Kotkaniemi

Tavares?

If you're gonna put Kotkaniemi and Hayton on this list Cates and Frost definitely should be here

Ya, I'll add him

Point 10th he scored 51😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😅😅😂😅😂😂

Sidney Patrick Crosby

JEE
Backlund
Lundell
Perfetti
Mercer

Yeah, the four guys directly ahead of him need to step aside.

Heh. I knew you'd prop Suzuki above Thomas. Also, it's a pretty bold guess to keep Schenn out of the top 50.

Finally some Pettersson respect

It's very very close don't get me wrong. The only reason I did is because of a significant ppg drop on Thomas. I get he was on a weak team this year, but the fact that he didn't put at least the same numbers as in 2021-22 made me choose Suzuki over Thomas. It's going to be a coin flip for a lot more seasons

Dach, Kotkaniemi and Byfield don't belong anywhere near this list. Lindholm and Kopitar should be higher, as should Draisaitl.

Be ready to see KK and Dach get 60+ points next year.

Lots of great passes with bad finishes. Either way, Thomas still plays a minute and half less per game than Suzuki and is significantly better at several other C duties (draws, puck battles, zone entries, etc.).

You have Malkin pretty low for a P/GP guy... and where is Nugent-Hopkins?

RNH is considered a winger for this. Malkin is getting old, and I see Pittsburgh as a bottom 5-10 team in the NHL next year, so doesn't bond well for next year

IDK if he is significantly better, at all of those, but I'm not denying your opinion of Thomas>Suzuki. Personally, I have it the other way around since I think Suzuki might be the better 1st line center next year, mostly because of point production. Each to our own, and time will tell who will be on top.

5 maybe 6 actually

Nuge played less than 30% with McDavid this year. He's still primarily a center even if Edmonton's top-6 is crowded with talent.

Malkin will very likely be a point per game player next year irrespective of how well Pittsburgh does in the standings.

Point underrated

He fluctuates too much to be any higher

1 - He is. Empirically. Faceoff stats are 53-47 this season. Thomas was top five in the NHL in puck battles won per game this season, Suzuki was nowhere to be found in the top 25 chart I saw (and I'm guessing he didn't make it to the top 50, either). Last time I looked, Thomas was top 10 among all forwards in controlled entries, Suzuki was down around 40th. Roughly the same goes for rate of converting entries into chances.

2 - Like I said, Thomas' production rates remain considerably higher (about 14%). He's just on (what had been) a much better team behind O'Reilly. His minutes will presumably rise again next season.

I understand it, you prefer your team's guy. No biggie. Lots of people underestimate Thomas.

Injuries, man. Besides, how many 27 yo Cs do you think are sitting on 40 playoff goals, three finals and two Cups right now? The answer is one. The only other active 27 yo (or younger) with at least 40 playoff goals is McKinnon.