There are some surprises in the Top-25 TSN's ranking
Photo credit: Imagn Images
TSN's mid-season Top 25 NHL player rankings have Leon Draisaitl at No. 1 and this is cementing his status as the league's top performer this season.
With 36 goals and 76 points in 51 games, he's leading the charge for Edmonton and is justifying his new eight-year of $14 million AAV extension.
His closest competitor who is Nathan MacKinnon has 78 points but a league-high 12 empty-net points.
Connor McDavid who is usually the undisputed No. 1 has fallen to third due to his injuries and suspension but he still has 67 points in 45 games.
The biggest surprise in the rankings is Connor Hellebuyck at No. 4 who is leading all goalies in wins with 32, GAA with 2.00, save percentage with .927 and goals saved above expected of 37.
Nikita Kucherov rounds out the top five since he is leading the league in points per game.
Defensively, there's Quinn Hughes at No. 6 and Cale Makar at No. 7 and are neck-and-neck in the Norris race.
Meanwhile, Mikko Rantanen is No. 8 and made history as an in-season trade acquisition for Carolina.
Notably absent from the list are Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby and despite Ovechkin being ranked second in goals per game with 0.66, he remains just 19 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record.
Two major snubs for Team Canada stand out and they are Logan Thompson at No. 14 and Mark Scheifele at No. 17 who are both outperforming players selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off.
With Winnipeg leading the way with four players in the Top 25 and Canada having the most representatives with 10, the rankings set the stage for an exciting second half of the season.
TRENDING NOW
