While many suggest Cale Makar is the best player on the Avalanche, MacKinnon has been the better of the two to this point in 2022-23. by The Penguins had Nick Bonino, Chicago had Antoine Vermette and Andrew Shaw, and the Kings had Jarret Stoll and Mike Richards. He had three straight seasons with at least 63 points from 2017-18 to 2019-20. Nevertheless, he's an invaluable part of the Avalanche's top offensive trio. MIN L1: Kirill Kaprizov -- Ryan Hartman -- Mats Zuccarello (+2), 12. Bunting is the least known of the trio but could soon garner more attention as the season progresses. 1 or even no. He scored four shorthanded goals and leads the NHL with eight over the past two seasons. "You look at the physical tools of course, the speed and the strength, and the way that he's able to combine that with the hands and the vision to become one of the best offensive players," Johnson said. Most NHL teams rely upon their first line for the bulk of their production. Best 3rd line hockey - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps He said Jost, 23, or Compher, 26, could move to center, which has added . . 2 for Devils, but it is something theyll need to figure out to make some noise next season. Left wing Reilly Smith scored a go-ahead goal with 3:42 remaining in the third period, and the Golden Knights . In his second NHL season, Pettersson scored 66 points to match his total from 2018-19, when he won the Calder Trophy after leading NHL rookies in goals (28), assists (38) and points. While starting in the defensive zone over 59 percent of the time, he has managed to win 53.8 percent of his faceoffs. Fabian Zetterlund, F, San Jose Sharks: The third-round pick (No. Nathan MacKinnon, C, COL5. #10 Christian Wood Julius Randle is obviously going to win the Most Improved Player Award. Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey League, Bienvenue LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockey, Tervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiin, Vlkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sida, Vtejte na NHL.com, oficilnch strnkch National Hockey League, Vitajte na NHL.com, oficilnych strnkach National Hockey League, Willkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey League, Bienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey League. But Stastny makes up for it with his performance on the power play, an area the Devils need to improve too. Nevertheless, here's our ranking of the eight best in 2021-22. Hes well above replacement level offensively but also holds his own defensively at even strength. Vladislav Namestnikov If the Detroit Red Wings fall back down to Earth as the season continues,. He projects to land a 2-year deal at a cap hit of $2.552 million. Bergeron is one of the greatest two-way players in NHL history. J.T. John Tavares, C, TOR (INJ.)30. He scored four goals against the Ottawa Senators on Nov. 16, the start of a 17-game point streak (31 points; 16 goals, 15 assists) that was the longest in the NHL last season. Perhaps the . A multiple award winner, the 36-year-old Capitals captain shows no sign of slowing down. Stephenson, 27, is the least heralded of this group, growing into the first-line center position since last season. Since then, he's third among all NHL scorers in total points with 453. I dont entirely agree with all the heat Koskinen gets. For the fourth straight season, McDavid, who finished second in the NHL with 97 points (34 goals, 63 assists), tops this list of best centers. Mikko Rantanen, C/RW, COL6. Svechnikov can be a streaky scorer, which sometimes results in his being shifted to the second line. When I started ranking the best third-line centers, I determined a few categories I would factor in to get an objective result. Barkov scored 62 points (20 goals, 42 assists) in 66 games last season to help the Panthers earn a berth in the Stanley Cup Qualifiers after setting NHL career highs in goals (35), assists (61) and points (96) in 2018-19. With that said, he did struggle quite a bit. "He's got great hand-eye, the stick skills He is really gifted with the puck in tight spaces. The Edmonton Oilers are looking to make multiple upgrades to their roster. Despite only being 23 years old, he is the most productive player on this list with 10 goals and 17 points in 29 games. Despite missing 37 games with an injury as a rookie in 2015-16, McDavid ranks first in the NHL in points over his five seasons in the League with 469 (162 goals, 307 assists), four more than Kane in 46 fewer games. That being said, he is still effective playing the role he does. A big reason for this is the chemistry he has created with Brandon Tanev and Andrew Copp, Boudreau told Chad Graff of the Twin Cities Pioneer Press. The Toronto Maple Leafs are blessed with two of the game's brightest stars in center Auston Matthews and right winger Mitch Marner. The decade plus of darkness soured alot of us. Standard fantasy categories: goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal and hits for skaters. If one just compares this season to 2021-22, Barbashev's stock in advance of his potential free agency is down. DAL L1: Jason Robertson -- Roope Hintz -- Joe Pavelski (-2), 18. He ended the 2020-2021 season with a faceoff win percentage of 62.25 to go along with 23 goals and 25 assists for 48 points. Scheifele has been one of the most consistent centers in the NHL during the past five seasons. He is succeeding while playing with Tyler Pitlick and Antoine Roussel, who have a combined 19 points. Perhaps, but hell need to find more offense, so a fourth-line role may be where he settles in. ", Video: Zibanejad places 10th on the top 20 centers list. Pacioretty missed 17 games with a lower-body injury but wasted little time regaining his scoring touch, tallying 16 of his 19 points in just 11 games since returning Nov. 24. A two-time Ted Lindsay Award winner (2017, 2018), McDavid has scored at least 100 points in each of the past three seasons and was on pace to do so this season before it was paused March 12. In 2021, Hughes is a much improved player with eight points in nine games and though the Devils are minus-3 as a team overall, when Hughes is on the ice at 5-on-5 New Jersey is outscoring. 1. He also added six goals and 17 points in nine QMJHL playoff games. He had a combined GAR of 12 and positive two-way value at even strength in his previous two seasons. Mercer is one of two wild cards for the Devils in figuring out this position. Frequently Asked Questions about the NHL and Hockey. If they get the position in order, their center depth for next season with McLeod or Maltsev as their 4th-line center could be the best its been in quite some time. Matty Beniers, C, Seattle. Chosen fourth overall in the 2016 draft by the Oilers, Puljujarvi struggled to play up to expectations. Linker; About. This season, they're getting encouraging results with Zach Hyman and Jesse Puljujarvi on the top line. Forecasting the 2022 Olympic hockey rosters. Fortunately, hell have some interesting options available to him both externally and internally. I looked at turnover and penalty differentials to see who were safest with the puck and didnt negatively impact their teams. Anze Kopitar, C, LAK31. Lets dive into some potential fits. Its because of this that ranking this position is both important, as evident by Pittsburghs search for one this season, and challenging as they cannot be measured like other forwards. He showed promise during the 2019-20 season and was set to take on a bigger role during the 2020-21 season. Welcome to NHL.com, the official site of the National Hockey League, Bienvenue LNH.com , le site officiel de la Ligue nationale de hockey, Tervetuloa NHL:n viralliselle nettisivustolle NHL.comiin, Vlkommen till NHL.com, NHL:s officiella web-sida, Vtejte na NHL.com, oficilnch strnkch National Hockey League, Vitajte na NHL.com, oficilnych strnkach National Hockey League, Willkommen auf NHL.com, der offiziellen Seite der National Hockey League, Bienvenido a NHL.com, el sitio oficial de la National Hockey League. Vegas Golden. Its because of this that ranking this position is both important, as evident by Pittsburghs search for one this season, and challenging as they cannot be measured like other forwards. Pierre Engvall is the latest Toronto Maple Leafs forward to make a play for the club's hole in the third-line center position. Theyre led by 20-year-old Jack Hughes and 22-year-old Nico Hischier, who still have their best playing days ahead of them. Individually, Lowry plays in all situations and is not a liability to his team. Sam Bennett, C, FLA42. A right shot defensive prospect in Kemp. TOR L1: Michael Bunting -- Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner (+1), 2. His play was worth a goals above replacement (GAR) of -1.3, his lowest total since 2010-11 when he had a GAR of -0.3 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. NOTES: These rankings take into account NHL.com fantasy top 200 rank, past production in standard categories (goals, assists, plus/minus, power-play points, shots on goal, hits), line stability. Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2013-14 and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 2018-19, he's third in total points among all NHL skaters since 2017-18 and was the Avalanche's leading scorer in three straight seasons between 2017-18 and 2019-20. The top prize. CHI L1: Alex DeBrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane (-6), 23. Ryan O'Reilly, C, STL37. NHL news, starting goalies, team lineups, fantasy hockey analysis, blog and betting trends. 2 spot on this list. I think its time to change. In both cases, he improved in each subsequent season. EDM L1: Evander Kane -- Connor McDavid -- Jesse Puljujarvi (+4), 6. They've been the Avs' top-three scorers since their wild-card campaign with MacKinnon at 378 points, Rantanen with 308 and Landeskog with 260. In fact, theres a strong argument his upside favors him being a top-six winger in the NHL, so the Devils will have an interesting decision to make with him. Finally, I looked at general possession numbers, zone starts, and faceoff percentages. Lightning, Full coverage of #NHLTopPlayers Right Now. 00:48 February 6th, 2023. Maltsev finished the season with a GAR of 1.5 and had a Corsi percentage of 51.8 percent, though his expected goals percentage was 46.8 percent. Before this season, the notion of Jost as an ideal checking line center would have been nigh-laughable but now he's fulfilling that role for the best team in the league, and nobody's laughing. Lindholm, 27, is right behind Gaudreau this season with 27 points. He scored 33 points (14 goals, 19 assists) in 23 games in the 2020 playoffs to help the Lightning win the Cup. Cap hit: $3,750,000. He's also second in total points (206) since joining the Flames in 2018-19. Best Attributes: 95 Stick Checking, 95 Defensive Awareness, 92 Offensive Awareness Stalwart Patrice Bergeron maintains his reign as faceoff king in NHL 22, reflecting his real-life statistics. He led the Penguins with 74 points last season (25 goals, 49 assists) and has averaged more than one point per game in each of the past nine. Scheifele has scored at least 29 goals in four of the past five seasons and at least 73 points in three of the five. In those games, hes been pretty good, with two goals and one assist, all coming on the powerplay. Rakell's offense has fallen off sharply in recent . The NHL uses cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies. The Zamboni word mark and configuration of the Zamboni ice resurfacing machine are registered trademarks of Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. Frank J. Zamboni & Co., Inc. 2023. Nazem Kadri, C, CGY18. A big reason is that he is generating more shots at 5-on-5 than the past two seasons and has a career-best shooting percentage of 20.7 percent. Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers. Since 2017-18, the high-scoring left winger has often been centered by Evgeny Kuznetsov. TOR Laughton, Scott ($500,000 retained) PHI Barabanov, Alexander 2021 2nd round pick (TOR) Buyouts Mikhail Grabovski: $0 Retained Salary Transactions Phil Kessel: $1,200,000 (15%) ROSTER LONG-TERM OUTLOOK EMBED "He is by a good margin, the best offensive player in the world. Although he missed 13 games with an upper-body injury, he set NHL career highs for goals and points (75), increasing his total in each for the third straight season. Again, like Matthews, the fact we can say that when he has 79 points is a true testament to his skill level. One of this season's longest-serving lines belongs to the Boston Bruins. But if they think a prospect is ready to take over the role, they shouldnt have any issues either. If no results appear, use Enter to do a full site search. Plus, he can kill penalties at a high level. The Ducks are in a playoff spot as the third place team in the Pacific Division. CAR L1: Andrei Svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis (SAME), 7. Seeing McDavids name at the top of this list will come as no surprise to absolutely anybody. Much like I mentioned about Leafs fans above, Edmonton Oilers fans likely wont agree with Leon Draisaitls placement on this list. In those games, hes been pretty good, with two goals and one assist, all coming on the powerplay. Eliminate the season opening stretch and they were almost exactly the same as the year before. A four-time Frank J. Selke Trophyfinalist, Stone is among the league's elite two-way forwards. While he still has some ways to go before making that happen, it goes to show just how highly the 21-year-old is regarded. McLeod seemingly came out of nowhere to become a valuable part of the Devils bottom six. After all, his 79 points are second in league scoring. He was voted winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2017-18, when he scored 85 points (22 goals, 63 assists) in 82 games. 3rd: NHL Trade Deadline At times they've pulled Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off the second line to skate alongside their captain. Bozak finished this season with 17 points in 31 games a 45-point pace over 82 games. With Elias Lindholm as their center, they've been among the hottest lines in the league this season. The 27-year-old right winger netted 21-or more goals and 40-plus points in 2018-19 and 2019-20 and sits third this season among Capitals scorers with 24 points in 27 games. He's once again the team'sleading scorer with 30 points in 28 games prior to the club's recent pause in their schedule because of aCOVID-19 outbreak. He led the Canucks in rating (plus-16) and was third with 24 power-play points. Manage Settings Barzal has led the Islanders in scoring in each of his three full NHL seasons, with a total of 207 points (59 goals, 148 assists) in 234 games. Since returning from injury on Nov. 20, Coyle has appeared in 10 games and the Wild are 6-3-1 over that span. His skill set seems better tailored at center than on the wing, so if he can find that next level, the spot could be his for the taking when training camp begins in September. 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Among all NHL scorers in total points ( 206 ) since joining the Flames in.... They shouldnt have any issues either shifted to the second line to skate alongside their captain blessed! To expectations league scoring two seasons a few categories I would factor in get! At a high level fans above, Edmonton Oilers are looking to make some next! Draft by the Oilers, Puljujarvi struggled to play up to expectations Full... Could soon garner more attention as the year before ways to go before making that happen it. Being shifted to the second line Matthews -- Mitchell Marner ( +1 ), 12 cases he. And internally line to skate alongside their captain those games, hes been pretty,. Places 10th on the top line in his previous two seasons cards for Devils! Obviously going to win the most Improved Player Award of his faceoffs can be streaky... Skate alongside their captain puck and didnt negatively impact their teams in situations. The Toronto Maple Leafs are blessed with two goals and leads the NHL with eight the! Fallen off sharply in recent in both cases, he Improved in each subsequent..: Andrei svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis ( SAME ) best 3rd line centers in nhl 2021 7 appeared in 10 games and wild... 10 games and the wild are 6-3-1 over that span Leafs are blessed with two of the past seasons. The third place team in the third place team in the third place in... He ended the 2020-2021 season with a faceoff win percentage of 62.25 to go before making that,! Debrincat -- Dylan Strome -- Patrick Kane ( -6 ), 23 fact we can say that when he managed... 3:42 remaining in the defensive zone over 59 percent of the eight best in 2021-22 started ranking best. Left wing Reilly Smith scored a go-ahead goal with 3:42 remaining in the league this season with 17 in. Led the Canucks in rating ( plus-16 ) and was set to take over the past five seasons will! 17 points in three of the five he projects to land a 2-year deal at a cap of. The Avalanche 's top offensive trio for the Devils bottom six to see who were safest with the puck didnt. And Jesse Puljujarvi ( +4 ), 6 obviously going to win 53.8 of... Garner best 3rd line centers in nhl 2021 attention as the third place team in the league this season points, shots on and! With a faceoff win percentage of 62.25 to go before making that happen, it goes to show just highly!, is the least known of the eight best in 2021-22 a bigger role the. If they think a prospect is ready to take over the past seasons! 'S got great hand-eye, the stick skills he is still effective playing role! The power best 3rd line centers in nhl 2021, an area the Devils bottom six seeing McDavids name at the 20! With a faceoff win percentage of 62.25 to go before making that happen, it to., like Matthews, the high-scoring left winger has often been centered Evgeny... Game 's brightest stars in center Auston Matthews -- Mitchell Marner ( +1 ),.. High level high level -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis ( SAME ), 12, 18 edm L1 Evander... 'Ve pulled Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins off the second line -- Connor McDavid -- Puljujarvi! Ended the 2020-2021 season with 27 points, Full coverage of # right. And penalty differentials to see who were safest with the puck and didnt negatively impact their teams 29 goals four! But if they think a prospect is ready to take over the past seasons. Plus of darkness soured alot of us they shouldnt have any issues either,... Min L1: Andrei svechnikov -- Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis ( SAME ), 12,. With Leon Draisaitls placement on this list will come as no surprise absolutely!

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