quoipourquoi
Goaltender
Between my collection of The Hockey News yearbooks (1992-1997, 2001-2003, 2007) and what could be found online (2006, 2008), I wanted to put together a reference list for the THN rankings that were at least 10 years old. I believe that while not perfect, there is historical value in a year-end ranking that takes into consideration not only regular season performance but playoff performance as well. And in some cases, it serves as a window into the common perception of players that may not necessarily be fully captured 10-25 years later by the statistical record and single-season narrative-influenced 5-3-1 and 10-7-5-3-1 awards ballots.
Of course, the definition for how The Hockey News derived their ranking system was flexible from year-to-year, starting with a 1992 article titled "Here's Why LaFontaine Ranks No. 2 in the NHL", continuing the following year with "a list for those who believe 'potential' is the Latin word for 'He hasn't done a darn thing", clarifying in 1994 that it was "about today, not tomorrow, and certainly not yesterday", and by 2001 saying "how they're projected to perform".
1995 offered no ranking, while 1992 and 1997 only singled out a handful of players. In 1992, Mario Lemieux and Pat LaFontaine were ranked #1 and #2 respectively. In 1997, The Hockey News highlighted "only five NHL players [deserving] the designation 'franchise player'". For this, they looked at five qualities:
1. Box Office Behemoth ("name and style that needs no introduction")
2. Hercules Quotient ("ability to carry a team on his shoulders")
3. Darth Vader Test ("intimidating, not physically, but emotionally")
4. Prime Factor ("players near their prime")
5. Messier Syndrome ("must be driven to win the Stanley Cup")
The only five players considered to have met all five qualities in the Summer of 1997 were Peter Forsberg ("his playmaking had been expected, but no one anticipated beneath all of that flowery offensive ability was the soul of a cactus"), Paul Kariya ("he's the rock on which the NHL can build a television audience in the United States"), Jaromir Jagr ("perhaps the NHL's best 1-on-1 player, owner of two Stanley Cup rings, and enough name recognition to have his own brand of peanut butter"), Eric Lindros ("his backhand goal with six seconds left in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers is what being a franchise player is all about"), and Patrick Roy ("a cocky, arrogant athlete who somehow manages not to offend either his friends or his foes; he's the Muhammad Ali of hockey").
Of the lists and partial lists available from 1992-2008, here are the league-wide and positional rankings for 25 of the most commonly featured players:
Rank vs. League
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Rank vs. Position
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Notes from this sample:
Stanley Cup predictions include the following:
Available Lists (missing 1998, 1999, 2004; partial 2000, 2005):
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Of course, the definition for how The Hockey News derived their ranking system was flexible from year-to-year, starting with a 1992 article titled "Here's Why LaFontaine Ranks No. 2 in the NHL", continuing the following year with "a list for those who believe 'potential' is the Latin word for 'He hasn't done a darn thing", clarifying in 1994 that it was "about today, not tomorrow, and certainly not yesterday", and by 2001 saying "how they're projected to perform".
1995 offered no ranking, while 1992 and 1997 only singled out a handful of players. In 1992, Mario Lemieux and Pat LaFontaine were ranked #1 and #2 respectively. In 1997, The Hockey News highlighted "only five NHL players [deserving] the designation 'franchise player'". For this, they looked at five qualities:
1. Box Office Behemoth ("name and style that needs no introduction")
2. Hercules Quotient ("ability to carry a team on his shoulders")
3. Darth Vader Test ("intimidating, not physically, but emotionally")
4. Prime Factor ("players near their prime")
5. Messier Syndrome ("must be driven to win the Stanley Cup")
The only five players considered to have met all five qualities in the Summer of 1997 were Peter Forsberg ("his playmaking had been expected, but no one anticipated beneath all of that flowery offensive ability was the soul of a cactus"), Paul Kariya ("he's the rock on which the NHL can build a television audience in the United States"), Jaromir Jagr ("perhaps the NHL's best 1-on-1 player, owner of two Stanley Cup rings, and enough name recognition to have his own brand of peanut butter"), Eric Lindros ("his backhand goal with six seconds left in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final against the New York Rangers is what being a franchise player is all about"), and Patrick Roy ("a cocky, arrogant athlete who somehow manages not to offend either his friends or his foes; he's the Muhammad Ali of hockey").
Of the lists and partial lists available from 1992-2008, here are the league-wide and positional rankings for 25 of the most commonly featured players:
Rank vs. League
| Player | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1996 | 1997 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Alexander Mogilny | 13 | 27 | 21 | 37 | 43 | 30 | |||||||
| Brian Leetch | 15 | 5 | 16 | 27 | 14 | 48 | |||||||
| Chris Pronger | 4 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 5 | 11 | |||||
| Daniel Alfredsson | 33 | 32 | 16 | 20 | 21 | 12 | |||||||
| Dominik Hasek | 22 | 9 | 11 | 9 | 8 | 29 | |||||||
| Eric Lindros | 2 | 6 | 4 | *FP | 10 | 21 | 30 | ||||||
| Jarome Iginla | 13 | 15 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 8 | |||||||
| Jaromir Jagr | 31 | 2 | *FP | 1 | 1 | 4 | 14 | 20 | 3 | 14 | |||
| Joe Sakic | 18 | 29 | 14 | 16 | 2 | 3 | 9 | 10 | 17 | 12 | 37 | ||
| Joe Thornton | 42 | 37 | 3 | 6 | 4 | 8 | 21 | ||||||
| Keith Tkachuk | 24 | 17 | 18 | 26 | 16 | 26 | |||||||
| Marian Hossa | 38 | 40 | 18 | 14 | 24 | 19 | 17 | ||||||
| Mario Lemieux | *1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur | 29 | 17 | 27 | 29 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 23 | ||||
| Mats Sundin | 28 | 15 | 22 | 9 | 20 | 15 | 48 | ||||||
| Nicklas Lidstrom | 36 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 6 | ||||
| Patrick Roy | 7 | 4 | 3 | *FP | 11 | 11 | |||||||
| Patrik Elias | 32 | 17 | 28 | 42 | 26 | 12 | 11 | ||||||
| Paul Kariya | 6 | *FP | 3 | 8 | 8 | 40 | |||||||
| Pavel Bure | 21 | 8 | 12 | 7 | 10 | 24 | |||||||
| Peter Forsberg | 5 | *FP | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 13 | |||||
| Rob Blake | 16 | 35 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 12 | 17 | 30 | |||||
| Scott Niedermayer | 25 | 46 | 31 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 26 | ||||||
| Sergei Fedorov | 3 | 11 | 20 | 20 | 12 | 10 | |||||||
| Steve Yzerman | 12 | 17 | 25 | 13 | 13 | 27 |
Rank vs. Position
| Player | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1996 | 1997 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 |
| Alexander Mogilny | 4 | 7 | 8 | 12 | 18 | 13 | |||||||
| Brian Leetch | 3 | 1 | 3 | * | 4 | 9 | |||||||
| Chris Pronger | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | |||||
| Daniel Alfredsson | 13 | 14 | * | 8 | 9 | 4 | |||||||
| Dominik Hasek | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | |||||||
| Eric Lindros | 2 | 4 | 2 | *FP | 3 | 9 | 10 | ||||||
| Jarome Iginla | 4 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 2 | |||||||
| Jaromir Jagr | 8 | 1 | *FP | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | * | 1 | 5 | |||
| Joe Sakic | 8 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 10 | ||
| Joe Thornton | 15 | 12 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | ||||||
| Keith Tkachuk | 5 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | |||||||
| Marian Hossa | 13 | 17 | 7 | * | 9 | 8 | 7 | ||||||
| Mario Lemieux | *1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | ||||||
| Martin Brodeur | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||||
| Mats Sundin | 12 | 5 | 10 | 4 | 7 | * | 14 | ||||||
| Nicklas Lidstrom | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | * | 3 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| Patrick Roy | 1 | 1 | 1 | *FP | 2 | 1 | |||||||
| Patrik Elias | * | 4 | 11 | 20 | * | 6 | 4 | ||||||
| Paul Kariya | 2 | *FP | 2 | 2 | 2 | 19 | |||||||
| Pavel Bure | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 10 | |||||||
| Peter Forsberg | 3 | *FP | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||
| Rob Blake | 4 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | * | 6 | |||||
| Scott Niedermayer | * | 8 | 6 | 4 | * | 2 | 5 | ||||||
| Sergei Fedorov | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 5 | 6 | |||||||
| Steve Yzerman | 7 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
Notes from this sample:
- I don't have the 1998, 1999, or 2004 rankings; and I can only partially recreate the 2000 and 2005 rankings based on the parenthetical acknowledgements from the 2001 and 2006 lists.
- Of the years available, Joe Sakic, Jaromir Jagr, Martin Brodeur, and Nicklas Lidstrom appeared on the most lists.
- Players believed to be retiring do not feature on the list following their final season.
- Despite only finishing top-5 in Hart voting on a single occasion, Peter Forsberg was ranked as a top-5 player in the NHL the most times on the available lists: 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2005; and as one of the five franchise players in 1997. An article in the 1993 yearbook said "Forsberg is acknowledged as the best player in the world outside the NHL and observers in his native country believe he could be the best Swede ever".
- Brian Leetch "prompted considerable debate" as to whether he was a franchise player in 1997, but was not considered to be a "big-time draw".
- Though no rankings were provided for the 1995 yearbook, Eric Lindros was predicted to win the Hart Trophy (he finished 3rd), Dominik Hasek was predicted to win the Vezina Trophy, and Chris Chelios was predicted to win the Norris Trophy (he did).
- In reference to how the New Jersey Devils were looking to deal Claude Lemieux in 1995, Scotty Bowman stated in an article in the 1995 yearbook, "I wish we had made that deal for him."
- Chris Pronger was ranked as the best defenseman in the NHL in 2000, 2005, and 2006; and as the 2nd best defenseman in the NHL in 2001, 2007, and 2008 - perhaps more in concert with his perceived place in history than the Norris voting record. In an interview in the 1996 yearbook, he stated "I went out last night with the boys, had a couple beers, came back to my room and got a good night's sleep like a good boy... I am speaking coherently. Aren't I speaking coherently?" Chris Pronger proceeded to tell a woman in an elevator that he played for the Toronto Raptors.
- In an article in the 1994 yearbook detailing Sergei Fedorov's season, a list of the ten "all-time super-skilled two-way players" was offered: Gordie Howe, Bryan Trottier, Bobby Clarke, Dickie Moore, Mark Messier, Jari Kurri, Doug Gilmour, Milt Schmidt, Sergei Fedorov, and Mike Bossy (whose "defensive contributions were largely overlooked").
- Though his last Vezina Trophy was in 1992, Patrick Roy was ranked as the best goaltender in the NHL in 1993, 1994, 1996, and 2002; as well as the 2nd best goaltender in the NHL in 2001 and the only goaltender named as a franchise player in 1997.
Stanley Cup predictions include the following:
- 1993-94: New York Rangers
- 1994-95: Detroit over Toronto, New York (R) over Pittsburgh; Detroit over New York (R)
- 1995-96: Colorado over Detroit, New Jersey over New York (R); New Jersey over Colorado
- 1996-97: Colorado over Detroit, Philadelphia over Washington; Colorado over Philadelphia
- 1997-98: Colorado Avalanche
- 2001-02: Philadelphia Flyers
- 2002-03: Detroit Red Wings
- 2007-08: Anaheim over Ottawa
Available Lists (missing 1998, 1999, 2004; partial 2000, 2005):
| 1992* | 1993 | 1994 | 1996 | 1997* | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | |
| 1 | Mario Lemieux | Mario Lemieux | Mario Lemieux | Mario Lemieux | Eric Lindros | Jaromir Jagr | Jaromir Jagr | Nicklas Lidstrom | Peter Forsberg | Peter Forsberg | Miikka Kiprusoff | Sidney Crosby | Sidney Crosby | |||
| 2 | Pat LaFontaine | Eric Lindros | Doug Gilmour | Jaromir Jagr | Jaromir Jagr | Peter Forsberg | Joe Sakic | Peter Forsberg | Nicklas Lidstrom | Jarome Iginla | Chris Pronger | Alex Ovechkin | Alex Ovechkin | |||
| 3 | Doug Gilmour | Sergei Fedorov | Patrick Roy | Patrick Roy | Paul Kariya | Mario Lemieux | Joe Sakic | Joe Thornton | Markus Naslund | Jaromir Jagr | Roberto Luongo | Henrik Zetterberg | ||||
| 4 | Chris Chelios | Patrick Roy | Eric Lindros | Paul Kariya | Chris Pronger | Peter Forsberg | Jaromir Jagr | Markus Naslund | Chris Pronger | Joe Thornton | Nicklas Lidstrom | Pavel Datsyuk | ||||
| 5 | Pat LaFontaine | Brian Leetch | Peter Forsberg | Peter Forsberg | Mike Modano | Nicklas Lidstrom | Mario Lemieux | Martin Brodeur | Dany Heatley | Alex Ovechkin | Chris Pronger | Vincent Lecavalier | ||||
| 6 | Teemu Selanne | Eric Lindros | Paul Kariya | Nicklas Lidstrom | Chris Pronger | Rob Blake | Mario Lemieux | Joe Thornton | Sidney Crosby | Jarome Iginla | Nicklas Lidstrom | |||||
| 7 | Patrick Roy | Wayne Gretzky | Chris Chelios | Pavel Bure | Mike Modano | Chris Pronger | Mike Modano | Martin Brodeur | Jarome Iginla | Vincent Lecavalier | Roberto Luongo | |||||
| 8 | Wayne Gretzky | Pavel Bure | Mark Messier | John LeClair | Paul Kariya | Paul Kariya | Dominik Hasek | Ilya Kovalchuk | Scott Niedermayer | Joe Thornton | Jarome Iginla | |||||
| 9 | Kevin Stevens | Scott Stevens | Dominik Hasek | Ed Belfour | Dominik Hasek | Mats Sundin | Joe Sakic | Martin St. Louis | Rick Nash | Dany Heatley | Evgeni Malkin | |||||
| 10 | Jeremy Roenick | Jeremy Roenick | Ray Bourque | Eric Lindros | Pavel Bure | Markus Naslund | Sergei Fedorov | Joe Sakic | Dany Heatley | Martin Brodeur | Dany Heatley | |||||
| 11 | Brett Hull | Chris Chelios | Sergei Fedorov | Dominik Hasek | Patrick Roy | Patrick Roy | Todd Bertuzzi | Martin Brodeur | Patrik Elias | Chris Pronger | ||||||
| 12 | Steve Yzerman | Felix Potvin | Pavel Bure | Rob Blake | Rob Blake | Sergei Fedorov | Rob Blake | Nicklas Lidstrom | Patrik Elias | Joe Sakic | Daniel Alfredsson | |||||
| 13 | Alexander Mogilny | Ray Bourque | Theo Fleury | Steve Yzerman | Steve Yzerman | Jarome Iginla | Chris Pronger | Scott Niedermayer | Peter Forsberg | Miikka Kiprusoff | Marian Gaborik | |||||
| 14 | Ray Bourque | Brendan Shanahan | Joe Sakic | Teemu Selanne | Brian Leetch | Jose Theodore | Jaromir Jagr | Marian Hossa | Eric Staal | Jaromir Jagr | Henrik Lundqvist | |||||
| 15 | Brian Leetch | Pat LaFontaine | John Vanbiesbrouck | Mats Sundin | Owen Nolan | Mike Modano | Jarome Iginla | Mats Sundin | Nicklas Lidstrom | Martin St. Louis | Brendan Morrow | |||||
| 16 | Rob Blake | Mike Modano | Brian Leetch | Joe Sakic | Doug Weight | Keith Tkachuk | Milan Hejduk | Daniel Alfredsson | Wade Redden | Marian Gaborik | Evgeni Nabokov | |||||
| 17 | Ed Belfour | Steve Yzerman | Keith Tkachuk | Martin Brodeur | Patrick Elias | Todd Bertuzzi | Dany Heatley | Rob Blake | Joe Sakic | Dion Phaneuf | Marian Hossa | |||||
| 18 | Joe Sakic | Teemu Selanne | Teemu Selanne | Keith Tkachuk | Alexei Kovalev | Bill Guerin | Marian Hossa | Ilya Kovalchuk | Eric Staal | Ilya Kovalchuk | ||||||
| 19 | Pierre Turgeon | Al MacInnis | Ron Francis | Owen Nolan | Curtis Joseph | Michael Peca | Scott Niedermayer | Zdeno Chara | Marian Hossa | Eric Staal | ||||||
| 20 | Mark Messier | Mark Messier | Brendan Shanahan | Sergei Fedorov | Sergei Fedorov | Nikolai Khabibulin | Mats Sundin | Jaromir Jagr | Daniel Alfredsson | Ryan Miller | Zdeno Chara | |||||
| 21 | Pavel Bure | Bill Ranford | Alexander Mogilny | Alexei Yashin | Eric Lindros | Alexei Kovalev | Marian Gaborik | Zdeno Chara | Vincent Lecavalier | Daniel Alfredsson | Joe Thornton | |||||
| 22 | Adam Oates | Dominik Hasek | Peter Bondra | Curtis Joseph | Mats Sundin | Alexei Yashin | Jason Allison | Jason Spezza | Chris Drury | Dion Phaneuf | ||||||
| 23 | Luc Robitaille | Cam Neely | Jeremy Roenick | Tony Amonte | Al MacInnis | Brendan Shanahan | Glen Murray | Brad Richards | Marty Turco | Martin Brodeur | ||||||
| 24 | Kevin Hatcher | Keith Tkachuk | Brett Hull | Pierre Turgeon | Pavel Bure | Sergei Gonchar | Marian Hossa | Jason Spezza | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | |||||||
| 25 | Gary Roberts | Adam Oates | Steve Yzerman | Scott Niedermayer | Alexei Yashin | Adam Foote | Alexei Kovalev | Brad Richards | Roberto Luongo | Henrik Zetterberg | Martin St. Louis | |||||
| 26 | Brett Hull | Adam Oates | Sergei Zubov | Keith Tkachuk | Sergei Gonchar | Keith Tkachuk | Patrik Elias | Martin Havlat | Jonathan Cheechoo | Scott Niedermayer | ||||||
| 27 | Alexander Mogilny | Pat LaFontaine | Brian Leetch | Martin Brodeur | Steve Yzerman | Jere Lehtinen | Vincent Lecavalier | Marian Gaborik | Daniel Briere | Brian Rafalski | ||||||
| 28 | Mats Sundin | John LeClair | Al MacInnis | Keith Primeau | Patrik Elias | Adam Foote | Martin Havlat | Henrik Zetterberg | Tomas Kaberle | Sergei Gonchar | ||||||
| 29 | Joe Sakic | Martin Brodeur | John LeClair | Martin Brodeur | Ed Jovanovski | Tomas Vokoun | Dominik Hasek | Marty Turco | ||||||||
| 30 | Ed Belfour | Vladimir Konstantinov | Mark Recchi | Jason Allison | Eric Lindros | Alexander Mogilny | Rob Blake | Brad Richards | Ryan Getzlaf | |||||||
| 31 | Jaromir Jagr | Doug Weight | Milan Hejduk | Zigmund Palffy | Scott Niedermayer | Marty Turco | Miikka Kiprusoff | Simon Gagne | Martin Havlat | Andrei Markov | ||||||
| 32 | Jari Kurri | Vincent Damphousse | Patrik Elias | Ed Belfour | Peter Bondra | Daniel Alfredsson | Dion Phaneuf | Daniel Sedin | Zach Parise | |||||||
| 33 | Luc Robitaille | Bill Ranford | Mark Recchi | Daniel Alfredsson | Zigmund Palffy | Ryan Smyth | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | Ales Hemsky | ||||||||
| 34 | Kevin Hatcher | Alexei Zhamnov | Pierre Turgeon | Peter Bondra | Bobby Holik | Pavol Demitra | Markus Naslund | Ryan Smyth | Jason Spezza | |||||||
| 35 | Rob Blake | Wayne Gretzky | Adam Foote | Jason Allison | Bill Guerin | Pavel Datsyuk | Simon Gagne | Vesa Toskala | ||||||||
| 36 | Kevin Stevens | Nicklas Lidstrom | Doug Weight | Teemu Selanne | Sean Burke | Derian Hatcher | Pavel Datsyuk | Jonathan Cheechoo | Pavel Datsyuk | Rick Nash | ||||||
| 37 | Curtis Joseph | Pierre Turgeon | Jason Allison | Alexander Mogilny | Joe Thornton | Brett Hull | Patrick Marleau | Rick Nash | Joe Sakic | |||||||
| 38 | Gary Roberts | Grant Fuhr | Marian Hossa | Zigmund Palffy | Sergei Zubov | Roberto Luongo | Rod Brind'Amour | Rod Brind'Amour | Scott Gomez | |||||||
| 39 | Sergei Zubov | Claude Lemieux | Bill Guerin | Simon Gagne | Brendan Shanahan | Marty Turco | Shane Doan | Zdeno Chara | Ryan Miller | |||||||
| 40 | Pierre Turgeon | Daren Puppa | Tony Amonte | Marian Hossa | Paul Kariya | Lubomir Visnovsky | Rick DiPietro | Jonathan Toews | ||||||||
| 41 | Sergei Zubov | Ed Jovanovski | Al MacInnis | Brendan Morrow | Olli Jokinen | Scott Gomez | Daniel Sedin | |||||||||
| 42 | Keith Primeau | Joe Thornton | Chris Chelios | Patrik Elias | Marian Gaborik | Sergei Zubov | Sergei Gonchar | Daniel Briere | ||||||||
| 43 | Adam Foote | Milan Hejduk | Alexander Mogilny | Patrick Lalime | Alex Tanguay | Henrik Lundqvist | Anze Kopitar | |||||||||
| 44 | Jeremy Roenick | Ron Francis | Ilya Kovalchuk | Alex Tanguay | Robyn Regehr | Evgeni Malkin | Miikka Kiprusoff | |||||||||
| 45 | Zigmund Palffy | Markus Naslund | John LeClair | Rod Brind'Amour | Bryan McCabe | Zach Parise | Paul Stastny | |||||||||
| 46 | Scott Niedermayer | Jeremy Roenick | John Madden | Patrick Marleau | Brendan Morrow | Dan Boyle | Shane Doan | |||||||||
| 47 | Chris Drury | Evgeni Nabokov | Doug Weight | Martin St. Louis | Brendan Shanahan | Derek Roy | ||||||||||
| 48 | Petr Sykora | Brian Leetch | Scott Stevens | Mats Sundin | Ilya Kovalchuk | Marc Savard | ||||||||||
| 49 | Martin Straka | Pavol Demitra | Jean-Sebastien Giguere | Ryan Smyth | Marty Turco | Mathieu Schneider | Mike Richards | |||||||||
| 50 | Theo Fleury | Theo Fleury | Curtis Joseph | Michael Peca | Rick Nash | Brian Gionta | Niklas Backstrom | Patrick Kane |
