2022-23 NHL Rank – Top 100 player predictions across teams

The top 100 NHL players for the 2022-23 season are difficult to rank, given the incredible depth of talent at almost every position.

To create our annual ranking of the NHL’s top 100 players, we asked an ESPN panel of more than 50 hockey experts to rate players based on how good they will be in the 2022-23 season compared to their peers.

The Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche were tied for the most players in the top 100 with six, along with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning and the Vancouver Canucks. Only three teams failed to place a player in the top 100 — and the Arizona Coyotes are not one of the three.

Emphasis was placed solely on expectations for the upcoming season and predicting potential greatness, rather than past performance, career résumé or positional value. Hence, long-term injuries to players, such as the season-ending surgery for Robin Lehner of the Vegas Golden Knights, were taken into consideration.

There may be no greater indication of the NHL’s depth than the fact that the center position — the source of the league’s star power for decades — accounted for only seven spots in the top 20. Centers do encompass four slots in the top seven players, however.

After counting down from 100-51, here we present the top 50, including a significant change from last season’s top three:

2021-22 rank: 18
Age: 25

Barzal earned an eight-year contract extension from the Islanders based on past performance — as the team’s perennial leading scorer — and future returns. The center is eyeing an improved defensive game to complement his offensive abilities as an elite playmaker in New York’s system. –Kristen Shilton

2021-22 rank: 41
Age: 26

Demko showed last season he was more than capable of handling the demands of being a No. 1 by starting 61 games and winning 33 times. –Ryan S. Clark

2021-22 rank: 96
Age: 26

Blazing speed and 30-goal offense define this 26-year-old forward for Detroit. –Greg Wyshynski