NHL Top Players: Nos. 40-31

NHL Network is getting ready for this season by ranking the top 50 players in the League. Researchers, producers and on-air personalities compiled the list, and players 40-31 were revealed Sunday in the sixth of a nine-part series. Here is the list:

40. Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators

Saros was 33-23-7 with a 2.69 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and two shutouts in 64 games (63 starts) last season, tying Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets for the NHL lead in games. He faced the most shots (2,099), made the most saves (1,928) and played more minutes (3,809:59) than any other goalie. The 28-year-old was fourth in voting for the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL last season after he was third in in 2021-22 when he led the League in games played (67) and starts (67), and went 38-25-3 with a 2.64 GAA and .918 save percentage.

39. Tim Stutzle, F, Ottawa Senators

Stutzle has improved his goals, assists and points totals in each of the past two seasons. Last season he had 39 goals, 51 assists and 90 points in 78 games, up from 22 goals, 36 assists and 58 points in 79 games in 2021-22. He also had 10 power-play goals, 28 power-play points and three short-handed goals while leading Ottawa forwards in ice time per game (21:16) last season. The 21-year-old also had NHL career highs in shots on goal (228), helping the Senators improve by 13 points in the standings.

38. Nico Hischier,  F, New Jersey Devils

In his sixth NHL season, Hischier set career highs in goals (31), assists (49) and points (80) in 81 games and helped the Devils to franchise-highs of 52 wins and 112 points, an improvement of 25 wins and 49 points from 2021-22. He was second among Devils forwards in ice time per game (19:17) and blocked shots (61) and first in short-handed ice time per game (2:06) and takeaways (64). The 24-year-old won 53.9 percent of his face-offs and was second in voting for the Selke Trophy as the top defensive forward in the NHL last season.

37. Alex Pietrangelo, D, Vegas Golden Knights

Pietrangelo helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup last season, his second championship after winning it with the St. Louis Blues in 2019. He had 54 points (11 goals, 43 assists) in 73 regular-season games and 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 21 playoff games while leading Vegas in average ice time per game in the regular season (23:59) and playoffs (23:25). The 33-year-old had 55 blocked shots in the playoffs, two behind Alec Martinez for the NHL lead.

36. Roope Hintz, F, Dallas Stars

Hintz has scored 37 goals each of the past two seasons and had an NHL career-high 75 points in 73 games in 2022-23. He also was plus-31 with 21 power-play points, three short-handed goals and five game-winning goals in 17:33 of ice time per game. The 26-year-old center won 52.0 percent of his face-offs and was third on the Stars in SAT percentage (minimum 10 games), with Dallas taking 54.7 percent of all shot attempts when he was on the ice at 5-on-5.

35. Connor Hellebuyck, G, Winnipeg Jets

Hellebuyck was 37-25-2 with a 2.49 GAA, .920 save percentage and four shutouts in 64 games last season. He was tied for third in wins with Jake Oettinger of the Dallas Stars and Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers; tied with Saros for the lead in games played; and was tied with Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins for fourth in save percentage among goalies to play at least 20 games. Hellebuyck faced the third-most shots (1,964) and made the second-most saves (1,807) in the NHL. The 30-year-old was third in voting for the Vezina Trophy; he has finished in the top three for the award three of the past six seasons, winning it in 2019-20.

34. Steven Stamkos, F, Tampa Bay Lightning

It was a season of milestones in 2022-23 for Stamkos, who scored his 500th NHL goal (Jan. 18), got his 500th assist (Nov. 15), his 1,000th point (Dec. 1) and played his 1,000th game (April 6). He's the first player with 500 goals and 1,000 points for the Lightning and the second to play 1,000 games (Vincent Lecavalier, 1,037). The 33-year-old center was third on the Lightning with 84 points (34 goals, 50 assists) last season and had four points (two goals, two assists) in six playoff games.

33. Brad Marchand, F, Boston Bruins

Marchand missed the first seven games of the season recovering from offseason surgery on his hips but was second on the Bruins with 67 points (21 goals, 46 assists) in 73 games, and tied Tyler Bertuzzi for the Boston postseason lead with 10 points (four goals, six assists) in seven games. The 35-year-old left wing scored at least 20 goals for the 10th straight season, which tied former Bruins teammate Patrice Bergeron for the second-longest active streak in the NHL before Bergeron announced his retirement July 25. Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals has the longest active streak (18).

32. Artemi Panarin, F, New York Rangers

Panarin led the Rangers with 92 points (29 goals, 63 assists) in 82 games and had two assists in seven playoff games. The 31-year-old left wing had at least 90 points for the third time in four seasons with the Rangers. His 341 points (100 goals, 241 assists) are fourth among all players since 2019-20, behind Edmonton Oilers forwards Connor McDavid (478) and Leon Draisaitl (432), and Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (341).

31. Mika Zibanejad, F, New York Rangers

Zibanejad led the Rangers with 39 goals and was second with 91 points in 82 games last season. He has scored at least 24 goals in each of the past six seasons, including at least 10 power-play goals in each of them. The 30-year-old center led the Rangers with 20 power-play goals and led their forwards with 57 takeaways. He also led New York forwards in ice time per game (19:58) and short-handed ice time per game (1:56) and was second in power-play ice time (3:30).