The is becoming more and more talented and there is top talent throughout the league. This makes it harder than ever to identify the top 10 players, but we are here to take on this daunting challenge.
Last season, it seemed as if the NHL's superstars had made it their mission to shift into fifth gear. After 33 seasons in which no player reached 100 assists, Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucheorv did it in 2023-24. Similar, Austin Matthews scored a total that hasn't been achieved since Mario Lemieux heated up the igloo in Pittsburgh.
This season, the number of high-end talent has only increased. Players like Quinn Hughes went from “great” to “elite,” and Nathan MacKinnon found another level to his already dominant game.
It goes without saying that the competition was fierce, but here are your top ten NHL players for the 2024-25 season.
All 5v5 data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.
Honorable Mentions: Adam Fox (D, NYR); Matthew Tkachuk (W, FLA); Jack Hughes (C, NJD)
There were plenty of great options for that No. 10 spot, but Kaprizov is recognized as an exceptional offensive talent who has transcended those around him over the past few seasons. Kaprizov doesn't have a ton of skill in Minnesota, but he still manages to produce top performances.
Kaprizov can stay under the radar in Minnesota, but he shouldn't. Over the last three seasons, Kaprizov ranked fifth with 133 goals and 12th with 279 points, all with a disappointing Wild supporting cast. In addition to this offensive performance, Kaprizov is also relatively strong defensively. With him at five-on-five, Minnesota allowed just 2.23 xGA/60. Part of that was probably due to playing on a line with Joel Eriksson Ekbut Kaprizov also kept his end of the bargain.
For Kaprizov to continue to rise next year, a lot will depend on the development of young players Matt Boldy And Marco Rossi. If these two can continue the upward trend, Kaprizov will have more support than he ever has in Minnesota.
Barkov may not have as stellar offensive numbers as the other players on this list, but he is still very effective at that end of the ice and is now the king of the Selke Trophy. Barkov is a beast on defense, and that ability was instrumental in helping Sunrise, Florida win the Stanley Cup.
Last year, Barkov scored 23 goals and 57 assists, which is great, but isn't usually the kind of performance that warrants a top-10 finish. The highlight is that Barkov, now a two-time winner of the Selke Trophy, plays in the elite defense. With Barkov in the game, the Panthers allowed just 1.98 xGA/60 at five-on-five. This number actually puts him ahead of the two defenders on this list.
In the postseason, Barkov competed against the best players in the world and often shut them out. Time to give Barkov his flowers after his championship success.
After four seasons in which Quinn Hughes went from good to great, he finally blossomed into an elite defender last season. By racking up points and driving the game forward, Hughes proved he belongs on this list with a Norris Trophy campaign.
In his first full season under coach Rick Tocchet, Hughes scored 17 goals and 75 assists while taking over the offensive zone. When it comes to his impact on both ends, the Canucks posted a goal differential of plus-37 with Hughes on the ice at five-on-five. Hughes' jump made Vancouver a threat for the Stanley Cup, and that would continue this season.
For Hughes, the big question remains whether he can string together two consecutive elite seasons. He has the skill set, and it wouldn't be shocking to see him close the gap on the best defender on this list.
The day Nikita Kucherov starts slowing down is likely the day the Lightning's Stanley Cup window officially closes, but given Kucherov's performance last season, that day seems pretty far away . As one of two players to reach 100 assists, Kucherov continues to establish himself as one of the deadliest offensive weapons of his generation.
In his age 30 season, Kucherov scored 44 goals and 144 points, surpassing the century mark for the fourth time in his career. I could nitpick and say that a lot of those points came on the power play, but I won't for a few reasons. Firstly, these goals appear on the scoreboard in the same way as the others. Second, I feel compelled to point out that Kucherov was third in the NHL with 67 five-on-five points. That was more than Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak And Leon Draisaitl.
The only thing stopping Kucherov from being a little higher is that he doesn't have the same level of defensive acumen as his colleagues.
No one in the NHL can control the game from the blue line like Cale Makar can when he's rolling. At the ripe old age of 25, Makar has already filled his trophy case and will likely need to build another one soon.
The offensive numbers are there for Makar, who has been a points-per-game player since his sophomore season in 2020-21. The next season, Makar won the Norris Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Stanley Cup three times. Last year, he only set new career highs in assists (69) and points (90) while helping the Avalanche score 52.7% of expected goals at five-on-five.
Overall, Hughes probably had a better individual season last year, but Makar's resume is a bit longer. Now, in the prime of his career, I'm excited to see where Makar can take his game next.
In a world where some NHL franchises can go decades without a true superstar center, the Oilers have two on their roster. Leon Draisaitl may not be Connor McDavid, but he doesn't take anyone's backseat when it comes to his offensive abilities.
In the 2018/19 season, Draisaitl scored a record 50 goals and has not let up since. In the last six years, Draisaitl has lit the lamp 272 times, trailing only Auston Matthews in that time. Of course, that doesn't mean Draisaitl is a one-trick pony. His 371 assists rank him third and just four behind Nathan MacKinnon in second place.
What sets Draisaitl apart from everyone else on this list is that he has completely redesigned the idea of a dangerous shooting spot, especially on the power play. Draisaitl has perfected the art of the “bad angle,” scoring 77 power play goals since the 2021-22 season.
If there were any questions about whether Pastrnak could stand on his own two feet, they were answered pretty emphatically this past season. No Bergeron. No Krejci. No problem for Pastrnak. Without an elite support team around him, Pastrnak scored 47 goals and 63 assists.
Pastrnak is one of the few wingers in the NHL responsible for offensive zone play, and he proved he can shoulder a heavy load during the 2023-24 season. When Pastrnak was on the ice at five-on-five, the Bruins scored at a rate of 3.59 GF/60. With Pastrnak on the bench, that number dropped to 2.25 GF/60. Pastrnak is Boston's entire offense at times.
This summer the Bruins took Elias Lindholm as their new No. 1 center, and that could give Pastrnak more support at the top of the lineup. If he and Pastrnak fit, this could be a pretty devastating duo.
Scoring goals is crucial to success in the NHL, and no one is better at it than Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs star fell just short of 70 goals last season, but his 69 goals were still the most since Mario Lemieux scored that many goals in the 1995-96 season.
Matthews entered the NHL in the 2016-17 season and since then no one has found the net more often than him. Over his eight-year career, Matthews leads the league with 368 goals. That's 40 more than Alex Ovechkinwho happens to be chasing Wayne Gretzky for the all-time record. Over the last three seasons, Matthews has only increased his pace, scoring 56.3 goals per season.
The only setback for Matthews is the same one that applies to the rest of the Maple Leafs. He has yet to lead the way in the postseason, but I have no doubt he is capable of doing so. Matthews' ability to score from anywhere on the ice makes him a deadly opponent no matter what the matchup is, and it's only a matter of time before he becomes red hot in the playoffs.
2. Nathan MacKinnon | C | Colorado avalanche
MacKinnon has always been one of the NHL's best players, but his 2023-24 season pushed him a little closer to No. 1. Last year, MacKinnon scored a career-high 140 points and won his first Hart Trophy as NHL MVP. At times, he single-handedly carried the Avalanche as they struggled with injury issues and a lack of depth.
Not only did MacKinnon find a new gear in terms of performance last season, but he also did much of that damage in five-on-five systems. His 79 five-on-five points were the most in the NHL and seven more than Connor McDavid's. His 36 five-on-five goals were just two behind Matthews and led him in the league.
MacKinnon's postseason resume matches his gaudy numbers. Just a few years ago, MacKinnon led the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup with 13 goals and 11 assists in 20 games. In his 88 playoff games, MacKinnon averaged 1.3 points per game.
1. Connor McDavid | C | Edmonton Oilers
The top spot was never in doubt. McDavid is in a stratosphere of his own right now, and his postseason performance has only solidified that. McDavid became just the sixth player in NHL history to win the Conn Smythe Trophy without winning the Stanley Cup, and if I had to guess, I'd say that set the stage for another superhuman campaign in 2024- 25 there.
Over the last three seasons, McDavid led the NHL in assists (268), points (408) and power play points (159). He is fourth in goals (140) and 14th in power play goals (38). Even those numbers don't do McDavid justice. Last season, the Oilers posted a 3.95 xGF/60 at five-on-five with him on the ice, which is an absurd rate that far exceeds even the other elite players on this list.
What's even more impressive is that McDavid is still doing well even when the lights are brightest. In his 74 career playoff games, he scored 37 goals and 80 assists. The only thing McDavid is missing is a Stanley Cup, and he could go after that this season.
