Should Mika Zibanejad have cracked Top 20 Centers List?

We love a Power Rankings feature during the offseason and the NHL Network has just released their Top 20 Centers List, although the New York Rangers were not invited to the party.

NHL Network constructed a panel of experts to choose the top 20 centers in the league on Sunday as the first of a nine-part series that will help build excitement leading up to the 2019-20 regular season. However, the New York Rangers didn’t have a representative on the list.

So, the question we want to ask is, should Blueshirts center Mika Zibanejad have been included in the Top 20 list? Before we delve into the numbers and the stats, let’s look at who was included by the panel of NHL Network experts.

Perhaps not surprising is the fact that Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby come in at one and two respectively, while Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon was voted third after enjoying a stellar 2018-19.

Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs duo John Tavares and Auston Matthews completed the Top 6, while Vancouver Canucks phenom Elias Pettersson, who recorded 66 points (28 goals, 38 assists) in his rookie year and, as a result, was voted the winner of the Calder Trophy for 2018-19, snuck in at number 20.

Here is the Top 20 List in full:

1. Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
2. Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
4. Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
5. John Tavares – Toronto Maple Leafs
6. Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
7. Patrice Bergeron – Boston Bruins
8. Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
9. Mark Scheifele – Winnipeg Jets
10. Brayden Point – Tampa Bay Lightning
11. Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars
12. Ryan O’Reilly – St. Louis Blues
13. Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins
14. Sebastian Aho – Carolina Hurricanes
15. Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
16. Evgeny Kuznetsov – Washington Capitals
17. Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks
18. Nicklas Backstrom – Washington Capitals
19. Sean Monahan – Calgary Flames
20. Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks

It is also interesting to note that the NHL Network didn’t include Zibanejad in the list of five centers who just missed the cut, with Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews, Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers Sean Couturier, Detroit Red Wings two-way forward Dylan Larkin and Matt Duchene of the Nashville Predators in that group.

Now, back to Mika Zibanejad and whether or not the Rangers centerman should have made the Top 20 list. First and foremost, it is perhaps no coincidence that 16 of the top 20 made the postseason in 2018-19, while of the four that didn’t, one was the winner of the Calder Trophy last year (Elias Pettersson), one is Connor McDavid (enough said), Aleksander Barkov should be considered one of the best centers in the game while Buffalo Sabres forward Jack Eichel did enjoy a career-year in 2018-19 with 82 points (28 goals, 54 assists), so you can’t really argue against his inclusion.

Zibanejad was of course not on a playoff team and he plied his trade for a Rangers team who ended 2018-19 with a 33-36-14 record and finished 12th in the Eastern Conference, so maybe that counted against the 26-year-old when this list was put together.

Should it though? Zibanejad had his coming-of-age party last year as he moved to being on the cusp of becoming an elite two-way forward in the NHL. He finished the year with career-highs in goals (30), assists (44), points (74), games (82) and power play points (23). He also had a winning percentage of 49.67 in the faceoff circle, logged an average of 20:34 minutes of ice time per night and tallied 66 blocked shots, dished out 134 hits and had 69 takeaways.

So, how do some of those numbers compare to the centers that were included in the Top 20 List? Well, for starters, Zibanejad had more points than Auston Matthews (73) who finished sixth in the list, while he also had more points than Evgeni Malkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Logan Couture, Elias Pettersson and he had the same amount of points as Nicklas Backstrom.

Now, of course, points isn’t the only factor that goes into what makes an elite center, but it makes for interesting reading and shows just how far Zibanejad has progressed and the company he could keep should he continue on his current upward trend.

Zibanejad’s faceoff win percentage (49.67) actually ranked higher than Connor McDavid’s and he also logged more ice time on average per night than Sidney Crosby. Looking at the stats and studying them closely, it is clear that Zibanejad is on the cusp of breaking into the upper echelons of the elite centers in the NHL.

His stats in a number of categories compare favorably to those belonging to players who did make the Top 20 List, which means he isn’t a million miles away from receiving some level of consideration from the experts. And, at 26-years-old, Zibanejad is only going to get better so he has a golden opportunity to pad out his stats and continue to raise his stock within the game.

In conclusion, it is fair to say that the vast majority of those centers featured in the Top 20 list have a bigger body of work to go on compared to Zibanejad, while being on a Rangers team that has missed out on the postseason for two consecutive years probably didn’t help his cause either.

However, if Zibanejad can carve out another career-year in 2019-20, which isn’t out of the realms of possibility given that he is about to hit his prime and will have elite playmaker Artemi Panarin on his line, then it is fair to suggest that Zibanejad will have a better chance of cracking next year’s list. Plus, the Rangers should be more relevant in the NHL next year which should help Zibanejad’s cause considerably.