Vegas Golden Knights: William Karlsson not in Top 20 Centers List

William Karlsson is a franchise center for the Vegas Golden Knights although he’s not at the top of his craft in the NHL according to an offseason list produced by the NHL Network.

The NHL Network launched a nine-part series on Sunday to get the excitement flowing and build anticipation ahead of the 2019-20 regular season, which gets underway on Oct, 2. The series will look at the best players in the league right now and it started with the 20 best centers, although there was no mention of Karlsson or the Vegas Golden Knights.

Centers are arguably the second most important position in hockey behind a goaltender. Their daily diet is made up of a staple of faceoff wins, leading rushes up the ice, playing a 200-foot game and scoring and creating goals. Those are the hallmarks of an elite center and those are the criteria this list is based on.

Karlsson, despite proving his credentials as a superb two-way pivot for the Golden Knights over the last two years, didn’t make the cut but before we get into why, let’s look at who did make the list and also study what players were on the bubble.

In terms of the five centers who just missed out, Jonathan Toews (Chicago Blackhawks), Sean Couturier (Philadelphia Flyers), Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings), Matt Duchene (Nashville Predators) and Mathew Barzal (New York Islanders) were considered good, but not quite good enough to crack the Top 20.

Now, speaking of the Top 20, let’s get to it. It will be of no surprise to anybody that Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid topped the list at No.1, while Sydney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins slid in just behind at No.2. Personally, I would have Crosby as the best center in the NHL given his outstanding body of work over a sustained period of time, but there is no doubt that both McDavid and Crosby are masters of their craft.

Colorado Avalanche pivot Nathan MacKinnon came in at No.3 following a career-year in 2018-19, Aleksander Barkov was fourth and Toronto Maple Leafs duo John Tavares and Auston Matthews rounded out the top six.

Here is the full Top 20 List in full:

1. Connor McDavid – Edmonton Oilers
2. Sidney Crosby – Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche
4. Aleksander Barkov – Florida Panthers
5. John Tavares – Toronto Maple Leafs
6. Auston Matthews – Toronto Maple Leafs
7. Patrice Bergeron – Boston Bruins
8. Steven Stamkos – Tampa Bay Lightning
9. Mark Scheifele – Winnipeg Jets
10. Brayden Point – Tampa Bay Lightning
11. Tyler Seguin – Dallas Stars
12. Ryan O’Reilly – St. Louis Blues
13. Evgeni Malkin – Pittsburgh Penguins
14. Sebastian Aho – Carolina Hurricanes
15. Jack Eichel – Buffalo Sabres
16. Evgeny Kuznetsov – Washington Capitals
17. Logan Couture – San Jose Sharks
18. Nicklas Backstrom – Washington Capitals
19. Sean Monahan – Calgary Flames
20. Elias Pettersson – Vancouver Canucks

Now, the majority of the players within that top 20 are elite and proven performers in the NHL who have been at the top of their craft for a number of years, while others like Jack Eichel and Sean Monahan enjoyed career-years in 2018-19. And then you have Vancouver Canucks phenom Elias Pettersson, who snuck into the top 20 after carving out a stunning rookie year with 28 goals and 38 assists for 66 points, topping off a dream first season with the Calder Trophy.

So, should William Karlsson have cracked that list? He did endure a dip in production last year, posting 24 goals and 32 assists for 56 points in 82 games compared to 43 goals and 35 assists for 78 points in 82 regular season games in 2017-18. What is interesting is that Karlsson’s production in his inaugural year would have compared favorably to those included in the Top 20 Centers List.

However, Karlsson’s points total last year (56) ranks dead last when compared to the players included in the Top 20, including 10 points less than Elias Pettersson who is coming off his rookie year in the NHL. So, when going on points alone, it is no surprise that Karlsson didn’t make the cut and he also had less points than the five players who were on the bubble of making this list.

But, how does Karlsson compare to the Top 20 in other categories? Well, for starters the center had a higher faceoff winning percentage (47.6) than Connor McDavid (46.6), although he is well behind both McDavid and Sidney Crosby in the majority of other categories that are important to an elite pivot.

In conclusion, Karlsson’s dip in production and down year contributed in a big way to missing out on making the Top 20 Centers List by the NHL Network. Also, it is worth noting that the vast majority of players included in the Top 20 have a bigger body of work to go on than Karlsson, which obviously has to come into play when making such a list.

However, if Karlsson can boost his production numbers and pad out his other metric stats in 2019-20, then you would have to think that the 26-year-old would be part of the conversation to be included in the Top 20 Centers List next year. He is on the cusp of breaking into the upper echelons of elite centers in the NHL, but he needs to showcase his excellence over a sustained period of time. It would also help his case considerably if he could add a Stanley Cup to his resume this year, of course.