The Fantasy Hockey Center Rankings for 2024 have been formulated based on traditional fantasy league stats including points, assists, powerplay points, shots on goal, blocks and plus/minus.
The overall upside is considered first and foremost, with a player’s ceiling in the vital scoring categories considered first and foremost.
Factors such as age, opportunity, history, and overall quality of the team have also been weighed in the rankings.
For the rest of my fantasy hockey positional rankings, see below:
- Fantasy Hockey Rankings (Top 150)
- Fantasy Hockey Rookie Rankings
- Fantasy Hockey Goalie Rankings
- Fantasy Hockey Winger Rankings
- Fantasy Hockey Defensemen Rankings
- Fantasy Hockey Sleepers for 2024
- Fantasy Hockey Breakouts for 2024
- Players to Avoid in Fantasy Hockey 2024
- Power Play Specialists for Fantasy Hockey 2024
Fantasy Hockey Center Rankings for 2024
| Rank | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Connor McDavid, C | Edmonton Oilers |
| 2 | Nathan MacKinnon, C | Colorado Avalanche |
| 3 | Auston Matthews, C | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 4 | Leon Draisaitl, C | Edmonton Oilers |
| 5 | Jack Hughes, C | New Jersey Devils |
| 6 | JT Miller, C | Vancouver Canucks |
| 7 | Sidney Crosby, C | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 8 | Brayden Point, C | Tampa Bay Lightning |
| 9 | Jack Eichel, C | Vegas Golden Knights |
| 10 | Vincent Trocheck, C | New York Rangers |
| 11 | Sebastian Aho, C | Carolina Hurricanes |
| 12 | Elias Pettersson, C | Vancouver Canucks |
| 13 | Aleksander Barkov, C | Florida Panthers |
| 14 | Connor Bedard, C | Chicago Blackhawks |
| 15 | Dylan Larkin, C | Detroit Red Wings |
| 16 | Joel Eriksson Ek, C | Minnesota Wild |
| 17 | Tage Thompson, C | Buffalo Sabres |
| 18 | Mika Zibanejad, C | New York Rangers |
| 19 | Mathew Barzal, C | New York Islanders |
| 20 | John Tavares, C | Toronto Maple Leafs |
| 21 | Tim Stützle, C | Ottawa Senators |
| 22 | Roope Hintz, C | Dallas Stars |
| 23 | Bo Horvat, C | New York Islanders |
| 24 | Robert Thomas, C | St. Louis Blues |
| 25 | Mark Scheifele, C | Winnipeg Jets |
| 26 | Anze Kopitar, C | Los Angeles Kings |
| 27 | Nico Hischier, C | New Jersey Devils |
| 28 | Ryan O'Reilly, C | Nashville Predators |
| 29 | Evgeni Malkin, C | Pittsburgh Penguins |
| 30 | Matt Duchene, C | Dallas Stars |
Centers to Target in Fantasy Hockey 2024
Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Hughes couldn’t match his breakout season from 2022-23, as he struggled with injury issues for parts of 2023-24. Still, his 1.23 PPG pace over the last two seasons is encouraging, as is the fact he’ll be starting the season healthy and in a new system under Sheldon Keefe, who coached Auston Matthews to two 60-plus goal seasons.
More than anything, Hughes’ upside just feels a little undervalued as he’s still just 23 years old and has shown incredible upside when he’s been able to stay on the ice, both as a point producer and goal scorer (43 goals in 78 games in 2022-23).
Of the forwards ranked between seven and 15 this season, he feels undoubtedly like the player with the best chance to crash the party and end the season as a top-five fantasy forward. I see him as a great pick if you are drafting toward the end of the first round.
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings
Larkin ended last season with 33 goals in 68 games, the most productive season of his career at .48 goals per game. Injuries have stopped him from playing 80-plus games in two of the past three seasons, but with Detroit mounting a competitive roster and Larkin getting play alongside legit playmaking wingers like Lucas Raymond and Patrick Kane, he’s likely on track to blow his career bests out of the water in 2024-25 — if he stays healthy.
Ultimately, a lot of his injury risk already baked in. Larkin is a solid mid- to upper-round pick at his current ADP and a player you should be looking to snag when you can in drafts.
Values at Center for Fantasy Hockey 2024
Ryan O'Reilly, Nashville Predators
The Predators added a lot of depth via free agency this season. And while the moves were made more to boost their second- and third-line scoring, first-line center Ryan O’Reilly figures to see a boost from these moves as well.
O’Reilly had a great first season with Nashville, posting 69 points in 82 games with 26 goals, which is the second-highest mark of his career. He also had 28 PPP, which was a career-high and a mark he may be able to improve on with Steven Stamkos now part of the fold on special teams.
In general, I want a piece of this Nashville offense in any draft, and O’Reilly is still cheap, often coming off the board after the top 100 players or so.
Tim Stützle, Ottawa Senators
Stutlze had a down season last year from a shooting perspective, as he watched his goal total plummet from 39 in 2022-23 (78 games) to 18 in 2023-24 (75 games). A lot of drop in production just seemed to be natural regression from a puck luck standpoint, as his shooting percentage was a woefully low 9.4% in 2023-24, compared to a very hot 17.1% in 2022-23.
Stutzle’s still young, so a little road bump shouldn’t deter you from chasing more positive regression for him this year. His true accuracy as a shooter likely sits somewhere in between the marks he posted the last two seasons, and with his ADP having been pushed outside the top 20 centers on some sites for 2024-25, he sets up as both a bounceback candidate and a solid value for drafts.
Fades at Center for Fantasy Hockey 2024
Elias Pettersson, Vancouver Canucks
Pettersson’s numbers regressed a little in 2023-24 as he dipped to 1.08 PPG. He did post a career-best +20 in plus/minus ratings, but he was bypassed in scoring by JT Miller.
I think Pettersson has all the talent in the world, but at this point, I also feel like he’s simply just a better two-way player than an offensive superstar. I see last year as pretty in line with what to expect in 2024-25. The Canucks also worry me from a regression standpoint, as they ran super hot on the power play last season and may have goalie issues that could hamper their top player's plus/minus stats.
