Nathan MacKinnon may be 75th among NHL players in compensation next season, but the Avalanche star was ranked No. 3 among active centers on the NHL Network’s countdown show to the 2019-20 season on Sunday night.
MacKinnon, who came in No. 5 on the network’s list a year ago, only trailed Edmonton’s Connor McDavid and Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby. Florida’s Aleksander Barkov and John Tavares of Toronto completed the top five.
MacKinnon, who is coming off a career-high 99-point season (41 goals), was No. 1 among right-shot centers.
The network’s rankings weighed the players’ most recent seasons and projected their performance in the upcoming year.