NHL 19 player ratings: The good, bad and ugly

By Sajan Jabbal, Contributor

Nashville Predators player P.K. Subban on cover of the new NHL19. Photo courtesy of EA Sports

NHL 19 will be coming out Sept. 14, and there are many new and exciting features to look forward to. EA Sports recently gave the fans a sneak peek into the upcoming top player ratings.

Although there are some accurate ratings in NHL 19’s top 50, many of the ratings for players are not accurate based on their performances last year.

Accurate ratings

The top three players on the list are no surprise, with the Edmonton Oilers centre and captain Connor McDavid being rated highest at 94. Following him are Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby at 93—who is still arguably the best forward in the world—and Washington Capitals winger and captain Alexander Ovechkin at 92. Ovechkin’s NHL 19 rating reflects his first career Stanley Cup and performance leading his team to their first championship while winning playoff MVP.

These three players have proven themselves as the top players in the league and it doesn’t seem like anyone is going to pass them soon, especially the ferocious Connor Mcdavid, who at only 21 years old, led the league in scoring with 108 points.

Another accurate rating would be the NHL James Norris Memorial winning defenseman, Victor Hedman. Rated at 91, Hedman led the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Eastern Conference Final as a rock manning the blue-line for the NHL’s most in-form team.

Inaccurate ratings

Carey Price (MTL, 92)

Although Carey Price is widely regarded as the best Goaltender in the NHL and is a first-ballot hall-of-famer, he has not lived up his name these past two years. In the 2017-18 season, he put up abysmal numbers, with a 3.11 goals against average (GAA) and a low save percentage of just 0.900 per cent. The 92 rating that he was given does not align with these statistics at all. If he wants to continue being known as the best goalie in the league, he is going to have to step it up this season for the Canadiens.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (TB, 88)

Another goalie who’s rating does not seem accurate is Tampa Bay Lighting back-stopper Andrei Vasilevskiy. With a low rating of 88, Vasilevskiy had a tremendous season last year and has finally made a name for himself as a top NHL goalie. He was able to put up a GAA of 2.62, which is better than Price, and cup-winning Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals. He also had a solid save percentage at 0.920 per cent which is better than Devan Dubnyk, Holtby, Price and Boston’s Tuuka Rask who are all rated higher than the Tampa Bay goalie.

Brad Marchand (BOS, 88)

Brad Marchand had a tremendous 2017/2018 season with Boston last year.

However, his NHL 19 rating of 88 does not back up that statement. Marchand was one of the top scorers in the league with 85 points, which was more than higher rated power forwards like Patrik Laine and Aleksander Barkov.

Claude Giroux (PHI, 89)

Another shockingly low player is Philadelphia Flyers captain, with an 88 overall, Claude Giroux. Giroux made it to second in the league in scoring last year, with 102 points, and has proven year after year that he can battle for top center in the league. Although the Flyers have not been good the last couple seasons, Giroux has always been able to put up great numbers and should be rated at least a 90.

Erik Karlsson (OTT, 90)

Erik Karlsson and his Ottawa Senators absolutely had a terrible 2017/2018 season. However, he deserves to be rated higher. Coming in with an overall of 90, Karlsson deserves to be rated higher than Drew Doughty and Victor Hedman. Over the past three seasons, Karlsson has led the league in defensive scoring with an astounding 215 points. Much higher than Doughty and Hedman at 155 and 182 points respectively. Karlsson has the ability to take over the offense while still managing great defensive statistics in his career.

Evgeny Kuznetsov (WSH, 89)

Finally, Evgeny Kuznetsov, who is rated 89, had the best playoff season out of every player last year being the leading point-getter. During the playoffs, he put up 32 points in just 24 games whilst carrying his Caps squad—not to mention his 83 points in the regular season. Being able to put up numbers like that means you should be comparable to top players like Johnny Gaudreau, Steven Stamkos and Evgeni Malkin who according to EA, are ranked higher than the Russian superstar.