Projecting Every NHL Team’s Assist Leader for the 2024-25 Season

The big issue with Hughes in his career has simply been staying healthy enough to play a full season.

Injuries have robbed him of significant portions of his career to this point, but when he is on the ice there is no denying his talent and upside. He is one of the best offensive players in the league.

Over the previous three seasons, he has averaged 2.06 assists per 60 minutes (all situations), a rate that not only leads all Devils players but is also 18th in the entire NHL out of 852 players who logged at least 500 minutes of ice time.

If he could ever play a full season his overall counting numbers would be among the best in the league.

The Devils just have to make sure he stays on the ice.

The Islanders have not had a lot going for themselves offensively in recent years, consistently rating as one of the worst-scoring teams in the NHL (even when they make the playoffs).

They do have a couple of bright spots, however.

Mathew Barzal is a great playmaker at forward. Brock Nelson has been a top-line goal-scorer. And Noah Dobson has blossomed into one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL despite not having a great offensive system or a lot of finishers around him.

Dobson’s production has consistently improved every year he has been in the league, continuing with a breakout season in 2023-24 that saw him record 60 assists and 70 total points.

A lot of their offense is going to run through him at both even-strength and on the power play, and while 60 assists might be a high bar for him to reach again, he should be able to pace the Islanders’ offense.

Panarin has been one of the best free-agent success stories in the salary-cap era and has been worth every penny the New York Rangers have paid to him from the moment he arrived.

He has put together some of the best offensive seasons in Rangers history, is an MVP-caliber player and scorer, and is the best non-goaltender on the roster. He has recorded at least 63 assists in each of the past three seasons, including two years with more than 70 assists. He already has nine in his first eight games this season through Saturday and given the way he produces in all situations, and especially as a part of the Rangers’ power play, 60 assists should be the expectation again. It would not be a surprise if he topped 70 again. Nobody else on this team is going to come close to that production.

The Senators rebuild has been a bit rocky at times, but the Erik Karlsson trade worked out better than anybody could have possibly hoped.

It not only brought them a top-six forward in Josh Norris (when he is healthy), it also landed them the first-round draft pick that became a No. 3 selection where they picked Tim Stutzle.

Stutzle has rapidly blossomed into one of the league’s best young players and a top-tier playmaker. He has topped the 50-assist mark in each of the past two seasons and is now entering the point in his career (his age-24 season) where he should really start reaching his peak levels of offense.

The Senators have some good players around him at the top of the lineup, and 60 assists should be a reasonable expectation given what he has already done in the NHL.

Why not a rookie?

Especially when the rookie is already this good.

Michkov has only played a handful of games for the Flyers, but he is already justifying the hype and not only looks like a Calder Trophy front-runner, but he looks like he might already be one of the best players on the Flyers roster.

They still have to build around him, but he looks like he has a chance to completely change the short-term and long-term trajectory of the Flyers organization. He has that sort of talent and potential.

Something looks very off with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Sidney Crosby so far this season. They are not just losing games, they are getting embarrassed, and the Crosby line has been especially off as they try to find wingers that can keep up with him.

Still, you do not want to bet against Crosby over a full season.

The team might not be good anymore, he might not have Jake Guentzel on his wing anymore, and he might be getting closer to the end of his career than he is to his prime. But he can still play at a high level, and at some point, things are going to click for him and he is going to start scoring again.

He had 52 assists and 94 points a year ago. He did not just suddenly forget how to create offense.

The Sharks are in for another long year during this ongoing rebuild, and they are 0-7-2 through Saturday’s games.

But they did try to make an effort to add some legitimate NHL talent this offseason, and Toffoli was the best of those additions (excluding No. 1 overall pick Macklin Celebrini).

Toffoli has not always posted huge assists numbers in his career, but somebody has to get the points and create offense here and Toffoli is probably the best, most-proven player on this roster right now. He could have a big year just because he is going to play a lot of minutes, get a lot of power play time and play in the most offensive situations.

Mikael Granlund is having a better start, but I would not anticipate that continuing, and Toffoli is more likely to finish the season in San Jose without getting traded.

Joining the Seattle Kraken has been the best thing for McCann on an individual level, as he has reached his full potential and become a top-line producer.

His shot is his best offensive skill and has resulted in him scoring a lot of goals with the Kraken, but he is also a good enough playmaker to make a push for 40 assists.

Seattle is not a great offensive team and does not have a ton of top-line talent, and they are still waiting for their top young players to take a big step forward, but McCann should be able to put up some big numbers as both a goal scorer and puck distributor.

Defenseman Vince Dunn was going to be the initial pick here, but his injury situation is going to put him a little behind and might make it difficult for him to catch up.