Eichel, trio of Flames among Nos. 31-40 on TSN's top 50 players

TSN’s panel of hockey experts has put together its annual list of the Top 50 NHL Players ahead of the 2022-23 season, counting them down each day in the lead up to the full reveal on our Top 50 special on Thursday, Oct. 6 (11:30 a.m. ET/8:30 a.m. PT on TSN4, 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT on TSN 4/5).

Today, we look at players who ranked No. 31-40.

Coming in at No. 40 is Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros. After sharing the net with Predators’ legend Pekka Rinne for his first four seasons in the NHL, Saros got his shot as No. 1 netminder during the 2021 shortened season. He took his game to the next level last season where he finished third in the NHL in wins (38) and eighth in save percentage (.918) to go along with 2.64 goals-against average. This was good enough to finish third in Vezina Trophy voting.

No. 39 is Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog, who captained his team to a Stanley Cup championship last season. The 6-foot-1 winger registered 30 goals and 59 points in 51 regular season games and 11 goals and 22 points in 20 playoff games. Injuries have been an issue for Landeskog as he missed 16 games during the 2019-20 season with a lower-body injury, missed the final 23 games of the regular season last year after having knee surgery, and is expected to miss the start of the 2022-23 season with an ongoing lower-body issue.

Florida Panthers defenceman Aaron Ekblad slots in at No. 38 after a strong 2021-22 season. The 26-year-old defenceman had 15 goals and set career highs with 42 assists and 57 points in 61 games last year. Unfortunately, his season was cut short after sustaining a fractured leg, causing him to miss the Panthers’ last 21 regular season games. The 2014 first-overall selection returned for