TSN’s Top 50 NHL Players for 2024-25

[Golden_Jet]

Matthews and the rest of the Leafs deserve the criticism for underperforming come playoff time and only advancing past round 1 (once) so far.

The same Draisaitl that completely disappeared in the Stanley Cup Finals?

0 points in game #1 (Oilers lose 3-0)
0 points in game #2 (Oilers lose 4-1)
0 points in game #3 (Oilers lose 4-3)
2 assists in game #4 (Oilers win 8-1)
0 points in game #5 (Oilers win 5-3)
1 assist in game #6 (Oilers win 5-1)
0 points in game #7 (Oilers lose 2-1)

On the biggest stage of his hockey career, he was a complete no show. Same cannot be said for McDavid, MacKinnon and Kucherov.

Some good cherry picking there.

31 > 4

 

[Breakers]

Tied for 75th in NHL scoring while playing a full 82 games on he 2nd best team in NHL last season

Maybe I’m missing something
That’s top 50?

 

[Golden_Jet]

Tied for 75th in NHL scoring while playing a full 82 games on he 2nd best team in NHL last season

Maybe I’m missing something
That’s top 50?

Maybe let us know who you’re talking about.

 

[Regal]

If he was healthy enough to play then he deserves criticism for producing nothing in the Stanley Cup finals. Players are injured all the time in the playoffs and especially once they reach the Cup Finals. Wasn't McDavid hampered by a pretty serious injury during the Finals (3 goals and 8 assists)?

Injuries aren’t all the same. Players shouldn’t be punished for playing through things when they probably shouldn’t be playing. And again, there’s a big difference between having a bad series despite a great track record of production and not having a great track record of production at all. And I don’t even think Draisaitl is quite as good as some do, and I have no problem with Matthews ranked ahead, but he’s certainly been the better playoff player to date.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Always hilarious seeing TSN contradict themselves and mention playoff success for other players but conveniently ignore it for the playoff ghost, Matthews.

His inability to perform when the games matter should make it clear that he has no business being mentioned in the same breath as players like McDavid, MacKinnon, Draisaitl and Kucherov.

But alas, grading on a curve.

I agree to an extent, but I think his playoff problems have more to do with Marner's game going completely awol. Focusing on regular season, Matthews at 3 and Marner at 23 is fine, but if you weigh the playoffs equally, Matthews is maybe in the 10-15 range and Marner doesn't belong at all.

 

[Breakers]

Maybe let us know who you’re talking about.

Wyatt Johnson

I’d take 4 players on his own team before him
But I like Thomas Harley more than others

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

It should be a requirement to be a playoff performer to be considered a top player in the NHL.

 

[Lemontree]

Some good cherry picking there.

31 > 4

Aren't you cherry picking the 55 playoff games (23g & 25a = 48 points) for Matthews as opposed to his 562 regular season games played (368g & 281a = 649 points)?

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Aren't you cherry picking the 55 playoff games (23g & 25a = 48 points) for Matthews as opposed to his 562 regular season games played (368g & 281a = 649 points)?

It’s almost like one matters more

 

[Peasy]

Matthews obviously doesnt come close to a lot of those names' playoff numbers, but he really hasnt been as bad as people make it seem. Yes you would expect more from him based on his regular season play, but some context:

In the past 5 years with players playing more than 15 playoff games he sits tied for 15th overall in terms of ppg. Ahead of people like Aho, Nylander, Crosby, Matthew Tkachuk, Pastrnak, Marner, Barkov. Obviously needs to find a way through at some point though.

He did just put up the most goals in a single season in the modern era and was top 3 in selke voting and is a 6'3 C.

Funny how seriously people take these arbitrary lists that literally have no bearing over anything that happens.

 

[Lemontree]

It’s almost like one matters more

So Draistail's 7 game performance in the Stanley Cup finals doesn't mean more then his 18 games played through rounds 1-3? The Stanley Cup finals is not more important than any other playoff round?

 

[Regal]

Tied for 75th in NHL scoring while playing a full 82 games on he 2nd best team in NHL last season

Maybe I’m missing something
That’s top 50?

He was the best forward on that team in the second half of the year and in the playoffs. 21 G and 41 points in his final 41 games in the regular season, despite not being given prime opportunities, only playing 17:30 per game, and a good defensive player who played on the PK and in a lot of defensive situations. Then 10 G and 16 points in 19 games to tie for the team lead in the playoffs in scoring.

He was tied for 20th in 5v5 points and 18th in 5v5 P/60 last year over the entire year and from game 42 on (January 13th), he was 9th in the league in 5v5 points, 4th in the league in 5v5 P/60, and 3rd in the league in primary 5v5 points.

His PP points were holding him back, and he wasn’t getting top minutes there, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time. Obviously there’s a bit of projection here, but he seems very much on the precipice of breaking into the top 10/top 15 centres, just as Brayden Point looked in his sophomore year in 17-18, before he broke out to score 90+ the next year.

 

[weastern bias]

Post that proved how cool he is

Sick, bro

 

[Regal]

So Draistail's 7 game performance in the Stanley Cup finals doesn't mean more then his 18 games played through rounds 1-3? The Stanley Cup finals is not more important than any other playoff round?

You’re ignoring sample sizes for narratives. This isn’t the 80s. Every round is pretty much just as important for your stars to show up these days, because every opponent is tough. Not even trying to shit on them but the Leafs struggling to get out of the first round just shows this.

Matthews obviously doesnt come close to a lot of those names' playoff numbers, but he really hasnt been as bad as people make it seem. Yes you would expect more from him based on his regular season play, but some context:

In the past 5 years with players playing more than 15 playoff games he sits tied for 15th overall in terms of ppg. Ahead of people like Aho, Nylander, Crosby, Matthew Tkachuk, Pastrnak, Marner, Barkov. Obviously needs to find a way through at some point though.

He did just put up the most goals in a single season in the modern era and was top 3 in selke voting and is a 6'3 C.

Funny how seriously people take these arbitrary lists that literally have no bearing over anything that happens.

Yea, he hasn’t been bad, just disappointing relative to his regular seasons. I can see it being a decent tie breaker for Kuch/Drai/MacKinnon but not much more than that.

 

[Breakers]

He was the best forward on that team in the second half of the year and in the playoffs. 21 G and 41 points in his final 41 games in the regular season, despite not being given prime opportunities, only playing 17:30 per game, and a good defensive player who played on the PK and in a lot of defensive situations. Then 10 G and 16 points in 19 games to tie for the team lead in the playoffs in scoring.

He was tied for 20th in 5v5 points and 18th in 5v5 P/60 last year over the entire year and from game 42 on (January 13th), he was 9th in the league in 5v5 points, 4th in the league in 5v5 P/60, and 3rd in the league in primary 5v5 points.

His PP points were holding him back, and he wasn’t getting top minutes there, but I suspect it’s only a matter of time. Obviously there’s a bit of projection here, but he seems very much on the precipice of breaking into the top 10/top 15 centres, just as Brayden Point looked in his sophomore year in 17-18, before he broke out to score 90+ the next year.

Hintz, Harley, Heiskanen, Robertson are all better than him

 

[RedWingzz]

Wyatt Johnston is better than Larkin I guess....

 

[Juxta Position]

Oh it's a points prediction list? Got it.

why do people in Toronto have a hard time understanding that good players get overrated in that market, simply due to the size of the market?

TSN and Sportsnet, whether they own the team or not, know that by pumping up Leafs players they will draws eyeballs and clicks, which generates revenue for their companies.

It's not bias, it's business and those networks know who butters their bread. keep Leafs fans happy and they will continue coming to their sites.

I'd bet a paycheck that if Matthews played in Utah or Dallas or Carolina, he's not that high on the list. Unfortunately we can't test that theory and Leafs fans will continue to say he's ranked where he should be and non-Leafs fans will continue to say he's overrated due to the market.

 

[Regal]

Hintz, Harley, Heiskanen, Robertson are all better than him

Based on track record maybe. He was better than Hintz last year, better than Robertson in the second half of the year and playoffs and way better than Harley in the playoffs. I think most Dallas fans are expecting him to be the best forward this year and he and Heiskanen to be the backbones of the team moving forward. And Heiskanen and Robertson are also higher on the list.

 

[Juxta Position]

Aren't you cherry picking the 55 playoff games (23g & 25a = 48 points) for Matthews as opposed to his 562 regular season games played (368g & 281a = 649 points)?

i wouldn't call an entire career's worth of playoff games cherry picking....that's sort of the entire sample, not a portion of it.

 

[Breakers]

Based on track record maybe. He was better than Hintz last year, better than Robertson in the second half of the year and playoffs and way better than Harley in the playoffs. I think most Dallas fans are expecting him to be the best forward this year and he and Heiskanen to be the backbones of the team moving forward. And Heiskanen and Robertson are also higher on the list.

Massively disagree on that statement

 

[Sasha Orlov]

So Draistail's 7 game performance in the Stanley Cup finals doesn't mean more then his 18 games played through rounds 1-3? The Stanley Cup finals is not more important than any other playoff round?

Your argument is incoherent

 

[Voight]

Swayman over Bob? not to mention Demko who's not even on the list?

 

[Lemontree]

why do people in Toronto have a hard time understanding that good players get overrated in that market, simply due to the size of the market?

TSN and Sportsnet, whether they own the team or not, know that by pumping up Leafs players they will draws eyeballs and clicks, which generates revenue for their companies.

It's not bias, it's business and those networks know who butters their bread. keep Leafs fans happy and they will continue coming to their sites.

I'd bet a paycheck that if Matthews played in Utah or Dallas or Carolina, he's not that high on the list. Unfortunately we can't test that theory and Leafs fans will continue to say he's ranked where he should be and non-Leafs fans will continue to say he's overrated due to the market.

Where did Ovi rank on those lists when he was in his prime? He was the premier goal scorer during that time. Like it or not, Matthews has been the best goal scorer over the span since he entered the league.

Matthews also is a 3 time Rocket Richard winner and has a Hart & Ted Lindsay awards. He is coming off a 69 goal season which is the highest since Mario did it in 95-96. Auston Matthews is an elite player and a strong case can be made having him anywhere from number 2 to number 5. I don't believe the "Leaf" factor is a consideration.

 

[Rob Brown]

why do people in Toronto have a hard time understanding that good players get overrated in that market, simply due to the size of the market?

TSN and Sportsnet, whether they own the team or not, know that by pumping up Leafs players they will draws eyeballs and clicks, which generates revenue for their companies.

It's not bias, it's business and those networks know who butters their bread. keep Leafs fans happy and they will continue coming to their sites.

I'd bet a paycheck that if Matthews played in Utah or Dallas or Carolina, he's not that high on the list. Unfortunately we can't test that theory and Leafs fans will continue to say he's ranked where he should be and non-Leafs fans will continue to say he's overrated due to the market.

Lists like this are entirely subjective, and I already said if you placed him in a certain range (i.e. 2-6 or something) different people would have him slotted in differently. I wouldn't give a shit at all if he was ranked at 6, for example, but he's almost always the first player that people whine about with lists like this.

You're here acting like he's overrated solely because he plays for a specific market and that the guy who has scored the most goals in the entire league since he played his first game (while also getting league wide recognition for his two-way abilities) somehow isn't actually a top player and is only high on lists like this because of market bias.

Where would you put him on the list if he was on Utah or Dallas or Carolina?

 

[Joe n]

It should be a requirement to be a playoff performer to be considered a top player in the NHL.

Then at least 25 people have to come off that list. There are many that haven't even made the playoffs.