NHL Network’s season countdown has reached the edge of the top 10, with a group that includes three Norris-caliber blue-liners, two veteran franchise centers, two former Vezina winners and a pair of Dallas Stars driving the conversation. The latest reveal slots players Nos. 20 through 11 on the League’s current top-50 list.
Ranked 20 through 11
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20. Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars
Heiskanen logged the kind of all-situations workload few defensemen can match. In 77 games, the 27-year-old produced 63 points, including nine goals and 54 assists, placing ninth among NHL defensemen. His 25:28 average ice time ranked fourth among all skaters.
He also posted a career-high 132 blocks and stood alone as the only NHL player to average more than three minutes per game on both special-teams units: 3:27 on the power play and 3:06 while shorthanded. Heiskanen added six points in six playoff games and helped Finland capture Olympic bronze, recording two goals and five points in six games.
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19. Mikko Rantanen, F, Dallas Stars
Rantanen paced Dallas with 55 assists and finished third on the club in both goals, with 22, and points, with 77, despite appearing in only 64 games. His 1.20 points per game ranked 15th in the NHL after an injury cost him 18 contests.
On Nov. 4, 2025, Rantanen scored twice, including the 300th goal of his NHL career, and added an assist in Dallas’ 4-3 shootout win against Edmonton. He became the fourth Finnish-born player to reach 300 NHL goals, joining Teemu Selanne, Jari Kurri and Olli Jokinen. Entering this season, his 782 points are tied with Aleksander Barkov for fourth among Finland-born players. The 29-year-old also had six points in five Olympic games for Finland and played in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
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18. Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets
Hellebuyck’s 23-23-11 record, 2.86 goals-against average and .895 save percentage over 57 games fell below his usual standard, but the body of work remains elite. The Jets goaltender won the Vezina Trophy in each of the previous two seasons and collected his third Vezina, plus the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, in 2024-25.
That year he went 47-12-3, shared the League lead with 63 appearances, and led all qualified goalies in victories, 2.00 GAA and eight shutouts. His .925 save percentage trailed only Toronto’s Anthony Stolarz. Now 33, Hellebuyck has reached 30 wins in six of his 11 NHL seasons. His 345 wins since 2015-16 trail only Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 363.
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17. Rasmus Dahlin, D, Buffalo Sabres
Dahlin delivered the strongest season of his career while helping Buffalo turn a long-awaited corner. His 74 points, on 19 goals and 55 assists in 77 games, were the most by a Sabres defenseman since Phil Housley posted 81 in 1989-90. Dahlin’s 52 points at even strength set a Buffalo record for a blue-liner.
With Dahlin on the ice at 5-on-5, Buffalo controlled 52.0 percent of shot attempts. The Sabres spent 45.5 percent of those minutes in the offensive zone, a figure in the 94th percentile among NHL players. He finished third in Norris Trophy voting as Buffalo ended its 14-year playoff absence and won a postseason round for the first time since 2007. Dahlin had four goals and 14 points in 13 playoff games, second on the team.
Off the ice, he was caring for his fiancée during her recovery from a heart transplant. His perseverance and commitment made him a Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy finalist.
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16. Mitch Marner, F, Vegas Golden Knights
Marner’s first year in Vegas was a productive one: 24 goals, 56 assists and 80 points in 81 regular-season games, followed by a team-leading 29 points in 22 playoff outings. His postseason line included 10 goals and 19 assists.
The right wing arrived from Toronto in a July 1, 2025 trade and signed an eight-year deal worth $96 million, carrying a $12 million annual cap hit. Marner scored 1:22 into overtime against Czechia on Feb. 18 to send Canada to the Olympic semifinals with a 4-3 victory. Nine days later, he collected his 800th NHL point with an assist at Washington.
In the Stanley Cup Final, he scored three straight goals in 6:10 during the second period of Game 3 against Carolina, the fastest hat trick in Final history. Vegas won that game 5-4.
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15. Auston Matthews, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Injury interrupted Matthews’ season, limiting him to 53 points and 27 goals while costing him 22 games. Both totals were the lowest of his 10 NHL seasons, but they came after he scored at least 30 goals in each of his first nine campaigns.
The 29-year-old nevertheless became Toronto’s all-time leading goal scorer. His 428 NHL goals are the most in the League since he entered it. Matthews owns three Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies, scored 69 times in 2023-24, and won both the Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award after his 60-goal, 106-point season in 2021-22.
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14. Kirill Kaprizov, F, Minnesota Wild
Kaprizov begins the season on an eight-year, $136 million contract signed Sept. 30, 2025, an agreement with a $17 million average annual value. His 45 goals last season marked his fourth 40-goal campaign, and he remains the only Wild player to record multiple seasons at that level.
The 29-year-old reached 400 NHL points with a three-assist night against San Jose on Oct. 26, 2025, becoming the fastest player in Minnesota history to the mark. On March 3, his 220th NHL goal moved him past Marian Gaborik for the most goals by a Wild player since the franchise entered the NHL in 2000-01.
Kaprizov leads Minnesota in points per game at 1.20, goals per game at 0.58 and overtime goals with 14. He shared the club playoff scoring lead with Quinn Hughes last spring, putting up four goals and 15 points.
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13. Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, Tampa Bay Lightning
Vasilevskiy earned his second Vezina Trophy last season after leading the NHL with 39 victories. Among goaltenders with at least 45 starts, he ranked second in save percentage at .912 and goals-against average at 2.31.
He allowed no more than two goals in 35 of 58 games and carried Tampa Bay through a dominant stretch from Dec. 20 through Feb. 25, going 17-0-1 with a 1.90 GAA and .925 save percentage. The 32-year-old helped the Lightning reach the playoffs for the ninth consecutive season.
Since 2015-16, Vasilevskiy leads all NHL goalies with 363 wins and ranks third with 41 shutouts. A six-time Vezina finalist, he backstopped Tampa Bay to Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and won the Conn Smythe Trophy in the second championship run.
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12. Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins
Crosby remained a point-per-game player in his 21st NHL season, recording 29 goals and 74 points in 68 games. It was his 21st straight season at that rate, and he helped Pittsburgh return to the playoffs after a three-year absence. In the postseason, he led the Penguins with a goal and five points.
At age 39, Crosby ranks seventh all-time in NHL scoring with 1,771 points, eighth in assists with 1,107 and 15th in goals with 654. His résumé includes three Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythe Trophies, two Hart Trophies, two Art Ross Trophies, two Rocket Richard Trophies and three Ted Lindsay Awards.
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11. Zach Werenski, D, Columbus Blue Jackets
Werenski’s Norris Trophy-winning season featured 22 goals, 59 assists and 81 points in 75 games. He led Columbus in scoring and finished second among NHL defensemen, one point shy of the career-high 82 he posted in 2024-25.
That made Werenski the ninth defenseman in League history to produce consecutive 80-point seasons. His 59 assists matched the Blue Jackets’ single-season record, first set by Artemi Panarin in 2018-19 and previously matched by Werenski in 2024-25. His 22 goals were one below his own franchise mark for a defenseman.
At even strength, Werenski posted a plus-9 goal differential and ranked third in the NHL with 22:21 of average ice time. He also helped the United States win Olympic gold, finishing with a goal and six points in six games. His primary assist on Jack Hughes’ overtime winner gave the Americans a 2-1 championship-game victory over Canada.
What stands out
- Dallas places both Heiskanen and Rantanen in this segment, giving the Stars a top-end defenseman and a point-producing wing among the League’s upper tier.
- The goaltending group is anchored by Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy, who have combined for five Vezina Trophies and remain the win leaders of their era.
- Dahlin, Heiskanen and Werenski highlight a deep defense contingent, with all three carrying major minutes while producing at a first-pair scoring rate.
- Crosby and Matthews bring the established center-star power, while Kaprizov and Marner arrive after landmark offensive seasons and major franchise moments.
