Off the Top of Your Head, Name Your Favorite Team's Greatest Players From A-Z

[blundluntman]

Off the top of your head, try naming your favorite team's greatest players of all time from A-Z (by last name).

Colorado Avalanche

A- Aebischer
B- Blake
C- Comeau
D- Drury
E-
F- Forsberg
G- Girard
H- Hejduk
I- Iginla
J- Erik Johnson
K- Kamensky
L- Landeskog
M- Mackinnon
N- Nichushkin
O- Ozolinsh
P- Parenteau
Q-
R- Roy
S- Sakic
T- Tanguay
U-
V- Varlamov
W- Colin Wilson
X-
Y- Yelle
Z-

 

[Summer Rose]

Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club

A- David Aebischer
B- Sean Burke
C- Logan Cooley
D- Shane Doan
E- Robert Esche
F- Christian Fischer
G- Dylan Guenther
H- Niklas Hjalmarsson
I- Connor Ingram
J- Mike Johnson
K- Clayton Keller
L- Daymond Langkow
M- Zbynek Michalek
N- Ladislav Nagy
O- ???
P- Taylor Pyatt
Q- ???
R- Jeremy Roenick
S- Mike Smith
T- Keith Tkachuk
U- ???
V- Karel Vejmelka
W- Ray Whitney
X- ???
Y- Brandon Yip
Z- ???

 

[DaveG]

going to be very recently biased but I have some blasts from the past in the Canes/Whalers group:

A - Aho
B - Brind'Amour
C - Cole
D - Dineen
E - Emerson
F - Francis
G - Gelinas
H - Howe
I - Irbe
J - Jarvis
K - Keon
L - Liut
M - Martinook
N - Necas
O - O'Neill
P - Pitkanen
Q - Quenneville
R - Roberts
S - Staal
T - Teravainen
U - ???? (would say "Ulf" but only using last names)
V - Verbeek
W - Wesley
X - none
Y - Young
Z - Zalapski

 

[frisco]

going to be very recently biased but I have some blasts from the past in the Canes/Whalers group:
S - Staal

Which one?

My Best-Carey

 

[DaveG]

Which one?

My Best-Carey

Jared of course

(Eric IRL - though Jordo captaining the team to the Cup could change the equation there)

 

[SavBigMoneyAtBedards]

A- Tony Amonte
B- Doug Bentley / Ed Belfour
C- Chris Chelios
D- Eric Daze
E- Tony Esposito
F- Curt Fraser?
G- Dirk Graham
H- Bobby Hull / Glenn Hall
I- Ron Ingraham
J- Doug Jarrett
K- Patrick Kane / Duncan Keith
L- Steve Larmer
M- Stan Mikita
N- Eric Nesterneko
O- Johnny Oduya / Ed Olczyk
P- Pierre Pilote
Q- Stephane Quintal
R- Jeremy Roenick
S- Denis Savard
T- Jonathan Toews
U- Igor Ulanov
V- Kris Versteeg / Elmer Vasko?
W- Doug Wilson
X-
Y- Trent Yawney
Z- Alex Zhamnov

 

[Bruins4Lifer]

A - Allison, Jason
B - Bourque, Ray (Bergeron, Patrice; Bucyk, Johnny; Brimsek, Frank)
C - Chara, Zdeno (Clapper, Dit; Cowley, Bill)
D - Dumart, Woody
E - Esposito, Phil
F - Flaman, Fern
G - Guerin, Bill
H - Hitchman, Lionel (Horton, Nathan)
I - Iginla, Jarone
J - Janney, Craig
K - Krejci, David
L - Lucic, Milan
M - Marchand, Brad (Middleton, Rick)
N - Neely, Cam
O - Orr, Bobby
P - Pastrnak, David (Park, Brad)
Q - Quackenbush, Bill
R - Rask, Tuukka (Ratelle, Jean)
S - Shore, Eddie (Schmidt, Milt)
T - Thompson, Tiny (Thomas, Tim; Thornton, Joe)
U - Ullmark, Linus (I think he's their only U-name in their history)
V - Vadnais, Carol
W - Wesley, Glen
X - ???
Y - Yelle, Stephane
Z - Zacha, Pavel (Zadorov, Nikita)

 

[Soapdodger]

LA Kings

Jason Allison
Rob Blake
Roman Cechmanek
Adam Deadmarsh
Erik Ersberg
Alexander Frolov
Tony Granato
Kelly Hrudey
Jarome Iginla
Jack Johnson
Anze Kopitar
Ian Laperriere
Jaroslav Modry
Matthias Norström
Sean O'Donnell
Ziggy Palffy
Jonathan Quick
Luc Robitaille
Tomas Sandström
Rick Tocchet
U
Lubomir Visnovsky
Tim Watters
X
Y
John Zeiler

 

[Lshap]

No need to list Montreal's endless alphabetical all-stars. All you need to know is we have the greatest "X" of all time.

 

[Lshap]

Montreal ABCanadiens:

Anderson (Josh)
Beliveau
Cournoyer
Dryden
Evans
Ferguson (John)
Gainey
Harvey
Irwin (Ivan) - 4 games 1952/53
Joliat (Aurel)
Koivu
Lafleur
Morenz
Naslund
Olmstead (Bert)
Plante
Quintal
Richard (Maurice)
Suzuki
Tremblay (J.C.)
Ulanov (Igor) - 1997-99
Vezina
Weber
Xhekaj
Ylonen
Zednick

 

[Goatlender]

Canucks:

Adams
Bure
Courtnall
Demko
Edler
Fraser
Gradin
Hughes
Isbister
Jovanovski
Kesler
Linden
Miller
Naslund
Ohlund
Pettersson
Quinn
Ronning
Sedin
Tanti
Umberger? (Drafted but not played)
Vrbata
Williams
X
York
Zadorov

I largely went with point totals as a Canuck. If we’re talking best players, you could argue Mogilny over Miller, Luongo over Linden, etc.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

Devils

A: Tommy Albelin
B; Martin Brodeur
C: Tom Chorske
D: Bruce Driver
E: Patrik Elias
F: Viacheslav Fetisov
G: Brian Gionta
H: Nico Hischier
I: ?
J: Jaromir Jagr
K: Ilya Kovalchuk
L: Adam Larsson
M: John MacLean
N: Scott Niedermayer
O: Kristof Oliwa
P: Jay Pandolfo
Q: ?
R: Stephan Richer
S: Scott Stevens
T: Chris Terreri
U: Alex Urbom
V: Claude Vilgrain
W: Colin White
X: ?
Y: Paul Ysebaert
Z: Valeri Zelepukin (HM Travis Zajac)

 

[Plural]

Arizona Coyotes/Utah Hockey Club

N- Ladislav Nagy

Is Numminen considered more about Jets franchise or Coyotes?

 

[Canadiens Ghost]

Montreal ABCanadiens:

Anderson (Josh)
Beliveau
Cournoyer
Dryden
Evans
Ferguson (John)
Gainey
Harvey
Irwin (Ivan) - 4 games 1952/53
Joliat (Aurel)
Koivu
Lafleur
Morenz
Naslund
Olmstead (Bert)
Plante
Quintal
Richard (Maurice)
Suzuki
Tremblay (J.C.)
Ulanov (Igor) - 1997-99
Vezina
Weber
Xhekaj
Ylonen
Zednick

Irving, Dick Sr as coach maybe rather than a no name?

 

[anezthes]

A – Artyukhin
B – Beauchemin
C – Carney
D – Dostál
E – Ewen
F – Fowler
G – Getzlaf
H – Hebert
I –
J – Jomphe
K – Kariya
L – Lindholm
M – McDonald
N – Niedermayer
O – Oksiuta
P – Pronger
Q –
R – Rucchin
S – Selänne
T – Tverdovsky (first thought of Tsulygin)
U –
V – Višňovský
W – Winnik
X –
Y – Young
Z – Zegras

 

[Summer Rose]

Is Numminen considered more about Jets franchise or Coyotes?

Honestly, I did check a list of all players whose names started with any given letter of the alphabet after posting my list, and realized I did blank on Teppo Numminen for some reason, even though he was the team captain when I started watching (01-02). It's probably that I didn't remember him as well as Ladislav Nagy for that reason (Numminen was traded to Dallas in 2003), especially since I saw Nagy play at the 2018 Olympics.

Although because you mention it, I did entirely exclude players who played primarily (or exclusively) during the franchise's time in Winnipeg, and that was intentional. I also only considered their time playing while on the the Coyotes/Utah as opposed to making a name for themselves and/or playing the bulk of their career elsewhere (which I think is what the thread starter meant), otherwise I would have easily put down Teemu Selanne for S. That also avoided putting down Brett Hull, or even Chris Pronger (as a joke).

 

[miscs75]

A - Arbour
B - Bossy
C - Czerkawski
D - DiPietro or Dobson
E - Eberle
F - Ferraro (Ray)
G - Gillies (Clark)
H - Hogue
I - Isbister
J - Jonsson (Kenny)
K - King (Derek)
L - Lafontaine
M - Morrow
N - Nystrom
O - Okposo
P - Potvin (Denis)
Q - Quine
R - Resch
S - Smith (Billy)
T - Trottier
U - Ullstrom (only player with U to play for the Isles). If I go first name Uwe Krupp)
V - Vukota
W - Westfall
X -
Y - Yashin
Z - Zhitnik

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Montreal ABCanadiens:

Anderson (Josh)
Beliveau
Cournoyer
Dryden
Evans
Ferguson (John)
Gainey
Harvey
Irwin (Ivan) - 4 games 1952/53
Joliat (Aurel)
Koivu
Lafleur
Morenz
Naslund
Olmstead (Bert)
Plante
Quintal
Richard (Maurice)
Suzuki
Tremblay (J.C.)
Ulanov (Igor) - 1997-99
Vezina
Weber
Xhekaj
Ylonen
Zednick

ABCanadiens is well done.

Sabres:

A- Afinogenov (no Andeychuk.)
B- Byram
C- Cthulu
D-Dumont (remembered Dahlin after)
E- No. enroth.
F-
G- Gilmour
H- Hasek
I-
J- Jankowski
K-Kalinin
L- Lalalafontaine
M-
N- Numminen
O-
P- Peca
Q- Quinn
R- Ray
S- Scott
T- Chris Taylpr
U-
V- Vanek
W- Mike Webber or whatever
X-
Y-
Z- Zhitnik

Got lazy, think it can be finished.

 

[MXD]

Canadiens :

Anderson, Josh
Beliveau, Jean *
Carbonneau, Guy
Damphousse, Vincent
Evans, Jake
Ferguson, John *
Gainey, Bob
Harvey, Doug *
Ivanans, Raitis
Joliat, Aurele *
Koivu, Saku
Lafleur, Guy
Markov, Andrei
Naslund, Mats,
Odelein, Lyle
Price, Carey
Quintal, Stephane
Richard, Maurice *
Suzuki, Nick
Tremblay, JC *
Ulanov, Igor
Vachon, Rogatien *
Weber, Shea
Xhekaj, Arber
Young, Doug *
Zednik, Richard

 

[Lshap]

Canadiens :

Anderson, Josh
Beliveau, Jean *
Carbonneau, Guy
Damphousse, Vincent
Evans, Jake
Ferguson, John *
Gainey, Bob
Harvey, Doug *
Ivanans, Raitis
Joliat, Aurele *
Koivu, Saku
Lafleur, Guy
Markov, Andrei
Naslund, Mats,
Odelein, Lyle
Price, Carey
Quintal, Stephane
Richard, Maurice *
Suzuki, Nick
Tremblay, JC *
Ulanov, Igor
Vachon, Rogatien *
Weber, Shea
Xhekaj, Arber
Young, Doug *
Zednik, Richard

Biggest struggle for me was "C". Picking Cournoyer over Chelios and Carbonneau was tough. No wrong choice there.

I also considered Price and Markov, but had to go with the Hall of Famers, Plante and Morenz.

The only of your choices I'd question is Damphouse over Dryden. Vincent was very good, but Dryden had what could be the most perfect career of any hockey player in NHL history.

 

[MXD]

Biggest struggle for me was "C". Picking Cournoyer over Chelios and Carbonneau was tough. No wrong choice there.

I also considered Price and Markov, but had to go with the Hall of Famers, Plante and Morenz.

The only of your choices I'd question is Damphouse over Dryden. Vincent was very good, but Dryden had what could be the most perfect career of any hockey player in NHL history.

I tried to go for players I actually saw play, much more than Dryden at least. I made obvious exceptions for the likes of Beliveau, Harvey and Richard.

And I really liked Damphousse. On top of my head the D with the biggest amount of games also, with, I think, Desharnais not too far behind.
Ideally, THE guy I should've named was traded for another guy named D. Dr. Recchi, that is. But didn't play enough.

My biggest head-scratcher was Tremblay (never saw) vs. Tremblay (saw) vs. Theodore (saw), and I decided I prefered the guy I never saw and, ultimately, was the best player, over two guys that I saw play BUT kinda come across as dicks.

Oh and good think I remembered Doug Young played a bit for the Habs because I would totally have blanked "Y" instead of writing Ylonen.

 

[ManofSteel55]

A – Jason Arnott

B – Evan Bouchard

C – Paul Coffey

D – Leon Draisaitl

E – Jordan Eberle

F – Grant Fuhr

G – Wayne Gretzky

H – Ales Hemsky (actually Taylor Hall, but its my list, so Hemsky goes on)

I – Brad Isbister? Not sure of any others who were better.

J – Curtis Joseph

K – Jari Kurri

L – Kevin Lowe

M – Connor McDavid

N – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

O – David Oliver?

P – Chris Pronger

Q – None that I can remember

R – Bill Ranford

S – Ryan Smyth

T – Esa Tikkanen

U – Igor Ulanov

V – Lubomir Visnovsky

W – Doug Weight

X – None

Y – Kailer Yamamoto

Z – Valerie Zelepukin (sp?)

 

[COHawk]

Montreal ABCanadiens:

Anderson (Josh)
Beliveau
Cournoyer
Dryden
Evans
Ferguson (John)
Gainey
Harvey
Irwin (Ivan) - 4 games 1952/53
Joliat (Aurel)
Koivu
Lafleur
Morenz
Naslund
Olmstead (Bert)
Plante
Quintal
Richard (Maurice)
Suzuki
Tremblay (J.C.)
Ulanov (Igor) - 1997-99
Vezina
Weber
Xhekaj
Ylonen
Zednick

For those wondering Arber Xhekaj is the only player in NHL history whose last name started with the letter X. Fun fact.

 

[Puckclektr]

A – Jason Arnott

B – Evan Bouchard

C – Paul Coffey

D – Leon Draisaitl

E – Jordan Eberle

F – Grant Fuhr

G – Wayne Gretzky

H – Ales Hemsky (actually Taylor Hall, but its my list, so Hemsky goes on)

I – Brad Isbister? Not sure of any others who were better.

J – Curtis Joseph

K – Jari Kurri

L – Kevin Lowe

M – Connor McDavid

N – Ryan Nugent-Hopkins

O – David Oliver?

P – Chris Pronger

Q – None that I can remember

R – Bill Ranford

S – Ryan Smyth

T – Esa Tikkanen

U – Igor Ulanov

V – Lubomir Visnovsky

W – Doug Weight

X – None

Y – Kailer Yamamoto

Z – Valerie Zelepukin (sp?)

um. Ever heard of Randy Gregg?

 

[brentashton]

A - Sid Abel
B - Red Berenson
C- Chris Chelios (hon mention to Ken Holland’s son Dan Cleary)
D- Pavel Datsyuk/Alex Delvechio
E-Jonathan Ericsson
F-Sergei Federico
G-Gerard Gallant
H-Gordie - but look at the roster and see who he displaces , wow!
I-earl ingarfeld
J-Greg Johnson
K-Red Kelly
L-Nick Lidstrom (sorry Larkin and Larson)
M-Darren McCarty
N-Gus Nyquist
O-John Ogrodnick (because Osgood was just average)
P-Marcel Pronovost
Q-Bill Quackenbush, because Kyle Quincy? Really?
R-the Mick
S-Terry Sawchuk
T-Tiny Thompson
U- Norm Ullman
V-Pat Verbeek
W-Bryan Watson
X-Xavier Ouellette (a stretch)
Y-Yzerman
Z-Henrick Zetterberg (Rick Zombo, you’re a beauty though)