HM: Nikolaj Ehlers, Mat Barzal, Evgeni Malkin, Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Sean Monahan, Bryan Rust
15. Bo Horvat, New York Islanders. A model of consistency, you can pencil Horvat in for 30 goals and 30 assists with a 90% WAR% almost every season. He’s in that tier where he’s not a superstar but he certainly is a star capable of taking over games.
14. Adam Fantilli, Columbus Blue Jackets. As a 20-year old, Fantilli scored 31 goals last season. The arrow is pointed way up on him as a capable two-way player that should be inching towards that 65, 70 point mark sooner than later.
13. Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals. Strome put up 82 points last season, and has three straight years of 65+ points for his three seasons in Washington. He’s not a focus point but his game is perfect to create for his teammates and rack up the assists (53 last year).
12. Matvei Michkov, Philadelphia Flyers. Michkov recorded 63 points as a 20-year old rookie and should be primed for even more in the future. Sad as it is to say considering the team he plays for but Michkov could be the next in line as a type of Kaprizov or Panarin as a Russian winger that drives not only a line but a whole team.
11. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals. What does the record setter have for an encore at age-40? Ovechkin’s shot is still among the best in the whole league and even though the rest of his game has slowed down, he can still hammer pucks with the best of them, now in uncharted territory.
10 Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes. Jarvis’s even strength defensive impact, per Advanced Hockey Stats is in the 100% for forwards. You also got to love that he’s raised his game and has produced even more points in the playoffs (25 points in 26 games in the previous two springs) to go with his consistent 30+ goal and matching 67 point seasons of the last two regular seasons. Great, well-established player and he still will be 23-years old for much of the upcoming season.
9. Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers. Konecny has quietly grown his game (52 assists and 76 points last season!) and has the all-around edge to force his way onto the Team Canada national squad at 4 Nations, and very well could be an Olympian this year as well. Someone has to score points for a team like the Flyers, and that someone has become Konecny in recent years.
8. J.T. Miller, New York Rangers. The newly named captain of the Rangers is back in the Metropolitan Division and will have a big impact with the Blueshirts. He scored 35 points in 32 games with the Rangers and if he keeps that up to get back to the 80-100 point range, there’s a case he should be ranked higher here for this season.
7. Kirill Marchenko, Columbus Blue Jackets . Marchenko exploded onto the scene last season, his third in the NHL, with a 31-goal, 74-point season. His finishing and goal scoring ability is off the charts and has been the perfect example of why the up and coming Blue Jackets have been so up and coming. Marchenko is probably the best player that no one talks about.
6. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils. Hughes is a tough player to project and rank; on one hand he scores over a point per game and is a dominant force in games, on the other hand he’s missed 20+ games in three of the last four seasons. This is not a backwards looking ranking of who had the best seasons last year, but it also is impossible to ignore the likelihood that Hughes will miss significant time and not be deserving of a high spot this season. This point feels about right, hedges bets in case he misses time to not be among the very elite, but is a respectable position to give credit for the impact he makes when he plays.
5. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils. Hischier brings so much value to the table, you can pencil him in for 30+ goals and about a point per game, but he’s going to help his team in so many ways. He was second last season in the NHL in total faceoffs (1,777) and won 55.5% of them. He’s not as flashy as some other names but just solid all-around.
4. Jesper Bratt, New Jersey Devils. Only five forwards in the league (Kucherov, McDavid, MacKinnon, Marner, Pastranak) have more than Bratt’s 123 assists. All Bratt does is float just under the radar, generating chance assists and real assists and getting little attention. Tremendous playmaker in this era of the game with his vision and ability to distribute the puck, should be talked about more!
3. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes. Aho is the perfect embodiment of the Hurricanes, tenacious player, always going to work to the right side of being on the puck. And then he’s also going to score. Aho’s capable enough to be the main engine of one of the league’s most consistent teams, there’s something to be said for him as the ultra-consistent primary fuel of that engine. Reliability has been rewarded with the top-5 on the list this season.
2. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers. Panarin’s about to turn 34, but someone forgot to tell him he’s supposed to start slowing down. His past few seasons in New York have been off-the-charts productive. Even in last season’s gongshow with all the drama between management, leadership, ownership and coaching, Panarin did his job by putting up 37 goals and 89 points. This is a contract year and there’s reason to believe Panarin is going to keep on doing exactly what he’s done as a Ranger, which is score 550 points in 430 games over the last six seasons.
1 . Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins. Crosby was the division’s only 90 point scorer last season, he just keeps on going. He led the NHL in total faceoffs (1,782) and faceoff wins (1,016) and dominated by winning 57.0% of them. Even at now 38-years old, he’s the cream of the crop.