The Center is arguably the most crucial position in all of hockey. Most on-ice traffic flows through them and each play begins with a faceoff. When you think of the greats like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemiuex, Messier, what they all have in common is that they were centers. It is the cornerstone for building a championship team. Today we’re going to be looking at my top five centers playing in the NHL today.
Because of how similar most people’s lists would be and in an attempt to be less redundant I’m going to be showing off my counting skills from one to five because of the variety factor the further we move up the list and definitely not because I want to show you I can count. Starting with the number one center in the NHL, of course it is Connor McDavid. Do I really need to sell you on this? McDavid’s resume speaks for itself. The man has won at every level excluding a Stanley Cup and he has done so in dominating fashion. The man is a three time Hart Memorial trophy winner for league MVP, a five time Art Ross winner for leading the league in points, a Maurice Richard winner for the most goals in a season, a four time Ted Lindsay winner voted as the most outstanding player as well as a Conn Smythe winner having not even won the Stanley Cup! What I’m getting at is the guy is inhuman and must be from another planet because absolutely nobody can touch him.. He is miles better than the second best and it really is a wonderful time to be a hockey fan getting to watch someone with this level of skill compete night in and night out. He just turned 28 years old and is in the midst of his prime, however good we think he is, it’s safe to assume that he’ll still only get even better.
At number two, no it’s not McDavid’s Oiler counterpart, we’re talking about Nathan MacKinnon. NateDog has shown that he really does have that dog in him over the last couple of seasons. Since being drafted first overall in 2013 he has consistently been a great player, and only got better in the 2018 season where he put up over 90 points. Mackinnon is in the heat of his prime turning 30 later this year and is coming off a career best 140 point season! He’s shown that he can get it done at the top level having just won the 4 Nations faceoff earlier this month where he was named tournament MVP in addition to his 2022 Stanley Cup victory. Nate Mac also finally got his individual awards last season winning MVP along with being voted as the most outstanding player by the NHLPA. He still has good years ahead of him and I wouldn’t be shocked to see him win another MVP potentially with another cup if all goes right for him.
At number three is another Oilers forward in Leon Draisaitl. The German center has already established himself as the greatest German born hockey player of all time and he’s still getting better. Playing alongside Connor McDavid, Leon has already posted four 100 plus point seasons and is currently on pace to add a fifth to his resume while he leads the NHL in goals by a sizable margin. He swept the 2020 awards walking away with the scoring title, MVP and most outstanding player in the season cut short by Covid and is still at the peak of his game. One of the only things to elude him so far aside from a Stanley Cup is International success. Unfortunately Germany is still considered a developing hockey nation and although he’s had the honour of representing his homeland at smaller competitions like the world championship he is unlikely to ever win any substantial International competitions. The Stanley Cup on the other hand? Well let’s see where he’s at this coming May.
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Coming in at number four having dropped a few spots from where he may have been in previous years is Auston Matthews. The Maple Leafs forward has been a generational goal scorer since entering the league back in September 2016 and currently sits at fifth all time in goals per game ahead of a name like Alex Ovechkin. Papi scored 40 goals in his rookie season and has never looked back having never scored less than 30 goals in a season and that number would be 40 if it weren’t for injury problems. Matthews was scoring at a generational rate since his first game where he became the first player in NHL history to have a four goal debut. More than that he did it in just two periods. Matthews just last year scored 69 goals on the season, the most of the past two eras and that’s not even his first 60 goal season. He recently took sole possession for second in goals all time for the Maple Leafs franchise and by the finale of his career will be well ahead for first. Additionally Matthews is a two way beast and is renowned league wide for his ability to defend in his own end and transition the puck up ice. At 6’ 3, 215 pounds he’s a big body that can throw his weight around to go with the skill he brings on a nightly basis. Although he hasn’t found playoff success it’s safe to assume that it will come sooner rather than later.
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The last player on this list at number 5 is the man who captained team Finland just last week, Aleksander Barkov. The Panthers captain has been one of the most elite two way centers of his era and feathered his cap this past summer with a Stanley Cup. Drafted second overall behind MacKinnon in 2013, Barkov has been the one bright spot for Florida through good and bad times over the last decade. He is a consistent over point per game number one center while manning the cat’s PK, and being an unstoppable stick in the defensive zone. He has been recognized for his defensive ability having won the Selke for best defensive forward two times in his career, one of which being last season. As he also is in the heat of his prime he has a decent chance of gaining a second cup under his belt this season in hopes of going back to back.
The top five centers in the NHL usually are pretty locked in as the same on any given year however the order in which they’re placed is often subject to change. Is there anyone that you think should have made the top five? How different do you think this list will look by the end of next season?