NHL Top Players: Top 20 centers

Winning important face-offs, leading rushes up the ice, and setting up teammates are the hallmarks of an elite center. NHL Network producers and analysts on Wednesday revealed their list of top 20 centers in the League right now in the fifth of a nine-part series. Here is the list:

20. Sam Bennett, Florida Panthers

Bennett set NHL career highs in assists (26) and points (51) last season and had a career-best seven-game point streak (four goals, four assists) from Nov. 25 to Dec. 7. His 15 goals led the Stanley Cup Playoffs, helped the Panthers repeat as Stanley Cup champions and he won the Conn Smythe Trophy voted as most valuable player of the postseason.

19. Macklin Celebrini, San Jose Sharks

The No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft was a finalist for the 2025 Calder Trophy given to the NHL rookie of the year, won by Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson. Celebrini had a goal and an assist in his NHL debut, a 5-4 overtime loss to the St. Louis Blues at SAP Center on Oct. 10, and finished with 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 70 games. His three goals and two assists in an 8-7 loss to the Minnesota Wild on April 9 made him the first Sharks rookie and seventh different player in franchise history with at least five points in one game.

18. Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres

Thompson's 25 goals after Jan. 20 led the NHL, a 36-game stretch that included two hat tricks, three two-goal games and eight goals during Buffalo's five-game winning streak from March 30 to April 8. His 37 even-strength goals were the most by a Sabres player since Alexander Mogilny had 49 in 1992-93. His total of 44 were three behind his NHL career high set in 2022-23 and tied Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin for third in the League. Thompson scored the golden goal 2:02 into overtime to give the United States a 1-0 victory against Switzerland in the gold-medal game at the 2025 IIHF World Championship; the first time the United States won the tournament since 1933.

17. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars

Hintz had 67 points (28 goals, 29 assists) in 76 regular-season games, and 12 points (six goals, six assists) in the playoffs, third on the Stars behind Mikko Rantanen (22) and Thomas Harley (14). Hintz and Rantanen became the first pair of teammates in NHL history with four points in a playoff period, each getting the total in the second period of 7-4 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena, a series Dallas won in seven.

16. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators

The No. 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft made his Stanley Cup Playoff debut with five points (two goals, three assists) in a six-game loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the Eastern Conference First Round, Ottawa's first postseason appearance since 2017. Stutzle's 55 assists led the Senators in the regular season, which included an 11-game assist streak from Jan. 26 to March 3 that broke the team record of 10 shared by Mark Stone (Feb. 17 to March 8, 2018) and Sergei Gonchar (March 3-23, 2013). He was named as one of the first six players to Team Germany's preliminary roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

15. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings captain is the ninth player in team history with four consecutive 30-goal seasons and the first to do it since Henrik Zetterberg from 2005-09. Last season, Larkin played all 82 games for the second time, finishing with 40 assists and 70 points, and had a goal and an assist in four games at the 4 Nations Face-Off to help the United States reach the championship game, a 3-2 overtime loss to Canada.

14. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils

The Devils captain became the highest-drafted Switzerland-born player in NHL history when New Jersey selected him No. 1 in the 2017 NHL Draft. Hischier was named to Team Switzerland's preliminary roster for the 2026 Olympics after scoring an NHL career-high 35 goals last season. He has 422 points (171 goals, 251 assists) in 527 games and has competed at Worlds the past six seasons, winning silver in 2024 and '25.

13. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes

Aho was named to Team Finland's preliminary roster for the 2026 Olympics. The 28-year-old is a three-time NHL All-Star (2019, 2022, 2024) with 631 points (283 goals, 348 assists) in 677 games, all with the Hurricanes. He had two assists in three games at the 4 Nations Face-Off, played three games in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 and has skated at Worlds three times (2016, 2017, 2018).

12. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues

Thomas finished last season on a 12-game point streak (four goals, 21 assists) to help the Blues to the playoffs and had 81 points (21 goals, 60 assists) despite missing 12 games with a fractured right ankle sustained blocking a shot on Oct. 22. He's entering the third season of an eight-year, $65 million contract he signed with St. Louis on July 13, 2022.

11. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils

The No. 1 pick of the 2019 NHL Draft is one of 11 NHL players to average at least 1.10 points per game for four straight seasons, even with injuries limiting the 24-year-old to 251 of 328 games in that span. Hughes played 62 games last season before a shoulder injury March 2. He's scored at least 26 goals in four straight seasons, has 351 points (141 goals, 210 assists) in 368 games and played four games for the United States (one assist) at 4 Nations.

10. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens

Suzuki got his 300th NHL point with an assist on Cole Caufield's first goal in a 7-5 win at the Sabres on Nov. 11, 2024. He reached the milestone in his 389th game, the fourth fewest by a Montreal player in 35 years after Stephane Richer (336), Saku Koivu (381) and Chris Chelios (385). He was acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 18, 2018, signed an eight-year, $63 million contract with the Canadiens on Oct. 12, 2021, and at 23 years old was named the youngest captain in team history Sept. 12, 2022.

9. Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets

Scheifele entered the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers record books when he scored 1:33 into overtime for a 2-1 victory against the Sharks at Canada Life Centre on Feb. 24. The goal was his 329th in the NHL, moving him past Ilya Kovalchuk (328) for the most in franchise history. He got his 500th NHL point with his 38th goal of the season in a 4-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on April 5, and had 87 points (39 goals, 48 assists) in 82 games to help the Jets go a League-best 56-22-4 to win the Presidents' Trophy.

8. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning

Point has scored at least 40 goals each of the past three seasons, including 42 goals and 82 points in 77 games in 2024-25, when he scored his 300th NHL goal in the Lightning's 8-0 win against the Utah on March 27. He had a goal and an assist at 4 Nations and was named to Team Canada's preliminary roster for the Olympics.

7. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft is on Team USA's preliminary roster for the Olympics. Matthews leads the NHL in goals since entering the League for the 2016-17 season (401 in 629 games) and has scored at least 30 in each of his nine seasons, including 60 twice. He succeeded John Tavares to become the 26th captain of the Maple Leafs on Aug. 14, 2024, and had three assists in three games at 4 Nations.

6. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

Eichel is also one of the first six on Team USA's preliminary Olympic roster coming off an NHL career-high 94 points (28 goals, 66 assists) in 77 games last season, when he had four assists in four games at 4 Nations. He led the 2023 playoffs with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) in 22 games to help Vegas win its first Stanley Cup championship.

5. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins captain is a national and international icon who was named to Team Canada's preliminary Olympic roster. Crosby's first-period goal in a 7-3 loss to the Sabres on March 27 secured his 20th season averaging at least a point per game, breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 19. He's ninth in League history with 1,687 points (625 goals, 1,062 assists) in 1,352 games over 20 seasons with the Penguins.

4. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

The Panthers captain became a two-time Stanley Cup champion when he helped Florida repeat in 2025 and was named to Team Finland's preliminary Olympic roster. Barkov is the second player in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup and Selke Trophy voted as best defensive forward during the same season multiple times, following Bob Gainey with the Canadiens in 1977-78 and 1978-79. He had two points (one goal, one assist) in three games at 4 Nations and 71 points (20 goals, 51 assists) in the regular season.

3. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

The No. 3 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft led the NHL with 52 goals last season, the fourth time he's scored at least 50. Draisaitl was a Hart Trophy finalist for League MVP, won by Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck, after he was tied for third in points (106) despite being limited to 71 games. He's also the first player in NHL history to score four overtime goals in the same postseason. Since 2018-19, Draisaitl is second in the NHL in points (749) trailing only teammate Connor McDavid (826), and second in goals (324) behind Matthews (327). He's one of the first six on Team Germany's preliminary Olympic roster.

2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

MacKinnon was one of Team Canada's first six named to the preliminary Olympic roster. He had the secondary assist on a goal by Artturi Lehkonen 31 seconds into the third period of a 3-0 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on March 10 for his 1,000th NHL point. It made him the 100th player in NHL history to reach the milestone, and the third to do so in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history, joining Joe Sakic (1,641) and Peter Stastny (1,048). MacKinnon has had at least 111 points each of the past three seasons, including 116 (32 goals, 84 assists) in 79 games last season. His NHL career high of 140 (51 goals, 89 assists) in 82 games earned him the 2024 Hart Trophy.

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers captain joined Draisaitl and MacKinnon among Team Canada's Olympic first six. No one has been more productive than McDavid since he was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. He leads the League the past decade in points (1,082), more than 100 ahead of Draisaitl (947). His 74 assists led the Oilers last season and another 26 was a playoff high to help Edmonton to consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final. McDavid's goal 8:18 into overtime won Canada the 4 Nations Face-Off and its fourth consecutive best-on-best international tournament.