- NHL Network unveils its top 20 centers for 2026-27 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET
- NHL.com’s preview makes the case that Nathan MacKinnon, not Connor McDavid, belongs at No. 1
- Read below for the full rundown, including where Macklin Celebrini is headed
NHL Network hands out its top 20 centers for 2026-27 on Sunday night, and one of the voters has already broken ranks on the guy sitting at No. 1.
NHL.com ran its annual preview of the list Saturday, and senior director of editorial Shawn P. Roarke was asked whether Connor McDavid keeps the top spot.
“He shouldn’t be, but that doesn’t mean he won’t.”
Roarke’s case is Nathan MacKinnon. The Avalanche center put up 127 points (53 goals, 74 assists) last season, 11 behind McDavid’s 138, and finished a plus-57 with a real claim as the best two-way center in hockey. Roarke still expects the gaudy offensive numbers to win out and McDavid to hold the title.
McDavid has not been short on people vouching for him this month. EA Sports handed him a 99 overall in NHL 27, the first 99 anyone has ever received in the series:
Centers are the fourth and final position NHL Network is ranking this summer. Wings, defensemen and goalies all came out over the past three Sundays, the last of those with Andrei Vasilevskiy back at No. 1.
The biggest riser is not much of a mystery. Macklin Celebrini came in 19th a year ago, then scored 115 points (45 goals, 70 assists) in 82 games at 19 years old. NHL.com senior writer Amalie Benjamin called that one a slam dunk.
Celebrini also outscored the next Shark on the list, Will Smith, by 56 points. Watch how the 45 goals piled up:
Wyatt Johnston is the name most likely to crack the group after missing it last year. The Dallas center had 86 points (45 goals, 41 assists) in 82 games and ranked 10th in scoring among all centers.
Konsta Helenius got the under-21 nod as the player closest to breaking in. The 20-year-old Sabres center scored twice in four playoff games against Montreal, then won Finland the 2026 world championship with a golden goal in overtime.
The full list drops Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. MacKinnon’s plus-57 is the number McDavid has to answer for.
