The NHL season kicks off in October, with a recap of last year’s results, the rookie draft, and the summer free-agent moves shaping the league. Among the many evaluations, Action Network reporter Chase McCallum compiled a list naming the 100 best skaters in the NHL. Goalkeepers are not included in this ranking. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid topped the list, followed by the 2021/2022 MVP Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche and Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews in third place.
Among foreign-born players, the best showing featured Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning, who ranked sixth. The Lightning reached the Stanley Cup Final that year but fell to the Colorado Avalanche in the championship series.
Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov finished 15th, keeping the top 15 largely populated by North American players while concluding the Russians’ run in the top 30. Pavel Buchnevich of the St. Louis Blues landed at 39th, Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals was 70th, and Valery Nichushkin of the Colorado Avalanche sat at 79th.
Ovechkin enjoyed a landmark season. Before the start, many analysts doubted whether the Russian star could maintain his earlier form due to age and injuries. Yet he delivered a strong regular season, appearing in 77 games and posting 90 points (50 goals, 40 assists). The performance also gave a renewed push in the pursuit of the all-time goal-scoring record for a player. In the playoffs, Washington again encountered misfortune, losing to the Florida Panthers in the first round and missing a deep run for the fourth straight year. Ovechkin accumulated 6 points in six playoff games (1 goal, 5 assists). Given this, his 70th place in McCallum’s ranking drew some surprise.
Ovechkin responded to the ranking with characteristic calm.
“So I earned it. So this ranking. You’ll have to ask them,” Match TV quoted Ovechkin as saying.
Vladimir Plushev, the former coach of Russia’s national team, told socialbites.ca that such lists fail to define a player’s true level and that Ovechkin should be ranked higher.
“I don’t believe in ratings. They don’t measure a player’s class. Even for the most modest chart, I’d expect Sasha to be much higher, certainly not in the top 70. This seems more like a reflection of broader policy toward Russia and its athletes,” Plushev commented.
Andrey Safronov, the former general manager of Russia’s national team and Dynamo, criticized the rating, while noting how difficult it is to project Ovechkin’s form for the next season.
“I think that ranking by this specialist ends up self-explanatory. Sasha has already proven so much and continues to show it. If luck holds as it did last year, and he avoids injuries, he can keep scoring at a high rate,” Safronov told socialbites.ca.
For Ovechkin, last season marked his most productive campaign in 13 years, with his points total rivaling his best early seasons in the league. Yet McCallum’s list wasn’t the sole ranking that sparked debate. The NHL’s official portal did not place Ovechkin in the top 10, ranking him 11th, while the Puce Empire portal listed him 34th among all players in the league. This disparity fueled North American conversations about the method and meaning of such rankings.
People recalled a similar controversy from the previous year when pundits questioned Ovechkin’s ability to approach Gretzky’s all-time goals record. Some critics argued he could not reach 30 goals in a season, yet he surpassed that expectation by a wide margin, moving closer to Gretzky’s mark. Ovechkin’s pursuit remains a notable storyline as the new season approaches.
With 114 goals separating Ovechkin from Gretzky on the all-time list, the gap no longer seems insurmountable. Gordie Howe holds second place, with only a handful of goals needed to close the distance, should the new campaign unfold in a similar fashion. The upcoming season promises to test whether the Great Eight can continue his prolific drive and whether any other veterans or rising stars will reshuffle these dynamic standings.