You've seen our 2019 NHL Rank list, our projection of the top 50 players for the 2019-20 season. And now our experts weigh in on the results.
Which player was snubbed? Who was ranked too high or too low? And who is a lock to make the list in 2020? Let the debating begin.
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Snubs | Too low | Too high
2020 locks | The complete list
Who was the biggest snub?
Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders. There's some recency bias here because his offensive numbers took a hit post-John Tavares and in coach Barry Trotz's defensive system, so let's take the long-range view: He's a top-30 player in goals (25.2) and wins above replacement (4.5) among forwards despite that. One of the most dynamic playmakers in the NHL, with an improving defensive game. -- Greg Wyshynski
Morgan Rielly, D, Toronto Maple Leafs. I was surprised not to see Rielly on the list. Perhaps he just gets overshadowed by the Maple Leafs' star-studded forward group. Rielly finished third in defensive scoring last season (72 points) and first in goals (20); he probably should have been a Norris Trophy finalist thanks to his strong overall play as well. -- Emily Kaplan
Ryan O'Reilly, C, St. Louis Blues. I'm not sure how we could leave off one of the league's best all-around centers. Coming off of a Selke Trophy and a Conn Smythe Trophy, I wonder if the potential for Stanley Cup hangover knocked him down our collective list. The guy finished 13th in Hart Trophy voting last season, and I think there are so few players who play the game as effectively as he does in all areas of the ice. -- Chris Peters
Sean Couturier, C, Philadelphia Flyers. What more does the guy have to do to get his proper due at this point? He had 33 goals and 76 points; he chewed up the sixth-most minutes among all forwards; he had a massive positive impact on his team's underlying numbers; he drew 13 more penalties than he took; and he rejuvenated Claude Giroux's career after it looked as if the Flyers icon's best days were behind him, by bumping him to the wing and taking the defensive responsibilities of a center off his plate. -- Dimitri Filipovic
Jamie Benn, C, Dallas Stars. The numbers aren't what they used to be, but Benn remains entrenched as the engine that drives the Stars. When asked who's toughest to compete against, skaters in the Western Conference most often reference the one-time Art Ross Trophy winner (along with Predators defenseman Roman Josi). That counts for a lot. Also, for what it's worth, many anticipate a rebound campaign, numbers-wise, from the 30-year-old Stars captain this season. -- Victoria Matiash
Patrik Laine, RW, Winnipeg Jets. I considered young defensemen Charlie McAvoy, Jacob Trouba and Zach Werenski here, as well as O'Reilly, but ultimately considered the Finnish goal scorer to be the biggest snub. Simply put, he's entering his age-21 season and already has three seasons with 30-plus goals under his belt. He's just the third player to do that, joining Dale Hawerchuk (1981-82 to '83-84) and Jimmy Carson (1986-87 to '88-89), and he is fourth in career goals before turning 21 years old, per Hockey Reference. The concern is when he will sign a new contract with the team, but once he does, he might just get his wish and skate with Winnipeg's top line, increasing his ceiling even more. Six-foot-5 wingers with that kind of elite shot release don't come around often. -- Ben Arledge
Marc-Andre Fleury, G, Vegas Golden Knights I was surprised not to see Fleury, as he's been a workhorse in net for the Vegas Golden Knights. After having one of the hottest postseasons by a goalie in 2017-18, Fleury started 61 games for Vegas and was second in the league with eight shutouts. Fleury's save percentages took a slight dip, but for the volume he plays -- the fourth-most minutes in 2018-19 -- he has been one of the most dependable netminders in the league. -- Sachin Chandan
Who was rated too low?
33. John Carlson, D, Washington Capitals. He remains bafflingly underrated, ranked behind six other blueliners on this list when he was second in scoring among defensemen over the past two seasons (138 in 162 games) and first in goals (20.4) and in wins above replacement (3.6). Never a Norris finalist, never considered among the elite -- and way better than his No. 33 overall ranking. -- Wyshynski
22. Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers. It's funny because, for the past three or four years, if you asked NHL players who their most underrated peer was, most answered Barkov. (As one Pacific Division defender told me in 2018: "He's like really, really good, but he plays in Florida, so he gets no credit.") Just when I thought Barkov could get his due -- with a 96-point season, not to mention spectacular defensive play -- he ends up outside our top 20. -- Kaplan
45. Mark Stone, LW, Vegas Golden Knights. I think this guy is a Hart Trophy contender this year with his incredible two-way play and the opportunity to spend an entire season with a Vegas roster that looks like a Cup contender. His playoff performance was incredible, and, having finished second in Selke voting, there are few more complete wingers in the game today. -- Peters
Stone had an absolutely monstrous campaign last season. His 33 goals and 73 points in 78 games was impressive enough on its own, but his true impact shows up when you dig a bit deeper. He was first in EvolvingWild's goals above replacement metric (+25.2, just ahead of Sidney Crosby); no one had an expected goal share relative to his teammates greater than his; and he was behind only Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha in the positive effect he had on his team's shot share. It's no coincidence that Brady Tkachuk's underlying numbers plummeted after Stone left town or that Vegas became one of the best teams in the league when he arrived. -- Filipovic
24. Patrice Bergeron, C, Boston Bruins. Like most elite centers, Bruins veteran Bergeron makes everyone around him that much better. The four-time Selke Trophy winner (a record, shared with Bob Gainey) has been nominated for the award eight years running (also a record, all his own) and counting. And the 34-year-old collected 32 goals and 47 assists in only 65 games this past season. He belongs comfortably in the top 20. -- Matiash
39. Brayden Point, C, Tampa Bay Lightning. His 92 points was 12th in the NHL last season, and only five players scored more than his 41 goals. Point found the back of the net 20 times with the man advantage and skated nearly 19 minutes per night for a talented and deep Tampa Bay team. Sure, he was a third-rounder who took some time to fully arrive, and his 21.5% shooting percentage is sure to regress a little bit. But he's only 23 years old, has back-to-back 30-plus goal seasons and is playing with some of the best talent in the league. Point absolutely could be a top-25 player in the NHL this season. -- Arledge
40. Mark Giordano, D, Calgary Flames. The reigning Norris Trophy winner is sitting there at No. 40 despite leading defensemen in point shares, per Hockey Reference, and finishing second in total points with 74. Giordano's skill went beyond offense, as he was second in 5-on-5 Corsi for percentage as well as being one of only three defensemen in the Western Conference to play 200 minutes each on the power play and penalty kill. -- Chandan
Who was rated too high?
16. Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche. Sorry, not yet. He is supremely talented and productive, ranking 16th in the NHL in points scored in the past two seasons (155). But his goals above replacement (22.5) in that span puts him in line with Sebastian Aho (ranked No. 28) and Mark Scheifele (27). Great player. But forgive me if I feel, at this point, that No. 16 is too high for a player who has yet to prove what he can be without the benefit of Nathan MacKinnon in the middle. -- Wyshynski
26. P.K. Subban, D, New Jersey Devils. I hate to pick on him because I like him as a player and think he gets too much flak for marketing himself off the ice -- more players should do it! -- but I was surprised to see Subban at No. 26 after he had a so-so season. I'd rank a few other defensemen above him, including John Carlson, Seth Jones and Mark Giordano. -- Kaplan
25. Ben Bishop, G, Dallas Stars. I think it's going to be difficult for Bishop to replicate what he did last season in a career year with Dallas. That's not to say I think he'll tumble terribly far, as he's been one of the league's better goalies since he became a starter. I just don't think he's going to be the second-best goalie in the NHL this season unless he vastly outperforms his career averages for a second straight campaign. -- Peters
All of the goalies. Andrei Vasilevskiy (No. 5) is an otherworldly talent, but he played just 53 games last season, and his team won 21 of the 26 games his backup Louis Domingue started. Bishop (No. 25) was tremendously effective when he was in net, but he started just 45 games and his backup had nearly identical numbers to his. Sergei Bobrovsky (No. 38) is coming off of a down year; Braden Holtby (No. 49) has been hovering around league average for the past two years now; and Carey Price (No. 35) had some serious red flags before a spirited final 25 games to end the season. The position is undoubtedly the most important one in the game, but our ability to predict how the players playing it will perform moving forward isn't good enough right now to warrant investing so heavily in it. -- Filipovic
8. Erik Karlsson, D, San Jose Sharks. Yes, he's a dangerous two-way defensive threat, and from 2013-14 to '16-17, he averaged 19 goals and 73 points per season. But over the past two campaigns, those numbers have dropped significantly, partially because of his injuries. In his final season in Ottawa, he managed only nine goals in 71 games. And in his first season with the Sharks, he scored just three times and tallied only 45 points in 53 contests. Top 50? No doubt. He's still an elite blueliner. But top 10? There's too much talent behind him on this list for me to justify that No. 8 rank. -- Arledge
Ben is bang-on here. Karlsson's top-10 standing clearly reflects the impact made in seasons past, before injuries became a recurring, nagging challenge. I'm not sure Karlsson is even the best defenseman on his own team. Scratch that. I feel comfortable he is not. -- Matiash
Which player not on this year's list is a lock for 2020?
Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres. Not to pull back the curtain here too far, but there were 21 spots between Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen and where the 2018 No. 1 pick finished on our ballot. I think that Dahlin justified his franchise defenseman moniker last season and that he is only going to get better. It's not his fault the Sabres remain an absolute mess -- although it would be nice if they could find success so as not to relegate Dahlin to "Oliver Ekman-Larsson, East Edition" status. -- Wyshynski
Kaapo Kakko, RW, New York Rangers. I'm bullish on Kaapo Kakko. I think the 18-year-old Finn -- he of "Wow, it's a nice city!" fame -- has an excellent chance of scoring the most goals in a rookie season since Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby came into the league in 2005-06. (Since then, Evgeni Malkin has the most goals as a rookie, at 33). Kaako has already proved he can play among men, putting up 22 goals in 45 games for Finland's Liiga and then six goals in 10 games at the senior world championship this summer. This guy is the next elite NHL goal scorer. -- Kaplan
Mathew Barzal, C, New York Islanders. He missed the list by the slimmest of margins this year, but Barzal should really be on here. Seeing as this is a prediction for how the season will go, the biggest factor for me is that he has now had a season to figure out what it's like to be the primary focus of the opposing team. I think this is going to be a big season for him, one when he takes another step toward superstardom. -- Peters
Josh Morrissey, D, Winnipeg Jets. I think he's a really good player, but he's also in a situation where he's going to start garnering a lot of national attention. The Jets look as if they're about to start the season having lost Dustin Byfuglien, Jacob Trouba, Tyler Myers and Ben Chiarot from last year's blue line without having replaced their minutes. Morrissey's numbers have steadily increased across the board each season early in his career, and he's poised to take a massive leap -- if only out of pure necessity. -- Filipovic
Alex DeBrincat, RW, Chicago Blackhawks is going to tear it up alongside center Dylan Strome all season, establishing himself as one of the greatest offensive threats of his generation. After scoring 50 goals this coming season -- you read that correctly -- the Blackhawks winger should have little issue in making the top 50 a year from now. -- Matiash
Jordan Binnington, G, St. Louis Blues The rookie rolled out 24 wins in 30 starts during his first regular season in St. Louis, all while posting a 1.89 goals-against average and a .927 save percentage. At even strength, that climbed to .936, the third-best percentage in the NHL. And, of course, he topped off his rookie campaign with a Stanley Cup ring. Yes, small-sample-size alert, and goalies are hard to project from year to year, but with the way Binnington battles and doesn't let pressure get to him, I really think he'll jump into the top 50 next season. He can make the big save when he needs to, but does a good job of staying in position and composed so that he doesn't often actually need to. He looks like he's for real. -- Arledge
Matthew Tkachuk, LW, Calgary Flames. Tkachuk took a big step forward, logging 34 goals and 77 points, and the 21-year-old is expected to feature heavily with a hot Flames offense. If he can nudge his goal total into the high 30s and his point total up past 80, while proving his high shooting percentage wasn't a fluke, then I have no problem envisioning him on next year's list and many more after that. -- Chandan