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Winning important face-offs, leading rushes up the ice, and setting up teammates are the hallmarks of an elite center. NHL Network producers and analysts on Wednesday revealed their list of the top 20 centers in the League right now in the third of a nine-part series. Here is the list:

20. Nico Hischier, New Jersey Devils

Hischier holds the record for being the highest drafted player from Switzerland in NHL history, being the No. 1 choice in the 2017 NHL Draft. The 25-year-old is also the captain of the New Jersey team. He has scored 67 points, including 27 goals and 40 assists, in 71 regular-season games and 39 points, comprising 14 goals and 25 assists, in 35 games after the 2024 NHL All-Star Game. He played an average of 20:36 minutes on the ice during these games. Throughout his career, he has accumulated a total of 353 points – 136 goals and 217 assists in 452 regular-season games.

19. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers

Zibanejad was named as one of the first six players to join the Sweden team competing against the United States, Canada, and Finland in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, scheduled for Feb. 12-20. He has an impressive record with 72 points (26 goals, 46 assists) from 81 games, and an additional 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) from 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games. This contribution was instrumental in propelling the Rangers to the Eastern Conference Final, despite a six-game defeat to the Florida Panthers. The 31-year-old player has consistently scored a minimum of 20 goals in nine out of the last 10 seasons.

18. Robert Thomas, St. Louis Blues

Last season, Thomas set new personal bests in his NHL career with 26 goals, 60 assists, 86 points, and 82 games played. He also earned his first selection as an NHL All-Star. The 25-year-old player has accumulated 315 points in the NHL, ranking him fourth among players from his 2017 draft class. He trails behind Elias Pettersson with 412 points, Hischier with 353 points, and Cale Makar with 336 points.

17. Tim Stutzle, Ottawa Senators

Despite a decrease in Stutzle’s goal total from 39 in the 2022-23 season to 18 in the last season, and his point total from 90 to 70, he achieved an NHL career-high of 52 assists in 75 games and nearly a point per game (0.93). The 22-year-old faced injuries and expanded responsibilities due to injuries of center Josh Norris and Shane Pinto’s absence from the first 41 games for sports wagering reasons. Stutzle, the No. 3 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, tops his draft class in goals (91), assists (156), and points (247).

16. Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens

The captain of the Canadiens reached new NHL career peaks last season with 33 goals, 44 assists, and 77 points in 82 games. He notched his 100th NHL career goal just 17 seconds into an overtime game against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on March 5, leading to a 4-3 victory. The 25-year-old has amassed 286 points, comprising of 108 goals and 178 assists, in his 373 regular-season games.

15. Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings

The captain of the Red Wings had an NHL career-best last season, scoring 33 goals and making 36 assists in 68 games. This marked the fourth time he has scored a minimum of 30 goals in his career. The 28-year-old player, for the first time in his nine NHL seasons, averaged over a point per game (1.01). He scored his 200th NHL goal on January 27 and achieved his 500th point on April 11.

14. Roope Hintz, Dallas Stars

Since joining the Stars in the 2018-19 season, Hintz has demonstrated consistent performance. Last season, he scored 65 points (30 goals, 35 assists) in 80 games, following 72 and 75 points in the two preceding seasons. His production was hampered by injuries during Dallas’ journey to the Western Conference Final, where they suffered a six-game loss to the Edmonton Oilers. During this run, he managed to score eight points (two goals, six assists) in 15 games.

13. Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks

The recipient of the 2024 Calder Trophy, who was leading or tied for the lead amongst rookies and the Blackhawks in goals (22), assists (39), and points (61), managed to achieve this despite being sidelined for 14 games due to an injury. Now 19, Bedard has made history as the second youngest player in the NHL (at 18 years and 276 days) to either tie or outright lead in all three categories as a rookie. This record was previously set by Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche (aged 18 years and 224 days) in the 2013-14 season.

12. Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes

Aho was among the first six players selected to represent Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He achieved a career-high 89 points in the NHL last season, with 36 goals and 53 assists, leading the Hurricanes in all three categories for the third time. The 27-year-old also accumulated 12 points, comprising four goals and eight assists, in 11 playoff games. This achievement placed him in the elite company of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, becoming the third player in NHL history to tie or lead his team’s scoring in each of his first six postseasons.

11. J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks

Miller recently completed his first 100-point season in the NHL, with a total of 103 points, comprised of 37 goals and 66 assists. He is only the sixth player in the past four decades and the second in the last season, following Artemi Panarin, to achieve a 100-point season at the age of 31 or older. Other players who achieved this feat include Erik Karlsson in 2022-23, Steven Stamkos in 2021-22, Martin St. Louis in 2006-07, and Daniel Alfredsson in 2005-06. Miller’s exceptional performance contributed to the Canucks’ 50-game winning streak and their second playoff appearance since the 2014-15 season. In the 13 postseason games, Miller scored 12 points, including three goals and nine assists. For the last three seasons, he has consistently scored at least 32 goals and 82 points.

10. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks

On March 2, 2024, Pettersson signed a contract extension with the Canucks for eight years, bypassing restricted free agency. During his time in the NHL, he has achieved more than 50 percent of his face-offs (50.8 percent) for the first time and scored 89 points (34 goals, 55 assists). His career topped with 10 game-winning goals, tying with Daniel Sedin for the third-highest in a season in Canucks history. His 125 hits surpassed his previous records and exceeded the combined hits of his past three seasons. The 25-year-old has maintained a consistent performance by scoring at least 32 goals in each of the last three seasons.

9. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils

Despite missing 20 games due to an injury, Hughes managed to score 74 points (27 goals, 47 assists). He underwent shoulder surgery on April 10 but is anticipated to be fit for the training camp. Hughes, the top pick of the 2019 NHL Draft, led the Devils with an average of 1.19 points per game and 31 power-play points. He also led New Jersey forwards in average ice time (20:58). In the 2022-23 season, the 23-year-old set personal records with 43 goals, 56 assists, and 99 points in 78 games.

8. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

Eichel was among the initial six players selected to represent the US at the 4 Nations Face-Off. In the previous season, he accumulated 68 points, including 31 goals and 37 assists, over 63 games, and seven points from three goals and four assists in seven playoff games. At 27, Eichel clinched the Stanley Cup in 2023, leading the playoffs with 26 points (six goals, 20 assists). This was the third-highest score in NHL history by a player on their inaugural postseason trip.

7. Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning

Point had yet another successful season, scoring 90 points (46 goals, 44 assists) in 81 games. This comes off the back of his previous season where he scored 51 goals, leading Tampa Bay and placing fifth in the NHL. The 28-year-old has consistently scored 20 or more goals for seven consecutive seasons, including over 40 goals three times. In his 87 playoff games, he has scored 87 points (42 goals, 45 assists) and has twice led the Lightning to victory in the Cup (2020, 2021).

6. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

The captain of the Penguins, aged 37, has been selected for Canada’s 4 Nations Face-off team. Crosby, in his 19th season with the NHL, was the leading scorer for Pittsburgh last year, amassing 94 points (42 goals, 52 assists) from 82 games, with 30 of those points (10 goals, 20 assists) scored in the final 18 games. Crosby’s record matches that of Gretzky, with the most seasons (19) in NHL history scoring at least one point per game. A three-time Stanley Cup champion (2009, 2016, 2017) and two-time Conn Smythe Trophy recipient (2016, 2017), Crosby has also claimed the Art Ross Trophy, Hart Trophy and “Rocket” Richard Trophy twice each, the Ted Lindsay Award thrice, and was named among the 100 greatest players in the NHL during the League’s Centennial celebration in 2017.

5. Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

Barkov, the first NHL captain from Finland to win the Stanley Cup, played a critical role in a 2-1 Game 7 win against the Oilers during the 2024 Final. This victory brought the Panthers their inaugural NHL championship. Throughout the series, Barkov contributed five points (two goals, three assists), amassing 22 points (eight goals, 14 assists) in 24 playoff games. The 28-year-old player also had 80 points (23 goals, 57 assists) in 73 regular-season games. Additionally, Barkov was among the first six players chosen for Finland’s team in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

4. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers

Last season, Draisaitl ranked seventh in the NHL with 106 points, comprising of 41 goals and 65 assists, from 81 regular-season games. He also scored 31 points, including 10 goals and 21 assists in 25 playoff games. The 28-year-old, who was the third overall pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, has amassed 850 points from 347 goals and 503 assists in 719 regular-season games, and 108 points from 41 goals and 67 assists in 74 playoff games. Since the 2018-19 season, Draisaitl is second in the NHL for the most goals (254), trailing behind Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs with 272. He is also second in points, tallying 726, which is equal to his teammate, Connor McDavid.

3. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

The 26-year-old player managed to score 69 goals in the last season, making him the first player since Lemieux in the 1995-96 season to achieve such a feat. This was when Lemieux scored 69 goals in 70 games. Matthews, who managed to score 60 goals in the 2021-22 season, is the ninth NHL player with at least two seasons scoring 60 or more goals. He joins the ranks of Mike Bossy, Gretzky, Phil Esposito, Lemieux, Brett Hull, Pavel Bure, Jari Kurri, and Steve Yzerman. Matthews, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, has the highest goal count since he was drafted and is set to represent the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

The holder of the Hart Trophy as NHL’s most valuable player, who finished second in the NHL with 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) over 82 games, also claimed the Ted Lindsay Award. This award is given to the best player as chosen by the NHL Players’ Association. MacKinnon will represent Canada in the 4 Nations Face-off. Last season, he had a 35-game home point streak, tallying 77 points (29 goals, 48 assists), which is second only to Gretzky’s 40-game streak with the Los Angeles Kings in 1988-89. At the age of 28, he won the Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 2022.

1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

McDavid finished third in Hart voting behind MacKinnon and Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov. The Oilers captain was third in the NHL with 132 points in 76 games last season and finished the 2024 playoffs with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 25 games; only Gretzky and Lemieux had more in one postseason. He became the sixth player on the losing team of the Final to win the Conn Smythe Trophy, and the first skater since Reggie Leach with the Philadelphia Flyers in 1976. The 27-year-old who was the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft leads the League in points (982 in 645 games) since entering the League and was named to Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster.