Ranking the NHL's 10 Best Playmakers in 2023-24
How do you define an elite NHL playmaker in the year of 2023?
It's not as simple as looking at the assist column and calling it a day. With access to data unveiling the discrepancy between even strength and all strengths, you've gotta look at any noticeable drop-offs there. You've got to look at the quality of linemates and teammates. You've got to look at primary assists versus secondary assists, zone entries and speed while exiting the neutral zone.
Of course, you've got to actually watch the players, as well. There's something an up-and-comer like Jack Hughes, for example, just has—an unmistakable momentum where you just know something is going to happen while the puck is on his stick.
Let's take a look at the 10 best playmakers in the league today. And today means literally October 28, 2023, not some vague nod to the past or the future.
10. Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes
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Clayton Keller is one of those players we all kind of know we should be paying more attention to, right?
The Arizona Coyote ended last season sandwiched between Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby in terms of even-strength primary assists (27) and ranked No. 9 in primary assists in all situations with 38. What's even more impressive is he dropped all the way to 32 in terms of total assists in all situations—this man is here to make the play, not rack up the party point on the line in the process.
Keller is starting off 2023-24 strong with two goals, three total assists and two primary assists at even strength in seven games this season.
9. Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers
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When you think about Matthew Tkachuk, the first thing you think of isn't the word "playmaking." Maybe you think "clutch goals," "goals in general," "chirps," "grit," "People magazine."
But when you really, really start to think about it, you know that all of the electric goals are fun, but Tkachuk's hard work has always been the cornerstone of his game. He stayed true to that in his Hart Trophy finalist 2022-23 season, as the winger with the most total assists (46) at even strength in the league, and the No. 2 winger in the league behind Mitch Marner in even-strength primary assists (30). His 30 even-strength primary assists were three more than Connor McDavid's total, for reference.
Don't let all the electricity and personality fool you—Tkachuk's got a playmaking foundation to his game.
8. Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights
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Seeing Jack Eichel thrive in the desert in the first-ever playoff run of his career, which of course led to him hoisting his first Stanley Cup, was a reminder to us all. It was a reminder that not only is Eichel one of the most competitive, electric players in the right environment, but also one of the league's premier playmakers.
He's kicked off 2023-24 the same way as his team continues to excel, and he's tied for No. 2 in the league for even-strength primary assists with four.
Eichel led all players in general in points in the 2022-23 playoffs, with six goals and 20 assists for 26 points in 22 games. He had a strong lead in primary assists at all strengths with 14, and led all playoff scorers in even-strength primary assists as well.
He really wore many hats for the Golden Knights on that Cup run and reminded us all of his playmaking ability as a top center in the league.
7. Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
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Maybe many of us just got sick of the Vancouver Canucks building us up and letting us down. Maybe in that process over the past few years, many of us forgot how good Elias Pettersson has always been, or maybe we just wanted him to show us in the playoffs.
Regardless, Pettersson persisted as one of the most consistent playmaking threats in the league as the hardships for the Canucks, too, persisted. Now, he's kicking off his contract year tied at No. 2 in even-strength primary assists with four in seven games, picking up where last season's 23 primary assists at even strength left off. His total assists at even strength last season ranked No. 8 in the league at 40, and it's more impressive when you consider the talent around him hasn't always been...well...talent.
6. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
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Perhaps it's harsh to put Sidney Crosby, the Godfather of modern NHL playmaking, at No. 6 on a list like this. But this is about where the league is at in its exact moment and where it's headed. Crosby was the No. 1 active NHL playmaker for well over a decade, and if anything, it's a testament to him that he's barely slowed down while those who were shaped by him are now emerging.
He ranked fifth last season at total even-strength assists with 42 and eighth in primary even-strength assists (26), which is pretty impressive considering the Penguins as a whole were inconsistent and missed the playoffs by a hair.
5. Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
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Jack Hughes is showing no signs of slowing down in 2023-24 after his explosive breakout in 2022-23. He leads the league in scoring with five goals, 13 assists and 18 points in just seven games. While he's extremely well-rounded and still showing us where his ceiling is, most of his success so far—and right now—can be attributed to his playmaking
According to Meghan Chayka and Stathletes, Hughes has kicked off 2023-24 No. 2 in the league with an astonishing 7.38 zone-entry carries per game. Every time he barrels down the ice you get the feeling something could happen, which is one of the best playmaking eye tests indeed.
He's currently leading the league in assists in all situations and assists at even strength (6), and ranks second in primary assists at even strength (4).
4. Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
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I was watching the Leafs vs. the Stars earlier this week, and 20-year-old Dallas center Wyatt Johnson said the player he looked up to the most growing up was Mitch Marner. First, I wondered when I became 400 years old. Then, I reflected a bit on Marner's career, and how he's been and still is emerging as one of the best modern playmakers in the game.
Marner's been a posterchild for the revolution of wingers having center-esque two-way game ability, and his playmaking isn't just an added perk—it's his main event.
Last season he tied Nathan MacKinnon at No. 5 in total assists at all strengths with 69 and was No. 6 leaguewide with 40 primary assists at all strengths. He tied Nikita Kucherov as the top wingers in the league in even strength assists at 41.
3. Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers
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How many times in NHL history have two teammates tied for the season lead in primary assists in all situations? That was Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in 2022-23 with 60, and the next-highest was a significant drop-off—Nikita Kucherov with 48.
At even strength, though, Draisaitl edged out McDavid for the league lead in primary assists with 39, and was No. 4 overall with 45 total assists at even strength. This situation is obviously reminiscent of the Sidney Crosby-Evgeni Malkin situation that came before it: Can we find a way to adequately celebrate and acknowledge Draisaitl's accomplishments and individual skill sets?
He's shown again and again that he's the same elite playmaker with and without McDavid on his line, and the two just enhance each other.
2. Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
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When it comes to the Nathan MacKinnon vs. Connor McDavid debate, it's totally valid to argue that MacKinnon is the better playmaker, and if not, he's neck-and-neck.
According to Chayka and Stathletes, MacKinnon leads the league in zone entry carries per game this season with 8.57.
He ended last season No. 2 in the league in total assists at even strength with 47, behind only Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson. The fact that he dropped to No. 5 in all-situation assists, behind power-play weapons McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Nikita Kucherov and David Pastrnak only drives home the fact that MacKinnon is a five-on-five playmaking dynamo.
His speed and power skating when it comes to zone entries, and his consistent ability to make something out of them dishing the puck, is why he's the only one next to McDavid in the playmaking conversation right now.
1. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
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Playmaking isn't even the best part of the best player in the world's skill set by a mile. But who else on this list regularly sets up his own plays operating off pure speed (McDavid's actual best skill set) and puts the puck in the net himself to top it all off?
McDavid led the league in assists last season with 89. Although he gets some points off for only 20 of those being primary at even strength (T-3 in the league in 2022-23), he and Draisaitl tied for first in the league when it comes to primary assists in all situations, shooting back up to 60 apiece thanks to their lethal work on the Oilers power play.
McDavid was also tied with Mark Stone for third among all playoff skaters in primary assists with nine despite playing only 12 playoff games compared to Stone's 22. The No. 1 and No. 2? Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk, who logged 22 and 20 playoff contests respectively.
You can argue that other players contribute more to their teams when it comes to strictly assists, and this is, of course, a crucial aspect of playmaking. But McDavid's excellence in this metric combined with his trademark zone entries that seem to create plays out of thin air, put him over the top as the No. 1 "playmaker" in the game right now.
Unless specified otherwise, all advanced analytics in this story are courtesy of NaturalStatTrick.com.
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