The best hockey teams usually boast the best center's in the NHL. Why should your fantasy squad be any different? These guys will reward you with a balanced offensive points and are almost always among the top scorers in the league. The center position rewards owners with consistency and depth, so think about passing on position players like Martin Brodeur or Roberto Luongo in favor of one of these top guys. UPDATE! is there for you. Here are our top picks:


Pittsburgh Penguins
Comment: The Next One was the best player in the NHL last year and a top five pivot in his rookie campaign. With his amazing talent light years from reaching its peak and a much improved (and more experienced) Penguins team surrounding him, expect Sid the Kid to become the most dominant player in the game this year.

San Jose Sharks
Comment: Thornton had another terrific season and there's no reason to think he won't continue to chase Crosby's numbers into the Spring. Patrick Marleau's new contract with the club means that teams will have to spread out their defense, giving Big Joe a lighter load than most starting centers. His chemistry with line mate Jonathan Cheechoo is improving every year and both Milan Michalek and Ryan Clowe are strong up-and-coming wingers who will be great targets for this prolific passer.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Comment: Lecavalier is coming off a career year and will only get better. He'll be playing with Martin St. Louis all season long and should have no problem racking up points. Every year he grows stronger on the puck and is possibly the most skilled forward in the game today. Look for big(ger) things again from the""Michael Jordan of hockey."

Ottawa Senators
Comment: This 23 year old is only going to get better with age. He'll have had plenty of time to adapt to the tighter checking that comes with being the number one center and, if healthy all season, should have a career year. Spezza hasn't played more than 68 games in each of the past two seasons, yet he's had 87 or more points in both. Expect line mate Dany Heatley to flirt with or surpass the 50-goal mark for a third straight season, allowing Spezza to rack up assists.

Detroit Red Wings
Comment: Do you think he finally gets it? Back-to-back 87 point seasons, a terrific post-Christmas surge and, finally, a quality playoff performance (eight goals, 16 points) bode good things for the flashy speedster from Sverdlovsk. Expect Zetterberg and Datsyuk to be among the top scoring duos in the NHL this season.

Florida Panthers
Comment: Look what he did on a terrible Florida team: 89 points in 2005-06, 91 points in 2006-07. Just imagine the possibilities. He is the definition of consistent: high (and rising) point totals and he is a horse with five straight 80-plus game seasons — only dipping below 78 once (his sophomore year). He will consistently flirt with 80-100 PIMs and will only raise his point totals as young right wing Nathan Horton matures.

Washington Capitals
Comment: Since Alexander Ovechkin came into the NHL everyone has been saying, "Give him a quality center and he'll be unstoppable." Well, Washington fans, the day has come. The man who helped bring Jaromir Jagr back to prominence is now in Washington and should be feeding Alexander the Great all the way to his first Rocket Richard trophy. Expect Nylander to get the nod over rookie Nicklas Backstrom all season long, solidifying himself as Ovechkin's saviour.

Philadelphia Flyers
Comment: After seeing a massive jump in points (from 58 to 95 between 2005-07) with a somewhat overachieving Buffalo offense one could only be excited to see Briere teamed up with a much improved Flyers team. They've handed him the keys to the city and he'll have to prove the skeptics wrong. The Flyers and line mate Simon Gagne aren't the only ones who will be fighting to prove themselves this year. Expect another high output from one of the NHL's biggest little guys.

San Jose Sharks
Comment: Having Joe Thornton up front will be nothing but a blessing for Marleau. He'll get quality powerplay minutes and will have less work to do against opposing defenders with Big Joe in the mix. He was also a game-winning goal machine last year and should continue to be just as clutch. Doug Wilson loves this guy and will give top line minutes to his second line center. Marleau wouldn't have re-signed in San Jose if he didn't think he'd have a great year.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Comment: One thing is certain: Malkin never learned the phrase, "sophomore slump" in his English classes. He's more experienced, stronger and has a better team surrounding him. He'll take charge of the second line and has great chemistry with veteran Mark Recchi. Malkin will see occasional glances at the wing with Crosby and chew up powerplay minutes. Watch for Malkin to finish in the top 10 of scoring this season, at least.

Colorado Avalanche
Comment: The only reason Colorado Joe isn't higher on this list is because there is some doubt whether or not the starting center job will be his by season's end. Don't count on him passing the torch to young Paul Stastny yet, however, as Mr. Consistency will have another ageless season with newly acquired Ryan Smyth to help clear out the front of the net, making way for Joe's point total to keep around that 85-100 range.

New York Rangers
Comment: Gomez has never had the chance to show off his offensive talent in the stifling Devil's system but now he has one of the best offensive talents in the game ready and willing to accept his puck. Don't expect Chris Drury to sneak into the first line as the season goes on. This is Gomez's time to show the hockey world that he's worth that front-loaded salary.

Colorado Avalanche
Comment: Most NHL teams wish they could be as lucky as the Colorado Avalanche. They have a young, upstart kid who is surprising everybody by nipping at the heels of the current face of their franchise. Paul Stastny will one day take over as Joe Sakic's replacement but until then he will continue to improve his skill (and point total), building an even better case for himself this season.

Calgary Flames
Comment: Langkow centered one of the league's highest scoring teams last season and had a massive jump in point production. The jump was mostly due to line mate Jarome Iginla's return to dominant form. Iggy will only be better this season with the pressure to win a Cup the strongest its been in years. Expect Iginla to fight down to the wire for the Rocket Richard trophy and Langkow to be the benefactor of Iggy's success.

Boston Bruins
Comment: Savard proved last season that he didn't need a Kovalchuk or a Hossa to rack up the assists. Glen Murray and Marco Sturm will continue to provide terrific targets for this assist machine. Let's just hope Murray stays healthy because scoring depth begins to fade off on the wing.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Comment: After a less-than-stellar final 20 games last season, Captain Clutch could have been described as a sleeper were it not for the fact that he is a point-per-game player and has only once played less than 70 games (during the shortened season of 1994-95). He will give any fantasy team a balanced helping of goals and assists and will be a leader in the Game Winning and Game Tying goals category. Sundin has been a consistent 70-plus point player for his career and has never had a true winger to support him. Although newly acquired right wing Jason Blake might not be described as a superstar he will still ensure that Sundin will have his best offensive season in years. If this is his last season as a Leaf, expect Mats to go out with a bang.

New York Rangers
Comment: Drury didn't lose much of a supporting cast when he moved from the Sabres to the Rangers this season. Sean Avery is growing into a skillful and dependable pest and Shanahan continues to defy age. They are a gritty line that packs a scoring punch and will do well behind Gomez and Jagr.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Comment: Staal should be another case of growing with age. The surprise factor wasn't there for him last season as it was with his breakout a year before but the eldest of a new NHL family franchise should be more mature and will have learned from last years play. He plays on a team with numerous offensive threats and will be one himself when he bounces back this season.

Calgary Flames
Comment: He is a lock for 70-plus points and has such an incredible wealth of offensive talent around him. If put together with St. Louis and Lecavalier on the power play watch him rack up PP points as well. Expect another bounce back year from this former Conn Smythe winner.

Boston Bruins
Comment: Normally Todd White wouldn't make it in a Top 25 or possibly even Top 30 list of the best centers, however, this isn't a regular season for White. He's out of the defense-first system in Minnesota and will be placed between either (or, oh boy, both) Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. White likes to pass the puck and will have a chance to tally up the most points in his career with these two snipers.

J.P. Del Monte is UPDATE! National Hockey League Editor.

St. Louis Blues
Comment: After a few tumultuous seasons and unfulfilled expectations, 2007 could be Boyes' coming out party. Teaming with Paul Kariya can only be a positive thing for him, and the chemistry on the top line between Weight and Tkachuk will mean that Kariya will be relegated to second-line duty alongside the underachieving Boyes.

Philadelphia Flyers
Comment: Being blasted by opposing teams' top defenders since the Captain Peter Forsberg was traded should have helped this former Sault Ste. Marie Greyhound captain prepare for this coming season. He is more experienced, much stronger and will be shielded by the fact that top-tier defenders will be magnetized to the Daniel Briere/Simon Gagne combination, giving him much more appealing matchups to rack up some quality numbers.

Toronto Maple Leafs
Comment: The worst case scenario for Wellwood is that he will be a winger instead of a center this year. If he is a winger, however, he'll be teamed with point-per-game captain, Mats Sundin. If he continues to work the pivot position (the more likely situation) he will be the team's second-line center and will have the options of playing with the ever-progressing Twin Towers (Antropov and Ponikarovsky), Mark Bell (if he's able to play) and possibly even Jason Blake or Darcy Tucker (if Blake fails to cut it as Sundin's line mate).

Buffalo Sabres
Comment: With Briere and Drury gone this will turn into Connolly's team — that is, if he can stay healthy for the full season. He will see the most ice time and should get some serious powerplay mileage. If he's healthy and has a consistent Maxim Afinogenov to play with, Lindy Ruff will be asking, "Daniel who?" all season long.

Chicago Blackhawks
Comment: The fire-power around him won't be overwhelming, however, this young phenom proved that he could play with the Big Boys during the IIHF World Championship this year and should get some ice time alongside of potential serial-scorer Martin Havlat. He should see most of his time pivoted beside up-and-coming Patrick Kane but could move up to the number one spot should Robert Lang fall from grace.



New York Rangers
Comment: Not to take anything away from this talented young player, but the simple fact that line mate and offensive leader Teemu Selanne won't be part of the team drops McDonald's value. Replacement winger Todd Bertuzzi could very well have a comeback year but the numbers won't be anything like Selanne's. They are two different players, who play two different styles, and it will show most notably on McDonald's stat sheet.

Buffalo Sabres
Comment: Roy should fill the No. 2 spot behind Connolly now that Drury and Briere are gone. However, that doesn't translate to a first-to-third round center. Don't expect Buffalo to be nearly as offensively gifted as they were last season (and everyone says they'll be this season). If you feel the insatiable need to take him, take him after you feel pretty secure about your offense.

Boston Bruins
Comment: Everybody loves Kessel and for good reason: he's a talented, young forward on a team that is in need of some scoring prowess. That being said, however, he will not be able to see the ice enough to make an impact this season with most of the time being divvied up between Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron (who could both be fighting for the number one spot by season's end). Don't let his sleeper-style potential and the thought of him occasionally drifting to a top-six-wing fool you because the ice time just won't be there.

Pittsburgh Penguins
Comment: Another incredibly gifted, young scoring machine. He is one of the best young centers in the league but will find his time on the ice lacking this season. Fellow phenoms Crosby and Malkin will rarely be paired up, making them a deadly 1-2 punch. Both of them will have sufficient help on the wings, thus ensuring that Staal will be slotted into the third-line center role. Unless he can come up with another barrage of shorthanded goals, don't expect him to reach similar numbers as last year.

Washington Capitals
Comment: Sure, he's incredibly talented and will be playing on the same team-maybe even the same powerplay — as Alexander Ovechkin but this kid hasn't even seen an NHL game yet and will almost certainly not be the team's starting center (barring serious injury to Nylander). People will be rushing to the young, highly touted center but you've got to hold back a bit. If you just have to have him because he just looks too juicy don't give up a solid medium draft pick on him. Grab some sleepers who are in better situations before you grab Ovechkin's future playmaker.