Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
NHL Power Rankings: #6
Coming in at #6 on our countdown is New York Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh. He’s coming off a down year thanks to injuries, but even so, he’s one of the best defensemen in the NHL. He’s been remarkably consistent for his whole career, averaging roughly a point per 60 minutes at even-strength virtually every year. Over the past four years, he has averaged no fewer than 0.7 points per 60 minutes at even-strength. Overall, he has averaged at least a point per 60 minutes in each of his past three seasons.
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His possession stats are not the best, and they’ve actually slipped over the past two seasons. However, that could be due to how much time he spends on the ice. McDonagh is the kind of defenseman you can throw out there for over 2o minutes a game nightly and can rely on to still be productive.
He has been extremely clutch over the past two postseasons. In 2013-2014, he averaged 1.5 points per 6o minutes during the playoffs as he helped lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup finals. Though they lost to the Stanley Champion Los Angeles Kings, it was a performance that NHL fans will not soon forget. In last year’s playoffs, he averaged 1.2 points per 60 minutes. He’s consistently among the leading scorers amongst defensemen. For that reason, he gets a pass for his past two seasons, which have both been relatively unimpressive.
Next: #5