Top 100 NHL Players In 2026: 41 To 50
The Montreal Canadiens may not have advanced to the Stanley Cup final, but they've answered questions about the present and the future.
With a 101-point season and a second straight point-per-game campaign, any doubts about captain Nick Suzuki being a bona fide No. 1 center have been quashed.
He's one of a few stars in Canadian markets who appear in The Hockey News' top 100 NHL players ranking from 41st to 50th place. Toronto Maple Leafs right winger William Nylander and Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle are the others.
Top 100 NHL Players In 2026: 51 To 60
The Senators' Jake Sanderson, Red Wings' Dylan Larkin and Jets' Kyle Connor are listed between 51st and 60th on The Hockey News' top 100 players ranking.
Criteria
- The greatest emphasis was put on how they're playing this season, with a smaller emphasis placed on how they played the previous year (2024-25). There was also slight consideration for how they played two or three seasons prior to that. We structured it this way because we didn't want any one-year wonders making the list. Moreover, sometimes star players can have a down year.
- We attempted to construct the top 100 to reflect a 20-man lineup, where 12 players are forwards, six are defensemen and two are goalies. So an evenly distributed top 100 should have 60 forwards, 30 D-men and 10 goalies. We aimed to keep that structure consistent within every group of 10 or 20.
- We don't forecast a young player's bright future. If they were excellent this year, they made the list. If they were just very good but showed exceptional promise for the future, they likely didn't make this year's list.
- At the other end of the age spectrum, we're not concerned if a player is nearing the end of his career. If they were a standout this year, they made the list. See Sidney Crosby.
- We don't consider a player's career achievements for a list about the here and now. Crosby and Alex Ovechkin are top 10 players in the history of the game. But they're not top 10 players this season.
- A player's salary was not taken into account, and we made no attempt to include at least one player from each of the NHL's 32 teams.
We count down the very best the NHL has to offer in our 2026 edition of the top 100 players, available to purchase as a single issue or for free when you subscribe to The Hockey News today.
Also in the issue: we examine the effectiveness of unusual training methods, look back at the Americans' win at the Paralympics, explore the Extreme Ice Hockey League and learn more about inline hockey being played outside of the White House.
Plus, you'll find features on Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, Martin Necas, Thomas Harley, Tim Stutzle, Tom Wilson, Travis Konecny, Nick Schmaltz, Darren Raddysh and much more.
The Hockey News
This story was originally published May 30, 2026 at 10:20 AM.