HFBoards Top 31 NHL Centers - #12

[LT]

Rank	Player	Age	Team	Country	GP	G	A	P	%
#1	Connor McDavid	22			78	41	75	116	85.7%
#2	Sidney Crosby	32			79	35	65	100	71.8%
#3	Nathan MacKinnon	23			82	41	58	99	71.3%
#4	Aleksander Barkov	23			82	35	61	96	38.1%
#5	Patrice Bergeron	34			65	32	47	79	50.9%
#6	Evgeni Malkin	33			68	21	51	72	64.3%
#7	Auston Matthews	21			68	37	36	73	35.0%
#8	Mark Scheifele	26			82	38	46	84	28.9%, 53.7% (TB)
#9	John Tavares	28			82	47	41	88	28.2%,46.3%(TB)
#10	Steven Stamkos	29			82	45	53	98	23.6%
#11	Jack Eichel	22			77	28	54	82	22.7%
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Rank hyperlinks direct to the corresponding voting thread.
Player hyperlinks direct to the corresponding player's hockey-reference.com page.

Suggested Additions:

Brayden Schenn (1)

Bo Horvat (1)

Paul Stastny (1)

Nico Hischier (1)

Pierre Luc-Dubois (1)

Elias Lindholm (1)

David Krejci (1)

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1)

Sam Reinhart (1)

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Click to read more...

 

[Ctrain2k]

The fact that Point hasn’t gone yet completely disregards any credibility of this list.

 

[islandurrs]

Point has my vote. The kid is absolutely nasty there is no doubt about it.

 

[Love]

The fact that Point hasn’t gone yet completely disregards any credibility of this list.

If Point played for any other team he doesn’t get anywhere near 90 points last season and he was lucky to even get over 90 last season due to a ludicrous shooting percentage.

 

[Ctrain2k]

If Point played for any other team he doesn’t get anywhere near 90 points last season and he was lucky to even get over 90 last season due to a ludicrous shooting percentage.

I still can’t believe Stamkos went over him when Tampa fans literally had their own poll and ranked Point higher.

 

[Aladyyn]

Y'all really voted Eichel ahead of Couturier, O'Reilly, Aho and Point? Embarrassing.

 

[LightningStrikes]

Point not in the top-10 is a joke. Plays a 200-foot game and is deadly in the offensive zone.

 

[NotLeddy]

Y'all really voted Eichel ahead of Couturier, O'Reilly, Aho and Point? Embarrassing.

I'm honestly very surprised you think Aho > Eichel, the majority of his advanced stats last season were not great, and the incredible shot control and transition of the defense he plays with (Hamilton etc) inflates his expected goals total.

I would easily take Eichel over Aho.

 

[Zamuz]

I'm honestly very surprised you think Aho > Eichel, the majority of his advanced stats last season were not great, and the incredible shot control and transition of the defense he plays with (Hamilton etc) inflates his expected goals total.

I would easily take Eichel over Aho.

Eichel clearly didnt get any help from 40 goal Skinner and one of the best 18yo rookie D seasons In recent history Dahlin?


Only aho is supported, Eichel does all by himself what an incredible player wow

 

[NotLeddy]

Eichel clearly didnt get any help from 40 goal Skinner and one of the best 18yo rookie D seasons In recent history Dahlin?


Only aho is supported, Eichel does all by himself what an incredible player wow

Carolina and San Jose's possession numbers and expected goals were so much better than every other team in the league because of their respective bluelines, it's not unreasonable to be sketched out and question how much the impact of the defense's transition and neutral zone play had on the forwards.

 

[bobholly39]

Point not in the top-10 is a joke. Plays a 200-foot game and is deadly in the offensive zone.

Look at his season a year ago vs last year. There was a huge jump. And unlike guys like Mack or Matthews who are first overall picks who you expect to see a jump in play - with Point it was a bit more unexpected.

I didnt vote for Point top 10 and not sure about voting for him now either. Its not that he doesnt play as good/better than some of these guys last season its just lack of track record. I think if he repeats last years performances he'll see a significant jump.

 

[Aladyyn]

I'm honestly very surprised you think Aho > Eichel, the majority of his advanced stats last season were not great, and the incredible shot control and transition of the defense he plays with (Hamilton etc) inflates his expected goals total.

I would easily take Eichel over Aho.

I might be too harsh on him. At his best Eichel is definitely top 10, but he doesn't show that level often enough.

 

[Zamuz]

Carolina and San Jose's possession numbers and expected goals were so much better than every other team in the league because of their respective bluelines, it's not unreasonable to be sketched out and question how much the impact of the defense's transition and neutral zone play had on the forwards.

Do you think their best forward gets no credit from their success, only their defense? Aho was 10th in Hart voting, Eichel wasn't even voted once. Aho was also 12th in Selke voting, Eichel wasn't mentioned.

Eichel played only 40 minutes SH, Aho played over twice as much yet Eichel avaraged more icetime per game than Aho did. If Eichel was so good, he would play at least same amount of SH as Aho does since their production is similar.

 

[NotLeddy]

Do you think their best forward gets no credit from their success, only their defense? Aho was 10th in Hart voting, Eichel wasn't even voted once. Aho was also 12th in Selke voting, Eichel wasn't mentioned.

Eichel played only 40 minutes SH, Aho played over twice as much yet Eichel avaraged more icetime per game than Aho did. If Eichel was so good, he would play at least same amount of SH as Aho does since their production is similar.

This was Aho's first year at center. He is a very good player, but not to the extent some people believe in my opinion. HockeyViz and RAPM both show he struggled defensively this year, he didn't produce at the level many elite centers did at 5v5 (1.46 p1/60), his PDO was over 100, his relative expected goals on the 2nd best possession team were average and HockeyViz also reveals he wasn't facing the majority of harder competition that many top centers like Barkov and McDavid are consistently matched against (Staal was Brind'Amour's matchup center), and still struggled.



I like Aho. He's a very good player, and he should improve as he continues to have seasons at center, because in his defense, his was only his first season at the position. It just genuinely surprises me that despite him struggling both offensively and defensively this season in his first year of center despite playing on an almost historically good possession team that a lot of people are now saying he's among the elite centers in the league. He absolutely can be eventually, but I stand by that he's not there yet in my opinion.

There are also plenty of great centers in the league that don't play on the penalty kill (Matthews, MacKinnon etc).

 

[Zamuz]

This was Aho's first year at center. He is a very good player, but not to the extent some people believe in my opinion. HockeyViz and RAPM both show he struggled defensively this year, he didn't produce at the level many elite centers did at 5v5 (1.46 p1/60), his PDO was over 100, his relative expected goals on the 2nd best possession team were average and HockeyViz also reveals he wasn't facing the majority of harder competition that many top centers like Barkov and McDavid are consistently matched against (Staal was Brind'Amour's matchup center), and still struggled.



I like Aho. He's a very good player, and he should improve as he continues to have seasons at center, because in his defense, his was only his first season at the position. It just genuinely surprises me that despite him struggling both offensively and defensively this season in his first year of center despite playing on an almost historically good possession team that a lot of people are now saying he's among the elite centers in the league. He absolutely can be eventually, but I stand by that he's not there yet in my opinion.

There are also plenty of great centers in the league that don't play on the penalty kill (Matthews, MacKinnon etc).

Why is the chart also counting the 17-18 season when he played wing?

Can we see in comparison only the 18-19 season and then also Eichels?

 

[NotLeddy]

Why is the chart also counting the 17-18 season when he played wing?

Can we see in comparison only the 18-19 season and then also Eichels?

I've seen both of their charts from this season and Eichel is no defensive dynamo in his own right, but he was better than Aho in defensive impact this year. I messaged Micah on Twitter asking to see them so when he responds I can post them here. (I've heard he'll send you charts if you message him on Twitter for them so let's see, lol!)

RAPM has Aho struggling more this year when he was a full time center than when he was on the wing, which is fair, it's a much tougher position with more responsibility (I'm not a big fan of it personally, I think too many people use it the wrong way and put too much stock into it because it's the most accessible, and I question its accuracy sometimes). Regardless, he's only going to get better.

 

[Zamuz]

I've seen both of their charts from this season and Eichel is no defensive dynamo in his own right, but he was better than Aho in defensive impact this year. I messaged Micah on Twitter asking to see them so when he responds I can post them here. (I've heard he'll send you charts if you message him on Twitter for them so let's see, lol!)

RAPM has Aho struggling more this year when he was a full time center than when he was on the wing, which is fair, it's a much tougher position with more responsibility (I'm not a big fan of it personally, I think too many people use it the wrong way and put too much stock into it because it's the most accessible, and I question its accuracy sometimes). Regardless, he's only going to get better.

I think people put too much weight on advanced stats, especially if the stats show that Eichel is better defensively... is very questionable since I have watched both and Aho is lightyears better defensively than Eichel.

 

[Aladyyn]

I think people put too much weight on advanced stats, especially if the stats show that Eichel is better defensively... is very questionable since I have watched both and Aho is lightyears better defensively than Eichel.

Have you watched them both specifically (as in focusing only on them) for an extended period of time (say, 40+ games)? If the answer is no then your watching really doesn't matter for evaluation.

 

[um]

I still can’t believe Stamkos went over him when Tampa fans literally had their own poll and ranked Point higher.

Barzal was better than Tavares last season... these break out seasons don't always last.

 

[Iceman]

If Point played for any other team he doesn’t get anywhere near 90 points last season and he was lucky to even get over 90 last season due to a ludicrous shooting percentage.

That's not his entire value. After Bergeron and Barkov he is probably the best two-way center in the league.

 

[Aladyyn]

That's not his entire value. After Bergeron and Barkov he is probably the best two-way center in the league.

The best two way centers are McDavid and Crosby, since these are the best centers and there are only two ways in hockey.

 

[Iceman]

The best two way centers are McDavid and Crosby, since these are the best centers and there are only two ways in hockey.

So you mean that McDavid is the best at playing both ways? not just one way?

 

[Aladyyn]

So you mean that McDavid is the best at playing both ways? not just one way?

In total he is, yeah. That's why he's the consensus best.

 

[Iceman]

In total he is, yeah. That's why he's the consensus best.

Okay, I'll just continue to use two-way player as a way to describe a player who excels at the defensive part of the game as well, just like the general public.

 

[ccman68]

Barzal was better than Tavares last season... these break out seasons don't always last.

Point has been better for 2 years now and I can’t see it changing.