NHL Player Rankings: Connor McDavid Takes Over, Max Pacioretty Climbs Highest

NHL Player Rankings: A Few New Players Appear in the Top 10. But Who Exactly Falls Where? Well, We’re Here to Let You Know With Our Weekly Player Rankings!

Connor McDavid has finally taken over number one spot on the NHL player rankings, Max Pacioretty makes a significant jump this week as well as Dustin Byfuglien. Coyotes goaltender Louis Domingue is slowly clawing his way out of the bottom 10 goalies.

Welcome back to our 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, new players appear, while some still hold their position.

For forwards and defenseman, the main factor will be based on 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 how much they could end up scoring on the season and if they would lead the league or not.

Goalies will be decided by save percentage 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

**Minimum 60 Games Played** (Forwards/Defense)
**Minimum 50 Games Played** (Goalies)

Top 10 Centers:

1 (LW/+1) – Connor McDavid (EDM) – 78gp, 29g, 65a, 94pts, 1.21ppg
2 (LW/-1) – Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 72gp, 43g, 41a, 84pts, 1.17ppg
3 (LW/-) – Evgeni Malkin (PIT) – 62gp, 33g, 39a, 72pts, 1.16ppg
4 (LW/-) – Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) – 78gp, 23g, 61a, 84pts, 1.08ppg
5 (LW/-) – Mark Scheifele (WPG) – 76gp, 30g, 48a, 78pts, 1.03ppg
6 (LW/-) – Ryan Getzlaf (ANA) – 70gp, 15g, 52a, 67pts, 0.96ppg
7 (LW/-) – Leon Draisaitl (EDM) – 78gp, 28g, 46a, 74pts, 0.95ppg
8 (LW/-) – Tyler Seguin (DAL) – 79gp, 25g, 45a, 70pts, 0.89ppg
9 (LW/-) – Mikael Granlund (MIN) – 79gp, 25g, 43a, 68pts, 0.86ppg
10 (LW/NR) – Auston Matthews (TOR) – 77gp, 38g, 28a, 66pts, 0.86ppg

Top 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Brad Marchand (BOS) – 79gp, 39g, 46a, 85pts, 1.08ppg
2 (LW/+1) – Artemi Panarin (CHI) – 79gp, 29g, 43a, 72pts, 0.91ppg
3 (LW/-1) – Jamie Benn (DAL) – 74gp, 25g, 42a, 67pts, 0.91ppg
4 (LW/-) – Johnny Gaudreau (CGY) – 68gp, 18g, 42a, 60pts, 0.88ppg
5 (LW/+3) – Max Pacioretty (MTL) – 78gp, 35g, 31a, 66pts, 0.85ppg
6 (LW/-) – Henrik Zetterberg (DET) – 78gp, 16g, 50a, 66pts, 0.85ppg
7 (LW/-2) – Alex Ovechkin (WSH) – 78gp, 33g, 33a, 66pts, 0.85ppg
8 (LW/-1) – Mike Hoffman (OTT) – 70gp, 25g, 33a, 58pts, 0.83ppg
9 (LW/NR) – Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG) – 79gp, 24g, 38a, 62pts, 0.78ppg
10 (LW/-1) – Jeff Skinner (CAR) – 75gp, 33g, 25a, 58pts, 0.77ppg

Top 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 70gp, 38g, 43a, 81pts, 1.16ppg
2 (LW/-) – Patrick Kane (CHI) – 79gp, 34g, 53a, 87pts, 1.10ppg
3 (LW/-) – David Pastrnak (BOS) – 72gp, 32g, 36a, 68pts, 0.94ppg
4 (LW/+1) – Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) – 78gp, 37g, 33a, 70pts, 0.90ppg
5 (LW/+1) – Blake Wheeler (WPG) – 79gp, 25g, 45a, 70pts, 0.89ppg
6 (LW/-2) – Patrik Laine (WPG) – 70gp, 34g, 28a, 62pts, 0.89ppg
7 (LW/+1) – T.J. Oshie (WSH) – 65gp, 33g, 23a, 56pts, 0.86ppg
8 (LW/-1) – Phil Kessel (PIT) – 78gp, 22g, 45a, 67pts, 0.86ppg
9 (LW/-) – Cam Atkinson (CBJ) – 78gp, 34g, 27a, 61pts, 0.78ppg
10 (LW/-) – Mark Stone (OTT) – 67gp, 22g, 29a, 51pts, 0.76ppg

Top 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Brent Burns (SJ) – 79gp, 28g, 45a, 73pts, 0.92ppg
2 (LW/-) – Erik Karlsson (OTT) – 75gp, 15g, 53a, 68pts, 0.91ppg
3 (LW/-) – Victor Hedman (TB) – 75gp, 15g, 52a, 67pts, 0.89ppg
4 (LW/+1) – Kevin Shattenkirk (WSH) – 76gp, 11g, 43a, 54pts, 0.71ppg
5 (LW/-1) – Roman Josi (NSH) – 70gp, 11g, 37a, 48pts, 0.69ppg
6 (LW/+3) – Dustin Byfuglien (WPG) – 77gp, 13g, 38a, 51pts, 0.66ppg
7 (LW/-1) – Duncan Keith (CHI) – 79gp, 6g, 45a, 51pts, 0.65ppg
8 (LW/-1) – Justin Schultz (PIT) – 75gp, 12g, 36a, 48pts, 0.64ppg
9 (LW/-1) – Dougie Hamilton (CGY) – 77gp, 13g, 36a, 49pts, 0.64ppg
10 (LW/-) – Torey Krug (BOS) – 79gp, 8g, 42a, 50pts, 0.63ppg

Top 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/-) – Braden Holtby (WSH) – 61gp, 41w, .924sv%, 2.11gaa, 8so
2 (LW/-) – Peter Budaj (TB) – 60gp, 30w, .915sv%, 2.18gaa, 7so
3 (LW/+2) – Tuukka Rask (BOS) – 62gp, 36w, .912sv%, 2.31gaa, 7so
4 (LW/-1) – Cam Talbot (EDM) – 70gp, 40w, .921sv%, 2.36gaa, 7so
5 (LW/-1) – Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) – 61gp, 41w, .934sv%, 1.99gaa, 7so
6 (LW/-) – Devan Dubnyk (MIN) – 63gp, 38w, .924sv%, 2.23gaa, 5so
7 (LW/NR) – John Gibson (ANA) – 50gp, 23w, .921sv%, 2.29gaa, 5so
8 (LW/-1) – Frederik Andersen (TOR) – 63gp, 32w, .919sv%, 2.66gaa, 4so
9 (LW/-) – Jake Allen (STL) – 58gp, 31w, .916sv%, 2.36gaa, 4so
10 (LW/-2) – Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 55gp, 25w, .906sv%, 2.93gaa, 4so

We also cover the bottom ten in each position, it’s good to know who is also trending downwards for instance if you have that player in a hockey pool, you know now not to keep them around.

**Minimum 50 Games Played** (Forwards/Defense)
**Minimum 20 Games Played** (Goalies)

Bottom 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – Vernon Fiddler (NSH) – 59gp, 2g, 2a, 4pts, 0.07ppg
2 (LW/-) – Brendan Gaunce (VAN) – 57gp, 0g, 5a, 5pts, 0.09ppg
3 (LW/-) – John Mitchell (COL) – 65gp, 3g, 4a, 7pts, 0.11ppg
4 (LW/-2) – Lance Bouma (CGY) – 58gp, 3g, 4a, 7pts, 0.12ppg
5 (LW/-) – Dennis Rasmussen (CHI) – 66gp, 4g, 4a, 8pts, 0.12ppg
6 (LW/+2) – Jay McClement (CAR) – 65gp, 5g, 3a, 8pts, 0.12ppg
7 (LW/-) – Michael Chaput (VAN) – 64gp, 4g, 4a, 8pts, 0.13ppg
8 (LW/-) – Joe Colborne (COL) – 61gp, 4g, 4a, 8pts, 0.13ppg
9 (LW/-) – Riley Sheahan (DET) – 76gp, 0g, 10a, 10pts, 0.13ppg
10 (LW/-) – Logan Shaw (ANA) – 51gp, 2g, 5a, 7pts, 0.14ppg

Bottom 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI) – 79gp, 3g, 4a, 7pts, 0.09ppg
2 (LW/-) – Cody McLeod (NSH) – 57gp, 5g, 1a, 6pts, 0.11ppg
3 (LW/-) – Andreas Martinsen (MTL) – 61gp, 3g, 4a, 7pts, 0.11ppg
4 (LW/-) – Matt Martin (TOR) – 77gp, 5g, 4a, 9pts, 0.12ppg
5 (LW/NR) – Drew Miller (DET) – 53gp, 5g, 2a, 7pts, 0.13ppg
6 (LW/+1) – Joakim Nordstrom (CAR) – 78gp, 6g, 5a, 11pts, 0.14ppg
7 (LW/+1) – Kyle Clifford (LA) – 69gp, 5g, 5a, 10pts, 0.14ppg
8 (LW/+1) – Lawson Crouse (ARI) – 68gp, 5g, 7a, 12pts, 0.18ppg
9 (LW/-) – Dwight King (MTL) – 76gp, 8g, 7a, 15pts, 0.20ppg
10 (LW/+2) – Matthew Nieto (COL) – 55gp, 6g, 5a, 11pts, 0.20ppg

Bottom 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Chris Neil (OTT) – 52gp, 1g, 2a, 3pts, 0.06ppg
2 (LW/NR) – Jared Boll (ANA) – 51gp, 0g, 3a, 3pts, 0.06ppg
3 (LW/+1) – Chris Thorburn (WPG) – 61gp, 3g, 1a, 4pts, 0.07ppg
4 (LW/-) – Jimmy Hayes (BOS) – 58gp, 2g, 3a, 5pts, 0.09ppg
5 (LW/+2) – J.T. Brown (TB) – 63gp, 3g, 3a, 6pts, 0.10ppg
6 (LW/+1) – Ryan Reaves (STL) – 76gp, 5g, 6a, 11pts, 0.14ppg
7 (LW/+1) – Nikita Soshnikov (TOR) – 56gp, 5g, 4a, 9pts, 0.16ppg
8 (LW/+1) – Jack Skille (VAN) – 55gp, 5g, 4a, 9pts, 0.16pgg
9 (LW/+1) – Devante Smith-Pelly (NJ) – 53gp, 4g, 5a, 9pts, 0.17ppg
10 (LW/+1) – Dale Weise (PHI) – 61gp, 6g, 6a, 12pts, 0.20ppg

Bottom 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Mark Borowiecki (OTT) – 65gp, 1g, 1a, 2pts, 0.03ppg
2 (LW/-) – Josh Gorges (BUF) – 62gp, 1g, 4a, 5pts, 0.08ppg
3 (LW/-) – Ben Lovejoy (NJ) – 78gp, 1g, 6a, 7pts, 0.09ppg
4 (LW/-) – Luke Schenn (ARI) – 74gp, 0g, 7a, 7pts, 0.09ppg
5 (LW/-) – Yannick Weber (NSH) – 73gp, 1g, 7a, 8pts, 0.11ppg
6 (LW/-1) – Markus Nutivaara (CBJ) – 62gp, 2g, 5a, 7pts, 0.11ppg
7 (LW/+1) – Carl Gunnarsson (STL) – 53gp, 0g, 6a, 6pts, 0.11ppg
8 (LW/NR) – Adam McQuaid (BOS) – 74gp, 2g, 7a, 9pts, 0.12ppg
9 (LW/NR) – Brenden Dillon (SJ) – 78gp, 2g, 8a, 10pts, 0.13ppg
10 (LW/+1) – Roman Polak (TOR) – 70gp, 4g, 5a, 9pts, 0.13ppg

Bottom 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/-) – Michal Neuvirth (PHI) – 28gp, 11w, 2.82gaa, 0so, .891sv%
2 (LW/-) – Antti Niemi (DAL) – 35gp, 11w, 3.31gaa, 0so, .892sv%
3 (LW/-) – Semyon Varlamov (COL) – 24gp, 6w, 3.38gaa, 1so, .898sv%
4 (LW/-) – Petr Mrazek (DET) – 48gp, 17w, 3.03gaa, 1so, .901sv%
5 (LW/-) – Michael Hutchinson (WPG) – 27gp, 8w, 2.96gaa, 1so, .902sv%
6 (LW/-2) – Kari Lehtonen (DAL) – 57gp, 21w, 2.80gaa, 3so, .904sv%
7 (LW/NR) – Calvin Pickard (COL) – 47gp, 14w, 2.95gaa, 2so, .906sv%
8 (LW/+1) – Cam Ward (CAR) – 59gp, 26w, 2.63gaa, 2so, .906sv%
9 (LW/-1) – Steve Mason (PHI) – 56gp, 25w, 2.71gaa, 3so, .907sv%
10 (LW/+4) – Louis Domingue (ARI) – 30gp, 10w, 3.08gaa, 0so, .908sv%

Next: NHL Fantasy Waiver Wire: Price, Minny, Capitals and More.

Top Forward of the Week: Marcus Johansson (WSH) – (3gp, 1g, 7a, 8pts, Even)
When you’re sitting first in the Eastern Conference and expected to make a lengthy run in the playoffs, you need your team to score in a major way and keep that momentum going. Marcus Johansson did just that over the last week putting up a whopping eight points in three games.

Top Defenseman of the Week: Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI) – (4gp, 1g, 4a, 5pts, +3)
Shayne Gostisbehere has always been a top-notch defender for the Flyers, and with them on the outside looking in, they need their top guys to produce and Shayne did that last week for them.

Top Goalie of the Week: Tuukka Rask (BOS) – (3gp, 3w, .962sv%, 1.00gaa, 1so)
Tuukka Rask has been dynamite the last couple of months helping put the Bruins in the playoff picture, and when you have a week like he did statistically going undefeated, that’s always a bonus. He just needs to continue that play going into and during the playoffs.