NHL Player Rankings: Week 21; Crosby Still Leading, Colorado Falls

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!

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.

With some new players making it into the rankings this week, this also means a new look. So let’s dive into the rankings and see who exactly falls where. Toronto rookie Auston Matthews makes the biggest jump this week while the whole Avalanche team continues to fall.

Legend:
LW = Last Week
NR = Not Ranked

**Minimum 50 Games Played** (Forwards/Defense)
**Minimum 40 Games Played** (Goalies)

Top 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – Sidney Crosby (PIT) – 54GP, 34G, 33A, 67PTS, 1.24PPG
2 (LW/-) – Evgeni Malkin (PIT) – 53GP, 25G, 36A, 61PTS, 1.15PPG
3 (LW/-) – Connor McDavid (EDM) – 63GP, 21G, 50A, 71PTS, 1.13PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Mark Scheifele (WPG) – 60GP, 25G, 37A, 62PTS, 1.03PPG
5 (LW/-1) – Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) – 61GP, 18G, 45A, 63PTS, 1.03PPG
6 (LW/-) – Tyler Seguin (DAL) – 62GP, 22G, 39A, 61PTS, 0.98PPG
7 (LW/-) – Mikael Granlund (MIN) – 59GP, 19G, 36A, 55PTS, 0.93PPG
8 (LW/-) – Jeff Carter (LA) – 61GP, 30G, 25A, 55PTS, 0.90PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Auston Matthews (TOR) – 61GP, 30G, 24A, 54PTS, 0.89PPG
10 (LW/-) – Joe Pavelski (SJ) – 61GP, 20G, 33A, 53PTS, 0.87PPG

Top 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Brad Marchand (BOS) – 62GP, 27G, 37A, 64PTS, 1.03PPG
2 (LW/-) – Jamie Benn (DAL) – 58GP, 21G, 36A, 57PTS, 0.98PPG
3 (LW/-) – Artemi Panarin (CHI) – 62GP, 19G, 36A, 55PTS, 0.89PPG
4 (LW/-) – Alex Ovechkin (WSH) – 61GP, 27G, 27A, 54PTS, 0.89PPG
5 (LW/-) – Max Pacioretty (MTL) – 62GP, 29G, 24A, 53PTS, 0.85PPG
6 (LW/NR) – Johnny Gaudreau (CGY) – 53GP, 13G, 30A, 43PTS, 0.81PPG
7 (LW/-1) – Taylor Hall (NJ) – 51GP, 14G, 27A, 41PTS, 0.80PPG
8 (LW/+1) – James van Riemsdyk (TOR) – 61GP, 19G, 28A, 47PTS, 0.77PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Henrik Zetterberg (DET) – 60GP, 14G, 32A, 46PTS, 0.77PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Nikolaj Ehlers (WPG) – 63GP, 20G, 28A, 48PTS, 0.76PPG

Top 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Patrick Kane (CHI) – 62GP, 24G, 41A, 65PTS, 1.05PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Nikita Kucherov (TB) – 53GP, 23G, 31A, 54PTS, 1.02PPG
3 (LW/-1) – Patrik Laine (WPG) – 55GP, 30G, 24A, 54PTS, 0.98PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Phil Kessel (PIT) – 60GP, 21G, 35A, 56PTS, 0.93PPG
5 (LW/+1) – David Pastrnak (BOS) – 55GP, 26G, 25A, 51PTS, 0.93PPG
6 (LW/-2) – Vladimir Tarasenko (STL) – 61GP, 28G, 28A, 56PTS, 0.92PPG
7 (LW/-) – Cam Atkinson (CBJ) – 60GP, 29G, 24A, 53PTS, 0.88PPG
8 (LW/+1) – T.J. Oshie (WSH) – 50GP, 24G, 19A, 43PTS, 0.86PPG
9 (LW/-1) – Mark Stone (OTT) – 57GP, 22G, 25A, 47PTS, 0.82PPG
10 (LW/-) – Jakub Voracek (PHI) – 61GP, 16G, 34A, 50PTS, 0.82PPG

Top 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Brent Burns (SJ) – 61GP, 27G, 38A, 65PTS, 1.07PPG
2 (LW/-) – Erik Karlsson (OTT) – 60GP, 10G, 44A, 54PTS, 0.90PPG
3 (LW/-) – Victor Hedman (TB) – 57GP, 10G, 39A, 49PTS, 0.86PPG
4 (LW/-) – Kevin Shattenkirk (STL) – 61GP, 11G, 31A, 42PTS, 0.69PPG
5 (LW/-) – Justin Schultz (PIT) – 57GP, 9G, 30A, 39PTS, 0.68PPG
6 (LW/NR) – Roman Josi (NSH) – 53GP, 11G, 25A, 36PTS, 0.68PPG
7 (LW/-1) – Duncan Keith (CHI) – 62GP, 5G, 37A, 42PTS, 0.68PPG
8 (LW/-) – Torey Krug (BOS) – 62GP, 5G, 36A, 41PTS, 0.66PPG
9 (LW/-2) – Seth Jones (CBJ) – 54GP, 10G, 24A, 34PTS, 0.63PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Dougie Hamilton (CGY) – 62GP, 10G, 29A, 39PTS, 0.63PPG

Top 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/+1) – Braden Holtby (WSH) – 46GP, 31W, 1.97GAA, .928SV%, 7SO
2 (LW/-1) – Peter Budaj (TB) – 53GP, 27W, 2.12GAA, .917SV%, 7SO
3 (LW/-) – Tuukka Rask (BOS) – 49GP, 29W, 2.30GAA, .912SV%, 6SO
4 (LW/+1) – Cam Talbot (EDM) – 56GP, 31W, 2.40GAA, .919SV%, 5SO
5 (LW/-1) – John Gibson (ANA) – 48GP, 23W, 2.24GAA, .922SV%, 5SO
6 (LW/-) – Devan Dubnyk (MIN) – 46GP, 32W, 2.01GAA, .933SV%, 5SO
7 (LW/-) – Frederik Andersen (TOR) – 50GP, 24W, 2.77GAA, .914SV%, 3SO
8 (LW/+2) – Sergei Bobrovsky (CBJ) – 48GP, 32W, 2.20GAA, .925SV%, 3SO
9 (LW/-1) – Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) – 43GP, 20W, 2.79GAA, .910SV%, 3SO
10 (LW/NR) – Cam Ward (CAR) – 48GP, 21W, 2.66GAA, .904SV%, 2SO

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

Bottom 10 Centers:

1 (LW/-) – John Mitchell (COL) – 52GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.08PPG
2 (LW/-) – Vernon Fiddler (NSH) – 49GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.08PPG
3 (LW/-) – Derek Grant (BUF) – 46GP, 0G, 4A, 4PTS, 0.09PPG
4 (LW/-) – Sergey Kalinin (TOR) – 43GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.09PPG
5 (LW/-) – Brendan Gaunce (VAN) – 51GP, 0G, 5A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG
6 (LW/-) – Joe Colborne (COL) – 50GP, 4G, 1A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG
7 (LW/-) – Jay McClement (CAR) – 56GP, 4G, 2A, 6PTS, 0.11PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Logan Shaw (ANA) – 43GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
9 (LW/-1) – Michael Chaput (VAN) – 48GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Tyler Graovac (MIN) – 46GP, 6G, 0A, 6PTS, 0.13PPG

Bottom 10 Left Wingers:

1 (LW/-) – Brandon Tanev (WPG) – 42GP, 2G, 2A, 4PTS, 0.10PPG
2 (LW/-) – Pierre-Edouard Bellemare (PHI) – 61GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.10PPG
3 (LW/-) – Roman Lyubimov (PHI) – 44GP, 4G, 1A 5PTS, 0.11PPG
4 (LW/+1) – Matt Martin (TOR) – 61GP, 4G, 3A, 7PTS, 0.11PPG
5 (LW/+1) – Cody McLeod (NSH) – 41GP, 4G, 1A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
6 (LW/-2) – Andreas Martinsen (COL) – 54GP, 3G, 4A, 7PTS, 0.13PPG
7 (LW/-) – Joakim Nordstrom (CAR) – 58GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.14PPG
8 (LW/-) – Lawson Crouse (ARI) – 51GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.16PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Kyle Clifford (LA) – 54GP, 5G, 5A, 10PTS, 0.19PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Benoit Pouliot (EDM) – 51GP, 5G, 5A, 10PTS, 0.20PPG

Bottom 10 Right Wingers:

1 (LW/+1) – Jared Boll (ANA) – 41GP, 0G, 2A, 2PTS, 0.05PPG
2 (LW/+1) – Chris Neil (OTT) – 52GP, 1G, 2A, 3PTS, 0.06PPG
3 (LW/+1) – Chris Thorburn (WPG) – 46GP, 3G, 1A, 4PTS, 0.09PPG
4 (LW/+2) – Dale Weise (PHI) – 49GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.10PPG
5 (LW/+2) – J.T. Brown (TB) – 47GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.11PPG
6 (LW/+2) – Jimmy Hayes (BOS) – 47GP, 2G, 3A, 5PTS, 0.11PPG
7 (LW/+3) – Jack Skille (VAN) – 52GP, 4G, 3A, 7PTS, 0.13PPG
8 (LW/+1) – Ryan Reaves (STL) – 59GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.14PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Nikita Soshnikov (TOR) – 47GP, 4G, 3A, 7PTS, 0.15PPG
10 (LW/NR) – Devante Smith-Pelly (NJ) – 47GP, 3G, 5A, 8PTS, 0.17PPG

Bottom 10 Defenseman:

1 (LW/-) – Mark Borowiecki (OTT) – 52GP, 1G, 1A, 2PTS, 0.04PPG
2 (LW/-) – Josh Gorges (BUF) – 46GP, 0G, 3A, 3PTS, 0.07PPG
3 (LW/+2) – Ben Lovejoy (NJ) – 61GP, 1G, 5A, 6PTS, 0.10PPG
4 (LW/-) – Luke Schenn (ARI) – 57GP, 0G, 6A, 6PTS, 0.11PPG
5 (LW/+4) – Roman Polak (TOR) – 56GP, 3G, 3A, 6PTS, 0.11PPG
6 (LW/+1) – Kris Russell (EDM) – 51GP, 1G, 5A, 6PTS, 0.12PPG
7 (LW/+1) – Braydon Coburn (TB) – 58GP, 2G, 5A, 7PTS, 0.12PPG
8 (LW/-5) – Kevin Gravel (LA) – 41GP, 1G, 4A, 5PTS, 0.12PPG
9 (LW/NR) – Jason Garrison (TB) – 56GP, 1G, 6A, 7PTS, 0.13PPG
10 (LW/-) – Kevin Bieksa (ANA) – 63GP, 2G, 6A, 8PTS, 0.13PPG

Bottom 10 Goalies:

1 (LW/+2) – Michal Neuvirth (PHI) – 24GP, 10W, 2.90GAA, .887SV%, 0SO
2 (LW/NR) – Michael Hutchinson (WPG) – 20GP, 4W, 3.23GAA, .894SV%, 1SO
3 (LW/-2) – Louis Domingue (ARI) – 24GP, 6W, 3.31GAA, .895SV%, 0SO
4 (LW/NR) – Semyon Varlamov (COL) – 24GP, 6W, 3.38GAA, .898SV%, 1SO
5 (LW/+1) – Brian Elliott (CGY) – 33GP, 15W, 2.75GAA, .899SV%, 0SO
6 (LW/+2) – Antti Niemi (DAL) – 29GP, 10W, 3.19GAA, .899SV%, 0SO
7 (LW/+3) – Steve Mason (PHI) – 42GP, 16W, 2.90GAA, .900, 1SO
8 (LW/+1) – Kari Lehtonen (DAL) – 43GP, 14W, 2.94GAA, .900SV%, 1SO
9 (LW/NR) – Jonathan Bernier (ANA) – 24GP, 9W, 2.94GAA, .901SV%, 1SO
10 (LW/NR) – Petr Mrazek (DET) – 37GP, 14W, 2.98GAA, .902SV%, 1SO

Next: NHL Power Rankings: Week 20 Injuries, Prospects, In-Depth Analysis

Top Forward of the Week: Filip Forsberg (NSH) – (4GP, 7G, 3A, 10PTS, +5)

Nashville is a purely offensive team, so with Filip Forsberg putting up 10 points in the last four games over the last week isn’t too surprising but it’s still amazing. Washington is most likely kicking themselves over and over again everytime Filip has himself a top notch week or a high offensive season.

Top Defenseman of the Week: Jake Gardiner (TOR) – (4GP, 2G, 5A, 7PTS, +8)

It’s Morgan Rielly who’s usually in the spotlight, but as of late that torch has been passed to rookie defenseman Nikita Zaitsev for his 200-foot play and being such a solid d-man. And as well as him, Jake Gardiner also shares some of that spotlight. Everyone knew he had potential but what he shows are sometimes flashes that if consistent enough, could leave him in the top ten in NHL scoring for defenseman every season.

Top Goalie of the Week: Ben Bishop (LA) – (2GP, 2W, 1.47GAA, .940SV%, 0SO)

With Ben Bishop being moved to Los Angeles, they got themselves a solid starter while they wait for Jonathan Quick to return. Bishop has had a pretty mediocre season with Tampa this year but he’s shown glimpses of who he was from previous years. So LA is hoping he can start fresh in a new state and city and hopefully put up numbers game in and game out like he did last week.