Goal-Scorer Tiers: How to Use Connor, Kempe and Guentzel in Fantasy

Daily goal-scoring formats and standard fantasy leagues both reward managers who time hot streaks and matchups. With several elite wingers in favorable spots, this is a great window to squeeze extra goals out of your roster. Let’s break Kyle Connor, Adrian Kempe and Jake Guentzel into actionable tiers so you know when to add, stream or simply prioritize them over your usual options.

What’s New & Why It Matters

The common thread with Connor, Kempe and Guentzel is role security plus a soft matchup or exploitable situation. All three are locked into top-line minutes and first-unit power-play usage, which is the foundation for short-term goal spikes. The added wrinkle right now is that each faces an opponent with defensive concerns, making them especially attractive in goal-heavy formats.

Winnipeg Jets winger Kyle Connor is riding a scoring surge and draws a vulnerable Vancouver defense. That combination of form and matchup elevates him from a solid start to a priority goal-chase play. Adrian Kempe continues to drive offense for the Los Angeles Kings, leading them in both goals and shot volume, which keeps his floor high even when he doesn’t finish. Jake Guentzel, now with the Tampa Bay Lightning, is positioned for a breakout against a Toronto team that has been leaking chances. For fantasy managers, this is the type of convergence—top deployment, recent momentum, and shaky opposition—that justifies aggressive streaming and lineup shuffling.

Fantasy Implications

Points-Only

In points-only leagues and daily goal-chase contests, you care most about who is most likely to score tonight or over the next few games. Think of these wingers in tiers based on ceiling and reliability rather than long lists of rankings.

Tier 1: Primary goal anchor – Kyle Connor sits at the top of this mini-pool. As a top-line, top power-play winger in Winnipeg, his current scoring streak plus a soft matchup make him the safest bet to find the back of the net. If you’re choosing one of these three as your centerpiece goal scorer, Connor is the default option while this run and matchup hold.

Tier 2: High-end support scorers – Adrian Kempe and Jake Guentzel form the next tier. Kempe’s value stems from consistency: he drives a lot of the Kings offense, fires plenty of pucks on net, and rarely disappears for long stretches. He’s an excellent secondary choice if you already have a star locked in or are stacking multiple shooters. Guentzel is more about timing; he’s primed for a pop against a struggling Toronto defense, so in short slates or when you need a bit more volatility and upside, he can jump into that Tier 1 conversation on the right night.

In practice, that means you should prioritize Connor in your most important points-only decisions, slot Kempe as a strong secondary scorer with a stable floor, and deploy Guentzel when you want to capitalize on matchup-driven upside.

Categories / Bangers

In multi-category leagues, you’re not just chasing goals—you’re balancing shots, power-play production and overall volume.

Tier 1: Volume shooters with goal upside – Adrian Kempe belongs here. Leading the Los Angeles Kings in both goals and shots, he offers a rare blend of category coverage: he can help you in goals, shots on goal and power-play points in the same week. Even when the puck doesn’t go in, that shot volume keeps him highly valuable in bangers formats that count SOG.

Tier 1A: Elite finisher with matchup juice – Kyle Connor is also a premium categories play, but for a slightly different reason. His current scoring streak and favorable matchup give him massive short-term goal equity. If your league emphasizes goals and power-play points more than peripherals like hits or blocks, Connor’s finishing ability and PP1 role in Winnipeg can swing matchups by himself.

Tier 2: Matchup-driven swing piece – Jake Guentzel fits best as a matchup weapon. On Tampa Bay’s top line and first power-play unit, he’s in a position to rack up goals and PPP when the opposition falters. Against a Toronto team that has struggled defensively, he becomes a high-upside categories stream. If you’re behind in goals or power-play points late in the week, Guentzel is the kind of player you plug in to chase a comeback.

For managers in bangers leagues, the takeaway is simple: Kempe is the most reliable multi-cat asset, Connor is your high-impact goal and PPP hammer, and Guentzel is the matchup-dependent swing that can tilt a week when deployed at the right time.

Dynasty / Keeper

Even though the focus here is short-term goal chasing, dynasty and keeper managers can still use these tiers to guide trade and roster decisions.

Tier 1: Long-term cornerstone winger – Kyle Connor profiles as a long-term foundational piece. Top-line, PP1 wingers with a proven scoring touch on a competitive Winnipeg Jets team are exactly the type of assets you build around. His current hot streak doesn’t change his underlying value; it simply reminds your league how dangerous he can be, which you can leverage in negotiations using the NHL Trade Analyzer to gauge fair returns.

Tier 1A: High-end, multi-cat winger – Adrian Kempe’s combination of goal scoring and shot volume makes him a strong long-term hold in leagues that reward SOG and PPP. He may not always have the same name value as some elite wingers, but his role on the Kings top line and power play should keep him fantasy-relevant for years. In dynasty, he’s the type of player you quietly acquire when others are focused on flashier names.

Tier 2: Contending-team asset – Jake Guentzel’s keeper value is heavily tied to his deployment on the Tampa Bay Lightning. As long as he’s stapled to top offensive talent and first-unit power-play time, he’s a strong asset for win-now teams. He’s slightly more volatile than Connor or Kempe in long-term formats, but that also makes him a useful trade chip if you’re retooling and want to flip short-term scoring for younger or more stable pieces.

Who to Add / Stream / Watch

Kyle Connor – Add/priority stream (all leagues): Riding a scoring streak with a soft matchup, he should be in every active lineup where available.
Adrian Kempe – Add/hold (categories and points): Top-line, PP1 role with strong shot volume makes him a long-term hold in most formats.
Jake Guentzel – Short-term stream (standard and shallow): Excellent target when you want to exploit a struggling Toronto defense for a scoring spike.
Kyle Connor – Trade target (keeper/dynasty): If your league-mate views this as a temporary heater, explore buying high on a true cornerstone winger.
Adrian Kempe – Watchlist/stream in shallow points-only: In very shallow points leagues he can be a fringe option, but his shot volume makes him an ideal stream when the schedule lines up.

Fantasy Takeaways

Kyle Connor sits in the top tier of short-term goal scorers thanks to a hot streak, top deployment and a favorable matchup, making him a must-start and prime stream wherever available.
Adrian Kempe’s combination of team-leading goals and shot volume gives him a high floor in both points-only and categories formats, justifying an add-and-hold approach in most leagues.
Jake Guentzel is a matchup-driven weapon on Tampa Bay’s top line and PP1, ideal as a short-term stream when facing defensively vulnerable opponents like Toronto.
In categories leagues, prioritize Kempe and Connor for their mix of goals, shots and power-play usage, then use Guentzel as a late-week swing piece when you need to chase scoring.
Dynasty and keeper managers should treat Connor and Kempe as long-term core wingers, while using Guentzel’s short-term scoring appeal as leverage in trades if they’re retooling.

Source: NHL.com. See the original for full details.