Top 50 Forwards in the NHL This Season

Which forwards should lead the way for the 2024-25 season?

Following our top 50 defensemen list, it only makes sense to rank the 50 best forwards in the NHL for the 2024-25 season. Which players made the cut?

Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon (The Hockey Writers)

Just like for our last list, the top 50 forwards will be in descending order. There isn’t assumed progression of younger players, but the benefit of the doubt is given to players who had a down year of sorts. Beneath every player are some stats, which include:

• Stats rundown: Games played (GP), goals (G), assists (A), points (P), plus-minus, shooting percentage (SH%), average time on ice (ATOI), faceoff percentage (FO%)*, hits (HIT)

The stats included are only for the 2023-24 season and are present mainly for context; they aren’t the sole measurement of where a player is being ranked. Now, let’s get into the list.

*FO% is only for players with at least 100 faceoffs taken in 2023-24.

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50 — Steven Stamkos (Nashville Predators)

Stamkos is not as good as he once was, but there is a reason why the Predators gave him an $8 million average annual value (AAV) deal. He ideally needs an elite playmaker by his side, but if he can get that in Nashville then he should continue to put up very high point totals.

2023-24 Stats:

79GP, 40G, 41A, 81P, Minus-21, 15.3 SH%, 18:14 ATOI, 56.0 FO%, 78 HIT

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49 — Wyatt Johnston (Dallas Stars)