Who to start · 2025-26
Mitch Marner vs William Eklund
Blending 2025-26 with 2026-27 so far, Mitch Marner projects to 1.88 fantasy points per game under ESPN default scoring to William Eklund's 1.62.
Marner had 80 points in 81 games; Eklund had 53 in 78 games.
This week Marner has 1 game left with 1 soft matchup; Eklund has 1 left. We project Marner for 2.3 ESPN points to Eklund's 1.2.
Mitch Marner has the better number in 23 of the 33 stats both are ranked on.
Marner's biggest edges: Plus/minus +17, Goals above expected +2.1, Turnover Ledger /60 +0.024.
Eklund's biggest edges: Hits 72, 20+ mph bursts 111, Transition attempts /60 1.19.
- • 2026-27 so far: 2 GP, 0 G, 1 A, 1 PPP, 5 SOG.
Fantasy value: your scoring
Mitch Marner
1.96
fantasy points per game
William Eklund
1.62
fantasy points per game
Under ESPN default points, Mitch Marner has the edge.
| Points per game from | Marner | Eklund |
|---|---|---|
| Goals (+2) | 0.59 | 0.38 |
| Assists (+1) | 0.69 | 0.49 |
| Power-play points (+0.5) | 0.15 | 0.10 |
| Shorthanded points (+0.5) | 0.01 | 0.00 |
| Shots on goal (+0.1) | 0.20 | 0.23 |
| Hits (+0.1) | 0.03 | 0.09 |
| Blocks (+0.5) | 0.28 | 0.33 |
Per-game rates from the selected sample; blended mixes last season with this season, weighting this season more as games are played. Categories are scored as z-scores against qualified players at the same position. Your custom weights are saved in this browser only.
Head-to-head: Marner vs Eklund
Every event between them in NHL play-by-play, 2021-22 to 2025-26: games against each other, faceoffs, shots on goal, hits and penalties. Regular season and playoffs.
Marner 6G 7A, 23 SOG · Eklund 2G 3A, 16 SOG
On the ice against each other (Marner's side)
19:56 at 5-on-5 over 4 games, 2025-26, from Marner's side
- Shot attempts
- 24–18
- 57.1%
- Expected goals
- 1.5–0.3
- 83.8%
- Goals
- 0–0
Games against each other
| Date | Score | Marner | Eklund |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-11 | VGK 7–2 SJS | 0G 0A 3S | 0G 0A 3S |
| 2025-12-23 | VGK 7–2 SJS | 2G 0A 5S | 0G 0A 5S |
| 2025-11-29 | VGK 4–3 SJS | 1G 1A 2S | 1G 0A 1S |
| 2025-10-09 | VGK 4–3 SJS | 0G 0A 2S | 0G 1A 1S |
| 2025-03-27 | TOR 5–6 SJS | 0G 3A 2S | 1G 1A 3S |
| 2025-03-03 | TOR 2–3 SJS | 0G 1A 1S | 0G 1A 0S |
| 2024-01-09 | TOR 7–1 SJS | 2G 2A 4S | 0G 0A 2S |
| 2024-01-06 | TOR 4–1 SJS | 1G 0A 3S | 0G 0A 0S |
| 2021-10-22 | TOR 3–5 SJS | 0G 0A 1S | 0G 0A 1S |
Every stat, side by side
Season values; bars are percentiles at each player's position (longer is better). Click a stat for its explainer.
Fantasy box score
Possession & shot quality (5-on-5 on-ice)
Transition, turnovers & faceoffs
Usage
Special teams & discipline
This week's schedule
Sep 28 to Oct 4. More games usually wins a weekly start/sit. Chips show how many fantasy points the opponent allows to the player's position (soft or tough), the Schedule Edge from rest and travel, and the likely opposing goalie with his save percentage. Projections use ESPN default points for the games left.
Mitch Marner
3games (1 left)
2.3proj. ESPN pts
- Tue, Sep 29 vs CHIOpp allows 4th-most FP to RWLikely vs Spencer Knight (.902)
- Fri, Oct 2 vs ANAOpp allows 11th-fewest FP to RWLikely vs Lukas Dostal (.888)
- Sun, Oct 4 @ VAN2.3 ptsOpp allows 9th-most FP to RWSchedule edge +9.3 win%Likely vs Kevin Lankinen (.875)
William Eklund
1games
1.2proj. ESPN pts
- Sat, Oct 3 @ TOR1.2 ptsOpp allows 11th-fewest FP to LWLikely vs Sergei Bobrovsky (.877)
Similar matchups
FAQ
- Should I start Mitch Marner or William Eklund in fantasy hockey?
- Blending 2025-26 with 2026-27 so far, Mitch Marner projects to 1.88 fantasy points per game under ESPN default scoring to William Eklund's 1.62. Marner had 80 points in 81 games; Eklund had 53 in 78 games. Check this week's games and your league's scoring in the fantasy panel above, since more games usually decide a weekly start.
- Who is better, Mitch Marner or William Eklund?
- On 2025-26 numbers, Mitch Marner leads in 23 of 33 stats where both qualify, from scoring and power-play production to on-ice shot share and NHL EDGE tracking.
- How have Marner and Eklund done against each other?
- In 9 games against each other in our data, Marner's team went 6–3. Marner had 13 points (6 goals) and Eklund had 5 (2 goals).
2025-26 regular season from NHL play-by-play, shift charts and NHL EDGE, processed by Edgehalla. Head-to-head covers every loaded season (play-by-play from 2019-20; on-ice matchups from 2025-26).Compare other players →