Evgeni Malkin, Steven Stamkos and players on the Lightning and Kings feature from 81st to 90th place among the NHL's top 100 players right now.
The NHL is full of ups and downs.
Being consistently elite year after year is no easy task, especially for veterans coming out of their prime years.
When Steven Stamkos had 53 points in 82 games in 2024-25, and Evgeni Malkin had 50 points in 68 games, they no longer looked like one of the NHL's top 100 players.
This season, however, they rebounded and are back in the list.
The Hockey News' top 100 NHLers 2026 print edition was published right before the playoffs. We're rolling out the list that appeared in the magazine online.
Catch up on the players ranked 91st to 100th, and keep reading to learn the criteria for the list.
Check out the entire list now with bios on each and every player by subscribing to The Hockey News. The bios were written by Ryan Kennedy, Ken Campbell, Jared Clinton and Carol Schram.
Top 100 NHL Players: 81 To 90
90. Robert Thomas, C, St. Louis Blues
Age: 26
Last Year: 79
Goals are glorious, but Thomas has cemented a reputation as one of the league's most deceptive and productive playmakers – and without any secondary-assist stat padding. Over the past three seasons, among the 300-plus players to appear in 200-plus games, Thomas ranks 10th with 0.43 primary assists per game.
89. Brock Nelson, C, Colorado Avalanche
Age: 34
Last Year: Not Ranked
88. Anthony Cirelli, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
Age: 28
Last Year: Not Ranked
He's made his mark as an NHLer with his defensive play, penalty-killing and faceoff ability, but Cirelli has proven he can be productive when he plays with offense-minded linemates. And the best thing about that is he can be the defensive conscience for his high-scoring teammates.
87. Bo Horvat, C, New York Islanders
Age: 31
Last Year: Not Ranked
86. Travis Konecny, RW, Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 29
Last Year: 70
85. Adrian Kempe, RW, Los Angeles Kings
Age: 29
Last Year: 75
84. Evgeni Malkin, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
Age: 39
Last Year: Not Ranked
Malkin had an impressive comeback campaign, turning things around defensively and besting his 2024-25 numbers in the process. At 39, he's far from the superstar he once was, but 'Geno' can still take a game over here and there. The fact Pittsburgh sewed up a surprise playoff spot is proof of that.
83. Brayden Point, C, Tampa Bay Lightning
Age: 30
Last Year: 36
82. Zach Hyman, RW, Edmonton Oilers
Age: 33
Last Year: 85
81. Steven Stamkos, LW, Nashville Predators
Age: 36
Last Year: Not Ranked
Stamkos – who was among the league's top goal-scorers from Dec. 1 onward – silenced those who believed he was in great decline. As a matter of fact, he's proving to be an ageless lamplighter. Only seven players to play at least 400 games after their age-30 seasons have a higher goals-per-game rate than does Stamkos (.45).
Criteria
- The greatest emphasis was put on how they're playing this season, with a smaller emphasis placed on how they played the previous year (2024-25). There was also slight consideration for how they played two or three seasons prior to that. We structured it this way because we didn't want any one-year wonders making the list. Moreover, sometimes star players can have a down year.
- We attempted to construct the top 100 to reflect a 20-man lineup, where 12 players are forwards, six are defensemen and two are goalies. So an evenly distributed top 100 should have 60 forwards, 30 D-men and 10 goalies. We aimed to keep that structure consistent within every group of 10 or 20.
- We don't forecast a young player's bright future. If they were excellent this year, they made the list. If they were just very good but showed exceptional promise for the future, they likely didn't make this year's list.
- At the other end of the age spectrum, we're not concerned if a player is nearing the end of his career. If they were a standout this year, they made the list. See Sidney Crosby.
- We don't consider a player's career achievements for a list about the here and now. Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are top 10 players in the history of the game. But they're not top 10 players this season.
- A player's salary was not taken into account, and we made no attempt to include at least one player from each of the NHL's 32 teams.
We count down the very best the NHL has to offer in our 2026 edition of the top 100 players, available to purchase as a single issue or for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News today.
Also in the issue: we examine the effectiveness of unusual training methods, look back at the Americans' win at the Paralympics, explore the Extreme Ice Hockey League and learn more about inline hockey being played outside of the White House.
Plus, you'll find features on Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, Martin Necas, Thomas Harley, Tim Stutzle, Tom Wilson, Travis Konecny, Nick Schmaltz, Darren Raddysh and much more.