We all know the front-runner for the NHL's MVP this year. But each team has the player they'd struggle without. Jason Chen lists them in the NHL power rankings.
Happy Good Friday. With the league taking a break today before going gangbusters tomorrow with all 32 teams in action, and exactly one more week in the regular season, it’s time to take stock of some of the best players on each team.
While Connor McDavid should be the unanimous MVP, there have been some incredible seasons. Jason Robertson smashed just about every single-season Stars scoring record. Tage Thompson emerged as an elite No. 1 center out of nowhere. Jack Hughes truly turned into a superstar. Erik Karlsson is approaching 100 points. Each of these players took their teams to new heights – uh, except the Sharks, I guess – or at least sparked some optimism about its future.
Here’s this week’s THN Power Rankings featuring an MVP pick from each team.
(All fancy stats are 5-on-5 and courtesy naturalstattrick.com. CF% stands for Corsi-for percentage and xGF% represents expected goals-for percentage.)
1. Boston Bruins (61-12-5, +121. CF% league rank: 16, xGF% league rank: 7)
Hard to pick just one from the Bruins, but Linus Ullmark is the front-runner for the Vezina. Last season, Ullmark was outplayed by Jeremy Swayman and ended up splitting the starts, and going into this season, he was not assured of the starting job. There’s no question who it is now.
2. Edmonton Oilers (47-23-9, +56. CF%: 6, xGF%: 6)
There is only one, and we call him McJesus.
3. New York Rangers (46-21-12, +56. CF%: 19, xGF%: 21)
I’m willing to take some flak for picking Jacob Trouba because I think he’s always provided a spark when the Rangers needed one, but the real MVP is Adam Fox. Consistently reliable and should finish top three in Norris voting.
4. Carolina Hurricanes (50-19-9, +50. CF%: 1, xGF%: 1)
Their offense-by-committee approach makes it difficult to single out one player. Sebastian Aho is too streaky. Martin Necas is the easy pick but isn't even their top forward. Jaccob Slavin is super reliable but doesn’t put up the numbers. That leaves Brent Burns, who is currently their leader in assists, shots and ice time per game and second in plus-minus and power-play points.
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (46-21-11, +48. CF%: 15, xGF%: 8)
It’s not easy being the hometown boy in hockey’s hottest market, but Mitch Marner will likely finish more than 10 points ahead of William Nylander and Auston Matthews, and his two-way game is supremely underrated.
6. Vegas Golden Knights (49-22-8, +39. CF%: 22, xGF%: 17)
Can we nominate Bruce Cassidy and his goalie-friendly system? Chandler Stephenson would’ve been my pick for his versatility and reliability during an injury-plagued season, but his late-season fade puts him out of the running. I don’t think any player makes as big of an impact as Alex Pietrangelo. The Knights are lost without him in the lineup.
7. Colorado Avalanche (47-24-6, +50. CF%: 7, xGF%: 13)
Nathan MacKinnon is their best player, but Mikko Rantanen held this team together when they were getting dumped by the injury gods.
8. New Jersey Devils (50-21-8, +61. CF%: 4, xGF%: 2)
I don’t think it’s just plain luck that the Devils’ first 50-win season since 2008-09 coincides with Jack Hughes’ breakout season. He will break Brian Gionta’s franchise record for most goals in a season (48) sooner or later.
9. Dallas Stars (43-21-14, +57. CF%: 13, xGF%: 11)
Who else but the guy who broke Mike Modano’s records? Modano was their most iconic player, and some kid from Arcadia made it look easy. Jason Robertson has carried this team’s offense, but I would be remiss to omit Miro Heiskanen’s contributions.
10. Minnesota Wild (44-24-10, +20. CF%: 18, xGF%: 19)
It’s Kirill Kaprizov for the first half of the season and a toss-up between Matt Boldy and their two goalies for the second half, but I think Joel Eriksson Ek has finally given them that No. 1 center they’ve been craving since the franchise’s inception.
11. Los Angeles Kings (45-24-10, +19. CF%: 8, xGF%: 9)
It’s Anze Kopitar, and I don’t think it’s particularly close, with apologies to Drew Doughty. For the eighth straight season, the Kings captain will average more than 20 minutes per game, win more than 50 percent of his faceoffs and score at least 50 points.
12. Seattle Kraken (44-26-8, +31. CF%: 5, xGF%: 12)
The Kraken’s shooting percentage still feels unsustainably high, and kudos to Jared McCann’s for being so ruthlessly efficient. However, this team’s transition offense would be non-existent without Vince Dunn.
13. New York Islanders (40-30-9, +18. CF%: 20, xGF%: 20)
Ilya Sorokin is the best goalie in the league. Fight me.
14. Tampa Bay Lightning (45-28-6, +28. CF%: 10, xGF%: 10)
Brayden Point is on his way to his first 50-goal season, and Nikita Kucherov is statistically having the second-best season of his career. We expect the Lightning to be excellent, and sometimes, we just take these performances for granted. Hard to pick between the two, but Kucherov’s overall production has been better.
15. Florida Panthers (41-31-7, +18. CF%: 3, xGF%: 4)
It’s easily Matthew Tkachuk. For a player who doesn’t have the high-end speed or the best hands, he remains an incredibly effective player in a league that continuously caters to skill than brawn.
16. Pittsburgh Penguins (39-30-10, -2. CF%: 9, xGF%: 5)
Sidney Crosby is having a fantastic season and ranks in the top 10 with 64 even-strength points. He’s by far the most important player on his team.
17. Calgary Flames (37-27-15, +8. CF%: 2, xGF%: 3)
There is nothing flashy or special about Tyler Toffoli’s game, but he’s clutch, reliable and having his best season ever. He’s one of the lone bright spots in a very trying season.
18. Winnipeg Jets (43-32-3, +16. CF%: 14, xGF%: 15)
Without Connor Hellebuyck, they might be a lottery team, seriously. The only reason they’ve clung on to a playoff spot despite a second-half meltdown is Hellebuyck, who ranks seventh in goals saved above average at 5-on-5.
19. Nashville Predators (40-30-8, -8. CF%: 23, xGF%: 25)
Juuse Saros’ 33-save shutout Thursday night to keep the Preds’ playoff hopes was the millionth exhibit of why he’s unquestionably the team’s MVP. They might have to erect a statue for him next to Pekka Rinne when all is said and done, and it’s crazy to think they have another in the pipeline in Yaroslav Askarov.
20. St. Louis Blues (37-35-7, -32. CF%: 27, xGF%: 27)
Maybe he hasn’t played enough games to qualify, but Pavel Buchnevich was an absolute steal from the Rangers. Jordan Kyrou may be the leading scorer, but it’s hard to justify for someone who’s really bad in his own zone and disappears for stretches at times.
21. Buffalo Sabres (38-32-7, -6. CF%: 12, xGF%: 22)
It’s a really close race, but Tage Thompson edges Rasmus Dahlin because, truly, his breakout season came out of nowhere. For a while, it looked like the Sabres got nothing for Ryan O’Reilly, but that trade seems to have worked out well for both sides.
22. Vancouver Canucks (35-36-7, -22. CF%: 24, xGF%: 23)
Elias Pettersson is not getting the attention he deserves, both for his elite scoring rate and two-way play. He’s likely the Canucks’ future captain, though Quinn Hughes also deserves an honorable mention on a blueline that has, well, nobody else.
23. Ottawa Senators (37-35-7, -13. CF%: 11, xGF%: 16)
Captain Brady Tkachuk really took the team on his back. He’s a unicorn in this league with his ability to combine physical play and scoring prowess, but lest we forget, Tim Stutzle also deserves consideration as their leading scorer and leader in ice time per game among forwards.
24. Detroit Red Wings (35-33-10, -22. CF%: 26, xGF%: 26)
It would’ve been a huge shame if the Michigan-born and Michigan-developed captain left in free agency. As stubborn as Steve Yzerman may be, locking up Dylan Larkin should be seen as a logical and sentimental move.
25. Montreal Canadiens (31-42-6, -66. CF%: 28, xGF%: 30)
For a team that doesn’t have a lot of talent, Nick Suzuki has been reliable and steady and makes the right play the vast majority of the time. He should be shielded from any criticism for the way he’s carried this team.
26. Washington Capitals (34-35-9, -7. CF%: 17, xGF%: 18)
Is it Alex Ovechkin by default? There’s obviously nothing wrong with that, considering he is once again their leading scorer and remains one of the league’s most lethal shooters.
27. San Jose Sharks (22-40-16, -73. CF%: 21, xGF%: 14)
It’s still funny to me that we will be awarding the Norris to a player on a very bad team. Erik Karlsson’s accomplishments this year have been phenomenal; unsurprisingly, every single player’s 5v5 CF% dips when Karlsson’s not on the ice with them.
28. Philadelphia Flyers (29-36-13, -51. CF%: 25, xGF%: 24)
He missed a chunk of time, but Travis Konecny was still their leading scorer. It was undoubtedly the best season of his career, and it should come as little surprise since his style matches what John Tortorella looks for.
29. Arizona Coyotes (27-39-13, -68. CF%: 29, xGF%: 29)
How many points does Clayton Keller score on a better team? 100? More than 100? They said he was too small, too slight, couldn’t skate and couldn’t shoot. The problem is that no one actually watches the Coyotes.
30. Chicago Blackhawks (25-47-6, -93. CF%: 31, xGF%: 31)
Congratulations, Taylor Raddysh¸ you are the best of the worst.
31. Columbus Blue Jackets (24-46-8, -109. CF%: 30, xGF%: 28)
No, wait, it’s Johnny Gaudreau who deserves that title. Actually, the worst part about making fun of him is that he’s still taking home $9.75 million his season, which is many, many more zeroes than what I take home.
32. Anaheim Ducks (23-45-10, -124. CF%: 32, xGF%: 32)
I can’t name an MVP for what could be the worst team in the cap era. But if the goal was to get Connor Bedard, then I guess we should pin a medal on the best tank commander of them all, Dallas Eakins.