All-Pro Reels via Oilers cc
The NHL is hockey’s best league but who are its top players and who is the best hockey player in the world? Whenever a top player list is compiled, some will be among the greatest in NHL History. So, let’s dive into the top ten NHL players of 2024.
table of contents
10. Aleksander Barkov
9. David Pastrnak
8. Artemi Panarin
7. Matthew Tkachuk
6. Auston Matthews
5. Cale Makar
4. Nikita Kucherov
3. Leon Draisaitl
2. Nathan Mackinnon
1. Connor McDavid
Honourable Mentions (In No Particular Order)
Aleksander Barkov is the current holder of the 2022-23 NHLPA player poll winner for the league’s most underrated player. The Finnish centreman might be the most well-rounded player in the top 10. Barkov has 686 points in 716 career NHL games and has won the Selke and the Lady Byng trophy. So, he can score and has a high hockey IQ. He’s played his entire career with the same team, the Florida Panthers and is their all-time leading scorer.
The 2019-20 Rocket Richard winner is no stranger to seeing the goal light flash red. He’s responsible for lighting it up 312 times since the 2016-17 season, ranking 4th among all NHL skaters. His ability to score goals hasn’t just plastered his name on the scoresheet but also placed his name among the NHL’s elite. In the past three years, he’s been named an NHL first-team All-Star twice. The lifetime Boston Bruins forward is a force to be reckoned with.
Arriving in the league in 2015-16 few have been able to put up points like the Russian-born left-winger. The “breadman” is known for his playmaking ability and has amassed a career total of 491 assists and this ranks second in the league during that time.
The soft-handed winger is also the only player on this list to play for 3 different teams (Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers) during his NHL career and not once has he averaged less than 0.9 points per game which is a testament to his goal-scoring abilities, no matter the team.
Keith Tkachuk’s oldest son, Matthew, is one of the few players in the league with the ability to not only score but to agitate and get under the skin of his opponents. During the past two seasons, Tkachuk has scored 200 + points. Drawn 107 penalties, 7th highest in the league and incurred 251 penalty minutes, 11th highest in the league. It’s rare for a player to have this combination of scoring and penalty minute totals, and no one does this better than the American-born winger.
In his first season with the Florida Panthers, he led them to their first Stanley Cup final birth since 1995-96 and the oldest Tkachuk son seems to just be getting started.
The Arizona-born Auston Matthews is best known for his goal-scoring capabilities. The Toronto Maple Leafs centreman entered the league in 2016-17 and no one has scored more goals than him. He’s a three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner. Not only can Auston score but he is also an underrated defensive forward. Since the 2019-20 season Matthews’s 345 takeaways rank #1.
The lone defenseman in the top 10, Cale Makar has put the league on notice since winning the Calder Trophy in his rookie season with his exceptional skating ability and offensive prowess.
The 2021-22 Norris Trophy winner has accumulated 307 points since entering the league in 19-20 which is 2nd best among all defensemen during that time and he is the only player on this list who has made an NHL All-Star team every year that they’ve been in the league for. Cale made the all-rookie team in 2019-20. He made the NHL First All-Star team in 2020-21 & 2021-22, and the NHL Second All-Star team in 2022-23.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward isn’t the biggest, he doesn’t possess the greatest shot and he’s not the fastest either, but if the puck is on his stick, he’s the most dangerous. Nikita Kucherov is arguably the most deceptive player in today’s NHL.
The Russian winger is the oldest player in the top 5 at 30 years old and his being here is a testament to how long he has been one of this league’s greatest scorers. Since the 2014-15 season, Kucherov has 809 points which is 3rd most in the league and during the past two seasons, he is #2 in scoring. So, Kucherov has quite a history of scoring in the NHL these past 10 years.
Leon’s rare possession of size, speed and skill make him a tough opponent and one of the league’s best. At 6’2” and 209 lbs Leon can overpower his opponents but that isn’t all. He possesses elite goal-scoring capabilities as he captured the Art Ross Trophy during the 2019-2020 season and has been a member of the 50-goal club 3 times during his 10-year NHL career. Since entering the league in 2014-15 his 815 points are second highest.
The Edmonton Oilers are poised to have much playoff success in the years to come and with an elite scorer like Leon Draisaitl, they’re as good a bet as any other NHL team to capture a Stanley Cup.
There might not be a more electrifying player than Nathan Mackinnon. If you’re ever looking for some excitement in your life, please watch the NHL’s #1 overall draft pick in the 2013 draft as he has a knack for keeping NHL fans on the edge of their seats. The Colorado Avalanche forward possesses a unique combination of speed, hands and shot.
Over the past seven seasons, Mackinnon has registered at least 1.2 points per game each season. During that time he captured the NHL’s Lady Byng trophy, named to 4 NHL all-star games, selected to the NHL’s second all-star team twice and captured his first-ever Stanley Cup. The sky is the limit for the Canadian-born centreman.
The best player in the NHL is Connor McDavid. Since entering the league in 2015-16, no one has tallied more points than McDavid, with 939. The next closest is his teammate and power-play linemate Leon Draisaitl with 806 points and he has a 30-game lead over Connor.
There are so many things to be in awe of when watching McDavid, it can be his vision as he’s led the league in assists for two of the past 3 seasons. Or it can be his stickhandling and patience as he has led the league in power-play points for the past 3 years. However, it’s his skating that makes him the best player in the world. Hockey today is a skating man’s league and it’s Connor who yields this title as he has won the Fastest Skater title at the NHL’s annual All-Star Competition four times.
The Edmonton Oilers forward has already had a legendary career. He has captured 5 Art Ross trophies, three Hart trophies, one Maurice “Rocket” Richard trophy and four Ted Lindsay awards.
Elias Pettersson, Sidney Crosby, Quinn Hughes and Jack Hughes
References
McDavid was great this season. Wish he won the cup!