Who Are NHL's top-five centers, and does New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes make the list?
3. Auston Matthews — Toronto Maple Leafs
2023 marked Matthews’ fifth consecutive season he has scored at least forty goals. His playing style is known for his agility and thinking at both ends of the ice. Another captain, he had 107 points — including eight game winning goals — and 18 power-play goals. At one point in his career he has also become the ninth player in NHL history with at least two 60-goal seasons, joining NHL legend Wayne Gretzky.
2. Nathan MacKinnon — Colorado Avalanche
Known for his performance through the neutral zone, the Avalanche’s center set NHL career highs across plenty of categories in 2022 when Colorado won the Stanley Cup, including 111 points, 42 goals and 69 assists across 71 games played. Most recently he received the Hart Memorial Trophy for the 2023-24 season after amassing a total of 140 points that year. Going into this year, he needs only to amass 101 points to reach the coveted 1,000 career points milestone.
1. Connor McDavid — Edmonton Oilers
Coming in at No. 1 to what is likely nobody’s surprise, is the five-time Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid. He finished the 2024 playoffs with 42 points in 25 games — only Gretzky and Mario Lemieux have ever earned more in one single postseason. Just last season, he was also third in the NHL with 132 points in 76 games, including 32 goals and 100 assists in the regular season.