Team equipped to succeed on power play
Postmedia’s Ted Wyman selects the elite stars who will make an impact
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton (1) A brilliant combination of speed and hands, McDavid could be at the top of this list for many years to come.
2. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay (11) He was simply the most dominant player in the league in the regular season and won the Hart Trophy. Had most points in a season (128) since Mario Lemieux had 161 and Jaromir Jagr 149 in 1995-96.
3. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh (2) Now 32, Crosby still had 35 goals and 100 points last year and is one of the best defensive centres in the game.
4. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado (8)
Just getting better and better and last year had a career high 41 goals and 99 points while leading an emerging Avalanche team.
5. Patrick Kane, Chicago (15)
He had more points last year (110) than he did when he won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies in 2016 (106).
6. Alex Ovechkin, Washington (3) Scored at least 50 goals (51) and won the Rocket Richard Trophy for the eighth time in his illustrious career.
7. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay (7) The anchor of a record-setting regular season team. Hedman is the league’s most complete defenceman.
8. Brad Marchand, Boston (22)
As despicable as his antics on the ice may be, Marchand is effective and talented, as his 100-point season would suggest.
9. Auston Matthews, Toronto (13) On a team that has three elite forwards, Matthews is the best two-way player and the one who drives the Leafs’ bus.
10. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton (NR) Incredible season for the 24-year-old from Germany. He scored 50 goals for the first time and finished fourth in league scoring with 105 points
11. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay (26)
Won the Vezina Trophy after putting up a league-best 39 wins along with a .925 save percentage and a 2.40 GAA.
12. Aleksander Barkov, Florida (35)
Already one of the league’s best defensive players, Barkov exploded for 35 goals and 96 points last season.
13. Brent Burns, San Jose (23) The league’s top-scoring defenceman with 83 points, Burns contributes to the Sharks in so many ways.
14. Mark Giordano, Calgary (NR) Won the Norris Trophy for the first time in his career after a 74-point season that complemented his usual stellar defensive play.
15. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary (43) Earned some Hart Trophy votes after leading the Flames with 36 goals and 99 points.
16. Mitch Marner, Toronto (NR) Earned his huge contract with a 94-point season. He’s only going to get better from here.
17. Patrice Bergeron, Boston (17) One of the greatest two-way players in league history, Bergeron had a career-high 79 points at age 34.
18. John Tavares, Toronto (20) Playing in his hometown clearly suited Tavares, who scored a career-high 47 goals, third best in the league.
19. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay (18)
He had a career-high 98 points and was captain of a team that had a record-tying 62 wins and 128 points.
20. Sergei Bobrovsky, Florida (19)
Consistently one of the league’s best goalies over the last five years, Bob is taking his talents down to South Florida.
21. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers (40)
The Bread Man got paid after an 87-point season with Columbus.
22. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay (NR)
An underrated talent at both ends of the ice, Point was in the Selke conversation and scored 41 goals and 92 points.
23. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg (12) Had career highs in goals (38) and points (84) while following up a 14-goal playoff performance the previous year.
24. Erik Karlsson, San Jose (5) It’s almost not fair that the Sharks have both Burns and Karlsson, who had 45 points in 53 games.
25. Blake Wheeler, Winnipeg (14) Had his second consecutive 91-point season at age 33. One of the league’s best passers.
26. Ryan O’Reilly, St. Louis (NR) He had a good regular season, with 28 goals and 77 points, won the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP with eight goals and 23 points.
27. Morgan Rielly, Toronto (NR) Emerged as an elite defenceman, playing solid hockey in his own zone and leading all blue-liners with 20 goals.
28. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh (4) It was an off year for big Geno, although he still had 72 points in 68 games. He struggled in his own zone but maybe he’ll be better now that Phil Kessel is gone.
29. Mikko Rantanen, Colorado (50)
Led the league in scoring for a long period last season before getting injured and tailing off. Still had 31 goals and 87 points.
30. David Pastrnak, Boston (36) Played only 66 games but still had 38 goals and 81 points. An elite winger.
31. Tyler Seguin, Dallas (28) Scored at least 70 points for the sixth straight season. A model of consistency in the middle for the Stars.
32. Seth Jones, Columbus (49) He’s physical, a great skater, great passer and can put up points. What more do you want from a defenceman?
33. Carey Price, Montreal (NR) Had a bounce-back season with
the Habs, earning 35 wins while putting up a 2.49 GAA and .918 save percentage.
34. Ben Bishop, Dallas (NR)
He was limited to 46 games, but in that time he posted a tremendous 1.98 GAA and .934 save percentage. Those numbers get you Vezina nominations.
35. Roman Josi, Nashville (45) With the way Josi has been playing, it wasn’t that hard for the Preds to trade P.K. Subban. Hard-nosed defenceman who also put up 56 points.
36. John Carlson, Washington (24)
Another tremendous offensive defenceman (70 points) who also handles big roles in his own end.
37. Drew Doughty, Los Angeles (9)
Big drop for Doughty after a difficult season in which he finished with a -34 rating. The Kings were awful and Doughty has to own a share of that.
38. Sebastian Aho, Carolina (NR) No wonder the Habs wanted him so badly — two-way forward who scored 30 goals and 83 points.
39. Alex Pietrangelo, St. Louis (44)
He’s been a stalwart defenceman for years, but his shining moment came in the playoffs last year when he captained Blues to the Stanley Cup.
40. Jonathan Huberdeau, Florida (NR)
Huge breakout season for 2011 No. 3 overall pick. Huberdeau had 30 goals and 92 points, which was 23 more than his previous high.
41. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia (16)
Plays more wing than centre these days but keeps piling on the points.
42. Jack Eichel, Buffalo (NR) He’s sure not at McDavid level, but his points are starting to creep up there. He had career highs with 28 goals, 82 points.
43. Mark Stone, Vegas (NR)
One of the league’s best defensive wingers, Stone should only get better with a strong supporting cast in Vegas.
44. Kris Letang, Pittsburgh (NR) When healthy, Letang makes as big an impact as anyone from the blue line.
45. Tuukka Rask, Boston (NR) He was good in the regular season and spectacular in the playoffs, where he posted a 2.02 GAA and .934 save percentage in 24 games.
46. Sean Monahan, Calgary (NR) Had his third 30-goal season last year, along with a career-high 82 points.
47. Jonathan Toews, Chicago (NR) Huge bounce-back year by Toews, who looked to be back-sliding. At age 30, he had a career-high 35 goals and 81 points, while still playing a strong defensive role.
48. Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary (NR)
He’s as rugged as they come in today’s NHL and also put up 34 goals and 77 points at age 21.
49. Taylor Hall, New Jersey (11)
A year removed from a Hart Trophy, Hall had an injury plagued season and put up 37 points in 33 games. He could be a force again with Jack Hughes on board for the Devils this season.
50. Jordan Binnington, St. Louis (NR)
All he did was post a league-best 1.89 GAA in 32 regular season games as a rookie and backstop the Blues to a Stanley Cup.