Hockey is the ultimate team sport, and just because a team has the greatest player in the world doesn’t guarantee it will win a championship. Of course, if a team has two of the top players in the world, it can come awfully close, as the Edmonton Oilers showed last season in getting to one win short of a Stanley Cup.
Spoiler alert: Connor McDavid topped our ranking of the top 100 NHL players for 2024-25, just as he did for 2023-24 and 2022-22 and 2021-22 and … you get it. But where does Leon Draisaitl rank? And what about Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk from the Florida Panthers squad that beat the Oilers in the Cup Final?
We asked a panel of more than 50 ESPN broadcasters, analysts, reporters and editors to rate players based on how good they will be in the 2024-25 season compared with their peers. Emphasis was placed on their value for this coming season, which explains why players who are currently out injured (but are expected to return) might be lower than if they were completely healthy.
Write-ups are courtesy of ESPN reporters Ryan S. Clark, Kristen Shilton, Greg Wyshynski and editorial staff.
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2023-24 rank: 65
Age: 32
One of the veterans brought in to help the rebuild along, Toffoli finished 2023-24 with 33 goals split between the Devils and Jets. — ESPN staff
2023-24 rank: 99
Age: 33
While the Predators’ additions of Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault got all the attention this summer, O’Reilly might be even more vital to their climb to a higher echelon of Cup contenders. An elite two-way center. — ESPN staff
2023-24 rank: 52
Age: 30
Connor Bedard’s rookie season was a tough one for the Blackhawks in the standings, but Jones’ underlying numbers weren’t horrible in a relative sense. Will the 30-year-old remain on the roster during the rebuild, or be traded for picks and prospects at the deadline? — ESPN staff
2023-24 rank: 43
Age: 30
Lindholm’s breakout 53-point campaign in 2022-23 was…
Source link : https://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/41753159/nhl-rank-2024-25-top-100-players-rankings-predictions
Author : ESPN staff
Publish date : 2024-10-14 11:49:43
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