\ud83d\udd2e Goaltenders<\/p>\n
#29. Jeremy Swayman, Age: 31
Trajectory: Juuse Saros<\/p>\n
It might be a surprise to see Swayman as a top-five goaltender given his first run as a starter was a mess. But this is the same goalie that stopped 47 GSAx over his age-23 to age-25 seasons before last year\u2019s setback. Swayman\u2019s late start from a contract holdout badly disrupted the season. Neither he nor the Bruins<\/a>\u2018 found their footing. Expect Swayman to rebound swiftly and justify his eight-year deal.<\/p>\n #24. Igor Shesterkin, Age: 34 Among the league\u2019s current elite, why will Shesterkin remain exceptional in 2030? Contemporaries Connor Hellebuyck (37 in 2030) and Andrei Vasilevskiy (36 in 2030) have some serious miles on them. Each has already played over 600 games between regular season and playoffs. Athletic and highly competitive like his countryman Bobrovsky, Shesterkin has too much ability not to compete for more Vezinas into his 30s.<\/p>\n #15. Yaroslav Askarov, Age: 28 It feels like Askarov has been a prospect for a decade, yet he just turned 23. The 11th overall pick in 2020 by Nashville<\/a>, he\u2019s expected to get significant rope in San Jose<\/a> this year. After shredding the AHL last season (.923 save percentage), it\u2019s go time for Askarov to establish himself at the highest level. Becoming Vasilevskiy 2.0 is asking too much, but he\u2019s got the size and skillset that screams franchise goaltender.<\/p>\n #13. Filip Gustavsson, Age: 32 Gustavsson has had to wait his turn in Minnesota<\/a>, gradually squeezing more starts from beloved veteran Marc-Andre Fleury the last three seasons. What\u2019s fascinating is that the Wild have another big Swedish fish, 22-year-old Jesper Wallstedt, slowly entering their goaltending waters. Whether one is moved by 2030 is anyone\u2019s guess, but Gustavsson has shown stretches of brilliance and exceptional upside.<\/p>\n #6. Jake Oettinger, Age: 31 At a position that\u2019s difficult to scout, predict, and count on in the modern NHL, Oettinger has proven durable and reliable over five seasons in Dallas<\/a>. While his playoff performances have been hot and cold, the Stars\u2019 past, present, and future goalie is still only 26. He already has 149 wins and another 32 in the postseason. As a workhorse continuing to develop on a strong team, Oettinger\u2019s next five years are an ideal window to inherit the torch of NHL\u2019s best goaltender.<\/p>\n Honorable Mentions: Lukas Dostal (Age: 30); Dustin Wolf (29); Spencer Knight (29)<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd2e Defensemen<\/p>\n #30. Owen Power, Age: 27 Going first overall created unreasonable expectations for Power. Lanky defensemen on terrible teams rarely blossom overnight in their early 20s. While Power isn\u2019t going to become a menace like Zdeno Chara, a big, mobile, positionally sound defender with evolving offensive instincts and a strong hockey I.Q. is in every team\u2019s recipe book. Slow and steady wins the race.<\/p>\n #27. Zeev Buium, Age: 24 Buium is the only defenseman on the list that hasn\u2019t debuted in the NHL yet. Choosing known commodity and future teammate Brock Faber is the safer choice, but Buium\u2019s offensive potential wins out. Still 19 until December and fully baked at the NCAA level, the bet is on Buium to be a top-10 blueliner within five years. While the Wild have visions of Cale Makar\u2019s trajectory, a Subban-like one feels achievable.<\/p>\n #20. Moritz Seider, Age: 29 Seider went from puzzling draft choice to the next Nicklas Lidstrom to overrated by his 21st birthday. Parking the noise, Seider continues to improve and take on major responsibility \u2013 he averaged 25:04 last season at 23. By 2030, the German will be 29 and in full bloom as a Norris conversation fixture. If the Shea Theodore match looks underwhelming, he finished sixth for the Norris at ages 24 and 25, and might have been a finalist if not for games lost to injuries.<\/p>\n #19. Miro Heiskanen, Age: 31 A veteran of 475 regular season games before his 26th birthday, Heiskanen has been a rock solid, steadying presence worthy of the 3rd overall pick in 2017. The Doughty trajectory is a major compliment, a fellow sensational if not flashy blueliner for the better part of two decades. Although injuries limited Heiskanen last season, he\u2019s a near-lock for continued brilliance.<\/p>\n #16. Thomas Harley, Age: 29 By all measures, Harley\u2019s ascension the last two seasons has been player development poetry. It doesn\u2019t take much imagination to picture him in future Norris votes \u2013 he finished 7th last year in only his second full NHL season. Jim Nill would be thrilled to have the NHL\u2019s future #1 goaltender and two top-seven defensemen defending his net for the next half-decade.<\/p>\n #14. Luke Hughes, Age: 27 While hockey fans might drool over replicating brother Quinn\u2019s impact and scoring feats, few players ever reach that level. While Luke has a remote chance, Devils<\/a>\u2018 fans would surely settle for a future blueliner in the NHL\u2019s top five. While Habs<\/a>\u2018 faithful might argue that snubbed Calder winner Lane Hutson offers more promise, Hughes\u2019 pedigree and extra size on Hutson offer more probable long-term, sustained impact.<\/p>\n #12. Rasmus Dahlin, Age: 30 Dahlin continues to advance his game, scoring at a 76-point pace and finishing sixth in Norris voting. Don\u2019t expect anything different over the next five years. Incredibly, 2030 will kick off Dahlin\u2019s 13th NHL season. While the frustrated Sabres<\/a> can\u2019t find any traction, Dahlin is a permanent bright spot. With any luck, he will be Team Sweden\u2019s next Hedman deep into his 30s.<\/p>\n #10. Jake Sanderson, Age: 28 Plucking Sanderson this high from contemporary defenders Seider, Harley, and Luke Hughes takes some projection and a leap of faith. But Sanderson continues to ace every test sent his way on the upstart Senators<\/a>. While the smallest of samples (two games), he boosted his reputation and confidence from an impactful emergency shot with Team U.S.A at the 4 Nations Face-off. A future Werenski? Sure looks like it.<\/p>\n #4. Quinn Hughes, Age: 30 Perennial point-per-game defensemen in their 20s in the cap era are largely mythical beasts: Mike Green, Erik Karlsson, Hughes, and rival Makar. Only Makar has matched Hughes by doing so while having above-average defensive impact. Spoiler alert: Why is Makar #1 over Hughes? Not much separates the pair. Makar has found team success, contributing meaningfully to more playoff runs, and reputationally is a five-time Norris finalist to Hughes\u2019 two nods.<\/p>\n #2. Cale Makar, Age: 31 A short list of best NHL defensemen today might read (alphabetically): Dahlin, Fox, Heiskanen, Quinn Hughes, Makar, Werenski. Age-wise, all are between 25 and 28. To confidently place Makar at the top when he\u2019ll be 31 tells us two things: 1. The upcoming generation is a long way from catching him right now; and 2. Makar can decline over the next five years and still lead the pack. As a unicorn, there are no sound cap era comparisons for his path \u2013 we had to go back to Ray Bourque to find anyone so consistently great so young.<\/p>\n Honorable Mentions: Evan Bouchard (Age: 30); Adam Fox (32); Matthew Schaefer (23)<\/p>\n \ud83d\udd2e Forwards<\/p>\n #28. Matt Boldy, Age: 29 The bet with Boldy\u2019s inclusion in five years is a testament to his well-rounded game \u2013 a 30-goal, two-way winger at 23 is a rare sight. But the choice also projects that with declining trends in power play opportunities and offense that a truly well-rounded player like Boldy may emerge even more valuable in the future.<\/p>\n #26. Leo Carlsson, Age: 25 Still 20 and with only 74 career points, a projected scoring explosion is implied for Carlsson. Rantanen, a fellow statuesque high pick, lines up nicely. Rantanen jumped from 38 to 84 points in his 21-year-old season. Fresh off a 45-point season and on a slowly maturing Ducks<\/a>\u2018 team, Carlsson should see rapid growth and big offensive totals A.S.A.P.<\/p>\n #25. Wyatt Johnston, Age: 27 While he\u2019s not the same imposing figure as his captain, Benn is an excellent template for Johnston to follow. A natural finisher and impactful player, Johnston may never win an Art Ross Trophy. But his career start \u2013 89 goals before his 21st birthday \u2013\u00a0suggest that further gradual improvement will put Johnston among the game\u2019s very best in 2030.<\/p>\n #23. Leon Draisaitl, Age: 34 Fresh off an MVP runner-up finish and breezy Rocket Richard Trophy, let\u2019s not write Draisaitl\u2019s obituary just yet. But he\u2019ll be weeks shy of his 35th birthday in 2030, and the aging curve waits for no one. Fellow proven playoff performer and co-superstar extraordinaire Malkin still contributed around a point-per-game clip by his mid-30s, but had fallen outside top-10 forward chatter. Full credit to Draisaitl for being in this conversation ahead of what would be his 17th season.<\/p>\n #22. Lucas Raymond, Age: 28 It\u2019s hard not to like Raymond, a great skater with hockey sense, discipline, and offensive skills for days. Fresh off his first 80-point season, Raymond profiles well statistically to Tkachuk. While no one will confuse their skating or their physicality, Tkachuk kept finding new offensive and defensive levels into his mid-20s. Helping the Red Wings<\/a> finally take the next step<\/a> to the playoffs can only help Raymond\u2019s rep. Speaking of Tkachuk, he\u2019ll fall from the top 30 by 2030 given his damaging style of play.<\/p>\n #21. Nathan MacKinnon, Age: 35 An MVP season followed up by leading the NHL in assists, MacKinnon remains on the short list of the NHL\u2019s best players today. What will he be like approaching Season #18? A fitness freak with all-world elusiveness and puck skills, Jagr might offer a glimpse of \u2018Old Man MacKinnon\u2019 in 2030. We can assume MacKinnon\u2019s speed and his minutes will dial back, but remaining a top-10 forward is realistic with his tools and intensity.<\/p>\n #18. Seth Jarvis, Age: 28 Before anyone tells me to take Bergeron\u2019s name off my lips, yes, Jarvis\u2019 defensive chops at a young age are that special. At 22, he\u2019s already finished 8th and 12th in Selke voting while putting up 30-goal seasons. By comparison, Bergeron, a center, didn\u2019t get Selke love for two more years. While I wouldn\u2019t pencil Jarvis in for six Selkes, he\u2019s the modern prototype of a young, relentless, two-way star in the making.<\/p>\n #17. Tim Stutzle, Age: 28 It was going to be hard to follow up a 39-goal, 90-point season as a 21-year-old. While Stutzle hasn\u2019t matched those marks the last two years, his defensive improvements have brought his value to a similar level on a now-competitive team. What\u2019s Stutzle\u2019s ceiling? I\u2019m betting it\u2019s higher than it was offensively than when he was 21. Anything higher than that as Stutzle\u2019s game matures equals a steady top-10 NHL forward.<\/p>\n #11. Kirill Kaprizov, Age: 33 Playing in Minnesota and missing just enough games to limit his in-season totals, here\u2019s what you\u2019ve been missing: Kaprizov is trending like two-time Art Ross winner Nikita Kucherov. It felt like Kaprizov was about to have an MVP year last season before injury struck. There\u2019s some risk in expecting him to be healthy and still dominant at 33, but like Kucherov (currently 32), Kaprizov never stops evolving.<\/p>\n #9. Gavin McKenna, Age: 22 In each of their second NHL seasons, Crosby and Connor McDavid won the Art Ross and Hart Trophies. So, suggesting McKenna, a teenager enrolled at Penn State, will be a top-10 NHL player in his fifth season is not farfetched. Fresh off 167 points in 72 games in the WHL in a season that he started as a 16-year-old, the sky is the limit for McKenna. He\u2019s the only undrafted player on this list.<\/p>\n #8. Auston Matthews, Age: 33 While it might seem sacrilegious to include Matthews \u2013 the #5 forward in 2030 \u2013 higher than Draisaitl, there are reasons. First, the pair are separated by 23 months, nearly two years. Those can be dog years in sports after turning 30. But in an injury-riddled down year, Matthews scored at a 40-goal pace. That\u2019s his floor. His 2023-24 signature season featured 69 goals as a Selke finalist. If that\u2019s Matthews\u2019 ceiling, he can age and still have few equals. As Ovechkin has proven, scoring goals never goes out of style.<\/p>\n #6. Connor Bedard, Age: 25 Two years ago, this exercise would have almost certainly had Bedard at #1. It\u2019s hardly a problem that a player that just turned 20 in July might not be the surefire best player on Earth by his 25th birthday. Tavares, to which his trajectory matches, was an MVP finalist at age 22 and 24<\/a>. So, there is a lot of room for dominant, impactful play on Bedard\u2019s timeline. As he and the young core around him marinate, the recognition will follow. I\u2019m still betting on a future Hart Trophy<\/a> for Bedard.<\/p>\n #5. Jack Hughes, Age: 29 While the injuries have piled up, Hughes has quietly scored at a 98-point pace over a four-year period. That\u2019s been achieved from age 20 through 23 on mostly mediocre Devils\u2019 squads. For perspective, the ages of the league\u2019s six 100-point scorers last year (Kucherov: 31, MacKinnon: 29, Draisaitl: 29, Pastrnak: 28, Marner: 27, McDavid: 28) averaged 28.7 years old. 2030 should be max offense for Hughes as the current scoring crop ages out of their point-banking years.<\/p>\n #3. Macklin Celebrini, Age: 24 Celebrini\u2019s standing as the future #2 forward in hockey at 24 may surprise for two reasons: 1. He\u2019s ahead of Bedard, and 2. A player not expected to have a 100-point offensive ceiling could be so highly regarded. His trajectory match, Toews, showed us that you can build a special reputation through solid offensive totals and a smart, well-rounded game featuring team success. A 74-point pace as an 18-year-old rookie on a cellar dweller suggests Celebrini\u2019s talent has few limits.<\/p>\n #1. Connor McDavid, Age: 33 Being the 7th-greatest forward in NHL history<\/a> at age 28 has some perks. For our purposes, it\u2019s that your margin for decline on the current field is massive. In a blah season by his standards \u2013 missing 15 games, getting fewer pucks on net, a short offseason \u2013 McDavid scored at a 122-point pace, added 33 playoff points, and scored the overtime winner in his best-on-best debut internationally.<\/p>\n How much speed would McDavid need to lose to just become very fast versus unparalleled fast with the puck? How much would his vision and hands need to decline after averaging more than an assist per game for a decade to become just an extremely good setup man? McDavid\u2019s physical tools are so advanced that his physical decline, which has likely already begun, should allow him to preserve #1 status for years to come. Whether that\u2019s still true at 33 in 2030 is equally a function of how fast the next generation develops to catch the man that brought hockey\u2019s evolution to a new level.<\/p>\n Honorable Mentions: Ivan Demidov (Age: 24); Matvei Michkov (25); David Pastrnak (34); Jason Robertson (31); Logan Cooley (26); Nick Suzuki (30); Mitch Marner (33)<\/p>\n Most Top 30 Players by Team: Minnesota, Dallas (four); Hughes Family (three in the top 14!); Buffalo, Colorado<\/a>, Detroit, Edmonton<\/a>, New Jersey, Ottawa, San Jose (two)<\/p>\n Follow\u00a0@AdjustedHockey<\/a>\u00a0on X; visit\u00a0www.adjustedhockey.com<\/a>; data from Hockey-Reference<\/a><\/p>\n SPONSORED BY bet365<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Sergei Bobrovsky<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Andrei Vasilevskiy<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Tuukka Rask<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Connor Hellebuyck<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Ryan Suter<\/p>\n
Trajectory: P.K. Subban<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Shea Theodore<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Drew Doughty<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Alex Pietrangelo<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Kris Letang<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Victor Hedman<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Zach Werenski<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Roman Josi<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Ray Bourque<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Anze Kopitar<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Mikko Rantanen<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Jamie Benn<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Evgeni Malkin<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Matthew Tkachuk<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Jaromir Jagr<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Patrice Bergeron<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Taylor Hall<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Nikita Kucherov<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Connor McDavid<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Alex Ovechkin<\/p>\n
Trajectory: John Tavares<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Patrick Kane<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Jonathan Toews<\/p>\n
Trajectory: Sidney Crosby<\/p>\n<\/p>\n