NHL.com ranks top 20 centers

[nbwingsfan]

Barkov may not have the same offensive numbers, but head-to-head, he's owned three of the four ahead of him in playoffs...and the fourth he's yet to meet in the post season.

The idea that Barkov is better than McDavid genuinely needs to stop.

It’s purely ridiculous.

I think most posters here overrate Drai and don't realize how his production is altered by :

1. Playing with McDavid on the PP
2. McDavid drawing all the attention from their opponents best defensive players.

So Malkin was also never that great?

 

[nbwingsfan]

If you hold the best offensive player in the league to a draw, you owned that shared ice time.

That doesn’t make any sense.

When you’re equal when on the ice together, and WAY behind when you’re not on the ice together… how are you better?

 

[Joe n]

I think most posters here overrate Drai and don't realize how his production is altered by :

1. Playing with McDavid on the PP
2. McDavid drawing all the attention from their opponents best defensive players.

and not knowing where the defensive zone is.

 

[voyageur]

What a surprise Scheifele tied with Z, ahead of Stutzle, Hintz, Bedard in points, nearly PPG and +17 but you know Winnipeg...4th best team in the league last year. NHL won't acknowledge him after he correctly said that the league doesn't want Winnipeg to win.

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

What a surprise Scheifele tied with Z, ahead of Stutzle, Hintz, Bedard in points, nearly PPG and +17 but you know Winnipeg...4th best team in the league last year. NHL won't acknowledge him after he correctly said that the league doesn't want Winnipeg to win.

Why would they reward whiners?

 

[FinlandPanther]

Matthews is generational, while Barkov and Drai are not.

Yeah Matthews is generational in the regular season and then a complete joke in the playoffs. He’s going to be a career LOSER.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

Matthews is generational, while Barkov and Drai are not.

If Matthews is generational, that term no longer means much.

 

[Bunch of AHOs]

Oh boy. Regular season points - the true measure for the greatest players. Playoffs and cups are for losers

 

[FinlandPanther]

The idea that Barkov is better than McDavid genuinely needs to stop.

It’s purely ridiculous.


So Malkin was also never that great?

Literally no one ever said that. Stop being dense.

 

[BleedBlue14]

I'm not sure I see an argument for anyone below Bedard being better than Robert Thomas, and with Bedard it's mainly based off of what he will most likely become.

 

[Xirik]

I'm not sure I see an argument for anyone below Bedard being better than Robert Thomas, and with Bedard it's mainly based off of what he will most likely become.

to bad the ranking is for "Right now".

 

[Nogatco Rd]

Matthews over Barkov and Draisaitl is too funny

69 goals will do that

Matthews is a significantly better player than Draisaitl. Goal scoring and defensively isn’t even close. He’s also better physically.

Matthews has 80 more even strength goals than Drai, in 160 less games.

I get that it’s fun to trash the Leafs. But people really need to stop putting Draisaitl in the same conversation. One trick ponies on the PP aren’t better than record setting goal scorers that are Selke nominees.

I guess it comes down to which part of the season you value most.

Matthews 55GP: 23G, 25A = 48P, 0.87 P/G

Draisaitl 74GP: 41G, 67A = 108P, 1.46 P/G

You would agree Draisaitl is the superior player in that statistical sample, no?

 

[Sasha Orlov]

I guess it comes down to which part of the season you value most.

Matthews 55GP: 23G, 25A = 48P, 0.87 P/G

Draisaitl 74GP: 41G, 67A = 108P, 1.46 P/G

You would agree Draisaitl is the superior player in that statistical sample, no?

They’ve already made clear that they don’t care about the playoffs

 

[swissexpert]

Wonder if any of the 32 GMs would take Suzuki over Hischier.

 

[BleedBlue14]

to bad the ranking is for "Right now".

They couldn’t pass on the opportunity to put one of the most hyped prospects of the decade into the list, which I guess I get even though it doesn’t make sense.

 

[NikolaTesla]

So Malkin was also never that great?

Is that what you got from what I said?

 

[Xirik]

They couldn’t pass on the opportunity to put one of the most hyped prospects of the decade into the list, which I guess I get even though it doesn’t make sense.

And Journalists wonder why people question journalistic integrity.

 

[Bertuzzzi44]

Bedard at 12 is lunacy.

You're also missing Hischier.

Totally forgot about Hischier he’s in the top 20, Bedard is so highly skilled playing on a crappy team, expecting a great season playing with better linemates.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

Totally forgot about Hischier he’s in the top 20, Bedard is so highly skilled playing on a crappy team, expecting a great season playing with better linemates.

In terms of offensive ability, Bedard is probably top 10. But he's so bad defensively I'd have a hard time ranking him much higher than 20. He doesn't really even play center if you watch him, and was formally moved to the wing at the end of the year.

 

[Xirik]

In terms of offensive ability, Bedard is probably top 10. But he's so bad defensively I'd have a hard time ranking him much higher than 20. He doesn't really even play center if you watch him, and was formally moved to the wing at the end of the year.

He also decided to run into a brick wall with his head.

 

[Howboutthempanthers]

1) McDavid
2) MacKinnon
3) Draisaitl
------------
4) Matthews
5) Barkov
6) Crosby
7) Eichel
8) Point
9) JT Miller
10) E. Pettersson
11) J. Hughes
----------
12) Bedard
13) Aho
14) Suzuki
15) Zibanejad
16) Larkin
17) Stutzle
18) Scheifele
19) Thomas
20) Hintz
HM: Verhaeghe, Trochek, O’Rielly, Horvat, Malkin, Kopitar

Verhaeghe is a winger.

 

[Coffees]

Bedard at 12 is lunacy.

You're also missing Hischier.

@Bertuzzzi44 Still waiting on your updated list, Hischier belongs there

 

[GirardSpinorama]

https://x.com/i/web/status/1826395104812433858

I wouldnt have Hintz that high.

 

[Phrasing]

In terms of offensive ability, Bedard is probably top 10. But he's so bad defensively I'd have a hard time ranking him much higher than 20. He doesn't really even play center if you watch him, and was formally moved to the wing at the end of the year.

He’s young and coachable. He’s too smart on the ice not to figure it out.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

He’s young and coachable. He’s too smart on the ice not to figure it out.

I agree that he's going to be all over these lists ine day, but he's very clearly not there yet based on what we saw in the NHL and especially the WC. Chicago gave him an extremely long leash to pretty much ignore his defensive duties because they weren't competing for anything, but that leash went away when his coaches were actually expecting to win.

If he was a top 12-13 center in the world, he wouldn't have been demoted to 13th forward for much of the tournament.