Despite shattering franchise records and outscoring elite peers, the Dallas phenom finds himself buried in the NHL Network’s latest rankings, sparking debate over his true league-wide standing.
On Monday, NHL Network continued its offseason series ranking the top players at each position, releasing its list of the top 20 centers in the NHL. The Dallas Stars have several centers who could have found their way onto the list, but the lone name to make the cut was Wyatt Johnston.
The 23-year-old Toronto native debuted on the list at 18th, capping off a season in which his production continued to climb for the third straight year. Johnston posted career highs across the board with 45 goals, 41 assists and 86 points in 82 games, ranking 10th among all centers in scoring.
Johnston landed one spot behind Tampa Bay's Brayden Point and one spot ahead of Buffalo's Tage Thompson. He didn't appear on the list at all last season, when Roope Hintz was Dallas' lone representative among centers.
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Some believe Johnston's ranking should sit even higher. He finished ahead of Dylan Larkin and Thompson but behind names like Point, Connor Bedard, Nico Hischier, Leo Carlsson, Tim Stützle and Sebastian Aho, all of whom posted lower point totals than Johnston last season. Hischier, for example, finished with 20 fewer points, and Carlsson, who recently signed one of the richest contracts in NHL history, finished 19 points behind Johnston as well.
Johnston is still just 23, and there's a reasonable case his name continues climbing this list in the years ahead. As Dallas navigates a pivotal season with several contracts set to expire, it may take another leap from Johnston for that recognition to catch up with his production.
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