NHL 21: Top Centers

Need one of the best players of NHL 21 to dictate the play of your top line and special teams? Get one of the best centers in the game.

Author:

Ben Chopping

Started off as a sports writer with a focus on football, ice hockey, boxing, and American football. After leaving RealSport, I diversified my writing substantially, kept with sport, but also leaned much more heavily into pop culture, iGaming, travel, business, tech, and especially gaming. Later, I co-founded Outsider Gaming, was the primary writer and editor-in-chief, and helped to train and bring on the writing talents who also had a passion for gaming. Now, I’m writing everything and anything, from sports to gaming, SEO-optimised content to reviews and previews.

Published on: Oct 24, 2020 | Updated on: Sep 10, 2023

Contents

1 Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (95 OVR)
2 Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (93 OVR)
3 Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (92 OVR)
4 Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (92 OVR)
5 Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins (91 OVR)
6 All of the top centers in NHL 21

The center position is pivotal to every top team. Most of the time, it’s a center who becomes the team’s talisman, as the top line pivots are the ones who win possession, dictate the play, and work both ends of the ice.

In ice hockey, offence invariably runs through the center, and if you have one of the top centers in NHL 21, you have an even better chance of turning possession into goals.

Here, you’ll find all of the highest-rated top centers of NHL 21, with the very best featured just before the full list at the foot of the page.

Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers (95 OVR)

Age: 23
Overall Rating: 95
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Player Type: Playmaker
Shoots: Left
Best Attributes: 98 Offensive Awareness, 97 Acceleration, 97 Passing

Known as ‘The Next One,’ Connor McDavid continues to prove himself as one of the best players in the league, consistently ranking among the highest-scoring players in each campaign.

Had last season not ended 11 games short for the Edmonton Oilers, the team captain will have almost certainly secured his fourth consecutive 100-plus point campaign, finishing on 97 points in 64 games.

McDavid ranks as the highest-rated player in NHL 21, and thus, the top center – easily standing as the most user-friendly forward in the game. He’s also the second-best at deking in NHL 21.

The left-shot playmaker comes in with 97 passing, 96 hand-eye, 96 deking, 98 offensive awareness, 93 slap shot accuracy, 95 wrist shot accuracy, 97 acceleration, 97 speed, and 97 agility.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (93 OVR)

Age: 33
Overall Rating: 93
Team: Pittsburgh Penguins
Player Type: Playmaker
Shoots: Left
Best Attributes: 95 Poise, 95 Passing, 95 Stick Checking

An irrefutable future hall of famer, Sidney Crosby is one of the primary reasons why the Pittsburgh Penguins have made it to each of the last 14 postseasons.

In just 16 games’ time, the Cole Harbour-native will join the 1,000 club and will do so in style. At 984 regular season games in, Crosby already had 462 goals and 1,263 points – not to mention his 189 points in 168 playoff games.

McDavid’s senior by a decade, Crosby is still rated among the best players in NHL 21, with his 93 OVR being just a couple of points back of the Oilers captain.

Still a top-class playmaker with plenty of time left, Crosby offers any lucky team 95 poise, 91 faceoffs, 95 stick checking, 93 agility, 95 passing, 93 wrist shot accuracy, 94 deking, and 94 puck control.

Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers (92 OVR)

Age: 24
Overall Rating: 92
Team: Edmonton Oilers
Player Type: Sniper
Shoots: Left
Best Attributes: 94 Offensive Awareness, 94 Passing, 93 Hand-Eye

Having been taken third in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft, expectations were high for Leon Draisaitl in Edmonton, being brought into the NHL lines for 37 games in the season that the Oilers picked him.

Then, McDavid arrived, and the WHL-developed German went from strength-to-strength with each passing season, with the duo now emulating something akin to a modern Gretzky-Kurri combo.

The reigning Art Ross Trophy winner comes into NHL 21 as a multi-position forward (both a center and a left wing), with his 92 OVR making him one of the best players at either position.

Draisaitl’s 79 faceoffs and 90 poise ratings make him a decent center in the duel, but his 93 slap shot accuracy, 92 slap shot power, 93 wrist shot accuracy, and 91 wrist shot power have him best-suited to feeding off of a playmaker.

Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche (92 OVR)

Age: 25
Overall Rating: 92
Team: Colorado Avalanche
Player Type: Playmaker
Shoots: Right
Best Attributes: 94 Speed, 94 Offensive Awareness, 94 Passing

The first overall pick of the 2013 Draft was noted for his blistering pace and savvy in the offensive end, but in the years since, Nathan MacKinnon has also upped the physical side of his game tremendously.

Still demonstrating the skill, speed, and knack for scoring flashy goals that convinced the Colorado Avalanche to pinch him at the top of the bill, the Canadian is now a hefty contender all over the ice, owing to his 183cm, 93kg frame.

In NHL 21, Colorado’s leading point scorer of 2019/20 (by a clear 43 points) boasts a 92 overall rating and a set of attribute ratings that emphasise his skill and speed on the puck.

MacKinnon’s highlight ratings include his 93 deking, 93 hand-eye, 93 puck control, 92 stick checking, 93 acceleration, 93 agility, 94 speed, and 88 strength.

Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins (91 OVR)

Age: 35
Overall Rating: 91
Team: Boston Bruins
Player Type: Two-Way Forward
Shoots: Right
Best Attributes: 95 Poise, 95 Defensive Awareness, 95 Stick Checking

Revered as one of the best two-way centers in the modern game, even at 35-years-old, Patrice Bergeron is still a leading contender for the Frank J. Selke Trophy each year, standing on a joint-record of four to date.

Last season, the Bruins center put up 56 points in 61 games, but more impressively, he was only dealt 25 penalty minutes, put up 203 shots on goal, 46 hits, 46 blocked shots, and held an incredible 57.9 faceoff win percentage through 1,311 duels.

Bergeron stands as the best two-way center in NHL 21, and even over the coming seasons when his overall rating begins to decay, his defensive attribute ratings remain very high.

The 35-year-old is still a top center at both ends of the ice, thanks to his 95 defensive awareness, 94 offensive awareness, 95 poise, 94 faceoffs, 95 stick checking, and 92 passing.

All of the top centers in NHL 21

Sorted by their overall ratings at the start of NHL 21, these are all of the top centers in the game.

Name	Overall	Type	Age	Team	Best Attributes
Connor McDavid	95	Playmaker	23	Edmonton Oilers	98 Offensive Awareness, 97 Acceleration, 97 Passing
Sidney Crosby	93	Playmaker	33	Pittsburgh Penguins	95 Poise, 95 Passing, 95 Stick Checking
Leon Draisaitl	92	Sniper	24	Edmonton Oilers	94 Passing, 94 Offensive Awareness, 93 Hand-Eye
Nathan MacKinnon	92	Playmaker	25	Colorado Avalanche	94 Passing, 94 Offensive Awareness, 94 Speed
Patrice Bergeron	91	Two-Way Forward	35	Boston Bruins	95 Poise, 95 Stick Checking, 95 Defensive Awareness
Evgeni Malkin	91	Playmaker	34	Pittsburgh Penguins	95 Poise, 95 Hand-Eye, 95 Puck Control
Jack Eichel	91	Playmaker	23	Buffalo Sabres	94 Passing, 94 Puck Control, 94 Offensive Awareness
Steven Stamkos	90	Playmaker	30	Tampa Bay Lightning	95 Passing, 95 Puck Control, 94 Deking
Auston Matthews	90	Sniper	22	Toronto Maple Leafs	95 Poise, 94 Puck Control, 93 Wrist Shot Accuracy
Anze Kopitar	90	Two-Way Forward	33	Los Angeles Kings	93 Stick Checking, 92 Defensive Awareness, 92 Wrist Shot Power
Aleksander Barkov	90	Two-Way Forward	25	Florida Panthers	94 Puck Control, 93 Passing, 93 Stick Checking
Brayden Point	89	Playmaker	24	Tampa Bay Lightning	93 Agility, 93 Offensive Awareness, 92 Wrist Shot Accuracy
Mark Scheifele	89	Playmaker	27	Winnipeg Jets	93 Passing, 93 Offensive Awareness, 92 Deking
Tyler Seguin	89	Playmaker	28	Dallas Stars	94 Passing, 93 Deking, 93 Puck Control
Ryan O’Reilly	89	Two-Way Forward	29	St. Louis Blues	95 Faceoffs, 93 Defensive Awareness, 93 Stick Checking
John Tavares	89	Sniper	29	Toronto Maple Leafs	93 Deking, 93 Passing, 93 Puck Control
Evgeny Kuznetsov	89	Playmaker	28	Washington Capitals	95 Deking, 94 Passing, 94 Wrist Shot Accuracy
Elias Pettersson	89	Two-Way Forward	21	Vancouver Canucks	94 Deking, 94 Passing, 94 Puck Control
Dylan Larkin	88	Playmaker	24	Detroit Red Wings	94 Acceleration, 93 Speed, 92 Offensive Awareness
Sebastian Aho	88	Two-Way Forward	23	Carolina Hurricanes	92 Offensive Awareness, 92 Passing, 92 Puck Control
Nicklas Backstrom	88	Playmaker	32	Washington Capitals	93 Deking, 93 Passing, 93 Puck Control
Sean Couturier	88	Two-Way Forward	27	Philadelphia Flyers	92 Defensive Awareness, 91 Endurance, 91 Stick Checking
Claude Giroux	88	Playmaker	32	Philadelphia Flyers	94 Passing, 94 Puck Control, 93 Deking
Jonathan Toews	87	Two-Way Forward	32	Chicago Blackhawks	95 Poise, 93 Faceoffs, 93 Stick Checking
Matt Duchene	87	Playmaker	29	Nashville Predators	94 Speed, 93 Agility, 93 Acceleration
Mika Zibanejad	87	Two-Way Forward	27	New York Rangers	90 Stick Checking, 90 Agility, 90 Endurance
Bo Horvat	86	Two-Way Forward	25	Vancouver Canucks	91 Stick Checking, 90 Faceoffs, 89 Endurance
Logan Couture	86	Playmaker	31	San Jose Sharks	90 Acceleration, 90 Speed, 90 Deking
Sean Monahan	86	Two-Way Forward	25	Calgary Flames	90 Offensive Awareness, 90 Puck Control, 90 Passing
Mathew Barzal	86	Playmaker	23	New York Islanders	94 Speed, 92 Passing, 92 Deking
Brayden Schenn	86	Two-Way Forward	29	St. Louis Blues	89 Deking, 89 Hand-Eye, 89 Puck Control
J.T. Miller	86	Two-Way Forward	27	Vancouver Canucks	89 Stick Checking, 89 Offensive Awareness, 88 Strength
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	86	Two-Way Forward	27	Edmonton Oilers	92 Passing, 91 Agility, 91 Puck Control
Pierre-Luc Dubois	86	Power Forward	22	Columbus Blue Jackets	90 Durability, 89 Passing, 89 Puck Control