Top 100 NHL players: 10-1
Leading up to the start of the 2024-25 season, theScore is counting down the top 100 players in the game today, as voted on by our NHL editors.
100-71 | 70-51 | 50-31 | 30-11 | 10-1
2023-24 rank: 31
The lowest-ranked player from last year to crack the top 10, Hughes vaults up the list after claiming his first Norris Trophy.
Hughes notched 17 goals and led all defensemen in assists (75) and points (92). A deft passer for his entire 365-game career, Hughes' offensive makeup evolved last season as he became a much more threatening shooter. He more than doubled his career high in goals and fired 172 more shot attempts than in 2022-23.
Most importantly, the Canucks were a dominant team with Hughes on the ice. Vancouver outscored the opposition 92-55 at five-on-five in Hughes' minutes and controlled 57.2% of the shot attempts. That's the kind of campaign that launches a player into the top 10.
2023-24 rank: 7
Though he didn't finish the season as a Hart Trophy finalist like the campaign prior, there was still plenty of Pasta to go around in 2023-24.
Pastrnak finished in fifth place in the Art Ross Trophy race with 47 goals and a career-high 63 assists in 82 games, good for his second straight 100-point campaign. Entering his 11th season in Beantown, Pastrnak already ranks seventh in the franchise's record books with 348 goals and 10th with 727 points in 674 contests. With four 40-goal seasons already under his belt, Pastrnak has totaled the third-most tallies in the league since his debut in 2014-15, trailing only Auston Matthews and Alexander Ovechkin.
The 28-year-old sniper is heavily motivated to win the Stanley Cup in 2024-25, which is the level of focus the Bruins will need from their best player. Boston hasn't made it out of the second round since losing in the Stanley Cup Final in 2019.
2023-24 rank: 9
Most players slide down this list at 37 years old, but to say Crosby isn't like most players is an understatement. The accomplished veteran erupted for 42 goals and 52 assists last season, winning a career-high 58.2% of his faceoffs while continuing to average over 20 minutes of ice time. He also set personal bests with 101 hits and 73 takeaways.
Sid will surely hit the 600-goal and 1,600-point milestones in 2024-25 (he's eight and four away, respectively) - not that he needs to do much more to cement his legacy at this point. But the three-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time recipient of the Hart, Art Ross, Conn Smythe, and "Rocket" Richard trophies isn't just resting on his laurels.
Even as his Pittsburgh Penguins have missed the playoffs for the last two seasons, Crosby continues to be one of the NHL's most dynamic and complete players. That's impressive, but it's even more commendable considering all the miles on his odometer as he begins his 20th campaign.
2023-24 rank: 19
After years of holding the "league's most underrated player" moniker, Barkov has officially planted his flag as one of the NHL's best players - and perhaps, some day, a Hockey Hall of Famer.
Barkov was the Panthers' top Conn Smythe candidate on their championship march, but his two-way excellence was overshadowed by Connor McDavid's historic numbers. Nevertheless, what Barkov did this past spring was truly special. He had 22 points in 24 postseason games and helped neutralize some of the league's top players - many of whom are in this top 10 - as Florida won it all.
Barkov also collected 80 points in 73 regular-season games and took home his second Selke Trophy as the league's top defensive forward. With Patrice Bergeron retired, he should be in line for several more before he calls it quits.
2023-24 rank: 8
In terms of pure offensive skill, it's hard to find anyone better than Kucherov. His hands are silky smooth. His shot - while perhaps somewhat underutilized - is lethal. Yet he's an even better passer - he became the fifth player in NHL history to record 100 assists this past season.
But perhaps Kucherov's best trait is his deception. It's impossible to know if he's going to shoot or pass. His fake-shot slap passes from the right half wall on the power play are pretty much impossible to defend. There's a reason he led the NHL with 53 power-play points and 144 total points a season ago.
When you match that type of skill with fiery competitiveness, that's when you get a truly special player. Kucherov might not get enough credit for his willingness to mix it up (his defense of Victor Hedman on Wednesday was a great example) and his refusal to back down. He's a player you can follow into battle, which is a major reason he's won the Stanley Cup twice.
2023-24 rank: 5
Makar racked up 21 goals and 90 points and finished third in Norris Trophy voting, but it wasn't a typical Makar campaign.
The bar is sky high for Makar, and rightfully so. He's proven to be the NHL's best defenseman with his unbelievable skating and offensive prowess. We're talking about a blue-liner who's produced numbers comparable to Bobby Orr at this stage of his career.
After sustaining a lower-body injury in early December, Makar wasn't the same dominant presence we're accustomed to seeing. Almost shockingly, the Avalanche were outscored 51-49 with Makar on the ice at five-on-five after his return Dec. 7. But Makar was his typical self before the injury, winning his five-on-five minutes 23-13 and controlling 55.1% of the shot attempts.
Makar is likely back to his regular self with a clean bill of health. But if the slip is real, the gap to the next best defenseman in the NHL is closing quickly.
2023-24 rank: 3
Is it any wonder the Oilers just signed Draisaitl to an eight-year extension with an NHL-record cap hit of $14 million?
Sure, his new lucrative deal doesn't kick in until next season, but the German superstar is worth that much money right now. A slow-ish start to the 2023-24 campaign be damned, Draisaitl still ended the year with 41 goals and 65 assists in 81 outings. He also recorded his fifth 100-point campaign in the last six years (his one "miss" was the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 season, when he still produced at a 123-point pace).
Draisaitl's 841 points in 682 games since his first full NHL campaign in 2015-16 are the second most in the league over that span, trailing only the No. 1 guy on this list. He's also just the seventh player all time to record 30 points in a single postseason on more than one occasion. He's nasty.
2023-24 rank: 4
Matthews would've been very high on this list even if he hadn't torched the league for 69 goals last season. However, by doing so, he left no doubt that he's one of the NHL's top three players. The scary part is the Toronto Maple Leafs' new captain also hit a league-high 20 posts or crossbars and scored only two empty-netters in 2023-24, so his output could've easily been greater.
The 2021-22 Hart Trophy winner has won the "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the NHL's leading goal-scorer three times in his eight campaigns. His 69 tallies last season were the most since Mario Lemieux buried the same amount in 1995-96, and it won't surprise anyone if Matthews takes a run at 76, which Alexander Mogilny and Teemu Selanne both amassed in 1992-93.
Matthews isn't just a one-trick pony, though. The 2023-24 Selke Trophy finalist has blossomed into an elite defender as well. Only the player directly ahead of him on this list had better above-replacement figures (standings points, wins, and goals) than Matthews last season, and dominance in those categories illustrates elite all-around play.
2023-24 rank: 2
MacKinnon is in tough to take over the top spot on one of these lists, but he's the league's second-best player at this point of his career. The Avalanche superstar finally added an MVP award to his collection in 2024 after a career-high 51 goals and 140 points. MacKinnon also has a Stanley Cup, Calder Trophy, Lady Byng, and Ted Lindsay Award on his resume 11 years after being drafted first overall.
He's also closing in on the 1,000-point club and has all but cemented his place in the Hall of Fame by now. MacKinnon's current 1.14 points-per-game clip ranks 22nd all time, and his 1.29 clip in the playoffs is good for sixth. We know what MacKinnon is capable of with an Avalanche sweater on, but he has a chance to add a new chapter to his legacy this coming winter with Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
MacKinnon hasn't played international best-on-best since the 2016 World Cup with Team North America, and if that was a precursor to what he can do for his country, hockey fans are in for a treat come February.
2023-24 rank: 1
Was there every any doubt?
McDavid was once again the unanimous selection for top pick on our list. It's the seventh straight year overall he comes in at No. 1.
He separated himself even further from the pack with his otherworldly postseason performance. McDavid dragged the Oilers to within one win of the Stanley Cup, coming up five points shy of Wayne Gretzky's record with an absurd 42 points in 25 playoff games. His 34 assists were the most in a single postseason. He deservingly became the sixth player ever to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in a losing effort.
McDavid has produced 95 points in 53 games in the last three postseasons. That's some all-time great, NHL Mount Rushmore-level stuff. There's no question he'll get his Stanley Cup ring soon enough.
His regular-season performance was no slouch, either. While his goal-scoring production dropped from 64 in 2022-23 to 32 in 2023-24, he became the fourth player in NHL history to record 100 assists (Kucherov later made it five).
McDavid is, without question, the most electrifying player the game has ever seen, and he's firmly in the prime of his career. Hockey fans - and sports fans in general - need to truly appreciate the greatness we're fortunate enough to witness.