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Where does Canucks' centre depth rank among the NHL's best?

Trevor Beggs
Trevor Beggs
|
Sep 15 2022, 10:04 pm
Where does Canucks' centre depth rank among the NHL's best?
Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports

The Stanley Cup isn’t awarded based on centre depth.

That’s too bad because if it were, the Vancouver Canucks would immediately be top contenders.

Despite flaws with the current roster, the Canucks have collected one of the most dangerous sets of centres in the NHL.

So, where do the Canucks centres actually rank among the league’s best?

This article takes a look at each team’s projected centre depth heading into the 2022-23 season, taking into account faceoff leaders from last season and actual line combinations.

One of the key words there is “projected.” This isn’t just a ranking based on past performance, but a look at how each team’s centres could perform this season.

Spoiler alert: that might give teams with promising, younger centres a bit of a bump.

One of the stats you’ll see below is combined points-per-game. That helps put the rankings into perspective, but it’s not 100% of the rationale behind a team’s placement.

You can check out the full rankings here, but below are 13 teams with the best centre depth heading into 2022-23.

13. New York Rangers

  1. Mika Zibanejad
  2. Vincent Trocheck
  3. Filip Chytil
  4. Barclay Goodrow

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.6

After losing Ryan Strome in free agency, the New York Rangers did well by adding an equally as productive and better defensive centre in Vincent Trocheck.

The Rangers have to hope that Filip Chytil’s playoff performance was a sign of things to come. He was much better in the postseason than he was in the regular season.

12. Minnesota Wild

  1. Ryan Hartman
  2. Joel Eriksson Ek
  3. Frederick Gaudreau
  4. Marco Rossi

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.66

On paper, this group of centres looks weak.

However, their top three pivots were stellar last season.

Ryan Hartman, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Frederick Gaudreau all had career seasons in 2021-22. This group will also add rookie Marco Rossi, who has the highest ceiling of the bunch.

11. Carolina Hurricanes

Sebastian Aho

Jordan Staal

Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Jack Drury

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.66

While Sebastian Aho is a top-line centre, there are question marks after him.

Jordan Staal is still a strong middle-six centre, but he’ll be 34 when the season begins. The Carolina Hurricanes also need Jesperi Kotkaniemi to take a step forward.

The wild card is Jack Drury, who was dominant in the AHL last season and scored twice in two NHL games. He has second-line potential out of the gate, which could push Carolina’s centre depth near the top of this list.

10. New Jersey Devils

  1. Jack Hughes
  2. Nico Hischier
  3. Erik Haula
  4. Michael McLeod

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.66

If both Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier can stay healthy, the New Jersey Devils boast one of the best centre groups in the NHL.

That’s aided by the offseason addition of Erik Haula.

Michael McLeod, while he doesn’t put up points, is effective defensively, on the penalty kill and in the faceoff circle.

9. Florida Panthers

  1. Aleksander Barkov
  2. Sam Bennett
  3. Anton Lundell
  4. Eetu Luostarinen

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.74

Sam Bennett has found new life in Florida, even if he wasn’t great in the postseason.

Third-line centre Anton Lundell might prove to be better than Bennett as soon as this season. The 20-year-old had a stellar rookie campaign with 44 points in 65 games.

8. Colorado Avalanche

  1. Nathan Mackinnon/Mikko Rantanen
  2. Gabriel Landeskog/JT Compher
  3. Evan Rodrigues/Alex Newhook
  4. Darren Helm

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.75

The centre depth for the Colorado Avalanche took a massive hit when they lost Nazem Kadri in free agency.

However, all of Colorado’s three best forwards regularly took faceoffs last season.

The big three in Colorado often play together, but that could change with the loss of Kadri. Colorado would rank #1 if they had their top three players on three lines, but what’s more likely is that one of them slides down to the second line.

They’ve further boosted this group after the recent addition of Evan Rodrigues.

7. Calgary Flames

  1. Elias Lindholm
  2. Nazem Kadri
  3. Mikael Backlund
  4. Kevin Rooney

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.76

The Calgary Flames are deeper at centre than they were last season.

Elias Lindholm and Nazem Kadri were both first-line calibre players in 2021-22, while Mikael Backlund has been a legitimate number two option for years.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins

  1. Sidney Crosby
  2. Evgeni Malkin
  3. Jeff Carter
  4. Teddy Blueger

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.79

Until proven otherwise, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still form one of the best 1-2 punches at centre.

Jeff Carter was good last season while Malkin was injured, but he turns 38 in January. However, Teddy Blueger is a third-line calibre centre who’s also one of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top penalty killers.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs

  1. Auston Matthews
  2. John Tavares
  3. David Kampf
  4. Calle Jarnkrok

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.8

While John Tavares may be overpaid, he’s still a first-line centre on most NHL teams. He and Auston Matthews still form a formidable 1-2 punch at centre.

David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok aren’t flashy, but both are reliable, two-way centres.

4. St. Louis Blues

  1. Ryan O’Reilly
  2. Robert Thomas
  3. Brayden Schenn
  4. Logan Brown

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.81

Despite garnering the most ice time among St. Louis Blues’ centres, Ryan O’Reilly had a lower points-per-game total (0.74) than both Brayden Schenn (0.94) and Robert Thomas (1.07).

3. Vancouver Canucks

  1. J.T. Miller
  2. Elias Pettersson
  3. Bo Horvat
  4. Curtis Lazar

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.78

With Miller at centre, the Canucks easily have one of the best 1-2-3 punches in the NHL.

For now, the Canucks are one of the only teams in the league that has two centres with 100-point potential in Miller and Elias Pettersson. That helps boost the Canucks in these rankings, combined with the fact that Bo Horvat is also extremely overqualified as a “third-line” pivot.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning

  1. Steven Stamkos
  2. Anthony Cirelli
  3. Brayden Point/Nick Paul
  4. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.74

There’s some intrigue heading into the regular season as to how Tampa Bay’s centres will line up, but they have the potential to ice the best trios in the league.

Although Brayden Point was injured for most of the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Stanley Cup run, he did line up beside Nick Paul on a “third line” in the Finals.

And although Anthony Cirelli isn’t a prolific point producer, he’s blossomed into one of the best two-way, shutdown centres in hockey.

1. Edmonton Oilers

  1. Connor McDavid
  2. Leon Draisaitl
  3. Ryan McLeod
  4. Derek Ryan

Combined 2021-22 points-per-game: 0.9

While the Edmonton Oilers lack some depth compared to other teams, the luxury of trotting our Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as your top two centres is something no other team in the NHL can boast.

Ryan McLeod showed promise as an effective two-way centre, especially in the 2022 playoffs. Derek Ryan is arguably overqualified as a fourth-line centre, although he’ll be 36 in December.

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