Nathan MacKinnon remained No. 2 on NHL Network’s annual list of the league’s top centers, with the Colorado Avalanche superstar holding the same spot he occupied a year ago.
As was the case last year, the only center ranked ahead of MacKinnon was Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid.
There was plenty of movement behind the top two, however. San Jose Sharks’ young phenom Macklin Celebrini made a major jump to No. 3 after being ranked No. 19 last year. That pushed Leon Draisaitl down to No. 4 and Aleksander Barkov to No. 5.
For the first time, Sidney Crosby fell outside the top five, while four players who were unranked on last year’s list cracked the top 20 this time around.
MacKinnon is coming another magnificent season. The 30-year-old recorded a career high in goals (53), while finishing with 126 points. It’s his his fourth consecutive 100-point season and the second 120-point campaign of his career.
He also captured his first Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy after leading the NHL in goals and finished third in Hart Trophy voting behind McDavid and Tampa Bay Lightning star Nikita Kucherov.
Here is the full ranking: