The Athletic found itself once again stirring the pot on social media when it recently announced its ranking of every NHL team’s top-6 center duos, picking Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl as the only Tier 1 combo. Although most of the comments are not from true Florida Panthers fans, many pointed out that The Athletic placed Aleksander Barkov and Sam Bennett as the third-best pair on the entire list, as the second pair in Tier 2, despite winning two Stanley Cups over the supposed top pair.
Finding a dominant one-two punch at center is every NHL team’s dream.
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) July 28, 2026
With that in mind, @harmandayal2 analyzes the state of every organization’s top-six centers.
Full rankings, down to 'zero top-six caliber centers' at tier 8: https://t.co/JtXuwLUdFp pic.twitter.com/AjO4ynMiFP
Florida fans remember the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, when the Panthers went up 3-0 and nearly swept the Oilers, but the Oilers roared back and forced Game 7, only to lose in the end. Moreover, McDavid won the Conn Smythe Trophy but didn’t respect tradition by not coming out to accept the award in front of fans at Amerant Bank Arena. When the two teams met again in 2025, it wasn’t that much of a series, as the Panthers won back-to-back with a more dominant performance in six games.
Last year, Florida didn’t have Barkov, who spent the entire season on the shelf with a knee injury. Although he wasn’t the sole reason the Panthers missed the playoffs, since many other star players suffered injuries, it became clear how valuable he is to the roster. Now that the captain is back in the fold, of course he’s one of the game’s top centers and is in the same conversation as McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and so many others.
There’s no denying how important McDavid and Draisaitl are to the Oilers, but as many fans have pointed out over the years, it’s been more than 10 seasons together, and Edmonton hasn’t won a Stanley Cup yet. These two may score all their points in the regular season, while winning every award there is, but at the end of the day, they don’t have a championship, something so many greats are measured by. Of course, they are “generational,” like The Athletic said, but aren’t MacKinnon and Barkov in the same category? Both players have altered the course of their respective franchises and led their clubs to the Stanley Cup.
Compared to many lineups across the NHL, the Panthers have stars at every position and are loaded with future Hall of Famers, which is why they went to three straight Stanley Cup Finals and will be in contention again in 2026-27. Their top two centers may be “elite,” but Barkov is arguably one of the greatest Finnish players of all time behind Teemu Selanne and Jari Kurri.
In the end, The Athletic is right, and they are wrong with their rankings. No one can say that McDavid and Draisaitl aren’t great, but at the same time, they can’t cut down others like Barkov and Bennett, who have elevated their teammates in critical moments up the mountain and won Stanley Cups.
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