Signature stat: Vasilevskiy became the sixth goalie (seventh instance) since 1943-44 to lead the league in wins for three straight seasons. But he is also projected to be the best over the next few seasons, as he's only 26. Over the last four seasons, no starting goalie has more wins (141) or a better save percentage (.920) than Vasilevskiy.

He's simply the best in the league right now. If you were starting a team from scratch, Vasilevskiy would be the obvious option in goal. He also recorded an NHL-best 33 multipoint performances, four more than any other player. Signature stat: Draisaitl registered at least one point in 56 of his 71 appearances in 2019-20, the highest such percentage in the NHL. He won the Hart Trophy as MVP and the Ted Lindsay Award as NHLPA Player of the Year, gaining a newfound respect as a superstar. He forever emerged from his teammate's shadow with an incredible 110 points in 71 games, including 43 goals, as the center of his own line. Turns out Draisaitl was more than Connor McDavid's wingman. Signature stat: Hedman became the third defenseman in NHL history to score 10 or more goals in a single postseason, joining Paul Coffey and Brian Leetch. But his 22-point performance in their run to the Stanley Cup, winning the Conn Smythe, cemented the 30-year-old defenseman as the best blueliner of his generation. The Lightning defenseman has been a Norris Trophy finalist in four straight seasons, including one win. According to Natural Stat Trick, only four players created more rebounds than MacKinnon last season (36). That total was 10 more than any other Avalanche player. Signature stat: MacKinnon led the NHL last season with 25 primary assists in 5-on-5 situations. And once more for emphasis: He's only 25. The 25-year-old is a perennial MVP candidate, often carrying the load when his team battles depth-scoring issues or the injury bug. Is there a better value in the league than MacKinnon? He makes just $6.3 million but has 289 points over the last three seasons, third-most in the league. McDavid has also produced 124 multipoint games since 2016-17, six more than any other player over that span. Signature stat: The only other active players to record at least 450 points in their first five NHL seasons are Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

And he hasn't even reached his final form yet. McDavid is an otherworldly offensive talent who makes a new helpless defender famous in a highlight seemingly every week. In the past 30 years, it's third behind Mario Lemieux (1.84) and Wayne Gretzky (1.43).

To put McDavid's 1.34 career points-per-game average into perspective, it currently ranks fifth in NHL history, right behind Bobby Orr (1.39). Jump to a notable player outside the top 10: In all, 29 of 31 teams were represented, with the Detroit Red Wings and New Jersey Devils missing out.įor each player on the list, Greg Wyshynski and Emily Kaplan weighed in on his 2020-21 outlook, and ESPN Stats & Information provided a signature stat to know. The Lightning still tied the Dallas Stars (last season's two Stanley Cup finalists) for the most players on the list with six apiece. 2 player and a would-be top-five guy this time around - did not make the list as he recovers from hip surgery that will keep him from the entire regular season. Because this list is predictive for this coming season, Tampa Bay Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov - last year's No.

Nhl 21 ratings