Top Three Centers In The NHL's Atlantic Division

While the Atlantic Division doesn't have the tippy-top best centers in the league, like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, it probably has more high-end depth than the Metropolitan, Pacific, or Central.

Between established stars who missed this past season, emerging stars who exploded onto the map, and formerly high-end goalscorers who need to bounce back after a down year, there's no shortage of options for top centers in this division.

Here are the three best projected centers in the Atlantic Division going into the 2026-27 NHL season.

Barkov, the perennial Selke Trophy guy who casually puts up better than a point a game every year, missed all of last season for the Florida Panthers. But turning 31 ahead of next season, it feels like he's stepping back into the league to regain his top spot in the division.

If the Panthers had been competitive — and they struggled without him even after Matthew Tkachuk returned from his injury — they might have gotten Barkov back for the stretch run and playoffs. And at the World Championships, the Finnish captain showed them he didn't really miss a step. Barkov registered 3 goals and 8 assists for 11 points in 10 games and was on the tournament all-star team.

Basically, until proven otherwise, it's safe to pencil him into the top spot, especially because Florida is loaded up once again this season.

All of the above said about Barkov, though, you can't say Suzuki didn't step into his spot in a major way. He won the Selke that's usually reserved for the Panthers pivot, put up 101 points while continuing his strong goal-scoring pace (118 over the past four seasons), and helped drive the Montreal Canadiens into their bright, new future.

Do I expect him to be a 100-point guy again next year? No. That's a lofty number for everyone but perennial MVP candidates. But if he's around point-per-game production and continues to provide elite 200-foot play, it's really not hard for me to see a world where Montreal once again finishes higher than Florida.

Indeed, Matthews has missed a ton of action for the Toronto Maple Leafs over the past two years, playing 127 of 164 games. Also, his days as an elite goal scorer feel like they might be over, as he went from 69 goals in 2023-24 to 33 and 27 goals in the past two seasons, respectively.

But it's also hard not to notice that his scoring decline coincided with the arrival of a coach the Leafs just let go. Add in the fact that he might actually be back to being 100 percent healthy, and Toronto just snagged a No. 1 overall pick whose best attribute is his passing, and it's suddenly easy to talk yourself into Matthews getting back to around 50 goals.

Then, too, you have to acknowledge the kind of impact new coach Jim Hiller had on his centers, defensively, with the Los Angeles Kings.

Matthews used to be an elite shutdown guy in addition to scoring at prime Alex Ovechkin levels. Even one of those two aspects of his game coming back this season makes him one of the best centers in the league, let alone the division.

But if Matthews doesn't bounce back, which is a distinct possibility, there are plenty of other names that can easily rise to replace him in this list. Centers like Tage Thompson, Dylan Larkin, if he's even still in the division, Brayden Point, and more could be in the mix. But Matthews' ceiling is so high — literally in the 'MVP-caliber' tier — that you can't discount him until he really proves he's not.

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