#NHLTopPlayers: Nos. 50-41

NHL Network is getting ready for this season by ranking the top 50 players in the League. Researchers, producers and on-air personalities compiled the list, and players 50-41 were revealed Sunday in the premiere of the first program in a five-part offseason series. Here is the list:

50. Carey Price, G, Montreal Canadiens
Price helped the Canadiens reach the Stanley Cup Final last season for the first time since 1993, going 13-9 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 22 games. In 25 regular-season games, he went 12-7-5 with a 2.64 goals-against average and .901 save percentage. Among active goalies, Price's 360 wins are second to Marc-Andre Fleury of the Chicago Blackhawks (492).
"He was a huge reason this team got to the Stanley Cup Final," NHL Network analyst Mike Rupp said. "This just shows you right here, when Carey Price is even a fraction of what he can be, you can go far with this guy, and he is certainly something very special still."

49. Alex DeBrincat, LW, Chicago Blackhawks
DeBrincat led the Blackhawks and was third in the NHL with 32 goals last season, behind Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (41) and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (33). It's the second time in his four NHL seasons DeBrincat has scored at least 30 goals (41, 2018-19). His average of 0.62 goals per game was the highest by a Blackhawks player since Jeremy Roenick averaged 0.66 in 1991-92 (minimum 20 games).
"He's been scoring goals for a long time," Rupp said. "The guy just scores goals. That's what Alex DeBrincat does, and he does it with the best. … We're going to see DeBrincat's name mentioned (with the NHL goals leaders) … he is going to be in that conversation."

48. Matthew Tkachuk, LW, Calgary Flames
Tkachuk was third on the Flames with 43 points (16 goals, 27 assists) in 56 games last season and led them by drawing 24 penalties. He scored an NHL career-best 77 points (34 goals, 43 assists) in 80 games in 2018-19. Tkachuk was selected by the Flames with the No. 6 pick of the 2016 NHL Draft; his 278 points (110 goals, 168 assists) in 349 games since entering the NHL are second to Matthews (351) among players in his draft class.
"I don't know if it feels good or if it's motivation, but there's a lot of great players on that list," Tkachuk said. "I consider myself to be a solid player that hasn't done a lot so far in the League yet, so hoping for a year where I can prove that this year."

47. Max Pacioretty, LW, Vegas Golden Knights
Pacioretty led the Golden Knights with 24 goals in 48 games last season, and his 51 points were second to Mark Stone (61). He missed Vegas' final six regular-season games and first six games of the Stanley Cup Playoffs because of an undisclosed injury, but in his first game back, Game 7 of the first round against the Minnesota Wild, he scored the game-winning goal in a 6-2 victory. It was one of three game-winning goals Pacioretty scored in 13 playoff games.
"It was a renaissance year for Max Pacioretty," Rupp said. "We always knew he could shoot the puck. … [Vegas] was really good with Max Pacioretty having the season he had. He is clutch, he's got a shot, he can flip the game on its head real quick."

46. Kris Letang, D, Pittsburgh Penguins
Letang scored 45 points (seven goals, 38 assists) in 55 games last season, tied with Victor Hedman of the Tampa Bay Lightning for third among NHL defensemen, and led the Penguins with a plus-20 even-strength goal differential that was his second highest since the NHL began tracking the stat in 2009-10 (plus-22, 2011-12). Letang averaged 24:39 of ice time per game, leading the Penguins for the seventh straight season, and was one of two NHL defensemen (Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings) to average at least 20:00 per game at even strength, 3:00 per game on the power play and 1:30 per game shorthanded.
"He plays the game differently," Rupp said. "When you're talking about defensemen that challenge plays up ice, shuts plays down at the offensive blue line … he goes for it, and when he plays that style, there's things that he does on this ice that you don't even notice as a casual fan. ... He very may well go down as being a Hall of Fame defenseman."

45. Nicklas Backstrom, C, Washington Capitals
Backstrom led the Capitals with 53 points (15 goals, 38 assists) in 55 games last season, and became the second player to skate in 1,000 games for Washington on April 15. Backstrom's 722 assists since entering the NHL in 2007-08 are more than any NHL player, and his 980 points are fifth, behind teammate Alex Ovechkin (1,122), Sidney Crosby (1,103), Patrick Kane (1,088) and Evgeni Malkin (1,019).
"You're talking about one of the most special -- not just passers -- players. The mind for the game," Rupp said. "He gets 15-20 goals [per season]. He can shoot the puck at a pretty decent rate as well. He's had a great career, an underrated career, for sure."

44. Shea Theodore, D, Vegas Golden Knights
Theodore tied for seventh among NHL defensemen with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) in 53 games last season, and his plus-28 rating was the best of his six-season NHL career while averaging a personal-best 22:33 of ice time per game. He scored 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 19 Stanley Cup Playoff games after scoring 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 20 games during the 2020 playoffs. Theodore, Hedman and Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche are the only defensemen to score at least 10 points in the playoffs the past two seasons.
"This guy will be in the mix … to win a Norris Trophy. That's just simply what he does," Rupp said. "This guy is an absolute stud, and I find that his game gets better come playoff time, and that's a huge attribute for a player."

43. Seth Jones, D, Chicago Blackhawks
Jones, who was traded to the Blackhawks on July 23, scored 28 points (five goals, 23 assists) in 56 games with the Columbus Blue Jackets last season, and his 25:14 average ice time led the Blue Jackets for the sixth straight season. He is one of three NHL defensemen to average at least 25:00 of ice time per game for three straight seasons, along with Doughty and Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks. Jones, who played six seasons for Columbus, is the Blue Jackets' all-time leading scorer among defensemen with 223 points (50 goals, 173 assists) in 381 games.
"There's no [comparable players] in the entire League," Rupp said. "He defends great, he can drive offense great, and I don't think we've seen his offensive ceiling, and I think we'll see that in Chicago now with the talent he has there."

42. Jake Guentzel, LW, Pittsburgh Penguins
Guentzel's 23 goals and 57 points last season were second on the Penguins behind Crosby (24 goals, 62 points). It was the fourth straight season Guentzel scored at least 20 goals, topped by the 40 he scored in 82 games in 2018-19. His 105 goals since 2017-18 are seventh among NHL left wings.
"He gets to play with Sidney Crosby, and I think sometimes people use that against him," Rupp said. "… He is fearless. … He is not big at all (5-foot-11, 180 pounds) but he goes to those hard areas of the ice and he does it, and he is very smart. He thinks the game on a level with Sid. He knows where to go and he's not afraid to go there."

41. John Tavares, C, Toronto Maple Leafs
Tavares was third on the Maple Leafs last season with 19 goals and 50 points, behind Matthews (41 goals, 66 points) and Mitchell Marner (20 goals, 67 points). He sustained a season-ending concussion and knee injury during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs but is expected to be ready for the start of training camp. Tavares' 364 goals since entering the NHL in 2009-10 are third among NHL players, behind Ovechkin (511) and Steven Stamkos (416).
"As far as what he's done individually and what he's expected to do, he's been worth every bit of that (seven-year, $77 million) contract," Rupp said. "… John Tavares is great on both sides of the puck, he competes, he plays that very important center ice position. … This team is not the same without him."