The Athletic's Top 125 Player List

[Satoru Gojo]

Did Kucherov take a dump in the media's cereal or something?

 

[njdevils1982]

This sounds pretty accurate lol, not sure why this is the one thing u had an issue with.

Eichel has 26 points in 22 playoff games
Hischier has 7 points in 12 playoff games

these numbers are not the full picture.

my previous posts have clearly stated there are other factors to consider.

 

[rypper]

Every time I go to cancel my subscription they offer it to me for a buck. I'm still going to cancel though.

 

[TheNumber4]

Jack Hughes and Matthews need to swap spots.

 

[HockeyWooot]

Not a bad list, my nitpicks (ie difference between A and B)

-Matthews slightly too high
-Kucherov slightly too low
-J Hughes slightly too high. Seems a tad early, he will be here at this time next sure for sure
-Thompson, Pettersson slightly too low.
-Stuetzle slightly too low
-Hischier slightly too high
-Ehlers slightly too high
-Panarin slightly too low
-Nylander slightly too high
-Ekholm slightly too high
-Connor slightly too low
-Dubois slightly too high
-Ovechkin slightly too low
-Reinhart slightly too high
-Marino slightly too high

 

[5minutemajor]

Wow. A lot of Russian players celebrated by the NHL still.

 

[GAGLine]

Panarin is the most disrespected player in the NHL.

Or the most overrated, and I say that as a Ranger fan.

His 1st year as a Ranger he was worth every penny of that contract. The 2nd year he wasn't quite as good, but still in that same stratosphere. The last 2 years he's gotten progressively worse. He has become a perimeter player who doesn't backcheck and attempts a lot of high risk plays resulting in a lot of turnovers. Everything he learned under Torts, he forgot under Gallant.

 

[HBK27]

these numbers are not the full picture.

my previous posts have clearly stated there are other factors to consider.

You mentioned contracts, age and captaincy - each of which really have no bearing on this list of how players rank for the upcoming season.

I would probably take Nico moving forward given he is younger and has an extra year on his contract at a $2.75M lower cap hit, but both guys were basically PPG players this past season (each had one less point than games played) and given the playoffs that Eichel had which ending with him raising the Cup, he deserves to be ranked ahead of Nico.

 

[Hisch13r]

Rookie points per game:
Player A: 0.34
Player B: 0.55

2nd year:
Player A: 0.55
Player B: 0.73

Year 3:
Player A: 1.14
Player B: 1.15

Year 4:
Player A: 1.27
Player B: TBD

Grade:
Player A: 1A
Player B: 3A

Forgive me, but the difference between Jack Hughes and Tim Stutzle is less than what amounts to 4 "tiers". Stsutzle is being underrated IMO. I said he'd hit 90 last year, and I'm thinking he hit 100 (if helathy orf course) this year.

Also, Aho is way too high. He only had 67 points last year. I know he's a solid 2-way player but that only goes so far.

This really doesn't help your point. So they had the same PPG in year 3. Hughes ahead of his year 4 was ranked 3A. Stutzle ahead of his year 4 was ranked 3A. They're consistent in their rankings with the 2.

67 pts in 75 games sounds much worse if you ignore the previous 4 straight PPG years on a team that hates offense as much as the Canes do. Doing that while providing the defense he does makes for a fair ranking. He should be lower in the 2B tier and maybe you can argue should be in the 2C tier instead but it's not a big deal. He's in the right range.

 

[GreeningOil]

Kucherov should be in the Draisaitl MacKinnon tier

Absolutely he should!

 

[Voight]

To play Devi's advocate: since 2019 he is 24th in points. Why would your choice be more relevant than what he has done more recently?

He missed an entire season in 2021. Other players were healthy and played that year so obviously Kuch's stats are going to seem low.

Regardless he was 3rd in points last season, 2nd in assists.

Also since 2019 he has 99 playoff points, 28 more than the next guy (MackInnon).

 

[DJJones]

these numbers are not the full picture.

my previous posts have clearly stated there are other factors to consider.

Like he's young and will likely get better but obviously people are going to look at playoff success.

He got outworked in the playoffs and struggled while Eichel did a decent job at slowing down McDavid. Which is a very impressive thing while performing well offensively.

It would be weird to have him above Eichel.

 

[njdevils1982]

Like he's young and will likely get better but obviously people are going to look at playoff success.

He got outworked in the playoffs and struggled while Eichel did a decent job at slowing down McDavid. Which is a very impressive thing while performing well offensively.

It would be weird to have him above Eichel.

fair response

 

[Voight]

[Quinn] Hughes — like other offensively gifted, defensively lacking blueliners — dropped a bit after we spoke to people around the league. “He’s good,” one scout said. “I don’t know how good he is. I really don’t.”​

​

We know he carries the offensive load for a mediocre team, which he does well. Ultimately, we slotted him behind veterans like Roman Josi and Erik Karlsson who, while not without their warts, are simply better at running the show. They’re transcendent talents with the puck. Hughes isn’t at that level, and his placement reflects it.​

​

All in all, he’s a talented player, but not yet a complete one — and his play without the puck is an issue for both analysts and scouts. “He has not gotten better or worse for me in years,” one analyst said. “He’s just been the exact same dude plugging along.”​

What to expect​

​

This feels like a critical year for Hughes, who turns 24 in October, but a full season with Rick Tocchet as his coach and Carson Soucy as his partner are real reasons to expect improvement.​

Top notch journalism they expect you to pay for

Thats when the internet archive becomes you friend

This is the 2nd publication of late to criminally underrate Kucherov. The hockey News had him at 22nd on their list of top players, and now this list has him way too low as well. He's been a playoff beast his whole career, and is coming off a 113 point season, yet these "experts" have him outside of the top 10. It's nonsensical...

And I'm a Wings fan, and I don't like Tampa Bay at all, but come on...Kuch is elite.

THN is a garbage publication that hasn't been goo in like 20 years. I wouldnt worry about where they rank guys, especially with idiots like Ken Campbell working there.

 

[Elysian]

Wow, feel like they actually got Roope, Miro, and Robo correct. Not sure how to handle this

 

[Breakers]

So Top centers:

1A - Connor McDavid
---
1B - Leon Draisaitl
1B - Nathan MacKinnon
1B - Auston Matthews
---
1C - Jack Hughes
---
2A - Sidney Crosby
---
2B - Sebastian Aho
2B - Aleksander Barkov
2B - Jack Eichel
2B - Elias Pettersson
2B - Brayden Point

 

[ciderfylla]

Not saying it's wrong, I'm just curious; why is Karlsson not expected to be performing better than that?

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

Kucherov getting the same treatment Malkin used to get. How on earth is he not tier 1?

 

[KevinRedkey]

Kucherov getting the same treatment Malkin used to get. How on earth is he not tier 1?

From skimming this thread, it looks like literally everyone thinks this. Might literally be just a way to get people talking about it.

 

[bebl]

D-men ranking seems pretty good after seein only 1A to 2C Slavin is probably next. Overall this ranking seems miles better than for example nhl.com equivalent.

 

[Aladyyn]

Kucherov getting the same treatment Malkin used to get. How on earth is he not tier 1?

Every forward in tier 1 is a significantly better goalscorer and most of them are also notably better defensively at this point.