MacKinnon ranked world’s third-best center

Nathan MacKinnon may be 75th among NHL players in compensation next season, but the Avalanche star was ranked No. 3 among active centers on the NHL Network’s countdown show to the 2019-20 season Sunday night.

MacKinnon, who came in No. 5 on the network’s list a year ago, trailed only Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby.

Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and John Tavares of Toronto completed the top five.

MacKinnon, who is coming off a careerhigh 99-point season (41 goals), was No. 1 among right-shot centers.

The network’s rankings weighed the players’ most recent seasons and projected their performance in the upcoming year. Nathan MacKinnon, who will MacKinnon turn 24 on Sept. 1, was the

2018 Hart Trophy runnerup as league MVP following his 97-point (39 goals) season of 2017-18.

MacKinnon will carry a $6.3 million cap hit through the next four seasons, having signed his seven-year, $44.1 million deal in 2016 while coming off a modest 21-goal, 52point season. McDavid has a league-high $12.5 million annual cap hit next season and Crosby is 21st at $8.7 million.

While underpaid compared to his peers, MacKinnon cannot renegotiate his contract or sign an extension until July 1, 2022 — the beginning of the final year of his deal, per the NHL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. MacKinnon may also have to accept not being the Avalanche’s top-paid player, with linemate Mikko Rantanen, a 22-year-old restricted free agent, expected to sign a deal paying him between $8-$10 million annually.

Rantanen could land in the top five when the NHL Network’s list of the best wingers is unveiled Sunday.