NHL Player Rankings: Week 17 Risers, Fallers, & 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) – 42GP, 28G, 27A, 55PTS, 1.31PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Connor McDavid (EDM) – 51GP, 17G, 42A, 59PTS, 1.16PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Evgeni Malkin (PIT) – 47GP, 22G, 32A, 54PTS, 1.15PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Mark Scheifele (WPG) – 49GP, 22G, 26A, 48PTS, 0.98PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) – 49GP, 13G, 34A, 47PTS, 0.96PPG
6 (LW/-) – Tyler Seguin (DAL) – 50GP, 18G, 29A, 47PTS, 0.94PPG
7 (LW/NR) – Leon Draisaitl (EDM) – 51GP, 19G, 27A, 46PTS, 0.90PPG
8 (LW/-) – Jeff Carter (LA) – 49GP, 24G, 19A, 43PTS, 0.88PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Mikael Granlund (MIN) – 48GP, 12G, 30A, 42PTS, 0.88PPG
10 (LW/-) – Eric Staal (MIN) – 48GP, 16G, 25A, 41PTS, 0.85PPG

Top 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/+1) – Brad Marchand (BOS) – 52GP, 21G, 28A, 49PTS, 0.94PPG
2 (LW/-1) – Alex Ovechkin (WSH) – 49GP, 23G, 22A, 45PTS, 0.92PPG
3 (LW/-) – Jamie Benn (DAL) – 46GP, 13G, 28A, 41PTS, 0.89PPG
4 (LW/-) – Artemi Panarin (CHI) – 51GP, 17G, 27A, 44PTS, 0.86PTS
5 (LW/+3) – Nick Foligno (CBJ) – 46GP, 17G, 22A, 39PTS, 0.85PPG
6 (LW/+1) – Thomas Vanek (DET) – 37GP, 12G, 19A, 31PTS, 0.84PPG
7 (LW/-2) – Conor Sheary (PIT) – 41GP, 17G, 17A, 34PTS, 0.83PPG
8 (LW/-2) – James van Riemsdyk (TOR) – 47GP, 17G, 22A, 39PTS, 0.83PPG
9 (LW/+1) – Mike Hoffman (OTT) – 42GP, 17G, 18A, 35PTS, 0.83PPG
10 (LW/-1) – Chris Kreider (NYR) – 43GP, 18G, 16A, 34PTS, 0.79PPG

Top 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 43GP, 19G, 25A, 44PTS, 1.02PPG
2 (LW/-) – Patrick Kane (CHI) – 51GP, 15G, 34A, 49PTS, 0.96PPG
3 (LW/-) – Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) – 49GP, 21G, 26A, 47PTS, 0.96PPG
4 (LW/-) – Cam Atkinson (CBJ) – 48GP, 24G, 22A, 46PTS, 0.96PPG
5 (LW/-) – Phil Kessel (PIT) – 48GP, 15G, 31A, 46PTS, 0.96PPG
6 (LW/-) – Patrik Laine (WPG) – 44GP, 22G, 18A, 40PTS, 0.91PPG
7 (LW/-) – Jakub Voracek (PHI) – 50GP, 14G, 30A, 44PTS, 0.88PPG
8 (LW/-) – Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG) – 52GP, 17G, 27A, 44PTS, 0.85PPG
9 (LW/NR) – David Pastrnak (BOS) – 45GP, 20G, 18A, 38PTS, 0.84PPG
10 (LW/-1) – T.J. Oshie (WSH) – 40GP, 18G, 14A, 32PTS, 0.80PPG

Top 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Brent Burns (SJ) – 50GP, 21G, 30A, 51PTS, 1.02PPG
2 (LW/-) – Erik Karlsson (OTT) – 47GP, 7G, 32A, 39GP, 0.83PPG
3 (LW/-) – Victor Hedman (TB) – 47GP, 7G, 31A, 38PTS, 0.81PPG
4 (LW/-) – Kris Letang (PIT) – 30GP, 4G, 19A, 23PTS, 0.77PPG
5 (LW/-) – Justin Schultz (PIT) – 48GP, 8G, 27A, 35PTS, 0.73PPG
6 (LW/+1) – Andrei Markov (MTL) – 31GP, 2G, 19A, 21PTS, 0.68PPG
7 (LW/-1) – Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) – 49GP, 11G, 22A, 33PTS, 0.67PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Duncan Keith (CHI) – 51GP, 4G, 29A, 33PTS, 0.65PPG
9 (LW/+1) – Dougie Hamilton (CGY) – 51GP, 7G, 25A, 32PTS, 0.63PPG
10 (LW/-2) – Ryan Suter (MIN) – 48GP, 7G, 23A, 30PTS, 0.63PPG

Top 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/-) – Braden Holtby (WSH) – 38GP, 24W, 1.96GAA, 6SO, .930SV%
2 (LW/+1) – Devan Dubnyk (MIN) – 38GP, 27W, 1.88GAA, 5SO, .936SV%
3 (LW/+1) – Peter Budaj (LA) – 42GP, 22W, 2.06GAA, 5SO, .919SV%
4 (LW/-2) – Tuukka Rask (BOS) – 41GP, 24W, 2.15GAA, 5SO, .918SV%
5 (LW/+2) – Cam Talbot (EDM) – 45GP, 26W, 2.33GAA, 4SO, .922SV%
6 (LW/+2) – Mike Condon (OTT) – 28GP, 14W, 2.40GAA, 4SO, .917SV%
7 (LW/NR) – Frederik Andersen (TOR) – 39GP, 21W, 2.55GAA, 3SO, .921SV%
8 (LW/NR) – Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 35GP, 17W, 2.82GAA, 3SO, .908SV%
9 (LW/+1) – Chad Johnson (CGY) – 30GP, 16W, 2.50GAA, 3SO, .913SV%
10 (LW/-1) – Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) – 39GP, 28W, 2.10GAA, 3SO, .929SV%

Bottom 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – John Mitchell (COL) – 39GP, 1G, 0A, 1PT, 0.03PPG
2 (LW/+2) – Brendan Gaunce (VAN) – 45GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.09PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Logan Shaw (ANA) – 31GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, 0.09PPG
4 (LW/-1) – Tyler Graovac (ARI) – 39GP, 4G, 0A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
5 (LW/-) – Derek Grant (NSH) – 41GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
6 (LW/-) – Steve Ott (DET) – 37GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
7 (LW/-) – Michael Chaput (VAN) – 38GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
8 (LW/-) – Sergey Kalinin (NJ) – 37GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
9 (LW/-) – Joe Colborne (COL) – 36GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
10 (LW/-) – Jay McClement (CAR) – 47GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG

Bottom 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/NR) – Andrew Desjardins (CHI) – 31GP, 0G, 0A, 0PTS, 0PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Vernon Fiddler (NJ) – 38GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Andreas Martinsen (COL) – 41GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
4 (LW/-) – Brandon Tanev (WPG) – 38GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
5 (LW/-4) – Cody McLeod (NSH) – 35GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
6 (LW/+1) – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI) – 50GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.12PPG
7 (LW/+1) – Matt Martin (TOR) – 47GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG
8 (LW/-2) – Lawson Crouse (ARI) – 44GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.14PPG
9 (LW/-4) – Roman Lyubimov (PHI) – 36GP, 4G, 1A, 5PTS, 0.14PPG
10 (LW/-1) – Joakim Nordstrom (CAR) – 48GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.17PPG

Bottom 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Jordin Tootoo (CHI) – 35GP, 0G, 0A, 0PTS, 0.00PPG
2 (LW/-) – Jared Boll (ANA) – 35GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
3 (LW/-) – Chris Neil (OTT) – 45GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
4 (LW/-) – Jimmy Hayes (BOS) – 36GP, 2G, 1A, 3PTS, 0.08PPG
5 (LW/+1) – Chris Thorburn (WPG) – 39GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
6 (LW/+1) – J.T. Brown (TB) – 37GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.11PPG
7 (LW/+2) – Dale Weise (PHI) – 41GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
8 (LW/-) – Nikita Soshnikov (TOR) – 37GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.14PPG
9 (LW/+1) – Ryan Reaves (STL) – 47GP, 3G, 4A, 7PTS, 0.15PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Jack Skille (VAN) – 43GP, 4G, 3A, 7PTS, 0.16PPG

Bottom 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Josh Gorges (BUF) – 34GP, 0G, 1A, 1PT, 0.03PPG
2 (LW/-) – Mark Borowiecki (OTT) – 40GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, 0.05PPG
3 (LW/-) – Kevin Gravel (LA) – 34GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.06PPG
4 (LW/-) – Adam McQuaid (BOS) – 47GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.06PPG
5 (LW/-) – Luke Schenn (ARI) – 44GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
6 (LW/-) – Ben Lovejoy (NJ) – 50GP, 1G, 3A, 4PTS, 0.08PPG
7 (LW/NR) – Justin Falk (BUF) – 32GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.09PPG
8 (LW/NR) – Carl Gunnarsson (STL) – 31GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.10PPG
9 (LW/-1) – Kevin Bieksa (ANA) – 51GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG
10 (LW/-3) – Brenden Dillon (SJ) – 49GP, 0G, 5A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG

Bottom 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/+1) – Brian Elliott (CGY) – 24GP, 9W, 2.88GAA, 0SO, .892SV%
2 (LW/+2) – Petr Mrazek (DET) – 28GP, 10W, 3.16GAA, 0SO, .894SV%
3 (LW/-) – Michael Hutchinson (WPG) – 20GP, 4W, 3.23GAA, 1SO, .894SV%
4 (LW/-3) – Carter Hutton (STL) – 22GP, 7W, 2.81GAA, 2S0, .896SV%
5 (LW/-) – Jake Allen (STL) – 35GP, 17W, 2.83GAA, 1SO, .897SV%
6 (LW/-) – Louis Domingue (ARI) – 21GP, 5W, 3.19GAA, 0S0, .897SV%
7 (LW/-) – Semyon Varlamov (COL) – 24GP, 6W, 3.38GAA, 1SO, .898SV%
8 (LW/NR) – Antti Niemi (DAL) – 27GP, 10W, 3.20GAA, 0SO, .900SV%
9 (LW/NR) – Jonathan Bernier (ANA) – 19GP, 8W, 2.89GAA, 1SO, .902SV%
10 (LW/-2) – Steve Mason (PHI) – 40GP, 16W, 2.84GAA, 1SO, .902SV%

More from Puck Prose

Top Forward of the Week: Patrick Marleau (SJ) – (3GP, 5G, 1A, 6PTS)

How about the week Patrick Marleau had? On top of his six-point performance, five of them were goals, the Sharks had to have loved that. Especially in the shortened week due to the all-star game.

Top Defenseman of the Week: Dmitry Orlov (WSH) – (3GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS)

Dmitry Orlov had a solid week for the Capitals with four points in only three games, and besides his two helpers, he also had two goals of his own. Due to this week having a weird schedule due to the all-star game, Orlov should be well rested and ready to have himself another great week.

Next: Hypothetical Deals for Kevin Shattenkirk

Top Goalie of the Week: Peter Budaj (LA) – (2GP, 2W, 0.50GAA, .979SV%, 1SO)

Peter Budaj is continuing to prove to the NHL that he’s once again ready for continual play, even as a possible starter again. So could Vegas make a move and opt to take him as a starter or backup? After the season he’s having you would think so, and it may just be possible since the top goalies available have quite the cap hits.