Sportsnet's Top 10 NHL players for 2022-23...and who could crack next year's list
Sportsnet asked 13 hockey insiders for their opinion on who the top 10 players are in the NHL heading into the 2022-23 season. They assigned point values for each vote. McDavid was the unanimous pick at the the head of every ballot. Since entering the league in 2015-16, McDaniels is the highest-scoring NHLer by 73 points. Cale Makar is his equal on the blue line. On Thursday, Sportsnet will analyze the players ranked 11-15. and make a case why they should have made this list. The list is based on a straight ranking of players.
Sidney Crosby has won two Stanley Cups and one Norris Trophy. Igor Shesterkin has exceeded expectations in his three seasons in the NHL. Vasilevskiy is surrounded by a better team but he still came second to Sheerkin. He won his first Vezina Trophy for it. He is the best goalie in Russia. The Rangers are an emerging team. They ranked 20th in shot differential last season. Their 44.86 goals saved above expected was the highest since Tim Thomas’ 45.77 in 2010-11. It was also their best single season mark since 2010.
Vasilevskiy is a one-time winner of the best goalie award. He has a .950 save percentage, 1.39 GAA and a 20-2 record in elimination games. Josi is coming off a season in which he accumulated 96 points. It was the first time a defenceman had scored that high in a single season since Phil Housley’s 97 points in 1992-93.
The exercise was to identify a player who didn't make the top 10 cut this year, but could play themselves into the discussion by the time the 2023-24 season rolls around.
Jack Eichel is hoping to make a big break out of the Vegas Golden Knights. He scored 1.06 points per game in Buffalo last three seasons. If Vegas makes the playoffs and stays healthy, Eiichell could be in the top 10.
Jack Hughes played 49 games last season and scored 56 points. He scored 26 goals, more than he had scored in the first two years of his career combined. Sportsnet's Top 10 NHL players for 2022-23 are Jack Hughes, Taylor Hall and Adam Henke.
Artemi Panarin got 10th place in Sportsnet's list of the top 10 NHL players for 2022-23. Panin has the fourth-most points among all NHLers since entering the league. He's been a Hart Trophy finalist before and finished third in the 2019-20 season.
Adam Fox won the 2020-21 Norris Trophy. He's the league's fifth-highest scoring defenceman. There's a pattern with Rangers players and there won't be three of them in the top 10 next season.
