Difference between EP and most of the guys you named is that EP is close to elite at defending.Absolutely not a chance he’s currently better than any of those players right now. He could and probably will rise of the standings this season, but he’s not established enough to warrant being placed over those players.
Father Time is surely going to slow down guys like Malkin, Ovechkin, Marchand, and Kane soon, and combined with Pettersson’s continued development it could certainly happen next season.
As for Pastrnak and Matthews - the former just had a monster season where he outscored Pettersson by nearly 30 points, and the latter also had a huge 47 goal season - and both have a longer track record. For what it’s worth I think EP will be right there with them very soon.
It’s tough for ppl in the east to understand how good he is. Nearly every time he’s on the ice he makes something happen. He’s basically the engine of the Canucks, his stats don’t do him justice for how good of a player he actually is.