NHL Player Rankings: Week 16 Risers, Fallers and More

NHL Player Rankings: Who’s Trending up and Down? And Who Are the Top Players as Well? We’re Here to Let You Know With Our Weekly Risers and Fallers!

Welcome to our weekly NHL Player Rankings, a compilation of lists showing you who is on top, as well as who is on the bottom in every position. We’ll also show you the best player of the week for all three zones of the ice.

For forwards and defenseman, the deciding factor will come down to points-per-game averages. This statistic shows us how well a player has scored in the games they have played when given an advanced look it lets us know their potential to lead the league in points.

Goalies will be decided by goals-against-average and shutouts. While goalies are obviously going to let in pucks, this stat is fundamental in watching their overall success and potential to where they could be in the league if playing for a better defensive team.

Legend:
LW = Last Week.
NR = Not Ranked

Top 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 40GP, 28G, 26A, 54PTS, 1.35PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Evgeni Malkin (PIT) – 46GP, 22G, 32A, 54PTS, 1.17PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Connor McDavid (EDM) – 49GP, 16G, 40A, 56PTS, 1.14PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) – 46GP, 13G, 33A, 46PTS, 1.00PPG
5 (LW/+2) – Mark Scheifele (WPG) – 46GP, 21G, 24A, 45PTS, 0.98PPG
6 (LW/-2) – Tyler Seguin (DAL) – 48GP, 16G, 29A, 45PTS, 0.94PPG
7 (LW/NR) – Alex Galchenyuk (MTL) – 30GP, 11G, 16A, 27PTS, 0.90PPG
8 (LW/-2) – Jeff Carter (LA) – 46GP, 24G, 17A, 41PTS, 0.89PPG
9 (LW/-) – Joe Pavelski (SJ) – 47GP, 16G, 25A, 41PTS, 0.87PPG
10 (LW/-2) – Eric Staal (MIN) – 46GP, 16G, 24A, 40PTS, 0.87PPG

Top 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/+5) – Alex Ovechkin (WSH) – 46GP, 22G, 20A, 42PTS, 0.91PPG
2 (LW/-1) – Brad Marchand (BOS) – 50GP, 17G, 28A, 45PTS, 0.90PPG
3 (LW/+2) – Jamie Benn (DAL) – 44GP, 12G, 27A, 39PTS, 0.89PPG
4 (LW/-2) – Artemi Panarin (CHI) – 49GP, 17G, 26A, 43PTS, 0.88PTS
5 (LW/NR) – Conor Sheary (PIT) – 39GP, 17G, 17A, 34PTS, 0.87PPG
6 (LW/+1) – James van Riemsdyk (TOR) – 44GP, 16G, 22A, 38PTS, 0.86PPG
7 (LW/-4) – Thomas Vanek (DET) – 36GP, 12G, 19A, 31PTS, 0.86PPG
8 (LW/-4) – Nick Foligno (CBJ) – 44GP, 16G, 21A, 37PTS, 0.84PPG
9 (LW/+1) – Chris Kreider (NYR) – 41GP, 18G, 16A, 34PTS, 0.83PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Mike Hoffman (OTT) – 41GP, 17G, 17A, 34PTS, 0.83PPG

Top 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 41GP, 17G, 25A, 42PTS, 1.02PPG
2 (LW/-) – Patrick Kane (CHI) – 49GP, 15G, 33A, 48PTS, 0.98PPG
3 (LW/-) – Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) – 47GP, 20G, 26A, 46PTS, 0.98PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Cam Atkinson (CBJ) – 46GP, 23G, 22A, 45PTS, 0.98PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Phil Kessel (PIT) – 46GP, 14G, 31A, 45PTS, 0.98PPG
6 (LW/+1) – Patrik Laine (WPG) – 42GP, 21G, 16A, 37PTS, 0.88PPG
7 (LW/-1) – Jakub Voracek (PHI) – 48GP, 13G, 29A, 42PTS, 0.88PPG
8 (LW/-) – Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG) – 49GP, 16G, 26A, 42PTS, 0.86PPG
9 (LW/NR) – T.J. Oshie (WSH) – 38GP, 17G, 14A, 31PTS, 0.82PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Blake Wheeler (WPG) – 49GP, 15G, 24A, 39PTS, 0.80PPG

Top 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Brent Burns (SJ) – 47GP, 19G, 28A, 47PTS, 1.00PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Erik Karlsson (OTT) – 45GP, 7G, 32A, 39GP, 0.87PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Victor Hedman (TB) – 45GP, 7G, 31A, 38PTS, 0.84PPG
4 (LW/-) – Kris Letang (PIT) – 30GP, 4G, 19A, 23PTS, 0.77PPG
5 (LW/NR) – Justin Schultz (PIT) – 46GP, 7G, 26A, 33PTS, 0.72PPG
6 (LW/+2) – Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) – 47GP, 11G, 21A, 32PTS, 0.68PPG
7 (LW/-2) – Andrei Markov (MTL) – 31GP, 2G, 19A, 21PTS, 0.68PPG
8 (LW/NR) – Ryan Suter (MIN) – 46GP, 7G, 23A, 30PTS, 0.65PPG
9 (LW/-3) – Duncan Keith (CHI) – 49GP, 2G, 29A, 31PTS, 0.63PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Dougie Hamilton (CGY) – 48GP, 7G, 23A, 30PTS, 0.63PPG

Top 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/-) – Braden Holtby (WSH) – 36GP, 22W, 1.99GAA, 6SO, .929SV%
2 (LW/+1) – Tuukka Rask (BOS) – 39GP, 22W, 2.11GAA, 5SO, .920SV%
3 (LW/-1) – Devan Dubnyk (MIN) – 36GP, 25W, 1.91GAA, 5SO, .935SV%
4 (LW/-) – Peter Budaj (LA) – 40GP, 38W, 2.14GAA, 4SO, .916SV%
5 (LW/+1) – John Gibson (ANA) – 38GP, 19W, 2.27GAA, 3SO, .921SV%
6 (LW/NR) – Craig Anderson (OTT) – 19GP, 12W, 2.46GAA, 3SO, .924SV%
7 (LW/-) – Cam Talbot (EDM) – 43GP, 24W, 2.41GAA, 3SO, .919SV%
8 (LW/-) – Mike Condon (OTT) – 26GP, 13W, 2.48GAA, 3SO, .914SV%
9 (LW/-1) – Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) – 37GP, 28W, 1.98GAA, 3SO, .932SV%
10 (LW/NR) – Chad Johnson (CGY) – 29GP, 16W, 2.41GAA, 3SO, .917SV%

Bottom 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – John Mitchell (COL) – 37GP, 1G, 0A, 1PT, 0.03PPG
2 (LW/NR) – Logan Shaw (ANA) – 29GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, 0.07PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Tyler Graovac (ARI) – 37GP, 3G, 0A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
4 (LW/-1) – Brendan Gaunce (VAN) – 43GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.09PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Derek Grant (NSH) – 41GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
6 (LW/-1) – Steve Ott (DET) – 37GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
7 (LW/-) – Michael Chaput (VAN) – 36GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
8 (LW/-2) – Sergey Kalinin (NJ) – 36GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
9 (LW/-1) – Joe Colborne (COL) – 34GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.12PPG
10 (LW/-1) – Jay McClement (CAR) – 46GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG

Bottom 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/NR) – Cody McLeod (NSH) – 33GP, 2G, 0A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
2 (LW/-1) – Andreas Martinsen (COL) – 39GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Vernon Fiddler (NJ) – 36GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Brandon Tanev (WPG) – 35GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
5 (LW/+1) – Roman Lyubimov (PHI) – 34GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.12PPG
6 (LW/-2) – Lawson Crouse (ARI) – 42GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
7 (LW/-) – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI) – 48GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG
8 (LW/-5) – Matt Martin (TOR) – 44GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, 0.14PPG
9 (LW/-) – Joakim Nordstrom (CAR) – 46GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.17PPG
10 (LW/-) – Drew Miller (DET) – 34GP, 5G, 1A, 6PTS, 0.18PPG

Bottom 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/NR) – Jordin Tootoo (CHI) – 35GP, 0G, 0A, 0PTS, 0.00PPG
2 (LW/-1) – Jared Boll (ANA) – 33GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Chris Neil (OTT) – 44GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
4 (LW/-1) – Jimmy Hayes (BOS) – 36GP, 2G, 1A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
5 (LW/NR) – Ben Smith (TOR) – 28GP, 2G, 1A, 3PTS, 0.11PPG
6 (LW/-2) – Chris Thorburn (WPG) – 36GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
7 (LW/-2) – J.T. Brown (TB) – 35GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
8 (LW/-1) – Nikita Soshnikov (TOR) – 34GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.12PPG
9 (LW/-3) – Dale Weise (PHI) – 41GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
10 (LW/-2) – Ryan Reaves (STL) – 45GP, 2G, 4A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG

Bottom 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/+1) – Josh Gorges (BUF) – 34GP, 0G, 1A, 1PT, 0.03PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Mark Borowiecki (OTT) – 40GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, 0.05PPG
3 (LW/NR) – Kevin Gravel (LA) – 31GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
4 (LW/-3) – Adam McQuaid (BOS) – 45GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Luke Schenn (ARI) – 42GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
6 (LW/-1) – Ben Lovejoy (NJ) – 48GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.08PPG
7 (LW/-) – Brenden Dillon (SJ) – 46GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.09PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Kevin Bieksa (ANA) – 49GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG
9 (LW/+1) – Roman Polak (TOR) – 39GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
10 (LW/-4) – Yannick Weber (NSH) – 46GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, 0.11PPG

Bottom 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/NR) – Carter Hutton (STL) – 20GP, 6W, 2.80GAA, 1S0, .892SV%
2 (LW/+4) – Brian Elliott (CGY) – 22GP, 8W, 2.87GAA, 0SO, .893SV%
3 (LW/NR) – Michael Hutchinson (WPG) – 20GP, 4W, 3.23GAA, 1SO, .894SV%
4 (LW/+1) – Petr Mrazek (DET) – 27GP, 10W, 3.13GAA, 0SO, .895SV%
5 (LW/NR) – Jake Allen (STL) – 34GP, 17W, 2.85GAA, 1SO, .897SV%
6 (LW/NR) – Louis Domingue (ARI) – 21GP, 5W, 3.19GAA, 0S0, .897SV%
7 (LW/NR) – Semyon Varlamov (COL) – 24GP, 6W, 3.38GAA, 1SO, .898SV%
8 (LW/-7) – Steve Mason (PHI) – 39GP, 15W, 2.92GAA, 0SO, .899SV%
9 (LW/NR) – Kari Lehtonen (DAL) – 31GP, 9W, 2.87GAA, 1SO, .899SV%
10 (LW/NR) – Henrik Lundqvist (NYR) – 34GP, 12W, 2.77GAA, 2SO, .904SV%

More from Puck Prose

Top Forward of the Week: Evgeni Malkin (PIT) – (3GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS)

Evgeni Malkin has been on fire all month and is now third in league scoring only being Connor McDavid by two points and tied with Sidney Crosby. Malkin has always been an elite player so this comes to no surprise, and now that Phil Kessel is more comfortable in Pittsburgh, Malkin is just going to keep putting up insane statistical seasons.

Top Defenseman of the Week: Matt Niskanen (WSH) – (4GP, 2G, 5A, 7PTS)

Matt Niskanen has never been regarded as an elite level defenseman, but he will on occasion score more points than any other defenseman during a week, which is exactly what he did last week with seven points in four games.

Next: NHL Mid-Season Grades: Metropolitan Division

Top Goalie of the Week: Martin Jones (SJ) – (3GP, 3W, 1.99GAA, .929SV%, 0SO)

Last year Martin Jones showed that he was ready for a starters position, and he flourished by helping San Jose reach the Stanley cup finals for the first time in franchise history. This season the Sharks have a chance to do the exact same thing and Jones hasn’t let up since last season, so their chances of doing so are very, very high.

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