TSN is out with its annual Top 50 Players in the NHL list and it contains some eye openers.
It’s important to note that the list is a compilation of the opinions of a bevy of TSN hockey analysts and a brace of NHL General Managers so it has more validity than the opinion of some fanboy bloggers who over rate the talents of their hometown boys.
But the real flaw that I see is that it compares apples to oranges to turnips by including forwards, defensemen and goalies in the same 50…so it’s interesting to break it down a bit.
Let’s first of all take a look at the top goalies in the league:
Carey Price #2
Henrik Lundqvist #25
Pekka Rinne #29
Jonathan Quick # 35
Braden Holtby #49
I don’t think there is anything to argue with there…I would have ranked those 4 in the top 50 as well…your mileage may vary.
At the D position, I think there may be a few more contentious selections:
Drew Doughty #7
Erik Karlsson #10
Duncan Keith #12
Shea Weber #16
PK Subban #20
Victor Hedman #21
Mark Giordano #27
Ryan Suter #34
Alex Pietrangelo # 39
Roman Josi #40
Ryan McDonagh #42
Oliver Ekman-Larsson #44
Brent Burns #45
If it were me, I would rank Keith ahead of Karlsson and both Giordano and Suter would rank right behind them although I think TSN has the group surrounded.
At centre, I have few arguments with the group but I think it’s worth noting that Ryan Johansen is rocketing up the standings and that Connor McDavid has been ranked while Jack Eichel hasn’t.
I would wager that situation might be reversed this time next year,
Sidney Crosby #1
Jonathan Toews #2
John Tavares #4
Steven Stamkos #6
Ryan Getzlaf #8
Evgeni Malkin #11
Tyler Seguin #15
Anze Kopitar #19
Claude Giroux #19
Niklas Backstrom #22
Pavel Datsyuk #23
Patrice Bergeron #26
Tyler Johnson #28
Ryan Johansen #30
Joe Pavelski #33
Connor McDavid #37
Matt Duchesse #38
Logan Couture #48
Henrik Sedin #50.
Where the hell is Joe Thornton?
Anyone who tells me Thornton is not among the top 20 centres in the league is on crack.
LW deals a severe blow to Oiler fans who keep insisting that Taylor Hall is the best left winger in the league.
It seems no one, including me, agrees with them.
Alex Ovechkin #5
Jamie Benn #9
Zack Parise #31
Max Pacioretty #32
Rick Nash #41
Taylor Hall #43
Henrik Zetterburg #47.
Sorry folks, I would take Zetterburg all day, everyday before Hall and I believe Filip Forsberg, Jaden Schwartz and Tomas Tatar might knock Hall of his perch this upcoming season.
Speaking of Hall, it’s interesting to take a look at how players from Hall’s 2010 draft are ranked here.
Vladimir Tarasenko #14
Tyler Seguin #15
Ryan Johansen #30
Taylor Hall #43
Seguin passed Hall a while back and both Tarasenko and Johansen are trending much better.
Hall has had a poor pre-season to date so it’ll be interesting to see if his stock drops even further.
Dead Cat Bouncing 