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The NHL is home to some of the most talented athletes in professional sports, and every season brings a new debate over who truly deserves to be called the league’s best player. While scoring remains one of the biggest measuring sticks, is important to remember that just being able to score goals does not make you the best players. You not only need to be a dominant scorer but also show defensive and leadership skills. Top NHL players not only make themselves look good but uplift all of the players around them.

As the 2026-2027 season approaches, the race to be recognized as the league’s best player is as competitive as ever. Established superstars continue to perform at an elite level, while younger stars are rapidly closing the gap with remarkable performances of their own. Our ranking take into account the recent season, overall impact, playoff success, consistency, and expectations entering the new season.

So, here’s a look at the Top 10 Best NHL Players 2025-2026 Rankings.

Honorable Mentions

Kirill Kaprizov

Team: Minnesota Wild

Position: Left Wing

Kirill Kaprizov is one of the league’s most dynamic players. Ever since his debut in 2020, he has remained a consistent player, scoring 40+ several times in his career, including last season, when he scored 45 goals. What keeps him outside of the top ten for this year is his history of injuries. When he is healthy he is arguably one of the best players in the league but several of his seasons have be diminished because of injuries an even though he was able to make a comeback last season by playing 78 games, he would still need to show that he can consistently remain on the ice before he can break the top ten.

If he is able to remain healthy this upcoming season, then he may be in line to surpass the honorable mention section and truly make his way into the category of best players in the league.

Jack Eichel

Team: Vegas Golden Knights 

Position: Center

Jack Eichel is a bright young player. Some would say he was the main reason the team won their first championship in 2023. He has shown remarkable skating ability, an ability to create scoring opportunities for himself and can hold his own against some of the toughest players in the league.

This past season, he scored 27 goals and had 63 assists, proving that he not only can score but also manage the ice and make those around him better. He has all of the assets necessary to make into the top ten of the league and perhaps one more solid seasons would be the bump he needs to make into the list.

Top 10 NHL Players 2025-2026 Rankings

10. Auston Matthews

Team: Toronto Maple Leafs  

Position: Center 

Auston Matthews has been at the top of the league since he first entered it in 2016. In just his first season, he scored 40 and has not looked back, scoring 40+ goals five times and 60+ goals two times. He has even surpassed the 100 point mark twice in career and this is all coming from a player who has not even crossed the age of 30 yet. In his 29 years he has managed to win the Hart Trophy and Rocket Richard Trophy. He is by far the best player on the Leafs team and has time single handely been the player to lead them into the playoffs.

Unfortunately, even with such a stellar career, he only manages to make it to number 10 on the list because of the caliber of talent the league has to offer and creeping injury concerns. Last year he was limited to 60 games and even though he was still able to record 53 points for the season, it is a far cry from the 107 points he scored only a few years prior. He is not getting old by any means and if he is able to stay healthy he may manage to climb the list, but until that happens he for the time being remains toward the end.

9. David Pastrnak

Team: Boston Bruins

Position: Right Wing

This Czech-born player has proven to be an invaluable member of the Boston Bruins and its fanbase. If you walk around Boston and ask a hockey fan who stands out on the team, most people will say David Pastrnak. He has remained a consistent player playing close to if not all games of the season eight out of twelve years. He just came off a season where he scored 29 goals and had 71 assists giving him a yearly total of 100 points. This would be his fourth time scoring 100 points in a season, a feat most players struggle to accomplish once.

Few players compare to Patrnak; his famous one-timer haunts goaltenders across the league. Plus, as his assist numbers suggest, he is not afraid to pass the puck, and with so many people aware of his scoring ability, there is never a lack of open teammates.

8. Quinn Hughes

Team: Minnesota Wild

Position: Defenseman

When it comes to defensemen, none stand out like Quinn Hughes. He may not blow you away with 50-goal seasons, but he does all of the little things right. His elite skating and puck-moving abilities are unrivaled. He is also a workhorse, averaging some of the highest time spent on the ice amongst players of any position.

Even after being traded from his long-time team, the Vancouver Canucks, to the Minnesota Wild, he did not miss a beat, logging in 48 assists across 48 games for the team. He has proven to be a valuable field general and one of the better defensive players in the league. As one of only a handful of defensemen capable of completely changing a game’s tempe, Hughes firmly belongs among the leagues elite entering the 2026-27 season.

7. Aleksander Barkov

Team: Florida Panters

Position: Center 

Last year was not an ideal season for Barkov or the Panthers, having missed the entire season due to a torn ACL. However, this past year does not diminish what Barkov can produce on the ice.

Barkov has finished in the top ten in both offensive and defensive production. He has won the Frank J. Selke Trophy for his defensive prowess, and many consider him to be the main reason the Florida Panthers have won two championships in recent years.

His status as one of the best players is also due to the fact that he does all the little things right. He has a high faceoff win percentage (53% across his career), he routinely locks down the best player on the opposing side, and he is a dominant force on special teams. All of which helps him average a point-per-game and easily keeps him within the top ten best players going into the next season.

6. Connor Hellebuyck

Team: Winnipeg Jets

Position: goaltender

Connor Hellebuyck has firmly established himself as one of the NHL’s premier goaltenders and remains one of the league’s most valuable players regardless of position.

Last year was particularly rough for him, with only a 23-23-11 record in 57 starts; however, this comes after a 47-12-3 season. Hellebuyck has proven that he has the skills to be considered the best goaltender in the league. He is the only goaltender since the voting format was introduced in 1981, to win the Vezina Trohy three times. He has not been plagued by injuries in his career, he routinely makes difficult saves and keeps his team in contention.

Despite his record from the prior season, he has still managed to be a consistent, durable player with tremendous skills. He will bring those skills into this new season and hopefully lead his team to new heights.

5. Nikita Kucherov

Team: Tampa Bay Lightning

Position: right wing

Nikita Kucherov continues to prove he is one of the NHL’s most gifted offensive players. The Tampa Bay Lightning star followed another remarkable season by finishing near the top of the league again in assists (86) and goals (44), earning him the Hart Memorial Trophy. This however is not new for the superstar who has surpassed the 1,000 point threshold, solifying his place as one of the most product playmakers the sport has seen.

What helps Kucherov achieve this level of success is his vision, patience with the puck, and ability to thread the most impossible passes to give his teammates the chance to score.

Even as the Lightning transition into a new era, Kucherov has a lot of fight in him and will remain the pillar of the team’s offensive strategy and the league’s most dangerous player when he touches the puck.

4. Leon Draisaitl

Team: Edmonton Oilers

Position: Center 

Leon Draisaitl has spent the better part of the last decade proving he is far more than Connor McDavid’s running mate. The Edmonton Oilers star once again ranked among the NHL’s scoring leaders, with 35 goals and 62 assists for a total of 97 points this year. This just extends what has already been a tremendous career where he has over 400 goals for the team and has accumulated over 1000 points.

Draisaitl’s ability to dominate the ice is thanks to his size, strength, vision, and finishing ability, which arguably makes him one of the hardest players to defend against. Whether he is setting up teammates on the power play or delivering timely goals in the postseason, he consistently performs at an elite level.

3. Nathan MacKinnon

Team: Colorado Avalanche

Position: center

Nathan MacKinnon has become one of the most dominant and complete players in the NHL. The Colorado Avalance player walked into this season with all eyes on him and the pressure only increased as his team proved a force to be reckoned. This pressure however seemed to only enourage him as his level of play went to another level. In 80 games played he scored a career high and league leading 53 goals, placed third in the league with 74 assist, for an incredible 127 total point. His plus/minus rating was at a +57 which gave him another category he lead in.

This may not be his first season scoring over 50 goals and earning 100 points, but it was certainly a year fans will remember for a long time. His relentless speed, physicality, and competitiveness kept him in a league of his own the whole season. He looked unstoppable and the player defending him looked like they did not know how to stop this power train. His complete skillset and ability to elevate his teams make him one of the easiest players to build a franchise around.

2. Cale Makar

Team: Colorado Avalanche

Position: defensemen 

The Colorado Avalanche truly had a remarkable year last year, and it should be clear why. Nathan MacKinnon was one of the best players on the team, but one player does not make a team. Cale Makar was just as responsible for MacKinnon’s success as his own skills were. This 27-year old is turning heads around the league with his skating abilities, defensive mindset and vision that helps put the puck in the right place at the right time.

He finished near the top of the league among defensemen in goals (20), assists (59), and points overall (79), while logging heavy minutes (24:51 per game). Every game, he brought the physicality and showed he was not a player to be taken lightly.

He controlled the pace of the game whenever he was on the ice and continues to raise the standard of modern defensemen.

1. Connor McDavid

Team: Edmonton Oilers

Position: Center 

One of the best Edmonton Oilers of all time is Wayne Gretzky, who also happens to be considered the best hockey player of all time. Connor MacDavid may not yet be in the race for the best player of all time, but he is surely rising up their in peoples mind when they think of best Oiler. Year after year he has proven to be a force to be reckoned with. He has lead the Oilers to two Stanley Cup apperance in his career and while he may not have one either you surely cannot say it was from lack of effort.

This next season is amping up to be yet another year for him to prove he belongs at the top of the league. Coming off a season where he scored 48 goals, 90 assists, and a league-leading 138 points, you would find it difficult to find a better all-around player. He has the speed to run past anyone, the vision to find the smallest of holes for the pass or the scoring opportunity, he is even a solid defensive player. When you think of best player in the league you want the guy who can pass, shoot, defend, and just make the lifes of the other team miserable and Connon MacDavid has been that player consistently since arguably 2016.

Going into this year, he is looking to clamp down on the one thing that has eluded him so far: the Stanley Cup. Whether they win or not is yet to be determined, but you can be assured MacDavid is going to put it all on the table to make that happen.

How would you rank the best NHL Players of the 2025-2026 season? Rank below to be added in the NHL Power Rankings.