NHL
The holiday season is here and 2024 is about to come to a close. It’s a perfect time to reflect on the year that was and celebrate the best of the best.
Every team, no matter how bad, had some bright spots and we here at Rankings HQ wanted to champion that. We tallied all the numbers for every player over the calendar year and are ready to wrap things up for the year. Here’s each team’s MVP from January-to-December, the best of 2024. As always, points percentage is the tiebreaker.
Last week: 1
Sean’s ranking: 1
Dom’s ranking: 1
Dylan Strome
2024 stats: 83GP 26-60-86, +14 Net Rating
We knew Strome could be a competent top-six center on a terrible team. That’s what he was in his final season with the Blackhawks — flawed, certainly, but productive in spurts, and a guy who seemed capable of derailing the tanks in 2022. Thus, Chicago dumped him for nothing.
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It was a sketchy move at the time, and Strome has spent the past three seasons making it look stupid. This season, he seems to have leveled up once more. He’s not a competent top-sixer on a terrible team — he’s a pretty good first-liner on a legitimate contender, thanks in part to high-end playmaking and a defensive game that is, if nothing else, passable for his role. When Alex Ovechkin breaks the goal record, Strome will have a lot to do with it.
Last week: 2
Sean’s ranking: 2
Dom’s ranking: 2
Jack Eichel
2024 stats: 64GP 27-50-77, +13 Net Rating
The totals may seem modest compared to other stars on the list, but that’s an availability issue, not a skill issue for Eichel. Thanks mostly to a torrid start to this season, Eichel is sitting on a 99-point pace for the calendar year — that’s firmly franchise-caliber.
That availability issue is a real one, though, for Eichel. Over his nine-year career, Eichel has missed 15 games or more six times. For 2025, we’re hoping those issues are finally put to rest. A perfect bill of health could make him a Hart Trophy dark horse.
Last week: 7
Sean’s ranking: 3
Dom’s ranking: 4
Sam Reinhart
2024 stats: 101GP 63-44-107, +29 Net Rating
The Panthers had three legit contenders, and the other two would have been fine choices. With all due respect to Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, though, neither scored 63 goals. That’s all Reinhart, whose production in the calendar year has set him apart from … well, nearly everyone.
On top of that, Reinhart carries legit defensive value. It comes with a bit of an asterisk, since he’s a winger who plays a large chunk of his minutes alongside Barkov, but it’s still a big part of Reinhart’s game, a big part of what makes him an elite NHL player and a big part of what makes the Panthers the defending champs.
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Last week: 6
Sean’s ranking: 6
Dom’s ranking: 3
Auston Matthews
2024 stats: 76GP 51-38-89, +25 Net Rating
Not even a bafflingly slow start to the 2024-25 season could keep Matthews away from the top spot here — he was that good to close the 2023-24 season. In 48 games he scored 40 goals and 63 points while playing Selke-level defense. He finished fourth in MVP voting for good reason after a special season where he almost scored 70.
Where is that guy this year? We’re still not sure. The massive drop-off (from a Net Rating per 82 of plus-34 last year to plus-17 this year) is likely an indication that Matthews is still not 100 percent healthy. Or maybe he’s saving it for the playoffs. Either way, Matthews remains Toronto’s best player and it’s only a matter of time before he starts showing it again.
Last week: 5
Sean’s ranking: 4
Dom’s ranking: 4
Sebastian Aho
2024 stats: 86GP 34-58-92, +19 Net Rating
We gas up the Canes’ approach quite a bit around here, and for good reason — they’ve become one of the most reliably successful franchises in the league. That approach wouldn’t work, though, without Aho at 1C. He brings skill and reliability in equal parts, and his productivity gives Carolina the leeway necessary to focus on other priorities farther down the lineup.
Last week: 11
Sean’s ranking: 5
Dom’s ranking: 5
Nikita Kucherov
2024 stats: 76GP 32-105-137, +26 Net Rating
Kucherov probably had this one locked up back in April, with the Art Ross Trophy win and whatnot, but he’s basically carried his scoring pace over to this season; his points per 60 has fallen from 4.93 to 4.9. Only Kirill Kaprizov has a higher average Game Score in 2024-25 than Kucherov’s 2.13. When it comes to carrying the offensive load, he has a little more help this season than last, but he remains the Lightning’s engine at five-on-five and on the power play.
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Last week: 3
Sean’s ranking: 8
Dom’s ranking: 7
Kirill Kaprizov
2024 stats: 72GP 55-55-110, +29 Net Rating
Was there any call easier than this one? Probably not. What Kaprizov does on a night-to-night basis — generating constant offense from the wing on a fringey contender that’s dangerously short on impact forwards — deserves some sort of award. This season, he’s back on the Hart Trophy shortlist, and it’s well-deserved. He’s gone pointless in just six of Minnesota’s games.
Last week: 8
Sean’s ranking: 7
Dom’s ranking: 8
Nico Hischier
2024 stats: 81GP 35-44-79, +18 Net Rating
There was a bit of uproar before the season when we listed Nico Hischier as a franchise player for our Player Tiers project after a down year. After a strong start to the 2024-25 season, we’re feeling pretty good about that decision. Hischier ranks 12th in Net Rating on the season and has firmly planted himself in the Selke conversation earning 60 percent of the expected goals this season. A point-per-game center who is one of the game’s best without the puck? Sign us up.
Last week: 4
Sean’s ranking: 9
Dom’s ranking: 10
Connor Hellebuyck
2024 stats: .918 SV%, 41 GSAx
There are only two guys on this list who contributed over 40 goals of value over the calendar year: The best skater in the world and the best goalie in the world. Hellebuyck’s work over the last year has been sensational, with league-best numbers to end last season and league-best numbers to start this season. There was no question that he would be Winnipeg’s 2024 MVP. Not even a weak playoff showing could stop him from being the league’s most valuable goalie in 2024.
Last week: 10
Sean’s ranking: 11
Dom’s ranking: 9
Connor McDavid
2024 stats: 97GP 41-129-170, +42 Net Rating
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Who else?
We all know McDavid is the best player in the world, and his 2024 statline is proof of that. Scoring 170 points over 97 games is absolutely absurd, considering that includes 25 playoff games, where he still scored at a 137-point pace against the best the league has to offer. The Oilers played four elite defensive teams en route to the Stanley Cup Final, and McDavid still managed to put up numbers only matched by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux.
McDavid is on another planet and it shows with a league-leading plus-42 Net Rating in 2024. As usual, it’s McDavid and then everyone else.
Last week: 9
Sean’s ranking: 9
Dom’s ranking: 10
Anze Kopitar
2024 stats: 84GP 21-53-74, +11 Net Rating
No center born in August 1987 is having a 2024-25 season as good as Kopitar’s. Think about that for a second. In fact, Kopitar is producing points at the highest rate of his career (3.51 per 60, nearly 0.5 more than second place). Remarkable stuff from a no-doubt Hall of Famer.
Last week: 12
Sean’s ranking: 12
Dom’s ranking: 12
Miro Heiskanen
2024 stats: 86GP 15-44-59, +21 Net Rating
Fun fact: Miro Heiskanen has never finished higher than seventh in Norris voting. Ask anyone in hockey to name seven defensemen better than Heiskanen, though, and they would all struggle. Heiskanen deserves more shine — he just doesn’t produce enough to get it. We’re giving him some flowers here though as Dallas’ MVP. The Stars don’t make the conference finals last year without him and they’re not a perennial contender without him either. Heiskanen is their most important player.
Last week: 13
Sean’s ranking: 13
Dom’s ranking: 13
Quinn Hughes
2024 stats: 90GP 14-80-94, +29 Net Rating
The first half of 2024 was about Hughes sealing the deal on the first Norris Trophy of his career. Mission accomplished. The second half has been about laying the foundation for a second Norris — and maybe more. Hughes, as we’ve said a few times since October, should be in the MVP conversation.
He’s leading the league’s defensemen in Net Rating for a second straight season at plus-10.7, a hair ahead of Cale Makar, and has closed the gap on Makar in the scoring race, too. He plays huge minutes and Vancouver wins them decisively. What more can you want?
Last week: 24
Sean’s ranking: 14
Dom’s ranking: 15
Brady Tkachuk
2024 stats: 80GP 36-43-79, +18 Net Rating
Amazon’s docuseries “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL” is returning for a second season and Tkachuk was the first player revealed to be part of it. Exciting stuff and completely deserved given how he’s establishing himself. He’s following right in his brother’s footsteps as a premier power forward and this might be the year the younger Tlachuk finally drags the Senators to the playoffs.
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Last week: 15
Sean’s ranking: 16
Dom’s ranking: 14
David Pastrnak
2024 stats: 93GP 41-60-101, +32 Net Rating
Pastrnak is another guy who locked this one up sometime in the spring. Has he been at his best since October? Recent production aside, not really. He turned in an MVP-caliber season in 2023-24, though, showing that he can be The Guy on his own Patrice Bergeron-less line. Outside of Kucherov and Kaprizov, you won’t find a winger who’s more capable of running the show.
Last week: 14
Sean’s ranking: 15
Dom’s ranking: 16
Nathan MacKinnon
2024 stats: 89GP 49-97-146, +32 Net Rating
Last year’s MVP is currently leading the league in scoring and making a pretty decent case for a repeat performance this season. The one thing stopping him? He may not be the team’s MVP this season — that would be Cale Makar. MacKinnon takes the cake for the calendar year on the back of his Hart Trophy-winning effort in 2023-24, but Makar is making things interesting this year.
Last week: 19
Sean’s ranking: 17
Dom’s ranking: 17
Clayton Keller
2024 stats: 74GP 31-44-75, +9 Net Rating
Keller might not be in this spot much longer — Dylan Guenther is an offensive dynamo and Mikhail Sergachev sure looks like a No. 1 defenseman in his first season with Utah — but he still deserves some credit for turning into a well-rounded, reliable producer on the wing. He’s helped Utah stay in the thick of the wild-card race.
Last week: 18
Sean’s ranking: 18
Dom’s ranking: 19
MacKenzie Weegar
2024 stats: 78GP 16-32-48, +8 Net Rating
Weegar has always been a great defenseman, but the second half of last season felt like the moment he really blossomed into a No. 1. Weegar became an all-situations stud with a role on the top power play and started to put up some big offensive numbers. Combine that with his solid work defensively and there aren’t many defenders ahead of him. Calgary’s got a good one.
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Last week: 17
Sean’s ranking: 20
Dom’s ranking: 18
Travis Konecny
2024 stats: 72GP 32-42-74, +8 Net Rating
If the Flyers want to take the next step in their rebuild, Matvei Michkov will probably have to be their best player. For now, that honor belongs to Konecny — and while he’s not a franchise talent, he’s still quite good. At the moment, he’s in the midst of his most productive offensive season in the NHL (3.28 points per 60) and showing that his spot on Team Canada isn’t a fluke. Any roster would be lucky to have his offensive toolkit in the mix.
Last week: 23
Sean’s ranking: 19
Dom’s ranking: 22
Sidney Crosby
2024 stats: 80GP 30-59-89, +13 Net Rating
He’s 37 years old. He just went 10 games without scoring a goal. He’s been in some degree of defensive decline for a few seasons. And still, nobody on the Penguins’ roster comes close to touching Crosby in terms of 2024 impact. Does that help explain why Pittsburgh has hovered around mediocrity? For sure. Crosby, though, bears none of the blame.
Last week: 16
Sean’s ranking: 22
Dom’s ranking: 20
Igor Shesterkin
2024 stats: .913 SV%, 35 GSAx
Before the Rangers completely imploded, they were a team to be feared. That’s almost entirely because of Shesterkin, a top-two goalie with plenty of good arguments to not be No. 2 on that list.
His work in the playoffs is the best example: 15.6 GSAx in just 16 games thanks to a .926 save percentage. Shesterkin’s big-game ability is what separates him from the pack and is what helped give him the second-best GSAx of any goalie over the last year.
In order to show that off, though, the Rangers will have to actually get there first and that’s looking shockingly precarious right now. It’s time for Shesterkin to lock in and drag them to the playoffs.
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Last week: 20
Sean’s ranking: 21
Dom’s ranking: 21
Jordan Binnington
2024 stats: .913 SV%, 33 GSAx
Lucky for Binnington, voting for MVP closed Thursday afternoon before he allowed three goals on 10 shots. Woof.
Kidding aside, it wouldn’t have mattered because it wasn’t even close. Last season Binnington finished second in GSAx at plus-29.7 and that was almost entirely driven by a second half where he saved 28.5 in 31 games. Binnington has predictably regressed to start this season, but hey, maybe he’s just a second-half guy. If last season was any indication, the best is yet to come.
Last week: 27
Sean’s ranking: 23
Dom’s ranking: 25
Lucas Raymond
2024 stats: 76GP 33-44-77, +11 Net Rating
On one hand, Detroit indeed got shafted by the lottery gods back in 2020. On the other, they still walked away from that draft with Raymond, who just might be their best forward for a second straight season. Detroit’s roster is a mess overall, but they’re set at Raymond’s spot.
Last week: 22
Sean’s ranking: 24
Dom’s ranking: 24
Bo Horvat
2024 stats: 83GP 28-30-58, +10 Net Rating
Picking an MVP from the Islanders over the last year is not easy. Mathew Barzal is their best player, but has missed a lot of time and hasn’t looked great this year even when he has played. Noah Dobson has brought in the most value, but many Islanders fans seem to not hold him in high favor. So we’re going with Horvat, who has consistently been a strong five-on-five driver for the team. This year he’s earned 57 percent of the expected goals while outscoring opponents 24-10. Good stuff. Maybe with Barzal’s return and an actually competent power play, Horvat can get back up to his usual 70-point pace.
Last week: 21
Sean’s ranking: 26
Dom’s ranking: 23
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Joey Daccord
2024 stats: .914 SV%, 23 GSAx
Daccord kept the Kraken afloat for huge chunks of last season, and he’s maintained that level of play so far in 2024-25. Seattle’s lack of offensive firepower seems to be a feature, not a bug, but Daccord at least gives them a puncher’s chase to overcome it. If nothing else, they can stop crossing their fingers and hoping that Philipp Grubauer figures things out.
Last week: 29
Sean’s ranking: 25
Dom’s ranking: 27
Lukas Dostal
2024 stats: .912 SV%, 23 GSAx
Not much has gone right in Anaheim outside of Dostal. Maybe most impressively, he seems to have greased the wheels for a John Gibson trade.
Last week: 25
Sean’s ranking: 27
Dom’s ranking: 26
Zach Werenski
2024 stats: 68GP 20-43-63, +10 Net Rating
It’s been fun to watch Werenski cook for a second straight season; the toolbox always seemed full, but injuries had been an issue. Now, though, he’s playing at a consistently high level — and he’s somehow still just 27. Columbus has plenty of issues, but Werenski isn’t one of them. Get him some help.
Last week: 30
Sean’s ranking: 28
Dom’s ranking: 29
Sam Montembeault
2024 stats: .902 SV%, 24 GSAx
The Canadiens were one of the league’s worst defensive teams in 2024. That was true last season and it’s true again this season. Thank goodness for Sam Montembeault papering over those issues and saving 24 goals above expected, one of the highest marks for any goalie. If not for him, the Canadiens would be an on-ice disaster. Well… more so.
Last week: 28
Sean’s ranking: 30
Dom’s ranking: 28
MacKenzie Blackwood
2024 stats: .910 SV%, 19 GSAx
Farewell, MacKenzie Blackwood: you were the only reason the Sharks didn’t lose 7-1 most nights. A .910 save percentage in San Jose is a miracle.
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By the way, the top two skaters over the last year are two guys who weren’t even on the Sharks last season: Jake Walman and Macklin Celebrini. That’s pretty funny.
Last week: 32
Sean’s ranking: 29
Dom’s ranking: 31
Jason Dickinson
2024 stats: 78GP 16-12-28, +1 Net Rating
It is an extremely telling sign about the state of Chicago’s rebuild that the top guy for Net Rating on the Blackhawks is their shutdown center.
To Dickinson’s credit, he has legitimately blossomed into a Selke-caliber player. His modest plus-1 Net Rating hides the fact that he had a plus-6.2 Defensive Rating over the calendar year, one of the highest among all forwards. Dickinson is the real deal.
This time next year, it’ll likely be Connor Bedard in this spot — not weighed down by a slow start to 2024-25 or genuinely poor defense to close 2023-24. But the reason he’s not here has something to do with the team’s next-best player being Dickinson. This kid needs some serious help.
Last week: 31
Sean’s ranking: 31
Dom’s ranking: 30
Roman Josi
2024 stats: 80GP 23-59-82, +20 Net Rating
The Predators are such a disaster that even Josi is getting squeezed; he’s scoring nearly a half point per 60 less than last season, and he’s posting his worst defensive impacts in some time. On top of that, he’s missed a few games due to injury.
None of that erases just how good he’s been overall, of course; it’s just one of those seasons in Nashville. Flush it, move on and hope those 30-something stars reverse course.
Last week: 26
Sean’s ranking: 32
Dom’s ranking: 32
Rasmus Dahlin
2024 stats: 69GP 16-33-49, +13 Net Rating
The Sabres have been without Dahlin since Dec. 3 — they’re 0-5-2 in those games and have been outscored 32-17 in those games. Were they already on a four-game losing streak when he was injured? Yes. But with Dahlin, there’s no way that stretches to 11 games. Dahlin is without question Buffalo’s most important player and the Sabres have nowhere to go but down without him.
Dahlin’s offense may have declined a bit over the last year, but his defensive growth has been exemplary. He’s a two-way force and the Sabres desperately need him back.
(Top photo of Dylan Strome: Kim Klement Neitzel / Imagn Images)
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