Ranking the Top 10 Current NHL Players

November 17, 2020

In recent years the NHL has been overtaken by many amazingly skilled players. The NHL has continued to move away from an extremely physical and defensive game and evolved to favor more skilled offensive players. The important defensive game and big physical players should not be undermined, however their roles have been less important recently compared to the high scoring players. Even defensmen are becoming more skilled and offensivley minded than they were in the past. This decreased physical play has led to the breakout of many incredibly talented players and an increase in scoring in the NHL. In fact the average goals per game scored by a team has steadily increased since 2015 and is now higher than it has been since 2005-2006 at 3.02 goals per game in the 2020 season. These skillful players and increased scoring has allowed for arguably the most entertaining hockey of all time. The many great and high scoring players have made forming an accurate top 10 list nearly impossible but nonetheless here it is. Here are the top 10 current players in the NHL. 

10. Andrei Vasilevskiy, #88, Goaltender Tampa Bay Lightning

Even though there are many incredibly good forwards that deserve a shot at being on the top 10 list, excluding the most important position in hockey would be unfair. Goalies are the backbone of a team and no matter how good your players are, it is near impossible to succeed without a stellar goaltender. Andrei Vasilevskiy is just that. The Russian goaltender has either led the league or been tied for the lead in total wins each of the last 3 seasons and has an amazing 118 wins in those 3 regular seasons. To add on to that he led his team with 18 wins in the 2020 playoffs to win the Stanley Cup and was the Vezina trophy winner in the 2018-2019 season. He also averages a solid 0.92 save percentage and 2.55 goals against average throughout his career. Despite the absence of an amazing save percentage or goals against average, Vasilevskiy has remained very consistent throughout the entire beginning of his career which is one of the hardest things to do for an NHL goaltender. Typically goaltenders will have highs and lows throughout their careers and seasons however Vasilevskiy has stayed at the top of his game proving himself to be today's best NHL goalie and earning a spot on the top 10 list.

9. Victor Hedman, #77, Defenseman, Tampa Bay Lightning

Similar to a team's goaltender, a great defenseman can lead a large role on a team. With the number of highly skilled forwards growing, having a great defensive player that can shut down high scorers and also contribute to their own teams scoring is very beneficial. Victor Hedman has shown he can be all of these things. He brings a great physical presence and does an unbelievable job of locking down opposing superstars and also playing the body. He has a total of 271 hits as well as 305 blocks in the past 3 seasons which are both great attributes and very solid statistics for a defenseman. Despite his great defensive play, it can be argued that he does an even better job on the offensive side of the ice. The Swedish defender has 172 points in the last 3 seasons, 40 of those being goals which is an incredible feat especially for a defenseman who typically have far less scoring chances than forwards. His dominance on both sides of the ice can be seen in his plus-minus which is at a total of +119 since 2014-2015. Hedman was also the Norris trophy winner in 2018 and the 2020 Conn Smyth winner, after he helped lead his team to be Stanley Cup champions. There is no doubt that Victor Hedman has earned his name as the best defensmen in the NHL and also got himself a spot on the top 10 list.

8. Auston Matthews, #34, Center, 

Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews has shown to be one the most promising young superstars in the NHL since being drafted first overall in 2016. Matthews took the league by storm scoring 4 goals in his first ever NHL game and also scoring 69 points and winning the Calder trophy in that rookie season. Since then Matthews has remained very consistent and has had more points than games played in his beginning career. The American center has an impressive 285 points in his first 4 NHL seasons and an even more amazing 158 goals. Since entering the NHL Matthews has shown he is one of the league's best goalscorers, scoring 40 goals or more in two seasons and finishing 3rd in goals scored for the 2020 season. Despite being on the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have struggled in the playoffs in recent years, he is due to step up and lead his team to at least a first round victory in which he definitely has the capability and talent to do so. Matthews is also notably 1 of just 2 American players to make this top 10 list. In the young superstars’ first 4 seasons he has shown that he is one of the best rising players in the league and has the potential to have a great career. All of this has earned him a spot at number 8 on the top 10 list.

7. Patrick Kane, #88, Right Wing, 

Chicago Blackhawks

With hockey being such a physical game, smaller players typically find it harder to be successful, especially at a level as high as the NHL. Of course many small players have overcome these challenges and Patrick Kane is definitely one of them. Kane combines his abilities of tremendous speed and quickness to move around defensive players and get scoring chances. Not only does Kane have great skating but his stickhandling and ankle breaking dangles are arguably the best in the league. Kane has proved throughout his career that he can consistently be one of the NHL’s best goal scorers and playmakers no matter how good his team is. In the past 5 regular seasons Kane is 2nd in both total goals and points scored with 184 goals and 465 points since 2014-2015. The American winger also led a dominant era for the Blackhawks winning the Stanley cup 3 times in 2010, 2013, and 2015 as well as winning the Conn Smythe in 2013 and the Hart trophy in 2015-2016. Despite the Blackhawks being much less of a contender in recent years, Kane has continued to show he can be an incredibly talented and dominant player. Through all his accomplishments and amazing attributes, it is clear that Patrick Kane has earned himself the name of the best current American NHL player and a number 7 spot on the top 10 list.

6. Alexander Ovechkin, #8, Left Wing, Washington Capitals

Out of all the significant aspects of hockey it is hard to argue that scoring goals isn't the most important, as it is the goal of the game. Alexander Ovechkin has proved that he can do this on an extremely high level. Ovechkin has 8 fifty goal seasons in just 15 seasons in his career which is the 3rd most all time and just 1 season behind both Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. He also has an average of 0.613 goals per game throughout his career which is higher than the great Wayne Gretzky as well. The Russian winger has totaled 231 goals over his past 5 seasons which is over 40 goals higher than anyone else in that time period. Possibly his most impressive stat is his 706 goals all time which is the 8th highest in all of NHL history and highest among current players. Even though goal scoring is clearly Ovi’s strong suit, his playmaking ability should not be ignored as he has 572 assists in his career. Ovechkin also brings a very strong physical presence and body checking ability which very few high scoring players excel at. To add on to his amazing accomplishments he also has won 3 hart trophies, 9 Rocket Richard trophies, the most in NHL history, and he led his team to be the 2018 Stanley Cup Champions as well as winning the Conn Smythe that year. Through all of this Ovechkin has proved he is one of the greatest goal scorers in NHL history and even at age 35 remains the 6th best player currently in the league. 

5. Leon Draisaitl, #29, Center, 

Edmonton Oilers

Over the past 2 NHL seasons, Leon Draisaitl has emerged as one of the league's best players. He has the most total points in the past 2 seasons at 215 than anyone else in the NHL and the 2nd most goals with 93 in that time period. Being on the Edmonton Oilers, him and Connor McDavid have shown to be the best scoring duo in the NHL in recent years. Oftentimes McDavid and Draisaitl play together and their unbelievable playmaking ability and chemistry allow for them to score more points together than any other duo in the past 4 seasons. Draisaitl had the most points of any player in the 2020 NHL season and earned himself the Hart trophy in 2020 as well. He became the only ever German player to win the Hart and is also notably the only player on this list that was born outside of Canada, USA, Russia, or Sweden which are often considered 4 of the best hockey countries in the world. In the very short beginning of his career he has already made a case for being the best German hockey player of all time. There is no doubt that Draisaitl has recently become a top 5 NHL player and is due to soon rise with McDavid and have success with the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs. All these accomplishments justify Draisaitl to be number 5 on the top 10 list. 

4. Nikita Kucherov, #86, Right Wing, Tampa Bay Lightning

Nikita Kucherov is an extremely talented player who has shown that he is the best player on the best team in the NHL. The Lightning have multiple superstars including Vasilevskiy, Hedman, Stamkos, and Point, but Kucherov stands above the rest. Kucherov has great speed, quick hands, unbelievable moves, and game breaking point scoring. Kucherov has the 2nd most points out of any player in the past 4 regular seasons with 398. He has also had 2, 100 point seasons in the past 3 years and could possibly have had his 3rd consecutive if it weren't for the regular season being cut short in 2020. Possibly Kucherov’s most impressive accomplishment was in the 2018-2019 season when he scored 128 points which was the highest point total for any player since the 1995-1996 season. This kind of point scoring was completely unheard of in the modern NHL as achieving that many points had not been done in over 20 years when 2 all time greats Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr scored 161 and 149 in 1995-1996. The Russian winger also won the Hart Trophy in 2018-2019 and led his team with 34 points in the 2020 playoffs to win the Stanley Cup. Those 34 points in the playoffs were the highest for any player since Evgeni Malkin with 36 in 2008-2009. All of these incredible accomplishments and statistics prove that Nikita Kucherov deserves the spot as the best Russian player in the NHL and number 4 on the top 10 list.  

3. Sidney Crosby, #87, Center,

 Pittsburgh Penguins

Sidney Crosby is very likely the most skilled and dominant hockey player in the majority of the last 15 years. He has an amazing combination of great speed, quick decisions, next level playmaking, unbelievable stick handling and coordination, and one of the best hockey senses in the game. Crosby has always been one of the best at putting himself in the perfect position to score as well as using his great talent to score impossible goals. Throughout his career Crosby has scored 1,263 points in just 984 games which brings him to a very impressive 1.28 points per game. Despite a few injuries slowing him down Crosby still has 598 points since 2013-2014 which is tied for first in the entire NHL. It can be argued that Crosby becomes even better and brings his game to a whole new level during the playoffs. Playoff hockey is a completely different game and players that are able to succeed in the regular season and playoffs are something special. Crosby has 189 career playoff points, the 8th highest of all time and the highest among active players. He has won 3 Stanley Cups in 2009, 2016, and 2017 and was the Conn Smythe winner for the 2 most recent victories. The Canadian center is also a 2 time Hart Trophy winner and 2 time Rocket Richard Trophy winner. Even though Sidney Crosby has faced some trouble with injuries as well as many great, young players rising he is still a top 3 player in the NHL today. 

2. Nathan MacKinnon, #29, Center, Colorado Avalanche

Ever since entering the NHL, Nathan MacKinnon has shown he can be a franchise player however since the 2017-2018 season, he has emerged as one of the leagues very best. MacKinnon is easily one of the fastest and quickest players in the whole NHL and the things he does at those high speeds is terrifying for opponents. MacKinnon can go from standing still to blowing past defenders in a matter of a couple seconds and when adding his incredible hands, extremely quick release, and accurate shot it is an absolute nightmare for the opposing team. In the past 3 regular seasons he has 289 points, the 3rd highest of any player during that time. He was also the Hart Trophy runner up 2 of the past 3 seasons and is a favorite to win it in coming years. He leads a very good and young Colorado Avalanche team that has potential to compete for Stanley Cups with all their great young players including MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar. The Canadian center has great playmaking and elevates the play of every player around him making it very difficult for his opponents to read whether he will shoot the puck or make a great passing play. All of Nathan MacKinnon’s attributes and statistics make it clear that he is a top 2 NHL player and will undoubtedly dominate the NHL for years to come.

1. Connor McDavid, #97, Center, Edmonton Oilers

Coming in as the number 1 hockey player in the world, without a doubt is Connor McDavid. Ever since entering the NHL in 2015 Connor McDavid has shown to be an outstanding hockey player. In his rookie season he was already playing at a high level but was slowed down by injuries. Since then he has completely taken over the NHL and become the very best. In the past 4 regular seasons McDavid has scored 421 points which is over 20 higher than any other player in the league. In that time he also has an incredible 1.38 points per game. McDavid is also possibly the NHL’s fastest skater. Similar to MacKinnon he can blow by defenders making it look very easy. He combines this great speed and quickness with unbelievable coordination and decisive moves. The Canadian center has also already won the Hart trophy in his beginning career in the 2016-2017 season. As mentioned earlier McDavid and Draisaitl are a dominant duo in Edmonton who are currently struggling to make it to and win in the playoffs but are due to do so soon. Arguments over the best current NHL player in recent years have mostly all been focused towards McDavid and MacKinnon as it should be. The two do similar things at a very high level as well as having their own strengths. The two players are definitely the two best in the entire NHL with little separation but McDavid still comes out on top. McDavid just simply does things at a slightly higher level than MacKinnon however both are amazing hockey players. The hockey world should be grateful for these two great players as well as the rest of the great players in the league as they will continue to be amazing to watch and make entertaining hockey. So to end our list and after analyzing each player it should be known that Connor McDavid deserves the spot as the best player currently in the NHL.

As mentioned before, forming a perfect top 10 list is impossible and of course everyone has their own opinions. Did you agree with the list? Maybe you were surprised how low or high a player was or upset that someone didn’t make the list but in reality there are so many great hockey players in the NHL that have different strengths and play different positions making it very difficult to get it right. It also should be known that this list is not only based on last season or a player's entire career but a general mix between the 2 focused more towards recent years. Since there are so many good players that deserve a shot on the list here are a few of the honorable mentions: Artemi Panarin, David Pastrnak, John Carlson and Roman Josi. Also below are a few interesting breakdowns of the list and some interesting trends within it. Hope you enjoyed this top 10 current NHL player list.

Breakdown by country:

Canada: 3

Russia: 3

United States: 2

Germany: 1

Sweden: 1

Breakdown by team:

Tampa Bay Lightning: 3

Edmonton Oilers: 2

Colorado Avalanche: 1

Pittsburgh Penguins: 1

Washington Capitals: 1

Chicago Blackhawks: 1

Toronto Maple Leafs: 1

Breakdown by position

Center: 5

Wing: 3

Defensemen: 1

Goalie: 1