NHL Rank: Counting down from 50 to 1 for 2022-23
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ESPN staff
The top 100 NHL players for the 2022-23 season are difficult to rank, given the incredible depth of talent at almost every position.
To create our annual ranking of the NHL’s top 100 players, we asked an ESPN panel of more than 50 hockey experts to rate players based on how good they will be in the 2022-23 season compared to their peers.
The Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche were tied for the most players in the top 100 with six, along with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vancouver Canucks. Only three teams failed to place a player in the top 100 — and the Arizona Coyotes are not one of the three.
Emphasis was placed solely on expectations for the upcoming season and predicting potential greatness, rather than past performance, career résumé or positional value. Hence, long-term injuries to players, such as the season-ending surgery for Robin Lehner of the Vegas Golden Knights, were taken into consideration.
There may be no greater indication of the NHL’s depth than the fact that the center position — the source of the league’s star power for decades — accounted for only seven spots in the top 20. Centers do encompass four slots in the top seven players, however.
After counting down from 100-51, here we present the top 50, including a significant change from last season’s top three:
2021-22 rank: 18
Age: 25
Barzal earned an eight-year contract extension from the Islanders based on past performance — as the team’s perennial leading scorer — and future returns. The center is eyeing an improved defensive game to complement his offensive abilities as an elite playmaker in New York’s system. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 41
Age: 26
Demko showed last season he was more than capable of handling the demands of being a No. 1 by starting 61 games and winning 33 times. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 96
Age: 26
Blazing speed and 30-goal offense define this 26-year-old forward for Detroit. –Greg Wyshynski
2021-22 rank: 100
Age: 24
Laine remains one of the NHL’s elite goal-scoring threats, posting his highest goals per 60 minutes average (1.5) since his rookie season in 2021-22. –Greg Wyshynski
2021-22 rank: 28
Age: 29
As more teams move to tandems, Hellebuyck continues to be one of those few goalies who can play more than 60 games and still give his team a chance to win every game. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 48
Age: 22
Svechnikov hit the 30 goal mark for the first time last season, many of them without the benefit of a lacrosse move. –Greg Wyshynski
2021-22 rank: 44
Age: 21
The 56 points he scored last season were more than his first two seasons combined. Could this be the year that Hughes climbs even higher? –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 9
Age: 34
He’s the player everyone loves to hate. And that only seems to fuel Marchand’s fire. The 34-year-old led Boston with 80 points last season, and eclipsed the 30-goal mark for the fifth time in seven seasons. Deep into his career, Marchand remains one of the NHL’s elite left wingers — and the Bruins will feel his absence deeply to start the 2022-23 campaign, as the veteran continues recovering from offseason hip surgery. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 23
Age: 30
Stone, who played just 37 games last season, could answer all those questions about his back with another 20-plus goal campaign and suffocating two-way performances. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 58
Age: 32
While his postseason was quite porous, Markstrom led all goalies with nine shutouts in finishing second for the Vezina last season. –Greg Wyshynski
2021-22 rank: 22
Age: 33
Chicago may be taking steps back, but Kane isn’t. The right winger is a reliable offensive force for the Blackhawks and proved it again last season with a 92-point campaign. What happens this year without Alex DeBrincat by his side, though? Kane will be quick to prove he can rise above losing a coveted linemate. The bigger question is if he’ll still be doing it in Chicago? –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 86
Age: 25
Werenski stepped outside the shadow of Seth Jones and posted his best offensive season (48 points in 68 games) while logging his highest average ice time (25:40). –Greg Wyshynski
2021-22 rank: NR
Age: 21
The man they call “Mo” won the Calder Trophy last season after scoring 50 points in 82 games and averaging the second-highest ice time for a rookie defenseman in the last decade (23:02). –Greg Wyshynski
2021-22 rank: NR
Age: 23
Everyone fixates on the 77, points but the two-way game is what makes the 22-year-old a more, well-rounded threat. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 76
Age: 24
DeBrincat has scored the ninth-most goals (160) since coming into the NHL in 2017-18. He is another reason why so many eyes will be on the Sens this season. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 31
Age: 25
Scoring 47 goals and 93 points last season made it difficult for anyone to ignore Connor’s place among the game’s most dangerous scorers. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 21
Age: 24
The Bruins’ top-pairing defenseman is the total package — a great skater with good instincts, physical and an excellent puck-mover with an elite first pass. McAvoy’s value may be felt most in how well Boston survives – or doesn’t – the start of this season without him as he recovers from offseason shoulder surgery. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: NR
Age: 29
Gaudreau used last season to remind the NHL he is one of the game’s most dangerous wingers. He will look to do the same now that he is in Columbus after eight years in Calgary. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 16
Age: 23
Pettersson hit career-highs in goals (32) and points (68) last year and is committing to an improved defensive game, which includes being stronger on the puck and adding some physicality. That’s the balanced approach the Canucks need from their top center. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 50
Age: 23
He’s a 30-goal scorer who appears to be on the brink of potentially more for a Senators team that looks like it could be a serious problem this season. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 99
Age: 23
Robertson took a promising rookie campaign and went off for 40 goals in his second full season. He’s still young, but he’s already averaging nearly a full point per game in his career. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 72
Age: 27
Saros was already important to the Predators. But his value was nearly immeasurable in 2021-22 when he went from being part of a tandem to a near-nightly fixture with a league-high 67 starts. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 26
Age: 23
Heiskanen might not score a ton of points like some of his contemporaries on the blue line. But his two-way prowess means he can be trusted in practically every situation throughout an entire game. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: NR
Age: 28
Getting his first 40-goal, 40-assist season elevated his place among the game’s premier left wingers. And he did that in just 69 games. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 19
Age: 26
Five straight 20-goal seasons and he is a reliable two-way center who can play in all situations. Again, there is a reason why Tampa Bay continues to remain in contention. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: NR
Age: 26
Everyone has seen what a fully healthy Eichel can accomplish. Now it is a matter of seeing what he can do on a team with heavier expectations for a full season. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 12
Age: 26
Rantanen might not receive attention like MacKinnon and Makar, but he finds himself in the running for the NHL’s top right winger because he is a threat to score at least 30 goals and have 50 assists. Is this the year he gets the elusive 100-point campaign? –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 8
Age: 24
Already a Norris winner, Fox is one of the players at the vanguard of the young, puck-moving defenseman movement that is making a mark in the NHL. Fox is more than just offense and he is also someone who can be trusted in every situation, having averaged nearly 24 minutes of ice time last season. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 29
Age: 25
Is it the six straight 20-goal seasons? The continued offensive growth? Or the consistent defensive contributions? Regardless, it makes Aho one of the NHL’s more complete centers. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 25
Age: 26
If Pastrnak can sidestep any distraction over his yet-to-be-finalized contract extension, then the Bruins’ top goal-scorer should be in line for another impressive season. Pastrnak paced Boston in goals last year (40) and averaged over a point-per-game with 77 in 72 games. David Krejci being back in Boston should help, too. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 55
Age: 32
Remember those discussions about how much Stamkos has left? Well, his response was posting his first 100-point season while finishing tied for the league lead with 11 game-winning goals. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 49
Age: 24
His 104-point season a year ago was the exact number he had in his previous two seasons combined. So how will it all work now that he’s in Florida? –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 13
Age: 30
There are times when it feels like he can score at a moment’s notice. But what makes him arguably more lethal is the fact that McDavid and Patrick Kane are the only players with more assists since Panarin debuted in the 2015-16 season. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 15
Age: 37
The Great 8 produced another 50-goal campaign last season — the ninth of his career — and will continue to chase Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark of 894 goals scored (Ovechkin enters 2022-23 with 780). It’ll be fascinating to watch how Ovechkin can adjust his game to maintain that blistering scoring pace. Even at 37 years old, he has showed no signs of slowing down. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 30
Age: 29
Zibanejad scored a career-high 81 points while showing he could be trusted in every situation imaginable for the Rangers. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 42
Age: 29
Huberdeau cemented his status as one of the game’s best creators with a league-high 85 assists in 2021-22. Only McDavid has more assists since the 2018-19 season. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 24
Age: 32
He scored 96 points, played in every situation and was on the ice for nearly half the game. There is a reason he finished a close second to Makar for the Norris. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 11
Age: 35
Even at age 35, Crosby’s still got it. The Penguins’ band leader and ultimate student stayed healthy and hit elite numbers last season (31 goals and 84 points in 69 games) and there’s boundless potential for Pittsburgh’s top line when Crosby is centering Jake Guentzel and Rickard Rakell. The team’s core is intact for another run, and it’ll be Crosby’s elite two-way play and unparalleled commitment to excellence driving the bus. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 14
Age: 25
Marner is coming off a career year in 2021-22 (35 goals and 97 points in 72 games) that highlighted how the Leafs’ forward has matured his overall game. The winger (mostly) rode shotgun with Auston Matthews on Toronto’s top line and projects to do so again, where Marner’s elite playmaking ability will be on full display. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 32
Age: 26
Meet the man who looks to overtake Vasilveskiy as the NHL’s top goaltender. Shesterkin is the reigning Vezina winner who could use this season to take the Rangers farther, claim another Vezina and potenitally walk away with the Hart too (where he finished third last season). –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 10
Age: 28
Vasilevskiy continues to maintain his position as the No. 1 goaltender in the game for a reason. But there is competition for that title. Still, he has five straight seasons of more than 30 regular-season wins and is one of the key reasons why Tampa remains a perennial contender. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 4
Age: 27
Barkov has long been the standard pick for “NHL’s most underrated player” and that needs to stop. Florida’s captain can put on a clinic any night. He tallied 39 goals and 88 points in 67 games last season while remaining one of the league’s most consistently dominant defensive forwards. Barkov’s skill lets him do it all with ease, from creating offense to blocking shots to lifting sticks and getting pucks back. Nothing “underrated” about it. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 7
Age: 31
Hedman apparently gets better with age. Tampa Bay’s blue-line stalwart does it all: a perennial Norris Trophy finalist who’s as dependable and consistent with his defensive details as he is at producing offense. Hedman has used that booming shot from the point to score 45 or more points in seven straight seasons. The Lightning’s defensive personnel might change, but Hedman is the consistent anchor holding the group together. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 20
Age: 25
Scoring 27 goals and averaging nearly a point per game as a rookie set the stage. Scoring 47 goals and 108 points the following season has allowed Kaprizov to climb the rankings while mounting a serious Hart Trophy challenge. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 6
Age: 27
The Oilers’ (other) top forward has been an offensive stalwart for years — with and without that McDavid guy by his side — but Draisaitl has evolved into more than just a regular 100-plus point producer. Since winning the Hart Trophy in 2020, Draisaitl has emerged as an upper-tier defensive center, trustworthy in all situations and as effective on the penalty kill as the power play. And his gutsy performance playing hurt throughout the playoffs last spring showed his commitment to guiding these Oilers back to contender status. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 17
Age: 29
Let’s say he plays a full 82-game season last year. Kucherov would have been on pace to score 120 points and finish three points shy of the scoring lead. Yeah, he’s pretty good. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 2
Age: 27
Even MacKinnon admitted he needed time to find his way. Once he did, he turned into an NHL superstar who is one of the reasons why the Avs could parlay their collective success beyond just one Stanley Cup. –Ryan S. Clark
2021-22 rank: 3
Age: 25
Matthews hit the 60-goal mark last season, joining an elite group of just nine NHL players who’ve accomplished that feat in the past 30 years. And Matthews’ 106 points in 73 games put him on par with Alex Ovechkin as the only active player to go for 60-plus goals and 100-plus points in a season (Ovechkin did it in 2007-08). What will Toronto’s top-line center do for an encore? Matthews’ unmatched release makes his shot dangerous, and that 6-foot-3 frame cuts an imposing figure on the ice. Is there any limit to his potential from here? –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 5
Age: 23
There hasn’t been a Hart Trophy-winning defenseman in the NHL since Chris Pronger in 2000. Makar, entering his fourth pro season, could realistically be next. He earned a Norris Trophy last spring for his 28-goal, 86-point regular season, and followed that by winning Conn Smythe honors for a 29-point effort during Colorado’s Stanley Cup run. Makar, 23, is an elite skater with excellent offensive ability that complements a sound defensive game. He’s a threat everywhere, on every shift, with an uncanny ability to make the competition look silly. –Kristen Shilton
2021-22 rank: 1
Age: 25
McDavid’s play can’t be adequately described. But it simply can’t be missed. “He’s the most exciting guy to watch in the league,” Washington goaltender Darcy Kuemper said. “Whenever [Edmonton] is on, it’s kind of much-watch TV.” Case in point: McDavid scored a hat trick in Edmonton’s season opener to seal a comeback victory over Vancouver. Because, of course. Oilers’ coach Jay Woodcroft calls McDavid “otherworldly,” and that about sums up what McDavid accomplished last season, hitting 44 goals and 123 points in 80 games. That’s a 1.54 points-per-game pace. Edmonton’s captain has a more well-rounded game than ever, which drives his production and leaves little doubt, night in and night out, about who is the best player in the league. –Kristen Shilton
Honorable mentions
Frederik Andersen, G, Carolina Hurricanes
Jesper Bratt, LW, New Jersey Devils
Brent Burns, D, Carolina Hurricanes
Pierre-Luc Dubois, C, Winnipeg Jets
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Minnesota Wild
Roope Hintz, C, Dallas Stars
Nico Hischier, C, New Jersey Devils
John Klingberg, D, Anaheim Ducks
Darcy Kuemper, G, Colorado Avalanche
Anders Lee, LW, New York Islanders
Elvis Merzlikins, G, Columbus Blue Jackets
Max Pacioretty, LW, Carolina Hurricanes
Tyler Seguin, C, Dallas Stars
Nick Suzuki, C, Montreal Canadiens
Shea Theodore, D, Vegas Golden Knights
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Dan Murphy, ESPN Staff Writer
The legal efforts to unionize college athletes appear to be running out of steam this month as a new Republican-led administration gets set to take over the federal agency in charge of ruling on employment cases.
A players’ advocacy group who filed charges against the NCAA, Pac-12 and USC that would have potentially opened the door for college players to form a union decided Friday to withdraw its complaint. Their case – which was first filed in February 2022 – was one of two battles against the NCAA taken up by the National Labor Relations Board in recent years. Earlier this week, an administrative law judge closed the other case, which was filed by men’s basketball players at Dartmouth.
The National College Players Association, which filed its complaint on behalf of USC athletes, said the recent changes in state law and NCAA rules that are on track to allow schools to directly pay their players starting this summer caused them to reconsider their complaint.
“[T]he NCPA believes that it is best to provide adequate time for the college sports industry to transition into this new era before football and basketball players employee status is ruled upon,” the organization’s founder Ramogi Huma wrote in the motion to withdraw.
The NCAA and its four power conferences agreed to the terms of a legal settlement this summer that will allow schools to spend up to roughly $20.5 million on direct payments to their athletes starting next academic year. The deal is scheduled to be finalized in April.
College sports leaders, including NCAA President Charlie Baker, have remained steadfast in their belief that athletes should not be considered employees of their schools during a period when college sports have moved closer to a professionalized model.
Some industry stakeholders believe that the richest schools in college sports will need to collectively bargain with athletes to put an end to the current onslaught of legal challenges facing the industry. Currently, any collective bargaining would have to happen with a formal union to provide sufficient legal protection. Some members of Congress say they are discussing the possibility of creating a special status for college sports that would allow collective bargaining without employment. However, Congressional aides familiar with ongoing negotiations told ESPN that influential Republican leaders in Congress are firmly against the idea.
The NLRB’s national board previously declined to make a ruling on whether college athletes should be employees in 2015 when a group of football players at Northwestern attempted to unionize. Jennifer Abruzzo, the agency’s leader during the Biden administration, signaled an interest in taking up the athletes’ fight to unionize early in her tenure. Abruzzo is not expected to remain as the NLRB’s general counsel during Donald Trump’s presidency.
Under Abruzzo, the agency’s regional offices pushed both the Dartmouth and USC cases forward in the past year. Dartmouth players got far enough to vote in favor of forming a union in March 2024, but were still in the appeals process when they decided to end their effort last month.
The only remaining legal fight over employee status in college sports is a federal lawsuit known as Johnson v. NCAA. That case claims the association is violating the Fair Labor Standards Act, which does not guarantee the right to unionize but instead would give athletes some basic employee rights such as minimum wage and overtime pay. That case is currently working its way through the legal process in the Third Circuit federal court.
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Mark Schlabach, ESPN Senior Writer
Louisiana State Police have issued an arrest warrant for former LSU receiver Kyren Lacy, who is accused of causing a fatal crash that killed a 78-year-old man on Dec. 17 and then fleeing the scene without rendering aid or calling authorities.
Louisiana State Police said on Friday that Lacy will be charged with negligent homicide, felony hit-and-run and reckless operation of a vehicle.
Police said they have been in contact with Lacy and his attorney to turn himself in.
According to a news release from state police, Lacy was allegedly driving a 2023 Dodge Charger on Louisiana Highway 20 and “recklessly passed multiple vehicles at a high rate of speed by crossing the centerline and entering the northbound lane while in a designated no-passing zone.”
“As Lacy was illegally passing the other vehicles, the driver of a northbound pickup truck abruptly braked and swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision with the approaching Dodge,” a Louisiana State Police news release said.
“Traveling behind the pickup was a 2017 Kia Cadenza whose driver swerved left to avoid the oncoming Dodge Charger. As the Kia Cadenza took evasive action to avoid impact with the Dodge, it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a southbound 2017 Kia Sorento.”
Police alleged that Lacy, 24, drove around the crash scene and fled “without stopping to render aid, call emergency services, or report his involvement in the crash.”
Herman Hall, 78, of Thibodaux, Louisiana, who was a passenger in the Kia Sorrento, later died from injuries suffered in the crash, according to state police.
The drivers of the Cadenza and Sorento also sustained moderate injuries, according to police.
Lacy played two seasons at Louisiana before transferring to LSU in 2022. This past season, he had 58 catches for 866 yards with nine touchdowns and declared for the NFL draft on Dec. 19, two days after the crash.
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