The centre ice position is one of the most important for an NHL hockey team. For several years, teams have coveted having depth at centre, and are willing to invest significant cap dollars to fill this need.
Of all players with an AAV greater than $7M at the start of next season, 15/40 will be centremen, the highest represented position on the list. This doesn’t include Joe Thornton, Paul Stastny, and Henrik Sedin who currently have cap hits of $7M+ and whose contracts expire this season, and John Tavares who is bound to receive a significant raise from his current $5.