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<\/a><\/p>\n Center Nathan MacKinnon\u2019s presence gives Colorado an edge on virtually every other team. (Matthew Stockman \/ Getty Images)4. Colorado Avalanche<\/b>
Current quality: 94th percentile
Looking for: None<\/p>\n
No single player in the league is better equipped to deal with McDavid and Draisaitl than Nathan MacKinnon. His presence gives Colorado an edge on virtually every other team. Brock Nelson, who this month signed a three-year deal with a $7.5 million AAV, is the above-average second-line center the Avs had chased since Nazem Kadri left town.<\/p>\n
Behind them are Charlie Coyle and Jack Drury. Coyle is fine as a 3C in a vacuum, but his contract ($5.25 million AAV for one more season) isn\u2019t ideal. Drury gives them some decent defensive depth for the fourth line.<\/p>\n
5. Dallas Stars<\/b>
Current quality: 88th percentile
Looking for: None<\/p>\n
On Thursday morning, it was fair to wonder what Dallas\u2019 lineup would look like at the end of the offseason. Roope Hintz is a solid first-liner and Wyatt Johnston, as a 2C, is a luxury item. You can\u2019t reasonably ask for much more from your top two guys. Matt Duchene\u2019s pending UFA status, though, was a wrench in the works. If he were to walk, Dallas would need to replace him \u2014 and that\u2019d be no easy task. Duchene led the Stars in overall points (82) and was second at five-on-five (47).<\/p>\n
Now, after Duchene\u2019s four-year, $4.5 million AAV extension on Thursday, our question has an answer. Down the middle, Dallas is set.<\/p>\n
6. Tampa Bay Lightning<\/b>
Current quality: 76th percentile
Looking for: Depth center<\/p>\n
After the Stars and Avalanche, there\u2019s a fairly steep drop to the next tier. The Stars have three top-six centers to the Lightning\u2019s two. As for the Avalanche, Brayden Point is obviously not MacKinnon. Point and Anthony Cirelli don\u2019t even add up to MacKinnon, which is part of what creates such a divide.<\/p>\n
Regardless, the Lightning are pretty set down the middle. Point is a high-end 1C, Cirelli is a great shutdown center coming off a career year and one of Yanni Gourde or Nick Paul rounds out the top nine with defensive utility. It\u2019s a very strong trifecta that\u2019s easily contender-caliber, especially when paired with Tampa Bay\u2019s strengths elsewhere.<\/p>\n
All the Lightning really need is a stable 4C. Ideally, they get an upgrade from Luke Glendening, the team\u2019s go-to option last season. While the fourth line isn\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t be high on many teams\u2019 priority lists, it does help to at least be average at center there. The Lightning have been playing a bit too much catch-up with that role over the last few years.<\/p>\n
7. New York Islanders<\/b>
Current quality: 72nd percentile
Looking for: None<\/p>\n
Things are in flux for the Isles. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, a still-solid 3C, is once again a trade candidate, and there are indeed interested teams, according to Islanders reporter Stefen Rosner<\/a>. If new GM Mathieu Darche decides to move him, it\u2019s even more likely that Mathew Barzal will move back to center. He spent most of last season on Bo Horvat\u2019s right wing.<\/p>\n Either way, the Islanders are in decent shape. Horvat is a competent 1C, and Barzal\u2019s offensive production will give them a major advantage on the second line. If Pageau is moved, prospect Calum Ritchie \u2014 acquired from Colorado for Brock Nelson \u2014 figures to be in the mix as his replacement.<\/p>\n 8. Florida Panthers<\/b> Current quality: 61st percentile While there\u2019s a good chance that Sam Bennett will remain a Panther, he\u2019s not signed yet, so it\u2019s worth looking at where the Panthers stand with and without him.<\/p>\n Without him, the Panthers will probably be fine thanks to having a succession plan in line with Anton Lundell. That\u2019s an advantage that other teams with 2Cs hanging in the balance don\u2019t have. Lundell should have no trouble moving up the lineup and already looks 2C-worthy at age 23. That means the Panthers only need to find a middle-six center to fill the void, and not a true 2C \u2014 a much easier job.<\/p>\n Alternatively, Sam Reinhart can also shift to the middle, if needed. The Panthers have options, a result of having a deep team led by Aleksander Barkov, one of the league\u2019s top centers.<\/p>\n If Bennett returns, that\u2019s obviously ideal because it would give the Panthers the vaunted 1-2-3 punch that\u2019s made them feel unstoppable over the last two years. With Bennett, Florida has a top-five center group in the 88th percentile.<\/p>\n 9. Los Angeles Kings<\/b> Current quality: 60th percentile If you\u2019re a Kings fan who\u2019s yelling, \u201cWe have two high-end centers,\u201d take a breath. Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield are both, indeed, really good. But as Kopitar ages \u2014 he\u2019ll be 38 on opening night \u2014 it becomes even more crucial for Byfield to continue his development. Last season, once his puck luck changed in December, it was another step in the right direction. For now, though, Byfield is projected to be a low-end 1C in 2025-26. They need him to continue pushing that number in the right direction.<\/p>\n At 3C, little has changed. Phillip Danault is one of the best in the league at what he does.<\/p>\n 10. Buffalo Sabres<\/b> Current quality: 62nd percentile Assuming Tage Thompson is the team\u2019s 1C, the Sabres look surprisingly set. Thompson is a bona fide star at the top of the lineup, especially now that he\u2019s taken serious strides defensively. He\u2019s Buffalo\u2019s best forward and the main reason the Sabres rank so highly. If the Sabres put Thompson on the wing, however, they would drop to 22nd.<\/p>\n Both Ryan McLeod and Josh Norris look like decent top-six options, which should give the Sabres an advantage on the third line \u2014 again, assuming Thompson is driving the top line. Add Peyton Krebs, a solid 4C, to the mix, and Buffalo\u2019s pivots look playoff-caliber. Whether they (finally) make due on that promise is the big question.<\/p>\n 11. Ottawa Senators<\/b> Current quality: 65th percentile The Sens\u2019 top three makes plenty of sense. Tim St\u00fctzle has the juice necessary to be a first-liner on a good team, though he shot the puck less frequently in 2024-25 (about six per 60 minutes) than ever before. Dylan Cozens still profiles as a 2C, even though his numbers lag a bit. Shane Pinto, meanwhile, brings plenty of defensive value to a third line.<\/p>\n If they find a competent fourth-liner and if Cozens resumes his upward trajectory, things will look even better for the Sens.<\/p>\n 12. Carolina Hurricanes<\/b> Current quality: 57th percentile When Carolina signed Jesperi Kotkaniemi to an offer sheet, the vision was clear: lock in the entire prime of a potential 2C behind Sebastian Aho once Jordan Staal ages. Kotkaniemi, still just 24, has shown flashes, but never for long enough to believe he\u2019s that caliber of player. Within a deep lineup, that\u2019s one of Carolina\u2019s most glaring holes.<\/p>\n Aho is still a great 1C, Staal is fine as a 3C and Mark Jankowski is great as a 4C. But the presence of Kotkaniemi is what keeps the Hurricanes outside of the top 10. An upgrade there, or Kotkaniemi finally realizing his potential, is sorely needed.<\/p>\n 13. Toronto Maple Leafs<\/b> Current quality: 52nd percentile A John Tavares-less world is not an ideal one for the Leafs \u2014 at least not without an acceptable backup plan to fill the void behind Auston Matthews. With Tavares, the Leafs jump to the 94th percentile and into the top five. Without him, they\u2019re barely above average. The presence of Matthews can only do so much.<\/p>\n That\u2019s partially because the team\u2019s bottom-six center depth is also lacking. Neither Max Domi nor Scott Laughton looks like a strong enough 3C option, and that was apparent against the Panthers when going up against Lundell. Laughton works very well as a defensively responsible 4C, but an upgrade on Domi is necessary. If Tavares leaves on top of that, Toronto might be in trouble.<\/p>\n 14. Detroit Red Wings<\/b> Current quality: 59th percentile Dylan Larkin once again projects to provide completely legit production for a first-line center. For the first time in a long time, Detroit has reason for optimism behind him. Marco Kasper\u2019s first NHL season was a success. He led Detroit\u2019s regulars in expected goal share and popped off in the season\u2019s second half, leading all rookies with 17 goals after Jan. 10 and adding a welcome dose of creativity and tenacity to the mix.<\/p>\n For next season, he projects as an average 2C. That should be great news for the Red Wings \u2014 and the better news, based on his age and second-half production, is that he seems to be capable of more. Larkin needs help, and the other options (Andrew Copp and J.T. Compher) are limited for a team desperately trying to take the next step.<\/p>\n 15. Washington Capitals<\/b> Current quality: 41st percentile The key theme for the Capitals across the board will be similar: prove last year was no fluke. That might be harsh, but when it came time to actually play a legit contender, the Capitals folded. It was enough to warrant skepticism that many of the career years experienced throughout the roster were just that: highs that will be hard to repeat.<\/p>\n That brings us to Pierre-Luc Dubois. He\u2019s a high-pedigree player who flashed the potential of a two-way stud early in his career, but has also been plagued by consistency issues. Last year, he finally realized that potential, playing to the level of a top-15 center. Can he do it again? Maybe, but we\u2019re going to wait and see.<\/p>\n Dubois is the big key to Washington seeing consistent success, as he and Dylan Strome form a solid one-two punch down the middle: a shutdown center and a scoring center. They just need one of them to do it at a high enough level, and Dubois seems like the better bet.<\/p>\n Aside from that, Washington\u2019s only external need is another bottom-six center to pair with Nic Dowd. Ideally, Dowd works as a wonderful defensive 4C and someone is brought in above him. But he\u2019s strong enough that getting a depth center to play behind him is also fine.<\/p>\n 16. Pittsburgh Penguins<\/b> Current quality: 44th percentile There\u2019s a reason this could be Evgeni Malkin\u2019s last year with Pittsburgh. He\u2019s starting to fall short of expectations. Malkin\u2019s age (39 on opening night), combined with his drop in point production (50 in 68 games, 1.65 per 60 at five-on-five), has him projecting as a below-average second-line center for the first time in his career. He once was an MVP-caliber superstar. Then, he was an elite 2C. Then, he was an adequately, appropriately paid 2C. Now, we\u2019re talking about the end of the line. Age and injury catch up with everyone.<\/p>\n There\u2019s obviously no such problem for Sidney Crosby, who should remain a high-end 1C in his age-38 season. Still, Malkin\u2019s decline combined with underwhelming options on the bottom six \u2014 Kevin Hayes, Connor Dewar and so on \u2014 means that Pittsburgh can add \u201coverall down-the-middle ability\u201d to its list of problems.<\/p>\n 17. Minnesota Wild<\/b> Current quality: 44th percentile As is, Minnesota\u2019s center depth is probably not good enough. Joel Eriksson Ek is a solid 1C, just not to the level of the league\u2019s top teams. And the team has a gaping hole at 3C that needs to be addressed.<\/p>\n Naturally, that means one thing: the Wild should make it worse by trading their 23-year-old 2C. With Ryan Hartman sliding up in the event of a Rossi trade, the Wild would drop to 25th in these rankings.<\/p>\n It\u2019s odd that a franchise that\u2019s spent decades searching for center depth is so willing to trade a young 60-point center. Yes, Rossi\u2019s size is a concern, and yes, his production is partly a Kirill Kaprizov byproduct. Still, he\u2019s worth holding onto unless an obvious upgrade comes back the other way. And that feels unlikely.<\/p>\n With Rossi, Minnesota\u2019s center depth is at least average. Without? Woof.<\/p>\n 18. Winnipeg Jets<\/b> Current quality: 39th percentile Like too much of the dialogue surrounding the Jets, their lack of down-the-middle talent is old news. It\u2019s still a fact, though, even with Mark Scheifele once again projecting as a legit first-liner.<\/p>\n Vladimir Namestnikov has some defensive value. Adam Lowry is a solid 3C. Neither of them comes close to offering the reliable offensive pop that the Jets need if they\u2019re going to show the capability to truly rely on anything other than consistently great goaltending. They had that shot against Dallas and, once again, fell short.<\/p>\n 19. St. Louis Blues<\/b> Current quality: 38th percentile Robert Thomas was incredible last season and has emerged as one of the game\u2019s best. Oskar Sundqvist is a perfectly cromulent 4C. Those are St. Louis\u2019 center bookends \u2014 what they need is to fill the hole between them, whether that means a top-six center in front of Brayden Schenn, or a top-nine center behind him.<\/p>\n Schenn looked great once Jim Montgomery took over, meshing well on a line with Dylan Holloway and Jordan Kyrou. But if we\u2019re looking at the league\u2019s best teams, 2C is definitely an area where St. Louis is lacking in comparison. Shifting Schenn down would be the ideal move, allowing him to win bottom-six matchups. Without a superstar forward, St. Louis\u2019 best bet is building a depth advantage.<\/p>\n If that can\u2019t be accomplished, the Blues at the very least need a trustworthy player behind Schenn. Sundqvist won\u2019t cut it as the team\u2019s 3C.<\/p>\n 20. New York Rangers<\/b> Current quality: 33rd percentile
Looking for: Middle-six center<\/p>\n
Looking for: High-end center<\/p>\n
Looking for: None<\/p>\n
Looking for: Depth center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Top-six center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Top-six center, Top-nine center<\/p>\n
Looking for: None<\/p>\n
Looking for: High-end center, Bottom-six center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Top-six center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Top-nine center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Top-six center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Middle-six center<\/p>\n
Looking for: Bottom six centers<\/p>\n