On Friday morning, the NHL released a report from American retailer Fanatics, who gathered data from Shop.NHL.Com, NHLshop.ca and Fanatics.com to determine the league’s most popular 15 selling jerseys for the 2017-18 season on its website.

Last year, Penguins captain Sidney Crosby came in at number one, with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews rounding out the top three.

Coming in at number four was Leafs C Auston Matthews. According to league’s website, Matthews has the top-selling jersey this season, beating out both Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

 "Obviously that’s pretty cool," Matthews said to media members on Friday.

 "We have unbelievable fans here and every time we play it’s awesome seeing your jersey in the stands. It's definitely something you don’t take for granted."

This biggest takeaway other than Matthews edging out the two best hockey players in the world is Rangers forward Mats Zuccarello coming in at No. 7. Zuccarello – albeit playing in New York where the NHL's main flagship store is located – isn’t exactly the household name you’d expect to be that high on a list like this. The 30-year-old Norwegian tallied his lowest point total in three seasons with 53 points (16 goals, 37 assists) in 80 games played on a Rangers team that publically admitted they’re going through a youth movement. “Zucc” beat out both Kane and Toews, who fell on the list likely due to the Blackhawks missing the post-season for the first time in a decade. 

Marc-Andre Fleury finished fourth on the list thanks to a stellar year in the Vegas Golden Knights. The fact that expansion team exceeded everyone expectations made Golden Knights merchandise a popular purchase in Sin City, with Fleury being one of the reasons why the Knights were and continue to be so successful in their inaugural campaign. It doesn’t hurt that Fleury finished with the best statistical season in his 13th year in the NHL.

Alex Ovechkin coming in at sixth might be a surprise to some. His lack of playoff success might have something to do with that. His teammate T.J. Oshie still managed to finished ahead of Jake Eichel, Andrei Vasilevskiy and Evgeni Malkin. Malkin finished 15th for the second straight season.

After being named rookie of the year last year, Matthews notched 34 goals and 63 points in a season where injuries forced him to play only 62 games. Matthews and McDavid were the only players on a Canadian team to crack the Top 15. It’s quite the turnaround to see Leafs fans now cherishing his jersey after it was only a few seasons ago where Leaf jerseys were ending up on the ice at the ACC. If you consider the population of Leafs’ fans and the success the 20-year-old has found in his first two seasons, then it’s not that crazy to think he beat McDavid and Crosby.

 

Here’s how this year’s list compared to last year’s.

2017-18:

1. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
2. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
4. Marc-Andre Fleury, Vegas Golden Knights
5. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
6. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
7. Mats Zuccarello, New York Rangers
8. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
9. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
10. Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
11. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
12. T.J. Oshie, Washington Capitals
13. Jack Eichel, Buffalo Sabres
14. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Tampa Bay Lightning
15. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins


2016-17:

1. Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
3. Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
4. Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers
6. Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
7. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals
8. Vladimir Tarasenko, St. Louis Blues
9. Claude Giroux, Philadelphia Flyers
10. Ryan McDonagh, New York Rangers
11. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins
12. Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
13. Zach Parise, Minnesota Wild
14. Carey Price, Montreal Canadiens
15. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
 

Who were you surprised to see omitted? If P.K. Subban was still in Montreal would this list any different? What about the Jets' superstars like Mark Scheifele, Patrik Laine, or Blake Wheeler? And where’s Claude Giroux?

Let us know what you think of the list in our Facebook comments section.

(h/t NHL.com)