Jared Mccann named one of NHL's five most underrated forwards

Boy, do the Toronto Maple Leafs probably regret exposing Jared McCann in the Seattle Kraken expansion draft. Back then, McCann was a 25-year-old defensively responsible bottom-six center who had just wrapped up back-to-back 14-goal seasons. The Leafs had traded for him from the Pittsburgh Penguins solely to leave him unprotected in the expansion draft, prioritizing Alexander Kerfoot instead. McCann, a decent secondary scorer, never really got a top-six opportunity with the Penguins, Florida Panthers, or Vancouver Canucks. But that all changed in Seattle. Since joining the NHL's newest franchise in 2021-22, only Auston Matthews, David Pastrnak, Filip Forsberg, and Nathan MacKinnon have more 5-on-5 goals per 60 minutes than McCann (1.33), according to naturalstattrick.com. McCann set a career-high with 40 goals in the 2022-23 season while hovering near the 30-goal mark in both the 2021-22 and 2023-24 seasons, scoring 27 and 29 goals, respectively. Plus, he's notched 50-plus points in each of his three seasons with Seattle.