is secure as one of the most prolific and productive passers ever.

Top 10 MVP Winners

10. Lamar Jackson (2 MVPs; 2019, 2023)

Jackson has been a dual-threat dynamo ever since entering the NFL with Baltimore in 2018, and at his peak, he’s rather unstoppable. In his 2019 MVP season, for instance, he became the second unanimous winner in the award’s history, and rightfully so. He racked up 3,217 passing yards, 36 passing TDs (against just six interceptions), 1,206 rushing yards and seven rushing TDs.

9. Steve Young (2 MVPs; 1992, 1994)

Young stepped out of Joe Montana’s shadow to prove himself just as worthy of the spotlight. He “only” won one Super Bowl as a starter, but he was electrifying in San Francisco, evidenced by his 1994 MVP-winning season in which he passed for 35 TDs and ran for seven more.

8. Kurt Warner (2 MVPs; 1999, 2001)

Warner’s rags to riches story is the stuff of legend, going from an undrafted, Arena League nobody to a Super Bowl winner, two-time MVP and the backbone of the Rams’ “Greatest Show on Turf.”

7. Joe Montana (2 MVPs; 1989, 1990)

Joe Cool was one of the all-time greats, and while he won two regular-season MVPs, he also won three Super Bowl MVPs en route to four championships. The Hall-of-Famer’s career numbers pale in comparison to others in the modern era, but few QBs were as poised in clutch moments as this serial winner.

6. Johnny Unitas (3 MVPs; 1959, 1964, 1967)

At the time of his retirement, Unitas was the all-time NFL leader in pass attempts (5,186), pass completions (2,830), passing yards (40,239) and touchdown passes (290). He has since been lapped on those fronts, but the Baltimore Colts’ great will forever be an all-time legend and, like Warner, emerged from humble beginnings to take the league by storm.

5. Brett Favre (3 MVPs; 1995, 1996, 1997)

Favre is the only player to ever win three straight MVPs, enjoying a sensational run with Green Bay. That stretch also coincided with his one Super Bowl title (1996), and he’s fourth all-time in passing yards (71,838) and TDs (508).

4. Jim Brown (3 MVPs; 1957, 1958, 1965)

The late, bruising Cleveland running back won the first two MVPs in league history — the award as we know it was given out starting in 1957 — and added a third in 1965 to become the first three-time winner.

In his career, he rushed for 12,312 yards (11th-most ever) and 106 TDs (tied for sixth). He did so at a time when seasons were shorter. He led the NFL in rushing in eight of his nine seasons in the league.

3. Tom Brady (3 MVPs; 2007, 2010, 2017)

Brady was always more about Super Bowl triumphs than individual honors, and the three seasons he won MVP, his Patriots actually wound up losing in the Super Bowl. The seven times he won the championship (six with New England, one with Tampa Bay), he fell short of MVP. 

That number, seven, will be what he’s ultimately remembered for, but regardless, his stats were nuts, too. The 89,214 passing yards and 649 TDs Brady amassed during his 20-year career are all-time records and seem completely unreachable.

2. Aaron Rodgers (4 MVPs; 2011, 2014, 2020, 2021)

Before Rodgers became a punchline in New York, he was one of the most feared gunslingers in the league in Green Bay. That he won his four MVPs over the course of a decade (with the last two coming consecutively) speaks to his longevity. And his numbers (62,952 yards, 503 TDs) mean his legacy is cemented. 

1. Peyton Manning (5 MVPs; 2003, 2004, 2008, 2009, 2013)

Manning is the only five-time winner in the award’s history, and he could well go down as the only one ever based on how hard it is to win multiple times, voter fatigue and competition for the mantle. In his career, Manning threw for 71,940 yards and 539 touchdowns (both third-most all-time). He also holds the single-season records for passing yards (5,477) and TD passes (55) during his ridiculous 2013 season. 

All NFL MVP Winners By Year

Here’s a comprehensive list of NFL MVP winners:

How NFL MVPs Impact Fantasy Football

If a player is MVP-caliber, then he’s putting up big stats, and when it comes to fantasy football and daily fantasy sports, that’s precisely what you’re seeking. There’s going to be plenty of value in drafting the likes of Lamar Jackson, although it’s not a given that a past MVP will live up to the billing in the future.

Patrick Mahomes, for instance, may have led his Chiefs to a 15-win regular season in 2024, but his stats weren’t commensurate with his draft position, which surely was inflated due to his prolific past.

So while fantasy managers can clearly benefit from past MVP winners and current contenders, there’s also a bit of a buyer-beware if that MVP label is going to drive up the draft-day price to a nonsensical place.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many 3-time NFL MVPs are there?

Entering the 2024 season, six players have won three MVPs: Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Brett Favre, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Peyton Manning.

How often do non-QBs win NFL MVP?

It was more prevalent in earlier eras, but the game is so tilted toward quarterbacks that at this point it seems inevitable that the award will go to the most prolific QB on a playoff contender. Ever since Vikings RB Adrian Peterson won it in 2012, it’s been a string of QBs. No wide receiver or tight end has ever won it, period. 

Oddly, a kicker, Washington’s Mark Moseley, has won MVP (although he did so in a strike-shortened, nine-game season).

Can defensive players win NFL MVP?

They’re eligible to and it occasionally happens, but it takes a herculean effort during a season in which no QB distinguishes himself. Voters tend to shy away from defensive players for MVP since there is a separate Defensive Player of the Year award. Two defensive players — Vikings defensive tackle Alan Page (1971) and Giants linebacker Lawrence Taylor (1986) — have won MVP.

Which players have won back-to-back MVPs?

Brown won the first two MVP awards. Since then, only QBs Joe Montana, Favre, Manning and Rodgers have won consecutive MVPs.

Favre is the only player to win the award three straight seasons, though he shared the honors in his third MVP of that stretch.

Have there ever been co-NFL MVPs?

Speaking of which … On two occasions players have shared the award. Most recent was 2003, when Manning and the late Steve McNair split the honors. Before that, Favre and Barry Sanders shared it in 1997.

Become a Fantasy MVP By Playing With Sleeper

Past NFL MVPs are some of the biggest stat-stuffers ever, and the active ones – or contenders for future honors – may make for some of the more useful plays in Sleeper’s season-long fantasy leagues or its DFS game, Sleeper Picks. 

To see for yourself and get started, sign up on the website or download the app and begin enjoying a user-friendly, interactive platform with multitudes of customizable options and various ways to add to your football experience.

If it’s still true that chicks dig the long ball, then this recounting of MLB’s most mammoth mashes goes out to the ladies.

In typical baseball fashion, though, this list is inherently debatable.

Since 2015, we’ve had Statcast cameras to measure everything imaginable about batted balls, most notably launch angle and exit velocity, to tell us how far home runs (theoretically, mathematically) traveled. But before that, it was some combination of rough estimates and wild guesses — some of which were undoubtedly influenced by a well-timed gust of wind.

Even within the Statcast Era, you could argue that home runs clobbered in 2019 shouldn’t count toward this list the same as those in any other season, as the ball was clearly juiced that year. There were 6,776 home runs hit in 2019, compared to 5,585 the previous season — a more than 21 percent increase.

Goodness only knows how uniform balls and bats were decades ago, too.

Nevertheless, there is a mostly agreed upon list of the 10 longest home runs hit in MLB history, and we are forever waiting to see if anyone will hammer another ball that lands in the top five.

Understanding Home Runs: Key Facts and Insights

Back in the pre-Babe Ruth days of Major League Baseball, home runs were pretty rare. We’re talking “more than 40 hits per home run in every single season from 1897-1919” rare.

By the time Ruth was done mashing his way to 714 career home runs, though, the game was already trending toward the nightly home run derby that it is today.

That hits-per-home run ratio was pretty consistently in the 16-20 range throughout the 1930s. 1955 was the first year it dipped below 10.0. And though it did rise back into the 11-12 range for much of the 1970s and 1980s, the beginning of the Statcast Era changed baseball as we know it, with each of the nine lowest ratios of hits per home run (all 7.61 or less) coming since 2016.

Advancements in both bat/ball technology and the general understanding of how to hit a baseball very, very far were already gradually increasing the league-wide home run rate. But now everyone steps into the batter’s box knowing so much more than they did a decade ago about launch angles, spin rates, the opposing pitchers’ tendencies and more to help them swing for the fences.

For better or worse, baseball is all about the long ball now.

What’s curious about that, however, is that only one of the 10 longest home runs in MLB history was hit in the past two decades.

While players have been mastering the art of hitting balls over the outfield walls, they’ve apparently lost the ability to hit balls out of the stadium.

The Longest Home Runs of All Time

1. Babe Ruth, 575 feet (July 18, 1921 off Bert Cole)

Did The Babe legitimately hit a baseball 70 feet further than anyone in the past two decades has managed to hit one?

It seems crazy, but Ruth reportedly used a bat that weighed considerably more than even the heaviest models in use today. Aaron Judge generally wields a 33-ounce bat, but Ruth’s was reported to be anywhere from 38 to 54 ounces, the latter of which might as well be an actual sledgehammer.

It’s plausible he really did hit one just right to send it into orbit. It's certainly true that pitchers back then weren’t too worried about keeping the ball in the yard, as 1921 was the first season in MLB history with more than 760 total home runs.

2. Mickey Mantle, 565 feet (April 17, 1953 off Chuck Stobbs)

Probably the most mind-boggling part of this mythical "tape measure" home run is that it happened so early in the season. Moonshots typically occur in July and August when it’s nice and warm and the ball just seems to jump off the bat. But The Mick’s first home run of his age-21 season might have had a little frost on it by the time it traveled more than one-tenth of a mile at Washington’s Griffith Stadium. (Actually, historical weather data suggests it was a balmy, nearly 70 degrees that day, but still wild to nearly break the all-time record in mid-April.)

3. Reggie Jackson, 539 feet (July 13, 1971 off Dock Ellis)

Mr. October hit 563 regular-season home runs in his Hall of Fame career, but this longest recorded ball that he ever hit wasn’t part of that tally. Rather, this smash off the right-field roof of Tiger Stadium was hit during the 1971 All-Star Game. It’s still regarded as an all-time feat, even though it was a pinch hit in an exhibition game.

4 (tie). Willie Stargell, 535 feet (May 20, 1978 off Wayne Twitchell)

As you’d probably expect, hitting the cover off of a baseball is generally a young man’s game. Ruth was 26, Jackson was 25 and Mantle was only 21 when they hit the home runs that landed in the top three. Stargell, on the other hand, was 38 and nearly finished with his Hall of Fame career when he hit the only home run to reach the club deck of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium. (He homered in his next AB, too, for what was his lone multi-HR game of the 1978 season.)

4 (tie). Adam Dunn, 535 feet (August 10, 2004 off José Lima)

Since the day that disco died, Big Donkey clubbed MLB’s longest recorded home run. If you remember watching Dunn play, that’s none too surprising. No one swung for the fences quite like this star of the Cincinnati Reds who unofficially founded the Three True Outcomes club. During that 2004 campaign, he had 46 home runs, 108 walks and 195 strikeouts, doing one of the three in 51.2 percent of his plate appearances. And on that fateful August day, he demolished one over the batter’s eye at the launching pad known as Great American Ball Park.

6. Dave Kingman, 530 feet (April 14, 1976 off Tom Dettore)

When the winds are blowing out at Wrigley Field, sometimes the ball finds a jet stream. And while the longest *fabled* home run at Wrigley may have actually been one that Kingman hit three years later in a 23-22 homer-palooza, this is officially the record. This one also unofficially ended the opposing pitcher’s career, as Dettore made three more appearances that week before never pitching in the majors again. (Kingman was just getting started, though. This was No. 115 on his way to 442 in his career.)

7. Darryl Strawberry, 525 feet (April 4, 1988 off Randy St. Claire)

The Straw Man had one of the sweetest swings in baseball history, which had him on the fast track to the Hall of Fame until cocaine derailed his career. And on Opening Day of the 1988 season, that sweet swing connected for a tank job that might still be flying to this day if that doggone ceiling of Montreal’s Olympic Stadium hadn’t gotten in the way.

8. Jim Thome, 511 feet (July 3, 1999 off Don Wengert)

Thome might be the greatest home run hitter who often gets forgotten about in the conversation about the greatest home run hitters. That’s largely because the No. 8 player on the all-time list with 612 dingers only led the league in HR once in his career, simply really good at homering for a long time and getting lost a bit in the shuffle of a steroids era in which he was never implicated. And he crushed this particular ball further than any confirmed/suspected juicer ever did.

9 (tie). Nomar Mazara, 505 feet (June 21, 2019 off Reynaldo López)

This one is just so baffling. Every other player in this top 10 hit at least 328 career home runs. Yet, the Statcast Era record for longest home run belongs to…Nomar Mazara? Not Aaron Judge…not Giancarlo Stanton…not Shohei Ohtani, Bryce Harper or Mike Trout…not even the first Nomar that springs to mind in baseball lore. But for one glorious moment, the Rangers outfielder with 85 career home runs became a legend.

9 (tie). Mo Vaughn, 505 feet (June 26, 2002 off Kevin Gryboski)

Vaughn had one of the more distinctive batting stances in baseball history — one that fans of a certain age can probably still remember trying to imitate in a neighborhood game of stickball. It was almost rattlesnake-like, the way he would hide his face from the pitcher before unleashing a venomous strike. And even though he was well past his prime by 2002, he still had one great bite left in him, darn near clearing the scoreboard at Shea Stadium with this titanic blast.

How Does Home Run Distance Impact Fantasy Baseball?

Unless you’ve created some kind of gnarly fantasy league that awards bonus points for home runs that travel at least 450 feet, it might not seem like home run distance makes any sort of difference.

Park factors and dimensions are very much a thing worth taking into consideration when building a lineup, though.

Games played at Cincinnati’s Great American Ball Park, Texas’ Globe Life Field, New York’s Yankee Stadium and Colorado’s Coors Field have long been more likely to produce home runs than games played at San Francisco’s Oracle Park or Kansas City’s Kauffman Stadium.

In fact, in 2024, there 2.79 home runs hit per game played at Yankee Stadium compared to 1.68 at Oracle Park. That’s a massive difference.

Granted, one of those venues had both Aaron Judge and Juan Soto playing in nearly every game while the other very much did not. But there’s little question that your average hitter is more likely to homer @ NYY than @ SFG, which is a big thing to keep in mind if considering a DFS stack.

It’s also something to think about if a player changes teams, either in free agency or via a midseason trade. Not only do we have park factors, but Statcast can tell us exactly how many home runs a player theoretically would have hit if each ball had been hit at that particular stadium.

Take Willy Adames, for example. Statcast says that the former Brewers shortstop would have hit 154 home runs in his career if every game was played at Milwaukee’s American Family Field, and only 121 if all those games were played in what is his new home at Oracle Park. Might be something to keep in mind on draft day.

Conversely, new Yankees outfielder Cody Bellinger? Statcast says he would’ve hit 24 home runs last season at Yankee Stadium as opposed to his actual total of 18. Perhaps he is primed for a bounce-back year?

The little things, little things, they always hang around. But the little things, little things, can be the difference that help you win your league/pool.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is considered the farthest home run ever hit?

Though the official MLB record belongs to Babe Ruth, there are tall tales of Josh Gibson of Negro League fame hitting home runs that sailed 600 feet, as well as a story of Joey Meyer hitting one over 580 feet at Mile High Stadium while playing at Triple-A Denver.

What is Aaron Judge’s longest home run?

Somewhat shockingly, Judge has only hit two home runs in his career (through 2024) that traveled more than 477 feet, both of which came during his AL Rookie of the Year campaign in 2017.

He had a 495-foot bomb off Logan Verrett in June of that year, and he topped that ever so slightly in his next-to-last AB of the regular season via a 496-foot smash off Marcus Stroman.

Where have all the 500-foot HRs gone?

A fantastic question for which we don’t have an answer.

Home runs are happening more frequently in the Statcast Era, but the only 500+ foot homer from 2020-24 was a C.J. Cron shot in September 2022 at Coors Field that traveled 504 feet.

Perhaps MLB’s practice of storing baseballs in a humidor is serving as something of a restrictor plate, not necessarily making it more difficult to homer, but making it more difficult to really obliterate the ball.

Elevate Your Fantasy Baseball Experience with Sleeper!

The vast majority of us will never know the joy of hitting a mammoth home run, but you can hit one out of the park by making Sleeper your one-stop shop for all things fantasy sports.

The app is top notch, and the fantasy offerings are plentiful, from breaking news, to Sleeper Picks to season-long leagues.

If you’re still relatively new to the world of baseball or just looking to expand your knowledge of the game, we’ve got all sorts of articles to help you out, from baseball rules for beginners, to an explanation of baseball statistics, the most popular teams, a primer on the positions in baseball and, of course, tips for playing fantasy baseball.

By just about any metric, the English Premier League is the biggest soccer league in the world. Its clubs are the richest, its transfer spending is the most exorbitant and its global reach is unmatched.

Manchester United fans in California wake up before the sun rises to catch a league match, while Tottenham fans in South Korea hoping to catch a glimpse of national hero Son Heung-min often stay up well into the night. But for all supporters, it’s worth it. Football is life.

Amid all of that pageantry and history, which Premier League teams have been the most successful? Whether you’re a new fan looking to bone up on your history or a fantasy soccer manager looking for insight into the best teams and players who have historically performed well, read on for a complete guide to the champions of England’s decorated top flight.

Which Team Has the Most Trophies in the Premier League?

It’s important to remember that top-flight English football didn’t begin with the Premier League. While the Premier League as we know it was formed in the 1992–93 season, English first-division competition dates all the way back to the 1888–89 season. So when discussing “titles,” context matters — are we talking Premier League-era only, or the full history?

As of the 2024–25 season, both Manchester United and Liverpool now hold 20 top-flight English championships apiece, tied for the most all-time. However, Manchester United still leads in the Premier League era specifically, with 13 titles since 1992 — more than any other club in that span.

Manchester United

The Red Devils have fallen into a pattern of mediocrity ever since legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson retired. Over the last decade, forget England — United hasn’t even been the dominant force in its own city. Manchester City has surged past its rival, winning six Premier League titles in the last eight seasons and redefining modern success in English football.

But the Sir Alex era at Old Trafford was an absolute wagon. Those Red Devils teams were stacked with Premier League greats who built a reputation for coming through in the clutch. From David Beckham and Eric Cantona to Paul Scholes, Ryan Giggs, Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo, the talent pipeline was relentless.

United’s 20 top-flight titles have come in spurts. The first two came under manager Ernest Mangnall in 1907–08 and 1910–11. After a four-decade drought, Matt Busby’s teams re-emerged in the 1950s with championships in 1951–52, 1955–56 and 1956–57, adding two more in 1964–65 and 1966–67. Then came the Premier League era, where United dominated early — winning eight of the first 11 titles under Ferguson — and grabbing five more between 2006–07 and 2012–13.

Liverpool

Meanwhile, the Reds built a powerful legacy long before the Premier League was born. While their recent resurgence has brought a new generation of glory, it was the 1970s and 1980s where Liverpool truly established itself as a powerhouse football club.

With dominant squads led by the likes of Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Ian Rush, Liverpool racked up title after title, laying the foundation for a club that now stands shoulder-to-shoulder with United at 20 top-flight championships. Their more recent stars have included legends such as Mo Salah, Luis Suarez, Virgil van Dijk and Steven Gerrard.

Most Premier League Titles By Club

It’ll be a while, if ever, before another club catches Manchester United and Liverpool. But here’s a closer look at the clubs with the most English first-division titles in history:

Who Won the First Premier League Title?

Once again, it comes down to semantics. If we’re talking about the first English title ever, then that’s Preston North End’s 1888-89 team. If we’re referring to the Premier League as we know it, and the top flight that coalesced in 1992-93, then that would be Manchester United.

In that season, Cantona arrived from Leeds United to provide a jolt in the attack next to league-leading scorer Mark Hughes (15 goals), while the homegrown likes of Beckham, Gary Neville and Nicky Butt started their integration into the first team. Giggs continued his emergence as a midfield force, while all-time great Peter Schmeichel backstopped the club in goal.

That season established Man United as the preeminent power in the Premier League, and it took about 20 years for the club’s stranglehold over the league to loosen. It’s now desperately trying to reclaim a place among the English and European elite while pining for the glory days.

The Impact of Premier League Titles on Fantasy Soccer Strategies

Success in Fantasy Premier League games is predicated on plucking the best and most productive players from around the league for your squad. While those players don’t need to come from the top clubs in the table — there are plenty of diamonds in the rough to be found a few rungs lower down. It doesn’t take a math whiz to figure out that the clubs who produce the most and score the most will feature the players who rack up the most fantasy-friendly stats.

So if you’re entering a new Fantasy PL season, take a look at the reigning champion and the clubs expected to contend in the campaign ahead. It’s not a foolproof method, but it should at the very least raise your floor as you assess the talent across the league.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which team has won the most Premier League titles in a row?

Manchester City’s run of four in a row from 2020-21 through 2023-24 is the standard for consecutive titles.

A number of clubs have three-peated. Huddersfield Town was the first to do so, winning all three of its titles from 1923-24 to 1925-26. Arsenal did the three-peat a decade later, winning from 1932-33 to 1934-35.

The next three-peat didn’t come until the 1980s, when Liverpool padded its all-time tally from 1981-82 to 1983-84.

Prior to Man City’s run, Man United was the only club to three-peat in the Premier League era, doing it twice (1998-99 to 2000-01 and 2006-07 to 2008-09).

Has there ever been an undefeated champion?

Arsenal’s “Invincibles” of 2003-04 are a historical juggernaut as the only team in English top-flight history to go a 38-game season without losing.

That club went 26-0-12, collecting 90 points and winning the league by 11 points over second-place Chelsea.

Arsene Wenger’s legendary Arsenal team did not set the record for most points in a season, though. That mark belongs to Man City of 2017-18, who hit the 100-point barrier (32-2-4) and are known as “The Centurions.”

England’s first champion, 1888-89 Preston North End, also went undefeated, albeit through 27 league and cup matches (PNE went 18-0-4 in league play).

How many clubs have won titles in the Premier League era?

Only seven clubs to date have won titles in the current iteration of the English top flight. They are: Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Blackburn Rovers, Leicester City and Liverpool.

Hit Your Fantasy Goals With Sleeper

You should be a bit more familiar with the Premier League’s history of champions, which puts you in position to become a champion in your own right. Draft your own season-long Fantasy Premier League squad on Sleeper, which you can do by signing up on the website or downloading the app.

Sleeper also offers Pick’em games for the Premier League, La Liga (Spain) and the UEFA Champions League along with news updates on all of the world’s top stars – something for every fan of the beautiful game.

The NHL has seen some incredible teams throughout its history, each leaving a lasting legacy on the sport. In this article, we will rank the greatest single-season NHL teams of all time, exploring their achievements, key players and memorable moments. By understanding what made these teams exceptional, you can deepen your appreciation for hockey while gaining insights that may sharpen your fantasy hockey acumen.

The Best NHL Teams of All Time: Hockey Teams Ranked

Hockey is the ultimate team sport. While some of the other major sports leagues can have a team carried by one player, hockey relies on the whole team coming together in order to find success.

There have been countless great seasons in the history of the NHL. But in this article we're taking a swing at ranking the very best of them all. Here is the Sleeper top 10 best NHL single seasons of all time.

Top 10 Greatest NHL Teams of All Time

1. Montreal Canadiens (1976-77)

Let's get the suspense out of the way. The Montreal Canadiens are one of the NHL’s original dynasties and have quite the history. Perhaps their best season came in the 1976-77 campaign when the Habs became the first team in NHL history to win 60 games in the regular season.

They were led by Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt who had 56 and 60 goals, respectively, with Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque splitting duties between the pipes.

The 1976-77 Canadiens team is still the only team to lose fewer than 10 games in a season.

They had 60 wins, eight losses, and 12 ties. In fact, they went on to win the Stanley Cup with just two losses in their three postseason series.

The Canadiens’ Stanley Cup victory in 1977 was one of four in a row they won from 1975 to 1979.

2. Detroit Red Wings (1996-97)

The Detroit Red Wings became the second team to win at least 60 games in a season when they went 62-13-7 during the 1996-97 campaign. It’s worth noting that the regular season was 82 games long by this point; two more than the 80-game season when the Canadiens got to 60 wins.

Still, you can’t deny Detroit’s dominance that year. The Red Wings lost four games in their four series en route to their first of two straight Stanley Cups, including a sweep over the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Final.

Brendan Shanahan, Steve Yzerman, Sergei Fedorov and Nicklas Lidstrom are just a few of the great players who shined for the Red Wings during that run.

3. New York Islanders (1980-81)

After the Canadiens’ dynastic run to end the 1970s, it was the New York Islanders’ turn at the beginning of the 1980s. The Isles won four straight Stanley Cups and only lost three games in the Stanley Cup Final during those years. 

Those early ‘80s Islanders teams had legends like Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, John Tonelli and Denis Potvin.

The Islanders are the only team besides the Canadiens to win four straight Stanley Cups in NHL history. Only the Canadiens, Islanders and Maple Leafs have won at least three straight Cups.

4. Chicago Blackhawks (2012-13)

The Chicago Blackhawks had a dynasty of their own in the early 2010s. They won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015, but this 2012-13 team was the best of the bunch.

Although it was a shortened season due to the lockout, the Blackhawks put up an impressive 36-7-5 record to finish first in their division. 

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews were both in their prime during this season and averaged over a point per game. They also had role players like Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad and Duncan Keith on the blueline.

5. Colorado Avalanche (2000-01)

The Colorado Avalanche found success right away as a franchise after relocating from Quebec. They won the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season (1995-96) but were even better a few years later in the 2000-01 season.

The Avs went 52-16-10 that year and took down the mighty New Jersey Devils in a hard-fought seven-game series in the Stanley Cup Final. 

Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, Milan Hejduck and Alex Tanguay headlined a forward group that helped veteran defenseman Ray Bourque finally win a Stanley Cup.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins (1991-92)

The Pittsburgh Penguins won their first Stanley Cup in franchise history in 1991 and followed that up with an even better 1991-92 season. They swept the Boston Bruins in the conference final as well as the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.

It’s no wonder that this Penguins team was so good when you look at their roster.

All-time great Mario Lemieux paced the Pens with 131 points in just 64 games and Kevin Stevens had 123 points in 80 contests. A young Jaromir Jagr added 69 points in 70 games as the team’s sixth-leading scorer.

7. Edmonton Oilers (1984-85)

The Edmonton Oilers put together a nearly unstoppable super team in the 1980s. 

Wayne Gretzky put up an insane 208 points (73 goals, 135 assists) in the 80-game season with Jari Kurry scoring 71 goals (135 points) himself. Add in a defenseman like Paul Coffey and it was game over.

The Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup in the 1984-85 season and went on to win three more in 1987, 1988 and 1990.

8. Boston Bruins (1969-70)

The Boston Bruins are one of the league’s original teams, and they had their time in the spotlight in the 1970s. They won three Stanley Cups in the early days of the league but had a drought from 1941 until this 1969-70 season. 

The 1969-70 Bruins had legends such as Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito, John McKenzie and John Bucyk playing in front of Gerry Cheevers in net.

This Bruins team put Boston back on the map. And then they won the Stanley Cup again in 1972.

9. Philadelphia Flyers (1974-75)

You’ve probably heard the Philadelphia Flyers referred to as the Broad Street Bullies and this 1974-75 team is why. The Flyers won their first Stanley Cup in 1974 and followed it up with another one in 1975.

Flyers captain Bobby Clarke led the way on the ice with his scoring and snarl. He was supported by guys like Rick MacLeish, Reggie Leach and Bill Barber. Of course, the Flyers couldn’t have done it without Bernie Parent who had 12 shutouts that season.

10. Calgary Flames (1988-89)

The Calgary Flames have won the Stanley Cup just once in their franchise history and that came during this remarkable 1988-89 season.

The Flames had some formidable players at both forward and on defense in the form of Joe Mullen, Doug Gilmour, Joe Nieuwendyk and Al MacInnis. Mike Vernon was stellar between the pipes as well for the Flames’ Stanley Cup dream to come to fruition.

Honorable Mentions

New Jersey Devils (1994-95)

The New Jersey Devils played a very defensive style of hockey in the 1990s and 2000s in front of goaltender Martin Brodeur which made them nearly impossible to beat during stretches. 

The Devils won their first Stanley Cup in 1995 with a sweep over the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Final. They went on to win the Cup again in 2000 and 2003.

Tampa Bay Lightning (2003-04)

The Tampa Bay Lightning were the final team to win the Stanley Cup prior to the 2004-05 NHL lockout. 

They put together a team of veterans and youngsters that included Martin St. Louis, Cory Stillman, Brad Richards and Vincent Lecavalier.  

Los Angeles Kings (2011-12)

The Los Angeles Kings had a dynasty of their own in the 2010s. They won the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history in 2012 with just four losses in their four playoff series. 

Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Dustin Brown, Mike Richards and Drew Doughty are some of the most memorable players from the Kings’ run to the Stanley Cup that year.

How Do NHL Rankings Impact Fantasy Hockey?

It’s important to know which teams in the NHL are at the top and which are in the basement. Drafting and adding players from teams who are at the top of the league should help you in your fantasy hockey leagues.

Successful franchises often produce some of the most valuable fantasy assets even if they don’t play on the top line or top defensive pairing.

Sleeper helps empower fantasy hockey players to capitalize on this information.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best NHL team in history?

The Montreal Canadiens became the first team to win 60 games in the 1976-77 season. That squad is often regarded as the best single season team in NHL history.

Who is the most successful NHL team ever?

The 2022-23 Boston Bruins hold the record for most wins in a regular season with 65.

Who is the least successful NHL franchise?

The Columbus Blue Jackets have the worst point percentage in NHL history as a franchise and have never won the Stanley Cup.

Who is the all-time winningest NHL franchise?

The Montreal Canadiens have the most wins in NHL history with over 3,550.

Ready to Take Fantasy Hockey to the Next Level? Try Sleeper!

You should now have a good understanding of some of the best NHL teams of all time.

Make sure you join Sleeper by signing up on the website or downloading the app where you can track players, monitor team matchups, and stay updated on the latest news around the NHL.

In the world of hockey, certain franchises have established themselves as powerhouses, leaving a lasting impact on the sport. This article will rank the most successful NHL franchises, exploring their achievements, legendary players, and pivotal moments that have defined their legacies. Understanding these franchises can provide valuable insights for fans and fantasy hockey players alike!

The Best NHL and Hockey Franchises of all time

The NHL is built upon franchise success. The ability of teams to sustain success over a lengthy period helps build the fanbase and interest in the franchise.

We’ll be taking a look at some of the best NHL franchises of all time throughout this article with Stanley Cups, regular season success and more.

Top 10 Most Successful NHL Franchises of All Time

10. Philadelphia Flyers - 2 Stanley Cups

The Philadelphia Flyers came into the league in the expansion of 1967 and found success relatively quickly. They’ve only won the Stanley Cup two times in their history and both came in their first 10 years of existence in 1974 and 1975, but they've maintained a legacy of success and influence with their more than 40 playoff appearances.

Bobby Clarke set the tone for the Broad Street Bullies in the 1970s with goaltender Bernie Parent between the pipes. They’ve since had legends like Mark Howe, Eric Lindros, Ron Hextall, and more recently Claude Giroux wear the Orange and Black.

9. Colorado Avalanche - 2 Stanley Cups

The Quebec Nordiques came into the league in the 1970s but moved to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. The Avs proceeded to win the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season and then again in 2001 and 2022.

Legends Joe Sakic, Peter Forsberg, and Patrick Roy were on that first Stanley Cup team with Milan Hejduk, Adam Foote and Ray Bourque joining as well.

8. Edmonton Oilers - 5 Stanley Cups

The Edmonton Oilers have had a few of the greatest players of all time in Wayne Gretzky and Connor McDavid. Gretzky helped lead an Oilers dynasty in the 1980s after the franchise joined the NHL in 1979.

The Oilers’ five Stanley Cup victories all came in a seven-year span in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988 and 1990. They reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 but lost in heartbreaking fashion in game seven.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins - 6 Stanley Cups

The Pittsburgh Penguins have had a few different eras with a pair of legends leading the way. First it was Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr in the 1990s before Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin took the reins in the 2000s.

The Pens won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1991 and 1992 and then again in 2016 and 2017 with a 2009 victory in the middle.

6. Boston Bruins - 6 Stanley Cups

The Boston Bruins are an Original Six team and have been one of the classic franchises in NHL history. They’ve won the second-most games in NHL history with over 3,400 and have six Stanley Cups to show for it.

The B’s won three Stanley Cups in the early days of the NHL (1929, 1939, 1941), two more in the 1970s, and most recently in 2011.

Ray Bourque, Johnny Bucyk, Patrice Bergeron and Phil Esposito are some of the franchise’s all-time greats.

5. Chicago Blackhawks - 6 Stanley Cups

The Chicago Blackhawks are another Original Six team that have had success in a few different eras. They won two Stanley Cups in the 1930s (1934 and 38), then in 1961 before a long drought until 2010.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane led the way for the 2010s dynasty that won the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013, and 2015. Other legendary Blackhawks include Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull and Denis Savard.

4. New York Islanders - 4 Stanley Cups

In comparison to many of the other teams in the Top 10, the New York Islanders have a smaller number of Stanley Cups won in franchise history (four), but they were one of the most dominant teams in NHL history during those four seasons.

The Islanders won four straight Stanley Cups to start the 1980s after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 1978 and 1979. Bryan Trottier, Mike Bossy and Denis Potvin are the top scorers in Islanders history.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs - 13 Stanley Cups

The Leafs started in the NHL in 1917 (originally as the Toronto Arenas) and have been one of the league's most storied and decorated franchises ever since, tied for second most NHL championships among all teams. But while the Maple Leafs were a dominating franchise for the first 50 years, the team is now known for its exceedingly long title drought, having not won a Stanley Cup since 1967.

The Leafs have seen legends like Mats Sundin, Dave Keon, Darryl Sittler, Johnny Bower, Tim Horton and Doug Gilmour suit up throughout their 100-plus-year history.

2. Detroit Red Wings - 11 Stanley Cups

The Detroit Red Wings are another Original Six team that has found success throughout its history. Their 11 Stanley Cup victories are the most by a team based in the United States. Their first seven came before expansion (1936, 1937, 1943, 1950, 1952, 1954, 1955) and they had to wait over 40 years for their next one.

Steve Yzerman helped the Red Wings to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1997 and 1998 with the franchise winning two more in 2002 and 2008.

Gordie Howe is one of the best NHL players of all-time and played 1,687 games with the Red Wings. Alex Delvecchio and Nicklas Lidstrom are among the list of other Detroit legends.

1. Montreal Canadiens - 24 Stanley Cups

The Montreal Canadiens may not have had much success in recent memory but they can always point to their mind-boggling 24 Stanley Cup victories in franchise history. They’re also the only NHL franchise to win over 3,500 regular-season games.

The Canadiens were the class of the NHL in the early days as they won multiple Stanley Cups in the ‘30s, ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, and ‘80s.

Unfortunately, the Canadiens' most recent Stanley Cup win came way back in 1993. That’s still the most recent win by any Canadian franchise.

Guy Lafleur, Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard lead the franchise in all-time points.

NHL Franchise Valuations

There are a few different factors when it comes to an NHL franchise’s valuation. Market size is a key one as are TV ratings, fan engagement/attendance and historic performance.

The top-valued NHL franchises as of 2025 are the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Boston Bruins.

Importance of NHL Franchise Success for Fantasy Hockey

It’s important to understand which NHL franchises have a history of success for fantasy hockey. The more historically successful programs may invest more heavily in putting a winning team on the ice. While there are always up-and-coming franchises as well, teams with long track records of success often feel significant pressure from their fanbases to get back to the top.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most popular NHL franchise?

The most popular NHL franchises include the Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, and Pittsburgh Penguins.

What is the most winning franchise in the NHL?

The Montreal Canadiens are the winningest franchise in NHL history both in terms of regular-season wins (3,500+) and Stanley Cup victories (24).

What NHL team has the best start?

The Vegas Golden Knights made the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season in 2017-18.

Which franchise has won the most Stanley Cups?

The Montreal Canadiens have won the most Stanley Cups with 24.

How do these franchise rankings affect player performance in fantasy hockey?

They don't have any impact on player quality. However, the most successful franchises historically speaking tend to chase after the best players.

Dominate Your Fantasy Hockey League with Sleeper!

Make sure you join Sleeper by signing up on the website or downloading the app where you can track players, monitor team matchups, and stay updated on the latest news around the NHL.

Understanding how many games are in an NHL season is important for hockey fans and fantasy players. Knowing the schedule helps fans plan when to watch games and catch exciting matchups.

For fantasy hockey players, this information is crucial as it affects player performance, injury management and team dynamics. In this article, we will break down the NHL schedule, explaining how many games each team plays and how they are divided between home and away. By understanding how the NHL's game count impacts player stats and team performance, readers can improve their fantasy strategies!

How Many Games Are In an NHL Season?

The typical length of an NHL season is 82 regular-season games plus preseason and postseason contests. We’ll take a look at how the schedule has changed throughout history and, later in the article, how it impacts fantasy hockey.

How Many Games Does Each Team Play in the NHL Regular Season?

Each team plays a total of 82 regular-season games. Teams play against non-conference opponents twice, one on the road and one at home, while playing at least three games against teams in their own division.

How Many Games Does Each Team Play During the NHL Pre-Season?

The NHL pre-season is perhaps one of the most important in all of the major sports leagues. Pre-season NHL games are used by teams to evaluate players, finalize rosters and build chemistry.

Teams typically play between six and eight pre-season games. The more established players only play in a handful of those while some of the guys on the bubble or prospects may play in more.

One interesting thing about pre-season games is their location. Teams sometimes play at a neutral site, minor-league arena or even internationally to help grow the game.

The Structure of the NHL Regular Season

Every NHL team plays 82 games in a standard season. These games are split equally into 41 home games and 41 away games.

There are usually more games throughout the week on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday while Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday may only have a handful of games each night.

Historical Changes to the NHL Season Length

Although the NHL regular season is now 82 games long, it wasn’t always that way.

In the first year of the NHL, each team only played 22 games. That expanded to 30 games per season in the 1920s and eventually 44 games then 48 in the 1930s.

That number steadily rose to 50 and 60 in the 1940s and 70 in the 1950s. The NHL regular season expanded to 74 games in 1967, again to 76 in 1968, to 78 in 1970, and then to 8o games by the 1974-75 season.

That's where it remained until expansion in the 1990s. Before the 1995-96 season, the league moved to the 82-game schedule, where it stands today.

There have been a few shortened seasons in recent memory due to lockout and a pandemic. There were 48 games in the 2012-13 season and 56 games in the 2020-21 season.

Leveraging NHL Game Counts for Fantasy Success

Given how the NHL schedule is structured, it’s important to look at when your fantasy hockey players are playing games to maximize your roster. 

Knowing when players are playing or not player due to scheduling can help fantasy managers make better decisions regarding drafting and lineup management.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the NHL go to 82 games?

The NHL started its now-standard 82-game regular season in 1995-96.

Why did the NHL play 84 games?

The NHL played 84 games in the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons with two extra neutral site games due to impending expansion.

How does the game count impact fantasy hockey players?

It’s important to look at game count so you can have your lineup filled out on any given night.

What factors can affect the number of games played in a season?

Expansion, work stoppages and pandemics can affect the number of games played in an NHL season.

Ready to Take Fantasy Hockey to the Next Level? Try Sleeper!

You should now have a good understanding of the length of the NHL season and how it impacts fantasy hockey.

Make sure you join Sleeper by signing up on the website or downloading the app where you can track players, monitor team matchups, and stay updated on the latest news around the NHL.

Anyone who has followed Major League Baseball for more than a few minutes probably knows that the New York Yankees have won more World Series than any other franchise, and by a laughable margin.

But did you know the Yankees do not hold the record for the most wins in a single season?

They take up three of the top nine spots on that list, but they’re not No. 1.

They also are not No. 1 for most losses in a season, which is a virtually unbreakable record from well over a century ago — though the Chicago White Sox tried like mad to break it in 2024, didn’t they?

We’ll go through the greatest win totals and worst loss totals in MLB history. In the case of ties, winning percentage is the tiebreaker, as not every season consisted of 162 games played.

Which Teams Won the Most Games in a Single Season?

1. 1906 Chicago Cubs (116-36-3)

The Chicago Cubs won back-to-back World Series in 1907 and 1908 before the infamous Curse of the Billy Goat that afflicted this franchise for more than a century. But it was in the year before those two titles that they set the MLB record for wins in a season — only to lose in the World Series.

Player-manager Frank Chance anchored the lineup as the primary first baseman, batting .319 and stealing 57 bases. However, it was the pitching staff led by Mordecai “Three Fingers” Brown that did the heavy lifting with a teamwide ERA of 1.75.

The race for the NL pennant was close until early August, when the Cubs reeled off 37 wins in the span of 39 games, tossing 11 shutouts during that stretch. 

2. 2001 Seattle Mariners (116-46)

Everyone loved the 1990s M’s featuring Ken Griffey Jr., Alex Rodriguez and Randy Johnson.

That entire trio was gone by 2001, though, when Ichiro Suzuki showed up and helped lead Seattle to one of the all-time great regular seasons.

Bret Boone was actually their best player as far as Wins Above Replacement is concerned, but it was Ichiro who won AL Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player for a Mariners squad that posted a +300 run differential and a winning record against all 18 teams it faced that season.

Like the 1906 Cubs, though, all those wins amounted to nothing in October. The Mariners were bounced by the Yankees in the ALCS.

3. 1998 New York Yankees (114-48)

The Los Angeles Dodgers might be on the brink of a dynastic run, but the most recent one of those in MLB history peaked with this Yankees juggernaut in 1998.

While Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa had their race for the single-season home run record, these Yankees were devoid of big boppers, Tino Martinez leading the team with a modest 28 home runs. It was a relentless lineup, though, with Bernie Williams winning the batting crown while Derek Jeter had his first of many “almost MVP” campaigns.

Meanwhile, both David Wells and David Cone made compelling cases for the AL Cy Young, Orlando “El Duque” Hernandez was a solid Rookie of the Year candidate as a 32-year-old and, of course, Mariano Rivera was damn near unhittable in the ninth inning.

Unlike the aforementioned 116-win teams, this one actually finished the fight, going 11-2 in the postseason and sweeping the San Diego Padres in the World Series.

4. 1954 Cleveland Indians (111-43-2)

The 1954 American League had a very clear line in the sand between the three haves with at least a .610 winning percentage and the five have nots that ended up below .450.

And Cleveland sure loved facing the have nots, going a combined 89-21 against that quintet of never-had-a-chancers.

The Indians had seven different players — four hitters, three pitchers — receive at least one vote for AL MVP, with batting champ Bobby Avila, HR and RBI champ Larry Doby and 23-win pitchers Early Wynn and Bob Lemon all finishing in the top six.

New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra won that vote, though, and the New York Giants swept Cleveland out of the World Series.

5. 2022 Los Angeles Dodgers (111-51)

Even before they started handing out controversial deferred contracts like Kit Kats on Halloween, the Dodgers were already ridiculously good.

They had the big three of Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman and contract year Trea Turner, plus 2022 was probably Will Smith’s most productive season to date, and he’s the best catcher in baseball these days.

But that starting rotation was just plain stupid good. Clayton Kershaw, Tony Gonsolin, Julio Urias and Tyler Anderson each made at least 22 starts with a sub-2.60 ERA.

If only they’d had a better bullpen, they might have made a better run at the 116-win record and might not have immediately lost in the NLDS with relievers responsible for two of those three Ls.

6. 1909 Pittsburgh Pirates (110-42-2)

The Pirates haven’t won much of anything in recent decades, but they were mighty fine back when the Flying Dutchman was carrying them through the 1900s.

They actually had a better winning percentage in 1902 when they went 103-36-3 (.741 vs. .724), but played a dozen fewer games that year.

In each of 1907, 1908 and 1909, though, Honus Wagner led the National League in batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage. And it was in ‘09 that a supporting cast featuring George Gibson, Dots Miller and Owen Wilson (no, not that Owen Wilson) stepped up for what was the NL’s highest-scoring team by a considerable margin.

7. 1927 New York Yankees (110-44-1)

Speaking of high scoring offenses, this was the Yankees team dubbed Murderers’ Row, since that’s what it felt like opposing pitchers needed to navigate.

Babe Ruth set the record that Roger Maris would eventually break, clubbing 60 home runs. Lou Gehrig wasn’t far behind with 47 dingers and 173 RBI en route to AL MVP. Both halves of that dynamic duo posted an OPS of 1.240 or better. For reference, Aaron Judge finished at 1.159 and Juan Soto didn’t even crack 1.000 while many lauded them as the greatest duo ever in 2024.

In addition to Ruth and Gehrig, Earle Combe, Tony Lazzeri and Bob Meusel each batted well north of .300, and all eight of the primary position players hit at least .269. They scored 131 more runs than the next-best team in the American League, plus had enough pitching prowess to post an absurd +376 run differential.

They made mincemeat of the Cardinals in the World Series, winning all four games of that sweep by at least three runs.

8. 1969 Baltimore Orioles (109-53)

If we factor in postseason wins, the 1970 Orioles — who won 108 regular-season games before winning the World Series — actually finished two wins ahead of the 1969 version that lost 4-1 to the Mets in the Fall Classic.

But let’s split the difference and call this the greatest two-year run of MLB’s live ball era.

The triumvirate of Jim Palmer, Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar anchored the pitching staff, Cuellar winning AL Cy Young in 1969 and all three finishing top five in 1970.

The pitching was just OK, though, compared to the Baltimore juggernaut which put the O in offense. Boog Powell almost won back-to-back MVPs. Frank Robinson and Brooks Robinson were into their mid-30s, but still excellent. Davey Johnson was an All-Star both years. Don Buford probably should have been, too. And Paul Blair might have been the most valuable of them all.

9. 1961 New York Yankees (109-53-1)

The Babe Ruth 60 HR season landed at No. 7, and the Roger Maris 61 HR season checks in at No. 9.

Maris’ record-setting slugfest robbed Mickey Mantle of what really should have been another AL MVP trophy. Between that dynamic duo, though, came 115 home runs and 269 RBI for a team that actually started out pretty slow.

Through 44 games, the Yankees were 24-19-1, tied for third place in the AL standings. From that point forward, they went 85-34, which extrapolates to a 162-game pace of 116 wins.

Bonus Team: 1884 St. Louis Maroons (94-19-1)

How legitimate is this record compiled in what was the only season in the history of the “Union Association”?

Probably not very. Several of the franchises folded after only playing a few games. Even the Maroons only lasted for three years, joining the National League in 1885 and playing their last game in 1886.

Nevertheless, it is recognized as a season in Major League Baseball’s history, and this .832 winning percentage is by far the highest by any team that played at least 90 games.

Fred Dunlap batted .412, and all five pitchers who logged at least 20 innings did so with an ERA of 2.01 or better. The Maroons made a mockery of a league that appears to have been just that.

Which Teams Suffered the Most Losses in a Single Season?

1. 1899 Cleveland Spiders (20-134)

Officially, the Spiders disbanded after the 1899 season. But Frank Robison owned both this franchise and the St. Louis Perfectos, and sent all of the Spiders’ best players to the Perfectos before the season began.

By early July, the Spiders were such a joke of a franchise that opposing teams refused to even travel to Cleveland the rest of the way, resulting in Cleveland playing 93 consecutive road games, in which it went 8-85 and allowed 8.3 runs per game.

It’s plausible someone will win more than 116 games in a season one day, but no one is ever going to sniff this record in futility.

2. 2024 Chicago White Sox (41-121)

Three of the seven largest loss totals have happened in the past decade, but this recent dumpster fire takes the cake.

The 3-22 start to the season was merely the beginning of the embarrassment for the White Sox, as it wasn’t until mid-May that they started really putting together losing streaks.

The first schneid lasted 14 games. Then came the AL record-tying 21-game skid, which marked the beginning of a 46-game stretch in which they went 4-42.

Amusingly, though, the White Sox almost kept the Atlanta Braves from making the playoffs, taking two out of three from Atlanta, who ended up qualifying for the postseason via tiebreaker.

3. 1962 New York Mets (40-120)

Expansion teams never fare well right off the bat. Of the 14 current franchises that were formed in 1904 or later, the best record belongs to the 1961 Los Angeles Angels at 70-91-1. The vast majority finished at least 30 games below .500.

None of them was quite as awful as the Mets’ inaugural season, though, in which all 12 pitchers who logged at least 20 innings did so with an ERA of 4.40 or worse, and in which their lone, mandatory All-Star was 35-year-old Richie Ashburn, who was used as a pinch hitter for about one third of his games played in what was the final season of his career.

The Houston Astros (then the Colt .45s) debuted that same year to a 64-96-2 record, and looked like a massive success compared to the Mets.

4. 2003 Detroit Tigers (43-119)

Before the dog days of Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer were Detroit’s ‘Dear God’ days of Mike Maroth, Jeremy Bonderman and Nate Cornejo.

Cornejo went 6-17 with a 4.67 ERA…and incredibly was the third-most valuable player on the entire roster, as far as Baseball Reference WAR is concerned.

The Tigers almost set a mark that even the 2024 White Sox couldn’t match, but they randomly started winning games at the end of the season, finishing 5-1 after a 38-118 start.

They never had anything close to a 21-game losing streak, but they did have six separate eight-game skids and were swept in a series 22 times.

5. 1916 Philadelphia Athletics (36-117)

While the Philadelphia Phillies were doggone good in the 1910s, the Philadelphia A’s were an irredeemable mess, suffering at least 100 losses five times in a seven-year stretch.

1916 was their magnum opus of awful, posting a run differential of negative-329.

From late June through early August, they endured a stretch of 41 losses in 43 games, including a 20-game losing streak.

Their longest winning streak of the year? Two games!

Not only did the A’s have a losing record against every other team they faced, each of those teams won at least twice as many games against the A’s as they lost, the worst “vs. PHA” record belonging to the Yankees at 15-7.

6. 1935 Boston Braves (38-115)

One of the all-time “Wait, he seriously played for that team?” bits of sports trivia is that Babe Ruth finished his MLB career with the 1935 Boston Braves.

Unfortunately, at 40 years old, the Great Bambino had next to nothing left in the tank. He appeared in 28 games and hit just six home runs before retiring in June.

Yet, that was good enough for the second-highest HR total on a team that was so moribund that it became financially unviable, was sold to new ownership and became the Boston Bees for five years.

Yes, they were so bad in 1935 that they changed the team name, hoping that would somehow spark something. But it would be another decade (and a switch back to the Braves) before their next 80-win campaign.

7. 2018 Baltimore Orioles (47-115)

This was the beginning of a brutal four-year stretch of Baltimore’s baseball history, save for the fact that being so terrible set them up to draft the likes of Adley Rutschman, Heston Kjerstad and Colton Cowser and re-emerge as a contender in a relative hurry.

The symbolic bottoming out point was when the Orioles traded away Manny Machado during the All-Star Break, several weeks before the trade deadline had even forced their hand — and then coming out in the first game of the second half with Mark Trumbo and Chris Davis in the heart of the order.

They might as well have flown a literal white flag at Camden Yards for the rest of the season.

They did at least get Dean Kremer in that deal with the Dodgers, but that’s it.

And despite unloading Machado in mid-July, he still ended that season as Baltimore’s most valuable player, by far, in just 96 games played.

Curiously enough, though: No 10-game losing streaks. They were just kind of consistently pretty bad, but never downright dreadful, failing to win 10 games in any month.

8. 2019 Detroit Tigers (47-114)

The weather helped Detroit avoid matching Baltimore’s 115-loss mark from the previous season. There were three Tigers-White Sox games in 2019 that were canceled due to inclement weather, and they only bothered to make up two of the three.

This team was almost unquestionably worse than the 2018 Orioles, though.

Detroit’s minus-333 run differential was darn near the worst of MLB’s divisional era (since 1969), saved from that distinction only by the grace of their former selves (the 2003 Tigers were minus-337) and the hapless 2023 Oakland A’s (minus-339).

Had they made up that game and lost it by at least seven runs — a fate they suffered 21 times that season — they would hold that dubious record.

Bonus Team: 1890 Allegheny City (23-113-2)

Five years before becoming the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Steel City’s baseball franchise was a run-hemorrhaging nightmare.

Only once in franchise history have they allowed at least 1,000 runs in a season, that coming when they gave up 1,235 in 1890. That’s slightly less than the 1,252 the Cleveland Spiders allowed in 1899, but Allegheny City also played in 16 fewer games than Cleveland did, allowing an astonishing 8.95 runs per game, including a 23-game losing streak in which they were outscored 236-84.

Because they only played in 138 games, the artists later known as the Pirates were edged out by a few miserable teams from 162-game seasons. With a .169 winning percentage, though, this team makes the 2024 White Sox (.253 winning percentage) look respectable.

How Does MLB Team Performance Influence Fantasy Baseball?

If we learned anything from Shohei Ohtani’s six-year run with the perennially sub-.500 Los Angeles Angels, it’s that you don’t need to be on any sort of all-time great team in order to be an all-time great fantasy baseball player.

At the same time, if we learned anything from his first season with the 98-win, World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers, it’s that playing on a great team sure can help a player’s fantasy impact.

Batters on top-tier offenses are going to get more RBI opportunities and very likely score more runs than they would in a less proficient offense. Not only that, but opposing pitchers are far less likely to pitch around or nibble on the corners of the strike zone against a great hitter if there are more great hitters coming up right behind him.

Similarly, starting pitchers are more likely to get wins and relief pitchers are more likely to get saves when toeing the rubber for 100-win teams than they are on 60-win teams.

Now, that doesn’t mean you should prioritize drafting a player just because he’s on a World Series hopeful. There were plenty of both Yankees and Dodgers in 2024 who weren’t worth much of anything for fantasy purposes, as well as a few quality fantasy assets on teams who suffered at least 100 losses.

But if you went out of your way to get Ohtani or Juan Soto after they landed on those teams during the 2023-24 offseason, you certainly reaped the rewards.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which franchise has the most wins all-time?

While the Chicago Cubs and Seattle Mariners share the single-season record, the all-time record belongs to the San Francisco Giants, who entered the 2025 season at 11,541 wins dating back to 1883.

The Dodgers (11,432), Cubs (11,327), St. Louis Cardinals (11,285) and Atlanta Braves (11,114) are all somewhat within shouting distance of the G-Men, but the Dodgers could finish 21 games ahead of the Giants in the NL West in each of the next five seasons and still be a few games behind them.

As far as winning percentage is concerned, though, the Yankees are lapping the field at .569, the Giants the next-closest team at .535. The difference is that the Yankees didn’t become a franchise until 1903, and the Giants already had 1,374 wins before New York played a single game.

Which franchise has the most losses all-time?

The Philadelphia Phillies hold that dubious title, entering 2025 with 11,326 losses dating back to 1883. That’s 377 more than the next-closest team (Atlanta Braves at 10,949), so the Phillies will probably remain No. 1 on that list for as long as they remain a franchise.

Worst winning percentage is at least somewhat up in the air, though. The Miami Marlins are presently in that basement at .459, but the Colorado Rockies are close at .462. That could flip as early as 2025.

What is every active franchise’s best single-season win total?

You know what’s wild about this list? All 30 teams have a singular best win total; no cases where a team hit its high-water mark in multiple seasons.

Master Fantasy Baseball with Historical Insights!

If you want to set an all-time record for wins in a season, you should probably let Sleeper be your guide.

The app is top notch, and the fantasy offerings are plentiful, from breaking news, to Sleeper Picks to season-long leagues.

If you’re still relatively new to the world of baseball or just looking to expand your knowledge of the game, we’ve got all sorts of articles to help you out, from baseball rules for beginners, to an explanation of baseball statistics, the most popular teams, a primer on the positions in baseball and, of course, tips for playing fantasy baseball.

By Major League Baseball standards, the quality start is still a relatively new statistic, as well as a bit of a controversial one.

The idea was conceived by Philadelphia Inquirer sportswriter John Lowe in 1985, its intended purpose to “show exactly how many times a baseball pitcher has done his job — pitched well enough for his team to have a chance to win.”

We’ll get into the specifics of what a quality start is shortly, but the general idea was that we needed something better than wins to gauge the value of a starting pitcher, as wins are inherently dependent upon how much damage the pitcher’s bat-wielding teammates are able to do.

Quality starts have never been universally accepted, though. Baseball Reference tracks them, but you need to dig into a team’s “Detailed Stats” or a player’s “Advanced Stats” to find them. FanGraphs doesn’t have QS data prior to 1974. Moreover, many have scoffed at the baseline for what constitutes a quality start, as it amounts to a 4.50 ERA that isn’t special at all.

But while we now have all sorts of advanced statistics and sabermetrics to tell us how good a starting pitcher is, quality starts remain better than wins, a valuable data point and a crucial category in a lot of fantasy leagues.

So, what is a quality start? Who’s good at getting them? And how do they impact your fantasy baseball approach?

What Is a Quality Start in Baseball?

The “calculation” of a quality start is quite simple, as you only need to know two data points: innings pitched and earned runs allowed. If the starting pitcher lasted at least six full innings and allowed three or fewer earned runs, that’s a quality start.

It’s worth mentioning up front that a quality start can turn into not a quality start, as it is not official until the proverbial book is closed on that pitcher.

One of the most extreme examples of this came in July 2022. Shohei Ohtani absolutely mowed down the Atlanta Braves for six innings, to the tune of 11 strikeouts and just one baserunner allowed. For those six innings, it was an extremely quality start. 

But then all hell broke loose in the seventh inning, with Ohtani allowing a walk, three singles and two home runs before departing with six earned runs charged against him. In the span of a few minutes, what would have been a quality start unraveled into a disaster.

If the starter’s final line features at least six innings pitched and three or fewer earned runs allowed, though, that’s a quality start.

Whether the pitcher’s team wins or loses does not matter for quality starts. Nor does it matter how many hits, walks or strikeouts were recorded, beyond how those statistics impact innings pitched and earned runs allowed.

While most baseball fans would agree that quality starts is a vastly superior statistic to wins when judging the effectiveness of a starting pitcher, it’s still not a great stat.

Like, come on, it counts a perfect game the same as it would a six inning struggle with no strikeouts, 10 batters reaching base and three of them scoring.

Translation: not all quality starts are created equal. And to that end, both Game Score on Baseball Reference and GSv2 (Game Score version 2.0) on FanGraphs do a good job of cluing you in on how impressive a particular quality start may have been.

However, six innings pitched with three or fewer runs allowed is more or less what you’re hoping to get out of a starting pitcher in the modern era of Major League Baseball. Anything above and beyond that is gravy, and it’d be swell to also start tracking “super quality starts” when a pitcher goes at least seven innings and allows two or fewer earned runs. But anyone who posts 20 or more quality starts in a season is just about guaranteed to get some consideration for a Cy Young vote.

Players with Most Quality Start Totals in Recent MLB Seasons

Thus far in the 2020s, the king of quality starts in a single season almost certainly isn’t who you’d guess.

Close to a dozen players get to 20 quality starts in each season, and we’ve been averaging about one instance per year of pitchers getting to 25.

The best to do it in recent seasons, however, was Walker Buehler with 27 QS for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2021.

Buehler did not once go eight full innings (let alone a complete game) in a start that season, but he was Mr. Reliable in completing at least six innings in 29 of his 33 starts.

(Despite a 2.47 ERA, 0.97 WHIP, an average of better than one strikeout per inning pitched and an MLB-best 171 ERA+, though, Buehler only placed fourth in the NL Cy Young vote that year, behind the more well-established Corbin Burnes, Zack Wheeler and Max Scherzer.)

Most quality starts (single-season) from 2021-24:

27 - Walker Buehler, LAD, 2021

26 - Framber Valdez, HOU, 2022; Zack Wheeler, PHI, 2024

25 - Yu Darvish, SDP, 2022; Alek Manoah, TOR, 2022

24 - Sandy Alcantara, MIA, 2022; Gerrit Cole, NYY, 2023; Logan Webb, SFG, 2023

Over the entirety of that four-season stretch, the most quality of starters was Zack Wheeler with 83 quality starts for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Wheeler almost won the NL Cy Young in both 2021 and 2024, finishing in second place each year. He also placed sixth in 2023 and has been probably the best pitcher in the majors over the past half-decade—as evidenced by the three-year, $126M extension the Phillies gave him for what will be his age 35 through age 37 seasons.

Most quality starts (total) from 2021-24:

83 - Zack Wheeler

80 - Corbin Burnes

77 - Logan Webb

76 - Framber Valdez

73 - Kevin Gausman

71 - Gerrit Cole, Luis Castillo

70 - Jose Berrios

One final note before we move on: 2021 Sandy Alcantara (23 QS, 9-15 record), 2023 Logan Webb (24 QS, 11-13 record) and 2024 Logan Gilbert (22 QS, 9-12 record) are the poster boys of the “Kill the Win” campaign, each tallying at least 13 more quality starts than wins in a recent season.

That’s not quite as drastic as Jacob deGrom going 10-9 with 28 quality starts in 2018 or Felix Hernandez going 13-12 with 30 quality starts in 2010. But if you take nothing else away from this article, please at least recognize that quality starts are better than wins.

Tips and Strategies for Pitchers to Achieve Quality Starts

First and foremost, you have to be good at pitching to get quality starts on any sort of regular basis. It’s not easy to hold a team to three or fewer runs while recording at least 18 outs.

Beyond that, though, the biggest key is pitch efficiency, as these days you basically never see a pitcher (unless he’s chasing a no-hitter or is one inning away from a shutout) go back out for a fresh inning with a pitch count already at 95 or greater.

Thus, if it’s routinely taking 20 pitches to make it through an inning, the math isn’t going to math when trying to last six or more innings.

That’s exactly why guys like Dylan Cease and Blake Snell were nowhere to be found on the lists above. Even though they are both excellent pitchers, they hunt strikeouts, they live with issuing more than their fair share of walks and they’re often running on fumes by the fifth inning because of that approach.

Cease and Snell do each record a quality start in around 41-45 percent of their appearances, but that’s a far cry from the best who are more in the 65-69 percent range.

That isn’t to say you can’t strike guys out if you want quality starts. Zack Wheeler averaged better than a strikeout per inning and better than 200 strikeouts per season en route to his 83 quality starts from 2021-24. 

However, there’s a fine line between averaging a combined 12 strikeouts and walks per 9 IP as Wheeler does and averaging 15 like Cease does or 16.5 like Snell does. And that fine line is a substantial difference in quality start potential.

How Quality Starts Affect Fantasy Baseball

Well, in a lot of fantasy leagues now — whether head-to-head, roto, points, DFS, etc. — quality starts simply is a scoring category.

Even if it’s not explicitly a data point you’re chasing, though, surely earned runs allowed and some form of innings pitched — be it wins or straight up points per out recorded — are major scoring categories for pitchers in your league/pool, in which case you’re still pretty well searching for quality starts.

As previously noted, though, not all quality starts are created equal. For instance, Kyle Gibson with a 4.43 ERA tallied 64 quality starts from 2021-24 to Blake Snell’s 48, and there’s probably not a baseball fan on earth outside of maybe Gibson’s own mother who would rate him as a better (fantasy) pitcher than Snell.

Namely, getting strikeouts and keeping both ERA and WHIP to a minimum is a major consideration when chasing quality starts in fantasy — especially if you’re in a K/9 league where you’re hurting yourself to some extent if you deploy a starter who’s probably going to go six innings while not tallying five strikeouts.

By and large, though, quality starts equal quality fantasy pitchers, and vice versa.

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the all-time Quality Start records?

Officially, Don Sutton has the most quality starts in a career with 483, narrowly ahead of both Nolan Ryan at 481 and Greg Maddux at 480.

However, Cy Young would almost certainly hold the record if we had more complete game log data for him. He made 815 starts and pitched a complete game in 749, finishing his career with a 2.63 ERA. There is mostly complete data for four of his seasons (1901-04), during which he tallied a quality start in 132 of 160 games started. And if he came anywhere close to maintaining that 82.5 percent rate for his 22-year career, he would’ve been well north of 600 quality starts.

Alas, Sutton is the official career QS king at 483, while Grover Alexander holds the single-season record with 40 quality starts in 1916. He also had 39 QS in each of 1915 and 1917 for what was just an outrageous three-year peak of dominance.

What percentage of games started result in quality starts?

The ratio certainly isn’t what it used to be.

From 1974-1993, the league-wide quality start rate was pretty consistently north of 50 percent. It randomly dipped to 46.9 percent in 1987, but then spiked back to 56.4 percent the following year.

It dipped below 50 percent for much of 1994-2009, but quality starts were back with a vengeance from 2010-14, 52.9 percent of all starts producing a quality start during that five-year stretch.

But pitching deep into games is becoming a lost art. From 54.0 percent in 2014, that rate trickled to 50.0, 46.6, 43.6, 41.1 and 36.9 over the next five seasons. It really bottomed out to 29.0 percent in 2020, but 2020 data will forever be weird. And from 2021-24, the QS% has ranged from 32.6-36.5 percent.

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If you’re trying to make a quality start on your fantasy career, be sure to give Sleeper a try.

The app is top notch, and the fantasy offerings are plentiful, from breaking news, to Sleeper Picks to season-long leagues.

If you’re still relatively new to the world of baseball or just looking to expand your knowledge of the game, we’ve got all sorts of articles to help you out, from baseball rules for beginners, to an explanation of baseball statistics, the most popular teams, a primer on the positions in baseball and, of course, tips for playing fantasy baseball.

The saying “Jack of all trades, master of none” is often used in a negative connotation. On the baseball diamond, however, we call a jack of all trades a utility player, and the good ones can be downright indispensable to the success of a Major League Baseball team.

Now, we’re not talking about players who can both hit and pitch. Since the implementation of the universal designated hitter in 2022, that combination of skills at the MLB level has been confined to just Shohei Ohtani. He is often called a unicorn, but is frankly the furthest thing from a utility player, logging a grand total of 8.1 innings at any position other than pitcher or DH through the first seven seasons of his career.

A utility player is someone who can be slotted into any of the seven defensive positions aside from pitcher and catcher. Some of them even do catch on occasion, though. And in those situations where a position player gets brought in to pitch the last inning of a blowout, it’s typically a utility player.

Let’s dive into the history of baseball’s Swiss Army knives to get a sense of how and why they’ve evolved into such a pivotal piece of a championship puzzle.

Evolution of Utility Players in Baseball

During the 2024 MLB season, there were 51 players who appeared in at least 80 games and made at least 10 appearances at three different positions. Quite a few of those are guys who spent time at each outfield spot while never once donning an infielder’s glove. That’s still a valuable bit of versatility, though.

Foremost among those jacks of all trades were AL Utility Gold Glove recipient Dylan Moore (22+ appearances at each of 2B, SS, 3B and LF), All-Star Willi Castro (27+ appearances at each of 2B, SS, 3B, LF and CF) and Kiké Hernández (9+ appearances at each of 1B, 2B, SS, 3B, LF and CF, plus four pitching appearances for the World Series champion Dodgers).

To put it lightly, it wasn’t always like this.

Jackie Robinson and Pete Rose are considered two of the greatest utility players in MLB history, but even they stuck to one, occasionally two positions in any given season while being willing to change their primary position from one season to the next. This undeniably made them more valuable to their teams, but it’s a far cry from today’s utility players who have to show up to the ballpark, ready to play anywhere and everywhere on a daily basis.

Picking the 1950 season at random, we find there were only nine cases of a player appearing in at least 80 games with 10 or more appearances at three different positions, three of whom just barely met the minimum with exactly 10 games played at their third spot. The only player with at least 10 games played at four or more positions was Stan Musial (69 at 1B, 57 in LF, 13 in CF and 11 in RF). And with zero games played at 2B, 3B or SS in his career, Stan the Man would hardly be considered a utility player (or super-utility player) by today’s standards.

Fast-forward to 1980 and it was at least a little more common to see players splitting their time between three positions, with Jerry Royster appearing in at least 40 games at each of 2B, 3B and LF. But the “plug and play anywhere” guys were still extremely rare. Alan Bannister was the only player to make at least 13 appearances at four different positions (41 at second, 32 in left, 27 in right, 20 at third).

By 2000, the winds had shifted to the point where quite a few teams preferred having one player on the roster who could play just about anywhere while at least hitting above the Mendoza Line and throwing a baseball better than late-career Chuck Knoblauch.

Save for Tony Phillips starring for just about the entire window between 1980 and 2000, those utility players still weren’t anything special. Denny Hocking, for example, made at least 12 appearances at every position except for pitcher and catcher in 2000, but he amounted to negative-0.6 bWAR in his 13-year career. Similar story for Craig Paquette, who in the year 2000 appeared in a career-best 134 games spread across five positions, but gave the Cardinals a negative-0.5 bWAR for that season.

It was around that time, however, that utility players began to blossom from reserves who could play anywhere into assets who you wanted playing somewhere.

Career versatile backups like Hocking and Paquette gave way to the likes of Mark Loretta, Craig Counsell, Juan Uribe, Martín Prado, Howie Kendrick and perhaps the greatest utilityman of them all, Ben Zobrist.

As far as Baseball Reference is concerned, those six players were collectively worth more Wins Above Replacement in their careers (171.6) than Barry Bonds (162.8), and almost as much as Babe Ruth (182.6). And after watching those guys play key roles all over the diamond for a few decades, you’re now far more likely to find a team with multiple utility players than none of them.

Why Utility Players Are Essential to a Winning Baseball Team

First and foremost, injuries happen, and even the vast majority of uninjured players simply need a day off from time to time. Case in point: only four players appeared in all 162 games in 2024. Having someone on the roster who can hold down the fort at a better than replacement level at several different positions is a major asset.

Utility players are also essential because of limited roster space. Most teams parse out their 26 roster spots to five starting pitchers, eight relief pitchers, the nine “every day” hitters, a virtually mandatory backup catcher and three bench players. At a certain point, you need at least one player who can play a bunch of different positions, just in order to survive the marathon that is an MLB season.

Then you’ve got your platoon situations and guys who regularly need defensive replacements in the late innings of close games.

On the platoons front, right-handed hitters generally fare better against left-handed pitchers than they do against right-handed pitchers, while left-handed hitters tend to have an opposite split. And for some players, it is a drastic difference, to the point where they’d be borderline All-Stars if they could get 600 plate appearances in a season exclusively against RHP or LHP, but they’re borderline unplayable against the opposite-handed pitcher. Utility players come in handy there, particularly if they’re switch hitters or guys who don’t have considerable RHP/LHP splits.

Basically, utility players are a bonus form of roster depth and versatility.

Key Skills Required for Utility Players

Perhaps more so than anything else, utility players need to have a high baseball IQ and a deep understanding of where they’re supposed to be in any given situation.

If you play shortstop your entire career, the various middle infield duties become second nature. You know who’s covering second on pickoffs or stolen bases, who’s taking which cutoff duties on a fly ball to deep center, when to shift where and what you’re doing any time the ball comes to you.

But if you play shortstop one game, third base the next, then you start the following game in left field before shifting to center in the seventh inning and so on and so forth, your responsibilities are constantly changing. And one mental error can be every bit as detrimental to your team as a fielding or throwing error.

Then, of course, you need to be able to physically handle all of those responsibilities. You need goalie-like reflexes to play third base, the ability to read the ball off the bat to play any outfield position, speed to play center, range and flexibility to play middle infield, “scoopability” to play first, and so on and so forth.

Utility players are often used as pinch hitters/runners or defensive replacements, too, which is another skill set of its own, remaining both physically and mentally ready for a moment that might never come in that particular game.

There’s a reason most players stick primarily to one position. It’s just not easy to bounce all over the place and perform at so much as an average level at each position you play. 

How Does a Utility Player Impact Fantasy Baseball Strategies?

Before we get started here, it’s worth noting that while active rosters on fantasy teams typically include at least one “Utility” spot, by no means does that need to be filled by a utility player. It should probably just be called a wild card spot or “Bonus Batter” rather than opening itself up to that possible confusion.

Having a utility player on your fantasy roster can be a major asset, though, for the same reason they’re great on a real roster: plug and play when someone else on the team is injured or not playing that day.

The rub, however, is that utility players get a lot of days off in their own right. Among the aforementioned 51 players who appeared in at least 80 games with 10 or more appearances at three different positions in 2024, only three of them started more than 135 games.

Moreover, each of those three (Willi Castro, Ceddanne Rafaela and Christopher Morel) hit below .250 and did not rank top 50 in the majors in home runs or stolen bases, meaning even the near-everyday utility players weren’t exactly worth starting on a regular basis unless you’re in a deep league.

Starting them regularly at a shallow fantasy position like second base, though, can have value. And, speaking from experience, having Ben Zobrist on your fantasy team back in the 2009-13 timeframe was a whole heck of a lot of fun. You could start him just about anywhere, and he started at least 135 games in six consecutive seasons, mostly performing at a high level. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the best utility player in MLB history?

Sort of addressed this one earlier, but the answer depends on how you define a utility player.

Pete Rose appeared in more than 500 games at each of 1B, 2B, 3B, LF and RF en route to becoming the hit king. However, he was almost exclusively a second baseman for his first four seasons, barely played anything other than outfield for the next eight years, took up near-permanent residence at the hot corner for the next four years and then hardly ventured away from first base for his final eight seasons.

While he was versatile, Rose didn’t switch things up from one game to the next; he served a presidential term or two before moving somewhere else.

By the modern understanding of utility players, the best to do it thus far was either Ben Zobrist or Tony Phillips, both of whom provided a borderline Hall of Fame level of value over the course of their careers.

How should I draft utility players in fantasy baseball?

Without getting into the value of specific players, the most pertinent advice here is probably that if you’re going to draft a utility player, make sure you can actually use him as one.

Using someone like Willi Castro as your everyday second baseman isn’t as valuable as being able to deploy him in any number of spots in your lineup on a given day. You end up needing a utility player to back up your utility player.

Is being a utility player in baseball a good thing?

Utility players used to be viewed as players who were good enough to have on the roster but not good enough for every day work.

That mentality has definitely changed over the past two decades as the inherent value of utility players becomes increasingly apparent, and now utility players are definitely viewed as a good thing to have.

Being able to play multiple positions certainly doesn’t hurt your chances of making it to the majors, either.

Take Fantasy Baseball to the Next Level with Sleeper!

Now that you know a little more about utility players, perhaps you’d like to become a utility fantasy player on Sleeper.

The app is top notch, and the fantasy offerings are plentiful, from breaking news, to Sleeper Picks to season-long leagues.

If you’re still relatively new to the world of baseball or just looking to expand your knowledge of the game, we’ve got all sorts of articles to help you out, from baseball rules for beginners, to an explanation of baseball statistics, the most popular teams, a primer on the positions in baseball and, of course, tips for playing fantasy baseball.

WAR!

What is it good for?

Comparing Major League Baseball players from different positions or completely different eras by combining dozens of different data points into a formula that spits out a singular number.

That number is Wins Above Replacement (WAR), and it has in the past 10-15 years become the primary statistic/sabermetric cited in discussions about player value.

What all goes into that calculation, though? And why do the different sites that calculate WAR sometimes wildly disagree on a player’s value added?

We’ll do our best to explain a stat that a whole lot of people use, but only a handful have even the slightest clue how to calculate.

What Does WAR Mean in Baseball?

WAR is short for Wins Above Replacement. And the general goal of WAR is to quantify how much a player is worth by comparing everything that he does — at the plate, on the basepaths and in the field for position players; on the mound for pitchers — to what the expected contributions would have been if his playing time had been replaced by, essentially, a lifetime Triple-A player.

It’s an entirely theoretical number that is neither rooted in nor necessarily translates into actual team wins and losses. In fact, in 2024, the 92-win Cleveland Guardians ended up with a slightly lower teamwide fWAR than the 81-win Boston Red Sox. And goodness knows Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani had some remarkably high WAR seasons for Los Angeles Angels teams that still lost a ton of games.

But, in theory at least, Trout’s 2016 AL MVP season for the 74-88 Angels was worth either 8.7 or 10.5 wins above replacement, depending on whether you prefer FanGraphs or Baseball Reference for WAR calculations.

Not only did that WAR play a key part in Trout winning the MVP, but that WAR allows us to compare his 2016 season to, say, Barry Bonds in 2004 posting a 10.6 Baseball Reference WAR (typically abbreviated bWAR or rWAR) or Babe Ruth in 1928 posting a 10.5 FanGraphs WAR (fWAR) when discussing the greatest seasons of all-time.

What Is a Replacement Player?

While the number of wins is what we all fixate on, we should probably start out with the concept of a replacement player.

Whether you prefer Baseball Reference or FanGraphs as your source of WAR, the good news is they agree on this part of the calculating process — at least since they unified this baseline in 2013.

The TL;DR definition of a replacement player is simply a theoretical person who would be called up from Triple-A (or still available to sign as a midseason free agent) should the team suddenly need a replacement player due to injury, suspension, etc.

It should be noted that this theoretical replacement player has nothing to do with the team’s finances, nor its current options either already on the roster or in its farm system. Whether it’s the Dodgers who can shell out money to replace an injured player, a team with the top prospect in all of baseball at that particular position or a team with neither of those luxuries is irrelevant when calculating WAR.

Rather, the assumption is that the team would be forced to call up a player who neither adds to nor detracts from the team’s ability to win. And WAR is, in a nutshell, how much better (or worse) than that theoretical player the player in question has been.

What B-R and FG agreed upon in 2013 was that an entire roster of these theoretical replacement players would be expected to win 47.7 games in a season, or a .294 winning percentage. (Comically, the 2024 Chicago White Sox only won 41 games.)

Moreover, those numbers were derived from the agreed upon standard that there should be 1,000 WAR per 2,430-game season at an MLB-wide level.

However, before we continue, it’s worth noting that Baseball Reference divides that 1,000 into 590 WAR for batters and 410 WAR for pitchers while FanGraphs goes with a 570/430 split.

There are plenty of other differences in their formulae that result in peculiarities, such as B-R saying Ronel Blanco was worth 4.5 bWAR in 2024 while FG puts his value added at 2.1 fWAR. But it might be useful to know that bWAR collectively shows a little more love to hitters and less love to pitchers than fWAR does.

How to Calculate WAR

If you’re sitting there with a paper and pencil hoping to calculate WAR on your own, we’ve got some bad news for you:

It is effectively impossible.

Oh, the respective formulae look simple enough, especially the Baseball Reference ones. For position players, the bWAR formula is:

bWAR = (Player Runs - Average Player Runs) + (Average Player Runs - Replacement Level Runs)

For a pitcher’s bWAR, it’s:

bWAR = Replacement Level + Wins Above Average + (Wins Above Average * (Leverage Multiplier + 1) / 2)

FanGraphs has a slightly longer formula for each, the “simple equation” as it words it in its library for position players is:

fWAR = (Batting Runs + Baserunning Runs +Fielding Runs + Positional Adjustment + League Adjustment +Replacement Runs) / (Runs Per Win)

And then for pitchers, it’s: 

fWAR = [[([(League “FIP” – “FIP”) / Pitcher Specific Runs Per Win] + Replacement Level) * (IP/9)] * Leverage Multiplier for Relievers] + League Correction

However, that’s just a bunch of nonsense, right? We might as well have just told you that the ratio of Stanley Nickels to Schrute Bucks is the same as the ratio of unicorns to leprechauns, because those are ‘simple’ formulas in which each variable is the furthest thing from simple.

For example, in that FanGraphs position player formula, Batting Runs alone is: [((wOBA – lgwOBA)/wOBA Scale) * PA] + (lgR/PA – (PF*lgR/PA))*PA + (lgR/PA – (AL or NL non-pitcher wRC/PA))*PA. Which is yet another formula of formulas, wherein you need Park Factors (PF), the MLB-wide rate of runs per plate appearance for the timeframe in question, as well as the calculations for weighted on base-average (wOBA) for both the player and the league and weighted runs created (wRC).

And, again, that’s just for Batting Runs, which is one of the seven variables in the position player fWAR formula.

So, you know, good luck with your paper and pencil. It ain’t happening.

If you haven’t gone completely cross-eyed, though, the one noteworthy part to point out is the “Positional Adjustment” in the FanGraphs formula, which is also a key component of Baseball Reference’s Player Runs.

In fact, Baseball Reference has a handy-dandy list in its position player WAR explanation where it shows the current value assigned to each position per 1,350 innings played. (Each team will play roughly 1,450 innings over the course of a 162-game season.) That adjustment is +9 runs for catchers, +7 for shortstops, +3 for second basemen, +2.5 for center fielders, +2 for third basemen, -7 for corner outfielders, -9.5 for first basemen and -15 for designated hitters. [FanGraphs has similar adjustments, ranging from +12.5 to -17.5.]

Basically, if a full-time catcher and a full-time designated hitter put up the exact same batting stats in a given season, the catcher is going to have a considerably better WAR, provided he isn’t the most error-prone, no-value-added-on-defense catcher of all-time. This makes sense, since replacing a DH in the middle of the season is a whole heck of a lot easier than replacing a catcher.

What Is a Good WAR Rating?

This is where it starts to get a lot easier to comprehend.

About a million things go into the formula that spits out a singular number for WAR, but then we can take that number and say with some level of confidence how good the player’s season actually was compared to his peers.

A 0.0 WAR means the player provided no value, and either was a league-minimum salary player or might as well have been replaced by one. (A negative WAR suggests that the player should have been replaced.)

An average position player or starting pitcher who logs enough plate appearances or innings pitched to qualify for a batting crown or ERA title will have a WAR of around 2.0, which brings us to a brief aside about a similar metric: Wins Above Average (WAA).

Since an average everyday player / rotational cog is expected to have a WAR around 2.0, it stands to reason that WAA tends to be about 2.0 per season less than a player’s WAR. Case in point: Barry Bonds had a 22-year career with a bWAR of 162.8 and a WAA of 123.9, his WAR coming in somewhere between 1.4 and 2.2 greater than his WAA in each season with at least 450 plate appearances. Long story short, WAA is basically WAR minus 2. Now, let’s return to your regularly scheduled programming, already in progress.

Anything above a 4.0 WAR for a single season is an All-Star caliber campaign. However, most of the actual All-Stars in any given season will be below 4.0 at the time of the All-Star Game and may well fall short of 4.0 WAR by season’s end, so the correlation between the actual All-Stars and WAR All-Stars isn’t as strong as you might think. But there are typically around 40 position players who end the year with a 4.0 WAR or greater.

At 6.0 and above, now you’re talking MVP / Cy Young candidates.

One big thing to note is that WAR isn’t great for evaluating relief pitchers, as the best closers in a given season tend to end up somewhere in the 3.0 WAR range. Even when Eric Gagné won the NL Cy Young in 2003 during his streak of 84 consecutive successful saves, he was only worth 3.7 bWAR. Also, Mariano Rivera was evidently worth 39.1 fWAR for his career, which is slightly worse than Ryan Zimmerman (39.5).

Sure. OK.

See also: Baseball Statistics Explained

How Does WAR Impact Fantasy Baseball Strategy?

WAR is a great stat. It’s most certainly not the one-stop shop for assigning individual value that some in the MLB media tend to treat it as. But, for what it is, it’s a great tool that generally does a fine job of letting you know how good a player was.

Emphasis on that last word, though.

“Was.”

Past tense.

WAR is not a predictive metric. It can tell you how much value a player provided over a specific interval in the past, but it’s not much of a harbinger of what’s to come.

Now, there are some components of the WAR formula that are predictive in nature. Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a major part of the pitching fWAR calculation, and that’s more predictive than ERA. Likewise, position player WAR uses Weighted On Base Average (wOBA) as opposed to batting average. Though, in both cases, using Expected FIP (xFIP) and Expected wOBA (xwOBA) would make it even more predictive, and would still only be part of the equation anyway.

Also, value added on defense is a huge part of the WAR equation for position players, but that is wholly irrelevant for fantasy baseball purposes. So if you do insist on looking at WAR in your fantasy draft prep, at least be sure to hone in on the Offense category on FanGraphs and the Offensive WAR (oWAR) category on Baseball-Reference, as those are at least what you’re aiming for.

Really, though, you should probably keep your distance from WAR for fantasy purposes. 

Frequently Asked Questions

Why are fWAR and bWAR sometimes so divergent for the same player?

Simply put, they use different underlying, home-grown data.

Baseball Reference has OPS+ while FanGraphs has wRC+. B-R uses Defensive Runs Saved while FanGraphs leans on Ultimate Zone Rating. And while fWAR goes with FIP for pitching, bWAR’s backbone for pitching is Runs Allowed per 9 IP (RA9).

In each case, the goal of the stat is to sum up a player’s value added, be it at the plate, in the field or on the mound. But the subtle yet fundamental differences in those initial formulas can have something of a butterfly effect through the WAR calculations that ultimately results in considerable differences between fWAR and bWAR.

Usually, if you dig into the specific player’s profile, you can see why the split exists. We previously mentioned Ronel Blanco had a 2.1 fWAR and a 4.5 bWAR for 2024. Well, that’s largely because he had a 4.15 FIP and a 3.01 RA9, which is an unusually wide split. Meanwhile, MacKenzie Gore went in the opposite direction in 2024 with a 3.53 FIP compared to a 5.03 RA9, and he ended up with a 3.2 fWAR and a 0.8 bWAR.

(For what it’s worth, most feel that fWAR is better than bWAR for assessing pitchers.)

TBH, it’d be great if we could just normalize averaging a player’s fWAR and bWAR. That’s probably the truest single-number measure of a player’s value added.

Just don’t call it gWAR, though, or you’re going to confuse a lot of heavy metal fans.

What is the highest WAR in MLB history?

What about the worst WAR in MLB history?

I can only give you the FanGraphs versions of this answer, but the worst single-season fWAR by a qualified hitter was Jim Levey with a ghastly mark of negative-4.0 in 1933, while the low point for a pitcher with at least 100 innings pitched belongs to Leo Birdine at negative-2.1 in 1929.

For career worst, Bill Bergen takes the cake among position players with a negative-16.2 mark, in which he had a negative WAR in all 11 seasons played. Among pitchers who logged at least 700 innings, the worst fWAR belongs to Pat Mahomes at negative-3.0. At least his son can throw a football, though.

Take Your Fantasy Baseball Game to the Next Level with Sleeper!

Now that you know a little more about WAR, you can try out Sleeper, AKA the fantasy company that leads the industry in wins above replacement.

The app is top notch, and the fantasy offerings are plentiful, from breaking news, to Sleeper Picks to season-long leagues.

If you’re still relatively new to the world of baseball or just looking to expand your knowledge of the game, we’ve got all sorts of articles to help you out, from baseball rules for beginners, to an explanation of baseball statistics, the most popular teams, a primer on the positions in baseball and, of course, tips for playing fantasy baseball.

In the world of hockey, goaltenders play a pivotal role in determining the outcome of games and the success of their teams. This article aims to celebrate the greatest NHL goalies of all time by providing an in-depth look at the top legends based on their career wins and overall impact on the sport.

By exploring their achievements, statistics and defining moments, the goal of our ranking is to engage both die-hard hockey fans and casual readers alike. 

Top 10 Best NHL Goalies of All Time: Wins and Legacy

Goaltending is perhaps the most important job in hockey. If a team can’t score it can’t win, and the goalie is the last line of defense.

There have been plenty of great goalies over the years as the game and position have evolved. While it’s tough to compare players from different eras, there is a clear hierarchy of some of the best goalies of all time.

What Makes a Goalie the Greatest?

Ultimately, a goalie’s job is to keep the puck out of the net and help their team win games. Goalies are judged based on wins, saves, save percentage, shutouts, playoff performances and overall impact on their teams.

The All-Time Greats: The Top 10 Goalies

10. Tony Esposito - 423 Wins

Tony Esposito won 423 games in his 16-year career, primarily for the Chicago Blackhawks. After playing 13 games in the 1968-69 season for the Montreal Canadiens, Esposito went on to play 15 years in Chicago where he racked up three Vezina Trophies and was a five-time All-Star.

The Hall of Fame goalie is one of the best of all time and is well remembered for his time in Chicago.

9. Jacques Plante - 437 Wins

Jacques Plante is another old-time goalie, starting his career in the 1952-53 season with the Montreal Canadiens. Plante played the first five years of his career in Montreal where he won the Vezina Trophy six times, including five consecutive from 1956 to 1960.

Plante went on to play for the New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins to finish out his NHL career. He won the Stanley Cup six times, the Hart Trophy once in 1962 and was a seven-time All Star.

Plante was the first NHL goalie to wear a mask full-time starting in the 1959 season.

8. Terry Sawchuk - 445 Wins

Terry Sawchuk played for five different teams during his 21-year career from 1949 to 1970, when his career and life were cut short following an altercation with a teammate.

During his career, Sawchuk was a four-time Stanley Cup winner and won the Vezina Trophy four times as well. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971 following his tragic death in 1970.

Sawchuk played 14 years for the Detroit Red Wings, three in Toronto, two in Boston, and one with both the Kings and Rangers.

7. Curtis Joseph - 454

Curtis Joseph is our first modern goalie on the list. Although he never won any hardware outside of the King Clancy Memorial Trophy in 2000, Joseph had a long career with six different teams.

"Cujo" is perhaps most remembered as a Toronto Maple Leaf where he played five seasons, but he played for longer (six years) with the St. Louis Blues. He also played in Edmonton, Detroit, Phoenix, and Calgary.

The goaltender was consistent throughout his 19-year career from 1989 to 2009.

6. Henrik Lundqvist - 459

We’re getting even more modern now with Henrik Lundqvist. The New York Rangers legend spent his entire 15-year career in The Big Apple before attempting one final season with the Washington Capitals that ultimately didn’t come to fruition due to a health issue.

Lundqvist was one of the best goalies in the league throughout his entire career despite only winning one Vezina Trophy. He was the backbone of the Rangers and was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 2023.

5. Ed Belfour - 484 Wins

Ed Belfour was a well-decorated goalie throughout his 17-year career. He won the Stanley Cup with the Dallas Stars in 1999 and had one of the best rookie seasons as a goalie in the 1990-91 season when he won the Calder Trophy and Vezina Trophy while finishing third in Hart Trophy voting.

Belfour started his career in Chicago before a brief stint in San Jose. He then went to Dallas for five years and finished his career with three seasons in Toronto and one in Florida.

4. Roberto Luongo - 489 Wins

Roberto Luongo played 19 years in the NHL for three different teams. He started his career with the New York Islanders for one season before his first stint with the Florida Panthers.

Luongo played 11 seasons with Florida that bookended eight years with the Vancouver Canucks. Although he never won the Stanley Cup, Luongo is looked at fondly as one of the best goalies of the 2000s and 2010s.

3. Patrick Roy - 551 Wins

We’re now getting into the very top tier of NHL goalies. Roy was tremendous during his 19-year NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche.

Roy won the Stanley Cup four times to go along with three Vezina Trophies, five Jennings Trophies, and he was named the best player of the playoffs three times to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.

The legend helped revolutionize the goaltender position while playing in a few different eras from 1984 to 2003.

2. Marc-Andre Fleury - 573 Wins and Counting

Marc-Andre Fleury is a modern legend. He’s playing the final year of his career in the 2024-25 NHL season after a storied 20-plus years in the league.

Fleury has won the Stanley Cup three times with the Pittsburgh Penguins where he played the first 13 years of his career. He then spent four years with the expansion Vegas Golden Knights and a part of a season with the Chicago Blackhawks before finishing out his career with the Minnesota Wild.

1. Martin Brodeur - 691 Wins

Martin Brodeur has one of the more untouchable records for goalies with an impressive 691 wins in his 22-year career.

Brodeur spent the first 21 years of his career with the New Jersey Devils, winning the Stanley Cup three times to go along with four Vezina Trophies. 

Brodeur not only holds the record for the most wins but has the most saves in NHL history as well with 28,928 and a whopping 125 shutouts – 22 more than Sawchuk’s 103 in second place.

How to Choose the Best Goalie for Your Fantasy Hockey Team

It’s important to look at a few different factors when choosing a goalie for your fantasy hockey team. Most importantly, you want a goalie that plays on a good team. Wins are very important and good teams not only rack up victories but should be strong defensively to keep the goals against number down as well. 

However, you may also be able to get a good goalie on a more mediocre team that can get a decent number of wins and more saves as his team may allow more shots than the top teams in the league.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is considered the greatest NHL goalie of all time?

Martin Brodeur is largely considered the greatest NHL goalie of all time due to his number of wins and shutouts.

Who is the best goalkeeper of all time in hockey?

Martin Brodeur holds various records as the best goalkeeper of all time.

How do modern analytics affect goalie evaluations?

The recent introduction of expected goals and goals saved above average have added a wrinkle to goaltending evaluation. These stats help highlight some overlooked goalies on bad teams.

Who is the best goalie in the NHL?

Some of the best goalies in today’s NHL are Connor Hellbuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Sergei Bobrovsky.

Which current goalies are on track to become legends?

Connor Hellebuyck, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Sergei Bobrovsky and Igor Shesterkin are among the current goalies who are on track to become legends.

Enhance Your Fantasy Hockey Knowledge with Sleeper!

You should now have a better understanding of some of the best goalies in the league today as well as some of the best legends of all time. Understanding goaltenders can help develop winning strategies for your fantasy hockey leagues.

Make sure you join Sleeper by signing up on the website or downloading the app where you can track players, monitor team matchups, and stay updated on the latest news around the NHL.

The NHL, North America’s premier professional ice hockey league, captivates millions with its intense matchups and dedicated fan base. This article provides a full rundown of the league’s 32 teams, divided across the Eastern and Western Conferences and further split into the Atlantic, Metropolitan, Central and Pacific Divisions.

Ready to elevate your fantasy hockey experience? Join Sleeper today to track NHL players, monitor team matchups, and stay on top of league updates!

How Many Teams Are There in the NHL? A Hockey Guide

The NHL is not only the best hockey league in North America but in the entire world. Young hockey players across the globe dream of playing in the NHL, and the league's popularity has grown massively worldwide in recent years.

As its popularity has grown so has the size of the league. The NHL has seen a few rounds of expansion in recent years with new teams coming into the league.

How Many Teams Are There in the NHL?

As of the 2024-25 season, there are currently 32 teams in the NHL. These 32 teams are divided across four divisions in two conferences. All teams are listed below in alphabetical order by conference and division.

Eastern Conference

The Eastern Conference is home to the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions.

Atlantic Division

• Boston Bruins
• Buffalo Sabres
• Detroit Red Wings
• Florida Panthers
• Montreal Canadiens
• Ottawa Senators
• Tampa Bay Lightning
• Toronto Maple Leafs

Metropolitan Division

• Carolina Hurricanes
• Columbus Blue Jackets
• New Jersey Devils
• New York Islanders
• New York Rangers
• Philadelphia Flyers
• Pittsburgh Penguins
• Washington Capitals

Western Conference

The Western Conference is home to the Central and Pacific Divisions.

Central Division

• Chicago Blackhawks
• Colorado Avalanche
• Dallas Stars
• Minnesota Wild
• Nashville Predators
• St. Louis Blues
• Utah Hockey Club
• Winnipeg Jets

Pacific Division

• Anaheim Ducks
• Calgary Flames
• Edmonton Oilers
• Los Angeles Kings
• San Jose Sharks
• Seattle Kraken
• Vancouver Canucks
• Vegas Golden Knights

How Many Players Are on Each NHL Team?

The standard NHL roster has a maximum of 23 players. This includes forwards, defensemen and goalies.

A team can only have 20 players active for any given game, which typically breaks down to 12 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies. This means that three players will be scratched for each game.

See more: Breaking Down the Positions in Hockey

How Does the NHL Team Structure Affect Fantasy Hockey?

An NHL team’s structure goes a long way in terms of fantasy hockey. It’s important to know which players play on which lines to maximize your potential points and categories on any given night or week.

Of course, it’s also important to factor in a team’s schedule and matchups. Games between divisional opponents are typically more intense while a team playing a team from the opposite conference can sometimes be a bit more relaxed. Keep this in mind when choosing which players to put in your lineup on any given night.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many American teams are in the NHL?

There are currently 27 American teams in the NHL along with five Canadian teams.

What is the smallest city in the NHL?

The smallest cities that have an NHL team include Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada and Buffalo, New York in America.

Are there any plans to expand the NHL?

With the recent success of the Vegas Golden Knights and Seattle Kraken, the NHL is open to further expansion in the coming years.

Boost Your Fantasy Hockey Strategy with Sleeper!

After reading our breakdown of how many teams there are in the NHL, you should have a better idea of the makeup of the league and how it impacts your fantasy hockey decisions.

Make sure you join Sleeper by signing up on the website or downloading the app where you can track players, monitor team matchups, and stay updated on the latest news around the NHL.

Now a showpiece event on the annual football calendar, the NFL Draft has taken on a life of its own. Between the mock draft culture that involves prognosticating picks all year round (and in some cases for drafts years in the future) and the hundreds of thousands of fans who attend the draft in person (and the millions who watch at home), the NFL Draft is big business.

If you’re a new football fan interested in the draft’s allure and how it all works or a fantasy football manager trying to apply the NFL Draft’s results to your fantasy draft strategy, read on for a complete draft guide.

How Does the NFL Draft Work?

The draft is a three-day extravaganza, where teams look to bolster their rosters by outfoxing the competition and landing the best players — or best fits for their schemes — by snagging the top talent the collegiate game has to offer.

Here’s a closer look at the ins and outs of the draft:

How Many Rounds Are in the NFL Draft?

There are currently seven rounds in the NFL Draft, but it wasn’t always that way. 

For starters, those seven rounds are split over the course of three days, which was not the standard until 2010. The first round takes place on a Thursday night, followed by the next two on Friday night and Rounds 4-7 on Saturday afternoon.

Previously, the draft was a two-day, Saturday-Sunday affair, with the first three rounds on Day 1, followed by the remaining four.

Prior to the seven-round era, which began in 1994 after free agency and the salary cap were instituted, the draft went through multiple makeovers. It started, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, in 1936, with a nine-round event, before expanding to 10 a year later. In 1939, it doubled to 20 rounds, and in the 1940s it increased to as many as 32. After the AFL-NFL merger, the draft was reduced to 12 rounds in 1977. It remained at 12 until 1993, when it was stripped down to eight.

How Many Picks Are in the NFL Draft?

That, too, is not as straightforward of an answer as one might expect. Assuming the league remains at 32 teams, one might presume there to be 224 picks (32 x 7, although we were told there would be no math). But occasionally teams are stripped of picks for disciplinary reasons, which reduces the overall number.

Beyond that, there are compensatory selections, which are doled out annually and change from year to year. Those picks are awarded to teams who lose more or better compensatory free agents (as defined by the league’s collective bargaining agreement) than they acquired in the previous year. Compensatory picks take place at the end of Rounds 3-7, and no team can receive more than four in a given draft, but the overall total awarded impacts the bottom line.

With all that said, there are typically upwards of 250-260 picks in a modern-day NFL Draft.

In the first round, each team has 10 minutes on the clock to either make or deal away its pick. In the second round, that number shrinks to seven minutes. From Rounds 3-6, the clock is at five minutes, while for the last round, there are four minutes on the clock for each team. 

Teams can make their picks as quickly as they like and are not obligated to use the full allotment of time. If the clock expires before the pick is in, however, then the team that is picking next can swoop in and snag whomever they’d like (that is still available, of course). 

That famously happened in 2003, when the Minnesota Vikings failed to make their first-round pick in time (they were reportedly locked in trade talks, thought they had a deal, then didn’t) and the Jacksonville Jaguars and Carolina Panthers each made picks before the Vikings eventually selected Oklahoma State defensive tackle Kevin Williams two picks later than their original slot.

Pick Trades

Teams will deal their picks regularly either before or during the draft. If one team is eyeing a player and doesn’t think he’ll fall all the way to their spot, they’ll put together a package to move up. If another team thinks that the player it wants will last a bit longer (or perhaps it just wants to add more draft volume), it will look to deal its pick and move down.

It’s all about capital and value when it comes to draft day. For teams with plenty of roster holes, they may benefit more from stockpiling picks (and future picks — you can trade selections from following years’ drafts) than from standing pat and taking a player who may be better than anyone else they’ll end up with but not net as much quantity.

Gaming the draft is as big a part of the event as making the picks themselves. Draft picks are akin to lottery tickets, and the most successful franchises are the ones who know how best to wield them and when to cash them in.

Eligibility for the NFL Draft

Players must be three years removed from high school before being draft-eligible while having exhausted their collegiate eligibility. Underclassmen who meet the former requirement or players who graduated while still maintaining more college eligibility can apply for early entry and the league’s approval.

When Is the NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft’s dates vary from year to year, but it is typically held from Thursday through Saturday on the last weekend in April, making it a springtime staple on the NFL calendar. 

Prior to the draft, there’s the NFL Combine — an event where draft prospects are put through a gauntlet of workouts and interviews — in late February/early March. The results of the Combine are not the end-all, but players can see their draft stocks soar or tumble based on their performance under the spotlight. 

Why Should Fantasy Football Players Care About the NFL Draft?

The NFL Draft has proven that it can have a direct impact on fantasy football. If a stud quarterback, running back, wide receiver or tight end falls into a great situation — one where the road to immediate playing time is clear and the potential for production is high — then fantasy managers must take notice.

Relying on rookies can be a dicey proposition for fantasy managers, but every year there are fantasy-relevant first-year players who emerge as league-winning talents. In 2024 alone, QB Jayden Daniels (Washington Commanders, first round), WR Brian Thomas Jr. (Jacksonville Jaguars, first round), TE Brock Bowers (Las Vegas Raiders, first round) and RB Bucky Irving (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, fourth round) qualified as such, and fantasy managers who were wise enough to draft them or pounce on the waiver wire reaped the benefits.

The situation is often just as important as the talent, and if you’re a fantasy manager, you have to be attuned to the potential high-impact rookies as you craft your draft boards. You also need to be mindful of NFL team depth charts, as injuries or ineffectiveness can open up unexpected opportunities to backups — and, yes, that includes recently-drafted rookies — across the league.

Frequently Asked Questions

When did the draft change to seven rounds?

That happened in 1994, and it’s been seven rounds ever since.

What is Mr. Irrelevant in the NFL Draft?

Mr. Irrelevant refers to the last player picked in the draft. The term was initially used in 1976, with the first Mr. Irrelevant being Kelvin Kirk, a University of Dayton wide receiver who was picked at No. 487 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. (There were far more than seven rounds back then.)

The dubious honor has grown in terms of tradition over the years, but the last pick in the draft doesn’t always become a pro flop. San Francisco 49ers QB Brock Purdy is the most recent and prominent example of a Mr. Irrelevant who turned out to be very relevant, doing so after being taken with pick No. 262 of the 2022 draft. 

The 2009 Mr. Irrelevant, Ryan Succop, was a kicker taken by the Kansas City Chiefs at No. 256, and he had a long-lasting impact during his time in the league.

Where is the NFL Draft held?

After a lengthy run in New York City from 1965-2014, the draft has been a traveling circus, with cities being awarded the event like it’s a Super Bowl. Fans have flocked to the draft for years, to soak in the atmosphere and cheer on (or relentlessly boo) their teams’ picks, and rotating locations has been a major hit. For example, over the course of three days, over 700,000 fans attended the 2024 NFL Draft in Detroit. The 2025 NFL Draft is scheduled to take place at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

How much do draft picks get paid?

There’s a sliding scale for rookies in the NFL, and the numbers differ by the year. In 2025, the No. 1 overall pick stands to make more than $42 million over his four-year deal, while seventh rounders stand to rake in just over $4 million over their four-year rookie deals. It pays, quite literally, to be drafted higher.

Start Drafting With Sleeper

Now that you’re up to speed on the NFL Draft, get your own draft hat on with Sleeper. You can join either by signing up on the website or downloading the app.

You can prepare for the next season of fantasy football by utilizing Sleeper’s user-friendly mock draft room, which allows you to set parameters and get a sense of how your draft might unfold. You can also host your season-long leagues on Sleeper, with customizable options that ensure you and your league mates have the all settings you want.

If Daily Fantasy Sports is more your pace, then try your hand at Sleeper Picks, where you can maximize your winnings and earn real cash by making a few selections regarding whether you think players will exceed or fall short of their projected stats. 

Looking to maximize your Sleeper fantasy sports experience? Sign up for Sleeper Picks using the PICKSTODAY promo code to get your deposit matched 100% up to $100.

Sleeper promo codes change frequently and may include free entries and deposit matches for first-time users and existing players. Check back often.

We'll continuously update this guide to help you get the best Sleeper promo codes and explain how to apply them, so you can get the most out of one of the fastest-growing DFS platforms.

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[Updated: 4/14/25]

Sleeper Picks Promo Codes may depend on your user status. Our codes update frequently and new codes may become available at any time.

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What Is Sleeper Picks?

Sleeper Picks is a Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) game on the Sleeper app that lets users pick players in various sporting events and choose whether players will have more or less points than their projected output across a number of statistical categories. Sleeper Picks is different than traditional fantasy sports in that, instead of having your players for an entire season, your picks are only good for one game. If you lose today, you can get back on your horse and try again tomorrow. 

Here are some of the features you can expect:

• Player Picks: Pick individual player performances across dozens of categories, such as points scored or rebounds in basketball, touchdowns or yards in football, hits in baseball and goals in hockey and soccer.
• Daily and Weekly Contests: Participate in daily fantasy sports contests for a chance to win on any day (or in the NFL, any week) in which there are active games.
• Multisport Play: Engage in picks entries across multiple sports leagues, including MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL, WNBA, college basketball, college football and pro soccer.

Learn More About Sleeper Picks

• What Is DFS? 
• Sleeper Picks Basics
• Sleeper Vs. PrizePicks
• Sleeper Picks, Daily Draft & PicksVs

Sleeper Promo Code: Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find Sleeper promo codes? 

Promo codes can be found on the Sleeper blog or from third-party websites like FantasyLabs and Saturday Down South. We also announce new promos from time to time on social media so make sure to follow Sleeper on X, Instagram and TikTok. 

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Check out our guide on Where DFS is Legal for a complete list of states where Sleeper Picks is available.

Am I eligible to play Sleeper Picks?

To participate in our paid-entry skill-based contests, you must meet the following requirements:

• Be at least 18 years old (19 in Alabama and Nebraska; 21 in Massachusetts).
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Additionally, you must adhere to the rules and regulations of your current location. This includes providing personal identification and geolocation information for verification to confirm your eligibility. 

Check out our pages on Deposits & Withdrawals, Where Can I Play?, and State Specific Rules and Restrictions for additional details on the information required to enter any Sleeper Picks paid-entry contests of skill.

What are the rules for Sleeper Picks?

Check out our Sleeper Rules page for a complete list of rules and considerations. To better understand scoring and statistics, read this stats explainer.  

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