On Wednesday, we released our NHL Rank for the 2020-21 season -- a predictive list of the top 100 players for this coming season. A panel of 11 ESPN NHL experts (it wasn't just the two of us!) graded players based on how good they will be in comparison to their peers this season. Emphasis was entirely on predicting potential greatness for 2020-21, rather than past performance. And from those ratings, we ranked the best of the best and compiled a list of the top 100 players.
But that doesn't mean we got everyone correct, at least in the eyes of some of our readers. Who was snubbed from the top 100? Who was ranked way too high? Who wasn't ranked high enough? We asked for your gripes, and now we're here to offer our side. We determine the veracity of those protests, while naming a few snubs of our own in a roundtable rebuttal. First, here are our own issues with the ranking.
See more:
Our top-100 list
Spinning the list five years forward
Emily and Greg's snub picks and ranking complaints
Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: There are a few players who fell out of the top 100 that I felt deserved inclusion: Teuvo Teravainen, Duncan Keith, Adam Fox, Jonathan Marchessault, Dylan Larkin, Jared Spurgeon, Travis Konecny and Jake Muzzin. I could even be convinced that Ottawa forward Brady Tkachuk deserved to make the cut. But the one I took greatest offense to was St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko.
While I love Torey Krug as a player, all Blues fans know that it's Parayko who is going to absorb the role of No. 1 defenseman now that Alex Pietrangelo is off to Vegas, not Krug -- who made the list at No. 63 overall. Krug is a terrific player who gets underrated defensively because he puts up such good offensive numbers. But Parayko has been a growing beast for this team, especially as he has played in more situations and gained more confidence after the 2019 Stanley Cup run.
Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer: I had a few problems with where my colleagues placed some players. For one, Dallas blueliner Miro Heiskanen -- who might be the heir to Nicklas Lidstrom's effortless defensive greatness -- should be much higher than No. 37, and certainly above last season's two rookie flavors of the month (Cale Makar at No. 22 and Quinn Hughes at No. 28).
Then there are Carolina winger Andrei Svechnikov (No. 88) and Pittsburgh winger Jake Guentzel (No. 89). I mean, wasn't the whole thing about who will dominate this season? Because lacrosse-goal boy and Sidney Crosby's wingman are going to merit something much lower than the late 80s by season's end.
As far as players who didn't make the top 100, I echo Emily's concern about "The Spurgeon General" of the Wild, and wonder how J.T. Miller of the Canucks could be left off. The forward had 72 points in 69 games with Vancouver last season and is likely to ride again with Elias Pettersson. If we're talking 2020-21 production, I don't know how Miller's season doesn't project in the top 100 when he was 17th in points per game (1.04) last season.
Reader snub picks and ranking complaints
Now that we filed our protests, let's address some of your concerns. On Wednesday, we offered the chance to respond to our list by email or tweet. Here are some of the ones that stuck out, along with our reasoning and explanation. Some emails and tweets have been edited for clarity or length.
Taylor H. writes: "When you do this list next year, who do you think has the best odds to be way higher? I think [Rangers forward] Mika [Zibanejad] is gonna be an absolute beast this year, and not only because he's on my keeper team."
That's a great call, and to be honest, I don't think he got enough love for scoring 41 goals in just 57 games last season. Imagine what he'd do in a full, healthy season. But another player I see skyrocketing is Zibanejad's teammate, Igor Shesterkin. The goalie -- still technically a rookie -- is only at No. 92 because of his small NHL sample size. He'll have a huge season. -- Kaplan
Ian M. writes: "Just wanted to make sure Dylan Larkin and the Red Wings get some love, and that someone talks about them. Will they be good this year? Probably not. But I just wanted to make sure that both Larkin and the Red Wings get a mention. That is all."
Hey, we love Larkin, or as he's known around these parts, "D-Boss." It's a shame that the Red Wings have been rebuilding since 2016 because it stole some spotlight from Larkin, and because he has not exactly been surrounded by equal talents. It's hard to bolster your numbers when you're stuck on a bottom-three power play. But fans as we are, I think we're safe in having him outside the top 100. -- Wyshynski
@rappmatt tweets: "Donde esta [Wild defenseman] Jared Spurgeon? #Nhl100snub"
About twenty spots outside of the final list, with a chip on his shoulder. But hey, that's probably where you want your captain in a season that's all about shifting the culture. -- Kaplan
Devon M. writes: "[Flyers center] Sean Couturier at No. 49 is a disgrace. A couple of points: Reigning Selke [Trophy] winner. Maybe not his most Selke-worthy season recently, but a win's a win and he was robbed the season before. He was 29th in league scoring over the past three seasons. Not too shabby for a guy who is a) deployed largely defensively, and b) was 44th in power-play [ice time] during that stretch. [...] How many players finished with a better cumulative [goals above replacement] during that stretch? Two: [Connor] McDavid and [Brayden] Point. That's it, end of list. How many finished with a better cumulative [wins above replacement]? One: McDavid. That's it. Is he a top-10 player in the league? OK, no, probably not. Is he a top 10 center? I don't know, I'd say yes, but it's debatable. Is he higher than the 49th-best player in the league? I mean ... come on."
Preach! I had Couturier ranked higher than Aleksander Barkov (No. 35) on my tally because I think there's a chance that Couturier outscores him after Barkov lost Evgenii Dadonov from his wing. I agree it's a weird flex to have Couts just inside the top 50 after he finally broke through and won his first Selke. For the reasons you note, I'd have him slightly higher. -- Wyshynski
@mikeygreen93 tweets: "[Blue Jackets goalie] Joonas Korpisalo is my #NHL100Snub, especially with [Florida's Sergei] Bobrovsky making the list."
What's tough is, you could make just as good a case for the Blue Jackets' other goaltender, Elvis Merzlikins. Though that goalie tandem is a total organizational strength and good for the Jackets in real life, a platoon typically does not translate with individual internet accolades. Whereas, if all goes well in Florida, Bobrovsky is making a bulk of the starts this season. If it satisfies you at all, though, Korpisalo just missed the list and was well ahead of Merzlikins in our pre-ranking grading. -- Kaplan
Pete L. writes: "As a B's fan, David Pastrnak is too high in NHL rank. I like him a lot, but he's too inconsistent to be top 10 for me, maybe closer to 20. I'd put Brad Marchand higher; not for the next five years, if it was that, but for next year. Charlie McAvoy is too low, too. Obviously I have no idea if this is actually true since I can't get NHL GMs on the phone, but I'd be surprised if there are more than one or two GMs in the league that would take Torey Krug ahead of McAvoy."
Much to meditate on here, my Boston friend. Pasta was 10th in the ranking. Marchand was 20th. The traditional stats tell us that Pastrnak had a better season, and clearly the voters couldn't ignore the siren's song of him scoring 20 more goals than Marchand. The analytics tell us that Marchand was more valuable and was a superior defensive player. So flip-flopping them wouldn't be out of the question.
On Krug (No. 63) vs. McAvoy (No. 76), let's both agree that Charlie Mac is too low. But you're underrating Krug's all-around game, and one could argue that his power-play prowess is an elite skill that McAvoy has yet to show he possesses. I'd also like to see how McAvoy fares in a full season outside of Zdeno Chara's considerable shadow. -- Wyshynski
@chefjkroner tweets: "[Rangers defenseman] Adam Fox will be a Norris finalist and is better than [teammate Jacob] Trouba, as well as many other defensemen on this list ... a careless snub."
I think Adam Fox was a victim of two trends in this list. The first is establishment bias, as voters ranked familiar names higher than the newbies in most cases ... expect for two of them. Makar of the Avalanche was ranked 22nd, and Hughes of the Canucks was ranked 28th. So just like in the Calder Trophy voting, Fox was overshadowed by his more heavily-hyped rookie defensemen.
I think you have a case: Fox was a better defenseman than Trouba last season across the board. Trouba's greatest asset for the Rangers was expected to be his power-play contribution, and Fox even outpointed him there. Fox was one of the close eliminations in the ranking, and one could easily argue the merits of his inclusion and Trouba's exclusion. -- Wyshynski
@lee_taft tweets: "#NHL100snub How is [Hurricanes forward Teuvo] Teravainen not on the list?"
I really don't know. Maybe voters didn't feel comfortable putting all three players from the Hurricanes' top line on the list (Sebastian Aho is No. 27, and Svechnikov comes in at No. 88). But as you already know, if those two are having a good season, chance is Teravainen is as well. For peace of mind, know that Teravainen was one of the first five players who missed. -- Kaplan
@kwallcuse tweets: "[Canadiens forward] Brendan Gallagher isn't a top-100 player? Is it because he's an avid Bengals fan?"
As a New York Jets fan myself, I would never judge another person's delusional devotion to an NFL team. And as a Gallagher fan myself, I wasn't surprised to see him outside of the top 100. He's the type of player whose contributions get overlooked, even as he led the Canadiens in goals-scored above average (12) last season, per Evolving Hockey. Would I have him in the top 100? To be honest, I'd have him in the next 15 players after it. But I would take him on my team in an instant. -- Wyshynski