Who are the top five players so far in the 2025-26 NHL season?
Calendar icon Updated 20 Nov 18:52

Who are the top five players so far in the 2025-26 NHL season?

Juan Pablo Aravena Juan Pablo Aravena

With a little more than a month of the 2025-26 NHL regular season in the books, there are a few players who have been turning heads with their play. Whether it’s because of their point totals, their impressive performances in a particular area, or for reaching excellence at a young age, these five players have been the top five players in the 2025-26 NHL season thus far.

* Stats correct as of November 18th, 2025

Nathan MacKinnon – Colorado Avalanche

There’s always a heated debate on whether Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid is the best player of this generation, and the reality is that it’s hard to pick either and feel it’s the wrong answer. 

The numbers are telling once again, as both players are leading the NHL in scoring, although MacKinnon has a slight edge with 33 points over McDavid’s 30. MacKinnon also anchors the offense of the team with the best record in the league, so that gives him another edge. MacKinnon’s consistency and elite scoring ability have been on full display once again in 2025-26.

By now, though, no one should be surprised by MacKinnon’s ability to dominate every single area of the game on offense. The star playmaker went scoreless in the 4-1 win over the Islanders on Nov. 16, but that’s been just the third time in which he hasn’t cracked the scoresheet in 2025-26. 

He ranks first in the league in goals (14), second in assists (19), first in plus/minus across all skaters (+19) and second in points-per-game, only trailing Mark Stone, who would’ve easily made this list hadn’t he suffered an injury earlier in the campaign. 

MacKinnon’s dominance level is elite once again, and he fully deserves his place among the Top 5 players in the early stages of the 2025-26 NHL season – and has a strong argument to say he’s been the best so far.

Cale Makar – Colorado Avalanche

Makar is leading all defensemen in points by a wide margin and has 25 so far in 2025-26 in only 19 games. He’s on pace not only to average more than one point per game for a fifth straight season, but maybe to reach 100 points for the first time in his career. 

He had a career-best season in 2024-25, tallying 92 points in 80 regular-season contests (30 goals, 62 assists), and this season he already has six goals and nine assists.

The goalscoring output has been reduced compared to recent years, but that can be explained since he’s averaging only 2.57 shots per game. In comparison, he averaged 3.07 shots per game in 2024-25 and 3.00 in 2023-24.

Makar won the James Norris Memorial Trophy, which honors the best all-around defensemen in the NHL, in 2024-25, making it the second time he has won the award. He previously won that award in the 2021-22 season, and it wouldn’t be surprising if he wins it again in 2025-26. 

No other blueliner has the same overall impact Makar brings for the Avalanche on both ends of the ice, and the numbers also back him up. Makar ranks second among defensemen in goals, tied for first in assists, first in plus/minus and first in points-per-game. No other defenseman comes close to what he can bring to the table.

Macklin Celebrini – San Jose Sharks

Celebrini was a highly touted prospect who was selected first overall in the 2024 NHL Draft by the Sharks. It’s safe to say he’s lived up to the lofty expectations placed on his shoulders since the moment he stepped into an NHL rink. 

He showed glimpses of his talent during the 2024-25 campaign, but he wasn’t able to do much in a Sharks team that was among the worst in the NHL. The situation hasn’t changed much with the franchise’s talent, but Celebrini has taken his play to a new level in 2025-26.

Through his first 19 games, Celebrini has racked up an impressive tally of 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists) while also adding a plus-3 rating. Mean while, his plus/minus as a rookie was a negative minus-31. Celebrini had 63 points as a rookie in 2024-25, but if he stays healthy in 2025-26, he’s on pace to surpass the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. 

He’s on pace to shatter all the numbers he posted as a rookie, and considering Celebrini is only 19 years old, it seems the sky is the limit for the star center.

Matthew Schaefer – New York Islanders

I get it. It’s easy to question this selection. After all, Schaefer has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 19 games. That doesn’t scream “top five player in the league.” However, once you analyze the context he’s in and the fact that he was playing in the OHL less than 12 months ago, everything makes more sense. 

Oh yes, and he’s ONLY 18 years old. There haven’t been many NHLers averaging nearly one point per game at 18 years of age while playing as a defenseman. He’s also scored two game-winners in his young career, and on Nov. 14, he became the youngest player in NHL history to score an overtime goal, besting Sidney Crosby’s record by a mere 31 days.

Schaefer was selected with the first overall pick in the 2025 NHL Draft despite playing only 17 games in his final year in the OHL, albeit raking up 22 points in the process (seven goals, 15 assists). No one expected Schaefer to be part of the Islanders’ roster after the preseason, but not only did he make the team, he’s showing he belongs in the NHL and nowhere else.

Schaefer was named Rookie of the Month in October after tallying eight points in his first 11 games, and as of Nov. 18, he’s up to 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in his first 19 games while posting a plus-2 rating. His numbers might not be among the Top 5 players in his position, let alone the league, but it would be a huge mistake to leave him off the list based on what he’s accomplished at such a young age.

Jake Allen – New Jersey Devils

Last but not least, let’s go with a goaltender. While common sense would’ve gone to choose someone like Connor Hellebuyck, who was one of the best players in the 2024-25 season, or Logan Thompson, who’s leading most of the important stats among goaltenders, we’ll go with Allen here. 

Even though he continues to split the workload with Jacob Markstrom, Allen’s resurgence in his age-35 season is another impressive story in the early stages of the season. Allen has been so good that he’s given up two or fewer goals in six of his 10 starts so far, and he’s given up more than three goals just once.

Allen isn’t leading the NHL in GAA (fourth with 2.24) or save percentage (sixth with .916), and in fact, it’s Logan Thompson who’s pacing all goaltenders in both categories thus far (1.85 GAA and .925 save percentage). However, we can’t highlight enough how impressive Allen has been between the pipes for the Devils. Before Nov. 

18’s slate, the Devils sit at the top of the standings in the Eastern Conference with a 13-4-1 record, and Allen’s performances have been key to sustaining an offense that only ranks seventh in scoring in the Conference.

Cookie Notice

This site uses cookies. Find out more about use of cookies in our privacy policy.

Cookie Policy