As the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs began, a number of storylines dominated the conversation: Can Connor Hellebuyck turn his historic regular season into a Dominik Hašek-esque postseason run for the ages for the Winnipeg Jets? Will the Colorado Avalanche-Dallas Stars showdown be a quasi-Cup Final right away in Round 1? Is it finally the year for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl to win it all, after the Edmonton Oilers came so close last season?
But beyond the matchups and narratives, it’s also a good time to take stock of which players bring the most value into the postseason.
That’s where Goals Above Replacement (GAR) comes in — my evolved spin on earlier all-in-one value stats like Tom Awad’s Goals Versus Threshold and Hockey-Reference’s Point Shares. The core idea of GAR is to measure a player’s total impact — in offense, defense or goaltending — above what a generic “replacement-level” player might provide at the same position. It also strives to ensure the league’s value is better balanced by position: 60% of leaguewide GAR is distributed to forwards, 30% to defensemen and 10% to goaltenders.
To then assess who might be most valuable on the eve of this year’s playoffs, I plugged GAR into a system inspired by Bill James’ concept of an “established level” of performance; in this case, a weighted average of each player’s GAR over the past three regular seasons, with more emphasis on 2024-25. And to keep the metric from undervaluing recent risers, we also apply a safeguard: no player’s established level can be lower than 75% of his most recent season’s GAR.
The result is a blend of peak, recent, and sustained performance — the players on playoff-bound teams who have been great, are currently great or are still trending upward — in a format that gives us a sense of who could define this year’s postseason.
One final note: Injured players who were expected to miss all or substantial parts of the playoffs were excluded from the ranking. Sorry, Jack Hughes.
With that in mind, here are the top 50 skaters and goaltenders on teams in the 2025 playoff field, according to their three-year established level of value, ranked by the numbers:
Note: All stats are as of Tuesday, April 15. Three-year averages split up into offense, defense and goaltending in display for the top 20.
GAR: 24-25: 30.4 | 23-24: 28.1 | 22-23: 28.0
Three-year avg: O: 0.0 | D: 0.0 | G: 29.2 | Total: 29.2
Hellebuyck is the greatest goalie of his generation, with nearly 30 more GAR than the next highest-ranked netminder (Andrei Vasilevskiy) since 2017-18. Not only is he the overwhelming favorite to win the Vezina Trophy as the top goalie in the NHL, but he recently surpassed Leon Draisaitl as ESPN BET’s favorite to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP.
Among his many selling points is his otherworldly consistency: He led the league in quality starts (44), recording a league-best 72% of the time. His Winnipeg Jets may have a President’s Trophy curse on their hands, but Hellebuyck is the most important weapon of the playoffs if he plays to his usual standards.
Playoff outlook: Curses aside, the biggest element weighing against Hellebuyck and the Jets is that he hasn’t always played to his usual standards in the playoffs. Last season, Winnipeg allowed nearly as many games of five or more goals to the Colorado Avalanche in a five-game, first-round series loss as they did in the previous 82 games of the regular season.
Hellebuyck’s save percentage over the past two postseasons is 30% worse than league average, compared with a mark 17% better during the regular season. He needs to reverse that — maybe having his own version of a Hašek-style 1999 postseason — if the Jets are going to cash in on this special season.
GAR: 24-25: 24.2 | 23-24: 31.0 | 22-23: 24.5
Three-year avg: O: 21.2 | D: 5.3 | G: 0.0 | Total: 26.5
The Avalanche have a lot of high-end talent on their roster, but none grab your attention quite like MacKinnon when he has the puck on his stick with a full head of steam. Though his production dipped a bit in 2024-25 from last year’s MVP-winning effort, MacKinnon remains the engine that makes Colorado’s fifth-ranked offense run, with the team’s share of all shots at 5-on-5 improving by 8.1 percentage points with him on the ice versus off.
Stopping MacKinnon is at the top of the list for any Colorado opponent in a playoff series.
Playoff outlook: Much has been made of the unfairness that either Colorado or the Dallas Stars — both legitimate Stanley Cup-caliber squads — will be immediately ousted from the playoffs, thanks to the NHL’s division-based postseason format. So unfortunately, there is a very real possibility that we get to see MacKinnon for only a short time in these playoffs.
But before that happens, he and the Avs’ offense could make life difficult for Dallas and its D corps, which ranked 13th in total GAR during the regular season.
GAR: 24-25: 28.0 | 23-24: 23.3 | 22-23: 27.9
Three-year avg: O: 21.7 | D: 4.7 | G: 0.0 | Total: 26.4
As has been the case over the years — trading off status for the best player on the Oilers, if not the league — it was Draisaitl’s turn to take the reins from Connor McDavid in 2024-25. Leon produced the best goal-scoring season of his career after adjusting for league scoring environments.
Draisaitl has now put together a remarkable (and perhaps still somehow underrated) stretch of seven consecutive seasons with at least 104 adjusted points, according to Hockey-Reference’s metric, joining McDavid, Wayne Gretzky and Phil Esposito as the only players in NHL history in that club. Until Hellebuyck’s candidacy came on strong over the past month or so, Draisaitl was looking like a good pick for his second MVP — and it still may happen.
Playoff outlook: Draisaitl is no slouch in the postseason, producing 81 points in his past 53 playoff contests. With the Oilers set to play the Kings yet again in Round 1, Draisaitl will attempt to keep victimizing the opponent against whom he had a team-high 17 goals in 18 games over the previous three playoff runs.
GAR: 24-25: 26.1 | 23-24: 29.9 | 22-23: 19.6
Three-year avg: O: 22.5 | D: 3.7 | G: 0.0 | Total: 26.3
In winning his second straight Art Ross Trophy (and third overall) as the NHL’s leading scorer, Kucherov continues to be one of the most creative and dangerous offensive threats in hockey — and his Lightning are back to looking like one of the top Stanley Cup threats in the league.
Behind the top-rated offense in the league by goals per game, Tampa Bay had a better goal differential in 2024-25 than in either of its recent Cup-winning seasons (2019-20 or 2020-21), and Kucherov was the straw that stirred the drink as their lone scorer over 94 adjusted points. (He had 124, his third-most ever in a season.)
By any measure, Kucherov is a special player in his absolute prime.
Playoff outlook: As a multi-time champion and league leader in playoff scoring, with a career total of 167 points in 147 games, there are no concerns that Kucherov won’t produce when the lights are brightest. He even had seven points in five games during Tampa Bay’s otherwise disappointing loss to the rival Panthers in Round 1 last year.
The Bolts will try to get their revenge this year, and Kucherov might fare even better against a Panthers team who fell from first to seventh on defense this season.
GAR: 24-25: 30.1 | 23-24: 22.9 | 22-23: 18.6
Three-year avg: O: 18.4 | D: 7.4 | G: 0.0 | Total: 25.8
If a defenseman was ever capable of winning MVP in the contemporary game — none have won since Chris Pronger in 2000 — it might be Makar this season.
Not only has he been battling Hellebuyck for the league lead in GAR for most of the second half, he was also the first D-man with at least 30 adjusted goals and 90 adjusted points since Paul Coffey in 1985-86, nearly four decades ago. His ability to drive offensive action from the blue line while also not being a defensive liability is what makes Makar the best of a special generation of defensemen in the game today.
Playoff outlook: In the titanic battle between Colorado and Dallas, Makar is one of the big reasons behind a key positional edge for the Avs. According to GAR, the Avalanche had the league’s most valuable set of defensemen this season, with Makar leading a group that also includes Devon Toews and Sam Girard.
Dallas, meanwhile, ranked 13th, with Thomas Harley and Esa Lindell not receiving as much support after Miro Heiskanen was injured. That difference in blue-line play could be decisive in a series that looks like a coin flip otherwise.
GAR: 24-25: 20.4 | 23-24: 27.4 | 22-23: 35.8
Three-year avg: O: 20.8 | D: 4.6 | G: 0.0 | Total: 25.3
Imagine ranking Connor McDavid only sixth in the league… how can that be?? While some of this simply speaks to the quality of other elite players this year, with the likes of Hellebuyck and Makar enjoying the best seasons of their respective careers, McDavid also missed 13 games and posted his fewest adjusted goals (27) and adjusted points (102) in a season since he was a 19-year-old rookie in 2015-16, while the Oilers’ offense ranked outside the Top 10 for the first time since 2019-20.
All of that doesn’t mean McDavid is no longer among the game’s top stars — if anything, it shows how essential McDavid is to Edmonton’s Cup hopes — but a comparatively “down” year by his high standards did cause him to fall back a bit in this type of ranking.
Playoff outlook: Having noted all of that… it’s still Connor McDavid. The same guy who scored the winning overtime goal of the 4 Nations Face-Off just a few months ago, and the same guy who led all scorers with 42 points in 25 playoff games last spring.
The latter was part of a three-year stretch where McDavid had 95 points in his past 53 playoff contests. While the Kings are more formidable on paper than in any of their previous three first-round losses to the Oilers, I wouldn’t want to be standing between McDavid and another bid for a Stanley Cup.
GAR: 24-25: 28.6 | 23-24: 2.9 | 22-23: 20.6
Three-year avg: O: 0.0 | D: 0.0 | G: 21.5 | Total: 21.5
Although Hellebuyck is the consensus top goaltender in the game today, Vasilevskiy had a career-best season of his own in 2024-25, with 34.2 goals saved above average, and a save percentage 20% better than league average.
Vasilevskiy’s resume speaks for itself; the two-time Cup champion doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. But he still seemed to respond to the doubters this season after what had been an uncharacteristically subpar performance in 2023-24, helping elevate the Lightning in the process to their second-best goals-per-game differential of the Jon Cooper era.
Playoff outlook: Few goalies in recent memory have shown a higher ceiling in the playoffs — in addition to those two Cups, Vasilevskiy owns 66 career playoff wins, a Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP from 2021 and a .920 career playoff save percentage (11% better than average). He is still capable of carrying the Lightning on a deep playoff run if he gets hot.
GAR: 24-25: 15.9 | 23-24: 29.4 | 22-23: 20.2
Three-year avg: O: 17.6 | D: 3.5 | G: 0.0 | Total: 21.1
Following a near-MVP quality season last year, Matthews battled through early injuries to post his fewest adjusted points (77) since 2018-19 and his fewest adjusted goals in a season (32), full stop. Never in any month of 2024-25 did Matthews match his full-season average of 0.85 goals per game en route to 69 total goals last season.
But Matthews did still rank among the most impactful forwards in the game in terms of on-ice shot attempts — and besides, it’s a testament to how good he has historically been that he could still rank among the top 10 in our weighted three-year ranking despite coming off a big decline in production year-over-year.
Playoff outlook: The postseason spotlight always shines brightly on Matthews in Toronto, and while he has had his moments over the years — including five goals and nine points in six games as the Leafs finally won a first-round series in 2023 — he also hasn’t been quite as productive in the playoffs as we might expect.
Since 2016-17, Matthews ranks first by a mile in regular season goals per game, but he ranks only 12th among qualified players in the postseason over the same span. That’s still not bad, but it’s not unfair to ask for more, starting against Ottawa in Round 1 this year.
GAR: 24-25: 18.1 | 23-24: 21.5 | 22-23: 23.7
Three-year avg: O: 15.9 | D: 4.3 | G: 0.0 | Total: 20.2
Rantanen will be one of the most fascinating players to watch in these playoffs. By GAR, he became the best player to ever suit up for three or more teams in a single season, bouncing from Colorado to Carolina and then to Dallas, and his production with the Stars (0.95 PPG) kind of split the difference between his stellar rate with the Avs (1.31) and disappointing mark with the Canes (0.46).
Despite this season’s itinerant nature, there’s no reason to see Rantanen as anything other than the well-rounded winger with the wicked wrist shot we’ve been used to seeing with Colorado in many postseasons gone by.
Playoff outlook: That said, the pressure is certainly on the Stars to finally get over the hump and win a Cup — and that means a lot is riding on Rantanen as well, particularly given how much Dallas gave up to land him at the deadline.
It’s not exactly now-or-never for Dallas (they remain the league’s 12th-youngest squad), and Rantanen will be with the club for a long time after signing a $96 million extension in March, but it will be viewed as a big disappointment if all of that midseason excitement resulted in an immediate loss to Rantanen’s former team.
GAR: 24-25: 19.8 | 23-24: 20.2 | 22-23: 19.0
Three-year avg: O: 17.0 | D: 2.8 | G: 0.0 | Total: 19.8
With Matthews’ production taking a bit of a step back this season, Nylander stepped up with the best goal-scoring season of his career, notching 47 adjusted goals while leading the Maple Leafs overall with 19.8 GAR in Year 1 of the eight-year, $92 million contract he signed last January.
The slick Swede sacrificed some of his playmaking in the exchange, dropping to his fewest adjusted assists (40) since 2020-21, but he continued his reputation for consistency by eclipsing 1.00 PPG in five of seven months during the season.
Playoff outlook: Nylander has been a roughly point-per-game player (28 in 29 games, with 15 goals) over the past four playoffs, even recovering from migraines early last postseason to notch a team-best three goals in the final four games of the Boston series, scoring the Leafs’ lone marker in their Game 7 loss. Ottawa is a top-10 defensive team, but Nylander should get his goals regardless.
GAR: 24-25: 19.2 | 23-24: 18.7 | 22-23: 20.7
Three-year avg: O: 16.5 | D: 2.7 | G: 0.0 | Total: 19.3
There are few NHL players more reliable than Point, who has provided 43-49 adjusted goals, 39-42 adjusted assists, 82-91 adjusted points and 18.7-20.7 GAR in each of the past three seasons.
Centering a line with Kucherov on his wing, the two continued their fruitful long-term partnership, as Point’s quick-strike finishing ability and solid playmaking skills provide the perfect complement to Kucherov’s world-class creativity. The only downside in Point’s numbers was a dip in the relative share of on-ice shot attempts — but even that was of little consequence to Tampa Bay’s bottom line when Point’s overall plus/minus improved by 32 net goals (from -16 to +16) year-over-year.
Playoff outlook: Point was phenomenal during the Bolts’ two Cup runs, with 28 goals and 56 points in 46 games across the 2020 and 2021 postseasons. His PPG is down a bit since then, though he did average a point per game in last year’s first-round defeat against the Panthers — and again, with Florida’s defense looking a bit less imposing, Point figures to play a central role in the Lightning’s hopes of adding another Cup to their extended dynasty.
GAR: 24-25: 18.4 | 23-24: 25.1 | 22-23: 10.0
Three-year avg: O: 14.9 | D: 4.3 | G: 0.0 | Total: 19.3
After a couple of years spent reinventing himself in Florida, Reinhart was one of the league’s breakout stars last season, piling up 56 adjusted goals, 92 adjusted points and 25.1 GAR to lead the eventual champ Florida Panthers during the regular season.
And while the regression that many expected after such a huge statistical leap set in this season — he fell to 40 adjusted goals, 83 adjusted points and 18.4 GAR — Reinhart still managed to lead the now-defending champion Panthers in each category as they returned to the playoffs. Some of that was because of injuries that sidelined Matthew Tkachuk and Aleksander Barkov at different times, but mostly it was because Reinhart is legitimately one of the NHL’s most valuable all-around forwards now.
Playoff outlook: It’s surprising given Reinhart’s aforementioned career glow-up in Florida, but he was tied — with Sam Bennett — for only fourth on the Panthers in playoff scoring during their pair of Final runs in 2023 and 2024, averaging well below a point per game (29 points in 45 contests).
Perhaps it’s because his penchant for power-play scoring becomes less valuable when man advantage starts to dry up as the postseason progresses — but whatever the cause, the Panthers are more reliant on Reinhart than ever, and he needs to improve on those numbers if they’re going to repeat.
GAR: 24-25: 19.4 | 23-24: 24.1 | 22-23: 8.9
Three-year avg: O: 12.2 | D: 7.0 | G: 0.0 | Total: 19.2
Following last season’s huge breakthrough at age 24, Bouchard enjoyed another strong season on the Edmonton blue line in 2024-25. We tend not to talk about him in quite the same breath as the Makar-Quinn Hughes tier of defensemen, but he owns one of the game’s hardest shots, moves the puck well on a team that thrives off of breakout passing, and he ranked among the top D-men in suppressing opponent shot attempts.
While Bouchard’s game still has some holes, he continued to establish himself as a crucial part of the Oilers’ core alongside Draisaitl and McDavid.
Playoff outlook: Bouchard’s big breakout was not limited to the 2023-24 regular season — he was also outstanding in the playoffs, with 32 points in 25 games and a league-best +14 plus/minus. Although frequent D-partner Mattias Ekholm is out for at least Round 1 with an injury, which could reduce Bouchard’s comfort level, he also had nine points in five games against the Kings last postseason — he’ll likely be a thorn in L.A.’s side throughout this opening series.
GAR: 24-25: 17.9 | 23-24: 19.1 | 22-23: 18.9
Three-year avg: O: 11.0 | D: 7.4 | G: 0.0 | Total: 18.5
If Bouchard flies under the radar, Morrissey struggles to be on the radar at all, despite putting the finishing touches on a third consecutive strong season for Winnipeg.
Among defensemen over the past three seasons combined, only Makar and Hughes have more GAR than Morrissey, who ranks ahead of Adam Fox, Bouchard, Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Hedman and all the rest. Always known for his exceptional skating ability and hockey IQ, Morrissey leveled up as an offensive contributor when he hit his prime, and the result has been the blue line anchor for the best regular-season team in hockey.
Playoff outlook: Like the Jets as a whole, Morrissey — who has only 14 career points in 42 playoff games — needs to prove he can carry over his improvement into the postseason. While he had three goals in five games versus Colorado last spring, his defensive impact was minimal and the series got away from Winnipeg when its normally airtight D sprung leaks.
As one of the best all-around defensemen of the regular season, it’s Morrissey’s job as much as anyone’s to make sure that doesn’t happen again.
GAR: 24-25: 24.6 | 23-24: 4.8 | 22-23: 23.1
Three-year avg: O: 0.0 | D: 0.0 | G: 18.4 | Total: 18.4
Gustavsson has had an eventful past three seasons. He went from Ottawa to Minnesota in 2022-23 and established himself as one of the league’s best backups in a timeshare with Marc-Andre Fleury. Then he completely fell off in his performance (posting a sub-.900 save percentage) last season, before bouncing back big in 2024-25, his first season as the primary starter for the Wild.
Gustavsson’s 39 quality starts ranked third-best in the league, behind only Hellebuyck and Vasilevskiy, which underscored his steady play in net for a playoff team that ranked only 27th in scoring. Another underrated key to Gustavsson’s success? He led the league in goals saved above average, per Natural Stat Trick, on shots marked “low danger” — which sounds like a backhanded compliment, but sometimes stopping the easy ones is just as important as stopping the hard ones.
Playoff outlook: Heading into this postseason, Gustavsson had only five career playoff starts to his name, all in 2023, though he did acquit himself well in that opportunity with a save percentage 17% better than league average. The Wild will most likely face a heavily favored Golden Knights squad in Round 1, and any hopes for an upset rest mainly on Gustavsson stealing the series in net.
GAR: 24-25: 19.0 | 23-24: 17.1 | 22-23: 19.4
Three-year avg: O: 14.7 | D: 3.7 | G: 0.0 | Total: 18.4
Marner’s consistency is metronomic, and he seldom strays from his usual baseline numbers, but he did manage this season to set a new career high with 102 adjusted points while throwing a slightly new twist into his game.
In the past, Marner had gradually become less of a playmaker relative to his goal totals, but in 2024-25 he improved his adjusted assists from 57 to a new career-best mark of 75. (This was despite mostly playing on a line with Matthews, whose own goal production fell off from its sizzling 2023-24 pace.)
All told, it was a strong season for Marner before potentially hitting free agency this summer.
Playoff outlook: A late-season ankle injury hampered Marner down the stretch of last season, and it contributed to his much-scrutinized playoff struggles: one goal and three points in seven games as the Leafs fell to Boston. Lost in the narrative of Marner as a postseason underperformer is the fact that he had 14 points in 11 games the previous playoffs, and he went into the admittedly disappointing 2024 postseason with 47 career points in 50 playoff games.
There is massive pressure on Marner (and Toronto overall) to perform this year, starting against Ottawa, but he is coming off one of his best seasons and hasn’t exactly been as horrible in the postseason as his reputation might suggest.
GAR: 24-25: 16.8 | 23-24: 16.7 | 22-23: 26.6
Three-year avg: O: 14.7 | D: 3.7 | G: 0.0 | Total: 18.4
In some ways, Robertson ranks as highly as he does here because his super elite 2022-23 season — with 44 adjusted goals, 104 adjusted points, a +37 plus/minus and 26.6 GAR — still falls within the window of our three-year weighted average.
In the seasons since, J-Rob has settled into a level that, while still plenty good, isn’t as stellar as we might have expected from a player who was so great in his age-23 campaign. Still, Robertson remains one of the most effective all-around forwards in the NHL, maintaining very good offensive output (36 adjusted goals, 82 adjusted points) despite also seeing a career-high 54% of shifts start in the defensive zone.
Dallas is nowhere near the same well-oiled machine without Robertson helping to lead the way, and he’s out for the start of the series against Colorado with a lower-body injury.
Playoff outlook: Robertson has put up solid numbers over the past two postseasons, with 13 goals and 34 points in 38 games — including seven (albeit all assists) in six games against the Avs in last year’s second-round victory. But he could use more consistency, particularly as a scorer: He was held scoreless in 15 of his past 17 playoff contests.
Still, the Stars are a better all-around team than Colorado (they rank sixth in the league on defense, their worse side of the puck), and that’s a reflection of what Robertson brings to the ice once he returns.
GAR: 24-25: 15.7 | 23-24: 13.7 | 22-23: 35.2
Three-year avg: O: 0.0 | D: 0.0 | G: 18.3 | Total: 18.3
Speaking of players who rise up this list partially based on what they did a few years ago, there’s Ullmark — who hasn’t quite been able to recapture his otherworldly form backstopping the record-breaking 2022-23 Boston Bruins, either last season or in 2024-25, his first season with the Senators.
However, expecting a repeat of that performance was probably unrealistic; Ullmark has been perfectly solid the past few years, posting a save percentage 11% better than average this season despite moving to a new team that yielded the league’s 13th-most shots on goal per game. Ullmark also faced the league’s highest rate of rush attempts per 60 minutes at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick, further illustrating exactly how much pressure he was up against.
And yet, Ullmark backstopped the Sens to their first playoff berth since 2017, ending one of the league’s longest postseason droughts.
Playoff outlook: Ullmark’s postseason resume recalls the old line from “Annie Hall” about a couple of old ladies complaining about a restaurant: “The food at this place is terrible… and such small portions!”
In Ullmark’s case, he has started only nine games, and his career save percentage is 18% worse than average, including a central role in the Bruins’ meltdown against Florida in the 2023 first round. The Senators are clear underdogs versus Toronto, so expecting a series upset is a lot, but it’s not unreasonable to think Ullmark can perform better than his previous playoff career despite the Leafs being an offensive team.
GAR: 24-25: 15.7 | 23-24: 21.6 | 22-23: 15.7
Three-year avg: O: 12.4 | D: 5.2 | G: 0.0 | Total: 17.6
Aho’s 2024-25 numbers were down a bit from a year earlier, and he was already a player prone to being overlooked in favor of flashier players with more goals and points. But he still managed to eclipse 30 adjusted goals for the eighth consecutive season, while maintaining most of his playmaking gains from last season as well.
Simply put, Aho provides the Hurricanes with a bit of everything, from shooting and passing to defense, killing penalties and helping to drive Carolina’s relentless puck-possession machine. (To the latter point, the Canes had more than 60% of shot attempts with Aho in the game for the first time in his career in 2024-25.) If it is indeed finally time for Carolina to win the Cup with this core, it will be Aho’s time to shine even brighter as well.
Playoff outlook: As we might expect, Aho is a very consistent playoff performer, too, hitting double digits for points in all six postseason runs of his career — part of a resume that also includes 27 goals and 70 points with a +21 plus/minus in 74 career playoff games. The Hurricanes’ first-round opponent, the New Jersey Devils, are a very good defensive team (No. 4 in the NHL), but Aho thrives in coach Rod Brind’Amour’s system of seemingly always having the puck and eventually cashing in on opportunities.
GAR: 24-25: 17.3 | 23-24: 20.3 | 22-23: 11.3
Three-year avg: O: 11.7 | D: 5.6 | G: 0.0 | Total: 17.3
Mercifully, the days of Victor Hedman being in a mid-career slump are over. The towering, 6-foot-7 defenseman with the booming shot and Cup-worthy defensive pedigree bounced back from a down season a few years ago to post two of the best seasons in his career, including another vintage Hedman effort in 2024-25 as the Lightning also regained their status among the NHL’s top contenders.
While he also contributed plenty to Tampa Bay’s No. 1 ranked offense with 16 adjusted goals and 67 adjusted points, Hedman also anchored the D in front of Vasilevskiy, playing a team-high 23:04 per game for a defense that allowed the fourth-fewest goals in the league.
Playoff outlook: The former Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP also ranks 12th on the all-time postseason scoring list among defensemen, so there are no worries around Hedman’s playoff bona fides.
He’ll still have to contend with a group of Florida forwards who are as dangerous as they are familiar to Tampa Bay — the Panthers and/or Lightning have ended each other’s seasons in three of the past four years — as well as an overall group of Cats known for their physical play. But I’m not sure there’s an active blueliner you’d trust more in a big game than Hedman.
GAR: 24-25: 18.9 | 23-24: 16.8 | 22-23: 13.4
Three-year avg: 17.3
GAR: 24-25: 22.0 | 23-24: 12.3 | 22-23: 12.5
Three-year avg: 17.1
GAR: 24-25: 20.9 | 23-24: 13.4 | 22-23: 12.9
Three-year avg: 17.1
GAR: 24-25: 20.2 | 23-24: 13.7 | 22-23: 14.3
Three-year avg: 17.1
GAR: 24-25: 13.2 | 23-24: 21.2 | 22-23: 16.3
Three-year avg: 16.4
GAR: 24-25: 16.8 | 23-24: 15.4 | 22-23: 16.4
Three-year avg: 16.3
GAR: 24-25: 21.6 | 23-24: -1.7 | 22-23: 11.6
Three-year avg: 16.2
GAR: 24-25: 19.1 | 23-24: 13.5 | 22-23: 12.1
Three-year avg: 16.1
GAR: 24-25: 16.9 | 23-24: 14.6 | 22-23: 16.0
Three-year avg: 16.0
GAR: 24-25: 12.1 | 23-24: 17.8 | 22-23: 22.7
Three-year avg: 15.8
GAR: 24-25: 18.7 | 23-24: 8.3 | 22-23: 22.0
Three-year avg: 15.8
GAR: 24-25: 17.6 | 23-24: 12.5 | 22-23: 16.1
Three-year avg: 15.7
GAR: 24-25: 19.7 | 23-24: 10.0 | 22-23: 14.9
Three-year avg: 15.6
GAR: 24-25: 14.4 | 23-24: 14.9 | 22-23: 18.9
Three-year avg: 15.3
GAR: 24-25: 16.1 | 23-24: 12.5 | 22-23: 17.9
Three-year avg: 15.2
GAR: 24-25: 20.0 | 23-24: 4.4 | 22-23: -0.1
Three-year avg: 15.0
GAR: 24-25: 15.1 | 23-24: 13.9 | 22-23: 15.1
Three-year avg: 14.7
GAR: 24-25: 9.3 | 23-24: 21.5 | 22-23: 17.3
Three-year avg: 14.7
GAR: 24-25: 15.9 | 23-24: 16.1 | 22-23: 6.7
Three-year avg: 14.4
GAR: 24-25: 13.2 | 23-24: 16.9 | 22-23: 13.2
Three-year avg: 14.4
GAR: 24-25: 17.0 | 23-24: 9.9 | 22-23: 14.7
Three-year avg: 14.3
GAR: 24-25: 16.7 | 23-24: 13.3 | 22-23: 8.7
Three-year avg: 14.2
GAR: 24-25: 13.0 | 23-24: 17.1 | 22-23: 9.8
Three-year avg: 13.8
GAR: 24-25: 15.1 | 23-24: 14.1 | 22-23: 8.5
Three-year avg: 13.7
GAR: 24-25: 16.4 | 23-24: 15.6 | 22-23: 1.1
Three-year avg: 13.6
GAR: 24-25: 13.1 | 23-24: 13.5 | 22-23: 14.6
Three-year avg: 13.5
GAR: 24-25: 12.8 | 23-24: 14.4 | 22-23: 13.7
Three-year avg: 13.5
GAR: 24-25: 16.7 | 23-24: 11.4 | 22-23: 7.3
Three-year avg: 13.4
GAR: 24-25: 15.4 | 23-24: 11.1 | 22-23: 11.5
Three-year avg: 13.3
GAR: 24-25: 11.4 | 23-24: 14.8 | 22-23: 15.8
Three-year avg: 13.3
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