A trio of elite blue-liners lead the next group featured in our Sportsnet Insiders’ ranking of the top 50 players in the NHL.
Before the new season begins, we’re revisiting the question of who ranks as the league’s undeniable best, who leads the way amid this era of high-octane big-league skill. To get a sense of an answer, we asked contributors from across the network to rank their top 50 players in the league at this moment, submitting individual lists to be compiled into one collective ranking.
The rules were simple. First, each list had to incorporate all skill-sets and all positions into one 50-player ranking. Second, these rankings had to be forward-looking — they couldn’t factor in legacy or past performance, only how each player is expected to perform in 2026-27.
Our full Top 50 ranking was built from these lists submitted by Insiders across the network. For each Insider list, players were assigned points based on how high they finished in that particular ranking — the higher they ranked on a particular Insider’s list, the more points they accrued. Each player’s position on our overall ranking is a result of how many total points they collected across all of our Insiders’ lists.
With that, here is Sportsnet’s ranking of the top 50 players in the NHL, continuing with Nos. 30-21.
Last Year: Unranked
The 2025-26 campaign brought a seismic step forward for Necas. After nearly a decade in Carolina, and a late-season spin in Colorado, the 27-year-old dominated his first full campaign with the Avalanche last season, amassing career highs of 38 goals and 100 points — a near-20-point jump on his previous career best. The veteran winger has been building for the past few seasons, and now enters 2026-27 fresh off his first turn as a top-10 scorer in the league — and with a hefty new deal that makes him one of the highest-paid scorers in the league, too. The task ahead: proving he can produce at that level for a second straight year.
Last Year: No. 50
After claiming the final spot on the Insiders’ top 50 last year, Hutson climbs into the top 30 this time around, on the heels of an exceptional sophomore campaign. The 2025 Calder winner improved on the sterling numbers he put up in Year 1, returning to Montreal and collecting 78 points from the Canadiens’ back end in Year 2 — the fourth-highest sum among all NHL blue-liners in 2025-26. Still only 22, and heading into just his third big-league campaign, Hutson has already established himself among the most prolific back-end talents in the game, has already earned Norris votes for his efforts, and figures to be a crucial part of the Habs’ Cup dreams moving forward.
Last Year: No. 14
It remains unclear what exactly 2026-27 will bring for Hellebuyck. The netminder’s future has been the talk of the off-season, and he added more fuel to the fire last month when he put out a statement publicly asking to be traded away from Winnipeg. No move has come yet, but given the comments from his teammates of late, a return to the Jets seems unlikely. There’s little doubting what Hellebuyck could bring to his next team — though he played through a down year in 2025-26, the 33-year-old capped off the previous season with a Hart Trophy, a William M. Jennings Trophy, and his second-straight Vezina Trophy win, the third of his career overall.
Last Year: No. 31
The reigning Vezina winner, though, is the Lightning’s big man. It’s been a resurgent couple of seasons for Vasilevskiy after wading through a difficult campaign in 2023-24. The veteran bounced back with a sterling 2024-25, posting a .921 save percentage and earning Vezina votes once again, before taking another step in 2025-26 that saw him collect a league-leading 39 wins, the second Vezina of his career, and some Hart votes, too. The Bolts have had difficulty turning regular-season success into playoff series wins over the past few years — another strong campaign from their all-world netminder will be crucial to getting back over that hill in 2027.
Last Year: No. 38
Seven years into his career, Bouchard has proven to be one of the most prolific blue-liners the game has seen in years. The Oilers rearguard put the NHL on notice in 2023-24 when he authored a breakout 82-point season, before putting together a productive post-season, too. But 2025-26 saw him kick his scoring into overdrive, as Bouchard amassed a career-best 21 goals and 95 points for Edmonton, the latter sum leading all NHL defencemen. There remain holes elsewhere in his game — a key reason the 26-year-old wasn't a Norris finalist despite leading all blue-liners in scoring — but Bouchard no doubt ranks among the league’s most dangerous offensive minds from the back end.
Last Year: No. 20
Amid the most disappointing Maple Leafs season of the past decade, Nylander remained something of a constant. The dynamic winger led Toronto in scoring with 79 points through 65 games — a 100-point pace over a full 82-game season — while navigating injury issues, continuing the run of form that’s seen him emerge as one of the most prolific wingers in the league over the past few seasons. The 30-year-old heads into 2026-27 with three 40-goal campaigns under his belt over the past half-decade, and four 80-point efforts, ranking as one of the highest-scoring talents at his position over that span. If his Leafs are to return to the post-season, they’ll need more of that sterling form in 2027.
Last Year: Unranked
The 2025-26 campaign was shaping up to be the long-awaited big-league breakout for Bedard. The centreman’s talent and potential are undeniable, made clear by his dominant run through the WHL as a teenager. Unleashing that skill at the NHL level, though, has taken time. But last season saw a noted step forward — in mid-December, the Chicago talisman sat third in the Art Ross race, behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid, before injuries disrupted his season. An off-season shoulder injury has now thrown another wrench into Bedard’s plans, with the pivot set to miss the start of 2026-27. Still, an ascent to the league’s elite is coming for the 21-year-old Chicago captain.
Last Year: No. 19
Jack Hughes is in something of a similar position. Through seven years in New Jersey, the 2019 No. 1 pick has played 70 games or more in a season just once. Injuries have been a consistent issue, and the past three seasons have played out oddly similarly for Hughes and the Devils — the centre’s been limited to around 60 games, scored exactly 27 goals, and finished with around 75 points. In his most healthy season, 2022-23, he made the full weight of his talent clear, posting 43 goals and 99 points as the Devils dominated the East. For any progress to come in Jersey, the club needs another healthy, productive season from its star.
Last Year: No. 26
Heiskanen returned from his own injury struggles in 2025-26. The smooth-skating rearguard missed significant time in 2024-25, playing only 50 games for Dallas, but bounced back last year with a sterling 63-point effort from the Stars’ back end — the second-most productive campaign of his career. A supremely talented offensive weapon on one of the league’s best squads, the sky is the limit for Heiskanen and the Stars. Despite another injury scare late in the regular season, the 27-year-old should return in 2026-27 healthy and ready to take another step for Dallas, as the Stars look to turn all this potential and depth into a long-awaited Stanley Cup run.
Last Year: Unranked
Make no mistake, Robertson will be a man on a mission in 2026-27. After a tense off-season negotiation between the winger and his club concluded with a one-year, $12-million contract, the 27-year-old will no doubt be looking to prove to Dallas — and the rest of the league — that he’s worth a hefty payday on his next deal. His performance over the past half-decade in Dallas would suggest he is. Since 2021-22, the winger has collected three 40-goal seasons, and two campaigns above the 90-point plateau. His 45 goals last season ranked fourth-most in the league, and he’s potted the fourth-most goals of any winger in the game over the past half-decade overall. Expect Robertson to contribute more of the same in what will be a pivotal 2026-27 individually.
Check back Thursday for Nos. 20-11.
