Playoff performance is what effectively holds Matthews back from being higher on this list. However, outside of that, he is one of the more dominant regular-season players we have ever seen. It will be interesting to see if he can reach the heights that he has in the past without his long-time running mate by his side (Marner). With that being said, however, Matthews is too good at creating opportunities with his shot to be held back. The new norm for him may be between the 45-55 goal range, but that still puts him on a crazy trajectory. 

The team that won the cup two years in a row has one of the best players in the world... a shock. Barkov, being one of the most gifted offensive players in the league, has received Selke votes every year since his rookie season and has won it three times, which seems unfair. Barkov could very easily be a 100+ point player, but given his exceptional defensive ability, he understands that sacrificing a bit on offence to unlock his full defensive potential contributes more to his team's success. Clearly.

I feel bad for Pastrnak; when he signed his eight-year contract extension with the Bruins, they were in the midst of one of the best NHL regular seasons of all time. Just two years later, he's become a part of one of the worst overall rosters in the NHL and a not-so-encouraging prospect pool. Regardless, Pastrnak is coming off his 3rd straight 100+ point season. He's first in goals over the last 3 seasons and fifth in points. A superstar of this calibre should be on a playoff team; unfortunately, his management has failed him. 

Unfortunately for Hellebuyck, he is a shell of himself in the playoffs. In a sick and twisted way, it shows how imperative he is to his team's success. Hellebuyck makes up for a deeply flawed Jets team; when he didn't perform, those flaws showed in spades. When he's on, Hellebuyck is near unbeatable, and last season he put one of the best goalie seasons in the post-lockout era, only rivalled by Price's MVP season in 2015. Since 2017-2018, Hellebuyck ranks 1st in SV%, 5th in GAA, 2nd in wins, and 1st in shutouts and 3 Vezina trophies. The best goalie on the planet. 

Hughes took the step that I think we all wanted him to take: call his own shot more often. He has scored 56% of the goals in his career over the last two seasons. He's always had a great shot, but he's now found a way to keep his assist numbers up while improving his goal scoring, and that has catapulted him to the top tier of defensemen. Hughes's skating ability is what separates him from the majority of defenders. The way he creates so many scoring opportunities is due to his elusiveness, an ability rivalled only by the defender above him on this list. 

By the end of his career, Kucherov will likely need one of the largest trophy cabinets ever, yet he remains underappreciated. Kucherov has 5 100-point seasons, including the last 3, and has won the last 2 Art Ross trophies. That could be why he's become underappreciated; we have just grown accustomed to him putting up obscene numbers. He also has 171 playoff points in 152 games and two Cups; he's proven that he is a big-game performer, and when you talk about the NHL's elite, that conversation has to include this future Hall of Fame lock.

The 11 games that Draisaitl missed with injury this past season were likely the difference between Hellebuyck winning the Hart trophy over him. Draisaitl was at the fullest extent of his powers last year, as his 52 goals were 7 ahead of the 2nd place player in the goal race, which is remarkable considering he achieved it in just 71 games. Draisaitl has more than proven that he is more than just McDavid's sidekick. Since 2018, Draisaitl has ranked 2nd in goals and 2nd in points. He also turns it up in the playoffs, as since the 2021-2022 season, he has a 1.52 P/PG, which is actually higher than his 1.44 P/PG in the regular season during the same time span. The German Gretzky is a big game player.

Back-to-back 90-point seasons for Makar and the first defender to hit 30 goals since Mike Green in 2008-2009, just another season for the league's best defenseman. In 6 seasons, Makar has won 2 Norris Trophies, a Stanley Cup, and a Conn Smythe Trophy. He's also first in goals and points and 2nd in assists among defensemen since entering the league in 2019. He has a 5-star shot, puck skills, and passing and is in the conversation for the best skater in the NHL after the first two players on this list. Makar is on a Hall of Fame trajectory, and at 26 years old, he still has plenty of time left to further solidify his legacy.

Mackinnon is the definition of hell on wheels...but on skates. Time after time, he takes over a game with his piston crossovers, vaults through opposing teams and uses his insanely quick release to convert, or he finds one of his teammates. Mackinnon's résumé speaks for itself. Over the last three seasons, Mackinnon has been at the peak of his powers, with a 1.58 P/PG, ranking second in that time span, while also producing 125 playoff points over his 95 career playoff games. To enter the top 5 ranks, it is clear that you have to be a playoff performer, and Mackinnon does just that.

McDavid is the most skilled player of all time, no argument. There is no honest discussion for anyone else to be number 1 right now. All of McDavid's skill set is well-documented; just look at the top goals list from any year since he's been in the league - he's probably half of them. However, the statistics reveal his true greatness. Since McDavid entered the league in 2015, he is 1st in points (by a mile), 1st in assists (by a country mile) and 5th in goals. The craziest stat of all is that he is 3rd all-time in career playoff P/PG with 1.56, only .5 behind Mario Lemieux. However, his playoff ability is well established; he is one of the few players to have won the Conn Smythe Trophy while losing the final. In my mind, the only thing McDavid needs to cement his place as the best player of all-time is the one thing that eludes him: the Stanley Cup.