The Hockey News has released its top 80 NHL players list for the beginning of the 2026-27 regular season, and the early section already shows how closely recent production and long-term consistency are being weighed. For Ducks Hockey fans following the broader league picture, it is another reminder of how the elite tier is judged before the season even starts.
The list is still working its way toward the top 50, but the players highlighted so far give a clear sense of the standard being applied. Strong recent numbers matter, of course, yet the ranking also reflects what these players have done over several seasons, not just one hot stretch.
What stands out early in the ranking
Point is one of the clearest examples of that balance. He posted 32 goals and 66 points for the Lightning in 2017-18, a season that underlined his scoring punch and all-round value. That kind of established production is exactly the type of benchmark that keeps a player near the top of any serious NHL list.
McAvoy also fits the profile of a player whose standing is built on more than a single season. He was a key component on Team USA's gold medal roster at the 2026 Olympics, which reinforces the idea that The Hockey News is rewarding players who can be trusted in major moments as well as across a regular season.
Recent form and career consistency
Fox's case shows how much weight recent output can carry when it is backed by a strong track record. In 2025-26, he posted 52 points in 55 games, and that came after three straight years from 2021-2024 in which he delivered at least 56 assists and 72 points. Even a season in which he appeared in only 55 games in 2020-21 did not stop him from re-establishing himself as one of the league's most reliable offensive defenders.
Reinhart is another player whose ranking is easy to understand from the numbers alone. After bursting onto the NHL scene in 2015-16, he produced a 57-goal, 94-point season in 2023-24 and then served as a key cog for Team Canada at the 2026 Olympics. That is the kind of combination that pushes a player deep into the top-80 conversation and, in this case, toward the upper end of the list.
Guentzel also brings both pedigree and production into the discussion. He won a Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017, which still carries weight in any evaluation of high-end talent. Ranking players like him is not simply about current totals, but about how long they have remained effective at a top level.
Why the list matters for the top 50
Keller's inclusion is another sign that the ranking is not built on reputation alone. Picked seventh overall in 2016, he generated four assists and five points in six post-season games in the spring of 2026. That brief sample is not enough on its own to define a player, but it does help explain why he remains in the conversation as the list moves closer to the top 50.
In that sense, the early portion of The Hockey News ranking is doing exactly what a good list should do: it is separating excellent players from truly elite ones while showing the criteria behind the order. Recent performance matters, but so does the ability to produce year after year, adapt in different roles and remain important when the pressure rises.
With the ranking now released at the beginning of the 2026-27 regular season, the next question is simple. Which of these names will keep climbing as the list reaches the highest levels, and which players are still waiting to prove they belong in the very top tier?
