🏒@HockeyBangers2026-27 projections

Overview

@HockeyBangers

2026-27 Projection

Erik Karlsson

PIT · Age 36.2 · 🇸🇪 Sweden · 6′0″, 190 lb · Draft 2008, 15th overall (OTT)
PITteam
Dposition
26position rank
114skater rank
63overall
34offense
28peripherals

Value over replacement, based on 82 games played.
Ideal for H2H 12-team banger category leagues, 16 roster spots.

Per 82 GP2026-27projection2025-2675 GPH235 GPH140 GPPrev 3246 GP · 3y
TOI23.4823.6022.4321.9124.37
PP TOI3.443.343.683.053.11
G151627716
A5256595354
PTS6772866070
PPP2528332520
SOG191193202184204
PIM2324212733
Hits2522281734
Blocks7970607999

Sample: 75 GP · 1,270 5v5 min (2025-26) — how much ice time backs these rates

Positional rankingDefense · league-wide (of 303)
offenseperipheralsvalue over replacement

Counts = projected deployment × projected /60 rate, per 82 GP. Rates regress off the process metric (ixG, shot-driving), not last year's finishing %. PP points = projected PP rate (anchored on the 2nd-half PP1 role, finishing regressed) × projected PP TOI.

Context brain — deployment, role, coaching & injury signals (why the line should move)
ContextSet a ~60-point baseline; not the late-season 72 pace. · Apples & Ginos Fantasy Hockey

Metrics worth highlighting

The charts that move this projection — where he broke from his own 3-year rate, where the season split in half, and where we’re taking the number next year
Second-half fade
1A/60
3-yr 0.600.41Q1Q2Q3Q4

1A/60 finished the year 79% below where it started (0.97 in the first half, 0.20 in the second). The projection leans on how the season ended, so the second half counts for more.

Second-half surge
PTS
6722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5

Points ran at a 86 pace in the second half after 60 in the first, per 82 games.

Above his 3-year rate
iSH%
8.8822-2323-2424-2525-26

iSH% ran 34% above his 3-year rate last season (8.88 against 6.65).

Top of the league
TOI
23.4822-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

TOI sits in the 97th percentile league-wide (23.60).

Picked automatically from every chart on this card, ranked by how far each number moved. Each claim is measured off the chart drawn beside it.

Similar & complementary players

Similar makeup Defense
Closest across all seven categories — match % is the whole-profile fit
Complementary Defense
Same position, opposite profile — strong where Erik Karlsson is weak or average, light where he’s strong
Profile shape — per-82 category values vs the league p99 for the position (same scale as the hero bars)
This player
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
the profile below
vs Similar
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
similar players hug the shape
vs Complementary
GAPPPSOGPIMHitsBlocks
complements fill the gaps

Deployment

Deployment projection — next-year TOI & PP TOI vs the last two years (the role that drives every count)
Coaching
2026-27 · Dan Muse (PIT)
Last year: Dan Muse full season (1st yr) — no change
Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
TOI23.4823.6024.37-3%
5v5 TOI16.9716.9419.53-13%
PP TOI3.443.343.11+8%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  19 · 21 · 18 · 17
TOI*
3-yr 24.3722.71Q1Q2Q3Q4
5v5 TOI
3-yr 19.5317.04Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP TOI
3-yr 3.113.80Q1Q2Q3Q4
*Total TOI by quarter reconstructs 5v5+PP quarterly totals plus a held-flat season PK/GP — NST has no all-strength quarterly export. Level is accurate; quarter-to-quarter movement comes from 5v5+PP.
By season — year over year
TOI
23.4822-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
5v5 TOI
16.9722-2323-2424-2525-2626-27
PP TOI
3.4422-2323-2424-2525-2626-27

Shooting — volume & conversion

How much and how well he shoots — volume (SOG), finishing (% vs chance quality), and the individual shot-quality funnel (iCF ⊇ iSCF ⊇ iHDCF).

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
SOG/605.135.295.67-7%
G/600.400.470.38+25%
iSH%7.778.886.65+34%
ixG/600.270.25+6%
iCF/6015.2514.41+6%
iSCF/604.114.11+0%
iHDCF/600.520.56-7%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  19 · 21 · 18 · 17
SOG/60
3-yr 5.675.39Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSH%
3-yr 6.6523.01Q1Q2Q3Q4
ixG/60
3-yr 0.250.30Q1Q2Q3Q4
iCF/60
3-yr 14.4115.54Q1Q2Q3Q4
iSCF/60
3-yr 4.114.97Q1Q2Q3Q4
iHDCF/60
3-yr 0.560.83Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
SOG/60
5.2922-2323-2424-2525-26
iSH%
8.8822-2323-2424-2525-26
ixG/60
0.2722-2323-2424-2525-26
iCF/60
15.2522-2323-2424-2525-26
iSCF/60
4.1122-2323-2424-2525-26
iHDCF/60
0.5222-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
G
1522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
SOG
19122-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindProcess rising: 5v5 ixG/60 0.27 (31st pct league-wide) up on the 3-yr 0.25 — the shot quality is real, so the projected goal rate leans on chances, not a hot %.
TailwindTrajectory: 5v5 ixG/60 climbed 0.24→0.30 across the year — process trending the right way into next season.
RiskAge 36 — modest past-prime drag on scoring rates.

Assists — playmaking & on-ice offense

Primary vs secondary helpers, plus the on-ice offense and luck signals underneath them.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
on-ice SH%10.3111.619.41+23%
IPP47.0643.7751.22-15%
1A/600.540.610.60+2%
2A/600.550.430.61-30%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  19 · 21 · 18 · 17
1A/60
3-yr 0.600.41Q1Q2Q3Q4
2A/60
3-yr 0.611.24Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
1A/60
0.6122-2323-2424-2525-26
2A/60
0.4322-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
A
5222-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
PTS
6722-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
RiskOn-ice SH% hot at 11.6% vs a 9.4% 3-yr mark — teammate finishing regresses (~8% is league-normal), so some assists come off.
ContextDefenseman — weight transition/PP facilitation over raw 2A; secondary assists read a touch better for D than forwards.

Power play

PP opportunity and finishing — modelled separately from 5v5.

Metric26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PP TOI3.443.343.11+8%
PP iSH%8.309.557.32+31%
PP SOG/609.9510.059.66+4%
PP ixG/600.980.84+17%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  19 · 21 · 18 · 17
PP TOI/GP
3-yr 3.113.80Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP SOG/60
3-yr 9.6612.99Q1Q2Q3Q4
PP ixG/60
3-yr 0.841.20Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PP TOI/GP
3.3422-2323-2424-2525-26
PP SOG/60
10.0522-2323-2424-2525-26
PP ixG/60
0.9822-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PPP
2522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPG
522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
PPA
2022-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. PPG and PPA are the 2 halves of the PPP above them, split by the projection's own goal/assist mix. PP-only, so the halves are exact.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
ContextPP role steady at ~3.4 PP TOI/gp.
TailwindPP chance quality up (PP ixG/60 0.98 vs 0.84) — a real process gain, the kind that sustains PP points.

Physical — PIM · hits · blocks

Peripheral counting categories. Noisier and scorer-biased — read as role over the years, not pure talent.

Metric (5v5)26-27
proj
2025-26Prev 3Diff
PIMs/600.880.940.95-1%
Hits/600.880.761.15-34%
Blks/602.582.273.31-31%
By quarter — 2025-26 vs 3-yr baseline
GP  19 · 21 · 18 · 17
PIMs/60
3-yr 0.950.83Q1Q2Q3Q4
Hits/60
3-yr 1.150.83Q1Q2Q3Q4
Blks/60
3-yr 3.312.07Q1Q2Q3Q4
By season — year over year
PIMs/60
0.9422-2323-2424-2525-26
Hits/60
0.7622-2323-2424-2525-26
Blks/60
2.2722-2323-2424-2525-26
Per-82 count — 3 seasons, 2025-26 halves & 26-27 projection
PIM
2322-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
HITS
2522-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
BLK
7922-2323-2424-25H1H226-27
all5v5
The blue 26-27 point is our projection. The bold line is all situations; the muted line under it is 5v5 alone, so the gap between them is his special-teams production. Full seasons are true per-82 counts; the 2025-26 H1/H2 reconstruct all-strength from the 5v5+PP quarterly exports plus the season's held-flat PK/other. The projected 5v5 point is the engine's even-strength share of the total, converted to 5v5 by his own 5v5-to-even-strength split, so overtime and 4-on-4 scoring stays out of it.
Regression read — where next year's /60 rate lands and why (process over finishing)
TailwindHits surging late: Q4 0.83/60 and 2nd-half 1.01 vs a 0.76 season rate (1.15 3-yr) (4th pct league-wide) — reads as a real role/confidence step, so projected UP to 0.88/60, weighting the finish over the 3-yr baseline.
RiskBlocks tailing off: Q4 2.07/60 and 2nd-half 1.83 below the 2.27 season rate — projected DOWN to 2.58/60, weighting the recent decline over the 3.31 3-yr mark.