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The center of the ice was manned by some of the finest NHL players in history. All-time greats like Mario Lemieux, Wayne Gretzky, and Mark Messier played center throughout their illustrious NHL careers.
Being a playmaker and winning crucial faceoffs are just a few of the responsibilities that come with playing this position. There haven’t been many changes to the center position in the NHL today. The position has some of the league’s most gifted athletes.
Hockey centers have a lot of responsibilities. Faceoffs, responsible play in the defensive zone, and acting as a driving force off the rush are all required of them.
A team needs an outstanding center to be a championship-caliber squad. Just consider previous Stanley Cup champions. Nathan MacKinnon was on the Avs, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point were on the Lightning, Ryan O’Reilly was on the Blues, and so on.
In the NHL, there are a ton of outstanding centers, from seasoned pros who have been dominating for more than a decade to young players who have emerged and taken center stage.
Point was prevented from putting on another outstanding postseason performance by a lower-body injury, but he has established a strong reputation as a playoff phenomenon. He hasn’t contributed as well during the regular season since he went on a 92-point scoring spree four years ago; last year, he scored 58 points in 66 games. The 26-year-old is a top center in the league because he can be counted on in any circumstance.
Aho has become one of the most talented goal-scorers in just six whole seasons. He is the top-line center for the Hurricanes and has accumulated 182 goals and 219 assists over that time. Aho has exceeded the 30-goal threshold in three of his six seasons, including the 2019–20 campaign, when he scored a career-high 38 goals in 68 appearances. It’s no secret that Aho has a cannon-like shot that has caused problems for NHL goalies. Aho will continue to be one of the league’s top goal-scorers for a long time since he has many more years of high productivity left. He has established himself as the Hurricanes’ leading scorer and, coming off an 81-point season, has averaged around one point per game over the past four seasons. The Finn excels in every area of the game and has a talent for making plays in the opponent’s zone.
![Mika Zibanejad in a file photo [Image-NHL.com]](https://cdn.sportslumo.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/05093007/Mika-Zibanejad-in-a-file-photo-Image-NHL.com1_-1024x576.jpg)
With the explosive pair of Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin on their top line, the Rangers have truly struck gold. Zibanejad is one of the league’s most underestimated centers because of this. 229 goals and 286 assists have been tallied by Zibanejad during his 11-year career. He recently finished a season with 81 points (29 goals and 52 assists). When he began his career with the Ottawa Senators, Zibanejad was a capable center, but it was in New York City that he truly blossomed into an exceptional player. He shoots at a high rate and excels in power play. Zibanejad has become a center who can be relied upon in all three zones thanks to significant improvement in his faceoff dot.
Even if the main player for the Penguins isn’t as deadly as he once was, Crosby is still one of the best players to inhabit the middle of the ice. In 69 games last season, Crosby had 31 goals and 53 assists for a total of 69 points. The 35-year-old star’s 84 points were his highest total since the 2018–19 season when he posted a 100–point season. Crosby still has top playmaking skills, and it helps that he can distribute the puck to skilled forwards like Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel. Despite his advancing years, it was encouraging to see Crosby recover from a couple of disappointing seasons.
READ MORE: Ranking the top 10 NHL players so far in the 2022/23 season
Bergeron has made a name for himself as one of the NHL’s best center-ice players over the last 18 seasons. The Bruins center is a five-time Selke Trophy winner (awarded to the league’s greatest defensive forward), a three-time All-Star, and a Stanley Cup champion, among many other honors. The 37-year-old superstar was awarded the Selke Trophy once more for his accomplishments in the 2021–22 season. Even as he begins his 19th season as a professional, Bergeron is still a force on both sides of the rink. The NHL’s top faceoff winner last year, the talented forward won 61.9 percent of them.
Hockey fans weren’t sure whether they would ever see Stamkos produce at a high level again going into the 2021–22 season. Those worries were immediately allayed, though, as Stamkos produced a 106-point season (42 goals and 64 assists). Stamkos exceeded 100 points for the first time in his career, and he also set a career-best with 64 assists. Oh, and in Tampa Bay’s third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, Stamkos scored a team-high 11 postseason goals. Stamkos belongs to the top tier of the league’s centers due to his outstanding level of play even at the age of 32, when he is still unquestionably as dangerous as ever on the offensive end of the rink.
Last but not least, MacKinnon, 27, is a Stanley Cup victor after helping the Avalanche win the trophy. Despite only participating in 65 games, MacKinnon led Colorado with 88 points. He possesses the hands, the quickness, the shooting ability, and most assuredly the desire. MacKinnon is one of the most fascinating players to watch because he is the total package. The five-time All-Star is also really good at passing the puck to his teammates: the 2021–22 season was the fourth time in the previous five that MacKinnon had 50 or more assists.
Few NHL teams have the luxury that the Oilers do: two excellent centers on their roster. As talented as Connor McDavid is, Leon Draisaitl, another center, is an equally terrific athlete. Draisaitl just concluded the previous season with 110 points, which placed him fourth in the league behind only McDavid, Johnny Gaudreau, and Jonathan Huberdeau. The Oilers’ star is a large-framed center who makes use of his stature as he drives the puck toward the goal. Last year, when he finished second in the NHL in goals, he demonstrated that (55). Draisaitl is the best second-line center in the NHL.
Even though McDavid was great all season long, Matthews was maybe superior. Matthews has always had the skill, but it wasn’t until the 2021–22 season that the star of the Maple Leafs started to gel. On his way to a career-high 60 goals, Matthews was a walking highlight reel. Rick Valve’s previous franchise record of 54 goals in a single season from 1981–1982 was eclipsed by the former No. 1 choice. Before the 2021–22 season, Matthews had never scored more than 80 points in a season, so it will be interesting to see if this becomes the new standard.
McDavid is coming off his fourth career win and second straight Art Ross victory as he begins the 2022–23 season. For the third consecutive season and the eighth time in his NHL career, he wants to reach 100 points. Given that McDavid is now the finest player in the world, it is no surprise that he is ranked first among centers. As great as his statistics were, it’s possible that the fact that he guided Edmonton to their first Western Conference Final since 2006 was even more remarkable. Simply said, McDavid and “elite” go together like peanut butter and jelly. There is no denying that McDavid is the best center the NHL has to offer given everything he has achieved in his seven-year career.
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