Avs ranked as having four top-10 players at their position in NHL

The Colorado Avalanche have four top-10 players at their position in the NHL, as the Avs received love from the league’s official TV home.

NHL Network revealed its “top players right now” series throughout the month of August, and the usual candidates fared well. But, there were also a couple of notable guys missing.

Here’s the list of who made the top-20 at their respective position.

Avalanche represented on NHL Network's "Top Players Right Now" list by position group:

Defense
Cale Makar – #1
Devon Toews – #10

Center
Nathan MacKinnon – #2

Wing
Mikko Rantanen – #3 pic.twitter.com/Lk01Nz8S0D

— Luke Johns (@LukeJohns) August 28, 2024

Cale Makar being the top defenseman in the league is a no-brainer. And his linemate, the criminally underrated Devon Toews, being in the top-10 is nice recognition.

It’s a little silly that Nathan MacKinnon is the No. 2 center in the NHL after winning his first Hart Trophy, but superstar Connor McDavid being No. 1 after his historic playoff run with the Oilers isn’t surprising.

Mikko Rantanen checks in as the No. 3 winger in the league, after posting back-t0-back 100 point seasons. He’s behind only Matthew Tkachuk of the Panthers and Nikita Kucherov of the Lightning.

Valeri Nichushkin could easily be ranked as a top-20 winger in the NHL, but a six-month suspension probably hurt his case. Nichushkin is in Phase 3 Player Assistance Program of the of the NHLPA and NHL.

Elsewhere, goaltender Alexandar Georgiev didn’t make the goalies list, in which only 10 were ranked. Despite a slump toward the end of the regular season, “Georgie” has led the league in wins each of the last two years.

The Avalanche are well represented overall, and it’s clear they have three of the 10 best players in the world in MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen.

Colorado will need other players to step up, including the potential return of captain Gabriel Landeskog, if they want to win their second Stanley Cup in three years.

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