Can anyone unseat Connor McDavid as the best center in fantasy hockey? The league’s best offensive player is at the top of the list for the umpteenth season coming off his second straight Art Ross win, and his 123 points is tied for the third-highest total cap era and it’s just the fifth time a player had surpassed the 120-point mark.
For the most part, there’s no debate among the top four and the order they’re in. The next few spots are occupied by the usual suspects and the final couple of spots are usually where the debates begin. However, the consensus around the fantasy landscape is that budding Devils superstar Jack Hughes is the best candidate to move into the top 10 this season.
Take a look at the top 10 centers, and don’t forget to pick up The Hockey News’ 2022-23 Fantasy Poolbook issue:
1. Connor McDavid, Oilers
McDavid has scored 697 points in 487 games since entering the league, 74 more than second-place Patrick Kane despite playing 44 fewer games, and his 1.43 P/GP mark is nearly 15 percent better than second-place Nikita Kucherov’s 1.25 P/GP. There’s no real debate for the top spot.
2. Leon Draisaitl (C/LW), Oilers
Draisaitl’s LW eligibility gives him the edge over McDavid in leagues that count faceoff wins, but he’s still a distant second place in scoring with a career 1.10 P/GP. They’re the only two players to also have scored over 300 points in the past three seasons, while third-place Jonathan Huberdeau has amassed only 254.
3. Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs
Matthews is the league’s most dangerous goal scorer, coming off a league-best 60-goal season and a Hart-Lindsay double win. Another 100-point season is likely to come, but where Matthews falls behind McDavid and Draisaitl is the lack of assists, averaging just 0.53 per game and tied for 40th last season.
4. Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche
For a player of MacKinnon’s calibre, his career 10.1 S% is oddly low. He’s a high-volume shooter but not a particularly great finisher – probably because he shoots from just about anywhere – and he’s separated from the top three by the fact that he’s yet to win the Art Ross or Rocket Richard. He does, however, have the one thing that really counts: a Cup.
5. Aleksander Barkov, Panthers
Paul Maurice will be Barkov’s eighth coach (!) in 10 seasons but the big Finnish pivot has been one of the league’s most consistent two-way pivots, earning Selke votes in eight straight seasons and finishing…
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