We're still a few weeks away from the official release of EA Sports’ NHL 19 and they’ve been doing a good job teasing some of the new features in the upcoming release over the past few weeks.
After unveiling NHL 19 cover athlete PK Subban’s overall rating on Monday, they followed that up on Tuesday by announcing that they’re going to countdown the top 50 players in the game over the next few days starting with 50-41.
50. Jonathan Toews - 87
Jonathan Toews was rated 89 overall in last year’s game, but after a down season for both the Chicago Blackhawks and their captain he finds his overall rating down two points from last year.
49. Frederik Andersen – 88
Frederik Andersen set a Toronto Maple Leafs franchise record for most wins in a season with 38 last year and it earned him an increase in his overall rating in this year’s game, increasing from 86 to 88.
48. Matt Murray – 88
A few goalies got an overall rating of 88 in this year’s game and Matt Murray is one of them. Although he dealt with injuries during the season and his overall stats took a little step back from his rookie campaign, the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie’s rating did not change at all over the year.
47. Pekka Rinne – 88
A lot of people were concerned about whether or not the Nashville Predators would be able to carry their playoff success from two seasons ago into this past season with one of the concerns being Pekka Rinne’s age. However, the 35-year-old stood on his head all year long as he won 42 games and captured his first Vezina Trophy. As a result of his incredible season, Rinne’s overall rating boosted two points from 86 to 88 and landed him in the Top 50.
46. Andrei Vasilevskiy – 88
The Tampa Bay Lightning netminder joins Frederik Andersen, Matt Murray and Pekka Rinne as the four goalies with 88 overall ratings in NHL 19. The 24-year-old tied Connor Hellebuyck for the league-lead in wins with 44 and posted a 2.62 goals against average and a .920 save percentage in 65 starts. Vasilevskiy is certainly getting the respect he deserves as his overall rating jumped four points from 84 to 88.
45. Ryan Suter – 88
Despite matching his career high in points last season with 51, Minnesota Wild defenceman Ryan Suter saw his overall rating decrease by one point. The three-time NHL All-Star is the first defenceman to appear on the Top 50 and should not be offended by the decrease in his rating.
44. Jakub Voracek – 88
Jakub Voracek was the seventh ranked right winger in NHL 18 with an overall rating of 87 and he’s most likely going to be a little higher up on that list in the NHL 19 considering he got a boost in his rating. The Philadelphia Flyers winger potted 20 goals and set career-highs in assists (65) and points (85).
43. Ryan Getzlaf – 88
Ryan Getzlaf only played in 56 games during last year’s regular season but he made his time count. Although he only potted 11 goals he added 50 assists for 61 points. However, his overall rating still took a little bit of a hit, going from 89 to 88.
42. Nicklas Backstrom – 88
Nicklas Backstrom is easily the quietest superstar in the NHL. In 815 career games the 30-year-old has 209 goals and 590 assists for 799 points and 98 points in 116 playoff games. The Gavle, Sweden native played a big role in helping the Washington Capitals capture their first Stanley Cup in franchise history with 23 points in 20 games, but his overall rating still decreased by one in this year’s game.
41. John Carlson – 88
Just like Andrei Vasilevskiy, John Carlson will see his overall rating take a very increase in the upcoming release, going from 84 to 88. The Washington Capitals defenceman didn’t even crack the top 10 defenceman list in last year’s version of the game, but after setting career-highs across the board with 15 goals, 53 assists and 68 points in 82 games, it was kind of hard to keep him off this year’s list.
(H/T EA SPORTS)
