The Hockey Writers recently ranked Vegas Golden Knights veteran and captain Mark Stone as the best 34-year-old player in the NHL; meanwhile, Los Angeles Kings star forward Artemi Panarin only received an honorable mention.
Given Panarin's consistent high-level offensive production throughout his career, including in this past regular season for the Kings and New York Rangers, this feels like a big-time snub from The Hockey Writers.
Stone has still been a Selke-caliber forward and an invaluable leader in the locker room for the Golden Knights. His two-way impact and efficient offensive production have made Stone one of the Golden Knights' most important players on a team that he just helped lead to the Stanley Cup Finals this past spring.
Durability gives Artemi Panarin the edge over Mark Stone
There's no doubt that Stone has been one of the league's top two-way forwards when healthy, but considering the fact that he's only played 70 games once since 2018 makes durability a major concern with him on this list. He actually hasn't played 70 games in a regular season since he was a member of the Ottawa Senators in the 2018-19 season.
Stone has put up elite production when healthy, but Panarin has consistently provided that level of offensive impact over significantly more games in his career. That reliability and consistency has real value and should matter in a ranking like this one.
Panarin's consistent elite offensive production, durability, and playmaking ability make him one of the NHL's biggest offensive threats. He's scored at a pace of over a point per game in nine straight seasons (since 2016-17) while receiving Hart Trophy consideration in multiple years in the last decade in the NHL.
He also enters the upcoming 2026-27 season with a chance to reach 1,000 career points before playing his 900th career game, which is another testament to the consistency he's shown throughout his career.
If this ranking were hypothetically based heavily on postseason contributions and defensive impact, there would be more of an argument for Stone. But ranking the NHL's best players isn't just about peak ability, it's about the value they provide over an entire season.
Panarin has consistently been one of the NHL's most productive and durable star forwards, making him the more deserving choice on this list as the league's best 34-year-old player.
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