Ovie-rated

The Hockey News released its ranking of the Top 50 players in the NHL as part of their 2016-17 Yearbook. Here are the top ten:

1. Sidney Crosby - Penguins C

2. Patrick Kane - Blackhawks RW

3. Carey Price - Canadiens G

4. Jamie Benn - Stars LW

5. Jonathan Toews - Blackhawks C

6. Drew Doughty - Kings D

7. Anze Kopitar - Kings C

8. Erik Karlsson - Senators D

9. Connor McDavid - Oilers C

10. Joe Pavelski - Sharks C


Notice anyone missing? Like...I dunno...the second biggest superstar in the sport?

Alex Ovechkin was ranked 11th

If you're not a hockey fan then allow me to compare it thusly: would you have a top ten list of MLB superstars without Bryce Harper? A top ten list of NBA players without Stephen Curry? Of course not. So why did The Hockey News rank Ovi so low?

Maybe it's because he doesn't play defense? Please. Show me Patrick Kane's Selke trophy (or for that matter, Sidney Crosby's.)

Maybe it's because Ovechkin has yet to win a Stanley Cup. Remind me again how many rings Carey Price has?

Connor McDavid is going to be a superstar someday. Perhaps even next year. But he's played one half of one season in the NHL. Who wrote this list, Don Cherry?

I'd have Connor much higher, eh. Good Canadian boy!

Last time I checked, the object of the game is to put the puck in the net. No one has done that more frequently over the last year, or the last five years, or the last ten years than Alexander the Great. He's entering his age 31 season and has already built a Hall Of Fame career. (sound familiar?)

Here's my top ten list, in case you were wondering:

1. Sidney Crosby - Penguins C

2. Patrick Kane - Blackhawks RW

I'm not convinced that Crosby is still the best player in the NHL - but no one has pulled ahead of him yet. Kane could pass him with another 100-point season this year.

3. Carey Price - Canadiens G  Jamie Benn - Stars LW

Benn or Ovechkin, take your pick. I don't believe that any goalie in the league is as dominant at preventing goals as Ovechkin is at scoring them. Look at it this way - if you were drafting a fantasy team and you could pick any goalie, who would you take: Price, Henrik Lundqvist, Braden Holtby or Jonathan Quick? Yeah... that's why there are no netminders in my top ten. (I'd probably punt on those guys and take Cory Schneider.)

4. Jamie Benn - Stars LW  Alex Ovechkin - Capitals LW

The absolute lowest he could possiby be ranked. Maybe 5th if you really want to argue.

Obviously everyone's list will be different. But if you don't have Crosby, Kane, and Ovechkin in your top five then you're just...wrong.

I may be a little biased here

5. Jonathan Toews - Blackhawks C  Erik Karlsson - Senators D

Toews, Kopitar, and Patrice Bergeron are all terrific two-way centermen (that's why they keep swapping the Selke.) But there is no one in the NHL like Erik Karlsson. Did you know he was tied for 4th in scoring last year? Not 4th among defensemen...4th in the league. When was the last time a defenseman did that? Karlsson has won two Norris Trophies already and nearly won a third last year. Oh, and he's entering his age-26 season. 

6. Drew Doughty - Kings D

Here's the guy that beat Karlsson for the Norris. I guess 6th place is fine. 

7. Anze Kopitar - Kings C  Steven Stamkos - Lightning C 

I'm a bit hesitant to put Kopi here since, again, you're splitting hairs between Bergy and Toews. Stamkos has been a goal-scoring machine when healthy, and I believe he'll score 50 goals again soon.

8. Erik Karlsson - Senators D  John Tavares - Islanders C

This is where it gets tricky for me. Kopitar or Toews would be fine here - and I wouldn't argue with Pavelski. But Tavares has to be on the list somewhere.

9. Connor McDavid - Oilers C  Joe Pavelski - Sharks C

Can't put Connor McDavid in the top 20, let alone top 10. Not when there's still no room for Toews, Kopitar, Bergeron, Evgeni Malkin, Tyler Seguin, Johnny Gaudreau, and many others. Pavelski and Jamie Benn have been underrated for too long - and to prove I'm not buying in to East Coast bias, I'm squeezing in one more Western Conference forward...

10. Joe Pavelski - Sharks C  Vladimir Tarasenko - Blues RW

So I like goal scorers. Sue me. Tarasenko was one of only four 40-goal scorers last year, and 7 of the NHL's top 8  are on my list (sorry, Brad Marchand.) He's entering his age 25 season and I don't think he's hit his peak yet. 


Who's my number 11, you ask? Good question! Probably Toews. Or Kopitar. Maybe Malkin if he's healthy. All I know is... it's not Alex Ovechkin. 

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