The National Hockey League is going to get play underway. The season is here! All across the league, every team is incredibly excited about what’s to come this season.
The talent in this league is as good as it’s ever been in the history of the sport. Every day, folks in media and fans alike love to debate the status of certain players in the league right now. Who has the edge over who?
Over the weekend, the NHL Network revealed it’s list of the top 50 players in the league right now:
The full #NHLTopPlayers list has been revealed! Let's hear what you think 👇@NHL | @EASPORTSNHL pic.twitter.com/Jlf7qWK4ld
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) October 7, 2024
NHL Network's "Top 50 Players List" has a lot of intrigue to it
Of course, the top five of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Cale Makar, and Leon Draisaitl is no surprise at all. Even seeing guys like Nikita Kucherov, Aleksander Barkov, and Quinn Hughes in the top-ten is perfect.
Igor Shesterkin deserves to be the highest-rated goalie. He's been the best for the longest and he brings it to another level in the playoffs.
Sidney Crosby is on the list at number 11. That's not bad for being a superstar going into his late 30s. Notably, Alexander Ovechkin is missing from the list after a 2023-24 season that still turned out to be very good for him.
Nobody from the 2024 NHL Draft class was good enough to crack the list before ever playing an NHL game. As for Connor Bedard, he is the only representative from the 2023 NHL Draft class after a wonderful rookie year with the Chicago Blackhawks.
All of the players on this list deserve recognition. There are also a few snubs but that will always come down to opinion once you're past the top five. Injuries, bad coaching, and other team issues could cause a player to have a down year. Will they rise above or continue to fall?
The point of these lists is to entertain but also to create discussion around the best. These guys are all relied on to carry their teams and most of them do a great job of that no matter what.