Pettersson, Scheifele and Tavares miss cut on TSN's Top 50 NHL Players; Sens' Tkachuk No. 51
Published
TSN’s panel of hockey experts has put together its annual list of the Top 50 NHL Players ahead of the 2022-23 season, counting them down each day in the lead up to the full reveal on our Top 50 special on Thursday, Oct. 6 (11:30am et/8:30am pt on TSN4, 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN 4/5).
Today, a quick look at the players who just missed out.
Coming up just short of our annual Top 50 is Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, who is ranked in the No. 51 spot. The 23-year-old recorded a breakout season scoring 30 goals and 67 points. He retained his physical edge where he finished fifth in the NHL in penalty minutes with 117.
With the additions of forwards Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat, and goaltender Cam Talbot, Tkachuk now has more talent around him as the Senators aim to be a threat in the Eastern Conference.
Vancouver Canucks centre Elias Pettersson (No. 30 last season), Winnipeg Jets centre Mark Scheifele (No. 20 last season), and Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares (No. 40 last season) were other notable players who just missed the cut in our Top 50.
After only playing 26 games during the shortened 2021 season due to a wrist injury, Pettersson rebounded by having a career season scoring 32 goals and 68 points in 80 games. The 23-year-old was inconsistent to start the season but scored 21 goals and 44 points in the 34 games after the all-star break.
Scheifele had a tough 2021-22 season despite scoring 29 goals and 70 points in 67 games. The 29-year-old forward missed 15 games due to an upper-body injury and a stint in the COVID-19 protocol and, as part of the team’s leadership group, took the brunt of the criticism for the Jets missing the playoffs. Scheifele voiced his frustration with the direction of the team at the end of last season, which led to speculation over his future in Winnipeg.
Tavares registered 27 goals and 76 points in 79 games last season coming off a concussion that knocked him out of the 2021 playoffs. His 49 assists were the most he had since the 2011-12 season. However, over the last four seasons the Maple Leafs captain has not reached the heights of his inaugural season in Toronto where he scored 47 goals and 88 points in 82 games in 2018-19.
On Friday, we reveal players No. 41-50.