The most underrated player on every NHL team

The Anaheim Ducks have a lot of high draft picks and semi-big-name players on their blue line, including Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm. But one of the more consistently impressive (and underrated) players might be 24-year-old defender Brandon Montour, who has developed into one of their best players. On a team that gets badly outshot and outchanced, he tends to score favorably in shot-attempt metrics and has a bit of an offensive game to go with his defensive ability. He is also a great value at just under $4 million against the salary cap through the end of next season. He's one of the bright spots on a Ducks team that has been fading in recent weeks. 

Brad Richardson is just a solid veteran depth player who can fit on any roster. The Arizona Coyotes have been one of the best penalty-killing teams in the league this season, and Richardson has been one of the leaders of that unit, having already scored three shorthanded goals. You will not catch him on many highlight reels, but you could do a heck of a lot worse for a forward in your bottom-six and penalty-killing unit. 

He wasn't drafted, he is small for a defender, and he is not going to be someone who plays a physically imposing game. But, man, does Torey Krug make some plays with the puck. As long as Zdeno Chara is still in the league and Charlie McAvoy continues to develop into a star ,Krug is never going to be anything more than the No. 3 blueliner in Boston. But if he is your third-best defender, your team is probably in pretty good shape. He has been one of the top-scoring defenders in the league for the past four years and has become an invaluable part of the Bruins' organization. There is nobody else on their blue line who can provide the dimension that he does. 

Sam Reinhart was one of the first key pieces of the Buffalo Sabres' current rebuild. When they began their organizational teardown several years ago, he was the first of the top draft picks to enter the organization, and while he hasn't been a Jack Eichel kind of player, he is still someone the Sabres should be looking to build around. After being a 25-goal, 50-point contributer the past couple of years, he has taken a huge step forward this year alongside Eichel and Jeff Skinner and is on track for close to 80 points this season if he continues on his current trajectory. Every team should be willing to take that from a No. 2 overall pick. 

The Calgary Flames have one of the NHL's best defensive pairs in Mark Giordano and T.J. Brodie. They have played together at various times throughout their careers and have consistently dominated when paired with each other. This season might be the best they have ever played together, with Giordano charging toward being at least a finalist for the Norris Trophy and Brodie having an outstanding bounceback year after a couple of down seasons. The great thing about this duo is that they have both overcome long odds to be outstanding NHL players, with Giordano entering the league as an undrafted free agent and Brodie being selected in the fourth round of the 2008 NHL Draft. 

Micheal Ferland was the "other" player the Carolina Hurricanes received in their big offseason trade with the Calgary Flames (the one that also brought them Dougie Hamilton), and he has probably been the most productive of the two. He is the type of player who appeals to everyone because he has the size and physical play that old-school hockey people have, while he can also score and play a skilled game. He is an unrestricted free agent after this season and could be on the move before the trade deadline, but he is a really good under-the-radar player no matter what team he plays on. 

The Chicago Blackhawks have hit a wall and are inching further and further away from their championship years. It is time for some new blood to take over, and they have a couple of intriguing young players who could help get them back on track in Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Strome. Another promising player who has emerged this season has been rookie forward Dominik Kahun who has had an encouraging debut, with 20 points and some strong underlying numbers throughout the first half of the season. 

When you think of the 2018-19 Colorado Avalanche, your mind should immediately go to the top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantane, and Gabriel Landeskog. They are the engine that drives the team. You probably do not think much of the defense, but they do have an outstanding blueliner in Tyson Barrie, who has flown under the radar for most of his career. He is the fourth-leading scorer on the team this season and probably the best player they have once you get beyond their top line. 

This is an interesting one because Cam Atkinson has been the top goal scorer for the Columbus Blue Jackets for a few years now. But when you analyze the core of the team and the players who have the most value, you probably name four others before you get to Atkinson. Artemi Panarin, Sergei Bobrovsky, Seth Jones and Zach Werenski probably all get more attention, yet Atkinson has been a top-15 goal scorer in the league over the past four years. 

When Alexander Radulov first arrived in the NHL many years ago, he was supposed to be a star. We never really got a chance to see it because he left for the KHL and spent the bulk of his prime years playing in Russia. But ever since returning to the NHL three years ago, we have gotten a taste of what he could have been in the NHL for all of those years. He has been a huge addition for the Dallas Stars and is a key part of their top line that has single-handedly kept them in playoff contention this season. 

There are not many things to be excited about with the Detroit Red Wings in recent seasons, and their rebuild is probably going to take some time. But Andreas Athanasiou has been a pleasant development and is on track to double all of his previous career highs during the 2018-19 season. He is not someone that a rebuild is going to be centered around, but he is a nice bridge player for a team that is in a transition phase. He will allow them to stay competitive and maybe even be flipped in a trade for someone who will be around when the Red Wings are ready to be a playoff team again. 

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is one of the players who went No. 1 overall in his draft class, but because he did not turn out to be a Sidney Crosby or Alex Ovechkin-type player, he will be forgotten about — especially because he is still stuck on a bad team. But Nugent-Hopkins is a really good player who is one of the few bright spots on an otherwise disappointing team. He is having the best season of his career offensively and along with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl is one of the reasons his team even has a chance to stay in playoff contention. 

We're going to go with Aleksander Barkov here because he might be the most underrated player in the entire league, not just on the Florida Panthers. He is one of the few in the league who is a true two-way player in the sense that he does everything equally well. He is a point-per-game player offensively, he is a shutdown center defensively and he is a true impact player in all three zones and all three phases of the game. He is one of the best in the world at what he does and if he played on a better team, he would get far more credit for it. 

If he had not played his entire career in the shadows of Drew Doughty, Jake Muzzin would be held in much higher regard around the NHL. There is nothing that he does not do well, and he is one of the most complete players in the league at his position. With the Kings stuck in a going-nowhere season and probably set to start a rebuild, Muzzin could find himself playing elsewhere after the trade deadline. Whatever team lands him is going to be getting a top-pairing defender who could help put it over the top when it comes to competing for the Stanley Cup. 

When you think of the Minnesota Wild's defense, the first name that probably comes to mind is Ryan Suter, because he is the big-name, big-money big-minute defender. But do you know who their best defender is? It might now be Matt Dumba, who does everything Suter does at a fraction of the cost. He is currently injured, and that is a big issue for the Wild, but he has developed into a great top-pairing defender. 

Jeff Petry has been underrated and underappreciated going all the way back to his time with the Edmonton Oilers. The Montreal Canadiens were able to acquire him for next to nothing and have watched him blossom into an outstanding defender who now plays a huge role on their blue line. He is a possession-driving (better than 54 percent Corsi rating as a Canadien) defender who can also chip in between 40-50 points. That type of player should probably be a $6 million or $7 million player on the open market. The Canadiens have him for $5.5 million for another two years after this one. 

No team in the NHL has a better defense on paper than the Nashville Predators. P.K. Subban and Roman Josi are the top players who dominate the stat sheet, but Ryan Ellis is the rock solid defender who does everything well. If he played on almost any other team in the league, he would be a clear-cut No. 1 or No. 2 defender. In Nashville he is the third or fourth player on the blue line. That is not a knock on him; it is just a testament to how good the rest of the defense around him is. The Predators were wise to lock him up to a long-term contract this season. 

I am going to say Marcus Johansson is the most underrated player on the New Jersey Devils simply because they really haven't had a chance to fully see what he can do. Injuries have robbed him of significant playing time in his first two years with the team when he was supposed to be one of their key players each season. When he is healthy he has shown that he is a 25-goal, 50-point forward and that is nothing to toss aside. It is just a shame for the Devils that they have not been able to get that from him. 

Brock Nelson is one of the three key free agents the New York Islanders will have to deal with this offseason, joining Anders Lee and Jordan Eberle, and he seems to be the one who gets the least attention. He may not be an All-Star, but he is a player who the Islanders can pencil in for at least 20 goals and 45 points every season while always being in the lineup. He may not be a franchise-changer, but he is also not a player you let get away for nothing because he will not be easy to replace.   

I feel like Pavel Buchnevich is one of those players who will ultimately fall victim to the curse of elite expectations. He is a tremendous talent who was expected to be a front-line player, maybe even a star, and if he falls short of those expectations he is going to be regarded as a bust...even if he is still a good player. Which he is. He always seems to be in the dog house in New York and never given an opportunity to really shine, even though he produces at a rate better than that of almost anyone else around him. 

When it comes to the Ottawa Senators' rebuild, the two rookies who are getting the most attention are defender Thomas Chabot and 2018 No. 4 overall pick Brady Tkachuk, and for good reason. Both have been outstanding and have made an immediate impact. But do not sleep on 2015 first-round pick Colin White, who is also making the most of his first full-time look in the NHL. The almost-22-year-old forward is on pace for a 20-goal, 50-point season for the Senators, and at the very least looks like he could be a really good second-line center for a potential playoff team in the future. 

Even before signing with the Philadelphia Flyers this offseason in free agency, rejoining the team that originally made him the No. 2 overall pick in the draft, I felt like he was underrated around the league. He had been one of the top goal scorers in the NHL over the past five years and never seemed to get any recognition. His return to Philadelphia has been hurt by injury, but when he has been on the ice he has still scored at a 30-goal, 60-point pace. That is top-line production for someone who gets almost no credit or recognition as a top-line player. 

He gets overshadowed by his regular defense partner, Norris Trophy contender Kris Letang, but Brian Dumoulin has become one of the steadiest and most solid defensive players in the NHL. The Penguins acquired him back in 2012 as part of the Jordan Staal to Carolina trade, and he was probably the afterthought in that deal (after the No. 8 overall pick and center Brandon Sutter). But Dumoulin has turned out to be the prize of the trade. He has played a key role on two Stanley Cup winning teams and proved to be a perfect complement to Letang on the team's top-pairing, logging more than 22 minutes per night and playing outstanding defensive hockey. 

His progression has been a little inconsistent at times, but Tomas Hertl has always flashed star potential over the first few years of his career with the San Jose Sharks. He is starting to play far more consistently during the 2018-19 season and has emerged as one of the Sharks' best overall players and a key cog in their climb back toward the top of the Western Conference standings. He is exceptionally talented and putting it all together this season, and he is well on his way to setting new career highs across the board. 

Selected in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft, Vince Dunn has wasted no time in becoming a legitimate NHL defender who looks like he is going to be a core player for the Blues moving forward. He has already demonstrated a strong offensive game with the ability to move the puck and drive possession. He might already be the second-best defender on the team after Alex Pietrangelo.

Another incredible find by the Tampa Bay Lightning's scouting staff and front office. They have made a habit of finding undervalued players in the draft and free-agent ranks by picking up productive forwards who get overlooked because they are too small or don't fit the profile of what an NHL player should look like. Yanni Gourde is the latest one, and he looks like he is going to be a solid 50-point scorer on one of the deepest teams in the league. 

Not only is he an underrated part of the Toronto Maple Leafs roster, but Frederik Andersen also might be one of the most important players they have. They are loaded with all-star talent up front but are still lacking on the blue line and are vulnerable to giving up shots and chances. Andersen has been a workhorse for them ever since they acquired him, and he has played at an above league-average level while also being able to handle more games and minutes than almost any other goalie in the league. He will ultimately determine how far Toronto is able to go in the playoffs. 

The Vancouver Canucks' rebuild is all centered around Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser, but they are not the only young players who could play a significant role in the future of the franchise. Nikolay Goldobin, a former first-round draft pick of the San Jose Sharks, has had a promising season so far and is one of the team's top-five scorers through the halfway point. The Canucks got Goldobin in what has looked to be a steal of a trade two years ago when they sent Jannik Hansen, who is no longer in the NHL, to the Sharks for him. 

The Vegas Golden Knights' success over the first season-and-a-half in the NHL is usually attributed to either starting goalie Marc-Andre Fleury or the play of their top-line, which is centered around Jonathan Marchessault. But any guesses on who their leading goal scorer and point producer has been through the first half of the 2018-19 season? Marchessault? William Karlsson? New additions Max Pacioretty or Paul Stastny? Nope. No. Not even close. The answer to both questions is Alex Tuch, and he has done so despite missing eight games. Think the Minnesota Wild would like to have him back after letting him (and Erik Haula) get away in the expansion draft? They almost certainly would. 

Lars Eller will forever be a hero in Washington for his play during the 2018 playoffs when he scored big goal after big goal to help the Capitals win their first Stanley Cup. But he is more than just a one-postseason wonder. He is one of the best third-line centers in the NHL and somebody the Capitals can count on to help keep the team above water when their top players are not on the ice. 

The Winnipeg Jets have one of the deepest collections of forward talent in the league, featuring a group that is littered with all-star level players. One of the more valuable and overlooked is Mathieu Perreault. He will never get the headlines or make the highlight reels the way Patrik Laine, Blake Wheeler or even Kyle Connor will, but you can count on him to score around 20 goals and 40 points and also help push possession in the Jets' favor, all for a reasonable salary cap hit. He's the type of depth player a team needs to compete for the Stanley Cup.