After back-to-back 100-point seasons, Brady's older brother has battled some injuries the last couple of seasons. He's still elite at creating scoring opportunities and a menace in the playoffs, but the 40-goal potential is a thing of the past for him, primarily due to injuries. He'll miss around half the season this year, but he should still be around an 85-90 point pace while annoying the living hell out of the other team. How this injury affects him remains to be seen.

Sergei Bobrovsky has been one of the league's premier goalies since 2012 and has refused to slow down. It does help being on one of the league's best teams, so he is in cruise control during the regular season. But winning back-to-back cups and making three straight finals does not happen without elite goaltending, and that's what sets him apart. Over the last 3 playoffs, Bobrovsky has 2.42 GAA and a .912 SV%. A true champion. 

From his first career shift, we all knew that Heiskanen is a breed of player that seldom exists in the NHL. Heiskanen is a defence-first player, using his speed and strong defensive stick to thwart opportunities. However, his biggest asset is controlling the pace of the game. He's elite at breaking the puck out by passing it or carrying it out himself and is a start of many of the Stars' goals since he entered the league. Injuries limited his 2024-2025 season, but he will be back in the Norris Trophy conversation this season. 

Sorokin is fighting for his life right now, playing behind a brutal Islanders team, but his numbers remain elite. His GAA has increased slightly over the last couple of years, mainly due to the Islanders entering a rebuild phase. However, his save percentage has remained among the league's best, despite facing the most shots against by any goalie during that time span. If the team in front of him improves even marginally, his stats will rocket upwards. 

Brayden Point has defied early scout speculation about his lack of size to become one of the league's best goal-scorers. Over the last three seasons, Point ranks 4th in goals, and last season he notched his 4th consecutive season with 40 or more goals. Point scores goals in a lot of different ways, but he has some of the best hands in tight, scoring 28 of his 42 goals last year in the inner slot. 

Being a two-way forward in the NHL is extremely hard to do. But being elite at both ends of the ice is extremely rare, and Sam Reinhart does just that. Reinhart has become the Panthers' best player after Alexander Barkov. He has never been a good skater, which was listed as one of his major drawbacks when he got drafted, but that does not affect him one bit. His hockey IQ, elite shot, and intelligent passing, coupled with his Selke-level defence, make him one of the league's most complete players.

There is no better player at handling the pressure of playing the league's most significant market than Nylander. He also picked up some of the goal-scoring slack from Matthews last year, finishing second in the league in goals. Nylander is not a player who ventures into the tougher areas of the ice, which leads to him being scrutinized fairly often in the Toronto media. This is unfair because all he has done over the last four years is produce, with four straight seasons of 80+ points and three straight seasons with 40+ goals.

A rough performance at the 4 Nations tournament has made Adam Fox underrated. The NHL Network befuddled me by ranking him #17 on their top D-man list. Fox is an elite offensive talent ranking 3rd only behind Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes in points by a defenseman, and is virtually a lock every year for double-digit goals and 50+ assists. An underrated part of his game is his defence; he is not the most physical player by any means, but he does well suppressing scoring chances. He is a top-5 defender, but no worse than that. 

Kyle Connor is the X-factor for the Winnipeg Jets' offence. When he is confident and producing, they are a much better team because they rely on him so much. Connor has a lethal shot, especially off the rush. He was 7th in goals last season and now has two 40+ goal and 90+ point seasons. When he is on, he is an absolute force. 

The former 1st overall pick Dahlin has become one of the league's best defenseman. He's an elegant skater and puck-mover, but the thing that sets him apart is his shot and goal-scoring ability from the back end. Over the last three seasons, he ranks 2nd in goals by defensemen, mainly due to his massive shot. His defensive play has also improved over the years, but with the Sabres' porous team defence, he does not receive much help in that regard.