When it comes to elite forwards, it’s extremely tough, if not impossible, to find two better than Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightning and John Tavares of the New York Islanders.

Both are among the NHL’s most prolific scorers, and have lots in common. Neither has been on an extremely successful team so far in their short careers (although the Islanders look to be on the way up), and both were first overall draft picks. Stamkos went first in 2008, Tavares in 2009.

For fantasy purposes, Stamkos may indeed be the best choice in all of hockey. He consistently is one of the league leaders in goals and total points, and he has worked well with veteran linemate Martin St. Louis.

Tavares, while also impressive, has not put up identical numbers as Stamkos, but he is not far off.

Even though both Stamkos and Tavares are already at the top of the league in terms of offensive talent, there is plenty of reason to believe that they will both improve in 2013-14.

While Stamkos’s Tampa Bay Lightning will be playing in a tougher division and will likely not go anywhere this year in terms of their record, it is plausible that he still has not even reached his peak.

Also, longtime Lightning captain Vincent Lecavalier has gone off to greener pastures in Philadelphia, which may even cause more of the offensive workload to fall on Stamkos’s shoulders.

Despite losing Lecavalier, the Lightning drafted Jonathan Drouin with the third overall pick in this year’s draft. While he may not address their primary need of defense, he is an incredibly skilled forward who can create all sorts of goals and electrify (no pun intended) highlight reels.

If Drouin gets put on a line next to Stamkos, Tampa Bay could have one of the most explosive and exciting lines in all of hockey. This would likely bolster Stamkos’s statistics even more.

As far as Tavares goes, he is also improving every year. His Islanders team is improving too, as 2013 was Tavares’s first trip to the playoffs.

This offseason, the Isles added some extra grit to the team by trading for Cal Clutterbuck. Clutterbuck is always one of the league leaders in hits, as is Islander Matt Martin.

The fact that we have arguably the league’s top two hitters wearing the same uniform could cause nightmares for the Islanders’ foes, especially since a scorer as deadly as Tavares could strike at any time.

The extra physicality that we will see from the Islanders this year will act as protection for Tavares and other Islanders scorers like Michael Grabner and Matt Moulson.

With less opponents willing to touch Tavares, he could easily have the best season of his young career in 2013-14.

All in all, Stamkos and Tavares are both great stars to have on your fantasy team. If given the choice between the two, Stamkos will likely give you a few more points, but consider yourself lucky if you are able to land either one.